Sparkle and Shine

Today is the first Sunday of Advent and cardboard doors up and down the country have been opening since Friday. The old fashioned ones (my favourites) contain pictures from the Nativity, there is chocolate for children and cheese for vegetarians ... Say what?! Yes, this year Asda are selling a cheese advent calendar suitable for vegetarians. Fabulous.

Other foodie products I have my eye on are those which sparkle and shine or can be sprinkled to give our food a festive kiss.

Shimmer and bubbles for prosecco by Pop a Ball which pimp up your drink.

Winter Berries & Prosecco crisps by Marks and Spencer finished with a sprinkle of gold stars.

A dash of edible glitter on your baked goodies is fun and pretty but do make sure they are veggie/vegan as some contain E120, carmine and cochineal colouring. If that's a problem resort to a sieved snowfall of icing sugar (particularly good with the use of a stencil). It  makes a real difference.

On the dark side!

Like most parents, we have endeavored to entertain our children on long car journeys. Games of I spy, counting coloured cars and mini-punch have all featured over the years. Of late, whilst driving around our local town with my now teenage daughter, we have invented a game counting "Biddies in Beige". Seriously, take a look around and you will see many elderly people dressed entirely, from head to toe, in beige. There must come a point in people's lives when black is deemed too strong a colour for greying hair and pale complexions and, although many would probably love to wear purple, they err on the safe side and go for non-offensive beige.

Whilst in London last year with said teenager and friend, I spotted what I thought was the perfect gift for her grandparents; Beige Chocolate. The girls went into hysterics and it turns out I am the Biddy who can't see without her glasses; it was in fact Belge Chocolat!

Anyway, when it comes to chocolate the only colour to eat these days is the very dark brown -at least 70% cocoa content - and only then in moderation. The good news is that this kind of chocolate has the added benefit of actually being good for us, as opposed to milk and white chocoate which is full of sugar, fat and calories. Studies show that dark chocolate can actually improve our health, lower the risk of heart disease and improve our memory.

Easter has just been a bonanza time for chocaholics like myself but none of that will have been beneficial, being bad for my figure, my complexion and my teeth. When my daughter was aged about 5 and had lost the first of her milk teeth I explained how she would get a second set and must look after them. She turned to me and, in all seriousness, asked when she would get her yellow teeth, like me! Aaagh! From the mouths of babes eh?

Well it's not game over for chocolate nor, for that matter, my sweet tooth. Dark chocolate contains antioxidants which fight tooth decay and the cocoa butter coats the teeth and stops plaque from sticking to them. Sounds like a win-win situation to me!

Be A Good Egg!

Today is Easter Sunday which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus and that is the reason we have Easter Eggs. 

Eggs have long been a symbol of fertility and new life in many customs and cultures. Christians adopted the egg as it is a reminder that Jesus rose from the tomb (symbolised by the empty egg shell) and brought new life. 

During Lent people would abstain from eating eggs but the fast was broken on Easter Sunday. The eggs would have been hard boiled to preserve them and so the tradition of decorating them with dyes, paints and decorations began during the middle ages. After the austerity of Lent this led to competitions for the best Easter Egg and games such as egg rolling and the Easter Egg Hunt.

Chocolate eggs were made during the 19th century in France and Germany but it was here in the UK that the Cadbury family made them available in the 1870s. They were initially made of dark chocolate but in 1905 the first milk chocolate egg appeared. Nowadays there is a glut of Easter Eggs lining the shelves of every supermarket and confectioner, even before the pine needles of the Christmas tree have had time to drop!

Chocolate aside, are eggs acceptable as part of the vegetarian diet? Personally, I do eat eggs, meaning I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian as I also eat dairy products. There is an argument that eating eggs destroys a developing embryo but as most egg farmers keep roosters apart from egg-laying hens, they have very little chance of becoming fertilized and will, therefore, never produce. For me, eggs and dairy are a big part of my diet. On a Jamie Oliver Ministry of Food course the first lesson taught me how to cook the perfect poached egg and I always enjoy a soft boiled (tap-down or dippy in my family) egg with toast soldiers. Another favourite is eggy-bread (also known as witches toast). When my twin niece and nephew were very young they used to come and stay with me. My niece loved eggs whilst her brother was a pizza-eater. I would cook separate teas for them whilst they chanted "pizza's best", "eggs are best" in turn.

Whether you're eating real eggs or chocolate ones on Easter Sunday - enjoy! My tip would be to keep your chocolate ones somewhere safe. We once got home from an Easter skiing trip to find a scattering of brightly coloured foil paper and nibbled eggs ... mice love chocolate too!