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Making Chocolate Eggs For Easter

A wee while ago, the people from Stay In Devon sent us a wee kit for making your own easter eggs to try.  Middler, who has special needs decided he’d be the one making them with a little help from his brother.

As much as I tried to persuade him to use the fried eggs as eyes, he wanted to do it his way, so ours have a fried egg inside, and he ate the other two.  He put the lips and nose on to please him and he’s delighted with the result.  We left ours overnight before de-moulding which was perhaps the wrong thing to do as the chocolate speckled, but he’s happy with them 🙂

Making Chocolate Eggs 4

How did we do it?  Here’s how.   We used a chocolate easter egg kit.  You can buy moulds to make them from any good mould seller.

Chocolate Easter Egg Kit

He found it quite difficult to wait in-between layers so if I did this again, I’d let him do one and head off to school, then I’d do a couple more before he got home.  I had to heat up an oven tray and put some greaseproof on top of it to melt the edges so that they could be stuck together, but it all worked out fine.

 

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Win a bibT Wipe Clean T-Shirt – Closing Date 4th May 2014

bibT recently sent me a wipe clean t-shirt to review.  I have a very young nephew and thought it would make a lovely present for him, and I was right.

bibT

The bibT has a very soft t-shirt base which I found hard to imagine until I had one in my hands.   The cotton is 100% organic supersoft and I can tell you that it feels really nice to the touch.

There are adjustable neck poppers and the bib part reaches from the neck to bottom of the t-shirt.   I initially wondered if the bit under the neck piece would be scratchy, but it’s the soft t-shirt material, so it looks fine to me.

I haven’t washed the one I have, but I’m told it is washable at 40 degrees.  It certainly looks much better than having a bib permanently wrapped around a childs neck.   If these had been around when my kids were young, I suspect I’d have been persuaded to get a few for going out and about.

There are several different designs and come in long and short sleeves.  Sizes are available to fit any child up the age of around 4.

As a gift, I’d be impressed as mine arrived in lovely tissue, wrapped with ribbon.

bibT in tissue

bibt in ribbon

I’ve got one to giveaway to my readers too.  You can have your own choice of which design from the bibT website.    As well as being functional day to day, I think these make for fabulous presents.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Rules

  • Open to UK Mainland Entrants only.
  • 1 Winner will win a bibT from http://www.bibt.co.uk
  • The prize will be sent to you from bibT directly..
  • The Scottish Mum Blog is not responsible for your prize and cannot be held liable in any way for non delivery or non receipt at your end.
  • Winners will be notified within 3 days of giveaway end. If the winner does not respond within 7 days, a new winner will be drawn.
  • The winners will be chosen by Rafflecopter random generator.
  • Scottish Mum Blog and bibT reserves the right to amend, add or withdraw this giveaway at any time.
  • Each entry method entitles you to one entry into the draw.
  • You may tweet daily. Each tweet counts as a rafflecopter entry, only if you enter it into the rafflecopter widget daily.
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Mothers Day With McCains Special Roast Potatoes

Mothers Day food yesterday was courtesy of McCains to try their new roasties.

McCains 12

The NEW Special Roast Potatoes are made from the very best King Edward potatoes cut into generous chunks and basted in sumptuous beef dripping.   They are really really good.  I put on both bags and by the end of mealtime, there were none left at all.  That’s always a good sign.

McCains Special Roast Potatoes 1

McCains sent along lots of lovely ingredients to go along with the roast potatoes, and we had carrots, sage and onion stuffing, chicken, green beans, broccoli and cabbage.

The broccoli and cabbage is in the fridge for another day, as there was too much for one meal, even if there were 6 of us eating.

There was a Knorr Flavour Pot in Mixed Herbs which we’ve also not tried before, and as I like my vegetables roasted, I use roasting bags to keep them moist and not get burned.  I used two separate bags, one for the green beans and one for the carrots.  In them, I halved the flavour pot and added a few tablespoons of water before shaking the mix around to coat the vegetables.

The chicken went into the oven first (also in roasting bags) and just over half an hour from the end, I popped the roast potatoes in a tray covered in tin foil to start cooking.  The vegetables were last to go in, with 20 minutes cooking time at the end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Mothers Day With Maw Broon’s

We received a lovely parcel from the Maw Broon’s Home & Kitchen Range.   The first thing we saw when we opened the wrapping was a lovely large jute bag that will come in handy.

We’re just bag fans here and some new ones are badly needed.  We use  them when we go to the beach, for dog bowl carrying & for picnic stuff when we go on holidays.

Ours are rarely used for the purpose of actual shopping, but maybe we’ll need to change that if we head off to the continent with our Maw Broon’s bag on hand.

Maw Broons 1

Most people seem to like us Scots when we’re abroad for some reason, and they do like to copy the accent, or try to at least.

Maw Broons Scottish Fudge

With Mothers Day on the horizon, buying anything for my own mother is almost impossible as she never wants anything.  I think I’ve mentioned how frustrating I find that in blog posts before.

Maw Broons Shortbread

There are lots of goodies in here that I just know she’s going to like.  The Fudge and the Caramel Shortcake are likely to be the most popular items from the bag, and as I already have the Cooking with Bairns book, it’ll be squirreled away for a Xmas present when the time of year comes around.

Maw Broons Caramel Shortcake and Cooking With Children

I don’t think I’ll be able to keep hold of the Caramel Shortcake though.  As soon as the kids come home from school, it will be snapped up pronto.

Tea is always a welcome addition to our house so the lovely teacosy is ideal and I suspect the box of teabags will be in Scottish bellies very soon.

Maw Broon Tea Cosy

Maw Broons Afternoon Tea

Maw Broon, along with Oor Wullie was part of our childhood up here.  The annuals were a yearly Christmas present for everyone I knew growing up, and I do the same for my boys.

It’s lovely to see Maw Broon come out of her shell.  Wonder where Maggie and Daphne are?

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Review: Shark S3901 Lift Away Pro Steam Pocket Mop

I’ve had my Shark Lift Away for a couple of weeks now.  I fully expected not to like it as much as my elderly Karcher, and I thought I would give it away as a present to someone else.  I was very much mistaken, and my old Karcher single tank yellow machine is that one that will be passed on.  I never thought I would say that.  Shark Steam Mop 1

The big attraction for this steam mop is that the central part which houses the water and thermostat lifts away to allow it to be used by hand for lots of different things.  It makes the mop much more useable than simply a mop.

It is powerful.  Holding the steamer and pressing the switch for any length of time seems to have the steam get even hotter and better at cleaning things.

I have to admit that I have used the brush attachment more than any of the other ones, as it does such a great job of cleaning grout, the grooves in doors and skirting boards….

In The Box

A fair few extras come with this mop.   There is a window squeegee, a surface cleaner, steamer attachment, carpet tool, cloths for using with the tools, and even a handy bag to keep all the attachments in.  Ours will hang up nicely behind the door of our boiler cupboard.

Shark Steam Mop Contents

Floors

I do like that the cloths fit snugly to the bottom of the mop and I don’t have to change a cloth just to scrub a bit of the floor that is slightly dirtier than the rest.  I found the flip action by accident when I lifted it up, and it’s a fairly nifty function.  It has to be clever enough to know which way it’s facing for the steam, and that’s impressive to me.

The cable is sturdy and long enough for me to do my kitchen and hall if I use a plug that is right in the middle of where they both are.  With previous ones, I’ve had to move sockets while just cleaning one room which is never a good thing.

Using it on our office floor made a big difference.  We call it an office, but it’s really just a room that houses computers, desks, gerbils and any other rubbish that tends to be left lying around.   Even after regular mopping, the floor just never seemed that clean.  I’m much happier with the floor after using a steam cleaner.  All I have to do now is persuade the gerbils to stop throwing sawdust all over the place :-).

Does it remove elbow grease?

To be honest, I think you’d have to buy a thousand pound and upwards steamer to get that kind of finish and it might just lift the shine off anything you steam too, so it doesn’t eliminate the need for any scrubbing, but it does loosen all the dirt off enough to make it a much simpler job.

Steaming Clothes

Technically it wasn’t clothes, but I used it to try to get the creases out of a pair of curtains that my other half decided to hang before I got a chance to give them an iron.

They’ve annoyed me for a fair while, but because it’s the ones in the back hall that lead out to the garden, I’ve not really got to the point of taking them down again.   I was hoping this was going to be an easy fix, and while I don’t have a dedicated garment steamer, I figured that a couple of the attachments might do a good job of it.

It took two steamings to get the worst of the creases dropped, but that is far better than having to take them down and iron them.

Shark - Lift Away With Steamer Attachment

Windows

I used it with my Karcher window hoover, which worked perfectly for me.

There is a window tool in my box and it is probably fantastic for shower screens and outside windows, but I wanted to clean up the dirty water at the same time as I cleaned, and the combination was actually perfect for me.  There was no need for any hard rubbing to clean the windows, it just needed a good old blast of the steamer and the dirt came away very easily.

The cable was long enough to do the inside and the outside of my kitchen windows and although I wouldn’t use it on a very cold day, it was perfect when I tried it.

Shark - Lift Away With Attachment 2

I also used it to clean the glass panels on the downstairs doors which is a major day-to-day issue for me.   They never look clean, no matter how often I do them, so it was nice to get it done faster and with less hassle.

What Does You Tube Say?

Would I Change Anything?

  • I’d change the action of the steaming chamber when it’s lifted out to use with attachments.  At that point, we have to hold down a trigger for the steam to work.  I’d prefer it to be the same as using the steamer to do floors, and just press “on” for it to work.  Now I’ve seen it in action on the floor steamer, I can’t help but want it for the hand steaming side of it too.
  • The size of the water chamber could be a little bit bigger.

Shark Steam Mop

Do I Like It?

I sure do.

  • It’s faster to use than my Karcher and doesn’t hurt my hands when I’m using it.
  • It’s the little touches that make it fab, like how the attachments turn when you move your hand over a surface.  You don’t need to twist your wrist as the attachment swivels with the movement.
  • The cable is very long for a steamer and that pleases me very much.
  • The biggest draw is that after using it, even if the units or worktops are old, they’re going to be sanitised at level of 99% from all bacteria.
  • There are no chemicals needed at all.
  • It heats up in about 30 seconds from cold water.  That’s fast.

——————————————————————————————

Thank you to JML Direct for the Shark S3901 Lift Away Pro Steam Pocket Mop for reviewing.

 

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Review and Giveaway: Thomas Kitchen Knives From Tesco – Closing Date: 1st June 2014

I’ve been attempting to take part in the Tesco Blogger Challenge recently, which meant I had to try my hand at vegetable carving.  In the end, I’ve had to give up as it seem that my skills really do not lie in carving vegetables.  I tried mushrooms and tomatoes and although I could slice and dice with absolutely no problem at all, the more delicate work for carving seemed to escape my hands.

So, in short, I found decorative carving much harder than it looked, but the Thomas knives that Tesco sent me to practice with are absolutely fantastic.  I really did think twice about showing you some of the pictures of my disasters, but hey ho, I can only get better if I keep trying.

See how much work I still have to do – to be able to do some of the fabulous carvings I’ve seen online.

Mine:

To give you an idea – THIS is what I was trying to get and failed miserably with.   It’s classed as “easy.”

Tomato Rose

I’ve not given up.  I have a plan and am going to try again, so be prepared for another post for Thomas Kitchen Knives from Tesco, but in the meantime, Tesco have also offered a set of 5 knives, including the knife block, for one lucky reader of my blog – and I want to get that out to my readers.

In the set are:

  • 1 x Knife Block
  • 1 x 4.5″  Utility Knife
  • 1 x 5.”    Small Santoku Knife
  • 1 x 6.8″  Large Santoku Knife
  • 1 x 7.4″  Cook’s Knife
  • 1 x 7.8″  Bread Knife

For anyone who is not sure what a Santoku Knife is, it has Japanese historical significance.  It is a knife that is excellent at chopping, cutting, dicing and mincing.    Blades usually range from around 5″ – 8″ and has a design that is comfortable in the hand, and allows good grip while still being able to use the full functions of the knives.  

The dimples on the blade help release the food after cutting and helps with its versatility.

The closing date for the set of kitchen knives on offer is 1st of June 2014 at midnight.

Tesco are also running a sticker promotion between 3rd March – 1st June 2014 where you can save up to 70% on exclusive kitchenware products at Tesco. For every £20 you spend online OR in-store you can collect a sticker, once you’ve collected five stickers you can use these to save up to 70% off professional kitchenware items of your own.  Stickers can be collected from 3rd March 2014 – 25th May 2014 and must be redeemed by 1st June 2014.   Find out more.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thomas Logo

Terms and Conditions

  •  Open to anyone over the age of 18.  Open to UK Mainland Entrants only.
  • 1 Winner will receive a set of Thomas Kitchen Knives and a Knife Block from Tesco.
  • The prize will be sent to you directly from Tesco.
  • The Scottish Mum Blog is not responsible for your prize and cannot be held liable in any way for non delivery or non receipt.
  • Winners will be notified within 3 days of giveaway end. If the winner does not respond within 7 days, a new winner will be drawn.
  • The winners will be chosen by Rafflecopter random generator.
  • Tesco and the Scottish Mum Blog reserves the right to amend, add or withdraw this giveaway at any time.
  • Each entry method entitles you to one entry into the draw.
  • You may tweet daily. Each tweet counts as a rafflecopter entry, only if you enter it into the rafflecopter widget daily.

 

 

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Review: Cawston Press Apple & Summer Berry + Apple & Blackcurrant

Cawston Press Kids Blend Pressed Fruit 2

Cawston Press sent us some samples for the kids to try.

From the Kids Blend Pressed Fruit which is shaken up with a bit of water, we were sent:

  • Apple & Summer Berries
  • Apple & Blackcurrant

I tried the Apple & Summer Berries and was pleasantly surprised how refreshing it was in a glass with ice.

The lowdown for my Apple & Summer Berry:

  • It’ s NOT made from concentrate and has no added sugar.
  • It IS pressed apples, strawberries and rasperries blended with water.

The Ingredient list for my Apple & Summer Berry:

  • 54% Pressed Apple Juice
  • 40% Still Water
  • 4% Strawberry Puree
  • 2% Raspberry Puree
  • Vitamin C

A carton is 200ml, with around 50 calories per carton.

I really dislike some brands of children’s drinks as my kids always used to feel so thirsty after drinking something that was meant to quench their thirst.

There are no colours, additives or preservatives, so it’s all good in my opinion.

We like it.

 

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Review: Benefits Of Green Tea

Teapigs3

Green tea on its own is definitely something that seems to take a little time to get used to.   I’ve been given it to try for a few weeks, and I’ve used it for just over a week now, and said I’d report back on it.

teapigs calls their 100% organic green tea leaves that are ground to a fine powder, Matcha.   They say it has 15 times the health benefits of regular green tea.  As a frequent green tea with lemon drinker, I thought this would be one for me to try.

One serving contains 6 times more antioxidants than goji berries, 70 times more than orange juice and 9 times the beta carotene of spinach.  The science boils down to claims of raising energy levels while keeping us calm and focused, which is apparently why it’s drunk by Buddhist monks to help them with their meditation.  It is also said to boost metabolism and burn fat.

I have to say that on the first couple of uses, I found it quite difficult to take.  The green powder is very fine and if we’re drinking it as a tea, it is better whisked up so that all the powder is absorbed.   It can also be baked into food or sprinkled over porridge, or even added to orange juice, yoghurt or smoothies.

I made the mistake at my first try, of just drinking it straight as it was made with hot water.  I didn’t find that easy, so I tried the other ways to use it.  The taste seemed to be hidden well in yoghurt, so that has become my vehicle of choice to take my daily dose of powder.

Teapigs1

I’m not quite sure if the benefits from drinking Matcha are because I’ve read the literature and been convinced, or whether it really is doing me some good.  I think that only time will tell with that one, but after a few days, I certainly didn’t feel as bone weary and exhausted as usual by the end of the weekend that has just gone past.

For that alone, I’ve convinced to keep on with it as I want to know if it continues to improve my daily well-being and I certainly could use to lose more than just a few pounds.  There are some celebrities trying it out too, like Lisa Snowden and Rebecca Adlington, so I’m looking forward to see how we all get on with it.

Teapigs4

So, for me, it’s keep going and see where it takes me.

I think we all have to make up our own minds with this type of product and only personal experience can help us decide if it’s right for us or not.

I would say that if you buy some, make sure you take it slow when you pull the ring that opens the container as the powder is very fine indeed and is easily shaken up.  The picture does not do the colour of this tea justice as the powder really is a beautiful shade of green.

Teapigs5 

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Review: iRobot Roomba 780 (Robot Hoover)

irobot roomba 780  1

We all like a clean house, well who doesn’t.  The ability to have a room clean itself used to be something I could only dream about.  We’ve had a robot hoover for a few months now and to be honest, I couldn’t imagine being without it anymore.  Ok, it’s not perfect, but it does save me a heap of time with 6 people and 4 animals in a biggish house that I never have time to keep completely spotless in every room.

In the perfect world, I could have the floors swept without lifting a finger to do it, and this is the closest to sweeping the floors automatically that I can imagine.  It does carpets too, so that’s a bonus for me.

If you’ve got beds that are off the floor and high furniture, a Roomba is perfect for you, but it’s no complete solution for not doing any cleaning at all in your life.   You do have to prepare the room first and lift anything that might get tangled up.  We ended up with a phone cable wound tightly round the brushes one day when I didn’t scan the lounge properly.

It does, however, mean that my bedroom gets a hoover daily as we have tiles on our floor and a high bed that it can perfectly sweep under.    I know I’d not do that daily by myself.

irobot roomba 780  2

I got the iRobot Roomba 780 on the 30 day trial where they say you can use it and put it back if you don’t like it.  I kept it.  I’m not sure I could have been convinced to part with that much money up front without using one first, but I love it.

It zig zags all over the room, so I’d advise not actually watching it.  It’s like watching paint dry.  It will do circle motions where it thinks the floor is dirtier and mine has a remote control for spot cleaning.  Here’s mine in action:

Benefits

  • Cleans while I do something else.  I know it would be much faster for me to do it myself, but given that I can spend that time doing something else, it’s a positive.
  • Leaving it to do the floors before I come home with the kids if we’ve been out all day.  This is a bigger benefit than I can ever actually say.
  • There are little boxes that allow you to keep the Roomba in one room until it is finished, or it would wander about all the rooms.  I just close the doors as I’ve never got round to buying batteries for the lighthouses.
  • It doesn’t fall downstairs.  Honestly, it doesn’t.  The first time it scooted about on the top landing, I sat on the stairs as I was totally unconvinced that it would be able to stay up there.
  • Brushes and filters are all replaceable.
  • The Roomba takes itself back to its charging base to charge up when it is running low.

Drawbacks

  • Making sure there is nothing on the floor before you set it to go.
  • The time it takes to do the job is a fair while.  If you have someone coming for tea and half an hour spare, get out your trusty manual hoover.
  • It’s expensive.
  • It has a small bin that needs emptied regularly if your room is a mess.  I’ve not found it a problem on hard floors, but on carpets where fibers get hoovered up too, the bin can get full very quickly.
  • It doesn’t like black carpets.  I have figured out how to do it by taping some white paper over the sensors that stop it falling downstairs, but as a rule, when it hits a black floor, it seems to think it is going to fall over so just refuses to work.

It It Worth The Money?

This is a hard one to judge.   This time last year, I’d have said no.  With asthma in the family and a daily sweep, I wouldn’t hesitate to say yes this year as it means the floor can literally be swept continuously without having to actually do it myself.  The price seems to have rocketed since I got mine and I would have to seriously think about it now as it is over the £500 mark in most places I looked online.  If I was buying one now, I suspect I’d look at a different brand or one of the older ones to reduce the price a bit.

irobot roomba 780

There are some cheaper robot vacuums on Amazon that seem to have some good reviews so if I were ever looking to replace mine, I suspect I’d read all of those.

There are some issues with the Roomba, but on the whole, I wouldn’t want to be without it.  There are some cheaper versions and I’m not sure how well they perform against the newer Roombas, but on hard floors, I’d hope they would also do well.

The timer is a great idea, though I have to admit that I’ve never used it.  I just pop it on when I leave the house after preparing whichever floor I want done.

My lounge gets a going over almost daily as does the asthmatics bedroom and the playroom he spends most of his time in.  We have pets, so this is a massive draw for me.

It does sometimes get lost and abandons itself in the middle of a room while looking for its docking station, but it mostly manages to dock itself nicely.  The one thing I would like that it doesn’t seem to have is a stop function when the bin is full.  I give the brushes a clean out every few uses, otherwise hair can get tangled up, but the brushes come out easily so it’s no big chore to have to do really.

There is still a need to take out the regular hoover, but I find myself doing that once a fortnight or so, or a bit more often for the stairs, rather than haul it out daily.  The Roomba does bump furniture as it does its business, but it’s a soft bump and hasn’t done any damage to the vase I have on my lounge floor with light branches in it.  Even so, if you have lots of things strewn over your floors and don’t want to have to pick them up, this is probably not for you.

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Review: Kenwood KMX54 kMix Stand Mixer with Peach Pavlova Recipe

Being asked to review a Kenwood KMX Stand Mixer is right up my street.  I do a lot of cooking, and baking is really never far from my mind.  A good baking session means that feeding my kids home-made goodies is better than the sweets and crisps that they would tend to eat otherwise.

kMix 3

I’ve been using an old Kenwood Food Processor for a few years and managed to somehow crack the bowl over Christmas.  I suspect it took a tumble onto our tiled floors, but after so much use, I really couldn’t complain.  I had found the bowl size too small for us and very rarely used it for anything other than the mixing functions.  I will keep my old mixer to use the grinder and the blender, but the kMix Stand Mixer is a welcome addition to my kitchen appliances.

kMix 5

I waited for it with the patience of a not very patient puppy dog, and it was unpacked and on my counter within minutes of its arrival.

kMix 1

It’s fairly heavy, so it will stay on my counter top from here on in.  I was quite surprised by the size of the bowl as it is so much bigger than my old processor.  I was pleasantly surprised to also see a splashguard that fits like a glove, as well as a handy spatula for scraping out the very last remnants from the bowl.

I was looking forward to the kneading, mixing, whisking and blending, and I was not disappointed.

Putting on the attachments is a breeze.  I didn’t expect the easy of the glide in, twist and secure.  There’s no messing around with this top-notch machine.  When I turned it on, it gradually hummed into life, really getting into gear in a refined and controlled way.  It reminded me of a quality car with a gentle purr as it begins to crank up the speed.

The classy guard ensures there is no horrible flour spinning around the kitchen if the machine is just a little too keen to get going, and it stays clean as a whistle on the outside.

kMix 2

Stylish.

I chose the retro black version as it matches in perfectly with my black worktops and my microwave, which you can’t see as it is just out of shot.   With the round lines, it looks great and I have been really pleased with it for the short time I’ve had it.

Here’s what I really like about it so far.

  • Cakes, meringues and marshmallows are a breeze.  I never thought I would say that about meringue…
  • Slow start of speed means the ingredients stay where they should be.  That is always a good point.
  • The motor stops if you open the machine by mistake.  It’s a great safety feature.
  • I didn’t realise at first, but the machine has a fold function to help with adding ingredients at the end of the meringue whipping stage 🙂
  • The attachments are sturdy.  Very sturdy.  They can be slightly altered with the included spanner to get the height perfect for your machine.
  • There are four attachments with the machine, as well as a splashguard and spatula.  There is a beater, a whisk, a dough hook and a flexible beater to get to the edges of the bowl for soft ingredients.  The flexible beater even has its own instruction book.
  • It will rub fat into flour and save you the time of doing it by hand.
  • The bowl is really easy to clean.
  • I can put all the attachments into the dishwasher without worrying.

KMix Cream

Peach Pavlova Recipe

If you’ve ever wanted to make a really fast and reasonably stable pavlova, this is the recipe for you.  The vinegar and cornflour added helps to stabilise the egg and make the foam just that little bit stronger.  I don’t find that it affects the taste of the meringue at all.

I thought I had messed up this recipe by adding the vinegar, cornflour and vanilla essence just into the mixing bowl at the end.  The recipe called for folding it in.  Thankfully, it all worked out and the meringue was lovely.

I took a recipe that came with my Kenwood kMix for pavlova with exotic fruits, and adapted it to make my pavlova.

Pavlova with Peaches – Basic Recipe

Lesley Smith
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Course Dessert
Servings 10

Ingredients
  

  • 5 Egg Whites
  • 250 g Caster Sugar
  • Half teaspoon Vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
  • 2 teaspoons Cornflour
  • 450 ml Double Cream For Whipping
  • PeachesSliced from Fresh or Tinned

Instructions
 

  • Put the oven on to approximately 130 C or Gas 1 - 2. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
  • Separate the egg yolk from the egg whites and put them into a mixer bowl. Whisk them for a few minutes until they form stiff peaks.
  • Add the sugar slowly, about 50g at a time and whisk again for a few minutes each time, until the sugar is all added.
  • Add the vinegar, cornflour and vanilla essence and continue to mix for up to 8 minutes, until the mix is smooth and glossy.
  • Spoon your mix onto the baking paper and put in the oven for at least an hour, and up to an hour and a half. Leave the meringue to cool down.
  • When the meringue is cool, whisk your cream and spread it over the top of the meringue, before topping with the fruit of your choice.

Argos have large ranges of Kenwood products available here.

 

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Review: Sports Socks that DON’T Fall Down

Little grippers are the sports socks that don’t fall down.  Thanks to a special material in the top, they stay up – all the time.

Little Grippers 1

I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve watched football matches with my kids and the kids seem to spend as much time pulling their socks up as they do running around.

They have a special elasticated ankle support with micro venting and an elasticated foot support.   The size is on the front of the sock which makes it easy to find a match in the never-ending single sock cycle that ends up with us trying madly to find a whole pair of anything.

Little Grippers 4

The special section at the top which keeps the socks up feels quite rubbery to the touch, yet manages to go on easily enough.

Little Grippers 5

I didn’t think they would have my boys size at first, as the name little grippers sounded like it was just for little children, but the size medium fits a youth shoe size 3-6, while a large fits an adults size 7-11, so they make little grippers to suit everyone.

Little Grippers 2

Little grippers come in White, Black, Navy, Red, and Royal Blue – so they fit almost any football or sports kit going.  They’ve been fabulous for my kids training sessions and I took red and black pairs as they match the kids of the teams my kids play for and are great for training sessions.

There are special orders for Amber and Bottle Green, and hopefully they’ll have more colours in the future.

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Giveaway: Battroborg Battle Arena – Ends 16th January 2014

Colonel Clubber vs Scaldor

Battroborg Arena

Tomy sent us the Battroborg Battle Arena to review and have also offered one as a giveaway.  I tried to persuade two of the kids to open ours and play with it, but they’re adamant that they want to give it to their brother for Christmas from them, so we sneakily took it out of it’s box very carefully to have a quick play before putting it away again for the 25th.

The Battroborgs are a new robot gaming technology.  That means they move by using remote controls and lets the kids control what happens in the ring.  It’s much more exciting than just pretending by using your hands to move the actual robots about.

There are three different game modes which allow for head to head battle, a programme where players can battle a self activated robot, or a tag mode where a robot chases other robots.   Kids can get their friends involved too and play up to 20 robots with the radio controlled technology.

The online preview for the Battroborg is here:

Mum had a wee try and although it took me a while to get used to the nunchaku controllers, it is really really good.  The robots mimic our moves and makes it really feel like we are part of the action.  The boys were undecided whether they really should keep it for Xmas of just set it all up fully to use now, but they were very disciplined and put it away again afterwards.

The Battroborg Arena pack up for the giveaway worth £69.99 consists of:

  •     2 Robots
  •     2 Nunchaku Motion Controllers
  •     Arena with ropes
  •     4 Training Drones
  •     2 Sticker Sheets
  •     2 Face Sheets
  •     Instruction Sheet

 THE GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Rules

  • Open to UK Mainland Entrants only.
  • 1 Winners will win a Battroborg Arena Pack worth £69.99.
  • The prize will be sent to your home address.
  • Winners will be notified within 3 days of giveaway end. If the winner does not respond within 7 days, new winner will be drawn.
  • The winners will be chosen by Rafflecopter random generator.
  • Tomy and the Scottish Mum Blog reserves the right to amend, add or withdraw this giveaway at any time.
  • Each entry method entitles you to one entry into the draw.
  • You may tweet daily. Each tweet counts as a rafflecopter entry, only if you enter it into the rafflecopter widget daily.
  • The prize will be for one person to receive one Battroborg Arena.