Tag / Love Food

by jo

Baking With Fruit

Baking With Fruit is the latest book we were sent as a Parragon Book Buddy. With a tagline of ‘Delicious cakes, pastries and desserts’ we were won over immediately!

Baking With Fruit

Baking With Fruit comes from Parragon Books Love Food range, and is a collection of classic and new recipes using fresh fruit in all seasons. Actually, the best thing about the book was getting it out at the table with Shaun and H and watching them both coo over it, they look delicious!

We did a spot of foraging last year, and this year I want us to do some Pick Your Own from local farms. There are plenty of recipes in here which will cover the various fruits we can get too – from the complicated looking to ones which look quite simple.

We haven’t had a chance to try any recipes yet, but on the list is the Lemon Sponge Roll (although it includes gelatine so I need to find a vegetarian option), the Mandarin Cheesecake looks especially good, and I know it’s almost time, we need to buy a ring tin as the Cherry Marble Cake looks divine!

Oh and don’t get me started on the Lime and Raspberry Tart… yum!

As we head out of the post-Christmas slump, we’ve been inspired by the Great British Bake Off. H loves it too thanks to them repeating it over Christmas and the Comic Relief version in the new year. I think H fancies herself as a bit of a Mary Berry, and this book features the kind of recipes I know H will like to do too. There’ll be no soggy bottoms around here!

Baking With Fruit will sit perfectly alongside the Higgidy Cookbook which we bought and reviewed last year. While we’re still being very weight-conscious, I’d like to think these recipes aren’t going to be too fattening – plus it’s all down to portion size!

Baking With Fruit is available now, published by Parragon Books and has a rrp of £8.

We were sent the book for the purpose of review, all opinions are our own. The book image at the bottom contains an affiliate link.

by jo

Recipes from an Indian Kitchen

We received Recipes from an Indian Kitchen last year as part of our Parragon Book Buddies programme – and this is a book which has made me excited. With over 100 recipes from across India with photographs to accompany them, this is the kind of book I’ve been waiting for – we love curries in this house!

recipes from an indian kitchen

Recipes from an Indian Kitchen is part of Parragon Books Love Food range. Way back in time someone told me the perfect curry recipe with the correct blend of herbs and spice. I forgot it immediately, but it opened up a new world to me, how to make a good spicy blend without going for the shop-bought option.

Since then I’ve fancied trying it out, but never got around to getting the elusive cookbook, instead using passata and various blends but not getting it right. Which is where Recipes from an Indian Kitchen comes in – while it doesn’t break down each stage, the instructions are easy to follow. We tried Garlic & Chilli Flavoured Potatoes with Cauliflower – which has ten minutes prep time, 30 minutes cook time.

The Tomato Kachumbar salad has been an easy one to make as well – though we substituted peppers for the tomatoes – this has a 10-15 minute prep time.

One we haven’t tried yet but is ‘on the list’ is the South Indian Yoghurt, Pomegranate and Peanut Raita – which looks delicious and again a very simple dish to prepare.

The pictures on each page make you want to try the dishes – though there are a lot of meat and fish ones, they’re easily substituted with vegetarian options.

Recipes from an Indian Kitchen is broken into easy colour coded chapters – with Basic Recipes, Raitas, Chutneys & Pickles, Snacks and Appetizers, onto Main Dishes, Pulses, Rice & Breads and finally Desserts & Drinks. There’s a good large selection – and actually if I’d had a book on Chinese food for the recent new year, which was laid out like this I think we’d have had a great healthy feast.

This is a book I know we’ll use a lot and indeed is something which has dishes H can help with! We love it, and would recommend buying.

We were sent a copy for the purpose of review, all opinions are our own. The final image is an affiliate link.