Philips/Jamie Oliver Come Round Party!

Last night I had the pleasure of hosting a dinner party with the new Jamie Oliver Home Cooker by Philips.   

10 members of my family got together and we hung posters, balloons, wore aprons and tested out the cooker!  WOW...its so easy to use and such a fabulous machine - bung it in and let it work while you sit back with wine - whats not to love! lol

We enjoyed Hearty Minestrone Soup....

...followed by Seafood Paella...

and Pot Roasted Fruit with Lavender Honey.

Mmmmm so impressed and it was a fabulous night!

Groupon Winner!!

Oops...so busy this week i forgot to draw  winner for the Groupon vouchers! lol

I have just popped the numbers into random.org and the winner is....

NUMBER 29!

SWEENY !!

Congratulations and if you can email me (debbie(at)countryheartandhome.com) I will reply with the code you need to use to spend your £40 with Groupon!

Thank you everyone for taking part :)

Happy Birthday To ME!!

Today I decided I wasnt making my own cake...
I was going to go for the girliest, pinkest, sparkliest cake I could find!!

I walked into Sainsburys and checked out the cakes. 

Pink - Check.
Glittery - Check
Girly - Check.....

...hold on a minute whats that I see there...

...Be still my heart!!  My hero (Thor) in cake form!!

Avengers Assemble!!
 

Groupon giveaway ends tonight!

Get your comments in before midnight to be in with the chance of winning £40 of Groupon vouchers - see the post below!

Back in the kitchen!

For a while I stepped back and let hubby take the lead in the kitchen department...whether I was burnt out or simply too tired after doing everything else it made it easier to let him do dinners etc.   

Now Im back!! Mwahahahahhaa  

Ive found a new love of savoury meals and not just cupcakes and desserts!! Wohoo!

I made a delicous coating for a join of pork yesterday...

5tbsp Wild Forest Honey

2tbsp Dark Soy Sauce

1tbstp Jamaican Jerk Herbs

Mix together and brush onto pork crackling before cooking for 2 and a half hours - baste every 30 mins :)  MMmmmmm!!

Jacob is even embracing his adventurous side and asked for muscles in garlic sauce for tea!

We even have a little chilli plant on the windowsill to spice things up a little!

 

I can see a chilli con carne brewing soon!

Nakd Bars! - product review

I was given the opportunity to try the gluten free bars to review for the blog for Nakd.

If youre anything like me, health food is something you skip over whilst looking for the chocolate bars!

However, I may be inclined to stop at this section a little longer in the future!

Chocolate Orange, Crazy Cola Raisins and Berry Delight but to name a few..... my absolute favourite though was the Cashew Cookie!

Moist but not gooey and yet delicious rich in taste without that horrible 'healthy' feel to it (that makes sense to those of us who dont like to diet!) lol

Quote taken from their website:

Our simplest and most beloved bars. Just raw fruits and nuts smooshed together. Containing 100% natural ingredients with no added sugars or syrups,  these bars are also wheat and gluten free, and bursting with yummy goodness. With a soft, chewy texture they fill you up till your next meal and most count towards 1 of your 5 a day too. Ideal for lunchboxes, grabbing on the go and refuelling between meals!

 They have an offer on at the minute too so bag yourself some yummies while you can :)

*All opinions are my own!   I was offered some samples to try before doing this review.  This in no what influenced my opinion.

Groupon Giveaway!

How would you like to receive £40 worth of vouchers to spend while saving money at the same time??

Groupon are a fabulous company who work with businesses to bring introductory offers and discounts to people nationwide.

Check out their site for what is happening near you - Groupon

To be included in the giveaway please pop a comment below with what is on your (dare i say it) Christmas wish list!   Im looking to do a few more giveaways before Christmas so this would help with the selection too :)

Draw will close at midnight on Sunday 23rd September.

Good Luck!

Here it is!!

The final cover of my book!  

Only 1 month to go and I am so excited to see it IRL! 

Order now while at half price on Amazon!

Butterfly...

Evie received these beautiful butterfly wings from Marja when I was in London...she hasnt taken them off since i got home! lol  

 

Shes growing up so quick and loves jumping around the room flapping her arms pretending to fly.....did I tell you how cute it is having a little girl?! xx

Being a tourist! Part 2 - A Food Lovers Dream!

After spending the night at my fabulously talented friends home (Marja thank you so much again!) we headed out to visit Hummingbird bakery...

Oh My...

The way all of the cupcakes were set out, the large glass dome stands holding brownies and the hugest woopie pies ive ever seen!  A cup of coffee and a raspberry (i ate the rasp from the top before i took a pic!), cheesecake brownie for me and a red velvet cupcake for Marja later and we were ready for our next stop...

 

 Primrose Bakery....(can you guess how the diet is going?)

The trays of cupcakes and a lot of indecisiveness later I settled on a coconut and lime and Marja on a chocolate cupcake :)  Happy bunnies, we sat outside on the bench and spent time chatting and putting the world to rights!

 

 Outside the Primrose Bakery...

We headed for lunch at Byrons (who are apparently taking the world by storm one burger at a time!)  I had burger with emmenthal cheese, salad and courgette fries....OH MY WORD...I dont know what the batter is on the fries but I swear Im going to try my best to duplicate it at home! lol

 

 After lunch we headed out to Borough Market where there was a complete selection of everything you could think.....hares (strung and also skinned - ive spared you the picture!)...

American sized pretzels - these were delicious even the morning after so i can only imaging how they tasted warm from the stall!

 

 Fresh fruit and vegetables in fabulous paper bags - take note supermarkets!!

 

 A mountain of spices and seeds from Spice Mountain! I will definitely be using this shop again - such a personal touch and the lovely lady behind the counter was so patient with us :)

 Many different kinds of breads...

...and oils...

 

 ...and cheeses!

 Including this Belper Knolle which looked just like truffle - Im sure it is delicious and maybe next time!

I bought some fresh beans and had some ground at Monmouth Coffee.  We also bought lattes to drink while we sat on the pavement and watch the world go by - it truly was a fabulous way to have a coffee and sitting in a stuffy cafe isnt going to cut it anymore! lol

 What better way to finish off a trip home than to see in the recently refurbished Kings Cross but the new Platform 9 3/4 station with a trolley stuck in the wall!!

 

 CUTE!

Being a tourist! Part 1 - Wednesday :)

The tourist in me bought a map...

The list maker in me made lists of where i would go and what i would do...

The child in me bought stickers to show where i had been...

The realist in me hopped on a open top bus and chilled while I sat back and saw EVERYTHING! lol 

  

I even did the whole....'Would you mind taking a picture of me posing like a billy no mates?'

 

I loved all of the remnants of the Olympics and Paralympics that were still around - really wish I could have made it during the games!

 

 

 Picadilly Square - one day I really hope to go to New York and these screens always give me a little tingle of anticipation at the prospect!

  

Of course, no visit to London would be complete without a photograph of Big Ben :)

 

 The whole reason for my trip to London was to meet up with the author of a new book to be released in October.  The meeting was at Little, Brown publishing house (housed within this fabulous 'flagged' building!) for a vintage tea party and book reading.

 

 

The Vintage Teacup Club is about three ladies who bond over a tea set they find at a car boot sale.  This book struck so many chords with me since they scour shops and sales for tea sets (...get this..the party one of the ladies is planning - Alice in Wonderland!) How cool - remember the baby shower i created last year?!

One of the ladies, Alison, creates homemade goodies including teacup candles and aspires to have a fabulous cafe with shabby chic bits for sale and cupcakes and oh my lord its me!! lol   So much like me that when I met the editor she signed my book... 

Dear Debbie/Ali

Lovely to meet the inspiration for Alison - you ARE here!

I look forward to seeing your cookbook - sounds wonderful.  

Keep me posted!

Vanessa

x

How Cool is that!

Tomorrow - Being a tourist! Part 2 - A Food Lovers Dream!

September!!

WTH!! Where did that come from??  September already!!

Apologies mum, Im updating now (she said if she logged on to read my blog once more and saw Maternity Swishing...well you dont want to know but my sunday name was used!) ;) 

I have been SO busy this past month!  Finishing up edits for the book, entering and winning comps - I have been so lucky! Prepping for a trip to London, getting the kids through the holidays and all back to school last monday as well as trying to create new recipies etc :)

I have to say a huge thank you to the Universe as ive won so much this past month including...

Nintendo 3DS & Supermario game

Handbag

Maliboutique box of goodies

3 books

A trip to a vintage tea party at a publishing house with the author in London

A framed butterfly picture (£495!!)

A spa day having Hammam treatment

£150 of Spa vouchers for a different spa

£250 personal shopping experience

Mobile Phone

Crystal Bangle

 

2 Johnsons face wash

Drink bottle

Limited edition Fuel Britannia tin

Imperial leather body wash

Book and interactive soft toy

Bouquet of flowers

 

Shambala Earrings

20.12 Euros (£17.46)

£1000 from Capital One and....

2 Flights to RIO!! 

All the edits are done and sent back to the publishers so everything is still on track for October!! :)

The kids have had a fabulous 6 weeks holiday with trips here there and everywhere! 

New cupcakes made include raspberry, coconut and chocolate (all 3 in one not 3 different ones - yumm!!)

 

Not too much baking done as ive joined Weight Watchers and so far lost 5lb!  Long may it continue! LOL