Food & Drink notes

In the pink; Lancs for the memory; easy pieces; counter intuitive

When lashings of fizzy pop are called for and you crave something that takes you back to the days before Tango took over, look for a bottle from Luscombe Organic Drinks. Joining the lemonade, ginger beer and apple juice made on a Devon farm, this strawberry lemonade has a sharp, grown-up taste of lemons with a lovely strawberry afterglow. £2.50-£2.95 for a 75cl bottle. Call 01364 643036 for stockists.

Lancs for the memory

North West Food Lovers' Festival comes to Lancashire this weekend. The grounds of Stonyhurst College, near Clitheroe in the Ribble Valley, abound with local produce. Pride of place goes to Mrs Kirkham's Lancashire cheese, joined by Mawson's traditional drinks, and Bowland outdoor reared pork, plus many other food heroes from the north west. 10am-5pm today and tomorrow. Tickets £5 for adults. Parking is free. For information visit www.nwfff.co.uk.

Easy pieces

There are at least a dozen good reasons to buy the paperback of 'Twelve, A Tuscan cookbook' by Tessa Kiros, published by Murdoch Books, £16.99. Blissfully domestic and beautifully produced, it's a cookbook to cherish and, with a chapter for every month, to use all year. Raised in South Africa of Finnish and Greek-Cypriot parents the globe-trotting author learnt to cook at the Groucho Club in London, travelled and cooked before settling in Siena, immersing herself and her family in Italian life.

Counter intuitive

Most food processors cost about the same as a kitchen extension. Then you need a blender as well. The complete solution now appears in Argos stores and catalogues, and you won't need the kitchen extension to make space for it. Russell Hobbs Food Processor with Blender makes short work of shredding, whizzing, blitzing, chopping and juicing, handling everything from ice crushing to mayonnaise making. So, no battery but as much assaulting you've any right to expect from a 700w motor and a speed dial going up to 9. The processor has a 1.5 litre bowl, quad blades, dough beater and whisk attachment, plus four additional blades and a chip cutter. It also comes with a juice extractor and motorised citrus press. All for £79.99. Stockists: 0845 658 9700.