Jenny Bristow

The jennybristow.com Masterclass - Alwood Kitchens

April 07 is the launch of The jennybristow.com Masterclass which will be a series of truly innovative cookery events touring around Ireland where Jenny is delighted to be working exclusively with Wilson and Alfie Briggs of Alwood Kitchens an established and trusted firm of almost 75 years, www.alwoodkitchens.com.

These events will bring together Jenny an Ambassador of Good Food,Ireland using local seasonal, prime produce, often organic, farm reared, artisan bakers and honestly sourced ingredients.

Alongside the expertise and advice of Alwoods, Jenny will be using up to date and state of the art appliances with a style that takes cooking into the modern era. Today's cooking and kitchen have reached a new sophistication with the emphasis clearly on modern appliances geared for everyone taking into consideration issues such as Health and Safety in the Kitchen, disability and environment not forgetting health.

The jennybristow.com Masterclass aims to promote healthier food cooked with innovation that includes conveniences and in no way compromises on flavour, with already secured venues such as the W5 in the Odyssey, Belfast, prestigious local properties, Sea Fish events, Corporate Cookery evenings, charity locations both indoors and out.

Alwood Kitchens and Jenny are both very excited by the opportunity to develop and inform in an entertaining way the development of good food and cooking here in Ireland by this Ambassador Masterclass whilst at the same time promoting local produce and its benefits.

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Jenny & John from Orchard Organics - on the McArdle Family Farm in Co. Armagh

Ask any good chef and they will tell you that being able to cook with good quality local produce is their dream. Unfortunately for most of us being able to replicate that experience at home just isn't possible. Gone are the days of having a vegetable patch in our ever shrinking gardens, never mind having the time to look after it!

You can imagine my delight therefore when I met John McArdle of Orchard Organics. Based on the McArdle Family Farm in Co. Armagh, John is passionate about Local Organic Food and in addition to supplying Organic Produce to supermarkets the length and breadth of Ireland he has launched an Organic Box Scheme so that we can all have these top quality ingredients delivered directly to our doors. You can find more details at www.orchardorganics.com.

It has been a real delight for me to have been working closely with John on a range of seasonal recipes using his organic produce. I hope you try and enjoy our first two recipes using fresh beetroot in a lively fresh way and a pudding using rhubarb that will delight many a table over the coming months. It is hard to beat the natural true flavour of these ingredients and now that spring really is here I am looking forward to all the other seasonal flavours this growing season brings.

Together John and I aim to demonstrate good local produce grown organically and with it the added health value that many today are searching for in their quest to cook food free from unnecessary artificial ingredients.

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Jenny & Joe - Good food in a much more healthy and simple way.

Innovation was in the air when Jenny teamed up with Joe McGee of McGee's Butcher based at Forestside, Belfast to launch a collection of recipe cards through jennybristow.com and tackle the whole issue of cooking good food in a much more healthy and simple way

In a first Jenny and Joe have combined Joe's quality foods, locally produced under the Farm Quality Assurance Scheme and Jenny's innovative talents as one of Northern Ireland's most respected ambassadors for food and healthy eating. Together they have created a series of inspirational recipes and recipe cards available at McGee's Butcher, Forestside and Letterkenny and also online at jennybristow.com. This innovative concept is set to readdress convenient food made healthy.

The recipes and cookery hints are designed to take you through the calendar year with recipes that are designed to fit in for every occasion. Jenny's philosophy of 'keep it simple' will be evident throughout these recipes. The recipes for all abilities are combined with that special element of health awareness suitable for many dietary conditions along with plenty of serving suggestions.

Upcoming Recipes

There is also a special twist with wonderful culinary ideas to inspire everyone. A treat of his/hers ideal for Valentines day, guaranteed to give the best results! Family style recipes for Traditional Lunch which will give inspiration to many a cook for those special events such as Easter Sunday, Mothers Day etc.

As the season progresses look out for great ideas for the barbeque tips, sauces, cookery suggestions, recipes to warm your heart as the colder weather approaches again and of course Christmas with its wonderful season of cooking entertaining where here at home in Northern Ireland no-one does it better than us.

Made Convenient - Keeping it Healthy

Jenny & Joe together aim to make shopping choice and cooking simpler and convenient by

1. Providing the choice of produce and serving suggestions all on the premises.
2. Providing Jenny's recipe cards to go along with the produce.
3. Having the recipe online at jennybristow.com for use anytime and anywhere.

The 'easy to understand' cooking tips combined with the convenience of all the ingredients in one place will allow you to put together these wonderful recipes that your whole family can enjoy.

I was impressed with the quality of produce combined with the accessibility of ingredients all under one roof in order to complete the shopping of ingredients for a dish. Look out for 'Jenny's tips' on the recipe leaflets and collect the cards throughout the year to store in your waterproof binder

For more information on Joe's stores please check out www.mcgeesfood.com

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Radio Cracker Update.

Thanks to everyone who supported Radio Cracker this year. Your generosity has ensured that many people around the world will have a little more hope for the future than they would have. The wonderful total of £75,000 raised this year is to be split among the following projects:

TEAR Fund

This year, Radio Cracker will continue to support TEAR Fund with funds which will provide about 10 new wells in North East Brazil, and also provide training for the communities in health and sanitation and in basic well maintenance to ensure the long term impact of the work.

Mission Africa

One of the most moving parts of the Radio Cracker presentation which has been seen by many folk around Ballymena and district this year has been the report from Nigeria about the polio victims. Radio Cracker has supported Mission Africa in the past to manufacture wheelchairs for these people, setting up a small workshop in the city of Jos, employing 9 local men, and this year Radio Cracker will continue this support with a donation which will cover the cost of 100 wheelchairs, as well as drilling a borehole for water at a Theology College in central Nigeria, and a new well for a village in Burkina Faso.

Smiles Foundation

Two years ago, Radio Cracker gave £30,000 towards the building of a Children's Centre in Gepiu, Romania. Cracker chairman, Adrian Pogue, was present at the opening of the centre in October 2006, and was impressed by the hard work and dedication of the people involved. This year, Radio Cracker is pleased to be able to provide funds to buy a mini-bus to transport children from nearby villages to the Centre in Gepiu, and also bring local teenagers to secondary school in the nearby town, thus increasing their chances of getting a decent education and a job to help support their families in the future.

Emmanuel Hospitals

Radio Cracker intends to give continuing support to the Priya Hospital as they carry out cataract operations, giving people back the gift of sight, and in addition, help support another Emmanuel Hospital unit in Madhipura, India to upgrade the buildings in the Outpatient Department and construct a Maternity Unit and Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit. The number of inpatients in Madhipura has doubled in the last three years, and the number of operations conducted has tripled in the same period.

Gateway Medical Alliance, Morocco

Funds from Radio Cracker will help build and equip a physical therapy centre for disabled children on the north coast of Morocco. It is estimated that about 10% of Morocco's 32 million population has a disability of some kind. In that culture, disability brings shame on the whole family, and especially the mother. Therefore the goal of the centre is to bring hope - physical, emotional, social and spiritual hope - to the entire family, and ultimately to the entire community. This centre will employ and train young North African women to be physical therapy assistants. In addition, we hope to provide therapy equipment for the centre, kitchen and office equipment.

Other projects

Other projects supported this year include the Christian Family Centre in Namibia as they embark upon further building work at the centre, and also the Pastor Jacob orphanage in India to help carry out sanitation improvements.

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Forestside Masterclass so successful we ran out of Recipe Cards!

Due to the number who attended the Masterclass event we ran out of recipe cards! However www.jennybristow.com to the rescue. Below we have the 4 recipe cards that were handed out on the day. You can download them to your computer and if you wish you can print them out.

At the Masterclass which was a first in a series of themed cookery events at Forestside, Jenny cooked up lots of festive treats.

To download the recipe cards click on the links below. There is a list of the recipes underneath each link, so you can see what they contain before you download them.

A Christmas Party.pdf

• Balsamic Sweet Onion Tart with Ballybrie Cheese
• A Lasagne of Pancetta, Pinenuts and Mushrooms
• A Party of Sun-dried Tomatoes, Bacon and Olives
• Toasted Bruchetta, Plums, Bacon and Creamy Bally Blue Cheese

Stylish Starters Recipes.pdf

• Pancetta & Parmesan Crusted Asparagus Spears
• Medley of Mushroom on Warm, Flat or Sourdough Bread
• Winter Poached Pears Bally Blue Cheese Figs and Pomegranate with a Walnut Dressing
• A Winter Parsnip & Cider Soup Served with Bramley Apple Salsa

A Christmas Eve Supper.pdf

• Seared Roasted White Fish with a Mediterranean Salsa
• Mulled Roasted Winter Fruits with a Foaming Brandy Sauce and Cinnamon and Caramel Pistachio Nuts
• Winter Burgundy Beef and Pomegranates and Herbs
• A Cranberry and Pear Winter Tart

Christmas Puddings Ideas.pdf

• A Boosey Blueberry Trifle
• Warm Winter Fruit on French Toast with Cinnamon Ice Cream
• Chilled Festive Cranberry Cake
• Cranberry Fruit and Nut Upside Down-cake with Egg Nog Sauce

Jenny cooked sixteen specially created recipes for the crowds who had gathered to gain top tips for festive cooking and to help avoid the stress involved with this over Christmas. The demonstrations provided customers with plenty of appetizing ideas to impress family and friends with Christmas Party Food, Stylish Starters, Christmas Pudding Ideas and a Christmas Eve Supper.

There were prize giveaways throughout the day and one lucky shopper even walked away with the Winter Burgundy Beef with Pomegranates and Herbs prepared by Jenny on the day just in time for Sunday lunch!