Degustabox April Review & Discount Code: Featuring new Popchips & Milkybar Chocolate

The latest Degustabox arrived this week and as always it was full of foodie treats, including a new and limited edition flavour of Popchips. 

Degustabox is a subscription service that promises to send out a big box filled with a surprise selection of groceries each month. Each Degustabox costs £12.99p but you can still get £6.00p off using the discount code below. Delivery costs are included in the price and there is no fixed contract involved - you can cancel at any time.

£6 Discount Code: BLDEG15

Degustabox have kindly provided my readers with a massive £6.00 off, bringing the cost to £6.99 delivered. Enter the Discount Code: BLDEG15 

www.degustabox.com/en

Here's a quick round up of all the products I received in April's Degustabox (there are a LOT of photos!):

Popchips Limited Edition Sea Salt, Garlic & Rosemary: A large bag of new Popchips Sea Salt, Garlic & Rosemary. There is also a limited edition Popchips Sea Salt, Caramelised Onion & Thyme flavour, which some Degustaboxers may have received instead.

I'm a big fan of Popchips and this new flavour is just spot on. All the elements of sea salt, garlic and rosemary work together to create a delicious flavour. I especially love the strong rosemary combined with the garlic - just snacking perfection.

Veetee Rice: Two packets of microwaveable rice from Veetee in Wholegrain Brown Rice & Quinoa and Basmati. I do buy this brand of easy to make rice packets every once in a while. They're just so useful to have in the cupboard for those super busy days.

Levi Roots Jerk Coat 'n Cook Sauce: My son is already a fan of Levi Roots sauce so when he saw this packet he wanted to make it straight away. Since it's an instant sauce and doesn't need marinading I decided to give it a go with some chicken breasts. 

We had the chicken sliced with a colourful salad and sweet potatoes. The chicken only took about 25 minutes in the oven and was lovely and juicy. I'm always sceptical about instant marinades but the flavour worked well here and the chicken was delicious with a real spicy kick. 

Pimm's Cider Cup: A summery English Cider flavoured with Pimm's and a hint of strawberry and cucumber. It's great to enjoy now that the days are getting longer and warmer!

Bebeto Fruit Strings: This fruity snack has been awarded a Product of the Year award for their innovative use of fruit juice. They're also suitable for vegetarians and vegans. 

These are so cute! There are 7 packs inside, each printed with a different day of the week. This will appeal to any kids (like mine) who like to keep things in order. I'll definitely get in trouble if I put in a Tuesday bag into the lunch box if it's actually Friday!

The flavours in the pack are Raspberry (2 bags), Apple (2 bags), Blackcurrant (1 bag), and Strawberry (2 bags). The texture is soft and chewy and all the flavours were really tasty - very sweet and fruity.

Green Lady Sparkling Tea: This is an interesting drink. It's a lightly sparking tea, made with Green Darjeeling tea leaves and the finest all natural ingredients. I like the fact that the ingredients list is so simple and includes flavourings such as nutmeg. 

Canderel Sugarly: This is described as a zero calorie sweetener that looks like granulated sugar and tastes like sugar. It can be used in hot drinks, on fruit and cereals and for baking. I'll be giving this a go for baking some low calorie banana bread. 

Smarties & MilkyBar: I'm always pleased to find some chocolaty treats inside the Degustabox and this month was no exception as I haven't tried either of these. 

Smarties Sharing Block:  A bar of sweet and creamy milk chocolate packed with colourful mini Smarties. This is a super sweet bar and definitely one for anyone with a sweet tooth! I could only eat a small amount of this at a time but I have to admit I did like the texture of the crunchy Smarties in the creamy chocolate.

Milkybar Milk & Crunchy: This is a new chocolate from Milkybar, a small sized bar for kids, in a fun cow shape. Each bar has a creamy and crispy centre covered in a layer of white chocolate. I couldn't resist having a sneaky one of these myself and I really enjoyed the creamy and sweet flavour.

Rejuvenation Water Apple & Mint: Rejuvenation is a spring water drink enriched with amino acid glutamine which has been shown to have benefits for the immune system and for stress, depression and anxiety. I can't speak for any of the health claims but I did enjoy the flavour of this drink. The apple and mint is an enjoyably sweet combination and a very refreshing one too. 

Parle: One of the things I love about writing this blog is discovering brands from around the world. I hadn't heard of this Indian brand before but apparently Parle-G are the largest selling biscuit brand in the world. 

Parle-G Biscuits: These biscuits are made with milk and wheat for 'all round nourishment'. They're simple biscuits with a sweet flavour and golden, buttery texture. These are lovely with hot drinks and a nice treat for little hands too.

Parle Rusk: These rusks are enriched with cardamom and have a surprisingly sweet flavour and light texture. I really enjoyed the flavour here - they're light and sweet which makes them absolutely perfect with tea.  If you've never tried these before then you should definitely give them a go.

Overall, I was delighted with the impressive selection in this month's Degustabox - it's one of my favourite boxes so far. I was especially pleased with the Popchips, Levi Roots sauce, Parle, Bebeto Fruit Strings and the Milkybar Milk & Crunchy.

For more details:

Degustabox website: www.degustabox.com

Like on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DegustaboxUK

Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DegustaboxUK

I received a Degustabox in order to provide an honest review.

McCain Crispy Sweet Potato Fries & Back to Normality Campaign

I was recently invited to join the McCain 'Back to Normal' campaign. McCain have launched the campaign to help families get back into the full swing of the school routines and mid-week dinners during term-time. 

Holly Bell has created lots of interesting recipes using McCain frozen products on her blog Recipes From A Normal Mum which provided lots of inspiration. Check out this inventive Baked Tortilla made using McCain Home Chips. I make a chorizo and egg tortilla quite often but I would never have thought to use chunky chips instead of potatoes - I'll be trying this out for sure!

McCain Crispy Sweet Potato Fries: I actually had no idea that McCain made sweet potato fries and I couldn't wait to give these a go, especially as my kids are big fans of baked sweet potatoes. Luckily I found the McCain Sweet Potato Fries easily in my local Iceland. They're easy to make too. After 18 minutes they were ready, with a light crispy coating but still very soft inside.

After looking through the recipes I knew I had to try the Garlic, Lemon &  Sweet Chilli Chicken with McCain Sweet Potato Fries. This recipe is so quick to make and is really flavourful for such a quick recipe. It was a complete hit with all the family and they've already asked me to make it again soon! 

McCain Home Chips: As well as the McCain Sweet Potato Fries I also gave the McCain Home Chips a try for those busy midweek meals. My kids enjoyed a soft taco with home made beef chilli, fresh tomato salsa, carrot spaghetti and some chunky McCain Home Chips. Very filling after a busy day!

McCain Ready Baked Jackets: Even though I was skeptical of this product when it was first released it's quickly become a mainstay in my freezer. It's the ultimate healthier fast food when I'm pushed for time. Another quick mid-week meal sorted - leftover chilli with McCain Jacket Potato and salad. Super tasty and ready in no time at all. 

Thank you to McCain for their Back To Normal pack which included some fab kitchen items! 

Grocery Gems Review: McCain Crispy Sweet Potato Fries

RATING: 9 out of 10.

Buy them again?: Yes - already have!
Purchased: Iceland.
Price: £2.00p for 500g.

PR samples. 

Halloween Recipes with Betty Crocker

Betty Crocker recently shared three super simple and cute recipes for Halloween. These bakes are all really easy to make using Betty Crocker ready made cake and icing mixes. It's fun to get creative in the kitchen with the kids by baking some spooky Halloween treats like these!

TWEET OWL CUPCAKES

INGREDIENTS

Cake:

1 box Betty Crocker Devil's Food Cupcake Mix 60ml 

60ml water (4tbsp)

30ml vegetable oil (2 tbsp)

2 medium free range eggs

Topping:

1 tub Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Icing

9 large milk chocolate buttons

White Fondant Icing, cut into 1½cm rounds

Black Fondant Icing made into ½cm dots

9 yellow or orange chocolate beans.

METHOD:

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C for fan assisted ovens) Gas Mark 4. Place the cake cases into your muffin tin. 
2. Mix the cupcake mix, oil, water and eggs gently together and then whisk (by hand or electric mixer) for 2-3 minutes until completely blended. S
3. Spoon the mixture evenly into the cupcake cases. 
4. Bake in the centre of the oven for 16 minutes or until a rounded knife inserted into the centre of a cupcake comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack. 
5. Ice the Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge icing over the top of the cupcakes when cool. Place the chocolate button halves on top of the cupcakes to make the ears. Pipe over the chocolate fudge icing to make the feathers and tufts. 
6. Create by rolling out the white icing and cutting large circles for the eyes to place on the cupcake. Then add the milk chocolate button by putting a small dot of icing on one side of the button to stick it to the white icing for the pupils. Add the chocolate beans for the beaks under the eyes. Wonderful! 

CREEPY CAULDRON CAKE

INGREDIENTS

Cake:

1 box Betty Crocker Red Velvet Cake Mix 

65 ml vegetable oil (4 ½ tbsp) 

205 ml water 

3 medium free range eggs 

Topping:

1 tub Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Icing 

½ tub Betty Crocker Vanilla Icing 

Green, Orange and Red Food Colouring 

1 packet milk chocolate fingers, halved (125g) 

Handful of jelly snakes cut in half 

Handful white chocolate balls.

METHOD:

1. Preheat your oven to 180C (160 C for fan assisted)/Gas Mark 4. Grease two 20cm cake tins. 
2. Mix the cake mix, oil, water and eggs gently together and whisk (by hand or electric mixer) for 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy. 
3. Pour the cake mix evenly into your two greased cake tins. 
4. Bake in the centre of the oven for 23-28 minutes or until a rounded knife inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean, then allow to cool on a cooling rack. 
5. Ice by sandwiching the cake together with half of the chocolate fudge icing and spread the rest around the top and sides, reserving a little for the rim of the cauldron. Put this into a piping bag with a large nozzle and pipe around the top edge of the cake. Any leftover icing you can use to make the pupils of the eyeballs. 
6. Decorate by colouring ⅔ of the vanilla icing with green and pipe loosely over the top of the cake, using a large nozzle to form the bubbling potion. Colour the rest of the icing with orange, reserving a little to colour red. Decorate the bottom of the cake with the chocolate finger halves for logs. Pipe orange flames around the bottom of the cauldron and then add red centres to the flames. Push the jelly snakes into the top of the cake so that they give the effect that they are crawling out of the bubbling potion. Add chocolate balls as eyes and 'Hey Presto' a Halloween Cauldron to spook your friends.

SPOOKY SPIDER CUPCAKES

INGREDIENTS

Cupcakes:

1 box Betty Crocker Devil's Food Cake Mix 

90 ml vegetable oil (6 tbsp) 

250 ml water 

3 medium free range eggs 

Decoration:

 1 tub Betty Crocker Rich and Creamy Vanilla Icing 

Red food colouring & Yellow food colouring 

Decoration Tube of black decorating icing 

48 black fruit pastilles

METHOD

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C for fan assisted ovens) / Gas Mark 4. 
2. Mix the eggs, oil, water and cake mix gently together and whisk (by hand or electric mixer) for 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy. 
3. Pour the mixture evenly into the cupcake cases. 
4. Bake in the centre of the oven for 16 minutes or until a rounded knife inserted into the deepest part of a cupcake comes out clean. Leave to cool on your cooling rack. 
5. Stir 3 drops of red colouring and 4 drops of yellow food colouring into Betty’s Vanilla Rich and Creamy Icing in a small bowl, and mix to create orange icing. Spread this over the cooled cupcakes.
6.  Create four black circles on each cupcake using the black decorating icing. Use a knife to draw through the circles from the centre of each cupcake to create the web effect. 
7. Roll out one fruit pastille and cut out eight strips for legs and then place a whole fruit pastille in the middle to create your spider. Do this for each cupcake to create your beastly batch…Scarily splendid!

There are lots more Halloween recipes on the Betty Crocker website including the adorable Halloween Cat Cake above! Check them out here: www.bettycrocker.co.uk.

Competition! Win a copy of Reole What's Cookin'? CD with Recipe Leaflet

Something a little different today! I was recently sent the latest album by 'Funkmaster general' Reole. The album What's Cookin'? is influenced by cooking food and even comes with a little leaflet packed full of recipes. It's suggested that you turn up the music to full volume whilst cooking up a storm!

Reole started his musical life playing brass in Mardi Gras parades and his What's Cookin'? album features a blend of instrumental funk, jazz and classical rock.

Take a listen to one of the tracks, 'Got Your Back Girl' here:  https://soundcloud.com/reole/got-your-back-girl-feat-sophie-mendoza

Recipes in the leaflet include; Gris Gris Jerk Chicken with Beans and Coconut Rice, Mean Muffuletta, and a Jambalaya Fire.

Competition!

The album is released on 4th December but to win 1 of 2 copies of What's Cookin'? by Reole now, simply Retweet the competition Tweet HERE:
https://twitter.com/grocerygems/status/654618644350111744

HOW TO ENTER

• Competition open to UK residents only
• Closing date 26th October 2015.
• Winner must reply within 5 days or a new winner will be chosen.

Retro Baking & Walker's Bring It Back Campaign!

If you're watching the Great British Bake Off final tonight then I hope you've got some cakes or sweet treats in! Walker's recently invited me to take part in sharing a retro baking recipe. It's to celebrate their Bring It Back campaign which relaunched five retro crisp flavours for a limited time. I've reviewed all of the flavours HERE.

When I saw the words 'retro baking' I immediately thought of making either a Black Forest Gateau or a Pineapple Upside Down Cake. In the end I decided to make a Pineapple Upside Cake as I have vivid memories of loving this cake as a child. In fact I'm pretty sure I had it as my birthday cake for a few years in a row! And I realised that my kids have never tried one, and bonus, it's such an easy recipe that they could get involved with making it too. 

Of course I had to add a little twist to the original so this is a Pineapple & Coconut Upside Down Cake! 

Pineapple & Coconut Upside Down Cake

Ingredients

8 pineapple rings

1-2 tbsp golden syrup

150g soft butter/margarine

150g caster sugar

150g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

8 glace cherries

25g dessicated coconut (plus more for decorating).

METHOD

• Grease a large tin. 
• Arrange pineapple rings in a circular pattern in the tin.
• Place a glace cherry or other small fruit in centre of each pineapple ring (I used a mix of glace. cherries and mango pieces).
• Drizzle golden syrup over the pineapple rings.
• In a large bowl, mix butter, sugar and eggs. 
• Sift in the flour and mix until creamy.
• Pour cake mixture over pineapples and smooth down.
• Bake in oven for 30-40 minutes until golden brown.
• Once cooled drizzle a little more golden syrup on top (I used a brush to dab some on each pineapple ring).
• Sprinkle with dessicated coconut to decorate.

It's quite easy to make and the result is a fruity and super sweet cake that was a winner with the family! 

Thanks to Walkers for inviting me to bake a retro recipe. Don't forget you can still vote in the Walkers Bring It Back Campaign until 1st November 2015 with a chance to win £100,000! Enter by voting via the Walker website at www.walkers.co.uk or on Facebook and Twitter using the flavour hashtags:

#VoteLambMint

#VoteBeefOnion

#VoteToastedCheese

#VoteBarbecue

#VoteCheeseChive

Which flavour will you be voting for?

Celebrate Christmas with Bowmore, Islay's First Whisky

I was sent a lovely Christmas Mailer from premium whisky distillery Morrison Bowmore. It's all in aid of celebrating the creation of two unique serving suggestions. Bowmore's Salted Caramel Crust was developed by Michelin starred chef Mark Sargeant and can easily be recreated at home. For a real winter warmer there is also the Bowmore's Darkest Hot Chocolate which was created exclusively for Bowmore's by Galvin At Windows.

Bowmore Single Malt Scotch Whisky is produced in the Bowmore distillery in Islay, the first recorded distillery on the island and one of the oldest in Scotland. The Bowmore distillery still uses traditional 200 year old methods, such as smoking the malt in a peat-fired kiln, to create that distinctive peaty smokiness of the Islay malts.

The Bowmore's Salted Caramel Crust is a simple yet stunning way to serve their latest Single Malt, Small Batch, and although I haven't had a chance to make it myself, here's the recipe if you fancy giving it a go:

Bowmore Salted Caramel Crust

INGREDIENTS

75g unsalted butter     

50g soft light brown sugar     

50g caster sugar     

50g golden syrup     

125ml double cream     

1tsp sea salt

1 tbsp Bowmore Small Batch   

 METHOD

Melt the butter, sugars and syrup in a small heavy based pan and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the cream, whisky and sea salt then simmer for another minute or 2 until it thickens. Cool the caramel then dip the chosen glass rim into it and then into some fine caster sugar. Spoon a small amount of sauce into the bottom of the glass and then chill in the fridge for at least an hour. Pour Bowmore Small Batch into the glass and enjoy.

The Bowmore's Darkest Hot Chocolate is the perfect winter warmer and will be hosted on the menu at Galvin At Windows throughout Christmas. It can also be chilled and made into an iced version!

Bowmore Darkest Hot Chocolate

INGREDIENTS

    50ml Bowmore 15yo Darkest
      15ml Ratafia Cherry liqueur
         10ml Cinnamon syrup
         250ml Whole milk
         1 bag (11 grams) Fair Trade Cadbury hot chocolate

METHOD

Warm up milk and mix with hot chocolate straight in teapot. Add rest of ingredients and stir them together. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and serve.

To make the iced version of this Bowmore Chocolate, simply follow the instructions above and chill for 1-2 hours. Pour into a chilled glass and serve over ice with cinnamon sticks and cocoa powder to finish.

Bowmore’s latest Single Malt, Small Batch is available nationwide in Morrison’s, Tesco and Sainsbury’s with an RRP of £32.99. (currently on special offer in Tesco for £25.00).