Our old faithful, chilly bones buster!

So we have reached February and the optimists out there would say it's nearly Spring but we on the other hand can't get passed feeling the effects of the dreich and chilly winter weather and need some warming up! What better way to heat your bones than a nice big pot of home made soup?

We have just what the doctor ordered and we would like to share with you an old faithful recipe for Scotch Broth. If this takes your fancy you can pop in to Mitchells to pick up all the ingredients.

Scotch Broth

Ingredients

• 1lb of plate/spaul or other inexpensive beef or lamb cut
• 3 pints of water
• 1oz pearl barley and 2oz dried peas, (soaked overnight)
• 25g plain flour
• A large carrot, a large onion, a small leek (sliced), a small cubed turnip.
• 1 level tablespoon of chopped parsley to garnish

Method

1. Trim any excess fat from the meat and put in a large pot with the water, pearl barley, peas and seasoning. Bring to the boil and simmer for approximately one hour. Skim any excess fat from the top of the pot after this time.
2. Add the carrot, onion, leek and turnip, return to the boil and simmer for another 30 minutes or until the vegetables are just cooked. Remove the meat from the pot and trim the meat into small pieces and return meat to the pot, discarding the bone. Skim off any fat, season to taste and sprinkle parsley on the piping hot bowls of soup before serving. 

How did it taste? We would love to hear how your Scotch Broth turned out. Or do you have any winter warmer recipes you would like to share with us? Join us on Facebook and let us know. Why not take a photo of your soup and share it on our page? 

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You can also follow Mitchells on Facebook - please click here

Mitchells: The Best Small Shop?

We recently wrote a post about the positive effects that buying locally has on your local community. As a local business we are continually grateful for your support.

Please if you think we deserve it, and if you have a spare minute, can you vote for Mitchells and we might just win an award for the Telegraph Best Small Shops in Britain Awards 2011. Please Vote for us in the 'Best for Food' category.



How to vote

• Copy this: Mitchells Dairy 20-22 Market Place, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, AB51 3XN
• Click on this link: Telegraph Best Small Shops
• Paste our name and address under 'Best Food Category'
• Then register your vote! 

Don't forget our fellow local businesses in Inverurie. Why not vote for:

Gibbs Menswear
Gibbs Nursey
Strachans
Kilted Frog
Inverurie4U
Vanity Collections
Or any other local business that you think deserves to win!

Thank You once again. You can also buy our food Hampers directly from our website. They make perfect Christmas gifts and if you prefer to make your own selection of your favourite things we can make them to order. Simply call us on  01467 621 389 or email us on info@mitchells-scotland.com




If you have found this post interesting please use the "Share" buttons below to tell your online community about it, there's a good chance they will find it interesting too. Thank you.

You can also follow Mitchells on Facebook - please click here

What have you done to support your local community...

At Mitchells we are very proud of the fact that we are a local family business. We are also very passionate about our community and supporting our neighbouring businesses.

Most local businesses will agree that competition with larger stores can be tough, not to mention the strains of keeping ahead of other businesses from further afield.

By supporting us and buying from us you are making a difference to your local community. Here are some of the ways that you directly impact your local community when you buy locally:

1. You keep money in the local economy

Research shows that for every £100 spent in a local business, £68 is likely to stay in the community, compared to £43 when spent in a national business.

2. You embrace what makes Mitchells and Inverurie unique

You wouldn't want every business and town in Britain to look the same. Individuality is what makes our community special.

3. You help create local jobs

Local businesses are better at creating jobs for local people.

4. You help the environment

Buying from a local business conserves energy and resources in the form of less fuel for transportation, less packaging, and products that you know are safe and well made, because we stand behind them.

5. You nurture your community

We know you and you know us. Studies show that local businesses donate to community causes at more than twice the rate of chains.

6. You help keep the high street healthy

Supporting local businesses means more colour and variety on the high street and creates more reason for local authorities to support them.

7. You create more choice

We pick the items we sell based on what we know you like and want. Local businesses carry a wider array of unique products because we buy for our own individual market. We pride ourselves in the personal service that we offer our customers.

8. You benefit from our expertise

You are our friends and neighbours and we have a vested interest in knowing how to serve you. We're passionate about what we do and will make an effort to meet your expectations.

9. You invest in entrepreneurship

Creativity and entrepreneurship are crucial to our economy. Nurturing local business ensures a strong community.

10. You make your local area a destination

The more interesting and unique we are as a community, the more we will attract new neighbours, visitors and guests.

Mitchells supporting the community

Our community is very important to us and we are working together with other local businesses to make Inverurie a vibrant destination for people who live here and also for visitors. Through the initiative 'Open your eyes to Inverurie', we hope to make Inverurie a great place to visit and shop. We believe that working together like this will make us a stronger community which we could not do on our own. Look out for more information about this initiative.

We would like to thank you for your support in our community and by shopping with us you have helped strengthen our community and our local economy. Please join us on Facebook where we regularly update our online community with news on events and promotions from Mitchells.

Have you started Christmas shopping? Our Hampers make perfect gifts from family, friends and colleagues. You can now buy a selection online please visit our online store: mitchellsdairy.myshopify.com. Alternatively you can make your Hamper more bespoke by calling us to order 01467 621 389. 

If you have found this post interesting please use the "Share" buttons below to tell your online community about it, there's a good chance they will find it interesting too. Thank you.

You can also follow Mitchells on Facebook - please click here

Love British Food!

If you have been into Mitchells Dairy in the past couple of days you will have noticed that we are celebrating British Food Fortnight which takes place between the 17th September and 2nd October.

Given how proud we are to stock local and British products, we thought we would join in on the tenth national food promotion to celebrate the diverse and delicious range of food that Britain produce.

To mark the celebrations of the Food Fortnight, we will have decorations up in the shop and we are encouraging everyone to buy local, not only for this fortnight but as a matter of habit. There are countless reasons to buy local and to buy British, just some of the reasons can be found here. For more information on the British Food Fortnight check out their website where you can find our everything you need to know about buying British food including what logos to look for on products, where to buy and information about regional and seasonal varieties.

During British Food Fortnight 17th September to 2nd October Mitchells will celebrate all that is good about British, local and seasonal produce. Many of our suppliers produce local produce including:

• Ola Oils 
• Mackintosh of Glendaveny 
• Downies Fish 
• Deans
• Walkers shortbread 
• Baxters
• Hamlyns/Grampian Oat Products
• Barra Berries Oldmeldrum
• Fetternear Fruit

The stew, mince, tatties and skirlie that can be found at the Dairy Tearoom is made from locally produced beef supplied by Preslys Butchers in Oldmedrum and it's locally grown potatoes and oatmeal from Hamlyn/Grampian Oat Products in Banff. 

At the moment we have a great selection of seasonal and locally grown veg including carrots, cauliflower, Romanesque, turnips, cabbage, broccoli. Due to an extended growing season this year we still have locally grown strawberries from Barra Berries and Fetternear Fruit, which grow within 5 miles of our shop!

If you have found this post interesting please use the "Share" buttons below to tell your online community about it, there's a good chance they will find it interesting too. Thank you.

You can also follow Mitchells on Facebook - please click here