One of the challenges I enjoy from receiving my Degustabox every month is coming up with unique and delicious ways to use the contents! I love a good challenge and this month I decided to create something a bit traditional from the box, but something you will all enjoy I am sure. A bit school dinner and incredibly delicious but first . . . .
A bit about December's Box! When the box arrives each month it feels a bit like Christmas and this month it actually WAS Christmas so yippee!
Once a month, each month Degustabox will deliver to your home 10 to 15 new, special or innovative food products for you to try in the comfort of your own home via a subscription service. A monthly subscription costs £9.99 and there is a delivery fee of £3, for a total of £12.99, and what you receive can be tailored to the types of things that you like and would use. Here is what was in the December Box .
Eisberg Non Alcoholic Wine
Eisberg-Alcohol Free WineThinking about going dry in January? Don’t give up your favorite tipple, why not try Eisberg Alcohol-Free wine, made in exactly the same way as the wine you love, with the alcohol removed. Available in Chardonnay, Rosé, Cabernet Sauvignon and Riesling, with only a third of the calories. Eisberg Alcohol-Free Wine is the wine you’ll remember. Available in Morrisons, selected Tesco, Asda and Waitrose. RRP £1.70
Pukka Herbs
Pukka Herbs Clean Green
Spring clean your spirit with nature’s finest fairly-traded clean green herbs. Let them dance in your cup for a while to release the zing of whole Sicilian lemons and the freshness of dandelion root. One sip and you’re ready to sparkle. Pukka is an organic herbal tea and supplement company with a mission to bring the wonders of incredible organic herbs to as many people as possible, making them more aware of themselves, plants and the planet. Pukka want this positive change to happen across the world - all starting from a cup of delicious herbal tea.
Their portfolio includes over 30 herbal, green, fruit and black teas and over 50 food supplements. A selection of the teas are stocked by most major multiples as well as other leading retailers and independent health stores. RRP £2.39
Bahlsen
Bahlsen Choco Leibniz
Choco Leibniz Milk Chocolate: Finest continental milk chocolate wrapped around our original butter biscuit. With more chocolate than biscuit, it’s fresh and crisp when you bite it, but so chocolatey when you taste it. Other flavours available are Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate Caramel, Milk Chocolate Orange and White Chocolate. Available from Asda, Booths, Budgens, Co-op, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco, and Waitrose.
Choco Leibniz Caramel: Indulge yourself with Bahlsen’s luxurious milk chocolate biscuit, now oozing with caramel. Finest milk chocolate wrapped around our delicate crisp butter biscuit, hiding a filling of delicious soft caramel. Other flavours available are Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Milk Chocolate Orange and White Chocolate. Available
RRP £1.79
Gloworm
Premium Mixers
Gloworm is ingeniously different. It's the first premium mixer of it's kind, specifically blended to compliment a selection of spirits. The unique formula is sugar-free and taurine-free and available in 4 flavours: Raspberry & Orris for Vodka, Cucumber & Apple for Gin, Pear, Spice & Lime for Rum, Ginger & Lemongrass for Bourbon.
RRP £1.50 /unit
Fry Light
Fry Light Infuse Chilli
Frylight’s new Infuse cooking spray range helps you to season all sorts of pan fried and roasted food at the touch of a button. Made with pure Garlic and Chilli extracts, Frylight Infuse means no more messy peeling and chopping… and it’s so much quicker!
Simply spray your pan well and cook! Add more sprays to increase the flavor. Make great tasting lower fat garlic bread with Infuse Garlic - and Infuse Chilli is perfect for creating piri-piri style chicken to exactly the right heat level for each member of the family. Also great for flavouring roasted meats and helps keep them moist. Available at Tesco Stores.
RRP £2.00
The Chia Co
Oats + Chia
The Chia Co Oats+Chia are wholegrain oats and chia blended with the finest quality fruits and coconut oil. These ‘just add water’ oats deliver a smooth and creamy texture, without dairy. Chia seed offers the highest combined plant sourceof omega-3, fiber and protein, and is packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
RRP £1.70
Popchips
Never fried. never baked. POPCHIPS are popped with heat and pressure to make a naturally delicious crisp with all the flavor and less than half the fat of fried crisps, fewer calories and none of the fake colours or flavours (or greasy fingers) that gives snacking a bad name. And by the way, there are less than 100 calories in each serving.
I was sent the Barbeque flavor and they were really good!
RRP £1.79
Kents Kitchen
Kents Kitchen Meal Kits
All our products are made with natural ingredients, are produced in the UK and are free from additives, preservatives and flavourings. The ranges include meal kits, posh noodles, seasonings, stocks, gravies, stock pots, flavor shots, sauces, stuffings and bread sauce.Our meal kits are our hero products and are a quick and easy way to make an authentic meal by adding just two or three fresh components to the three small pots that make up the kit. The easy to follow instructions and a prep time of just 15-20 minutes means you can create a delicious, fresh meal even if you come home late. There are fourteen fabulous flavours in the range and many are vegetarian and suitable for coeliacs. The range includes Thai, Indian, Chinese and Brazilian kits.
RRP £2.50
Bonne Maman
Bonne Maman Coarse Orange Marmalade is fresh, zingy and made with thick shred orange peels for more character. Spread on toast and let the full flavor of oranges fill your mouth, or use it as the ingredient that will make the difference in your savoury or sweet recipes. WE love Bonne Maman in this house.
RRP £2.30
No surprise that the product I chose to highlight this month with a recipe was the Bonne Maman Orange Coarse Shred Marmalade.
There is something just so wonderfully warm and comforting about a steamed pudding (dessert). They are so homey, just like a warm hug from a much beloved Gran. I don't know what it is about them . . . stodgy, yes . . . filling, yes . . . simple, yes . . . there is nothing complicated or fancy about them, but somehow they always come across really well. They are a bit like the country cousin at a city ball . . . you can't help but really warm to them and want to spend time with them, even though there are much fancier puds to be had.
The Toddster LOVES marmalade on his toast. I like it too, but not quite as much as he does. It's delicious made into a lovely pudding such as this steamed pudding.
It's very old school dinnerish really, but Todd has very fond memories of his old school dinners, and I confess to having a certain fondness to the pudding side of things myself.
Served warm, cut into wedges, and embellished with lashings of a deliciously rich custard flavoured lightly with Grand Marnier, it went down a real treat for both of us. I cut the recipe in half and made a smaller portion as I don't have a 3 pint pudding basin and it turned out beautifully.
*Marmalade Pudding with a Grand Marnier Custard*Serves 6 Printable Recipe
A deliciously light and moist steamed pudding filled with the tart flavor of Marmalade and served up with a sweet Grand Marnier Custard. This pudding freezes well, either whole or in individual portions. Do not freeze the custard. This should be made fresh each time.
150g soft brown bread crumbs (2 1/2 cups) 25g self raising whole wheat flour (1/4 cup) 120g soft light brown sugar (2/3 cup) 120g butter (8 1/2 TBS) 8 TBS marmalade
3 large free range eggs1 rounded TBS of bicarbonate of soda 1 TBS cold water
For the Custard:275ml of full fat milk (1 1/4 cup)275ml double cream (1 1/4 cup)six egg yolks (you can freeze the whites to use for meringues at a later date)100g caster sugar (generous half cup)2 TBS Grand Marnier
Butter a three pint pudding basin. Place the bread crumbs, flour and soft light brown sugar into a large mixing bowl. Melt the butter over gentle heat along with the marmalade. Pour the butter mixture over the dry mixture and blend thoroughly. Whisk the eggs until they are frothy and then whisk them into the crumb mixture. Stir together the bicarbonate of soda and the cold water. Whisk this into the pudding mix. It will increase in volume, but don't be alarmed. Pour this mixture into the prepared basin. Cover it with two pieces of grease proof paper which you have pleated in the middle and buttered. Tie securely around the rim of the basin.
Place the basin in the top of a double boiler over quickly simmering water. Cover the pot and allow to steam for about 2 hours. Check periodically to see if the water needs topping up so that the pot doesn't go dry. When it is done a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. Make the custard during the last half hour of the pudding steaming. Whisk the egg yolks together with the sugar in a saucepan with a heavy bottom, until pale, slightly thick and creamy. Warm the milk and the cream together in another saucepan, just until bubbles appear around the edges. Slowly whisk this mixture into the beaten eggs and sugar. Bring to the boil very slowly over medium low heat, whisking constantly. It is done when it just begins to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Do not over cook or it will curdle. Remove from the heat immediately and whisk in the Grand Marnier. Keep warm.
Run a knife around the edge of the pudding basin and invert over a plate to remove. Cut the warm pudding into wedges to serve along with the warm custard. Delicious!
Alternately, instead of the Grand Marnier, you can flavor the custard with some vanilla extract or paste, 1 tsp should do the trick.
Many thanks to Degustabox for sending me this box. I have to say I really look forward to getting my box each month. There are always lots of things in it to enjoy and new products to try out. I highly recommend. You can also tailor the boxes to your own likes and dislikes by filling in your own Taste Profile.
Do check out the Degustabox web page for more information and details.
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