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Ren Behan - Author Wild Honey and Rye

Food Writer

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Giveaways

November 24, 2014

Giveaway: Hotel Chocolat – The Christmas Wreath (RRP £40)

Giveaway: Hotel Chocolat – The Christmas Wreath (RRP £40)

All I want for Christmas (literally) is this giant box of Christmas chocolates by Hotel Chocolat – called The Christmas Wreath. Hotel Chocolat tell me that this is,

A show-stopping festive centrepiece to gather round and share this Christmas. Filled with 40 delicious Christmas truffles, a chunky cookie wreath and two large chocolate snowflakes, one cast in gorgeous salted caramel and the other in luscious Peru Pichanaki 75% Milk.

The Christmas Wreath
Image : Hotel Chocolat

The truffles include simple milk truffles, blackcurrant bombes, white champagne truffles, gin truffles, Christmas pudding truffles, a salted caramel snowflake, Christmas gianduja and more. I would actually be in chocolate heaven.

If you’d like to win this selection box, simply follow the instructions in the entry box below and then keep everything crossed!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This prize will be posted out to one lucky reader in the UK in time for Christmas by the lovely folks at Hotel Chocolat.

For more chocolate-inspired gifts, take a look at the full range here.

With many thanks to Hotel Chocolat for providing the prize in this giveaway.

November 18, 2014

Giveaway: MrSite Pro Website in a Box RRP £119.99

Giveaway: MrSite Pro Website in a Box RRP £119.99

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, but the New Year could be even better because it could see you launching a brand new exciting blog, business or professional website! I’m giving away a really great prize to one lucky winner just in time for you to get your ideas up and running over the Christmas holidays – a MrSite Pro Website in a Box.

MrSite Pro includes everything you need to get a professional looking, mobile-ready website for your business online. Simple to use, Pro comes with essential optimisation tools to help you get higher up Google, a sales-winning online shop and your own dot com. And should you need it, there’s support from the MrSite Team, too. 

Mr Site Pro

To create your own professional website, simply select your template from a selection of modern website designs, drop in text, images and videos and customise with unique features. 

In case you’re interested in adding this to your Christmas list, the standard and pro versions are available to buy at MrSite.com, Dixons, PC World and other good retailers.

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY HERE 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please note – I have not built a website using this package, yet, so all queries must be directed to MrSite if you win this prize. 

You are the registered legal owner of your domain name. MrSite simply hosts your domain name on its servers.

 

With many thanks to MrSite for facilitating this giveaway. Open to UK readers. 

 

November 17, 2014

Review: Samsung Food ShowCase Fridge Freezer

Review: Samsung Food ShowCase Fridge Freezer

It comes to something when you have to knock down cupboards and take off doors in order to review a kitchen appliance – but the latest addition to our kitchen, the Samsung Food ShowCase Fridge Freezer was a very welcome, new arrival!

Samsung 2

Choosing a new fridge freezer can be a daunting task; there are so many models on the market, promising different features, at varying cost. There’s no doubt, that in our house at least, the fridge freezer is the most used appliance in the kitchen. Earlier this year, our existing fridge freezer (of just over three years) stopped working, and unfortunately, it was just out of warranty. Aside from the fact that this was a hassle, with multiple engineers coming out to try and repair it to no avail, this has made me very wary of investing in large appliances that offer a limited or short warranty. Enter the hero of the story – the Samsung Food ShowCase Fridge Freezer – imagine my relief when this new baby arrived at the same time as our actual new baby!

Samsung Food Showcase
Image from JohnLewis.com

ShowCase and InnerCase

The Samsung Food ShowCase has tons of new and improved features on existing Samsung American-style fridge freezer models. The main feature, and the explanation behind the ‘showcase’ name, is a dual-door system on the fridge side. The inside of the fridge, is called the ‘innercase’ and this part, too, is designed to make food organisation more convenient whilst maintaining optimum freshness inside. Basically, what you have is a ‘fridge within a fridge.’

Digital Inverter Technology + Warranty

This model also uses Samsung’s Digital Inverter Technology, which means that the compressor automatically adjusts to temperature changes (for example, when the door is opened to fill the fridge with a weekly shop or to open the fridge for a pint of milk) to offer optimum cooling and an A+ energy efficiency rating. The really excellent thing is that the Digital Inverter Technology comes with a 10-year warranty and a 5 year manufacturer’s warranty.

Samsung Food ShowCase

Food Freshness

I’m particularly impressed by the way that Samsung have addressed the issue of food freshness and food waste by improving the technology within their latest model the Food Showcase. Firstly, the fridge freezer has a metal cooling feature – stainless steel panelling inside helps to maintain a more consistent temperature within. It also locks in the cold and seals in freshness. The high-efficiency LED lights emit less heat than conventional lighting, whilst keeping the inside of the fridge freezer nice and bright once the door is opened. The separate vegetable drawers keep your food fresh, too and it’s great to be able to organise all your food into categories for ease of access.

Samsung Food Showcase-8

All-Round Cooling

The Food ShowCase model also offers ‘All Round Cooling’ – Samsung say:

Samsung’s All Round Cooling evenly cools every inch of the fridge as well as the freezer. Cold air is blown out through multiple outlets at every level. As a result, the refrigerator area keeps fruit and vegetables fresher for longer and the freezer reduces freezer burn, and as a result better maintains the quality of frozen food.

Samsung Food ShowCase

Dual-door system

The really clever feature of this fridge freezer is the dual-door system on the fridge size, to the right. The door itself is made of two parts. A thinner part at the front opens to give quick and speedy access to the most-used items in your fridge. This is described as the ‘exterior showcase’ in which you can store items such as milk, drinks, condiments and snacks that you’ll want to grab quickly. Then there is a second part to the door, which, when opened, let’s you access the innercase, which stores all your main items of food, such as fruit and vegetables in the drawers, meat, and other general food items.

We particularly like the showcase as two of the shelves (the blue ones) in the showcase part slide out – so I put all the kids’ snacks in these trays, so that they have easy and instant access to the things they like, rather than them having to go rummaging within the main fridge itself.

Samsung3

Fridge Freezer Features  & Capacity

The left hand side – housing the freezer part, is a little bit smaller than the fridge side, but it offers an automatic in-door ice maker to maximise the freezer space, leaving more room for frozen foods. When I say smaller, I mean that the Samsung Food ShowCase offers a 70/30 fridge freezer split, with net storage in the freezer section of 174L and net storage on the fridge side of 396L. Needless to say, there is ample storage for the needs of a large family.

You can access the ice either from the inside, or via the front panel, where you can also get filtered, cooled water. The LED display can be switched on or off, and the dispenser itself offers a tall opening, so that even large glasses can be filled up with ice cubes, crushed ice or water.

Samsung Food Showcase

Overall impressions

The ShowCase door initially took a little getting used to, but not that we have it, we wouldn’t be without it. I love that the inner door has 6 separate compartments – it’s very flexible in the way that it allows you to store and easily access your most-used cold food items. It’s great to be able to grab condiments, which are visible either from through the showcase door or from the innercase.

Inside, the ‘innercase’ also offers great flexibility – deep drawers and shelves that fold away, depending on what you need to store.

The wine rack is useful and yet compact, it doesn’t take over the fridge, but it allows you to store wine and other bottles neatly. The all-around cooling system seems to really keep all the items within the fridge at precisely the right temperature – we’ve definitely noticed that food is staying fresher and that therefore, we are throwing less away.

The freezer offers a fast-freeze option, a removable ice draw – handy if you want to serve ice away from the main freezer itself.

Despite its size (H177.4 x W91.2 x D72.1cm) the sleek finished and the brushed stainless steel exterior is elegant and unimposing.

We’re upgrading our very old kitchen next year and so I can’t wait for my Samsung Food Showcase to take pride of place in our redesigned kitchen.

Samsung Food ShowCase
Time to party!

You can read other reviews online here –

Gizzi Eskerne reviews the Samsung Food ShowCase in her test kitchen for The Times

Janie at The Hedgcombers also welcomes a Samsung Food ShowCase into her kitchen.

With many thanks to Samsung for sending me the Samsung American Style Food Showcase Fridge Freezer for review. All opinions are my own.

September 29, 2014

Giveaway – Omlet Kitchen Accessories RRP £50

Giveaway – Omlet Kitchen Accessories RRP £50

Lots of people are keeping chickens again and it’s always a lovely ‘update’ too see photos of friends and family collecting eggs from no further than the bottom of their own garden. My grandmother used to keep chickens and a highlight of any visit would be collecting some fresh eggs for breakfast.  These days, there is lots of help and guidance on keeping chickens (and indeed, other animals, such as rabbits) at home. Have a read here if you are thinking of adding a chicken to your family, or perhaps you’d like some help with bee-keeping?

The clever folks at Omlet, a company whose products I first became aware of when visiting a friend who owned a very cool-looking Omlet Eglu chicken house, have designed lots of new products around the concept of chicken-keeping and I have a few of those products to giveaway to one lucky reader.

Omlet_egg_ramp

Image source: Omlet website, with permission 

You could win:

  • An Omlet Egg Ramp (cream, as above) –  holds 12 medium eggs and keep them in date order RRP £14.99
  • An Omlet Eglu Eggcup breakfast set (purple) – includes Eglu Eggcup, salt and pepper chickens and a toast rack RRP £19.99
  • An Omlet Rollabowl (black) – the fun way to store and keep your fruit RRP £19.99

You can find these products here in the kitchen section of the Omlet website. Some of these products might find their way onto your Christmas lists if you have chicken-keeping friends!

My kids really love their Eglu Eggcup breakfast sets – designed to mark the 10th anniversary of the Eglu chicken coop.

Enter the giveaway here via Rafflecopter

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For great competition karma like their Facebook page here.

With many thanks to Omlet for sending me these products to review/giveaway.  

This giveaway closes on 31st October 2014. A winner will be selected randomly and will be announced on the Rafflecofter widget on this page.  

Good luck!

July 14, 2014

Breville Blend-Active – Review & Giveaway

Breville Blend-Active – Review & Giveaway

Our kitchen at home has seen a variety of full-sized blenders over the years, and as the number of blender attachments and features increases, so does the counter space required. I was keen to buy a smaller blender, ideally one that would be perfect for the children’s increased consumption of blended fruit smoothies over the school holidays!

After hearing good things from friends about the Breville Blend-Active blender (also known as the Breville Blend-Active Personal Blender) we purchased one at 10% off the £29.99 RRP (update: at the time of posting this review, they are available at 25% off here). It came with a one-year guarantee, and the bottles are certified BPA-free.

Breville Blend-Active Blender

Included by Breville in the Blend-Active box were the 300W blender motor base, the removable blade unit, and two 600ml bottles with sports-style lockable lids. Extra 600ml bottles for the Blend-Active are available from Breville direct and cost £10 each. As advised in the manual – and you would anyway! – I used soapy water to wash the parts of the Blend-Active where food would make contact, and I wiped down the base with a damp cloth to clean. Useful to know was that the Blend-Active bottles are made of a odour-, taste- and stain-resistant material and are suitable for the dishwasher.

The Blend-Active has a single push button to blend and is incredibly straightforward to use.

1) Add the ingredients to be blended into the bottle in one go – remember not to go above the 600ml mark (or the 300ml mark if you are using the smaller bottles).
2) Screw the blade unit tightly to the top of the bottle.
3) Turn the bottle upside down so that the blade unit is at the bottom, line up the marks on the bottle and the blender, and push the bottle down and clockwise to lock in place.
4) You can either push and hold the blend button for as long as required or use short pulses to blend with better control.
5) Twist the bottle anti-clockwise to unlock and lift, then turn the bottle so the blade unit is at the top before removing the blade unit and fitting the resealable lid.

Importantly, Breville included a safety feature to prevent the Blend-Active’s blade from spinning unless the bottle is locked safely into place.

In the UK, there are twelve drinks recipes included by Breville in the manual for the Blend-Active.

– Protein Rich Shake
– Berry Blitz Protein Shake
– Good Morning Protein Shake
– Chocolate and Banana Protein Shake
– Super Thick Berry Smoothie
– Raspberry Crush Smoothie
– Tropical Fruit Smoothie
– Kiwi and Berry Bliss Smoothie
– Berry Blitz Dairy-Free Smoothie
– Soya Dairy-Free Smoothie
– Vanilla Milkshake
– Carrot, Orange and Ginger Juice

We’ve been using the Blend-Active regularly with fruits (including frozen berries), ice, nuts and vegetables, and I can pass on these tips:

1) Remember you have to add all the ingredients in one go, before blending starts.
2) If you are using the Blend-Active to blend ice or hard vegetables, ensure that you include liquid in the bottle as well to help protect the blades and motor.
3) The cap of the resealable lid that Breville provides is a good size, and copes with thicker drinks very well. But beware – a loose cap will mean a large leakage!
4) The dimensions of the Blend-Active bottles mean they fit well in the bottle-holders on most bikes.
5) This is not a full-size, jet-powered kitchen blender.  Friends who attempted to use the Blend-Active as such learnt this the hard way.

For our family, the Breville Blend-Active was an excellent alternative to using – and cleaning! – a full-size blender to make drinks that were going to be taken out in the garden, on a picnic or out with us on the bike. The blender is well made and has done everything we’ve asked of it – the two bottles supplied were perfect for two young children, and additional (or replacement) bottles are easy enough to get hold of from Breville, if required. The Blend-Active is light enough and has been easy enough to take with us on self-catering weekends away in the UK.

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For your chance to win a brand new Breville Blend-Active blender (£29.99 RRP) complete with a one-year Breville guarantee, please enter telling me whether you will most use your blender for vegetable or fruit smoothies with bonus entries via the Rafflecopter widget above.

Disclosure: Own purchase, I was not asked to write a review, nor offered any incentive. Giveaway sponsored by Ren Behan. Affiliate links included. Giveaway featured on sites including loquax.co.uk and ThePrizeFinder.com

July 10, 2014

Review: Pink Lining Children’s Lunch Box

Review: Pink Lining Children’s Lunch Box

So, in my dream life, whilst on maternity leave, I’d be running a gorgeous and useful website, offering pretty baby changing bags with matching bottle holders, children’s satchels and lunch boxes and handy holdall bags for chic weekends away. As I said, in my dream life…instead, I’m lusting over such websites, whilst trying to keep up with the demands of organising a busy household and a newborn baby! Happily, Pink Lining (one such website with a range of goodies designed by Charlotte Pearl for PL Child) have sent me a distinctive children’s lunch box to review. When I have a few extra minutes spare, I’m looking forward to browsing the rest of their website (and pretending) that I need yet another changing bag.

Pink Lining Lunch Box

The packed lunch debate is currently highly active in our house. My junior school-aged son has decided he no longer likes school dinners and instead wants to take in a packed lunch. My daughter, who currently takes a packed lunch into nursery, starts big-school in September and will benefit from the Government’s new free school meals scheme. If truth be told, I was quite looking forward to not having to get up and make any packed lunches at all and I’m still trying to convince my seven-year old that school dinners are the way forward. In the meantime, there is still a week or so of school to get through, with a couple of school trips to cater for. So, in comes this lovely Robbie the Robot lunch box. He’ll also come in handy for our summer holiday to Wales too, as we like to take easily transportable lunch boxes, rather that clumpy picnic baskets, with us on the beach.Pink Lining Lunch Box

At £15, the Robbie the Robot lunch box isn’t cheap, but it is well made and very sturdy. It is thermo-insulated, with a zip open front. Inside there is a blue mesh pocket to keep cutlery or food separate, such as packets of dried fruit, and an elastic loop to store a water bottle or drink. It’s a good size, so you can pack in quite a big container. Inside, it’s wipe clean and outside it is made of a laminated cotton canvas. There’s also a handle and a clip on top – handy to attach to a buggy whilst walking to school.

Pink Lining Lunch Box

There are a few designs to chose from –  Little Lady (with a ladybird design), Robbie the Robot (shown in my photos), Dinosaur Walk, Damsels and Unicorns, and Knights and Dragons. The designs and character repeat throughout the range so you can buy matching mini and large rucksacks, picture satchels which are classic yet unique, as well as larger sports bags and duffle bags. I really love the fact that this range is a little bit different, and a little quirky – not everyone likes Disney Characters or Spiderman! These unique lunch bags would be very easy for a small child or toddler to spot in an amongst other lunch boxes in the pile.

Pink Lining are a British-based company, who have been featured in Vogue and Tatler. Their PL Child children’s bags and lunch boxes are also stocked at Mamas and Papas. Pink Lining changing bags are stocked in John Lewis, as well as online at PinkLining.com in the USA.

With many thanks to Pink Lining/PL Child for sending me the Robbie the Robot lunch box for review. All opinions my own, links editorially given, the review is unpaid.  

Do school dinners or packed lunches rule in your house?

June 4, 2014

Giveaway: The After School Cookbook by Nick Coffer

Giveaway: The After School Cookbook by Nick Coffer

As mentioned in my previous post, I recently shot some press images for The After School Cookbook by Nick Coffer – publication date Thursday 5th June 2014.

Publishers Hodder and Stoughton have also very kindly offered me three copies of this great, family-friendly cookbook to giveaway, so if you’d like to get your hands on a copy, simply enter via the Rafflecopter widget below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

After School Cookbook
Cover image provided by Hodder & Stoughton. Cover design by Bobby Birchall

 

With thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for providing the three giveaway copies.

The After School Cookbook By Nick Coffer
120 quick, easy and affordable recipes for your hungry kids
Published: Thursday 5 June 2014
Hodder & Stoughton Trade Paperback & eBook £16.99

(Disclosure: Amazon affiliate link included)

May 30, 2014

Kitchen Wizz Pro (Sage by Heston Blumenthal) – Review

Kitchen Wizz Pro (Sage by Heston Blumenthal) – Review

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been road-testing and reviewing a food processor called the Sage by Heston Blumenthal Kitchen Wizz Pro. Space, as I have mentioned lots of times within my posts, is in short supply in my kitchen. Gadgets either have to be used daily; e.g. the toaster, the kettle etc. or be multi-functional in order to stay on show and take up room on my counter. The only food processing device (aside from blenders) I’ve previously used is a very small mini chopper, which comes apart and can be stored in a drawer, although the most I can generally do with that is to chop one onion at a time, make a small quantity of pesto or biscuit crumbs in batches for a cheesecake base. So, the Kitchen Wizz Pro was quite a big step up for me and there were lots of elements for me to try out. What I really wanted to know was whether the Kitchen Wizz Pro would be a useful, time-saving device – sufficient to justify both the £399 (RRP) price tag and the space it would take up on my counter.

Kitchen Wizz Pro
Kitchen Wizz Pro Food Processor with accompanying Accessory Storage Box

So, where do we start with food processors? Most consumers will have heard of, or know someone, who has a Magimix, Cuisinart or a Kenwood food processor and these sorts of brands have passed through enough kitchens for you to be able to make an informed choice and/or read enough reviews and recommendations when it comes to choosing which one to buy. The Sage by Heston Blumenthal range is comparatively new when it comes to choosing or identifying a kitchen or home appliance (though Sage are part of the BRG Appliances – Breville group) and there are also increasing numbers of celebrity chefs endorsing kitchen products. On the one hand, it makes sense – chefs spend the majority of their time in the kitchen and so should be well-placed to recommend products that they believe home cooks may benefit from investing in. On the other hand, does a celebrity endorsement guarantee a quality product?

In the case of the Kitchen Wizz Pro, there are lots of features that have been incredibly well thought-out. It is described as offering “super fine, variable slicing,” but, as I’ve discovered for myself, its functionality goes way beyond that to include dough kneading, whisking, emulsifying, milkshake/smoothie making and pureeing.

Kitchen Wizz Pro

What do you get for your £400?

The Kitchen Wizz Pro comes with both a large capacity bowl (2.5 litres – 15 cups dry ingredients, 10 cups for liquid ingredients) and a smaller capacity bowl (the mini processing bowl neatly stored within the larger bowl), a timer mode, illuminated push button control (on/off/pulse), overload protection (a warning should the motor become overheated) and a 2000 watt heavy duty “direct drive” induction motor. A very specific unique feature is the wide feed chute (14cm)  at the top of the food processor – again – with both a large and small feed chute, to allow you to process a wide range of ingredients. The machine also has rubber feet to stop it from wriggling around when in use.

Kitchen WIzz Pro
Larger and Smaller (mini) food processing bowls

The Kitchen Wizz Pro also comes with an “Accessory Storage Box” which I’ve re-named my “blade box” to neatly and safely house five multi-function discs –

  • An adjustable slicing disc – a variable slicing disc which cleverly moves up and down so that you can manually adjust the thickness setting from 0.5mm to 8.0mm slices
  • A julienne disc – long thin strips
  • A chip cutting disc – for homemade, long, chunky chips
  • A reversible shredding disc – fine and coarse shredding
  • A whisking disc – for egg whites, cream and light batters

There are also three separate processing blades –

  • A four blade processor – my favourite – four blades for maximum speed and power
  • A mini blade – for the mini processing bowl
  • A dough blade – for kneading/combining ingredients into a smooth dough or batter

Extras include a cleaning brush and a plastic spatula.

You can put all of the accessories in the dishwasher. Sage recommend not doing so too often with the main bowls. So far, I’ve found all the elements easy to clean.

Kitchen Wizz Pro 4 blade slicer
Kitchen Wizz Pro 4 blade processor

Safety

I really like the fact that the accessories can be stored neatly away in the accessory box, perhaps in a cupboard or a drawer, and that the four blade processor (above) has an additional protective case within the box.

Another big tick in the box is the fact that the machine won’t operate until the bowl and lid are correctly in place (you’ll hear a click) – this is called the Feed Chute Safety System.

Kitchen Wizz Pro
Feed Chute Safety System

You’ll also get a warning should the motor start to overheat – called the Overload Protection System.

The blades are incredibly sharp – I’d recommend watching the full video guide (shown at the bottom of the post) before using the machine and reading the accompanying guide thoroughly. Also, watch your fingers when you change the discs/blades, take them out of the processing bowl, or wash them.

Guarantee

The Kitchen Wizz Pro comes with a 2 year repair or replacement warranty, plus a very generous 25 year motor warranty – with product registration.

 Kitchen Wizz Pro

What have I made in my Kitchen Wizz Pro?

I used the adjustable slicing disc to shred my white cabbage, followed by the reversible shredding disc to shred carrots (coarsely and thinly) for a quick coleslaw, as well as wizzing up some onions for my mince.

Kitchen Wizz Pro Shredded Cabbage

You can also make breadcrumbs or cheesecake biscuit crumbs, or whizz up onions, raw vegetables, fruit and cooked meats (e.g. leftover roasts). The smaller bowl is ideal for basil pesto, chillies, and for finely chopping nuts.

Another positive for me, with a third baby coming along soon, is the ability to be able to make purees and creamed vegetable soups by adding stock, cream or liquid in through the chute. The plastic components are made of BPA free material and are free of Bisphenol A, but I’d always leave any hot liquids to cool slightly before adding them in.

Cake-making gets a hand too, as you can use the Kitchen Wizz Pro to make all-in-one cake batters. You can also use the whisking disk (also called the emulsifying disc) to make milkshakes, smoothies and whisk egg whites. I’ve also used the emulsifying disc to make a quick homemade mayonnaise – you could use it for lots of sauces.

If you are a keen bread-maker or dough-maker, you can use the dough blade to knead dough – doughnuts here we come!

Kitchen Wizz Pro

I also used the adjustable slicer to make thinly slices potatoes (as well as mincing my own meat and onions) in this Potato and Lamb Moussaka recipe.

As mentioned my favourite accessory is the 4 blade processor. I’ve been able to buy better quality cuts of meat to make my own mince for burgers, sauces and meals, such as lasagne and moussaka. I know exactly what I’m feeding my family and there is less gristle. I’d rather buy and eat less meat, but of a better quality and the speed at which the four blades cut through chunks of meat is very impressive.

Kitchen Wizz Pro

Additional notes

The body measures 45x29x23 and it weighs in at almost 9kg so if possible, I’d recommend that you need enough space to keep the main body of the food processor out on your counter top, rather than storing it away between uses to get maximum use out of it.

The Kitchen Wizz Pro was also awarded the ‘Best Buy’ mark in the Food Processor category in 2013. Which? says:

“This food processor is a strong all-rounder, superbly chopping and blending at a rapid pace and earning itself Best Buy status.”

It scored 77%, putting it on a par with the Bosch MCM4100GB food processor with liquidiser. The only food processors to score more highly were the Kenwood’s CH250 mini chopper and the Magimix Le Micro mini choppers (12245, 18104, and 18103). The Kitchen Wizz Pro beat the Kenwood CH180A mini chopper, the Magimix Cuisine Systeme 4200 food processor, the Morphy Richards Accents 48911 and the Kenwood’s Multipro FP734. Granted, there are discrepancies in price amongst all of the products tested – but clearly, the Kitchen Pro Wizz has earned it place in the Best Buy charts through Which? testing.

My Overall thoughts

Once you get into the habit of using a food processor regularly, it quickly becomes second nature and there are plenty of multiple uses for the Kitchen Wizz Pro to justify the cost of the machine and the space it takes on the counter. The Kitchen Wizz Pro looks smart and professional and I like the fact that there are two bowls within the one unit – the larger bowl as well as the mini processing bowl. I really like the ‘Accessories Storage Box’ as it’s neat and can easily be stored in a cupboard or drawer, along with the instruction manual, so you don’t have to keep looking for bits or finding a place to store them all. It clips together securely so you can store it upright or horizontally. Some food processors have an additional jug blender, but I don’t really see the need to have an extra item to store, when the large bowl can quickly and efficiently process soups, milkshakes and smoothies. I have quickly got used to the different blades within the box and their uses and the machine as a whole, cleans up easily and well. The buttons, which light up, are easy to use and it really does take seconds to chop and slice once the correct blade is in place and you’ve locked the bowl and lid into place.

Look out for good deals – at the time of writing – Lakeland have an offer on – when you buy the Kitchen Wizz Pro you also get the Sage Multi Cooker for free – worth £89.99 – as well as free delivery.

You can also buy the Kitchen Wizz Pro on Amazon.co.uk for £360.00

For another perspective, read Gary’s review over on Big Spud here.

Here’s a You Tube video showing you how the Kitchen Wizz Pro works –

You can also follow @SageAppliances on Twitter and Like their page on Facebook/SageAppliances

Disclosure: I was sent the Sage by Heston Blumenthal Kitchen Wizz Pro for the purposes of a review. I was not required to write a positive review, nor paid any money to do so and all opinions are my own. Amazon affiliate links included. Other links editorially given. 

Have you tried any of the appliances in the Sage by Heston Blumenthal range? Do you use a food processor in your domestic kitchen? Leave a comment to let me know!

May 24, 2014

Salter Electronic Kitchen Scale – Review & Giveaway

Salter Electronic Kitchen Scale – Review & Giveaway

There’s very little room left for anything in the kitchen at home, so when I was looking last summer for a new kitchen scale, I knew that bulky, heavy mechanical scales – however iconic – were never going to make the shortlist.

I needed a kitchen scale that I could store with ease, but that was reliable enough to survive being taken out and used pretty much every day. The Salter Slim Design Electronic Kitchen Scale (sometimes sold as the Salter Disc Electronic Kitchen Scale) was cheaper than I had budgeted (update: it was £19.99 last year, but at the time of writing this review is now available for £10 here). It looked smart in the online pictures in black and in white (I chose white), had the features I was looking for in a set of everyday scales, and was advertised with a Salter manufacturer’s fifteen-year guarantee.

Salter Slim Design Electronic Platform Kitchen Scale - Black

When I took the Salter Slim Design Electronic Kitchen Scale out of its box, I was immediately pleased that at 16cm x 18cm x 2cm it was small enough to be stored in a kitchen cubby hole, but not so fragile and wafer-thin that you worry that it will get damaged by a clumsy hand within the week.

The top of the scale is dominated by a large, wipe-clean stainless steel disc platform for measuring ingredients directly. In front of the disc are two usefully large buttons, located either side of a central, easy-to-read LCD display.

You press the left button to turn the electronic scale on and, when held down, off again.

The right button is used to cycle metric and imperial measurements:

– grams (per gram up to 5Kg)
– pounds and ounces (11lb in 0.1oz steps)
– millilitres (per ml up to 5l)
– fluid ounces (175fl.oz in 0.1fl.oz steps)

The left button can be pressed at any time when the scale is on and the reading will promptly zero. This is a huge time saver. Rather than having to weigh an empty bowl and mentally note the weight you’ll need to take off the combined ingredients and bowl, Salter simply lets you put the bowl on the scale and press to zero, before adding the ingredient until the required amount is showing on the LCD screen. If you need to add a further ingredient to the same bowl, zero the weight again before adding away. As often as you need. No maths required.

Having used the scale hundreds of times now, I have two tips to pass on that will help you:

– to keep the scale thin, Salter located the LCD screen on the top side. This means that very wide bowls have the potential to cover the LCD. Most of the time you are fine, but it’s something to be aware about.
– the LCD screen displays the current weight in large, easy-to-read digits but the unit measurement is in small text. You’ll sense quickly which is which but until then, don’t forget your glasses if you require them.

I’ve found my Salter scale to be incredibly straightforward to use. It is accurate and the weight displayed always settles quickly. If you are moving away from mechanical scales for the first time you will be amazed at how much time and hassle you save. Highly recommended.

Giveaway

For your chance to win one of two brand new Salter Slim Design Electronic Kitchen Scales (£19.99 RRP) complete with a fifteen-year Salter guarantee, please enter telling me which colour scale you would like, black or white.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: Own purchase, I was not asked to write a review, nor offered any incentive. Giveaway sponsored by Ren Behan. Affiliate link included. Giveaway featured on sites including loquax.co.uk and ThePrizeFinder.com

 

May 22, 2014

Review: A Change of Appetite by Diana Henry

Review: A Change of Appetite by Diana Henry

I can hardly believe it’s been two years since the publication of Salt Sugar Smoke, a Diana Henry book that taught me so much about the art of preserving and which fast became one of the most-thumbed books on my shelf. Fast-forward to 2014 and Diana’s latest book, A Change of Appetite, shares her journey towards a healthier lifestyle where food remains delicious and enjoyable. This book was inspired by Diana’s experiences with friends turning to her for healthy recipes, and her Doctor’s advice to improve her own health. Throughout the book, the emphasis is firmly focussed on eating “really well and happily,” with more fish, vegetables and alternative grains, and fewer refined carbs, meats and ‘heavy’ foods. Diana doesn’t declare anything off-limits, and offers readers recipes which aim to improve our diets without sacrifice or need to turn ourselves into health food fanatics.

I’m much more into living life to the full than I am into thinking of my body as a temple – Diana Henry

A Change of Appetite
Photos by Laura Edwards provided by Mitchell Beazley

 

Of A Change of Appetite, Yotam Ottolenghi says “[Diana] knows her colours, she knows her flavours and she knows how to marry them perfectly.” I find this summarises Diana’s recipes well – always filled with exciting, unusual and often intriguing ingredients, yet somehow effortlessly and perfectly brought together. Fresh ingredients are at the forefront, combined with delicate herbs, edible flowers and exotic spices to create her trademark ‘otherworldly’ cookery style. There are also plenty of eye-catching food photographs by Laura Edwards to gaze at, too.

Within Diana’s recipes there are always layers of flavours and interesting textures. You’ll find salad dressings inspired by the Asian ‘hot, sour, salty, sweet’ mantra, for example combining together lime juice, fish sauce, a sprinkle of sugar and groundnut oil. On other dishes, Diana adds an extra bite though the clever use of toppings like sesame seeds, a sprinkling of poppy seeds, and a basil gremolata with almonds and lemon. A walnut sauce based on a Georgian recipe for satsivi livens up her roast chicken, over which are scattered marigold flowers.

A Change of Appetite will help adjust any tendency to over-sugar, with a delicious recipe for raspberries with basil and buttermilk sherbet delivering a “mouth-puckeringly refreshing” hit, and Diana’s Greek yogurt and apricot ice cream, using apple juice and runny honey, quickly combining into a peachy-coloured Spring dessert.

There is an emphasis on seasonality, with recipes and chapters arranged into the four seasons, with accompanying menu ideas to help you frame the perfect dinner party. For example, in Spring, Diana suggests serving a menu of shaved vegetables with lemon and olive oil, salmon with baby leeks, and blueberry and gin jellies. Whilst in Winter, you would do well to serve hot bagna cauda, Georgian chicken with walnut sauce, followed by orange and pomegranate cake – recipe here.

Diana is an elegant writer, drawing her reader in and capturing their imagination with recipes inspired from a very wide selection of cuisines from around the world. I have found many new favourite recipes within A Change of Appetite, but at the top of the list are Diana’s salad of goat’s curd, blueberries and watercress, her beetroot and poppy seed loaf cake, and a very simple recipe for spiced pork chops with ginger and mango relish. For lunch today, I thoroughly enjoyed Diana’s nectarine, tomato and basil with torn mozzarella.

Goat's_Curd_Salad
Goat’s curd, blueberries and watercress. Photo by Laura Edwards provided by Mitchell Beazley

A Change of Appetite is a recipe book that you can both learn from and cook from.  I especially liked Diana’s ‘final thoughts’, in which she shares useful mantras and notes, and her well-considered ‘essential reading’, ‘wider reading’ bibliography and supplier lists.

Having now read the book from cover to cover, I feel assured that, once again, Diana has proven that she remains able to predict the needs of her audience.  In A Change of Appetite, she recognises that her readers are developing an interest to move towards foods that support a healthy lifestyle and a healthy attitude, without going overboard or giving up everything you love to eat. That you can make some very basic changes to your diet in order to feel healthier, and that a little treat every now and again isn’t off limits. Best of all, Diana’s attitude isn’t patronising or prescriptive, she simply states:

“I have undergone a change of appetite. I’m eating better, I feel better, I have more energy. My way forward has been to reduce refined carbs and significantly increase the range of veg I eat. You might use the knowledge in this book and settle on a slightly different path. Even if you’re not bothered about health you’ll eat deliciously…It’s food that makes you feel revitalized and energetic. Deprivation is not on the menu.”

A Change of Appetite
Nectarine, Tomato and Basil Salad with torn mozzarella, Orange and Pomegranate cake (with redcurrants in place of pomegranate seeds)

A Change of Appetite – where healthy meets delicious – is published by Mitchell Beazley, RRP £25.00 – available on Amazon for £16.75 at time of writing.

With many thanks to Diana for the signed copy and to the publisher for two additional copies to give away – you can enter our competition here.

Diana Henry is one of Britain’s very best food writers, twice-named ‘Cookery Journalist of the Year’ by the Guild of Food Writers, The Sunday Telegraph’s Food Writer  and the author of eight acclaimed books, including ‘Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons’ and ‘Food from Plenty’. You can follow her on Twitter @DianaHenryFood and visit her website here.

Related articles –

Words of Wisdom – Meeting Diana Henry

Tea with Diana Henry to celebrate Salt Sugar Smoke 

May 7, 2014

Giveaway: A Change of Appetite by Diana Henry

Giveaway: A Change of Appetite by Diana Henry

Last week I shared a guest recipe for Diana Henry’s orange and pomegranate cake, which I was pleased to see was a really big hit with lots of you over the weekend. As mentioned, I’ve really been enjoying cooking from Diana’s latest book A Change of Appetite, which is packed full of lighter, vegetable, fish and grain-based dishes, with influences from Cambodia, North Africa, Peru, India and the Middle East.

If this book sounds like something you’d enjoy, I also have two additional copies of the book to giveaway. So, here’s your chance to enter and win a copy of your own.

A Change of Appetitie

Here’s how to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Change of Appetite by Diana Henry is published by Mitchell Beazley/Octopus Publishing Group RRP £25. I have two additional copies in hand and will be responsible for posting them out to the winners. Cover image courtesy of the publisher.

You may also enjoy reading my interview with Diana Henry here.

April 1, 2014

Giveaway: Hotel Chocolat Extra Thick Easter Egg

Giveaway: Hotel Chocolat Extra Thick Easter Egg

It’s chocolate time! I’m looking forward to reviewing some of this year’s Easter range by Hotel Chocolat. It’s a very good job I didn’t give up chocolate for lent as I’ve already demolished one of their Caramel Chocolate Easter Eggs! In the meantime, I have a Rocky Road to Caramel Extra Thick Easter Egg (RRP £28) up for grabs.

The Rocky Road to Caramel Extra Thick Easter Egg is an “extra thick cookie and caramel milk chocolate egg with an array of 12 chocolates: pralines, soft caramels and chocolate chicks” – Who wouldn’t want that for Easter?!

rocky-road-to-caramel-extra-thick-easter-egg-2014
Image Credit: Hotel Chocolat

Want it?!

To enter, simply follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter form below. The closing date is Wednesday 16th April 2014 at 12pm and I will try my best to get the egg to you in time for the Easter weekend!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For extra competition karma and more Easter updates, follow Hotel Chocolat on Twitter @HotelChocolat

With thanks to Hotel Chocolat for the review samples and giveaway prize.  

 

March 24, 2014

Giveaway Comté Cheese UK Hamper

Giveaway Comté Cheese UK Hamper

If you’re a fan of artisan cheese, then this is a giveaway for you. I’ve teamed up with Comté Cheese, produced in the mountains of the Jura Massif in Eastern France to offer one of my readers a hamper filled with Comté cheese – a cheese which has carried the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) status since 1958. The hamper contains 4 ages of Comté and as an extra bonus, some Jura region saucisson.

comte_cheese

Fun Facts About Comté

  • Montbéliarde and French Simmental are the only cows allowed for the production of Comté milk. They must only be fed with natural feed and have at least 2.5 acres of grazing pasture.
  • The milk producer, the cheesemaker and the affineur are the three professionals involved in the Comté chain, a journey which has been alive for centuries.
  • Amazingly, every morning, cheesemakers in the 160 fruitières scattered over the Comté production area, process the raw milk collected from the 2,700 local farms practicing non-intensive agriculture before handing it over to the 16 Comté affineurs, the specialists in charge of the delicate maturing process.

At home here in the UK, we love trying out cheese from lots of different places, and whilst a good, strong British cheddar and perhaps a little Cheshire or Wensleydale always feature on the shopping list, it’s always nice to experiment with a good quality, artisan cheese to bring another level of flavour to some of our favourite recipes, such as Macaroni Cheese with Baby Leeks or a super-quick Cheese and Leek Toastie for lunch.

Comte hamper

ENTER HERE

To take part in the giveaway, simply follow the instructions on the Raffelcopter widget below. If nothing appears, don’t forget to try hitting refresh on your page. The closing date is Monday 7th April 2014.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

With thanks to Comté Cheese UK for providing this giveaway prize and some additional samples for review. 

February 15, 2014

Giveaway: Abra-ca-Debora Pancake Day Hamper

Giveaway: Abra-ca-Debora Pancake Day Hamper

It’s been a little while since I’ve hosted a giveaway, this is the first one of the year, in fact. I managed to miss out on offering anything over Valentine’s Day, so instead I’ve got a lovely hamper full of Shrove Tuesday/Pancake Day goodies for one of you to feast on. Pancake Day falls on Tuesday 4th March this year. I really do appreciate all of the comments and support I receive on this blog, and so a giveaway is a nice way of saying thank you.

abra-ca-deboraIt’s hard to believe that it’s been two years since I last mentioned  Abra-Ca-Debora pancakes, when I created a tasty Cream Chicken and Spinach Savoury Dutch Pancake recipe, which was also featured on the recipe section of the Abra-Ca-Debora website.  Although it isn’t hard to whisk up a quick batch of pancakes batter, sometimes it is nice to be able to put together a really quick snack for the children after school using Abra-Ca-Debora pancakes and they also make a handy pudding or sweet snack, too.

Pancakes

I’m sure I’ll be coming up with some new ideas for tasty pancake filling again this year. If you missed them last year, do give my Polish Sweet Cream Cheese Pancakes a go, they taste almost like having a pancakes crossed with a warm cheesecake.

Polish-Pancakes

Here’s how to enter the giveaway –
a Rafflecopter giveaway

With many thanks to Abra-ca-Debora for offering this hamper as a giveaway prize. This giveaway is open until 4th March 2014. Good luck!

For more pancake day inspiration follow @Abra_ca_Debora on Twitter

 

December 9, 2013

Win a Romantic Meal for Two at Formans Restaurant in London

Win a Romantic Meal for Two at Formans Restaurant in London

During the lead up to Christmas and the festive season itself, there is always so much to do, leaving us feeling tired, stressed and probably fairly overwhelmed. So, wouldn’t it be nice to win and look forward to a lovely romantic meal for two at the stunning Formans Restaurant in London, close to the Olympic Stadium?

Formans Restaurant London

On Wednesday, I mentioned an exciting Christmas giveaway that I’d be running together with Forman & Field, who sent me a wonderfully romantic hamper for two to try. The giveaway itself launches here today and I’m finishing off the chicken liver and brandy parfait with some fresh bread for lunch as I type!

You could win a romantic meal for two at the Formans Restaurant in London, established in 1905 and very highly regarded within in the industry. The restaurant serves British food, award-winning English wines and Forman & Sons’ famous London Cure Smoked Salmon all from within modern surroundings with a riverside view.

Your romantic meal for two will include two starters, two main courses, two puddings, two coffees and a bottle of wine, too. One of your choices might include a Lake District Fillet of Beef, served with truffled Dauphinoise and a roasted root vegetable puree, or perhaps a selection of British cheeses.

There’s no maximum spend, but you must have your meal by the end of March 2014 and you must be able to arrange your own travel to London.

Wishing you all the best of luck with this one, it’s a lovely prize which I’m sure will make one couple very happy!

The giveaway closes on Monday 23rd December 2013.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Linked post – Review: Forman & Field Hamper for Two

August 15, 2013

Win a Cotswold Company Corner Shelf RRP £114

Win a Cotswold Company Corner Shelf RRP £114

I hope you are enjoying your summer. Things are busy here, but I do have another fantastic summer giveaway to share with you courtesy of The Cotswold Company – a British company offering country inspired furniture.

Perhaps you’ll find the perfect spot for a Cotswold Company corner shelf in your kitchen, utility room or entrance hall. The Montague small corner shelf on offer as a prize for one lucky reader is made of a solid oak frame with oak veneered panels – perfect if you like a country kitchen feel to your home – see image below.

The Cotswold Company have some lovely items on their site, I particularly like their wire baskets* for the kitchen – the smaller baskets are great for storing linens, enamel serving spoons, packets of herbs and spices and the larger ones are great for storing vegetables or pantry items.

Cotswold_Company_Wire_Baskets
*Wire baskets and items above are not part of the giveaway. Image credit: The Cotswold Company

To be in with a chance of winning a Montague small corner shelf (below) which usually retails at £114, please enter via the Rafflecopter widget below.

Cotswold Company Montague Corner Shelf
Montague Corner Shelf prize on offer

Enter the giveaway here!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can also follow The Cotswold Company on Twitter! @CotswoldCo

Good luck!

Entrants must live in the UK.

July 20, 2013

Review: Little Waitrose at John Lewis Watford plus £50 voucher giveaway

Review: Little Waitrose at John Lewis Watford plus £50 voucher giveaway

It’s not very often that I hear of neighbouring town Watford scoring a ‘first,’ but this week I visited the new Little Waitrose at John Lewis Watford – which is the first ‘little Waitrose’ to be situated within a John Lewis store. So, if you happen to be in Watford doing your shopping at the local shopping centre – Intu – formally called The Harlequin, you can now stop into little Waitrose as well for a quick grocery shop. You can see (and access) the new little Waitrose on the top floor of the store in Watford, just next door to A Place to Eat, the John Lewis café/restaurant. It’s much bigger than I had imagined and very roomy, using up office and warehouse space and costing just over £2 million pounds to complete.

Some of the little Waitrose in-store features include –

  • A bakery with fresh bread, pastries, cakes and patisserie
  • Fresh flowers
  • A fresh fish and meat counter
  • A large selection of wines and spirits
  • A lottery station, take away coffee machine, newspapers and magazines
  • A store and collect service

You can pick up everything from a pint of milk, to fresh fruit and vegetables, sandwiches, ready-meals and snacks, dried goods and non-food health and beauty items. There are a number of pay-desks, as well as the never-quite-so-quick self-service tills!

We popped into A Place to Eat where the children enjoyed a kiddies breakfast, before tootling around the store to browse and buy a few new food photography props! We then stopped at little Waitrose where the kids chose some treats from the bakery counter to bring home for a tea party.

Little Waitrose John Lewis

All in all, we had a seamless, stress-free shopping experience (apart from a fall-out with a self-service till – own fault!) and I think little Waitrose makes a great addition to the Intu shopping centre in Watford.

Back at home we enjoyed our food purchases from Little Waitrose and our tea party pieces from John Lewis Watford.

Little Waitrose John Lewis

You can find Little Waitrose at John Lewis at –

John Lewis (top floor)
Intu Watford (formerly The Harlequin Centre)
High Street
Watford
Hertfordshire
WD17 2TW
 
You can visit the John Lewis Watford Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/JohnLewisWatford
And follow @Waitrose on Twitter
 

Enter the Giveaway Here –

Enter the giveaway below via the Rafflecopter form to be in with a chance of winning at £50 John Lewis/Waitrose voucher to treat yourself too.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

With thanks to Waitrose and John Lewis for the invitation to visit the new store.

Disclosure- I received some gift vouchers to cover the cost of our shopping trip.

July 18, 2013

Win an £80 Experience Days Voucher

Win an £80 Experience Days Voucher

This is the first of two great summer giveaways here on my site – simply enter via the Rafflecopter form below for your chance to win an £80 Experience Days voucher to spend on any experience of your choice within the UK. You could uncover a hidden passion, explore the inner foodie within you, learn how to bake, bungee jump, or simply relax in a healthy spa with a nice smoothie.

Experience_DaysGood Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure – Thank you to Experience Days for offering one of my readers a voucher. I have personally not attended an Experience Day and this post is not an endorsement of any experience offered.

Images supplied by Experience Days and used with permission.  

Come back tomorrow for a second summer giveaway!

There’s also still a couple of days to enter my Russell Hobbs Mini Chopper Giveaway

June 25, 2013

Win a Russell Hobbs Desire Mini Chopper

Win a Russell Hobbs Desire Mini Chopper

Summer is the perfect time to pick a handful of fresh herbs or leaves ready to whizz up into a quick dressing or sauce. I’ve seen some really interesting pesto recipes recently, with walnuts in place of pine nuts or wild garlic in place of basil. Summer fruits can also easily be blitzed into a fruit coulis, or even a quick smoothie. Fresh herbs with a little vinegar and olive oil added make a quick salad dressing, too.

I have two Russell Hobbs Desire Mini Choppers (RRP £24.99) to giveaway this month. The Mini Chopper is easy to use and store and comes with a glass bowl and handy lid.

You can also read more reviews on the Russell Hobbs Desire Range here.

RH_Mini_Chopper

Please enter the giveaway by following the instructions on the Rafflecopter widget below –

 

For extra competition karma you can follow @RussellHobbsUK on Twitter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck!


May 21, 2013

Giveaway: Little Leons (Naturally Fast Recipes) Series

Giveaway: Little Leons (Naturally Fast Recipes) Series

Leon Restaurants are a chain of thirteen branches, the first one having been opened in Carnaby Street. They are owned by John Vincent and Henry Dimbleby and like all good foodie things, Leon cook books soon followed. There are now 4 Leon cook books (book 3 reviewed here) in the main series, and now, they have released some Little Leons – Naturally Fast Recipes –  each containing 64 pages and 40 colour photographs. The Little Leon series includes –

  • Breakfast & Brunch
  • Brownies, Bars & Muffins
  • Smoothies, Juices & Cocktails
  • Soups, Salads & Snacks.

Little Leons

The Leon ‘trademark’ is to offer “naturally fast food” – so there are plenty of wheat, dairy or sugar-free options in baking, super-charged breakfasts, flavour-packed soups, power-smoothies and even a couple of cocktails – including a Vodka Espresso hit!

Hot Chocolate is offered five ways with Mexican, Swedish and Jamaican twists, smoothies are charged with seeds. You can even try sugar-free vanilla cupcakes and vegan vanilla icing if the mood takes you. I’m torn between making Little Leon Breakfast & Brunch my favourite – particularly for the buckwheat Saturday Pancakes – or the Little Leon Brownies, Bars & Muffins for the Salmon & Dill Muffins. There’s definitely something for everyone in this little collection.

Little Leons are published by Conran Octopus and are priced at £6.99 each.

To enter this giveaway simple use the Rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck!

With thanks to Conran Octopus for the giveaway copies.    

May 12, 2013

Giveaway: Maille French Mustard BBQ Hamper – worth £70

Giveaway: Maille French Mustard BBQ Hamper – worth £70

I have more superb things to giveaway today, this time a Maille French Mustard Barbeque Hamper worth £70.00 filled with all the essentials for a great barbecue – including a BBQ utensil set, Maille apron, and selection of Maille mustards and sauces, such as Maille’s new peppercorn sauce that goes brilliantly with a barbecued steak. The Maison de Maille was founded in 1720, with the first  Maille mustard being unveilled to the public in 1747! Maille still make vinegars and mustards,  as well as sauces, mayonnaise and salad dressings – widely available in the UK.

Maille Mustards

To enter the giveaway, please use the Rafflecopet form below. The winner will be drawn randomly and Maille UK will be responsible for sending the prize out to the winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck and many thanks to Maille UK for offering this great prize to one of my lucky readers.

For a second chance to win pop over to Helen’s Fuss Free Flavour blog!

April 26, 2013

Giveaway: Greenvale Farm Fresh Potatoes & Jamie Oliver Roasting Dish

Giveaway: Greenvale Farm Fresh Potatoes & Jamie Oliver Roasting Dish

Another lovely giveaway for my readers to enter – this time, for a month’s supply of Greenvale Farm Fresh Potatoes and a pretty Jamie Oliver baking dish to roast them in. We love potatoes in our house. Any leftovers get thrown into soups to thicken them up or turned into a potato salad the next day. Greenvale Farm Fresh potatoes are sold in a 2kg mini recyclable paper packet (which helps them stay fresher for longer) and they are really good ‘all rounders’ – which means you can roast them, boil them or mash them. With your new dish, you could chop the potatoes into wedges, par-boil them for a few minutes and them roast them in a hot oven with some rosemary, salt and olive oil.

Greenvale Farm Fresh

Entry is via the Rafflecopter form below. The competition is UK only and further terms and conditions can be found on the form, too.

Look out for Greenvale Farm Fresh potatoes in Tesco and Booths.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

With thanks to Greenvale Farm Fresh for providing the potatoes and the dish as a prize.

Don’t forget to enter my Belvoir Fruit Farms and Sophie Conran giveaway here, too.

April 22, 2013

Giveaway: Belvoir Fruit Farms Hamper (worth £63.00)

Giveaway: Belvoir Fruit Farms Hamper (worth £63.00)

I have a lovely giveaway for you to enter this morning – a hamper from Belvoir Fruit Farms, worth £63.00. Belvoir Fruit Farms are based at the Belvoir Castle Estate in Lincolnshire . They make cordials, pressés and fruit crushes from their home and have been doing so since the seventies. They use fresh flowers, as well as fruits and spices and blend them with spring water.  The cordials are lovely and thick and are packed full of flavour, you can also use them in dressings and sauces – my favourite it the Apple, plum and cinnamon cordial. The Blueberry and blackcurrant cordial packs a punch, too.

Belvoir have recently launched a range of five new products with an English garden theme and to tie in with this would like to offer one of my readers the chance to win a hamper filled with Belvoir drinks along with a  Sophie Conran gardener’s journal and matching enamel mug.

Belvoir Fruit Farms

Entry is via the Rafflecopter form below. The competition is UK only and further terms and conditions can be found on the form, too.

Good luck!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

With thanks to Belvoir Fruit Farms for providing the prize.

For good competiton karma, you can also follow Belvoir on Twitter @BelvoirCordials or on Facebook www.facebook.com/belvoirfruitfarms

March 20, 2013

Giveaway: The Amalfi Coast by Katie & Giancarlo Caldesi

Giveaway: The Amalfi Coast by Katie & Giancarlo Caldesi

I had the pleasure of meeting Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi at their home when I took a pasta class with Katie Caldesi in 2011. At the time, Katie had just published a book called The Italian Cookery Course, which was one of my favourite books of 2011. Since then, Katie and Giancarlo have continued to be super-busy, teaching Italian courses at La Cucina Caldesi and running their restaurants, Caffè Caldesi in Marlebone and Caldesi in Campagna in the beautiful, quaint foodie town of Bray. Katie and Giancarlo are incredibly charismatic and passionate about authentic Italian food. I continue make my Lasagne at home to Katie’s recipe and I have been eagerly awaiting the release of their latest book, The Amalfi Coast, published by Hardie Grant, which they’ve written together.

Amalfi_Coast

I visited the Amalfi Coast in September 2005, with my soon-to-be husband. We ate like we’ve never eaten before and it was our last holiday pre-marriage and pre-children, so I hold onto some very special and precious memories of that trip. Like Katie and Giancarlo, we soaked up the people and the delights of Positano, Sorrento, Amalfi and Capri and this book brings back many wonderful memories for me. The people who live there are known as the Amalfitani, and the coastline is known as the Sorrentine Peninsula or la Costiera Amalfitana.

In her introduction, Katie mentions “the erratic local driving,” and yes, that is a memory I share and hold to this day, too! But I also remember the warmness of the people, the olive groves, the lemon trees, the seafood, and the largest gelato we’ve ever eaten in Amalfi! The ice creams was so large they obscured our faces in one of our photographs – I’ll have to dig it out.

In Katie and Giancarlo’s latest book The Amalfi Coast, you’ll find an overabundance of Southern Italian magic – Antipasti, Soups, Bread and Pizza, Risottos and Stocks, Pasta, Fish, Poultry and Meat, Vegetables, Desserts, Cocktails and Drinks and Cheese. They really have left no stone unturned in their quest to find the best food, the best people and the best stories to share with you.

I’m going to start with the Pasticcioti or Custard and Cherry Cakes as they look too delightful not to make and I’ll be back with a full review once I’ve immersed myself in everything Amalfi.

Here’s your chance to win a copy in the meantime –

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Amalfi Coast by Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi is published by Hardie Grant with an RRP of £25. With many thanks for my review and giveaway copies.

Related Posts

A Pasta Class with Katie Caldesi

Review: An Italian Cookery Course by Katie Caldesi

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