Weddings and spices…..you may be wondering what on earth spices have to do with nuptials, so let us enlighten you with our ideas!

After a wedding ceremony, it is a long-standing tradition to throw confetti over the happy couple. Throwing Rose Petals is a lovely alternative to traditional confetti and of course they are completely biodegradable. Supplied in our signature resealable pouches, they are the perfect size to pop into handbags or pockets.

Choosing a wedding gift has become more of a challenge as many couples have already established a home together. If you’re faced with such a conundrum we suggest the unusual gift, and very welcome one – we are assured, of a Seasoning Collection, sure to spice up newly wedded life! We offer a great choice to suit every budget and cooking style.

There are probably a lot of anxious parents amongst you, concerned about youngsters embarking on University courses away from all the home comforts that they are accustomed to, including good home-cooked food. Eating a varied, healthy and nutritious diet is essential for young people who will be working hard and quite likely, playing hard!

Creating an initial food parcel of fundamental and interesting store cupboard ingredients is a great way to inspire young people to have a go at cooking for themselves and avoid the temptation of endless take-away meals. It’s also a great way to make new friends as there’s nothing so much fun as a chaotic evening creating & sharing a meal together.

Here at Seasoned Pioneers we think the following suggestions are essential ingredients for any student wanting tasty meals whilst living on a budget;

• Roasted garlic powder – garlic bread, jacket potatoes
• Mixed herbs – omelettes, pasta sauces
• Cracked black pepper – everything!
• Wild herb sea salt – vegetables, chips
• Sri Lankan curry –any concoction can become a curry!
• Chilli powder mix – chilli con carne, spicy wraps
• Cajun spice blend – rub into any meat or fish before grilling, dips
• Chinese five spice – stir-fries, pork ribs, chicken pieces
• Harissa spice mix – adds an interesting twist to mince dishes, cottage pie, burgers etc
• Thai seasoning – stir-fries, curries, soups

Consider too, equipping them with a jar of each of our ready crushed ingredients – garlic, ginger & red chillies and they’ll never be far from a tasty stir-fry!

Seasoned Pioneers range of gourmet cooking sauces can be added to most meats, vegetables & seafood, creating instant authentic worldwide cuisine. Any student should cope with chopping a few vegetables & a chicken breast, popping them into a pan with a gourmet cooking sauce and letting it cook through. Served with rice or noodles, that can be cooked in the microwave, there’s a delicious easy meal with not too much washing up!

Here in the UK Mother’s Day will soon be upon us (Sunday March 6th, as if you needed reminding!).  While Mother’s Day around the world falls on different days, the idea is pretty much the same – it’s an opportunity to think about what our Mothers have done for us, what they mean to us and to celebrate them, whether they’re still with us or not.

And what better way to celebrate than with food?

Get the day off to a great start

Is there anything that says “I’m spoiling you today” more than breakfast in bed?

If you’re planning a big lunch or dinner, there’s no need to overlook breakfast in bed.  For a lighter breakfast, there’s nothing yummier than some pastries, croissants and muffins with some freshly squeezed orange juice and a lovely pot of tea or some great coffee.  If you want to bake some muffins yourself, why not try these delicious sounding apple and cinnamon muffins from Craig author at The Usual Saucepans website?

For a heartier start to the day who can resist eggs Benedict (or any of it’s similar incarnations) ?  Or a wonderfully aromatic kedgeree.  While there are so many kedgeree recipes available (if you haven’t got a tried and tested one of your own try some of these) our Poudre de Colombo spice blend works so well with the fish, if we do say so ourselves.

Or if you want to try something a little different the classic combination of the flavours of tomatoes and eggs baked together appear in so many cuisines around the world such as a typically Mexican Huevos Rancheros or Turkish Menemen.  You’ll find a good selection of recipes here which you can either follow to the letter or use them as a starting point and get creative with you own ingredients to bake alongside the tomatoes and eggs.  If the thought of chopping chillies first thing on a Sunday morning is a bit much, try using our Spanish Pimenton Bravas Sauce to give your dish a sultry kick.

Bake a traditional gift

As with most things from history there is always some doubt over the origins and myths surrounding them, but deliciously rich fruity simnel cake has associations with Mother’s Day and that’s a good enough excuse for us.

Rumour has it that servants were given the day off to visit their mothers and would bake simnel cake to take with them for their Mothers.  While things may have changed since then, who needs more of an excuse to bake a cake?

There are plenty of simnel cake recipes around but we particularly like this one from Mary Berry which she describes as a lighter cake so particularly good if  here’s lots of other eating planned.  Filled with juicy cherries and sultanas and spiced with warming ginger and mixed spice, topped with apricot jam and marzipan.