Announcing Event Lets Cook ~Pickles

Pickles is one condiments that most of us have in our pantry at any given time. They are perfect accompaniments to flat breads,to add to sandwiches or even to add a little bit of spice to a plain meal.
This event is all about pickles. Share your pickle recipes hey can be your authentic family pickle recipe, to fast and speedy pickle recipes. Pickles can be made from many vegetables and have many flavours such as sweet, sour, tangy and what we call "chat patta" meaning spicy and sour.

To Participate:

1.Prepare any Pickle vegetarian only (eggs allowed) please link your dish using the linky below by entering your Dish Name and Post URL
2.Please link this event announcement with your entry, this is mandatory.
3.Use of logo is  not mandatory but it helps to spread the word if you can use it.

4. Multiple entries are allowed, archived are only allowed if reposted and updated with this event link.

4. In the event of problem using linky you can email me the entry at simplysensationalfood@gmail.com

Please use this format

Your Name:

Recipe Name

Recipe URL

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Add your Lets Cook~ Pickles  Entries here:
Dish Name and Post URL

10 best sites for Eggless baking

I have recently been to many baking classes and since then I have been searching for an egg less cake recipe that that is fool proof.  Many people do not consume egg in any shape of form, this may be due to health reasons,allergies or religious reasons. I having been working my way through many egg less cake recipes to find one that works best for me that will give me a light sponge. Most recipes I have tried give the cake either a rubbery texture, some make the cakes really dense and others give an after taste from too much raising agent that needs to be added to make the cake rise.I have tried recipes with fizzy water, cola and even adding egg replacers such as apple sauce, flax seeds and yogurt,sour cream and apple cider vinegar.The recipe that I found that works best for me is adding the apple cider vinegar.This gives me the best texture,moistness and lightness in the cake.Some eggless recipes that I have created  are eggless cookies, eggless muffins,eggless pancakes, eggless cakes and eggless  mousse.

During my search, some of these sites have become my favorite sites which are very good and informative. They all cover different types of egg less recipes and offer helpful advise, tips and tricks for egg less baking so I thought why not share them with here my readers. If you are looking to improve your eggless baking do drop by and check these sites.

1.Madhurams egg less baking
2. Chef in you
3. Divine Taste
4. Gayathri Cook Spot
5. Bhavnas vegetarian kitchen
6. Edible Garden
7. Tarla Dalal
8. Manjulas Kitchen
9. Nisha Madhulika.com
10. Red Chillies

Three Dimensional Easter Egg and Bunny

These simple 3 D Easter Egg and bunnies are simple and easy to make.

Ingredients:

8 oz / 220 grams Milk chocolate
Edible coloured sugar and Flowers to decorate.

Method:

1.Break the chocolate into small pieces and place it into a  microwave safe bowl.
2. Melt the milk chocolate once it has melted gently pour it into the silicon mould which has been placed on a baking tray
3. Sprinkle coloured sugar and flower decorations of  choice on the egg shapes and place the tray in the fridge to set.

4.After 2 hours gently peel off silicon mould and slide the two egg shapes together to form a 3 D egg.(Do this very gently otherwise the chocolate will break.If you are having difficulty to slide the pieces together shave a tiny bit of the chocolate off in the slits using a sharp knife to make the slit wider.)
5. Slide the bunny shapes together and add a small white chocolate eye.

This inspiration for this post came from Selena blog- garnish food, Selena is a wonderful fruit and vegetable carving artist, she has some amazing creations on her blog and she has also made video of how to make these 3D Easter Eggs which you can check out here.

I purchased this Easter Egg/ Bunny silicon mould ( 1.99) from Lakeland they also do a similar heart shaped mould ( £2.49) that you can use to make lovely 3D chocolate hearts. 

Submitting to:
Lets Cook for Kids event by simply.food

Celebrate Easter hosted  by Easy to cook recipes event by JCO

JCO Choc full Easter event

Giveaway and review of English Provendor Co products.

English Provender Co. make really wonderful  chutneys, condiments, curds and dressings. All the ingredients used are the very best and the cooking methods are the old fashion traditional open-pan cooking methods. Amongst the many delicious products they make I recently tried the ginger curd, the red onion caremelised chutney and the balsamic dressing .All the products were simply divine.

This luxury ginger curd is totally unique and indulgently delicious. It's perfect drizzled over lemon sponge cake or swirled through ice cream. The curd is simply heavenly with creamy vanilla cheesecake or meringue.

The Red onion caremelised chutney is delicious, sweet and tangy .It is perfect to use in sandwiches, served with a slice of quiches, or served with samosas or pies.I particularly like it spread on toast with melted cheese on the top.

The balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil dressing has hints of aromatic basil & oregano. A well balanced Sweet and mellow flavor makes this naturally delicious dressing  perfect for drizzling over salads.

I really enjoy all the delicious products from English Provendor which are available from all major supermarkets and also on line. All the products are reasonably priced and of optimum quality.

All the opinions and views are my own. Thankyou English Provendor company who have kindly agreed to send all three products to one simply.food reader to sample.

How To Enter:

• Simply complete the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries and see the terms and conditions of entry.
• Entries can be via blog comment, Facebook, Twitter etc
• This competition is open to UK residents only .Please read the rules below .
• Leaving a blog comment is mandatory and failure to do so will void any other entries.
• Closing date - 17th April 2013 6.00 pm

How Rafflecopter works:

• Login to Rafflecopter – click to see what the question is. Make a comment answering the question on the blog.

•  Go back to Rafflecopter and click the green button to tell me you have made a comment, this will unlock all the other options. All entries are checked to see that the mandatory question is answered, if its not all bonus entries will become void. 

• Rafflecopter will tweet, like and follow on your behalf.

• For information on how to find the URL of your tweet click here. 

• For bonus entries you can return to this page and enter the daily bonus entries. 

• If you are still unsure as to how Rafflecopter works please do check out this short video

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Chocolate coins for Easter

These simple and delectable little chocolate coins are simple and easy to prepare and make wonderful Easter treats.

Ingredients:

8 oz / 220 grams White chocolate
8 oz / 220 grams Milk chocolate
Edible coloured sugar or sprinkles to decorate.

Method:

1.Break up each type of chocolate into small pieces and place it in two separate bowls that are  microwave safe.
2. Melt the milk chocolate first once it has melted  drop spoonfuls of it onto an acetate sheet that is placed on a baking tray.Spread the chocolate with the back of a spoon to form round circles about 5 mm thick and 2 inches in diameter.

3. Sprinkle coloured sugar or sprinkles of choice on the chocolate circles and place the tray in the fridge to set.
4. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave and follow the same method as for the milk chocolate.
5. Place it in the fridge to set.
After 2 hours gently peel off the acetate sheets and remove the chocolate coins. You can place these in a cellophane bag and tie the top with ribbon to make Easter presents.

Submitting to:
Lets Cook for Kids event by simply.food

Celebrate Easter hosted  by Easy to cook recipes event by JCO

JCO Choc full Easter event

Easter Chocolate mousse tarts.

Delectable little tarts filled with creamy rich chocolate mousse and garnished with mini Easter eggs

Ingredients:

For Mousse:

16 oz / 400 grams milk chocolate or dark chocolate, chopped
1½ tbsp golden syrup
1½ tbsp milk
200 ml fresh double  cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
mini chocolate eggs for garnish

For sweet pastry:

8 oz / 200 grams plain flour
4 oz  / 100 grams cold butter
Iced water
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt

For tarts

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C /375 degrees F
2. In a food processor add the flour, butter and salt and blend to combine.
3. Add the sugar and blend again

4. Add 2-3 tablespoons iced water and blend just enough to form a dough.( You may need to add little or more water, adjust as per need)

5. Transfer the dough to a bowl and lightly bring it together, wrap it in cling film and chill it for half an hour.

6. After half an hour, remove the chilled dough from cling film and roll it out on  a floured  flat surface to approximately 5 mm thick.

7. Cut round circles using a cookie cutter. They must be bigger than your mini tart tins.

8. Line the mini tart tins with the cut out pastry circles and prick the base of each tart tin with a fork.

9. Line the tart tins with parchment paper and add baking beans. Blind bake the tarts for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

10. Remove the tarts cases from the oven and remove the baking beans, allow the tart cases to cool completely.

11. Once cooled gently release them from the tart tins and keep them one side.

For Mousse

12. In a heat proof glass bowl add the chocolate, golden syrup, and milk and melt it using a double boiler. Once chocolate has melted keep it aside to cool.
13. In another bowl add the cream and vanilla and whisk until thickened and forms stiff peaks.
14. Combine the chocolate into the cream by gently folding it in.This is important to retain the air in the mousse. Do not over mix.
15. Once combined chill the mousse for 1 hour in the fridge.
16. To serve, spoon some mousse into the prepared tart cases and garnish with the mini eggs.
17. Any leftover mousse can be spooned into individual serving glasses and chilled. Garnish with grated chocolate or strawberries.

NB- Both the tart cases and mousse can be made ahead of time but only assemble them just before serving otherwise the tart cases will absorb moisture from the mousse and become soft.

You may like:

Black cherry Tarts

Submitting to:
Lets Cook for Kids event by simply.food

Celebrate Easter hosted  by Easy to cook recipes event by JCO

JCO Choc full Easter event

Novelty Kids Sandwiches ~ Cheese and cucumber Flower sandwiches

Delectable little kids  cheese and cucumber sandwiches made into little flowers.

Ingredients:

4 Slices of white or brown bread
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
Cucumber slices
Cheese slices
Carrot slices
Red grapes cut into halves.
Shredded lettuce

Method:

1. Using a cookie cutter cut out four circles from each slice of bread.
2. Spread butter /margarine on them and place them on a tray in pairs.
3. Using the cookie cutter cut out some round circles from the cheese.
4. Place a cheese slice circle on to a bread circle, and top it with a slice of cucumber.Place the second slice of bread circle butter side down on top of cucumber to form cheese and cucumber sandwiches.
5.Cut the carrot slices into flower shapes by cutting out 5 "V"  shaped notches

6.On a serving plate place some shredded lettuce, on top of the lettuce place the cheese and cucumber sandwiches, Place a carrot flower on top of each sandwich and top it with some grape halves.

You may like:
Kids Novelty sandwiches Cucumber caterpillar

Submitting to:
Lets Cook for Kids event by simply.food

Hemp seed and Oats cookies (eggless) and Good Hemp product review / giveaway.

 Healthy and delicious eggless Hemp seed  and Oats drop cookies .

Makes 24 cookies

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients:

4 oz / 120 grams sweet Cinnamon Hemp seeds
6 oz / 180 grams cups oats
6 oz / 180 grams plain flour
6 oz / 180 grams soft brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
20 grams egg replacer

Wet Ingredients:

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
75 ml  cup Hemp milk
75 ml  Flora cuisine ( olive oil)

Method:

1. In a jug add the hemp milk, flora cuisine and vanilla and whisk it all together. Keep aside.
2. In a large bowl add the flour,baking powder, oats, hemp seeds, sugar and egg replacer and mix well to combine all the ingredients.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and form a cookie dough, if the mixture is a little sticky just add 1/2 tablespoon more flour.
4. Preheat an oven to 180 degrees C / 375 degrees F.
5. Line three baking trays with parchment paper.
6. Using a mini ice cream scoop or spoon drop rounds of  the cookie mixture onto the baking trays leaving adequate room between the cookies.
7. Bake for 14-18  minutes until cookies are golden brown.
8. Remove from oven and transfer them to wire rack to cool.
Serve with a glass of cold orange juice.

NB- These cookies do not spread much in cooking and have a moist centre. If you want the cookies to be crisp, flatten the cookies using the back of a spoon to spread them a little before baking.

Hemp seeds- Hemp is naturally high in fibre, which helps to maintain a healthy colon, lower your cholesterol, and assists in  reducing the risk of developing heart disease. The fibre content in the seed reduces hunger by giving you a feeling of fullness that will help  dieting and leads to healthier eating patterns.

• Hemp is the most environmentally sustainable crop on the Planet. 
• Hemp does not need any herbicides and pesticides to grow, it is 100% Natural.  
• Hemp is a complete source of protein.  It is rich in Omega 3, with an ideal ratio of Omega 3 to 6, Hemp   is the only source of vegetable protein containing all 10 Essential Amino Acids
• Although the Hemp crop is in the same family as the Cannabis plant, it contains no THC(the psychoactive substance in Cannabis) – so it is completely safe to eat.

 Some of the foods available from Good Hemp are Hemp oil, Hemp milk, Hemp seed and Hemp protein.

GOOD OIL– A nutty, cold-pressed Hemp seed oil that is great for cooking and garnishing, containing half the saturated fat found in olive oil.

GOOD HEMP MILK – A healthy alternative to dairy or soya milk and also packed with omega 3, containing 50% of daily omega 3 in one glass.

GOOD SEED – A seed pot that comes in four flavours that can be eaten as a healthy snack or used as an ingredient for almost any dish.     

GOOD HEMP PROTEIN shakes – A range of protein powders aimed at building and repairing muscle, exercise, fat burn and weight loss.

I would like to thank Good Hemp for introducing me to the benefits of Hemp and providing me with the samples of the Hemp products. Being a vegetarian I am always looking for new ways to include good nutrients in my family’s diet. All the views and opinions in this post are my own.

Good Hemp have also been generous and has offered some Good Hemp  products to one simply.food visitor. 
The prize is:
I bottle of Hemp oil
1 carton of Hemp milk
4 tubs of good seeds snacks 
£5 off an online order and a free shaker for mixing hemp protein shakes.

How To Enter:

• Simply complete the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries and see the terms and conditions of entry.
• Entries can be via blog comment, Facebook, Twitter etc
• This competition is open to UK residents only .Please read the rules below .
• Leaving a blog comment is mandatory and failure to do so will void any other entries.
• Closing date - 11th April 2013 6.00 pm

How Rafflecopter works:

• Login to Rafflecopter – click to see what the question is. Make a comment answering the question on the blog.

•  Go back to Rafflecopter and click the green button to tell me you have made a comment, this will unlock all the other options. All entries are checked to see that the mandatory question is answered, if its not all bonus entries will become void. 

• Rafflecopter will tweet, like and follow on your behalf.

• For information on how to find the URL of your tweet click here. 

• For bonus entries you can return to this page and enter the daily bonus entries. 

• If you are still unsure as to how Rafflecopter works please do check out this short video

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thorntons Easter Eggs ~ Product Review

Easter is just around the corner and every where you go there are Easter goodies for sale. Cute little Easter chicks and bunnies in wicker baskets to mini Easter eggs to amazing family size Easter Eggs from many well known companies that weigh a ton and are a chocoholics dream treat.

A couple of weeks ago I was sent two lovely Easter Eggs by Thornton’s. One being their Black forest gateau  and the other was a family sized giant Easter egg called The Marvellously Magnificent.

My favourite cake is the Black forest gateau so I was thrilled to receive the black forest gateau Easter egg. I was intrigued as to how the flavours of the Black forest gateau be replicated in an Easter egg. I was pleasantly surprised, the egg is made with chunky dark chocolate, juicy cherries and chocolate curls. It has a gorgeous blend of textures and berry flavours.

The Marvellously Magnificent egg was big and proud; it weighed 1 kg and was seriously humongous. It had solid walls of chocolate almost 1cm thick. The chocolate was rich and creamy and melted on the palate. 

The best thing about the Thornton’s Eggs is that they are suitable for vegetarians; they have no gluten in them and are free from any artificial colours and flavours. Thornton’s range includes eggs of all sizes and prices so whether you want a mini treat for Easter or a family sized Egg, there is something for everyone with reasonable prices to suit every budget.

Thankyou to Thorntonsfor sending me the Eggs to review, unfortunately they did not last until Easter day as they were so delicious. All the views in this post are my own.

Novelty Kids Sandwiches- Cucumber Caterpillar

Novelty kids cucumber sandwiches in the shape of a caterpillar, perfect for parties.

Ingredients:

6 slices white or brown bread
1 tablespoon butter or Margarine
Cucumber slices
I small tomato
2 raisins
2 spaghetti sticks
Shredded lettuce

Method:

1. Using a cookie cutter cut out 4 round circles from each slice of bread.
2. Butter the bread circles and lay them out on a tray in pairs
3. On half the bread circles place thin slice of cucumber and make a sandwich by placing the second circle buttered side down onto the cucumber.
4. Break small 1 cm pieces from the spaghetti  and push it into the tomato on the top right and left sides making sure some of the spaghetti is sticking out.
5. Cut the raisins in half and push them onto the spaghetti sticks onto the tomato to form eyes.
6.Break two more 1 cm pieces if spaghetti and push them at the central bottom area of tomato.
7. Cut a semi circle out from the cucumber to make a mouth shape and push it onto spaghetti sticks secure it on to the tomato to make caterpillar mouth.
8. Take along spaghetti and thread onto it the 6  prepared sandwiches to form the caterpillar body.
9. Add the tomato by pushing that onto the spaghetti also to form caterpillar head, make sure eyes and mouth are placed forefront.
10.Break off any remaining spaghetti stick not required.
11. Place some shredded lettuce on to a plate and place the cucumber sandwich caterpillar onto it.
Serve immediately.

You may like:
Novelty kids Fish shaped cheese sandwich

Submitting to:
Lets Cook for Kids event by simply.food

Grated carrot salad ~ Secret recipe club challenge March 18th

This is my assignment with the Secret Recipe Club.The aim of the club is that you are allocated a blog from which you have to select a recipe and try  it and blog about it.
My assigned blog was That skinny chick can bake. When I saw the name it brought a smile to my face and I was eager to read the blog which  is run by Liz Berg.The blog is full of tips on advise on baking and cooking and has a range of recipes. I looked through the blog and found this simple yet delicious Cafe Style carrot salad which is perfect for lunch boxes or picnics.I reduced the quantity of the recipe by half.

Ingredients:

2 medium carrots
1 tablespoon raisins
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon Roasted peanuts
1/2 green chilli (optional)

Dressing:

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon mild olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method:

1. Peel and wash the carrots and  coarsely grate them.
2. Soak the raisins in the orange juice for 15 minutes.
3.Coarsely chop the roasted peanuts
4. Add all the ingredients under the dressing list to a jar with a lid.Shake the jar to mix the dressing.
5. Add the grated carrots to a bowl, add the soaked raisins, peanuts  and the chopped chilli and mix.
6. Pour the dressing over the carrots and toss.
Serve Immediately.

You may like:
Mango Posset

Giveway free tickets to Foodies Festival at Hampton Court, London Clapham Common and London Battersea

The Foodies festival is back, it is the UK’s largest celebration of food and drink will see visitors flock from the surrounding areas to feast on the vast array of culinary activities

Now in its eighth year, Foodies Festival has introduced new elements to all events in 2013. 

Some of the highlights include:

·         A spectacular Bake and CakeTheatre in association with Electrolux incorporating a ‘bake-along’ with members of the audience invited to participate.  Doyenne of British sugarcraft, Lindy Smith, will demonstrate her unique, cutting-edge cake designs. 

·         Chocolate Theatre to showcase the world of chocolate and confectionary with daily demonstrations from David Greenwood-Haigh of Divine Chocolate.

·         There is also a Wine Village, bringing together producers and wine regions from across the world including Provence Wines, Chapel Down Wines and boutique English wine company Grays & Feather.  

·         The new market section Homeware Village offers visitors the chance to shop for kitchenware and gadgets

·         New dining and VIP area serving signature dishes from top local restaurants including pop-up versions of Ed Baines’ restaurant Randall & Aubin, Jamie’s Italian Kingston and Masala Zone, run by Veeraswamy, the oldest Indian restaurant in the UK.   

·         This year’s Children’s Cookery Theatre will be operated by local cook school Kiddy Cook who will run a series ofworkshops incorporating gastronomic experiments. 

·         The extensive Producers’ Market sells a vast array of artisan produce from the local area and incorporates the Guild of Fine Food Great Taste Market’s award-winning British produce. 

·         City Beach where families can chill out on deckchairs with an artisan ice-cream or an afternoon tea whilst children build sandcastles.  Various specialist tea, coffee and fresh juice vendors can be found around the site. 

·         The entertainment stage features live music acts including Gloria Miller performing every day

The dates and venues for 2013 are:

Brighton Hove Lawns - Sat 4, Sun 5, Mon 6 May

Tatton Park, Cheshire – Fri 17, Sat 18, Sun 19 May

Hampton Court Palace – Saturday 25, Sunday 26 and Monday 27 May 2013

London Clapham Common – Fri 7, Sat 8, Sun 9 June

Bristol Harbourside – Fri 12, Sat 13, Sun 14 July

Edinburgh Inverleith Park – Fri 9, Sat 10, Sun 11 August

Oxford South Parks – Sat 24, Sun 25, Mon 26 August

FEAST IN THE PARK AT BATTERSEA PARK - Battersea Park – Fri 16, Sat 17, Sun 18 August

You can check out the Foodies Festival site for booking and ticket information here.

If you are a foodie and want to attend the festival I have 3 pairs of tickets available to simply.food readers for festivals in Hampton Court, London Clapham Common and Feast in the park at Battersea Park.

I would like to Thank Foodies Festival for providing these tickets for simply.food readers and for inviting me to their festival.

How To Enter:

• Simply complete the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries
• Entries can be via blog comment, Facebook, Twitter etc
• This competition is open to UK residents only .Please read the rules below .
• Leaving a blog comment is mandatory and failure to do so will void any other entries.
• Closing date - 20th April 2013 6.00 pm

 *Terms and conditions
 1. This offer is only open to UK residents
2. Complimentary tickets are valid for one day only at your chosen venue.
3. Tickets are non transferable. One pair of tickets per winner only.
4. Complimentary tickets obtained through this offer may not be duplicated.
5. All tickets will be scanned on entry to the show
6.You may enter for all three venues but will be required to complete the entries through all three rafflecopters separately.

How Rafflecopter works:

·        You will need to complete the mandatory entry first – usually making a blog comment. You can do this by clicking on leave a comment at the bottom of the post and leaving your reply in the comment box.Please note your comment will not show immediately as it needs to be moderated however rest assured it will appear on the site, so carry on with rest of entries.

·        Login to Rafflecopter – click to see what the question is. Make a comment answering the question on the blog.

·        Go back to Rafflecopter and click the green button to tell me you have made a comment, this will unlock all the other options. All entries are checked to see that the mandatory question is answered, if its not all bonus entries will become void. 

·        Rafflecopter will tweet, like and follow on your behalf.

·        For information on how to find the URL of your tweet click here. 

·        For bonus entries you can return to this page and enter the daily bonus entries. 

·        If you are still unsure as to how Rafflecopter works please do check out this short video.

Enter here to win tickets for

Hampton Court Palace – Saturday 25, Sunday 26 and Monday 27 May 2013

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Enter here to win tickets for

London Clapham Common – Fri 7, Sat 8, Sun 9 June

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Enter here to win tickets for

FEAST IN THE PARK AT BATTERSEA PARK - Battersea Park – Fri 16, Sat 17, Sun 18 August

a Rafflecopter giveaway