Over the last few weeks we’ve been trying out lots of of exciting things and trawling our way through some interesting new recipe books. Here’s a quick run down of what we thought.
First this month we tried out some olive oil and balsamic vinegar from Casa Rinaldi.
This set comes as a trio in a lovely metal stand, containing their 100% olive oil, chilly oil and aged balsamic vinegar. The Rinaldi company was founded in 1979 and prides themselves on traditional products. These are available through the Italia Regina Website, which sells lots of produce imported straight from Italy. I really felt the quality of these products, we’ve used about half of all of them over the course of the last 6 weeks and would certainly buy again.
Next up a couple of new cookbooks. Firstly one that sounded right up my street – Ferment Your Vegetables. I love to pickle things, and usually just wing it, trying my own this so this book with guided to pickling and fermenting almost everything you could think of is great.
Fermentation expert Amanda Feifer serves as your guide, showing you, step by step, how you can create traditional, delicious fermented food at home, using only simply ingredients and a little time. The book is so colourful and I;ve been trying out a few recipes including the one shown below for Avas Hot Pink Kraut which is fantastic. I’m also looking forward to trying my hand at Kimchi! Ferment your Vegetables is published by Fair Winds Press and cost £15.99
The second book we tried is right on trend at the moment – Superfoods 24/7. This book by American blogger Jessica Nadel is published by Apple Press and costs £14.99.
The book contains 100+ recipes designed to pack your diet full of superfoods, with familiar favourites like kale and avocado as well as nutrient packed foods such has acai and matcha. The recipes sound very appealing – such as Tahini truffles and my current favorite from the book Sundried Tomato and Coconut Quinoa Burgers.
If you’re looking for a book guiding you on how to get the most out of your food and incorporate the latest superfood into your diet this is definitely one to try.
I couldn’t resist but pop in a pic of these insanely colourful little dishes that Lee bought me for Christmas. They were from TK Max and are perfect for filling with dips and sauces, particularly on fajita night. I love the bright pops of colour, enough to brighten up any mealtime!
Next up is these new water boosters from Stur Drinks. Jumping not he trend of healthy coconut water these are water boosters making normal water that bit more special. They come in Coconut, Coconut and Pineapple and Coconut and Lime.
The range is made solely with natural fruit flavours and lightly sweetened with the highest quality, natural stevia leaf extract. Containing zero fat, calories and sugar and 100% of RDA of Vitamin C in every squeeze. By far my favorite was the coconut and lime – I love the sharp hit that this one gave as I often find coconut water a little too sweet, which I did find with the pineapple one, and although this one wasn’t for me I think fans of coconut water would love it. I would certainly purchase the lime one again. They are also great alternatives to some coconut waters which have a lot of hidden sugar.
Last up this month is some delicious and indulgent brownies. This scrumptious looking deletion arrived in the post from a company called Browniemaid who are based in Cornwall.
They sent me a section of their brownie flavours including Oreo Explosion, Gooey Cookie Dough, Toblerone and Peanut Butter Extravagnaza. They arrived intact and not mushed up which was a great start and I found lasted really well – about a week kept in an airtight container.
I like the buttercream style icing that came on top of a few of the brownies, this made them feels very indulgent and naughty but really enhance the flavours. I think my favorite had to be the oreo explosion – no explanation needed there I don’t think! Each slice was quite large – I found my self cutting each one in half making a better portion size. This makes them go even further so certainly not a bad thing!
The 6 piece mixed section box comes in at £11.50 on their website which I think is pretty good value for what you get. Perfect if you’re hosting a party or afternoon tea or just if you want to treat yourself and the family! Find them here
Disclosure: Thanks to the above brands for the product samples and thanks for my lovely husband for the Christmas presents too! If your brand would like to feature their product in my monthly Kitchen bites please contact me – you will find my details on the Contact Page.
