Tims Dairy

Since 1949 Tims Dairy has been producing wonderful yogurts, imagine how different the yogurt market was back then. I remember when I was a little girl my Mum used to make homemade yogurt. She had a yogurt machine that she used every Sunday night with one plain yogurt and milk, she created 6 yogurts for the week. We use to add fresh fruit to them and Nesquik chocolate powder. I know you can still buy yogurt makers today, but how times have changed!

The yogurt market has exploded and the range of great products is vast. I am always a little disappointed when I look though as so many products are disguised as being from local producers but are so often from large manufacturers. However Tims Dairy is so very different, a genuine family business building their reputation through food service and launching into retail in 2009. A business with a true heart.

Over the last couple of months we have been experimenting using Tims Dairy in lots of different recipes. Yogurt is a truly versatile product and Tims Dairy is really fab. There are so many different things you can use if for, I really recommend you give it a try.

We have used the Greek style yogurt with lots of different recipes, we love a dollop on the top of a chilli con carne, it works really well to cut through the chilli heat and has a great consistency. Over the Christmas period we have been using the wonderful Vanilla Greek style yogurt with mince pies and Christmas pudding instead of cream and Brandy butter.

Now January is here, Tims Dairy is great for a healthy snack, we often use it with granola and fruit as well as just eating it plain! It’s great to know that it is made with 100% British milk and uses only natural ingredients.

Tims Dairy have won a number of local awards, this really shows you how good they are. As a judge at the Great Taste Awards I know exactly why they received their very well deserved stars. However, awards are one thing but they don’t tell you how to use this delicious product. So from the Local Feasting kitchen to yours, here are a few ideas!

Breakfast: There are so many breakfast ideas that you see, but sometimes I think the simplest ones are the best. We love to layer natural yogurt with granola and fruit, it really gets those taste buds working first thing in the morning and gives you a great energy boost for the beginning of the day. I have to admit sometimes we have this as a sneaky treat in the day! This recipe from Yummy Healthy Easy is a real winner, and I even manage to get the kids to indulge due to the chocolate!

Lunch: Often at lunchtime we make homemade soup, our current favourite is this carrot one from ‘my recipes’ the yogurt on top just adds that bit of indulgence! Why not make a great flatbread to go with your soup, this recipe from Mrs Middleton is just perfect:

Ingredients:1 double handful flour, 1 tablespoon cold-pressed rapeseed oil,1 tablespoon Tims Dairy yoghurt, Salt and pepper. Enough water to form a dough.

Method: Mix everything together to form a dough then leave in a bowl with cling film over for half an hour. Break into golf ball sized pieces and roll flat, to about the thickness of a pound coin.

Cook: Cook in a hot, dry frying pan they will bubble up and turn brown.Stack them on a plate as you cook them, putting a small blob of butter on each one to keep them from drying out or sticking together.

Serve: Serve them warm with a wonderful tasty soup.

Photo: Sang An; Styling: Pam Morris

Supper: We love to make quick and easy supper’s for after school and one of our favourites is; Chicken Tikka in pitta bread with some tzatziki made from Greek Style yogurt, so simple, we just peel a chunk of cucumber and slice it in 3cm length batons and add it to the yogurt with some salt and pepper and lemon juice. For the chicken tikka we marinate the chicken in a combination of yoghurt and tikka paste. You can grill or oven bake the chicken whichever you prefer. We then warm a pitta bread and fill it with the cooked chicken tikka and the tzatziki. So easy and always a winner with the kids.

We regularly make a Cajun Chicken Salad, based on the Louise Parker recipe, sometimes it is a bit spicy and the Natural Greek Style Yogurt works really well instead of sour cream.

In the Local feasting kitchen we love to bake and recently we baked this really wonderful Yogurt cake from Giulia Scarpaleggia, it was so easy to make and tasted simply divine. Next time I’m going to try it with Mrs Middletons Rapeseed oil instead of the extra virgin olive oil. This cake is even better when you serve it with a dollop of yogurt, I really like it with the Greek style yogurt with honey as it goes really nicely with the citrus flavours.

I’ve also started to use Tims Dairy for a tasty dip with crudities for a healthy snack adding tikka paste, pesto or some herbs to their Natural Greek yogurt.

So as you have read, there are so many fantastic dishes that you can make with yogurt, it’s a great alternative to cream and sour cream. So when you are next doing your shopping list, be sure to add some yogurt to it.

Tims Dairy yogurt is available in Ocado, selected Waitrose, Co-op, Asda and lots of great local farm shops and delis, check the link to find out where your local shop is. Your local Tims Dairy supplier.