Vtech Switch & Go Dinos - Lex the T-Rex

James, like most little boys is a huge fan of cars and dinosaurs so when we were asked if we'd like to review on of Vtechs newest toys he was a very happy boy when he saw what we had been sent.

The Vtech Switch and Go Dinos are a very clever 2 in 1 toy. They are aimed at boys aged 3 - 9 years old. We were sent Lex the T-Rex. The toy switches from a car to a dinosaur in a matter of a few moves and in a minute or two and it is really easy to transform too.

The toys are made from good quality materials and wont break too easily, I have noticed recently that with many toys they aren't built or as strong as they could be and when you are paying a lot of money for them you want them to last and be able to be played with more than once. 

Lex has an interactive screen, if he is in T- Rex mode you can see his eyes, if hes in car mode you see the driver. Lex is really intelligent too and he knows when you are transforming him and will switch accordingly. You can choose from different drivers in car mode and if hes in dinosaur mode you can choose different from different dinosaur faces. He has over 50 sounds and voice phrases, and he tells you lots of interesting dinosaur facts. Lex requires 2 x AAA batteries but these are included.

James playing with Lex in both dinosaur and car mode

Lex is priced around £15.99 and available from most places that sell toys. There are other Switch & Go Dinos too and would make a great addition and James already has his eye on another one. We give Lex a roaring 5/5. 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Oven-baked toffee apples (from the recipe archives)

September 2010

This recipe was originally posted in September 2008, but it's still a big favourite with our friends and family, so I decided to showcase this again. It's a wonderful twist on the traditional oven-baked apples, that should appeal to everybody with a sweet tooth.

Oven-baked Toffee Apples
(Ahjus küpsetatud õunad mandli-iirisekattega)
Serves 4 to 6

September 2008

4 to 6 large firm apples

Toffee-almond topping:
50 g almond slices
50 g unsalted butter
200 ml soft brown sugar
200 ml whipping or double cream
1 Tbsp potato starch or cornflour

To serve:
vanilla ice cream

Peel the apples (NB! this is optional, see comment below*), halve and core them. Fit them snugly into a buttered oven-dish, cut-side down.

Mix brown sugar and potato flour/cornflour in a small saucepan. Add butter, almond slices, and fresh cream. Bring slowly into the boil, stirring regularly. Spoon the toffee mixture onto the apples.

Bake in the middle of a pre-heated 200 C / 400 F oven for 20-30 minutes (cooking time depends on the apples), until apples are cooked and toffee topping has thickened. KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PUDDING and take care not to burn the toffee sauce!!!

Cool a little and serve with ice cream or soft whipped cream.

* In general, I tend not to peel apples from my mum's or grandma's garden, or apples from a reputable organic source. However, peeling apples beforehand does make for neater presentation and easier eating afterwards.

 

This recipe was also included in my first cookbook, Nami-Nami kokaraamat ("Nami-Nami Cookbook"), published in Estonian in December 2010.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Vtech Innotab 2 Review

Over the last month the boys have had a very exciting toy to play with. It is anticipated to be one of the top selling toys this Christmas. They were sent a Vtech Innotab 2 to have a play with.

The innotab 2 is a tablet aimed at children aged 4 - 9 years old. It can be bought in a choice of two colours - blue and pink. The boys think its absolutely amazing and haven't put the Innotab 2 down since it arrived. The littler two have probably played with it more than Callum has, he says that although the Innotab is fun to play with its for babies (or in his thinking his younger brothers) I also think that the apps etc are more aimed at younger children but he did enjoyed using it, I just think that for the older ranger of children its aimed at (7 - 9 year olds) there wouldn't be a lot to keep them entertained for long.

The Innotab 2 comes with a free cartridge, this cartridge is loaded with an eBook  a game and other activities. There are many cartridges available to buy separately for £19.99, these include most children's favorites such as Brave, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Hello Kitty and Thomas and Friends.

The Innotab 2 has a 5 inch screen and a 1.3 mega pixel camera which has a rotating lens allowing children to be able to take pictures or record themselves with ease. It also has a video player, art studio, music player, a calendar, a notes app and an augmented reality game. More apps and online content can be downloaded from the online Learning Lodge Navigator, apps cost from as little as 99p. these include music, TV programmes and Ebooks, Again children's favourites such as Peppa Pig and Thomas and Friends can be found here. One of the biggest benefits the Innotab 2 has over its rivals is that it has a memory card slot so you can expand the memory, it comes with 2GB internally but because it has the slot you can make this much bigger to hold plenty of apps etc.

I love that the tablet has a stylus (and a spare) as this makes it easier for a child to navigate around the screens and to operate the apps and games. I also like the stand that the Innotab has, the tablet will stand alone when it is horizontal or vertical which again I think is great as sometimes children get bored of holding things after awhile.

Nathan getting to grips with the Innotab 2

The Innotab 2 has an RRP of £85 but this depends where you purchase it from as with Christmas drawing ever closer lots of toy stores are have offers and sales on. If you want to ensure your child has one of these I would suggest buying it early to avoid being disappointed come December. We would give the Innotab 2 an overall rating of 5/5. We have really enjoyed using it and can't wait to get some more cartridges for it, in the mean time Nathan has already got his eye on a few of the apps that are available. 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Apple and Cheddar Cheese Scones

Poster designed by Marju Randmer of Tassike.ee

My local farmers market, Viimsi Taluturg, hosts a big apple feast tomorrow, called Ubinapäev. If I remember it correctly, its the third year in a row. And for the second year in a row, a group of local foodbloggers, including yours truly, sets up a apple cake stand, Toidublogijate õunakoogikohvik. There are five of us, just like last year, and as last year was lots of fun and a great success (we sold all the cakes within 2 hours or so), we're more than happy to participate this year as well. So all of you who are in Tallinn or Viimsi tomorrow, are most welcome to come by and have some apple cake. But come early :)

Today's recipe is for apple and Cheddar cheese scones. The ones on the picture were made exactly a year ago, and come highly recommended. If it weren't for the prohibitive cost of Cheddar cheese over here, I'd make these for the apple cake stand tomorrow. These are excellent - slightly sweet, slightly savory, full of roasted apples and strong-flavoured cheese - a great snack first thing in the morning or with your afternoon cup of tea.

The original recipe appeared in Melissa Clark's "The Perfect Finish" (2010, Apple and White Cheddar Scones), but I've played with the amounts and ingredients a little. Smitten Kitchen and Leite's Culinaria have blogged about the same recipe from the same book (these are helpful when you're looking for US measurements). And a search for apple cheddar scones gives numerous results on the FoodBlogSearch, if you're looking for something slightly different.

Apple and Cheddar Cheese Scones
(Õuna-juustukakud)
Makes 6 large scones


3 to 4 large apples (about 450 g/1 pound in total)
200 g all-purpose flour
4 Tbsp + 1.5 Tbsp caster sugar
0.5 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
85 g cold butter, cut into cubes
100 g strong/mature Cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
4 Tbsp (1/4 cup) fresh cream (single or double)
2 large eggs, divided

Line a baking sheet with a parchment paper. Peel the apples, remove the cores and cut apples into thin sectors. Place on the baking sheet on an even layer, and bake at 180 C/350 F for about 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven, let cool.

  

Mix the dry ingredients (flour, 4 Tbsp of sugar, baking powder and salt). Place the cubed cold butter into your food processor. Add the apples, grated cheese, fresh cream and 1 egg. Scatter the dry mix on top. Using the slowest setting, quickly mix the dough until it just comes together.

 

Line a baking sheet with a clean parchment paper.

Place the scone mixture onto a lightly floured table, sprinkle some flour on top as well. Gently roll  it into a round disk, about 3.5 cm high. Cut into 6 sectors and transfer these onto the baking sheet, leaving some space between the scones.

Whisk the remaining  egg with a pinch of salt. Brush the scones with the egg wash, then sprinkle with the rest of the sugar.

Bake in the middle of a preheated 180 C oven for about 30 minutes, until the scones are lovely golden brown.

Let cool a little, then transfer onto a metal rack to cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Sorelle Alcohol Free Wine

Recently I was sent a bottle of Sorelle alcohol free wine to try. It couldn't have come at a better time as I have recently found out that one of my lovely friends is expecting a baby and another of my friends had just given birth to a beautiful baby girl. As they are newly pregnant or just given birth the are understandably off the alcohol but I think it is a nice touch to be able to toast their new additions.

Sorelle's brand new 0% alcohol wine has an authentic wine taste but without obviously with out the alcohol. It is available in two flavours -  a Sauvignon Blanc and a Rosé. Sorelle can be found in the wine aisle priced at £3.49 at Tesco stores.

Even celebrities like Tamzin Outwaite love Sorelle and finds time to enjoy a glass every now and then.

There are only 24 calories per 100ml glass which is 65% less than a standard wine, and a great drink that is ideal if your watching your weight but still want to have a glass or 3 of wine on an evening. Sorelle is also the perfect drink for people who enjoy the taste of wine but doesn't like alcohol or for people who can't drink alcohol like my friends who are pregnant or breast feeding. I will certainly be making sure I have a couple of bottles in my bag for the baby shower next month.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Ravensburger Augmented Reality Jigsaw Puzzle

Every month the boys are sent a puzzle to review from Ravensburger, however this month I was asked if I would like to review a puzzle as well. I jumped at the chance as its not very often that I get things like this to review and to be honest its not very often (unless with the boys) that I sit and work on a puzzle.

The puzzle I was sent had 1000 pieces, the picture is a scene from under the sea. This size of puzzle is for people aged 14 years and up. What I love about Ravensburger puzzles is that they are made up of totally unique pieces and no two pieces are the same.

When the puzzle first arrived I though it looked quite easy, I honestly thought it wouldn't be a challenge at all, little did I know how quickly my thoughts would change. As the puzzle is an underwater scene there are lots of the same looking pieces. It took me a week to put the puzzle together but this was juggling the boys, school runs and the running of the house so I don't think I did too badly especially as I don't usually spend time doing them.

However once the puzzle is finished this is when the real fun begins, if you have an iPad 2 or an iPhone you can download an app from the appstore, this literally takes a minute and is free. Once the app has downloaded and you've opened it up you need to select which of the augmented reality puzzles you have completed. This is the first time a puzzle has incorporated technology of this kind and really does and a new dimension to the puzzle. I was really eager to see what it would be like.

Once you have selected your puzzle on the app, this is what happens, James thought it was great and loved seeing what happens on the ipad and loved trying to find the fishes from the puzzle.

I really enjoyed this puzzle even if it was a little frustrating at times (lets face it its 1000 pieces it wasn't meant to be easy) and at £14.99 I think it is worth every penny especially with the little added extra at the end, it would make an excellent gift for any jigsaw puzzle and technology fan.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

No porcini mushrooms? Make sautéed aubergine/eggplants (Melanzane al funghetto)

The silver-haired Amalfi-born and England-based Antonio Carluccio is known in the United Kingdom as the godfather of Italian gastronomy. This lovely dish is based on his recipe. Gently sautéed cubed aubergines/eggplants with garlic indeed have a flavour reminiscent of porcini/penny bun/cep mushrooms (Boletus edulis in Latin) - hence the title of this post :) A handy recipe to have when you crave mushrooms but cannot get hold of good ones, or when you want to please somebody who cannot eat mushrooms for whatever reason..

Antonio Carluccio recommends this as a side dish to veal chops or Wienerschnitzler, but it's lovely as a vegetarian main with some crusty white bread as well. 

Choose nice and firm aubergines for this.

Melanzane al funghetto  
(Praetud pommud e. melanzane al funghetto)
Serves four

500 g aubergine/eggplant
2 garlic cloves
8 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp seal salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

Peel the aubergines (not compulsory, I actually prefer them unpeeled) and cut into neat 1,5-2 cm cubes. Slice the garlic.
Heat oil on a large skillet over moderate heat. Add the aubergine and garlic and sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring every now and then, until the aubergine softens.
Stir in the parsely, season with salt and pepper.
Serve hot or leave to cool before serving.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad