Monday 21 July 2014

VBites/Redwood "Wot, no Dairy" desserts recalled

Unfortunately, at least these flavours of the "Wot no Dairy?" Redwood desserts are now being recalled as they contain milk. 




Just as I get my daughter eating them! (Might explain current gut flare though!) The Food Standards Agency have flagged up the raspberry and black cherry and our local Holland and Barrett have removed all the peach flavours also.

This is from the Food Standards Agency page:-




Saturday 12 July 2014

Coconut and Cranberry (Tiana) Bites

Today I made a variation of an old favourite:-



Check out the Tiana coconut flour recipe here for the basic "cookie" recipe. 


In May I adapted this to make some similar treats which contained extra protein for those on exclusion diets, since this often means omitting many proteins. Check out the "Protein Power Bites" here.

Today's Recipe is just the first one with 1/2 cup of dried cranberries added. Really easy!

Monday 7 July 2014

Raspberry Muffins

This is a variation on the Blueberry and Lemon Muffin recipe published a few months back. We have some late Autumn Raspberry canes in our garden which after all the mild weather are still producing fruit, so I have been really lucky this year.

Dairy free, soya free (depending on flour used), wheat free, gluten free, could be egg free





These are delicious iced but are equally good "plain". I guarantee these won't last long either, best fresh from the oven - I think I will be making double quantity next time!
Ingredients 
  • 100 g Sunflower Oil (NOT olive oil, this is too heavy)
  • 100 g Caster Sugar 
  • 1 Egg (or equivalent egg replacer, used above)
  • 150 g Self Raising Dove's Farm Gluten Free Flour 
  • 1 tsp Xanthan Gum (if tolerated)
  • 125 g Fresh or frozen raspberries 
  • 6 Paper Muffin Cases (or 10 smaller cupcake cases)
  • small quantity of icing sugar (optional)

Method
  • Beat together the oil, sugar and egg well until batter starts to thicken. 
  • Add the lemon juice
  • Mix in the flour. 
  • Mix in the raspberries. 
  • Spoon into paper muffin cases standing on a baking tray. 
  • Bake in a pre heated oven for 20/25 minutes.
  • Mix up the icing sugar and drizzle on top once cool - if desired.

Tip - All muffins cook more evenly in good quality bakeware, and it will last for years so it's worth investing in some! These blueberry muffins are in a solid Denby baking tray




I'm linking up with the Denby "Cake Off" Competition! 





Thursday 3 July 2014

Razor Red Knife Sharpener - a review

Disclaimer:- This is an honest review of the "Razor Red" Knife Sharpener. I was not paid for this review but sent a free "Razor Red" knife sharpener in exchange for an honest review. 

I volunteered to review the Razor Red Knife Sharpener as it immediately grabbed my interested. I am always cooking, have good quality gadgets but what lets me down are my knives. I have a lovely set, plus a few individual ones for special purposes, but much to my Mum's surprise (she used to teach "Domestic Science" and is an excellent cook) I have never mastered the art of sharpening.

So what IS Razor Red?

In their own words...



I recently bought an expensive knife sharpener, but it doesn't fix to the table and it struck me as slightly dangerous. As my husband would tell you, I am almost farcically accident prone....  so I haven't used it. It also did not sharpen serrated knives, which is crucial for me. Old knives are actually really difficult to dispose of too! So I was keen to give Razor Red a try.

You can see their video on YouTube here.

My experience with Razor Red
The first one which was delivered was broken, and my initial response was that it looked rather flimsy which concerned me. Safety is a key issue for us, particularly as the children are increasingly keen to cook. But their Customer Service was excellent, a replacement was sent out immediately.

I tried the second one and whilst I still feel it is unfortunate the casing is poor quality plastic I was surprisingly impressed with the results!



The instructions (2) were clear and simple. No chance of errors.
I selected two knives I hoped to sharpen, one a favourite bread knife of mine I haven't been able to use for some time because it is too blunt.

Sharp knives are absolutely essential, recipes like my sausage roll recipe would be ruined if I used a blunt knife as the roll would be crushed when I tried to cut through.

I positioned the sharpener on two surfaces and followed the instructions, pushing down the level to secure the suction cup. It definitely worked better on my granite worktop but initially stuck firm on the wooden table too.

The top of the "Razor Red" sharpener is clearly marked to ensure you move the knife the right way down the sharpener.

The best bit is that your hands are NOWHERE NEAR the knife at any point. You just stroke it through a few times!

My favourite bread knife had indeed been successfully sharpened - I could tell when cutting but obviously I didn't feel to test it!

There is currently a bonus offer when you purchase Razor Red too, offering :-

  1. Advice on buying the right knife for the job
  2. Advice on How to Protect your Knives so they last
  3. How to prevent the spread of food poisoning from your kitchen knives
  4. How sharpening really works - and how to keep your knives stay sharp.


Conclusion

I was actually really, really impressed. I think the casing needs improving, and it was this which was broken initially. It is not a high price for a good knife sharpener, but it's pretty steep for something flimsy looking. And that's the key word here - flimsy looking - because it isn't flimsy at all and works really well. Razor Red currently have a discount offer on their site so check it out - it makes an excellent, handy little gadget and a worthwhile addition to your kitchen.




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