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Saturday, February 28, 2015

Event announcement ~ Lets cook for Mothersday


Motherdsay in the Uk is celebrated on March 15th this year. It's a very special day where it gives every child an opportunity to appreciate their mums and show them how special they are. Mothersday does not mean that you need to buy expensive gifts, but a showing of appreciation through small acts of kindness are whats more important. In this event I am proposing that we cook a special dish for our mums, it could be  a dessert, cake, savory dish or even a cup of tea. Please share your mothersday recipes in this event.

To Participate:

1.Prepare a dish vegetarian dish  (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 post 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
Image no larger than 300 pixels.

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Sharon Fruit Smoothie


print recipe

Sharon Fruit Smoothie


The most refreshing tropical flavour smoothie to enjoy.

Ingredients:
  • 3 ripe sharon fruits
  • 1 gala apple
  • seeds from 1 pomegranate
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 1 cup ice cubes
  • 1 tablespoon honey (optional)

Method:

1.Wash the sharon fruits and cut off the top stalk.Slice the sharon fruits into chunks and add to the Optimum 9400 blender.2.Core the apple and keeping the skin on, cut the apple into chunks and add to the Optimum 9400.3.Add the pomegranate seeds to the Optimum 9400, reserving a tablespoon for garnish..4.Add the ice cubes, lemon juice and honey to the optimum 9400. Blend all the ingredients for 60 secnds and then pour the smoothie into serving glasses and garnish with pomegranate seeds.
Details
Prep time: 5 minsTotal time: 5 minsYield:4 servings



I made my Sharon Fruit Smoothie in the Optimum 9400 blender. It is very versatile and it will blend, purée, grate, chop, make ice cream, hot soups, nut butters and nut milk.






To read about the Optimum 9400 check my review post here. The blender is currently on a special offer at £329.00 with a thirty day money back guarantee with free postage if not satisfied. You can also get an extra two years warranty if you order through this site You can order yours here.
Your Purchase Includes:
- 30 Day Money Back Guarantee – Includes Postage!
- UL, CE and FDA approved 2L jug with lid and cap
- Wet and dry multi-purpose stainless steel assembly
- Heavy duty tamper tool for improved processing and mixing
- Access to expert support team
- 83-page comprehensive hard-copy recipe book
- International Warranty


I was given the Optimum 9400 to use in my kitchen , I was not asked to write a positive review.

Submitting to :
Lets cook special valentine dishes, event by simplyfood.


Sunday, February 15, 2015

Coconut Banana Bread Bites ~Secret Recipe club 16th Feb 2015




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. For the month of February  my assigned blog was Mangia which means "Eat" in Italian. Mangia is written by Chelsey who comes from a large Italian family and lives in Texas. The main theme of the blog is healthy gluten free recipes. I really enjoyed reading the blog and discovering new healthy ingredients for cooking. I chose the Coconut Banana Bread bites for my challenge.We really enjoyed them.


print recipe

Coconut Banana Bread Bites


Healthy and delicious banana bites encased is sweet tendar coconut..

Ingredients:
  • 2 small ripe bananas
  • 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 2 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon coconut flour
  • 1 tablespoon almond butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoons dessicated coconut
  • 2 tablespoons flax seed mealt

Method:

1.Preheat oven to 180 degrees C / 350 Ddegrees F.2.line a mini muffin tin with mini cake liners.3.In a large bowl add the bananas and mash them with a fork. Add the coconut flour, dessicated coconut, maple syrup,vanilla essence ,salt, almond butter, coconut oil, cinnamon and flax seed meal and mix together to form a dough. 4.Fill the mini cake liners with a teaspoon of mixture in each and bake in the preheated oven for 12- 15 minutes until golden brown. 5. Remove from oven and serve with a glass of cold milk.
Details
Prep time: 5 mins time: 20Total time: 25 minsYield: 24 mini bites




Saturday, February 14, 2015

Giveaway OXO Hand Whisk and Measuring Jug


I love the OXO range and I have many pop containers and kitchen accessories from OXO. They are robust and perfect for a foodie like me. I use both the jug and whisk in my kitchen and to get some baking tips do read my post here.OXO have been very kind and in celebration of Valentines day they have agreed to send one simplyfood reader an angled measuring jug and a whisk to help them along with their baking.


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 - 10 th March 2015 12.00 am
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.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Valentine Chocolate Cupcakes and some baking tips.


With Valentine ’s Day approaching everyone is scurrying around buying gifts and planning treats for their valentine. Personally I think that valentine’s day has become too commercialised and it’s been abused  by retailers who have capitalised on the day by charging extortionate prices for gifts such as roses, chocolates and hotel stays. I prefer to make a lovingly prepared dinner with a surprise dessert and maybe a cute cupcake or two as a gift.


Cakes are always appreciated by young and old, and if they are home made the gift is even more appreciated. Baking is not difficult however there are some strict rules one must follow to get the best results.

1. Always make sure that the ingredients are fresh and that the flour used in the cake making is not old and out of date. Flour should be stored in an air tight container on a shelf or in a cupboard in a cool part of your kitchen. The reason for this is so stop any moisture getting into the flour which may cause it to become clumpy. In some cases, flour can attract psocids which are tiny brown or black insects which live in dry foods. I store my flour in the OXO pop containers; they are clear containers with a lovely air tight lid that helps to retain the flours' freshness.




2. The second most important part of getting perfect results in cake baking is to measure the ingredients accurately. Baking cakes is an art and to get best results all the ingredients need to be measured either using a weighing scale or a measuring jug such as OXO Good Grips Angled Measuring Jug. This jug has an angled surface which allows you to read measurement markings by looking straight down into the jug and eliminates the need to fill, check and adjust the amount of liquid you are measuring.



3. It is also important for the butter and the eggs used in the recipe to be at room temperature. The sugar and butter must be creamed together to be light and fluffy before adding any other ingredients to it. To achieve a well creamed sugar/butter mixture, I find the OXO Good Grips Hand Held Mixer perfect for the job. The smooth rotating gears work the detachable steel beaters efficiently making light work of whisking giving you perfect results in a jiffy.

4. Once the ingredients are whisked it is important to gently fold in the flour to get a light and fluffy texture to your cake.

5. This is by far the most important part of baking your cupcake or any cake for that matter and that is that the oven must be pre heated and be at the right temperature before placing the cakes to bake.



With these tips, baking the perfect cupcake to woo your valentine will be easy.So now we will move on to the Valentine Chocolate Cupcake, the perfect and delectable gift for your valentine.





print recipe

Chocolate Cup cakes


Fluffy chocolatety cupcakes with cream cheese frosting .

Ingredients:
  • 250g / 8 oz caster sugar.
  • 140g / 4 oz butter
  • 2 eggs (or egg replacer)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
  • 180g / 6 oz plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 60g / 2oz cocoa
  • 210 ml milk

    For the frosting:
  • 250 g / 8oz cream cheese
  • 120 g / 4oz icing sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 2-3 drops red food colouring
  • Ready to roll fondant icing in red and pink
  • Heart shaped decorations
  • Silver edible glitter

Method:

1.Preheat oven to 180degrees C / 375 degrees F.2.Beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy with the help of a whisk.3.Add the eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla essence and whisk again.4.Sift the flour, soda bicarbonate and cocoa5.Fold the sifted ingredients into the butter and egg mixture and fold it in gently. 6.Add the milk until you get a dropping consistency.7.Line a muffin pan with cake liners and fill each liner 3/4 full with the cake batter. 8.Bake the cakes in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until a skewer inserted in it comes out clean. Take them out of the oven and transfer the cakes to a wire rack to cool completely. 9.In a bowl add the cream cheese, vanilla and sifted icing sugar and whisk together the frosting. 10.Divide the frosting into two and add the red food colouring to one half  and mix it to tint it pink. 11.Fill two piping bags with star nozzles and fill each bag with the frosting. Pipe rosettes onto the cup cakes. 12.Roll out the fondant icing and cut out hearts from them. Decorate the top of the frosting with the hearts and sprinkle with edible glitter and heart decorations.
Details
Prep time:40 minsCooking Time:20 minsTotal time:60 minsYield: 18 cupcakes



I was sent the whisk, jug and the pop container by OXO to review,all the opinions and thoughts about the product are my own.

Submitting to:
Lets cook Valentine Special Dishes event by simplyfood.


Friday, February 6, 2015

Win 1 pair of tickets to Veg Fest Brighton


After the wonderful success of Veg Fest last year, the show is back this spring in the bustling seaside town of brighton.
Highlights include:

- 160 stalls
- Food Village with 15 caterers and 3 all day bars
- Hemp Expo 
- New Product Showcase
- Special offers + free tasters
- UK Vegan Comedy Festival (feat. Andrew O'Neill, Carl Donnelly, Jake Yapp + more)
- Party Political Conference (Election Special) 
- Global Food Sustainability Conference 
- LifeWell Hub 
- Talks on Nutrition and Health 
- Talks on Lifestyle and Campaigns
- Cookery demos both days
- Speed-dating session
- LGBT social
- Live Music
- Cinema
- Kids cookery classes
- Smoothie bikes
- Magic Shows
- Last Man Standing
- Disco Dome

Ticket info & purchase link - www.brighton.vegfest.co.uk/admission

Veg fest have been very kind and they have agreed to suppy one pair of tickets to a simplyfood reader so that they too can enjoy the show.

How To Enter:
  • Simply complete the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries
  • Entries can be via blog comment, Facebook, Twitter etc.
  • Leaving a blog comment is mandatory and failure to do so will void any other entries.
  • Closing date - 21st Feb 2015 12.00 am

 *Terms and conditions
1. This competition is open to UK residents only who are over 18 years of age .
2. Complimentary tickets are valid for weekend entry.
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

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.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, February 2, 2015

Event Round up Lets cook/ create hot beverages


Here are all the lovely entries for Lets cook/ create hot beverages. Thankyou to everyones participation.
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