Sage's No-Mess Waffle Maker™ - a review

I love a kitchen gadget, so couldn't believe my luck when I was asked to try out the new Sage by Heston Blumenthal waffle maker. The No-Mess Waffle Maker™ has non-stick plates, a wrap-around moat to catch (and cook) excess batter and a built-in timer, so it makes waffle-making super-quick and easy. It's also a sturdy and good-looking piece of kit, but is compact enough to fit in the corner of a cupboard, without taking up too much space.

I've tested the waffle maker out in various ways... Obviously the first thing I did was make some sweet, breakfast waffles. Setting 4 was just right for golden-brown, hot, fluffy waffles. My girls and their friends loved them after a sleepover, for a breakfast treat. Then I tried out some posh waffles with a few different toppings, which would be great for impromptu desserts.

Now, I'm not sure I'd pay the RRP of almost £100 for a machine that only made waffles, so I decided to try out some other recipes, which I thought might work; cookies, muffins, omelettes/frittata and even home-made veggie/bean burgers all worked well, so long as they contained egg (I did try a couple of vegan recipes, which didn't hold together so well). I reckon almost anything which cooks from a batter or a dough-like mixture, and sets whilst cooking should work. Don't try burritos or toasted sandwiches though, as I found that molten cheese wasn't the easiest thing to clean out of the waffle plates!

My only real criticism is that there is no implement included to remove the hot waffles from the machine; A pair of plastic tongs would be useful, so that you don't scratch the non-stick coating.

As the machine is so sturdy and versatile, it would make a great gift for any foodie, or even a student starting uni. My teens have found it really easy to use, and have enjoyed coming up with different waffle creations. Look out for my next post, covering some of our favourite waffle-maker recipes and toppings!

The No-Mess Waffle Maker™ RRPs at £99.95 and is available from John Lewis, Amazon and Sage Appliances online.

Integrity Statement
I received a complimentary waffle-maker for the purpose of this review and for recipe development. All views expressed are genuine.

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Spice Kitchen review, plus a recipe for Sri Lankan Cashew Nut & Green Bean Curry

If you're a regular reader of my blog, I'm sure you know that I love spicy food. I'm always on the lookout for new ingredients to try out, so I have really enjoyed testing out some new spice mixes from Spice Kitchen; Spice Kitchen was set up by mother and son team, Shashi & Sanjay Aggarwal in Birmingham, UK...

"Spice Kitchen is an online shop specialising in high quality hand-blended and home-ground Indian Spices. We also sell various cookware that can help you to create authentic Indian food. We specialise in selling authentic Spice Tins, which are known as 'Masala Dabbas' in India. These shiny stainless steel tins contain 7 separate containers for easy access to the myriad of spices that you will need to create perfectly blended Indian dishes and curries.
We source the freshest spices from around the world, hand-blend, roast and grind them and pack them carefully. We promise you that you will never have smelt spices like them (so much so that they smell outside the packaging!)."

I was lucky enough to get to try out  eight of their international spice mixes, which include Sri Lankan, Mexican and Baharat spice blends. I've tried out about half of the mixes so far, and I can tell you that they taste as good as they smell! Apart from my Sri Lankan recipe below, I've used the Mexican mix in my veggie chilli, the Baharat in my bean stew and the garam masala in my shami kebabs. All tasted really flavoursome and authentic.

I was going to mention that I haven't ever eaten authentic Sri Lankan food, but then I remembered that I have! One of my claims to fame is that I once worked with the lovely Karthi Gnanasegaram (now a presenter on BBC news and sports programmes), who's Sri Lankan mother used to send in some of her amazing vegetarian home cooked food for us all to sample.

I wasn't sure what to cook with my spice mix, so I researched various Sri Lankan curry recipes and found lots for cashew nut curry and green/snake bean curry. I thought I'd combine the 2 main ingredients and see what happened! The nuts gave the curry a really interesting taste and texture and the flavours were quite different from those you would expect in an Indian curry.

Cashew Nut & Green Bean Curry

Serves 4

• 100g/4oz cashew nuts, soaked in water overnight
• 200g/8oz green beans, cut into 2cm slices
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil or vegetable ghee
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• A spring of curry leaves (approx 10)
• 2-3 tsp Sri Lankan spice mix
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 50g/2oz creamed coconut (block), chopped into chunks 
• 1 cup boiling water

Soak the cashew nuts in a bowl of water overnight. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil/ghee in a pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the onions and cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the garlic, curry leaves and stir.

Once the onions are soft and beginning to change colour, add the spice mix and turmeric and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the green beans, coconut cream and water. Simmer, with the lid on, for around 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the sauce has thickened and the beans are almost tender.

Add the drained cashew nuts and stir to combine. Simmer for a further 5-10 minutes.

Serve with fragrant basmati rice and coconut sambol.

Nut-free alternatives: Use 200g diced paneer/Quorn/meat free pieces, or other vegetables instead of the nuts, if you prefer.

Fragrant basmati rice: Soak, rinse and drain 1 cup of basmati rice. Cover with 1¾ cups boiling water, a cinnamon stick, 1 whole chilli and 2 green cardamom pods. Simmer for 10 minutes, covered and then turn the heat off and leave to steam for a further 5 minutes (lid on).

Coconut Sambol

• ½ cup fresh coconut, finely grated
• ¼ to ½ tsp red chilli powder (to taste)
• 1 small red onion grated, or chopped in a food processor
• 1 tbsp lime juice
•  a pinch of salt (to taste)

Mix all ingredients together, adding chilli to taste. Chill until needed.

Integrity Statement

I received some complimentary Spice Kitchen products for review/recipe development. All views expressed are genuine. 

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Meridian Nut Butters - a review plus a recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies

Like most families, we are already big peanut butter fans and it features, as a sandwich filling, at least a couple of times a week in my daughters' packed lunches. We were obviously willing to try out a range of nut butters from Meridian Foods and we particularly liked the sound of the cashew and almond butters, as an alternative to the usual peanut spread.

Unlike the major brands, Meridian nut butters are made from 100% nuts. No palm oil. No salt. No sugar.

As we're used to peanut butter with added salt, we did notice the lack of salt in the peanut butter. A real plus point is that there is no added palm oil,  but that meant that the oil from the nuts tended to separate a little, so the butters needed a good stir before spreading (a small price to pay, to avoid the ubiquitous palm oil!). Neither of these detract from the taste, but I thought they were worth mentioning.

The peanut butter was packed with plenty of crunchy bits, while the milder tasting cashew butter was silky smooth, and spoonful or two would make a great addition to curry sauces (instead of using ground almonds or cashews). The crunchy almond butter - made with roasted almonds - was a revelation to us all; a delicious alternative to peanut butter.

"Nuts have been part of our diet for thousands of years. All nuts and seeds are a good source of vegetable protein and energy. Although they contain oils & fat, a high percentage of these oils/fats are mono and poly unsaturated oils which are better for heart health than the saturated fats found in animal products. 
Virtually all nuts are very good sources of the main B vitamins... which help with energy production and carbohydrate metabolism, balancing blood sugar levels, hormones and cardiovascular health..."

As we all also enjoy peanut butter cookies, I thought I'd make a batch up with the Meridian peanut butter. The crunchy almond butter would also work well and would give a completely different taste.

Peanut Butter Cookies (Vegan)

Makes 12

• 4oz crunchy peanut butter/other crunchy nut butter
• 2 oz dairy-free margarine/spread
• 2 oz soft brown sugar
• 2 tbsp golden syrup/agave syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 oz SR flour

Cream the peanut butter, spread, sugar and syrup together.

Mix in the flour and vanilla extract to form a dough; add just a splash of dairy-free milk or water if the mixture is too dry to hold together.
Squeeze small handfuls of the dough into balls using your hands.
Put onto a greased baking tray and flatten slightly, then flatten further with the back of a fork.
Bake at 170C/160C Fan/Gas 3/325 F  for 10-12 mins, or until golden brown. 
Cool for 5-10 mins before removing from tray and cooling on a wire rack.

Suitable for freezing.

You can find lots more nut butter recipes from Meridian, on their website.

Integrity Statement
I received complimentary samples of Meridian nut butters to review. I did not receive payment, and the views expressed are genuinely those of myself and my family.

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Grow organic, eat organic - a review and giveaway

Grow Organic, Eat Organic (by Lone Morton, b small publishing) is a lovely little book for budding gardeners. It includes instructions and tips on cultivating easy-to-grow food crops like potatoes, tomatoes and strawberries (plus herbs and flowers) in even the smallest outside spaces. It also has a child-friendly recipe section (almost all vegetarian) which shows children how they can use their home-grown produce in the kitchen.

What I particularly like about this book, is it's introduction to organic gardening methods, the tips on what equipment to use and how important it is to attract 'garden friends' like birds and frogs into the garden to eat pests like slugs and snails, rather than to poison them.

I would say the book is aimed at a KS2 aged children (7-11), although it would also be a nice book for parents to share with younger children, as it has attractive pages beautifully illustrated by Martin Ursell. The book would also be a great resource for primary schools.

Grow Organic, Eat Organic retails at £5.99 (affiliate link).

Integrity Statement
I received a copy of Grow Organic, Eat Organic to review and 1 copy to give away on my blog. I did not receive payment, and the views expressed are genuinely those of myself and my family.

If you would like to win a copy of the book, just use the Rafflecopter entry form below and leave a comment (UK only).
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Walkers to add real meat flavourings to their crisps!

News Flash!
According to the Vegetarian Society, from the beginning of February 2013 Walkers Smoky Bacon and Roast Chicken crisps will no longer be suitable for vegetarians as they will contain real meat flavourings.

Walkers have confirmed this on their Facebook page "...As part of our homegrown range, we are indeed making the move to make our crisps more authentic, and the Smoky Bacon and Roast Chicken flavours will now contain real, farm reared 100% British meat."

This is a real shame as they are obviously well aware of their vegetarian customers' needs, after changing the ingredients of their cheese and onion crisps some time ago (to include vegetarian cheese powder). Whether this is simply a publicity stunt planned by their marketing department to cause public outcry, or whether Walkers think this change in ingredients will increase their profits, I will certainly be contacting them to let them know how I feel, and urge you to do the same.

To contact Walkers about this issue, please phone their consumer careline on 0800 274777, email consumer@walkers.co.uk or write to:

Consumer Services Department

Walkers Snack Foods
FREEPOST LE4 918
Leicester
LE4 5ZY

You can also make your point on their Facebook page and on Twitter.

Read the full story here.

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The Spice Tailor curry sauces from Anjum Anand - a review

I'm ashamed to say that National Curry Week passed me by last week, without me hearing anything about it, so this week I'm making up for it by cooking three different vegetarian curries using three of the new curry sauces from The Spice Tailor. I regularly cook curries from scratch, so I was surprised to read that a recent survey by The Spice Tailor, found that despite tikka masala being Britain's favourite curry, only 25% of us have ever tried cooking it at home.

Celebrity chef Anjum Anand has develop her own range of sauces which makes cooking a curry at home, faster than ordering one from the take-away! There are seven sauces in the range, most of which come with a sachet of dried spices, a base sauce and a curry sauce. Recipe tips and suggestions for extra ingredients are included, but basically you fry the dried spices (with or without the optional dried chilli) in a drop of vegetable oil, then add your choice of paneer, pulses and/or vegetables (or meat/fish, if you're not vegetarian!), followed by the base sauce. After a couple of minutes, you add the curry sauce and leave to simmer for about 8 minutes.

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I tried out three of the sauces: the Tikka Masala (which I added paneer and mushrooms to), the Punjabi Tomato (with added chickpeas and aubergine) and finally the Spiced Spinach (with added potatoes and green pepper). I pre-cooked all of the vegetables, except the mushrooms, before adding them to the curry sauces, as I knew that they wouldn't cook through in 8 minutes, however paneer, tinned pulses and meat substitutes such as Quorn would all work well and cook in the stated time if you were in a hurry. I added the whole chilli to all of my curries and fished it out before serving...we're all used to eating medium curries and I would say, even with the added chilli, all of the curries were on the milder side of medium. Some of the other whole spices needed removing before serving too, such as the whole cardamom pods and the curry leaf. You could, of course, leave them in and play 'find the spices' at the dinner table with the family!

Each of the curries looked and tasted very different from each other and the smell in my house was amazing! We all like the flavour of the Punjabi Tomato curry best, followed by the Tikka Masala. A word of warning though...the Tikka Masala didn't taste anything like a British restaurant tikka massala; it tasted strongly of cardamom and wasn't sweet and creamy. Not a criticism, as it tasted very aromatic, just not how I expected it to taste! The Spiced Spinach curry was our least favourite as it tasted a little bitter and the spinach flavour dominated the dish. I would have preferred to add fresh spinach instead. I found the sauces very simple to use, and good value for money. Although each sauce was supposed to serve two, I found that by adding extra vegetables and pulses, each one made a curry big enough to feed my family of four.

If you want more tips on cooking curries at home, tune in to Cookalong with Anjum on ‘Spice Nights’, when Anjum will be showing how to cook simple and delicious Indian dishes in just 15 minutes, using some cheats and lots of scratch cooking.  Spice Nights airs weekly on Tuesday evenings at 7.30 pm from now until 6th November. Register to watch at www.thespicetailor.com.

The Spice Tailor range is now available to buy online at www.thespicetailor.com and in Waitrose stores.

Integrity Statement
I received 3 Spice Tailor curry sauces to review and 3 to give away on my blog. I did not receive payment, and the views expressed are genuinely those of myself and my family. Pack images courtesy of The Spice Tailor.

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Good Natured Salads - a review and a recipe for Greek Salad

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When I was asked to review Good Natured salad products, my first thought was to test them out in a Greek salad, having recently come back from a holiday in Crete, where we enjoyed many Greek (or village) salads. Luckily we're big fans of salads in the Onykahonie household - I say luckily because some people think that's all us vegetarians eat! 

The Good Natured range consists of a variety of mainly UK produced salad crops, herbs, fruits and vegetables. What makes them different from other brands, is that they are free from pesticide residues, as they are grown using natural predators (ladybirds, not lions!) to see off the nasty crop-munching pests. This makes them slightly more expensive to buy than regular fruit and veg, but a similar price to organically-produced products.
The vine tomatoes and cucumber we tested looked pretty enough and tasted as good as any organic salad products we've eaten. I can't say that I would be prepared to pay the extra for them (having stopped receiving an organic box for cost reasons), but I would certainly prefer to see wide-spread use of this method of horticulture to help decrease both the price of pesticide-free fruit and vegetables and the use of pesticides in the UK. There is more information about the way Good Natured products are grown here. 
Find Good Natured products in larger ASDA stores. Look out for the labelled products in green boxes.

Greek salad

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• 1 small lettuce, washed and shredded
• ½ cucumber, cut in half and sliced
• 2 large vine tomatoes, cut into chunks
• 1 green pepper, sliced thinly
• ½ small onion, sliced thinly
• a handful of Greek olives
• 125g Greek feta cheese, sliced thickly
• dried oregano and olive oil to serve.

Place the lettuce at the bottom of a bowl. 
Scatter the remaining salad ingredients over. Top with the feta cheese and sprinkle of dried oregano. Drizzle a little olive oil over to serve.

Integrity Statement
I received a voucher towards the purchase price of Good Natured products. I was not required to write a positive review and the views expressed are genuinely those of myself and my family. 

Logo used with kind permission from Good Natured ©

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Easy Vegan Cupcakes/Fairy Cakes

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I found Orgran No Egg on special offer recently, so I bought some to test it out and review it; One box of No Egg costs around £2.50 and replaces the equivalent of 66 eggs, so it's good value for money. It contains the following ingredients:Potato starch, tapioca flour, calcium carbonate, citric acid, vegetable gum (stabiliser): methylcellulose and is also gluten free.

Following the success of my vegan Victoria sandwich cake, I thought I'd try adapting my usual (non-vegan) sponge cake recipe by using the egg-replacer instead of eggs. I made some cupcakes to see how the two recipes compared. The results were very pleasing, and I actually preferred the resulting texture and flavour of these cakes compared to my vegan sponge cake. The cakes were very light and crumbly, and kept fresh for a few days in an airtight container.

Makes 12

• 150g/6oz dairy free spread/margarine
• 150g/6oz sugar
• 150g/6oz SR flour
• 3 heaped tsp Orgran No Egg mixed with 6 tbsp water (or use a similar egg-substitute)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream the spread and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix until combined.
Spoon the mixture between 12 paper cake cakes in a bun tin, filling quite generously.

Bake at 180C/170C Fan/350F/Gas Mark 4 for around 20 minutes, or until golden brown and firm to the touch.
Cool on a wire rack.

When cold, top with vanilla butter cream/frosting...

Vegan butter icing

• 50g/2oz dairy free spread/margarine
• 125g/5oz icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1-2 tsp boiled water

Soften the spread.
Mix in the vanilla.
Beat in the icing sugar gradually, adding a little boiled water as needed to make a soft, spreadable mixture.

Top tip: Warning - do not open the oven to check until at least 15 minutes have passed (unless you can smell them burning!), as the egg-replacer takes longer to set than eggs would. I found this out whilst cooking my first batch and they sunk in the middle!

Alternatives: Divide between two greased and lined sandwich cake tines and bake for 30-35 minutes. I haven't tried this yet, so please do let me know if it works!

Swap the vanilla for lemon zest to make a lemon cake, 1 tsp coffee granules mixed with 2 tsp boiling water for a coffee cake, or swap 25g/1oz of the flour for unsweetened cocoa powder to make a chocolate cake. Add the same flavourings to the butter cream icing.

Integrity Statement
I have not received any payment or free products in return for this review and the views expressed are genuinely those of myself and my family. 

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My kitchen disaster

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It's strange how you become attached to inanimate objects isn't it? Take my favourite Kitchen Devils knife for example...it could slice, it could chop and it could cut. Now, you may think that most sharp knives can do all three things, (surely that's what knives are designed to do?) but no! I have a selection of about ten different sharp knives...some big, some small and some medium-sized. They are all useful for different jobs, but only my favourite Kitchen Devils knife could do everything.

That was until the day I dropped my beloved knife down the back of the cooker! I'm not quite sure how it happened, but within a blink of the eye it was gone...lost forever! Unfortunately the cooker was pretty much wedged in-between my kitchen units and I couldn't manage to shift it to recover my knife.

I looked for and bought a replacement, but the latest model wasn't quite the same and seemed to slice at an angle.

Well, they say bad luck comes in threes. First my knife disappeared into the back-of-the-oven-abyss. Next my faithful food processor died, and finally my cooker gave up the ghost. The thermostat blew for the third time, and the cooker repair man advised me that it would be safer to get a new cooker than keep replacing the thermostat.

I chose my new cooker and got it delivered a couple of days later. As the cooker delivery man pulled out the old cooker and disconnected it, I noticed the glint of my knife winking at me from the kitchen floor, as if to say "Here I am, please rescue me!"

So there we are. I've been reunited with my knife, I've bought a new cooker and the world is good again...except I still haven't found a replacement food processor. 

This is my entry for the Morphy Richards/Foodies 100 Innovator competition.  Pin It

Eric Lanlard's Peanut Butter Blondies

The new series of Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard started on 5th March at 12:05pm on Channel 4 and will be on every week day for 4 weeks. If you haven't seen the programme before, Eric bakes sweet treats ranging from simple, but delicious home baking recipes to his beautifully crafted signature desserts. 

Each episode will also feature three members of the public who will come to his cookery school and take part in a bake off. Various bloggers have also been invited to take up the challenge to bake one of Eric's culinary creations in their own home and enter into a virtual bake off. 

I chose to bake Peanut Butter Blondies as we all love brownies, but had never tried blondies before. 10 year old Miss Kahonie helped me bake and decorate them, and I think she did a pretty good job; She also did a good job of licking the bowls clean! 
The recipe was spot on (including the cooking time), and I'm very happy with the resulting blondies, which are suitably peanut-buttery, moist and chewy - what's left of them anyway!

Peanut Butter Blondies

Makes 12

• 100g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing the tray
• 150g crunchy peanut butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 75g white chocolate, plus extra to decorate
• 75g walnut halves, chopped plus extra to decorate
• 125g plain flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• Dark chocolate melted, to decorate.
• White chocolate chips, to decorate

Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/325°F/Gas Mark 3. Grease a 20cm/ 8-inch square tin with butter and line the base with baking paper.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and peanut butter together until creamy, using an electric hand whisk at medium speed. Add the vanilla, sugar and the egg, and beat again until light and fluffy.

Chop up the white chocolate and stir into the mixture along with the chopped walnuts.

Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture and fold in, using a large metal spoon.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Bake the mixture in the middle of the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes until it has a nice golden crust but is still fudgy in the middle.

Leave to cool in the tin. Decorate with white chocolate chunks and walnut pieces and drizzle over some melted dark chocolate. Cut into squares and serve.  

"Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard is a beautifully produced series that balances inspiration with information, engaging the viewer to try new things to add to their baking repertoire. Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard is sponsored by Bakingmad.com, an inspirational online community of over 100,000 members sharing a wealth of information, recipes, hints, tips and advice."

Integrity Statement
This is a sponsored post, for which I have received free cooking ingredients and 2 free cook books. The views expressed are genuinely those of myself and my family.
Recipe reproduced by kind permission of Baking Mad.

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Vegan Victoria Sponge Cake

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This was a bit of an experiment for me, as I've tried a few vegan sponge cake recipes in the past, and they've all sunk horribly in the middle after cooling; Despite tasting good, they didn't look great.
I wanted to make a sponge that didn't use egg-replacer, or other fancy ingredients, but still looked and tasted like real sponge cake!  As you can see it turned out pretty well, although the texture was more chewy than a regular sponge cake.

• 100g/4oz dairy free spread
• 150g/6oz caster sugar
• 200g/8oz SR flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 200ml/8 floz Provamel sweetened almond milk or equivalent 

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Preheat oven to 180C/170C Fan/Gas 4
Grease and line two 7"/20cm sandwich tins.
Cream the spread and sugar until soft and then beat in 3 tbsp of the milk.
Add the remaining milk, flour, vanilla and baking powder and beat until smooth.
Divide mixture between the two tins.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch.
Cool in the tin for 2-3 minutes before turning out and removing the greaseproof paper.
Sandwich together with vegan butter icing and jam (jelly) when cool, and sprinkle the top with caster sugar.

Vegan butter icing

• 2 tbsp dairy free spread
• 75g/3oz icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Soften the spread.
Mix in the vanilla.
Beat in the icing sugar gradually, adding a little boiled water if needed to make a soft, spreadable mixture.

Alternatives: If you have a nut allergy sufferer in the family, just swap the almond milk for a suitable nut-free alternative.
Swap the vanilla for lemon zest to make a lemon cake, 1 tsp coffee granules mixed with 2 tsp boiling water for a coffee cake, or swap 25g/1oz of the flour for unsweetened cocoa powder to make a chocolate cake.
Try this recipe if you have egg-replacer available.


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Dear Santa...

So, it's a week into December and I've only just started Christmas (or Yule as I prefer to call it) shopping...eeek! Apparently, most organised and efficient mums have their presents bought and wrapped, and their cards written and ready to send...but not me, no, I like to wait until we're well into the holiday season until I do all the above (OK, so I just don't get the urge to spend, spend, spend until we're in December!)

Anyway, I've been browsing the internet and have come up with a few vegetarian-friendly gift ideas that either I would like, or I'm thinking about buying for my friends and family.

For the cook in the family...

• I'm hoping for the River Cottage Veg Every Day! cookbook for myself. Unfortunately, I haven't watched many of the programmes (as it clashed with X Factor!), but from what I've seen and read about the series, and my growing respect for Hugh F-W, I think this will be a good book.
• If you're going to buy one classic cook book, I can recommend Rose Elliot's New Complete Vegetarian. I received it last Christmas, and it's become a firm favourite.
• I love colourful cookware, and have had my eye on these Joseph Joseph stacking bowls for quite a while.

For the fashion-conscious veggie...

• If you love make up, try Urban Decay's cosmetics, including the amazing vegan palette. I received the dangerous palette for Christmas last year and it's lovely.

For the teen veggie...

• For the veggie twilight fan, get one of these fab vegetarian vampire t-shirts.
• Find fashionable vegetarian 'leather' shoes, jackets and belts at Vegetarian Shoes.
• Not necessarily vegetarian, but Blue Banana is my elder daughter's current favourite shop with loads of quirky fashion items.

For the younger veggie...

• I'm thinking of buying Tyrannosaurus Drip for a vegetarian friend's child who loves dinosaurs. I can also recommend Herb, the Vegetarian Dragon and The Chicken Gave it to Me which are both lovely stories for young children, with veggie-friendly messages (have a look at Veg Books for more ideas).

For the veggie who has everything...

• Make up a hamper - fill with home made goodies or with shop bought items on a particular theme e.g. Sweet hamper - Goodie Good Stuff sweets, Hotel Chocolat chocolate, veggie Percy Pigs from M&S and some retro sweets,  or veggie essentials - Marmite, Goodlife Worcester sauce, Bookhams vegetarian Parmesan, packs or dried herbs/spices, veggie gravy, veggie jelly crystals etc.
• Buy something handcrafted, like a vegan tea cup candle from Nyan Nyan or choose from a wide range of original gifts from Veg Etsy (World-Wide).

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My very veggie blogoversary give-away

A year ago, I published my very first blog post. It wasn't a very interesting one, but nonetheless it was an exciting moment for me. I wondered if anyone would read it and the subsequent posts I would add. I initially started my blog as I love writing, cooking and creating new recipes. I also thought it would be a nice way of preserving some family favourite recipes for my kids (who I named Miss Ony and Miss Kahonie for blogging purposes, as unlike many other bloggers, I prefer to hide behind an alias!)

At first I didn't publicise my blog at all, but after I found out about Britmums (or British Mummy Bloggers as it was then) and then the
UKFBA (UK Food Bloggers Association), I started to dip my toe into the mysterious ways of the blogging community... I had no idea that there were so many other people out there blogging away about so many different things! I then set up a twitter account and a Facebook page and slowly my numbers of page views and followers crept up. People were actually reading what I was writing, and cooking my recipes! 

I've 'met' some wonderfully creative, funny and inspirational bloggers along the way. Some who have made me laugh out loud, and some who have brought a tear to me eye; I'm not naming any names as I don't want anyone to feel left out. I feel proud to have joined up with other bloggers who are campaigning for various good causes - I certainly didn't start blogging with that intention.

I've been lucky enough to get some freebies along the way, and have thoroughly enjoyed reviewing some of the yummy vegetarian products I've been sent from some lovely companies.

My blogoversary giveaway might not be quite as grand as others I've seen, but I hope you like the prizes on offer well enough to join in and have a go at winning one...

So, onto the give-away:

Prize 1: A gift pack full of yummy vegetarian sweets from Goody Good Stuff. 

Goody Good Stuff sweets contain natural fruit juices and extracts and no artificial nasties. All varieties are vegetarian (some are vegan), fat-free, dairy-free, nut-free, Halal and Kosher certified.

Find them on Facebook or drop them a tweet @goodygoodstuff.




Prize 2: 3 vouchers for tasty Innocent veg pots (one prize).

Choose from 8 different varieties (most are vegan and all are vegetarian). All contain 3 portions of veg, wholegrains, or pulses and tasty sauce, with herbs and spices and they're ready to eat in just 4 minutes.

Find them on Facebook or drop them a tweet @innocentdrinks.



Prize 3: A delicious selection of vegetarian products from Linda McCartney Foods.

Includes the following: 1 x Vegetarian Roast, 1 x Mini Snack Vegetarian Sausages, 1 x Rosemary & Red Onion Sausages, 1 x Cranberry & Camembert Burgers (one prize).

Find them on Facebook or Youtube, or drop them a tweet  @meatfreetweets .


How to enter: COMPETITION NOW CLOSED
Winners are @msetoonie wins the Goody Good Stuff sweets, @Veggie_4_Life wins the Innocent vouchers and @mum2alesha wins the Linda McCartney products - please contact me with your address details.

• Follow my blog and leave me a comment below to say you've done this, along with your contact details. Let me know which prize you want to try and win (one comment per prize draw entry please).
• For another chance to win, follow me on Twitter @FacelessFood and tweet I've entered the Very Veggie Giveaway with @Facelessfood @Bookhams @Goodygoodstuff @Innocentdrinks & @Meatfreetweets
http://wedonteatanythingwithaface.blogspot.com and leave your twitter ID and details of your preferred prize in a comment below.
• For another extra entry per prize, just follow the appropriate twitter ID for the prize you hope to win (@goodygoodstuff, @innocentdrinks or @meatfreetweets) and add an extra comment below - with contact details - to say you've done this.
• Remember I need some way of contacting you in case you win, so make sure you put this in your comments! If you leave your twitter ID as means of contact, then please follow me @facelessfood so that I can message you if you win. Alternatively email me onykahonie1 at rocketmail dot com.

Terms and conditions
Entries only from the UK please.
A maximum of 3 entries for each prize are allowed per person.
Competition closes at midnight on 28th October 2011
The winner of each prize will be drawn at random.
I will contact winners within 48 hours of the prize draw. If winners have not replied within 7 days, I reserve the right to re-draw and offer the prize to another entrant.

Many thanks to Innocent, Goody Good Stuff, Bookhams and Linda McCartney Foods for kindly supplying the prizes and images provided. Pin It

How to cook an Indian meal in 30 minutes

You may remember my previous review about Bipin's Masala curry pastes. Well, I was so impressed with my free sample, that I ordered some more to try out. I decided on a pack of 3 different pastes: Surti Masala, Jeera Masala, and Garam Masala and I was pleasantly surprised to find an extra complimentary pot of Bipin's new Royal Korma paste in my package (which arrived within 3 days of ordering).

I popped all 4 pots into the freezer as directed, until I was ready to use them. This week I tried out the Jeera Masala and the Royal Korma pastes in two different curries:

In one pan, I added the following chopped fresh vegetables: 1 onion, 2 carrots, 1 green pepper, some butternut squash and half a pack of paneer cheese. I gently fried these with 1 tbsp of Royal Korma paste and a drop of extra oil. I then added half a carton of passata and 100ml of water and allowed to simmer for about 30 minutes. Before serving, I stirred through 25g of creamed coconut.

In the other pan, I heated 1 tbsp sunflower oil and added  a chopped aubergine. I cooked this until soft and then added a chopped onion, a drained tin of chickpeas, 100g of mushrooms, 1 tbsp of Jeera Masala paste, and about 50ml of water. I allowed this to simmer for around 20 minutes.
I made up some naan dough in the bread maker, and cooked them under the grill while the curries were cooking.

Both curries were completely different in taste. The Royal Korma, despite being mild, was packed full of aromatic flavours and went down really well with my children. The Jerra Masala complemented the aubergine and mushroom well, and had a distinct taste of cumin with a good chilli kick.

The pastes were really quick and easy to use, and allowed me to produce a restaurant quality meal in 30 minutes - not bad, eh?

Bipin's Masala can only be bought online at a cost of £10 for 3 pastes (plus p&p). Each curry paste pot serves 4+ people and is suitable for freezing.

Integrity Statement
I bought 3 pots of Bipin's Masala and received 1 free sample of  Bipin's Royal Korma to review. I did not receive payment, and the views expressed are genuinely those of myself and my family.

Image 2 courtesy of Bipin's Masala © Pin It