Food and drink review blog with an ethnic twist. Focus on new, unusual and seasonal products
bought in the UK.

Monday 17 June 2013

Berrylicious Summer Puds To Look Out For and Fruity Sorbets

Being honest I am not really a pudding person, do love to make them though!  Family are big sweets fans and growing up tea wasn't tea unless there was a pudding.  Nod to Dad there and his traditional upbringing!  Have found my families favourite puds during the summer are those containing beautiful British berries and naturally laden with lashings of cream!  Whether they be berry tarts, mousses, fools, sponges or simple strawberries and cream.  This post is to share some of the berry puds that have caught my eye around the supermarkets.  In the garden, my Dad has always grown his own berries. Memories from childhood, of time spent picking bowl fulls of berries or sneaking under the strawberry net for te plump juicy berries.  Berries he grew, included raspberries, red currants, blackberries, blackcurrants and gooseberries.  Would totally lose track of time when out picking the fruit and would then, sit cross legged on the grass with my sister topping and tailing or sorting berries in some other way.  Favourites were the red currants, stunningly beautiful to look at like red jewels on a string.  Gorgeous the way they hung from the bushes and caught the light. 




Monday 10 June 2013

Recipe: Crushed Cannellini Bean and Garlic Soup

I really love soup, so much!  Make a pot once per week.  Enjoy it as a meal but also as a snack, it really appeals to my savoury tastes.  Quite often have a mug as a late night snack before bed.  So comforting the warmth and savoury saltiness of it.  Was known to drink veg stock cubes when I was younnger!
 
  This soup below is one I make quite often.  A big fan of beans in all of their forms, tinned beans are a cupboard staple and there is so much that can be done with them.  The canellini beans add a bit of creaminess to the soup and make it pretty filling.  The flavours make for a nice combination and it is a very fresh soup.  It is so quick to put together, no soaking or long boiling here!  In total takes just shy of 1/2 an hour to make.  Due to the brief cooking all of the flavours come out.  If possible it is best to use fresh herbs, the herbs in the soup are what makes it really.
 

Friday 7 June 2013

Feeling Saucy- Stir Fry Sauce Reviews

A fail safe and a regular meal, fast, simple, easy and tasty.  Probably eat this at least 3 times per week therefore it is important to vary it with different veg and sauces!  I often have a simple stir fry just with soy, fresh ginger, chilli and garlic.  Also make a peanut satay sort of sauce with peanut butter and if I am really lazy just add lashings of sweet chilli sauce.  In this post will share some of my favourite sauces on the shelves of the trusty old supermarkets.

Blue Dragon Spicy Szechuan Tomato


A delicious and tangy sauce.  I never before associated tomatoes with Asian food.  Was quite sceptical when trying it for the first time.  The sauce is lovely.  It is spicy and has a sweet peppery flavour, the tomato comes through too.  The sauce is slightly sweet but well balanced out with the addition of rice vinegar.  Ginger and garlic also come through fairly strongly.  The sauce is full of flavour and my absolute favourite stir fry sauce.

Saturday 1 June 2013

Summer Eating- Making More of Fruit & Ideas

One of the things I love most about summer is the food.  A bountiful supply of fresh fruit and veg are so tempting, al fresco dining and homegrown (by Dad) produce are just some of the highlights. July has been positively scorching and it is the best summer we've had in this country for years and years.  With the warm weather, it brings a more continental type appetite, I find.  Personally much more in the mood for light meals, salads and there is a definite increase in the consumption of a variety of fresh fruit.

-Make Fruit The Star: Some Random Ideas-