Win a pair of tickets to Foodies Festival Christmas 2014 – Old Truman Brewery, London – CLOSED

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With only a couple of months to go until Christmas day arrives, it’s time to start working through that Christmas list, and there’s no better way to start than surrounded by food, friends and fun at Foodies Festival Christmas.

Join ‘Foodies’ at The Old Truman Brewery, 28-30th November, for this festive three-day celebration featuring London’s best street food, produce and culinary masters. Here’s what to expect when the UK’s biggest food and drink festival puts on its Christmas jumper:

Michelin star and top chefs cooking live

-Drink masterclasses with champagne, cocktails and craft beer

Street food and feasting tents

-Artisan markets, pudding halls and wine and cheese villages

-Hands on cake and bake masterclasses

-Ski bars, pop-up breweries and vintage Soda Bar

-Ceilidh dancing, Christmas quizzes and live entertainment

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Foodies Festival  have offered me to giveaway a pair of complimentary tickets to share with all foodie fans. 

To win simply leave a comment on the blog post telling me what is that you are looking forward to most at the Foodies Festival 2014 AND tweet out the following:

#Win a pair of tickets to @foodiesfestival at @trumanbrewery ,28-30 Nov, enter at bit.ly/1xLKx6p #giveaway

For more info visit Foodies Festival here

Terms and Conditions:

  • Deadline for entering this contest is 10th November ‘2014 midnight GMT.
  • Entry is open only to residents of the U.K and all entrants must be 18’s old and above.
  • One lucky winner will get one pair of complimentary tickets.Children under 12 go free.
  • Tickets are non transferable. One pair of tickets per winner only.
  • Complimentary tickets are valid or one day’s use on the day of the winner’s choice.
  • No cash alternative available.
  • Complimentary tickets obtained through this offer may not be duplicated.
  • All tickets will be scanned on entry to the show.
  • Winner will be picked out via Random Number Generator.
  • Winner will receive tickets directly , I accept no responsibility for any disputes arising out of any anomalies.

CONGRATULATIONS to Veronica Still @ronstil – You have won a pair of tickets to Foodies Festival Christmas 2014 at Old Truman Brewery, London, drop me an email at fruitsnveg@yahoo.com

The Spice Traveller explores Great Britain’s culture and cuisine

Crab Kasoori Methi  – sounds intriguing right?  If that piqued your interest then there’s lots more in store in the creative repertoire of Celebrity Indian chef Saransh Goila who’s food and travel show aptly titled The Spice traveller debuted on his YouTube channel last week. For the uninitiated Saransh Goila won the hearts of millions of fans when he won the  Food Food Maha Challenge which was hosted by Sanjeev Kapoor ( a chef he has watched on T.V in his formative years & greatly admires! ) and Madhuri Dixit ( Bollywood super start, mommy to 2 and possibly the most graceful dancer Hindi films have had in the ’90s!). He then went to host the TV show Roti Rasta aur India on Food Food channel where he travelled 20,000 km of India by road in 100 days  – exploring local flavours and cooking feats for a lucky few along the way.

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First, of its kind, India’s youngest celebrity Chef Saransh Goila’s digital food travelogue show is a 20 part series where the celebrity chef travels across England and Scotland exploring beautiful travels destinations, local food and culture. He attempts to change perceptions about how people travel across England and Scotland and what they normally expect to eat while they discover new destinations. Goila’s  1000 km journey takes him to exotic locations around Cotswolds, Yorkshire, Edinburgh and Fife where he cooks up finger-licking fusion cuisine.

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Chef Saransh at Kellie Castle –  Fife

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Chef Saransh making cheese in Yorkshire

Saransh also managed to throw in exciting experiences including cider making , also pretending to be ‘Alice in Wonderland’ for a day at what he described as the best cream tea party ever, took over the reins of a Michelin starred kitchen, spent a day at a trout farm in Yorkshire and fell hook,line and sinker in love with fishing – while learning all there is to about fly-fishing and Rainbow trout!

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 Chef enjoyed some amazing cream tea and warm scones with clotted cream and jam polished off with fresh British strawberries!

And while he was cooking, travelling and making exciting cocktails at the Virgin Atlantic bar in the air at 35,000 ft, he also managed to get a designer kilt made and ermmm pose  🙂

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Chef Saransh in a pensive mood, maybe his day out in Scotland left him enamoured with the Scottish Highlands!

So throw away all those musty old travel guides and hop onto an exciting culinary journey through English and Scottish countryside with Chef Saransh!

And what better place to start that journey than in the city I have fallen madly in love with – London city! Watch the second episode of The Spice Traveller as he explores multicultural London  – learns to make Britain’s favourite Fish-n-Chips with Chef Micheal Brown at Fishworks, discovers a restaurant that serves 100% vegetarian food in the heart fo Central London, cooks up England’s favourite curry  – Chicken Tikka Masala in the kitchen at Cinnamon in Soho, explores the sights and sounds of Covent Garden and wanders the beautiful street markets of London city!

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Chef Goila’s 1000 km has only just begun and you have lots more episodes to look forward to and exciting contests to participate in too!

So fasten your seat belts, as VisitBritain  – @VisitBritain and Virgin Atlantic Airways – @VirginAtlantic in partnership with One Digital Entertainment and Zenga TV.com – @ZengaTVMedia take you on a fabulous journey – no passport or air ticket required for this one folks!

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Hungry for more? Watch this space for an exclusive interview with the charming Chef – COMING SOON!

Disclaimer: With Thanks to Chef Saransh Gola for sharing his fabulous culinary adventures with me and my readers.

All images are courtesy Chef Saransh – Please do not reproduce without seeking prior written permission, feel free to share with due credit.

Giveaway Mornflake Breakfast Hamper – CLOSED

GOOD MORNING!

What better way to kick start your day than with a bowl of Oaty goodness ? well ….oat smothered with fruits perhaps! 🙂

Who better to know about the goodness of oats than Mornflake who have been milling oats in the South Cheshire countryside since 1675, making us the longest established miller of oats and cereal in the UK! 15 generations later they have managed to keep the family business within the family started by original miller, William Lea. Year on year have won accolades for the quality, purity and consistency of their oats year after year from International Grand Medaille D’Or, an international quality award. Environmentally conscious, they use local British oats wherever possible, have reused and recycled packaging, and use only certified sustainable palm oil.

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To add to that they have a wide variety of products to choose from – from rolled oats to oat bran cereals ,muesli ,granola ,oat meal and the life saver superfast cereal pots for busy morning when you have to catch the rush  hour and not miss breakfast too!

No matter how you like your oats , plain , warm , cold with or without fruit, in pancakes or in cereal bars there is a great range of products to choose from.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and to all oat lovers ,the folks at Mornflake have a fabulous giveaway for one lucky reader of sliceoffme ! It’s really easy to win ! So why not take part and stock up on pats , perfect time too with the weather all set to turn cold!

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You could win this fabulous giveaway,courtesy of Mornflake where ONE lucky winner can win all these lovely goodies :
1.Mornflake Organic Oats
2.Mornflake Scottish Jumbo Oats
3.Mornflake Superfast Oats
4.Mornflake super fast cereal pots – 4 packs in different flavours
5.Mornflake Oatbran CEREALS – any 2
6.Mornflake Oatbran Nuts & Seeds Granola
7.Mornflake Hessian bag
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How To enter the giveaway :

Please have a read through the T&C’s – will take just a teeny weeny minute !

Terms and Conditions:

  • Deadline for entering this contest is 8th November ‘2014 midnight GMT.
  • Entry is open only to residents of the U.K
  • One lucky winner will be chosen using random number generator.
  • The giveaway prize is as mentioned in the post and will be sent directly as a free delivery to the winner by Mornflake and sliceoffme accepts no responsibility for any disputes.
  • By sharing your email id in the comment you allow Mornflake and me to contact you to notify you in case you win
  • The prize is as stated: no cash alternatives are available.
  • You get one entry by way of commenting on this blog post AND following me on Instagram
  •  OR one entry by following @manjirichitnis on twitter AND following me on Instagram,
  •  OR one entry by liking sliceoffme  on Facebook ( do not forget to mention your facebook name in the comment here , comment once only) AND following me on Instagram .
  • All entries via any of the above modes is valid and you can enter by any one way .
  • All blog comments must mention your email id clearly and without a spelling error so the winner can be contacted.
  • The winner will be notified within 7 days of the closing date via the email id provided an announced on this blog post and on twitter .
  • If winner fails to respond within 7 days then another winner will be chosen.

WE HAVE A WINNER FOLKS !!! And the winner is ….hold your breath…. any guesses ?!:) Ok no more suspense !

It is  TWITTER : @smeethsaysfashion  – I have sent you a TWEET ! Please email me at fruitsnveg@yahoo.com asap. Thanks for participating everyone!

*With thanks to Mornflake for sending samples. No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own. All images courtesy Mornflake.

Dead Easy Desserts – 30 minutes or less – August’2014

Hello Everyone! I know I have been MIA for a while but just been attacked by a terrible tummy bug amongst other things…

But am over that now and can’t wait to get back to sharing some great recipes .But before that I have some exciting news! I will be hosting Dead Easy Desserts for Sarah of Maison Cupcake for August .AND there is a theme this time around , yes a theme, ! Last month the theme was Raspberries .

To me nothing screams summer like Strawberries do right?So the theme for August 2014 is STRAWBERRY

So put on your thinking caps and get creative in the kitchen!

Errrm… just need to rattle off a few rules , don’t worry nothing scary just a few steps to bear in mind which will make life easier for all of us.

Dead Easy Desserts – 30 minutes or less – August 2014  – Theme Strawberries

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How to enter your blog post into Dead Easy Desserts:

  • Blog any dead easy dessert, pudding BASICALLY anything sweet , all you need to do is ensure it can be whisked up in well 30 minutes!
  • Dead Easy Desserts runs from 1st Aug  to 29th Aug with full round ups of all entrants who have mentioned the challenge in their published post.
  • Short cuts and cook ahead elements are actively encouraged i.e. using sauces, frozen fruit, left over bits and pieces as a component. So long as assembling/the bit where you actually cook it takes under 30 minutes that’s fine. Chilling/setting time need not be included within the 30 minutes.
  • Add the URL of your post to the linky below. This a blog hop so feel free to add the code to your own post so your readers can admire the entries received so far.
  • Please be mindful of copyright, we don’t mind if you’ve adapted something from elsewhere or you made it from scratch. But if you submit something found online or in a book, just tell us where you found it rather than tapping it all out in your post.
  • I don’t mind you submitting your entry elsewhere to other challenges but please be mindful of other events’ rules.
  • We will try to retweet any posts using #deadeasydesserts that @ mention @maisoncupcake and @manjirichitnis BOTH.

Thats all! There is a linky at the bottom of this post but if there is a gremlin in the system and you are not able to link ,please drop me an email with your entry at fruitsnveg@yahoo.com

Now that we have the nitty-gritty out of the way how about some inspiration ? Have a look at the yummy entries in last month Dead Easy Desserts on Sarah’s blog Maison Cupcake with the theme Raspberries ummmm don’t you just love the pop pink- red colour of those delicate summer berries just waiting to be eaten !

Dead Easy Desserts – 30 minutes or less – July 2014 Round Up – Theme Raspberries

Wonderful quick & easy French Summer Dessert :le vacherin glace’ by Croque Maman blog

 

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No Bake Raspberry Cheesecake mousse by Family Friends Food Blog

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Sweet Chickpea Flour Pancakes with Quickie Raspberry Chia Jam by TasteSpace blog

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Triple Berry Parfait with Cashew Cream by Style Nectar blog

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Lemon Bavarois with Raspberry Syrup by Style Nectar blog

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And last but not the least this No Churn dairy free vegan raspberry ice cream by Sarah of Maison Cupcakes who created the #deadeasydesserts challenge.

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In my Veg Box – May 2014 Round up – Theme – Cauliflowers

Ok, it is that time to share the roundup for the May linky for ”In my Veg Box” an event run by Nayna Kanabar of Citrus Spice UK. The theme was  Cauliflowers and I am happy to say that a large variety of recipes were created by you and shared. Read on and enjoy, there’s even an award-winning recipe in here by Nayna!

First up is a very easy and tasty recipe for Cauliflower and green peas curry by Nayna on her blog Citrus Spice UK. This robustly flavoured curry is a fabulous addition to any menu, just as good with a hot roti as it is with rice or pulav, a very worthy addition on the menu when hosting a vegetarian dinner party I think.

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Another cool link-up from Nayna, her recipe for ‘Spicy Cauliflower Tempura’  won her the runner up prize in the National Vegetarian week- Betta Living, held during 19-25 May 2014. Nayna winning entry got her whopping prize money of  £250 prize! woohoo! Well done Nayna! Proof that cauliflowers rocks and vegetarian recipes are far from boring and actually require more creativity and culinary expertise to create flavour from simple ingredients! I also think the photo below is really beautifully done, agree?

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Linsy who blogs at Real Home Cooked Food has shared a tangy pickle-based recipe for Aachari Cauliflower, Chana and Corn / Cauliflower , Chickpeas, and Corn in Pickle spices. I love using pickles as a marinade for my meat dishes and cauliflower take sup the flavours so readily it is satisfying to eat this dish am sure.

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After a stew and tempura, a Manchurian recipe is up next.Cauliflower(Gobhi) Manchurian in Knorr Chinese Schezuan Sauce from the blog Hobby Chef uses a store-bought powdered packet sauce. Though the Manchurian sauce is from a packet it looks really yummy and I’ve always like Knorr’s recipe mixes, a quick fix for days when you just can’t be bothered with making a sauce from scratch I guess, with my current crazy schedule and a head cold from hell! I could do with some warm soup which I hopefully won’t have to make for myself 😉

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When I was in North Wales, my husband and I had fish and chips with a curry sauce at a dingy little place, the chips were blah but the curry sauce was super fab, ever since it’s stuck in some corner of my brain and every time I pass by a fish and chip shop that does a fairly decent job I wonder if they have curry sauce on their menu. This Cauliflower Curry Sauce by Linzi of Lancashire is a minefield of all things good and wholesome. Its no fat, high fibre, can be made ahead and frozen for saving the day at a later date, and is a fabulous way to hide veggies in a tasty sauce if that wasn’t enough it is a versatile sauce which will go with meat, fish or veggie curries.

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Up next another fabulous sauce this time a Hidden Cauliflower Cheese Pasta Sauce by Elizabeth of Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary. I just happened to read her ‘About me’ section on her blog, in great detail, and discovered that we have both done our B.Sc in Lifesciences! I also went on to do a year of Masters in Biochemistry which I ditched and went for an MBA in Marketing when I realised I didn’t want to sit in a lab and talk to test tubes which I had named with characters from a fav sitcom 😉 Another beautiful food photo for the roundup and another great recipe for making in extra portions and saving a mid-week meal!

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Shobhas Bengali style recipe for Bengali Style Cauliflower with Poppy seeds & Mustard Paste is simple curry but packed with earthy moreish flavours. I thoroughly enjoy Bengali food and a big fan of seafood which am sure you know by now if you are reading my posts regularly.

Nayna innovative recipe for Spicy Cauliflower Couscous is a clever way to use this versatile vegetable with a small number of spices and get something yummy on the plate for everyone to enjoy.

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Another cool link up by Shobha who blogs at FoodMazaa, her Punjabi Pickle recipe is a lovely traditional recipe from the northern part of India. Pickles are to be stored for flavours to develop. I remember eating this with great relish at a Punjabi friends place when I stayed over during my MBA final exams, I always tried to sneak in some extra pickle on my plate 😉

Another recipe from Helen this time a Cauliflower with anchovy and garlic, very unusual combination with anchovies I must say!

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Sonal who blogs at simplyvegetarian777 has shared a recipe for Crunchy Gobhi Tandoori. Great idea for a summer BBQ party don’t you think?

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Lastly my everyday recipe for a Cauliflower and Peas bhaji. I like to have at least once a week with warm soft chapatis.

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I hope that this round-up leaves you inspired to experiment with cauliflower and try any one of the many lovely recipes.

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Thanks to Nayna for letting me host this exciting linky event.