After a rest for a couple of years we’re pleased to say “Chocolate Feast Days” are back and since our last event there have been some great new chocolates introduced.

If you’ve never been to one of events before then we hope you will enjoy a relaxed hour sampling some of the many chocolates we have on offer, and, we hope, buying a few. If we’ve been before then you will know what to expect, we try for a relaxed day.

For you to sample this year we have chocolates from  Montezuma, Green & Blacks, Conscious Chocolate, Booja Booja, Organica and Plamil

With your chocolate why not try a hot chocolate or a piece of homemade cake.

We are trying different chocolates at the moment with a view to stocking them so your comments are very welcome.

Conscious Chocolate
 
We are starting to stock a new range of chocolate produced on a farm in Kent.

Conscious chocolate is quite different from any other chocolate you have ever had; handmade raw bars that are free from pesticides, dairy, gluten, soya and refined sugars. The cacao beans used are fermented at low temperatures and sun-dried, never roasted so retaining vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, flavonoids and theobromine that make chocolate so good for you.

Conscious Chocolate is only sweetened with blue agave nectar (cactus syrup) and is suitable for diabetics.
Other Chocolates on offer

We have lots of other chocolates on offer, some you may of seen before, others we suspect will be new. We will have :

Montezuma -  the best known of the smaller chocolate producers, try dark chilli chocolate, or perhaps nutmeg, or plain chocolate with Peruvian salt.

Booja Booja -  The Booja-Booja Company is a manufacturer of extraordinarily delicious organic chocolate truffles and also Ice Creams. Winners of 25 Awards, their chocolates are handmade. You can enjoy Booja Booja  if you’re vegetarian, vegan or following a dairy-free or wheat-free diet, after all. “Everyone needs a little Booja-Booja - now and then”.

Plamil – a great range of dairy and nut free chocolates available in a range of flavours.

Organica – some really dark Swiss chocolate

Seed and Bean – unusual chocolate flavours, either you love or hate them.

You can print out the event flyer

Included in the selection is :

• Almond and Cauliflower Korma - a mild curry using blanched and ground almonds.
• Brazil Nut stuffed mushrooms - excellent with rice and a green salad.
• Pumpkin seed crunchy cereal - try some variations to make your own cereal.
• Stuffed peppers - organic pinenuts make this a special stuffed pepper.
• Walnut and Celery Quiche - this recipe will go well with the salad recipes on our site.

In addition to the savoury dishes above you might like to try Chocolate Torte made with organic ground Almonds.

In addition to the Crazy Jack range of organic nuts we also supply larger quantities of fully certified organic nuts. Let us know what you think of the recipes, it is always helpful to get some feedback.

In March we added 3 new lines to our Orgran range, these are :

• Orgran Essential Fibre Lasagnette - part of the growing Essential  Fibre range from Orgran, the  Lasagnette is excellent for pasta bakes and lasagne dishes.  Orgran Essential Fibre Rice & Corn Lasagnette is produced from a combination of diverse nutritional ingredients that include, wholesome brown rice meal, resistant maize starch and fibre rich psyllium, which slows absorption of carbohydrates, thereby delaying and reducing glycemic peak.
• Orgran Rice and Corn Spaghetti  and Orgran Rice and Corn Linguine - the Spaghetti and the Linguine share the same ingredients, they just come in a slightly different shape. Both the Spaghetti and Linguine are made from a combination of nutritious rice and sun-ripened corn.

As always we continue to stock the whole range of Orgran products available in the UK.

Linseed at Naturally Good Food

This type of price difference is typical of the massive saving you can make by buying those regular grocery lines in bulk. If you want to save even more then we have a 2.5kg pack size as well.

As Linseed is a quite small you can grind them for a 30 seconds in a coffee grinder, if you grind the seeds then you get the most from them.

In addition to the salad section we have added recipes to our soup section and also our savoury seclection.

Our whole recipe area can be viewed

With our Chocolate feast Day coming up on Friday 26th March and Saturday 27th March here at Cotesbach we thought it a good opportunity to add some new chocolate recipes to the recipe section of our site.

The two new recipes are for :

• Gooey Chocolate Brownie
• Dark Chocolate Mouse cake

The recipes together with other chocolate ideas can be seen on :

http://www.naturallygoodfood.co.uk/recipes.php#Cakes

We have all sorts of chocolate, so you can compare the delights of milk chocolate to very dark chilli chocolate, try raw chocolate. We will also have a selection of home made chocolate treats for you to try together with a free cup of real hot chocolate.

As with all our events there will be free recipe leaflets and ideas to take away together with some “chocolate facts”. Protect the planet, its the only one we know with chocolate.

• Agave Syrup - Agave Syrup or nectar comes from a cactus like plant that is native to Mexico. Agave is sweeter than honey, and less viscous. Agave is intensely sweet and has a mild flavour making it an excellent alternative to sugar, honey, maple syrup and artificial sweeteners in baking and in drinks. We stock both Crazy Jack and Biona Agave syrup, each are organic the Crazy jack Agave syrup comes in a very handy squeezable container. As it is so sweet Agave makes a good alternative to Honey for Vegans.
• Barley Malt Extract – Barley Malt Extract is a natural sweetener produced from Barley and Malted Barley and contains a complex mix of carbohydrates, trace elements and vitamins. Barley Malt Extract can be stirred into hot milk for a traditional soothing bedtime drink. Barley Malt Extract can also be used in bread making and as a natural sweetner.
• Date Syrup – The Meridian Date syrup we stock is produced is a richly flavoured concentrate of pure Date Syrup which contains no additives or preservatives and is an excellent natural sweetener. Date Syrup can be used as a sweetener or used to make flapjacks and cakes, flavour ice cream, yogurt or muesli. Mix in equal proportions with Meridian Tahini to make a delicious spread.
• Maple Syrup – We stock both Shady Maple and Meridian organic Maple syrups, both syrups are sustainably produced in North America from maple trees. The Maple sap is then concentrated into a syrup that both retains the natural nutrient content and unique flavor. Maple syrup can be used as a sweetener in desserts, fruit salad, ice cream and of course pancakes.
• Rice Syrup – Crazy Jack Organic Brown Rice Syrup is a naturally processed sweetener, made from sprouted wholegrain brown rice. It has a mild, caramel flavour and can be used in place of sugar, honey, maple syrup and molasses.  Brown Rice Syrup is a good sweetened for those on a macrobiotic diet as it is not as rapidly absorbed as normal sugar. In addition to the Crazy Jack Brown Rice syrup we also stock.
• Zylitol – (Xylitol) is good for those watching the calories as it is roughly as sweet as sucrose but with only two thirds the calories. Zylitol is considered to be better fro your teeth than sugar. Zylitol can be substituted for sugar in equal measure around the kitchen, use in cakes, puddings or over cereals.

As part of our series on guides and tips here is some more tips on what to do with Organic Nuts :

• Combine a spoonful of organic ground almonds with breadcrumbs and use as a crumb coating for fish and chicken, ground almonds can also be used to thicken, smooth and enrich a curry.
• A tablespoon of lightly roasted organic almond flakes can be sprinkled them over ice cream or steamed trout. Use a shallow frying pan or skillet to roast the almonds.
• To remove the skin from organic whole almonds, simply soak for a minute in hot water, remove and squeeze the kernel – the nut will pop out of its little jacket.
• Blanched almonds can be toasted, finely chopping and added to a ginger-shrimp sauté or added toasted to Chinese Vegetable stir fry dishes.
• Brazil nuts have a similar taste to Macadamia nuts and can be substituted in many recipes, this is a good tip for those wanting an organic diet as organic Macadamia nuts are hard to find.
• To keep their crunch add cashew nuts just before serving as they soften quickly when cooked, for a smooth cashew nut curry with a rich almost creamy texture soak your cashew nuts before cooking.
• Hazelnuts can be chopped, ground or sliced and added to breads, cakes, muffins and cookies for added texture, crunch and rich, nutty flavour. 
• Roasted whole hazelnuts and rich dried fruits and dark chocolate make a delicious antioxidant snack. 
• Sprinkle hazelnuts over salads and vegetables for a crunchy texture. nutty flavour and visual appeal mix.
• Pecans have a higher fat content (mostly monounsaturated fats) than other nuts and are therefore more perishable. To keep them from spoiling, double-bag and store them in the refrigerator for up to three months or in the freezer up to six.
• Pinenuts are expensive for many recipes you could substitute blanched slivered almonds this does not work for a classic pesto though.
• To get a more nutty flavour try lightly dry roasting walnuts in a shallow dry pan.

A full list of all the nuts we sell can se seen in our nut section, together with a guide to Organic Nuts.