The Kids Only Cookbook by Sue Quinn - Review

My son Ben is almost six and loves to get involved in preparing and cooking our food, anything from baking bread and cakes to preparing vegetables and cooking pasta. He is getting quite skilled and is able to prepare simple meals with minimal supervision, so when we were offered the chance to review the fabulous new Kids Only Cookbook by Sue Quinn it was ideal!

Ben was so excited when it arrived (I mean seriously, he doesn't get this excited for toy reviews!) and couldn't wait to get cracking!

The book is bright and colourful and full of images from cover to cover, really appealing to children! The recipes are presented in a cartoon style, with step by step photographs, Ben found these really easy to follow.

There are some amazing things to make from Fairy Bread to sticky toffee pudding in a jar to no recipe pancakes and much much more!

But it's not just about recipes, there's a great section at the front that has some really useful tips from how to cook the perfect white rice to how not to cut your finger off while chopping! (A rather important tip, that one!)

Ben wanted to make all of the recipes immediately, so we looked at a few, but the one that caught his eye first was the Paper Bag breakfast! He loves BBQ's and is a dab hand at cracking eggs (lots of practice making cakes!)

We took a disposable BBQ on our camping trip and Ben made us breakfast!

He made one each for himself, Daddy and Elizabeth and they all loved them! (Mummy's a silly vegetarian so had poached eggs instead!) This was a great way to have breakfast while camping and Ben has decided he wants the same every weekend!!

So what do you think? Have you ordered it yet? Just in case you need any more convincing I thought I'd share with you a very special sneak peek of another recipe in the book for you, this one is for those of you with a sweet tooth...

Here's a very entertaining video of these yummy sounding chocolate meringue kisses being made! It's a fab recipe that we will definitely be trying soon and I love the awesome way of separating the egg whites!

We will also be trying out the Tin Can Ice Cream recipe which looks like great fun so watch this space for another fab recipe coming soon...


The Kids Only Cookbook can be purchased from Amazon for just £9.09 currently! (RRP £12.99) Well worth it! If you do buy it, let me know how you get on with your child's favourite recipe.

Fancy a #Free Bowl?

Mccain Wedges fans are being invited to collect limited edition McCain Wedges sharing bowls in an exclusive on pack offer available in supermarkets across the country, the promotion started in July and will continue until late September 2013.

The Caribbean-inspired bowls are made from stylish ceramic making them the ideal centre piece at every barbeque, party or al fresco meal!

To start your collection, simply purchase any two 750g promotional packs of McCain Wedges, then log onto www.summerofsharing.co.uk to enter your unique codes and to claim your exclusive bowl, completely free of charge!

The McCain Wedges range includes Lightly Spiced, Sea Salt and Black Pepper, and Mexican flavours as well as limited edition McCain Caribbean Wedges which launched earlier this year...

The lovely folks at Mccain are sending me a bowl to enjoy some summer dining in and have offered me one to give away too.

Simly follow the rafflecopter instructions below....

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Feta & Beetroot Summer Salad Recipe with Fresh Gourmet

So Summer is here! And what better food for al fresco dining than a yummy salad? The lovely folks at Fresh Gourmet sent me a selection of their range of croutons and toppings that are perfect for summer salads, they include three delicious crouton flavours – Basil Pesto, Cheese & Garlic and Cracked Black Pepper as well as crunchy Crispy Onions. They challenged me to create an experimental salad recipe using at least one of their products and of course I accepted!

As a vegetarian I find that salads feature in quite a lot of my meals, especially over the warmer summer months. I absolutely love a traditional Greek salad and have developed quite a few variations over the years that our whole family enjoy!

I decided to keep a Greek or Mediterranean feel to my salad but create something a bit different. One of my favourite root vegetables is beetroot, it's just so versatile, I love it roasted in the winter, in salads in the summer and in chocolate cake all year round!

I decided to team beetroot with Greek Feta for a yummy summer salad with a twist!

Ingredients:

50g of fresh peppery rocket

3 large salad tomatoes 

1/2 cucumber

100g Greek Feta Cheese

100g Sweetfire Baby Beetroot

80g of green Halkidiki Olives

Fresh Gourmet Sea Salt and cracked Black Pepper Croutons

For the dressing:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Oregano

(quantities to taste)

Preparation:

After washing all of the ingredients and chopping roughly into large chunks, I started with a bed of rocket in the serving bowl, then took the tomato, cucumber, feta, beetroot and olives together and tossed them together in a colander before adding on top of the rocket. I then completed this this tasty offering with a generous sprinkle of of the fresh gourmet croutons.

For the dressing I mixed Extra Virgin Olive oil with Balsamic vinegar and added Oregano to taste, a light but tasty dressing for this summery salad...

Tasting:

All that was left was to taste it! It looked so pretty I didn't want to spoil it, but I soon gave in and I can honestly say it tastes even better than it looks!! I was a bit concerned that the multitude of strong flavours would be a bit much and overpower each other but that was not the case! The sweet beetroot and salty Feta complemented each other perfectly and the peppery rocket was a lovely contrast with the refreshing cucumber and tomato. The well seasoned crispy croutons were an ideal topping, giving the extra bite needed to complete this summer delight. I can see this being a regular for us over the next few months! But don't just take my word for it, my children gave it the thumbs up too... 

Ben, 5 said..."It's really cool and tasty" while Elizabeth, 2 simply went with "More, please?"

The Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper croutons are just one of the new range from Fresh Gourmet, I also really enjoyed the cheese and garlic croutons, which were a lovely addition to a butternut squash soup adding a bit of Italian flavour and extra crunchiness while still taking on the yummy taste of the deliciously sweet squash. The Ciabatta croutons  had a really light and crispy texture and although these were yummy with a more traditional Caesar salad they also made a moreish snack on their own and I found myself eating them straight from the packet!

The final product in the range offers something a bit different but just as delicious! The crispy onions were the perfect addition to our burgers and sausages at a recent BBQ they gave added texture and helped to bring the flavours of the meat to the forefront (so i'm told, I had some on a veggie burger!)

Overall I was really impressed with the products on offer from the Fresh Gourmet range and I can see them becoming staples in our cupboard as they are so versatile! Also being baked and not fried makes them a healthier alternative.

At just £2 per large 80g pouch (that is easily resealable for freshness) from most supermarkets, they are a great way of adding some extra texture and taste to a variety of different meals.

So what salad will you be trying them with? Do let me know what you think of my Feta & Beetroot Salad recipe if you try it...

Keep cool x

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I was sent a selection of fresh gourmet products to use in this recipe.