Looking for menu ideas? Check out our seasonal recipe suggestions on the Recipes Page

Welcome to our January 2011 edition of bare ingredients.

Well, we hope you have recovered from the hectic Christmas period. Being a foodie is not always easy, but it is always worth the extra effort to both buy local and care for the ingredients that you use.

Chinese New Year - 23rd of January

This month brings us Chinese New Year, every bit as important to the Chinese as Thanksgiving is to Americans and Canadians. Sarah has prepared some great Chinese treats for you to cook. They are tasty and most are very easy to prepare.

• Chinese Stuffed Prawns
• Crispy Prawn Wontons
• Ha Cheung (Fresh Rice Rolls with Prawns or BBQ Pork)
• Paper Fried Chicken
• Scallop and Pork Siu Mai
• Steamed Chinese Dumplings
• Steamed Filled Rice in Lotus Leaves 
• Vegetarian Spring Rolls 
• Deep Fried Fish with a Sweet and Sour Spicy Sauce
• Peking Duck
• Steamed Lobster with Garlic, Ginger and Black Beans
• Stir Fried Choy Sum (Flowering Chinese Cabbage)  
• Chinese Toffee Apple  

Burn Night - 25th of January

Keeping with the simple nature of a Burn's night dinner, Sarah has prepared this traditional dinner that every true Scot would be happy to enjoy on Scottish Bard's celebratory night.

• Haggis, Tatties and Neeps
• Cheese Board with Oak Cakes
• Shortbread

Seasons

As we regularly mention in this section, fresh seasonal, local produce should be of the utmost importance when choosing what to eat and cook. It is up to you to do your bit for the environment. Additionally, by visiting your local Farmers Market, not only do you save money, you are helping the farmers and producers earn a reasonable amount for the effort they have to put in to producing their products. Our January seasonal recipe suggestions can be found on our main Recipes page.

As usual, Sarah has updated her January guide to the best seasonal produce. it is our "What to eat now" guide for those who are looking to get the most out of the seasonal ingredients. There are Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere articles.

Books

This month, we have two books on our review list. The first is Bentley, Contemporary Cuisine by Brent Savage, and the second is The National Trust's Complete Traditional Recipe Book by Sarah Edington. Please read these reviews and the many others in our Book Review section.

Is there something missing? If you can't find a recipe, or want some information,simply Email us. Just use the Contact page to reach us.

Enjoy!

The bare ingredients team.

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