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

Cauliflower 'Fried' Rice and my new best friend

I was a bit of a sceptic when I first heard about cauliflower rice, I just couldn't believe that it would be a substitute for rice, no matter how low in calories it was!  I enjoyed it as Morroccan Spiced Cauliflower Cous Cous Tabbouleh from a recipe from Karen at Lavender and Lovage a but it wasn't until I tried this  Cauliflower "Fried Rice" recipe from Domesticate Me that I was really wowed by cauliflower rice.


I was helped along by my new best friend, the OXO Good Grips 28cm Non-Stick Frypan, it's got a Magneto Induction Base which is really thick and heavy, a really substantial pan.  It has 3 layer PFOA-Free non-stick, it's dishwasher safe and the silicone-metal construction allows it to go directly from hot to oven, it's oven safe to 200C!


I've used this frying pan nearly every night since I got it. It's the perfect size for stir-frying, you can get lots of bulky veg into it without it spilling out over the sides. In the past I've found that larger pans heat unevenly as the base is larger than the heating element, but not this one, it distributes the heat evenly so the food at the edges gets cooked too.

Prices start from £29.99 with the pans available in four different sizes (20cm, 24cm, 28cm and 30cm). Available from Lakeland now.

Cauliflower Fried Rice

Spicy Fish Curry

Puttanesca Sauce

Labels: Cauliflower Rice, Frypan, Lakeland, OXO Good Grips, Stir Fry

posted by Janice @ 19:00 8 Comments

Chocolate Mincemeat Tart

I like lots of mincemeat in my tarts and sometimes find that the small tarts tend towards an overload of pastry and not much mincemeat whereas a nice big tart means that it's mostly filling.  The mincemeat I used for the tart is Instant Chocolate Mincemeat, this is mincemeat that you can mix up quickly using any mixture of dried fruits  you have in your cupboard you can also add nuts, the chopped chocolate adds a lovely richness to the fruit mixture. Makes approximately 2 medium jars.


Chocolate Mincemeat Tart

for the mincemeat
Zest of a lemon
Juice of half a lemon

Labels: almonds, chocolate, dried fruit, Kitchencraft, mincemeat, OXO Good Grips, pastry, suet, tart

posted by Janice @ 07:00 25 Comments

Chilli Lime Cupcakes - National Cupcake Week Part 2

How is your National Cupcake Week going?  I hope you have managed to bake or eat at least one cupcake this week, if not you still have time to get baking.  On Monday I shared Salted Caramel Apple Cupcakes with you and showed you the nifty gadget from OXO Good Grips for coring cupcakes, today I invite you to get your teeth into these gloriously festive Chilli Lime Cupcakes.


These cupcakes are also cored and then filled with Chilli Lime and Ginger jam (mild) made by my friend Sheena at Galloway Chillies.  If you haven't tried Galloway Chillies Jams then you don't know what you are missing and you should get some ordered up immediately so you too can 'spread a little wildfire'.


As soon as I saw this flavoured icing sugar from Sugar and Crumbs I knew I had to have some and that it would pair perfectly with the Galloway Chillies jam.


Chilli Lime Cupcakes

For the cupcakes
125g caster sugar
125g soft butter
2 eggs
grated zest of a lime
2 tsp squeezed lime juice
150g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder

For the filling
1 tsp Galloway Chillies, Chilli Lime Ginger Jam (mild)

For the Icing
75g soft butter
150g Sugar and Crumbs Chilli Lime Icing Sugar
grated zest of  1/2 lime
1tbsp lime juice

To decorate
grated zest of 1/2 lime
Red cake sprinkles (or if you are really into chilli, finely chopped fresh chilli)

Using a stand mixer beat the sugar and butter together, then add the eggs one at a time, finally add the lime juice and beat the mixture for about 3 minutes until it is light and fluffy.  Sift the flour and baking powder into the butter mixture and beat until incorporated, fold in the grated lime zest.   Spoon the mixture into eight paper case.  Heat the oven to 180C, bake for 20 -25 minutes until golden and when pressed on the top they feel firm.  Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Once cooled, core the cupcakes and fill with a teaspoon of the Chilli Lime and Ginger Jam. Cut the core in half and replace in the hole to cover the jam.

For the Icing
Beat the butter for a few minutes until light and fluffy, sift in the icing sugar, add the lime juice and zest and beat for a further few minutes until the sugar and butter is combined.  Spread the icing over the top of the cupcakes.

Decorate with grated zest of lime and red sprinkles or finely chopped chilli.

These cupcakes are such a treat, the lime cuts through the sweetness of the jam and icing making the cupcakes taste really fresh and delicious.



I'm entering them for Treat Petite the baking challenge for individual sweet treats run by Mr Cakeyboi and The Baking Explorer - the theme is 'Anything Goes'.


I was provided with the cupcake corer and icing spatula by OXO Good Grips and the Flavoured Icing Sugar by Sugar and Crumbs.  I was not paid for this review and all opinions are my own.

Labels: chilli, cupcakes, lime, National Cupcake Week, OXO Good Grips, Sugar and Crumbs

posted by Janice @ 06:30 5 Comments

Salted Caramel Apple Cupcakes - National Cupcake Week Pt 1

It's National Cupcake Week 15 -21 September so if you were looking for an excuse to make or eat cupcakes you need look no further!  I haven't made any cupcakes for quite a while, muffins, scones, tray bakes and sponge cakes have graced my table but not those delightful individual cups of cakey goodness topped with butter cream.

Those clever people at OXO Good Grips have sent me some natty little gadgets to help with creative cupcake construction, first up is the Cupcake Corer which with a simple twist removes a core from the centre of the baked cupcake ready for you to fill it with something delicious, jam, cream, lemon curd or in this case salted caramelised apple pieces.  You then push the cakey core out of the corer, cut it in half (to leave room for the filling) and add the top piece back to the cupcake before adding your icing. It worked really well although I did dig a little deeper with a spoon to get more filling in.


Second gadget I was provided with was the OXO Good Grips Cupcake Icing Knife which is small angled spatula that makes it really easy to top your cupcakes with butter cream or other icing.  I usually pipe my icing on but loved this more relaxed and rustic looking icing (also no icing bag palaver!).

To make things even easier I used Sugar and Crumbs Natural Flavoured Icing Sugar in 'Salted Caramel' flavour. 


Salted Caramel Apple Cupcakes 

For the cupcakes
125g soft brown sugar
125g soft butter
2 e3ggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
150g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder

For the apple filling
1 medium apple
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp water

For the Icing
75g soft butter
150g Sugar and Crumbs Salted Caramel Icing Sugar
1tbsp milk

A few pieces of fudge, chopped small to decorate.

Using a stand mixer beat the sugar and butter together, then add the eggs one at a time and finally the vanilla extract, beat the mixture for about 3 minutes until it is light and fluffy.  Sift the flour and baking powder into the butter mixture and beat until incorporated.   Spoon the mixture into eight paper case.  Heat the oven to 180C, bake for 20 -25 minutes until golden and when pressed on the top they feel firm.  Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

For the apple filling
Peel the apple and chop into even sized pieces, bearing in mind that they will have to fit into the cupcake.  Place the apple pieces sugar and water in a pan and cook on a medium heat until the sugar melts and starts to caramelise and  the apple starts to soften.  Using the corer or a teaspoon, cut a core from the centre of the cupcake and fill with a teaspoon of the apple mixture. Cut the core in half and replace the top over the apples mixture.

For the Icing
Beat the butter for a few minutes until light and fluffy, sift in the icing sugar add the milk and beat for a further few minutes until the sugar and butter is combined.  Spread the icing over the top of the cupcakes.
Decorate with chopped pieces of fudge.


Definitely worth making, the vanilla sponge gives way to the caramelised apples, enhanced by the Salted Caramel Icing and chewy fudge pieces.

Look out for National Cupcake Week part 2 later this week.

I was provided with the cupcake corer and icing spatula by OXO Good Grips and the Flavoured Icing Sugar by Sugar and Crumbs.  I was not paid for this review and all opinions are my own.

Labels: caramel apple, cupcakes, OXO Good Grips, salted caramel

posted by Janice @ 07:00 7 Comments

Heritage Tomatoes with Mixed Herb Dressing

It's salad time!  Gardens, markets and supermarkets are full of lovely salad vegetables and they all taste so much better with a simple herb dressing.  OXO Good Grips, have a couple of great new kitchen gadgets to help you along.  The new herb mincer in green features stainless steel blades and OXO’s trademark grip to keep hands safe when in use. Ideal for keen cooks who are not confident with their knife skills, the ergonomic handle allows for a smooth rocking action, mincing herbs with ease in all directions without bringing the blade away from your chopping board. The peaked lip cleverly gathers herbs into a neat pile ready to season food. Designed so that it can open partially to wipe the blades free of collected herbs when in use, the mincer also separates completely into two pieces for easy cleaning and is
dishwasher safe.  RRP £12 from John Lewis.

Making a quick dressing is easy with the OXO Good Grips Little Salad Dressing Shaker. The watertight Shaker offers a clean, neat and convenient way to mix, serve and store dressings, sauces and marinades. The top unscrews to reveal a wide opening ideal for adding a range of ingredients like oil, vinegar, mayonnaise, mustard, garlic, onions and spices. The Shaker is made of a BPA-free, break-resistant and dishwasher safe material. Once ingredients are added, screw the top on and shake to quickly mix dressings with no spills.  I love how the top lever flips back for pouring and forward to seal. You can use the airtight Shaker to store leftover dressing and sauce right inside the fridge.  RRP £10 from Lakeland 


Mixed Herb Salad Dressing 
50ml Fillipo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil
25 ml Fillipo Berio Balsamic Vinegar
1 tbsp  mixed herbs, finely chopped with the Oxo Good Grips Herb Mincer (I used chives, thyme and rosemary)
1/2 tsp sugar
salt & freshly ground pepper

Place all the ingredients into the Oxo Good Grips Salad Shaker and shake until the the mixture emulsifies, then pour over sliced heritage tomatoes, or other salad.

Labels: chives, Herb Mincer, OXO Good Grips, Rosemary, salad dressing, Salad Shaker, thyme

posted by Janice @ 19:53 7 Comments

Courgette and Hummus Pizza

I saw a photograph of a Courgette (Zucchini) and Hummus Pizza on Pinterest, unfortunately the link went to a blog that was private so I wasn't able to get the recipe, however I was intrigued by this unusual topping, so decided to have a go myself.


Having recently returned from Appleby and the Lake District  via Little Salkeld Mill, near Penrith,  where you can see the flour milled, enjoy the delights of the cafe and stock up on all the organic goodies.


Courgette and Hummus Pizza

For the dough
2 tsp fast action dried yeast
300ml milk
200g spelt flour
300g strong white flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3 tbsp plain yogurt
30g butter, melted

This quantity of flour will make one large pizza and three flat breads or two large pizzas. Just half the quantities if you only want enough for one pizza.

For the topping
1 large courgette (zucchini) finely sliced
200g hummus (I used homemade, if you can try and find one that is not completely smooth but any will do)
100g Tickler Extra Mature Cheddar with Red Onions (or cheese of your choice)

I made my dough in the bread maker, but if you want to make it by hand, put all the ingredients in a large bowl and add the salt and the yeast keeping them away from each other.  Add the olive oil and 150ml of the water and mix. Add the remaining water a little at a time until you have a smooth, soft dough.

Tip the dough onto an oiled surface and knead for 5-10 minutes until smooth.  Leave to rise until doubled in size.

Split off enough dough for your pizza and roll is or press it onto a tray, spread the hummus in a thick layer over the dough, place the slices of courgette over the hummus.  Crumble the mature cheddar and scatter over the pizza. 

Cover the pizza with oiled cling film  and leave to rise for a further 30 minutes.  

Bake at 200C for 20-30 minutes until the base is cooked, the courgettes have crisped and the cheese is melted and golden. 

The combination of the hummus and courgette was absolutely brilliant!  The spelt base was soft rather than crispy but full of flavour, the red onion in the cheese also worked well with the combination, but you could add some finely chopped red onion to the topping to compensate if you don't have this cheese. 

I had the opportunity to try out the new Clean Cut Pizza Wheel  from OXO Good Grips, so here is the result, it was easy to hold and cut through the topping and base with ease.  I also liked the plastic cover for the sharp blade although it can be a little tricky to get the cover off!  See the pizza cutter in action in this little video.


Clean Cut Pizza Wheel:  For the perfect pizza party, use the OXO Good Grips Clean Cut Pizza Wheel. This hand-held pizza slicer provides leverage and control for easy slicing and the 10cm stainless steel wheel easily cuts through thin- or thick-crust pizza. The soft, comfortable, non-slip grip will make portioning out slices for everyone a breeze. The handle comes apart and blade removes for easy cleaning, and the blade guard snaps on to protect the blade and hands for storage. The Pizza Wheel is dishwasher safe.  RRP £10

Labels: Cheddar, Clean Cut Pizza Wheel, courgette, hummus, OXO Good Grips, Pizza, spelt flour, Tickler, zucchini

posted by Janice @ 20:41 14 Comments

Berrytastic Strawberry and Blueberry Cake

'Tis the season for berries, and how I love them!  Strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, blueberries, blackberries and currants too, it makes my mouth water just thinking about them.

I tend to start the season, serving berries simply with cream, yogurt or ice cream, but as time passes and the fruits become more abundant, it's nice to try some different ways to enjoy these luscious fruits.

OXO Good Grips sent me this useful three piece berry bowl and colander in which to prepare and store my berries. The bowl had a nice stable base and is just the right size to store a punnet of strawberries, raspberries or blueberries. The matching colander is useful for cleaning your berries before you store them in the lidded bowl. Of course it's not only suitable for berries, but you can use it for rinsing and storing other food stuffs too.

I also received this neat little strawberry hull remover, it works best on large strawberries like the Sweet Eve strawberries from Berry World that arrived with the OXO products.

Three piece Berry Bowl set (RRP £15)
Strawberry huller (RRP £7)

Berrytastic Strawberry and Blueberry Cake

For the cake:
100g soft margarine
100g caster sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
100g self-raising flour
1 level teaspoon baking powder

Heat the oven to 350F/180C/Gas 4 and grease and line a 7 inch cake tin. I used a deep cake tin to get one sponge but you could split the cake between two tins if preferred.

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and beat well until blended and smooth.  Spoon into the tin and smooth the top.  Bake for 25-30 minutes if using two tins and 35-40 minutes for the deeper tin, test with a skewer which should come out clean when the cake is baked.

Turn the cake onto a cooling tray and leave to cool

For the topping:
1 punnet of strawberries
1 punnet of blueberries
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 tablespoons of water

Hull the strawberries, slice up 6-8 strawberries (depending on size) and heat gently in a pan with a tablespoon of sugar and 2 tablespoons of water.  Simmer gently until the sugar has dissolved and the berries start to soften, crush the berries and cook for a further 2 minutes until jammy.  You should still have some juice left, leave to cool.

Cover the top of the cake with the 'jam', reserving a couple of teaspoons of the juice.  Arrange halved strawberries around the edge of the cake and fill the middle with blueberries, brush the berries with the reserved juice to add shine.  Serve with cream, ice cream or yogurt.

If you would like to win  these tools and a year’s supply of strawberries leave a comment on this post telling me "What is your favourite berry recipe"  The winner's name will be chosen by Random Number Generator on 15th July and then passed on to OXO Good Grips to be entered in a further draw (22nd July) with some other lucky entries, one winner will receive the berrytastic goodies. UK entries only please. 


I'm entering the Berrytastic Strawberry and Blueberry Cake in Let's Cook with Strawberries the blog event hosted by Simply Sensational Food.

I was provided with the Berry Bowl, Strawberry Huller and Strawberries to review, I was not paid and all opinions are my own. 

Labels: Berry World, blueberry, cake, jam, OXO Good Grips, strawberry, Sweet Eve, Victoria Sponge

posted by Janice @ 06:00 16 Comments

Haggis, Sweeties, Jam and magnets

As soon as I knew I was going to Nova Scotia, I wanted to take some Scottish gifts to my hosts.  I was delighted when Wee Sweetie agreed to create a very special Scottish 'sweetie' for me.  You can read all about Wee Sweetie in my post: Wee Sweetie, homemade sweeties and candies. The result of this request was a delicious Scotch Mist Fudge featuring Auchentoshan Whisky, meringue made by local producer 'Dessert Me' and Scottish Strawberries, totally delicious.

I also contacted some producers of iconic Scottish products, Mackays for their fabulous marmalades and jams.  I felt that Mackays Dundee Orange Marmalade was the most representative from the fantastic range of products that Mackays make in traditional ways in their factory just outside Dundee.

I also felt that Haggis just had to be represented and was delighted when Macsween agreed to provide me with some Haggis Bibles to take with me. These little books contain both traditional and modern recipes using haggis.

Finally, I contacted the delightful PRs for OXO Good Grips, not a company with a Scottish heritage but one producing the very best of kitchen gadgets, sure to be appreciated by dedicated foodies.  They supplied me with some really useful kitchen magnets that double up as clips, ideal for securing shopping lists and scraps of paper on which you have written recipes.

I'd like to thank Wee Sweetie, Mackays, Macsween's and OXO Good Grips for their support.  All the feedback I had from my hosts was positive and I was delighted to be able to give them something in return for the fantastic experience I had in Nova Scotia.  

Labels: Auchentoshan, Dessert Me, Mackays, Macsween Haggis, Nova Scotia, OXO Good Grips, Wee Sweetie

posted by Janice @ 21:02 5 Comments

DIY Bank Holiday? Cleaning up with Oxo Good Grips

Are you planning any DIY this Bank Holiday weekend?  We've been living in a building site for three months and I can't tell you how many times I've cleaned up after the builder, the plasterer, the electrician and the joiner.  It's not quite over yet, but the dirtier work has now finished and it gvve me the opportunity to try out the OXO Good Grips Double Sided Flip Mop


Whether you need to dust hardwood, scrub a sticky stain on tile, or anything in between, the OXO Good Grips Double Sided Flip Mop is all you’ll need to make your floor shine. The Mop features two surfaces: soft, absorbent microfibre on one side and foamed scrubbing surface on the other. The Microfibre side is perfect for dry dusting or quick mopping on many different surfaces, and the scrubbing side is great for tough stains or sticky messes. The large, flat sponge head covers a large surface with every swipe and it’s easy to alternate sides with a flip of the lightweight, aluminium Mop handle. With a push of the comfortable handle, the rollers squeeze out the entire sponge, and when in the closed position, create a stand to keep the Mop upright with the sponge off the floor. Sponge heads are securely attached with Velcro and are interchangeable and replaceable.

The Double Sided Flip Mop works really well with the OXO Good Grips Angled Measuring Bucket  You can fill, measure and pour with ease with the OXO Good Grips Angled Measuring Bucket. The patented top-view angled surface measures gallons and quarts, eliminating guesswork when filling. Built-in measurements on the bottom of the bucket provide added convenience when measuring smaller amounts of detergent. The large opening accommodates all household mops and the wide spouts allow for controlled pouring. The soft, non-slip handle absorbs pressure from your hand, making it easier to carry and pour when the Bucket is full. The Mop Holder on the bucket handle securely holds your mop upright in storage or when moving from room to room while mopping.

I found the Double-sided Flip Mop easy to use and easy to flip between the soft microfibre side and the gentle scrubbing side when coming upon a stubborn stain.

Squeezing out the mop was also straight-forward, I found it best to move the rollers over the sponges slowly to remove as much water as possible, particularly for a wooden floor where you don't want a lot of water left on the surface.  All in all it was a very successful mop which worked well on the wooden floor and also on the vinyl in the bathroom.  I really liked the way the heads are fitted with velcro which means you can easily remove them to clean them properly and replace them if they wear out. 

As with all OXO Good Grips products the quality of both the mop and the bucket is very high.  They are well finished and feel substantial and comfortable to use. So if you are planning any DIY or Spring Cleaning, then I can highly recommend this mop and bucket.  I also love my OXO Good Grips Extending Duster which you can read about in this blog post: Can I do you now, Sir?

RRP for the Double-Sided Flip Mop - £25
RRP for the Angled Measuring Bucket - £12

Many thanks to Zara for her thoughtfulness in offering me the mop and bucket to help me clean up.  I was not paid for this post and all opinions are my own.

Labels: Bank Holiday, cleaning, DIY, duster, OXO Good Grips, Spring Cleaning, wooden floor

posted by Janice @ 21:58 5 Comments

French Onion Soup

It's been quite a long time since I've made French Onion Soup and after eating it today, I realised that I must make it more often!  I was looking for a simple soup to make and knew I had plenty of onions in the vegetable drawer of the fridge.

I used my OXO Good Grips mandoline to slice the onions finely and gently sauted them with oil and butter until they were soft and golden.  It was only then that I thought I should, perhaps, check out a recipe.  I found the ideal recipe at BBC Good Food although I didn't use wine in my soup but replaced this with a bit more beef stock.

I had one pannini roll left over from the Chorizo Burgers so split it, divided it into triangles, drizzled with olive oil and some cheese slices and put it under the grill to brown.  The bread was perfect to float on top of the soup and then push down into it, soaking up all the sweet oniony broth.



This is such a simple soup to make and the ingredients are inexpensive and freely available, so I am entering it for this month's Credit Crunch Munch, the blog event run by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours and Camilla at Fab Food 4 All. 

Labels: BBC Good Food, cheese, Credit Crunch Munch, French Onion Soup, onions, OXO Good Grips, Soup

posted by Janice @ 09:00 7 Comments

Chocolate Lime Ice Cream

I used this excellent Trigger Ice Cream Scoop from Oxo Good Grips to serve up my ice cream.  I have three ice cream scoops, none of which have ever been terribly satisfactory, but this one scoops like a dream and the trigger action deposits the ice cream into your dish in a neat ball, it also goes in the dish washer which is a real bonus.
 The Chocolate Lime Curd ice cream was very creamy but the sharp lime flavour cut through the richness and the little nuggets of dark chocolate really did make it taste like those Chocolate Lime sweets from my childhood.


I'm adding this post to the Fab First Fridays linky at London Unattached, a blog event to share your favourite post of the month. 


Many thanks to Claire for the Mackays Lime Curd and to Cherelle and Oxo Good Grips for providing the Trigger Ice Cream Scoop for review.  I was not paid for this review and my opinions are my own.

Labels: chocolate, cream, ice cream, lime, Mackays, OXO Good Grips, Trigger Ice Cream Scoop, We should Cocoa

posted by Janice @ 20:37 17 Comments