New in my Kitchen #6

Occasionally I'm sent new products to try or I try something new myself. Here are the newest discoveries in my kitchen.

I may love or hate a product, but I will be honest about it.

Let me know if you've made any great new discoveries.

1. Eclectic Cutlery Set

I got this colourful cutlery set from notonthehighstreet.com. I thought they would look great in food photos. There were two other sets and I particularly liked the dotty one, that had a variety of dotty and floral cutlery, but I was won over by these colours of the sea.





I have to admit to losing hours to Not On The High Street. They have so many fabulous gifts by craftspeople, that you guessed it, you don't see on the high street.

I've spent many an hour browsing through their kitchen and dining pages and spent way too much.

I bought the little milk bottles that I display my smoothies there too, along with the stripey straws.

Cutlery RRP £37.99
Milk Bottles RRP £3.50

Score: 10/10

2. Cherries Glamour

I was lucky enough to be sent a batch of these early cherries to try. These Spanish cherries are only available between March and April and are grown in relatively small quantities. They are sold in Harrods and Marks & Spencer.

They are farmed by a Spanish farmer called Oscar Ortiz, who picks and sends them on their way the same day. He told the Daily Mail, " I often sleep in the greenhouse," in a sleeping bag "It's just to check that they're OK. But my wife's not exactly happy about that. I don't stay here every night."

That's dedication for you. The cherries were large, ripe and really sweet. Such a treat to have cherries to feast on so early in the year.

Score 9/10

3. Good Heavens Drinking Yoghurts

I got these a while back, but forgot to tell you about them.

Little 125ml bottles of drinking yoghurt, that are just perfect to grab on your way out in the morning.

They contain 25% of an adult's calcium RDA and are also Probiotic and low-fat and very slurpilicious!

I haven't seen them in my local supermarket yet, but I am keeping a look out for them.

RRP 99p each
Score: 9/10

 4. Cocoa Boutique

Cocoa boutique is effectively a chocolate tasting club. For £19.95 a month, they will select the best chocolates for UK and worldwide artisan chocolate makers. Delivery is free and the boxes fit through a letterbox.

Photo courtesy of Cocoa Boutique

This was the monthly selection I received. My out and out favourite was the Passion Fruit. I can hand on heart say, it was the most amazing chocolate I have ever tasted!

I also really enjoyed the Lemon Meringue whip, the Pink Champagne Truffles, the Coco Dusted Salted Caramels and the Honeycomb Bites.

The rest were good, but not flavours I would pick and that is why I don't know if I would join a club like this.

It would be a fabulous gift, but unless you like a wide range of flavours, you would end up with some sitting in the box.

Of course, you could always share them!

RRP £19.95
Score: 7/10



5. Indus Split Red Lentils

These aren't new in my kitchen, but I wanted to mention them.

I use a lot of red lentils in soups and dals, so it makes sense for me to buy a bigger bag. I tend to do my shopping in Tesco, as there is one near my house, so it is nice and convenient.

I used to buy the bog standard 250g bag, that sat beside all of the other rice and grains, until I discovered the Indian section. £2.99 for a huge 2kg bag. The 250g bags generally cost just short of a pound, so you can see how much can be saved by heading to the Indian section.

While you are there, buy your coconut milk for 69p instead of paying anywhere between £1 and £2 and buy some of the East End Chickpeas at 39p for a 400g tin. They are fat, creamy and delicious, unlike the Tesco Chickpeas that cost 60p a tin and are as hard as bullets and very unappealing! 

You also get some great discounts on big bags of cashews and pistachio nuts, as well as a good variety of other products. I buy big jars of my favourite spices here too and save quite a lot of money. 

Do let me know if you find these brands cheaper elsewhere.

Red Lentils 2kg bag RRP £2.99
Coconut Milk 400ml tin £0.69
East End Chick Peas 400g tin RRP £0.39

Score: 9/10 

6. GoodLife 

We've bought this brand in the past, but were recently re-introduced to it when we tried a selection of their products and they are perfect for us now that Graham is vegan. 

Goodlife's products are meat-free, dairy-free, egg-free and gluten-free.

As you know I usually cook our meals from scratch, but it's sometimes nice to have something quick out of the freezer. 

When we eat veggie burgers or sausages, we layer them high on lightly toasted rolls with salad or fried onions and with relish or mustard.

Our other favourite way of enjoying them is a bit of a nursery meal, served with mashed potato and beans. This goes down well with both Cooper and Graham.

These were our favourites from GoodLife. We all loved the Spicy Bean Quarterpounders, that were packed with beans and veg and had a little kick to them. Cooper and I really enjoyed the Glamorgan Sausages, which are made from mashed potato, onion, leek and cauliflower. Soft and creamy on the inside and crisp on the outside. Graham wasn't as keen. He prefers a burger.

RRP?
Score: 8/10

ps have you seen my Cajun Spiced Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burgers yet? You really must try them. They are amazing!!!  Scroll down for the recipe in the next post.

Have you tried any great new products recently? 

Disclosure: I was sent products to review by notonthehighstreet.com, Cherries Glamour, Good Heavens, Cocoa Boutique and Goodlife. I bought the milk bottles, straws and red lentils myself. I was not required to write a positive review and any opinions expressed are my own.

Cajun Spiced Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burgers

I made these burgers today and I'm super pleased with them.

Yes, I have veered off my meal plan already. We were supposed to be having Pasta with Roast Vegetables and Feta tonight and going out for a meal tomorrow, but the meal has been cancelled, so with a day off and a bit of time on my hands (after cleaning the house from top to bottom), I decided to make us some lovely homemade burgers. I'll go back to the plan tomorrow, starting with the pasta.

My burgers are made with sweet potatoes, black beans, spinach, oats and seeds. No egg or any kind of dairy, so they are suitable for Graham to enjoy too. I spiced them with some Schwartz spices. I chose the Cajun spices for this burger and it really adds a lovely bit of flavour and heat. I added 2 tsp of spice to my burgers, but if I was making them for just Graham & myself and no little tums, then I would maybe even add another spoonful for a really spicy kick.

I picked up a couple of jars of Schwartz spice mixes. The Cajun mix and Season-All, which has paprika, black pepper and celery seeds. Not sure what I'm going to use the Season-All for yet, but it is quite interesting to buy a mix and to get ideas for new combinations.

I tend to use the same spices over and over. Cumin, turmeric, ginger, chilli and black pepper get used heavily in my kitchen, probably too heavily, so it's time to mix things up.

I notice from the Schwartz website that they add spice mixes to their slow cooker recipes and I had a look at their lasagne recipe too . Their lasagne wasn't suitable for vegetarians, like my veggie lasagne is, but it was interesting to see the spice mix they add. I'm going to have to try that.

I enjoyed my burger for a late, late lunch on a toasted poppy seed roll, spread with wholegrain mustard, topped with a bed of salad leaves, then the burger and finished off with a few slices of lemon dipped avocado. It was the best burger I've had in a long, long time! In fact one of the best ever!

I hope Graham and Cooper love them as much as I do and I hope you give them a go too. Such an easy recipe, but top class results.

print recipe

Cajun Spiced Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burgers

Written by Jacqueline Meldrum

May 15, 2013

Spicy burgers made with black beans, sweet potatoes, spinach and oats, with no egg or dairy. Droolworthy and healthy burgers.

Ingredients

• 200g (1 medium) sweet potato, baked
• 400g tin black beans
• 100g spinach
• ½ cup / 45g porridge oats
• 2 tsp Cajun spice
• 1 tsp brown linseeds (optional)
• 1 tsp flaxseeds (optional)
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• a good grinding of black pepper

Instructions

1. Rinse the beans and add them to a mixing bowl. Mash, but leave half of the beans whole for a bit of texture.2. Scoop the flesh out of the baked potato with a spoon and add to the bowl.3. Rinse your spinach in a colander then pour a kettleful of boiling water over it to wilt it. Rinse with cold water to refresh, then squeeze as much water out as you can. Chop and add to the bowl.4. Next add the seeds, spices, garlic and black pepper and mix until well combined.5. Shape your mixture into 4 hearty balls, then flatten out into burger shapes.6. Pop the burgers on a plate until you are ready to use them. You can bake or fry them in a little oil. I fried my burger in a little cold pressed rapeseed oil, for a few minutes on each side until brown and crisp.7. These burgers will also freeze well. Layer them between sheets of greaseproof paper in a tupperware tub and pop in the freezer.8. Enjoy!

Details

Total time: 20 mins
Yield: Makes 4 burgers

I am entering my burgers into Credit Crunch Munch hosted this month by my good friend Janice over at Farmersgirl Kitchen.

The event was set up by another two of my good friends, Helen from Fuss Free Flavours and Camilla from Fab Food 4 All.

My burgers might not immediately seem to be frugal, but the black beans were sitting in my cupboard, the spinach was nearing the end of it's vacation in my fridge, as was the sweet potato and the oats and seeds, I have for Cooper's breakfast porridge.

Disclosure: This recipe was developed on behalf of Schwartz. I was not expected to write a positive review and any opinions expressed are my own.

Meal Planning Monday (Week beginning 13 May 2013)

Well a week has come and gone since my last meal planning post, in fact my last post and you may have wondered where I've been.

Excruciating pain! That's where I've been. Ulcers on both eyes. One trip to see the doctor and three trips to the hospital. Not good! My eyes are a lot better now, just a bit uncomfortable, but they tell me that it could return. After a week of pain, hiding in the dark and filling my eyes with 3 different drops and an ointment, I really hope this doesn't happen again and I hope none of you ever have to go through it.

I have a lot of posts to catch up on, so do come back and visit again this week.

Last week my plan was:

Monday: Eating out
Tuesday: Pasta with Fresh Tomato & Basil Sauce
Wednesday: Tomato Puff Tart & Vegetables
Thursday: Green Salad with Potato and Egg
Friday: Veggie Shepherds Pie & Vegetables

On Monday I was in pain with my left eye, but it eased off as the day went on, so I went out after work with my friend Andrew, my hubby and my wee Cooper. We went to a new restaurant in Dundee called The West House and enjoyed their freshly made pizzas. Cooper requested porridge. That boy loves his porridge!


The rest of the week didn't really amount to much. Take away pizza, the rest of the tomato sauce on spaghetti with bean balls, a baked potato, soup. I wasn't really up to much at all. Hopefully this week will be more successful.

Monday: Celery & Broccoli Soup. Recipe coming soon! Really low calorie for my 5:2 fast day.
Tuesday: Sundried Tomato & Mozzarella Panini with Salad. A simple dish for a late night dinner.
Wednesday: Pasta with Roast Vegetables and Feta. Always delicious!
Thursday: Eating out. It's my brother-in-law's birthday.
Friday: Vegetarian Chilli on Wraps with Salad. Working late, so the chilli will be coming out of the freezer before I head to work. Only one wrap for me as it's my 5:2 diet day.

I am linking my Meal Planning post up with At Home with Mrs M who hosts this event.

Do you have a meal plan for this week?