Family BBQ in the sunshine!

My son moved into a new house following a change of job a few months ago.  Due to his busy schedule and mine this weekend was the first time we could visit his new house.  My 7 year old granddaughter thought a BBQ would be a good idea.

The morning didn't start out that bright however by the time we arrived the clouds were slowly moving away and the BBQ coals were lit.

Ed had worked in the pub industry for many, many years which took away his weekends, summer being over before he realised it.  Now following a change of job he has a more normal life with weekends with his family.

It is really lovely to see my son having a normal weekend Sunday sitting in his own garden in the sunshine.

On of the people getting loads out of having a normal home with a private garden is my 7 year old granddaughter.  She had lived in a pub since birth only enjoying some garden time when she visited me or her other grandparents.

Father and daughter enjoying some sunshine. This used to be a rare treat however nowadays is common place.

Beefburgers, hot dogs, potato salad and pasta salad kept everyone full along with endless pitchers of Pimms!

Nanny's best girl does love a hot dog and she discovered apple juice and lemonade which has become her favourite 'mocktail'.  We even managed to find the ice cream man before he drove off for a quick ice cream!

Our food was served on a selection of disposable plates and cups looking absolutely perfect in the summer sunshine.

This is a sponsored post but all photos and opinions are my own.

Grenada: Crayfish Bay - Cocoa Farmer for a Day (Bean to Bar)

On my recent trip to Grenada I was able to participate in a variety of events and activities to celebrate the 2nd Annual Grenada Chocolate Festival.  Although I really enjoyed the whole experience I think what really made my trip was the opportunity to be a chocolate farmer for the day.

The growers of the cacao who do all the work and hard labour to bring you the ingredient to make your lives immensly enjoyable do their job more as a labour of love than to get rich.  The cacao grower receives a low payment for their product which then makes its journey to far flung places to be made into the chocolate treats we know and love and which make a lot of profit for the manufacturers.

There are three main cacao farmers on the island of Grenada who produce fine, single estate chocolate and I was really thrilled to spend the day on one of these.  Crayfish Bay is run by English born Kim Russell and his wife.  Kim has formed a co-operative with his workers ensuring that they get 90% of the money he makes from the chocolate production which enables his workers to provide more than the basics for their family such as schooling and medical treatment but this wasn't always the case.  It took a vision and a lot of hard work bring together the local farmers and to build up the three main chocolate companies on the island; The Grenada Chocolate Company, Crayfish Bay and the Diamond Chocolate Company.

We arrived at Crayfish Bay early one morning during our second week on the island, equipped with bottles of water, hats and sunscreen, long trousers to keep the bugs off our legs and plenty of mosquito repellent.  Kim with his casual personality that hides a deep commitment to the island and the cocoa trade enthralled us with the history of Crayfish Bay, the work needed to look after the cocoa trees and the hard work that goes into the whole process.

Picking and processing the cocoa is a long and laborious process and one that cannot be factory mechanised and done in mass production.

There no neat paths to walk or pavements in the cocoa forest but gullies to jump over and uneven footing.

Kim explained the role of the banana plants to the cocoa. You see banana plants throughout and the reason is two-fold.  Firstly when the cocoa plants are young their roots don't go down deep enough to tap into a water supply so they use the banana plant roots to tap water from and then the banana is a faster growing plant and provides shade for the young cocoa plant until it is able to grow strong and tall.

A fresh water spring and a bit of shade, scent of nutmeg trees growing around you and the thought of the chocolate delights you will be making all add to the sense of tranquility and ideal life around you.

The cocoa pods vary in colour and are fairly large.  Mostly they are split open with a machete and then the inside white beans are pulled out and collected in large buckets.

The white covering of the beans is a flavour inhibitor and must be removed by putting in large bins to ferment for several days, leaving the cocoa beans to be dried and roasted.

Cocoa beans roasting.

A larger enterprise might roast them in stainless steel roasters but at Crayfish Bay the beans are roasted in small quantities and then laid out to dry in the sun

The cocoa beans dry in the sun. To keep them moving and to ensure they dry evenly workers 'walk the cocoa' with their bare feet expertly turning the beans without crushing the.

Crayfish Bay don't spend money on large industrial machines but in fact adapt existing machines to do a job.

Rumbling and shaking and suddenly the cocoa beans poured into the hoppa start coming out as a velvety, dark chocolate river.

On the day I was part of the picking team we picked twelve buckets of 'wet' cocoa and below you can see five of the twelve buckets that the two teams had picked. We really thought we had done well as our haul weighed 475 lbs and we were like rung out washing.  Kim quickly brought us down to earth with a bump - on a typical day his crew would pick approx 2,000-3,000 lbs of wet cocoa!  Nevertheless we felt proud of our achievement.

When we finished our 'work' we sat down on the open living room and drank freshly squeezed sweet seville orange juice which was followed by a huge bowl of Kim's signature Callaloo Soup with Dumplings and a fine buffet to help replace all the lost energy.

Crayfish Bay do not make any of their chocolate into bars for sale but instead ship their chocolate to a small, out of the way village in Suffolk to the home of Pump Street Bakery.

Set in the idyllic Suffolk country village of Orford Pump Street sell a selection of single bean, organic estate chocolates one of which is from Crayfish Bay in Grenada.

I made the journey to Orford to buy my chocolate last weekend to visit my daughter who lives in Ipswich which is a short drive away and I wanted to treat the grandchildren to a cup of hot chocolate and tell them the story of 'Nanny and the Chocolate Factory'!

Although Pump Street sell their chocolate online and offer a next day delivery service of their freshly baked breads and pastries I wanted to visit them personally and tell them how I picked some of the chocolate they would be selling in their bakery!

Once home the cocoa forests of Grenada seemed a long way away but the memory of picking, emptying the cocoa pods, traipsing up and down the steep hills, eating fresh mangoes and grapefruits will, along with the rest of the memories, stay in my mind forever!

I was a guest of Crayfish Bay Chocolate Plantation and want to thank them for a life-changing experience.  All opinions and photos are my own.

Bamboo Tableware from Premier Housewares

Premier Housewares have a great new range of plates, bowls and serving bowls out this summer.  They are made from bamboo (don't crack or retain odours) and come in three great colours, perfect for summer entertaining and perfect to match with their recent Green Leaf dinnerware collection.

The 'Eden' Bamboo is perfect for entertaining inside as well as outside being good looking enough for the dining room and robust enough for the BBQ food.

I was sent a selection which included the serving bowl in cream and in green, a small bowl in cream and in green, plate in cream and green and a tumbler. 

The large bowls were perfect for serving coleslaw

and potato salad and the small bowls for olives and nuts.

I used the plates to serve the cooked meat from the BBQ grill.

My table looked stylish, my food was presented well and I wasn't worried that the children would break anything.

For a BBQ I had last week I put sliced celery in the tumbler on the table, stylish and practical.

I was sent a selection to review.  All opinions and photos are my own.

Lakeland - Rollie Introduces Vertical Cooking

I have been sent the cutest little kitchen gadget ever.  It is called a Rollie and it has made it’s way over here from America (where they have a plethora of little kitchen gadget for every need!).

It is simple and portable, you may want one at work and at home. I know The Little People will get a kick out of my Rollie!

You heat it up, the light changes from red to green when it is ready.  Spray the inside with a non-stick spray or you can put a teaspoon of sunflower oil in and roll it around to coat.

Then simply crack two medium to large eggs inside, insert a wooden skewer and wait 6-8 minutes until the perfect cooked egg roll pops up. 

There is a little recipe booklet that come with the Rollie helping to create wraps or canapés for entertaining.  Pop one inside a buttered long roll and you have an instant egg sandwich.

Use it again and again and when you are finished just use the brush that comes with it to wash it out (never immerse the whole thing in water) and put it away till you need it again.  It does not take up much room either in the cupboard or on the surface.

Took mine to visit my grandsons last weekend and The Littlest One really loved it. So safe and simple that even a child could do it with an adult supervising. 

We got through quite a few eggs this weekend!

Thanks to Lakeland for supplying me with my Rollie. All opinions and photos are my own.

Grenada: Blue Horizons Garden Resort

Our first three nights in Grenada we stayed as guests of Blue Horizons Garden Resort - a lovely resort about a 5 minute walk to the famous Grand Anse Beach (Two miles of beautiful white sandy beach).

Blue Horizons is owned and run by Mr Arnold D Hopkin who has grown up in the hotel and leisure industry and who adds a touch of luxury with a home from home resort assuring the visitor to the island a warm welcome and enjoyable stay.

Upon our arrival at our semi-detached cottage we were greeted in true Grenada style - a big smile and a local rum punch! What a fantastic way to greet your guests.

The self catering cottages are slightly spread out saving you from being on top of someone else's accommodation and although slightly steep (not great for me with my asthma in the heat) the view you are rewarded with is worth the incline!

If you do have mobility issues ask for one of the lower down accommodations. 

The rooms were furnished with a touch of island design and very very comfortable.  Although we were out all day and out for meals it was still nice to make a coffee and have a fridge to keep our water and chocolate stash cool.

The Blue Horizons has an established restaurant and pool-side bar both serving local cuisine. 

On one evening we joined Mr Arnold Hopkin for a meal and he kept us intrigued all evening with his stories and knowledge of the island and its history, past and present.

The resort was lush and green and very warm with a nice breeze blowing once you walked up to your cabin.

I try to eat a healthy breakfast and the fresh fruit platter became my morning addiction, off setting all the lush, luxury food and chocolate we would be consuming on our daily adventures.

Of course some days I gave in and had the pancakes and nutmeg syrup, equally as addictive!

I thought it was lovely to see the day's fruit arriving and being sold from the back of someone's car! You know it is fresh.

Even though we were on the go there was always time to sit awhile and have a chat and listen to Kendra Hopkin, Arnold's daughter telling us all about the resort with her passion and love for her resort and beautiful island home.

Thank you Blue Horizons Garden Resort for you hospitality on our recent trip to Grenada courtesy of Grenada Tourist Authority.  All opinions and photo are my own.

Coffee Brewer - A Simple Idea

You know the feeling. You turn up at your hotel desperate for a cup of coffee and there on the tray is a selection of instant coffee and budget tea!  Aarrgh!!

Now you have an alternative. Coffee Brewer from Growers Cup offers the traveller a simple solution.

Flat and lightweight packets of freshly ground, single estate coffee in a packet that doubles as a caffetiere! Genius.

The coffee is Fair Trade and the packaging recyclable.

Each bag will, after the addition of 300ml boiling water and a brew time of 3-6 minutes (depends how strong you like it) produce two cups of freshly brewed coffee!

The coffee comes from countries like Brazil, Guatemala, Columbia and Bolivia.

For the tea drinker there is also a range of teas for when you want a perfect cup and forgot the tea pot! There is a range of black teas, green teas and fruit teas.

We stayed in a hotel recently to visit family and tried these out!

So light and easy to pack, there will always be one or two packs in my suitcase!

Thanks Growers Cup for my selection. All photos and opinions are my own?