All citrus fruit are acid fruit. The acid fruits are the most detoxifying fruits and excellent for the health of the body, they contain high levels of ascorbic acid ie Vitamin C.This makes them good antioxidant and they are especially good for getting rid of anti-toxins as they are full of nutrients.
We commonly know oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit as citrus fruits.however you will be surprised to hear that all these fruits have different varieties increasing the citrus fruit range to 17 different varieties.
This event is all about cooking with citrus fruits, I am inviting all foodies out there to create recipes using citrus fruits in the list above and share them with this event.
I recently received some samples of Devilishly different drinking fudge and two jars of devilishly fudge sauces chocolate caramel and classic toffee fudge sauce from Fudge Kitchen.
Devilishly different drinking fudge- This drinking fudge came in a box with 6 assorted sachets, the flavours were Moreish mint, tangy orange,dreamy coconut,gorgeous ginger, classic chocolate and mocha choca madness. Just opening the package and reading the names was making my mouth salivate.The drinking fudge was easy to prepare, you just had to stir it into warm milk and once it was mixed in you could warm it up in the microwave for another minute and it was ready to drink. The drinking fudge was rich and creamy and tasted delicious.Of all the flavours I preferred the tangy orange and the gorgeous ginger the best. We did find that for best results the mixture was easier to mix into the milk if the milk was slightly on the hot rather than warm side as recommended on the instructions. The packaging of the sachets was really very sophisticated, each sachet was colour coordinated to its flavour and presented in a coordinating envelope.
The overall presentation of both the product was extremely inviting and the product looks classy. Both the items would make perfect gifts. Fudge kitchen products can be bought on line from Fudge kitchen. The drinking fudge retails t £ 8.00 for a box of 6 sachets and the Fudge sauces £ 8.00 for two jars.
I would like to thank Fudge Kitchen for sending me these samples, all the views and opinions are my own.
Tropical mangoes blended with sweet coconut to make a refreshing and cooling Mango and coconut Lassi.
Fresh Mango cubes to garnish.
1. Add the water, yoghurt and lemon juice to the blender and blend together.
2. Add the mango purée and the coconut and blend again.
3. Pour the sweetened Mango Lassi into serving glasses and garnish with the fresh coconut.Thread the fresh mango cubes onto a cocktail skewer and garnish the mango and coconut Lassi.
NB -The consistency of the Lassi can be thinned down by adding additional water if desired.
My assigned blog was A couple in the kitchen .I looked through the blog and stumbled across the Ginger, pineapple and cashew nut fried rice. It looked delicious and since there is an abundance of pineapples available in the market at the moment it was the perfect choice. I recreated the recipe with a few minor changes.I swapped snow peas for peppers and added a little soya sauce and red chilli.
Delicious Chinese style fried rice with tastes of the orient with ginger and pineapple and cashew nuts.
1 red chilli finely chopped for garnish.
1. Add oil in a wok and stir fry the cashew nuts till golden brown. Remove them from wok and keep aside.
2. Add the carrots, green pepper, ginger paste and spring onion to the wok and stir fry for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the cooked rice, soya sauce and salt and toss the rice until its warmed through and mixed with the vegetables.
4. Add the pineapple pieces and cashew nuts and the red chilli pepper and toss again.
5. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve hot.
NB- To prepare boiled rice wash 1 cup rice in cold water and soak it for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes transfer rice to a large pan and add 2 pints water and bring rice to boil, reduce heat and simmer rice until tender, drain the rice in a colander and pour over some cold water to wash out starch.
Allow the rice to cool before using it in the recipe.
Strawberry Kisses ~Mini eggless strawberry muffins for World baking day.
English summer captured in every bite in these wonderful strawberry kisses mini muffins for world baking day.
2. In a large bowl sieve together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
3. Stir in the sugar into the flour.
4. In a jug mix together the water, oil, vanilla and vinegar and mix well.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry by folding the cake mixture lightly with a metal spoon.
6. Line a mini muffin tray with muffin liners and keep aside.
7. Hull the strawberries and dice them into small pieces.
8. Fold the strawberries into the cake batter and fill the muffin liners with the batter.
9. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes until golden brown and tooth pick outs out clean from the center of muffin.
10.Remove from oven and transfer to cooling rack.
Savoury baked tomatoes with a herby breadcrumb filling.
1. Slice the tops off the tomatoes and scoop out the pulp and seeds.
2. Place the tomatoes in an oven proof dish.
4.In a bowl add the breadcrumbs, chopped coriander, salt, pepper, chilli flakes,olive oil and garlic and mix well.
5. Fill the tomatoes with the herby bread crumb mixture and bake them in the oven for 15-20 minutes until tomatoes start to soften slightly and breadcrumbs start to turn golden brown and crisp.
The Olive oil used in this recipe was sent to me by Pelia. Thankyou Pelia , the oil is very flavour some and perfect for cooking with and in all types of dressings.
There can never be enough containers in the kitchen to store the vast selection of ingredients and food that we eat. OXO have created a range of storage containers, known as POP due the ability of their lids to pop up. POP, has been designed to help transform a messy, chaotic kitchen cupboard full of soggy biscuits and disused packets of ingredients into a systematic, neat and tidy pantry that any enthusiast cook or professionalchef can be proud of.
The 11 airtight containers are ideal for storing essential store cupboard ingredients such as cereal, pasta, flour, rice, herbs and spices, and feature a unique push button mechanism that creates an airtight seal with just one touch. The button can be easily operated with one hand, perfect for when you’re juggling several ingredients at once, and also serves as a handle when lifting off the lid. The body of the container is crystal clear making it easy to see what’s inside at a glance.
Each container can be stacked side by side and on top of each other so that they can fit in any space small or large The POP containers are also convenient for storing wet foods such as soups, sauces and condiments in the fridge and feature smooth, rounded corners to allow for easy pouring. Like most of OXO’s products, the lid comes apart for easy cleaning and is completely dishwasher safe so you can keep your cupboards neat, tidy and clean all at the same time.
The POP range is available in 11 different sizes so you can pick and choose the best containers for your store cupboard ingredients. The OXO range is widely available through a selection of national retailers including Lakeland, John Lewis, House of Fraser, Amazon, Dunelm, Selfridges and other leading cook shops.
Thankyou to OXO who have been very generous and have agreed to supply a a selection of POP containers in various sizes, worth £50 for one simply.food reader as a giveaway prize.
Read terms and conditions on Rafflecopter widget.
You may like to read 10 tips on how to De-clutter and organise your kitchen.
In this day and age there are some many gadgets, utensils and ingredients that one can purchase, it is critical to have a clutter free and organised kitchen workspace and larder.This is a must to help your food creativity flow and you to enjoy stress free cooking.
Do you kitchen cupboards look like this??
1. De clutter your work tops, if you don't use the gadget regularly store it away in a cupboard until you need to use it.
2. Only have essential gadgets on your work top and store those away from space near hob as this area should be free for cooking on.
3. Invest in good quality cast iron pots and pans that will last you along time. Don't fill up your kitchen with cheap pots and pans that are missing handles or are damaged with teflon coating peeling off. Take a deep breath and throw these away.Its far better to have fewer good quality pots and pan than lots of bad cheap quality ones.
4. Invest in good quality bake ware, throw away bakeware that is, burnt, caked with grease, buckled or rusted.
The perfect choice for everyday baking and cooking is the Pyrex’s superior quality metal bakeware collection. It is made of carbon steel to ensure everything is baked uniformly – enabling home owners to achieve the best results every time. Each product is oven safe up to 230°C and dishwasher friendly, while a non-stick coating covers the inside and the outside of the products, allowing for quick and easy food release and easy cleaning.
I tried the pizza pan which had holes in the base to allow even cooking and large easy grip handles to make taking the hot pan out of the oven easier.The tray gave me delicious crisp pizza base whilst baking the pizza . The collection includes cake, loaf, quiche and flan pans in a choice of sizes, six and 12 cup muffin tray options, and a four bun tray – perfect for Yorkshire puddings. There are also two essential springform loose bottom cake pans and a set of four tartlet pans.
5. Have a tool tidy and limit it to 5 or 6 important tools you use regularly. De-clutter your kitchen drawer and throw away spatulas, wooden spoons that are broken or discoloured that you no longer use.Do not hoard.
6. Have a wooden block to store your kitchen knives safely.
7. Have a separate chopping board for fruit and veg, bread and meat.Throw away any very old worn wooden or plastic boards as bacteria can breed in them.
8. Allocate a cupboard for your spice storage, opened bags of spices loose their aroma and freshness very quickly, once opened store in air tight containers and use them by the use by date.
9. Invest in a good, some measuring cups,measuring spoons and some good air tight storage containers.
I recently added the 4-in-1 measuring spoon, which efficiently combines all "spoon keys" into one simple body and is a space-saving, quick-cleaning solution to your cooking and baking adventures.
In addition the set of four mug shaped measuring cups are useful as they stack together to give the appearance of a drinking mug when not in use and is perfect for measuring all sorts of ingredients. The sizes of the cups are one cup, half cup, third cup and quarter cup and can be popped into the dishwasher for a super-easy clean up.
Both measuring spoon and measuring cups are durable, space saving and the cups are stackable taking very little room in my kitchen drawer.
10. Store pasta, rice and flours in air tight containers and make sure you use all your ingredients by the use by date.
All the views in this post are my own.All these products can be purchased on line through the relevant web sites.
And finally an organised set of kitchen cupboards.
A protein packed and delicious summer salad that is vibrant and tangy in flavour.
1. In a large bowl add the lentils, diced cucumber,diced onion, chopped coriander and cherry tomato halves.
2. In a jar with a lid add the olive oil, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, pepper powder,salt and garlic. Screw on the lid and mix the dressing to combine it.
3. Pour the dressing over the mixed lentil mixture and toss together.
4. Cover and chill salad for 30 minutes for flavors to infuse.
Serve with fresh french bread.
The Pelia Olive oil was sent to me to sample by Pelia. Pelia Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive oil is from the region of Ancient Epidavros, in the northern Peloponnese of Greece. The olive oil has a lovely nutty flavour and is perfect for salad dressings . Thankyou Pelia for my miniature sample.
A refreshing drink to cool you down on a hot summers day. Made with natural yoghurt,water and crushed ice.Its delicately flavoured with salt and ground cumin and garnished with coriander . A cooling accompaniment to a spicy meal.
1. In a blender put the yoghurt and water.
2. Add the salt and half the ground cumin and lemon juice.
3. Blend till the mixture is frothy. Add the coriander reserving a little for garnish. Blend once more briefly.
5. Sprinkle with the fresh coriander and cumin powder.
NB-To make fresh ground cumin, dry roast the cumin in a pan for 3-4 minutes taking care not to burn it. Let it cool and then grind the cumin to a powder in a coffee grinder.This Lassi can be made with any natural yoghurt.
The yoghurt used in this recipe was kindly sent to me by Chobani UK. The yoghurt is 100 % fat free and made from skimmed milk.It was rich and delicious.I have previously tried Chobani yoghurts and cooked with them.You can check out the recipes for Yoghurt and coconut chutney and Sweetcorn drop pancakes that I previously made with Chobani Yoghurts.