If you’re used to your cookies being soft and chewy, then it may be time to try a new style, baked in the UK branch of the Byron Bay Cookie Company!

Beyond The Bean were kind enough to send us an assorted box to review, and we were surprised at how different these cookies are – on the whole they’re large, crumbly, and packed with big chunks of fruit, nut or chocolate, depending on which variety you go for.

My favourite was definitely the White Choc & Macadamia Nut (the nut which Byron Bay is famous for), but we weren’t so sure about the Strawberries & Clotted Cream ones which were soft and moist. I hear these are popular though, so maybe it’s just us?

With other flavours like Triple Chocolate Fudge, Sticky Date Ginger & Walnut and Lemon & Macadamia Nut Shortbread, I’m sure you’ll be able to find your own favourite too! Many of the range are also Gluten free, and all are made using locally sourced ingredients (even the nuts?!) and free range eggs, which is nice to hear.

Now, if you like the sound of these cookies, and would like to try them yourself, you’re in luck! We’re giving away a mixed hamper of cookies to 2 lucky winners.

All you have to do is press the “Like” button below, connect to your Facebook account if prompted, then leave a comment at the bottom of this page, so we can capture your name and email address (your email will only be visible to us).

Make sure you do this by midnight Wednesday 8th September, when 2 winners will be chosen at random. Good luck!

(Apologies, this is only open to UK based readers)

For more information about Beyond The Bean, who distribute Byron Bay Cookies in the UK, see their website: www.beyondthebean.com

Serves 1 

• 200ml of double cream
• 2 scoops caramel ice cream 
• a few whole strawberries
• 5 clementine segments
• 1 wafer
• 1 tbsp of tinned caramel
• 1tbsp of butter

Pour the cream into a bowl and whip until light and fluffy, then put aside. 

Put 1 scoop of ice cream in the bottom of a tall glass, followed by one large scoop of the whipped cream. Top with a spiral of orange segments.

Carefully put on the final scoop of ice cream, then chill in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the caramel and butter in a non-stick pan on a very low heat until runny and smooth.

Remove the ice cream from the freezer and pile on the strawberrys in a pyramid shape.

Pour the caramel over the strawberrys and quickly put it back in the freezer so the warm caramel does not melt the ice cream. Leave in the freezer until the caramel has set, then move to fridge to keep cool.

Serve with the wafer on top, and enjoy!

Our British summer may be coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be plenty more chances to break out the BBQ (just take an umbrella)! If you want to do it in style, then this 19 piece BBQ set from Viners will fit the bill nicely.

It comes in an rugged metal carry case, housing everything a serious barbecuer needs, including a two-pronged fork, tongs, scouring brush, basting brush, turner, 4 skewers and even 8 corn spikes. It’s all made from tough stainless steal and looks to be very well put together. One of the best things we found was it’s all dishwasher safe , so no need to scrub off any greasy remains. The metal case is also perfect for storing everything, while we wait for the next day of sun.

The whole set costs £42.40, including free delivery, and at present if you buy one set, the second is half price. If you’re already thinking of Christmas presents, then this would certainly be a great gift for anyone who likes to barbecue their food.

For more information and to see other products from Viners (including smaller BBQ sets), visit their website at www.viners.co.uk

This recipe for Chocolate Tiffin is from my neighbour Claire who lives across the street from me. After my girlfriend brought home some of her tiffin, I had to get the recipe to share with everyone. Here it is!

Serves 4

• 100g butter
• 50-75g/8 squares of dark chocolate
• 50-75g/8 squares of milk chocolate
• 1 tbsp golden syrup
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 250g dark chocolate digestives, crushed
• 3 handfuls of raisins

Melt the butter and chocolate in a sauce pan, then add the syrup and cocoa powder.

Remove from the heat and mix in the biscuits and raisins.

Press into a tin and cool in the fridge for an hour or so. Enjoy!

A few weeks ago we reviewed the Zoku Quick Pop and launched a fun competition, where one lucky person would win their very own Zoku! The task was to submit a cooling recipe, and we received many great ones. There can only be one winner though, and we thought the fairest way to pick one was out of a hat (although we used a ceramic hen)!

So, the winner is:

Congratulations Jo, you’ll be hearing from us very soon with details on how to claim your prize. Everyone else, sorry you didn’t win, but thanks for your great recipes. There’ll be more competition soon, so stay tuned to Food For Friends, Yeah!

You can check out Jo’s cooling Summer Spritzer recipe here.

I hope you all like my dad’s cool fruit cocktail, with a creamy twist! He makes this in the summer time, usually when we have a BBQ or eat al fresco. It can be modified to suit different tastes but I recommend this recipe! It has evolved over the years to become our favourite refreshing drink.

Serves 2-3

• 200ml Orangeade
• 200ml Lemonade
• 100ml Cream Soda
• Glug of Grenadine juice/syrup
• Sliced fruit – we use a peeled and diced apple but pear/melon/de-stoned cherries would also work,
• Good glug of lime cordial (roughly 50-100ml)
• Dash of lemon juice
• 100ml vanilla ice cream

Mix the Orangeade, Lemonade, lime cordial, Cream Soda and Grenadine in a large juice jug.

In a seperate bowl, mash up your ice cream until it isn’t as solid and add the fruit pieces and lemon juice. Mix together.

Mix the ice cream mixture and the fizzy drink mixture together!

Immediately pour the cocktail into tall, cold glasses. Voila! There you have a cool and tasty fruit cocktail/punch with vanilla ice cream! Add crushed ice to the fizzy drinks for extra refreshment and/or vodka for an alcoholic (and adult, lol) kick!

These little chicken kebabs are served all over Andalucia. Commonly served as tapas, they are on a skewer, but often as a meal with patata fritas (chips to us). However, I like them at home with saffron rice, which is healthier too!

So simple to make at home. All you need is Pinchitos spice mix. Available in markets all over Spain, but for those of you not lucky enough to live here, it is available online too.

Serves 2

• 1 large chicken breast, cleaned and cut into chunks
• 2 tbsp pinchitos spice mix
• olive oil

Mix the spice mixture with a little olive oil to achieve a paste. Add the chicken chunks, mix well to coat and set aside to marinade, preferably overnight.

Thread chicken onto skewers and grill over BBQ or griddle pan.

Serves 4 

• 850g shoulder of lamb, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 25g ground almonds
• 25g dessicated coconut
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 ½ inches of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 4 large tomatoes, sliced into eighths
• 150ml Greek yoghurt
• 400ml approx. water
• 2-3 tsp cornflour
• 4 tbps rapeseed, or any other oil
• Salt and black or white pepper

Heat the oil in a large heavy-based saucepan and fry the meat until brown. 

Meanwhile, start work on the curry paste. Dry fry the cumin, coriander, almonds and coconut in a small saucepan or wok. When done you should see the seeds begin to ‘jump’ on the bottom of the pan. Transfer into a mortar and pestle and crush, adding the garlic, ginger, turmeric and chilli powder.

When you feel you have crushed the mixture sufficiently, transfer to a blender and add 75ml of water. Blend until you have a smooth paste – a few remaining lumps won’t hurt.

Add the onions to the pan with the meat, which by now should be brown. Cook on a moderate heat until the onions begin to soften, then add the paste, taking care to cover all the meat. 

When the mixture starts to look a little dry, stir in the yoghurt 1 tablespoon at a time. Add the chopped tomatoes and slowly pour in 300ml of water. Season with salt and pepper.

Bring to the boil, then cover and allow to simmer for about 2 hours, checking occasionally to make sure the seasoning is just right. 

If, when you come to the end of the cooking time, you are worried the sauce is too watery, don’t be. This is where the cornflour works its magic. Mix the cornflour with about 25ml of cold water, add to the sauce and stir. The sauce will thicken almost immediately. 

Serve with pilau rice and a good naan bread. Enjoy!

I noticed that my toddler loved to munch on ice cubes and frozen peas straight from the freezer, so came up with this cunning idea to get her to eat more fruit! This is so simple, I’m not sure it can be described as a recipe. Use whatever fruit is in season for a healthy kids snack, or a fresh dessert on a hot day.

Serves 1

• Strawberries, halved
• Melon, cut into 1 inch cubes
• Mango, cut into 1 inch cubes
• Satsuma segments
• Banana slices

Place all the prepared fruit pieces on a tray and open freeze. Once fully frozen, they can be stored in a bag or lidded container. Serve and eat straight away.

Photo courtesy of Chris Pople (Cheese and Biscuits)

Cantina Laredo
10 Upper St. Martin’s Lane
WC2H 9FB

t: 0207 420 0630
w: www.cantinalaredo.co.uk

A few weeks ago Chris Pople of Cheese and Biscuits invited me to be his +1 for dinner at the latest addition to the “Mexican” offering in London, Cantina Laredo.

He’d been invited to review it upon opening and felt it appropriate to bring me along since I’m Latin American.

Now, Latin food in this city so far hasn’t been anything great for me: I have either encountered restaurants serving nicely cooked but unauthentic fare or restaurants just serving plain bad food. I don’t mind the former so much and just ignore the latter.

However, Cantina Laredo doesn’t fit in either category – In fact, Cantina Laredo stands in an extraordinary world of its own.

We arrived already knowing that we had a problem with its over-priced menu so it didn’t really bode well for them, but, hey, if the food is good then I’m happy to pay for it.

Let’s start with the drinks, shall we? For £9.50 each we could enjoy margaritas – One on the rocks and one frozen. The one on the rocks had 2 ice cubes in it and went tepid very quickly whereas my frozen choice kept up for a little longer, but as it melted away it gave in to the sweetness of a sugary slop that did not taste of fresh lime juice to me.
I’ve had a better margarita at an average Tex-Mex chain in Panama called Mrs. Mendoza and theirs cost the same for a 42oz glass. Enough said.

Right after the margaritas were ordered we were presented with a free bowl of totopos (tortilla chips) and 2 salsas… They did have good flavouring, but one of them was presented as “tomatillo” and as long as I know tomatillos are green. The salsa was dark orange. Ah, well. Maybe the waitress got confused?

Next up was the guacamole – We were fascinated by the idea of being charged £6.95 to eat mashed avocado just because the waiter prepares it at your table.
So do I get it cheaper if I know how to make guacamole and don’t mind having it done in the kitchen? Cantina Laredo are yet to get back to me on that.
Our waitress rocked up to the table with her fake Aztec bowl, ONE avocado, roughly chopped red onion, tomatoes, something that was presented to us as jalapeños but tasted like green peppers and a helping of the “secret seasoning” (salt, pepper and ground garlic according to the staff. How lovely) and off she started mashing with glee.
“See? It’s very-very easy to make” “Uhu” “You can make it with any ripe avocado you find in the shop” “Uhu” “And that’s all there is to it” “Indeed”.
I love guacamole and it’s difficult to get it wrong, but the taste of that price tag could not be ignored.

Moving on to our main courses I went for Enchiladas Veracruz (£12.75) and Chris for Camaron Poblano Asada (£18.95).

Chris’ meat was cooked properly (as palomilla cuts go there’s no other way than to cook it through) and it had nice flavouring, but from where I was sitting (and according to the man himself) the poblano part of the dish was a sad affair and when we looked at the bland rice and even blander “sautéed veg” on the side it felt even sadder.

And let me tell you about my enchiladas…. I am a big fan of enchiladas. HUGE in fact. But these were … let’s just say they weren’t nice.

The tortillas used for the wrapping were actually quite nice, corn-based and seemed relatively fresh – A good start. But, oh no…

Enchiladas veracruzanas don’t come swimming in sauce like the suizas or verdes, but normally come with nice juicy beans inside as to give moisture to the shredded chicken: all these had inside was some dry chicken and they were plonked on a teeny tiny spoonful of tomatillo sauce (this time in its original green)

A bad and awkward attempt at a hybrid that left me quite depressed.

Do I really have to go on to the dessert list now? I think I do.

Before going I had perused the menu and had spotted a “Mexican Apple pie” and a “Mexican brownie”.
Now, for a restaurant that claims to not serve Tex-Mex, but authentic gourmet Mexican food I found it a very odd choice, but, hey, maybe I was missing a trick.
I wasn’t.

We asked our waitress what made the brownie “Mexican” and her response was (I quote) “It comes with vanilla ice cream and in a sizzling skillet” “I’m sorry, but that doesn’t sound very Mexican” “Oh, it has brandy butter on it too!” “Nope, still not Mexican…” “Oh, I know! It was made by a Mexican chef!”. Oh, dear.

We opted for the buñuelos that were a little too crispy for my liking, but close enough to the real concept and a flan that didn’t taste of much sadly, but by then we had been able to draw the picture.

We even asked to see the bill at the end of our evening wondering what damaged would we have had to endure had we had to pay for the dinner – £90.00 for that. I think not.

We left wondering what the food would have been like had we gone incognito… Well, we didn’t have to wait long.

Lizzie from Lizzie Eats London did go incognito the following day and her dinner was like something out of a horror movie – When I read her review I didn’t know if I should have laughed relieved at having avoided such a fate or cry for what my poor friend had to endure.

To date, the only response the Cantina Laredo PR team has managed to muster was cancelling the invitation they had extended to another blogger due to “unfair” reviews and, bizarrely, a number of far too excitable reviews popping up in random websites; some of them even stating the false like the one I found here – I emailed their editorial team to point out that the guacamole at Cantina Laredo is NOT made with three, but one avocado and their statement hasn’t been rectified let alone have I received an acknowledgement.

What is more, damning reviews like Fay Maschler’s saw a surge of complaining comments from enthusiastic Cantina Laredo “customers” claiming to have eaten there  3 or 4 times – I want to know who these people are who feel extravagant enough to spend £200 in less than 2 months (that’s how long the restaurant has been opened) for such bad slop.

Makes me wonder about humanity’s common sense.

Cantina Laredo? More like Cantina LareNO.