Delicious UK Jun-18

How much food do you throw away each week? In our household we veer between doing well and getting the occasional fail sticker, although we’ve improved drastically since I first read the shaming statistics about how much food our nation chucks in the bin. My husband used to find it impossible to resist a bargain, until it finally sank in that it’s not a bargain if you can’t use it before it spoils. My kind of money-saver is one you can freeze, but that sometimes results in things disappearing into the freezer only to emerge as UFOs (unidentified frozen objects) a year later with missing or rubbed-off labels. More than once I’ve defrosted something thinking it was bolognese, only to discover it’s mashed over-ripe banana destined for a…

1 Food & culture Bristol has become a thriving hub of food activity and never more so than this month, which sees the return of Bristol Food Connections. It’s a city-wide celebration of community and diversity, with food as the lynchpin drawing people together. This year there will be an amazing 100-plus events going on across the city between 11 and 17 June. One highlight is a feast on the 14th where the entire menu is being made from food that would otherwise be thrown away. bristolfoodconnections.com 2 Fancy a G&T? It’s no longer a simple question, with the advent of so many gins and myriad botanicals to negotiate – plus, recently, flavoured tonic waters adding to the complex decision of what to have with what. Find the match-made-in-heaven answers…

The super-simple pudding Rosemary & marsala strawberries with lemon crème fraîche SERVES 4. HANDS-ON TIME 15 MIN Heat 400g hulled, halved strawberries, 200ml sweet marsala, 100g caster sugar and 2 rosemary sprigs in a large pan. Stir and simmer for 3-4 minutes to soften the fruit slightly, then remove from the heat. Mix a 200ml pot of crème fraîche with 2 tbsp icing sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice. Spoon the warm berries and juice into 4 bowls, top with the crème fraîche and devour. 2 Quick strawberry coulis Hull and roughly chop 200g strawberries. Put in a blender with 2 tbsp icing sugar and whizz to a purée. Serve with ice cream or drizzled on a warm scone for an easy afternoon tea. 3 Summer strawberry punch Put…

HELP US FIND THE PEOPLE’S FAVOURITE RESTAURANT 2018 We’re delighted to be teaming up with the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) once again to hear about your favourite restaurants – those which serve top food while reducing waste and supporting local producers and communities. Last year’s hero was Brighton’s Lucky Beach café. WIN! A GOURMET MINI-BREAK IN FRANCE Help us find this year’s People’s Favourite and you could win a mini-break at a boutique hotel in western France. The prize includes two Eurostar Business Premier return tickets and two nights’ B&B including dinner at Les Orangeries, Lussac-les-Chateaux, where you can enjoy the region’s incredible produce, prepared by chef Thibaud Piroux. Tell us by 30 June at deliciousmagazine.co.uk/sustainable-eating, in no more than 150 words, why your favourite place to eat is making…

1374 One of the first outbreaks of ‘dancing mania’ was recorded in Aachen, Germany, on 24 June. People started jigging erratically, then collapsing from exhaustion. It’s now thought the symptoms were in fact spasms, linked to ergot poisoning from contaminated grain. 1883 Gloucestershire brothers William and James Horlick were awarded a patent for their non-perishable, high-calorie malted milk on 5 June. Made in their Slough factory, it was sold to ‘infants, invalids, the aged and travellers’ – including polar explorers. 1939 ‘King tries hot dog and asks for more’ announced The New York Times on 11 June after President Roosevelt served King George VI a hotdog at a picnic. 2008 On 20 June Mars was revealed to have once held water, after Nasa announced that the Phoenix Mars Lander had…

THROUGHOUT JUNE Belvoir Elderflower harvest, Leicestershire Cordial and pressé maker Belvoir picks more than three million elderflower heads in the short flowering season and each year invites the local community to help with the harvest. Check the website for dates, then head to the farm’s 90 acres of organic elders in the Vale of Belvoir. You’ll be paid £2.20 per kilo you pick. belvoirfruitfarms.co.uk 10 JUNE Open Farm Sunday, nationwide Hundreds of farms across the UK open up to the public to showcase the diversity of British farming. Explore Solley’s in East Kent before trying their ice cream sold from a traditional parlour; or see sheep dogs at work and make butter at Cheltenham’s Court Farm. Elsewhere there are tractor rides, cheese tastings and talks on bees. Free; visit farmsunday.org…