Black Treacle Marinated Chicken and a feast of flavours on my kitchen table in May

Time for another round up of tasty treats that have arrived at my Kitchen Table in May.
Marks and Spencer are a very British company and they have introduced the Tastes of the British Isles range to celebrate all that's great about British food.  There are over 300 delicious new food and drink products including 21st century twists on UK classics the revival of historical dishes and some great nationwide exposure of regional favourites.

The selection of treats I received included lovely buttery Scottish All Butter Shortbread Rounds, and a very tasty Parkin Loaf with the proper texture of oatmeal.  The Cucumber, Gin and Mint Relish is the perfect partner for salmon and  you can snack on some West Country Cheddar, Chive and Caramelised Onion Jumbo Peanuts and Cashews or Free Range Chicken, Mustard and Worcester Sauce Crisps with your aperitif while you are waiting they are all totally delicious


However, as soon as I spied the Black Treacle and Porter Ale Sauce and Marinade in the parcel I knew I couldn't wait to use it.  I knew I would love it and I was right.  It's ideal for a quick marinade for any kind of meat.  I marinaded some chicken breasts for a couple of hours, pan fried them to blacken the skin, then baked them in the oven for 20 minutes until cooked through and tender.  The marinade added a delicious flavour, not too sweet. The chicken breasts were good served hot with some of the unused marinade heated and served as sauce.  I also served the chicken cold with salad and it was equally good.  With barbeque season upon us, this sauce would be ideal to pep up your barbie fare.

Scottish All Butter Shortbread Rounds £1.50 for 180g
Parkin Loaf  £2.00 for 235g
West Country Cheddar, Chive and Caramelised Onion Jumbo Peanuts and Cashews - £3.50 for 200g
Cucumber, Gin and Mint Relish £2.00 for 195g
Free range Chicken Mustard and Worcester Sauce Hand Cooked Crisps £2.00 for 150g (not shown)


Back in 1897, Don Santiago Camacho Roman founded a family business in Seville to produce olive oils. As with all Spaniards, Don Santiago’s home in the sunny Andalucían region of Spain was never without the humble Spanish olive. It was his passion to share Spain’s most delicious olives with others, and so, in 1925, the Fragata Spanish Olive brand was brought to life.

More than 86 years on and Fragata Spanish olives are now sold across the world and remain a firm favourite and kitchen staple for millions of Spanish families.

Fragata Spanish Olives can be used in hundreds of different ways to create authentic Mediterranean dishes and mouthwatering tapas. What better way to create a unique culinary corner of Spain in your own home – go on, Savour the Flavour of Spain!

Labels: capers, Fragata, hamper, Marks and Spencer, olives, On my Kitchen Table, peppers, Seranata Flowers, Tastes of the British Isles, Vintage Cheddar

posted by Janice @ 18:30 0 Comments

Wine, Chocolate, Green Tea, Noodles and Nuts on My Kitchen Table in September

Welcome to my kitchen table, if you haven't visited before then let me tell you that this is where I review a variety of different products that have been sent to me and I'd like to share with you.


So let's start with a nice chilled glass of wine.  I wasn't able to attend the Matua Sessions launch, but I was offered a bottle to try in the comfort of my own home!  Matua are a New Zealand Winery and the Matua Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is fresh with a real citrus zing, reminiscent of grapefruit and perfect for a warm summer day, an ideal match for fish and seafood. 7/10


Ever thought you might like to be a Chocolatier?  Well you can design your own chocolate bar without all the hassle of tempering with Chocolat Chocolat.  The website is easy to navigate and you can choose both the base chocolate for your bar from different types of chocolate, dark,  white  and caramel chocolate, then you choose from a variety of toppings.  Here is what I chose:

Bar 1 - 70% Dark, toppings - apricots, pecans and amaretti biscuit crumble
Bar 2 -  34% Caramel , toppings - Cappucino Buttons, Honeycomb and caramelised almonds
Bar 3 - 55% Dark, toppings - cinnamon, cardamom and chocolate coffee beans

I usually prefer dark chocolate, but I also loved the caramel bar with it's sweet and crunchy toppings.  This would be a perfect gift for a chocolate lover, or a special treat for yourself.

One custom bar costs £5.95, two custom bars cost £10.95 and three custom bars cost £14.95

As well as ordering online you can visit the Chocolat Chocolat shop in Cambridge for the full range of glorious chocolately goodness.  9/10



It's no secret that we are lovers of really good tea.  Brian is particularly keen on chinese green teas and he was so impressed with the Emperor Sampler Set from Adagio Teas.  This Sampler contains generous portions of the following:

• gyokuro - Deeply sweet, aroma of freshly buttered greens - no grassiness or harshness. Soft with a balanced, delicate finish.
• jasmine chun hao - Sweet perfumy cup, notes of warmed sugar, slightly toasty like a fresh biscuit. Light, refreshing and not overwhelmingly floral.
• jade snail - The tightly rolled fuzzy buds unfurl to deliver intricate notes of roasted nuts, soft smokiness and a hop-like crispness. Delicate yet bold.
• dragonwell - Inviting, toasty aroma and sweet rounded flavour. Nutty, buttery texture, pleasantly dry finish.

We loved them all, but the dragonwell was probably the one that came out top in our tasting test. the Emperor Sampler costs £13 for four teas 62g , Dragonwell costs £15 for 85g which works out at 40p per cup  8/10


I must now declare that I have NEVER eaten a Pot Noodle in my life!  So when I received a pack of Itsu Crystal Noodle Cups  I was somewhat sceptical.  However, I was pleasantly surprised as the broth, which comes as a paste in a foil pack, was really very delicious and had not artificial flavours or after-taste.   I adored the 'spork' which was really necessary to drink the soup and fish for the noodles,even better each cup is only 171 calories.

Itsu Crystal Noodle Cups are available from Ocado at £2.29 per cup (currently on special offer for £1.75) 7/10


Nuts are such a great ingredient in recipes and also a delicious snack on their own.  Jumble Bee nuts are available through Tesco stores with 175g packs retailing for £2.39.  I decanted a portion of nuts into a small plastic box and took it to work to keep me going through the day.  The nuts were lovely and fresh and the fruit soft and sweet, absolutely delicious.  8/10

I hope you have enjoyed my eclectic mix of foodie treats this month.  I'll be back with more in October.  

I was supplied with these products for review, I was not paid and all opinions are my own. 

Labels: adagio teas, Chocolat Chocolat, chocolate, designer, Green Tea, Itsu, jumble bee, Matua, noodles, Nuts, On my Kitchen Table, Reviews, Round Up, wine

posted by Janice @ 20:54 8 Comments

Drinks and Snacks on my 'Spring' Kitchen Table

Spring has definitely sprung now, after a beautiful sunny Easter weekend in Scotland, there can be now doubt about that.  I'm afraid I don't have any lovely outdoors photos for you, although I did spend a couple of hours in the sun on Saturday, shifting logs for our neighbours before heading back inside for more painting duties.


As you can see work continues around my Kitchen Table, in the background you can see the old laths awaiting a new coat of plaster.  The worktops are protected by sheets of cardboard and there is much painting going on.  What you need in these circumstances are some tasty snacks to keep you going.

First up are the Nice and Nobbly Organic, Gluten Free, Granola Bars from Nature's Path.  They come in two flavours - Trail Mix and Dark Choc Chip - and are a great alternative to the often taste-less and bland gluten-free products on the market.  They are very tasty, hold together well and I would definitely buy them.  9/10

Not many people can resist Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate and now they have combined their delicious creamy chocolate with two different biscuits, the semi-sweet LU biscuit and the savoury Ritz Cracker.
I preferred the LU biscuits and my husband preferred the Ritz Crackers.  What I liked about them was the way you were able to break the pack up into four individual biscuits, great for sharing. Cadbury Dairy Milk LU and Cadbury Dairy Milk Ritz are available in 35g bars, each with four mini segments (RRP £0.58) and in three bar multipacks (RRP £1.49). 8/10

Something different now,  from Vita Coco, currently Britain's biggest coconut water brand.
7/10

I hope you've enjoyed reading about the products I've been reviewing on my kitchen table, back soon with more recipes and reviews. 

I received samples of the products , I was not paid for these reviews and all opinions are my own.

Labels: Cadbury Chocolate, Cawston Press, Coco Cafe, fruit juice, Granola Bars, LU, Nature's Path, On my Kitchen Table, review, Ritz, Vita Coco

posted by Janice @ 20:15 18 Comments

On my 'Renovation' Kitchen Table

Some of you may know that I am somewhat challenged in the cooking department at the moment.  We found dry rot in our kitchen and it has turned into a much larger project than was first anticipated.  I've been cooking in my temporary kitchen since the end of January and we are now into April and #operationdryrot is still on-going although we are making good progress now.

Kitchen at it's worst

This is the temporary kitchen I have set up in our utility room, a bit like living in a bedsitter.  I have a microwave, a single electric ring and my slow cooker.  And, before you say it, I know it is bigger than many people's normal kitchens.  Anyway, the lack of an oven, grill and additional cooking rings has led me to use some slightly different products and I thought I would share my thoughts on them along with the products that I have been sent for review.


Aunty's Steamed Puddings with Ginger Syrup Sauce: two little sponge puddings with a lovely jammy ginger sauce for only £1.49.  I served them with custard from the chiller cabinet and they went down very well indeed.  The puddings don't have to be kept in the fridge or freezer so are handy to keep in the cupboard for those times when you need a little sweet something and don't have time to make it yourself. 10/10

In a starring role...Uncle Ben's Classic Wholegrain Rice cooks in the microwave in 2 minutes currently on 3 for £4.00 at Tesco. So easy to heat up and just the right amount for two people.  An expensive way to buy rice but perfect for a quick and healthy meal 8/10

Another quick fix are these McCain Ready baked Jackets.  Obviously it's easy to cook potatoes in their skins in the microwave, but they never seem to taste as nice as those you cook in the oven.  These are a little nearer, although I don't think they are really worth £2.50 for four  6/10




I also tried Bannisters' Farm Ready Baked Potatoes, I've reviewed their filled jackets before and really enjoyed them.  There wasn't much to choose between the Bannisters and the McCains but the texture was perhaps a little fluffier in the Bannisters Farm version £2.00 (on special offer) 7/10

Bannisters' Baked Potatoes

While we are on the subject of potatoes, I think my favourite find is frozen mashed potato.  I would never in a million years have thought that I would ever buy frozen mash, but I found it so convenient with limited cooking facilities, it's also ideal for  people living on their own as you can pour out a little bit and cook in the microwave without faffing around with potatoes and ending up with lots sprouting or going wrinkly.  

The potato comes in little extruded pellets, but its just potato.  It tastes even better if you add a little butter, but then what doesn't?  Well worth keeping a bag in the freezer for a quick comfort food fix! Tesco Frozen Fluffy Mashed Potato 650g for £1.00 10/10


This is how the kitchen looks now, the joiner is coming tomorrow to start putting the kitchen units back and finish off the window.  There's still a bit of plastering to be done in the dining side of the room but we are definitely getting there.  I've been surprised how well we have managed to eat, we have only had one takeaway and a couple of ready meals in two months which isn't bad at all really.

I bought all of these products myself, none were provided for review.

Labels: dry rot, frozen, On my Kitchen Table, potatoes, Renovation, rice, steamed pudding, temporary kitchen

posted by Janice @ 20:58 20 Comments

On My Kitchen Table - New Year 2014

Well Christmas is past and the New Year is almost upon us.  Just before the start of the festive season the PRs seem to go into overdrive and offers of review samples tumbled into my inbox like  Christmas cards  popping through my letterbox.  I don't accept all the offers that are made, but try to choose products which are good quality and that I would be happy to share with my family and friends at my table as well as with you, dear readers, on Farmersgirl Kitchen Table.




We've been enjoying Whole Earth Crunchy Peanut Butter for many years, Mr Farmer is particularly fond of peanutty things.  The difference between the Whole Earth Peanut butter and the emulsified, trans-fat versions is marked and once you have tried it you won't go back.

There's a new nut butter from Whole Earth, it's 3 Nut and contains Cashews, Hazelnuts and Peanuts. It's got no added sugar and is suitable for vegetarians and vegans.   This  3 Nut Butter makes a really nice change and is great for breakfast, lunch or dinner!






As Whole Earth Foods also sent me some of their Peanut Butter too, I thought I'd use some in a recipe.  This isn't the most attractive of dishes, but it tasted pretty good, and was even better the next day.  I found this recipe for African Beef and Peanut Stew at The Kitchn.


Whole Earth 3 Nut Butter is available from most major supermarkets





The Qbag is perfect for this time of year when time is short and there is a lot of roasting going on!  Qbags are designed to be used on the barbeque to contain foods that might otherwise fall apart, they also have the huge advantage of keeping the food really moist and juicy as well as not making a mess of your grill or oven.

I don't own a barbeque and we don't have the weather for outside cooking just now anyhow.  So I cooked some minute steak with onions and stock inside one of the bags.

Minute steak can be quite tough to eat, it's cut thin and doesn't have a lot of fat, so only needs a short time in the frying pan.  However you can also braise it and it will be very tender.  I simply browned the minute steaks in a little oil, then added the sliced onions and browned them too.  I added a beef stock cube to about 100ml of boiling water until dissolved, then added to the steak and onions in the bag.  Then you simply scrunch up the foil part of the bag and place on a tray in the oven.   I cooked this for about 30 minutes checking through the handy clear window to see how it was doing.  You can even peel back the window to add ingredients or give your food a bit of a mix up if needed.

We really enjoyed the steak cooked in this way and it certainly saved on the washing up!

Qbags were available from the online shop, but this closed on 20th November.  Going forward, Qbag are partnering with trusted brands to get our products into your local shops. Look out for BacoFoil EasyCook Foil Bags in ASDA and Sainsbury's and buy 5 bags for £2.99.



More lovely comfort food. These Heck Sausages 
are very good indeed.  There is a whole range of different flavours, but so far I've only tried the 97% pork sausages.  What I can say is that they really taste of meat and are well seasoned with no artificial taste at all, they are also gluten free.  I'm looking forward to trying the Pork and Apple and Chorizo Style sausages and will report back to you when I do.

Heck Food is a small family run business, farming and making sausages from pork shoulder.  The quality shines through.  Well worth trying.  Heck sausages are available at many supermarkets for around £2.98 for 400g.





Cheese is perfect for snacking, quick lunches and suppers or as part of a cheeseboard after a celebratory meal.
 

This year, why not bring some originality and flair to the table and wow your guests with an innovative cheeseboard.  Instead of the usual cheese pairings of quince jelly, pineapple, a salty cracker and the odd decorative grape, Castello has created more inspiring combinations based on molecular science.






Three of the Cawston Press sparkling drinks have been awarded prestigious Great Taste gold medals.
It’s no mean feat – Great Taste is the world’s largest and most rigorous food awards scheme, involving over 400 judges and thousands of hours of blind tasting.
Here’s some of the judges’ comments about the gold medal winners. The word ‘lovely’ keeps cropping up!
“Quaffable drink; lingers comfortably; lovely apple on the nose; lovely natural appearance; very clean, zesty and refreshing; would make a delightful alternative to an alcoholic drink; the carbonation added a lovely sparkle”
The range of sparkling drinks are available from selected Tesco, Waitrose stores and online via Ocado.


End a dinner party in style this festive season and earn yourself a reputation for creating a truly memorable cheeseboard with the help of Port Salut and cheese expert Juliet Harbutt. Here’s her top ten tips for pulling together a show-stopping centre piece.

• A slate or marble cheeseboard, decorated with a few autumnal leaves and berries is great for making a lasting impression

• Ideally a cheeseboard should include five to ten cheese from the seven different types, but don’t over cater – allow approximately 75-100g per person

• Offer a range of shapes – logs, wedges, cylinders, squares – and cut blocks of cheese into different shapes for an attractive finish

• Try to provide a separate knife for each type of cheese so that more guests can help themselves at once and there is less cross contamination of flavours

• Ideally buy cheeses you have tasted and had cut at the deli from the original cheese, or buy pre-pack cheeses as near to their best before date as possible for the best taste

• Before serving ensure all the cheeses have come to room temperature – a slither will take 5 minutes and whole Brie will take at least an hour so best to serve similar sized portions

• If you are lucky enough to have a whole or half Stilton don’t pour Port into it; rather than adding to the taste of either, it is an old tradition used for style not taste

• Ideal accompaniments to the cheeseboard include: oat cakes, rustic breads, pickled walnuts, savoury, mildly spiced chutneys, mixed nuts, dried fruit or fresh apples or pears

• As well as wine, beer & cider also go very well with most types of cheese so encourage guests to have fun experimenting with their pairings

• Impress your friends and family with your newly acquired expertise with these quick facts:
• 95% of cheeses are suitable for vegetarians

• Stilton is just one of 90 British blue cheeses on the market Box-out: Visit the Port Salut website at www.portsalut.co.uk for Juliet’s downloadable cheese guide, listing all her cheese recommendations for the perfect dinner party cheese board.


And finally, it's time to sit back and relax with the lovely Feel Good Food magazine from Woman and Home.  I'm a bit of a magazine addict and love these themed food magazines from Woman and Home.  The award winning Lir cupcake chocolates were perfect to savour while reading about food!







I was not paid to review any of these products, but was supplied with samples for review.  All opinions are my own.

Labels: Apple juice, Castello, Cawston Press, cheese, Heck Food, Lir chocolate., New Year, On my Kitchen Table, peanut butter, Port Salut, Qbag, sausages, Tickler, Whole Earth, Woman and Home

posted by Janice @ 08:00 1 Comments