I have to tell you about this bottle of cola I was sent recently. I have been an imbiber of Diet Coke for years and years. Recently I decided to stop drinking diet drinks. My sister has been warning me about the dangers of taking in artificial sugars and such, and I realized that drinking the diet drinks actually increased my craving for sweet things. I had a horrible headache for about two weeks after I stopped drinking the diet coke and once I got past that, I have slept like a baby for the most part. I don't know if the two are related or not, but I am thinking they might be.
Anyways, the Fentimans people recently contacted me and asked me if I would like to try one of their drinks and so I said yes. They sent me a bottle of their Curiosity Cola. The Guardian newspaper has said . . . "It's the world's best cola!"
From the Fentimens' page: This curiously invigorating recreation of colas from yesteryear is made using infusions of the finest herbal ingredients.
Sounds intriguing to say the least. So what is it made of?
Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Fermented Ginger Root Extract (water, glucose syrup, ginger root, yeast), Sugar, Flavourings, Colour: Caramel (E150d), Phosphoric Acid (E338), Caffeine
Boo about the caffeine, it does say on the bottle that it is botanically brewed and fermented, with ginger and herbal extracts. My sister is really into fermenting and I I thought this was a good thing.
My thoughts? Ice cold and served over cracked ice it was delicious and refreshing. I quite, quite enjoyed it. And at only 40 calories, it's not too bad calorie wise either. I love that it's fermented. I love that it's botanical.
Thanks Fentimans for introducing me to a new beverage that I will probably buy from time to time!
To find out more about the Fentimans products do check out their page.
I always thought I had already discovered the World's Best Gingerbread. I was very happy with that recipe and I still am.
It's a very good Gingerbread . . . today though I came up with one that will certainly give my World's Best a run for the money!
Gingerbread is one of those things that smells heavenly when it's baking, but which looks quite unremarkable when it comes out of the oven and you look at it.
Gingerbread is one of those things that smells heavenly when it's baking, but which looks quite unremarkable when it comes out of the oven and you look at it.
It's only when you dip your fork into it that you realize what a truly moreish treat it really is!
This is no different . . . quite ordinary looking actually . . . maybe even a bit ugly with that crack in the top, but that's where the ugly and ordinary stops.
This is no different . . . quite ordinary looking actually . . . maybe even a bit ugly with that crack in the top, but that's where the ugly and ordinary stops.
When you sink your teeth into it's deliciously squidgy moistness . . . you realize that this is truly a Gingerbread to fall in love with.
And that what you thought was the best . . . was really only a pretender to the throne.
Simply cut into squares, this is fabulous . . . but split and filled with lemon curd . . . there is no doubt about it.
Simply cut into squares, this is fabulous . . . but split and filled with lemon curd . . . there is no doubt about it.
This truly IS the royalty of Gingerbreads.
Magnificently moist and squidgy . . . with a beautiful ginger flavour and just a hint of mixed spice . . .
The warmth of that Ginger and mixed spice is wonderfully enhanced by that tart sweet lemon curd filling . . .
The warmth of that Ginger and mixed spice is wonderfully enhanced by that tart sweet lemon curd filling . . .
I just don't think this could get any better. Seriously. If you like Gingerbread . . . you will ADORE this version. I'll eat my hat if you don't.
It's everything a good Gingerbread should be . . . with just enough heat and moist dampness that will keep you dipping your fork back into it for just . . . one . . . more . . . bite.
This deeply spiced and moist gingerbread cake is a dessert your family is sure to fall in love with.
Perfect for breakfast, lunch, dessert or midnight cravings. This is delicious any time of the day!
If you bake it, do promise me that you are going to try at least some of it split and filled with lush lemon curd! This is quite simply wonderful
Yield: Makes one 8 by 10 inch cake
Squidgy Gingerbread
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 50 Mininactive time: 5 MinTotal time: 1 H & 4 M
This is a lovely moist gingerbread. Perfect cut into squares and topped with a dollop of softly whipped cream, or even just eaten out of hand. Try splitting it and filling it with lemon Curd. DEE-licious!
Ingredients
- 240ml of golden syrup (1 cup golden corn syrup) (can use corn syrup or molasses)
- 125g butter (1/2 cup plus 1 TBS)
- 250g plain flour, sifted (1 3/4 cup plus 1 TBS)
- 1 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 TBS ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp mixed spice (see notes below)
- 1 large free range egg
- 275ml whole milk (1 cup plus 2 1/2 TBS)
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 5. Butter an 8 by 10 inch deep baking tin really well. Line the bottom with baking paper leaving an overhang so that you can
- lift the cake out easier.
- Measure the syrup and the butter into a saucepan. Cook over low heat until the butter melts.
- Sift the flour, soda, salt, ginger and mixed spice together in a bowl. Whisk in the syrup mixture until well blended.
- Beat the milk and egg together, and then beat into the batter a little bit at a time until thoroughly mixed.
- Pour into the prepared pan. The batter will look very thin, but not to worry, this is how it is supposed to look.
- Bake for 50 minutes, until the center springs back when lightly touched, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Leave to cool in the pan for 5 minutes prior to lifting out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
Notes:
Make Your Own Mixed Spice:
You can easily make your own mixed spice: Combine 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 1 tsp each of ground coriander and nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of ground ginger, 1/4 tsp each of ground cloves and all spice. Mix well and store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.
I just have to show you what I recently received via the Post. Yep that is a cookbook that was created using some of my favourite recipes here on the blog! Don't you just love the cover? I know! Sooo cute! It's a nice size (A4) with a hard back glossy cover and ring binding, perfect for laying out flat to read and cook from.
There is a complete index of recipes with their titles and page numbers . . .
And included on each page, along with the recipe there are lovely recipe photos (my own of course) as well as highlighted handy tips . . .
As well as handy keys stating serving size and prep and cooking times! Plus it's been published in France, not in China. (That's a real plus in my books!)
And where did I get this you ask? Why it was created myself on the Gourmandize UK-Ireland site.
If you have a blog, or you like a blog, or you even like recipes and want to, you can very easily create your own book too.
Gourmandize books are designed by you. As such, they are perfect for Mothers and Fathers Day, birthdays, Christmas, graduations, retirement parties and even just for yourself to cuddle like a proud parent and then place on your shelf, where you can gaze at it admiringly every time you walk past!!
For more information do check out Gourmandize UK-Ireland. It's easier than you think! Right now they have a Limited Time offer on as well!
Right now you can:
Sign up and receive a voucher code to create one free cookbook with your personal recipes! (See below *)
From 10 recipes to make a small A5 format book
From 25 recipes make the classic square format
And from only 40 recipes you can make the A4 Deluxe Edition - each format entirely free incl. p&p!
This is our spring bank holiday this weekend, which means it's a long weekend for working people. I hear we are supposed to have some nice weather as well. I am loving these longer, brighter and warmer days!
I normally like to pull out all the stops for breakfast at the weekend. A leftover from my working days I suppose. I didn't have a lot of time during the week to make much of a cooked breakfast, so Saturdays usually meant I would do us something special.
Retirement means that every day is a bit of a holiday it seems, although in truth I don't know how I ever got everything I had to do done when I was working full time as my retirement time seems to just evaporate into thin air! I still reserve goodies like this for the weekend however . . . old habits die hard.
I saw something similar to this on Pioneer Woman Cooks a number of months back, but you know . . . yeast breads are truly not my forte, and I am rather lazy on top of it all, so I never did anything about it. I got to think though, I could really actually do something similar using buttermilk scone dough . . .
And so that is what I did. I created a flaky and light buttermilk scone dough, flavoured with a bit of fresh lemon zest . . . I rolled this out flat into a rectangle. I then rubbed butter, sugar and more lemon zest together until it was a bit crumbly. I sprinkled this over top of the dough . . .
I scattered fresh blueberries over top and rolled it all up tightly and cut it into thick slices which I placed into a butter glass baking dish, brushed with some more butter milk and then baked in a hot oven until the scone dough was all puffed up and golden brown and that lucious lemon and blueberry filling was just slightly oozing. Slathered with a lemon buttercream drizzle hot out of the oven it made a GORGEOUS breakfast bake. And to think . . . it didn't take hours of waiting for dough to rise or any such thing. Almost instant, pure taste gratification. You can spell that SCRUMMDIDDLYUMPTIOUS! That's almost like supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, except its a whole LOT better. ☺ Tastier too!
*Blueberry & Lemon Breakfast Buns*
Serves 8
A delicious breakfast bake with tender buttery lemony scone dough, spread with a scrummy lemon sugar, sprinkled with blueberries, rolled up, cut and baked,
then slathered with a delicious butter lemon icing when done.Served warm, this will have your family oohing and ahhing and thinking about it all day.
For the scone dough:
250g of plain flour (1 3/4 cup plus 1 TBS)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
pinch of salt
3 TBS caster sugar
40g unsalted butter, softened (3 TBS)
1 large free range egg
75ml of butter milk (1/3 cup)
(may need more as needed to create the perfect dough)
To fill:
12 TBS caster sugar
4 TBS butter
the finely grated zest of one lemon
250g of fresh blueberries (scant 2 cups)
a bit more buttermilk for baking
For the glaze:
195g of icing sugar, sifted (1 1/2 cups)
the finely grated zest 1/2 lemon
the juice of 1/2 lemon
1 TBS softened butter
Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Butter a deep oval baking dish really well. (Mine is about 12 inches long at it's widest and 8 inches across at it's deepest, and about 3 inches in depth.) It's important that you butter it well. Set aside.
Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Whisk in the lemon zest, sugar and salt. Drop in the butter and then rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until you get a mixture resembling fine bread crumbs. Beat the egg and buttermilk together. Stir this into the flour mixture using a round bladed knife. You made need to add a bit more milk if the dough seems dry. Knead gently and turn out onto a floured board. Pat out into a rectangle measuring roughly 8 inches by 12 inches, and about 1/2 inch thick.
Rub the lemon zest, sugar and butter together for the filling. Sprinkle this evenly over top of the patted out dough. Scatter the blueberries over top evenly, pressing them down lightly into the dough. Starting from the long end, roll up the dough to make a fat roll, trying to roll it as tightly together as possible, and keeping as much of the filling intact as you can. Press the ends gently to firm up. Using a very sharp knife, cut into 8 evenly sized slices. Place the slices into the buttered dish. I used a very large sharp chef's knife to cut the slices and then let them fall on top of the knife and used the knife to move them to the dish. Take any bits of berry or sugar that fall out in the process and stick them back in once you get them into the dish. They will be a fairly snug fit, but not to worry, this is the way it should be. Brush the top of all with some more butter milk.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until well risen and golden brown on top. It should look dry and beginning to just turn brown on the bottoms, which you should be able to see if you have used a clear glass dish.
While the buns are baking whisk together the icing sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and softened butter to make a smooth somewhat thin icing. As soon as you take the buns from the oven slather this delicious icing over top of the warm buns to cover them all. Let it settle in a bit and then serve warm, separating the rolls and placing each onto serving plates for eating.
I just love fresh Spring asparagus. I don't eat asparagus any other time of the year because there is just no comparison in flavour. I believe in eating seasonally. I don't think asparagus that has been shipped over from Peru in the depths of winter has any flavour at all really. The taste never justifies it's high price in my opinion!
That's why I get so excited when Spring rolls around! Not only are the days getting longer and the temperatures warmer, but I know it won't be long before I am able to enjoy our delicious British asparagus at it's best! British Asparagus season lasts officially from about the last week of April til the third week in June, so it's not long, but I try to get as much of it as I can during that time!
I believe that British Asparagus has rightfully been described as the best in the world. (Along with the carrots and strawberries in my opinion!) Tender and sweet, there really is no comparison! What you want to look for are firm green spears with tight green tips. If they are limp and sad looking, don't buy them. They're old. Blah! And if they look in the least bit slimy, run, run as fast as you can away from them. Bad, Bad. (Don't laugh. I have seen this!)
As it's grown in sand, you will want to wash your asparagus well. I just lay them in a dish of cold water and swish them about a bit. The sand should fall right off. The ends of larger ones can be a bit woody, so just snap them off. It's not hard to tell where that part is as the spear will naturally break at that point. If you are at all afraid you can trim the bottoms a bit with a carrot peeler. I also like trim off the points as they can have a tendency to be a bit bitter sometimes.
This is a beautiful salad which I like to make each year which showcases this lovely vegetable beautifully. I quite simply adore roasted asparagus, and it shines in this simple and quick salad, which also contains roasted cherry tomatoes, and al dente farfalle pasta. I make a simple dressing for it by mixing some lemon mayonnaise, ranch dressing and a bit of fresh basil pesto. Tossed together and garnished with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese you would be hard pressed to find a tastier salad! Hooray for Asparagus Season!
*Pasta Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Asparagus*
Serves 4
A deliciously different Pasta Salad. Easy to make, quick, colourful and very tasty!
1 punnet of cherry tomatoes, halved (about 2 cups)
1 pound of asparagus, washed and dried
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish if desired
flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 TBS mayonnaise with lemon added
2 TBS prepared ranch dressing
1 tsp of basil pesto sauce
1 pound of farfalle pasta (bow tie)
freshly grated Parmesan cheese to taste
Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F. gas mark 7. Have ready a baking sheet which you have lined with foil and lightly sprayed with oil.
Cut the asparagus into 2 inch lengths, put the into a bowl with the tomato halves. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Add the fresh basil. Toss all together to coat. Spread out into a single layer on the baking sheet, making sure the cut sides of the tomatoes
are facing up. Roast in the heated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until the tomatoes start to blister and the asparagus is tender crisp. Set aside
to cool.
Place the pasta in a pot of lightly salted boiling water and cook to al dente, according to the package directions. Drain well, rinse with cold water
to cool down, and rinse again.
Whisk the mayonnaise, ranch dressing and pesto together in the bowl you tossed the vegetables with the oil in. Add the pasta and toss to
coat. Fold in the asparagus and roasted tomatoes. Sprinkle with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese and serve garnished with fresh chopped basil
if you wish
One
of the most iconic British dishes is the ‘Sunday Roast’ or ‘Sunday Dinner’. It’s
definitely a good reason to look forward to Sundays and can be great if you
have a lot of people coming round and you need to cook a large amount of food.
Just a note, a Sunday Roast is also great comfort food for those more lonesome
times if you’re feeling a little more introvert.
Traditional Sunday Roast
A
Sunday Roast usually consists of roast potatoes, stuffing, mash, roasted meat,
Yorkshire puddings, gravy and vegetables. But every household may have their
own version or different trimmings to their taste. Although they are not
seasonal you may choose to accompany meat with vegetables that are in season. A
Sunday Roast can be cooked any day of the week but traditionally is cooked on a
Sunday. BBC
Good Food have some great recipes that will inspire you to
decide on your roast and choice of ingredients.
Buying Your Ingredients
You
can buy ingredients for a Sunday Roast from any large supermarket or even
better if you have a local butcher in your area. Usually, it can be better to
buy a bigger piece of meat and eat any leftovers the next day or two.
Important Cookware
All
you need to create this great British classic dish is durable roasting tins and
roasting dishes. Check out Viners for some great products perfect for
cooking your Sunday roast. When buying your meat and ingredients take into
account the size of your roasting tins and dishes to ensure you are purchasing
the right size.
Cooking Your Meat
You
can look online for tips or even better ask your butcher for advice on cooking your
meat as they will have tips on the best ways to cook different types. You could
also do the same to find out how best to season your meat and which herbs would
go well for example, rosemary goes well with lamb whereas oregano and thyme go
nicely with beef. Take a look at the Tesco
website to watch a video on how to cook a simple Roast Dinner.
So,
enjoy your Sunday and invite friends and family round to impress and try out
your roast. Just don’t forget to rest the meat once it’s cooked to make sure
that it’s juicy and tasty! Let us know reasons why you love Sunday Roasts and what
you use to make them.
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