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Scotty Brand Coleslaw and Potato Salad

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Scotty Brand were kind enough to send us some of their newly available Scottish Coleslaw and Scottish Potato Salad.   We buy a lot of coleslaw as it’s just so much easier than making it, but I find many potato salads very vinegary and tend not to buy them.   Scotty Brand potato salad was actually quite creamy and oniony and went down pretty well with the kids.    I am trying to be good food wise so I had some sugar snap peas, runner beans and broccoli for my evening meal with a generous helping of both the potato salad and coleslaw.   It was actually pretty filling.

Coleslaw and Potato Salad 2

The pots are 300g and should be available in Asda now for £1.

Coleslaw and Potato Salad 4

Coleslaw and Potato Salad 3

Scotty Brand says

Scotty Brand Scottish Coleslaw

A blend of shredded cabbage, carrots and onions combined with our special mayonnaise for just the right mix of creamy, crunchy, tanginess.  The recipe has been used by the Adams for almost 20 years – it is creamier than many coleslaws.  The cabbage is cut by hand before the ingredients are combined together in small batches of exactly the right proportions in Craig’s shiny new preparation room.

Scotty Brand Scottish Potato Salad

A creamy combination of diced potatoes, salad onions and mayonnaise.  The potatoes are cooked in small batches and cut a little larger than most to allow you to savour the potato flavour and to give an improved texture.  Scotty Brand potato salad is an ideal accompaniment to a green salad or it is a luxurious side-dish for many main dishes.

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An alternative Burns Night Supper – Slow cooked mince, neeps and tatties.

In Scotland, we all know it’s the birthday of the Bard coming up.  If you don’t know who – it’s Rabbie Burns, and we celebrate it on the 25th January every year, so Friday night will be haggis night in many  households around the world.   Robert Burns was a poet who is now looked upon as being the national poet of Scotland.   His birthday is celebrated by both Scots and Non Scots worldwide.

Our children will have Burns celebrations at schools, and many a charity function will be held in his name on Friday night.  I’ll never forget a local poet giving a lament to the haggis a few years ago at a special school, where the lady poet was swinging huge kitchen knives above her head before she ripped the haggis open ceremonially.

A logistical nightmare, our knives had to all be locked away forever after that one.  At least with me being there, I knew where the new-found fascination for knives came from.  I pity the parents of other kids who had no idea why their kids would suddenly have taken to brandishing knives above their heads like daggers with a swagger!

Back to the cooking…

The traditional dish is haggis, neeps (turnips) and tatties.

There are vegetarian versions of haggis, but not everyone likes the meat or the vegetarian options as they can be quite spicy.

As an alternative, this weekend, we did a trial run of slow cooked mince with meat from Andrew Gordon Butchery and Fine Foods and the new Neeps & Tatties from the Scotty Brand range.

As always in our house – anything from the slow cooker gets the thumbs up from me for ease – and always tastes fabulous.

Scotty Brand Neeps & Tatties

Slow Cooked Mince, Neeps & Tatties. Alternative Burns Night Supper

Lesley S Smith
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 10 minutes
Course Mains
Servings 6 - 8

Ingredients
  

  • 1 kg Lean Steak Mince
  • 1 Large Onion Chopped
  • 1 kg Neeps & Tatties
  • Stock Pot
  • 500 g Carrots Washed, scraped and chopped or sliced.
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Cornflour

Instructions
 

  • Switch on the slow cooker to high to warm up.
  • Brown the mince with the chopped onion on a thick bottomed pan.
  • Add the mince and onion to the slow cooker. Add in the neeps, tatties and carrots. Add boiling water to almost the top of your ingredients.
  • Add a teaspoon of salt and a pinch of pepper and a stock cube, or stock pot if you prefer a stronger taste.
  • Put the lid on and leave for 8 hours on low, or 4 hours on high.
  • If you want to thicken your hotpot, half an hour before the end of cooking, mix up cornflour with cold water and mix to a smooth paste. Add to your hotpot and fold in until it thickens. If you over thicken, add a little boiling water to fix it.
  • Serve.

 

 

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Mashed Potatoes with Chilli Pepper Topping using Scotty Brand Kestrel Potatoes

Scotty Brand sent us some lovely Kestrel potatoes before Christmas.  They are fabulous for using for lots of potato things, boiling, baking or roasting.  Mashing is just one of the ways that they can be used really well.

Potatoes are really quite good for us.  I read a lot of negativity around root vegetables, and I can never quite understand the reason for it.  They are high in folic acid which helps our immune system and our white blood cell production, so for that reason alone, I think they should stay part of a balanced diet to eat well.

With around 93 calories per 100 grams, it is easy to count them into a good meal plan,

I like some plain cooking with potatoes and for this recipe, I kept it very simple indeed.

Mashed Potatoes with Chilli Peppers

Lesley S Smith
4 from 1 vote
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Sides
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 3 - 4 Kg Kestrel Potatoes Scotty Brand Potatoes
  • 2 Oz Butter
  • 100 Ml Fresh Milk
  • 2 - 3 Chillies or Peppers Choose brightly coloured options and chop finely

Instructions
 

  • Simply boil potatoes in a pan for 15 - 20 minutes until soft.
  • Drain potatoes and begin to mash. After a minute, add the butter and mash a few more times. Then add the milk to finish mashing your potatoes into a thick creamy consistency. I add my milk a tablespoon at a time, just in case. Too much milk will also spoil the consistency of the potatoes.
  • Serve and top with chopped chillies or peppers (or both)

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Scotty Brand Raspberries in a Raspberry Trifle with Double Cream

A delivery of Scotty Brand raspberries arrived and the raspberry making machine had to begin turning it’s wheel.  With some sponge cake left over from another day, I decided to make a lovely little glass of fast and delicious raspberry trifle.

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The raspberry cheesecake from the Scotty Brand website looks amazing, and I think I will need to try that next.  Look at this…

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For now, my deceptively delicious raspberry trifle it is.

Scotty Brand Raspberries in a Raspberry Trifle with Double Cream

Lesley Smith
You don't have to be precise with this recipe, as it really is a simply cheats way to make a gorgeously tasty dessert in a few minutes.
Servings 2

Ingredients
  

  • 200 g raspberries.
  • 200 g double cream. Half for whipping and half for use as pouring cream.
  • 200 g left over sponge cake.
  • 2 tablespoons jam

Instructions
 

  • Add washed raspberries to the bottom of the glass.
  • Slice sponge down the middle and spread with whipped cream and jam.
  • Cut the sponge into chunks and place on top of the raspberries.
  • Pour the remaining pouring cream over the top of the dessert, to allow it to soak into the sponge and the raspberries.
  • Serve immediately.
Posted on 8 Comments

Scotty Brand Ayrshire New Potatoes with Sour Cream and Parsley

Sometimes, I think we overthink our cooking.  What’s wrong with some plain and simple boiled new potatoes, served with some sour cream and a topping of parsley like my grandmother would make.

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This is just so simple to make and the sour cream tastes lovely over the newly cooked spuds.

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Ayreshire New Potatoes with Sour Cream and Parsley

Lesley Smith
New potatoes with sour cream and parsley.
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 bag of Ayrshire new potatoes from Scotty Brand
  • 4 tablespoons of sour cream
  • Sprinkling of parsley

Instructions
 

  • Wash and scrub the new potatoes.
  • Simmer in boiled water for 10 - 15 minutes.
  • Serve hot in a separate dish from the main course.
  • Add one tablespoon of sour cream for each portion of potatoes.
  • Sprinkle the top of the potatoes with parsley for a pretty finish.

 

Posted on 11 Comments

Carrot Cake with Scotty Brand Carrots

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This is a lush carrot cake and sooo easy to make.  I made this using the carrots we were so kindly given from Scotty Brand.

I used small loaf tins.

Yield – up to 6 small tins.

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Ingredients

  • 4 oz castor sugar
  • 4 oz demerara or brown sugar
  • 8 oz butter
  • 8 oz self-raising flour, or plan flour with baking powder
  • 4 medium sizes eggs
  • 200g grated carrots
  • 100g chopped nuts
  • 250g mascapone cheese
  • sachet gelatine
  • cinnamon
  • nutmeg
  • topping
Method
  1. Cream butter and sugar together.
  2. Add eggs and mix until the batter becomes smooth.
  3. Sieve in self-raising flour and add the carrots.
  4. Mix until all ingredients are fully bended together.
  5. Fold in a teaspoon of cinnamon, nutmeg and the chopped nuts.
  6. Spoon out into baking cases, tins or trays.
  7. Bake in oven at approximately 160 F for about 12 – 15 minutes.  Oven times may vary depending on if it is fan assisted, gas or standard electrical.
  8. For the filling, wait until the cake is cool.
  9. Melt the gelatine and mix it with the mascapone.
  10. Cover top of cakes with the mascapone.
  11. Leave for half an hour to begin to set.
  12. Add decoration, or sprinkle top of cake with ground cinnamon.

 

 

 

 

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Strawberry Cheesecake with Fresh Scotty Brand Strawberries

Our delivery of strawberries arrived, and two boxes were eaten almost immediately by children who ate them like sweeties.  They were so sweet and juicy that I was reminded of the strawberries we used to get as kids.

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Our challenge came via this adorable recipe from Scotty Brand for cheesecake pots.  You can download the Scotty Brand recipe from the link, and my version is below.  I didn’t have all the ingredients to hand, so I have changed the recipe to suit my kitchen cupboard.

The kids wolfed down some glasses of cheesecake as soon as they were made and they didn’t have the chance to set.   We only have 3 glasses left for after their evening meal tonight.  I suspect they will disappear sharply.

Strawberry Cheesecake  Makes up to 8 glasses.

Ingredients

Filling

  •  600 g Scotty Brand strawberries, blended
  •  500 g cream cheese
  • 200 ml whipping cream, whipped
  • 30 g gelatine
  • 6 tbsp hot water
  • 3 tbsp icing sugar

Base

  • 400 g digestive biscuits, crushed
  • 100 g butter, melted

Method

1. Melt butter and mix with crushed biscuit crumb.  Press into individual glasses.

2. Beat soft cheese (mascapone here) and mix with 3 tablespoons of icing sugar.  Fold in whipped cream.

3. Blend the strawberries until it’s a pulpy mush.

4. Dissolve 30 g gelatine using hot water.  Add half to the cheese mix and half to the blended strawberries.

5. Pour a layer of the blended strawberries into the glasses.  I put mine in the freezer for 10 minutes to set the strawberries a little.

6. Smooth the cheesecake mix as the next layer.

7. Pour the last of the blended strawberries on the top and leave overnight to set.

8.  Add strawberries, cream or topping before serving.

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Spaghetti Bolognese Scotty Brand Carrots

My two favourite produce providers are the reason for the fabulously speedy wolfing down of Spaghetti Bolognese for our evening meal.  It’s amazing how much difference the taste of good meat and vegetables makes to the enjoyment of what we eat.

The same Scotty Brand carrots used to make the Carrot and Orange Soup, added a lovely sweetness.  Combined with the gorgeously tasting steak mince from Andrew Gordon Butchery and Fine Foods in Aberdeen, the two ingredients made for a fantastic meal.

Feel free to use half portions.  I had three adults and four children to feed with these proportions.

Ingredients

  • 1kg Steak Mince
  • 1 Large Onion
  • 5 Large Carrots
  • Teaspoon Turmeric
  • Teaspoon Cinnamon or Nutmeg
  • 500g Carton of Passata
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Rapeseed Oil
  • 500g Spaghetti
  • 50g Butter (Optional)

Method

  1. Brown mince in a thick bottomed pan, or a good frying pan on a low heat.  I added a couple of tablespoons of Rapeseed Oil to help it along.
  2. Chop onions finely and add to the browning mince.
  3. Slice carrots and add to the  pan.
  4. Boil the kettle and add a pint of water to the mix.  Leave to simmer for 25 minutes, and top up the water if necessary.
  5. Salt and Pepper to taste.
  6. Put the pasta on to cook.
  7. Once the mince has simmered, add the tub of passata, turmeric and either cinnamon or nutmeg.
  8. Simmer the passata and mince mix for 5 minutes.
  9. Drain the pasta and use boiled water to rinse the spaghetti until it runs clear.
  10. Add the butter to the pasta if you like the taste, and mix it through.
  11. Serve immediately.
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Carrot and Orange Soup Challenge by Scotty Brand

As a Scotty Brand Blogger, I am loving the boxes of goodies arriving with instructions on how to make something that I haven’t made before.  This week, the challenge was to make Carrot and Orange soup, which I managed quite easily.  I had a couple of packs of carrots torn open and being chopped within about 10 minutes of them arriving at my door.

I didn’t read the recipe properly and thought that it only needed 600ml stock and so quadrupled the contents as my boys eat huge portions of food.  Don’t make the same mistake as I did, as I then had to up the milk quantity by four times as well – AND transfer my soup into a much bigger pot.  I’ll give you the Scotty Brand quantities and not mine, as we ended up with an obscene amount of soup which is now stored in the freezer for other cold days to come.

I also made the cardinal mistake of doing kids homework while I put the soup ingredients together, and I had put the butter in the microwave to melt.  It was after the soup was eaten that I discovered I hadn’t put it in the pot.  I have to say, the soup without the butter was delicious, so I’d say it was an optional ingredient and all in all, the recipe is fabulous and can cope well with some modifications.

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Ingredients

  • 450g Scotty Brand carrots sliced
  • 1 chopped onion
  • 65g butter
  • 65g plain flour
  • 600ml chicken or vegetable stock
  • 600ml milk
  • 1 orange (juice and rind)
  • Salt and finely ground pepper
  • 5ml nutmeg
  • 5ml parsley

Method

  1. Melt butter and add onions and carrots  (I just added the onions and carrots to the pot with the stock and flour).
  2. Cook gently, and stir in the flour and cook for a further 1/2 mins (oops, I missed this step).
  3. Add milk.
  4. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
  5. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly, then simmer for 20/30 minutes  (you really have to stir frequently because of the milk).
  6. Liquidise before adding orange juice and shredded rind (I left out the rind as one of my boys doesn’t do bits in soup).
  7. Serve sprinkled with parsley and, if you like, a dollop of fresh cream or plain yogurt.

Enjoy
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Caravan Cooking with Scotty Brand Kestrel Potatoes – Slow Cooked Meatball Casserole

 

We received our package of potatoes from Scotty Brand just before we headed up to the top of Scotland with our caravan.  Sending a pack by way of my brother and his wife, I took 3 bags of their lovely potatoes with us.  We had a couple of baked potato meals, that I didn’t manage to get pictures of before my 3 strapping lads tucked into them.

On the days I made slow cooked soup and meatball casserole, I was much quicker off the mark.  For casseroles and soups, I rarely measure out ingredients unless it is to add spices and strong flavours.  At home, my slow cooker is a huge 6.5L pot, and there is always some left over to freeze for another day, but the pot for caravan cooking is 3L and makes just enough to feed the family for one meal.

For slow cooked meatball casserole done where space is limited.

Ingredients

  • 2kg potatoes, peeled and sliced
  • couple of carrots, sliced
  • onion, chopped
  • teaspoon of ginger paste
  • garlic clove
  • few cumin seeds
  • pinch salt
  • pinch pepper
  • meatballs
  • 2 x stock cubes
  • thickener

Method

I would usually pan fry the meatballs and onions, but being short of space in the van, I just threw them in the pot with the potatoes, carrots, ginger paste, cumin seeds and clove of garlic.   Sprinkle in the stock cubes with a dash of salt and pepper.

Add enough boiling water to read almost up to the top of your ingredients, turn the slow cooker on, 4 hours on high, or 8 hours on slow.

I had no cornflour with me, so some gravy granules it had to be for a thickener, a little more salt and pepper to taste, and then it was simply served up to hungry children.