In Family Time

We Are Staycationing

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on 3 Comments

We’ve looked at all of the options for our 2014 holiday and have decided that as we are surrounded by beautiful countryside and amazing coastlines here in the UK which we haven’t yet explored that home territories it is. We are very much an outdoorsy family in that we can’t wait to don our hiking boots, pack a picnic and get up onto our North Yorkshire Moors or hit the Forestry Commission trails. The joy of having boys is that they love to be outside, climbing, rolling mud and generally just adventuring. As it turns out there are a great number of places around the UK we can go to and enjoy these activities without ever having to get onto a plane.

My two just love exploring the great outdoors, regardless of what the UK weather throws at us!
My two just love exploring the great outdoors, regardless of what the UK weather throws at us!

Looking at the Owners Direct website there are a vast number of accommodations available in the UK (and abroad if we decided to take the plunge next year) and already I’ve narrowed it down to at least seven possible sites 🙂

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely agree that camping should be the authentic adventurers sleeping place of choice (and we have some camping weekends in the diary already) but for our main holiday I’ll be looking forward to hot showers and soft beds at the end of a busy day so having a pretty cottage waiting for us with all the mod cons appeals to me!

Roy fancies Wales. South Wales especially and trekking as well as horse riding with Kieran. Now horse riding is not an option for me (the last time I went horse riding was on our honeymoon eleven years ago and I ended up in hospital with an allergic reaction to something horsey – it wasn’t pretty, or particularly romantic!) so Taylor and I would either find somewhere else to visit (and looking at the areas around the cottages we are looking at there would be plenty) or we’d use the time to just chill out while the big boys did their stuff.

Wales sounds fabulous and is definitely on our hit list however I’ve been looking at family holidays in and around Cornwall. We have spectacular beaches up here in North Yorkshire with Whitby, Robin Hood’s Bay, Staithes and Flamborough Head (a favourite) to name a few however I have it on good authority that Cornwall’s seaside towns offer the very best ice cream, homemade “proper” Cornish pasties and of course slightly warmer beaches!

 

With blue UK skies like these to enjoy you can see why we’ve chosen to holiday at home this year!)
With blue UK skies like these to enjoy you can see why we’ve chosen to holiday at home this year!)

There are so many family friendly holiday options available and I have my eye on the 5* luxury self-catering barn conversion with views over the Kensey Valley at the moment. The barn looks amazing and self-catering doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I love to cook, even on holiday so having a break from it and choosing full-board somewhere doesn’t really appeal. With this option we can pack picnics for when our and cook whenever we are back / hungry and of course it isn’t a hardship to prepare food in a stunningly gorgeous kitchen.

There will be many coins tossed and a few thumb wars played out while we decided where exactly we are going (Cornwall!) however wherever we go I’m happy with the idea of another staycation and exploring a new area with my adventurers sounds perfect to me.

What have you got planned this summer?

In Food, General, Reviews / Sponsored

Degustabox – The Food Subscription Box

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on 1 Comment

There are many subscription services out and about these days, from beauty boxes to fresh meal ingredients with recipe cards being delivered to thousands of people around the UK every day. Degustabox is slightly different in that they offer a monthly service and what they send out are 10-15  new to the market longer lasting food items for you to enjoy.

I received a box free of charge in order to have a good nosy and to test out whether I thought the monthly box would be worth £12.99 (inc p&p) to us and I have to say, as frugal as I am when it comes to food I was pretty impressed with the contents and am considering an on-going delivery.

 Feb Degustabox

We received a box which as you can see was very well filled and yet had no wasteful packaging and the packing that was used could be recycled (a plus point for me).

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Needless to say we were thrilled with the box contents which included items from Ryvita, English Provender Co., Soreen, Schekters, Bahlsen, Tyrell’s, and Peppade. We also received a handy breakdown of the items, suggested recipes and coupons which altogether made for a well-rounded and enjoyable box.

The Soreen products, the fruit loaf and mini banana Soreen loaves went down very well with the boys (the mini-loaves are perfect for packed lunches), as did the Tyrell’s apple, and apple and cinnamon  crisps. The Schekters and Bahlsen drinks and treats lasted around five minutes, the Ryvita crackers I love, especially the sweet chilli ones which go down very well and come in a very generously sized bag. I haven’t tried out the English Provender Co. items as they are looking very pretty at present on my kitchen mantelpiece but I do have plans for them.

Peppadew Piquante Peppers

The absolute winner (for us) with this box has been the Peppadew Piquante Peppers. Roy absolutely loves these (hadn’t tried them before receiving the box) and we’ve used them in several different ways.  For a quick and easy pasta recipe, which works well in lunch boxes or as a warm lunch (especially with garlic bread) scroll down to the bottom of the post.

As an added bonus the Degustaboxes now come via DPD and customers receive an email/text when they are dispatched and another when delivery is due, along with a time slot. I wish more companies offered this. Fortunately I work from home however even for me having to schedule things around a delivery may sometimes be a pain when they could turn up at any time of the day.

As well as having treats and things to use as part of a meal I was pleased to see that I could use a lot of these items as part of the three packed lunches a day I make, so nothing was wasted and I avoided the supermarket as I didn’t have to buy lunchbox-fillers.

If you’d like to try a box for yourself enter the Degustabox code WWD0H when registering to receive a £3.00 discount. If you do like the idea of a food box such as this which keeps you up to date with the newest foods to be hitting the shelves make sure you keep an eye on the Facebook page and Twitter account for upcoming news and developments and do report back if you try a box after seeing this post!

With Peppadew Piquante Peppers

Simple Sweet Pepper & Bacon Pasta (With Peppadew Piquante Peppers).

  • Wholemeal pasta
  • Bacon lardons (unsmoked unless you prefer a smokier taste)
  • Mushrooms
  • Onions
  • Peppadew piquante peppers
  • Black pepper
  • Extra virgin olive oil

There are no quantities listed for this recipe as it is a throw together meal and you should adjust how much you use according to how many you are feeding.

  • Cook your wholemeal pasta, leaving it with a slight bite to it (not overcooked / too soft)
  • Stirfry with a little olive oil the finely sliced onions and mushrooms, adding the bacon lardons when the onions have started to soften.
  • Add the drained sweet peppers and continue to cook on a medium heat.
  • When cooked through mix the bacon and sweet pepper mixture with the drained pasta, stir and serve with coarse black pepper or chilli flakes for an extra kick.

 

This recipe is a perfect quick meal, a lunchbox filler and works well with a crisp salad, garlic bread or just on its own, perhaps topped with a little spicy (Mexican?) cheese.

 

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