Vimto Soft Drinks has come up with some new Vimto concentrated Squeezy water enhancers just in time for the summer hols.   Containing no added sugar,with natural flavourings they are extra concentrated and come in little squeezy pots small enough to carry in your purse.  Low in calories and using natural flavourings each container makes up to 25 individual servings.  You simply squeeze a portion into your bottle or glass of water and Bob's your uncle!  (.8ml for each 100ml of liquid)  I have been adding it to my bottles of sparkling water all week and it tastes really good actually!  I can see where it would be really appealing for children.  Much better for them than the sweetened drinks and very handy to carry around when you are out and about this summer.  Great for keeping the kids hydrated in a delicious way that they will enjoy and that as a mum you can feel good about knowing they aren't taking in any sugar or other nasties.  I can imagine they would be great for making frozen lollies as well.

Vimto Squeezy comes in a 50ml bottle and has an RRP of £2.49. It’s currently available in Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Co-op stores.

I was sent three bottles in the Original, Strawberry and Cherry flavours to try and I quite liked them.   Although I was sent these to try, my opinions are my own.   I reckon there are a lot worse things you could give your kids and if I had some kiddos in the house, I would be quite happy using this for them.

Note:  Do be careful adding them to sparkling water as they will cause the water to really bubble up!  I discovered this the first time I used it!

I don't know why I didn't think of this before.   Making my own Turkey Subs.   I love the Turkey Subs at Sub Way back home and every time I go home I treat myself to a six inch turkey sub with all of the trimmings at least two or three times.  I guess I never thought I would be able to make one at home that would taste like theirs do, but the other day the craving got the best of me and I attempted to do just that!



I lived on these subs back in 1999 when my marriage broke up and I was living in a rented bedroom in someone else's house.  The girl I was renting the room from wasn't very nice.  Although I was supposed to have kitchen privileges, she didn't like me having any food in her cupboards or her refrigerator.  She didn't like me using the stove either, which really put a damper on my cooking mojo.  I survived by eating a lot of salads, using a kettle and microwave that I had in my room, and buying six-inch turkey subs from SubWay.  With all of the vegetables on it, I figured I was getting at least some of my five a day!



Which brings me to my topic for today . . .  how to build a perfect turkey sub sandwich.   It's not that hard but it does involve a few "must haves."

One,  you need to begin with a really good bread.  It's not necessary to have an artisan bread for these, just a good one.   I think subs need soft buns, not crisp buns.   That's a lot of sandwich. You want something that you can easily fit into your mouth once you get it stuffed with all of your meats/cheeses/toppings!

I really like the honey and oat buns that SubWay have, but you can't really buy them in the shops here.  I just bought generic fresh sub buns and they were pretty good!  You can toast them or not as you wish.  I prefer mine un-toasted.

  

You want a nice sauce to place on the base of both sides of your bun.  I like the Hellman's garlic mayo. It's really nice and it comes in a squeeze bottle and is really easy to squirt it on.  I also like the Hellman's Lemon mayo and their mustard mayo. . . .  and their roasted onion mayo is also really good.

This "Sauce" will help prevent the bread from getting soggy.  You could of course use ketchup, or a mayo/ketchup combination, mustard, etc. You can use whatever floats your boat.  You just don't want anything that will prevent you from tasting that lovely turkey you are going to put onto it.

Once you have the bun split and slathered with your chosen sauce it's time to begin building your sandwich!  



You want to use only the freshest of ingredients . . . fresh meat, vegetables, etc.

1.  Freshly sliced roast turkey from the deli counter.  Don't get that stuff that you buy already sliced and packed in those plastic packets.  I have always found it to be a bit slimy.  Yuck.  It's also pressed meat, and not actually sliced turkey breast.   I hate re-formed poultry.  Double Yuck.  Two or three slices is ample for one six inch sub.

2.  You want a nice mild cheese, something with a buttery flavour like an edam, gouda or a havarti.   Of course if you want to really kick it up you could use something a bit stronger, but I think with turkey you want a mild cheese.  One slice, cut diagonally, does the trick!

3.  You want sliced really fresh peppers (red and green if possible), some ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, mild red onions . . . all very thinly sliced.  Slice them as thin as you can.  I used my mandoline.  It did them perfectly.  You will also want some sliced gerkin/dill pickles.  I like the garlic ones myself.  These pickles add a nice touch of flavour and piquancy to the mix.  You will also want some pickled hot peppers.  In Canada they use pickled hot banana peppers, which we can't get here in the UK.    I used the Discovery sweet pickled yellow jalapeno peppers.  They are not as hot as the green ones and have a nice sweetness, which goes well with the turkey, but of course,  if you like a lot of heat, use the regular pickled green ones.  You want some finely shredded lettuce in there as well. I like to use baby gems, because they are sturdy and have a lot of flavour. They are almost bitter. Nice, nice!! 



4. I like sliced black olives on mine.  I just buy the sliced black olives in brine.   Don't pimp for fancy dried Spanish black olives.  They are too strongly flavoured.  The purpose of all of these fillings is to enhance the turkey, not overpower it.

5.  A final drizzle of some oil and vinegar (if desired) and a light dusting of salt and pepper and Bob's your uncle!  You are done.   Shut that sub, cut it in half crosswise . . . . and dig in!



Mmmm . . .  these are so good!  I am in love!  I seriously fed my craving and was a very happy camper after this and the best thing of all is . . .



I won't have to wait until I go to Canada again to indulge myself in these fabulous taste treats!  I can make myself one whenever the craving hits.  I like that idea, and I am betting you will too!

Of course you could get really fancy and add assorted meats, bacon, capers etc., but when you just want a good old fashioned turkey sub, this is the way to do it.  Manga!  Enjoy!

This is a delicious salad that I used to make for the Mr when I worked at the Manor.  It was a real favourite with him.  He just loved it.



Suffice it to say I made it so often at work, at least every couple of weeks (it was a frequent request) that I never ever actually made it for us to enjoy at home.  I did get to taste it at work.  (A cook who doesn't taste as she goes along isn't a real cook, I don't think!)



The Mr used to love heating it up.  Me, I love it cold.  The Toddster, well . . .  not a pasta fan.  He tolerates it.  He doesn't complain, but . . . I know he hates pasta and so I am just glad he doesn't say anything at all!



There is so much to love about this however . . . from it's tangy spiced tomato dressing (which I make short work of by using  my Froothie Optimum 9400 Blender .  It does an excellent job!)  to all of those lovely chunks of tomato, sun dried tomato, olives and cheese . . .   

  

It's a recipe I adapted from a recipe used by Ina Garten . . .  and she adapted it from a recipe used by Brent Newson, and we have each of us added our stamp to it.  That's what a good recipe is made of I think . . .  little stamps here and little stamps there, all adding up to a uniquely delicious result!  

  

*Pasta with Sun Dried Tomatoes*

These are gorgeously chewy and buttery  coconut cookies!  They are not crisp cookies and are not dunking cookies  . . .


They are indulgent cookies, with crisp edges . . .  but beautifully chewy centres . . .  stogged full of the flavours of coconut and pineapple . . .  think of them as flat macaroons, but better.  ☺

You don't need to use pineapple of course, any dried fruit will do, but we loved the nice tropical flavour that the pineapple lent to them.  They were . . .  in one word . . .  MOREISH!



*Chewy Pineapple and Coconut Cookies*

I love all of the baby new potatoes at the markets at the moment.   The Jersey Royals are about finished now, but there are still some tasty new potatoes out there to be had.  They are not so good for mashing but are great boiled until tender and served with herb butter, or for potato salads.



They are also great boiled and then roasted like this. These little babies get all crispy on the outsides . . . and stay moreishly fluffy on the insides.



That final breaking open, cracks the skin so that some of that tasty fluff pours out and crunches up a bit in the final baking . . . with the help of a bit of Olive Oil.



A few flakes of sea salt . . . a good grinding of black pepper . . . and some fresh rosemary leaves . . . and you have tasty little bits fit for a king.



These even make good appetizers especially when you use the really tiny ones and serve them with a creamy dip . . . adjust the times accordingly as smaller ones won't need to bake as long.



We love 'em just as they are.   Great with all of those grilled steaks, chicken and chops we will be eating on these balmy summer nights.




*Smashed Roasted New Potatoes*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

This is a great way to cook baby new potatoes. Crisp on the outsides and soft and fluffy inside.

16 small new potatoes, unpeeled
2 TBS light olive oil
a few sprigs fresh rosemary
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 230*C/450*F/ gas mark 8. Place a baking tray into the oven to heat.

Toss the potatoes together with 1 TBS of the oil to coat. Spread them out onto the hot baking tray. Roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven. Flip the potatoes over and then gently squash them down with the back of a large metal spoon. Strip the leaves from the rosemary sprigs and sprinkle over top along with some sea salt and black pepper. Drizzle with the remainder of the oil.

Return to the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes, until the potatoes are crispy and golden brown.

This is an old standby of ours. Something that I make quite often and something that we both really enjoy. I got it from a Good Food Magazine a number of years ago. You can't go wrong with a recipe from BBC Good Food in my opinion. They're the best.



I always have chicken breasts in the deepfreeze . . .



I often have cherry tomatoes on the vine . . . although to be honest, the vine part is more for aesthetics than anything else. Any tomato would taste good in this, even larger ones . . . quartered.



The tomatoes get all sweet and rich, and taste delicious mashed into the lucious cheese sauce that magically appears . . .



a delicious combination of melted cheese, cream and the juices from the chicken.



Make sure you cook something worthy of soaking of all those flavourful juices to serve up along side of this . . .



things like rice, potatoes, pasta and broccoli go really well.

mmmm . . . this is really scrummy.




*Cheesy Chicken Rarebits*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

One of our favourite meals. The chicken always turns out tender and you end up with a delicious cheesy sauce that is delicious spooned over the chicken and potatoes, rice or whatever it is you choose to serve with the meal. We like potatoes. Make sure you squash the roasted tomatoes into the sauce as well when you eat it. Fabulous!

4 skinless, boneless free range chicken breasts
140g strong cheddar cheese, grated (a scant 1 1/4 cup)
1 rounded dessertspoon of grainy mustard
3 fluid ounces single cream
4 small bunches of cherry tomatoes on the vine
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Slice the chicken breasts through the middle almost all the way, leaving a bit of a hinge at one end. Fan them out and place them into a lightly oiled shallow baking dish. (Make sure it is large enough to hold all of the chicken breasts in a single layer.) Season them lightly with some salt and pepper.

Mix the cheese, cream and mustard together in a bowl. Spoon this mixture evenly over top of the chicken. No need to smooth it down, it works fine in dollops. Place the tomatoes, leaving them on the vine, around the chicken in the dish. Bang it into the oven and bake it for 20 to 30 minutes, until the chicken is golden brown and the tomatoes are squashy and nicely roasted.

Serve the chicken divided onto heated serving plates, along with some of the roasted tomatoes and some of the deliciously cheesy sauce spooned over top.

Todd went in to town on his own today, and I was left here at home on my own. It was a beautifully sunny day, and he fancied a walk about the town. With my osteo-arthritis I am not so great at walking great distances these days. I don't really mind him going in on his own. I am happy that he is able to do it . . . although I do miss going in with him sometimes.



I stay behind most of the time these days, and putter about here in the house . . . drawing . . . painting . . . baking and cooking. We are content to please ourselves, and then we come together at the end of the day, him armed with his tales of what's going on in Chester, and me armed with a plate of cakes or some such.



Today I thought I would take advantage of his absence and make myself some pasta for my lunch. He had a McDonald's coupon for a quarter pounder with cheese and fries, so I knew he would be well fed regardless.



I just love pasta and I hardly ever have it because Todd hates it. I know . . . there's no accounting for some people's taste! It takes all kinds!



I'm just happy with a big bowl of buttered macaroni, mixed with some tinned tomatoes and a slice of bread and butter, but I thought today that I would do something just a bit fancier.



And so I did.  The recipe does feed four, but I was quite able to cut it back to make a single serving sized dish just for me.  It would actually look nice baked in four single serving sized casseroles or oven proof bowls for your family.  Who wouldn't like a casserole that was just for them?



Fussili coated in a delicously scrumptious tomato sauce, chock full of black olives and baked under a mountain of fresh mozzarella until the cheese is scrummily meltingly oozingly delish.

Need I say more?



*Baked Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

One of my little indulgences. A flavourful tomato sauce, with pasta and mozzarella cheese, baked in the oven until the mozzarella is meltingly scrummy.

1 TBS olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and minced
1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and minced
1 small carrot, peeled and minced
1 stalk of celery, trimmed and minced
1 tsp of freeze dried basil
1 tsp of freeze dried oregano
1 tsp brown sugar
pinch of cloves
1 tsp sherry vinegar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 (400g) tin of chopped plum tomatoes in juice, undrained (14 ounce)
1 3/4 ounces of small black olives, pitted and halved (about 1/4 cup)
10 1/2 ounces of cooked pasta (I like fusilli or penne, but you can even use elbow macaroni)
1 ball of fresh mozzarella cheese, torn into bits

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter 4 individual shallow gratin dishes. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the carrot, celery and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for a further 5 minutes. Add the un-drained tin of tomatoes, basil, oregano, sugar, cloves and vinegar. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a quick simmer and cook for a further 5 to 10 minutes, until slightly thickened. Stir in the olives and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir this mixture into the cooked pasta.

Divide the pasta mixture evenly among-st the gratin dishes. Dot each with some torn mozzarella. Place on a baking tray and slice into the preheated oven. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling.

The people at Eddingtons recently sent me some lovely new products to try out and review.  I've spent a few days using them now and am ready to tell you all about them.

First up the Salt Genie  . . .

























The new Salt Genie dispenser has been specially engineered to prevent salt from clogging and to keep it free flowing.

Humidity and moisture in the kitchen and food preparation area can cause salt to clog. With its innovative Dri-Shoot design, moisture never reaches salt kept inside a Salt Genie. This means even if your work top is wet or your kitchen is humid the salt remains free flowing.





















The Salt Genie is also the healthier way to season food as it will evenly, but not excessively distribute salt over your food, preventing too much salt from being poured as can often be done with traditional salt shakers. The internal Dri-Shoot eliminates clogging in humid conditions making the Salt Genie the ideal kitchen gadget to take with you on camping holidays, sailing trips or when abroad.

 Made from clear plastic the dispenser is easy to clean and because it is a closed unit there is less likelihood of dirt contaminating the salt. The Salt Genie is simply to fill and refill, the base simply unscrews.

As a person with High Blood Pressure, I think this is a great way to help me limit my salt intake.  I've been using this for several days now and the salt has stayed free flowing also.   That can be a problem here in the UK where we have a very damp climate.  It's an attractive design as well, with sleek lines, it looks nice sitting on the table.

Salt Genie, available at Play.com for £6.99

























Another new product are the Sage Cutting Boards.    I was sent the 6 X 8 inch Bar Board.





















Sage is the professional choice in durable food prep surfaces. Sage culinary surfaces are the essential work platform of professional kitchens. Extremely durable & dishwasher safe, Sage surfaces offer the character and performance of wood. They come with a lifetime guarantee so you know you can count on the quality. Sage wood fiber laminate is environmentally friendly, made from FSC Certified wood pulp.

These boards are American made, knife friendly, dishwasher safe and heat resistant, and available in two colours . . .  slate and natural. The Bar Board is perfect for slicing the lemon or lime for your pre-dinner drink. The Chop Board comes in two sizes and these boards are perfect for using daily for all your food preparation. If you enjoy making your own bread or pasta then why not treat yourself to the Scraper. Fitting easily into your hand the Scraper will help you to combine your wet and dry ingredients and help to ensure you get all the mixture out of your mixing bowl or off your work surface.


There is nothing worse than a chopping board that moves when you are chopping vigorously. To help prevent this from happening many cooks place a damp cloth underneath their board however Sage has the answer with their Non-Skid Chop Board. Thanks to the boards non-slip base , the board won’t move whilst it is being used.  




















The Sage range is stylish enough that the boards can be used to take food to the table. With its in built groove to catch meat juices the Carving Board is ideal for carving your Sunday joint. If you’re a fan of pizza why not treat yourself to the Pizza Peel (available in Slate only), it’s the perfect way of serving up your favourite slice of Italy.  

























The fact that I can just pop them in the dishwasher and sanitize them really appeals to me.  I am a bit pedantic about my cutting boards, especially after using them for poultry. The bar board is small but so convenient to grab for small tasks. The little leaf cut out in the corner is very handy for holding or hanging it up.

I really like that the surface will not dull my knives and yet is dense enough to not allow deep slice marks that can harbor bacteria. With a Lifetime Warranty, I am very impressed that this is a surface that will last at least twice as long as wood, bamboo, cork, or plastic boards.

Available from Knives and Tools in a varying price range.

Many thanks to Eleanor and the people at Eddingtons for sending me these new products to try out!