Tag Archives: kitchen

FROST’S FAVOURITE… KITCHEN GADGETS

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We’re all about making life that little bit easier and have done some digging to find the kitchen gadgets that will help do just that when you’re cooking up a storm…

Magimix Vision toaster – £52.99

Toast is to Brits like, well, a cup of tea is to Brits For centuries have we devastated what makes the perfect shade of tea and the perfect shade of toast. We’ve all experienced the frustration of multiple toast , just to get it right. Thanks to the Magimix vision, you can watch your toast browning away to your perfection. Not only is this gadget a brilliant invention but it’s also got a great retro look too.

Where can I buy? Wayfair

 

AnySharp Pro Knife Sharpener – £19.99

There’s no better feeling than taking to the kitchen with a new set of knives. On the contrary, there’s no worse feeling than when that knife has gone so blunt it struggles to cut through an onion. Introducing the AnySharp Pro. This unique invention can sharpen hardened steel knives, chef’s knives and even serrated blades, making it unlike anything else on the market. After just a few strokes, your tired old knives will as good as new and as sharp as ever.

Where can I buy? Amazon

 

The LazyPan All-in-One Frying Pan – £39.99

What better way to start a winter weekend morning than with a flavoursome fry up? Sadly, with said fry up tends to be a plethora of pots and pans to wash afterwards, making the whole concept a lot less appetising. Enter, Lazypan. This pan is split into five sections meaning there’s less hob hopping and you’re able to keep the kitchen organised and tidy as you prep the most important meal of the day – yummy!

Where can I buy? The Fowndry

 

Zerowater 12 cup water filter – £39.99

This is one of those gadgets that you’ll not be able to live without once you’ve tried it. The Zerowater removes virtually all dissolved solids and containments from tap water with a five stage filtration system and to be honest, there’s a lot more contamination than you’d expect. The Zerowater machine comes with a digital water meter which measures the total dissolvable solids – fancy!

Where can I buy? Zerowater

 

 

 

Give The Gift of Cooking this Christmas with School of Wok.

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There’s always an aspiring Jamie Oliver or Delia Smith in every family so this one is for all the aspiring foodies out there. This Christmas, we’re here to encourage you to step away from the utensils and fondue-at-home gift sets and treat someone to a cookery class at Jeremy Pang’s School of Wok.

Run by TV chef Jeremy Pang, Covent Garden’s School of Wok offer a number of cookery classes throughout the year. Learn the art of Oriental and Asian cuisine in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. From Dim Sum to Thai, Vietnamese to Korean, along with special celebrity guest chef courses, there is something for everyone. Or if you want to ensure the perfect choice, an open voucher for any three-hour class will ensure you can’t go wrong. The courses cover and level of skill so whether you are a newbie to the kitchen or a culinary God you will all be leaving a Wokstar. We tried out a taster session with Jeremy earlier in the year and were not disappointed, we left with a new set of skills and kitchen confident.

The choice is vast, and classes start from just £95 per person (all
inclusive). Vouchers are valid for 12 months and can be redeemed against other courses too.

So visit the school’s wokking online shop and check out the range of classes here https://www.schoolofwok.co.uk/shop

Spiralizer Review: Is This The Coolest Kitchen Gadget?

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Spiralizer review

vegan bolognese courgette pastaI never thought I would be the type to write about a kitchen gadget but here it is: my love for my Westmark Spiromat 11332260 Spiralizer. My spiralizer was actually a birthday present from my brother. Even weirder for me, to ask for something domestic for my birthday. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not domestic. But if anything will turn anyone into a (one-time) domestic goddess it is the spiralizer. I made vegan bolognese with it. (Above picture)

So what does it do? Well it turns vegetables into noodles and pasta. Yes, that’s it. Why so good? Well it’s fun to use and instead of having carbs you can have courgette pasta. Which is absolutely delicious and very healthy.Frankly I am obsessed and I am not the only one. Blogger Deliciously Ella featured the spiralizer on her blog and it sold out on Amazon.

Although the Spiralizer looks hard to clean, you can just pop it in the dishwasher. It comes with a few different attachments for variety and it is very easy to use. Because it is fun to use you use it more, therefore you eat more healthy. I should stop now as it is ruining my street cred to gush so much about a kitchen appliance but I really do love it. Vegetable noodles and pasta are great and less stodgy than the real thing. I still love pasta but I do find it heavier and more filling. This gadget is also perfect for the gluten intolerant.

 

You can buy a spiralizer here.

 

 

The Best Christmas Stocking Fillers

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Christmas is coming in fast, October is nearly over and we are already hearing jingles when we are out. It may be a time of festivities but it is also stressful and shopping can be a nightmare. So we are bringing you Christmas Gift Lists. Lots and lots of Christmas Gift Lists, bringing you great ideas and suggestions for your nearest and dearest. First up: stocking fillers. We hope you enjoy and feel free to add any comments below.

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Ringtons’ 2015 Diary set £4.99 available now

This fantastic 2015 Diary Set will make organising the coming year as simple as making a cup of tea.  Offering fantastic value for money the set includes both a desktop and a slimline diary.  Exploring Ringtons’ history and including recipes, stories, Ringtons facts and customer poems, this diary set makes a lovely keepsakee or gift. We thought this looked great and was very handy. The little one will fit in your handbag, the bigger one is great for more detail.

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Front Door Toffee Tin  £4.99

This gorgeous red front door with festive Christmas wreath lid lifts off to reveal a selection of traditionally made flavoured Devon toffees. With six different flavours to choose from – including vanilla, strawberry, rum and butter, liquorice and treacle clotted crèmes, as well as chocolate éclair – this is a must-have for toffee fans. We loved this. It looks great, couldn’t be more festive if it tried and the toffees are good too.

 

The Bay Tree Christmas Selection

One of the UK’s leading producers of fine preserves, The Bay Tree is celebrating 20 years in business and has launched a collection of Christmas products. They have wonderful jams, chutneys and biscuits. They look great and they taste great. We would like a stocking full of their stuff this Christmas please.

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Christmas Mini Jar Selection

All delicious: This trio of festive favourites has all bases covered. The three mini jars may be small in size but each is bursting with flavour. The Christmas Pickle is a delightful mix of cranberry, apple and currants – far better with hot turkey than simply cranberry sauce. To add a dash of sweetness and spice to the cold meat platter is the Boxing Day Chutney – an aromatic blend of apricots and coriander seeds. You’ll wonder how you ever survived Boxing Day without it! To keep the over-indulgence running right through till breakfast The Bay Tree’s Christmas Marmalade is a decadent recipe made using wild Moroccan oranges and a luxurious mix of spices.

3 x 100g RRP £8.30

 

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Mulled Wine Spices in a Tin

We love mulled wine at Frost. So much that we have been known to have it all-year round. This gorgeous tin has five Bundles for mulling your festive Wine or Cider in a pretty oval tin. £3.60.

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Brandy Butter

Yum. We love this. Just wonderful. Rich, buttery and boozy serve with Mince Pies and Christmas Pud £3.00.

 

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We are a sucker for a good notebook and they are always the perfect thing to buy someone-who-has-everything. These Style Notebook range are from one of the leaders in office products and accessories, Leitz. Ideal for the jet setter that likes as much style in her work life as her wardrobe, Leitz Style Notebooks are the perfect gifts. The elegant Notebooks are available Via Amazon.co.uk and are available in five slick colours: arctic white, garnet red, celadon green, titan blue and Satin black. The Style Notebooks are available in A5 or A6 and have an attractive soft brush look, perfect for everyday note taking and comes with special features such as a built in back pocket and two sticky note piles to ensure optimum organisation. With the choice of a hard and soft back, the Style notebooks are as practical as they are chic.

Buy a Leitz Notebook here.

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Avlaki Olive Oil 250ml Presentation Gift Box

We are a huge fan of Avlaki olive oil and were delighted when they sent a beautiful gift box for us to review. Their olive oil is first-class, truly brilliant stuff: Avlaki have created a festive gift pack featuring two of their extra special finishing oils – one of which won a gold one star in Great Taste 2014 and 2013. It is the ultimate gift for lovers of fine foods and those who enjoy exploring new tastes and flavours. It is also the perfect treat for those who would like to add a touch of gourmet glamour to their festive feasts.

Avlaki’s finishing oils are completely different. They are made from olives grown at varying altitudes on Lesvos Island in Greece, under the watchful eye of producers Deborah MacMillan, an artist, and broadcaster Natalie Wheen. They are handpicked in December, milled and bottled as soon as possible to capture the explosion of flavours from the olives in the bottle – and all to the highest British quality standards.

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Cordello Home have a great range of everyday homeward products featuring their iconic heart symbol.  The launch collection is designed to bring vibrancy and fun into your home – a true reflection of what the festive season is all about. These cute mugs are £12 each. They are good quality and look beautiful. They also have cushions and plates with the same designs.

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Beanies have brought out Christmas flavoured coffee. Yup, Christmas Pudding flavour and Mulled Spice flavoured coffee. All coffees are syrup free, sugar free and only 2 cals per cup. Great for stocking fillers.

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pebble grey

Pebble Grey specialise in LED bathroom mirrors and cabinets.  They have a recently launched range of LED vanity mirrors and we love them. This hand held mirror makes you feel like a Hollywood star whilst checking out your appearance in a very good mirror. Presentation is beautiful: it comes in a box and a velvet drawstring bag. Beautiful and functional. Available for £19.99 at www.pebblegrey.co.uk

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American hot sauce Frank’s RedHot is the ideal last-minute present for students, food fanatics or the man in your life. Perfect for fans of spice. Slip this into their Christmas stocking, they will love it.

  • Choose from the classic Original recipe, authentic Buffalo Wings, tangy Chili N’ Lime and daring Xtra Hot
  • £1.49 from Amazon.co.uk, ASDA.com, Sainsburys.com, Tesco.com, WholeFoods.com, Waitrose.com and Ocado.com

 

If you’re struggling for inspiration this Christmas, fill your stockings up with Frank’s. Hot, flavoursome and authentic, it’s the must-have sizzling stocking filler that’s perfect for men and foodies. Watch and enjoy as your loved one cracks open their present to reveal one $#It hot saucy gift this Christmas.

Frank’s is the American classic beloved by foodies everywhere for its versatility and zest. Add a fiery twist to a Christmas classic and

put a drop or two on your Boxing Day sausage rolls. Or if you’re ‘Christmased’ out by the 26th, take some leftover turkey and a splash of Frank’s Original to make some mouth-watering fajitas. We have recipe for you below. Yum, sounds delicious.

 

BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP

2 lbs softened cream cheese

2 cups blue cheese dressing

2 cups Frank’s RedHot® Sauce

1 cup crumbled blue cheese

8 cups shredded cooked chicken

2 cups finely diced celery

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella or provolone cheese

Julienne vegetables, chips, crackers, etc. as needed

 

1. Whisk together cream cheese, dressing, Frank’s and crumbled blue cheese. Fold in chicken and celery, mix well. Portion 1 cup of mixture into shallow oven or microwave proof ramekins. Top each with 2 tbsp. cheese. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

2. For service reheat dip until golden and bubbly and surround with dips

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My Little Day has a great range of decorations for children’s parties that are also stylish and festive enough for Christmas. Their napkins, straws and glittery decorations are all beautiful and first class. Highly recommended for adding a bit of class to Christmas.

Popcorn Kitchen

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Popcorn Kitchen refer to their popcorn on their website in caps locks as “THE BEST POPCORN YOU WILL EVER TASTE, HANDMADE USING TRADITIONAL METHODS”. We like confidence here at Frost and we also love popcorn so we thought we might be on to a winner. Turns out we were right. The popcorn is hand-popped in a giant kettle and then they hand-sift it to remove unpopped kernels and then taste every batch to make sure it’s perfect. It works and is tasty, moreish stuff. Perfect for watching endless Christmas TV with.

 

 

 

 

What would you add? 

 

Olive It! The Essential Olive Recipe Book Review

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I love this book, I really do. I love olives and will eat them in anything. Unfortunately when it comes to cooking I don’t have much of an imagination. Luckily for me this amazing book has olive recipes a plenty, along with a history of olives, the healthy facts on olives, information on the Olive It! campaign and lots of other great stuff.

My mouth was watering all the way through reading this book. The recipes are also amazing, some are also very unique. I highly recommend this book for olive obsessives like myself.

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A delicious ensemble of olive marinades, tapenades, tapas feasting tips and recipes that will spark your imagination.

Designed to inspire you, this beautiful recipe book will take you on a journey of true discovery. Combining tradition with a contemporary twist, the Olive it! recipe book has a dish for everyone and every season, from innovative marinades to tantalising tapas and tapenades.

Join celebrated Spanish chefs José Pizarro and Omar Allibhoy as they share the joy of olives and family-trusted recipes that have passed down generations. Having both grown up surrounded by olive trees and immersed in the Mediterranean diet and culture, their love of olives is deep rooted and evident in these inspired olive dishes. With over 40 recipes that will spark your imagination and awaken new taste sensations, explore unique yet delicious combinations, such as green olives with figs, orange and bay to more adventurous combinations such as black olives with wasabi, ginger and smoked salmon and green olives with manchengo, chorizo and melon.

 

“Cooking with olives can be fun and exciting, and we hope this book will inspire you in the kitchen and encourage you to create these quick, easy and delicious recipes at home for your loved ones.’

“Olives on their own are great as a tasty snack but when seasoned with new and inventive combinations of ingredients they can produce a true explosion of taste.”

–  Omar Allibhoy

London’s First Fast-Casual Persian Dining Concept Dindin Kitchen

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London persian restaurantsInnovative Persian eatery dindin kitchen has now opened its doors in Holborn bringing an exciting, new culinary experience to the capital. dindin kitchen welcomes customers to eat in a bright, vibrant 30-cover seating space to accommodate those short-stay diners, while also providing the option to take-away and enjoy an exciting range of products, on the move or at your desk. Located on the busy Gray’s Inn Road, dindin kitchen aims to deliver an accessible introduction to Persian cuisine with a modern twist to suit Western tastes. The first of its kind, dindin kitchen is a welcome addition to one of London’s most thriving business hubs and a new fast-casual choice for the city.

 

The eclectic all-day offering at dindin kitchen is built around a select few dishes, which can be ordered individually, allowing flexibility for customers to bundle items according to taste and appetite. The menu focuses on ‘grills’, delicious soups, savoury soufflés, rice dishes, fresh salads and healthy sides. Grills are served as finished-to-order flatbread wraps with salad and a range of sauce options.  All dishes are seasonal. Breakfast features a selection of baked eggs, as well as flavourful breakfast wraps and a full ‘hot drinks to go’ list. A small selection of fresh pastries, ice-cream and sorbets are available including a unique Persian Granita topped with morello cherries, citrus juice and rose water. The main product offering is prepared on site, in a service kitchen, with hot dishes finished to order for optimum freshness – offering a quality-led alternative to other high street food offers.

 

dindin kitchen is a labour of love for founder and director Vida Tayebi, who has been working on the project for some time. A proud Persian herself, she has a passion for the food and culture of her heritage. Having left behind a successful career in the City, dindin kitchen is not only a business opportunity for Vida, but also a chance for her to act as an ambassador and champion of Persian cuisine. Vida comments: “The concept is an entirely new and original idea, though in essence it is very simple: to popularise, and make available, a modern version of Persian cuisine which has been evolving over thousands of years. We are bringing Persian food up to date by adapting authentic recipes to fit a Western palate and environment.”

 

dindin kitchen provides fresh and delicious food, quickly and at affordable prices, to a wide audience. With age-old recipes and high quality ingredients, Vida hopes to lift the shroud of mystery around Persian food, educating London one hungry customer at a time.

 

dindin kitchen

52 Gray’s Inn Road

London

WC1X 8LT

 

Twitter: @dindin_kitchen

 

Bar Keepers Friend Review

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Bar Keepers FriendI am not keen on chemicals. I believe there is too many chemicals in the stuff we use today, especially cleaning products. When I got sent Bar Keepers Friend to review, I was very pleased that there wasn’t a lot of ingredients. Two in fact: citric acid and oxalic acid. I immediately like the cleaner. Let’s see if it works.

I used the products on different areas of the house. They came in a spray (used on surfaces and the bathroom) a cream (used on the cooker and harder areas) and a stain remover.

The natural ingredients do much better than their chemical loaded counterparts. The stain remover gets rid of any stain and I even use the power spray on my bike. I am impressed and I am also converted. Top marks. Will use again.

 

New Bar Keepers Friend is a traditional, quirky,niche cleaning product first launched in America in 1882 but now being relaunched with two new cleaning ‘friends’ – a NEW Power Cream and NEW Power Spray.

 

BKF is great for specific jobs that require something a little more specialist and works a treat on stainless steel, glass, chrome, brass, copper, aluminium, porcelain, tiles etc and can be used in the kitchen, bathroom, garage, shed, on bikes, cars and boats plus many other applications!
The presence of Oxalic Acid found in rhubarb gives Bar Keepers Friend the edge and it is this unique formulation that can cut through rust grease and oil, mineral deposits and stains.

 

First launched in 1882, the BKF range is being enhanced and extended, and aims to fully

capitalise on its claim of “Once Tried Always Used.”

 

Bar Keepers Friend Stain Remover Powder (250g, RSP: £2.79) will be complimented by two

exciting, new products from the US:

 

NEW Bar Keepers Friend Power Cream – a superior cream formulation that “cleans where

others fail”. Formulated for cookware, kitchens and bathrooms (350ml, RSP: £2.99).

 

NEW Bar Keepers Friend Power Spray – this easy-to-use format delivers BKF cleaning

power for use in everyday cleaning situations, from kitchen and bathroom to stainless steel

and glass (500ml RSP: £2.99).

 

Bar Keepers Friend is a premium, specialist cleaner with a non-bleach formula that can

be used in the kitchen, bathroom, garage and shed! It removes stubborn stains and cuts

through mineral deposits, oil and grease, rust stains and everyday grime giving great results

on stainless steel, tile, porcelain, fibreglass, aluminium, copper, brass, chrome and glass. It

cleans work surfaces (is recommended by Corian), cookers, cookware, sinks, toilets as well

as cars, bicycles and golf clubs..

 

Other top-selling cleansers containing chlorine bleach which are not recommended for use

on stainless steel. BKF benefits from the unique cleaning power of Oxalic Acid (found in

rhubarb, parsley and chives) and when combined with its unique mineral base and surfactant

blend, delivers a unique cleaning performance.

 

BKF owes its existence to rhubarb! Back in 1882 a chemist from Indianapolis noticed how

clean and shiny his tarnished pot was after cooking rhubarb.

 

Using an active ingredient that’s found in the plant he made a talcum smooth cleaner and sold it to the city’s taverns. It

worked so well that it was called ‘Bar Keepers Friend’! BKF boasts a long and successful

heritage that few modern day equivalent products can match.

 

BKF is available in Robert Dyas, Lakeland, John Lewis, Waitrose, independent homeware/

hardware stores or online at www.barkeepersfriend.co.uk. It is distributed in the UK by

Kilrock Products Ltd.