Cinnamon and Orange Breakfast Rolls

The cost of food just keeps going up and up, but thankfully with over 600 different products in the Sainsbury's Basics range I can still afford good ingredients that don't compromise on quality and ethics.

"Well we believe that no matter what your budget, you should have access to quality food that doesn’t cost the earth. That’s why the products you’ll find within our basics range are both kind to your budget and responsibly sourced. So whether it’s eggs from cage-free hens for a Victoria sponge, Fairtrade bananas chopped up on homemade pancakes or pole-and-line-caught Tuna in a pasta bake, you’ll find it all in our lowest priced basics range." 

With more and more of us trying to be thriftier with our weekly shopping, Sainsbury's have challenged bloggers to create a recipe showcasing some of their Basics range products.

These rolls are perfect for breakfast - although they do take a while to prove so maybe best for leisurely Sunday mornings.  They're also great for an afternoon snack or lunchbox.

The smell of the cinnamon and orange dough baking in the oven is heavenly, and I guarantee you won't wait til they're cooled before tearing one off.  The citrus zest in the mixed fruit, together with the orange juice makes for a really fruity flavour and moist texture.

Ingredients:

Dough -

250g Basics plain white flour
40g caster sugar
2 teaspoons dried yeast
20g soft butter
pinch of salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
100ml Basics orange juice
Warm water

Filling - 

30g soft butter
100g Basics mixed dried fruit

Glaze-

1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Soak the mixed fruit in orange juice for an hour at least.  Then drain and reserve the juice.
2. Mix together the flour, sugar, yeast, butter, salt and cinnamon.  Use your orange juice and make up to 150ml with warm water then add it to the dry ingredients.
3. Bring together to form a dough, then tip out onto a floured surface and lightly knead.
4. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with a clean tea towel and leave to prove somewhere warm for an hour.
5. Generously flour your surface and roll out the dough to a rectangle shape around 1.5 cm thick.
6. Spread the softened butter over the rolled out dough and sprinkle the soaked fruit evenly over.
7. Carefully roll up the dough along the long edge so you have a swiss roll effect.  I use a long knife or palette knife to help.
8. Slice into rolls about 4-5 cm thick.
9. Arrange in a greased baking tray or cake tin.  Don't worry if they don't fill the tin at this stage, just arrange them evenly.
10. Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees C.
11. Cover again with a clean cloth and leave in a warm place for a further 45mins-1 hour to rise.
12. Brush on beaten egg all over the top, then bake for 20-25 mins until golden brown.
13. Remover from oven and while still hot sprinkle with a mix of cinnamon and sugar.

Disclosure: I was sent a selection of products from the Sainsbury's Basic range for the purposes of this review.

Pea & Ham Fritters - Easy teatime treat or lunchbox filler

I've always got eggs and milk in the fridge so this is a great fallback recipe to whip up a tasty brunch or after-school tea.  Pile them high, hot out of the pan and serve with a dollop of creme fresh and let everyone tuck in.

They're also great cold in lunchboxes instead of sandwiches.  You can even use cookie cutters to make them into fun shapes after you've cooked them. I often keep back a little of the Yorkshire Pudding batter on a Sunday to make a couple for Monday's lunchbox.

When I was at school doing my A Levels, I would regularly hang out at a friend's house and our snack of choice would be sweetcorn fritters - made the same way but with a tin of sweetcorn.  We'd knock up a huge batch and plough our way through them while avoiding revision!

This recipe is great if you're on a budget as it can easily be adapted to whatever leftovers you have - use frozen peas, tinned corn, bacon, ham, chorizo, even leftover cooked veg like broccoli goes well.

Ingredients:

1 egg
75 plain white flour
75ml milk
pinch salt
1/2 cup defrosted frozen peas (I fill the cup with boiling water for a few mins to defrost)
2 slices of cooked ham, chopped

Mix up the batter (egg, milk, flour and salt) thoroughly and get rid of any lumps.

Add in the extra ingredients and stir in.

Heat some oil in a frying pan until smoking hot.

Ladle in a spoonful and wait until the edges are firm and golden before flipping over.  They should only take a couple of minutes on each side.

Drain on kitchen paper before serving.

This post is an entry for the #ShortcutEggsperts Linky Challenge sponsored by British Lion Eggs. Learn more and find recipes at www.eggrecipes.co.uk

Valentine Bento Lunchbox Goodies Giveaway

The nice folks over at Unique Home Living challenged me to come up with a Valentine themed lunchbox for my daughter, and you know me, we love our themed lunches!  Our school breaks up for half term on Valentine's Day so this will be a nice end of term treat for Ruby.

I got cracking with the heart shaped muffin pan they sent and made these Strawberry Sweethearts - the recipe is on the packaging but it's a basic cupcake recipe using vegetable oil instead of butter, and adding some strawberry pulp and red colouring.

I decorated them with white chocolate hearts and fruit jelly hearts and gave them a spritz of silver shimmer spray to glam them up.  The shaped pan gives a lovely 3D design to the cakes although I will admit there were a few casualties getting them out.  Next time I'll use more non-stick baking spray.

We also have a heart-shaped hard boiled egg made with this clever mould.  It's very simple to do.  Hard boil your egg by adding to a pan of cold water, bring to the boil then simmer for 10 minutes. Plunge into cold water for a few minutes then peel off the shell.  Pop it into the mould and I leave mine overnight in the fridge before removing from the mould and adding to the lunchbox.  It's a really fun way to liven up food.

I've added a 'queen of hearts' jam sandwich made using heart shaped cookie cutters.  I use cutters a lot for making different shaped sandwiches and flatbreads.

I've also included a small waxed cheese with a little cut-out heart; some strawberries which are naturally heart-shaped if you hull them and cut them in half or into slices; some fruit jelly hearts and a smoothie bottle which I've re-labelled as 'love potion' (feel free to download and print my label).

If you'd like to have a go at your own heart themed lunchbox, either for your child or your partner then you can win an egg mould and a set of cookie cutters here courtesy of Unique Home Living.

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED

Just complete the rafflecopter below to be in with a chance.  The giveaway ends at 12:00 on Thursday 6th February 2014.  Open to UK entrants only.  One winner will be chosen at random and will receive both products.

Please leave a blog comment - visit the website and tell me what your favourite item is on the Unique Home Living site.  You must complete the rafflecopter for your entry to be included.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: In association with Unique Home Living.  Prize will be fulfilled by their agent.

Muddy Puddles

Well, that might not be strictly true, but with all this wet weather we've been having lately the only way to deal with it seems to be to embrace it.  Splash in life's puddles.  Catch rain drops on your tongue.  Admire the rainbows...

This weekend we headed off as a family for a walk in the forest.  It was absolutely bucketing it down, the entire time.  But as long as you're warm and dry there's no reason why you can't get out there and have fun. Especially if there's the promise of a hot mug of cocoa at the end of it!

Kids can get kitted out in funky wellies like these clever ones from Muddy Puddles which have tie up tops to stop splashes creeping in and extra warm fleecy inside layers to keep toes toasty.

Or maybe one of their bold patterns to brighten up a dull day?

Do check out their ski and snow wear too - we may not have seen any of the white stuff here yet but rumour has it it's headed our way, and anyway even without snow, a ski suit is perfect for keeping little ones warm and dry. They have a great selection of base layers; hats; walking boots and salopettes, and are also offering £5 off your first order when you sign up to their newsletter.

Half term is coming fast so now's the time to prepare. Don't be a slave to the weather, get kitted out and get out there!  Just don't forget the flask of hot chocolate!

Featured post:  This post is in association with Muddy Puddles

Magpie Monday - Childhood past

This week I picked up a couple of fabulous children's books in a junk shop.  Normally these sort of books have been filtered out from the usual bookshelves to have a hefty price tag attached, but these were languishing amongst the pile of Mills and Boon and Reader's Digest and I got them for 50p each.

'Rare yarns for boys'.  Brilliant!  Would kids even know what the expression 'yarn' as in 'tale' means nowadays?

These are swashbuckling, rip-roaring tales of heroic deeds and action-packed adventures.  Back when men grew humongous beards and smoked pipes.  Not anymore - fire-safety issue you see.

Smoking a pipe as a fully grown man was acceptable, but according to the cautionary picture inside, puffing a cigar if you were a small schoolboy was not.  It resulted in a heavy thwacking.  Which kinda surprises me, I thought every young boy smoked in the 1930's?

Maybe this was ahead if it's time.

Or maybe not.  I've not read the story yet.  Back then he could just have easily deserved corporal punishment for abandoning his books on the floor.  Or having his hands in his pockets.  I guess I'll have to read it and find out.  I'm intrigued now!

What second--hand gems have you found lately?  Grab the badge and link up.

 
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Food to celebrate Chinese New Year

I may not have an oriental bone in my body, but that doesn't stop me celebrating Chinese New Year!

We always try to do something special - make some decorations; have Chinese food, crack open some fortune cookies...

Some of my favourite bloggers have shared some fabulous recipe ideas such as:

Chinese Style Braised Orange Duck Legs from More than Toast.

Caramelised Chinese Pork Stir Fry from Mummy Alarm.

Salmon, Mushroom and Pak Choi by Kids Chaos.

Cashew Chicken by I'm Counting UFOs

How to make Tofu by Life is Delicious.

Simple Chicken Chop Suey by Domestic Goddesque.

To help you prepare your food in style, Tesco have a range of items from woks to bamboo steamers, and of course all the ingredients you'll need to whip up a tasty stir fry.

A wok is a really worthwhile investment if you don't have one.  It really is the best way to cook noodles or oriental style vegetables.  Look after it well and it will last you for years.

So whatever you decide to make, I wish you good fortune for the year of the horse.

Disclosure: Tesco kindly sent me a new wok.

10 things to do with a banana!

Bananas are the nation's favourite fruit - we eat over 5 billion of them in the UK each year - but here are 10 more things (other than eating them in the conventional way) that they are also great for.

Oi filthmonger, not that!

1.Shine shoes

Banana skins are excellent at polishing leather shoes.  Simply rub the inside of the skin over your shoes then buff up with a soft cloth.

2. Ripen other fruit

Although scientists may still be arguing about it, there's no doubt to me that placing a bunch of bananas in a bowl with other fruits will cause them to ripen faster.  the ethylene they produce will cause other fruit in it's vicinity to ripen quicker, so you can use it to your advantage if you have under-ripe fruit.

3. Low-fat healthy ice cream

Simply peel and freeze a banana then whizz up in a blender for a delicious, creamy 'ice cream' without the need for any added milk, sugar or in fact anything.  This is the best one-ingredient-recipe I know. Try it, you'll be amazed at how good it tastes.

4. Face mask

Bananas are great for dry, itchy skin, acne, ageing skin - in fact any skin. For an all natural treat for your fizzog, mash up one banana, smooth onto your face and neck and leave for 15 mins.  Rinse off with water and pat dry.

5. Clean houseplants

Don't waste your time pushing dust around with a duster on your cheese plant. Houseplants will love you if you rub the inside of a banana peel over them, giving them a good clean and leaving them with a silky shine.

6. Polish your silver

Save buying expensive silver polish for your family heirlooms and simply blend some banana skins with a little water into a paste.  Work onto your silverwear, rub gently with a soft cloth, rinse and dry.

7. Great for your garden

The skins repel aphids so bury a few around your plants to keep them bug free. As an added bonus, your roses will feast on the potassium and reward you with healthy flowers.

8. Help you quit smoking

Vitamins B6 and B12 along with magnesium and Potassium in bananas help the body overcome nicotine addiction, so next time you're reaching for a fag, have a banana instead.

9. Insect bites

Relieve itchy bites and swelling caused by insect bites reduced by rubbing the inside of a banana skin on the affected area. (health warning - I'm not a doctor, but I hear this is supposed to help.  Try this one at your own risk!)

10.Sleep aid 

Bananas not only contain large amounts of tryptophan (the amino-acid that is necessary for the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone) and serotonin. They also have very high carbohydrate content that that helps the brain to use tryptophan and serotonin to produce the sleep hormone. So, eating banana few hours before you go to bed will help you drift off to bye-byes.

Fairtrade Fortnight starts on 24th February, and the world's banana producers need your help.

In the last 10 years, the UK supermarkets have almost halved the shelf price of loose bananas,  Meanwhile, the cost of producing them has doubled, trapping many of the farmers who grow them in a cycle of poverty.

Does that sound fair to you?


Fairtrade provides a vital safety net for banana farmers and workers, by paying a minimum price that aims to cover the costs of sustainable production, and an additional premium that farmers can use to invest in community projects or to improve their business.  This empowers producers to take control of their lives and provide their families with the  basics such as education and healthcare.


For more information, check out the Fairtrade Fortnight website.