NTHNHS | Health and Wellbeing Magazine - Issue 2, December 2021

A recipe of love

| By Nicole Hinchley, Physiotherapist

Nanny’s Parkin

This Parkin recipe is a definite festive family favourite.

My Nanny lived until the whopping age of 105 and her husband was a firefighter in World War II. Her traditional family recipe made with the simplest of ingredients, makes for a delicious, comforting winter treat.

Nanny would always make this recipe in the colder months, when my mum, aunties and great aunties would all gather together at Nanny’s house for bonfire night. The homemade Parkin was one of their favourite childhood memories and one we continue to bake and enjoy to this day.

Ingredients

4oz. margarine

4oz. Soft brown sugar

4oz. Medium oatmeal

4oz. Self-raising flour

4oz. Golden Syrup

1 egg

4 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon ginger

Method

1. To start grease an 18cm square tin, making sure to line the bottom with greaseproof paper to make the Parkin easier to take out of the tin later.

2. Use a large bowl to mix together your dry ingredients: the brown sugar, oatmeal selfraising flour and ginger.

3. Meanwhile, warm the golden syrup, margarine and milk in a pan, ensuring the margarine has fully melted into the mixture.

4. Then add your dry ingredients to the mix, crack in your egg and beat the mixture well.

5. Pour the mixture into your tin and bake in the middle shelf for 50-55 minutes at 160C/325F/Gas mark 3 or until a lovely golden brown.

Festive Mocktails

| Some festive favourites from BBC Good Food

Non-alcoholic Mulled Wine

Ingredients

500ml pomegranate juice

25g golden caster sugar

handful of frozen blackberries

250ml apple juice

1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise

4 cloves

3 black peppercorns

1 orange, quartered

Method

Put the pomegranate juice, sugar, blackberries and apple juice in a saucepan. Add the cinnamon, star anise, cloves, peppercorns and orange. Heat gently until simmering. Taste for sweetness, then strain into heatproof glasses.

Alcohol-free Irish Cream Liqueur

Ingredients

150ml double cream

50ml evaporated milk

2 tbsp maple syrup

25ml freshly brewed espresso

pinch of ground cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of finely grated orange zest

Ice

Method

Put all the ingredients in a large cocktail shaker or jug with a generous handful of ice.

If using a shaker, shake well until the outside feels cold, then double strain into tumblers. If using a jug, stir well until combined. Serve poured over ice.