Ryvita è bella (Autumn recipes with Ryvita)

The mornings are suddenly chilly, and the evenings have been creeping upon us with their shawl of darkness each day earlier. The autumn has come. The first days of September held a promise of the Indian summer, but there is no doubt now - the autumn is finally here.
This is the season of the heart warming dishes and mugs of hot steaming drinks. Consider soups infused with flavour of the autumn harvest, thick stews, hearty curries, mouthwatering crumbles and hot chocolate.

Celebrate the season with Ryvita and the talented chef Mark Sargeant, of celebrated Rocksalt in Folkestone, who created a selection of heart warming British autumnal toppings, tailored to perfectly accompany your favourite Ryvita® Crispbreads.

Be imaginative and creative with your choice of Ryvita and spreads. I was asked to try new recipes created by Mark. When I read the recipes and saw the photos, I knew I would be happy to try them. I love the richness of the autumnal vegetables, their full-bodied flavours and beautiful colours.

Photo credit: Ryvita

Mark comments, "Ryvita® provides a great base for these seasonal toppings. I particularly enjoy eating curried sweet potato, butternut squash, yoghurt and fresh mint on top a Ryvita® Pumpkin Seed and Oats Crispbread - the combination works perfectly, and gently warms you from inside."

A versatile base for seasonal ingredients and great to share with family and friends, Ryvita® is a must-have for autumn get-togethers.
With a wide selection of different variants, including Ryvita® Pumpkin Seed and Oats Crispbread and Ryvita® Sunflower Seeds and Oats Crispbread, there is something available for everyone. Get munching and crunching this autumn.

Recipes:
Ryvita® Pumpkin Seed and Oats Crispbread with curried sweet potato, butternut squash, yoghurt and mint

Serves 4-6 as a light supper

Ingredients
16 Ryvita® Pumpkin Seed and Oats Crispbreads
2 tbsps vegetable oil
1 onion (roughly chopped)
3 garlic cloves (crushed)
250 grams butternut squash (seeded and cut into chunks)
1 sweet potato (cut into chunks)
200 grams potatoes (cut into chunks)
1 apple (peeled, cored and cut into chunks)
2 tsps curry paste (mild)
1 tsp turmeric piece
ginger (2 1/2 cm piece fresh, peeled and finely chopped)
2 bay leaves
250 mls vegetable stock
25 grams raisins salt
black pepper
4 tbsps plain yogurt
1 bunch of mint

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onions for 4-5 minutes until golden. Add the garlic, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, potatoes and apple. Then stir in the curry paste, turmeric, ginger, bay leaves, stock, raisins and plenty of seasoning. Bring to the boil, stir well, then cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are just tender and the sauce is lovely and thick. Set aside to cool. Mix the yoghurt with the finely shredded mint and season. Spoon onto Ryvita® Pumpkin Seed and Oats Crispbreads and add a spoonful of yogurt and mint over the top.

My take on Mark's recipe: I didn't have any fresh mint (the one in the garden looked all stalks and hard leaves, past its best), so I used a teaspoon of dried mint instead. I also added less garlic.
My suggestion: if you don't have all the ingredients, use your imagination and think creatively.


Ryvita® Sunflower Seeds and Oats Crispbread with Waldorf Salad

Photo credit: Ryvita

Ingredients
10 Ryvita® Sunflower Seeds and Oats Crispbreads
2 Braeburn apples
1⁄2 lemon, juiced
4 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp Grain mustard
2 stalks celery, peeled and cut into crescents
handful walnuts
couple of handfuls watercress

Cut the apple into chunks and toss with the lemon juice. Mix together the mayonnaise and mustard and toss with all the other ingredients. Spoon over 10 Ryvita® Sunflower Seeds and Oats Crispbreads.

This is a nice combination of flavours and textures. I didn't add the watercress and used Gala apples rather than Braeburn. Ryvita is a perfect base for this new take on the Waldorf salad.

If you liked these recipes with Ryvita, please visit their site for more inspiration.
You might also Like their Facebook page and follow all the latest news and developments.

Old MacDonald had a puzzle (review + giveaway closing 1 October 2012)

Do your children love music? And Puzzles? Does having a jigsaw activity pack with both elements sound like a fab idea to you?

My 2-year-old Eddie is forever asking for music (the way he pronounes the word, it sounds more like "muzikah"). He particularly likes listening to children's voices.

We were lucky to receive an activity pack from Music Room for reviewing.

 

 

The activity kit comes in a sturdy box which contains a 1m long puzzle, a music CD, two sets of stickers and a colouring sheet.

Boxes, who doesn't enjoy opening them? Eddie was very excited at the sight of the bright and cheerful box, and even happier to see ist contents. We had to listen to the new sing-along CD at once.

 

Personally I am not that keen on children's music performed by children, but I am clearly not the intended audience for the CD, because Eddie loved it a lot, and he has been asking to listen to it every day since the box arrived. The CD includes a set of well known animal songs like Mary Had a Little Lamb, Baa Baa Blacksheep, Daddy Fox and many more.

 

 

 

 

The metre-long puzzle is very colourful, it consists of big chunky pieces. As Eddie is a bit young for it, I helped him to finish the puzzle.

 

 

After the task was accomplished, we named  all the animals portrayed on the puzzle and put the pieces back in the box. As for the stickers, I confess they didn't end up where they were supposed to be, as my older son found the stickers while I was in the kitchen (and Eddie had a nap in his bedroom) and stickered them all over the box.

 

 

 

This activity set would make a lovely birthday or Christmas gift for anyone who loves Old MacDonald.

 

 

 I have one Old MacDonald Had a Farm Jingle Puzzle to give away. To be in with a chance, please fill in the Rafflecopter form below.

Leaving a comment is a must step to be entered in the draw (please do not click on the button, saying you did, if you haven't, as I can actually see it). You can do the other 3 steps as bonus entries, but they are not obligatory.

 

Good luck!

 

 

 



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Scented dreams: Twinings Jasmine Pearls (review)

Twinings has introduced a new range of Whole Leaf Silky Pyramids. I don't need to be encouraged to try a new tea, being a tea-addict. I've been dancing around the shelves displaying the new range of Twinings in Waitrose in the last few weeks, telling myself that I have enough tea in the house for my very own Boston Tea Party.

But I had a very stressful weekend, and what could be more relaxing than a cup of tea. Some women go to have their hair done or nails painted as a treat to themselves. I buy tea and chocolate.

I was torn between two new flavours, and decided that Jasmine Pearls looked especially appealing. Inside the box there are 15 silky pyramids (teabags) with pearls of rolled green tea. They look very pretty, and the transparent bags are quintessentially elegant. The small pearls of green tea are scented with white flowers of jasmine to achieve a delicate and slightly sweet flavour.

Make a cup of tea, sit, close your eyes and breathe in the aroma of jasmine. The wave of the jasmine will caress your senses and send you dreaming about the faraway lands. This is a very relaxing brew.
And also very healthy. Did you know that green tea is a great source of healing antioxidants? It increases metabolism and if you drink it regularly, you might notice that your waistline is getting trimmer.

When steeped in water, the pearls start to unravel or uncurl their green leaves, it is like a little miracle in a cup. Beautiful tea to look at, and it tastes fresh and fragrant. It is lovely hot, but also delicious when cold. I think it is perfect for the iced tea.

My only criticism is that I am not impressed with the design of the box. I like the shape, but the actual painting is a bit garish and amateur (I might be wrong and the artist tried to imitate the Primitivism art on purpose, then my apologies). The images are not associated in my mind with the origins of the Jasmine tea, its ancient history and cultural uses. I would have used a photo of an antique Chinese fabric as a pattern for the box.

Boys and their toys: Nano Speed Super Vert Crash set (review)

Boys and their toys. The faster, the better. Who could resist a super fast miniature toy cars as they zoom throught the corkscrew track?

The Nano Speed range brings the super fast and collectable miniature toy cars to children across the UK.
With crazy power to weight ratio, the Nano cars are capable of defying gravity and pulling off impressive stunts never done before!

The Nano speed range promises impressive speeds, awe-inspiring loops and adrenaline filled stunts!
Imagine yourself a mini-James Bond with this super toy.

"Defy gravity as you launch multiple cars into the triple loop, watch them wind their way through an inverted corkscrew and 5 high intensity crash points. The vehicles are automatically boosted to hit maximum speed on a micro scale!"
Set comes with two exclusive Nano Speed cars.

If you plan to give it as a birthday or Christmas present, do not forget to include two D batteries, as the kit doesn't include them, and they are not necessarily the type that you would find in every household (at least, talking from our own experience).

What does Nano Speed™ promise?

• It’s the fastest – Nano Speed™ can go as fast as 1500mph scaled speed!

• It’s the smallest – with Nano Speed™ it’s maximum speed on a micro scale!

• Pullback mechanism – it’s easy, pull back & go!

• Nano Speed™ do amazing stunts for non-stop race and crash action

• Super collectable – 60+ awesome looking cars to collect in wave 1

• Quick & easy to assemble play sets

• The range includes: Nano Speed™ 2 Pack £4.99, 4 Pack £8.99, Stunt Set £12.99, Multi-Car Launcher £14.99 & Nano Super Vert Crash Set £34.99

Does it deliver what it promises?

The instructions that come with the set are useful and clear. Though the set is not difficult to assemble with the parent's help, it could be quite tricky to do it for someone aged 6 (age specified on the box). The track sections have numbers on the back. The diagrams are clear. Level of difficulty is moderate (if you take into consideration the age of the possible recipient).

The main problem lays with the launch of the cars. When you pull the car to the back to launch it through the spiral, it doesn't always work consistently. I would say the ratio is 1 out of 10 times it will work.

Another thing about this toy: you cannot modify the track. You get what you see in the picture. So, after playing a bit with it, you might get bored. The conclusion is it won't hold any prolonged interest.

The toy costs £34.99. I appreciate its production must be costly, but from a parent's point of view, it is not cheap, especially if your child plays with it just once.

We were sent this toy for purposes of reviewing. All opinions are my own.

Best ever pickled baby cucumbers

We are not talking here the little vinegary monsters that you usually buy in the shops which taste of nothing but vinegar. Today I am inviting you to try a very easy recipe for the mildly pickled cucumbers.

I was delighted to discover that Waitrose started selling baby cucumbers recently, yes, they are pricier than the big sized comrades, but perfect for my recipe. In fact, I haven't tried it with the huge cucumbers. I don't know why with such a huge variety of tomatoes of all sizes in the shops you almost never see any variety in the cucumbers. They are all a standard size of a small weapon.
I tried growing my own a couple of years ago, but lost the crop, and switched to growing tomatoes.

This recipe is called Malosol'nye ogurtsy in Russian (lit. little-salted cucumbers) and they are ready to eat the next day. I've been consulting my Mum over the phone, as she often makes this dish for my nieces.

For 1 jar of pickled cucmbers I used

2 and a half packs of Waitrose baby cucumbers (150g each)
20g dill
peppercorns (about a dozen of different sizes)
1 clove of garlic
a couple of black currant leaves

For the salty solution you will need
for 1.5 litre of water
3 heaped tbsp of salt
1 tbsp of sugar
Please note that I did several jars of pickled cucumbers and tomatoes, so if you are making just one jar of pickles you will be left with lots of the salted water.

1. Bring the water to boil, add to a biggish container and disslove sugar and salt. Let it cool, it might be tepid, but not hot.
2. Prepare a big jar for pickles by putting it in the oven preheated to 180C for 10 minutes, take it out and let it cool.
3. Start the assembling process by adding a few leaves of the blackcurrants at the bottom, one clove of garlic and peppercorns. Chop off the "bums" of cucumbers to speed up the pickling process. Add several cucumbers, then a layer of dill, don't chop it, just tear in half. More cucumbers and more dill until the whole jar is filled in. Add the pickling liquid - it should cover the cucumbers, put the lid on top and place the jar in the fridge.
4. You can eat the cucumbers the next day.

They are deliciously crunchy and have a lovely mild pickled taste. They are best served with the boiled baby potatoes. They keep well for several days, but the longer they stay in the salted liquid, the saltier they become, so I suggest doing a small amount of pickles at a time.

More fun with Ben and Holly (Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom: Big Star Fun app review)

All fans of Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom, rejoice!

The first ever official Ben & Holly app called Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom - Big Star Fun has been released for iPad, iPhone and iPod.

This is a high quality app for pre-schoolers, and it features all the original characters from the TV series as well as the music and sound effects. Young fans of Ben and Holly now have an interactive kingdom of their own.

When you open the app, you are presented with an option of playing (and flying, of course) as Elf Ben or Princess Holly.

There are four magical games to play and each game comes with different difficulty levels. As Eddie is 2 years old, we go for the Easy level. And even this level needs a certain amount of skills and dexterity of fingers when you move the figures around.

So, what games can you find in the Little Kingdom:
 
You can start by Collecting Stars which involves flying through the air, trying to avoid the obstacles (I think Eddie didn't quite grasp the concept that he has to avoid the obstacles, because each time his chosen character bumps into things and I say Ouch, he laughs like a little bell).

You can excel at Throwing Sticks and play fetch with the colourful Gaston.

Hiding is another fun activity. Ben and Holly are hiding in the Elf Tree, you have to be quick, catch them if you can, or they disappear. Eddie and I both enjoyed this game.

Sweeping the leaves: you have to help Ben or Holly to clear the ground, the leaves keep falling from the big tree and you need to finish the job before the time runs out. So far we haven't managed to clear it completely, and we are supposedly on the Easy level.

Apart from the four games above you receive a bonus game: a Sticker book. There are several backgrounds to choose and numerous stickers to add. Eddie loves this game, but he can be over-zealous in his stickering. He loves ladybirds, so as you can see, he has generously decorated the background with the ladybirds.

If your kids love Ben and Holly, then I would certainly recommend this app.

Saying that, Eddie prefers Peppa Pig app at the moment (I reviewed the app recently and wasn't sure how long Eddie was going to enjoy it, but so far he wants to play with it every day).
He is probably a tad too young for all Ben and Holly's games, as for example, cleaning the grass from the leaves requires quite a bit of patience, and I'm afraid that is not one of our virtues.
This app is probably best for a one-to-one session between a child and a parent, with parent explaining the rules and helping to navigate the games.

Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom: Big Star Fun app is available from the App Store for £1.99.

P.S. We were sent a code to try the game for free.

September blues giveaway (CLOSED NOW)

I have been counting days until September as the summer holidays are always quite stressful in our household, but now that it finally arrived, I feel a bit sad that the summer is over. The dark evenings are creeping on us already. As of Tuesday, we are back to the school routine and, fingers crossed, to some semblance of normality.

To mark the end of summer and the start of the new academic year, I am offering my blog readers a few chocolate bars. I bought two batches of chocolate: Lindt and Green & Black's. I am partial to the dark chocolate and also loves all nutty flavours, hence my choice.

Green & Black's set includes 3 bars of dark chocolate: Ginger, Dark 70% and Burnt Toffee.

Lindt Creation's set includes 3 bars: Divine hazelnut, Velvety vanilla almond and Luscious caramel.

To be in with a chance of winning one of these sets, please follow two easy steps:

1. Leave me a comment on any other post (excluding the other current giveaway) and let me know which post it is in the comments here.

2. Let me know which set you would prefer: Lindt or Green & Black's (or if you don't mind either, just say either).

I will add all the names to the Raffleking after 27 September.

Good luck!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Many thanks for all your comments! I have added all names to the Raffleking and the two selected winners are

LINDT: Cheryl P
GREEN & BLACK'S: Hazel R

Well done, winners! I will get in touch with you to ask for your address details. Hope you will enjoy your choccies.

A pretty Quakeress cake

Why a Pretty Quakeress? This cake is baked with Quaker Oats, hence the name.

Ingredients:
150g Quaker oats, finely ground
160g granulated sugar
120g self-raising flour
2 eggs
1 medium Granny Smith apple
1 medium carrot
150g yogurt
2 bags of flavoured redbush tea (I used Charbrew Tropical rooibos flavour)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp melted butter

For the sauce:
200g blackcurrants
80g sugar
1 tsp strawberry jam

Start with adding the Quaker Oats to the coffee grinder and grind them until they are finely ground.
Make a cup of tea with 2 teabags of the redbush tea, leave it to cool.
In a big mixing bowl grate 1 apple and 1 carrot, add flour, ground oats, eggs, cinnamon, sugar, melted butter, about 1/3 cup of tea and yogurt.
Preheat the oven to 180C. Pour the cake mix in a buttered cake spring form. Place in the oven for about 50 minutes +. Check with a wooden skewer if it's ready. Once the cake is done, take it out of the oven, and out of the spring form. Dust with the icing sugar.
You can eat it hot ot cold.

For the sauce: pour 2/3 mug of tea in a small pan, add the sugar, let it boil and slightly reduce before adding fresh black currants and a spoonful of the strawberry jam. Cook for about 5 minutes.

To serve the cake, pour a few spoons of the sauce over a slice of cake.

And here it is, a Pretty Quakeress.

A taste of India from Warburtons (Baked Naan Chips review)

 

 

 

When I think of India, I picture myself as a little girl, sitting on my Mum's lap in the cinema, watching a Bollywood weepie like Seeta Aur Geeta (anyone else knows what I am talking about?).

 

 

 

My Mum loved the Indian cinema, and in the days of my childhood it was very popular in Russia. Later I've been reading memoirs of travellers to India and dreaming of visiting it one day. Alas, my dreams have stayed dreams.
What first springs to your mind when you think of India? Colourful clothes, delicious cuisine, cultural traditions?
If you enjoy Indian food, you might like to know that Britain's famous baker Warburtons has launched a new range of products that are inspired by India - Baked Naan Chips.

Warburtons explains: "Made from a unique naan bread recipe, the snacks are inspired by iconic British-Indian dishes and come in three great flavours - Creamy Korma (mild), Classic Tikka (medium) and Fiery Madras (hot), to suit the tastes of all your friends and family. Available in big sharing bags (150g), not only do these Indian treats taste delicious, but they’re also guilt-free, as the whole range is baked not fried, with 33% less fat compared to standard potato crisps, and containing no artificial ingredients."

Creamy Korma (mild) was the first bag of naan chips that I opened for tasting.
What you notice immediately is an aroma of the coconut milk and Korma spices. Among the ingredients you will find wheat flour, sunflower oil, korma seasoning, coconut milk, yoghurt powder, cumin, turmeric, ginger, cayenne, pepper, garlic and more. The chips are very crunchy and mildly spicy.

Very pleasant Korma flavour, mild enough for younger children. Eddie had a few and asked for more, he really enjoyed them. You can munch them as they are, or use a nice dip to go with them.
As they contain no artificial ingredients, I am happy to give them to my children. Another bonus: they are a nice new food to tempt and develop your child's palate.

Classic Tikka (medium)
If you look at the list of ingredients, you find wheat flour, sunflower oil, Tikka Masala seasoning, yoghurt powder, garlic, onion, cayenne pepper, coriander, ginger, cardamom, cumin.
Tikka chips are definitely more spicy than Korma, but not too hot.

I decided to go full Monty and serve them with a Tikka and side-dishes. I think they are a good competition to poppadoms. Eat them with different toppings, dips and condiments. And again, these chips were very crunchy.
My personal favourite. They go well with a glass of cold beer.

Fiery Madras (hot)
I am not very keen on hot curries, so tried to postpone tasting the last bag of chips. In comparison to the other two flavours, Fiery Madras has a real kick, as it is made with the Madras curry seasoning (the one that I usually avoid if I eat in an Indian restaurant).
They are very aromatic. I placed a bowl of chips in the kitchen, and every time I enter the kitchen, I can smell the spices. Nice but too hot for me. It would suit those who love their curries hot.
A friend of mine came earlier today and I mentioned to her that I am writing a review and asked if she'd like to taste the chips. She tried all three flavours and her verdict was that the Madras chips were not as hot as she presumed from my description, so I suppose it depends on a personal taste. they were too hot for me. She also commented that all three flavours were really nice.

If you'd like to try the new Warburtons Baked Naan Chips, they are available at Morrisons (RSP £1.79).
For further information and also recipes created by TV chef Monisha Bharadwaj visit www.facebook.com/warburtons
I have also noticed that they are running a competition to win a curry recipe kit.

 



Back to school healthier swaps with Popchips (giveaway c/d 20 September 2012)

Are you dreading the start of the school? Or perhaps you can't wait and are counting the days until the academic year starts in September? With such a rainy summer in the UK it hasn't been an easy task to keep the kids happy and entertained at home, if you haven't had a chance to travel.

Do your children take lunch boxes to school? Do you find it difficult to come with the healthy options?

With the start of the school year looming in the very near future, nutritionist Azmina Govindji put together some ideas for the lunchbox swaps.

1. Trade a regular bag of crisps for Popchips, they are literally popped with heat and pressure, so there's no fat used in frying and kids will love them (ahem, not just kids. After I reviewed Popchips a couple of months ago, I have been regularly buying them for myself, I am particularly addicted to the BBQ flavour).

2. Go for squeezy yoghurts over ice cream for a good fix of calcium and protein.

3. Leave the chocolate on the shelf and opt for jaffa cakes as a lighter sweet treat.

4. Stir up a calcium-rich milkshake and forget those sugary soft drinks! (that's better for the after school treat).

For two big glasses of milkshake you will need a glass and one third of semi-skimmed milk, a small tub of fromage frais or yogurt, a handful of blueberries, one small banana, a small scoop of vanilla ice cream (Haagen Dazs is the best, but we also love the Cornish style ice cream). Put all the ingredients in the blender and whizz well. Serve at once. If you use fromage frais, the milkshake will be creamier in consistency and slightly sweeter. If you prefer to use the yogurt, the taste will have a sharp note. Experiment with different yogurts and ice cream, add strawberries or raspberries instead of blueberries.

5. Choose low fat cheese spread as a source of calcium and protein over processed meat, which can be higher in salt.

 

Popchips has kindly offered a selection of 24 single-serve bags as a prize to one of my lucky blog readers. For a chance to win the prize, please fill in the rafflecopter form.
Leaving a comment is a required step, all the other steps are optional.



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