Getting Into The Garden #KidsGrowWild

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

I love getting outdoors whenever possibly and so does my son. Recently we have not been able to get out into our garden much due to the weather. At the weekend we had a sunny spell, could it be the start of Summer? We decided to make the most of it and tackle the garden, which to be honest was looking a bit more like a jungle. There were a lot of jobs that needed tackling. First of all the branches.

I can assure you the dog was not harmed although he did get out of the way very quickly. My husband had removed some branches from our trees earlier. Our first job was to remove the branches and bag them up to go to the dump. My son took the chance to pose with the axe, I did not actually let him use it much to his disgust. I decided to use some of the branches to tame the honeysuckle that was running riot though the back garden. My son helped find it and wrap it round the branches which we put against the back fence.

As you can see our sage bush has gone crazy, I will have to think of a few things to cook with sage. The next job was to tackle the pots. I had planted lots of salad in here but it has not grown. I suspect this is to do with the large amounts of snails lurking in the undergrowth. My son decided to plant some sunflower seeds in here.

As you can see he was concentrating very hard on the task, so much so that the dog had to come and have a look. A touch of water and hopefully they will grow and add some colour to the garden.

We have recently had a few fence put up in the garden but unfortunately when they did it my flowerbed was a casualty. I did have lots of plants in here, including a lavender bush but now it is bare. My son set to work digging the ground.

He then decided to put two packets of seeds in here, pansies and a selection called pretty flowers. I am waiting in suspense to see what appears.

We had a great day sorting out the garden and it looks much tidier as a result. Hopefully we will get some pretty flowers growing in it soon.

Disclosure: This post is an entry for BritMums’ #KidsGrowWild Challenge, we were sent some gardening tools and seeds in order to take part.

Fresh Gourmet Croutons and Toppings Review

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

Recently the sun has come out and it has started to feel a little bit like Summer. I have been experimenting a bit with different salad recipes and was delighted when I was sent some Fresh Gourmet Croutons and Toppings to try. Fresh Gourmet have produced this new range with the idea that they can be used on salads, in soups and on sandwiches to add a little bit of crunch and excitement to the dish.

There are four products in the range, Cheese and Garlic Croutons, Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper Croutons, Ciabatta Basil and Pesto Croutons and Crispy Onions. All the croutons are made from delicious bread and are baked rather than fried.

I had lots of ideas for using these toppings, I think the Cheese and Garlic Croutons would be gorgeous on top of a French Onion soup. The Crispy Onions would work really well with a burger. First I decided to try the Ciabatta Basil and Pesto Croutons with a Tomato Vinaigrette Salad

The croutons were lovely and crunchy with a hint of basil taste that worked really well with the tomatoes. They made a lovely addition and would also work brilliantly with tomato soup. Next I tried the Crispy Onions with a Carrot and Raisin Salad.

You can see the slithers of onion placed on top. These were delicious, very crunchy and full of onion flavour. They added a definite zing to the salad.

I loved these Fresh Gourmet Croutons and Toppings and will be getting some more. They add a definite touch of luxury to a meal. You can find them in Tesco, RRP £1.79 for the Cheese and Garlic Croutons, Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper Croutons and Crispy Onions. RRP £1.99 for the Ciabatta Basil Pesto Croutons. The products come in an 80g resealable bag to keep them fresh and that is plenty to use on several dishes.

Fresh Gourmet also sent me a Basil Pesto Chicken salad recipe to share which looks lovely. I will be giving this a go soon.

Basil Pesto Chicken Salad
Servings: 4 | Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 10 min

Ingredients
Dressing:
• 1/4 cup; olive oil
• 1/4 cup; white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons; Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon; garlic salt
• 1/4 teaspoon; fresh ground pepper
Salad:
• 2 each (6-ounce); chicken breast
• Olive oil
• To taste; salt and pepper
• 1 (5-ounce) bag; ready-to-serve Italian blend, mixed greens
• 1/2 cup; grape tomatoes, halved
• 8 each; fresh mozzarella baby bocconcini
• 1 1/2 (80g) bags of Fresh Gourmet® Basil Pesto Ciabatta Croutons

Directions
1. In a small bowl, combine all dressing ingredients. Whisk until well blended. Refrigerate covered, until ready to use.
2. Brush both sides of chicken breasts with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Grill until internal temperature of chicken reaches 165°F. Remove from grill and let stand for 10 minutes. Slice into 1/4-inch pieces.
3. Mix greens, tomatoes, mozzarella and chicken with prepared dressing until well coated.
4. Move to serving plate. Top salad with Fresh Gourmet® Basil Pesto Ciabatta Croutons.

Tomato Vinaigrette Salad

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

When I was a child we used to spend a lot of our holidays in self catering houses in France. We used to drive from Belfast to Dover, stopping to stay with my aunt and uncle and my grandparents on the way. I have lots of memories of those holidays. It was exciting visiting shops to buy sweets and bread and using a different language. We always used to travel in July and usually celebrated Bastille Day in the small villages we stayed in. This always seemed to involve amazing firework displays and parades around the village with Chinese lanterns.

On these holidays food was always relaxed and eaten late in the day. My mum often used to prepare Tomato Vinaigrette Salad, which goes with everything and the juice is lovely when mopped up with a slice of French baguette. The Vinaigrette dressing can be modified depending on what you have to hand, and when in France a splash of wine always made an appearance in the dressing. It can be eaten as part of a salad or a side dish with a hot meal, it is very versatile. It is also really quick and easy to make but looks elegant on the table.

This is the recipe

Tomato Vinaigrette Salad

Ingredients

Tomatoes (about 4 or 5 depending on how many people)
½ red onion
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon grainy mustard
1 teaspoon lime juice
½ teaspoon crushed garlic

Method

Slice the tomatoes into thin slices and place on a plate.
Chop the red onion into small chunks and scatter over the tomatoes
In a small jug mix the olive oil with the balsamic vinegar.
Add the other ingredients into the oil and vinegar mixture and mix well.
Pour the vinaigrette sauce over the tomatoes, you can use as much as you want depending on your taste. It keeps well in the fridge if you do not use it all.

The vinaigrette dressing can easily be modified with the addition of wine or herbs, the important part to remember is to use three parts oil to one part vinegar and then experiment.

Carrot and Raisin Salad Recipe

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

I love to try new varieties of salads to accompany main meals. Now the summer is here it is a good excuse to get creative. One salad I always loved as a side dish is a carrot and raisin salad. I particularly remember being served at barbecue parties, I remember one particular party when we were kids visiting America. We were playing in the garden while all the parents talked. We suddenly heard a rustling in the bushes and being kids decided to investigate. Looking behind the bushes we found ourselves face to face with a very startled looking skunk. We ran quickly up the garden at great speed yelling skunk at the top of our voices, while our parents looked very surprised. I think we had a lucky escape as the skunk did not spray us, it just ran away.

I decided to have a go and make carrot and raisin salad, how hard could it be? The main ingredients are carrots and raisins after all. This was the result.

It was very tasty and even my son and husband liked it. My husband can be a bit wary of eating vegetables so it is good to have a way to serve them that he enjoys. This is the recipe, it is really simple and easy.

Carrot Salad Recipe

Ingredients

140g (5 oz, about 3 medium sized) carrots
160g (6 oz) raisins or sultanas
2 stalks of celery
30g (1 oz) walnuts
80 ml (2 fl oz) natural yoghurt or low fat mayonaise

Method

Grate the carrots
Finely chop the celery
Chop the walnuts into small pieces
Mix everything together and leave in the refrigerator to cool for a couple of hours before serving.

Slumberdown All Seasons Duvet Review

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

I am one of those people who is always cold in bed and my husband is the opposite, he is always warm. I tend to pile blankets on my side of the bed and he removes them from his. I was delighted when I received this Slumberdown All Seasons Duvet to try.

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It is called an all seasons duvet because it is two duvets of different tog ratings. There is a 4.5 tog for the summer, a 9.0 tog for the autumn and spring and when it gets really cold in the winter the two can be combined to make a really warm 13.5 tog. I really like this idea, it means I can be nice and warm in the winter but much cooler in the summer.

In the winter the two duvets are held together with poppers which prevents them slipping apart. They are easily pressed together and stop the duvets getting tangled.

The duvets are filled with 100% hollowfibre, they feel very soft and bouncy to the touch. They are actually feel quite thin, and I did wonder if they would keep me warm. The 9.0 tog duvet is slightly thicker (seen underneath in the photo below) but they are both really light to pick up.

As it is the summer I decided to try the 4.5 tog duvet out. I was a little worried about storing the 9.0 tog duvet but I found that it folded up easily and I could store it in the drawer under my bed until the winter.

The 4.5 tog duvet is quite thin but I found that it feel really warm and cosy. It seems to snuggle up around you and keep your body at the right temperature. I found I was not too cold and did not need to add extra layers like I usually do. My husband was comfortable as well and we both got a great nights sleep. I am looking forward to doubling it up in the winter and being extremely cosy. It is a definite improvement on my old duvet and will be a permanent feature on my bed.

You can obtain the Slumberdown All Seasons duvet in Argos. RRP £24.99 single, £29.99 double and £34.99 for Kingsize.

Disclosure: I was sent a Slumberdown All Seasons duvet to try out but was not told what to write and my opinions are my own.