Riverford Organic Farmers, experts in Organic Produce since 1987 have been kind enough to send us recipe boxes in the past, and they have all been a great success in our eyes.
Recently we were offered another Riverford Vegetarian Recipe Box which showcases their collaboration with "Delicious" Magazine and it's Food Editor Rebecca Woolard.
Rebecca who is a trained Chef and has won a BBC Good Food award oversees all of the recipe content for Delicious Magazine and alongside Riverford has nttaken some of the recipes featured in Delicious Magazine and created Recipe Boxes for them, meaning that they can be recreated in a simple and effective way in your own kitchen.
Now that I'm working full time, anything which makes meal times easier is welcomed from me! As I have said previously, I love that when you receive a recipe box everything is measured out, and all you have to do is prepare and cook it, which cuts out so much time!
The recipes and ingredients we were sent to make included:
Gnocchi with Spinach Pesto & Caramelised Leeks
Roasted Tomato Salad with Feta, Pearl Barley and Herbs
Baked Butternut Squash with Ricotta and Spinach
All three recipes were a great success! Our favourite recipe was the Baked Butternut Squash with Ricotta and Spinach - a warming hearty Autumn recipe as the weather is starting to turn!
The Gnocchi with Spinach Pesto was the first time I have ever made pesto from scratch and I was surprised how simple it was. The recipe challenged me to improve my cookery skills too!
The Roasted Tomato Salad was a refreshing reminder that salad is not just for the summer! I loved the combination of the pearl barley and vegetables with the Feta.
What I love about Riverford is that 90% of the vegetables supplied are UK grown and often locally grown. Our box was produced in conjunction with a local supplier, and so you also feel that local businesses are directly benefitting from your sale. Riverford offer a fantastic supply of Vegetarian recipe boxes each week. I would definitely recommend trying a box as it takes the stress out of having to decide what to cook at meal times, and encourages you to try an array of delicious recipes you wouldn't typically consider. Recipe boxes are priced between £24.95 and £33.95 and the range changes each week.
It's time for the June Kitchen Roundup and so today I am featuring a couple of products I have been sent to review on the blog in the last few weeks.
Heck, the fast growing food company from Yorkshire are well known for their meat products as a friend of mine exclaimed when I told her we would be receiving some meat-alternatives, but it is not so well known that they have now launched their new range of vegetarian sausages, burgers and balls with super-food vegetables as the stars of the show.
Hecks Super Green Balls, Nuts about Cheese Sausages and Gourmet Goat's Cheese Burgers are veg society
approved and don't contain faux meat or Soy. The range is purely made up of
vegetables and the Super Green Balls are Vegan too! We sampled all three products. Our favourite were the Super Green balls with Quinoa, spinach. kale and ginger. They cooked really easily in the oven and were so delicious. The Goats Cheese Burgers with Quinoa, goat’s cheese and caramelized onion were also really tasty. The Nuts About Cheese Sausages with Cashews, two cheeses, flax and chia seeds, plus a dash of chilli were probably our least favourite as they didn't cook so easily, but they were still a fantastic vegetarian sausage. The Heck range makes a fantastic alternative to soya meat-free varieties and I would recommend sampling the products, especially if you are planning a BBQ this summer!
The range is now on sale at Waitrose and online. Newtons Appl Fizzics
If the great British Summer ever gets started, these new Appl Fizzics from Newtons will make a great non-alcohol alternative to enjoying a nice cold glass of beer or cider in the garden. A refreshing blend of Apple juice and lightly sparkling water, this new apple drink contains 40^% less sugar than Apple Juice. It is also completely natural, so there are no artificial preservatives, colours, flavours or sweeteners; and no added sugar. These drinks went down really smoothly in a tall glass with some ice and were not too fizzy. I don't like drinks with too strong a flavour, but these were so light and delicious. With an RRP of £1.59 for 330ml or £3.49 for 750ml, Newton’s appl fizzics is available from Amazon.co.uk, Harrods, and a growing number of independent grocers, farm shops, delis and quality pubs bars and restaurants nationwide.
As a Mum, I am passionate about cooking delicious food for my family and ensuring that they are eating a healthy balanced diet.
However, I realise that although I am able to cook for myself and my family at the stage of life I am in now, it might not always be the case. One day I might have to be relying on other people to cook my meals for me, and I hope that they will put as much care and attention into the food they produce for me as I do, for the food I produce for my family.
I know that many people lose their interest in food as they age. Cooking for one or two people perhaps just isn't as appealing as cooking for a whole family. It's common for older people to stop eating, or just eat minuscule sized portions. Therefore, it's reassuring to hear that there are Senior Living Homes out there who are caring for older people, who are passionate about the food that they are serving to their residents.
Sunrise Senior Living champions the lives of elderly people through excellent
care and delicious food – many of their residents have specific dietary
requirements so it’s essential that all residents are presented with
tantalising meals to keep them interested in food.
Sunrise Senior Living has launched their annual "Taste of Sunrise" events to
showcase the delicious and nutritious meals homemade in their care homes
every single day to the public.
Between 5th and 13th March Sunrise care home communities are inviting the public to meet their talented chefs, sample their delicious and nutritious food and take home a free "Taste of Sunrise" Recipe Book when they take a tour of the community. The recipe book has signature dishes designed by Michelin star chefs such as Butternut Squash and Chestnut Soup, Ginger and Marmalade Sponge and Fruity Green Smoothie.
Our local nursing home in Elstree will be hosting one of the "Taste of Sunrise" events and I would recommend going along!
Sunrise invited me to make one of their Vegetarian Recipes from the Cookery Book. I chose to make Butternut Squash and Chestnut Soup. The recipe was very quick and easy to follow, and I have included it below if you would like to have a go at making your own.
Disclosure: Ingredients offered in anticipation of Review
We reviewed a Riverford Box last Autumn previously and from that experience we were complete converts to the Riverford brand. The invite to review another recipe box this month was a welcome opportunity and another chance to sample the delights of healthy, wholesome, fuss-free, delicious cooking which Riverford offers.
We were invited to review the "The Happy Pear Box" from Riverford, created by guest chef duo Irish twins, David and Steven Flynn. "The Happy Pear" began as a veg shop in County Wicklow, and has now developed into a natural food store, restaurants, whole food cafes, cook books and they are also part of Jamie Oliver’s FoodTube.
Most importantly, like Riverford, the Happy Pear twins are on a mission to get people to eat more veg.
The box we were sent contained recipe cards and ingredients for three meals. I love the way that Riverford presents their boxes, with the veg in one area, dairy/fridge ingredients in another, and three different compartments, numbered with the accompanying ingredients in, so that you don't have to spend hours trying to decipher which pots and cans go with which meal.
Even the six year old was impressed with the box as it came complete with Sheep's Wool for insulation and she demanded to visit the farm it came from straight away as she wanted to meet the sheep who supplied the wool!! I think this is a great way to get kids thinking about where food comes from and the people who supply our food rather than just seeing it as coming from the supermarkets.
Anyway, I digress...
The "Happy Pear" Box meals we were given to cook and enjoy were:
Mexican Leek and Black Bean Chilli
Puy Lentil Coconut Dahl
Spanish Chickpea and Potato Bake with Beetroot and Apple Salad
You could be mistaken for thinking that with just veg and salad in the box, it is impossible to create a hearty winters meal, but these recipes go the distance to debunk the myth that all meals have to come complete with meat or fish to be a decent winter warmer.
All of the dishes featured wouldn't look out of place as the Vegetarian option on any decent Winter Pub Menu. They are perfect for the freezing cold weather we are having at the moment. There have also been lots of bugs and germs going around school, so I hoped to aid our family's immunity by eating some delicious, nutritious and healthy meals full of goodness, and these dishes certainly ticked that box also.
All of the meals tasted absolutely amazing, but for the sheer ease of preparing and cooking, I would have to choose the Mexican Bean and Leek Chilli as my favourite dish. It was the first one I sampled on a night when I was pushed for time and it didn't take long to prepare or require too much brain power after a hard day at work. This dish was really hearty, and I served it with some crunchy bread and some sour cream too - the perfect accompaniment to Chilli!
The next dish we sampled was the Spanish Chickpea and Potato Bake with Beetroot and Apple Salad. This was closer to my comfort zone of the more traditional "veg, potato, protein" meal I would typically prepare, and as a fan of "one dish" meals, this would be a quick and easy dish to recreate. I wasn't so sold on the beetroot and apple salad. I can't fault the delicious, out of this world flavour combinations that the apple, beetroot, sunflower seeds and balsamic vinegar/olive oil/honey dressing provided, but just for the sheer "faffing" of having to grate the beetroot and even with gloves having it stain my hands, I would not be inclined to make it often (perhaps some grated beetroot as the ultimate lazy cheat would be a good substitution!!).
We also very much enjoyed the Puy Lentil Coconut Dahl, although this was probably the trickiest dish which took the longest to prepare. This dish did require some perseverance, however, it was definitely worth it!
I loved the combination of sweet potato and leeks - two vegetables I wouldn't typically put together, and the lentils and spring greens added amazing textures to the dish. I also loved the coconut sauce it was cooked in.
I would never have thought to cook this dish off of my own back, and it is one I will definitely be trying again.
One of the biggest barriers to us having a healthy meal every night is often me having to think about what to cook in the first place, and despite trying to meal plan, there are often nights when the inspiration just isn't forthcoming - especially if it's been a busy day at work.
With the Riverford Box, I loved not having to think about what we were going to cook. All of the ingredients were there, in the right amounts, measured out, and all I had to do was prepare and chop the veg and get cooking.
The recipes were very simple to understand and easy to follow, even someone without much cooking experience could follow them and come out with a fairly decent result at the end.
The Happy Pear Recipe Box costs £33.95 and comes with everything you would need to create three meals for two people (although we stretched ours to two adults and two children as the portions were on the generous side). Everything is weighed out and measured, so all you have to do is prepare the veg and get cooking!
The Happy Pear Box is only available from Riverford for a limited time, so I would hurry up and get one if I were you, and I would definitely recommend that you give it a try, as it is a fantastic option for anyone who is following a Vegetarian diet, or anyone who fancies sampling some meat-free recipes.
You can find out more about The Happy Pear Twins and Riverford in the video below.
