Party & Feeling Festive Degustabox

 There is less than a month to go until Christmas, and the time will fly fast. The shops are already packed full with customers, and I imagine it will be carnage closer to the festive days. The town does look festive, now that the Christmas lights have been switched on, and many shops have colourful seasonal window displays. I might not be attending any parties, but I can certainly enjoy the festive mood, especially if I have some lovely treats to look forward to.

Party & Feeling Festive is the theme of the latest Degustabox.

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 otherwise wouldn't have tried.

Each time a 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 £3off discount from your first box (and you can unsubscribe any time), just use code DKRLN when placing an order.

Let's have a look at what we got in the Party & Feeling Festive box.

McVitie's Chocolate Digestives The Fully Coated One/Chocolate Hobnobs The Fully Coated One (£1.79) is the Product of the Month. Chocoholics rejoice, the classic McVitie's chocolate digestives and chocolate hobnobs will make you double happy, being completely coated in chocolate.  You get the iconic golden-baked biscuits, but with extra chocolate. That's a truly special experience.

You should receive 1 of 2 items in your box (as a reviewer I got both items). 

Available in all major supermarket stores.

Nutritional information: each McVitie's The Fully Coated One Hobnob biscuit contains 127kcal, 6.4g of fat and 9g of sugar, as opposed to 79kcal, 3.7g of fat, and 6.1g of sugar per one chocolate Hobnob (so quite an increase).

McVities The Fully Coated One Digestives: 130kcal, 6,9g of fat and 9,5g of sugar per biscuit.

Mr Filberts Sea Salt & Hern Mixed Nuts (£1.50) is an ultimate party snack. These mixed nuts - peanuts, almonds and cashews - are roasted to perfection, then tumbled in a sweet basil, oregano and sea salt mix to produce the delightful savoury snack.

Nutritional information: 589kcal and 1.4g of salt per 100g.

Available at https://mrfilberts.com, on Amazon, Ocado, in Independent Farm shops and delis.

We had this tasty snack as part of the cheeseboard, and let me tell you, these mixed nuts were gone in 60 seconds.

Nairn's Cheese Oatcakes (£1.50) are versatile delicious oatcakes, made with mature Cheddar cheese, wholegrain oats and very little else. Nairn's oatcakes are a real winner. As a big cheese fan, I often buy Nairn's oatcakes, they are great with any cheese really, hard, soft, blue. Very moreish.

Available in all major supermarkets.

For me a perfect cheeseboard must include oatcakes.

The English Provender Co. Caramelised Red Onion Chutney (£2) is made of sweet red onions, and is a fabulous addition to any cheeseboard or charcuterie. Also great on hot cheese toasties. It will elevate any sandwich, whether for meat eaters or vegetarians.

It's not a new product, and it's been around for a while, in fact I checked my blog, and found a post about this chutney, which I wrote in 2012. As mentioned then, I still make mini open tarts with the caramelised red onion chutney and brie.

Available at Waitrose and on Ocado.

Peppadew Sweet Piquante Peppers Hot Whole 400g (£3) is a great addition to a party table or buffet. Add them to the antispasti platters, top up pizza or salad, or add to a cheese sandwich. These bit sized peppers retain their firm and crunchy texture. They are a bit on the hot side, and will jazz up many dishes. Suitable for vegan and vegetarian dishes.

Nutritional values: 91kcal and 18.9g of sugar per 100g.

Available at Tesco, Waitrose, on Ocado and Amazon.

Knorr Chilli & Smoked Paprika/Mushroom & Italian Herbs seasoning (£1.80) will help you create a delicious, no added salt meals. Perfect for all those soups and stews in the cold weather. Knorr Seasoning Blends join the Knorr Veggie Cook's Essentials range with all the falvour.

Knorr Chilli & Smoked Paprika is a mix of chilli, paprika, green pepper, smoked paprika powder and sunflower seed oil. No added salt, 100% natural ingredients, no artificial colours or preservatives, no added MSG. Ideal for chillis, salsa, stir fried veg.

You should receive one of two items in your box.

Available at Tesco.

Hellmann's Sour Cream & Chive Squeeze 250 ml (£1.20) is the new addition to the range, great for a variety of dishes, from nachos to fajitas, from jacket potatoes to topping burgers, from chips to salads.

If you offer a selection of crisps and tortilla chips as part of the buffet, don't forget the Sour Cream & Chive sauce as one of the dips.

This is a gluten-free, vegetarian sauce, which comes in a fully recyclable bottle.

Nutritional values: 317kcal and 32g of fat in 100g.

Available at Waitroose, Iceland, and on Ocado.

Inés Rosales Orange Sweet Olive Oil Tortas (£2.50) is considered to be Spain's favourite pastry snack since 1910. Each torta is a unique, flakey tempting treat. 

All tortas are hand-made using all natural ingredients from the Mediterranean Diet. They are dairy-free, vegan, and contain no artificial colours or flavours. 

Nutritional values: 149kcal and 4.4g of sugar per torta.

Available in Waitrose, and selected gourmet stores.

Menier Swiss Milk Chocolate with Salted Caramel (£1.99) will please the chocolate fans. Menier have been producing the finest cooking chocolate since 1816. This Salted Caramel milk chocolate is a work of beauty. 

This gourmet chocolate is sweet and creamy smooth, with a definite salty note. It is rather sophisticated and glamorous.

Nutritional values: 85kcal and 9.4g of sugar per portion/row. The cocoa in this chocolate is Rainforest certified. It is also Vegetarian Society approved.

Available at WH Smith's and on Amazon.

Passoa Passion Fruit Liqueur (£13 for the full size bottle, and £1.6 for the sample size bottle).

Passoa is the passion fruit liqueur, an essential ingredient for an exotic cocktail.

I am yet to try this tempting treat. We'll have it in cocktails closer to Christmas time.

Try at home: 40ml Passoa, 40ml vanilla vodka, 15ml lime juice. Shake and fine strain into a martini glass. Garnish with passion fruit and prosecco shot optional.

The full size bottle is available at Tecso, Waitrose, ASDA, Sainsbury's and Morrisons. The sample size bottles are not currently available.

Radnor Infusions Raspberry and Black Cherry (£1.50) is an unsweetened flavoured Welsh sparkling spring water. It has zero sugar, sweeteners and almost zero calories (0.3kcal per 100ml). 

Infusions is crafted in the ancient county of Radnorshire using their own spring water with a gentle sparkle, delicately infused with all natural flavours and extracts.

Made with cherry and British raspberry extracts, preservative free, it's a beautiful refershing drink.

Available at Sainsbury's, on Ocado, Amazon, and RadnorHill.co.uk/shop.

All in all, another corker from Degustabox! 

The Italian Collection from Life of Spice + sausage rolls two ways

Are you looking for a perfect Christmas present for your favourite foodie?
If the answer is Yes, Life of Spice has an inspiring range of products to please any gourmet.
They produce premium gourmet rubs and spices which are stored in attractive aluminium tins.
Produced in small batches using the freshest dried herbs and spices, their versatile range offers a variety of delicious flavours.
Excellent with steaks, fish or vegetables, all Life of Spice products are vegetarian and vegan friendly, include no artificial preservatives or E-numbers.
Their produce comes in environmentally friendly aluminium tins that are fully recyclable.

Last month I received two boxes from Life of Spice range - The Italian Collection and The American Rub Collection.

The Italian Collection from Life of Spice includes an Italian Herbs herb collection, Pepper Smurf rub collection and The Italian Job salt collection.

Italian Herbs is a classic selection of Italian herbs to give that authentic trattoria taste to pizza and Italian dishes.
Ingredients: Oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil, marjoram and sage.

Pepper Smurf is a classic Italian peppered steak rub with a few extra herbs to get your tastebuds singing.
Ingredients: Sea salt, rosemary, basil, marjoram, lemon peel, pepper, garlic, garlic flakes, citric acid, crushed red peppers and rice flour.

The Italian Job is a sea salt infused with basil, thyme and citrus to bring a taste of the Mediterranean to your table.
Ingredients: sea salt, basil, thyme, lemon peel, orange peel, oregano and citric acid.

Life of Spice produces all rubs and spice blends right here, in the UK, from the finest quality, freshest ingredients they can source.
Life of Spice products contain no artificial ingredients, and are gluten free and dairy free.

During the BBQ season the rubs and spice blends reign supreme, but you can obviously use them all year round. Meat eaters could cook a delicious steak with Pepper Smurf rub. Seafood, like prawns, goes really well with Italian herbs. A Greek salad could be prepared with either Italian Herbs, or The Italian Job sea salt.

Most of the dishes I prepared with the Italian Collection rubs, flavoured salt and herb blend are vegetarian, though sausage rolls were cooked with both meat (pork sausages) and vegetarian sausages.

These are versatile ingredients which will enhance many a dish. I love flavoured salts, and The Italian Job is an excellent product.

Add it to the roast potatoes or any other vegetables...

 or season the water for boiled potatoes...

A soup or stew would be enhanced by the addition of the herbs and flavoured salt. For example, cook a classic leek and potato soup with extra greens (like a courgette) and season well with Italian herbs.

My guys love sausage rolls. As we're a family with mixed diets - vegetarian + meat eaters, I do tend to cook different versions of the same dish. With sausage rolls, it's pretty easy to bake a batch which will suit different tastes.
For meat eaters use plain pork sausages as a base of the sausage rolls. For the meat-free version you might choose Linda McCartney's vegetarian sausages.

Sausage rolls two ways (makes 12)
You will need:
1 pack of Jus-Rol puff pastry, ready to roll, 320g
3 pork sausages
3 vegetarian sausages (or 6 of each, depending on your diet)
1 egg, yolk and white separated
1tsp Italian Herbs
sesame seeds (optional)

In two medium sized mixing bowls put sausages - skin the meat ones first. Beat an egg white and add to the vegetarian sausages. Sprinkle Italian herbs over both types of sausagemeat. Mash the sausages so that the herbs are incorporated. I added the egg white to the vegetarian sausages, as they are more solid and less pliable.

Roll out the puff pastry. Slice lengthways in half.
Shape the sausagemeat into long sausages which you place in the middle of the pastry. Beat the egg yolk and brush the edges of the pastry. Overlap the edges so that you have two long sausage rolls, which you slice into smaller pieces.
Brush each piece with the egg yolk and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.
Place the mini rolls on the oiled foil over a baking tray. Put the tray in the oven preheated to 180C. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the pastry is puffed, golden and flaky.
Eat hot, with mustard or ketchup.

Both versions are tasty.

The Italian Collection will make a lovely Christmas gift for foodies. The box looks stylish, and tins will keep the herb and salt blends fresh for longer.

If you place and order through The Life of Spice, you will receive 1 free tin with each collection ordered using the following code: LOS-NDBLG.


Disclosure: I received Life of Spice products for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are our own.

Rice and mushrooms-stuffed peppers

Stuffed peppers have always been one of my favourite comfort foods. I remember as a child going into my auntie's kitchen garden, where she grew most flavourful sweet peppers (as well as fiery little chillies, which would make you gasp if you were silly enough to have a bite of a fresh one), and picking a few for dinner, along with big-sized beef tomatoes and a bunch of fresh herbs.
My grandma and auntie were great cooks, and in summer the smell of the food cooked in the summer kitchen would waft around the garden, making your mouth water.
They lived in a small town in the South of Russia, and I enjoyed visiting them. For me, a city girl, their town was full of promise and discoveries, including a local speciality - a blue ice cream named after the river Don. I loved going to the market and seeing local produce, heaped up on wooden tables. Ah, memories, memories...

Stuffed peppers are also one of my Mum's signature recipes. She cooks them in a deep pan, simmering in soured cream and herbs sauce. She makes different versions - a mix of rice and minced meat with lots of herbs for the meat eaters, or rice and mushrooms for Lent days.

In this recipe I use whole peppers as vessels for stuffing. I like to use a mix of mayo and soured cream, but as this recipe is a vegan one, the soured cream is not included. I have tried soy and other dairy-free yogurts, but they don't have the same level of acidity as the soured cream.
If you're not a vegan, mix the mayo with soured cream or thick Greek yogurt.

Rice and mushrooms-stuffed peppers
Ingredients:
3 sweet peppers
1/2 red onion
1 carrot, grated
3tbsp rapeseed oil
2 Portobello mushrooms
about 125g coconut rice (half a pack of precooked rice, I used Tilda coconut rice)
5tbsp vegan mayo
1tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves and mint
salt and pepper

Cooking time: 30+ minutes

First cut out the tops of the sweet peppers and remove the seeds from inside.
Pre-cook the peppers in salted boiling water for 5-7 minutes. You don't have to precook and just roast the peppers in the oven with the stuffing, but it will take much longer.
In a medium pan heat up 2tbsp rapeseed oil and fry finely chopped red onion and grated carrot, stirring frequently. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add the chopped mushrooms and 1tsp vegan mayo. Season with sea salt and black pepper.
Add the precooked rice and mix well.

Spoon the rice and mushrooms mix into the peppers, and top up with a dollop of mayo. Place the peppers in a medium deep ceramic or roasting dish.

Put the dish in the oven preheated to 180C.

In a small bowl mix the remaining mayo with lemon juice and herbs, pour it over and around the peppers.

Cook for about 15-20 minutes.

I've first tried Hellmann's vegan mayo a couple of months ago, and since then bought it a couple of times. It is creamy and tasty, and you won't guess it's dairy-free.

It's definitely a perfect alternative to a dairy-based mayo.

If you're a fan of Hellmann's Vegan Mayo, you might want to enter a competition which is running until the 28th of July.
I enjoy entering creative cooking competitions, and wanted to share the competition in case you might have missed it.

Here are T&Cs for Hellmann's Vegan Quick Eats Competition (partially reproduced with permission from Hellmann's PR):

1. This promotion is open to residents of the UK aged 18 or over except employees of the Promoter, their families, agents or anyone professionally connected with the promotion.

2. To enter, join the Hellmann's Vegan Deli Club Facebook Group (the "Facebook Group") and create a post (each, and Entry)

For the entry to be valid, the post must include the following:
a photo of your "Quick Eat"; and the following as it relates to your original dish:
- name of your quick eat
- description of your quick eat
- total time to make (preparation and/or cooking)
- ingredients
- recipe to make your quick eat
- and include in your post #quickeats and #hellmannsvegan
For the entry to be valid, entrants must use the hashtags #quickeats and #hellmannsvegan.

3. The opening date for entries is 17:00 BST on 17th June 2019 and the closing date for receipt of entries is 11:59 BST on Sunday 28th July 2019.

4. There are three prizes in total. The overall winner will receive 1 x £1,000 in the form of a wire transfer, the second and third winners will receive £150 each in Amazon vouchers; and 150 additional randomly selected eligible Entries will receive a £5 Amazon voucher, up to £10 per winner (£5 voucher excludes challenge winner and runners up).

5. The overall winner and runners up may not win more than one prize. The winners of the £5 Amazon vouchers may win up to £10 in Amazon vouchers.

6. No applications from agents, third parties, organised groups or applications automatically generated by computer will be accepted. No incomplete or corrupted entries will be accepted. Entries will only be accepted if they comply will all entry instructions.

For the full T&Cs please visit the Facebook group, as there are 24 clauses of the promotion.



I really wanted to alert you to the competition, as it's exactly the type of creative competition I wish were more widely available.

If you do join in, I wish you all the best. And I'm keeping my fingers crossed as well.

In case you are not sure where to buy Hellmann's Vegan Mayo, I found it in Sainsbury's locally, but it's also available in Tesco, ASDA, Amazon Pantry and Ocado.

Pea pesto spaghetti

When the weather outside is grey and miserable, there's nothing better than coming home to a hot comfort meal. Pasta is nearly everyone's favourite. It's quick, delicious and easy to adapt to any diet preference.
The latest Degustabox's bounty included a pack of Delverde spaghetti (£1.99). This is a premium durum wheat semolina pasta, made with a rough surface to better hold sauce.
It is traditionally made in the area around the river Verde, which flows through the Majella National Park, in the Abruzzo region of Italy.

We love fresh pesto, it is so easy to make, and you can play with the ingredients, choosing different cheese, nuts or herbs.
Pesto made from fresh peas has a vibrant green colour.

This pasta dish will be enjoyed by vegetarians (if you use a vegetarian cheese) and meat eaters alike. I'm not sure what's the best substitute for cheese, if you're a vegan. Possibly skip cheese alternatives altogether, and use more nuts, like cashews. All the vegan cheese alternatives that I've tried so far are pretty grim, they taste nothing like cheese (and even those which are supposedly the award-winning ones).
Just want to add that Grana is not a vegetarian cheese, as it's made using a cow's rennet. I googled, and if you want a more authentic Italian recipes, you can use Italian cheese like aged Asiago or Romano.

Pea pesto spaghetti:
200g fresh peas
25g fresh basil leaves
1 clove of garlic (or more)
50g pine nuts
50g Grana Padano cheese or a vegetarian hard cheese
90ml olive oil
50g+ dried spaghetti per person

Place all the ingredients except oil in a deep bowl and blitz with a blender (or use a food processor). Pour the olive oil, and keep blending, until you get a smooth pesto.

Serve stirred into cooked spaghetti.

This pesto will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. It can also be frozen.

Italian meatball and pasta soup

Mention meatballs, and I'm going back in time to our old kitchen, with Mum making my favourite meals. I loved meatballs as a child, served either with mashed potatoes and gravy, or in a thick pasta or rice soup. For me this is one of those comfort foods which bring happy memories.

Most children that I know (in omnivore families) love meatballs.
My sons are quite fussy when it comes to meat, they wouldn't eat roast meat, for example. But sausages, meatballs and anything made with mince are a totally different matter. Eddie would even happily gobble up school lunches if there are meatballs or sausages on the menu, and I can just imagine the quality of those products.

Lean red meat is a versatile ingredient in many child-friendly meals, from cutlets to shepherd's pie, from Ragu Bolognese to chilli... Meatloaf, tacos, lasagne, sloppy Joes, pies, pirozhki, and so many more wonderful dishes could be cooked with red meat.
Food nutritionists recommend including red meat in children's diet from weaning onwards, as it provides important nutrients that are often low in toddlers and children - including iron, zinc, B vitamins, selenium and potassium.

Dr Emma Derbyshire, a public health nutritionist and mother, says: "Including a small portion of red meat in the diet a few times a week after weaning can help to bridge nutrient gaps and so help to maintain good health through childhood and beyond"

Recently BritMums and Meat Advisory Panel have invited bloggers to join in the #HealthyRedMeat challenge and create a delicious recipe including beef, pork or lamb - "to bring a little variety and inspire some enticing ways to include red meat into your family diet".

What shall I cook for the challenge, that my children would like? Meatballs, of course. I have quite a few recipes for meatballs on my blog - you might have seen my posts for Swedish Meatballs for Karlson on the Roof and Easy Midweek Dinner: Fusilli with Meatballs in Tomato Sauce, and Italian Baked Meatballs with Mozzarella.

This time I am cooking a pasta soup with vegetables and - you've guessed it - meatballs.

Italian meatball and pasta soup
Ingredients:
400g minced beef
500g minced pork
3tbsp Grana Padano, grated
1 slice of bread
a dash of milk
1 clove of garlic
1 medium egg
sea salt

1tbsp vegetable stock
1/2 white sweet onion
1 carrot
8 baby tomatoes
1tbsp tomato paste
50g stellette pasta shapes
4tbsp cannelini beans (tinned)
100g fine green beans
100g baby courgettes
2tbsp basil leaves, chopped finely

Ingredients for meatball pasta soup

First of all, make the meatballs. You will make about 44 meatballs from this amount of mince. I didn't use all of them at once. I have put more than a half in the freezer, once they were cooked and cooled - to use later in the week with spaghetti.
Toast a slice of bread, then cut off the crusts and break the bread into smaller pieces. Add a dash of milk and soak for a couple of minutes. Squeeze the milk out.
In a deep mixing bowl grate the cheese. You can use parmesan instead of Grana Padano. Add the beef and pork mince, a crushed garlic clove as well as the soggy bread. Mix all the ingredients together and season the mince.
You can skip the bread, but then the texture will be more dense.

I used a mix of beef and pork mince, as I believe this combination makes the best meatballs. Go for leaner mince - for example, 8% pork mince and 10% Aberdeen Angus beef mince is a tasty combination.

Pinch a walnut-size piece of minced meat and roll it, using hands, into a ball. Keep rolling until you use all the mince.
In a deep pan bring the water with half an onion and stock to boil. Cook meatballs in batches for about 5 minutes. Take meatballs out of the pan with a slotted spoon and put on a plate. Discard the onion.

raw and cooked meatballs

You will be left with a rather murky-looking broth.
Leave it as it is, or clarify it with a help of a beaten egg white which you add to the broth. Boil it for a couple of minutes, then strain the broth through a large sieve with a piece of clean cheesecloth. Discard the egg white with all the bits on it.

Peel a carrot and chop into small pieces, slice courgettes into little discs. Halve the tomatoes and slice the green beans.
First add the carrots to the broth. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the pasta shapes, halved tomatoes, green beans, tomato paste and cannelini beans. Cook for 6 minutes. Add the chopped basil in the last minute of cooking. Put the meatballs in the soup before serving.
Serve hot with 4-5 meatballs per person.

In this recipe I used De Cecco Stellette, which is a tiny star-shaped pasta, perfect for soups. If you cannot find Stellette, any small pasta shapes will do.

The verdict was unanimous - this soup is delicious. It has pasta and meatballs, and is an all-round crowd pleaser.

This post is an entry for the BritMums #HealthyRedMeat, sponsored by the Meat Advisory Panel.

Disclosure: I received a £10 voucher to buy meat for the recipe.

Baked halloumi with caramelised onions and tomatoes

Waitrose is running a 25% price reduction for their own Waitrose 1 range at the moment, with a wide selection of foods offered. While checking out what's on offer, I spotted a pack of halloumi with mint which I haven't bought before.
Just the day before I was recycling newspapers and saw a recipe for baked halloumi with tomatoes printed in The Observer magazine. This was one of Nigel's Midweek Dinner recipes.

I have adapted the recipe, if you want to see the original recipe, follow the link above.

Baked halloumi with caramelised onions and tomatoes
Ingredients:
a punnet of mixed baby tomatoes (220g)
1tbsp olive oil
1tbsp balsamic vinegar
1tbsp soy sauce
1tsp maple syrup
1 big red onion, sliced
2tbsp olive oil
1tbsp balsamic vinegar
1tsp maple syrup
1 pack of halloumi (250g)
a few sprigs of fresh thyme

First start by roasting tomatoes. Put tomatoes in a small roast dish and pour olive oil, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce and maple syrup over them. Place the dish in the oven preheated to 180C and cook for about 20 minutes.
I used mixed baby tomatoes, but any colour would do. If you have bigger tomatoes, just halve them and cook the same way.

In the meantime cut a big red onion in half and slice into crescents. Add oil to a medium sized frying pan, and fry the onions on low for about 10-15 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the balsamic vinegar and maple syrup, and a pinch of salt. The onions will turn a lovely dark colour. Once cooked, set aside. Take the tomatoes out of the oven.

Take two square pieces of foil, first layer the caramelised onions as a base. Cut the halloumi in half, then in half again. Put two pieces of halloumi on caramelised onions (two per foil pocket).
Add the roast tomatoes, any juice from the tomatoes and fresh thyme.

Pull the edges of the foil up together and slightly scrunch them to create a pocket. Place the pockets on a tray and into the oven. Cook at 180C for 20-25 minutes.
Serve hot, with a nice chunk of bread to mop up the onion sauce.

In this recipe I used Waitrose 1 traditional halloumi with mint. It has a firm texture, and is made from pasteurised ewe's and goat's milk. Flavoured with mint, it is hand folded the traditional way in Cyprus.

Baked cheese was tasty enough, though I do prefer halloumi fried or grilled.
I also recently cooked Foil-baked feta with caper berries and Greek basil, and prefer the texture of baked feta.

Which baked cheese is your favourite?

Adding this post to #KitchenClearout linky hosted by Cheryl at Madhouse Family Reviews, as I have conveniently used the end of the bottle of maple syrup in this recipe.