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In this issue... Special offers, Josine's chicken and garden blog, topped off, as usual, with a delicious seasonal recipe or two...
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Our News: Easter Chocolates and Easter Eggs
 Hard to believe isn’t it, but Easter isn’t that far off at all! Easter falls late this year Easter Sunday is 21st April this year), so hopefully we won’t be celebrating it in 2 feet of snow!
We’ve gone all out this year, by stocking Easter eggs that are not only delicious and eye catching, but better for the environment too. We have a large selection of Easter eggs without all the excess plastic you get with high-street eggs.
What about the Eco Egg from Montezuma? The packaging is made from cardboard: very basic, no frills, and the egg itself is made from organic chocolate with Cocoa nibs. A delectable, dark chocolate Easter egg in award winning eco-friendly packaging. Who can ask for more than that?!
 Or, if you are looking for something a bit more sophisticated we also have eggs from Goupie, who specialise in hand-made ‘devilishly moreish’ chocolates. Packaged in attractively designed cardboard boxes, each Faberge inspired tin egg contains 100g of their uniquely textured chocolates. They even have suggestions on the back of the box on how to reuse the tin (I particularly like the soap dish suggestion!). Both these Easter eggs are also suitable for vegans!
Of course we still have milk chocolate style Easter eggs for children too - made by Moo Free. They come in two different flavours: original and cheeky orange. These eggs are dairy free, lactose free, soya free and gluten free, so suitable for anyone wishing to avoid these ingredients.
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Our News: Asking suppliers to change to plastic free packaging
One of our main suppliers has recently changed their bags from plastic to plant based, compostable bags, which is brilliant news! However, this supplier is not our biggest supplier of prepacks, this honour goes to Suma. Although their bags are made from thinner plastic, it is still plastic and non-compostable. I have asked them about this and although they are thinking of changing, nothing definite has been decided yet. Perhaps you can help them to make up their minds? As we all know, the more people ask, the more likely something will change. So if more customers contact Suma (and another of our suppliers, Green City) asking about their use of plastic, the more likely they are to ditch plastic and switch to plant-based materials too. If reducing plastic is something you feel strongly about, why not get in touch with them? Their contact details are shown below:
Suma Wholefoods
Lacy Way,
Lowfields Business Park
Elland
HX5 9DB
01422 313840
info@suma.coop
Green City
23 Fleming Street
Glasgow
G31 1PQ
0141 5547633
sales@greencity.coop
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Product Focus: Brewing wine and beer at home
With the uncertainty about what will happen after Brexit, European beers and wines may not be as readily available as they are now - and prices may shoot up, too. We simply don’t know.
But, there is something you can do about it! Make your own beer and wine at home!
Homebrewing is a fun hobby which not only gives you a lot of pleasure but also allows you to enjoy your own tasty beer or wine as a result. We sell all the equipment needed to make your own home brew; from fermentation barrels and chemicals to wine and beer kits. The start-up costs may be steep, but once you have all the equipment, you can make a simple lager for only 35p per pint or around £1.85 per bottle of red or white wine. Now, there’s something worth drinking to!
Of course, you don’t need to use kits; you can also pick fruit from the wild (like elderberries and brambles) or go to the supermarket after 5pm and see if they have any reduced fruit like strawberries etc and make your own wine from those. Get creative! It’s a hobby that’s seen a growth in popularity lately, so what are you waiting for? Let’s raise a glass to making your own wine and beer. Cheers!
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Our News: Online and Click & Collect Service
 Did you know you can also buy all your health products via our online shop and get them delivered to your door (from £2.90 for orders up to 2kg)? Or use our new click & collect service and pick your order up in the store (at no extra charge).
Not only is shopping online with a real, proper, well established shop much safer and more personal, we also pay our taxes, too!
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Dates to put in your diary
- 31st March
Clocks go forward at 1am (although mine go forward the day before at 10pm!)
- 31st March
Mother’s Day
- 21st April
Easter Sunday - don’t forget those eco-friendly Easter eggs!
- 22nd April
Easter Monday - shop open 10am - 4pm
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Did you know.....?
From 1950 to 2012, plastics growth averaged 8.7% per year, rising from 1.7 million tons to nearly 300 million tons today.
(Source: the Globalist.com, https://www.theglobalist.com/the-rise-of-plastic/ )
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Josine’s Garden, TV and Chicken Blog
 What does one write about when the stars of the show have not been doing anything worth writing about? You find another star, that’s what! So, let me introduce you to Cedric, our resident pheasant. This male pheasant (given the name Cedric by one of our regular customers) has been strutting around the place for months and it always brings a smile to my face when he makes an appearance. Recently he has been making these funny noises (which reminds me of cars skidding in a bend) to attract the ladies. And attract the ladies he has! A few weeks ago, on my way to work, he crossed our path with 4 female admirers in tow! Either (by pheasant standards) he’s a bit of a catch or he’s the only male pheasant in the neighbourhood! Either way, you’ve got to admit; he’s a good looking fella!
This time of year always makes me happy; flowers are appearing left right and centre; temperatures are on the up; I have started sowing again and the birds are singing and building nests. Speaking of birds nesting; I have recently installed a very unusual looking bird box, which resembles an old teapot hung upside down! That’s because it is an old teapot hung upside down! I got the idea from a book I was reading and thought, hey, I can do that! So, after rummaging in a charity shop, I found an old teapot and asked my husband to hang it up for me. I added some wood shavings to fill up the spout and now it’s ready for the first birds to move in, which I hope will be any day soon. Apparently you can also use old wellies, boots and shoes as bird boxes, too! Might smell a bit funky, though...
 By the way, remember the TV and Film extra work I did in 2017 and 2018? Well, one of the films, shot in Deanston way back in 2017, Tell it to the Bees, has finally released a trailer and I was totally gobsmacked when I recognised a very familiar face in it. Me! How cool is that? You can see me off to the side, gossiping about Holiday Grainger, the lead actress. I look very different though, with my 1950’s hair-do and clothes, but my height is a dead giveaway! The funny thing is; this particular scene was actually my very, very first day as an extra. I hadn’t done anything along those lines before, while all the other extras on the shoot had done loads of things, so I felt like a right newbie!
I am so excited. I just can’t wait for the film to come out! If we are lucky it may be screened in the Macrobert Arts Centre and who knows? I might even make it into the finished film, so keep your eyes peeled for a tall, blonde, 50s housewife with curly hair!
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Seasonal Recipe 1
recipe is dairy free, vegan, egg free, vegetarian, seasonal, gluten free
Pickled Carrots and Radishes
Ingredients:
 1 carrot, peeled and cut in chunks
Bunch of radishes, cut in half
3 spring onions, cut in pieces
1 chilli pepper
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and quartered
200 ml water
200 ml cider vinegar
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp black mustard seeds
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
Sterilising powder
Preparation:
Clean and sterilise an empty jar big enough to hold just the vegetables. Pierce some holes in the chilli pepper with the tip of a knife. Layer the vegetables in the empty jar.
Place the rest of the ingredients into a sauce pan, bring to the boil and boil until the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is boiling hot.
Add the liquid to the jar, making sure the liquid covers the vegetables. If you now close the jar, you will hear a ‘plop’ sound, which means the jar is now vacuum sealed and ready to be stored. You can check this by pressing the lid, if it doesn’t give it is properly sealed and can be stored for months.
Serve these pickled vegetables with (vegetarian) sausages or Mheat.
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Seasonal Recipe 2
this recipe is dairy free, vegan, egg free, vegetarian, seasonal
Rice Salad with Radishes
Ingredients:
300 g brown basmati rice
100 g Mheat bacon rashers
400 g cooked, frozen peas
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp flat leaf parsley
1 bunch radishes, topped and sliced
Preparation:
Start by cooking the brown basmati rice.
Fry the Mheat bacon rashers in a little bit of oil. Boil the frozen peas for just a couple of minutes, until they are soft and defrosted.
Make a dressing by combining the olive oil, lemon juice and parsley.
Toss together the rice and radishes and mix in the dressing. Top with the Mheat bacon rashers.
That’s all there is to this dish; simple, nutritious and healthy. Ideal for picnics too!
This recipe and more are available to view online at: Stirling Health Food Store Recipes
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Follow us on Facebook @StirlingHealthFoodStore and Twitter @healthystirling!
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