If you asked my family their favourite food there would be a resounding vote for pizza! Much to my personal dismay as I do like to feed them a lot more vegetables than the average pizza offers. However that was before I discovered the Northern Dough Co. 

I came across them through my in-laws as they visited their stand at the BBC Good Food Show last autumn. They entered their dough into the Producers Bursary Awards, a competition to win a free stand and it gives you an idea how impressed the judges were by the fact that they won! 

Chris and Amy set up the company in 2011 using a pizza dough recipe from their family of bakers in Lancashire. He realised that it wasn't just their close family and friends who might enjoy the dough. 

Here are Chris and Amy

It contains only natural ingredients and is freshly frozen, with two balls of dough in each box. Simply defrost, allow to rise a little and then roll out and top with as many veggies as you can get away with!! The dough lasts for up to 6 months in the freezer, so it is  a brilliant standby to have for when your kids have unexpected friends for tea.

We have the original, rosemary and chilli dough in stock. our favourite at home is the chilli dough with some chilli pasta sauce, onions, broccoli and mini sweetcorn. Why not give it a go and then let us know your own favourite recipes via Facebook? We'd love to hear from you!

The fruit vinegars from Naomi Darbishire at Agnes Rose we have in the shop look beautiful and taste great. The images on the labels are painted by her father Stephen, who is a well known Lake District artist.Each batch is made by hand and you can really taste the time and care that has gone into them. The name Agnes Rose is a combination of her family home Agnes Gill and her Grandmother's home Rosewood, both places she learnt to cook and appreciate good food. 

I often get asked for suggestions of what to do with them. Lots of things! How about drizzling them over your pancakes or ice cream? You can substitute them for balsamic for dipping your bread in or even dilute them and drink them like a cordial. 

One of my favourite recipes comes from Naomi herself. it is for Damson Chicken Skewers

Cut 4 chicken breasts into strips and add 4 ripped sprigs of tarragon and 3 tablespoons of damson vinegar.

Marinade for at least 2 hours.

Place the chicken onto 8 skewers and grill them for around 15 minutes.

Drizzle with damson vinegar, sprinkle with more fresh tarragon and serve.

So simple, yet so tasty. Why not substitute the strawberry vinegar later in the year for a more summery flavour!What are you waiting for they are yummy!

I get a lot of customers in the shop who are allergic to gluten, so I was really pleased to find Peace of Cake bakery in London when I was browsing the Great Taste Award's brochure last week. 

The bakery was started by Guiti Jamshidi who on discovering she had coeliac disease was really disappointed by the cakes and biscuits available. She decided there was nothing for it than to start baking them herself. Several award later she now runs a successful bakery . All her cakes and biscuits are handmade from scratch. 

We now have at The Larder her gluten, dairy and lactose free biscotti in fruit and nut and chocolate and hazelnut flavour. 

Why not drop in and try them for yourself? 

We had our first delivery of desserts from Lodge Farm Kitchen this week  and I have to say they look very tempting nestled in our freezer! 

I love Lodge Farm because Louisa Stout who runs it is trying to do exactly what we are looking for in food at The Larder. She uses old fashioned cooking techniques, fresh ingredients locally sourced and tries to leave as small an imprint on the planet in the process as she can. Plus of course her desserts are delicious!

Louisa moved to Herefordshire  from Wimbledon after trying to work part-time there and run a restaurant from her sitting room in Lancashire. When the pig and the aga became too much they decided to take the leap and move full-time into food production and relocated to Herefordshire! Now she cooks her desserts in a converted stable block and she only uses ingredients that you would use at home and there are no added preservatives or colours. 

We are stocking 5 of Louisa's yummy desserts that can all be cooked from frozen. Next time life is too busy why not serve up one of her puds ?- we promise not to tell anyone that you didn't make it!