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Ph'estive LPC Webpage


Seasonal Greetings and Best Wishes for 2017
From all the members of the LPC
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Welcome to LPC Christmas page.  Our traditional Ph'estive page.  This year our Comms team decided to outsource our Christmas content to our committe members. The brief was simple submit someting Ph'estive and the results.  Quite an entertaining page and who knew that we had many budding  budding chefs / bakers on the committee!!!   Watch out British Bake Off / Master Chef!!!  
​The Comms team hope you enjoy the page and would like to wish you all a Merrry Christmas and all the best for the New Year.
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​The past year has been a rollercoaster for community pharmacy.

We all know that the NHS is 'cash strapped' due to ever growing demand. To meet this demand it's important to invest - and invest in the right places or the NHS will crash and burn. The community pharmacy network is THE place to invest...we can do so much more to help patients and the public. Proper investment in community pharmacy would allow us to deliver more services for the hard to reach groups, reduce waiting time at GP surgeries and keep people out of A&E.  We can save the NHS.

The LPC has been working hard on your behalf over the past year following the announcement last December, to fight the proposed cuts at all levels. We're very grateful for your support in the campaign with over 2.2 million petition signatories. It was vital to ensure we gained public engagement and you helped achieve this. Thanks also for submitting your stories and the local lobbying. This is the first time, whilst being LPC chair, pharmacy has united nationally about a central cause. We have really raised the profile of community pharmacy. Darwin said "
it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."

The LPC website will make sure you are up to date with all national and local activity. Please log on and use the resources as appropriate for your pharmacy. We will continue to support the national campaign to fight the proposed cuts. At a local level we are working closely with our stakeholders to do what is best for pharmacy. It's certainly been a challenging year; but moving forward, let's work together, towards a brighter future across Gateshead and South Tyneside.   

As the year ends and a new shiny one begins, on behalf of Gateshead & South Tyneside LPC I'd like to wish you the compliments of the season and, I hope, a healthy and prosperous New Year!

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​The History Of Mulled Wine

There is nothing better to warm your cockles during Christmastime than a bit of mulled wine. If you have never tried it or heard of it, then you are certainly missing out on something. Mulled wine is essentially hot, sweetened red wine made aromatic with the addition of citrus fruits and warming spices such as cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. It’s history goes right back to the Ancient Greeks.
 Before mulled wine was the drink hippocras, which was supposedly invented by the Greek scientist and Father of Medicine, Hippocrates. The idea being that it was something of a tonic. The wine was either red or white and not necessarily hot either, but it was spiced and sweetened with honey. In Britain, the drink was very popular and there are several recipes for it. Here’s one from The Good Housewife’s Jewel by Thomas Dawson (1596):
 
To make Hypocrace
Take a gallon of white wine, sugar two pounds, of cinnamon, ginger, long pepper, mace not bruised galingall [sic]…and cloves not bruised. You must bruise every kind of spice a little and put them in an earthen pot all day. And then cast them through your bags two times or more as you see cause. And so drink it.
Not heating it up obviously meant you had plan a little ahead if you wanted to have a few goblets of hippocras at your Tudor feast.

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By the seventeenth century, mulled wine recipes start to appear such as this eighteenth century recipe from Elizabeth Raffald in The Experienced English Housekeeper:
Grate half a nutmeg into a pint of wine and sweeten it to your taste with loaf sugar. Set it over the fire and when it boils take it off to cool. Beat the yolks of four eggs exceedingly well, add to them a little cold wine, then mix them carefully with your hot wine a little at a time. Then pour it backwards and forwards several times until it looks fine and bright. The set it on the fire and heat it a little at a time for several times till it is quite hot and pretty thick, and pour it backwards and forwards several times. Then send it in chocolate cups and serve it with dry toast cut in long narrow pieces. 

It is strange that the Tudor recipe actually seems more like modern mulled wine that the newer one.

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Recipe for mulled wine 

(it is difficult to add quantities as you add most things to taste. 

​It is also quite difficult to give an official list of ingredients; you can add any warm spice you like really , so this recipe is more a guideline than anything.)

Ingredients
  • 2 bottles of red wine, good but not great, 
  • 1lemon sliced,
  • 2 oranges sliced,
  • 5 cloves,
  • 4 tablespoons of sugar
  • 2 sticks of cinnamon,
  • ¼ pint of brandy,
  • ½ pint of water,
  • ½ nutmeg broken into pieces

In a large saucepan, add all the ingredients and slowly heat the wine, stirring every now and again to dissolve the sugar and get the flavours dispersed.

ENJOY.

 

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If you clikc the image it will maggnify or you
​ can Click Here to Donwload a PDF for printing
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A New Fathers Guide to Surving Christmas!

(Based on advice from one our
committee members
(who, for his own saftey, will stay annoymous!)

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1 - As soon as the wife mentions Christmas shopping - fake illness.
2 - As soon as you hear that wrapping paper crinkling - pretend to fall asleep.
3 - Always allow your wife to buy her own gifts. Then she will not be disappointed about the rubbish you brought on.

Christmas Eve in the pharmacy/garage.

​4 - Ensure that you check that the food in the fridge and cupboard isn't Christmas food! Otherwise you'll be in trouble if you've eaten grandad's mince pies!
5 - As a father, your main role will be to provide and install a vast amount of batteries on noisy and annoying toys. So have your screwdriver ready and lots of AAA and AA batteries to hand.

An extra tip would be to have lots of alcohol to drown out and forget about your feral kids causing mayhem.

​Happy Christmas
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The follwoing recipeputs some of our favourite festive flavours into an afternoon tea classic – the scone.

​To make these scones all christmassy, you replace some of the milk with brandy and
mix in some mincemeat and balls of marzipan. The marzipan melts during cooking
and goes a bit gooey – really delicious if you eat them warm from the oven. However, the oozing marzipan can make them look a little uneven so if you like your scones neat and round, leave out the marzipan and add a slither in the middle of your scone when  you’re eating instead.

Makes 9 small or 6 medium scones
Ingredients
  • 250g self-raising flour (+ a little extra for dusting)
  • 50g unsalted butter (+ extra for greasing)
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 30g caster sugar
  • 100g mincemeat
  • 50g marzipan
  • 50ml brandy
  • 85ml full-fat milk (+ extra for brushing on top of your scones)

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Method
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 220ºC/200ºC fan.
  2. Lightly grease a baking sheet with butter (or alternatively, use a bake-o-glide sheet and greasing isn’t necessary).
  3. Put the self-raising flour (250g) into a large bowl. Cut the butter (50g) into cubesand add it to the flour.
  4. Gently rub the butter into the flour until it is the consistency of breadcrumbs.
  5. Cut the marzipan (50g) into small cubes.
  6. Add the caster sugar (30g), baking powder (1/2 tsp), salt (1/4tsp), marzipan, mincemeat (100g) to the flour and butter. Give it a quick stir to ensure that all of the ingredients are evenly distributed.
  7. Make a well in the centre and add the full-fat milk (85ml) and brandy (50ml). I like to keep a tablespoon or two of milk back to add at the end to help collect up any
  8. stray bits of flour.
  9. With as little action as possible, mix the milk and brandy into the dry ingredients using your hands until the mixture has come together. If there’s any flour left at
  10. the bottom then add a touch more milk to help collect it up.
  11. Sprinkle a dusting of flour onto your work surface. Place the dough onto the floured surface and pat it flat, about 1. inches thick (don’t use a rolling pin). Using a round cutter (I used a 6cm diameter cutter to make 9 small scones), press into the dough and carefully lift out the scone and place it onto your baking sheet. Cut as many scones as you can, ball up the remaining dough, pat flat and repeat cutting out more scones until all of your dough has been used.
  12. Brush a little milk onto the top of each scone.
  13. Place into the oven and cook for 12-15 minutes until they are cooked (I like to tap on the bottom to see if they sound hollow, as you would do with bread).
  14. Once cooked, remove them from the oven and place onto a wire rack to cool (oreat them while they’re still warm!)

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Click the image below to enlarge.
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For most of us, the thought of holiday fun and defecation definitely do not go together. Sure, rich holiday foods can often cause a troubled digestive system, but
most of the time relieving one's bowels is nothing to celebrate.

That is, unless it is Christmas time and you are in Catalonia, Spain, home of the extremely odd Caga Tio.

Literally translated, Caga Tio means Pooping Log and this hollowed out, smiley-faced piece of wood brings laughter and joy to Catalonian children in a long established tradition. It is cherished because it "poops" out presents.

Beginning on the night of December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception,  the Caga Tio is placed by the fireplace, covered with a blanket, and treated as a pet.
Each evening the children of the household feed the log fruit, nuts, and chocolate in hopes that it will grow bigger.

Loving parents secretly swap out the log with a progressively bigger one until magically, by Christmas, it is full grown.

On Christmas day, the children of the household gather round their Pooping Log  pet and sing songs to urge it to release its loot.
The song lyrics translate as "Poop log, poop candy! If you don't poop well, I'll hit you with a stick. Poop log!"

​The  children then beat the little log with sticks to force it to defecate traditional presents like Turon nougat candy, small toys, and coins.


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Using a range of spices you can create a really dynamic and vibrant tea that warms the heart and soul.
During those magical, but chilly months of the year, there isn’t anything more relaxing than sipping on a hot cup of spicy Chai goodness.

There are many variations to it and you can always alter the spices a little or add something extra in.
 


Ingredients

Makes 8 cups
  • 4 cups water
  • 2 whole star anise
  • 1/2 tablespoon ground cardamom
  • 12 whole cloves
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 large piece ginger, candied or fresh, diced
  • 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon crushed black peppercorns
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 8 bags black tea (or equivalent loose)
  • 4 cups milk, hot
  • 1/4 cup honey, or brown sugar
Preparation Instructions

Combine all ingredients except the milk and sweetener, and boil for 10 minutes. Strain.
Add in the hot milk, stir and then simmer for a few minutes with either honey or brown sugar to sweeten it.

Helpful Hints
Place the ground cardamom in a tea bag, or muslin bag, if you don't want cardamom sediment in your chai. 
Video Instructions

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Recipe
Ingredients
8oz Turkey breast
2 Carrots
1 Parsnip
1 Onion
4 floz gravy
2 tbsp sage & onion stuffing
Ready to roll shortcrust pastry


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Method
Dice turkey, carrots, parsnip & onion, cook in a little oil until soft
Make gravy, add to mix, stir in sage & onion stuffing, let cool
Put in pie dish, top with pastry, egg wash, bake for 20-25 mins 180c gas mark 5
Served with creamy mash & veg

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Eggnog, a Christmas favourite is incredibly easy to make. Homemade eggnog is made with just five
ingredients — four if you leave out the booze.

Ingrediaents - Makes 6 cups, recipe can be easily scaled up or down
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  • 6 large eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 to 1 1/2 cup bourbon, rum, cognac, or a mix, optional
  • Freshly grated nutmeg, to serve

Instructions
  1. Separate the eggs: Separate the eggs, placing the yolks in one bowl and the whites in another . Cover the whites and refrigerate until needed (or freeze if aging the eggnog for longer than a day).
  2. Whisk the yolks with the sugar: Combine the yolks and the sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk by hand, or with a mixer, until the mixture is smooth and creamy , and it has lightened to a lemon-yellow color.
  3. Whisk in the milk, cream, and liquor (if using): Pour the milk, cream, and liquor into the bowl with the egg mixture and whisk until combined.
  4. Cover and refrigerate: Cover the bowl and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
  5. The more liquor you add, the longer it will keep — non-alcoholic eggnog should be consumed within a day; eggnog with 1/2 to 1 cup of liquor will keep for several days;  and eggnog with 1 1/2 cups of liquor will keep for several weeks and continue aging and thickening quite nicely. (If aging for longer than a few days, transfer the eggnog to a sealed glass container or a mason jar.)
  6. Whisk the egg whites: Just before serving, whisk the reserved egg whites in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer at high speed until the whites form stiff peaks.
  7. Fold the egg whites into the eggnog: Transfer the beaten egg whites to the bowl with the eggnog and gently fold or stir the whites into the base — this gives the eggnog a frothy, extra-creamy texture. Some of the egg whites will also float to the top, like cappuccino foam.
  8. Serve the eggnog: Transfer the eggnog to a pitcher or punch bowl. Serve in individual glasses with a grating of nutmeg over top.

Raw Eggs vs Cooked Eggs
Remember this recipie willc ontains Raw Eggs. Consuming raw or undercooked eggs can increase your risk for certain food-borne illnesses, especially if you have a medical condition.  You may wish to opt for cooked eggnog.  To do this  you will need to warm the milk and cream in a saucepan over medium heat until just starting to bubble around the edges. Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks together in a separate bowl. Slowly whisk the warm milk into the eggs, then return the mixture to medium heat and continue to cook, stirring gently, until thickened to your eggnog-y liking. Serve immediately or chill for up to 3 days before serving. For extra thickness, whip 1 cup of
whipping cream and fold into the eggnog before serving.

Richer Eggnog:
If you play with the proportions of whole milk to cream, keeping 3 cups total dairy you can make the Eggnog richer. Heavy cream will make your eggnog thicker and creamier.  Boozy eggnog will also continue to thicken in the fridge as it ages.

Eggnog  Aging
Aging your eggnog for even a short time does wonders for its taste and texture. The distinct flavors of egg, cream, and liquor meld together even after just a day or two in the fridge, making a smoother, more balanced cup of nog. The proteins in the eggs also start to thicken, giving eggnog its signature spoon-coating thickness.
Gateshead & South Tyneside Local Pharmaceutical Committee 2016


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