So...doing a spot of research as to why St Valentine's Day is such a big 'thing'
Apparently...The 8th-century Gelasian Sacramentary recorded the celebration of the Feast of Saint Valentine on February 14. The day became associated with romantic love in the 14th and 15th centuries when notions of courtly love flourished, apparently by association with the "lovebirds" of early spring.
Well, any excuse to get the picnic hamper our and enjoy some al fresco dining. Look no further than the Wrappers for your picnics. Great for sandwiches, slices of quiche, crudités and of course slices of cake ! Happy Days.
10 % off with code
'Valentine24'  for the next couple of weeks - so no excuse not to get  romantic.  Can't promise the sun shine in February - but remember the old saying - cold hands, warm heart?
The Re-wrap It

This was an horrific story in the news today - apparently some 386 photographs show hermit crabs made out of artificial shells made of plastic from the ocean. Some 84.5 % of them were made from bottle caps. Terrible to see so much single use plastic littering the sea and shoreline.

Prof Szulkin has told the BBC Inside Science programme ' When I first saw these pictures I felt it was heart breaking. At the same time, I think we really need to understand the fact that we are living in a different era and animals are making use of what is available to them'

It makes me so sad to hear this and makes me even more determined to focus on Re-Wrap-It and help cut down single use plastic.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68071695

 

Burns Night, on the 25th of January is when we celebrate the life and works of the Ayrshire poet Robert Burns....with Haggis, neeps and tatties!

So many fantastic poems such as The address to a Haggis, Tam O' Shanter, Tae a mouse and songs such as Auld Lang Syne are recited and sung around the world - not bad for a plough boy from Ayrshire.

So raise a glass of whisky on Thursday night and enjoy your haggis ...and then, oh what a glorious sight!

 

At last I have a few Wrappers made out of re-purposed fabric!

So pleased with this!!

Using a shirt was a bit tricky to get a large area of fabric as there were lots of darts that needed unpicked (very small stitches!!) so moving forward I think I would use fabric from larger items such as old bed sheets or big skirts!

I will just put them in a category of their own and it will be pot luck what fabric pattern you get...but they are all lovely!

Feedback would be good so keep the comments coming!

Thanks for reading.

#repurposed #recycle #landfill #green

 

Well the first leaves are changing colour in the garden so the Scottish Schools must be just about to go back...and the rest of the UK a few weeks after us.

To help the Back to School budget I have added a wee 10% discount for the next couple of weeks.

Use School23 at checkout and it will automatically discount for you.

A really simple way to cut out single use plastic - particularly when you are producing packed lunches day after day...after day!

They also open into a place mat so keeps your food off the lunch hall table . A bonus!

 

A bit of research into the Picnic took me to Fortnam and Masons website where there is some entertaining history ...which will leave you very hungry!
The picnic is not a British invention, and the word itself remains a bit of a mystery. It may derive from the French verb piquer ('to peck' or 'to pick') allied to the noun nique ('a small amount'), but no-one can be sure sure.
https://www.fortnumandmason.com/stories/history-of-the-london-picnic#:~:text=The%20picnic%20is%20not%20a,one%20can%20be%20sure%20sure.
However - no picnic is complete without a Tunnocks Caramel Wafer and your favourite sandwich or treat wrapped up in one of Re-Wrap-It's Wrappers!

 

So we've just had the hottest June - Enjoyed the sunshine but the worry is that it is clear evidence that Global Warming is making it's mark. So all the more reason to start Reusing and Recycling more and more.

The Wrappers really are such a simple switch and great for the summer holidays. So to treat you, I have put on  a 10% discount code. If you use Summer23 at checkout

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-66084543

Climate change is driving extreme weather events around the world.

The world has warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial revolution about 200 years ago.

Greenhouse gases have been pumped into the atmosphere by activities such as burning fuels, which have heated up the Earth's atmosphere.

Last year the UK recorded temperatures above 40C for the first time. Scientists said that would have been "virtually impossible without climate change".

Dr Richard Hodgkins, senior lecturer in physical geography at University of Loughborough says it is notable how the warm weather "fits expectations of a changing climate in the UK".

He said researchers have been predicting patterns where weather appears to get "stuck", which would mean longer heatwaves.

Following on from the last post about Coronation Chicken...we are now onto King Charle's Coronation Quiche. I should become a food writer... I love these ideas from

https://www.royal.uk/the-coronation-quiche

I have all the ingredients apart from fresh tarragon...so my bank holiday tomorrow will be spent scouring the local shop for some!  The Wrappers are designed for sandwiches..but there is no reason why you can't use them to take a slice of quiche to work in a Wrapper.

The code 'King' will give you a 10% discount on the website to celebrate the Coronation.

The Coronation Quiche

The Coronation Big Lunch aims to brings neighbours and communities together to celebrate the Coronation and share friendship, food and fun. Her Majesty The Queen Consort has been Patron of the initiative since 2013 and has attended Big Lunches all across the UK and the world, including in Ghana and Barbados.

Last year, The Queen Consort hosted a special Big Lunch at The Oval cricket ground to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee.

Find out more about how you can get involved with the Coronation Big Lunch here.

Coronation Quiche Recipe

A deep quiche with a crisp, light pastry case and delicate flavours of Spinach, Broad Beans and fresh Tarragon. Eat hot or cold with a green salad and boiled new potatoes - perfect for a Coronation Big Lunch!

x1 20cm Flan Tin

Serves 6

Ingredients

Pastry

 

Filling

 

Method

  1. To make the pastry…
    1. Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl; add the fats and rub the mixture together using your finger tips until you get a sandy, breadcrumb like texture.
    2. Add the milk a little at a time and bring the ingredients together into a dough.
    3. Cover and allow to rest in the fridge for 30-45 minutes
  2. Lightly flour the work surface and roll out the pastry to a circle a little larger than the top of the tin and approximately 5mm thick.
  3. Line the tin with the pastry, taking care not to have any holes or the mixture could leak. Cover and rest for a further 30 minutes in the fridge.
  4. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
  5. Line the pastry case with greaseproof paper, add baking beans and bake blind for 15 minutes, before removing the greaseproof paper and baking beans.
  6. Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C.
  7. Beat together the milk, cream, eggs, herbs and seasoning.
  8. Scatter 1/2 of the grated cheese in the blind-baked base, top with the chopped spinach and beans and herbs, then pour over the liquid mixture.
  9. If required gently give the mixture a delicate stir to ensure the filling is evenly dispersed but be careful not to damage the pastry case.
  10. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese. Place into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until set and lightly golden.
https://www.royal.uk/coronation-weekend-plans-announced
https://re-wrap-it.co.uk

We are always on the look out for new sandwich recipes but Coronation Chicken is a firm old favourite!

My aunt was a student at the cook school where they invented it so I love the fact that it is still so popular.

There is a 10% discount code to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles. Use 'King' at checkout.

The following information is from the BBC website, and makes for a great read!

Invented for a luncheon during the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, coronation chicken is a dish of diced chicken with a creamy sauce and touch of curry powder that has endured – and evolved – in British cuisine for 70 years. But how did it all begin and how might one find it today, especially in light of the upcoming coronation of Charles III and Camilla on 6 May?

In 1953, the Minister of Works asked Le Cordon Bleu London culinary school – run by Constance Spry, a celebrated florist, and Rosemary Hume, a cook and author – to serve lunch at Westminster School for 350 foreign representatives invited to attend the coronation. As students were serving the food, and the kitchen at the venue was too small to produce anything hot except for soup and coffee, the menu had to be simple but also appropriate for such a historic event.

[jump to recipe]

Out of this was born coronation chicken, or as it was listed on the menu, "Poulet Reine Elizabeth". Served cold, the original recipe involved poaching chicken in water and wine before coating it in a creamy sauce consisting of mayonnaise, whipped cream, apricot and tomato purée, curry powder, lemon, pepper and red wine. The dish was accompanied by a well-seasoned salad of rice, green peas and pimentos. Spry said she doubted any of those served the dish would have recognised it as a curry, instead describing it as having "a delicate and nut-like flavour".

According to Freya Perryman, communications officer from Le Cordon Bleu London, "The recipe was created by Rosemary Hume and Constance Spry, with the main credit going to Hume, and we understand that students helped to fine-tune."

Exactly where the inspiration for the dish came from is a matter of speculation. Supposedly created for the Silver Jubilee of George V in 1935, a dish called Jubilee Chicken made with chicken, mayonnaise and curry powder is often said to be a precursor, but there's very little evidence for this theory. Griselda Barton, Hume's niece, is quoted in author and food historian Sue Shephard's 2010 book, The Surprising Life of Constance Spry, as saying the main inspiration came from a recipe for Queen Adelaide's favourite sandwich in the 1886 cookbook Savouries à la Mode by Harriet Anne De Salis. The recipe for Adelaide Sandwiches does include the diced breast of a fowl and is spiced with cayenne pepper, but, as food historian Annie Graytold me, "There is very little resemblance [to coronation chicken]."

Although coronation chicken is now famous as a sandwich filling, at the time of its creation it would have been a luxury. In 1953, post-World War Two rationing was still in place in the UK, and it was some time before chicken became an everyday ingredient. The recipe was first shared in the Constance Spry Cookery Book, published in 1956, but it didn't really establish itself as a fixture of buffets and dinner parties until the 1970s and '80s.

According to food historian Sam Bilton, "coronation chicken did become a more affordable dish to make, although modern iterations are quite different from Spry & Hume's delicately spiced chicken dish."

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/easy-coronation-chicken

Home

 

 

.....and then St George's Day! Love a bit of history so started looking into St George. Well, he wasn't English, never visited England, wasn't a knight...and the story of the Dragon was added 500 years after he died!!

Anyhow, the English Heritage page below sheds some light onto the man and the myth - worth a read whilst you wait for your Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pud to cook for your Sunday Dinner!

Happy St George's Day everyone! I have a beautiful Red and White Check Wrapper if you have any cold beef left for your sandwiches this week! One of my favourite sandwich recipes is thinly sliced roast beef, sour cream and horse radish mixed together, and few rocket leaves and the best brown bread you can find.

Quite possibly the greatest thing you can have with sliced bread!

www.re-wrap-it.co.uk

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/whats-on/st-georges-day/9-things-you-didnt-know-about-st-george/

Interesting to read that the St George's Cross still appears on the Order of the Garter  - the highest order of Chivalry in the country and the George's Cross medal recognise the greatest heroism or courage in circumstance of extreme danger.

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