Morphy Richards Meno Milk Frother

As part of the Morphy Richards House Proud Innovator scheme I was sent a lovely Meno Milk Frother to test out in the month of July.



Now, in all honesty . . . being Mormons, we don't really drink a lot of coffee and tea in this house . . . (read nada, zip, zilch . . . here) . . . but we do enjoy ourselves a tasty hot chocolate from time to time. I had never experienced using a milk frother before so I was rather interested in how it worked.



To say I was amazed was the very least that I could say about this machine . . . that a simple machine could take a small amount of milk and turn it into such a gargantuan amount of froth was quite simply very surprising to me. You could say I was very easily impressed . . . but, that's simply not true. I've seen some pretty amazing things in my day . . . and this little machine turns a relatively small amount of milk into a lot of froth in quite simply two minutes, tops!



Todd was the first one to put it through his paces creating a hot froth for his hot chocolate. (I am not a hot drinker at all per say.) He found it very simple to use. You just measure the amount of milk into the main canister, which is very visibly marked on the inside with the amount you need for any given serving. You then pop on the lid . . . push the button and go. Two minutes later you have a whole lot of lovely froth . . . an amazing amount of froth actually! Todd's been really enjoying it at least several times a day now since it arrived, and he's been very happy with it's performance.

The lid does fit very snugly, so it can be a bit difficult to remove, but other than that, it's very easy to clean . . . a simple rinse with some hot water and a good dry with a soft cloth and it's good to go again. It also takes up relatively very little space on the countertop, which is a real bonus in my tiny kitchen!



As for my cheeky self, I've been putting it through it's paces making myself a lovely milkshake now and again . . . ok . . . I confess . . . so it's been daily, but who can blame me when they see the results!

I've been using skim milk and I have ended up with a lovely fluffy frothy milkshake every time! It's a great way to get me to drink my milk and I can well imagine in a house where you have a lot of children and teens it would come in very handy indeed. I found myself wondering where on earth such a treasure had been when my own children had been growing up!!



(A rather cheesy video I made of the machine in action.)

From the Morphy Richards site:


A large capacity milk frother perfect for making a variety of hot and cold drinks such as cappuccinos, lattes and frothy shakes. It heats and froths milk to 65 °C, which is just the right temperature for adding to your coffee to make a great tasting hot, frothy milk drink. Alternatively why not utilise the 500ml capacity and create a cold, frothy shake using a milkshake mix like Crusha. A simple to use, one step operation means you can have freshly frothed hot or cold milk within a matter of minutes.

It also comes with a 2 year Warantee, which is quite good if you ask me, and right now if any of you here in the UK are interested in purchasing one, Morphy Richards are offering my UK readers the chance to making a 30% discount on this product when they quote the promotional code: HPI6030 at the checkout stage on the Morphy Richards website. You can't ask for much better than that!

The Morphy Richards Meno Milk Frother retails at £59.99 and is a nice little gadget to have around. Many thanks to Chris at Finn PR, Morphy Richards and the Morphy Richards House Proud Innovator Scheme for affording me this opportunity to try out something new. I'd quite honestly give this little baby a 9 1/2 * out of 10*. (And the only reason I took off 1/2 was because the lid is quite snug, but then again, that is probably a good thing when you have a hot or cold liquid being frothed about at that speed.)

(This chronic dieter now has a new best friend. It is the Meno Milk Frother. A fabulous way to make you feel like you are indulging in something rich and creamy and fluffy . . . without all the calories of whipped or iced cream, and in just . . . two . . . minutes!!)

Hashi Cookery Course & Beef Tataki

Not so long ago I was invited to one of the Gourmet classes at Hashi Cookery School. I know little to nothing about Japanese food and yet it's one of my favourite cuisines, so I excitedly accepted. Arriving at Reiko's beautiful house in Wimbledon, the three of us students settled around a central island to watch the dishes we were to learn to prepare.

Firstly, beef tataki. Rare slices of fillet were beautifully arranged across the plate to be topped with sesame sauce and deep fried garlic chips. The chips were a revelation; sweet garlic in flavour without any harshness. We gobbled this up quick smart.

Chirashi-zushi was up next. Flakes of salted cooked salmon was mixed into the already prepared sushi rice, to be topped with slices of salmon sashimi and ikura, those big round salmon roe. A thin-as-paper omelette was julienned and mixed in with the rice, with steamed pieces of tenderstem broccoli for colour. I was delighted that after watching it prepared, we got a healthy portion to scoff too.

Meanwhile, Reiko prepared the Mizore Jiru - a cloudy soup, the cloud being formed from finely grated daikon. Given it took all of about 15 minutes, I was surprised it was so flavoursome. Dashi stock gave depth while floating pieces of fried tofu sheet were spongy and sweet.

Lastly, a fusion dish - monkfish with porcini mushrooms and ponzu soy butter. I have a serious addiction to ponzu and have, at times found myself slurping it off a teaspoon, so when coupled with butter it was no wonder I loved this too.

Reiko was a calm, patient and entertaining teacher; on the surface, £260 seems a lot of money, but once you consider it's a lesson a week for four weeks and you get to eat 4 courses of the food that's made, it seems quite a bargain. Visit the website here to book; she also does one-off classes from £55.

Of course, cookery lessons aren't much use unless you can put them to practise at home. I had a bash at the beef tataki at home. Thinly slicing the garlic with my poor knife skills was a bit of a fag, but otherwise it was simple and delicious. I'm just sad I don't have such beautiful plates to present them on.

Beef Tataki

Serves 4 as a starter

300gr beef fillet
1 medium onion (I used red) sliced thinly

For the garlic chips:

4 tbsp vegetable oil
4 cloves of garlic, sliced finely
A small saucepan

For the sesame sauce:

4 tbsp tahini paste
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin
1 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp water

Firstly, the garlic chips, Heat the oil in the saucepan and add the garlic slices - you want to fry them on a low heat, so that they slowly dehydrate and not cook quickly. They burn easily so watch them like a hawk. Once it begins to colour, after 5 or 6 mins, drain on kitchen paper. Don't cook them as far as golden as they carry on cooking after draining. Reserve the garlicky oil.

Rub the onion slices with plenty of salt and then soak in water for 10 - 15 minutes. This will get rid of the onion harshness.

Brush the beef fillet with the garlicky oil and sear in a hot dry non-stick frying pan until nicely browned all over. In a bowl, mi the mirin and soy together. Once the fillet is cooked to rare - medium rare, remove and add to the mirin soy mixture, turning occasionally. Set this aside for 30 mins.

Combine the tahini with the soy and mirin that the beef was resting in. Add the water, sugar and rice vinegar and then stir well. It may look like it's splitting, but carry on stirring and it'll come together. To serve, rinse the onion in a colander then squeeze the water out and make a little bed out of it. Slice the beef thinly and drape across the onion, then drizzle with the sauce. Top with a sprinkling of garlic chips.

Tuna and White Bean Salad

This recipe is one that I have had flagged for a while now. It comes from a little salad book that I have had for eons called, Food Made Fast, salad. It's a great little book, chock full of tasty salads that are really quick and easy to knock together.



I always have tuna in my larder and tins of all sorts of beans. This recipe calls for tuna packed in oil, which I did use. I like to buy good quality tuna in oil. You may pay a bit more, but it's well worth it in flavour and taste.



When you are making something such as this salad where the flavour of the tuna will shine, you want a really good tuna.



The original recipe called for frying the bread crumbs in olive oil, but I thought where the tuna had already been packed in oil, I just didn't want the extra calories and so I simply roasted them, with a spritz of oil. It worked out really well in my opinion and I save a bit of fat in the process.



It's hearty and flavourful, perhaps not really colourful, but that was ok with me. The taste more than made up for any lack in that area!



It made a very tasty and filling lunch! (And I didn't really have to heat up the kitchen much!)



*Tuna and White Bean Salad*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

A deliciously hearty salad with tuna and white beans, in a fresh lemon vinaigrette served on top of salad greens and crowned with homemade toasted bread crumbs!

3 fluid ounces of olive oil, plus 1 TBS
1.5 ounces of fresh bread crumbs
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
the juice of one lemon
2 tsp whole grain mustard
a small handful of flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
1 can (470g/15 oz) cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
2 stalks of celery, trimmed and chopped
1/2 small red onion, peeled and slivered lengthwise
2 tins (185g/6 oz) tuna packed in olive oil, drained and flaked
4 cups of mixed salad greens

Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F, gas mark 7. Spread the bread crumbs out onto a baking sheet. Place the 1 TBS of olive oil into a spritzer bottle and spritz the crumbs with some oil. Season lightly with salt and black pepper, and stir in the garlic. Roast for about 10 to15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Whisk the lemon juice, mustard, 1/4 tsp of salt and a pinch of black pepper together in a bowl. Gradually whisk in the remaining olive oil until smooth.

Add the parsley, beans, tuna, celery and onion to the vinaigrette, tossing to coat all evenly.

Divide the salad greens between 4 chilled plates. Top with the tuna and bean mixture. Sprinkle with the toasted bread crumbs and serve immediately. Delicious!

What Do You Know About Peach Cobbler?

Photo (c) Flickr User: Neil Conway

I've never made a peach cobbler. I've made peach crumbles, peach crisps, peach tarts, peach pies, and peach parfaits, but not one single cobbler. 

I've been doing some research for an upcoming video, and I'm leaning towards the classic southern style where the batter bakes up through a buttery layer of peaches and juice to form a beautifully browned crust over the top. I literally just made myself hungry typing that sentence! If you have any "to die for" peach cobbler recipes, please pass them along! Thanks and stay tuned!

The Dog Days of Summer and a Tasty Salad Roundup

Well, here we are in the Dog Days of Summer and the temperatures are soaring and not a lot of cooking is going on in the kitchen. We are opting for cool and quick . . . summery flavours and textures, refreshing and healthy and quick to prepare, leaving us with more time to be out in the garden enjoying the sunshine!

I thought it would be fun today to show you some of my favourites that I like to prepare in the summer months. Here are my top ten! I hope you enjoy. If you click on the title of each it will take you to the original post and the recipes! Happy August Everyone!

(All my salad recipes that I have ever posted can be found HERE.)




Summer Fruit Salad

A tasty bowl of stone fruits and summer berries, lightly dresssed with mint, honey and fresh orange juice. Can you say REFRESHING?



Beetroot Summer Salad Bowl

A delicious supper salad of baby peas, little gems, cooked beetroot and ham with a tangy yoghurt and horseradish dressing!



Three Grain Salad

A hearty side dish salad filled with all the goodness of chopped apple, raisins, toasted walnuts, wheatberries, barley and rice with a warmy spiced honey dressing. Deliciously different!



Broccoli Delight Salad

Everyone's favourite, with broccoli, red onion, toasted nuts, and raisins in a delish sweet and sour buttermilk dressing!



Turkey Cobb Salad

A tasty combination of roasted turkey bits, tomatoes, avocado, lettuce, bacon and blue cheese in a tangy and flavourful dressing. A meal in a bowl.



Corn and Bean Salad

A little bit different than your usual bean salad, with chickpeas, cannelini beans, tomatoes, corn, courgettes, spring onions and peppers in a deliciously tangy Yoghurt, Lime and Coriander Dressing!



Chicken Salad

A tasty version of chicken salad with mostarda di fruitta, spring onions, toasted pecans, celery and chicken! (Of course!)



A Salad of Cherry Tomatoes and Olives

Cherry tomatoes, green and black olives in an herby Balsamic Dressing. Oh so delicious!



Warm Potato, Olive and Green Bean Salad

Baby new potatoes, plum tomatoes, olives, fresh green beans, red onions and rocket in a tangy Balsamic dressing and topped with grated Parmesan!



Moroccan Carrot Salad with Green Olives and Mint

A real winner with the fresh Middle Eastern Flavours of mint, harissa, coriander, cumin . . . warm and inviting and deliciously different!

Grilled Swordfish Bruschetta with Thai Basil Cherry Tomato Salad - The End of a Great Recipe

This grilled swordfish bruschetta recipe is the type of thing I rarely think to film. Recipes that are so simple I assume there won't be any great technique or creative twist to feature. Of course, as soon as I serve it, I realize there was plenty to share, and end up eating with a large side of regret.

This time, I decided to not let that happen, and filmed the plating of the recipe, which gave me the opportunity to at least describe the recipe. There are only a couple ingredients, and as you'll see and hear in the video, the procedure could not be simpler.

There are two keys to this recipe: One is to add enough oil and vinegar to your tomatoes to make a good amount of "sauce," with which to douse the grilled fish and bread. Secondly, be sure to grill the bread very well over the coals. It should be golden brown with distinctive charred grill marks. The bitter hit from these stripes of charred bread actually makes the tomatoes even sweeter and more delicious.

I hope you give this a try while cherry tomatoes are at their peak ripeness. Below you'll see all the ingredients I used to make this incredibly simple, yet extraordinary meal. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

6 slices French bread, brushed with olive oil

For the fish:

2 swordfish steaks

1 teaspoon grapeseed oil

salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

* For the tomato salad:

1 cup cherry tomato halves

salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons freshly sliced basil

pinch of cayenne

* Mix and let sit out for at least 30 minutes

Mini Pita, Haloumi and Zucchini Pizzas

Have you had haloumi cheese before? Haloumi really is one of my favourite cheeses to cook with. It's great in sandwiches, to top salads and even to use on top of your favourite burgers during this summer's BBQ season. Haloumi in often used in Middle Eastern cuisine and has that perfect mix of saltiness and sturdiness - which makes it the ideal cheese to grill and melt.

This recipe was born out of a desire to make weeknight meals more exciting and easier to put on the table. During this time of year, there is no excuse not to use seasonal produce. I tend to move away from heavy meals (especially for dinner) and to concentrate on crisp, fresh dishes that I can get to the table in minutes. These pizzas really hit the spot in our household - I use mini pitas as a base (for all those times when making fresh pizza dough just isn't an option)and pack them with fresh veggies and gooey cheese. The pita also helps make the pizzas lighter and ensures that you have a paper-thin crust that will cook in no time. These are also really perfect for entertaining - the pizzas cook in a flash and are great to enjoy outdoors, with an ice-cool glass of watermelon juice (recipe to come soon!).

And on another note, the winner of my Clean Start Cookbook giveaway is Marcella - congratulations!

Mini Pita, Haloumi and Zucchini Pizzas
Makes 12 mini pizzas

6 mini whole wheat pitas
1/4 cup of olive oil + 2 tablespoons
1 tablespoon of grated parmesan
1 clove of garlic, very finely minced
1/4 tsp of dried oregano
1 small green zucchini
1 small yellow zucchini
1 good squirt of lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup of pitted Greek olives
6 medium thick slices of Haloumi cheese
12 cherry tomatoes, quartered

Preheat your oven to 400F. Carefully cut each pita in half lengthwise to get two round bases. Lay out the pitas on a parchment-lined baking sheet, inside facing up.

In a small bowl, whisk together the 1/4 cup of olive oil, Parmesan, garlic and oregano and generously brush the mixture on each pita half. Using a vegetable peeler, peel thin strips of zucchini and place in a bowl. If the strips are too large, cut them in half lengthwise using a small paring knife. Add the quartered cherry tomatoes and olives. Add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, lemon juice, a pinch of salt and pepper and gently toss to coat. Don’t add too much salt as the Haloumi and olives are both quite salty.

Evenly lay out the zucchini, tomato and olives on each piece of pita, leaving a small border. Cut each slice of Haloumi cheese into 2 or 3 pieces and add them evenly to each pita. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the zucchini just starts to wilt. Serve immediately.