OXO Good Grips Complete Grate and Slice Set and a Giveaway

I have a new favourite toy!  It's the OXO Good Grips Complete Grate and Slice set.  It's a kind of mini mandoline and grater in one and it's just the best piece of kit I've reviewed for ages.
I have a big OXO Good Grips Mandoline which is fab for slicing lots of veg and you can set variable thicknesses, however it is a bit of a faff to take apart and clean, so I only use it if I'm doing a lot of slicing.  On the other hand I probably use the Grate and Slice every other day it's just so handy, let me show you.
You can see from the box that there are four different slicing blades in their own storage box, a safety grip to hold your veggies so you don't slice your fingers and the base box to catch all the processed vegetables.
So you have this nice tidy closed box with everything you need organised inside. I keep mine in the cupboard next to my work surface.
Open the lid and you can see you have your four slicing blades, a straight slice, julienne slice, large grater and fine grater.
The slicing blades fit onto the lid of the storage box which becomes a bowl to catch whatever you are processing.
Here I'm using the fine grater to grate some ginger.

The ginger I was grating was frozen and it still grated perfectly.

I also made a quick coleslaw using the straight slicing blade for the cabbage and the large grater for the carrots.  When it's this quick and easy, there's not a lot of point in buying coleslaw.

OXO Good Grips Complete Grate and Slice RRP £30

I have one OXO Good Grips Complete Grate and Slice set to giveway (UK only) please follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter widget below and you too can be slicing and grating with ease!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received the OXO Good Grips Complete Grate and Slice Set for review, I was not paid and all opinions are my own. 

Labels: coleslaw, Complete Grate and Slice, Ginger, giveaway, grate, Mandoline, OXO Good Grips, slice, win

posted by Janice @ 00:00 163 Comments

Rhubarb and Ginger Trifles

This is a rhubarb recipe you can make with only two stalks of rhubarb and it will feed a family of four.  I usually have a pack of trifle sponges or some sponge fingers in my cupboard as I find that a trifle will stretch the most meagre of ingredients into a feast.

Rhubarb and Ginger Trifles
Serves 4

4 trifle sponges
2 tbsp Madeira, Sherry or orange juice
2 stalks of rhubarb
1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 tbsp caster sugar
250g ready made custard
150 ml double or whipping cream
20 g flaked almonds

1. Chop the rhubarb into small pieces and place in a saucepan with the ginger and the sugar, heat gently until the juices run and the rhubarb is soft.  Put the rhubarb to one side to cool.
2. Place one trifle sponge in the base of each of the ramekins, pour 1/2 a tbsp of Madeira, Sherry or orange juice over each one. 
3. Divide the poached rhubarb between the ramkeins along with any of the remaining juices.
4. Cover the rhubarb with custard.
5. Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks, either pipe it on top or spoon it over the custard.
6. Toast the flaked almonds in a dry pan until they start to turn golden, let them cool.  Just before serving sprinkle the flaked almonds over the top of the trifles.

Labels: cream, custard, Ginger, rhubarb, The Great British Rhubarb Recipe Round-Up, trifle

posted by Janice @ 19:33 8 Comments

Asian Spiced Shoulder of Lamb, Mango Quark Cheesecake and the Aldi Challenge

Asian Spiced Shoulder of Lamb with Chantenay Carrots and Garlic Cream Potatoes

The last time I featured Aldi products it was to showcase some of their top of the range frozen foods, this time I've been asked to take part in the Aldi Challenge. The Aldi Challenge is an initiative to ensure that every shopper can enjoy January, if you shop at Aldi  you will still have money to spare for enjoying new activities and eating well.

Here is my shopping comparison, I couldn't believe how much I saved.

• The Rolled Shoulder of Lamb at Aldi was Scotch Lamb with the QMS mark on it and the comparative lamb at the major supermarket was 'British' Lamb with the Red Tractor.  Generally Scotch Lamb is more expensive than British Lamb. 
• The ice cream I bought at Aldi was a named brand and the comparative tub of ice cream was top of the range own brand. 

I first saw this recipe demonstrated by Jacqueline O'Donnell, of The Sisters Restaurant, for Quality Meat Scotland.  She kindly gave me a copy of the recipe and says "this dish is worth all the effort in time for maximum taste" I would certainly agree with that. 



Asian Spiced Shoulder of Lamb Serves 6 -8

Labels: Aldi, Cheesecake, chilli, Ginger, mango, quark, Scotch Lamb

posted by Janice @ 07:00 3 Comments

Gingered Figs - Slow Cooker Challenge, September 2014

'Tis the 'season of mists and mellow fruitfulness'.  Hopefully we won't have too many mists just yet, as summer seems to have returned for a few more days, however I am looking for some fruitfulness as September's Slow Cooker Challenge is cook with FRUIT in your slow cooker.

Your dish can be sweet or savoury as long as it contains some fruit.  My recipe is a simple one,  I love baked figs and thought it would be easy to pop them in the slow cooker and it worked really well.

Slow Cooker Gingered Figs
4 ripe figs
50ml orange juice
4 dessert spoons Mackays Spiced Ginger Preserve (or chopped preserved ginger)

1. Cut the hard part of the stem from the top of the figs, then slice a cross into the top of each one, be careful not to cut all the way to the bottom or your figs will fall apart.
2. Place the figs in the basin of the slow cooker, open out the sections of the fig a little and fill the space with a dessert spoon of Ginger Preserve.
3. Pour the orange juice around the figs and cover with the lid.
4. Bake on low for 2-3 hours.
5. Remove the figs from the slow cooker to a serving dish, pour the juices into a pan and bring to a rapid boil, reducing the syrup by half, then pour this over the figs and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
6. Serve with greek yogurt, drizzling the syrup over the figs and yogurt.



If you would like to take part in the Slow Cooker Challenge, then please: 

• Make your recipe in your Slow Cooker and post a photograph and the recipe, or a link to a recipe, on your blog
• Link to Farmersgirl Kitchen
• Use the Slow Cooker Challenge logo in your post
• If you use twitter, tweet your post with @FarmersgirlCook and #SlowCookerChallenge and I will re-tweet it to my followers AND post your picture on the dedicated Pinterest Board. 

Rules: 

• Please do not publish recipes from cookbooks on your blog without permission, they are copyright.
• If you are using recipes from another website, please link to the recipe on the website rather than publishing the recipe.
• One entry per blog.
• Recipes must be added to the linky by the 28th of each month.

The phrase 'season of mists and mellow fruitfulness' comes from John Keats' poem 'To Autumn'

Labels: figs, fresh figs, Fruit, Ginger, September, Slow Cooker Challenge, spiced ginger Mackays

posted by Janice @ 06:30 14 Comments

Spiced Ginger Red Cabbage

Spiced Ginger Red Cabbage
I love baked red cabbage in the winter months, it's easy to make, will keep well in fridge for 2-3 days and can be reheated just before a meal, it would be perfect with Christmas lunch or served with left over ham or turkey after the big day.   The Mackays Spiced Ginger Preserve adds a nice kick to this dish making it even more warming than usual.

I'm delighted to say that this post is part of #ChristmaswithMackays a 12 days of Christmas feature being run by Mackays, a family run Scottish company who make their preserves in small batches in the traditional way. 



1/2 a medium red cabbage
2 medium or 1 large onion
3 apples
3 tbsp Mackays Spiced Ginger Preserve
1 in/2.5cm peeled fresh ginger, finely chopped
2 tbsp white or red wine vinegar
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
1. Pre-heat the oven to 325F/160C.
2. Slice the cabbage, peel and slice the onions. Peel, core and slice the apples.
3. In a deep ovenproof casserole dish, build up layers of cabbage, onion and apple and finely chopped fresh ginger, add a tbsp of Mackays Spiced Ginger Preserve and start the layers with the cabbage again. There should be around 3 layers. Finish with a layer of cabbage.
4. Sprinkle over the salt and the soft brown sugar.
5. Add the wine vinegar.
6 Put a lid on the casserole or use a piece of foil.
7. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 1 1/2  - 2 hours.  When the cabbage is soft, it is ready.



You can make this even more festive by adding fresh cranberries and an additional tbsp of soft brown sugar to counteract the acidity of the berries.

Many thanks to Claire at Mackays for the samples of Mackays preserves, I was not paid for this post and all opinions are my own. 

Labels: Ginger, red cabbage, spiced ginger Mackays

posted by Janice @ 13:24 5 Comments

White and Green Cabbage with Coconut, Chillies and Ginger

White and Green Cabbage with Coconut, Chillies and Ginger

In The Farm Shop Cookbook by Christine McFadden, there are a wealth of recipes celebrating the produce that is now widely available across Britain. Farm shops have become more and more popular as people choose to buy local and fresh.
In the Introduction Christine tells us of her own experience of Farm Shops and how the intention of the book is to help us to make the most out of the produce available, some very familiar, others we may not have encountered before. She goes on to talk a little about the environmental advantages of buying from farm shops before taking us into a useful section on how to use the book, including guidance on buying by season, different varieties and storing your purchases.

The Recipes: the introduction to the recipes this section gives some advice on basic ingredients, measurements and techniques. There follows an A-Z of produce with recipes, each item is given a few paragraphs of introduction with cooking ideas.

The side bar tells you when the item is available, which varieties to look for, some shopping notes, storage advice and preparation tips. For some items there are several recipes and there are excellent photographs of many of the dishes.

Here are a few examples of the produce and the recipes that accompany them:
Bacon and Gammon-The Ultimate Bacon Sandwich, Gammon Steaks with Parsley Sauce,
Cabbage-White and Green Cabbage with Coconut, Chillies and Ginger, Red Slaw with Radish Sprouts, Smoked Cheese and Lemon Yogurt Dressing,
Eggs - Eggs with Fried Tomatoes, Onion and Peppers, Sweet Puffy Pancakes with Walnuts
Jerusalem Artichokes-Pan Fried Jerusalem Artichokes, Gratin of Jerusalem Artichokes with Cobnuts, Bacon and Garlic Cream
Mushrooms - Mushrooms with Pappardelle, Pine Nuts, Cream, Garlic and Parmesan.
Pears - Roasted Peppered Pear Salad with Sheep's Cheese, Honey and Walnuts
Quail - Grilled Spatchcocked Quail with Smoked Paprika, Garlic, Cayenne and Cumin
Raspberries - Raspberry Chocolate Tartlets
Shallots - Roasted Banana Shallots with Sage, Parmesan and Crisp Breadcrumbs
Turkey - Tandoori Turkey Tikka

These are just a few of the ingredients and recipes in the book, there are many more.

Who is it for?
Anyone who enjoys fresh seasonal produce, also useful for novice cooks who would like to learn more about produce and what to do with it.

Pros - the ingredients are listed in alphabetical order, so if you have carrots, you can easily find that section and the recipes. One of my favourite sections is the UK seasonal produce availability, a grid where you can check out what is available, useful to check before heading out to the farm shop.
Cons - I would have preferred more pictures

White and Green Cabbage with Coconut, Chillies and Ginger

Based on a traditional recipe from Kerala in south-west India, this is a great way of livening up cabbage.

3tbsp vegetable oil
1tsp mustard seeds
15-20 curry leaves, fresh, frozen or dried
1 small onion or 2 banana shallots sliced
1/4 white cabbage, core removed, leaves shredded
200g spring greens, tough stalks removed, leaves shredded
100ml water
4tbsp coconut flakes
3 tbsp coriander leaves, sliced
Juice of 1/2 a lime

For the spice paste
50g sachet creamed coconut
1 green chilli, deseeded and roughly chopped
2.5cm piece of root ginger, chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 small onion or 2 banana shallots, finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric

Put the spice paste ingredients in a blender or food processor.  add a splash of water to moisten, then whizz to a puree.

Heat a large, heavy-based frying pan over medium-high heat and add the vegetable oil.  Fry the mustard seeds until they start to crackle, then add the curry leaves.  Sizzle for a few seconds. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onion and fry until golden. Season with the crushed peppercorns, then stir in the spice paste, shredded cabbage and spring greens.  Pour in the water, stirring well so the cabbages are covered with the paste.

Cover and cook over low heat for 7-10 minutes, stirring now and again to prevent sticking. When the cabbage and spring greens are tender, add the coconut flakes, coriander ad lime juice.  Stir for a minute or two to heat through.


 Although there are a lot of ingredients in this recipe, it is really quite simple to make and transforms ordinary cabbage into an amazing and exotic feast.  I served it with pan fried sword fish and peppers. I would definitely make this recipe again.

The Farm Shop Cookbook by Christine McFadden is published by Absolute Press an Imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing.  RRP £14.99

With thanks to Emma for providing me with a copy of The Farm Shop Cookbook to review, I was not paid for this review and all opinions are my own.

Labels: Absolute Press, Bloomsbury Publishing, cabbage, chilli, Christine McFadden, coconut, Cook book review, Ginger, The Farm Shop Cookbook

posted by Janice @ 08:30 3 Comments

Spiced Rhubarb and Lemon Muffins

It's still Rhubarb Central here! This time I'm bringing you some Spiced Rhubarb and Lemon Muffins.  This is a classic combination with the spices including cinnamon and little pieces of crystallised ginger.  I decided to make these when I saw the Recipes for Life Challenge at Vanesther's Bangers and Mash blog. The rules of the Recipes for Life call for a trio of ingredients, and this month they are rhubarb with lemon and spice. A monthly winner  will be picked and the best of the recipes will be included in a new charity cookbook to be published by SWALLOW later this year.

 

Spice Rhubarb and Lemon Muffins
150g light brown sugar
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 egg
1 tsp cinnamon extract (or 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon)
100ml milk
100g finely diced rhubarb
175g wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarb soda
1/2 tsp ground ginger
pinch salt
50g chopped ccrystallised ginger
grated zest of half a lemon

1.  Preheat the oven to 200C.
2. Line you muffin tin with paper cases.
3. Place 125g of the sugar, oil, egg cinnamon extract and milk.  Mix together and add the rhubarb.   

  

Wet ingredients

4. Sift your dry ingredients into the bowl, add the wet ingredients and stir until combined but don't over mix or your muffins will be heavy.

Dry ingredients

5. Spoon the mixture into the cases, filling about 3/4 full. 
6. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with the remaining sugar (I forgot to do this!)
7. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
8. Leave in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Cakey, fruity gingeryness!

What I really liked about these muffins was that they were really moist, the acidity of the rhubarb and the lemon took the edge off the sweetness and the combination of ginger and cinnamon worked really well with the fruit.  Best of all were the little nuggets of intense crystallised ginger.

Labels: Bangers and Mash, Cinnamon, Ginger, lemon, Muffins, Recipes for Life, rhubarb, Swallows

posted by Janice @ 21:41 7 Comments

Rhubarb and Ginger Jam

It's rhubarb glut season here in Scotland, but although I now only have one rhubarb plant instead of three I still find it hard to use up all the rhubarb and the heavy rain we have had has just made it grow even more!

I may have featured this book before, it was one of the first cookbooks that really fired my imagination.  I borrowed it from the library when I was 15 years old and carried it off to Belgium on holiday as my holiday reading.  I then bought a copy and some of the first recipes I made were the rhubarb jams.  This is the second copy of this book I've owned as the first one fell to bits.

Rhubarb jam is really easy to make and the preserved ginger adds a fabulous kick.  We don't eat a lot of jam now and this quantity will make about 4 standard jars.  The book was first published in 1974 and I'm afraid the quantities are in imperial meaures (pounds and ounces) but I've found a nifty conversion chart here if you want to use metric measurements.

Note:  you need to start this recipe the night before you want to make the jam

Rhubarb and Ginger Jam

2 1/2 lb prepared rhubarb
2 1/2 lb sugar
1 oz bruised root ginger (give it a good bash with a rolling pin!)
4oz preserved ginger (that's the kind in syrup)

Wash and trim the rhubarb and cut into 2in sticks.  Weigh the fruit.  Put alternate layers of fruit and sugar in a bowl, cover and leave to stand overnight.


In the morning most of the sugar will have dissolved and the juices will have come out of the rhubarb.


Turn into a pan, add the root ginger tied in a piece of muslin and bring slowly to the boil. Fast boil for 15 minutes.  Remove the ginger and add the preserved ginger, boil for a further 5 minutes.  By this time the rhubarb should be clear.  Test for set. Pot and cover in the usual way.

If you have never made jam before, read this excellent article, published in the Guardian Lifestyle, by Darina Allen which should answer any questions you have.  But really, it's not that difficult, you don't need sugar thermometers or liquid pectin, my mother and grandmother never used them. A cold saucer in the fridge, a teaspoonful of jam, let it cool, then push with your finger and if there is a 'skin' then it is set, if not boil for another 5 minutes and try again.

Labels: A Taste of the Country, Ginger, jam, rhubarb

posted by Janice @ 20:57 9 Comments

Rhubarb and Ginger Pavlova

Or rather 'mini-pavlova'.  I made mini pavlovas because the visitor I was expecting,  who does not eat wheat is also careful about how much dairy she eats, so I had planned to use Alpro vanilla dessert instead of the half fat creme fraiche that the rest of us would eat.  In the end my visitor was not able to come, but I enjoyed thinking of dishes to meet her dietary requirements.

1tsp cornflour

Turn the oven down to 150C, put the pavlovas into the oven and bake for 1 hour for the large one and about 45minutes for the small ones.  Turn the oven off and leave the pavlova until it is cold.  Lift off the paper and put on a serving plate.


Put about 100g of whipped cream or creme fraiche into a bowl.  Chop two pieces of stem ginger and stir into the cream, then add about half of the rhubarb and mix through.
Fill the pavlova (s) with the cream mixture and top with the remaining pieces of rhubarb and drizzle with the lovely pink rhubarb juice.  If you don't have time to make the meringues then this is a quick, easy and impressive dessert to make with bought meringue nests.

Labels: Alpro Soya Dessert, creme fraiche, Ginger, meringue, pavlova, rhubarb

posted by Janice @ 20:52 8 Comments

Gingerbread Cupcake Sparklers!

I have adapted the recipe a little as I didn't have any stem ginger, also the GBBO version is not iced, but I wanted to try a little piping.  Depsite having been cooking and baking for around 40 years I've never really mastered piping, I think this isn't bad for a first attempt but I need to get a bigger piping nozzle to make the squishy sort of toppings that go with cupcakes, any recommendations for which nozzles to get and where to get them, gratefully accepted.

Gingerbread Cupcake Sparklers

Labels: bonfire night, Bookmarked Recipes, butter icing, cupcakes, Ginger, Gingerbread, Great British Bake Off, Lavender and Lovage, spice, syrup, Tea Time Treats, Tinned Tomatoes, treacle

posted by Janice @ 12:14 18 Comments

Seared Ginger Beef and Mushrooms - Random Recipes

Seared Ginger Beef and Mushrooms (serves 2)


4. Add the mushrooms and bamboo shoots and stir-fry for 1 minute, then tip in the sauce ingredients, stir well and cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring continuously.  Serve immediately with thread egg noodles or rice.

 Overall it was a nice combination, I had some pak choy so added that with the broccoli and doubled up the ingredients to make enough for four. I think it would have benefited from some chilli or a bit more black bean sauce as we had to add some extra soy at the table.  But that my just be that I like a bit of a kick to my food.

Remember to check out Random Recipes at Belleau Kitchen.

Labels: Beef, Belleau Kitchen, Ginger, mushrooms, Ramdom recipes

posted by Janice @ 21:51 4 Comments