Easy cheese straws with crushed pretzels and Movie Night & Halloween Degustabox

 

While the weather is abysmal, with the incessant rain and dreary darkness in the afternoon, it's not all gloom and doom. Food-wise, November has a lot to offer, for many people this cold dark month means hearty soups and stews. 

Home-baked bread is a wonderful treat to go with a hot bowl of soup, but it takes time and effort, while cheese straws are so easy to make and take hardly any time at all. Zing them up with toppings of your choosing and serve with a lovely hearty soup.

For my easy cheese straws you will need:

1 pack of Jus-Rol shortcrust pastry

about 60g grated cheese (like Emmental)

1 egg yolk

half a pack of Olly's Pretzel Thins (optional), crushed

Remove the Jus-Rol pack out of the fridge at least an hour before using. 

Cut in half, spread grated cheese on one half, and put the second half over. 

Slice the dough into thin strips, around 3cm in width. Twist the strips and arrange on the baking sheet.

Place the baking sheet on the tray in the oven preheated to 180C.

Bake for about 5 minutes then take out the tray, glaze the straws with a beaten egg yolk and scatter crushed pretzels over them. Bake for another 8-10 minutes, until the straws are golden.

You can use puff pastry the same way, in fact, I would usually go for the puff pastry, making cheese straws, but I had a pack of shortcrust pastry instead. 

I like adding crushed Pringles over the egg yolk before baking. Sesame seeds are another great topping.

This time I wanted to try a different version, especially that I had a small packet of Olly's Pretzels Thins (Multi-Seed Sesame) from the October Degustabox food box. These are oven-baked, low fat, thin and crispy vegan pretzels. A small 35g packet offers 98kcal per serving. You can sprinkle them over salads or crumble into brownies, or just dip into hummus or taramasalata. 

There were two varieties of pretzel thins in the box - Multi-seed sesame and Salted original (£1 each), both lovely.

Available on Amazon and Olly's online shop.

You can easily make these straws with children. They disappeared very fast.

It's not much of a recipe, I know, more of a recipe idea, but try it, and play with flavours.

What else did we find in October Movie Night & Halloween Degustabox?

As you can see, it was jam-packed with all kinds of tasty foods and drink.

My personal favourite was Costa Instant Coffee (£5.50). I'm a big fan of Costa coffee in general, and miss their latte during the lockdown. I know you can have a takeaway, but by the time you arrive home with a takeaway cup, it's already tepid. Instant coffee from Costa is the next best thing - make a cup of tasty coffee in the comfort of your own home, and get a perfect balance of delicate Arabica and strong Robusta beans, slow-roasted for a smooth and nutty flavour and rich aroma.

I enjoyed this instant coffee a lot, and hope to get more, when I have a chance to visit our local Costa.

Maltesers Instant Hot Chocolate (£2.59 for 350g) hits the right spot, when you fancy a sweet hot drink. It will delight the fans of Maltesers - top up with whipped cream and mini marshmallows for an extra indulgent treat.

Available at Morrisons, Sainsbury's and ASDA.

More treats for chocoholics - KitKat Senses Chocolate Selection Gift Box 240g (£5) - a selection of three delicious flavours, all individually wrapped: Salted Caramel, Double Chocolate and Hazelnut.

My family loves KitKit, but we were saddened to read that KitKat will no longer contain Fairtrade cocoa and sugar. This is the step backwards, I hope that Nestle will reconsider this move, and start using Faitrade produce in making this much-loved brand.

Available in all major supermarket chains.

Reese's Peanut Butter Minis (£1.50) offer a delicious mix of chocolate and peanut butter. Now available in minis, bitesize cups in a convenient share bag. Lovely added to the brownie batter before baking too.

More chocolate - Whaoo! chocolate filled crepes (£1.75) are made without any preservatives. They are individually wrapped for convenience, and might work as a sweet snack for a school lunchbox (if having chocolate treats is not against the school policy).

Available at ASDA, Morrisons, Ocado, Spar and Go Local.

Did you hear there was more chocolate? yes, you heard it right.

Brynmor Chocolate Flapjack (£1.29) is a healthier treat for chocoholics - it is packed full of high quality, natural ingredients. Lovely with a cup of tea, for elevenses or when you're feeling peckish.

Available in Ocado, Waitrose, NISA, WHSmith Travel, Grapetree, www.brynmorfoods.com and independent health shops.

Kookie Cat Wild Berries was a little gift, and most welcome it was too. This is a cashew and oat cookie, with tasty cacao butter drops and sweet and sour lingonberries.

Available in organic food stores.

YES! Plant protein bars (£1.59) are the product of the month. They are gluten free, contain 10g protein, and are powered by pea and nut. The wrapping is recyclable paper.

There are two delicious new flavours - Almond, Peanut and Double Dark Chocolate (yum, I love the nuts and chocolate combination) and Cashew, Blueberry and Dark Chocolate.

Available at Holland and Barrett, BP, Moto and WHSmith's.

Just look at that bar - it's so good. 

We all have our favourites in each Degustabox, and St Pierre Brioche Burger Buns (£2) were a big hit with my guys. I didn't serve them with burgers, but with cheese and chutney instead, and they were delicious. Definitely will buy them, when I have a chance. They are pre-sliced, and make a versatile vessel for any kind of filling - from meat-based to vegan products.

Available at Tesco.

Attack A Snak Original Nachos (£1.50) is a lunchbox selection of tortilla chips, smoky chipotle dip, and cooling sour cream with chives. It's a good source of fibre.

Nutritional information: 313kcal and 12g of sugar per 90g serving. Available at Morrisons and ASDA. 

You might have spotted promotional packs of Attack A Snak - currently you might win w Cinewrold tickets every day, simply find a code inside of the film and enter online.

Naked Malaysian Rendang Veg Pot (£1.50) is 100% plant-based. There are three authentic flavours in the range, offering Korean BBQ Ramen, Malaysian Rendang and Chinese Green Vegetable Broth. Simply add water for a quick and easy lunch. Very handy to eat in the office.

Available in Tesco.

And finally, there was a fully redeemable voucher for a box of Strawberry Yollies (£2). These are yogurt snacks on a stick. They are a good source of Calcium and Vitamin D. 

Available at ASDA, Tesco, Morrisons & Sainsbury's (our local Co-Op has them too).

Degustabox is a monthly food and drink subscription box. It's an excellent way of discovering new products which have only just appeared in the shops, or those which have been around for a while, but you haven't had a chance to try them yet.

Thanks to Degustabox, I have found new favourites to add to our shopping list, including some products which I probably wouldn't have tried otherwise.

Each time the monthly box arrives, its contents are a total surprise. You get a good selection of foods and drinks.

If you haven't tried Degustabox subscription box yet, and would like to have a go, I have a £3 off discount from your first box (and you can unsubscribe any time), just use code DKRLN when you place an order.