As humans I think we have a strong connection to natural products and wood is a material that we like to have in our homes, more than perhaps stone, metal or even glass. Each product made from natural wood (note: not machine-made wood such as MDF) has its own colour, tone and pattern, thus meaning that every wooden item is unique. You know that you are the only person on the planet possessing an item with those exact markings and shades. I believe this makes us feel a little bit special and perhaps reminds us of our own uniqueness too.
One of the nicest wood-made gifts you can give is a wooden bowl. It not only looks amazing but is practical too. Wooden bowls can be used for daily dining, or they can be used to hold salad, fruit or sweets. A bowl made from wood can also be used purely for display purposes due to its stunning natural patterns and hues.
Of course, there are other reasons to purchase and use wood-based items. Buying a natural product is often eco-friendly and biodegradable, especially if you choose to use disposable wooden products for parties or picnicking. Another thing to consider is that more and more producers of wood items are small businesses or individuals in poorer countries who now have the opportunity to sell their natural wares to us via companies that care for the environment, practice sustainability, and work towards improving the welfare of its producers.
Yes – there’s something quite special about wood!
Acacia Wood Bowls
Acacia trees are very fast growing which makes them perfect for many uses. As a hardwood, it is a very good wood for furniture making and for use in construction, and, as you can see, it is also very beautiful so it is used in carving and bowl making very often too. Acacia has a lovely tone so musical instruments are made from it and in Hawaii it’s used to make surfboards and canoes. We love the deep, rich colour of the wood and its prominent grain.
Rubberwood is a light-colored tropical hardwood usually obtained from trees grown in rubber plantations. It is often promoted as being “environmentally friendly” because it makes use of plantation trees that have already served a useful function, that being the production of latex. You may also see Rubberwood products advertised as Hevea due to the Latin name of the Pará rubber tree from which the wood is acquired: Hevea brasiliensis. This wood has a dense grain and very little shrinkage making it a stable construction material and it’s great for making furniture, toys and kitchen accessories – especially bowls!
Technically a grass, bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on the planet. Many of the larger woody bamboo species are tree-like in appearance and are often called “bamboo trees”. They even grow to be forests, the only grass that does this. Bamboo has so many different uses. It can be used for food, textiles, construction and, of course, as a replacement from many types of products were traditional hardwood might be used, such as furniture or tableware. Bamboo is light in colour but can be stained to create different tones. It is strong, durable and very eco-friendly.
Another ‘wooden’ product we have here which isn’t actually made of wood, but is growing very popular, are coconut bowls. This amazing looking tableware is made from the shells of coconuts that have been cut, cleaned, sanded and polished. They are food-safe, neutral in taste and recyclable. Of course, when you buy a product such as this you are helping to reduce the amount of plastic being created and reducing your own carbon footprint. We also love the patterns and colours in these coconut bowls and spoons!
I’m no expert on wood (although I do like to tinker with a bit of woodworking) however I would imagine that many different types of hard wood might make great bowls for food use if treated correctly. Softer woods might pose a problems for some uses but if a bowl was to be used only for display only, a soft wood bowl might be fine. The following bowls are just a small example of four different woods that you might like to incorporate into your dining usage or home decor.
We hope that you have enjoyed reading this short article on giving a wooden bowl as a gift idea or for using in your own home as daily tableware or as a display piece.
It’s quite common for publishers to release cookbooks at the start of autumn in preparation for the Christmas rush on gift buying that happens in the following couple of months, and in 2020 this was no exception. With the COVID-19 lockdowns and a general rise in interest in healthy and affordable cooking at home, more and more people are looking at buying recipe books for their friends and family, or for themselves.
The following books are just a few of the many released or updated around September 2020. Included are hit books from established chefs, award winning cooks and a recipe book especially created for your Halloween bash at the end of October!
7 Ways: Easy Ideas for Every Day of the Week by Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver’s recipe and cookbooks keep coming and they always fly off the the shelves. His latest book, 7 Ways: Easy Ideas for Every Day of the Week is no exception. In his book, Jamie has taken 18 of the nation’s favourite staple food ingredients; such as chicken breast, mince, eggs, mushrooms, etc., and using his skills and knowledge, he has created 7 new ways of cooking them. Each recipe is exciting and easily manageable, requiring a minimal amount of time, effort and extra ingredients. Recipes include: Sesame Roast Chicken, Mushroom Cannelloni, Sticky Ginger Beef, and much more.
“7 Ways, the most straight-forward cookbook Jamie has ever written. Simple, affordable and delicious food designed for all the family. Cooking dinner just got easier and tastier.”
Ottolenghi FLAVOUR by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage
In this new cookbook Yotam Ottolenghi and his co-writer Ixta Belfrage bring you innovative vegetable dishes that are full of flavour and utilize exciting ingredient combinations to inspire and thrill. Ottolenghi FLAVOUR contains simple recipes for every day of the week. Each dish is low-effort but high in impact on the eyes and tastebuds. In the book, the authors explain how flavour is created, what you cooking processes you can use to get the most flavour out of your vegetables, and what produce pairings work exceptionally well together. Recipes include: Spicy Mushroom Lasagne, Romano Pepper Schnitzels, Miso Butter Onions and more.
Packed with colourful photography and innovative creations, Ottolenghi FLAVOUR is a must for vegetable lovers everywhere!
Dumplings and Noodles by Pippa Middlehurst
I was particularly drawn to this recipe book because of the eye-catching cover and also the fact that I’m interested in ramen! In the cookbook Dumplings and Noodles: Bao, Gyoza, Biang Biang, Ramen and Everything in Between, author Pippa Middlehurst discovers the traditional cooking methods behind some of our favourite Asian dishes. In this book you will learn how to make over 70 recipes with step-by-step techniques to help you achieve dumpling perfection and awesome wontons!
Recipes include mouth-watering dishes such as Barbecue Pork Bao, Miso Ramen, Aromatic Lamb Biang Biang and Dan Dan Mian, all accompanied by stunning photography and interesting information for food fans.
Cook Slow: Light & Healthy by Dean Edwards
TV chef Dean Edwards releases his latest book Cook Slow: Light & Healthy: 90 Easy Recipes for both Slow Cookers & Conventional Ovens as a follow up to his previous publication Cook Slow which was very well received by critics and home chefs alike. In his latest book, Dean wants to show us that your slow cooker is a versatile and amazing machine that can be used to cook light and healthy dishes and not just stodgy, winter stews that some might believe a slow cooker is only useful for. Its pages are packed full of amazing recipes including: Coconut Fish Curry, Teriyaki Beef, Baked Aubergine Katsu Cury, Maple Baked Figs with Granola and much more, including vegan and vegetarian dishes.
If you don’t own a slow cooker, fear not as all the recipes can be made in a conventional oven, however we would really recommend you invest in a slow cooker. Prices start under £20 and the electricity savings alone are a huge incentive to owning one, but we also love them for their practical usefulness and the fact that they make food taste amazing!
The Wicked Baker: Cakes and Treats to Die For by Helena Garcia
Helena Garcia, self-proclaimed creative witch, stylist and crafter, was a contestant on the Great British Bake Off TV show were she wowed the judges with her ghoulish bakes. In the cookbook The Wicked Baker: Cakes and Treats to Die For, Helena offers you a wide selection of spooky sweet treats and bakes, not only for Halloween but all year round! Make her Mummified Eclairs, Brain-shaped Cinnamon Buns, Cookie Bats, and the impressive Haunted Tree Cake. All the recipes are clearly explained with step-by-step instructions and the excellent photography really helps you visualise the final bake.
Yes, you too can become the Ghostess with the Mostest this Halloween with The Wicked Baker cookbook!
If you find holding glasses difficult or uncomfortable then these unusual and stylish drinks glasses from Bormioli Rocco may be the perfect drinks tumblers for you. Perhaps you no longer have the strength in your hands that you once did, or maybe a medical condition makes holding regular drinks glasses difficult. Suffer no more… And don’t let the strange design fool you – these tumblers may look awkward to hold, but they are anything but that!
The manufacturer calls these whisky glasses but in reality these are too big to be used for straight spirits, however they are perfect for mixers, soft drinks, juice or water. Each glass has a capacity of 420 ml (15 fluid ounces) and when empty they weigh 800 grams (28 ounces) so they are neither small nor light weight, but this all helps to make them a stable vessel for your drink. They stand 11 cm tall and have an 8.5 cm diameter.
As you can see, the design is quite unique. It has a timeless style that I don’t think will ever look old. When a glass is shaped like the Bormioli Rocco Sorgente above, or our favourite glass, the classic Blade RunnerCibi Double Old Fashioned Glass, it will never look out-of-fashion because it has an ageless design. In 10, 100 or 1000 years, these glasses will still be as appealing then as they are now!
You can purchase the Bormioli Rocco Sorgente Glasses on Amazon UK as either a pair of glasses (£7.99*), or as a box of six glasses (£14.99*).
*Prices shown are at time of writing and are subject to change at any time.
Our thoughts on the Bormioli Rocco Sorgente Glasses
What makes these Sorgente design glasses from Bormioli Rocco different? We took a long look at all the reviews and came up with the following observations. Buyers say that these drinking glasses are:
Stylish glasses that are easy to grip.
Comfortable to hold.
Great tumblers if you find holding regular glasses difficult.
Larger than normal glasses so may not fit small hands.
Definitely NOT a whisky glass – far too big – but great for mixers or juice, water, soft drinks, etc.
The packing is not altogether great and it is not gift boxed.
Some say the glass is a bit too thin and prone to breaking, whilst others think the opposite.
Reviews of the Bormioli Rocco Sorgente Glasses
There is nothing more honest that the reviews of real buyers and here are our top picks.
Amazon purchaser Pete writes of these Sorgente Glasses:
“These are marvellous glasses, larger than it seems from the photograph, these will easily hold a bottle of beer, so if you are measuring liquor into them, be careful. The shape, while curious, is excellent. It fits the hand very comfortably, and the ridges and twists in the glass make them extremely easy to hold and allow a firm grip. This is important for me as my hands do not function as they used to, so ordinary straight glasses can be a bit of a challenge. These are absolutely perfect and I can now comfortably hold a glass again without worrying overly much about it slipping out of my fingers. The glass is high quality, and these have a nice ring when clinked. It may not seem like it from the shape, but they are just as easy to clean as a straight glass. The base is nicely weighted and the size of the glass means it is not easy to knock one over. All in all an excellent drinking glass that is going to get a lot of use.”
Likewise, S. Smith says:
“Great glasses. Unusual design makes them stand out. I like a chunky glass and these are nice and solid in the hand. The contoured shape makes them easy to hold and no worries about them slipping out of your hand. Went through dishwasher ok.”
Happy buyer W.F. Smith notes:
“Excellent value for money. Attractive, lovely to hold. We tend to be good at breaking and chipping! Hence our glasses and crockery gradually get binned or recycled. We were down to our last two tumblers and I bought these. They look hard to chip or break. They are easy to pick up even from the top. They are lovely to drink from. I shall be using them for all drinks other than wine and even that I may…! So pleased I have bought another set.”
Therese offers her view and writes:
“While you may think these are difficult to hold, it’s actually the opposite, allowing better grip when slippery condensation occurs from ice cubes. Also great for having water on your bedside table as you grope around in the dark hoping you don’t spill water in your bed!”
Contented buyer Lee-anne notes of these unusual glasses:
“Love the feel of these in the hand they give you grooves to place fingers and with no effort afford a better grip a nice side effect of the beautiful, as we say in this house “wobbly glasses”.”
Christine Gaunt wasn’t so impressed and wrote:
“Ordered as a whisky glass but was too big. This was a gift but packing is not great so unable to give.”
Finally Karena gave these glasses 3 out of 5 stars and said:
“Like the shape, sturdy enough but a bit thick and cheap looking. Okay but not as nice as I had hoped.”
Conclusion
We really like the Bormioli Rocco Sorgente Glasses. Originally we were looking for new drinking glasses to replace our dwindling supply but the fact that these Bormioli Rocco designer tumblers not only look great but are easy to hold too appeals to us. We both do a lot of typing and our hands can become quite fatigued by the end of a busy day. I also know of a couple of people that, due to medical conditions, could really benefit from easy-to-hold glasses and these would make great gifts for them.
Halloween arrives every October and usually the parties we attend aren’t fearsome at all. Some of them are even downright pleasant. It just isn’t right, you know. What we need are some Scary Cocktails to spook up the evening! In this article we have for you 48 of the best cocktails with a Halloween twist that we think will make your party really, really frightening!
If you visit our Amazon UK Storefront you will be able to find some of the glasses, tools and spirits used in the recipes below that we think will help you make the perfect Halloween cocktails and drinks for your party.
Halloween Punch
Here we have a spookily scary recipe for Halloween Punch that is sure to get your Halloween party started with a pop, whizz and bang!
Ingredients
Grape juice
Various fizzy drinks
Orange sherbet
Lime sherbet
Get your grape juice and a variety of carbonated soft drinks (club soda, ginger ale, lemonade, limeade, etc.) and mix them all together in a large punch bowl. Then take scoops of the orange and lime sherbet and carefully float them in the punch. They will start to melt a little and in a few moments a nasty looking film will spread all over the top of the punch. There should still be little “bubbles” in it, which makes it look like a witches cauldron! Yes, it will look foul, but it will taste great and the kiddies will love it!
Display your punch bowl in the center of the room and cackle loudly like a witch whilst serving your guests. Please refrain from adding any lizards. It really does ruin the flavour.
Black Devil
Here’s a simple cocktail recipe for Black Devil, that uses just three ingredients. So don’t be a devil, offer your mates this great drink when they come around on Halloween.
Ingredients
½ oz dry vermouth
2 oz light rum
1 black olive
Grab a twisted bar spoon and stir the light rum and vermouth with cracked ice and stylishly strain into a cocktail glass. Top with the black olive and serve. We suggest that you make this cocktail with a sly, devilish look on your face, so as to unnerve your guests. As you pour it into the cocktail glass, keep the impish grin. It really worries people.
Evil Blue Thing
What exactly is an Evil Blue Thing? Papa Smurf crossed with Frankenstein’s Monster perhaps? Who knows?
Ingredients
1 ½ oz white creme de cacao
1 oz Blue Curacao liqueur
½ oz white rum
Pretend to be a mad scientist! Put on a laboratory coat, frizz up your hair and crazily pour all the ingredients into a tall glass almost filled with ice cubes. Stir well and serve. Stare wildly at your guests whilst shouting “It’s Alive! It’s Alive!” Drop in a brain-shaped ice ball and you’ll really look the part.
Bill Murray and The Ghostbusters
Put on your boiler suits, strap a vacuum cleaner to your back and pretend that you are the brilliant Bill Murray and knock back a few of these cocktails with your ghostbusting friends.
Ingredients
12 oz bottle Budweiser ® lager
2 oz Jim Beam ® bourbon whiskey
You don’t need much in the way of brains to make this cocktail. Simply pour both ingredients into a beer mug, stir lightly and serve.
For even greater enjoyment, get hold of a copy of Ghostbusters (preferably on VHS) and watch it with a few friends. If you dumped your video recorder years ago you could always watch Ghostbusters on Blu-ray and enjoy the ‘dated but fun’ special effects really pop!
Klingon Blood Wine
A cocktail for Trekkies. If you didn’t know, a Klingon is an extraterrestrial humanoid warrior with a ridged forehead, snaggled and prominent teeth, and a defined language and alphabet. They are also quite bronzed. I guess that the colour of their blood looks very much like the hue of this cocktail.
Ingredients
1 oz Jose Cuervo ® Especial gold tequila
1 oz Captain Morgan ® Original spiced rum
1 dash grenadine syrup
2 dashes Tabasco ® sauce
Cranberry juice
Add 2 dashes of Tabasco sauce to a beer glass or beer mug filled with ice. Pour in the tequila, rum and grenadine, and then fill to the top with cranberry juice. Carefully shake a couple of times and then serve. ‘Iw HIq tIv! as they say in Klingon.
Bat Bite
I like bats. No, really, I do. They’re like cute little mice. That fly in the dark. With wings. And sharp teeth. Celebrate your love of bats too with this Bat Bite cocktail recipe.
Ingredients
2 shots spiced rum
1 dash grenadine syrup
Cranberry juice
Pour the spiced rum over a few ice cubes in a tall glass. Fill further with cranberry juice, and finally add a splash of grenadine. Stir it all together and serve. This drink is most often served in a highball glass.
Vampire bats are amazing little creatures. It’s a shame that they have an unfounded scary reputation, but I suppose that any creature with the word ‘vampire’ in its name is going to frighten people. In fact, all three vampire bat species are very sociable, and you should be too at your Halloween Party this year!
Cemetery Cider
It’s scary walking through a cemetery at night, isn’t it? Build up some courage by drinking this cider cocktail before you go off on your midnight graveyard expeditions.
Ingredients
2 oz Captain Morgan ® Silver spiced rum
2 oz Jim Beam ® bourbon whiskey
2 oz Bacardi ® orange rum
12 oz apple cider
Combine the two rums and bourbon over ice in a cocktail shaker. Put on your best bartender waistcoat and shake well. Add the apple cider and stir lightly. Pour the majestic mix into a pint glass and serve to your guests before they go out night walking.
Green Demon
A Green Demon sounds like a really bad guy that, despite being evil, cares very much for the environment. This cocktail recipe uses fruit based ingredients so I guess that it’s a bit environmentally-friendly too!
Ingredients
1 oz Vodka
1 oz Rum
1 oz Midori ® Melon Liqueur
Lemonade
1 Cherry
Put on your favourite hemp jacket and organic bamboo slacks. Shake your vodka, rum and liqueur in a cocktail shaker and pour over a tall glass filled with ice. Top up with lemonade, and with gusto, add the cherry on top. Serve in a highball glass to all your sandal wearing friends. Seriously though folks, look after the planet, okay.
Dead Pirate Seaspray
Arrr! Pieces of Eight. Ahoy me mateys. Etc. Fed up of the old ship grog? Why not add a bit of smoothness to your cocktail evening with this great recipe. No dead pirates are used as ingredients in any form. Avast!
Ingredients
1 ¾ oz Malibu ® Coconut Rum
1 ¾ oz Kahlua ® Coffee Liqueur
1 tbsp Whipped Cream
Don your Pirate hat and pour the Malibu rum and Kahlua into a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice cubes. Shake vigorously like you were having a sword fight with Black Beard himself, and strain into a cocktail glass. Top with whipped cream. If you want to go the whole hog, garnish with a maraschino cherry and serve. Aye!
The Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people in the 1300s – so let’s celebrate it with a cocktail, shall we!
Ingredients
1 to 1 ½ shots vodka
½ oz soy sauce
This cocktail is simplicity itself. Mix both ingredients in shaker and pour over ice. Serve cold.
This drink is usually served in an old-fashioned glass, preferably on a hot day with the sun shining over the thousands of rotting corpses littering the streets. Happy Halloween everybody!
Neon Nightmare
Do you remember the Eighties? I do. They were a nightmare – A Neon Nightmare you might even say! If you’re holding an 1980s themed Halloween Party then it’s law that this cocktail must be served.
Ingredients
1 ¼ oz Malibu ® Coconut Rum
½ oz Midori ® Melon Liqueur
¼ oz Blue Curacao Liqueur
3 ½ oz Pineapple Juice
Combine all the colourful ingredients into a mixing tin full of ice. Shake it like you’re Wham singing “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” and after all the prancing about, strain into a hurricane glass. Garnish with an orange flag. If you’re going to ask me why the flag has to be orange I think it’s because many of the pop stars of the time had fake orange tans so perhaps orange was the official colour of the eighties!
Zombie
No doubt you’ll get a few zombies at your Halloween gathering, and most likely they’ll be the folks who were too late to hire a costume so they just put on their old gardening clothes and splattered fake blood over them. Poor effort chaps! Never mind, cheer them up with this zombie cocktail recipe.
Ingredients
½ oz Bacardi ® 151 rum
1 oz pineapple juice
1 oz orange juice
½ oz apricot brandy
1 tsp sugar
2 oz light rum
1 oz dark rum
1 oz lime juice
Zombies shuffle around a lot so you’ll have plenty of time to gather all the ingredients for this cocktail. Once you’re ready, blend all ingredients with ice except the Bacardi 151 proof rum. Pour the blended mixture into a collins glass and carefully float Bacardi 151 proof rum on top. Garnish with a fruit slice, sprig of mint and a cherry, not that a zombie would be able to taste it of course. When you’ve lost your brain, you also lose your sense of taste.
Devil Juice
If you thought that Devil Juice was made by squeezing ripe Devils, then you’d be wrong. It requires five ingredients that are easy to find, and when combined together may give one helluva hangover!
Ingredients
½ oz sloe gin
½ oz bourbon whiskey
½ oz vodka
½ oz Amaretto almond liqueur
6 oz Coca-Cola ®
Go on… Be a devil and make this knockout cocktail. It’s so easy. Take a Collins or highball glass and fill it with ice cubes, then pour all the ingredients over the ice. Stir and serve, or better still, drink it yourself. It is not obligatory to wear a Devil costume with forked tail whilst making this Halloween cocktail, but it is more fun.
Evil Tea
In my house we generally drink PG Tips or something similar, and usually our tea is anything but evil, unless it’s been steeped for too long of course. This Halloween I’m going to enjoy a glass of Evil Tea, but probably not for breakfast before doing a day’s work. I can’t see that going too well.
Ingredients
2 oz Captain Morgan ® Original spiced rum
10 oz iced tea
If you can’t make this cocktail, you’ve probably been at the rum already. Simply mix the rum and iced tea together well, pour over ice and serve. Even a blind pirate with one-legged parrot could make it. This cocktail is most often served in a Collins glass. If you haven’t got one of them, use a tall tumbler. They’re more or less the same thing.
Blood
Blood. We all have it running through us. Unless you’re an alien. Or a politician.
Ingredients
2 oz Bacardi ® white rum
1 oz raspberry syrup
Grab your ingredients and pour them into a Champagne flute filled with crushed or shaven ice. The raspberry syrup creates the blood red complexion so if your blood looks a little pale, add some more. Serve to your friends asking loudly, “Does anyone need blood?”. Vampires are likely to be first in line.
Bloody Margarita
Here’s a Margarita recipe with a twist. The juice MUST be blood orange juice, otherwise it kinda loses the whole Halloween themed feel.
Ingredients
1 ½ oz tequila
1 oz blood orange juice
½ oz fresh lime juice
¼ oz Cointreau ® orange liqueur
You’ll need a cocktail shaker to make this cocktail to perfection. Shake all the ingredients with ice in the cocktail shaker, strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Serve to your friends or drink it yourself. Whatever you do, don’t add any cocktail umbrellas to this drink. They’ll poke you in the eye for sure. Simply garnish with a slice of blood orange and congratulate yourself so being oh-so-very sophisticated.
Acapulco Zombie
I’ve never been to Acapulco so I’m not quite sure if it is full of zombies or not. In the 1960s, it used to be full of the jet set – film stars and mega-rich socialites for instance – so perhaps Acapulco is where famous people become the living dead after they have died.
Ingredients
1 shot vodka
1 shot tequila
1 shot rum
1 dash white creme de menthe
orange juice
grapefruit juice
Head to your cocktail bar and pour all the alcohol into a tall highball glass. Next, add the two juices in equal amounts and finally add a little Creme de Menthe. Drink a few of these and you too will be “going loco down in Acapulco”!
White Bat
A white bat? Surely such a thing does not exist. It really does though. The Honduran white bat has snow white fur and a yellow nose and ears. Also it is teeny at less than 5cm long. I bet it’s cute! I don’t know if the Honduran white bat has a bite, but this cocktail certainly does.
Ingredients
1 ½ oz Bacardi ® white rum
½ oz Kahlua ® coffee liqueur
1 ½ oz milk
3 oz Coca-Cola ®
Milk and Cola together sounds disgusting doesn’t it? Well, you’ll never know until you’ve tried this cocktail, will you. Get to it then! Build all ingredients in a tall glass over ice. Stir the ingredients slowly to mix them well and serve with a straw.
If you are at a Halloween party and you’re wearing those funny plastic vampire teeth, you may want to remove them before attempting to drink cocktails. Colourful sticky substances dripping down your chin and onto your shirt is not an attractive look.
Frisky Witch
I’m not really into witches, but a frisky one does sound like a lot of fun!
Ingredients
1 part black sambuca
1 part vodka
You don’t even need a cauldron, bubble, trouble or eye of newt to make this cocktail, just a Collins glass or tall glass into which you pour both the black sambuca and vodka. Stir the spirits and enjoy!
In general, witches get a bad press, don’t they. I’m sure that they are not all cackling, old goats with black hats, hooked noses and gnarled fingers. I mean, Sabrina was pretty cute, wasn’t she?
The Graveyard
When I was a kid I used to have to walk past an ancient, spooky graveyard on the way home from school. Most of the time it was fine, but if I didn’t get out of school on time or if it was a dark, wintry afternoon, I would run past that graveyard as fast as my little legs could carry me!
Ingredients
1 oz Tabasco ® sauce
1 oz tequila
lemon-lime soda
Take a tall or highball glass and pour 1 oz of Tabasco Sauce over ice and then add 1 oz of Tequila. To finish of this wicked brew, fill the glass with lemon-lime soda. Stir and serve. You can also make this in a cocktail shaker and shake the drink to mix it. It’s your choice. Be careful though – this is a spicy cocktail. Too many of these and you’ll end up in the graveyard yourself!
Dead Hand
There is a pub in Salisbury that has (or had before it was stolen) a mummified hand encased in glass embedded into the wall. The pub is The Haunch of Venison and legend has it that the hand belonged to a cheating gambler who was playing cards with a butcher. The butcher took offence to his sneaky ways, chopped off the gambler’s hand and threw it into the fireplace where it was later retrieved by staff. I’m sure that this cocktail tastes nothing like petrified gambler’s hand. Less chewy, I’d imagine.
Ingredients
1 oz whiskey
1 oz vodka
1 oz rum
2 oz Midori ® melon liqueur
Fill almost to the top an old-fashioned glass with ice cubes and add the ingredients. Stir well and serve, preferably to those that don’t cheat at cards.
Creeping Death
With four shots of vodka in it, this cocktail lives up to its name. Your hangover is bound to feel like a slow, painful creep towards death if you have too many.
Ingredients
4 shots vodka
8 shots extra dry vermouth
1 pinch salt
orange juice
Grab that bottle of vodka and pour 4 shots (yes, four) into a cocktail shaker glass. Add the dry vermouth and a pinch of salt and fill it up with orange juice. Shake well and serve in a tall highball glass.
I wonder if death is like the movie “Ghost”? You know. Pottery making with dead people and such.
Dark Nightmare
We all have nightmares. Well, I guess we do. I know that I do. In fact I had one last night which was quite bizarre and just a small bit frightening. I suppose that if you drink too many of these cocktails, you will have dark nightmares, so just stick to one or two, okay.
Ingredients
¾ oz Kahlua ® coffee liqueur
⅛ oz Goldschläger ® cinnamon schnapps
⅛ oz milk
You’ll need a shot glass for this cocktail. Pour in the Kahlua and Goldschläger and add the milk last. Stir. Enjoy. Go to work.
Vampire
Vampires don’t really seem that scary to me. As long as you only go out during the day, you’ll be fine, and if you do want to venture out at night time you just need a bit of garlic around your neck to keep them away. It might ruin your date, but at least you’ll be free of neck bites. Mind you, that depends on the person you’re dating. I knew this one girl…
Ingredients
1 oz Chambord ® raspberry liqueur
1 oz vodka
1 oz cranberry juice
Get yourself a cocktail shaker and pour the ingredients over ice in the shaker. Serve this cocktail as shots in an old-fashioned tumbler.
Seriously though, hickeys are dangerous so be careful. Not as dangerous as being bitten by a vampire, I grant you, but love bites can be pretty scary things. Be careful out there folks.
Fuzzy Evil
Fuzzy Evil sounds like a fun, but ultimately terrifying experience. This cocktail is made of three fruit flavours so I’m certain that it is delicious, but it might give you an evil hangover!
Ingredients
1 oz peach schnapps
6 oz orange juice
6 oz pineapple juice
Get yourself a cocktail shaker and pour in all the ingredients over crushed ice. Shake it well and strain into a Collins glass. Serve to your guests whilst muttering crazily under your breath.
Green Devil
The Green Devil is best mates with the Green Demon. They spend their weekends terrorising the board members and shareholders of companies who engage in environmentally harmful operations. Well, I wish they did. Those people are pond scum. This cocktail, however, is rather nice indeed.
Ingredients
1½ oz gin
1 oz green creme de menthe
½ oz lime juice
Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into an old-fashioned glass over a few ice cubes.
Listen up people. Messing with the environment is a really nasty thing to do. Recycle. Be nice to the planet. Fight against evil corporations. We can all make a difference if we try. Word.
Bloody Brew
This sounds like a really great Halloween cocktail. It uses ingredients that almost everyone will bring to your Halloween party so whilst they are dancing to ‘The Monster Mash’, rummage through all the drinks, grab your cocktail jug and become the hero of the party with your “Bloody Brew”.
Ingredients
2 oz vodka
3 oz beer
4 oz tomato juice
1 pinch salt
Pour the vodka, beer and tomato juice into a mixing glass or jug that’s half-filled with ice cubes. Stir it up really well. Add salt to taste and stir well once more. Strain into a highball glass and for the final touch, garnish with a dill pickle spear. Serve to your awaiting fans. I suggest you also throw in a fake eyeball or two and make all the squeamish scream. It’s so much fun!
Green Fairy Blood
Absinthe is also known as the Green Fairy and in the early 1900’s it was banned in many countries due to its supposedly hallucinogenic qualities. If you plan on making this colourful cocktail make sure that you’re relatively sober when attempting to make it because not only does it have absinthe in, it also involves the use of fire.
Ingredients
1 oz absinthe herbal liqueur
1 oz creme de menthe
1 oz Green Chartreuse ®
1 oz fresh water
1 tsp sugar
Mix the ingredients in the order shown above over a sugar cube on an absinthe spoon. Carefully light the sugar cube and when the flame dies immediately stir the sugar into the waiting glass until it dissolves. Serve in an old-fashioned glass.
Black Sabbath
No, not the heavy metal band formed in 1968 in Birmingham, England. This Black Sabbath cocktail is nowhere as near as shocking as Ozzy Osbourne’s vocals, although it does have a bit of a kick.
Ingredients
2 oz bourbon whiskey
2 oz dark rum
2 oz Jagermeister ® herbal liqueur
Dust off your cocktail shaker, half fill it with ice cubes and combine all the ingredients. Shake well whilst belting out ‘Paranoid’, then strain into a chilled highball glass filled with ice cubes. Serve to your dumbfounded guests.
Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill would approve.
Witch Hunt
Here’s a great game to play at your Halloween party. Ask all the witches that have come to your party to hide somewhere in the house or garden, and then all the other guests have to try and find them. As a prize, the last one to be discovered gets to enjoy this cocktail before anybody else!
Ingredients
1 oz Scotch whisky
1/2 oz dry vermouth
1/4 oz Strega ® herbal liqueur
1 oz lemonade
Grab a bottle of Scotch (no point in using something special as a mixer), the dry vermouth, Strega and lemonade and pour into an old-fashioned glass three-quarters filled with cracked ice. Serve to the winner of your hide-and-seek game. All others have to wait patiently.
Don’t go hunting witches in real life. They done nothing to hurt you. Unless they have of course, in which case, break out the pitchforks and light the bonfire!
Green Goblin
In the comic book world, the Green Goblin is a Halloween-themed supervillain whose weapons look like bats, ghosts and jack-o’-lanterns. You may have see him terrorising Spiderman in 2002’s Spider-Man and 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 movies. The thing that really frightens Spiderman though is not the Green Goblin villain, it’s this Green Goblin cocktail which is guaranteed to put most superheroes on their backs in a few pints.
Ingredients
½ pint hard cider
½ pint lager
1 shot Blue Curacao liqueur
Grab a pint glass. Pour in the cider first, then the lager. Finish it off with the Blue Curacao to add colour. Basically, this drink is a Snakebite with Blue Curacao. There’s also a similar drink called a Purple Nasty, which is a Snakebite and black (blackcurrant juice). A snakebite is a nasty/tremendous/evil/magical thing which will turn your world inside out and upside down if you’re not too careful!
Braindead
A few too many of these shot sized cocktails and you too will be brain dead… at least for a day or two anyway.
Ingredients
2 cl vodka
2 cl sweet and sour mix
2 cl triple sec
ice cubes
You’ll need a cocktail shaker to become Braindead, so get yourself one! Fill the shaker half full with ice cubes and then add all the delicious ingredients. Shake well and carefully pour in a shot glass, without the ice.
Grateful Dead
Jerry Garcia’s favourite cocktail perhaps? The Grateful Dead had a career spanning more than 30 years, selling more than 35 million albums worldwide, which is very impressive. The Grateful Dead were known for their fusion of country, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, rock, improvisational jazz, psychedelia and space rock, so perhaps this cocktail was named after them because of its unusual mix of five differing alcoholic drinks. Who knows? I bet it’ll put you into a psychedelic trance if you have too many though.
Ingredients
1 part tequila
1 part vodka
1 part light rum
1 part gin
1 part Chambord ® raspberry liqueur
Put Live / Dead on the record player. Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and pour over ice in a Collins glass. Serve to your hippie friends.
Did you know, fans and followers of The Grateful Dead are commonly known as Dead Heads. Way out, man.
Death by Chocolate
Death by Chocolate is more commonly a dessert featuring chocolate as the primary ingredient, however there’s absolutely no reason why diners should have all the fun, is there?
Ingredients
1 oz Irish cream
½ oz brown creme de cacao
½ oz vodka
1 scoop chocolate ice cream
Get yourself a blender and combine all the ingredients with one cup of crushed ice. Blend well until smooth. Pour the delicious mixture into a parfait glass and top with whipped cream. Sprinkle with chocolate shavings and serve. Preferably to yourself with no one else around to interrupt your enjoyment of this delicious cocktail!
Grim Reaper
The Grim Reaper is a personification of death, and as we know from the marvellous works of the much-missed Terry Pratchett, Death only Speaks in capital letters. Of Death it is said: “Like most Grim Reapers, he is a black-robed skeleton usually carrying a scythe. He does not cause people to die, nor does he concern himself with their goodness or badness in life; it is simply his job to collect their souls at the appointed time. Somewhat like a garbage man making his rounds emptying the trash cans, Death performs a vital but thankless task.”
Ingredients
1 oz Kahlua ® coffee liqueur
1 oz Bacardi ® 151 rum
1 dash grenadine syrup
Take an old-fashioned glass and mix the kahlua and 151 proof rum. Quickly add ice and pour grenadine over the top to give the ice a red tint.
“No one is actually dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away.” ― Terry Pratchett, Reaper Man
Phantom
The most famous phantom is probably The Phantom of the Opera character created by the French writer Gaston Leroux (Le Fantôme de l’Opéra, 1909). I’ll be honest, I’ve never read the book, seen the film or witnessed the stage play, but I know that Sarah Brightman was involved at some point and that lady scares me to death!
Ingredients
3 cl Licor 43 ® liqueur
3 cl Absolut ® vodka
milk
Turn on your stereo and turn up The Phantom of the Opera CD. Whilst singing along with Sarah, pour the Licor 43 into a highball glass filled with ice cubes. Add the Absolut vodka, top up the glass with milk and mix well.
Spooky Juice
Possibly the best named Halloween cocktail, Spooky Juice must look pretty weird with orange juice and blue curacao. Hand out a few of these as your guests arrive at your Halloween party to get them in the mood and a good night is sure to follow!
Ingredients
1 oz Absolut ® vodka
2 dashes Blue Curacao liqueur
1 dash grenadine syrup
fill with orange juice
Simplicity is the essence here. Stir all the ingredients together with ice and pour into a tall glass – a highball glass is perfect.
I think that a Halloween Party with lots of strange and wonderfully coloured drinks really breaks the ice. “Oh, yours is green! What’s it called? I want one of those to match my makeup!”.
Little Devil
“Oh you Little Devil”. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard those words muttered at me in my life. This is a cheeky little cocktail recipe that includes lemon juice to add sharpness.
Ingredients
1 oz dry gin
1 oz rum
½ oz triple sec
½ oz lemon juice
Grab your cocktail shaker and half fill it with ice cubes. Pour in the gin, rum, triple sec and lemon juice and shake well. Stylishly strain the drink into a cocktail glass and serve. If you regularly make or serve cocktails at home it is important that you present them in the correct glasses. Not only does it make the cocktail taste better, but you are also automatically deemed to be a VERY COOL PERSON.
Bloody Dragon
Toothless. Smaug. Maleficent. Dragons – they’re great, aren’t they? If you like them as much as we do, grab yourself a glass and make this dragon-inspired cocktail.
Ingredients
2 oz gin
5 oz tomato juice
¼ oz lemon juice
1 dash Tabasco ® sauce
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
1 – 2 pinches celery salt
You can use a short or tall tumbler glass for this drink. Grab your glass and add cracked ice then stir in the ingredients and serve. This cocktail is quite similar to a Bloody Mary, hence the name I guess. I like how the tomato juice adds a deep red colour, because as we all know, short-tempered dragons are always red and bloody-minded!
Bite Your Mama Bloody Mary
Here’s a different twist on the classic ‘pick-me-up’ drink. This Bloody Mary recipe uses clamato juice instead of tomato juice to add a fishy flavour. I’m not sure what this has to do with biting your mother though. Perhaps the inventor of this cocktail was a vampire?
Ingredients
1 ½ oz vodka
2 oz clamato juice
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
2 dashes Tabasco ® sauce
1 pinch celery salt
2 pinches horseradish
3 – 4 oz tomato juice
Retrieve your trusty cocktail shaker and combine all the ingredients together with ice cubes. Don’t shake the cocktail but carefully stir to mix the ingredients well. Pour into a highball glass filled with ice cubes and finally garnish with a pickle spear, olives, and a slice of lime.
The Bloody Mary has been called “the world’s most complex cocktail” and this version seems to take it just a little bit further with its three garnishes, however there’s not a stick of celery anywhere to be seen. That’s because it’s hard to bite your mama with a celery stalk poking out your nose!
Beast Juice
With Mountain Dew and Red Bull, I reckon this is a perfect cocktail for the PC gamer. All it’s missing is a bag of Doritos!
Ingredients
2 oz white rum
4 oz chilled Mountain Dew ® Code Red soda
4 oz chilled Red Bull ® energy drink
Tear yourself away from World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor for a moment and grab a Mountain Dew and Red Bull out of the fridge. Find that lost bottle of white rum that your uncle gave you last Christmas and stir all three drinks together in a tall glass. Head back to the PC, boot up Minecraft and enjoy your cocktail.
Gravedigger
Bacardi 151 rum is a very high proof rum that is 75.5% alcohol, or 151 proof (hence the name), that you can’t find in many places. Jim Beam is a lovely bourbon from Kentucky with an ABV of 40%. Put them together and you have a cocktail shot that is sure to put you in the grave at an early age.
Ingredients
½ shot Bacardi ® 151 rum
½ shot Jim Beam ® bourbon whiskey
It’s easy to make this cocktail recipe for the first two or three times, but after your fourth Gravedigger, you’re going to be struggling a little. Simply fill a shot glass half and half with Bacardi 151 rum and Jim Beam whiskey in whichever order you want. Enjoy – in moderation!
Bloody Demon From Hell
This is a cocktail to strike fear into the very hearts and minds of all that attend your Halloween party. A Bloody Demon From Hell. Not just a regular Demon. No, this Demon is Bloody — and it’s from Hell. It’s emphasising two points, warning you in advance that you WILL feel its effects after drinking it!
Ingredients
1 oz Jameson ® Irish whiskey
1 oz Captain Morgan ® Silver spiced rum
1 oz Jim Beam ® bourbon whiskey
1 oz Bacardi ® gold rum
2 oz tomato juice
2 oz Worcestershire sauce
1 oz hot pepper sauce
Similar again to a Bloody Mary, this cocktail is as much a meal as it is a drink. Just combine all ingredients in a large, tall glass, stirring well to make sure everything is well mixed. Garnish with a radish or a celery stick and serve to your friends, possibly with a warning pamphlet or something.
Yes, you did read that correctly. “Garnish with a radish.” A radish! Truly this is a demon drink. God save us all.
Death by Shot
Death by Shot. That’s a bit obvious really, isn’t it? If you get shot, there’s a good chance that you will experience death. There’s no beating around the bush with this drink. Basically it’s a warning – drink me and die!
Ingredients
1 oz white tequila
8 drops Tabasco ® sauce
1 red pepper
The preparation for this drink is hazardous at best! Pour the white tequila into a shot glass and carefully lay drops of Tabasco sauce on top. Do not mix, but allow the Tabasco sauce to settle. It looks really cool! Slowly introduce (meaning: place carefully) a red pepper into the glass.
How to drink: Eat the pepper as quickly as possible, immediately followed by shot. Depending on what chili pepper you choose, this cocktail could have a nice subtle spicy taste, or it’ll blow your head off! I recommend a Piri Piri for a gentle hit or a Trinidad Scorpion Butch T for a knockout punch.
Death Wish
Sadly, Charles Bronson is no longer with us, but if he were alive today I suspect that he might enjoy a glass or two of this cocktail. Oddly though, the ingredients in this drink are anything but violent or punishing like the film Death Wish.
Ingredients
1 part Southern Comfort ® peach liqueur
1 part Dr Pepper ® soda
Pour equal measures of Southern Comfort and Dr Pepper into a glass and stir. It’s suggested that you serve this cocktail in a beer mug. Sure… if you want the mother of all hangovers!
Silver Spider
The Silver Spider sounds like the lovechild of comic book characters Silver Sable and Spider-Man, which is entirely possible because they have teamed-up together many times to fight crime. Of course, if you don’t read comic books or watch these sorts of movies you won’t have any idea what I am talking about. Why not just make this cocktail and enjoy its minty flavour.
Ingredients
½ oz vodka
½ oz light rum
½ oz triple sec
½ oz white creme de menthe
Pour the rum, vodka, triple sec and creme de menthe into a stainless steel shaker over ice and shake until super chilly. Strain into an old-fashioned glass (tumbler) and serve to your waiting guests.
Silver Sable first appeared 1963 in The Amazing Spider-Man comic book, titled “After the Fox”, issue #265, which you can pick up now in as-new and unblemished condition for the bargain price of over $200. Yes, collecting comic books can be quite lucrative.
Gold Wizard
Some wizards are wise, some are kind, some are absent-minded bumbling fools, and some are downright evil. I put the person who designed this cocktail into that last category of wizard. Adding banana liqueur and vodka to Chardonnay must surely be an evil abomination!
Ingredients
4 oz Chardonnay white wine
2 oz banana liqueur
1 oz Absolut ® vodka
1 cherry
Get a cocktail shaker and shake the Chardonnay, the banana liqueur and the vodka together with 2 ice cubes for 30 seconds. In a cocktail glass place a cherry at the bottom and pour in the liquid. Serve with a flourish shouting “Abracadabra” each time someone takes a sip!
I assume that the liqueur makes the gold colour for a Gold Wizard, but seriously though, who decided to put banana liqueur and wine together?
The Crypt
In both 2009 and 2014, there were movies made called “The Crypt”. Both were utter rubbish so let’s hope that your Halloween party doesn’t turn out to be a disaster like these movies were. Serve a few of these cocktails and I think you’ll be just fine.
Ingredients
1 oz sloe gin
1 oz Southern Comfort ® peach liqueur
1 oz Amaretto almond liqueur
1 oz vodka
1 oz triple sec
1 splash 151 proof rum
1 dash lime juice
Pour all of the ingredients, except 151 rum into a cocktail shaker and shake it well. Strain over ice in a tall hurricane glass then carefully float the 151 rum on the top and serve to your friends. A drink we reckon that Indiana Jones would be happy to enjoy the next time he raids a crypt or two.
Did you know that, after water, tea is the most widely consumed drink in the world? Tea originated as a medicinal drink by ethnic groups in an area that encompassed north Burma and southwestern China, whilst records of tea drinking date back to the 3rd century AD!
Jumping forward to modern times, approximately 63% of Brits drink tea daily – that’s a lot of people. With that in mind we thought that a quick roundup of Amazon UK’s best selling tea accessories would be good for those seeking gift ideas for avid tea drinkers. We hope you find it useful.
Tea Bag Storage
Specially designed to hold teabags in their paper sleeves, these tea storage boxes not only look great but are very practical too. Some are available in different types or shades of wood, and often you have the choice of size depending on how many compartments you require. Those with a clear top allow you easily choose your teabag of choice, or give you the opportunity to show off your ‘collection’!
It is important to protect loose tea from moisture and sunlight. An airtight container such as a tea caddy is vital because it will preserve the flavour of the tea and keep it dry. They were originally designed to hold loose tea, but many people nowadays use tea caddies to store tea bags in. Whatever you wish to store in a tea caddy we are sure that you will find one to suit your home on Amazon UK where we found the following striking tea caddies.
If you use loose tea in a tea pot it is advisable to pour the tea out through a tea strainer even if your tea pot has a built in strainer. The finer mesh in a tea strainer such as the couple shown below ensures that even the finest of tea leaves does not escape into your cup.
There are a huge variety of loose teas easily available now and the two tea infusers seen here allow you to enjoy a great deal of specialist teas and other infusions without leaving leaves in your drink.
Some people insist that making tea in a teapot with loose tea leaves is the ONLY way to make a real cuppa whilst others prefer to use teabags in the pot for convenience. Arguments can get as heated as boiling water, I can tell you! We don’t care though. As long as we have a brew on the go, we are happy.
If you enjoy experimenting with different infusions, an infuser teapot makes things simple and easy. The glass pot allows you to see the colour of the liquid to ensure you get the strength you require.
We put our used teabags in the compost (or sometimes mix in with soil) so after being removed from the mug, we put the teabag to one side. One of my pet peeves is seeing used teabags discarded on the worktop so I insist that we have a teabag tidy close to hand at all times. You could use any small dish or saucer, but the following teabag coasters and tidys look much better!
I hope that you’ve enjoyed reading this short list of great gifts for tea drinkers and that it’s given you some ideas of what to buy the tea lover in your life.
We don’t celebrate Halloween in the UK as much as in other countries but that is slowly changing. If you are looking to cook or bake something to put a smile on the faces of your family and make the 31st of October a bit unusual then take a look at our choice of great Halloween Cookbooks. In the pages of these recipe books you will unearth terrible treats, malevolent meals, despicable desserts and blood-curdling beverages! Read on to find out more… if you dare!
Editor’s note: It’s 2020 as I write this and COVID-19 is making many party plans difficult, or indeed impossible, but you can still have a special Halloween evening at home. Why not make an unexpected meal with a selection of snacks or treats to turn your Halloween into something a little bit different? This will cheer up the children and lift your spirits in these troublesome times!
Halloween Recipe Books and Cookbooks in Detail
Eerie Elegance Eats: A Halloween Cookbook of Creepy Cuisine
Described as “a cross between Martha Stewart and Tim Burton”, author Britta Peterson brings you her collection of Halloween recipes that she has curated from over 20 years of her published works. Inside you will find chapters such as: Mad Scientist Body Parts; Beverages, Brews & Potions; Scary Savories; Dastardly Desserts; Dia de los Muertos Delights; and lots more! Eerie Elegance Eats: A Halloween Cookbook of Creepy Cuisine is available as a paperback book containing 108 pages, or it can be purchased as a Kindle book. This Halloween cook book is full of colourful images, easy-to-follow recipes, and lots of tips and advice to make your Halloween party extra special!
The Nightmare Before Dinner: Recipes to Die For: The Beetle House Cookbook
The Beetle House is a small chain of restaurants located in the USA. The menu is inspired by Halloween, movies like The Evil Dead, and the films of Tim Burton such as Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas (hence the name of the book). At The Beetle House “every day is Halloween” and you can create over 60 of their most popular dishes with this dark and delicious cookbook. This recipe book offers a vegan alternative or ingredient swap for each and every recipe which is very unusual and will please many people. Recipes include ‘Edward Burger Hands’ and ‘Silence of the Lamb Chops’, as well as a section devoted to spooky cocktails with names like ‘Coco Skellington’ and ‘The Beetle’s Juice’. Zach Neil’s The Nightmare Before Dinner is available in paperback and on Kindle devices.
Magical Kitchen: The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook
Here is a brilliant recipe book for all Harry Potter fans. Magical Kitchen: The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook is full of 42 stunningly illustrated recipes, arranged in order of a degree of skill. Inside you will discover magical meals, colourful drinking potions, and spooky sweet treats all presented in a way that makes this book not only great for young chefs, but a lovely gift for anyone that is a fan of the Harry Potter world. This lovely cookbook is available in paperback, hardcover and in Kindle format. This cookbook may be unofficial but we think Harry Potter would be very proud to have such a fine book dedicated to him.
The Room on the Broom Cookbook
Children and adults alike love the books written by Julia Donaldson, especially the Room on the Broom picture book series, and in this cookbook your youngsters can really get involved in the entire preparation and cooking process in a fun way they will love. The Room on the Broom Cookbook contains 23 recipes that have been specially designed for adults to use with children. Delights include Cheese Wands, Roasted Dragon, and Witch & Chips, as well as a fantastic Horrible Beast Cake that all kids will crave to make with you! The cooking instructions are easy-to-follow with simple steps that will inspire your children and make them feel confident in the kitchen.
A Zombie Ate My Cupcake!
Cupcakes needn’t be twee, pretty or tame – they can also be scary, spooky and frightening! In A Zombie Ate My Cupcake! by celebrated artisan baker Lily Vanilli, we find inspiration for bakes taken from insects, zombies and roadkill (why not?!) that may look quite terrifying but are sure to taste amazing. Perfect for Halloween, these nightmarish cupcakes will make your guests weak at the knees with choices such as Dracula’s Bite red velvet cupcake with cream cheese or Morbid Meringue Bones dipped in raspberry blood sauce. It is a beautifully designed book with excellent photography and easy-to-follow recipe instructions. You can purchase A Zombie Ate My Cupcake! by Lily Vanilli in hardback or Kindle format.
Betty Crocker Halloween Cookbook
The Betty Crocker brand is known around the world and in this recipe book we find almost 100 recipes that are sure to make any Halloween party or meal memorable! In its 200 plus pages you will find recipes for scary sweet treats, magical main meals and deathly drinks and beverages. Each recipe has simple to follow instructions and a full page photograph of the resulting dish. There are many helpful tips and advice throughout the pages which will make your Halloween baking and cooking be easy and fun. The Betty Crocker Halloween Cookbook is available in paperback and for Kindle devices. This book is aimed towards Americans and uses quite a few Betty Crocker products but UK reviewers say that it is full of handy ideas and all the ingredients can be converted easily to suit us in good old Blighty!
The Necronomnomnom: Recipes and Rites from the Lore of H. P. Lovecraft
This recipe book is an absolute must-buy for H. P. Lovecraft fans, especially those that enjoy cooking, but it is also a stunningly illustrated and wonderful cookbook for your Halloween meal or party. The Necronomnomnom contains 50 recipes to mess with your mind and feed (on) your soul. Based on H.P. Lovecraft’s Necronomicon, the legendary and forbidden book of the dead that is “alien to all sane and balanced readers”, this cookbook is full of many dark, yet delicious secrets. If you are not used to reading fantasy, sci-fi or horror type books you may wish to stay clear of this magnificent cookbook, however for those that love the bizarre and strange you will not be disappointed in this wonderfully weird tome! Available to purchase in hardcover and Kindle edition.
Taste of Home Halloween Mini Binder
The Taste of Home Halloween Mini Binder has over 100 recipes that are sure to make your Halloween perfect! Each recipe in this Halloween cookbook is accompanied by a full page photograph which inspires confidence and the easy-to-follow instructions will allow you to create the most terrifying treats with the least amount of fuss. There are tips on carving pumpkins and a special Day of the Dead bonus chapter along with other sections covering snacks, meals, sweets, drinks and more.. Recipes include fantastic food such as Make-a-Monster Pizza, Day of the Dead Cookies, Halloween Punch, Mummy-Wrapped Brie, and Ghostly Cupcake Cones. This booked is aimed at the US market but all ingredient measures can easily be converted using one of the many conversion apps available for your phone!
Our current microwave oven is making some very odd noises so we are looking to purchase a new one sooner rather than later. I’ve been looking at the best selling solo microwaves on Amazon UK and I was instantly taken by the looks of the Russell Hobbs RHMD714G Scandi Grey Digital Microwave seen below. With its wooden handle and button accents, cool grey colourway and sleek lines I thought that perhaps this compact 700w microwave might suit a stylish gent such as myself!
The Russell Hobbs Scandi Grey Digital Microwave is a relatively recent addition to the highly regarded Russell Hobbs range of microwave ovens, but it has already amassed an excellent rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars from well over 100 reviews. For me, that is a great result and one that might easily persuade me to purchase this model from the many other microwave oven choices available.
Of course, style is nothing if the actual product does not suit my needs so let’s take a closer look at the features that this rather classy microwave offers:
In our household we really only use the microwave for quickly heating up food that has just been cooked (so we get a pipping hot dinner) or for cooking foodstuffs that might take too long on our electric hob. We almost never buy microwave ready meals or takeaways as we cook homemade dinners every night so our requirements of a microwave might be quite different to yours.
What suits our needs
With the Russell Hobbs microwave here, I immediately like the look of some of its features, such as the Express Cook function and the clear digital display. The Express function is something that we would use a lot. Occasionally we might use the defrost mode, and we do cook baked potatoes in the microwave too so I expect that our needs would be fully covered here as this microwave oven has 8 auto cook menus. These cooking modes usually offer options for the most common foods available.
This microwave handily takes 10.5″ diameter plates which is a bonus as some 17 litre microwaves struggle with plates that size, and the 700 watt power is enough for most people, including us. I think that the RRP of just £69.00* is very good indeed and great value is something that always sways my decisions!
What doesn’t suit our needs
Despite this Russell Hobbs microwave looking great and being very highly rated there are a few things which may stop me from buying this as replacement from my ailing model.
Firstly is the size. We currently have a 20 litre capacity microwave oven and this is a little smaller, however this machine does take 10.5″ plates so my current crockery does fit in okay. There are only two of us in our home so 17 litres should be perfectly adequate.
The second issue is that my partner prefers to have numbers to press as she inputs the time as opposed to a dial that you turn. This doesn’t bother me but I have to ensure that she is happy using the microwave oven too.
Lastly, and some what surprisingly, is that this microwave is only rated D on the energy efficiency scale. Microwaves are given an energy efficiency rating from A to G, with A being the most efficient and for a 700 watt model I would expect this rating to be better, however as our microwave is used for such short times I would not expect to see this having much of an effect on my electric bill.
I am very tempted by its looks but I think that the lack of a numerical pad to input times will annoy my partner and I want her to be happy with using the product as much as me. This small detail, which is entirely personal in nature, does not at all detract from what looks to be a superb microwave oven that I am sure will be a fantastic purchase for many other buyers!
Maybe I’d better keep looking… Fortunately Amazon UK has me covered!
*Please note: Any prices shown are subject to change at any time.
I you love filter coffee and are looking for the very best filter coffee machine available, then look no further than the Melitta Look IV Therm Timer Filter Coffee Machine. With a retail price of £79.99 but often available for less than £50, this filter machine has a rating of 4.8 out of 5 from over 4,100 genuine buyer reviews – that’s solid testament to the sheer quality and robustness of this coffee machine.
As you can see from the image above, the Melita Look IV filter coffee maker is available in either black or white so you have a choice of which colour might suit your kitchen or office better. Its 1.2 litre water capacity means you can make up to 10 large cups or 15 small cups of coffee so it really is excellent for the workplace also.
What’s so special about this Melitta filter coffee machine is that it has a thermal insulated jug with reinforced double wall interior, very much like a flask, to keep the coffee hot so it does not have a hot plate as is commonly found in filter machines. There are two advantages to this. Firstly, it uses no electricity to keep the coffee hot, and secondly, as the coffee is not continuously being heated from the bottom, it cannot burn and ruin the flavour. The manufacturers state that this coffee machine will keep its contents hot for 2 hours, but buyers have found that this is a huge understatement. Reviewers say they find that the Melitta Look IV Therm Timer Filter Coffee Machine can keep their coffee hot for 4, 6 or 8 hours, with one purchaser happy to report that even after 13 hours, the coffee was still perfectly drinkable and produced steam when poured into his cup! Quite a feat.
The many benefits of this filter coffee machine include:
Useful timer feature
Durable and easy to hold jug
Thermal insulated jug to keep contents warm without a hot plate
Adjustable coffee intensity
Descaling program, calcification display, and programmable water hardness level
Machine washable detachable filter
Auto-off feature
1250ml tank to make 10 large cups (125ml) or 15 small cups (85 ml)
Highly respected manufacturer
Great value, especially when on offer
An advantage that this coffee machine has over its competitors is the use of a glassless jug. Breakages are common with filter coffee glass jugs so this machine eliminates that problem. What’s more, this coffee machine uses standard No. 4 coffee filters found in supermarkets as well as online, or you can use a permanent coffee filter instead. This is just another reason why buyers love this coffee machine so much. Descaling is also a breeze with the built in descale program which automatically tells you when you need to descale the machine and does it for you once you have added a descaling tablet or other descaling fluid.
Finally, and perhaps the most important reason that buyers love their Melitta filter coffee machine, is the taste and quality of the coffee produced. Almost everyone mentions how wonderful the coffee tastes in their reviews, and even a few coffee snobs are bowled over by this machine – a true sign of how great the Melitta Look IV Therm Timer Filter Coffee Machine really is! Get yours today!
The UK is not the warmest or sunniest place on Earth, and as we have more than our fair share of dull days we like to eat warming foods like soups, stews and casseroles using seasonal (especially autumnal) vegetables such as butternut squash and other squashes, leeks, marrows, parsnips, swedes, cauliflower, turnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes and pumpkins.
In our household we often use a slow cooker to cook casseroles and stews but sometimes I think back to my youth when these dishes where cooked in a lovely big cast iron dish. I remember the inviting fragrance of cooking meat and vegetables wafting through the house and being drawn to the kitchen to listen to the stew bubbling away on the cooker or feeling the warmth of the oven with the pot inside cooking our evening meal. As these memories return to me I have been thinking about purchasing a casserole pot and the Vivo by Villeroy & Boch looks to be far and away the best option available for both price and quality.
There are so many things to like about the Vivo casserole pot:
Made from quality cast iron
Suitable for almost all hob types including induction
Great size 4.2 litre capacity
24cm diameter that fits on most hobs and inside ovens
It has a self-basting pan lid to keep dishes succulent
Smooth base to avoid scratching hob surfaces and work tops
Highly respected manufacturer
Great value at around £30
A cast iron pot will last for many years and often they are passed down from generation to generation. One advantage that a cast iron pot has is that it can be used for searing meat on the hob at a high temperature and also can be used to slow cook food at lower temperatures, either on the hob or in an oven. The Vivo Casserole Pot by Villeroy & Boch is even better in that it can be used on almost all hob types, including induction hobs which is a great benefit to many buyers.
There are a few things to consider when buying this excellent cooking pot: It’s a heavy item weighing over 5kg so don’t expect it to be lightweight, and it gets hot and stays hot, so oven gloves are a must. It’s also important to season the pot before the first use and stick to the included care instructions to ensure that it stays perfect forever.
If reviews on Amazon UK are anything to go by, this best selling casserole pot is almost faultless, and those that have bought one are mightily impressed and happy with their purchase. Happy buyers love making casseroles, stews, fish and meat pies, and roasting chickens in this pot and they say the food tastes amazing. Many adventurous bakers use this casserole pot as a Dutch oven to make artisan breads and sourdough loaves too which gives fantastic results according to their very positive reviews.
The Vivo Casserole Pot by Villeroy & Boch costs in the region of £30.00 which is absolutely excellent value as it will probably last your entire lifetime, continually giving you fantastic meals year after year! Get one today and enjoy your very own home-cooked comfort food this autumn and winter.
If you know a budding chef or baker, a tea towel is an inexpensive yet practical and appreciated gift to give at Christmas. Depicting seasonal themes and cheerful characters, a Christmas tea towel is bright and jolly and sure to add a bit of colour to the kitchen.
One of the best things about giving a tea towel as a gift at Christmas is that it’s so useful, especially when the huge amount of washing up begins to stack up and you need extra hands to dry all the kitchenware. If you give a tea towel as a Christmas gift then you might even be excused from helping with the washing up too! Some people keep their Christmas tea towels packed safely away during the year and bring them out only in December, but others use them all year round – and there’s nothing wrong with that at all!
Christmas Tea Towel Sets
Sometimes one tea towel isn’t enough, especially when there’s lots of drying up to do over the Christmas period, so why not buy a set of Christmas tea towels thus ensuring that you never run short in the kitchen. The four tea towel sets below are both stylish and festive.
One of the most recognisable characters at Christmas is Santa Claus, or Father Christmas as he was called when I was young. This jolly chap is sure to brighten up your Christmas Day after-meal clean up with his rotund belly, bright red garments and bushy beard. You may even forget you’re doing the wiping up if you’re using one of these Santa Tea Towels… maybe!
I think that reindeers add a bit of magic to Christmastime. The tea towels here all have different designs. One is arty, one is cartoonish, and the other two are classy in a silhouette style with bold colours and patterns.
We always think of snowmen at Christmas. With their carrot noses, top hats and colourful scarves, they are happy, joyful characters that add a bit of fun to the proceedings! These snowmen tea towels are sure to make that tedious drying up a pleasure to do.
There are many things that we associate with Christmas, including robins, penguins, toys, presents and Father Christmas, and all are available on season tea towels. Cats too make an appearance and included here are two cat tea towels that are sure to make a great gift for any cat-lover you know!
We hope that you have enjoyed reading this gift guide and now spreading a bit of festive cheer this year with a Christmas Tea Towel as a gift or for your own home!
Getting involved in Halloween gives you the perfect opportunity to try out some new bakes and cake decorating ideas even if you don’t celebrate the occasion much yourself. There are colours to use and techniques to try that can really get your creative juices flowing. It’s not often that you can use black icing on a cake, or cookie cutters shaped like deformed body parts! Bats, witches and pumpkins aren’t exactly pretty so we tend to keep away from using them on our cake designs, but at Halloween, you can do whatever you want! Blood thirsty vampires – Check. Severed heads – No problem. Witches riding motorcycles with flames bursting from their cloaks – Sure, why not?!
So, if you’re putting together a Halloween Party this year, for kids or adults, below are a few suggestions for the baked goodies that you might be making. You can also find an extended list of recommended halloween party essentials in our spooky Amazon ideas list here.
Creepy Cookie Cutters
There are no end of Halloween cookie cutters available on Amazon UK, but below are some of the most often sold and reviewed. Many sets are very similar in what shapes they contain, so you may have to compare a few choices before deciding on which Halloween cutters to buy. Expect to find witches, bats, pumpkins, and ghosts galore!
Baking moulds – or molds – are great for chocolate treats, small bakes and ice cube shapes, but they can also be used to make non-food based items such as wax melts and soaps. Here we have a super collection of Halloween shapes that with make your children and party guests smile in delight – or scream in horror!
There are countless ways to decorate and display your cupcakes, and here are a few of our favourites. Edible toppers are a great way to add intricacy to a simple cupcake, and you can dress up the sides with some spooky cupcake cases. Finally, why not display them perfectly with a monster-style cupcake stand?
If you would like more inspiration for Halloween baking or for your Halloween party you can find an extended list of recommended Halloween essentials in our spooky Amazon ideas list here.
With the release of Blade Runner 2049, I thought I would take a quick look at the history surrounding the Cibi Double Old Fashioned Glass as used by Rick Deckard in the original Blade Runner film released in 1982. I previously mentioned these Blade Runner whisky glasses in my light-hearted article Perfect Pairings, and it achieved a large amount of hits so I thought that I would try and discover more about these ‘Cibi’ glasses.
A Little History: The Cibi Glass Maker and Designer
The Cibi 030101 Double Old Fashioned Glass was first produced by Italian glass makers Arnolfo di Cambio, and was designed by Italian designer Cini Boeri in 1973.
Born in 1924, Cini Boeri is an award-winning industrial designer, architect, and interior designer. She is one of the few female Italian designers to achieve international success in the postwar era. Besides designing the sculptured whisky glass used in Blade Runner, Cini Boeri created has many modern Italian design classics, including furniture, luggage, chandeliers and buildings. In 1979, she won a Compasso D’Oro and in 2008 she also won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles. You can find out more about Cini Boeri on her website at www.ciniboeriarchitetti.com (if you speak Italian) or en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cini_Boeri (for the English speaker).
Arnolfo di Cambio was founded in Colle Val d’Elsa, Tuscany, in 1963. The town is famous for crystal working and since its beginnings, the company has grown to become one of the world’s most respected international glass makers. Products by Arnolfo di Cambio have earned a range of prizes and awards, and they are enjoying their rightful place as one of Italy’s leading glass manufacturers. Visit their website at www.arnolfodicambio.com
Blade Runner and The Cibi Glass
Despite having a relatively small budget, every single set and location in Blade Runner is filled with props and art decoration. Director Ridley Scott says “When it comes to science fiction, the devil is in the details”, and this attention to detail included using the Cibi glasses we know and love.
However, the Cibi glass wasn’t just a prop. It was a commercially available, hand-made crystal, mouth-blown old fashioned tumbler that Ridley Scott chose to be used by Deckard in the movie. Arnolfo di Cambio were supplying many props for the movie and Scott chose the square Cibi old fashioned glass specially for its unique design which has proved to be timeless.
Blade Runner is a movie that almost overloads the senses with its amazing scenery, script, and concept. Your eyes are constantly discovering new sights each time you watch it, but one image that stuck with me from the very first viewing was Deckard and the incredibly large and unusually shaped glass that he drank his whisky out of. I don’t know about you, but I have wanted one of those glasses since my eyes first caught site of it!
The Cibi Double Old Fashioned Glass Specifications
The price of these magnificent glasses isn’t cheap, but they are very special and brilliant for movie buffs everywhere! A single glass costs around £75, whilst the twin pack is priced at about £130, with prices fluctuating from time-to-time, however these whisky glasses come in a very stylish gift box and they make an excellent gift for a Blade Runner fan.
Below are the must-know technical specifications and other available Cibi products:
Model: Cibi 030101 Type: Double Old Fashion Glass Volume: 37cl Height: 93mm Diameter: 82mm Weight: approx. 700 grams Material: Hand-blown crystal glass Available in:Twin Pack Available in:Single Glass
Also available: Model: Cibi 030001 Type: Single Old Fashion Glass Volume: 22 cl Height: 84mm Diameter: 70mm Weight: approx. 700 grams Material: Hand-blown crystal glass Available in:Twin Pack
You can see even all these and more Blade Runner inspired gift ideas in our Amazon Ideas List here.
What else should I know?
In the original Blade Runner, Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is seen drinking Johnnie Walker Black Label Blended Scotch Whisky out of his Cibi double old-fashion tumbler. Why not get yourself a bottle of this classic whisky costs and relive the film in your own home in the most authentic way as possible!
Below you can see a video of Deckard in his apartment with the famed Cibi whisky glass in hand. As he walks through his apartment there’s fantastic attention to detail, the bottle of black label Johnnie Walker is picked up and you can see many other bottles placed strategically around the room. I’ve also included here the original 1982 Blade Runner movie trailer.
Did you know, in 2017 Johnnie Walker released a strictly limited edition Black Label “The Director’s Cut” Whisky in the very unusual shaped bottle portrayed in Blade Runner? (As in the clip above.) You can find out more details on the Johnnie Walker website.
Unlike the Cibi whisky glass, the unusual shaped Johnnie Walker bottle was not commercially available. Doing a little research online, I discovered that when props were presented to Ridley and his team, they only had 2 glass bottles available. Ridley and others loved the bottle so much that they wanted a few copies made for production so about a dozen vacuum-formed copies were made. Unfortunately they all leaked so the copies were used for set decoration only and simply became static props. (Source)
Blade Runner 2049
At the time of writing, Blade Runner 2049 is on general release in cinemas. It has received some very good reviews and looks set to become a modern classic, but we’re not concerned with that. The question we are asking is, does the Cibi Double Old Fashioned Glass appear in the 2017 movie?
In a photo on the Warner Bros website you can see actors Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling chatting with director Ridley Scott whilst a Cibi Double Old Fashioned glass sits on the counter top in front of them. I suspect that this is a photograph taken on set so our hopes are high that it will make an appearance.
Update: Sources tell me that, yes, the Cibi glass does appear in the movie, and it can be seen in the headquarters of Wallace Corporation, so that’s great news!
I hope you’ve enjoyed learning a little about the Cibi Double Old Fashioned tumbler as much as I’ve enjoyed researching it!
If you are looking for a more traditional-looking gift for a young boy or ‘young-at-heart’ gentleman then why not consider this excellent set of four mugs from UK designer Cath Kidston. These fine bone china mugs show four different exciting images that young boys from the past would crave after, such as a racing car driven by Fangio or a Wild West cowboy on horseback with his lasso spinning above his head!
This is a lovely gift for family members, especially uncles, nephews or cousins, or treat yourself – you’re worth it! You can buy this very special mug set from Amazon UK: Cath Kidston Set of 4 Boys Larch Mugs
Abut Cath Kidston
Cath Kidston MBE is a very talented and much loved designer from the UK. Her passion for nostalgic vintage chic combined with bold modern designs stems from happy childhood memories. Each of her design collections pays tribute to enjoyable moments from her childhood, and they offer many of us a nostalgic trip down memory lane. Many of her designs are re-workings of the traditional English country house style and she has become a cult success at home and abroad. Her style fuses nostalgic vintage chic and bold modern designs which work well in a wide range of products, large and small.
In 1993, Cath opened her first shop in Notting Hill selling vintage fabrics and old furniture, but it wasn’t long before her empire had grown to almost 140 outlets in the UK alone. See all of Cath Kidston’s items on Amazon UK.
I have to admit that I do like a glass of wine every now and then, and I suspect that I’m not in the minority. I don’t take wine drinking too seriously, but there are many wine lovers that do so we are collecting together a few suggestions of great gifts for wine lovers. To begin with we will start by suggesting some gift sets that incorporate ways of opening wine, making it easy to pour and then keeping it safely stopped.
These three gift sets range in price from about RRP £20 to £80 but often there are special offers which can reduce the price of these wine gift sets immensely. They all include a corkscrew and bottle stopper, and whilst some have a wine pourer, others have a drip collar or foil cutter.
Rioja Wine Gift Sets
I like Spanish wine so may I suggest the following wine gift sets that all feature wines from one of my favourite Spanish wine growing regions, La Rioja.
Slow cookers have been around for years. They are a very cheap and easy way of making a meal, and they are especially good for the busy lifestyles that we lead today. Simply put all the ingredients in the slow cooker, stir them around, turn it on and leave it to cook throughout the day. They are especially good for cheaper cuts of meat as they gently cook the joint making it tender and very tasty. Curries, chilies and stews all cook perfectly, as well as soups and broths. My mum swears by them, and now so do I!
In this article we will take a quick look at three small slow cookers that have been designed to cook up to 1.5 litres of ingredients. This size is perfect for one to two people and is also excellent for taking camping or in a caravan. They are easy to clean, affordable to use and buy, and will improve your meal times no end. They all cost between £17 to £30 (updated Feb 2021) and all have great reviews on the UK Amazon website.
Swan 1.5 litre Slow Cooker
Let us begin by looking at the Swan 1.5L Slow Cooker (SF17010N). Swan is a British brand with a long history. They have always been well known for their quality kitchen products, but it has been quite a while since I have seen their products for sale. I’m glad to see that they are still around although it appears that they have been through the mill a little. Fortunately, they are now owned by Tefal so you can be sure that they have a quality company supporting them.
There are over 1,330 reviews of this Swan Slow Cooker on Amazon.co.uk with very favourable results. This seems to be a quality slow cooker with the only complaints being from people how clearly did not bother to read the description of the actual product that they bought! It has a two year guarantee and as with most slow cookers it has a removable crock, three temperature settings and a glass lid. It is perfect for a single person and does not take up much space on the worktop so it would be great for students who are always struggling for space.
The Swan 1.5L Stainless Steel Slow Cooker (SF17010N) has an RRP of £29.99 but is often cheaper to buy on Amazon UK. You can also purchase this product in 3.5l and 6.5l sizes for when you want to cook a greater amount of food.
Morphy Richards 1.5L Slow Cooker
The second small slow cooker we will look at is made by Morphy Richards – one of the best known manufacturers of slow cookers. Since 1936, Morphy Richards have been supplying our homes with a wide range of electric household items at good prices. They have an enviable reputation on Amazon with most reviews of their products earning four or five stars.
This Morphy Richards 1.5L Slow Cooker is an attractive slow cooker with a small footprint, so it is perfect for small kitchens and motorhomes. The most commented feature about this item is that it is perfect for two people – or a big meal for one if you’re feeling greedy! Reviewers often mention that it is easy to clean and simple to use.
Finally we shall review the last slow cooker in this article made by a manufacturer that features a lot on Kitchen & Cookshop. This VonShef slow cooker is very highly recommended on Amazon. There have been a couple of bad reviews about product defects but it would suggest that these problems are quite unusual considering the amount of these VonShef slow cookers sold. Out of the many positive reviews on this slow cooker, people really like the warm function and it is often noted that this small slow cooker is excellent value for money.
At the time of writing, this VonShef 1.5l Slow Cooker costs £29.99 but we have seen it for sale at just £17.99, which we at Kitchen & Cookshop consider an absolute bargain. The silver colour is attractive and is sure to match the colour of any kitchen. It is also available in 3.5l and 6.5l versions.
Slow Cooker reviews over… which is the winner?
So, what do we think at Kitchen & Cook Shop? Which small slow cooker reviewed here would we buy if it were our money? All of these slow cookers are recommended by people that have purchased them on Amazon.co.uk and all these slow cooker reviews are mostly positive which makes choosing our favourite an impossible decision.
We really like VonShef products so the VonShef Slow Cooker would be a good choice for us, however the Swan Slow Cooker also looks great. What might sway the outcome for us though is the reliability and years of manufacturing knowledge that comes with buying the Morphy Richards Slow Cooker.
Any of these brilliant little slow cookers would be a great bargain at their RRP which is often around the £15 to £30 mark. Whichever 1 or 2 person slow cooker you choose from these three, you are going to get a quality product which will make your life in the kitchen so much easier and healthier. Don’t delay – get a slow cooker today!
Essential Reading:
If you are reading this small slow cookers product comparison article, we think that you might also enjoy these slow cooker recipe books on Amazon. They are available on Kindle devices and in traditional print. Enjoy your slow cooking!
I have to confess that this Thai Red Curry is one of Nigella’s recipes that I have adapted. Hers was Prawn and Mango, mine is chicken with extra chilli. Here at the Kitchen & Cook Shop we love chillies and spicy food so you can expect to see many recipes to give your taste buds a lift! We add extra chillies to this curry as for us the red thai curry paste just isn’t spicy enough, but you don’t need to add extra if you prefer a milder curry.
Ingredients
For a curry that will feed 4 to 6.
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil or Wok Oil
1 Onion finely diced
6 or 7 fresh mushrooms
250g Chicken Breast cubed
Half a large green pepper
150g-200g diced sweet potato
150g-200g diced butternut squash
1-2 tablespoons of Thai Red Curry paste, or to taste
1 400ml can of Coconut Milk
half a chicken stock cube
2 or 3 Hot Chillies chopped or whole to taste
3-4 tablespoons of fresh chopped coriander or use dried to taste.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Method:
In a wok or large saucepan add the oil, chicken and onion and fry until the chicken is golden. Add a little of the thai curry paste as you are frying to colour the chicken.
Add the mushrooms, pepper, sweet potato and butternut squash and stir fry for one minute to heat through, then add the extra chillies.
Break up the stock cube over the vegetables and then pour over the coconut milk. Stir and simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally. As it simmers you will notice that the sauce thickens up.
Stir in the coriander and season to taste. This Thai Red Curry is great served with rice or a jacket potato if you have leftovers for lunch.
Great Indian Food and Curry Recipe Cookbooks
For more great curry recipes, we suggest checking out these excellent books which can be found different formats, including in hardback, paperback, and for Kindle devices.
Cooking in the kitchen should be fun and interesting, but sometimes it can be a dull place to be, especially when you are waiting for eggs to boil or your meal to finish cooking. Adding a fun timer to your kitchen is sure to make you smile and make your visitors laugh. Novelty kitchen timers also make great gifts – kitchen gifts that are both practical and fun! Below are some of our favourites.
Fruit and Veg Shaped Timers
I remember that my Grandma used to have a tomato shaped kitchen timer when she was alive, and when I see one now it always makes me smile and think of her. Apron around her waist and rolling pin in hand, she would always treat her grand children to freshly baked jam tarts when she was in a baking mood. Happy days! These three novelty kitchen timers are great to look at and are sure to brighten up any kitchen. I especially like the garlic shaped timer. I’ve seen fruit and vegetable shaped kitchen timers before, but never a kitchen timer shaped like a garlic clove – brilliant!
In our kitchen we have a large pink pig shaped biscuit barrel so the either of the piggy style kitchen timers seen here would fit into our kitchen perfectly. Yes, slightly embarrassing, I know! The Ladybug Kitchen Timer is very cute and I love its shiny folded wings. This would make a great gift for a child that is interested in cooking or helping in the kitchen. As too would the Gingerbread Man timer. Imagine children timing their baking creations using a one of these novelty timers – What large smiles you would enjoy seeing when the bell rings!
As always, we like to suggest some good books for readers of our articles, and today is no exception. For children that are showing an interest in cooking and baking the following two books are very highly rated and are sure to help you and them get involved together in the kitchen:
For adults we have chosen the following two recipe books. Both are brilliant for young families and are chock full of wholesome and healthy recipes, as well as having a few treats amongst the pages!
In our household I do more of the cooking than my partner, but the honest truth is that she is the better cook, however there are some dishes that I can cook pretty well. I don’t attribute this to skill though. It’s more due to the fact that I’ve practised lots and lots, and learned from my many mistakes!
One of the recipes that I have got down to a ‘t’ now is my Slow Cooker Pork dish. On a Sunday morning, I’ll prepare the pork, place it in the slow cooker and let it gently cook until late afternoon. It gives the two of us a tasty Sunday evening meal and two to three meals during the week, so it is not only easy to make, but practical for our busy lifestyles and very good value.
Below is my slow cooker pork recipe. It’s so simple and tasty so if you have a slow cooker give it a try!
Honey and Mustard Slow Cooker Pork
Ingredients
Pork joint
Clear honey
Wholegrain mustard
Pasata
Worcestershire sauce
Soy sauce
Mixed herbs
Pimenton/paprika
Ground black pepper
Method
First things first, do you have a slow cooker? If not, get yourself one. They’re awesome! If you only have a tiny kitchen and are looking for a small slow cooker, read our 1.5 litre Slow Cooker comparison review article for some great choices.
Next, buy a nice pork joint. I’m calculating the following ingredients and timings on a pork joint weighing approx. 1000 grams. Unpack it and wash it under cold running water. Place on a clean plate and pat dry with kitchen roll. If there is some fat on the top of the joint, lightly score it in a pretty criss-cross pattern like a TV chef might do.
In a bowl, add 2 dessert spoons of honey, 1 dessert spoon of wholegrain mustard, 1 dessert spoon of pasata, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, a splash of soy sauce, a sprinkle of mixed herbs, a shake of pimenton/paprika and a few grinds of black pepper. These quantities do not have to be exact. Make it up a little. Add some other ingredients. Have fun!
Mix up these ingredients in the bowl so that it makes a nice sticky liquid and smear a little all over the bottom of the slow cooker pot where the pork will be sitting.
Next, place the pork joint into the slow cooker and pour and smear the ‘marinade’ all over the pork. Make sure that every part of the meat is covered. Some people say that when using a slow cooker one must always add some fluid to the bottom of the pot. I’ve found that this is not required in any dish that I make in our slow cooker. It is a pretty old slow cooker and perhaps I’m not doing it correctly, but I always find that the meat and marinade create more than enough fluid without adding more, therefore I never add any extra fluid. If the instructions that come with your slow cooker note that you must always add liquid then perhaps you had better do as they say.
Lastly, put the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for about 7 hours. Feel free to peek inside a couple of times and if possible gently splash the fluid at the bottom over the top of the pork, but it’s not entirely necessary. After 7 hours, remove the pork and place on a plate. Cover and leave to sit for at least 30 minutes to an hour before slicing. Keep the juices from the pot and use it as a very flavoursome stock for gravy. It’s outstandingly good!
Et voilà, as they say in France. Succulent pork which is perfect with roasted vegetables or place it in the fridge and serve cold in sandwiches or with a salad. Whatever takes your fancy!
If you do try this slow cooker pork joint recipe, please let me know how you get on. Did you change the recipe? What experimental additions worked for you? I’d love to know.
Essential reading:
If you’d like some great pork recipes why not look at these three books available on Amazon. They all look excellent!
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Take a look at Kitchen & Cook Shop's Ideas Lists on Amazon. All of our best recommendations in handy lists ready for you to buy with a quick click. Including gift ideas, party essentials and more.
