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A Sicilian Chocolate Experience

Aug 23, 2019
2 min

A Sicilian Chocolate Experience

Modica the city of chocolate, is a vibrant Baroque town in the south of Sicily. In the sixteenth century, as Spanish conquistadores were colonising the New World, they came across many new foods, amongst them a concoction of cacao beans known as ‘ xocolatl.’ It was eaten either as it was, or as a drink, mixed with water. “ A cup of this miraculous beverage gives every soldier the strength to march for an entire day”,was reported by Emperor Charles V. He had discovered Europe’

Chocolate season

Apr 12, 2019
2 min

Chocolate season

Is there a season for eating chocolate? I personally don’t think so. Chocolate for me is the ultimate comfort food, a sure-fire stand-by in times of stress and a mood enhancer. If you eat lots, of course, its not good for you, but if you eat a few pieces of fine dark chocolate there are many health benefits. When I suggest dark chocolate this would be with a cocoa percentage of around seventy per cent or more – proper ‘chocolate’ not confectionary which I am afraid most of t

Chocolate or Raw Chocolate

Mar 17, 2018
3 min

Chocolate or Raw Chocolate

With Easter fast approaching, the supermarket shelves are piled high with chocolate eggs of all shapes and sizes. One of the different eggs I have already spotted this year and that has stood out from the usual Cadburys, Lindt, Kinder, Ferrero Rocher, and bags of mini eggs offered are the Waitrose Chocolate Avocado. Exclusive to Waitrose the dark shell and ‘stone’ are made with 70% cocoa Belgian chocolate, while the white chocolate middle uses natural colouring to imitate th

Has Fairtrade Fortnight gone quiet?

Mar 2, 2018
3 min

Has Fairtrade Fortnight gone quiet?

Maybe its because our children are finished at Primary School or maybe it is because this week we have had so much more exciting news with the weather, but I haven’t heard anything about Fair-trade Fortnight. I normally come across a few articles in the local papers, food news and magazines! According to the Fairtrade Foundation Website, the first fairtrade labelled goods were sold in in 1988. When we buy bananas, chocolate, coffee and sugar do you support Fair-trade? “The pr

Week 3 – Prepping puds

Dec 15, 2017
2 min

Week 3 – Prepping puds

Another busy week has rushed by and as I write this the house smells delicious with gingerbread cooking and cranberries simmering ready for sauce. Our wreath and entertaining workshop went really well and I was so impressed with my first ever attempt which looks amazing on the front door. We talked through lots of savoury canapés, healthy too – avoiding pastry, bread and lots of frying, also plenty of time saving tips. I served a turkey wellington and winter salad for lunch a

Another busy week …

Sep 8, 2017
3 min

Another busy week …

Back to school too, I hope you all got my blog from last week which I focused on snacks and lunchboxes, where did the summer go? If you missed it click here. Tuesday was a day spent at London Olympia at my favourite of food events, Speciality Fine Foods, I know this is for trade only but it really is the most worthwhile from my point of view. A chance to see some brand new ‘baby’ companies launching, the chocolate company Bean & Pod just three days old to companies we saw th

Summer 2017 Crockham Hill – Cookery Camp

May 5, 2017
1 min

Summer 2017 Crockham Hill – Cookery Camp

This time we will be making some summer recipes : picnic ideas, preparing seasonal fruit and vegetables and summery sweets! Date: Wednesday 26th July 2017 Time: 10-3pm Cost: £40 includes all ingredients and lunch Age Group: Boys & Girls aged 8-12 years Location: Crockham Hill Village Hall, TN8 6RP Please REMEMBER to bring a snack/drink and a container for you to take your goodies home in! For further details email jobanks@alivewithflavour.com Places are limited and need to

Chocolate and Cheese

Apr 21, 2017
2 min

Chocolate and Cheese

Yes it sounded very strange to me initially – chocolate and cheese? really? You may be surprised, but chocolate and cheese are rich, savoury, and delicious served together. I have been lucky enough to try some great combinations. Cheese and chocolate share many of the same flavour qualities—rich, bold, robust, creamy—so pairing these two indulgent favourites is not as outlandish as you might imagine. It is quite easy to do; there is a chocolate – cheese pairing for every tast

Friday Foodie – Farm Shops and Easter

Apr 7, 2017
2 min

Friday Foodie – Farm Shops and Easter

We have been so lucky with this beautiful Spring weather the past few days. Normally it never happens in the school Easter holidays! As a family we are getting ready for Easter with visiting National Trust properties and gardens last week and even joining in the egg hunts. Note that the National Trust are now advertising the ‘Cadburys Egg Hunt’ rather than the ‘Easter Egg hunt’ what do you think about the word Easter being dropped? I understand the reason behind it but still

Easter 2017 Cookery Camp at Crockham Hill School

Mar 2, 2017
1 min

Easter 2017 Cookery Camp at Crockham Hill School

Wednesday 5th April – Crockham Hill School, Crockham Hill, TN8 6RP After 8 years dedicated to food, Jo Banks brings creative recipe ideas together through fun, clear, interactive presentations and hands-on workshops/classes. “Cookery is a life skill and a subject I feel very passionate about! I have two daughters and I feel the more children can be involved in preparing food – from the beginning – the more likely they will enjoy eating and exploring adventurous tastes and fla

Fairtrade Foodie Friday

Feb 24, 2017
2 min

Fairtrade Foodie Friday

Fairtrade Fortnight 2017 starts this Monday 27th February and runs till Sunday 12th March 2017. It is a massive worldwide campaign that raises further awareness of where these key products are sourced. Selling Fairtrade-certified products ensures that producers in developing countries are given a guaranteed minimum price, which is especially important when market prices fall. Producers also receive the Fairtrade Premium to invest in business and community development. I am ma

Beetroot and Dark Chocolate Brownies

Feb 10, 2017
1 min

Beetroot and Dark Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients: 275g cooked beetroot 250g dark chocolate, broken into pieces 250g butter 3 eggs 200g golden caster sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 75g plain flour 50g cocoa powder pinch of salt Makes 15 Grease the base of cake tin or brownie pan. Place the beetroot in a food processor and whiz for a few minutes to form a smooth puree. Set aside Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, taking care that the bowl does the

Back to January

Jan 20, 2017
2 min

Back to January

So January is quite a dull month. Short of money as we are paying off credit cards and Christmas expenses, weather is very cold and then in this country very wet… and certainly in our house we are trying to be good with cutting back on sugary, fatty snacks and its the 19th and I have not had one glass of wine, which has to be a record… With this I have had a busy week of looking at healthier after school snack options. Both of my daughters come in starving after school and of

Crockham Hill School ‘Valentines’ Cookery Camp

Jan 13, 2017
1 min

Crockham Hill School ‘Valentines’ Cookery Camp

Thursday 16th February 2017 – Crockham Hill Primary School After 8 years dedicated to food, Jo Banks brings creative recipe ideas together through fun, clear, interactive presentations and hands-on workshops/classes. “Cookery is a life skill and a subject I feel very passionate about! I have two daughters and I feel the more children can be involved in preparing food – from the beginning – the more likely they will enjoy eating and exploring adventurous tastes and flavours.”

Macaroons

Nov 16, 2016
2 min

Macaroons

A few years ago I went on a course to learn how to master macaroons. It is not an easy skill and quite time consuming but if you have time and energy a fun way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon. Ingredients: 350g icing sugar 250g ground almonds 215g egg whites (use older eggs) 150g caster sugar 5g powdered food colour For the macaroon shells: Preheat the oven to 155’C. Sift the ground almonds and the icing sugar together. Whisk the egg whites until white and fluffy and then

Beetroot Chocolate Loaf

Oct 28, 2016
1 min

Beetroot Chocolate Loaf

Ingredients: 2-3 vacumn packed beetroot 2 ripe bananas 120ml cooking oil 160g coconut cream 275g plain flour 50g cocoa powder 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 150g caster sugar Method: Preheat oven to 180C. Pop into a blender your beetroot, bananas, oil, bicarbonate of soda, and coconut cream. Pulse to a pink paste. Scrape pink mixture into mixing bowl with flour, cocoa powder and sugar, mix well. Grease a loaf tin and scrape the batter mixture in. Pop into the oven on the middle sh

Chocolate Chocolate and some more Chocolate!

Oct 15, 2016
2 min

Chocolate Chocolate and some more Chocolate!

A busy week for me. I have been working on my Halloween cookery and practising a few ‘pink’ recipes for the Cancer Research day I have in the half term at Reigate Grammar School. Tuesday, I spent the day experimenting with a couple of healthy recipes with low sugar, no gluten or fat – cakes made with chocolate and avocado you can see how I got on here: Alive with Flavour – Avocado and Chocolate Cake Experiments This week has been CHOCOLATE WEEK and its finishing this weekend

Chocolate and Avocado Cake Experiments

Oct 13, 2016
2 min

Chocolate and Avocado Cake Experiments

As its Chocolate Week I have been busy experimenting. I have been meaning to do this for a while, baking with avocados! It really is the fashionable thing and as a family we love avocados, so the combination intrigued me… and so I went the whole hog, much to my 10 year old daughters disappointment… no sugar, no gluten, and no fat! So what is in this cake? I experimented with two different recipes and I know the one I prefer. Firstly can I just talk about ingredients… as Waitr

Rococo Chocolates with some Scrumdiddlyumptious Chocolate

Sep 20, 2016
2 min

Rococo Chocolates with some Scrumdiddlyumptious Chocolate

Last Friday thoroughly enjoyed an excellent evening at the Vaults, underneath Waterloo. I have never ventured down Leake Street (sounds something out of Harry Potter books) but we found the ‘downside-up cocktail bar’… again another first! ‘Rococo Chocolates was holding a Scrumdiddlyumptious event to celebrate Roald Dahl 100 – celebrating 100 years of the world’s number one storyteller and the launch of their 8 new artisan Roald Dahl chocolate bars inspired by his wonderful st

Chocolate Souffle

May 22, 2016
1 min

Chocolate Souffle

This great recipe comes via Ruth Hinks and you can watch the video on You Tube. Makes: 6 ramekins Ingredients 225g 70% dark chocolate 50g Unsalted butter 6 Medium egg whites 130g Caster sugar 3 Medium egg yolks Butter for lining the ramekin Caster sugar for lining the ramekin Pre-heat your oven to 200°C. To prevent your soufflé from sticking, brush the sides of your ramekins with soft (not melted) butter. Then coat each ramekin with caster sugar and tip out the excess. Place