27/10/201331/03/2018 by jo

Domino’s New Chocolate Twisted Dough Balls

Last weekend we had a chance to try out the new Domino’s Chocolate Twisted Dough Balls – I have to say, I was intrigued.

We’d decided on a movie night, and in most cases we would make pizza, but as a treat we ordered in a Domino’s meal deal – alongside a portion of their new Chocolate Twisted Dough Balls.

Now, to me, dough balls are the kind of thing you get in Pizza Express – round, dough-y and plain. Add chocolate and the fact there’s a twist and I’m thinking of something like a roulade – made from dough.

What we actually received was this :

When you look at the picture on the Domino’s website, my expectations were pretty accurate.

Ours resembled a chocolate chip cookie which was quite greasy. I wasn’t that impressed by it – but had to try it out. In fact, it tasted like a cookie too, I didn’t feel like there was much dough in there – it was almost like a deep fried cookie. Very weird. So I’m putting it down to it being so new that the Sutton branch didn’t know what I’d ordered or had mis-read it? There were definitely no twists involved in there either, as you can see – so it’s not like it could have collapsed in transit.

Ah, that’ll be because we were sent the wrong thing. Cookies.

Anyway, regardless of this, they were edible enough, though a little too greasy for my liking.

I would really quite like to try the Chocolate Twisted Dough Balls sometime – let’s hope my local branch can get it right next time. Sigh!

Otherwise the pizzas we had were fine – tasted good and we had a lovely movie night – watching Tangled in case you wondered which of course we enjoyed.

We were reimbursed for our Domino’s Order, all opinions are my own and honest.

01/10/201326/01/2014 by jo

Know Your Egg Codes

A funny thing happened the other night. I was cooking tea and got some eggs we had left over that we’d bought from a local farm shop, and saw this :

I had no idea eggs were graded, it isn’t the kind of thing I’d notice or talk about, so out of curiosity as I’m a geek for a barcode (I can bore people senseless talking about how a barcode is generated), so I checked my egg codes. To be greeted with this :

Whoa. Let me repeat that. I bought some eggs from a farm shop who say on their website the eggs are freshly laid by their hens, yet they’re classed as caged? I wasn’t sure if the inside of the box could be relied upon and whether it was one being reused (I’ll check when I next go there) but I’m confused. The hens you see on the farm surely can’t generate that many eggs, are they all on show for us customers who aren’t thinking about what we’re buying? Surely not?

This needs further investigation. I contacted them via Facebook but so far no reply.

Do you know how to check your eggs? It’s a universal code, and you can trace how far your eggs have travelled with this link here. The ones I bought were laid in Horsham which isn’t that close to the farm shop I bought them from, so I suspect they’re buying the eggs in. I won’t be buying eggs from them any more, especially with their site claiming they’re freshly laid on the farm. Hmm.

After further reading, caged hens are no longer allowed in this country, but that doesn’t explain why these eggs are graded as a 3. The mystery deepens… does anyone have an eggsplanation?

This all unravelled one night on Facebook, and I’m glad I know about egg codes now and how to identify them – hopefully you will now too!

27/09/201327/01/2014 by jo

Polesden Lacey Food Festival

The words Polesden Lacey and food are ones that make me want to drop everything and head over there sharpish, especially when they’re put together to form the words Polesden Lacey Food Festival. Fortunately this isn’t happening for a couple of weeks, so you too can join in. We love it there – there’s so many things to do.

Here’s the press release –

Treat your taste-buds and stimulate your senses at the first Polesden Lacey Food Festival ! From Friday 4 – Sunday 6 October, the National Trust property will provide a glorious backdrop for local suppliers including Chalk Hill Bakery, Hogs Back Brewery and High Weald Dairy. Come along from 10am to sample delicious Caribbean chutneys, homemade brownies, fine wines and lots more. Entry to the event will be free.

Experts will also be on-hand to offer cookery demonstrations, including special hands-on children’s sessions, beer and wine tastings. Plus, for only £10 per adult (£5 per child) Wild Food UK will take intrepid foragers on a walk around the Polesden Lacey grounds to see what wild delicacies they can find.

For more information about the Polesden Lacey Food Festival visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/polesdenlacey or call 01372 452048.

Polesden Lacey is open daily from 10am (house from 11am), closing at 5pm (4pm from 4 Nov). The cafe and coffee shop & deli serve a variety of fresh, homemade hot and cold food as well as cakes, teas and coffees. The shop, one of the largest in the National Trust, sells a wide range of gifts, home accessories and more.

See you there!

26/09/201326/03/2018 by jo

A Quick Lunch with Some Slim Pasta

Slim Pasta is something I’ve read about in a few places – essentially a pasta which ‘helps you lose weight’. Now I’m sceptical – it’s a low-calorie pasta, but is it actually helping you lose weight? So I bought some to see what the fuss was all about.

Slim Pasta was on offer at Ocado, so I thought I’d give it a go. It doesn’t come cheap though – you get 200g for around £2.50 – the pasta itself is ready to eat (with a tiny bit of preparation), and is low calorie, fat free, sugar free and gluten free.

It’s also ready in two minutes. Today is H’s first full day at school and I’ve taken it as holiday, so I am officially the School Run Mum for just one day. This has already led to me eating broken biscuits as my mid-morning snack (as our cupboards are bare), so I thought it was the ideal time to try the Slim Pasta.

I got the Penne version and cooked it with some courgette, carrot and red pepper cut into cubes. All you do is drain the pasta, rinse it to remove the ‘starch odor’ (I couldn’t smell anything) and heat up, then serve.

Pretty simple, and I had the entire sachet, I was pretty hungry. Each pack serves 1-2 people, so it is pretty expensive, but right now I feel full. It has a ‘jelly’ feel like some noodles I’ve eaten in the past, without feeling yucky.

Slim Pasta is made from a vegetable fibre called Moyu which has been consumed in Asia for many centuries for its health benefits. This is what I find interesting – especially the claim it helps you to lose weight. It suggests 66g of pasta a day (one of the packets is 200g), three times a day. So in other words just under one packet a day. Four hours later I still feel full – so much so that my portion of food for tea is smaller than H’s – and I almost give up on it. I can see why you’d need a smaller portion, but I’m not sure I could make one last for the whole day. On the other hand, it may stop me snacking as I know I’m one of those snackers who eats when I have nothing else to think about.

I’d say as a weightloss food it’s probably not for me, but as a non-stodgy pasta option it’s a good one. Would I buy again? If it was on a deal at the supermarket then yes. As the pasta comes sealed it would travel well, which would make it a good option for going away somewhere – and one pouch would definitely feed all three of us and keep us feeling full.

I can see Slim Pasta also offer noodles, and I could see us eating with those in the future as they’d go well alongside a stir fry. It’s been an interesting purchase, anyway!

Slim Pasta’s Website is over here

25/09/201327/01/2014 by jo

Alphabites from Bear

We’re hugs fans of the Bear nibbles snacks and spotted they have a new cereal, Alphabites. We jumped at the chance to try it and I tracked some boxes down in my local Waitrose!

Alphabites are letter shaped cereal pieces. They’re vegetarian, in fact, vegan-friendly with no added sugar and also no added salt. They’re high in fibre and low GI, as well as containing one of your everyday wholegrain portions.

I like that breakfast time has become something we’ll sit and talk about letters. H is a big fan of cereals and these have been a big hit with her, especially when she spots any letters from her name. She’s making words in her food which in is complementing the work she’s doing at school. Educational food, anyone?

The Alphabites letters stay in their shape really well too, no mushing up as the milk soaks in, though we found the ones at the bottom of the pack are a little crumblier than the top – so give your box a good shake!

In addition there are activites on the back of the pack relating to letters (S for space, P for pirates, I for insects, for example) with the whole alphabet set to roll out over the next twelve months, if you’re like us and collect the cards from inside the yo yo snacks, imagine that on a bigger scale!

Alphabites come in two flavours – Multigrain and Cocoa Multigrain – both are made with six natural ingredients. They’re available from Waitrose, Ocado, Wholefoods, Holland and Barrett, Planet Organic and lots of other places.

We were sent two boxes for the purpose of review – they’re already a big hit in our house, and I’ve found them to be filling as all good low-GI wholegrain foods should be, keeping me from feeling too hungry by lunchtime.

You can read more about Alphabites over here.

24/09/201327/01/2014 by jo

The Higgidy Cookbook

Quercus Books have just published The Higgidy Cookbook by Camilla Stephens. I bought it the day it came out and have drooled over the pages since. Now you’ve got a chance to do the same as I have a copy to give away.

The Higgidy Cookbook is full of recipes – 100 to be precise – for pies and so much more.While a few of the pies and tarts don’t have visuals, there’s a lot of end pictures in there – and where I’ve loved previous cookbooks for breaking down each process, for this one all you truly need to know is how to make a good pastry and a good filling and have the right guidance. This book does all that.

The Higgidy Cookbook is broken into sections – Simple Suppers, Party Pies, Quirky Quiches and Tempting Tarts, Pudding Pies and Sweet Treats, and Easy Extras & Perfect Pastry. On the last chapter we may have mistaken some Sticky Onions for Portugese Custard Tarts – they look pretty similar! (though obviously taste different)

Being one who doesn’t like to wait, tonight I decided to try one of the pies – the Strawberry and Apricot Freeform Tart – which starts with the most tempting of sentences: ‘This is a great recipe for novice bakers and enthusiasts alike’ – plus it looks pretty awesome too.

Being as weight-conscious (and cost-conscious) as I am, I bought Sainsburys Basics strawberries (two packs, £1.50 each), a tin of Apricots (£1ish?) and added some dried ones. I still didn’t have enough fruit to make up the 500g I needed, so added two pears which worked.

Essentially, you make your pastry, leave it to chill for thirty minutes then roll out and put into a dish, bake for 45-50 minutes and voila, you have your dish.

I found the instructions really clear and simple to follow. We were missing one ingredient (cornflour) and I didn’t substitute with anything else which left the tart oozing with juice but not ruined which was a relief. H says “it’s the best tart ever” and Shaun thinks “it’s pretty awesome”. Me? I’m quite pleased it wasn’t a disaster in any way! The pastry was crispy and well cooked, the fruit warm and tangy. The best bit? You can use fruit which is going a bit soft for this too!

I was offered a chance to review The Higgidy Cookbook, but as I intended to anyway and bought it, I am instead offering the copy as a giveaway. Answer one simple question, then there’s a few additional things you can do via Rafflecopter to gain some extra entries. UK residents only please, and the closing date is two weeks today, the 8th October 2013.

All entries will be checked to make sure the rules were followed, as it’s unfair to say you’ve commented and to not leave one, and one winner will be sent a copy of The Higgidy Cookbook from the PR company. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

24/09/201327/01/2014 by jo

Kelly’s Of Cornwall Clotted Cream and Raspberry Ice Cream

Kelly’s Clotted Cream and Raspberry Real Cornish Ice Cream is the latest addition to the Kelly’s Of Cornwall Range. We were offered the chance to try it and of course jumped at it.

Available in Sainsburys and Waitrose and all good supermarkets, we had it with a delicious Raspberry and Coconut cake from the Cook Food stores which complemented it well.

As before, when we reviewed the Kelly’s Of Cornwall ice creams, it’s about portion size – I’m pleased I can have a decent scoop and the calorie content isn’t too high. The ice cream has a lovely creamy flavour and the raspberry is delicious – while still being nice and smooth.

We’ve also tried the Kelly’s Clotted Cream and Raspberry Ice Cream with a bramble and apple pie last weekend that we made after doing a spot of foraging which works as well.

Kelly’s has been producing Cornish ice cream for over 100 years in Bodmin, Cornwall using only the finest dairy ingredients. They’re also the only genuine Cornish ice cream which is made in Cornwall and available nationwide.

Kelly’s of Cornwall Clotted Cream and Raspberry Ice Cream is available from selected supermarket stores nationwide, RRP £3.99 for a 1-litre tub.

Kelly’s Clotted Cream & Raspberry Ice Cream joins these other flavours – Clotted Cream Ice Cream, Clotted Cream & Honeycomb Ice Cream, Clotted Cream & Strawberry Ice Cream, Clotted Cream & Blackcurrant Ice Cream, Clotted Cream & Golden Syrup Ice Cream, Clotted Cream & Chocolate Ice Cream , Cornish Dairy Vanilla Ice Cream.

For more information on Kelly’s of Cornwall, visit: www.kellysofcornwall.co.uk

Also, if you’re pretty good about reusing old ice cream tubs, the Kelly’s tubs are just the right size for felt tip pens and crayons… there’s nothing like a bit of upcycling!

We were sent a voucher to try out the ice cream, all opinions are our own.

22/09/201316/02/2014 by jo

We’re Going on a Bramble Hunt With Barny Bear

Barny Bear are a new snack, and one we were sent a box of each flavour to try. Our challenge was to go on an adventure, so we decided to do a spot of foraging locally. We’d come across the snacks at Lollibop though hadn’t tried both flavours, so we knew what to expect.

Barny Bear come in chocolate and milk flavours, and we’re going on a bramble hunt. BUT. Beforehand, something very peculiar happened. I got to the box of chocolate Barny Bear flavour to get some snacks ready, and found much to my surprise that there was only ONE BARNY LEFT. A big mystery.

We headed out to Wilderness Island which is a short walk from our house, and started out with a spot of pooh sticks, as H had never played it before. This also covers another of the National Trust 50 Things challenges, so it is duly ticked off in the book. I should do an update as we’re doing pretty well with these too. Wilderness Island has the perfect bridge for Pooh Sticks anyway – the one as you enter. There are also a lot of bramble bushes there.

We got loads, enough for a bramble crumble anyway which was our plan. However, picking brambles is tiring work and you need a snack. Out came the Barny Bear snacks at the right time to help our hunger pangs. I mentioned the empty chocolate box, to which Shaun duly confessed he’d had at LEAST two. Cheeky. Still, it goes to show adults like them too.

H insisted on the chocolate Barny Bear on the reasoning her father had eaten most of them – who am I to argue, so she got her own way, going for poor Barny’s head first. We had a quick stop and snack before heading back towards the entrance where there seemed to be a plethora of bramble bushes and the Pooh Sticks Bridge.

So, what’s to tell about Barny Bear? They’re a bear-shaped sponge snack with two different fillings, launched originally in France over fourteen years ago. The snacks contain no artificial colours or preservatives, and each are individually wrapped in a pack of five. H really liked them and wanted more. I’m standing firm – although they may need to be eaten before Shaun gets his hands on them… ahem!

The ending to our tale, the brambles were plentiful in supply (when we left Wilderness Park and headed towards the old overgrown garages nearby), and tonight for tea we’re having apple and bramble crumble with custard. I fully intend to make green custard to live the school dinner dream from the 1970’s and 80’s that my daughter will never witness. It’s only fair. I love that H will grow up with a good sense of the outdoors around her like I did when I was young, and learn to embrace the kind of school meals that made me into the woman I am.

This post is an entry for BritMums ‘Little Adventures Challenge’ in partnership with Barny, the bear-shaped snack providing a little discovery in every bite. Find out more about Barny here.

19/09/201327/01/2014 by jo

Quick Meals When You’re Short On Time

Quick meals are what I’m all about. If you’ve followed Mum Friendly for a while you may well know my love of my soup maker. I do know that it isn’t something everyone has though, and quite often I see recipes where people make fresh soup the longer way.

That’s fine – but for us there’s a lack of time to do that, so we need food that is ready within thirty minutes every evening, as I refuse to take the ready meal route and hardly ever make food to freeze for the week ahead.

I have two videos from Panasonic featuring renowned TV chef Jo Pratt who is making quick meals using a Panasonic Microwave.

I enjoyed trying out this receipe with my soup maker, and it’s nice to know that the Panasonic Microwave also provides another quick option to getting dinner on the table in half an hour

My ingredients were slightly different – I have tomatoes, and I over ordered red peppers so have added some of those instead, but otherwise I have a carrot, an onion and some celery, plus the paprika, so I’m ready!

Here’s the Panasonic video for tomato soup :

I have to say, I think I made a few mistakes using the soup maker – the soup was pretty tasty (the paprika was really subtle), but I think I need a little more work – heck, I might even try it the microwave way in future as it’s another way of making food but being able to pay H attention. Quick meals are definitely the way forward here.

Panasonic also have a microwave recipe for Spaghetti Bolognese using the Panasonic Microwave which is also worth watching – again, handy if you want to cook but need to pay attention to your child. I’d never have thought of doing it in the microwave, so it’s a handy backup as and when homework kicks in properly.

This post is sponsored by Spreaditfast

16/09/201306/01/2015 by jo

Vegetarian Step By Step from Parragon Books

Vegetarian Step By Step from Parragon Books is my kind of cookbook. I’m definitely a visual learner, rather than reading pages that describe what to do and getting a bit lost.

Vegetarian Step By Step from Parragon Books is taken from their Love Food range, and features loads of meat-free meals grouped into Soups & Starters, Salads & Light Meals, Midweek & Family Suppers and Special Occasions. The recipes are presented in a really good way, lots of pictures so you can see what you’re doing, and written clearly so even impatient people like me who miss instructions don’t go wrong.

Lucy recommended the Spaghetti with Fresh Pea Pesto and Broad Beans, so that was our first stop as she’s a good lady who knows her food. I love how the recipe is set out and it’s based on ingredients you’ll probably already have. I know good cooking is based on good photo presentation and this book makes me want to try everything. Like the other Love Food book we’ve reviewed, it’s presented in a really uncomplicated way.

For this recipe, the pesto is made from cooked peas blended with garlic and cheese until it makes a paste, with added almonds at the end, plus salt and pepper seasoning. All you do after that is boil the broad beans, remove the skins and add to spaghetti. Toss the pesto in there at the very end.

Oh my, it’s good. This is where I’d normally have a photo, but I was horribly disorganised and didn’t take one. So instead see the presentation of the recipe, and you’ll see what I mean.

I’ve been a vegetarian for 30 years now, and I’m happy this book isn’t packed with mushroom or tomato recipes – my two least favourite things. So many places seem to assume vegetarians like them, and it drives me mad. Where there are recipes which feature them, I’ve found they’re not the main part so can be substituted with something else easily.

Now I’ve got more time in the evenings with working shorter days, I can see me trying out more of these recipes. The Roasted Root Soup with Ginger and Créme Fraîche looks particularly good!

Vegetarian Step By Step is available now, and is currently £9.86 at Amazon, with a RRP of £16.00

I received my copy of Vegetarian Step By Step as I am a Parragon Book Buddy. All opinions are my own and honest.

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