On my June Kitchen Table: Super Speedy Eats!

A collection of the foodie products that I have been sent for review, or simply want to share with you this month. It turns they all fit into the category of quick and easy meals, enjoy!

Terra Nostra is, at first glance, a typical restaurant in the centre of St Ginesio, however they also make and sell high quality pasta and I was able try their Truffle Tagliatelle  and dried tomatoes Papparedelle.  Both were excellent quality pasta, the kind that easily retains a bit of bite and the flavourings in the pasta also adds to the dish.  Each pack also contains a sachet of flavoured oil, which has an authentic taste of the herbs or truffle oil as appropriate to the pasta type.

I made a simple seasonal dish of tomatoes slowly roasted in a pan with a little olive oil and garlic, then I added some sliced olives and at the last minute threw in some feta cheese cubes, this was mixed through the cooked Papparedelle al pomodori with the basil oil and made a really delicious and simple supper.
You can buy the Terra Nostra pasta through the e-shop  the prices are in euros and I have no information about purchasing in the UK.  8/10 

I'm not averse to a ready-meal, I always have a pizza in my freezer.  However, I'm not inclined to buy pasta dishes as ready meals as they are so easy to prepare.  I was intrigued by the blurb from Charlie Bigham's " the posh ready meal brand especially for twosomes. It's perfect for when you and your other half want to spend some quality time together, without having to sacrifice the taste!"  We don't have a Sainsbury's or Waitrose near where we live and Ocado don't deliver to our area,  but I managed to find a Sainsbury's on one of my frequent work trips. 

I was supposed to try out the new range of 'world' meals but there weren't any of those available in this store, so I took the chance to get the Moussaka and the Meatballs al Forno.  Each ready meal feeds two (although I did get the Moussaka to stretch to feed three) and costs £7.00. That's relatively expensive, but they are the best ready meals I have tasted, you could easily have thought they were homemade.  Himself was very impressed and enjoyed both dishes.

Another bonus is that the packaging is environmentally friendly using paper and wood rather than plastic, all of the packaging can be recycled.  Bighams recommend that you bake the dishes in the oven, but on one of the nights I was short of time and microwaved the dish for 6 minutes before finishing it off in the oven to crisp up the top.  9/10

Labels: #review, Charlie Bigham's, coconut, feta, fruit ices, lemon curd, Meatballs al Forno, Moussaka, olives, papparedelle, Smooze, strawberries, tagliatelle, tomatoes, yogurt

posted by Janice @ 21:08 4 Comments

Diamond Jubilee Cake - 'Elizabeth Sandwich'

It took me a while to get worked up about the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.  However, once I realised that it was the same weekend as my mother-in-law's birthday I was determined to have a Jubilee Tea Party for the family.

The centrepiece of my Jubilee Tea is my 'Elizabeth' Sponge.  It was definitely time to update the Victoria Sponge and what better time to do it than for the Diamond Jubilee. Victoria is the only other monarch who reached 60 years on the throne, so it is fitting that Queen Elizabeth II should have her own cake.

It's quite simple, the cake is a traditional Victoria Sandwich with the additional of the grated rind of a lemon in the mix. The filling is layered lemon curd, whipped cream, raspberries and blueberries, with a 'crown' of piped, whipped cream studded with raspberry and blueberry 'jewels'.

I hope you are having a fun time for the Jubilee, I'll be posting more recipes from my tea party but here is a picture of our table and bunting.



I'm entering this for the Blogging Jubilee Baking Competition at Homemade by Fleur sponsored by Appliance Online

Labels: blueberries, Elizabeth Sponge, Homemade by Fleur, Jubilee, lemon curd, Queen Elizabeth II, raspberries, Victoria Sponge, whipped cream

posted by Janice @ 14:36 7 Comments

Lemon Curd

I made Lemon Curd yesterday, using the recipe from Good Housekeeping, 50th Anniversary Cookbook, here is the recipe:

Makes 700g (1.5lb)

grated zest and juice of 4 medium ripe, juicy lemons
4 eggs, beaten
125g (4oz) butter, cut in small pieces
350g (12oz) caster sugar

1. Place all the ingredients in a double boiler or in a large heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Sir until the sugar has dissolved and continue to heat gently, stirring, for about 20 minutes until thick enough to coat the back of the spoon; do not allow to boil or it will curdle.

2. Strain the lemon curd through a fine sieve. Pot and cover in the usual way. Store in the refrigerator and use within 2-3 weeks.

It nearly went disastrously wrong as I had it in my head that you only used the egg yolks and couldn't quite work out why it wasn't thickening. Eventually I looked again at the recipe and realised that I should have used the whole eggs! I still had the egg whites in a bowl, so whisked them up a little, then added the warm lemon mixture one spoonful at a time, with lots of whisking. Fortunately, it didn't curdle and only took another five minutes to thicken.

Labels: Good Housekeeping, lemon curd

posted by Janice @ 19:58 5 Comments