Category: Reviews

Being offered great knives is one of the many lovely things about writing a blog that also has so much food on it.  The new Black Diamond shaped knife block I received, was created by London designer, Christian Bird.  It’s a very modern and swish addition to any kitchen, and it just happens to be black, which is colour of my lovely worktop.

The Black Diamond Knife Block is pretty futuristic and quite quirky.  I think I love it just for that alone.

It’s designed to be easy to use, and the slots are big enough to take almost any set of knives that I own.  As long as knives are up to 4mm thick, they will fit.

I can see me putting this to good use as a hold all, since it holds up to 11 knives, and my current one only holds 5.  Knives are easy to pull out and glide into their slots.

I was also lucky enough to receive the Precision Chef Knife Series, which consists of:

• Bread Knife 6″
• Deba 5″, inspired by traditional Japanese “Deba”.  Perfect for salmon, tuna, sushi and even fruit and veg.
• Chef’s 6″, my favourite.  A knife for all reasons is what I’d call it.  Very very sharp, and cuts incredibly cleanly.
• Paring 4″, perfect precision cutting as my new paring knife.  I love it.

I have to say, that when I first saw the size of the paring knife, I felt a pang of disappointment, but it soon changed when I actually began to use it.

My own paring knife is years old and has seen better days.  It’s also a much much smaller blade, and I now know, that my old one is completely blunt in comparison to the sheer sharp edges of these knives.  Made of stainless steel, they have a non-stick coating, which is a revelation for me.  I’ve never actually had knives like these before.

The design of the knives is also unusual, and is bold, with easy grip and large enough handles for me to feel comfortable that they won’t slip.    The handle design even won a piece of the D&AD product design award, in competition with the Apple iPad2.

Knife Safety

Always be aware that with knives, we all have a duty of care, especially towards our children in busy kitchens.  These are excellent knives, but keep them well away from inquisitive fingers.   Other warnings are:

• Keep them away from heat.
• Use only for preparing food.  (not for opening parcels)

Care of These Knives

• Always wash and dry after use.
• Sharpen knives regularly to retain the crisp and clean sharp blade slicing.

Thanks to Edge of Belgravia for sending the knife block and knife set to review.

I have a live giveaway running for one of these Bissell Powerglide Cordless Vacuum Cleaners.  It ends on the 30th November 2015, so get your skates on if you want to enter.

It’s a new vacuum for Bissell, and they’re really excited by the new launch.  Bissell sent me one to review and it’s been put to the test on my floors regularly.  We badly needed a new one, as for the last wee while, we’ve been sharing my mother’s one, as I’d never got round to actually finding one for us.

The cordless ability is what drew me to this, and why I agreed to carry it and also run a giveaway.

Here’s what I think of it.

Putting It Together

The man was home, so he put it together, but if he hadn’t been, I’d have had no problem getting this ready for use.  Compared to some other vacuums I’ve slotted together, the assembly was relatively simply.  It literally was just slot the handle into the extension piece, then slot it into the base unit.   After that, just pop the hose into the connector and click it into place.

Attaching the lift off portion to the base is quick and easy.  The battery is even easier.  It’s just a slot into place until it clicks.  It does need a firm push, but feels sturdy and secure.

Charging

The battery comes out of the vacuum for charging, and slots into it’s own charger, which can take up to 2 hours for a full charge.  The run time is 45 minutes per change, which seems to last us a fair time.

Vacuuming Floors

On the left side, the on and off button is on it’s own.  On the other side, the brush bar has its own button, which is on and off.  In front of the brush bar button, there’s another, which determines the power used, ie high  or low.

For hard floors, it’s recommended to turn off the brush bar.  I mostly used my vacuum on the high power setting at all times, which worked out great for us, but on our laminate floors, I only needed the low power for it to work perfectly well.

On our carpets, it did the job I needed it to do.  The swivel head means that it’s easy to move around furniture and get under the radiators without having an aching hand by trying to manoeuvre it.  I did find the suction quite powerful on carpets, which was a surprise for a cordless vacuum.

Stairs/ Lift Off

The lift off is easy to do.  Press the bottom half of the release button at the back and the top portion separates from the brush bar.  Flick the dial at the side from vacuum to lift off and pull the hose from the top, then just vacuum away.  On wooden stairs, it’s perfect.  I’d have liked a bit more oompf when using the lift off for carpeted stairs, but it did the job with a little extra time.  I’m not complaining. 

Where it did a grand job was overhead cleaning.  The carry piece is light enough for me to lift the wand high enough to zap cobwebs from the ceiling in our garage.  There isn’t a close enough socket for regular cleaners, and that has a tendency to get overlooked.

Emptying

It’s a one button release from the vacuum, then, although it isn’t totally handsfree, it’s close enough.  A little catch releases the dirt container lid, and the dirt falls into a bin below.   I did open the top to see how easy it would be to clean, and it scored plenty of points with me here.  The filter is wash and re-useable but since our machine is new, I’ve not tried this to see how long it takes to dry.

Best Feature

It’s a bit of a no brainer isn’t it?  Being cordless, there is no tangling, no picking up and moving of cords wrapped round fingers, or behind a shoulder, or unplugging and replugging to do another room.  The carpet in our extension is getting done more often because it’s simply walk through with the vacuum and get it done.

Likewise with the stairs.  I really dislike juggling cords and having to change plugs several times, and it doesn’t help that the socket at the top of our stairs no longer works, so I have to use an extension lead from a bedroom.

I’ve used the vacuum for a few days now, and I’ve found it much more helpful than I ever imagined. Instead of always bending down with a brush and shovel, it’s simply a case of grabbing the Bissell and clearing crumbs and mess from the floors, especially the kitchen, where breadcrumbs seem to find their way into everything.

Ou cordless vacuum cleaner has already had lots of use, and I can’t see that changing any time soon.

Bissell provided the Powerglide Cordless Vacuum Cleaner for review. Opinions are my own.

In the past, Mackie’s has always stuck in my mind as the king of ice-creams around here, with the creamy, silky texture.  My mother is very ice-cream picky, and she could always tell if I tried to substitute with something else, if the shop had sold out of her favourite brand.

On Twitter, I was chatting with someone, who said Mackie’s sold chocolate, and from there, Mackie’s got in touch and sent me some samples to try.

Considering it’s Mackie’s, and it’s chocolate, there was no way I would say no to that.  They didn’t ask me to review, but the chocolate tasted so good, how could I not?

It was impressive to find that the ingredients are all natural, and GM-free, and my samples came in the following flavours.

• Traditional Milk (My favourite)
• Honeycomb Milk (Kids favourite)
• Dark Mint Chocolate (Really really good.  I don’t usually like dark chocolate, but I liked this)
• Dark Chocolate (I didn’t taste this, but I’m told it was lovely)

The chocolate is every bit as good as the ice-cream.  I put a bar of the Honeycomb Milk on my mum’s tray at night, as she often likes a square or two of chocolate if she wakes up during the night. When I took her up a coffee in the morning, all I could see was the empty wrapper…….  The Milk Chocolate was melt in the mouth good and creamy.  Just how I like it.

I can just imagine brownies, or chocolate tiffin, or melted chocolate with strawberries.

Mackie’s are even building a chocolate factory in Aberdeenshire, and that’s one place I am going to enjoy visiting when the time comes, next year, I think.

I saw the farm where Mackie’s make products on the news last night, with their impressive new solar farm, that will export power back into the national grid.

There are new flavours in the pipline, which might even include salted caramel and white chocolate.

Their Aberdeenshire farm has over 500 Jersey and Holstein cows and also produce crisps made from potatoes they grow in Scotland.  Mackie’s seems to be a brand worth a watching for me.

Once a chocoholic, always a chocoholic…

And if there’s none in the shops near you, they sell online too.

Ok, I have to admit to being initially hesitant, as jelly and juice don’t quite seem to go well together, but when our samples arrived, I decided to try it for myself.

In the past, I’ve tried children’s juices that only make me thirsty, but I didn’t find that with these samples.  I’d buy these again, especially for visiting younger children, and I do think that around 36 to 37 calories per drink, it’s easy to persuade myself that this was a good option.

Let’s go deeper.

The juices are gelatine free, they have no added sugar or sweeteners and have added vitamins A, C & E.   They also state that they are free from wheat, dairy, nuts and bees, for those of you for whom that matters.

We tried three flavours of Naturelly Jelly Juice.

• Summer Fruits
• Apple & Blackcurrant
• Tropical Fruits

I prefer the tropical fruits, and my eldest quite liked the summer fruits.  He liked how it slides down your throat without having to break it up.  No chew jelly as it were.

For added interest, I put some in a small glass and gave kids a spoon to taste, and they actually liked it like that.  With a little yoghurt in the bottom and some chocolate shaved over the top, or some fruit on the bottom and squirty cream on the top, it could even make for a lovely and refreshing low calorie dessert, but also getting some much needed fluids into children who struggle with fluid intake.

Food choices are always what we make of them.  When one of my boys was younger and ill, I could have used something like this to slide over his throat when he had tonsillitis, not to mention being a great packed lunch staple.

Suitable from age 2+, I think these are worth a try.  I just wish I’d seen them when my kids were very little.

One of my boys has been looking for a yellow jacket for quite some time now. He’s used a high vis vest in the past when he’s on his bike in winter, but he has wanted a nice bright jacket that’s both windproof and waterproof.  One that isn’t too bulky, and means he can wear layers underneath.

Trespass offered me the chance to pick an item from their outdoor clothing, footwear and equipment website.  When I spotted this jacket, I knew immediately, that it was the one I wanted.

I chose the Limone coloured, Zachariah Trespass Jacket.

My kids are all outdoor fanatics, so good jackets are actually quite high on my list of priorities, to keep the wind and the rain out, especially in the cold weather.  The beauty of the Zachariah Jacket, is that it will do for both summer and winter.

My oldest son would have loved the navy version, but it was too tempting to tick the bright yellow jacket box for my middle boy.

It has something called the tres-tex membrane, which allows the jacket to be Waterproof, Windproof and has a Water Repellant Zip. Taped Seams stop the water from coming in, yet, it’s also breathable.

The jacket is part of the technical performance range, and has some extras that my cyclist will be pretty chuffed with.

• Adjustable Zip Off Hood
• Venting
• Snow Seal System
• Zipped Pockets
• Glasses Pocket
• Phone Pocket
• Adjustable Cuffs

The jacket is for one of my teens who is growing like a weed, but as it’s going to be part of his birthday present, one of my other boys stepped in to model it for him.

In fact, I actually think my other two boys were more than just a little bit envious of the nice bright colour, and the fabulous quality of the jacket.  Even the man was suitably impressed, wondering if he should get one for himself, but in navy.

My model for the day, was highly amused by the opening side vents, that allow air to circulate freely.  It’s the first time he’s seen anything like that, and the phone pocket is on the sleeve, beside the cuff, which makes it easy for access too.

I ordered the extra small (xs) from the Men’s range, which will fit my middle child perfectly, who is thirteen and quite slender.  It’s a tad long in the sleeves for my model, but as his brother has longer arms, it’ll be fine.

I can see this getting much love and attention from my boy when he gets his hands on it.

He already has a pair of bright yellow salopettes, which he adores, so this will complete his outfit for when it snows.

Salopettes for the legs, and a thinner jacket on top, one that can be layered, is perfect for sledging in the winter months.

I’m going to enjoy seeing his face when he opens this parcel….

Thank you Trespass.

They think eggs rule, and they wouldn’t be far wrong.  The Crackin Egg Co have taken the idea of hard boiling eggs and added a protective coating to lock in the goodness, and they’re ready to eat.

We tested the sour cream and chive and the salt and black pepper eggs, that are high in protein, rich in omega 3 and only 77 calories each.

My first question was the one about eggs being high in cholesterol.  Thankfully, the Crackin Egg Co have an answer for that.

Yes it’s true, eggs are high in cholesterol with a medium egg containing just over half of our RDA, but it’s not all bad. We need cholesterol in our diets to help us produce the acids that help to properly digest fat and keep our cells functioning properly. Too much of anything is a bad thing, but it has been proven that eggs do not adversely affect cholesterol levels in our blood. In fact, eating eggs actually helps to raise the level of good, HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol and turns the bad, LDL (high-density lipoprotein) from small particles to large. This means fat is mobilised around our bodies more effectively and the bad cholesterol becomes benign. How nice of those cracking little eggs to look out for us.

Where To Keep The Eggs

These are the end of eggs that need to be kept in the fridge.  The special coating means that Crackin Eggs can be kept anywhere, as long as it’s under 20 Degrees C.

How To Eat

Our eggs are simply peel and eat, so they’re perfect for lunchboxes.

Our Eggs

The kids were well impressed with my little egg cup that had my name on it.  I suspect if it was an option to buy those egg cups, there could be a nice little run on them.

Where To Get Them

They won’t be on supermarket shelves until June 2015, so keep an eye out for these and for the bright yellow six packs of boiled eggs that would be perfect for school lunch bags.

Contact Crackin Eggs

On their new website, or on Twitter. @CrackinEggCo

Thanks to The Crackin Egg Co for our boiled egg samples.

Finding out about our own heritage and background are important to many of us Scots, and although we are taught much of it in schools, I’ve found that my own children’s experience of our local heritage is much weakened in comparison to what my generation learned as children. 

As a family, we’ve visited several of the National Trust sites as members for a few years, but now that our boys are older, we’re limited in how often they want to come with us.  Where they haven’t lost interest is in museums, and everywhere we go, my youngest tends to drag us after him.

This weekend is a festival of Scotland’s culture, with much more besides.

In a way, it’s a good kick-start to talking about our own family roots, wherever we come from.

There are events going on up and down Scotland this weekend, so head on over to the programme to find out if there’s something special for you, or even pick up a souvenir or two.

Fraserburgh, Museum of Scottish Lighthouses – Travel Through Time event.

My kids would have loved this when they were younger.  Actually, I’m not sure kids ever get too old for this.

If ours had all been at home this weekend, I suspect we’d have been taking a trip to Fraserburgh tomorrow afternoon.  Read what the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses has to say about their event.

Watch out for low-flying police boxes!

Our museum has been taken over by Daleks and we need your help to save the museum – and the planet – from extermination! Grab your longest scarf and come along dressed as your favourite Doctor Who character to learn some cool facts about our genuine 1970s Dalek and Doctor Who in general.

Go selfie crazy, fill our Facebook page with Dalek ‘likes’, and win a prize for the best costume! Then drift back in time, meet a lighthouse keeper in his lighthouse, and find out what it was like to live and work at Kinnaird Head. Perhaps you can offer him a sonic screwdriver to fix the light…

Other Events

The annual Festival of Muesums is a nationwide programme of cultural events taking place this weekend.

Some of those who are taking part are:

• Glasgow – School of Art & the Glasgow Style City Walking Tour
• Dundee – McManus Gallery – Meet a Polar Explorer
• Edinburgh – Anatomical Museum – A Scandal in Surgeon’s Hall
• Aberdeen – Zoology Museum

Aberdeen – Tonight – 16th May – Zoology Museum

This is in my neck of the woods.  They will celebrate all things Egyptology with real life desert animals like snakes, scorpions and meerkats.  There will be gruesome tales and the chance to be painted like a pharoah or dress like an Egyptian.

About the Festival of Museums and Museums Galleries, Scotland

Joanne Orr, the chief executive of Museums Galleries Scotland said.

‘Festival of Museums is about igniting imaginations while celebrating Scotland’s wealth of culture.  There is a packed programme this year with lots of extraordinary, surprising and exciting events over three fun-filled days.  So come and see what Scotland’s museums and galleries have in store for you.’

See The Whole Programme

Visit the festival of museums to find out more about what’s on for the rest of this weekend.

About the Museums Galleries, Scotland

The museums Galleries, Scotland, are the National Development Body for Scotland’s museums and galleries.  The festival is aimed at all ages and interests, to showcase Scotland’s wide culture.   To find out more, visit their website at www.museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk/about-us

Thank you to the Festival of Museums for the lovely Books and small gifts used as images in this post.

When our family rocked up to watch the Wicked musical at His Majesty’s Theatre (HMT) in Aberdeen, I wondered if I was the only person in the world who had no idea what would happen.

Voices in the lounge chatted over the bits they liked best and who their favourite characters were.  One lady had even seen it somewhere like Australia I think.

Anyway, when it began, I was actually very pleasantly surprised.

If you don’t know the story, it’s about the ‘prequel’ story of two witches.  The Good Witch and The Wicked Witch of the West who become unlikely friends.  Obviously, it helps if you know a little about the Wizard of Oz, so that you ‘get’ the little references splattered through, but it does stand alone with a very surprising ending. 🙂

Emily Tierney, the actress playing Glinda was really very funny with her cute and dippy role, playing the ultra popular and chic good witch with impeccable taste in fashion.

The stand out performance for me was Ashleigh Gray, a fellow Scot, who plays the believably geeky and very green Elphaba (The Wicked Witch of the West from Wizard of Oz).  When she sang ‘Defying Gravity,’ I had goosebumps, prickles and shivers down my spine.  It was that good.  Elphaba was the perfectly dour and distrusting opposite of the bubbly Glinda, and it was amazing how well they acted together.

The supporting cast was fantastic, and like the true professionals they are, when there was a wee blip with a bed failing to wheel out for one scene, the two witches improvised so beautifully that I missed it all completely until my husband mentioned it afterwards.

I also have to mention Carina Gillespie who plays Nessarose for her voice, as singing so well from a seated position must be incredibly difficult, yet she managed to stun with comfortable ease.

At first, I thought it would appeal to girls more than boys as it certainly had a lot of girlie scenes, but there were plenty of boys in the audience who all seemed to enjoy the show.  My youngest came out of there wanting to be the leading man Fiyero, played by Samuel Edwards.

Have a wee peek at the official UK Tour trailer.

The musical has been running for around a decade and a slew of awards world-wide.

The story starts with the two future witches meeting at sorcery school, with lots of opportunities for amazing costumes, lights and staging.  I’m told that it’s a massive production and that we get the full west end effect that rarely happens with touring productions.  It showed.  Glittering, dazzling and absolutely mesmerising.

From where I sat in the stalls, there was a standing ovation from many in the audience for the performance.  I do have to say that it’s one of very few shows I have ever been to where that’s happened.

To sum it all up, all I can say is “Toss, Toss.’  If you want to know what that means, I’m afraid you’re going to have to go and see it for yourself 🙂

When

It’s on at HMT in Aberdeen until 30th May 2015.
Details are here.
Recommended for ages 7+.

Where Does The Tour Go Next

If you want to find out more about Wicked On Tour, visit the website for other venues and dates.

Twitter

Use the hashtags #WickedOnTour or #WickedUK to find out more, or sneak a peek on their Twitter account, @WickedUK
For the Aberdeen Box Office, @apawhatson

I am really pleased we managed to see the show, and would like to thank the Wicked on Tour team for providing us the opportunity to be there.

I’ve wanted a Tefal Actifry for a long time, but had never got round to buying one.  When the Ideal World TV Shopping Channel gave me the opportunity to try one, there was no way I could resist at all.  Everyone from people going to Weight Watchers to grannies kept talking about them and they sat on the shelves of one of our local shops, just tempting me to try it.

I was sent the Tefal Actifry Express XL which states it can cook for 6 people, which I thought would fit us perfectly as a family of 6.

The Official Stats

• Cooks 1kg of chips in less than 30 minutes – up to 30% faster than the original Actifry 1kg!
• Cooks with one spoonful of oil for six portions of chips.
• Can be used for Curries, Stir Fries, Casseroles and more.
• Automatic Stirring.
• Easy Clean.
• Cooks food from frozen.
• Dishwasher safe parts.

Scottish Mum Thoughts

Chips

I’ve made a fair few things in mine now.  I haven’t tried casserole or curry yet as I suspect the portion for six wouldn’t be enough for my family.  I have three strapping lads, two of whom eat portions that would fear you and are still like bean poles.  The man is the same.  The rest of us eat regular sized portions.

I’ve found that 1kg of chips in the fryer are simply not enough for us all, but 2kg are too much.  The 1.5kg mark for chips would have been perfect.  Saying that, if your family all eat regular sized portions, or the kids are younger, you could feed six easily from 1kg of cooked chips.  I used oil with the chopped up potatoes, but when I used frozen chips with a light sunflower oil coating, I didn’t bother adding any oil to the pan at all.

I tried and failed miserably to peel, chop, dry and cook potatoes from fresh.  Not that it’s an issue, as frozen chips are cheaper to buy and cooked much more consistently for me.  A definite winner that way.  I’ve learned that for our crispy chips, I need to do two rounds of chips, but I find ours are ready around the fifteen to eighteen minute mark for around 1kg.  I put those in the oven until the second lot are done.

Sausages

Complete success, no matter what I did.  Again, my machine cooked more quickly than the manual stated.  I’m beginning to know my machine now and what to expect from it, but keep an eye out on your first few tries, as it doesn’t take long to go from perfectly done to very well overcooked.  The sausages were not planned at all.  My youngest went into the shop to buy a couple of sweeties and he came out with a pack of Richmonds.

I didn’t bother to add any oil to sausages. I figured there would be enough coming out of the meat, though I did prick each sausage a couple of times with a fork to stop them bursting.

There was a fair amount of fat left in the fryer to get rid of afterwards but much simpler than using my oven grill pan and faffing about with the rack and tin foil etc.

Chicken & Vegetables

I have to say, the jury is out on my first attempt with chicken.  Not because of the chicken, but the one gripe I have about the machine, is the stirring paddle that moves the food about.  It’s a little difficult to clean with some foods.  I very unthoughtfully put full chicken breasts into the base of the fryer and set it to go.

These are very large chicken breasts from my local butcher, so I don’t know if those make a difference, but they were too big for the machine and I ended up having to chop them up before putting them back in.

When we’d finished eating, I tried to clean the machine, which is dead easy for the pan and the lid, but for the life of me, I couldn’t get the chicken fat off the plastic paddle.  I tried scrubbing, boiling water, put it in the dishwasher, and it still had a layer on it.  In the end, I took Ajax and a scourer to it which worked.  Perhaps I should have added oil for the chicken….

The base of the pan is a dream to clean.  I can’t help wishing the paddle was made of the same stuff, but it’s a small gripe.

I threw in some vegetables after the chicken was cooked and finished those in the Actifry as there were only four of us for supper that night.  If we’d been a full compliment of six, I suspect I’d have had to transfer to my cast iron pan to finish off.  The joys of having strapping lads to feed I suppose.

Summary

Great machine.  Takes up more room than I expected, but it’s sturdy and robust and pretty reliable in cooking terms.  Chicken nuggets will be our next try.  There is room for improvement though, and I’d like a slightly larger output for my family, so I suspect the 2 in 1 Dual Layer Actifry would have been the better option for us, but I’m not complaining.

If I were only feeding a few of us, I might never see a need to use a frying pan again, but given that I don’t own a deep fat fryer at all, this is a very nice addition to my kitchen.