Monday, 13 October 2014

Marmalade Muffins and Degustabox

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 I received another tasty Degustabox at the end of September and have been enjoying it's contents in the ensuing weeks.  You can see evidence of that with these gorgeous Marmalade Muffins that I made with the La Vieja Fabrica Marmalade which I received in the box, but more about that later, right now  I want to tell you all about what else I got in the September box . . .


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 I do enjoy these boxes when they arrive each month.   It's like getting a Christmas package because you never know what is going to be in it until it arrives.  It's quite exciting really! Once a month, each month Degustabox will deliver to your home 10 to 15 new, special or innovative food products for you to try in the comfort of your own home via a subscription service.  A monthly subscription costs £9.99 and there is a delivery fee of £3, for a total of £12.99, and what you receive can be tailored to the types of things that you like and would use.     Here is what was in the 
September box . . .   


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Burts Lentil Waves are available from Waitrose in three tantalising flavours; Sour Cream & Chive, Thai Sweet Chilli and Lightly Salted. Each batch of Lentil Waves are flash cooked in their Devon kitchen and taste just as moreish as their traditional range of crunchy chips.   If you are looking for  a snack that is gluten free, these are perfect.
RRP £2.07
£0.69/unit

Webpage   
 Facebook

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Prefer the simpler things in life? Their shiny new Simply Granola could be the one for you! A deliciously simple blend of crunchy baked oats with a hint of honey. Mmmm. We like it on its own with milk or yoghurt, but if you fancy yourself to be a cereal mixologist, you can create your own masterpiece by adding whatever you fancy.

RRP £2.69

Webpage

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Little Miracles are a beautiful blend of organic tea and fruit juice.  With ginseng and acai, it is the perfect pick me up morning, noon and afternoon.  All blends are:

Sweetened with agave
Less than 90 calories
Free from artificial colours, flavours and sweeteners

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Available from Asda, Boots, Holland & Barrett, Sainsbury's, Superdrug, Tesco, Waitrose, WH Smith.

RRP £1.59 per bottle
Webpage

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Righteous is an exciting brand of All Natural salad dressings. Made using only 100% natural ingredients, these delicious dressings are bursting with flavour. They contain no additives, preservatives or thickeners, or anything that you wouldn’t expect to find in your own kitchen. The interesting and award-winning flavours take the hassle out of making your own – and will re-ignite your love for salads and make sticking to a healthier diet so much more of a pleasure than a pain. Righteous is the Number 1 selling brand of Sauces for Whole Foods Market in the UK.

There are five Righteous salad dressings to choose from:

Mild English Blue Cheese & Cider Dressing – Luxurious blue cheese mixed with complementing flavours of dill and cider; perfect on a spinach salad with walnuts or drizzled over red chichory leaves and croutons.

OIL-FREE Caper & Hot Peppercorn Dressing – A zesty mixture of capers, herbs and green peppercorns that tastes so lovely on salads, you would not believe it only contains 8 calories per serving! This dressing is great on salads with chicken or fish, and can bring an exciting new twist to even the simplest of side salads.

Ginger & Toasted Sesame Dressing – A fantastic combination of nutty sesame flavours and the subtle heat of ginger; Winner of the 2010 Great Taste Awards, this dressing is lovely with the delicate flavours of oriental salads.

Raspberry & Sweet Basil Dressing - Refreshingly tart raspberries complemented by aromatic basil; the perfect dressing on a coleslaw with red cabbage; or on a salad topped with berries, feta cheese and nuts.

Lemon & Mustard Seed Dressing - The invigorating freshness of lemon, perfectly balanced with mild, sweet wholegrain mustard. An extremely versatile dressing great on any salad.

I received the three you can see in the above photograph and have really enjoyed each of them.  For more information please check out their webpage.  

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Elizabeth Shaw’s brand new Dark Chocolate Mint Thins brings you delicate layers of quality 55% Dark Chocolate infused with a sumptuous mint flavour, luxuriously decorated with crunchy mint sprinkles. The lightness of the chocolate with the crunchy sprinkles makes them very moreish indeed, and although we say these are great to share with friends over a coffee, you may find you want to keep these all to yourself!  Available at Tesco.

Suitable for vegetarians. For more information on Elizabeth Shaw, please go to www.elizabethshaw.co.uk
RRP £2.50    

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John Crabbie, Master Brewer of ginger beverages introduces to the world his celebrated and most delicious range of traditional soft drinks. Established in 1801, John Crabbie’s uses a secret recipe combining spices, fruits and real ginger to create a uniquely refreshing cloudy ginger beer. This non-alcoholic traditional cloudy ginger beer is free from artificial colours and flavours.    

Best served ice cold with a slice of lime or lemon, or as a mixer.
RRP: £2.50 (70cl)
John Crabbie’s Traditional Cloudy Lemonade with a twist of Ginger
John Crabbie’s Traditional Ginger Beer
John Crabbie’s Scottish Raspberry with a twist of Ginger

Crabbies Webpage  

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Crabbie’s Alcoholic Fruits is a delicious new range of really fruity, fruit flavours (with no ginger!)
With three delicious flavours to choose from, Black Cherry, Zesty Lemon and Raspberry and Rhubarb, these mouth-watering drinks are made with up to 10% natural fruit juice, containing no artificial colours or flavourings.
ALC 4% VOL

Crabbie’s Fruits Alcoholic Black Cherry
We handpicked these traditional real fruit recipes and revitalised them in the pioneering spirit of Crabbie’s. Made with pressed Black Cherries and a hint of rosehip we created the perfect Crabbie’s refreshment.
Perfect serve: Serve chilled straight from the bottle
Crabbie’s Fruits Alcoholic Zesty Lemon

We handpicked these traditional real fruit recipes and revitalised them in the pioneering spirit of Crabbie’s. Made with natural lemon juice and squeeze of inspiration we created the perfect Crabbie’s refreshment.

Perfect serve: Serve chilled straight from the bottle
Crabbie’s Fruits Alcoholic Raspberry and Rhubarb

We handpicked these traditional real fruit recipes and revitalised them in the pioneering spirit of Crabbie’s. Made with an exciting blend of raspberry & rhubarb juices and a hint of rose we created the perfect Crabbie’s refreshment.

Perfect serve: Serve chilled straight from the bottle

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Bahlsen PiCK UP! Milk Chocolate is a mouth-watering slab of thick milk chocolate sandwiched between two crisp biscuits. They are individually wrapped, locking in the freshness and perfect for on the go. Our new flavour, PiCK UP! Black ‘N White, is a bar of delicious white chocolate in between two cocoa biscuits. Chocolate that demands respect. PiCK UP! Milk Chocolate is available in all large supermarkets and can also be found in convenience stores. PiCK UP! Black ‘N White can be found exclusively in Sainsbury’s. To find out more about PiCK UP! and to play our Choc Ninja game, visit www.pickupbiscuits.co.uk. 

RRP 5 pack £1.69

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 Add a delicious, creamy taste to savoury dishes with new Carnation Cook with it! Made using fresh milk and with half the fat of single cream, Cook with it! is a versatile cooking crème - a great ingredient for favourite creamy dishes, from Carbonaras to curries , quiches and soups. Find in store with the Carnation range!  (This is something which I have been using for several months now, with excellent results.)

*Carnation Cook with it! contains 68% less fat than single cream
RRP £1.65/unit
Webpage  

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 La Vieja Fabrica Seville Orange Marmalade, is produced in Seville using only the finest Seville oranges. We do not use modern production techniques that simply boil the fruit, our production is slower and more like a marmalade that Mum used to make. The recipe we use has stood the test of time over 170 years and the La Vieja Fabrica brand ( The Old Factory ) is the number two product in the Spanish market and is fast gaining sales in the UK. The product is available in Tesco, Waitrose and Morrisons all priced at £1.59, it is also available on those retailer web sites.

Webpage  

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The product which I chose to highlight in a recipe this month was the La Vieja Fabrica Seville Orange Marmalade.   Ariana (our Spanish nurse) got really excited when she saw this because it was from Spain!  In all truth, this is a marmalade I have bought in the past and a product the Toddster and I both love.

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We really like marmalade cakes and muffins.  We really like marmalade.  I use it to glaze pork chops, and chicken as well from time to time.

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These muffins are moist and stogged full of orange flavour and lovely bits of the peel from the marmalade.  I also like to glaze the finished muffins with a bit for that extra special touch.  Perfect for a portable breakfast, or for enjoying with your mid morning cuppa!

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*Marmalade Muffins*
Makes 12

A delicious blend of flavours which makes for the perfect morning muffin! 

280g of plain flour (2 cups)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
pinch salt
110g of fine white granulated sugar (1 cup)
120g of orange marmalade, slightly warmed (about 1/2 cup)
90ml of vegetable oil (3 fluid ounces)
1 large free range egg
1 tsp finely grated orange rind
60ml fresh orange juice (1/4 cup)
60ml water (1/4 cup)
60ml of milk (1/4 cup)
warmed marmalade to brush on top of the finished muffins 

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Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/gas mark 4.  Butter a medium muffin tin holding 12 muffins really well, or line with paper liners.  Set aside.

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Whisk the flour together in a bowl along with the baking powder, soda, salt and sugar.   Beat together the marmalade, vegetable oil, egg, orange rind, orange juice, water and milk.  Add the wet ingredients all at once to the dry ingredients, mixing only to combine.  Divide the batter equally amongst the muffin cups.   Bake in the heated oven for about 20 minutes, until well risen and the tops are golden brown and spring back when lightly touched.   Remove from the oven and brush the tops of each lightly with some warmed marmalade.  Store any leftovers  in a tightly covered container. 

Many thanks to Degustabox for sending me this box. I have to say I really look forward to getting my box each month.   There are always lots of things in it to enjoy and new products to try out.  I highly recommend.

Do check out the Degustabox web page for more information and details.
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