Tried & Tested: Practical & Stylish Prestige Vintage Kitchenware

I have been a fan of enamel cookware since I bought a couple of baking dishes a couple of years ago. They’re so easy to care for, they’re great to cook with and look really stylish when you put them on the table. I’ve been keen to expand my tiny collection of enamel kitchenware for a while now, so I was delighted when Prestige introduced me to their brand spanking new vintage range.

The new Prestige Vintage kitchenware range has the stylish vintage look which is incredibly popular today, with all the practicality we expect in a modern kitchen. The range includes stylish accessories, oven to table cookware and a number of practical pans in useful sizes. The kitchenware is made from enamel coated steel and ceramics and comes in a choice of blue/white or red/white so you can mix and match to complete your look.

Prestige Vintage

Enamel cookware is known for being easy to clean, rust proof and great for retaining heat. It’s ok to be thrown in the dishwasher after use and it’s incredibly durable. No wonder my Grandma loved it and no wonder it’s come back into fashion!

My new Prestige Vintage 19cm saucepan is a great size for family cooking. I can make a decent sized stew in it for an evening meal for the three of us, and because it’s made from enamel it can go from hob to oven to table with no bother at all. The only word of caution would be that it’s not suitable for use in a microwave, but everyone knows you can’t put metal in the microwave, so it’s not a problem really.

Prestige Vintage

My Prestige Vintage 19cm enamel pan looks fab. I chose the blue stripe, but you can get it in red too. The pan is well made, sturdy but not too heavy. I’ve used it a good few times to cook with and it’s been great, and so easy to clean. I accidentally ~~burnt~~ caramelised something when I wasn’t paying attention, and it cleaned up really easily and left no marks at all.

Prestige Vintage

As you can see it is a beautiful pan, a classic design and for my money the perfect kitchen staple. The Prestige Vintage range is a design classic and is ideal for practical everyday use. I’ve fallen for the Prestige Vintage range big time. It seems I have a vintage heart after all.

For more information, and to view the whole of the Prestige Vintage range, visit the Prestige website.

Note: We were sent the Prestige Vintage 19cm enamel for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

DVDs: Channels 5’s Milkshake Fantastic Fun

Milkshake on Channel 5 and Abbey Home Media are releasing the Milkshake Fantastic Fun DVD on Monday 19th October – featuring favourites such as Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol, Toot the Tiny Tugboat, Thomas & Friends, Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom, Fireman Sam, Little Princess, Lily’s Driftwood Bay, Dora and Friends, Wanda and the Alien, Chloe’s Closet and Bananas in Pyjamas for over 2 hours of fantastic fun!

We have watched a few of the different bumper Milkshake DVDs and they’re brilliant for keeping little ones entertained, and because each DVD contains an episode each of all of the Milkshake favourites – there’s plenty of variety and something for everyone.

Like most children, the small boy has his favourites – he loves Thomas & Friends, is completely obsessed with Paw Patrol and he adores Fireman Sam. We watched the Milkshake Fantastic Fun DVD together and it kept him happy and entertained (he also insisted on watching the Paw Patrol episode on repeat for about an hour). It gave us the opportunity to talk about the things which had happened in the various episodes, and to talk about themes such as love, friendship, sharing and always trying your best.

The Milkshake Fantastic Fun DVD is available from a wide range of retailers including Amazon from Monday 19th October 2015 and is rated U, making it suitable for all ages.

Milkshake Fantastic Fun DVD

Order your copy of the Milkshake Fantastic Fun DVD from Amazon.

Review: Paint and Play Dinosaurs from Interplay

The small boy has recently been learning more about dinosaurs. We’ve been reading stories about them and watching Andy’s Dinosaur Adventures on CBeebies together. We’ve been talking about what they’d sound like, how they’d walk, fly or swim and what their skin would look and feel like. With almost perfect timing we received the Paint and Play Dinosaurs set from Interplay to test.

paint and play dinosaurs

The Interplay Paint and Play Dinosaurs set contains three prehistoric dinosaurs to paint, two tiny terrified cavemen, a set of paints, a paintbrush and a dinosaur fact sheet to learn more about the dinosaurs you’re decorating.

paint and play dinosaurs

The set contains a T-Rex, Pterodactyl and a Stegosaurus. The dinosaurs are white and you can paint them however you want. I chose to paint the Stegosaurus and the small boy went for the T-Rex and the Pterodactyl. I chose to copy the markings on the fact sheet as best I could, he chose to paint them in his own inimitable style.

paint and play dinosaurs

We had tremendous fun painting our dinosaurs and talking about the different colours they might be. There was plenty of paint to use and it was all washable (which was good news for his clothes and my tablecloth). There was only one fine paintbrush, so I needed to raid my supplies, so that’s worth noting if you’re going to paint your dinosaurs as a group activity.

Painting them kept us occupied for a good half hour or so, plus there was lots to talk about and the fact sheet helped us find out more about the fearsome beasts we were cheerfully painting purple and orange. We had to leave them to dry before we could play with them properly, so we read some of his dinosaur books while we waited.

Paint and Play Dinosaurs

Ok, so our dino-depictions may not be 100% factually accurate, but they were 100% fun to do. It was a nice focussed activity which he enjoyed doing, but at the same time worked his pencil (paintbrush) grip, his hand-eye co-ordination and gave us the opportunity to have a discussion all about dinosaurs, where they came from and what happened to them.

The Paint and Play Dinosaurs set from Interplay is suitable for ages 4-7. The small boy is nearly five and I think this is spot on for him. There are quite a few different sets to choose from in the Interplay Craft Box line, so I’ll be choosing something else for him to paint for our next rainy afternoon together.

Note: We were sent the Interplay Paint and Play Dinosaurs set free of charge for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

Review: Sparkle On, Gorgeous Yankee Candle

It is no exaggeration to say when I opened the box containing my latest Yankee Candle – Sparkle On, Gorgeous I let out an audible gasp of adoration. Not only was this candle beautifully different to any other Yankee Candle I’ve seen but it smelt intoxicatingly different to my normal go-to fruity scented candles.

The Sparkle On, Gorgeous Yankee Candle is part of a new range of tumbler candles designed to be given as a gift. The range is based on some of the most popular and classic Yankee Candle scents and features bold colours and a striking design. I personally loved the design of my Sparkle On, Gorgeous candles, not only is it my favourite colour, but the contemporary styling worked really well in my house.

Sparkle On, Gorgeous Yankee Candle

This 10oz tumbler candle should burn for up to 40 hours, retailing at approximately £15, my slightly wonky maths makes that just under 38p per hour – pretty good value. The candle wax itself is almost black, it has two wicks and sits in a lovely decorated glass tumbler. Its contemporary styling and brushed metal lid would suit a wide range of rooms and it would make a very lovely and stylish gift.

The Sparkle On, Gorgeous Yankee Candle features the classic “Midsummer’s Night” candle. It’s an intoxicating and musky blend of masculine scents including patchouli, sage and mahogany cologne. At first sniff it’s very like a delicious musky aftershave. It’s masculine, but it’s not just for men, I can imagine many women would burn this scent because it is so evocative.

Sparkle On, Gorgeous Yankee Candle

The “throw” on this Sparkle On, Gorgeous Yankee Candle is pretty good. It takes maybe half an hour for the scent to start to fill the room, but once it gets going it’s delicious; reminiscent of hot sultry summer nights, but still perfect for burning all year round, whatever the weather.

As the autumn nights begin to draw in, burning this lovely candle will remind me of warm summer evenings and the heady almost Mediterranean scents of patchouli, sage and the aftershave of the man I love. Delicious.

Note: We were sent the Sparkle On, Gorgeous Yankee Candle free of charge for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

Healing, happiness and the beauty of my recovery

I was sat in the autumn sunshine at the weekend. I was feeling happy. It’s a rare feeling for me, any happy I have usually has a small undercurrent of my ever present anxiety running through it. But the sun was shining, I had a pint in my hand, was in great company and I felt relaxed and happy. Carefree almost.

I sipped my drink as I listened to my companions chatting away, it was warm and I was wearing a t-shirt. I’m not so self conscious of my scars these days, they’re part of me and my history and whilst I regret one or two of them, I don’t hate them so much.

The sun lit up the silvery lines of my scars and made them shimmer slightly in the bright light. For a moment I ran my hand across them, trying to hide them or rub them out so the others wouldn’t see, but I can’t erase them, so I paused and made a conscious choice to admire their beauty rather than be ashamed of them. I looked at the shimmering silver on my arms, like rivulets of precious metal running over my flesh and I was reminded of Kintsugi.

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with gold, silver or platinum. It literally means “golden joinery”. It’s a beautiful thing and rather plain and ordinary bowls and dishes become breathtaking and rather astonishing works of art when they are repaired in this way. I am Kintsugi. I am an ordinary thing made beautiful by my scars; the rivulets my of scars in shades of silver and platinum show the world my recovery. They tell everyone how I am healed and that I am stronger because of these shimmering silver lines, not in spite of them.

I am Kintsugi. I am beautiful.

healing

Review: Tree Fu Tom and the Carrots Of Doom DVD

The Tree Fu Tom and the Carrots Of Doom DVD was released on 5th October and it contains over two hours of Treeopolis fun and adventures! Join Tree Fu Tom, Ariela, Zigzoo, Twigs and friends to perform some Big World Magic and help Tom to save the day in his usual way – with the help of his loyal friends and some Big World Magic!

The Tree Fu Tom and the Carrots Of Doom DVD contains six action packed episodes, each featuring our hero – Tree Fu Tom. Aimed at pre-schoolers aged 2-6, there’s lots of fun and adventure with an emphasis on friendship and a little lesson in each episode (patience is a virtue etc). We’ve been avid fans of Tree Fu Tom since it began on CBeebies in 2012.

The six action packed episodes on the Tree Fu Tom and the Carrots Of Doom DVD are –
– Carrots of Doom
– Picture This
– Dragon Fruit Fiasco
– Ranger Tom: A Badge Too Far
– King Stink
– The Sprite Before Christmas

We’ve always enjoyed watching and joining in with Tree Fu Tom and helping him to create the magic at home. The series was originally developed with the help of the Dyspraxia Foundation with the intention of promoting movement and co-ordination in pre-school children, plus it’s fun to join in with, and it gets us all off the sofa!

Being a huge Tree Fu Tom fan, the small boy loved watching this DVD, true to form he got up and copied Tom and his magical movements to create the magic at home. We think Tree Fu Tom and the Carrots of Doom is a must for any Tree Fu fan!

The Tree Fu Tom and the Carrots Of Doom DVD is available from a wide range of retailers including Amazon from Monday 5th October 2015.

My Sunday Photo 11.10.15

Enjoy Britain’s Best Breakfast for The Carers Trust

The Carers Trust have launched Britain’s Best Breakfast – an annual national fundraising campaign to raise money to help support unpaid carers and give them a break from their caring role. As part of the campaign they are asking people to invite their friends and family to join them for a fundraising breakfast and raise money for Carers Trust. Everyone who signs up to get a hosting information pack before 18 October goes in the draw to win an iPad.

Today, 1 in 10 of us is a carer. That’s nearly 7 million people. So even if you aren’t a carer yourself, it’s likely you know someone who needs the support of the Carers Trust. The Carers Trust is a charity close to my heart, having been a carer myself, I know just how hard it can be physically and emotionally. Young carers in particular need additional support.

£12 could offer support through a counselling session for a carer,
giving them the chance to voice their concerns and gain reassurance.

£15 could give a young carer a few carefree hours by giving them the opportunity to take part in a range of activities from arts and crafts to sport.

£50 could go towards providing a carer with a much needed respite break. This is so important as so often carers go for months or even years without a break

£75 can save valuable time for an exhausted carer by going towards a washing machine or dishwasher – a vital piece of equipment for a carer

£120 can help a very desperate carer in need of urgent help – by contributing to a carers emergency service where swift, practical support is given in a crisis

Britain’s Biggest Breakfast sounds like a really lovely sociable thing to do anyway, and if you’re sitting down and having a little breakfast party anyway, why not raise a bit of money for the Carers Trust at the same time?

You can find out more about The Carers Trust and Britain’s Best Breakfast on their website.

Charity Challenge – How quickly can I peel an egg?

Britain's Best Breakfast

We were challenged to see how quickly we could peel the shell off an egg. I thought I’d be pretty good at this because I shell quite a lot of eggs each week. I was wrong. You can see the video of how we got on below, but as a benchmark the fastest time to shell one unpricked boiled egg is 2.66 seconds and was achieved by Silvio Sabba (Italy) in Strumica, Macedonia, on 21 August 2012. As you can see from the video it took us slightly longer than 2.66 seconds. Oh dear.

We did not egg-cel at egg shelling. Our gifts clearly lie in other areas – but we gave it a good go and had a cracking time trying. I don’t think we’d ever get our time to under three seconds anyway.

Why not set up your own little challenge at your breakfast party. Here are a few suggestions for your own charity challenge (it’s not as easy as you’d think) –

• Most toast slices buttered in one minute
• Fastest time to peel a hard-boiled egg
• Most eggs cracked with one hand in one minute

However well you get on, the great thing it you can always eat the results. Don’t forget to tweet them to let them know how you got on with your challenge, and what yummy things you’re having for your breakfast event.

Cooking with Kids: Homemade Butter

At the end of September I was lucky enough to spend a day at River Cottage with a gorgeous group of food bloggers and Foodies100. It was a marvellous day and you can read about it all here. But for me one of the highlights was making homemade butter from scratch. It was something I did at school about 25 years ago, but this was quicker and much more fun. So it was one of the first things I wanted to try with the boy when I got home.

It was very easy, fun to do and with an educational element we can all get behind. By chance I’d spied some yellow stickered cream in my local supermarket and at 25p for a big carton, it had “make me into butter” written all over it.

making butter

The recipe is from the River Cottage team, it’s not mine so I won’t even try and claim it as my own. On the day we all picked a variety of herbs, chopped them up and incorporated them into the butter, or you could just salt it like we did at home (it’s hard to get green bits in butter past the rigorous quality control standards of a small child). It’s the kind of recipe you can adapt however you want. Tarragon butter? Garlic butter? Thyme butter? You choose!

Homemade Butter

Make your own creamy homemade butter. It’s so easy and a lovely fun thing to do with the kids.

Ingredients
200ml double cream
Pinch salt, optional

Instructions
Using an electric whisk, whip the cream until it looks like very stiff scrambled eggs. Keep mixing using a spatula until the mixture separates into butter and buttermilk. Set aside the buttermilk.

Using your cold hands, squeeze the excess buttermilk from the butter. Rinse the butter in iced water, squeeze any further moisture out and pat dry.

Put your homemade butter on a piece of baking parchment and flatten into a rectangle and sprinkle with salt, adding any herbs if you are making a herb butter.

Roll up like a swiss roll and put it in the fridge to chill. It is ready to use however you wish.

Notes

You can save the buttermilk and use it in another recipe, maybe in scones or soda bread.

It’s pretty quick to make if you use an electric whisk, you could beat it by hand if you wanted, but it might take forever. The small boy loved helping to whisk the cream, insisted on trying it when it looked (but did not taste) like scrambled eggs and he enjoyed helping to pat it flat, like play-dough but all slippy.

making butter

It’s a lovely thing to do with kids, I think it’s good to teach them where food comes from and how it is made. Cookery, maths and science go hand in hand. It’s edible education and I think we can all agree that’s a very good thing indeed!

An unforgettable day at River Cottage

I remember watching the first ever series of River Cottage and being really inspired by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Over the years we’ve followed him on TV, watched the move from the original River Cottage to its new base near Axminster and continued to be inspired by the River Cottage way of life. Hardly a week goes by without me making a HFW recipe, and when we went to River Cottage for a meal in 2008 it was beyond a shadow of a doubt THE best foodie experience of my life. It could never be topped. Or could it?

In late September nearly 50 lovely food bloggers made the journey to River Cottage, convening in the car park at 9am, ready for the very bumpy tractor ride down the hill. Since my last visit to River Cottage the original barn/dining room had burnt down and been rebuilt, and a shiny new cookery school building had been added. It was bigger, slicker, but still as beautiful.

river cottage

We were greeted by the team, ushered into a yurt and briefed about our day. We were split into three groups and we could each have a turn having a farm and garden tour, make some bread and butter and have a go at some food styling and photography with the ever lovely Lucy (aka Capture by Lucy). But first, breakfast canapes and coffee, all with a Devonshire view to die for.

river cottage

Jim, the affable assistant gardener took us first round the kitchen garden, and then around to the farm area where the chickens, pigs and polytunnels are kept. The kitchen garden is at the back of the cottage and is beautifully maintained. Jim explained the principles of crop rotation and showed us all the crops and flowers growing there.

river cottage

The garden was coming to the end of the summer season, and every space is filled with lovely produce and flowers.

river cottage

After our outdoor tour, we gathered in the cookery school kitchen with Head Chef Gill Mellor, who talked us through making butter from scratch as well as baking a fruity, herby soda bread – all done and dusted in an hour and a half. I was particularly taken with the butter, which we filled with herbs gathered from the kitchen garden. It was messy and fun and I was determined to have another go once I got home.

With our bread cooling, we headed to the dining room for a much needed sit down and a bite to eat. When I last visited in 2008 I’d eaten the best meal I could ever imagine, so I had fairly high expectations.

I’m a vegetarian so I was presented with a wonderfully rich, delicious garden ragu, full of amazing herbs and vegetables from the kitchen garden, nestled on top was a wholemeal ravioli with a cheese and spinach rarebit filling and it was incredible (I’m drooling at the memory). On the side were some corn on the cob pieces which had been tossed in garlic and herbs and griddled to perfection.

river cottage

I didn’t think things could get any better than the plate of food I’d just polished off, but I was wrong. The fennel flower meringue, coffee infused ice cream with salted caramel, honey drizzled roasted foraged damsons with molasses crumble was a triumph and a pudding experience I will never forget and I suspect one which will never be surpassed.

Lunch was also a great opportunity to chat and get to know a few other people. It was also I suspect the most photographed meal in the history of River Cottage!

river cottage

Post lunch we convened for a food photography session with Lucy. I’ve been to one of Lucy’s workshops before and everyone always leaves feeling incredibly inspired and with a few more tips, skills and props in their armoury. This was no exception. Though my photographs during her session we nothing to write home about, I have since taken on board a lot of her suggestions and I’m making some improvements – step one – buy a proper DLSR!

It was by far the highlight of my blogging career so far. Getting the chance to spend a day in such a wonderful place with wonderful people. I learned a huge amount about food and blogging and food blogging. I was a very, very special day. Thank you to Foodies100 and to the team at River Cottage for organising it. Next time I won’t leave it so long before I visit again.

If you’d like to read more about Blog Camp River Cottage, you can find out more on the Foodies100 website.