Sweet Freedom - Choc Shot Coconut review

Recently I was sent the Sweet Freedom Choc shot in Coconut to try.

These are predominantly advertised as a chocolate fluid to make hot chocolate with, however turn over the bottle and there are some really great suggestions for other uses.

What I will say about this product is that it's not ridiculously chocolatey, but having learned afterwards that it contains only 14 calories per teaspoon I have to say it's a pretty delicious substitute.

I chose coconut because I really love bounties and coconut macaroons and I just think chocolate and coconut is a damn good combination. But that's just me, there is a plain chocolate flavour and a chocolate and orange spice which has a nice ring to it!

My boyfriend has also helped himself to this, he has mainly been eating this neat from the bottle. I have been concocting more exciting uses for it however.

Image from http://www.sweetfreedom.co.uk/

This chocolate liquid is so versatile, yes it does make hot chocolate but it also makes great porridge too.

 

Why stop at porridge, this works great on pancakes, you can even add it to your pancake batter for a colourful alternative to pale and pasty pancakes.

Want to make fruit a little more interesting for the kids, or maybe your other half?

Got some plain yogurt that needs jazzing up? This stuff is lovely on plain yogurt.

I have added desiccated coconut to most of these things before and its really gritty, the great thing about the choc shot is its lovely silky texture which makes it a really versatile store cupboard ingredient.

There are a whole host of great uses for this product if you put your mind to it, if you're not adventurous Choc shot have done the work for you and have put together a comprehensive recipe list which can be found here.

Don't feel you need to take my word for it, go and try it for yourself. These are sold in all the major supermarkets, a list can be found here.

Already tried this product? I'd love to hear your thoughts, please comment below.

Cookie x

Sacla Red Pesto - Review

A little while back I contacted Sacla asking if I could try their products. They very kindly responded and provided me with £4 worth of vouchers. Most of their pesto's are on offer in Tesco right now for £2. With my coupons I bought a Sundried Tomato pesto and some artichokes in a lemon and rosemary infused oil (£2.99), so I got the 2 items for 99p, bargain!

 

I am going to share a few simple recipes which involve the sundried tomato pesto.

 

                                

 

This was a very simple and super quick mid week dinner. All I did here was added 2 tbsps. of the pesto to the chicken and left for 10 mins. I then cooked on 180 until the juices ran clear. I served with chips and it was the perfect quick fix.

 

 

The next recipe is something I made for lunch to take to work and it was an absolute hit with my boyfriend who has asked for it to be a regular thing.

 

Mini prosciutto and sundried tomato pesto frittatas  

 

 

Here's the recipe

8 Slices prosciutto (about £1.80 in Tesco, but varies on weight)

3 med/large eggs

Splash of milk

30g cheddar cheese (you can add your preferred cheese)

1 Tbsp of chopped parsley (chives will do, or you can omit this)

a few chopped sundried tomatoes

1 Tbsp of Sundried tomato pesto

 

for these I use whatever I have in, so if you don't have any milk don't add any, again same with the cheese. If you have green pesto that's okay too, and if you haven't got any sundried tomatoes you could omit these or even use some olives , chorizo or even some artichokes! The prosciutto could be substituted with ham or even left out completely providing you oil your tin properly.

 

1.Lightly oil your muffin tin, then line each of the holes with a slice of prosciutto, don't worry if there are small gaps.

 

2.Whisk your eggs and milk with your parsley, grated cheese and pesto. Season with a little black pepper or nutmeg if desired. I wouldn't recommend any extra salt as the prosciutto is quite salty.

 

3.Add to oven preheated to 200c, check after 15 minutes, mine were quite risen and golden on top which is what you want.

 

 

 

4. Enjoy hot or cold!

 

Cookie x 

 

 

Strawberry and Rose Meringue Roulade

I tried a dried rose petal just as it comes from the glass bottle, it wasn't great and I was thinking that cooking with this would definitely be a mistake, how wrong I was!

Further to my previous post I have found a use for the dried rose petals my inspiration cake from this beautiful Ottolenghi recipe

I didn't really follow the recipe too much just used it for a little inspiration. Here's the ingredients you need to create the strawberry and rose roulade.

For the meringue
4 Large egg whites
150g granulated sugar
150g caster sugar

For the filling
1/2 tub of cream cheese
300ml double cream
150g caster sugar
10 strawberries sliced
2 tsp dried rose petals
1 tbsp. rose water

For the strawberry rose sauce
1 tsp dried rose petals
2 tbsps. rose water
3 tbsps. granulated sugar

Firstly I made the meringue by whisking my egg whites until stiff and then adding the sugar a tbsp. at a time - I had a little helper who added the sugar whilst I whisked.

I then added the mix into a lined swiss roll tin and baked for 30 mins on about 140c. Once ready I turned this onto some tin foil and left to cool for 10 mins.

Whilst the meringue cooled I whisked the cream cheese along with the caster sugar and rose water. Once combined I added the double cream and whisked until thick (not whipped, just a little before that stage)

I then smoothed the creamy mixture over the flat roulade and added the strawberries and the dried petals. Now for the hard part, I carefully rolled the roulade.

This was them decorated with some more dried petals and the rest of the cream mixture, strawberries and sauce.

 

 

So, what do you think? Looks nice right? But what does it taste like, bear in mind the rose petals weren't a hit on their own.

 

 

This was absolutely delicious, I have already bought the ingredients to make another tomorrow. The roulade you see in the picture is actually half of one, I cut it as I didn't have a plate long enough for it.

It was beautifully soft with a very light crisp crunch and the cream and cheese filling was very light and ever so slightly rose flavoured. the rose petals weren't dry as they had soaked up the moisture from the filling and had a great flavour and texture.

 

This was a hit with all who tried it and my boyfriend has already asked for more, even saying that this is one of best desserts I have ever made him!

 

If you have this ingredient in your cupboard the above is a recommended recipe for you to try. If you don't have this ingredient in your cupboard I would still recommend the above recipe.

 

In my search for the perfect dried rose petal recipes I came across several ideas, here are some of my favourites.

 

• Rose/Herb infused Honey from The Kitchn
• Rose and Pistachio Custard from Epicurious
• Raspberries and Cream cake with Rose petals from Tesco
• Lychee, Rose and Raspberry Marshmallows from RaspberriCupcakes
• Rose Lassi from Fa's kitchen

Check out some of these, some fantastic ideas and great inspiration.

 

Thanks for reading

 

Cookie x

Oatly - Review

A little while back I wrote to the Swedish company 'Oatly' - see blog post here.

They specialise in dairy products which are made primarily from oats! They do a really exciting range of products as opposed to just milk which I think sets them apart from other dairy alternative companies. Unfortunately as I live on an Island we have limited supermarkets in which to shop in and I can only get my hands on their plain milk, organic milk and best of all chocolate milk. I would have loved to be able to try other products that they offer such as their breakfast drinks, energy drinks, oatgurts and ice creams! For more information on this wonderful brand and their products check out their website.

Firstly the taste of this was very pleasant, slight oaty as you would expect and as such I'd say this product would be perfect for use with porridge, or cereals. I preferred the chocolate flavour of course and I couldn't get enough of this. Out of the 5 bottles we have had to date 4 have been chocolate flavoured. I have found this to be a very versatile product, I have used it in tea and coffee and whilst it doesn't sit as well as some other milk alternatives the flavour is still great.

Chicken burgers using schwartz grill mates & Burger thins

I decided to use 2 of my recent freebies in one meal together and it was something of a success.

 

 

Here are the burger thins, they are exactly the same as the sandwich thinks except they are round as opposed to square. I got this freebie using the cashback app Shopitize.

 

A simple weekday meal of chicken burgers. It was really quick and effective and so so easy!

 

I haven't got an exact recipe but I will share with you how I made these.

 

Ingredients

Home made bread

Hi guys

Food shopping is what I have always spent a big portion of my earnings on. There are 2 of us in the house and I was spending £100+ a week on groceries which I am trying to reduce.

One of the things that I found I was buying every other day is bread, which for just 2 of us is ridiculous. We were getting a full size loaf, and it wasn't that we were getting through the loaf it never stayed fresh for very long. My partner would also just snack on the bread. Take into account that I do not eat sandwiches very often, 1 person was eating a loaf pretty much to themselves every other day.

I decided to save some money and to also add variety to my partners diet that I would start making alternatives for us for lunch, so pasta, rice, potato salad and cous cous salads, ok sounds heavy on the carbs, however I weigh everything and I like to make sure that I use a small amount of the carb and bulk it up with vegetables, etc.

The other half does love his sandwiches though, so I have decided to treat him every so often, my rule is that I am not eating bread unless its special, so a nice crusty bread or even better something made by my own fair hands.

Its really simple, I just used a recipe from the packet of strong white flour, 1.5 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 300ml lukewarm water. (method below)

as follows ; 500g strong white flour, 15ml vegetable oil or butter,

77p for 8 7g packets of fast action dried yeast. 77p/8 = 9

85p for 1.5kg of Tesco strong white flour.(500g = 1 loaf) 85p/3 = 28

1 loaf = approx. 37p (add a few pence for the veg oil, salt and sugar)

Method

put the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix, then add the oil/butter and mix again. Next, add the lukewarm water and combine, either with your hand or a hands free electric mixer with a dough hook (such as a kitchen aid), Once you have combined the mixture into a soft dough you will need to knead for 10 minutes, either by hand or again using the mixer with the dough hook. (I always used to do it by hand, but have just recently tried the mixer method and both work fine.)