WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A WASP AND A HORNET?

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Both hornets and wasps are types of vespid wasps, belonging to the wasp family Vespidae. They share similar  physical traits such as narrow wings that fold down the length of their body and both have the ability to sting repeatedly.  They construct paper nests from recycled wood fibres.  Hornets and wasps look similar but there are some key differences between them.  

Wasps

Wasps belong to the group hymenoptera, the insect order that also includes ants and bees, but belong to the suborder Apocrita.

Wasps feed on live insects and caterpillars and build open umbrella shaped nests constructed from gathering wood fibres and turning them into a papery pulp. These nests can be found suspended from eaves and other protected locations.

Wasps are smaller than hornets.  They lived in smaller colonies of less than 100 individuals, whilst hornets live in much larger groups.

Hornets

Hornets are the closet relatives to wasps and yellow jackets but belong to a separate genus, vespa.  They are the largest and most aggressive members of the wasp family (Vespidae) and substantially larger than a wasp, reaching up to 5.5 cm in length.

Hornets feed on live insects and caterpillars, building massive, football like paper nests which hang form tree branches.  Most hornets are black and white rather black and yellow. Like all wasps hornets have a wasp like waist, compared to a thicker waist of a bee. In contrast to wasps whose head narrows behind the eyes they have a fat head that expands behind the eyes.

Hornets have barbless stingers which allow the insect to sting repeatedly.  The venom from hornet stings contains a large percentage of acetylcholine and is painful. Hornets live in larger groups and communicate through pheromones , having the ability to attack in mass hence the saying 'don't stir up a hornets nest'.

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MACARONI CHEESE

 

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Serves 4

Ingredients


300g macaroni pasta
30g butter
25g plain flour
125g Cheddar cheese
200ml creme fraiche
300ml semi skimmed milk
60 ml water
1 leek
50 g breadcrumbs
2 tablespoon parmesan cheese
1 tea spoon mustard

Method

Bring to the boil a saucepan of water, add the macaroni and cook for 8 minutes.  Drain and set aside.

Trim and thinly slice the leek.  Heat the oil in a pan soften the leeks for five minutes.    

To make the cheese sauce melt 20g of butter in the pan.   Add the flour and stir until a paste is formed.  Gradually add the milk, stirring continuously until you have a smooth sauce.  Add the cheese, creme fraiche, mustard and water.  Whisk until smooth and add a little pepper.


Add the pasta and leeks to the sauce and spoon into a large baking dish. Melt the remaining butter and add the breadcrumbs.  scatter over the top of the macaroni cheese and top with parmesan.

Grill for 10 minutes until golden and bubbling.

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RASPBERRY AND COCONUT LOAF

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Ingredients

150 g caster sugar
250 g self raising flour
3 medium eggs
100 g desiccated coconut
40 ml milk
3 teaspoon raspberry jam
100 g raspberries
1 tea spoon vanilla extract

For the topping:
80 g icing sugar
2 table spoon raspberry jam
10 g desiccated coconut
10 ml hot water

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C / gas mark 4.

Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy.  Beat in the eggs and a a little flour.  Fold in the coconut and remaining flour and milk.

Grease a 900g loaf tin with butter.  Spoon 3/4 of the cake mixture into the tin and top with the jam.  Place the rest of the mixture on top of the cake.

Bake for 35 minutes, cover with baking paper and cook for a further 20 minutes until golden. Turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool.

Mix together the icing ingredients, drizzle the icing over the cake and sprinkle the top with coconut.

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FETA AND NUT STUFFED PEPPERS

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Its always good to have an easy  vegetarian option available and I often have vegetable dishes when I want a break from meat dishes.  This is a classic vegetable dish that will suit everyone.

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 peppers
150 g couscous
50 g sultanas
50 g mixed nuts
275 g vegetable stock
100 g feta cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
Pepper to season

Method

Preheat oven to 200 C/gas 6

Place the couscous into a bowl and add the sultanas.  Pour the hot stock over the mixture, cover with clingfilm and set aside.

Slice the tops off the peppers and remove the seeds.  Place the peppers and their tops onto a baking tray and roast in the oven for 20 minutes until softened.

Fluff up the couscous with a fork and season with black pepper.  Stir in the nuts and feta cheese.  Spoon the mixture into the peppers, place on a baking tray and drizzle with oil.  Bake for 30 minutes until tender.

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Dauphinoise potatoes

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I promised to make Simon Dauphinoise potatoes for years, and finally got around to it the other day. No idea why I took so long to make them as they are so delicious. Problem is, now he wants them again.
Serves 6

Ingredients
1 kg potatoes
20 g butter
150 ml double cream
2 gloves garlic
150 ml milk
nutmeg
black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 160 C/gas mark 3.

Peel and thinly slice the potatoes.  Place the slices in a bowl of water and dry with a tea towel.  This will remove the starch from the potato.

Rub a large dish with butter and layer the base with some of the potato slices.  Slice the garlic and sprinkle over the potatoes. Season with the black pepper. Repeat this process with more potato and garlic layers until all the potatoes are used up.

Mix together the cream and milk and pour over the potatoes.  Place the remaining butter on top in small dots and sprinkle a little nutmeg over the top.

Cover with foil and cook in the oven for 1 hour.  remove the foil and cook for a further 30 minutes until crispy. 

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