Best gifts for your Mother on Mothering Sunday or Mother's Day? Bacardi has the answer!

Yes, these are some of the best gifts for your Mother on Mothering Sunday or Mother's Day! And they are all from those lovely people at Bacardi!

Is your mother a classic mum? Then may we suggest a nice bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin? £23 a bottle? Looks good to me!

Is your mom more of a cool mom? Well in that case, I'd go for the Expresso Martini Cocktail kit. At under £40, this is a great gift.

Or maybe your mother doesn't dig alcoholic refreshments? Then there's the ideal treat for her, too! The Wise Mama option has her covered for under £20!

If your mother is a fashionista then The Fashionista Madre option is the one to go for. The St-Germain Elderflower gift kit will really please her! £20 is a good price for this gift, I think.

If yours is a Yummy Mummy, then the trio of Bacardi specially aged rums will be ideal for her to indulge her passions. All those for £23? Good job! Yes!

Or what about Afternoon Tea for Two at the Bombay Sapphire Distillery in Hampshire?

RRP £35

Sunday 27th March

Slots are between 12-4:30pm

You can celebrate Mother’s Day with a quintessential afternoon tea with delicious finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam,  locally baked Juniper infused ‘Sapphire’ doughnuts, mini cheese cakes, mixed berries and a hot drink of your choice.

Each ticket includes an experience for two.

Booking is essential. 

To book please visit https://www.bombaysapphire.com/distillery/tours-experiences/afternoon-tea/

The distillery is at Laverstoke Mill, Whitchurch, Hampshire, RG28 7NR. Call 01256 890090 for details.

Krispy Kreme doughnuts for a special Mothering Sunday!

This year, Krispy Kreme is helping you treat your mother to a Mothering Sunday treat. With a fantastic selection of treats and special offers.

Between 26th to 27th March only, Krispy Kreme’s limited-time only Mother’s Day range is available . 

It features a range of Lemon Raspberry Heart, Strawberry Ring, and Lotus Biscoff doughnuts that are certain to have your mum smiling this Mothering Sunday weekend. 

Spoil your mums, grandmums and everyone else in the family (or yourself!) with this this beautifully iced selection:

Lemon Raspberry Heart Single (£2.45) – With its delightfully yummy sweet lemon icing, and jamlicious raspberry filling, this heart shaped doughnut will be bring a smile to your mum’s face. Available in-store and across UK supermarket stockists.

3 Pack & 6 Pack (£6.35) – Gift the ultimate in luxury care packages with a trio or 6 pack of Lemon Raspberry Hearts, ring doughnuts glazed with pink strawberry icing and topped with edible pearls, and firm favourite Lotus Biscoff. Available in-store and across UK supermarkets.

Mother’s Day Half Dozen (£10.45 + P&P) – Say ‘Love you Mum’ with this half dozen including two hand-piped Original Glazed, two Lemon Raspberry Hearts, and two pink pearl ring doughnuts.  

This is exclusively available from the Krispy Kreme online store with national delivery.

PLUS all Mothering Sunday weekend, why not take advantage of a limited time only in-store offer.

 From March 25th -27th take your pick of any Krispy Kreme doughnut and wash it down with a cup of our Signature Roast coffee for just £2.95.

To order online visit https://www.krispykreme.co.uk.

 

Spice Kitchen gets you cooking with real Indian spices

My wife's family originated in India and she cooks the most amazing Indian dishes. 

She tells stories of how her father would travel 30 to 40 miles to the nearest large city with a sizeable Indian community every month or so and he would return with his tiffin tin packed to the brim with Indian spices, snacks and sweets.

Her mother told her that her father was cooking food that "children don't like." One day she begged a sample of some of the food that "children don't like" and found it to be absolutely delicious!

Afterward it became a running joke in the family that my wife would like "some of the food that children don't like!"

When I told my wife that we were receiving an Indian Spice Tin from The Spice Kitchen she said with great confidence: "If it's a real Indian spice tin it'll come wrapped in sari fabric!"

When I opened the box my wife was thrilled to see that it was wrapped in some really attractive sari fabric. "Wow! I like this very much!" she said with a broad smile.

She then added "It smells like home, just like when my dad was cooking one of his family recipes!" 

What do you get? The metal spice tin is very, very well presented. It has a clear lid meaning that you can see all of the spices which come in absolutely charming individual metal containers with the spices themselves sealed in little zip locked bags.

There are nine very fragrant spices. 20g of Garam Masala,  20g of Chilli Powder, 20g of Cumin Seeds, 20g of ground Coriander, 20g of Turmeric Powder, 20g of Mustard Seeds, 5g of Cassia, 2g of Cardamom and 1g of Cloves.

There's also a very handy Indian recipe guide which contains some wonderful recipes. You'll be able to make, with great confidence, if you follow these recipes, Dal Makhani, aka Black Dal, Tandori Chicken, Rajasthani Lamb Curry, Kerala Beef Pepper Fry, Smoky Aubergine Crush, Chicken Biryani, Lamb Keema with Peas, Bengali Potato Curry, Punjabi Chickpeas, Goan Pork Curry and Date and Tamarind Chutney. 

Not long ago my wife gave me the instructions to make some paneer which worked very well in one of her family recipes. I think that I'll make some more paneer and put in a plea to my wife to make some Paneer Makhani using the spices and the recipe in the tin!

I'm certain that my wife has a very similar recipe for the Dal Makhani recipe in the recipe booklet. However, the recipes my wife uses are not written down. My wife and her sister cook them from memory. I'm really going to have to get them to write them down at some point.

But let's get back to the matter in hand, the Indian Spice Tin. The Spice Tin we are reviewing costs £30 and it is worth every penny. Delivery throughout the UK is free, too.

But! There's more! So much more! On their website https://www.spicekitchenuk.com you will find World Spice Tins, Middle Eastern and African Spice Tins, Chilli Spice Tins, Moroccan Spice Tins, Gin Botanical Tins, Salt Spice Tins (including the delicious Anglesey Halen Môn sea salt!) Baby Spice Tins designed to introduce your children to spices and there are Tea Tins, too.

There are also spices sold individually, a very special range of gifts including cookery books and gift cards, drinks and cookware. And there is also a wide variety of very nifty recipes on their website for you to try at home.

Want some special wedding or party favours? Then The Spice Kitchen will be able to assist you put together a really first class event!

You'll be please to know that The Spice Kitchen isn't a major multinational company posing as a small,. family business because The Spice Kitchen is the real deal. It's a mother and son family business owned by Sanjay and Shashi Aggarwal. It began over the family's kitchen table and is based on the cooking expertise of Shashi who has five decades of cookery knowhow and experience.

They clearly enjoy what they do and do everything with a sense of fun and panache. When you buy your first Spice Tin from them, just check out their barcode to see what I mean. It's the first time I have ever seen any company, large or small, do this and I'm not going to tell you what it is. I'm going to let that come as a pleasant surprise to you! 

You can follow them on social media including Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

 

Bioglan Superfoods

Bioglan Superfoods was brought into being over four decades ago in Sydney, Australia. Thankfully they are also available in the UK, too.

What are Bioglan Superfoods? They are absolutely stunning nutritional products that are packed full of fantastic vitamins and minerals. They are skilfully formulated and carefully produced to give you the exact boosts that your body requires so that you can live the best life that you can live!

But they are not merely smoothies, although they do make excellent smoothies. They are designed so that you can add them to water, put them in smoothies and use them in your own recipes and cooking.

They are, however, carefully designed to provide you with the optimum nutrition that your body needs. For example their Superberries blend provides you with immune support, the Cacao Boost gives you energy support, the Super Protein is an "adaptogenic blend powered with protein" and offers your body hormonal balance and energy.

The Bioglan Supergreens is a nourishing superfood powder that is aimed to offering you body and mind revitalisation.  

Not only do they do what they say on the tin (well, on the packet in the case of Bioglan Superfoods!) they also taste pretty nice, too! For example the Cacao Boost with its organic cacao, lucuma, hemp and maca powder comes with a delicious malty caramel flavour.

Supergreens has a nifty apple flavour. They promise even though it's full of healthy grasses that it doesn't taste like grass!

The products are vegan friendly so they are suitable for everyone in the family.

However, Bioglan produces a host of other products designed to help keep you healthy and well, which you can learn about here https://bioglansuperfoods.co.uk/

Bioglan products are available at Holland & Barrett, Tesco, Boots, Amazon, Superdrug, myvitamins and Chemist Direct.

Worthington Bitter

This afternoon after a couple of appointments in town I found myself feeling somewhat thirsty. So I decided to pop in to our town's Wethersoon pub for a refreshing pint of beer.

The pub was doing a very good trade in food and drink and when I went up to the bar I saw a sign pointing out that they had several new drinks on draught. 

I read the notice and saw that Worthington's Bitter was one of these new draught drinks. It had replaced John Smith's in December, I recalled.

Rather than my usual choice of a pint of Shipyard IPA, Punk IPA, Guinness or Abbot Ale, I decided to have my first pint of Worthington's in several years.

After settling in the pint glass it looked nice and bright and when I tasted it I noticed that it had a very pleasing malty taste, with a gently. hoppy undertaste.

The mouthfeel was very good and the aftertaste was sweet almost to the point of having a mild, honey taste to it.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to indulge in a second pint, but as Arnie said: "I'll be back!" 

Searcys can help you make Mothering Sunday really special this year.

Your Mother deserves the best and no matter if you are going out for a suitable feast, or staying in for one, Searcys will ensure that Mothering Sunday 2022 will be one for the entire family to remember with fondness, but especially your Mother!

At 116 Pall Mall, St. James's, London, SW1Y 5ED you can treat your Mother to a super indulgent Sunday roast with Searcys Champagne this Mother’s Day because as the elite116 Pall Mall will open specially for Mothering Sunday, offering a classic two or three-course Sunday roast. 

Set within the opulent Carlton Brasserie, you can raise a glass, or two, with your mum over a special menu.

You can opt for a choice of sirloin or chicken roast complete with cauliflower cheese, seasonal vegetables, roasted potatoes and gravy, priced from £40 per person, all paired with a delicious glass of Searcys Selected Cuvée Rosé Champagne.

Or make special memories over a Sunday tea with the Mother’s Day Confectioners Afternoon Tea from 2pm with a glass of fizz. 

Even learn the art of floristry at 116 Pall Mall with a flower workshop from Tubes Floral. Taking place at 1pm, receive an expert step-by-step tutorial and create your own bouquet with a wide selection of the best seasonal flowers for £45 per person. Bookings are now available. www.116pallmall.com  

Or what about a Mothering Sunday Special Lunch with Champagne at St Pancras by Searcys?

St Pancras International, London, N1C 4QL 

Make Mum feel extra special this Mother’s Day at The Brasserie at St Pancras. Treat her to a three-course Sunday lunch, priced at £45 per person (£54 if you opt for a glass of Drappier Carte d'Or Brut Champagne). 

Commence your meal with Game terrine served with a black fig chutney and toasted walnut bread, Chargrilled chicken served with aromatic couscous, confit lemon and black garlic purée, and finish with the indulgent Lemon tart with raspberry and crème fraiche.

For larger family gatherings of up to 20, the Glass Room is the perfect space for semi-private dining. The bar will also be on hand with an extensive selection of champagnes and English sparkling wines by the glass and bottle. Bookings are now available. www.stpancrasbysearcys.co.uk 

Or why not enjoy a sky-high Lunch at Searcys at the Gherkin? It's at 30 St Mary Axe, London, EC3A 8EP.

Let your mother know she is the top Mom by  taking her to the very top of London’s most iconic skyscraper with a set lunch menu with Champagne from Searcys at the Gherkin. 

Priced at £75, enjoy a wonderful selection of canapés and Moët & Chandon Champagne arrival, followed by a delicious three-course meal featuring delights such as hot smoked salmon tortellini topped with lemon and chive beurre blanc, Pan-fried cod fillet with Hispi cabbage, pancetta lardons and English pea velouté and a decadent Apple and plum crumble, served with cinnamon ice cream. 

Make the day even more of a special treat with A Rose For… perfume by Floris – the perfect gift for every mum. Bookings are now available. www.searcysatthegherkin.co.uk.

Not every Mum is going to be able to go to Searcys. But Searcys can go to your Mom! Please check out the Searcys Gift Collection at https://searcys.giftpro.co.uk.

You can present your mum with something very special from the Searcys’ luxury gift collection. 

Celebrate Mothering Sunday with a beautifully packaged bottle of Searcys own specially Selected Cuvée Brut Champagne, paired with a gift set of Searcy's iconic Champagne flutes (£69 for a gift set).

Or for something even more special, why not look at Searcys tea sets, which are beautifully decorated with elegant Searcys honeycomb pattern (£80 for set of two teacups and saucers). 

To celebrate its 175th anniversary, Searcys have partnered with renowned perfume brand Floris and for the month of March all Champagne bottles, flute glasses and tea gift sets will include a beautiful 10ml bottle of A Rose For... perfume. 

Place your order by 12.00 on Wednesday 23 March for Mother’s Day delivery. Alternatively, choose from Searcys’ gift vouchers for dining experiences, from afternoon tea to a three-course lunch or dinner, available across all their exclusive venues.

You want to make it a special occasion for your special Mother, so let Searcys help you. After all, they do have 175 years of high excellence service! 

https://searcys.co.uk/.

Bonne Maman can make Mothering Sunday even more special

You can treat your own special Maman to homemade, beautifully fragrant, beauty essentials for a spa-at-home experience by upcycling  your empty Bonne Maman jars. 

A gift set containing luxurious ‘Pomegranate Rose Sugar Body Scrub’, ‘Eucalyptus Fresh Mint Foot Soak’ and ‘Coconut Lemongrass lip balm’ that are simple to make and housed in Bonne Maman Compote, Conserve and Mini jars. 

Add a personal touch by tying a thoughtful note to your Mum around the top and present in a gift bag. Joyeuse Fête des Mères.

Every Mum will be thrilled by a delicious breakfast in bed. Put together a breakfast tray of golden croissants, warm sourdough or sweet muffins with Bonne Maman Conserves and new Hazelnut Chocolate Spread. For an extra special Mother’s Day treat, a glass of champagne never goes a miss! 

Bake with love and try out some very delectable Thumbprint Shortcakes using new Bonne Maman Hazelnut Chocolate Spread. 

Stack together, tie together with a ribbon and present in a gift box with a jar of Hazelnut Chocolate Spread. For an alternative to chocolate, these Zesty Lemon, Thyme & Mirabelle Mini cakes filled with luscious spring-time flavours make a sweet, thoughtful and absolutely delicious Mother’s Day Gift. Tie with a ribbon, attach a gift tag et violà!

You will find that recipe, and many others, here https://www.bonnemaman.co.uk/recipes/.

Award-Winning Cheese Maker launches new Snack Net in Time for Jubilee Street Parties

One of the UKs top cheese making experts, Ilchester, has announced a new treat just in time for Jubilee street parties.

It's a new net of snacking cheeses that are now available to buy from UK trade and bulk-buy supermarket, Costco.

Ilchester, which produces a range of award-winning specialty cheeses and some of the UKs favourite plant-based cheezes, has introduced the special Trio of Cheeses net, especially for the membership-based warehouse club retailer.

The trio of cheeses includes 24 portions of Ilchester Mature, Edam and Ilchester Red Leicester - three of the most popular cheeses in the cheese category.

Lisa Harrison, who has the very enviable job of  Marketing Manager for Ilchester, said: "We're thrilled to be establishing a strong working relationship with Costco in the UK. 

"As the days get warmer and we venture outdoors, Ilchester's popular snacking nets will be ideal for lunchboxes and picnics. 

"Our snacking nets are always a sure hit in the spring and summer months and are an easy way to have a snack on the go, or to add to a barbecue or picnic event. 

"And they are particularly popular with mums and dads looking for healthy snack options for their kids' school lunchboxes too, so our snacking nets are really popular all-year round."

Lisa went on to say: "And each portion of cheese is under 100 calories, so they're ideal for cheese lovers who are counting the calories but still want to get their cheese fix"

"Also, with the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations taking place in June, our Trio of Cheese snacking nets are the perfect street party food!"

The Ilchester Cheese Trio Snacking Net is now available in select Costco stores. Its RRP is £4.59.

You can learn more about Ilchester-based Ilchester Cheeses at http://www.ilchester.co.uk/

And you can find your nearest Costco Store at https://www.costco.co.uk/store-finder.

Brain activity while cooking resembles early-stage Alzheimer’s, says new research

Image courtesy tommyvideo/Pixabay.com

Exposure to nanoparticles during cooking can bring about changes to brain activity that is similar to those seen in early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, finds new research from Nazarbayev University School of Engineering and Digital Sciences (NU SEDS).

Mehdi Amouei Torkmahalleh, who is the Assistant Professor at NU SEDS, and colleagues investigated the brain activity of individuals before, during, and after exposure to ultrafine particles from cooking. 

Ultrafine particles, which can be found in cooking fumes, are very minute small and can penetrate the human body.

Participants were present during the frying of a chicken drumstick on a gas stove and were exposed to cooking ultrafine particles. 

Brain activity was recorded using an EEG before cooking, at the end of cooking, and 30 minutes after cooking. Ultrafine particle concentrations in the air were continually constantly. These reached peak levels during frying.

They found beta waves of the brain decreased during exposure to the ultrafine particles, similar to people with neurodegenerative diseases. Also, theta/beta wave ratio of the brain increased during and after exposure, similar to that observed in early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Brain activity for most participants returned to normal within half-an-hour.

Professor Torkmahalleh said: “Brain responses after long-term exposure may deteriorate with time and, after sufficient long-term exposure, never revert to pre-exposure levels leading to a similar status to neurodegenerative disease. This is a novel hypothesis for our current and future research studies. This suggests people chronically exposed to cooking aerosol might progress towards Alzheimer’s.”

The changes to brain wave patterns during and shortly after exposure could be due to the ultrafine particles from the cooking fumes reaching the brain through the nose. The researchers suggest using respirators or sufficient ventilation during cooking to reduce potential risk of neurodegenerative disease.

These findings were published in Indoor Air Journal.

Urban Rajah. Born in Britain, Spiced by India.

Urban Rajah. Born in Britain, Spiced by India.

My wife and I were recently privileged to dine on Burotis from The Urban Rajah.

There were two flavours we tried. Smashed Onion Bhaji and Chickpea. And the Hari Hari Chicken Boroti. 

The first combines a Sabzi salad with a smashed onion bahji and a chickpea chaat, mango chutney and baby spinach within a beetroot tortilla.

The mix of flavours were a true delight with the onion bahji and the sabzi salad working together really well with the chickpeas, the mango chutney and the baby spinach. 

The beetroot tortilla is a delicate shade of beetroot and is also very tasty.

The other Buroti we tried was their Hari Hari Chicken.

Sabzi salad, with a green herb masala chicken and yoghurt mix. Plus a different chutney, a date and tamarind chutney, with baby spinach and fresh coriander. All served within a very tasty corn tortilla.

Wow. Just wow. I liked the Smashed Onion Bhaji and Chickpea Buroti very much. But the Hari Hari Chicken Buroti was really amongst the best chicken masalas that I have ever tried.

After her first bite into her Hari Hari Buroti my wife said: "This is what real Indian food is all about. A fantastic mixture of spices, herbs and ingredients but without having everything overpowered by too many chillies! This has a nice chilli bite to it, but it's more in line with my family's own recipes."

My wife, like Ivor Peters, who is the founder of Urban Rajah, is of Indian extraction, too, so does know her stuff when it comes to Indian cooking.

And how much do these really filling Indian Street Kitchen delights cost? A very healthy £3.50! 

What are burotis? Burotis are Indian roti style wraps packed with the flavours of India.

They are produced with the Samworth Brothers Group.

To learn more and to check out a large number of recipes that you can try at home please visit www.urbanrajah.com and https://www.samworthbrothers.co.uk/

You'll be pleased to know that Urban Rajah works with charity groups around the world, including organisations battling modern slavery.