Bean, Corn and Couscous Salad

Welcome June!  I love June, its one of the nicest months of the year.  The gardens are at their best, bursting out all over with bloom on every bush.  We tend to have more sunny days than rainy days, and our BBQ goes into over-use!  Salad days.  And this is a salad that we both really love!



Its great off-season as you can use frozen veg and they work perfectly well, and its great on-season when fresh veg is at their best.   Not much fresh veg here, yet, but  plenty of good frozen corn, peas and broadbeans.



All blanched quickly so they maintain all of their colour and crisp freshness.   I think broadbeans are what is called lima beans in North America.  You will find them ever so much more palatable if you slip off the tough outer skins.

 

Its a bit of a faff, but so worth it, both in flavour and texture . . . not to mention colour!  So brilliantly green!  There is also a nice bit of fresh mint in the salad.  Mine is going crazy at the moment. Oh, I do love fresh mint!  It shines in this lovely salad.



Just look at all of those beautiful colours!  The dressing is a delicious one . . .  flavoured with white balsamic,  lemon and Dijon mustard with a smattering of garlic and some shallots.

Altogether this is a very fine salad indeed.

 

*Bean, Corn and Couscous Salad*

Serves 6
Printable Recipe  

 

Quite simply a delicious salad of corn, beans, broad beans, peas and Israeli couscous with a fresh Mint Vinaigrette Dressing!

For the salad:

115g of Israeli Couscous, uncooked (2/3 cup)

1/2 pound green haricot beans, trimmed cut into 2 inch pieces

150g of frozen petit pois (1 cup)

150g of frozen broad beans( 1 cup)

145g of frozen sweet corn (1 cup)

3 TBS chopped fresh mint

salt and black pepper

Rocket to serve (optional)

For the dressing:

60ml extra virgin olive oil (1/4 cup)

2 TBS fresh lemon juice

2 TBS white balsamic vinegar

1 shallot, peeled and minced

1 small clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Bring a pot of salted water to the boil.  blanch the beans, peas, broad beans and corn for two minutes.  Drain well.  Rinse with cold water and drain again.  Slip the tough outer skin from the broad beans discard.  (If you have chickens, give the skins to them.  They love them!)

Place into a salad bowl.   Cook the couscous according to the package directions.  Drain well, rinse with cold water and drain again.  Tip into the bowl with the vegetables.   Toss in the mint and salt and pepper to taste.

Whisk together the dressing ingredients.  Pour this dressing over the salad, Toss to coat.  (You may not need it all).

Spoon the salad out onto fresh rocket leaves to serve.  (optional)



Bon Appetit!

Ugly, because you're sweet enough already!

I was recently sent a box of these UGLY unsweetened sparkling waters to try out and I have really enjoyed them.    We are surrounded by sweet things in the market place and our tastebuds have almost been destroyed by so much sweetness.  I have to say it is very refreshing to find a sparkling drink which is not sweet, artificially sweeet and all natural with only the flavours of the fruit to dress it up!

It is just sparkling water flavoured with natural fruit flavours.  That's it.

NO sugar.  NO sweetener.  No artificial flavours.



They come in two delicious flavours . . .

 

Lemon & Lime - When Lemon meets Lime, you know things get tasty. Like Romeo and Juliet, Bonnie and Clyde…Mac and Cheese…some things are just made to go together. Ugly Lemon & Lime hits the spot when you need it most. Drink ice cold for maximum refreshment.

Ingredients Sparkling Water, Natural Lemon and Lime Flavours, Natural Flavour, Citric Acid.



Grapefruit & Pineapple - Like a disco in a can, Ugly Grapefruit & Pineapple is a taste sensation. Take a sip, slip those dancing shoes on and get ready to boogie your way to the office. Strap in and enjoy the ride.

Ingredients:   Sparkling Water, Natural Grapefruit and Pineapple Flavour, Natural Flavour, Citric Acid.

We really have enjoyed these deliciously refreshing drinks.  Chilled from the refrigerator they have gone down a real treat.   You can find these drinks at As Nature Intended, Selfridges & Co., Whole Foods Market, Vital Ingredient and Planet Organic.



To find out more check it out:

Ugly Drinks
Twitter:  @uglydrinks 
Facebook 
Instagram   

#glugugly

The English Kitchen gives these delicious drinks 10 out of 10 and two thumbs up!

Note - although I was sent these drinks for free to try, any and all opinions are my own.  I was not required to write a positive review.

Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad

We had beautiful weather at the weekend.  Gorgeously sunny and warm.    The perfect Bank Holiday weekend.   I had some chicken breasts which I poached and then threw together this delicious Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad for us to enjoy on one of the days.  It went down a real treat.  All the flavours of Buffalo Wings, except its a delicious salad.  I used some pasta which I had gotten in my latest Degustabox delivery, the May box.  I will tell you about the salad in a little bit, but first I want to tell you about what else I got in my May Degustabox.


 

To those not in the know, if you sign up for it, once a month, every month . . . Degustabox will deliver to your home . . . 10 to 15 new, special or innovative food products for you to try in the comfort of your own home via a subscription service. A monthly subscription costs £12.99 with free shipping, or you can pay bi-annually for only £11.99 per box, an 8% saving on the full subscription price.  You are also able to cancel your subscription at any time.  What you receive can be tailored to the types of things that you like and would use. To me it's a bit like a foodie Christmas every month of the year! I really love them! This is what was in my latest box . . .



MRS CRIMBLES Authentically French Gluten Free Madeleines  1 X

These are available in two mouth-watering varieties; Classic Madeleines and Chocolate Madeleines with a choc filling. The Classic Madeleine is a light French sponge cake with a delicate vanilla flavour, the Chocolate Madeleine is an indulgent chocolate sponge with a gooey choc filling. Both are gluten free, baked in the traditional scallop moulds and of course, made in France!



Product of the month - BRIOCHE PASQUIER 1 X £1.80

A traditional French Breakfast wouldn't be the same without an all butter croissant.  These delicious croissants are free from preservatives, hydrogenated fats and artificial colours.  Wrapped by two, these croissants stay fresher for longer and can be eaten on the go.  Can be enjoyed warm.  Pre-heat your oven to 200*C and warm for 2 to 3  minutes.

 

PECHKEKS FORTUNE COOKIES 2 X £1

Black cookies, black humour; ideal for Lucky Lukes and Bad-Luck Brins, superwomen and high-flyers, crybabies and wussy wimps, iron ladies and tough guys.  These cookies are like a left hook because you can be sure that they won't predict etenal love or unimaginable wealth.  The messages are crude, truthful and direct - the glimpse into the furute, brutally honest and pessimistic.  So you're left with no choice but to take them with a sense of humour.  And that means one thing is guaranteed; lots of fun!  Find out more at www.pech-kes.de or www.misfortune-cookies.co.uk. 



THE WONDERFUL COMPANY 2 X £0.90

Wonderful Almonds are sun-ripened in our california orchards.  Our high quality almonds have a sweet, mild flavour and crunchy texture. Ideal for snacking and cooking.  Taste the California difference.

Wonderful Pistachios are sun-ripened in our California Orchards.  We select only the largest pistachios and roast them to perfection in different flavours.  Taste the California difference.



GET FRUITY 1 X £1

Get fruity is an award-winning fruit and oat bar that has a high percentage of the named fruit making it authentically fruity.  Get Fruity contains gluten free oats & virgin coconut oil with no added refined sugars, produced on a nut free site and is 100% natural.  Get Fruity comes in six fruity flavours.

 

 BELOVED DATE NECTAR 1 X

100% whole date nectar – great for pouring over pancakes or waffles, or as an alternative to sugars for baking and cooking.

Our BeLOVeD Date Nectar gets its name from the care and attention we take over everything we do to bring you this delicious syrup.

Made with the whole date goodness of our hand-picked dates, sourced in Oman, it is a rich source of natural minerals and anti-oxidants and is great for pouring over pancakes or waffles, sweetening hot drinks and cereals, or as an alternative to sugars for baking and cooking. There is simply no other nectar like it.

-All natural ingredients
-Suitable for vegetarians
- Low in salt
-No added sugar, contains naturally occurring sugars from dates



KALLO £1.29/£1.69

Kallo Belgian Milk Chocolate Corn Cakes - a guilt-free mic-morning treat or an afternoon bite, these chocolate corn cakes are made with the highest quality ingredients, suitable for vegetarians and are also coeliac friendly.  At only  78 calories er corn cake, they make a delicious snack that satisfies any chocolate craving.  Alternately transform them into an indulgent pudding, by dolloping on some whipped cream, a handful of jicy raspberries and a drizzle of honey - delicious.

Kallo Yogurt Coated Rice Cakes - these scrumptious rice cakes are a great alternative to a biscuit.  Made with wholegrain brown rice and coated in delicious yoghurt; our on the go packs are ideal to take this sweet treat with you everywhere.



 POMEGREAT 1 X £1.49

In our California Orhcards, we grow only the Wonderful variety of Pomengranates; the variety we feel produces the sweetest and best-tasting juice. We harvest our pomegranates when they are a deep ruby red and bursting with flavour.  Using our special recipe, we enhance the unique pomegranates with aronia juice from concentrate for a delicious refreshing fruit drink the whole family can enjoy.

 

JACKDANIEL'S TENNESSEE HONEY BARBECUE GLAZE 1 X £1.99

Jack DAniel's Tennessee Honey Barbecue Glaze is infused with soft flavours of the popular Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey Liqueur, giving the glaze a hinto of honey anda delicious smooth flavour.  Creat a luxuriously sticky, sweet ribs and glistening chicken wings or simply use as a dip for wedges, or veggies.  Available from Tesco store nationwide.



CRANES 2 X £1.90

Cranes is a 4% alcoholic drink that is brewed purely from crushed cranberries, with added juice for real flavour.  It comes in three distinctive flavours; Origina Cranberry, Raspberry & Pomegranate and Strawberry & Kiwi.  The product is 100% natural, high in juice (16.4%), low in calories (99 calories) and has little added sugar.  Stocked on Ocado.com and shop.drinkcranes.co.uk .

And finally  . . . 



GAROFALO 1 X £1.99

Fusilli Bucati Corti, a corkscrew shaped pasta, is one of the many great shapes available in the UK from italian Pasta maker Garofalo.  Made from only high quality durum wheat and shaped using a bronze die gives Garofalo pasta is premium taste and texture; and not forgetting the Italian passion whish is why those who choose Garofalo pasta can be sure of enjoying a great experience!

And this is the product I decided to showcase with a recipe this month.



This shape is ideal for holding sauces and dressings, and it is really excellent pasta.   I, really, really liked it!



This really is an excellent salad.   It does pack a bit of a punch.  I only add the smaller amount of hot pepper sauce.  (I used Chiloula)  It is plenty hot with that, but if you are a lover of really hot and spicy, do add more!

 

There is plenty of crunch from the chopped celery . . .



colour from the grated carrot and the chopped spring onions  . . .



Protein from the chicken.  (I like to buy a couple of packages of chicken breasts and poach them, so that I have plenty of cooked chicken for the week, to use in sandwiches, or salads, casseroles etc. )



Then there is the creamy blue cheese  . . .  I like Danish, myself.  Very good and not overly tangy.  Altogether, this is a very delicious salad.  I hope you like it!

*Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad*

Serves 6

Printable Recipe 

Your favourite flavours in a salad.  Makes great use of leftover chicken! 

230g of ridged pasta (2 cups)

(Cook to al dente and then rinse well and chill)

2 chicken breasts, plached and then shredded

4stalks of celery, trimmed, destringed and finely chopped

2 spring onions, trimmed and chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and grated

110g of bottled ranch dressing (1/2 cup)

2 TBS hot sauce

2 TBS crumbled blue cheese for the dressing

plus more for sprinkling (optional)

salt and pepper as desired 

Whisk together the dressing, hotsauce, and crumbled blue cheese.  Taste and adjust hot sauce as desired.   Put the pasta into a bowl along with the chicken, celery, onions and carrot.  Toss together and season as desired.  Fold in the dressing and blue cheese.  Serve spooned out onto chilled plates and pass some extra blue cheese for sprinkling over top if wanted.



 Many thanks to Degustabox for sending me this box. I have to say I really look forward to getting my box each month. There are always lots of things in it to enjoy and new products to try out. I highly recommend. You can also tailor the boxes to your own likes and dislikes by filling in your own Taste Profile. I also have a code which is worth a £6.00 discount off your first box when registering. Simply use the code: BLDEG15
 
Do check out the Degustabox web page for more information and details.
Follow them on Facebook 
 Follow them on Twitter 

PS - there was an extra special little thankyou in the box this month from the people at DB.

 

Chocolate yum!   Nom! Nom!

CADBURY DAIRY MILK BIG TASTE UNVEILS THE UK’S FIRST EVER MONSTER TRUCK TAXI

Fasten your seat belts and get your taste buds ready because Cadbury Dairy Milk gets the chocolate on the road with the UK’s first ever Monster Truck Taxi. This impressive vehicle was especially created to help celebrate the launch of the new Cadbury Dairy Milk Big Taste bars and  to bring us British big chunks of deliciousness and a ride to remember.




Dwarfing all other cabs on the road, the Big Taste Monster Truck Taxi is a humongous  9ft tall and weighs an incredible  1.5 tonnes. Adorned with the iconic Cadbury purple, the car will open its doors to chocolate fans all over the country  to help introduce them to the thrilling taste sensation of the new bars in the range: Cadbury Dairy Milk Big Taste Toffee Whole Nut, Cadbury Dairy Milk Big Taste Oreo Crunch and Cadbury Dairy Milk Triple Choc Sensation.




Sitting at over 2 meters in height passengers are sure to be in for a treat when they climb inside the cab. The Big Taste Monster Truck Taxi takes to the streets of London on 27th May 2016 and will then set off on a journey across the country, making a stop in Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool where it will give chocolate fans the chance to enjoy an exhilarating experience inside the cab, as well as sample some of Cadbury's delicious new products.

Big Taste Monster Truck Taxi will be touring the nation on the following days:

-27th May – London, King’s Cross
-29th May – Liverpool, One Paradise Place
-31st May – Manchester, Wellington Statue
-2nd June – Birmingham, Bullring

Gemma Flanigan, Cadbury Dairy Milk Senior Brand Manager at Mondelez International, said: “As part of our new “Tastes Like This Feels” campaign, we wanted to bring to life the unique feeling and the big taste sensation that Cadbury Dairy Milk Big Taste bars deliver. What better way to do this than by creating Britain’s first ever Monster Truck Taxi and inviting chocolate fans on board to experience a new and epic ride – the perfect metaphor for the feeling that Cadbury Dairy Milk Big Taste bars evoke. Sitting at over 2 meters in height passengers are sure to be in for a treat when they climb inside the cab and we can’t wait to take it on tour!”  

To keep up to date on exciting news about Cadbury, visit www.facebook.com/cadburyUK

Twitter @CadburyUK
#TastesLikeThisFeels 

Note - I received a free bar of chocolate for promoting this Cadbury Campaign.  Toffee Whole Nut.  It was good., tooooooo good.

Chicken Parmo

Chicken Parmo . . .  no, that is not a mistype.  I meant to say Chicken Parmo.  Are you ready for some full on decadence Middlesbrough style?   Lock away the calorie counters because I am going to show you something today which is totally off the scales tastewise, not to mention caloriwise!   Fastfood chicken as only the people in the North East of England, Teesside . . .  do it!  Hang onto your hats, you're in for a real treat!



Not to be confused with the Italian Chicken Cutlet and cheese dish with the marinara sauce known as Chicken Parmigiana, this is a dish I had heard about for a long time and always wanted to try.  I have never been to the North East, but this dish is something I have been stalking for a while, ever since I heard my friend Julie (who is from the North East) talking about.   Breaded chicken cutlet is the only thing it has in common with its Italian Counterpart.



What you have here is a chicken breast, pounded and breaded   . . .  then deep fried . . .  until it's crisp and golden on the outside and tender moist on the inside . . .



 Slathered with a rich, well flavoured bechamel cream sauce  . . .  and loaded wth lots of grated strong cheddar cheese  . . .



Then popped under a grill til the bechamel is bubbling away and the cheese is golden and gooey . . .  the three together.  Heavenly Bliss.  Its as simple as that.   In the North East they would eat them with chips, one per customer.  Come big or stay home.   I cut it into three and was in heaven with every mouthful.  I have given quantities for four, but really two would serve four people quite amply, especially if you added chips on the side.

 

*North East Chicken Parmo*

Serves 4

Printable Recipe 

Tender breaded fried chicken breast, slathered with some bechamel sauce, with sharp cheddar on top and grilled until everything is scrumptiously gooey. 

4 chicken fillets,  pounded to an equal thickness

1 large free range egg

150g of dry bread crumbs

salt and pepper to taste

Vegetable oil for frying 

For the bechamel:

5 TBS butter

4 TBS flour

4 cups milk

1 onion, peeled and stick with 1 clove and 1 bay leaf

salt and pepper

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg 

110g of strong cheddar cheese, grated (4 ounces)

First make the bechamel.   Place the milk into a sauce pan with the onion, clove/bayleaf.  Bring just to the boil.  Remove and set aside to infuse for half an hour.  Strain out the onion and clove/bayleaf.  Melt the butter in a large saucepan.  Whisk in the flouf.  Cook for one minute,  Whisk in the  warm milk a bit at a time until the mixture thickens and boils.  Cook for about 5 minutes over low heat.   Season with salt and black pepper and nutmeg.  Place a piece of parchment paper on the surface to keep a skin from forming and set aside.

Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.  Beat the egg in a large shallow bowl.  Place the bread crumbs into another large shallow bowl.  Place  1 inch of vegetable oil in a large skillet.  Dip the chicken breasts into the egg and then into the bread crumbs, coating them well all over, and lightly pressing to adhere.  Place onto a parchment lined baking sheet as you coat them.   Heat the oil in the skillet until hot.  Add the chicken breasts, two at a time, and cook for several  minutes on each side, until golden brown.  (depending on the size of your chicken breasts, you may not be able to cook two at at ime, in which case cook one at a time, and add more oil as needed)  They are done when golden brown and cooked through.  Don't have the oil too hot or they will burn on the outside and not cook on the inside.

Place them all into a large baking dish.  Slather the tops with the bechamel sauce and sprinkle cheese over all.

Heat the grill to high.  Pop the baking dish under the grill and grill until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is golden.  Serve hot.



The History of Chicken Parmo:

The parmo is said to have been created by Nicos Harris, a chef with the American army in World War II. He was wounded in France, but was brought to the United Kingdom to be treated in a British hospital. He ended up moving to Middlesbrough and opened a restaurant  where he created the parmo at The American Grill in 1958.



You do NOT want to know how many calories there are in one full size Parmo served with chips and salad on the side. Look it up on the net and prepare to be shocked.   Suffice it to say that  . . .  as delicious as it is . . .  this is one heck of a blue moon treat!  I dare say once in a lifetime.  I am glad that I only made one and had two other people to share it with.  Whew!

(My chips were oven baked homemade)