Earl's Paradise tea by Bluebird Tea Co

A quiet moment. My older son is still in school, and the younger one has succumbed to the inviting softness of the afternoon nap. Just me and my cup of tea. Trying a new tea is almost a ceremony in itself, a solemn moment of peace and serenity. The tea leaves are added to my favourite tea pot. Pour the fragrant golden lava in a cup and enjoy. What tea did I choose, you may ask? Earl's Paradise from Bluebird Tea Co.

I've first came across the Bluebird Tea Co, when I was looking at the list of companies and brands attending The Big Feastival and taking notes which of them sounded exciting and interesting enough to pay a visit.
As a tea lover, I was immediately drawn to the tea company. I was curious to find out a bit more about their  selection of teas and went to browse their online shop. I knew at once that it would be a difficult decision to pick just one flavour.
Earl Grey is my favourite tea, I cannot possibly function without it, and I am always fascinated with all the variations on the theme. There are numerous versions of this classic brew, by most major tea companies and supermarkets, plus all kinds of twists on the flavour.
Earl's Paradise sounded exotic and exciting, and that's the tea I picked while visiting the Big Feastival.

As I have discovered from their site, Bluebird Tea's motto is "Create unique blends of loose leaf teas that ticks three important boxes: Tasty. Fun. For Everyone.
Bluebird strives to create unique teas that are also affordable. Their stand at the festival was attractive and welcoming. I wonder where the name comes from and if it is inspired by Maurice Maeterlinck's play The Blue Bird and its quest for happiness. For me, tea equals happiness. Or at least contentment. 

I asked if I could have a look at the tea of my choice and have a sniff. They kindly obliged. The tea was aromatic, fruity and fragrant.

My little man's hands got in the picture

What is Earl's Paradise tea? It is a combination of Ceylon black tea, papaya, strawberry, lime, jasmine and bergamot.

As you can see from the photo below, the main base is the black tea with the added dried fruit, that's actually how I like it. I love the black tea flavoured with fruit.

What did I think of it? It is very fruity, the bergamot note is less pronounced, so I wouldn't necessarily call it a derivative of the classic Earl Grey. Let's say, if the classic Earl Grey is the father of the family, this would be the youngest son's offspring. They are related but are quite different.
It works as an independent entity, and is an enjoyable tea. I certainly wouldn't ruin it with milk, as someone suggested on the shop page (what is it with the Brits and their obsession of adding milk to every tea?!).
There is a touch of sweetness from the fruit. A refreshing brew.
Top marks for the creativity.

To find more about this tea brand, visit Bluebird Tea site.

Chicken, prawn and chorizo jambalaya

Just yesterday I've been telling you all about the Tilda Kids cooking session with Dhruv Baker at the Big Feastival. It was a lovely event, and I came back home inspired and enthusiastic.
If you were in the vicinity of Tilda Kids' stand on that day, you'd have been drawn in by the enticing smell of food wafting in the air.

It was the chicken, prawn and chorizo jambalaya, a dish I wanted to recreate at home, full of robust flavours and textures. A feast for eyes and absolutely mouthwatering.

This dish has been cooked with the Limited edition Tilda rice - Barbecue rice - a great addition to Tilda range of steamed basmati. What makes it different from the other rice in this range?
It combines" smokey Paprika, Chipotle chilli, aromatic fennel and a touch of maple syrup – Dhruv’s creation combines Tilda’s trademark long and slender Basmati grains with unique flavours inspired by the great British Barbecue".
We loved the new Barbecue rice and hope Tilda would change the Limited edition into a permanent addition to their range. It's too tasty to only be available for a short time.

Chicken, prawn and chorizo jambalaya (recipe reproduced here with the kind permission given by Tilda rice)

Ingredients:

1 pack of Tilda Barbecue Rice

2tbsp olive oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp. Cajun seasoning

1 large chicken breast, diced

50g, chorizo diced

1 stick celery, finely chopped

1 orange pepper, chopped

200ml chicken stock

Handful freshly chopped parsley

8 large whole prawns

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Guacamole dip and lemon wedges to serve

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or a paella pan if you have one. If using a paella pan pop on top of a hot BBQ
2. Add the garlic and Cajun seasoning until sizzling
3. Add the chicken breast and chorizo and coat well. Cook over a high heat for 4-5 minutes
4. Add the chicken stock and rice and simmer gently for 5 minutes
5. Add the celery and peppers and cook for a further few minutes
6. Stir in the parsley and heat through.  Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
7. Brush the prawns with a little oil and cook on the BBQ or in a griddle pan for 3-4 minutes on each side
8. Place the prawns on top of the Jambalaya and serve with Guacamole and  a squeeze of lemon juice

My notes: I didn't have a celery, and used a red pepper. I also cooked 2 chicken breasts and more prawns to feed us all, and didn't cook the prawns separately. 

It was a very tasty chicken dish, easy to make, quick and it cheers the tastebuds.

For more recipes and culinary ideas, visit Tilda/recipes page.

Tilda Kids Kitchen: a cooking session with Dhruv Baker

A week ago Eddie and I had an opportunity to spend a day at the Big Feastival. This was an event for both foodies and music-lovers who descended on the fields at Kigham for a celebration of all things culinary and musical. It was the third year of the Big Feastival hosted by the rock star Alex James at his farm together with Jamie Oliver.
As a foodie, I was very interested in the culinary side of the event, and the festival promised a good line-up for the gastronomic entertainment.
I was a guest of Tilda Kids, and was looking forward to a cooking demo at Tilda Kids' stand.

I was very impressed with how things were organised by Tilda Kids. Their show room was by far one of the best demo areas at the festival, with wide clean tables set up for the children and their parents, a lovely photo cut out with the characters familiar from Tilda kids rice packs and tables with kits for colouring.

We were greeted by friendly smiley staff and signed in for the first cooking session. There was a wonderful enticing aroma: Dhruv Baker was cooking the chicken jambalaya (it was very tasty, and if you are interested in the recipe, keep an eye on my blog, as the recipe post is coming very soon!).

The children's cooking session was a lively event. Dhruv Baker has a great rapport with children, it was a pleasure to watch him in action, he knows how to inspire and interact with the kids.

All the children present at the cooking session listened attentively and followed the cooking instructions. I was amused to observe how competitive some of the kids were. And their parents even more. Once all the tuna bites were rolled and shaped, Dhruv cooked them in the frying pan. Later the children ate with gusto the food they prepared. And then they started asking who did the best.

All children received a certificate that they cooked a yummy meal in Dhruv Baker's Cookery School.

Inspired by the cooking session, Eddie and I wanted to recreate the tasty tuna bites at home.
If you fancy to have a go, here is a recipe (reproduced with the kind permission from Tilda rice).

Tilli's Tasty Tuna Bites
Ingredients:
1 pouch Tilda Kids Sunshine Vegetable Rice
1 x 120g tin tuna with sunflower oil, drained
50g mozzarella cheese, grated
4g chopped chives
20g egg, beaten, approx half an egg
fine breadcrumbs for coating
sunflower or vegetable oil for shallow frying

method:
1. Mix together in a large bowl 1 pouch Tilda Kids Sunshine Vegetable Rice with the tuna, mozzarella cheese, chives and egg - using a fork to bring all of the ingredients together.
2. Divide the mix into 20g pieces, this mix should make enough for approx 15 bites.
3. Flatten into nugget shapes or round into balls and coat with fine breadcrumbs.
4. Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the tune bites until golden brown on all sides.
5. Serve with ketchup or other favourite dips.

My notes: I couldn't get to the bigger supermarket on the day we cooked the tuna bites, so couldn't find a proper block of mozzarella at the shop. The only available mozzarella was a bag of ready-grated cheese. Once I added it to the mix, I realised that I would never be able to make neatly-shaped bites, as the mozzarella was grated into the really long strings. There was no way I could shape the mix into the fish-shapes, as requested by Eddie.
To make the fish mix smoother and more manageable, I gave it a whizz with the hand blender. Then I managed to roll it into the semblance of fish-shapes. What do you mean, they don't look like fish? Well, I did try my best.
I coated all the bites in breadcrumbs and fried.
I confess these were the best fish cakes I had in a very long time. The combination of rice and tuna with cheese was really lovely, they were delicate and delicious.

I made a whole lot of differently-shaped tuna bites, as I didn't think my husband would particularly fancy the fish-shaped ones.
I had my tune bites with the Luchito mayo which has a great chilli kick.
What about my little man? He bit the fish tails, then commented that the fish didn't look like fish anymore. So much for the grateful child.

Visit Tilda/kids for more great recipes and fun stuff.

If you liked this post, you might want to read more about the event here: My busy day: Eddie at the Feastival.

My busy day: Eddie at the Feastival

Mama says "If in the years to come anyone asks you when you started going to the festivals, you could always answer: at a grand old age of 3"

Yesterday Mama, our friend Jen and I went on a trip. We arrived to a huge field: there were thousands of people, cars and tents. Mama said this place is called The Big Feastival. And she promised me I would have fun.

So many things to do! Where do I start? Mama took me to the Tilda Kids area first. I love colouring. Tilda Kids have set up a table with the crayons and lovely pictures to colour in. At Tesco's stand you could colour in one segment of the wall.

Believe it or not but I met a Celebrity chef. Yes, I did. In the Tilda Kids Kitchen I learnt how to make the tuna bites with my favourite Sunshine rice (for recipes and more visit Tilda). Now I can cook them for my Mum. And to prove it, I have a certificate to show all and everyone that I cooked a yummy meal in Dhruv Baker's Cookery School.
When I'm older and famous, Mr Baker might even say that he met me at the Feastival and taught me how to cook the tuna bites.

Hobnobbing with the celebrities: meeting Dhruv Baker

Tilda Kids was packed full with hungry kids and their parents, and we sampled some yummy dishes. I was glad to see my favourite characters from Tilda rice on the photo cut outs.
So I pretended to be a tiger.

And a crocodile. And a monkey.

We left the Tilda Kids area to explore the Feastival grounds and stands. Adam Henson aka the UK’s favourite farmer brought lots of farm animals with him to the Feastival's Touch Farm. We could pet and feed the goats, laugh at the ducks' antics and most importantly, climb inside the pigsty and pet the piglets. Aren't they the cutest thing ever? Mama says they are called kunekune pigs. I think they should be called cutecute pigs.

"Mama, could I have one? Can we take one home with us? Please?"

That's my bum. That's piggie's bum.

Mama was a meanie. She didn't let me climb inside the Ecover van. I put on my best tragic face mask, but she only laughed at me.

She didn't want to buy this spanking brand new red tractor. What's wrong with this woman? Doesn't she see how mighty beautiful it is?

I had a full blast riding the yellow JCB pedal tractors. I need one just like that in our garden. I didn't want to leave.

The Funfair in the Little Dudes' area had all sorts of traditional British fun and games from a helter-skelter to the swing seats and other funfair attractions. And again, cruel mother didn't let me go on the helter-skelter. She said it's for the big kids only. Sigh.

Jen and I had so much fun on the teacup ride. Mum claimed she felt dizzy just looking at us. Silly Mama! She missed such a great opportunity. You can see me enjoying the ride in the video at the top.

I wasn't allowed to sit inside the real red tractor, but don't I look darn cute as an Old McDonald?

Thank you, Jen, for driving us to the Feastival and back! Can we go there again today?

Mum's note: big thanks to Tilda rice for offering us free tickets for the day, to Jen for taking us to the event and looking after Eddie when I needed to explore the stands and to Elizabeth for staying with Sasha, without your help I wouldn't have been able to attend the Big Feastival!