I won, I won!

It's not often that I win competitions but just before Christmas I won! I entered a competition run by a new company called Unearthed to win a hamper of food and a cookbook by Silvana Rowe (of Saturday Kitchen fame) called Feasts: food for sharing from central and eastern Europe.The hamper I was sent was fantastic! Unearthed produce a really wide selection of traditional foods from around Europe such as barrel aged Feta cheese, chorizo, Milano salami, and olives with manchego and whole chilies. The hamper I was sent contained all of these and a whole lot more besides. I was particularly pleased with the mini cooking chorizos they sent me which I have been searching for for a long long time with no success. The Catalan mini cooking sausages with fennel sound really interesting too and I have the perfect recipe lined up for those...
Unearthed are a new company that are bringing out new products all the time, the food is of really high quality and is a joy to cook with and eat! If you're in the UK you can find their products in Waitrose or get it from Able and Cole. If you're not in the UK then sorry, you can't! but there is a great blog that's worth checking out, it even features a couple of my recipes!

Now, on to the cookbook.I was really excited to get the cookbook as eastern European food is something I know virtually nothing about. There are recipes for strudel, goulash, poppy seed cake and a whole chapter on dumplings! I was thoroughly impressed by the book, the layout is attractive and easy on the eye, the pictures are fantastic, and best of all the recipes are different to what I'm used to and that makes them interesting and exciting to cook.

The recipe I chose to cook from the book was Chicken Imereti, it's Georgian recipe containing a whole lot of garlic, chili, cumin, saffron and walnuts. To make it the walnuts are ground to a paste along with the other ingredients then cooked up as a stew with some chicken pieces and stock, the result is chicken cooked in a spicy, almost satay like sauce. The recipe was a big hit, it's only down side being the cost, saffron and walnuts aren't cheap!
I whole-heartedly recommend the book, it really is brilliant, if you want to try something different then give it a go!

My thanks to the people at Unearthed for the brilliant prize!

Jordans Country Crisp tropical pavlova

Just before Christmas I was sent two boxes of Jordans Country Crisp to try, thanks to the hecticness that is Christmas it's taken until now to finally get around to trying them! For those of you that don't know Country Crisp is a mixture of crunchy oaty clusters that come mixed with a variety of delicious additions such as chocolate or strawberries.I've actually tried Country Crisp lots of times before, like a lot of people it's one of my favourite cereals and something I've grown up with. What I didn't know was that there is a Country Crisp Appreciation Society and that there was more to Country Crisp than pouring milk over it for breakfast, you can cook with it too!I was sent a whole page of recipe ideas to try and then found even more on their website, there are brownies, scones, muffins and loads more, the recipe I most liked the sound of was the meringue layer cake with cream and tropical fruit.

The original recipe called for layers of meringue baked on a bed of Country Crisp stacked up with whipped cream and tropical fruit. I borrowed the idea to make a Country Crisp pavlova with tropical fruit and passion fruit cream. The meringue base is made to a basic meringue recipe (egg whites, sugar) with a little of my home-made vanilla extract for flavour, the twist is that I spooned the meringue on top of a layer of chocolate Country Crisp before baking which gave it a fantastic crunchy texture and a lot more flavour than just plain meringue.The topping is made from cream whipped with the juice of two passion fruits then topped with chopped mango, kiwi fruit and more passion fruit. The finished pavlova was the perfect dessert for New Years Day, it wasn't to heavy which was a relief to everyone after all the heavy Christmas food, plus it brought a bit of sunshine into my house so we could all forget it was -3c outside!

A Merry Christmas Tray from Interflora

I have been very fortunate recently to have been sent lots of yummy things to review, last week I received a fantastic selection of Christmas goodies from none other than Interflora - the flower people.It was a revelation to me that Interflora did anything other than flowers but having sampled a selection of their food in the form of a Merry Christmas Tray I can honestly say I was impressed. I was sent both red and white wine, mince pies, choc chunk and orange oat biscuits, fudge, amaretto flutes, mixed fruit and nuts and a Miniature Christmas cake.

The tray came really well packed in a black cardboard box, in fact it was so well packed I had trouble getting it out! The good news once I'd found a way in was that everything was in perfect condition inside and really well presented too.

I haven't managed to try everything thing yet but I can report that the fudge is wonderfully rich and buttery, a quick glance at the ingredients revealed that it contained only real butter with no margarine or vegetable oil in sight - something I was exceptionally pleased about.

The mince pies were particularly good too, according to the box they are hand made and I think it makes a difference. The pastry was delicate and flaky with good flavour and most importantly of all there was plenty of mincemeat filling. The wine and cake are being saved for Christmas day, at least they are if I can resist them that long!

Christmas goodies from Able and Cole

There's a house just down the road from me that always have their Christmas decorations up by the beginning of November, it seems strange to me that anyone would want to start celebrating so early. I always try to leave all things Christmassy to the last minute, that way the novelty and excitement hasn't worn off by Christmas day!

Of course sometimes there are exceptions to the rule and this year was one of those times. Able and Cole offered to send me some 'Christmas goodies' to try, sausages wrapped in bacon and some cranberry and orange relish. The goodies arrived on Friday well packed in an insulated box full of ice, so far so good...

I cooked a mini Christmas dinner on Sunday -that's a roast chicken to me and you- to eat with the sausages and relish and put them to the full Christmas dinner taste test.Sausages wrapped in bacon sometimes quaintly called pigs in blankets are one of my favourite Christmas foods, I actually much prefer these to the turkey! Normally I'd make my own but after trying the sausages from Able and Cole I'd be really happy to serve theirs. Whenever I buy sausages the first thing I check is the meat content, anything below 70% and I don't buy them, the sausages I had to try came in at 85% so no problems there. They had a really good texture and were perfectly spiced with coriander, nutmeg and pepper. If you're looking for something to serve with your Christmas dinner this year I can highly recommend these.Next up was the cranberry and orange relish, I really loved this it made the perfect accompaniment to the sausages and chicken. Normally I would serve traditional cranberry sauce on Christmas day, this relish is quite different but I would say even more delicious. The flavour is far more complex than normal cranberry sauce, you can clearly taste the orange but there are also subtle spice flavours in the background, I'm sure I could taste cloves and star anise in there. The texture is thinner than cranberry sauce in fact it's almost pourable but that's no bad thing at all especially as the cranberries are left whole making this quite a chunky relish. As well as being perfect for Christmas I can imagine pairing this relish alongside pork, sausages, bacon or poultry.

Salmon steaks with lemon and caper butter sauce

I awoke last Friday morning to find that a large white box had mysteriously appeared on my back doorstep, it took me a while -I was still half asleep- to work out it was the salmon that Able and Cole had sent me to try.Inside the box were two pristine organic salmon steaks surrounded by ice packs to keep them cool. I could tell it was top quality fish the moment I looked at it, the two steaks were perfectly cut and prepared, they looked really fresh too.

When I have ingredients of this quality I like to prepare them simply so as not to mask their flavour. For these steaks I prepared a lemon butter sauce from lemon juice and zest, butter, capers and salt.I gently fried the steaks in a little olive oil, I was worried they might break apart as I cooked them but in the event they held their shape perfectly. The flesh was succulent and tender, the flavour which was mild and delicate was perfectly complimented by the lemon sauce. I served the fish alongside some dill potatoes, quite simply boiled new potatoes tossed with chopped dill and butter.

Overall I was really impressed by the service and the quality from Able and Cole, as sadly few of us have access to a proper fishmonger nowadays it's good to know that it's still possible to buy expertly prepared fish and with the added bonus of it being delivered to your door. My only criticism -and it's only minor- is that for the price it would have been nice if they had cut the steaks a little thicker.

Salmon with lemon butter sauce and dill potatoes

Ingredients:

• 75g Butter
• A shallot or half a small onion very finely chopped
  
• A large juicy lemon, zested and juiced
  
• 2 tbsp chopped capers (rinsed if packed in salt)
• Salt
  
• 1 Salmon steak per person

For the potatoes

• New potatoes
• Butter
  
• Dill finely chopped
  
• Salt

Method:

• First make the sauce. In a small saucepan melt the butter and cook until it just begins to brown at this point add the chopped shallot and lemon zest and mix well.
• Next add the lemon juice and capers to the pan, stir the sauce and taste it should be quite sharp. Season with salt if you think it needs it.
• For the salmon heat a little olive oil or butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Season the steaks on both sides then add to the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes per side turning halfway through cooking. The time will depend on how thick your steaks are so check they are properly cooked before serving, they may take longer or less time than mine did.
  

For the potatoes:

• Boil some new potatoes in salted water until cooked.
• drain and add the butter and dill, mix well and serve.

Serve the salmon steaks with the sauce poured over the top and the potatoes on the side.

A box to try from Able and Cole

Able and Cole contacted me last week to see if I'd like to try one of their mixed fruit and vegetable boxes. I've had a mixed experience of organic boxes in the past, some good some not so good, so I was keen to try Able and Cole to see what they were like. Sure enough at 8:00 on Friday morning their was a knock on the door and I was greeted with a large cardboard box brimming with super fresh produce.My box contained apples, bananas, broad beans, carrots, cabbage, lettuce, Jersey royal potatoes, melon and spring onions. Clearly not all of it was locally grown -we don't grow many bananas in the UK- but it was, on the whole seasonal, mostly British and never air-freighted which is much better than most supermarkets can manage. It also contained a newsletter and recipe card which I thought was a nice touch.I was really impressed with my box, the quality was excellent, everything arrived looking really fresh and vibrant. The box I tried was the mixed fruit and veg box which cost £15.95 which I think it's pretty good value considering the box is organic and delivered right to your door. One thing to bear in mind if you ever do decide to get a box delivered is that you have no choice as to what goes in it. Personally I quite like the challenge of using unfamiliar vegetables and conjuring up new recipes but if you're the kind of person who likes to plan their meals a month in advance then maybe it's not for you.Cooking with vegetables of this high quality is a joy, I could tell they were good when I cooked with them and I could certainly taste it when I ate them.

The first meal I cooked using vegetables from my box was this broad bean and bacon risotto, simple but delicious.

A nice surprise in a HUGE box!

I love it when I get a parcel in the post, it's so much fun tearing off the paper to reveal what goodies are inside. It's even more exciting when the parcel is unexpected and you have no idea what it could possibly be.

A couple of weeks parcel arrived for me, it was a huge box, "that's funny" I thought, as I hadn't ordered anything. Inside the box was a wooden crate of the kind that zoos might transport deadly poisonous snakes in. I tentatively opened the crate and then it became clear, what was inside wasn't snakes (which was a relief!) it was something far more useful, and tasty. Muesli.

I ate all my muesli before I realised it might be a good idea to take a photo! This picture is courtesy of Kelloggs.

Kellogg's had contacted me a few weeks earlier to ask if I would like to try their new muesli range, of course I said yes and then promptly forgot all about it. The crate contained all four flavours of their new Nature's Pleasure range for me to try, they even sent me a bowl and a spoon!

The flavours were:

Almond, pecan and cashews: A bit dull and bland but a good basic muesli with plenty of crunch. If you like you breakfast quite plain or your not keen on fruit in your muesli then this is the one for you.

Almond, pecan and raisins: This one is very similar to the almond, pecan and cashew version but with raisins!

Apple and blackcurrant: I really liked this one, just as crunchy as the others but with big pieces of freeze-dried apples and blackcurrants and a hint of cinnamon, delicious.

Raspberry and cherry: The overall winner for me by a country mile, oaty crunchy goodness with tangy flavourful raspberries and cherries, this is as close to my idea of perfect muesli as I'm ever likely to find in a box!

One thing that really impressed me about these was that there was nothing strange or artificial in the ingredients list, in fact I think I have almost everything I need to make my own in my cupboards right now!

Nature's pleasure should be in the shops sometime around April so if you want to try some for yourself look out for it!

Discovery Tequila and Lime Salsa: A review

Recently I was sent a jar of Discovery's new Tequila and Lime Salsa to try, the blurb on the back of the jar describes it as "Fiery Mexican salsa made with tomatoes, onions, jalapeño pepper, tequila and lime juice. No nasties just lots of zingy chunks" It certainly sounded good and a quick check of the ingredients revealed there were definitely no "nasties" and yes it did contain real tequila. So far so good.So what did I do with it? I'm sure this would be great as a dip or an accompaniment to almost any Mexican food, as usual though I had to do something a bit different!
I made my own "Mexican style" burgers by adding cumin, garlic and coriander to the burger mixture, I served them in burger buns with lettuce, tomatoes and Discovery's new salsa.The burgers were a great success with the family and everyone loved the salsa. They thought it "had just the right level of heat" was "fresh tasting" and looked good. Personally I was very impressed with this, I don't usually buy ready made food but I would buy this. I thought it tasted like it had just been made, it had a fresh, clean flavour which was a perfect partner to the burger.
The only downside to this product is that none of us could really taste the lime or the tequila which is a shame as it sounded like a nice twist on the usual salsa. I also wouldn't describe it as fiery, there is a very mild heat which was perfect for me, if you like hot food though you might find this a bit on the mild side.
As far as I am aware this is only available in the UK but if you like Mexican food and can get hold of this I would recommend it highly. Overall 4/5