parmesan and sesame bites.

A little Christmas gift idea or perhaps as a festive snack for the family, these Parmesan and sesame bites are super easy to make and with only a few simple ingredients too. As part of a Christmas series with Parmigiano Reggiano, I'm embracing one of my favourite cheeses with three festive recipes. 

Parmigiano Reggiano is a hard, Italian cheese which has a PDO credentials. King of Cheeses, it's one of the world’s oldest and richest cheeses - still produced today as it was nine centuries ago. For hundreds of years, this very special product has only be allowed to be made in particular areas of Italy, with selected dairies and producers. The rules of cheese-making this way mean that it's always a high quality product which has a true ancient origin. The result is fantastic, I'm sure cheese lovers will agree.

have a very foodie christmas with harrods.

If there's ever a time to get excited about food, Christmas is the one. Festive recipes, foodie gift guides and Christmas dinner planning tips are all over our favourite editorials, and I'm into it. Now that my November birthday is out of the way (a belated present is fine with me by the way), I'm ready to embrace all things festive. 

So as you can imagine, I couldn't wait for the arrival of this Harrods hamper. Or better yet, to share it with you. It was a delight to photograph with all my festive props, so I can only imagine how this luxury haul will taste. I was kindly sent The Food Halls Collection (£125) which couldn't have been a better fit. Buttery biscuits, beautifully crafted chutneys to go with your cheeseboard and red, red wine symbolise all that is Christmas for me. So now I've said the C word (three times), I guess that means it's actually happening.

spanish cookery class at l'atelier des chefs, london.

L'atelier des Chefs, translating as the chef's studio or workshop, is London cookery school which runs a plethora of culinary courses. From learning the secrets of baking bread to macaron masterclasses, their St Paul's and Oxford Street locations promise a fun event where you can learn new kitchen skills and make a few friends too. 

Their courses would make for perfect Mother's Day presents or birthday treats, with vouchers available too. I've been to all sorts of classes with my mum - from Tunisian cookery to cake pop decorating - although this time the London class was a bit far away from her Leicestershire home. I went along with my foodie pal Grace to sample their Spanish cookery class; 90 minutes of creating calamari, patatas bravas, traditional paella and croquetas. Challenge accepted!

riverford vegetarian box: a review.

Founded in 1987, Riverford is passionate about organic fruit and vegetables which are both fresh and seasonal. With humble roots in Devon which have now grown to serving almost 50,000 boxes a week to the UK, Riverford works with regional farms to keep the environment happy too. With so many recipe boxes and fruit and vegetable deliveries on offer these days, it's hard to know which to go for. I tried out one of their award winning vegetarian recipe boxes (£33.95 for three recipes) to see what it was all about. 

what to buy a foodie for christmas...

What to buy a food blogger for Christmas... when they already own 50, 000 aprons, a cupboard full of baking beans and a stack of tea towels to the ceiling. Don't get me wrong - I love all the foodie gifts I get each birthday and Christmas, this year receiving a rather wonderful selection of teaspoons, a teapot, macaron print scales, a chocolate cookery book, a knife sharpener and even some Bakewell tart green tea. All very well thought out gifts which I was overwhelmed and super grateful for. However, if you're struggling to think outside the box and you're about to click "add to bag" on that spice rack - here are a few foodie gift ideas to tickle your tastebuds.

peanut butter vegan macarons.

It's no secret, macarons have become a baking favourite of mine. So why shouldn't vegans get to enjoy them too? After finding out you can make eggless meringue using chickpea liquid, also known as aquafaba, I just had to give it a go. I've seen a lot of recipes using cups as measurement, however I've created a UK friendly version using metric grams and ml. Here of course I've filled my vegan macarons with peanut butter - a firm egg and dairy free favourite - but the possibilities are endless!

american candy by post with taffy mail + giveaway.

as if the prospect of christmas wasn't excitement enough, this week i've been riding on a sugar high thanks to sweet treats from taffy mail. passionate about pop rocks? got a niggling for some nerds? or a hankering for a hershey's bar? this is one mail order box for you. full to the brim with american candy, sweet treats, fizzy drinks and overly indulgent chocolate bars. yep, i'm definitely buzzing on all shades of e numbers right now. 

vegan pistachio chocolate truffles.

these chocolates really are as easy as a b c, 1, 2, 3 and as simple as do re mi. with just three ingredients, the dairy free delights are really fun to make in a variety of chocolate shapes. wrap up as gifts for your vegan friends or keep the secret to yourself - the choice is yours!

school of wok: flavours of china and dim sum delicacies.

last weekend i went along to school of wok in london for a dim sum delicacies course that tested my tastebuds, sharpened up my knife skills and expanded my knowledge of chinese cuisine. 

this cookery course was everything you could ask for; including a tour around china town, learning how to shop for and select the best ingredients, where to find kitchen tools and how to use them, knife and preparation skills and of course the best lesson ... on how to devour a chinese feast with a glug of specially paired wine.

christmas foodie gift ideas.

i really enjoyed putting together a round up of foodie gift ideas last christmas - so thought i'd have a little research what was out there for 2013. i really think food related gifts are becoming a real trend these days as everywhere seems to have a section on their site. not that i'm complaining - i love it!

one
daisy rose spatula £6

now i may be generalising here, but i'm yet to meet someone who loves baking and doesn't simultaneously love cath kidston. this floral spatula, along with a few other baking sets would make a brilliant stocking filler or secret santa for the office foodie. 

two 
carrot peeler £9.99

this giant sharpener style carrot peeler from lakeland is absolutely brilliant! long gone are the days of peeling veg being boring. gimmicky but equally pretty useful. just don't try and fit a potato in there...

three 

curry set £35
i've been eyeing up this curry set from next for a while. with lots of dishes that will keep warm at the table - it just screams dinner parties! i'm thinking it would be brilliant for nights of homemade tapas, chinese and morrocan tagines alike!

four 
indoor allotment £24.95
how cute is this? i've always wanted a living herb garden in my kitchen and now thanks to prezzybox i could have one with a picket fence and everythang. but what would i put in the shed? 

five 
custard cream biscuit tin £10
i've seen nice biscuit cushions and cupcake teapots, so why not a custard cream biscuit tin? even better, filled with custard creams :)

six
scizzas £19.95
another prezzybox find, can you guess what these are for? move over pizza slice, for scizzas simply snip down those pizzas in double time. 

seven
just call me delia tea towel £10
what can i say - this tea towel is just fantastic! i found this on notonthehighstreet along with just call me nigella, just call me jamie and one which simply said "come dry with me let's dry let's dry away..."

eight 
cherizena christmas coffee £3.25
i was recently sent cherizena christmas coffee to review and can wholeheartedly recommend it for those who love christmas in a cup. read my cherizena coffee review here :)

what do you think to my foodie picks? will you be buying any for friends and family... or perhaps a treat for yourself? 

lovely foodie finds.

a few lovely foodie finds from the last couple of weeks. i felt truly lucky to have some really thoughtful birthday presents from my friends and family - mostly food related of course - so wanted to feature them in a post. i've also been sent some brilliant products lately that i thought would fit well in a foodie gift ideas round up :) i hope you love these foodie bits and bobs and much as i do - to perhaps buy for a friend or even treat yourself!

favourite foodie gift ideas.

those who know me will know i'm utterly obsessed with anything remotely floral print, polkadot or just generally looks like it might've once belonged to your granny. i'm forever trawling the cath kidston website and could probably write a blog about duvet sets if there were ever a calling for it. 

so i thought why not put together some of my recent favourites, which i thought could also make for cute foodie gifts too.

one

cath kidston bento box £10

although i've recently bought a lunch box, i thought this combination brought together my love of japanese food and everything floral! the lovely layered lunch box comes with a knife, fork and even chopsticks. 

two

glass cupcake dome £13

an extra special way of displaying cupcakes - and why not? it reminds me of the glass dome in beauty and the beast and (almost) makes your sweet treats too good to eat.

three

just my type mug £8.50

i found this on not on the high street yesterday and fell in love. as i copywriter by trade, i'd absolutely love a typewriter and love that my mum trained at secretary college on one. plus what a brilliant pun... this will just have to do!

four

take a bite biscuit cutters £5.99

these adorable cutters from lakeland make it look like someone has already taken a bite... i love them! these are a new product and will be out from april 1st. hope it's not an april fools as they're definitely on my shopping list.

five

meri meri birdhouse cupcake boxes £7

how charming are these from next? if you think the cupcake dome is a little pricey then these are a lovely alternative. who wouldn't want to receive one of these with a tasty cupcake inside? and since it's easter, why not have a go at making these lemon easter cupcakes which as they're in the style of a nest could look quite effective in a little bird house box :)

what do you think to my choices? have you come across any other foodie gift ideas lately?

product review: cut and serve cheeseboards.

love cheese? love your friends? love eating cheese with your friends? well, who doesn't? whether you're crazy about camembert or bonkers for brie, it seems that when cutting and serving cheese, there is one main rule of etiquette. each person should have an equal part of
the best and worst parts.

the answer? cut and serve cheeseboards from www.buysebastianbergne.com.

the cheese board family
the first cheese board is intended for cutting and serving small round soft cheeses such as camembert or st andré - the principal being that each person should have their part of the ‘best’ central part of the cheese. yummy!


the second cheese board is perfect for cutting segments of large round soft cheeses such as roquefort or dolcelatte. 

and lastly, the third cheese board is for cutting my faves - the harder cheese such as cheddar, emmental or red leicester.
though... not so sure i want to share them!

if you're not much of a cheese fan - i'd still recommend checking out the website. there are lots of quirky gift ideas for foodie fanatics and beginner bakers alike! :)