DegustaBox – June 2016 – BBQ Box

It’s another fantastic month for Degustabox, with a box full of goodies we’ve not tried before, plenty sweet treats and summer fancies, perfect for the coming holidays.

Zeo Cloudy Lemon Drink

Zeo is a 98% spring water and lemon & essential oil drink, again, perfectly refreshing for your summer BBQ. It is sweetened with Stevia and Beet and Cane sugar. It’s tangy and bubbly and won’t leave you feeling like you’re left out if you’re keeping tabs on your calorie intake, or not able to enjoy a tipple.

Wychwood Crafted Lager

I’m not really a lager drinker, so I can’t compare this to other lagers. It has a fruity flavour though and is light and refreshing.

Haywards Medium and Tangy Silverskins

Hmm… just writing this one makes my mouth water and my face pucker a little! The pickled onions are fantastic – pretty much exactly what you’d expect. They are perfect little onions, in a tart liquid, and they go equally well with either a fry up breakfast on a Saturday morning or a cheese board.

Branston Spicy Tomato Relish

This one is hot! hot! hot! Well, maybe not for someone who likes really hot stuff, but for me, who can just about handle black pepper, this is a spicy sauce. I gave it to a friend though and he said it was really good – especially on hot dogs – but yes, even he thought it was spicy.

Sacla Pesto Pots

The four-pack of Pesto pots is a really handy condiment to have in the cupboard.  Brimming with basil, Grana Padano cheese, Pecorino Romano cheese and pine nuts, these pots put a zing into your pasta, sure, but they are also excellent for whacking flavour into meat dishes and so on. I put it in with some diced beef and left it to simmer a little and it provided a beautiful depth of flavour.    And more importantly, you couldn’t see any ‘green stuff’ so my littlest would eat it!

It also works very well on pasta, and lightly spread over puff pastry to make pesto puff pastry wheels for a savoury snack.

Miracle Noodle Angel Hair

These noodles are the perfect thing for someone who misses noodles, but can’t have the gluten. These noodles are plant based, made from the root of the Konnyaku Imo Plant. When you open them they have an odd smell, but that dissipates. You have to blanch them in boiling water for a few minutes, then stir fry them. On their own they have no discernible flavour, but they take on the flavour of what they are with. They have the same squeaky quality as halloumi cheese, so might be tricky if you have a fussy eater. They are well worth a try though, especially if you have dietary reasons for doing so.

Schwartz American Smokehouse Homemade Burger Mix

The name might be a mouthful, but so is the burger. This is a herb mix that you add in with your mince for home made burgers. It packs a brilliant smokey flavour to the meat without having to spend the time in a smoker, and there’s also a Classic Steakhouse option, which adds some variety.

It’s really simple to use – there’s enough in the bag for 4 – 6 average sized burgers, so you just put it all together, mix it up, and you’re on your way.

Heinz Amoy Coconut Milk 

This coconut milk is from Thailand, and is made from ripe, fresh coconuts. It comes in a tin and can be used in sweet or savoury dishes. I popped it in the freezer when it arrived, and used it for a dairy free chocolate ice cream, but of course, it would have been a great one to add to a curry or other Asian dish too.

Butterkist Yoghurt Coated Popcorn

The thought of yoghurt covered popcorn wasn’t really appealing, so this was a huge surprise. I kind of had a mental image of soggy popcorn, but this was delicious. The popcorn has a smooth, cool outside shell made from the sweet yoghurt and the inside is crunchy popcorn. It’s kind of hard to explain, but we did sit down and eat it in one sitting as it’s very moreish.

These come in multipacks or sharing packs so the multipacks are great for day trips or lunch boxes while the sharing pack is good for a family movie night, or other snacking opportunities.

Destrooper-Olivier Belgian Butters

These thin, crispy wafers come in a box of eight. They are delicious as a tasty snack, or as a side for ice cream. They have a beautiful crunch and a rich buttery taste. Some of the biscuits were crushed so we sprinkled them over our ice cream for the added texture. Flavour wise they  have an almost caramelish flavour. These wafers are delicious and perfect for summer time treats.

Smooze

Smooze is the ultimate solution to your summer ice cream woes – where you buy a beauitufl ice cream and by the time you get it home it’s ice cream soup? Smooze comes in liquid form, then you pop it in the freezer and a couple hours later, ice cream. Well, not really ice cream, but still a smooth and creamy fruity ice pop.  This is also 100% vegan, and uses coconut milk and a variety of fruit juices.  We had Mango and Coconut, which is the perfect tropical taste sensation for summer.

BakedIn Mug Brownie

This product actually made me laugh at how entrepreneurial the human race is. For years now, Pinterest has been filled with ‘cake in a mug’ recipes that you can make a quick and tasty desert at home. Well, someone decided that what you actually needed, was to be able to buy these ready made, so removing all obstacles to your cravings. Tip the contents into a mug, add milk and butter and have a cake you can eat, in under two minutes. Brilliant. (Except you have to have a microwave for this one to work. I don’t have a microwave, but it does work in the oven too, though it takes about 20 minutes at 180C, and gives you about a muffin size cake).

And so we reach the end of this months’ Degustabox – BBQ Box, and I’m going to hit the gym because so many delicious treats and meals in one week has definitely maxed out my syns – but it’s been worth it. I’ll be good for the next three weeks, ready to celebrate next months’ box again!