Food and drink news

Festive favourites
Merchant Gourmet’s a great one-stop online shop for all sorts of festive goodies, including Puy lentils, porcini mushrooms, polenta and sun-dried tomatoes, plus dulce de leche caramel toffee, Camargue red rice, croutons, balsamic syrup, vinegars and flavoured oils! Or, to satisfy your sweet tooth what about mini profiteroles and dulce de leche cappuccino toffee… ? Merchant Gourmet is offering all Delia Online members free delivery over £25 and 10% off your order (add the code DELIA at the checkout). Visit www.merchant-gourmet.com

The right sauce...
Nicola Massey's home-made chutneys were so popular she decided to start her own business in the Cotswolds. The result, Mrs Massey's range of sauces and condiments, is so good you may never get that preserving pan out again! They include orgasmic orange and chilli chutney, beautiful barbeque baster and a wonderful mustard pickle, designed to be used in a wide range of cooking applications! From Fortnum & Mason or visit mrsmasseys.co.uk

Bottled goodness
Bolthouse Farms'Bom Dia drinks are a new arrival from the US and, unlike the credit crunch, a very welcome one too! C-Boost smoothie with cherries, mango and apple with vitamins, zinc and herbs; Green goodness apple and kiwi smoothie with vits, zinc and phytonutrients and Acai berry with mangosteen sound more like a health mantra than something to be sipped, but they really are terrific...and sustainably produced. Available from Sainsbury's. Visit bomdia.com

Comfort eating at its best
On the subject of credit crunch, why not eat your way out of it with the new M&S Gastropub range (cheaper than dinner in your local!). Excellent, hearty dishes that could easily be passed off as home-made include Orkney crab gratin (£6.49), Lancashire hotpot and my own absolute favourite, slow-cooked beef short ribs with roasted mushrooms and baby onions in a rich Dorset ale sauce (£9.99).

The spice is right
Inspired by his travels, John Gregory-Smith set up Mighty Spice a year ago and is now stocked in Sainsburys (at the meat counter). Of his chilled pastes - Thai Green, Chinese Szechuan and Indian Tandoori - my favourite was the tandoori, which gave warmth and spicy depth to a korma curry but would equally pep up veggies, stir-fries and side dishes too. Visit mightyspice.co.uk

Fresh, or dried?
Urban Fresh fruit makes a really great snack - unlike many brands it has no added sugar or preservatives, so is a healthier option, though more tart in flavour. We really liked the dried pineapple - although it looks
dried-out it has a wonderful intensity of flavour.
Available from Waitrose, Sainsburys, Asda or visit
urbanfreshfruit.co.uk

Lucky, not lazy...
English Provender Company's brilliant new Very Lazy pastes don't just save you the hassle and smelly-finger factor of chopping garlic; more it's to do with the fact that you're about to make a Bolognese sauce, then realise you're out of fresh garlic. Just use a spoonful of paste, which keeps in the fridge. Others in the range include ginger, chilli and lemongrass paste. Available from Asda, £1.25 or on englishprovender.com

A new classic
I was rather sceptical when I heard that Cadbury's was jazzing up its chocolate bars: apricot crumble crunch? cranberry and granola? Surely it's a bit of a gimmick. But, dear reader, I was wrong: the addition of dried fruit and crunchy cereal adds zing and texture for a really contemporary taste. Delicious and, be warned, potentially addictive...!

Wonderfully healthy...
Big Shotz are packed with goodness: 11 vitamins, 6 minerals, antioxidants, omega 3, prebiotic, ginseng… all found in a single small bottle of mango and passionfruit juice shot (120ml) – a great way of ensuring you get your RDA of B vitamins, plus D, E and C, as well as 50% of your zinc requirement. They taste fabulous too - a great way to keep winter bugs and illness at bay! Available from Waitrose; visit shotzhealth.com