Hilary's Wholesale Ltd

Sep

Hilary's Wholesale

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Recipes

Plum Cobbler

If you have access to some fresh damsons, add a handful to the plums, adjusting their weight accordingly. Alternatively, use homemade damson jelly, jam or cordial as a flavouring and adjust the sugar. Serve hot, warm or cold.

Serves 6

Ingredients

1kg plums
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, or to taste
175g granulated sugar
To finish
Granulated sugar
Milk
Topping
225g self-raising flour
Pinch of salt
85g cold butter
55g caster sugar
1 medium egg
4 tablespoons milk
4 courgettes
2 chicken stock cubes, fresh stock or vegetable stock
A herb cheese (for example, Boursin)

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas 6.

Wash the plums, then halve and stone them. Mix together with the sugar and cinnamon and tip into a pie dish with about 3 tablespoons of water. If you're adding fresh damsons, either halve and stone them, or lightly cook them in the 3 tablespoons of water, fishing out the stones before mixing them into the plums. Put the fruit in the oven for 15-20 minutes to begin cooking while you make the cobbler topping.

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in the sugar. Beat the egg and add the milk. Pour this into the flour and thoroughly mix with a fork until it forms a lumpy dough.

Transfer to a floured surface and lightly knead until smooth. Quickly roll out to just under 1cm thickness, then stamp out discs using a 6cm floured pastry cutter. Arrange these, barely overlapping, on top of the fruit. Brush with milk and scatter with some granulated sugar.

Place the cobbler in the middle part of the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 190°C/gas 5 and bake for a further 10 minutes. This is best served warm but is still very good eaten hot or cold.

News

Green leafy veg reduces diabetes risk

From The BBC

Green leafy veg, rather than a healthy diet in general, were linked to benefits. A diet rich in green leafy vegetables may reduce the risk of developing diabetes, UK research says.

In an analysis of six studies into fruit and vegetable intake, only food including spinach and cabbage was found to have a significant positive effect.

A portion and a half a day was found to cut type 2 diabetes risk by 14%, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) reports.

But experts urged people to continue to aim for five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.

The researchers from Leicester University reviewed data from the studies of 220,000 adults in total.

They found that eating more fruit and vegetables in general was not strongly linked with a smaller chance of developing type 2 diabetes but "there was a general trend in that direction".

Yet when it came to green leafy vegetables, which the researchers said also includes broccoli and cauliflower, the risk reduction was significant.

The team calculated that a daily dose of 106g reduced the risk of diabetes by 14% - a UK "portion" is classed as 80g.

It is not clear why green leafy vegetables may have a protective effect but one reason may be they are high in antioxidants, such as vitamin C and another theory is that they contain high levels of magnesium.

Study leader Professor Melanie Davies, professor of diabetic medicine at the University of Leicester, said the message to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day remains an important one.

But she added: "People like very specific health messages.

"We know that intake of fruit and vegetables is important, but this study suggests that green leafy vegetables seem to be particularly important in terms of preventing diabetes."

The team are now planning a study in people at high risk of developing the condition to see if increasing their intake of vegetables like spinach and kale can help to reduce their chances of being diagnosed with diabetes.

In 2008/09, the National Diet Nutrition Survey showed that, although fruit and vegetable intake has risen over the past decade, only a third of men and women eat the recommended five-a-day.

In an accompanying editorial in the BMJ, Professor Jim Mann from the University of Otago in New Zealand, stressed that the message of increasing overall fruit and vegetable intake must not be lost "in a plethora of magic bullets," even though green leafy vegetables clearly can be included as one of the daily portions.

Dr Iain Frame, director of research at Diabetes UK said: "We already know that the health benefits of eating vegetables are far-reaching but this is the first time that there has been a suggested link specifically between green leafy vegetables and a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes."

But he warned the evidence was limited and it was too early to isolate green leafy vegetables and present them alone as a method to cut the chances of developing the condition.

"We would be concerned if focusing on certain foods detracted from the advice to eat five portions of fruits and vegetables a day, which has benefits in terms of reducing heart disease, stroke, some cancers and obesity as well as type 2 diabetes."

Diabetes UK is currently funding research into whether fermentable carbohydrates found in foods such as asparagus, garlic, chicory and Jerusalem artichokes could help weight loss and prevent Type 2 diabetes.

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