Cooking with Flowers - Book Review and Giveaway

Cooking with Flowers has to be in my Top Five Best Books, this really is, in my opinion, one amazing book.  I mean I already knew that some flowers are edible, but I didn't know just how many or of the delightful things that can be conjured up using them.  

 

Flowers and herb flowers make everything so pretty, especially on a plate.  I'm sure we've all seen the contestants of the fantastic 'Masterchef' on TV use flowers in their recipes or to decorate the plate - but if you want to know where to start and which flowers you can eat, this is the book for you.

Orchids are such beautiful flowers and this book shows how you can use them for example, in a seafood saute, and an orchid pineapple upside down cake.   

 Pictures taken from the book, purely for the purpose of this review:

Then there's the Dianthus flower, probably one of my favourites.

 The book has an abundance of Flower Whipped Creams and Frostings, Flower Sorbets, Lemonades, Ice Creams, Jellies and Jams and more.

Even though I'm not a one for desserts, I really have to make this Fig and Rose Cream Trifle.  What do you think, doesn't it look pretty and delicious?

In all cookbooks I always look for a conversion chart, and yes this book has one.  American, Imperial and Metric all covered including oven temperatures too - love it.

Although the book does have a few recipes calling for specialty tools and ingredients there's a handy website address list showing you where these items can be purchased.

Just a small handful of recipes that caught my eye:

Thai Orchid Beef Salad, Hibiscus Fried Rice, Lavender Lemonade, Fig and Rose Cream Trifle (shown above) Violet Flower Cupcakes, Popcorn-Chive Blossom Cupcakes and the Tulip Ice Cream Bowls - a truly lovely alternative bowl to serving your ice cream in.    

Cooking with Flowers is an hard-backed book published by Quirk Books, the author is Miche Bacher of Mali B Sweets.  

Outstanding photography is by Miana Jun.

Huge thank you to Mat at PGUK Publishers Group and Quirk Books for sending me a copy to review and supplying a giveaway copy.

 How to Enter the Competition!

 Entries must be via the Rafflecopter widget and the prize can only be sent to a UK postcode. 

 To see a short video on how easy it is to use Rafflecopter click here. *Inappropriate comments will be deleted and entry/entries to the competition removed.  
 For information on how to find the URL of your tweet click here - Entries that do not show the URL of the Tweet will be removed.

There is one main way to enter and several ways to get bonus entries, including bonus daily entries. Competition end time is as shown on the Rafflecopter widget.

Good Luck Everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN Tickets to Enjoy Bordeaux Wines at Zoo Lates

Every Friday night in June and July, Zoo Lates at ZSL London Zoo will be giving grown-ups the chance to see one of the city’s most iconic attractions in a whole new light.  A Glug Of Oil has teamed up with the exclusive wine sponsor, Bordeaux Wines, to offer one lucky winner a prize pair of tickets to Zoo Lates on 14^th June.

  Brand new for 2013, the Bordeaux Jardin du Vin will be nestled in the heart of the action, and our lucky winner will also be able to sample red, white and rosé Bordeaux served around the Zoo by Bordeaux Usherettes.

Lates-goers can experience why “Good Food Would Choose Bordeaux” each Friday night with an international street food festival dishing up mouth-watering meals from more than 21 vendors serving fast, fresh and fabulous cuisine from around the world.

 In addition to an incredible array of entertainment including cabaret, improvised comedy and adult-sized playrooms complete with ball pits, there is the opportunity to see the Zoo’s newest residents, Sumatran tigers Jae Jae and Melati in their £3.6m Tiger Territory exhibit.

www.bordeaux.com/uk  

www.zsl.org/zoolates  

To be in with a chance of winning the prize tickets, all you need to do is answer the following question:

Q: Bordeaux wines come from which country?  France, Spain or Italy?  

(Tip – there is a hint here: http://www.bordeaux.com/uk/vineyard/map)

 Terms & Conditions - see Rafflecopter widget for more detail.

There is one prize in total: two prize tickets (retailing at £25.00 per ticket).   

Travel to and from the event is not included in the prize.

The event is on Friday 14^th June 2013.  Timing: 18:00-22:00.

The event will go ahead come rain or shine.

 Winners must be 18 or over and photographic ID may be required.

 How to Enter!

 Entries must be via the Rafflecopter widget and the prize can only be sent to a UK postcode. 

 To see a short video on how easy it is to use Rafflecopter click here.
*Inappropriate comments will be deleted and entry/entries to the competition removed.  
 For information on how to find the URL of your tweet click here - Entries that do not show the URL of the Tweet will be removed.

There is one main way to enter and several ways to get bonus entries, including bonus daily entries.
Competition end time is as shown on the Rafflecopter widget.

Good Luck Everyone! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Campfire Cuisine - Must Have Book for Camping

Campfire Cuisine - Gourmet Recipes for the Great Outdoors shows there's certainly more to campfire cooking than burgers and hot dogs!

Containing over 100 recipes that can be made whilst camping or in any outdoor setting.  That said, every recipe comes with a little note if your wanting to make the same recipe at home, so this book isn't just for campers!

A lovely chubby book is about the size of your hand which means it's easy to take with you.

What sort of recipes will I find in this book?
Covering a wide range of delicious sounding recipes from Bacon-Wrapped Grilled Figs (sounds good to me) to Bananas Foster French Toast, Grilled Vegetable Salad with Goat Cheese,
Salmon with Balsamic Fig Sauce, Spicy Orange Chicken, Jambalaya to Maple-Caramel Baked Apples.
There are loads of marinades, sauces and flavoured butters that can be easily rustled up too.

This book is American, will I be able to buy the ingredients easily?

In a word, yes.  Looking through, I haven't come across any ingredients that we can't easily get here in the UK. 

Always good to have in a recipe book is a conversion chart from US to metric.
There's another handy chart 'Is is Done Yet'? which shows approximate cooking times for seafood, meat and poultry, vegetables and fruit on the grill.  

Campfire Cuisine also includes tips and advice on meal planning, shopping, and equipment selection for campfire cooking.

There's even a sample meal plan for a three-day trip.

Campfire Cuisine is published by Quirk Books

About the author:
Robin Donovan is a food and travel writer and an avid camper, with more than twenty years of experience as a campsite cook. She lives in San Francisco.

Big thank you to Mat at PGUK Publishers Group and Quirk Books for sending me a copy to review.

My Dream Kitchen - Electrolux Appliances

 Since I spend most of my life cooking, I'd love a bigger kitchen as ours is so small. Electrolux have a vast range of beautiful, stylish yet practical kitchenware, everything for a dream kitchen.

 Picture from Electrolux website.

If Money didn't Matter!
Sometimes I imagine that if money wasn’t any problem what kind of house and kitchen I’d have.  It would have to be one of those huge, swish, top notch kitchens with everything in its place and I’d have every kitchen gadget going.....Okay, I’m near that part as I do have ‘almost’ every kitchen gadget going, but sadly not the space to put it all in!
 

Cooking:

 My dream kitchen would have to have loads of work space.  

An Electrolux CombiSteam oven would be fantastic with a fancy extractor cooker hood, and I'd also have an induction hob.  A combination microwave is handy to have and I'd have a huge fridge, a separate freezer and one of those wine coolers too.  I’ve always wanted a warming drawer so plates nicely heated at dinner parties.

 Eating and Relaxing:

I'd have space for a big kitchen table so friends could come round to eat, drink and have a good chat.  Dining rooms are great for more formal occasions, but for everyday use, the kitchen is the place for me.

 Another kitchen essential is a TV, not that I'm addicted to television, but I do love to catch up on cookery programmes whilst cooking!

Cleaning:

In the kitchen or utility room, these days almost every household has a washing machine.  The house we're in at the moment doesn't have the luxury of a utility room and so my washing machine is also in the kitchen.

Oh and before I forget, a dishwasher would also have to be included.

What would your Dream Kitchen include?

Brief History of Electrolux:

 Electrolux is a global leader in home appliances and appliances for professional use.  But it all started with a single vacuum cleaner.

Back in 1908, Axel Wenner-Gren was strolling the streets of Vienna when he caught glimpse of a bulky vacuum cleaner.  Although the machine was costly and heavy (around 20 kilograms!), he was inspired: in his mind, the machine became smaller, lighter and less expensive.  And so the Electrolux story started.

This is a sponsored post.

  

GAT Winner Collection Stove Top Espresso Coffee Pot - Review

 Just look at this wonderfully curvy and cute 2 person Stove Top Espresso Coffee Pot from the Italian maestros G.A.T.

 

This is a must have for any Espresso coffee lover.  You can enjoy Espresso in just a few minutes and in the comfort of your own home.
Available in eye-catching colours Orange, Purple, Green and Blue.

Save Money and Help Charities with My Favourite Voucher Codes

In this day and age money is tight for so many of us so it's always good to be able to actually save some money on the things you need to buy. My Favourite Voucher Codes shows you all the offers from hundreds and hundreds of online retailers allowing you to save money when you shop online with promo codes. 

 Everything is covered from the weekly food shop, clothing and footwear,   babies and toddlers to things you might need for your home and garden. 

Contigo Morgan Autoseal Drinks Mug - Review

 I can't normally get too excited about a drinks mug.  But these fancily designed mugs by Contigo Morgan
are very good-looking, colourful and stylish.

 The Contigo Morgan has been awarded the prestigious Red Dot Design Award 2013

Transportable tea and coffee is an essential part of modern life and the new Contigo Morgan series from Premier Housewares is convenient for doing just that.  They have a nifty auto-seal mechanism protects against spills, advanced thermal insulation ensures that beverages stay hot for longer. 

Spicy Mango and Chilli Topped Chicken

There's no need to marinate the chicken for hours on end.  Nice juicy chicken fillets topped with a sweet spicy mango and chilli sauce.  Of course you don't have to add any chilli at all if you prefer.

 Serve with a mixture of long grain and wild rice or as always, whatever else takes your fancy.

Jamie Oliver - Food Revolution Day 2013

Join in the fun - Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Day!
May 17th 2013 is the day, lets keep cooking skills alive and get people eating better, more healthier food. 

 The main aim of Food Revolution Day is to raise awareness on behalf of Jamie’s charities and partners.  For those who can and would like to fund-raise, a £1 donation will support one of our cooking programmes to give children and adults essential cooking skills for life.

Why does Wine Taste Better After Being Allowed to Breathe?

There are some wines that benefit from being allowed to ‘breathe’.  Oxygen can affect wines in a number of ways and it is important to understand this process and how it could benefit the wine you are drinking.

Remember that wine drinking is about personal preference and it is a good idea to get advice on the best ways to store and serve wine from experts and wine sellers.  It is important to taste wine and compare different methods as this will help you discover just how you prefer your wine and which kinds of wines tickle your taste buds.

Easy Breakfast - Recipe Idea

The perfect lazy day breakfast of scrambled eggs on toast topped with crispy bacon and roasted tomatoes.  Serve with a nice cup of coffee (tea for me please) and after eating this you'll be all set and ready to do absolutely nothing for the rest of your lazy day.

Well in my case, till lunch time - always hungry am I.

Easy Croque Monsieur Recipe - Sandwich Idea

Croque Monsieur is basically a grilled ham club style sandwich, with a lovely cheesy béchamel sauce poured over and popped under the grill to melt and brown. 

Delicious as a snack of with a few thick cut chips and salad.