As the seasons begin to change, as summer turns into autumn, so our eating habit change, and we look forward to more hearty meals, with stews, oxtails and home-made breads. Granny Mouse Country House & Spa is no stranger to these delicious dishes, and their culinary artists have this recipe to share with you! It’s a simple, nutritious and will leave your family or guests thinking you’ve been on a gourmet cooking course. Don’t take our word for it though, just give it a try!

Ingredients

• 200g chorizo
• 1 tin chopped tomato
• 1 tin mixed vegetables
• 1tsp garlic and ginger mix
• 1 tin baked beans
• 1/2 an onion, diced
• 1tbsp cooking oil
• Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Pour all the oil and onions into a saucepan and cook on low heat.
2. Slice the chorizo and add to the saucepan, continue to cook on low heat until the onions become translucent.
3. To this add the ginger and garlic mix, cook for a further 2 minutes before adding the tinned tomatoes.
4. Turn up the heat until it begins to bubble rapidly, reduce the heat until it becomes a mild simmer stirring occasionally so that it does not stick to the bottom.
5. After about 10 minutes or so when the tomatoes have cooked, add the mixed vegetables and baked beans.
6. Cook on low heat until the vegetables are cooked, season with salt and pepper.

Serve warm, with a choice of bread, rice or even as a topping with 2 minute noodles.

Conferencing at Granny Mouse Country House and Spa has got you covered! After confirming your booking, confirming speakers or facilitators, arranging the goodie bags, what’s next?

Just like a wedding, most people remember a conference for the food. That’s why choosing your menu and providing both some interesting and unexpected variety whilst still meeting all those traditional different dietary requirements is a must.

In addition to catering for different culturally inspired food choices, you also need to take food allergies (nuts, dairy and gluten) and offer something tasty for vegans and vegetarians, for example.

Then the timing of meals needs to be considered – after all, this is the best way to kick start jaded guests and provide much needed inspiration after long periods spent taking in lots of details and figures.

Granny Mouse Head Culinary Artist Mannie has some tips for those who are planning the menu for a business conference or office brainstorm getaway:

• Not everyone will provide you with a list of their specific dietary requirements, so work with us to ensure that there are options for everyone.

• Breakfasts should include a variety of slow burning meal items such as oats, muesli and yogurt, freshly squeezed juices, water, hot beverages, a wide variety of fruit, healthy muffins and the likes. Not everyone likes the full English fry up!

• At snack time, have some decaffeinated drinks, fresh juices and waters especially for those who don’t drink teas and coffees. Nuts and biltong are a good option, however consider vegetarians, diabetics and those with nut allergies.

• It’s a good idea to stay away from meal items that contain lots of sugar, because these tend to play with energy levels, making attendees non-participative.

• At lunchtime, consider including salads, risotto, a stir fry, fish or chicken white meat, sweet potato and halloumi for vegetarians. Fish such as tuna, salmon etc contain essential fatty acids and are perfect for focusing and improving memory and will keep your delegates awake well into the afternoon.

• Having a nutritionally balanced meal means that you are getting everything you need from your food but not overdoing the calorie intake. It also means that you don’t have to deprive yourself of anything. Your meals for the day should include carbohydrates, protein, and starch, a bit of fat, fibre and some fruit and veggies.

• The size of serving portions need to be considered as well. A nutritionally balanced meal has been scientifically proven to increase productivity and to reduce stress.

• At Granny Mouse, we also ensure that all meals are prepared in a way which ensures that nutrients aren’t lost. Stir-frying, steaming, boiling and grilling are some of the healthiest cooking methods to ensure that delegates are ready to get back to afternoon sessions refueled and rearing to go.

• We recommend that there is sufficient and enough water throughout the day especially as air conditioners can dehydrate. Water should be chilled and served in glasses or glass bottles. Also we know that some like to drink hot water so an urn is important – which also caters for those tea and coffee addicts.