Review: Wokooshii at The Trafford Centre

As a food blogger I’m always really interested to try new things and explore cuisines from all over the world. I love Thai, Japanese and Chinese food, but I’ve not as yet tried Korean food before. Last week I visited Wokooshii to try their Korean and Japanese food and ended up having one of the most exciting, interesting and delicious experiences of my food blogging career to date.

We were invited to Wokooshii by Gerry Yeung OBE, the founder of Manchester’s famous Yang Sing Chinese restaurant to sample the menu at his latest venture, Wokooshii which serves Japanese and Korean cuisine. Wokooshii is the only family run independent restaurant in the Trafford Centre, which does set it apart from the identikit chains in there.

Wokooshii

Our genial host Gerry welcomed us and we sat down for a chat over a drink. I fancied a beer and Gerry suggested I try the Asahi Dry Black Beer which was a revelation, it was an unusual dark lager style beer which went incredibly well with the food and is something I’ll be looking out for again.

We chatted with Gerry and he suggested he order from the menu for us. Taking into account our likes and dislikes, he ordered a selection of some of the most interesting food I’ve had in a long time. The menu itself is a colourful picture based menu, which I personally liked. I find it useful to see pictures of some of the more unfamiliar dishes before ordering them.

To start Gerry ordered seaweed, (but not as we know it) fresh seaweed with beansprouts with a Japanese vinegar dressing; kimchi – the Korean national dish made from spicy fermented cabbage and a taster sample of the Korean sashimi tuna salad.

Wokooshii

The fresh seaweed was delicious and much healthier than its deep fried cousin. It smelt and tasted of the sea and was delicate and flavoursome. Kimchi is something of a favourite of mine and I’ve had it many times before. The Wokooshii kimchi was excellent and packed a real punch. The Korean sashimi tuna salad is one of Gerry’s favourites and is a delicately flavoured dish of thinly sliced raw tuna, iceberg lettuce and leek with a dressing of Japanese chilli, sugar, vinegar and sesame oil, the tuna salad was a real highlight.

Next to the table came a selection of Mandu dumplings, a Korean speciality. I tried the pan fried vegetable dumplings, whilst my companion had the dumplings with pork and cabbage. The dumplings were soft and yielding, mine was packed full of delicately flavoured vegetables and would be something I’d order again and again.

Wokooshii

The dishes were coming from the kitchen thick and fast. Cucumber and Japanese radish Maki with soy sauce, wasabi and ginger; king prawn tempura made with the lightest and crispiest tempura ever; Yakitori sirloin beef roll filled with spring onion which looked so good. and prawn yakitori, perfectly cooked prawns with a piquant sauce of onion, butter, chilli and garlic.

Next to the table was something I was especially excited to try – a Korean pancake. It’s a flour and egg pancake packed with healthy vegetables. Traditionally these pancakes are served as an appetiser. It’s a simple dish but utterly delicious. The pancake was crispy on the outside, soft inside and one of my favourite things on the day.

Wokooshii

After taking a tour around most of the menu two final dishes were brought to the table, Teppanyaki Aubergine with scallops on the side served with teppanyaki vegetables which were simply cooked and peppery. The aubergine was beautifully cooked, tender and soaking up all the umami flavours in the sauce. The scallops were perfection and the whole dish just sung to me.

Wokooshii

The final dish was something I’d never heard of before, a Bimbinbap which is a Korean dish consisting of rice with sautéed vegetables, chilli paste, and seafood or meat, with the addition of a raw or fried egg on the top.

Wokooshii

Bimbinbap is served in a piping hot dish fresh from the oven and is finished at the table in front of you. It’s a bit of a showstopper of a meal and I particularly enjoyed the theatre of it being brought sizzling to the table. It comes with a fried egg on top, but you can ask for the raw egg yolk which would be cooked in the heat of the dish anyway. You can choose from the yellow sauce which is made from fermented soya beans, or the red sauce which is the same but with chilli, I went for half and half because a bit of spice in your life does you good!

Watch the Bimbinbap being stirred in the short clip below…

The Bimbinbap is one of the most popular dishes on the menu, it’s a big hot bowl of deliciousness and I especially enjoyed the crispy bits of rice. It’s a theatrical show-off of a dish and I loved it.

During the afternoon we tried so many dishes from the Wokooshii menu it was difficult to pick a favourite. Wokooshii is a mixture of ‘wok’ and the Japanese word for ‘delicious’ and the name describes the food perfectly.

I was blown away by the whole experience, Gerry was the perfect host and took us through the menu, introducing us to new flavours and textures and helping me to learn more about Korean and Japanese cuisine. I wouldn’t hesitate to go again next time I’m at the Trafford Centre, in fact I’ve been dreaming of the teppanyaki aubergine ever since. If you want something delicious and authentic, Wokooshii is well worth a visit.

Wokooshii is at 128 The Orient, Trafford Centre, Manchester, M17 8EH. Visit their website for more information.

We were invited guests of Wokooshii and were not asked to pay for our meal, nevertheless all images and opinions are our own.

Review: Beech’s Fine Chocolates

Last year I reviewed some Beech’s Fine Chocolates Easter chocolate treats and developed a very soft spot for this local company producing excellent chocolates. Beech’s Fine Chocolates have been making traditional British chocolates in Preston, Lancashire since 1920. They were kind enough to send me some of their new range of chocolates to try out.

First of all I loved the colourful statement packaging. I really like how colourful and fun they are, each box has a bold pattern which really makes them stand out from the crowd and all the packaging is recyclable. Beech’s Fine Chocolates are made using 100% natural ingredients and all products are gluten free and many are suitable for Vegans.

After dinner we opened the Original Dark Chocolate Fruit Creams which are made to a traditional recipe using natural fruit oils. This 150g box contains a selection of orange, lime, raspberry & lemon cream centres which are covered in dark chocolate. They boys liked these best, I’m not usually a fan of fruit creams, I often find them a bit sickly, but I liked these, they weren’t too sweet and I very much liked the lime flavour. There were 14 chocolates in this attractive box which retails for £4.75, they are also suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

Beech's Fine Chocolates

In another beautiful box were the Milk Chocolate Covered Dairy Fudge. I’m a bit of a lover of dairy fudge, it’s sweet but not as sweet as the crumbly bags of fudge you get at the seaside. This 100g box does not disappoint and I was a bit reluctant to share. Each box of the Milk Chocolate Covered Dairy Fudge contains 9 chocolates and retails as £2.99. This product is also gluten free.

Beech's Fine Chocolates

Hubs loves mint chocolates, so he opened the Original Dark Chocolate Mint Creams and gave his approval. He liked the smooth dark chocolate and the mint cream which he thought wasn’t too sweet. The 150g box contained 14 of these lovely minty chocolates which are made using English Mitcham Mint oil, which is grown in Hampshire. The mint creams are suitable for vegans and vegetarians and are gluten free.

Beech's Fine Chocolates

I have to confess that I wasn’t really looking forward to the last box of chocolates we tried. Milk Chocolate Coconut Macaroons, I’m not usually a fan of coconut and wouldn’t pick a Bounty out of the selection box, but these were hands down my favourite chocolate of the selection. Lovely milk chocolate and hand-shredded coconut all mixed up together and made into a lovely bite-size macaroon (not a trendy macaron). Apparently these were very popular in the 80s and 90s and they’ve brought them back and I hope they stay!

They cost £2.99 for 9 chocolates and I adored these, perhaps a bit too much. Even if you’re a bit uncertain about coconut I’d say give these a try, I don’t think you’ll regret it.

Beech's Fine Chocolates

It’s nice to see Beech’s Fine Chocolates bringing out a new range and reinventing some of their old favourites. They’re a lovely, good quality chocolate and they are good value without looking or tasting cheap. They always have offers on their website, so it’s worth checking out especially if you’re buying a few boxes. I’m very happy to buy Beech’s because they’re fairly local to me and delicious too.

Brunch at Neighbourhood in Manchester

Weekends are made for brunching. After a busy week of work, one of my favourite things is to go out for brunch with my boys, or meet some friends for a catch up over a plate of good eggs, endless coffee and maybe a breakfast cocktail or two. I was invited to a blogger brunch by Neighbourhood in Manchester, to try out their new brunch menu and sample a couple of breakfast mimosas.

Arriving early on a rainy Saturday morning, my fragrant friend Liz and I were ushered to a table near the bar. Neighbourhood was busy and buzzing, during the week I suspect it’s busy with ladies who lunch, business lunches and people going for after work drinks. It’s known for being a celebrity hang out and whilst we were there I did spy a couple of familiar faces from the TV.

We ordered drinks, tea and coffee and a couple of breakfast drinkies (rude not to) on offer were Bellinis and mimosas. We were there for a bloggers breakfast where some of the key dishes from the brunch menu were being showcased.

Neighbourhood

The first brunch item we tried were the buttermilk pancakes with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. The chocolate sauce was so glossy Mary Berry would have wept with joy. The stack of four buttermilk pancakes were smothered in the sauce and came with a small (too small?) dollop of whipped cream, the pancakes were sweet and good and I know my son would have gobbled them all up and then wanted to lick the plate clean afterwards.

Between pancakes and brunch we were brought a Breakfast Sandwich to sample which consisted of a toasted muffin, sausage, bacon and fried egg. The chef kindly made a vegetarian version for me which contained a nice crispy fried egg, spinach and mushrooms, although I can’t eat mushrooms so I had to take those out and give them to Liz. We both particularly enjoyed our crispy eggs and my spinach was well cooked and seasoned and was not watery.

Neighbourhood

We ordered our brunch proper, Liz plumped for the Full English which came with bacon, scrambled egg, black pudding, sausages, tomato, baked beans and toast. One of the failings of the brunch menu for me is the lack of vegetarian options, thankfully the kitchen were happy to specially make me my own veggie brunch which consisted of two buttermilk pancakes, scrambled egg, tomato, baked beans, spinach and mushrooms.

Neighbourhood

There were some very lovely elements to my breakfast. The scrambled egg was among the best I’ve had, I loved the sauteed spinach which was perfectly seasoned. I found the pancakes an unusual addition, but actually they worked well but could have perhaps done with a dab of salty butter on them. The beans were beans but served in a pot to appease the “don’t let my baked beans touch any of my food” crowd. I was slightly less keen on the tomato, which although it was perfectly cooked, had a garlicky aftertaste which seemed to throw off the balance of flavours on my plate a little.

I had to give my mushrooms to Liz because they make me poorly, she was not unhappy with this. There was a really interesting mix of mushrooms on offer, they’d been well cooked and seasoned and smelt so good. Shame I couldn’t eat more than a tiny nibble.

Neighbourhood

Neighbourhood is a bustling busy place, and the staff were just the right amount of friendly, chatty and helpful. I think the new Neighbourhood brunch menu is solidly interesting, with some crowd pleasers on there. I’m a little disappointed that there isn’t a vegetarian option listed on their menu, I know you can always ask for them to make something for you, but if it’s not on the menu then as a vegetarian I’d probably be put off by that. It’s such a shame, especially as the veggie brunch I had I would happily order again.

Neighbourhood is located on The Avenue North, Spinningfields, Manchester. Their brunch menu is available on weekends 10am to 2pm. Visit their website for more information or to view their menu.

We were invited guests of the restaurant and were not asked to pay for our food or drink. Nevertheless, all images and opinions are my own.

Foodie Firsts – Cooking with Tofu

Despite being a vegetarian for the last 27 years there is one ingredient I’ve always been afraid to cook with, but it is one of my favourite foodie things – tofu.

I’ve bought the ready pressed tofu, marinated and ready to use, but never a block of tofu, white and perfect and ready to be transformed into a thousand different dishes. I was asked by Morinaga if I’d like to try their silken firm tofu, and I knew it was time I stopped being a bit afraid of pressed soy puree and just tried cooking with it.

Morinaga tofu

After consulting a friend who is a vegan chef, he told me I’d need to press the Morinaga tofu. This was an easy job, you just take it out of its packet and put it on a plate, place a flat plate or board over the top and put a couple of tins of beans on there for an hour or two. The tofu should let out quite a lot of liquid which you just discard. Then it is ready to use however you want. Morinaga tofu Tofu tastes of nothing but is incredibly good at absorbing other flavours, so it’s perfect for marinading in whatever you like. It’s also low fat, high-protein, dairy and gluten-free.

I like tofu when it’s got a crispy crust, so I pressed and drained my tofu for a couple of hours and cut it up into bite sized chunks. I put some plain flour in a bowl and seasoned it generously with salt, pepper and chilli flakes, I gently tossed the tofu in that, taking care because it is quite delicate. I put a generous tablespoon of groundnut oil in a frying pan and added a splash of chilli oil and heated it up until it was very hot and fried the tofu, turning often until it was golden and crispy.

I’m a bit lazy when it comes to stir-frys, I often just buy a ready made packet of stir fry vegetables and stir-fry them with soy sauce, honey and some sweet chilli sauce, toss through some noodles and add a handful of chopped coriander and serve. Only this time I added my fried tofu at the end and it was delicious. Seriously delicious!

Morinaga tofu

Now I’ve tried the fresh tofu there is no way I’m going back to the ready made stuff which seems dull and chewy in comparison. The Morinaga silken firm tofu was perfectly crispy on the outside but soft and yielding on the inside. It was as good a tofu as I’d had in restaurants and I was impressed by how good it was, I didn’t think I’d be able to recreate it as I had done.

As a vegetarian I know that tofu is a good source of protein and contains iron and calcium, as well as a range of other essential vitamins and minerals. Morinaga tofu currently costs £1.24 for a 349g packet in ASDA and does not need to be stored in the fridge, though it does once it’s been opened, but it wouldn’t last that long in my house anyway.

If you’ve never cooked with tofu before, do not be afraid. Now I’ve tried it there is no going back for me, my little foodie mind is whirring away with tofu ideas and potential recipes. Do you have a favourite tofu recipe?

Morinaga silken firm tofu available in the ambient aisle of Sainsbury’s and ASDA. For more information visit their website or Facebook page.

We were sent some Morinaga silken firm tofu to try for ourselves. All images and opinions are our own.

Review: Weight Watchers Mini Ice Cream Pots

With summer on its way, the lovely cosy comfort foods we’ve been indulging in over the winter months are starting to give way to lighter, fresher foods. When it comes to pudding I’ve waved slightly tearful goodbye to apple crumble and custard (for now) and I’ve opened my freezer to frozen desserts. If the boys want ice cream, then ice cream they shall have! We were asked to try these Weight Watchers Mini Ice Cream Pots, so we gave them a rigorous testing.

Weight Watchers Mini Ice Cream Pots

These Weight Watchers Mini Ice Cream Pots come in two flavours, chocolate with honeycomb and toffee fudge. They are 52.5g each with the chocolate and honeycomb flavour containing 86 calories and the toffee fudge flavour 72 calories. If you’re following Weight Watchers each pot counts as 2 ProPoints. They are also suitable for vegetarians.

The little pots are just the right size if you fancy a sweet treat. The boys enjoyed them and they were the perfect amount for my 5 year old who gave me a very chocolatey smile when he’d finished.

I’m not really able to eat ice cream these days due to my lactose intolerance, but I tried a few spoons of both flavours. I liked them both, the toffee fudge was quite sweet for my own taste, but hubs polished his off approvingly. The chocolate was my favourite, not too rich, but indulgent enough to hit the spot. I liked the little crunchy pieces of honeycomb which added some welcome texture.

These mini pots ideal if you are watching your weight but can’t go without the occasional sweet treat. I know they have quite an extensive range of other desserts to choose from including several other frozen desserts, yoghurt, chocolate mousse and puddings. Something for everyone.

The Weight Watchers Mini Ice Cream Pots cost around £2.50 for four little pots and are available from a wide range of retailers. We bought ours from Sainsbury’s but I believe they are also available in other large supermarkets. A nice low-calorie ice cream treat for summer!

Note: We were sent these Weight Watchers ice creams in exchange for a review. All images and opinions are our own.

Review: Vapiano Manchester

Since the dark days of uni when I was packed off each term with a 10kg sack of fusilli pasta I have shied away from ordering pasta in restaurants. I have a hard and fast rule, pasta must only be ordered in proper Italian restaurants, so when I visited proper Italian restaurant Vapiano in Manchester I knew I’d be ordering pasta.

Vapiano opened in the recently revamped Corn Exchange in Manchester in November last year. It has two light and airy floors, the first floor being the more popular and bustling space, as that’s where the kitchens are located.

Vapiano Manchester

Vapiano has a slightly different way of operating, there is no table service, you are given a card to use each time you order food or drink. You order directly from the chefs and watch them cook your meal in front of you, this takes minutes and it allows you to tailor your dish to your own tastes. Want more chilli? Ask for it. Less cheese? You got it.

Choosing a comfortable table next to the balcony, we ordered a couple of glasses of a red wine from their wine list, while we checked out their extensive menu.

For someone so picky about pasta I do have very simple tastes. I opted for the Pesto Rosso – cherry tomatoes, tomato pesto, pine nuts with ricotta cheese. I chose the freshly made Campanelle pasta. I went over to the kitchen and put my order in with the chef, I swiped my card on the counter and within minutes my pasta dish was being whipped up in front of me. They use fresh pasta made every day on site, so it only takes a few minutes to cook.

Once cooked I took my Pesto Rosso back to the table, the pasta was perfectly al dente and the sauce was rich with a little hint of background heat. The pine nuts were plentiful, the grated ricotta was generous. It was superb, I enjoyed every forkful and couldn’t fault it.

Vapiano Manchester

On the side, I ordered garlic bread with cheese. As pizza takes a little longer to cook they operate a pager system. You order at the pizza kitchen, swipe your card and get a pager which goes off when your pizza is ready, you return to the kitchen and pick up your pizza. It seems a very efficient system.

The garlic bread was oozing with cheese and a generous amount of fresh garlic. It was delicious but I think it could have done with another minute or two in the oven for me, so the crust was a little darker. The dough, again made that morning, was light and crispy and everything I want in a pizza dough.

My companion opted for the strawberry and spinach salad – a salad of fresh spinach, strawberries, goats cheese, red onion and pine nuts with a raspberry and maple dressing. It was a light, colourful salad with well balanced flavours which was consumed with much approval.

They then moved on to the pasta course, choosing a salmon carbonara which contained smoked salmon, onions, egg and cream. The dish contained lots of lovely chunky pieces of salmon, which did look delicious and made for a more interesting alternative to the traditional carbonara.

We barely had room for pudding, but we persisted. I chose my favourite, Tiramisu whilst my friend opted for the Bacio, a chocolate and hazelnut mousse on a biscuit base topped with chopped hazelnuts. I adore Tiramisu and I’ve eaten a fair few in my time, the sponge was light and the cream and mascarpone had been whipped so it was airy, it was excellent, a little light on the coffee flavour for me, but I do like it strong.

Vapiano Manchester

The Bacio was as pretty as a picture, presented in a jar it was a little like a cheesecake but with a mousse layer. I had a little taste and I was pleased that the chocolate wasn’t too overpowering, I liked the generous sprinkle of hazelnuts on top and the biscuit base added some extra texture.

Although the card system probably isn’t for everyone,I think it’s probably useful for large groups who might haggle over splitting the bill, or for those watching their pennies. I did enjoy watching my food being cooked in front of me and I loved that it was so fresh and hadn’t been sat around waiting for a waiter to bring it to my table.

Between us the bill came to around £70 which for three courses, wine, soft drinks and coffee was very respectable. The meal was delicious and probably the best pasta dish I’ve eaten in years. The menu is extensive and there will be something on there for everyone, whatever dietary requirements you may have I’m sure most dishes could be tailored to accommodate even the pickiest eater (me). I now know why Vapiano is considered one of the best Italian restaurants in Manchester.

Vapiano is now firmly on my ladies who lunch rota, we’ll be back, and we’ll be back again soon!

Vapiano is located in the Corn Exchange in Manchester, for more information and to view their menu visit their website.

We were invited guests of Vapiano and were not asked to pay for our food or drinks. All images and opinions are our own.

Five ways to beat hunger with my Healthy Snacks round-up

We have a hard and fast rule in our house about snacks. Healthy snacks are fine, fruit and rice cakes, that kind of thing. But if you want a biscuit or some crisps you have to put your shoes and coat on and walk to the shop and get it. The thought of making an effort to get a treat is often enough to put us off and turn to something healthier, and if you do put your coat on and go and get your treat, then you’ve earned it, enjoy it.

But try explaining that to a 5 year old. A hungry 5 year old who has to wait a few minutes to be fed is essentially a tornado of rage. The living embodiment of “hangry”.

healthy snacks

Top tip: A hungry (hangry) 5 year old will happily eat carrot sticks and other normally shunned fruit and veg if they are hungry enough. A bag of carrot sticks to munch on the way home from school is a good way to deal with the tornado of rage and the 5 a day problem at the same time.

Having some healthy snacks on hand for when your family need a little something to tide them over is incredibly useful. I’ve picked out some healthy snacks which we enjoy at home.

1. More Cheese Please!

Cheese is in the small boys top 3 favourite foods, we always have a handful of Babybel in the fridge. It’s easy for me to slip a couple in my pocket for him to munch on the way home from school and I don’t mind him snacking on cheese because it’s full of calcium and other good stuff.

2. Fruit Bowl Snacks

We discovered Fruit Bowl about 6 months ago and the boy has been enjoying sprinkling their fruit flakes on his yoghurt ever since. The Fruit Bowl peelers and school bars are great little snacks for nibbling on the way home from school, contain no added sugar and count towards your five a day.

healthy snacks

3. Chocolate!

Yes really. Sometimes you really NEED something sweet and often a couple of small pieces of good dark chocolate is enough to satisfy your craving. Of course my son won’t even contemplate dark chocolate, but having some small individually wrapped pieces of good chocolate, like these from Drop Dead Chocolates is enough to stop you accidentally devouring a 1kg bar of Dairy Milk. Sometimes.

4. Stick the kettle on

Sometimes you can feel hungry but you’re just thirsty. I always give the small boy something to drink and have water freely available to him. If I’m feeling especially hungry I find a nice cuppa can fill the gap for an hour or so, or sometimes I’ll have a glass of juice which I usually add a splash of water to so it is slightly diluted, but that’s a personal preference.

I do enjoy drinking aloe vera juice and I’ve tried for a while now to have a small glass of aloe vera juice on a daily basis. It’s not for everyone in the same way that orange juice with bits in isn’t for everyone, but it’s worth trying if you like the sound of the many health benefits of drinking aloe vera.

healthy snacks

The aloe vera juice from Grace Foods UK contains 50% less sugar than other brands I’ve tried. These handy 500ml bottles (I drink 100ml per day) are available in three flavours, Original, Strawberry and Mango and contain real aloe vera pieces. They are gluten free and suitable for vegetarians, with Original and Mango containing 100% RDA of Vitamin C. It’s available from a wide range of retailers including Tesco and Waitrose. I love aloe vera juice, I think it’s very underrated.

5. Rice Cakes and peanut butter

This may seem very dull indeed, but I always have a packet of Co-op unsalted rice cakes in my cupboard. They’re just 25 calories each and if I’m ravenous and simply cannot wait, or if I’ve no time to make myself something more exciting for lunch, a couple of rice cakes with reduced fat peanut butter are enough to tide me over until tea time. In fact the small boy is also a big fan of this as an after school snack, so we’ll often indulge together. Rice cakes are remarkably filling and contain very few calories. Trust me, I didn’t think I’d like them either.

What are your go to healthy snack choices? I’m always after munchable inspiration!

Recipe: Raw Chocolate Truffles made with Nutriseed

My local health food shop and deli make a delicious selection of raw chocolate energy bars and truffles, I have long lusted after them and wanted to try my hand at making them for myself. I often think making things from scratch is part of the fun, and these days when I’m trying to cut a few things like dairy out of my diet it makes sense to make some things myself. I was asked by superfood aficionados Nutriseed to try out some of their products, so I seized my chance to try making raw chocolate truffles myself. I was not disappointed.

I was sent a Nutri Box, a box full of nutritional goodies. I’d asked if my box could have cacao butter and cacao paste and I was happy to see some yummy goji berries and pumpkin seeds in there too. Nutriseed are an online nutritional food company based in London, creating vegetarian friendly, all-natural, raw, nutritional goodies by hand.

raw chocolate truffles

My Nutriseed box was well packed and I loved the individual packets of goodness inside. Each of these “brown paper” packages are foiled inside so everything is fresh and in perfect condition, and they’re resealable too.

The Nutriseed website has so many different products to choose from including teas, treats, seeds, cereals, cocoa, capsules and superfoods. I think they are good value, for example my 500g of cacao paste was just £8.99 which I thought was very reasonable having priced up raw chocolate products elsewhere; delivery is free too if you spend over £29.99. Their product descriptions are packed with information, with all of the benefits of each product listed as well as nutritional information.

The Nutriseed website suggests that I use my Cacao Paste to…

Blend into smoothies for an extra nutritional kick
Sprinkle over yoghurt for a delicious breakfast
Bake into muffins, pancakes, or sweet bread
Add some to your breakfast porridge
Stir into a coffee for a homemade Mocha
Create a guiltless hot chocolate

But I wanted to make some raw chocolate truffles. There aren’t really many recipes around for making raw chocolate truffles with cacao paste, so I had to experiment a little with the quantities until I got it right. My recipe below is for cherry and rum raw chocolate truffles, but you could add whatever you wanted. I rolled mine in cocoa powder and dessicated coconut, but I really fancy making some pistachio truffles. Basically once you’ve made your chocolate truffle mixture you can add whatever you want. Here is my method…

Cherry & Rum Raw Chocolate Truffles

Yields 12
Delicious raw chocolate truffles made with cacao paste and cacao butter.

Ingredients
100g cacao paste
50g cacao butter
5 dessert spoons of carob syrup or similar
12-15 cherries
1 cap of rum
1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
1 tablespoon of dessicated coconut

Instructions
Over a bain marie gently melt to cacao butter and cacao paste together, once melted remove from the heat and add the carob syrup, chopped cherries and a cap of rum, stir well. Put the mixture in the fridge to chill for two hours.

In a bowl mix the cocoa powder and coconut. Remove the chilled truffle mix from the fridge and using a teaspoon get enough mixture to make a truffle, shape in in your hands and roll in the cocoa powder and coconut mix, set aside. Make truffles with the remainder of the truffle mix.

Once all the truffles are made, chill in the fridge until they are to be eaten.

Notes
If you don’t want to shape the truffles using your hands, you could dust a silicon ice tray with the cocoa powder and pour in the warm runny truffle mix and leave that to set in the fridge. Just pop out a truffle as and when you need them.

I had a girls night in and offered my raw chocolate truffles around to my very discerning friends and they were a hit! We’ll be making some variations of these easy truffles in the run up to Easter and giving them as chocolatey gifts.

Raw Chocolate Truffles

I really loved my Nutriseed box, it’s the kind of grown up pick n mix of interesting and exciting ingredients a foodie can enjoy experimenting with. I’m already eyeing up several other of their hard to find ingredients for future recipes.

Note: We were sent this Nutriseed box for review purposes, all images and opinions are our own.

The FoodMaestro App – managing dietary intolerances

We were asked to review the FoodMaestro app. All images and opinions are our own.

Growing up I had no food allergies; though I remember being tested to try and get to the bottom of why my eczema would sometimes flare up. It’s not unheard of for people to grow out of some allergies, but I managed to grow into some.

I turned vegetarian when I was 13, before the days of Quorn and Linda McCartney products. After about ten years of vegetarianism I developed an intolerance to mushrooms. I get hideous cramps and other things I won’t go into. Suffice to say it’s not worth me eating mushrooms.

More recently I’ve developed an intolerance to rich dairy; so cream and ice cream are out, cheese is eaten in moderation. I try and have a few entirely dairy free days a week to reduce the unfortunate consequences of this.

The boys are thus far ok, able to eat anything and everything put in front of them. It’s just me, the mushroom and dairy intolerant vegetarian who makes meal planning more difficult at home.

I was introduced to the newly launched FoodMaestro app which allows you to create personalised dietary profiles for each family member; logging allergies, intolerances and lifestyle choices that affect their diet.

The app was built in partnership with Guys & St Thomas Hospital Trust and makes it easier to manage food-related conditions. It currently has a directory of more than 75,000 products and 25,000 ingredients, with more products being added all the time.

It’s easy to search for food products by name or category and find items that are suitable for your diet. The app checks the nutritional information on each product and tells you if it isn’t suitable for you or your family to eat. This allows you to easily build lists of ‘safe’ foods and identify potential problems.

FoodMaestro

Once you’ve downloaded the free FoodMaestro app you just put in the details of your family members and their dietary requirements; it’s a simple swipe to choose from a range of allergy and intolerances as well as filtering into vegan, meat free, gluten free options, to name just a few.

You can then set about creating a shopping list. I went about my kitchen scanning the bar-codes of the items we were starting to run low on; as each item scanned the app would tell me if it matched our dietary requirements. You don’t have to scan the bar-codes; you can write up your list and the app will check each item for you. Once you’ve finished you can share your list, I chose to email it to myself so I could view my list when I went shopping. I normally have my shopping list on my phone anyway.

The FoodMaestro app currently lists products from most large brands as well as the supermarkets; Waitrose, Morrisons and Asda, and they are adding Tesco products to the app shortly.

I can see this app being very useful for me. Although I’m a keen reader of labels, sometimes I think a product is ok and it turns out not to be; then I’m poorly for a few days. This will also be great for when we have people round for tea who I know have food allergies and intolerances; helping me to double check that I’m not going to make them poorly. I think the FoodMaestro app is a big step forward.

You can find out more about the FoodMaestro app on their website and you can follow them on Twitter for news and updates.

FoodMaestro

= This is a collaborative post =

Review: Dinner for two at the Bamford Arms

As one half of a pair of fairly exhausted parents we often find it difficult to have a night out together. Every few months we make a special effort to have a date night, dress up a bit and go out somewhere, anywhere for a few hours of couple time together. With Valentine’s Day approaching we visited the Bamford Arms in Stockport for a romantic dinner for two.

We’ve been to the Bamford Arms a few times before as a family, we’ve always been impressed with the quality of the food and the child-friendly atmosphere. This time we visited at night, the restaurant was busy with couples and small groups of friends on a night out. We were shown to a cosy booth and ordered a bottle of prosecco while we looked over the menu.

The Bamford Arms is a Beefeater Grill, so steaks are the order of the day. We ordered starters, him a classic prawn cocktail and me the potato dippers with sour cream and spring onion. His prawn cocktail was a fairly big portion, lots of prawns in marie rose sauce, layered on top of lettuce and cucumber and served with slices of ciabatta. He gave it a 9/10 which is praise indeed! My potato dippers were like thin potato wedges or fat crisps with melted cheese over them and served with a sour cream and chive dip. It was a big portion but very tasty. They do sharing plates of these too which I would definitely order again, to share obviously.

Bamford Arms

For our main course he ordered the huge 18oz porterhouse steak which comes with unlimited fries (skinny or triple cooked), half a slow roasted tomato, a grilled mushroom and salad. I’m veggie so I ordered the baked veggie enchiladas which were soft flour tortillas stuffed with lime & coriander rice and tomatoes, topped with melted cheese, red chilli, spring onion and sour cream & chive and served with mini corn on the cob. We also rather greedily ordered sides of macaroni cheese, garlic king prawns and chunky slaw.

Bamford Arms

My enchiladas were very fresh and tasty. It’s nice to see an alternative to the standard lasagne for veggies on the menu. It was piping hot and still bubbling when it arrived at the table. It was fresh and filling, full of wholesome beans and veg, with just enough melted cheese on top, despite the cheese I suspect this is a reasonably healthy choice.

The sides we ordered to share were huge, the macaroni was toothsome and cheesy, and I know my pasta loving son would have devoured the lot in one go. Hubs loved the garlic king prawns, you get 10 big juicy prawns in a serving for just £4.99 which was excellent value and the chunky slaw was the perfect foil for my spicy enchiladas.

Hubs valiantly faced the 18oz porterhouse steak; priced at £20.99 it was the most expensive steak on the menu but it was a special occasion so we pushed the boat out. He asked for it to be cooked medium and for some hot piri-piri sauce on the side. The steak was perfectly cooked and huge, it was beautifully tender and he rather impressively managed to devour it all and declared it to be delicious.

Bamford Arms

We were both absolutely stuffed, but we wanted a little bit of something sweet for pudding, so after much deliberation and negotiation we chose to share the Rocky Road Sundae. This was the perfect size for sharing, lovely ice cream and chocolate sauce with chunks of chocolate brownie and topped with marshmallows and a wafer.

Bamford Arms

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal, although we were stuffed, we’d eaten and eaten well. The restaurant was cosy and the tables weren’t too close together, so you could have a good conversation without feeling like you’re sharing with everyone else. The booth was comfortable and we quickly relaxed into our evening, and importantly at our age there wasn’t loud music blaring, so you could actually hold a conversation rather than shout at each other across the table, which made a nice change.

The food is perfect for sharing, the unlimited skinny or triple cooked chips offer is fantastic, it mean’t that I could pinch a few chips off his plate without him complaining. We couldn’t fault it, and without drinks out food came to £54, which we thought was excellent value for the feast we’d just had.

For a romantic dinner with good food, great wines in a cosy and relaxed atmosphere, the Bamford Arms is well worth a visit for Valentine’s Day, and if you want to push the boat out, order the porterhouse steak. You’ll not regret it!

Note: We were invited guests of the Bamford Arms Beefeater Grill in Stockport, all images and opinions are our own.