Breakfast Club # 11: Berries

"Breakfast Club: Because breakfast should be more interesting than
tea & toast or coffee & cereal. "

Breakfast Club # 11: Berries 

1st June 2011- 30th June 2011

Breakfast the most important meal of the day. Its surprising how many people actually skip breakfast and then binge eat as hunger pangs start to gnaw mid morning. Breakfast does not have to be a long and elaborate meal it can be made in a jiffy with many store cupboard ingredients and  fruits, yoghurts and cereals.
The breakfast club event was started by Helen of Fuss free flavours and this is the 11th edition of it.When Helen asked me to host this months breakfast event I thought with  the summer months here in the UK why not bring the refreshing taste of summer  into our kitchens for the month of June.The shops and markets have an abundant supply of berries so the theme of this breakfast event is Berries.

Image courtesy of GH  Graphics Hunt

Rules:

1. Prepare any breakfast item using any type of berries post it on your blog.
2. Archived posts will be accepted if reposted.
3. No limit to entries send as many as you want.
4. It is mandatory to link both Helens breakfast Event Page and this announcement  to every post you send in  otherwise they will not be accepted.
5. Non bloggers can participate by emailing photo and recipe.
6. Only vegetarian entries allowed although eggs are acceptable.

Please send entries  to simplysensationalfood@gmail.com in this format :

Name:
Blog Name:
Post Name:
Post URL:
Image no larger than 300 pixels.
Use of logo is appreciated as it helps to promote the event.
Please put in subject box : Breakfast Club # 11: Berries

Tropical Tornado Mocktail

A tornado of tropical flavours bursting to cool and refresh your palate and quench your thirst.

Ingredients:

1 pineapple
100ml coconut water
Ice cubes
1 small lime
Lime and pinepapple slices for garnish.

Method:

1. Peel the pineapple and cut into chunks (Reserve some for garnish)
2. Cut a thin slice from the  lime and reserve it for garnish. Squeeze the juice from the lime.
3. In a juicer add the pineapple chunks and extract the juice.
4. In a jug add the pineapple juice, lime juice and mix.
5. In a tall glasses add ice cubes and pour the pineapple juice to approx 3/4 full
6. Top the pineapple juice with the coconut water.

7. Garnish  with lime slice and pineapple slices.

Serve immediately.

You may like:
Citrus Cooler

Submitting to:
Coolers and mocktail event by Pari guest hosted by simply.food

Simple Capsicum Basket- Create n Carve ~Fruit and Vegetable.

Capsicum Basket  a simple yet elegant garnish.  A very easy method of carving a capsicum to form  a basket to hold a filling of rice, dips or chutneys .

1.To form a handel, from the top of the capsicum,cut two vertical parallel cuts approx 1 inch long  into the centre of the capsicum from each side of the stem.
2.Cut two horizontal semi circle cuts around the capsicum diameter on each side of it to join the two vertical cuts.
3. Remove these parts to form a handle.

4. With a spoon scrap out the inside of the capsicum to form a cavity.
5. Using a sharp knife cut out the white seeded part from the central stem part of the handle (Making sure you don't cut the handle off)
6. Cut zigzag "V" shapes around the basket rim to decorate it.
7. You may need to cut off a very thin slice from the bottom of the capsicum to make it sit evenly and flat on the plate.

8. Place capsicum basket on serving platter and fill with desired filling.

You may like:
Melon Basket

Submitting to:
 Create n Carve ~Fruit and Vegetable Event by simply.food  guest hosted by Harikas Kitchen.

Citrus Cooler

Refreshing aroma of limes  give this mocktail a wonderful Citrus flavour, that is cooling and delectable.

Ingredients:

2 limes
Lemonade
30 ml Lime cordial
Ice Cubes

For decoration:
Lime Zest

Method:

1. Peel the lime using a vegetable peeler and reserve the peel.Cut the limes in half and squeeze the juice. Strain to remove any pips and flesh.
2. In a tall glasses add the lime juice, lime cordial and ice cubes.
3. Top up with the chilled lemonade.
4. Twist the lime peel and use it to garnish the mocktails.

5. Serve immediately.

You may like:

Fruit Burst mocktail

Submitting to:

Coolers and mocktail event by Pari guest hosted by simply.food

Apple and Beet Mocktail

Rich ruby red colour , vibrant and deep, this combination of apple and beetroot flavours are simply refreshing .

Ingredients:

6  braeburn apples
1 small  beetroot

For decoration:

1 lime and some sugar

Method:

1. Core the apples and cut them into quarters.
2. Peel the beetroot and cut into quarters.
3. In a juicer add the apples and beetroot and extract the juice.
4. Strain the juice through a muslin cloth and chill.
5. Cut the lime in half and rub the lime juice around the rim of a wide cocktail glass.
6. Dip the glass in the sugar to coat the rim of the glass with sugar.
7. Pour the chilled juice  in to the prepared cocktail glasses and serve immediately.

You may like:
Fruit Burst mocktail

Submitting to:

Coolers and mocktail event by Pari guest hosted by simply.food

GIVEAWAY- Free Tickets for Summer Good Food Show NEC Birmingham



15th June 2011  - 19th June 2011

Visit the BBC Good Food Show Summer from 15-19 June at the NEC Birmingham for a great summer day out packed with celebrity chefs, summer recipe inspiration and delicious food and drink.
At the food show there will be exibitors of kitchen ware, organic foods, multi national cuisines, cookery demonstration by famous celebrity chefs. There will be lots of  work shops  such as cake decorating and advise on grow your own produce.

The Producers’ Village is always packed with small speciality producers who specialise in local and seasonal produce. The area includes pavilions from Slow Food UK, Henrietta Green's FoodLoversBritain.com Fair and the extremely popular Ludlow Producers Market
In addition ,If you’re enjoying watching MasterChef on television, you're sure to love the live version! See John Torode and Gregg Wallace live, and loud, on stage joined by a whole host of fellow judges, past winners and previous contestants including the 2011 series champion.

If reading all this is tempting you to visit the Summer Good Food Show  then think no more.

I have one pair of tickets worth £ 42.00 to give away to a lucky winner courtesy of BBC Good Food Show. The winner will be chosen at random from the comments list and will be announced after the giveaway closes on 10th June 2011 -6 pm. This giveaway is only for participants who are over 18 and residing in the UK. (The winner will need to provide a UK mailing address to receive the tickets by post.)

For more details of the show please click here.

There are 5 ways to participate, each comment will count as one entry.
There is one main way to enter and several ways to get bonus entries.
You must leave a separate comment for each bonus entry otherwise they will not be counted.

5 ways to enter:
1. Leave a comment saying why you would like the tickets and what part of the show you would enjoy the most.
2. For a second chance to win become a follower of simply.food and leave a comment saying you have done so.
3.For a third chance please follow me @simplyf00d on twitter again commenting to tell me you have done so with  your twitter username
4. For a fourth chance to win  please tweet this post using the tweet button below and leave a comment telling me you have done so with your twitter username
5. For a fifth chance to win please share this announcement using the face book button below and leave a comment saying you have done it.

Good Luck.

Carved Roses - Create n Carve ~Fruit and Vegetable.

Since I stared carving fruit and vegetable classes I have attempted many different carvings and garnishes. Some from my class and others from watching u tube videos. My efforts although are very amateur I am really having fun  learing and trying to improve my skills. I have restarted my classes and currently  I am learing how to carve roses from vegetables. I tried carving  potato and pumpkin,  here are my first attempts.

You can get ideas of how to do these carvings by watching this video, although the video  is showing a melon carving the basic principle is the same and as a learner it is easier to carve these roses on smaller vegetables such  potato and pumpkin.
Here are more detailed videos.
Rose melon carving part 1
Rose melon carving part 2

Fruit and vegetable carving  can produce really pretty garnishes and simple decorations. It does not need any specialist tools , just a simple sharp knife.
If you want to have ago check this link out for a beginners  videos.
To purchase a simple basic carving knife  click on the below amazon links to purchase.

You may like:
Radish Flowers

Submitting to:

May Create n Carve ~ Fruit and Vegetable event by simply.food guest hosted by Harika of Harikas Kitchen.

Fruit Burst Mocktail

A refreshing burst of fruit flavours to tickle and tantalise your tastebuds.

Ingredients:

1 peach
1 braeburn apple
8 green seedless grapes
2 oranges
2 red plums
1 tablespoon lime juice
Ice Cubes

Method:

1. Remove the stone from the peach and discard , cut the peaach into chunks.
2. Core the apple and cut into chunks.
3. Peel the oranges, remove seeds and pith and cut into chunks.
4. Remove the stone and cut the plum into chunks.
5. In a fruit juicer add all the fruit  and juice it.Add the lime juice.
6.Crush the ice and add it to tall chilled glasses.
7.Pour the tropical burst juice on top of the ice and garnish with lime slice.

Serve immediately.

You may like:
Strawberry and melon smoothie.

Submitting to:
Coolers and Mocktail event by Pari guested hosted by simply.food

Simple Lemon and Orange Garnishes- Create n Carve~ Fruit and Vegetables

Lemon garnish , simple yet pretty to look at.

Cut a lemon into 4 wedges , using a sharp knife  remove the centre part from each wedge.Your garnish is ready.

Orange Garnish perfect for garnishing cocktails.

1.Score a line in the orange flesh   from top to bottom of orange  using a V shaped knife.Repeat scoring 8 lines around the orange.

2. Slice 5mm rounds from the orange to form a flower shape Use it to garnish cocktails or salads.

For video instructions  click here

If you want to try carving these check out the instructions here.

Carving and making garnishes from fruit and vegetable is a simple and  enjoyable hobby, it requires no special tools just a simple sharp paring knife and a video tutorial telling you how to do it.If you wish to have a go checkout the simple instructions here.

Submitting to:
Create n Carve ~ Fruit and Vegetable event  by simply.food hosted By Harika's Kitchen

You can buy carving books and tools by clicking on there amazon links.

Real Food Festival Visit.

My visit to the Real Food Festival was amazing. There were over 400 of Britain’s best food producers exhibiting their produce. The numerous stalls were made up of organic fruits and vegetables, fresh meats, cheeses, homemade chutneys, pickles and mouth water stalls offering home made pies and pasties. There was an opportunity to watch demonstrations from celebrity chefs, try hands on experience at bread making, attend cheese making workshops and even make your own teabag amongst other things. There was even a chance to have a close encounter with the sheep and chickens.

There were glorious creamy and rich home made ice creams and yoghurts and sorbets made from fresh buffalo milk and vegan products too. Flavours like passion fruit and mango, butterscotch and caramel, toffee fudge and clotted cream ice cream were just a few to name. All teased and tickled my palate as I was spoilt for choice as to what to sample.

On display were freshly baked breads of all sizes styles and flavours, a wonderful treat to the eyes. Of course there was an array of fresh made organic cheeses of wonderful combination of flavours to compliment the tasty bread. .

I particularly liked the Organic home made chocolate and I had my first taste of chilli chocolate which was really beyond my expectation of what I had imagined it to taste like.

The choice of wonderful aromatic oils was superb.Each having its own aroma  and  fragrance.

There were cupcakes galore each one beautifully hand decorated to perfection, vibrant, and colourful and each exquisite in its own way both in flavour and decoration.

Buns, cakes not forgetting the macaroons were temptingly delicious and were shouting at me to sampled .

I particularly liked sampling all the multinational cuisines from India, Mexico, Jamaica, Italy and Portugal especially the array of fiery, red and piquant chilli sauces which blew your head off with the heat but were amazing.

 Home brewed Beers and wines were next to be sampled and I must say being a tea totallers I did not sample any although judging by the buzz around these stalls I can definitely say they must have been awesome.

Next was the fantastic chilled fruit juices made using organic fruits I sampled. There is nothing that beats the taste of additive free juices that taste natural sweet and refreshing. I was amazed at the unusual combinations such as apple and beetroot and pear with ginger.  I definitely added them to my shopping basket.

With so much processed foods, genetically modified produce and foods that are saturating our supermarket shelves.It is wonderful to know that there are still  sustainably and ethically home produced organic foods  still available to purchase. Its all thanks to festivals like this and farmers markets that help to bring these natural foods to us.

Four hours later, laden with purchases, happy, and relaxed I finally made my way home tired but exited that I had visited the Real Food Festival. I certainly can't wait to return to it again Next Year.

Strawberry and Melon Smoothie

Luscious Strawberries, sweet honeydew melon combined with crushed ice cubes and a hint of mint makes this refreshing smoothie simply delectable healthy and irresistable.

Ingredients:

240 grams strawberries
240 grams sweet honey dew melon
2 mint leaves
6 ice cubes

Method:

1. Peel and dice the melon and place in a blender jug.
2. Wash and hull the strawberries chop roughly and add to the blender jug.
3. Tear the  the mint leaves and add to the blender jug together  with the  ice cubes and blend  throughly.
4. Pour into tall pre chilled glasses and garnish with melon balls and strawberry.
Serve immediately.

NB- If strawberries are sharp addone teaspoon of icing sugar at the blending stage.

You may like:
Fruit Punch

Submitting to :
Coolers and Mocktails event by Pari hosted by simply.food

Create n Carve ~ Fruit and Veg Event- April Roundup and announcing May Event

I have received  24 eye catching assortment of entries . Thankyou to all the participants.
Here is the awesome April Create  n Carve ~Fruit and Vegetable roundup of the entries:

Fruit Fan by Elena

 Apple Leaves  , Avocado Carving  and Melon Swan basket by Nayna

 

Teddy Bear Table Decoration   and  Snowy day by Shobha

 

Papaya Boat  and Radish Flower basket by Shobha

Bitter melon crocodile by Akheela

   Water melon Basket by Marri

Banana Boat by Nithya

Assorted vegetable garnishes and carvings by Sanyukta.

 


 

 

Apple Bowl and Tomato Elephants by Harika.

 

Fruits Bouquet by Harika

Fruit Platter by Sonia

Snoopy by Linda

Radish Bouquet  and Radish Flower ideas by Nita

If you would like to learn to make this radish arrangement , Nita is offering a free video tutorial on it on her blog.

                                     



Banana dog by Chitra

Kiwi Duck by Melissa

It is really heart warming to see so many talented bloggers out there who are so passionate about carving fruit and vegetables. Be it an elaborate carving or a simple garnish, the overall result is to make a  plate of beautiful beautiful and appealing to the eye.

The May Create n Carve ~ Fruit and vegetable  is being Hosted by Harika from Harikas Kitchen, This is her 1st blog event , so I hope you will all support her  by participating. Please click here to get more details and  where to send in your entries.

Carving and Garnishing does not have to be difficult nor does it need specialist tools, All that is required is a passion and some creativity.If you wish to have a go please check out these simple tutorials here.

If you wish to purchase carving knives you can buy them from Amazon by clicking on the images below.