Travels for Taste

Tales of travel and food with a touch of spice

Butternut Squash and Lentil Soup

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As spring begins to unfold and the weather changes to beautiful sunny days and chilly evenings, I like that we can still enjoy warming and wholesome soups. Butternut squash is so versatile and there are various ways to use it in soups, curries, salads, etc.

Soup and stews are a great meal option for so many reasons, here are my top 5 reasons why I enjoy cooking both:

  • Delicious, hearty and wholesome
  • Easy, fuss-free one-pot style cooking, saves time
  • Great for batch-cooking
  • Ideal for busy mid-week meals
  • Easy to please fussy eaters!
  • Just combine with bread, various toppings and add an extra dash of something special
  • Add lentils to bulk out soups and stews

This recipe is created by Chef Annie James at Sunrise of Tettenhall for Sunrise Senior Living who make sure that all of their recipes are nutritious and tasty, making them great for everyone, not just the elderly. Of the many recipe options, they sent me I choose to make this one because I simply adored red lentils as those who read my blog will know. The buttery aroma of onions sauteing which filled my kitchen was simply amazing and very satisfying. Needless to say, the soup went down and treat and even normally fussy hubster greedily licked his bowl clean – no better compliment than that folks isn’t it? I must admit I couldn’t resist adding a bit of my own personal finishing touches as my palate is so used to all the spicy and tangy little add-on’s that I normally use 😉

Chef Annie James at Sunrise of Tettenhall for Sunrise Senior Living

Butternut Squash and Red Lentil Soup

5 from 2 votes
Hearty and delicious Butternut squash soup with added protien and taste with quick cooking red lentils
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Fusion
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

  • 400 ml vegetable stock
  • 150 gms Butternut Squash – peeled and diced into bite-sized bits
  • 60 gms Dried red lentil i.e. masoor dal – split without skin
  • 3 Carrots – peeled and diced into small bits
  • 2 Red onion – peeled and chopped fine
  • 12 gms Unsalted butter
  • Sea salt with a hint of garlic
  • Freshly cracked black pepper
  • A small quantity of fresh coriander to garnish

Equipment

  • Saucepan

Method
 

  1. In a large saucepan or stockpot melt the butter on a medium flame
  2. Sauté’ the finely chopped onions in the butter for just under 4- 5 minutes till they turn a beautiful golden-brown colour and reduce
  3. Then add in the chopped carrots, squash, and sauté’ for a further 2- 3 minutes.
  4. Now stir in the vegetable stock and the red lentils
  5. Reduce to a low flame and let the soup simmer gently
  6. Cook until the vegetables and lentils are tender
  7. Allow the soup to cool down to room temperature, then using a hand blender puree’ until smooth, or as I did, give it a whizz in your food processor
  8. Season with sea salt with garlic or plain sea salt and add a generous sprinkling of freshly cracked black pepper
  9. Garnish with just a small amount of finely chopped fresh coriander
  10. Serve hot ideally with a slice of warm crusty bread with a dollop of butter. If your conscience allows it stir in a small amount of fresh cream into the soup or smother your crusty bread with some freshly made garlic butter

Looking for easy to make, delicious Soup and Stew recipes? Why not browse through some of my easy to follow recipes:

*With thanks to Sunrise Senior Living and the  PR team for reimbursing the expense for ingredients. No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own. 

Easy Moroccan Chicken one pot meal

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The chill in the air is just right for warming one-pot meals. Make them healthy, quick, and easy to put together and you have a winner on your hands. Last year at the Cake and Bake show which I attended with a dear friend and fellow blogger,  I ended up spending a bomb (£££!!!!) on four different sized pots – non – stick being one of their biggest virtues. One of them is a huge wok which I intend to use to make a stir fry over the weekend. The coating is said to last for years and each vessel comes with a glass lid. I can apparently also shove them directly into the oven but haven’t tried that yet. The big and rather saucepan is what I use as my crockpot for making one-pot meals in. In fact, there is something very comforting watching a warming curry or gorgeously tasty and nutritious one-pot meals!

heaven in a saucepan - healthy , happy meals begin here!

Ok so coming back to my one pot recipe. I had a bag of baby spinach leaves in my fridge and was craving a wholesome soupy stew with lots of vegetables. So managed to gather a few things that I think would taste great together and then added in Knorr onion gravy pots and Knorr mixed chilli pot for flavour and the result was so very satisfying.  But the best part was adding in Ras El Hanout a delicious and fiery moroccan and North African fragrant spice mix. The delicate dried rose petals look so pretty , that’s why I decided to name my dish Moroccan Chicken one pot.I also devoured it for lunch today – umm.

Moroccan Chicken one pot meal

Make this in a large quantity and it will freeze well. Batch cooking is highly recommended as it saves you time and ensures that you do not eat things that you will end up regretting when you are hard pressed for time and simply cannot cook.The freezer is a wonderful boon, use it!

I purchased a beautiful Red Leicester and Pumpkin seed batard to go with my meal – it is soul-satisfying to mop up the thick gravy with the bread while sitting on the couch watching my fav crime show on the telly, feeling all warm and happy.

The best part of this recipe is I haven’t added in potatoes or extra sugar to taste and yet the flavours are so well balanced. (Though both gravy pots do contain sugar) I love stocking up on these tiny Knorr flavour pots they are life-savers!

A recipe with enough spinach to make Popeye jump with joy! Spinach has several health benefits and is known to be a great source of folic acid and several essential vitamins and great levels of iron too. Best part is a big bag of spinach can be consumed in no time as the leaves are high in water content and it reduces in size when cooked.

Moroccan Chicken one pot meal

Easy Moroccan Chicken one pot

Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Fusion
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tsp Olive oil
  • 1 Large Red Onion
  • 2 cloves Garlic
  • 270 Grams Mixed – Broccoli, Carrot and Cauliflower
  • 500 Grams Chicken thighs
  • 75 Grams Trimmed green beans
  • 4 or 5 Chestnut Mushrooms
  • 1.5 Knorr onion gravy flavour pot
  • 1 Knorr mixed chillies flavour pot
  • 4 tbsp spinach leaves
  • 3/4th Cup Red lentils – without skin and halved
  • 1/2 tsp Ras El Hanout
  • 1/2 tsp Roasted Cumin Powder
  • Salt as per taste
  • Water

Method
 

  1. Remove the skin from thechicken thighs after washing thoroughly under running water
  2. Chop the chicken thighs to make strips of the flesh leaving just enough on the bone
  3. Wash and cut the broccoli, carrots,cauliflower, green beans and chestnut mushrooms bitsinto bite sized pieces
  4. Slice an onion lengthwise into fine strips
  5. Remove the skin from the garlic cloves and chop into tiny bits
  6. In a large saucepan or stockpot heat olive oil on a medium flame, when the oil becomes to heat up add the finely chopped garlic and saute’ until they turn a golden brown then add in the sliced onion
  7. Stirring occasionally allowthe onion to sweat and just when it begins to brown add in the chopped vegetables and saute for half a minute
  8. Then add in the chicken thighs and saute for another minute
  9. Then wash and add the red lentils , add enough water to create a thick gravy – enough to allow the lentils to cook and not soak up all the water. Then add in the Knorr flavour pots and mix well
  10. Then add the washed spinach leaves, cumin powder and cover and cook on a medium flame for 15 minutes
  11. By now the lentils will have cooked and the chicken will almost be done too
  12. Then taste the soupy water and if it is too spicy add just a very tinypinch the Ras El Hanout , I added 1/2 a tsp as the tastereminded me of garam masala. Ras El Hanout is a moroccan mixture of fragrant spices with rose petals and gives the stock pot a gorgeous full bodiedflavour
  13. Cook for a further 10-15 minutes on a gentle low flame
  14. Serve in large bowls with a big portion of the pumpkin batard bread
Big, beautiful pot of healthy goodness - absolutely irresistible!
Gorgeous Bowl of goodness with immunity boosting spinach and delicious veggies
Moroccan Chicken one pot meal recipe

Avocado,Spinach and fruity Green Smoothie

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It’s a relatively bright and sunny but chilly February morning and the bright sunlight streaming through my kitchen window is not letting me sit down work due to the blinding light getting into my eyes. I have now moved to a cozy spot on the couch but it’s making me drowsy…

While I was away in India and eating all the wonderful local food, I also started reading up on a lot of things related to food, what we eat and how it affects us and how our body reacts to it all.

Now let me share some facts about myself – I am lazy – very lazy and not the type who will ever go the gym even twice a week – I have ended up wasting money in 2 currencies and 3 cities so I should know that however fabulous the gym it simply does NOT work for me.

Nor does dieting – I feel deprived and end up stuffing my face even more.

So what’s the way out when I have finally made a decision to eat sensibly and loose as much weight as I can without going mad. Well, past 2 weeks I have broken down my meals to smaller portions, trying to eat 5 small meals instead of 3 every day and have drastically cut down on sugar consumption. By sugar I don’t mean granulated sugar but sugar hidden in various food.

I have procured a chart about which foods are high in carbs and thus break down into sugar while they are being digested. Am consciously trying to read up more and steer clear of obviously sugar laden foods and any sugary foods are out. Thankfully I quit sugar in my tea years ago so that is not a problem but yes saying no to alcohol and other foods is not going to be easy. But then nothing good come by too easy does it?

Avocado, Spinach and Fruity Green Smoothie - Bursting with the goodness your body NEEDS every day!
Avocado, Spinach and Fruity Green Smoothie – Bursting with the goodness your body NEEDS every day!

So here goes, my morning smoothie recipe – an attempt to start the day on a healthy note :

Avocado,Spinach and fruity Green Smoothie

5 from 4 votes
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Servings: 2
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Fusion
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 Banana
  • 1/2 Pear
  • 1/2 Big Avocado
  • 1 Apple
  • 8 tbsp Baby Spinach Leaves
  • 2 tsp Ginger

Equipment

  • 1 Blender

Method
 

  1. Chop the ginger into small bits after roughly removing the skin, if the ginger is super fresh you can use the back of a spoon to easily peel of the fine layer of skin
  2. Roughly chop all the fruitsinto chunks. Break the banana half by hand
  3. Simply chuck all the aboveingredients into a food processor and add very little water just to give the smoothie some movement and consistency

I prefer a thick consistency the type you can scoop out using a spoon as it is simply more satisfying and increases the feeling of being full.

This made 2 small glasses and I had both of them , simply double up the quantity for 2 people and so on and so forth.

Avocado, Spinach and Fruity Green Smoothie - Bursting with the goodness your body NEEDS every day!
Avocado, Spinach and Fruity Green Smoothie – Bursting with the goodness your body NEEDS every day!

Leafy, green, tasty, bursting with fruity goodness and taste, this smoothie is an immune system booster and full of all things good for your body. It will definitely boost sagging energy levels and induce a feel-good factor. The smooth creamy taste added by the avocado is a bonus!

I have linked up my recipe with Credit Crunch Munch which is a frugal food recipe sharing challenge developed by Helen over at Fuss Free Flavours and Camilla over at Fab Food 4 All and guest hosted by the lovely Elizabeth who blogs at Elizabeth’s Diary,  linked up for Feb 2015 on her blog post too.

Easy Ham and cheese tart recipe

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Hello Everyone!

I have been away on a long holiday in Indian for almost four weeks. I got back last week and it has taken my system a few days to throw off the jet-lag completely and my internal thermostat to acclimatise to the massive difference in the weather.But am back now all refreshed and raring to go! So expect a lot of new and fun recipes, LOTS of travel posts and many photographs from my foodie and travel adventures – oh yes not to mention more exciting competitions, fabulous restaurant reviews and events that I will be going to soon – woohoo!

While I was in India I did a fair bit of travelling to Chennai, Pondicherry and shuttling between Mumbai and Pune. So all the resulting fatigue has taken it’s toll too.

Besides have discovered that I do have a fair amount of catching up to do with my blogging as well. hummm

So dinner the day after I landed had had to be a simple affair, because my body clock was still following IST. We decided to make a quick and super easy yet delicious Turkey, Ham and cheese tart using my own recipe. Hubster and me are both big fans of Jus-Rol as it really can save the day when things are crazy busy or plain lazy 😉

I have made a few minor tweaks to the original recipe but other than that it was smooth sailing. Here is my version:

Manjiri Chitnis

Easy Ham and Cheese Tart recipe

5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe
Prep Time 8 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 320 Grams Puff pastry ready rolled sheet
  • 2 medium-sized Onions peeled & chopped fine
  • 100 Grams Cooked Ham diced
  • 1 – 2 tbsp Oil
  • 3 tbsp heaped Smoked Chilli Honey
  • 250 Grams Cooked Turkey Diced
  • Salt & Black Pepper as per taste
  • 75 Grams Grated Parmesan Cheese

Method
 

  1. Heat oil in a large pan, gently sauté the onion until it is translucent, then add the diced ham and cook on a low flame for about 2 minutes
  2. Meanwhile remove the puff pastry ready rolled sheet and allow it to rest while the filling is being prepared.
  3. Add the turkey, season to taste and then add the smoked chilli honey. Stir continuously to ensure the chilli honey does not burn and cook on a gentle, low flame for a further 2 minutes
  4. Preparea baking tray by lining with a baking sheet and carefully place the puff pastry ready rolled sheet onto the baking sheet
  5. Pre heat the oven to 220°C or 200°C for fan assisted ovens or Gas mark 7
  6. Spoon out the Turkey and Ham mixture onto the baking sheet and sprinkle the grated Parmesan cheese over the mixture
  7. Bake in the pre heated for 20 minutes and serve hot
IMG_9451 (Copy)

I remember going to buy Jus- Rol at a supermarket two years ago post Christmas and it simply wasn’t available anywhere. Clearly people had been smart and stocked up on this lifesaving fridge fav for all those leftover meals after the big day. And have since then made a mental note to stock up well in advance for future occasions. There have been numerous dinners and surprise tea time treats for unannounced but welcome visitors who have been fed piping hot treats with several hot cuppas thanks to that pastry roll lying in my fridge! So like many of my store  cupboard essentials this is one of my life savers and will almost always be found living in my refrigerator.

I loved this recipe and now am looking forward to more experiments with Jus-Rol .

If you need more inspiration to get creative with Jus-Rol why not check out these gorgeous recipes on the Jus-Rol website ?

*With thanks to Jus-Rol and the  PR team for sending vouchers to buy some samples of Jus-Rol  for review . No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Beetroot and Chickpea salad

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Who doesn’t love a salad that you can put together in no time? This easy to make and super quick to put together Beetroot and Chickpea salad recipe is just the thing when you want to eat healthy and not compromise on taste at the same time.  I have added in amchoor powder which is a tangy  dried mango powder which will give this salad a fabulous twist when combined with balsamic vinegar.

IMG_9354 (Copy)

If possible try and buy baby beetroot cooked in vinegar as these would be the perfect size and also have the right amount of vinegar. If you are not sure of how much balsamic vinegar you can handle, add 1?2 tbsp first and then if you feel brave add another half. I have a whole collection of flavoured vinegar and if you can get your hands on cranberry infused vinegar, I highly recommend adding that in as it will totally elevate the flavour of your salad.

IMG_9357 (Copy)
Manjiri Chitnis

Beetroot and Chickpea salad

Print Recipe
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Salad
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 Can Boiled and Cooked Chickpeas
  • 250 Grams small beetroot cooked and peeled
  • 1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
  • 1 small Red Onion slicedl ength wise
  • 2 tsp Amchoor Powder
  • 2 tsp Heaped Pomegranate Seeds

Method
 

  1. In a large mixing bowl add the chickpeas
  2. Chop the cooked and peeled beetroot into bite-size chunks. Add them to the chickpeas. Add the chopped onion and pomegranate seeds
  3. Add the vinegar and the amchoor powder and mix well
  4. Serve and sprinkle with more pomegranate seeds if desired
IMG_9356 (Copy)

I have found the perfect linky to add my virtuous yet superbly delicious salad to. It’s this month’s Spice Trail with the theme ‘ Temple Food‘ hosted by the lovely Vanesther on her blog called ‘Bangers and Mash’. The whole concept of respecting your body by treating it like a temple is really apt for the way I have recently begun to think about food. I have to re-think and re-align what I feed my system and actually begin to ‘listen’ to what my body is speaking to me. It’s important that after years of neglect I FINALLY pay attention to what is entirely my own – my body.

By linking to this challenge I take heart in knowing that I am not ALONE. There are other like-minded foodies who are re-thinking their ways of eating. I do hope my recipe is one of the many delicious, innovative, and beautiful ones that will help my readers on their journey to eating healthy and feeling more energetic.

Amur Beluga Caviar – a Review

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The beauty of any food and consuming it is in also understanding the history of its origin and the aura and mystique surrounding the food especially if it is Caviar.

My family and me hail from the western coastal parts of India – namely Konkan and fish was always a part of the daily diet , over the years of course the consumption of fish daily is not practical due to various reasons but the love for all things seafood is deeply ingrained in all of us.So when I was offered a chance to review Amur Beluga Caviar by Caviar Classic, London, I could not refuse.

Caviar classic is a small London based Caviar Company, owned and run by Darren Pedersen. They pride themselves on sustainably farmed products that are guaranteed to live up to the highest standards.

Amur Beluga is a hybrid of the Acipenser Schrenkii (Amur Sturgeon) combined with the Huso Dauricus Sturgeon (Freshwater Beluga) resulting in a gold green egg with a bit of a harder shell that pops in your mouth, the aftertaste is light and creamy. This combination of the two of the best Sturgeon in the world, not only takes 10 years to mature, but also produces a magnificent sizeable shimmering silver Roe. Naturally then this is a favourite amongst caviar connoisseurs around the world.

At the moment the Amur Beluga is in many ways considered a better product than most Iranian/Russian Beluga’s as the eggs are bigger (3mm in size) and the quality is in most ways of a higher standard.

3-IMG_9440 (Copy)

Caviar is served with mother of pearl caviar spoons to avoid tainting the taste of the caviar. I was also sent this beautiful spoon along with the Caviar and Caviar classic always try to go that little bit further to ensure that their customers receive their purchase at it’s best, such as chilled boxes with small ice packs and an extra gift – like this lovely spoon – in most packs.

We ate the caviar on wafer thin slices of toast with a fresh juicy salad tomato sliced in half – I wanted an absolutely neutral and fresh base to feel the caviar on my tongue …the little gems popping in my mouth …exploding with flavour…

6-IMG_9443 (Copy)

I paired the caviar with a fine Chablis from Waitrose as dry whites work as well as Champagne. Caviar can be had with a good creamy cheese too.

I have stowed the remaining away in the coldest part of my refrigerator where it should stay upto a month but ideally wouldn’t keep it for more than 3 days. And no matter what happens never freeze caviar as it can damage the delicate membrane.

8-IMG_9445 (Copy)

For me this post would be incomplete without mentioning how much consuming this Caviar reminded me of a scene from Casino Royale where Bond he is seen enjoying Beluga Caviar on toast as he sips on his nth Vesper Martini and seduces femme fatale Vesper after his big win at the casino.

James Bond 007 eating caviar

“The problem is not how to get enough caviar but how to get enough toast with it.” – James Bond in Ian Fleming’s Casino Royal

Image Credit: Aston from the Bond Lifestyle Forum

Thanks to my Baba, who is a great fan of 007 and the movie series, the craze for the books, movies and trivia has been passed down to my sister and me and till date the best movie marathons we have at home are when we watch Bond Films back to back with Sean Connery and Daniel Craig as our top Fav Bond actors with Pierce Brosnan as a hot favourite amongst the women in our family 😉

The fictitious and very Charming James Bond lives the high life and one his many expensive tastes is for the most exclusive and expensive – Beluga Caviar. No one rocks the Champagne and Caviar for dinner combination like Bond does, isn’t it ?sighhhhh

Hope that all of you enjoy the party tonight – Bond style with some splendid Champagne – hopefully Bond’s Fav – Dom Pérignon for the lucky few with lots of Caviar and toast to go around and hope you have great company to ring in the New Year.

Adios, dear readers, and off I go to ring in the New Year and dance the night away, here’s wishing all my readers a very Happy New Year where I shall continue to share my adventures in the kitchen and outside, a lot of travel stories and yes loads of other great c0ntent – stay tuned folks but for now – au revoir!

Caviar Classic

Image Credit: Caviar Classic

 *With thanks to Caviar classic and the  PR agency for sending me a sample of Amur Beluga for review. No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Caviar and Champagne

Introducing Britannia’s Nutri Choice Heavens – India’s new delightful healthy cookie – Guest Post

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Guest Post by my sister Dr. Mrs.Monika Tandon 

Recently Madison PR gave me a packet of Britannia’s Nutri Choice Heavens to review. A new arrival on health food market; the cookie is filled with cranberries and made of whole grain oats. Mildly sweet and chewy with a fresh baked flavor it’s a great accompaniment with green chai or a health drink like cold veggie juice.

Nutri Choice 1

Each cookie is individually foil sealed and the entire pack is an enchanting mauve. The taste and presentation are appealing to both kids and adults.

A truly healthy and tasty way to say Good Morning.

 

Nutri Choice 2

About the Author – Dr.Mrs.Monika (Chitnis) Tandon – who resides in Mumbai, India

Reviews, research, ratings…all invaluable tools for a working mom who wants to keep up with all that’s healthy, tasty and best for her family. That’s what keeps me going too and adds fun to all my food cooked as a Monday morning tiffin or as a weekend treat. Travel trips with overnighters and client meetings and family vacations are all fun with my meticulously researched itineraries and DSLR. Hope you enjoy my two bits in ink…Writing straight from me to you, Monika.

 

2013-11-15 22.29.25

 

 

 

 

 

*With  thanks to Britannia,India and Madison PR for the invite and sending a sample. No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

 

 

Godiva chocolates festive Giveaway – Closed

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In early October I was invited to the Godiva ‘Experience Christmas’ preview at the posh Godiva store located at Regent’s Street,London, where their range of luxurious chocolate-filled hampers, Swarowski adorned gift boxes, seasonal whiskey truffles and hot Chocolixir in new flavour sensations was revealed to a few select people from the food industry, journalists, bloggers and food writers.

1-14th Oct'14 Godiva Christmas event

To fully understand why Godiva is such an iconic brand the story of Lady Godiva must be shared.

Legend has it that when Lady Godiva, an 11th-century Anglo-Saxon noblewoman and wife of Lord Leofric, protested against the taxation of his subjects a deal was struck: fair Lady Godiva would ride through the streets of Coventry, “clad in nought” but her long tresses, and if the population remained in shuttered buildings, their tax burden would be lifted. The following morning she made her famous ride, the citizens graciously stayed inside and Leofric kept his word and reduced the taxes.

Godiva Giveaway Nov'141

Lady Godiva won the hearts of many and her legend has lived on through the centuries. Nowhere is her passion, purity, sensuality, style and boldness more symbolised than in Godiva chocolates, which in turn, am sure win the hearts of those who taste them.

Known worldwide for being irresistibly delicious Godiva chocolates are a treat for all the senses. These decadent chocolates and pralines are made to produce thrilling tastes, textures and sensations in each and every bite by creative Chef Chocolatiers who uphold the Godiva values and by using the finest GMO-free ingredients that are used in every single aspect of Godiva chocolate making to create the highest quality end result – the most sumptuous chocolates imaginable.

Godiva Chefs Selection

As always I would like to share a slice of my experience with you by offering ONE lucky readers to enjoy a box of Chef Inspirations Saveurs Du Monde 16 chocolates from Godiva by entering a simple giveaway, to find out how have a read through the easy T& C’s.

Wishing all my readers a very, very Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year, may the spirit of Christmas fill your hearts and lives with warmth and joy and may you forgive and forget any old bitterness and embrace with joy the goodness of spirit , only then will the true magic spin it’s web around you…or so I think..:)

GODIVA CHOCOLATES FESTIVE GIVEAWAY

ONE lucky winner can win this fabulous prize ! Chef Inspirations Saveurs Du Monde Box of 16 chocolates from Godiva

Godiva Chefs Selection from Charlottee

How to enter the giveaway:

You too could WIN a box of Chef Inspirations Saveurs Du Monde Box of 16 chocolates from Godiva, all you have to do is :

  1. Follow me on twitter – @manjirichitnis
  2. Tweet out the following –  with Chef selection box of 16 chocolates from
  3. Leave a comment below telling me who will you share your box of Godiva chocolates and also mention your twitter handle. I will find you on twitter via the hashtag so it’s not required for you to mention your twitter handle in the comments. Do not share your email id in the comments please.
Godiva Giveaway Nov'14

Please have a read through the Terms and Conditions below:

  • Winners will be picked using Random Number.
  • Deadline for entering this contest is 31st December’ 2014 midnight GMT.
  • Entry is open only to residents of the U.K except Scotland and Ireland.
  • All entrants must be 18 years old and above.
  • ONE lucky winner will be chosen using random number generator.
  • The giveaway prize is as mentioned in the post. Neither Godiva or I am liable for any damage of goods in transit.
  • Please allow a minimum of 15 days for delivery of the prize, which may reach earlier or later. The chocolate box will be sent directly  by Godiva.
  • The prize is as stated: no cash alternatives are available.
  • I retain the right to DISQUALIFY any entrant who do not complete all the 3 steps mentioned above.
  • The winner will be notified on 2nd January’ 2015  on Twitter by me and here on my blog post. I shall tag the lucky winner on Twitter via their twitter id . If you are declared as the winner you agree to allow me and Godiva to contact you via email id  to arrange for the goody bag to be sent out to you.
  • If the winner fails to respond by 5th January’ 2015  then another winner will be chosen.

*With thanks to Godiva and their PR team for inviting to their exclusive Christmas event . No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own. Images Wiki unless watermarked as ‘travelsfortaste’.

CONGRATULATIONS to the LUCKY winner of this fabulous GIVEAWAY of a box of Chef Inspirations Saveurs Du Monde Box of 16 chocolates from Godiva !!!

AND The lucky winner is : Hold your breath! …….

TRACY K NIXON – Twitter id : 

While you are here why not have a look at the other giveaways on my blog and increase your chances of winnings cool freebies!?!

  • Win one of TWO Goody Bags from KNORR packed with 2x of EACH Knorr flavour pots and stock cubes to participate click here.
  • Win one beautiful Hotel Chocolat gift bag with fabulous cocoa cuisine products, to participate click here.
  • WIN 5 delicious sauces from the WORLDFOODS Asian Fusion Flavour Sauces, to participate click here.
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Häagen-Dazs Limited Edition Christmas ice cream cake – Le Village

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Each year, the Christmas Häagen-Dazs ice cream cake is a new gourmand creation which unites the beauty of design with the succulence of ingredients. For this 7th edition, Häagen-Dazs has sought Nendo – a Japanese designer whose powerful imagination is combined with the simplicity of lines. Nendo’s technical excellence matches the poetry in his creations. Le Village instantly brings back memories of New Year parties, the magic of Christmas, and the fragility of woken dreams. Between marvellous fairy tales and enchanted reality, the Village brings together adults and children around the same desire for sharing.

Of the two versions of Le Village created  (pink or chocolate houses), I was sent one of the Le Village cakes as a beautiful early Christmas present – one with pink houses – talk about getting an ‘inside scoop’ !!

Häagen-Dazs nendo ice cream cake (6) (Copy)

A frozen wonderland with a sleek design.

1-Le Village Haagen Dasz Ice Cream Cake - at Jools party

Each Le Village creation both pink and chocolate contains a delicious original recipe, one enhancing the iconic flavours from Häagen-Dazs (Macadamia Nut Brittle and Dulche de Leche), and the other completely original with a new limited edition flavour ( Vanilla and florentine ).

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To the excellency of its ice cream, Häagen-Dazs adds another ingredient to sublimate its recipes: chocolate. In fact, the houses themselves are made of milk or white chocolate and filled with fudge sauce and caramelized hazelnuts . They are then delicately dusted with icing sugar, like freshly fallen snow on the rooftops.

I took this beautiful cake to my friends place at a Pre-Christmas lunch party – sharing only made this treat sweeter and more special… 🙂

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Christmas is a time for generosity; for large tables, the Village can be expanded at the wish of Nendo who, in a final gesture of great inspiration, created a small bridge out of chocolate, which allows the two different villages to be joined together. So everyone has the chance to (re)create their own Village, a purely indulgent creation with timeless elegance.

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You too can discover pure indulgence and share this very special festive delight with your loved ones on Christmas day, but there are only TEN  Le Village Limited Edition Christmas ice cream cakes available to buy from the Häagen-Dazs Leicester Square store for the whole of Britain! Will YOU be one of the 10 LUCKY people across BRITAIN sharing this lovely cake for Christmas ?

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A generous helping of festive delight!

*With thanks to Häagen-Dazs  and the  PR team for sending this beautiful early Christmas present. No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own

Cooking with WORLD FOODS at the School of Wok and WORLD FOODS Giveaway – CLOSED

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Cooking out of jar is something we resort to only when we are really hard pressed for time or in a situation when we simply do have access to fresh ingredients, but there are few jarred sauces that defy this belief and World Foods sauces I think deserve to be one of those. The reason I say this thank to a really well planned and executed cookery class at the School of Wok courtesy WORLDFOODS and expertly conducted by Head Chef at School of Wok Jeremy Wong.

WORLDFOODS produces a range of seven ready-made sauces totaling 51 variations in all with tantalising Asian dipping sauces, pastes, noodle sauces, stir-fry, cooking sauces, marinades, chutneys and salad dressings . The best bit is that they do not use preservatives and artificial flavorings. AND their products are food allergens free, trans-fat free and gluten free with no artificial preservatives, coloring or flavouring. The aim being to produce and  maintain a  range of “clean” products that are suitable for Vegetarians, Vegans and Celiacs.

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Once we had a brief introduction from Jeremy, we were each asked to pick a partner to cook with and since I was going to be eating the duck and Nayna is a vegetarian we picked other partners and Fiona and me started working on the ingredients.

Jeremy showed us some really amazing knife skills and we sliced a pepper like I’ve never done before using a rather huge cleaver imported straight from the Far East. In spite of both Fiona and me still having wrists in bad shape we managed this bit smoothly thanks to picking up some basic techniques that Chef Jeremy very lucidly explained.

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The mention of Panang Curry duck with Thai basil stir fry  made my mouth water. On the menu was a also a Masaman roast poussin and for the vegetarians  similar dishes using the same WORLDFOODS sauces but with aubergine replacing the duck and delicious and cute squash used in place of poussin. I love paneer and the squash was stuffed with paneer – I felt slightly greedy especially when I saw the beautiful roast squash was taken out of the oven – turning a visible shade of green (with envy – which scared Fiona a little and Nayna a lot 😉 !). The vegetarians also made Rendang tacos.

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After the veggie chopping when we started cooking I was really impressed with the huge portion of duck that we were going to cook and it watching the duck sizzle and ooze its fat and juices on the pan made my tummy rumble in anticipation of a fab meal.

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What happened next was the most interesting part of the evening – we learnt some cool wok handling skills and the basics of how to get a stir fry going, I even managed to get a really cool video of Jeremy giving us some amazing tips – why not head over to my Instagram feed and watch the video now?!)

After our cooking session we sat down to a delicious meal and really enjoyed the the taste of the dishes – fresh and full of flavour – nothing that you will expect coming out of a jar – ever! The Lemon drizzle cake made with WORLDFOODS lemongrass paste had a beautiful fluffy and light texture and was irresistibly yummy. I am not a fan of traditional lemon drizzle cakes and find the sharp citrusy taste overwhelming but the milder lemon grass was a very welcome taste for me and I really think that this is going to be my favourite not so secret ingredient for my future bakes!

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With minimal prep done for us, I picked up some excellent knife skills and cookery tips, ate some gorgeous Asian Fusion food and spent a very pleasant evening in the company of some old food blogger friends and met some more really lovely bloggers. The most important part was the superb time management by Jeremy and his efficient in house chef.

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WORLDFOODS have kindly agreed to give ONE lucky reader a selection of 5 delicious sauces to experiment with so you too can create asian fusion foods using natural ingredients in the comfort of your own home.

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How to enter the WORLDFOODS Asian Fusion Flavour Sauces Giveaway with sliceoffme blog:

How to enter the giveaway:

You too can WIN 5 delicious sauces from the WORLDFOODS range, all you have to do is :

  1. Follow me on twitter – @manjirichitnis
  2. Tweet out the following –  sauces with , to enter head to sliceoffme blog 
  3. Leave a comment below telling me what is your favourite asian dish and your facebook name used to like my FB page. I will find you on twitter via the hashtag so it’s not required for you to mention your twitter handle in the comments. Do not share your email id in the comments please.

Please have a read through the Terms and Conditions below:

  • Winner will be picked using Random Number Generator.
  • Deadline for entering this contest is 5th January’ 2015 midnight GMT.
  • Entry is open only to residents of the U.K except Scotland and Ireland.
  • All entrants must be 18 years old and above.
  • ONE lucky winner will be chosen using random number generator.
  • The giveaway prize is as mentioned in the post. Neither WORLDFOODS, nor I am liable for any damage of products and / or contents in transit.
  • Please allow a minimum of 25 days for delivery of the prize, which may reach earlier or later. The sauces will be sent directly  by WORLDFOODS.
  • The prize is as stated: no cash alternatives are available.
  • I retain the right to DISQUALIFY any entrant who do not complete all the 3 steps mentioned above.
  • The winner will be notified on 6th January’ 2015  on Twitter by me and here on my blog post. I shall tag the winner on Twitter via their twitter id. If you are declared as the winner you agree to allow me and Knorr to contact you via email id  to arrange for the goody bag to be sent out to you.
  • If the winner failS to respond by 8th January’ 2015  then another winner will be chosen via Random Number Generator.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE LUCKY WINNER WHO HAS WON 5 DELICIOUS WORLDFOODS Asian Fusion Flavour Sauces

Sarah Davies 

*With thanks to WORLDFOODS and the  PR team for arranging the fabulous sauces for my giveaway and inviting me for the event. A special thank you to School of Wok and  Jeremy for his time, generosity and teaching me some cool skills . No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own

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