I have lots of pals in the baking business, all of them so talented. I don't know Sarah in 'real life', but by naming her business Kitsch Cakes, she definitely got my attention.
I always like to show you what Sarah has been up to lately, so here are some of her spring and summer collection.
Just a quick blog if your child loves Lego and you're looking for an activity this summer. The Belfast Bricks 4 Kidz Facebook has details of workshop days as well as weekly themed classes in their creative workshop.
We went to a space themed class today which my son totally loved.
Bricks 4 Kidz is a franchise, so if you aren't from Northern Ireland, have a Google for a local branch near you.
Ultimate Strongman Jonathan Kelly from Newtownabbey holds the title of 2 x Ireland’s Strongest Man and is the current record holder for the ‘Irish Deadlift Hold Record’ which saw him lift a 1 tonne car, engine side, for 41.07 seconds.
Jonathan will be hoping to hold on to this record as he challenges two other strongmen to take the title ahead of the Belfast Ultimate Strongman Giant Weekend.
Both Sean O’Hagan, Ulster’s Strongest man and Clarke Beck, Ireland’s Strongest man 2014 will attempt to beat this at the Belfast Motor Show which takes place this weekend at the King’s Hall. Visitors on Saturday will be able to watch the competition between these two men at 1pm.
Pictured are Glenn Ross, 5 times UK Strongest Man and organiser of the Belfast Ultimate Strongman Giant Weekend 2014, with current ‘Irish deadlift hold’ record holder and 2 x Ireland’s Strongest Man Jonathan Kelly from Newtownabbey along with Kerrie Mann, organiser of the Belfast Motor Show.
For further information on the Belfast Motor Show please visit www.belfastmotorshow.co.uk, to find out more about the Belfast Ultimate Strongman Giant weekend which comes to Belfast on the 21st - 25th August please visit www.ultimatestrongestman.com
Michael, like most kids his age, has been Loom Band crazy the past few months and loves anything creative. We received the Aquabeads Jewel Starter Set a couple of days ago and he's already made dozens of little creations. The packaging is very girl-orientated, but boys and girls alike should love the ease of making little models.
I was pretty pleased with the mess-free element of the beads too. You don't need an iron, or heat, the beads stick together with a small spray of water. After drying for an hour you can lift the beads off and they'll stay stuck together.
Michael loves them and already has requested I buy him more beads!
Its taking place in both Boojum locations, Botanic and Chichester Street in Belfast. My husband is joining a team, so I will be down at the Chichester Street branch to cheer him on. Secretly though, I'd love an all-girls team to scoop the crown!
Have you been in Marks & Spencer lately? As usual they are pushing the boundaries of unusual culinary delights to be found on a supermarket shelf, with their Summer of Flavour.
They've put coconut, pineapple, watermelon, chipotle or wasabi on EVERYTHING, and this is the BEST THING EVER. It's like a range invented by me, with all meats pulled, everything fruity & tangy and beautiful.
You know where I do my big shop, but I'm no stranger to M&S either. Their food can be a little more pricey, but it's actually WORTH IT, so you don't mind. We aren't talking stupid prices either, and their Meal for Two for £10 is still one of the best value meals from any supermarket.
We visited the Sprucefield Marks & Spencer, Lisburn, just outside Belfast. It's gigantic. It must have everything from the website and more. Stationary, clothing, food hall, then another massive shop of M&S Home.
Here's what I think must have gone down in the M&S kitchen when they invented this product.
"Okay, chocolate covered... we've had coconut before... pineapple? ....watermelon? too messy I suppose... what other flavours have we included in our Summer of Flavour, Jim?"
"WASABI. WASABI PEAS."
"Oh, Jim. I don't think so"
"MAKE IT SO."
(I'll let you know on Instagram later in the week what I think of them).
They may sound weird, but products like this is exactly why I love M&S.
So what did we pick up to try through out this week?
I'm giving coconut water a second chance. I've tried it plain and thought it tasted too much like sweat. But this carton has a whole juiced watermelon in there too, so it's bound to taste nice. Plus I picked it up on the 3 for £5 offer, so it's a bargain.
If you look closely at the yellow carton you can see the pineapple juice has hints of lemongrass and jalepeno chilli in it! Another curious creation.
The fruit snacks are very summery, the Tropical Paradise tray includes little, yellow, coconut & pineapple flavour jelly shells. Tropical Triumph has mango sauce and a shaker of coconut flakes included.
There's my Wasabi Peas again, and a bound-to-be beautiful, £3 coconut and pineapple cake. If you've never tried M&S's £3 round cakes, you are missing out. They are the moistest, most delicious cakes you can buy from a supermarket. Try the toffee one and it'll change your cake buying habits for life.
If you're a macaron fan there is a special summer version of their mini desserts for £5.50.
The Summer of Flavour range has tonnes of picnic food to choose from, and buy four items and you get a free bottle of wine, or if you're teetotal like me, a non-alcoholic alternative. Rather than use these for a picnic, I chose them for some night when I want to make a 'lazy tea'. A little platter of tasty bits and pieces to share, and with 3 packs for £6 it's a good deal.
The Summer of Flavour has reached the takeaway sandwich aisle too. Marks & Spencer have caught onto the trend of all meat being 'pulled'. It's strange, meat didn't seem to be pulled before 2013, now it's like you can't buy pork without it being yanked first. It's like paninis. Before 2005 they didn't exist in the UK, now they are everywhere. See also pizza pre-1985.
Back to the point though, these soft baps are made from a sweet, brioche type recipe and I love them. The sweet, soft baps are available from the bread & bakery section, called Posh Dog Baps they'll impress the neighbours at your next BBQ.
More from the picnic range, these Firebreads are only £3 each, which seems like a great price to me. These do need cooked before you eat them, so bear that in mind if you are dropping into M&S for something to take to a park to eat 'now'. We are going to try these tonight, so again if you want to know what I think & how they look cooked, see my Instagram later.
We Smyths love a wee multi-pack of dips, and I'm looking forward to testing out this smokey selection.
Another item I've tried before, but simply had to include because it's out of this world, their Wasabi Potato Salad. It's part of their 2 for £3 salad pots which includes a great Crunchy Mango Salad pot and a lovely version of Waldorf Salad.
Another wasabi fuelled Summer of Flavour item I've noticed in the past few weeks included wasabi popcorn. Annoyingly it slipped my mind to look for it when I was there today.
The Grill collection is the BBQ type section of the a Summer Flavour menu, and there's lots to choose from. I went for three items from the 3 for £10 range. These sweet potato wedges would make a gorgeous BBQ accompaniment. Also good for making your own at home, pretend Nandos.
The coconut, lemongrass & lime chicken should be amazing, and again the night we do cook and eat these I'll give my opinion on Instagram.
Finally, way-hey it's the pulled pork! My mouth is watering just looking at the picture on the front of the box. Apple BBQ sauce sounds like the thing dreams are made of.
This shop came in at around £45 and you can really make some good savings by reading up on the offers in store.
Oh, and I tried these cashews earlier in the week, coconut & chilli ones. Don't laugh, but the taste reminded me of sugared Shredded Wheat (descriptions like that is probably why I'm not a full time foodie blogger). They are totally yummy.
Check out the M&S website for recipes using their current ranges.
This post was sponsored by M&S supplying the food for review. Thanks, guys!
Remember when we were young, if you wanted jelly you'd have to plan to ask your mum like a week in advance. By the time you bought the jelly, found time to make it, waited for it to set, it was hardly worthwhile. Now there's quick set jelly powders, and even better, ready made jelly pots.
If however you want to make your own jelly, you might want to invest in the £12.99 Chill Factor Jelly Maker this summer.
We've reviewed the Chill Factor Ice Cream Maker previously, which I was intensely skeptical about, but which works a treat. Yet I was still suspicious of the jelly maker's claims of "jelly in minutes, not hours" as I recalled my own childhood asking, "is it set yet?" every five minutes of my frazzled mum.
We set about making our jelly, following the instructions carefully. You freeze the lower part of the device overnight. It says the freezer is where it 'lives' which makes sense, so it's always ready for making instant jelly. Otherwise the time you wait for it to freeze would be the same as waiting for normal jelly to set!
You make the jelly as the packet instructs and pour into the Chill Factor and start squeezing. The jelly mixture starts to thicken up over 3 - 5 mins. The process definitely needs an adult present, as you'll need the normal boiling water at the beginning. After the squeezing you put the stopper on the top and flip the Chill Factor over.
You leave the mixture another minute to harden, and unscrew the top, leaving the jelly ready to eat in the lid which doubles as a bowl.
The process didn't quite work for us, but I think we could have been more enthusiastic with our squeezing, and could have done with continuing for longer than the 3 and a half minutes. We were too eager to see the results.
Instead we put the bowl into the fridge for five minutes and when we came back to look, it had completely set. So if you can't get your jelly firm as you'd like, just pop the bowl into your fridge briefly. It's still a lot quicker than leaving it for five hours to set regularly.
The Chill Factor Jelly Maker comes in several colours and is £12.99
As heard on BBC Radio 6's Lauren Laverne Show.
Winner of Highly Commended Blog in the Cosmopolitan Magazine Blog Awards 2010
Hop on over to Cosmopolitan to read my guest blogs on all sorts of vintage bits & pieces.
