Nayu's Product Review #12 White chocolate Kellogg's Coco Pops

I always have some frozen fruit after my cereal in my Eeyore bowl

I can't remember where I saw this delicious sounding cereal advertised, but I knew I had to have it. Coco pops is a longstanding personal joke with a friend who lived off them a lot during university deadlines, so I got her a packet too. Okay so my family picked it up because I forgot to add it to my Sainsbury's order, but my friend still has one. How are they? 

This isn't a sponsored post, sadly!

I had heard prior to eating them that they didn't make the milk go chocolatey, which was a little disappointing but didn't put me off trying them. My family tried them first, without milk and gave the verdict they are sweet (despite having less sugar in). Me, they are a tasty cereal. With the milk it is easier to taste the white chocolate flavour (they are NOT coated in white chocolate), and they are highly enjoyable. Would I buy them again? Yes but there are many cheaper cereals so this will probably be my only box, unless Sainsbury's does their own brand. 

I would give them a go, you can always use them in baking if you aren't that keen on them!  

Nayu's Product Review #6 Cadbury's Oreo Hot Chocolate.

These in hot chocolate form? Count me in to try it!

I love hot chocolate in many flavours - even when it's a hot day I may drink it, or just have it cold (I use a tiny bit of boiled water from the kettle to mix up the powder, then add cold milk to make it a refreshing milkshake (the kind without ice cream). I've tried several of what I call big brand hot chocolate flavours with a range of success, so was a little dubious about this one. In general I actually am not keen on Cadbury's hot chocolate, I prefer Options brand, Whittards (special treat!), or simply make up my own with either actual chocolate or plain cocoa (so many ways to customise it this way). A lot of coffee shops use Cadbury's original hot chocolate so I tend to avoid having it outside of my house. (This is a personal opinion, I know many people like it. This isn't a sponsored post!)

Tada! Weirdly this was the only picture I could find without taking one myself - I don't have 3 jars!

As a lover of oreos of course I had to try Cadbury's new drink. It does say oreo flavour on the packaging, so it probably doesn't have actual oreos in (hmm, I wonder if blitzing the actual cookies with milk would work? I may have to try that soon in the name of science!) On the first taste I immediately sensed that familiar Cadbury's hot chocolate taste, so I was a bit disappointed. However, a few sips later it really did taste quite a bit like an oreo, if you were to mix both the cookie part and the scrummy middle together in one flavour mix. I like it enough that I would buy it again if it's on offer, but for in the mean time I'll enjoy every last bit of the mixture, and then use other hot chocolate versions. I have another I tried but I'll save that for another post. 

I'd love to know what type of hot chocolate you like! (This isn't my photo, sadly).

Nayu's Project Progress #35 Chocolate themed blankets

I wonder how many of you will have some chocolate by the end of this post!

 It's been far too long since I've done one of these (no I'm not telling you how many months...) but I want to share what I've been up to lately. I've been doing a bit of craft, some on a blanket which I'll show in another post that's already for someone, but the blankets featured in this post will be for sale soon (start of April for the finished one) when I reopen my shop (it needs a bit of tweaking after my mega meds which I'm currently recovering from). 

Here's a peek at what one looks like, with cream and two shades of brown.

Most people like chocolate, and it's all I've been thinking of while making these blankets - the yarn looks like all three types - white, milk, and dark chocolate! 

Here it is!

 I love making what are often called 'granny' squares and putting them together using a seamless method called 'join as you go'. They are easy, require no pattern, and it's fun watching the blanket grow over time. 

I thought you might like a comparison picture for the chocolate ^u^ I wanted a smaller blanket, so I started another using the same colours but this time in a different pattern. 

Now this one looks more like those chocolate buttons...

Going round and round has it's own charm, just like 'granny' squares (or medalians as some call them). Both are relaxing in their own way. I didn't sew in the ends of the previous blanket until the end, when I had loads to do. This time I'm doing the sewing in every 4 rows, so I get a bit of rhythm with the crochet, not stop-start at every row. 

I hope this inspires you to get creative - it doesn't have to be with yarn, it can be sewing, colouring in, gardening - whatever you love have fun!

Nayu's Product Review #4 Oreo Thins

When I was shopping in Sainsbury's on Thursday I noticed a new type of oreo on the end of an aisle (the fateful place where the shop tempts us with offers). Oreo thins sounded intriguing, so since they were 50p per box I got 2 of them.

This is true, they are thinner.. Moving on to my opinion...

Opening them up they are contained in 2 packages, which is a good idea for freshness. They smelt and looked like an oreo, albeit with less filling. That should have sent warning bells to me but it didn't.Upon tasting it I realised a huge part of the fun of oreos was the large filling, seen below in an ordinary sized oreo. 

Proper oreo!!!

The oreo thins still taste like oreos, but with less filling they aren't something I'd buy again. I'll happy eat them, but they aren't proper oreos to me, which are totally delicious. I suppose if you like the taste and want less calories then the thins are the way to go, but if you like the full oreo experience stick with the original size. 

These oreos were bought by me and not endorse by whoever makes them. 

Nayu's Craft Time #261 Beauty and the Beast audiobooks + Cadbury's Chocolate Roundies

Best B&B retelling EVER!!!!

I will be doing some crochet tonight to yet another retelling of Beauty and the Beast. This weekend I relistened to the audio version of Beauty by a brilliant fairytale reteller Robyn McKinley, and I've just started her newest one (again a B&B retelling), made 20 years after her original one.

 Rose Daughter is so far very different, to Beauty, but it's a bit too early to tell how much I like it yet. I don't dislike it, magic is more prominent than in Beauty (which I adore so much!), and yes, give me a few more chapters before I form an opinion on it. 

Whatever you do, be it craft, audiobook listening, actual book/ebook reading, watching TV, listening to music - at some point you will need a snack, and today I'm talking about a new Cadbury biscuit - the Roundie! 

Here it is in all it's glory! (not my picture)

The name makes me smile - it is accurate - but my family discovered it this week. It is currently on offer in Sainsbury's - I'm hoping the half price discount will last until I go shopping on Friday. I tried one yesterday (or was it the day before)....oh my word it is amazing!!!! It's chocolate and wafer layers and what tastes like a caramel slash fudge, one that's similar to fudge pieces I've had from a luxury hot chocolate. 

I like loads of types of chocolate, but this is definitely high on my favourite chocolate bar lists! My family has mixed reaction, one vote for it's ok but not amazing, another saying it's rather good (translate as very good). I'd love to know what you think if you've tried them! 

Ribbit!

Nayu's Craft Time #237 Fantastic time in Devon!

All unpacked! (mine aren't this pretty)

Sorry I'm later than expected in posting - it's taken longer than expected to recover from my busy but fun Devon trip. Still not quite back to what counts as normality for me, but getting there slowly. Managing a small bit of blogging and checking emails today, hoping to do a bit more tomorrow. Today's the first day of doing online stuff and I didn't want to leave in you in limbo any longer. 

Entire phrase should read 'Thank you for looking after the cat" It uses the same chocolate mould I've used for a cat in the past!

I had a brilliant trip, it was so fun seeing my friend again. I made it to a chocolate shop, full of chocolate & they made chocolate on site (none being made when I went). I got this chocolate for my family - I live with them, but our cat is rather attached to me and becomes an Extremely Grumpy Madam whenever I'm away. I saw a rose garden (minus roses as they weren't blooming yet), had a yummy ice cream (blue bubblegum and blackcurrent with clotted cream), found an elusive M&S cafe (the store is huge!), watched lots of dvds and chatted lots too. 

I'm hoping to start craft again today, not been up for it, but it depends how I am once I've done today's chores (sorting laundry is a large effort activity for me and I usually do it over 2 days (sort 1 day, put away the next). 

Hope you have a good one!

Nayu's Receipes #13 Gluten free and vegan cupcakes!

I hope you're all well as we reach the middle of the week. As promised in an earlier post I'm here to show you both the gluten free and the vegan cupcakes which I baked recently! They turned out really well, even if I did put the vegan chocolate frosting on the gluten free cupcakes - thankfully it was a gluten free frosting. I simply made up a lemon frosting as I had no more vegan chocolate. You don't have to miss out on these classic treats just because you have particular dietry needs. They can also be used to bake a whole cake, the cooking time would be longer but that's all. 

Especially when it's for other people!

I decided to use 2 different cupcakes rather than make a gluten free vegan recipe because gluten free flour would be an extra element that could go a bit wild since I'm used to baking cupcakes with eggs and butter. I can link you to the vegan recipe, which isn't my own but can be found on Minimalist Baker's One Bowl Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes. I simply omitted the funfetti as I didn't have any. 

I made the gluten free cupcakes first using my own unique recipe & the advice about gluten free flour from a friend. 

Gluten free cupcakes

 

Here they are with frosting on! Super yummy

Ingredients

Weigh however many eggs you want to use in their shell. 

Using the same weight for butter (or margerine/vegan equivalent), self-raising flour (can be gluten free), and sugar of your choice. 

I did use plain flour on this occasion, adding 3 teaspoons of baking flour. Don't use that amount!!! I'll try 2 or even 1 next time (if I don't use self-raising flour which is so much simpler). The cupcakes rose and spread like crazy!!! I had to bail out the mix part way through into extra cupcake cases, as they were too big.  

Method

Mix butter and sugar together until they are combined. 

Crack eggs into the mix (pick out any shell that gets in), add the flour and mix until combined.  

Pour in cupcake cases which are on a tray. This doesn't have to be a special cupcake tray, mine wasn't. 

Cook at 180C/356F in an oven. Cook for at least 10 minutes, until a knife goes through the middle and comes away clean. Times vary depending on both ovens and how much you fill the cupcakes. 

Vegan cupcake yumminess!

I'd learned my lesson when the next day I baked the One Bowl Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes (minus the funfetti), read the recipe and at first only filled the cases 1/4 full. When double checking the recipe I saw I'd read the amount wrong, it should be 3/4. I sort of stuck to a frazzle over half as I wasn't sure the science of eggless cupcakes worked. The only 'special' ingredient you need is apple cider vinegar, which can be exchanged for lemon juice. These baked beautifully, although did take a bit longer than expected to bake. Both the mix and the finished cupcakes tasted similar to cupcakes (if you're used to food tasting different to what a 'normal' version is). 

I was very pleased with the outcome and the frostings. My ingredients weren't measured at all. 

Vegan chocolate frosting (can also be used for a dairy version)

Yummy!

Melt a few small packets of vegan chocolate buttons 

Add a bit of non-dairy milk and non-dairy butter  

Mix well before slowly adding icing sugar until you reach the consistency you like. 

Note: Make sure you put them on the correct type of cupcakes! 

Lemon frosting (naturally vegan) 

More yummy frosting!

Squeeze some lemon juice in a bowl (I used 3/4 of a lemon)

Add icing sugar and extra non-dairy milk/normal milk/water until you get the consistancy you like. 

My vegan chocolate frosting was enough for half a batch of cupcakes, and the lemon frosting made enough for a whole batch of cupcakes. Because I was giving them to 2 friends I only used half of each batch, freezing the rest for another day. I froze the leftover lemon frosting too! There was no chocolate frosting left. 

I hope you enjoyed my vegan and gluten free cupcake baking adventure - please let me know if you decide to bake these!  I'm now going to spend the rest of my day reading and gaming! Today was a blogging day (mostly on my other blog) and now I'm resting up in preparation for my trip to Devon on Saturday!

Nayu's Craft News #176 Cookie Mission Part A & Some Mixed News

A good motto for life be you a crocheter or a knitter!

Recently I've realised that frequently my Nayu's Craft News doesn't always contain craft, but who really cares! It usually gets a mention, even if it's how little I've done in a week (life, huh?). Anyway, it's been a crazy week. I had so much fun staying over at my friend's, even if it was tiring & I needed Monday to recover. I baked Tuesday as I wasn't good enough for computer work (in hindsight I shouldn't have baked...), then needed the expected day's rest after (which I had hoped I could do work but really I should have known better).

Cookies!!!!

On Tuesday I baked some cookies as I wasn't up to blog work. I made these delicious chocolate button cookies by halving Cadbury's milk buttons (the mixed bag with white & milk chocolate buttons), and working them into a recipe instead of chocolate chips. I'm on the hunt for a super yummy cookie recipe which results in lovely soft chocolate chip cookies that resemble the store made ones which are enviously soft. While super yummy these particular ones weren't all that soft, and I'd taken them out when soft in the middle. So the hunt continues! If you know a recipe, please point me in the right direction as I'm desperate to find soft chocolate chip cookies! I'm not putting this in one of my recipe posts because I'm using other people's recipes rather than my own. 

This was over a year ago, with Zack on the right (not that you can see he is mostly a dark grey) & the now deceased Flower (who was replaced by Ushio, not pictured here)

My mixed news in summary is that my zebra finch Zack died today, and I've got a new bengalese to keep the current bengalese finch called Ushio happy. As I am trying to post more regularly when life allows me, I will leave that post until tomorrow, which will include the reveal for the new bird's name! Which yes like Ushio is Japanese ^o^ I'm an anime fan, what do you expect? 

I'm a bit worn out from today's events, which included being up since 3am (because my body likes doing that to me), so no craft tonight. I'll be gaming like crazy as I'm trying to place high enough in a current event for the game Love Live! School Idol Festival  

 (I really want to get the Ruby card (red head)! It will take a lot of work & a bit of luck to get there - I'll do a post soon on my other blog, Nayu's Reading Corner, which I wax lyrical over anime & gaming (or will be...)  and putting anime I've seen many times on the dvd player for background noise. 

Please do tune back in tomorrow to meet the newest member of my family! 

Sneak preview of my new room mates!

Nayu's Craft Time #129 Saving flowers, the reviving power of hot chocolate, & friendship!!

Any idea what this is?

Hi all! I'm trying to see if watercress flowers saved from watercress my family got me when they went to a watercress fair will flower for me. I've no idea, but it seemed a shame to throw them away without giving them a chance.

Hot chocolate kept me going in the afternoon - sadly without the cream on top!

I hope you are looking forward to the weekend. This weekend I'm looking forward to some blog catching up (mostly my other blog), as well as a lot of rest time as I'm a bit busy visiting people at the moment. Yesterday's craft club visit went well, although combined with a small grocery shop wiped me out a little more than expected, leading to an unintended rest day yesterday (which is currently today as I'm typing this post). 

This afternoon I'm having lunch with a good friend who like me has chronic illness and has her own business selling flowers, although she is a bit more advanced in the selling side than I am but it's nice to get tips from her. Monday I am out all day crafting with another friend who I see every month. I am determined to get some sewing in before I see her! Hopefully I can do that tomorrow (Sat) or at least a little on Sun. We'll see! 

Nayu's Craft Time #125 Ode to heat, forgotten groceries, flavoured milk love!

I love cute parasols - they are used like umbrellas a lot in Japan when it's sunny to stay in the shade

I'm a bit sad by the fact the wonderful mini heatwave seems to have stopped here in my part of 

England. Please come back! Minus yesterday when I randomly felt flakey the heat has really helped my too cold self.

Ideally I'd use fresh limes, but this would be an expensive habit, so lime squash it is for me! Picture source

While my original plans of writing yesterday went out the wide open window, I managed to get a few groceries, albeit going back round one shop after I'd shopped there as I'd forgotten 2 essential items: 

1) lime cordial - This is refreshing as an occasional drink when I want more than water, plus I have it when I wake up as it takes away a bit of the taste water gets after a night's sleep.
 

2) crisps - absolutely necessary as they help ward off headaches as and when they occur. Doesn't always cure them, but salt does seem to ease it a bit.

My favourite flavour is cheese and onion, then salt and vinegar and sweet chilli, although so long as it's a crisp I often don't mind the flavour!

Felt a bit silly going back in the shop, but needs must. 

Total fangirl love! Starting book 3 today, book 4 isn't pictured but there is one.

Before and after shopping I was stuck in a series by James Patterson, the Young Adult Confessions series. Totally brilliant! Highly recommend for being full of plot twists. Reread book 1 as it had been too lon since I first read it that I wanted the characters fresh in my mind-I'm readin the series for review for the publisher so while book 2 does recap book 1 briefly, I knew it wouldn't be enough for me.

 

I do!

There was no craft yesterday as I wasn't up foe it, i did watch some anime-almost always able to watch it! However, I was able to 'make' chocolate milk! That counts as cookin in my view ^u^ My family had treated me to Hershey's syrup. 

It was a twin-pack - double yum!

I adore anything Hershey's, so heated up some milk in the microwave then squeezed the sauce in, not measuring it but checking the flavour by taste. Super yummy!! Highly recommend it, and if you don't like Hershy's maybe try with different sauces! Naturally real chocolate melted into milk creates the best chocolate milk, but sauces are handy when you are short on time/chocolate (fine for an occasional treat)  I'd love to know what your favourite type of milk drink is and how you make it! 

I possibly like banana milk the best...only I like banana flavoured milk, not milk made with actual bananas as they don't taste quite right (bad me for liking artificial milk over fresh bananas! The flavour is too variable when real bananas are involved. I've had both banana milk from the store, and made banana milk using banana essence (must get some more..))

This cute banana picture is for a Korean banana milk!

Here's what I'm eating today...

These are experimental truffles, I didn't make lots decorated as I ran out of time.

It's the main event day of my weekend getaway: this is why I've been making so many chocolate delights! Will need them to keep me going ^o^ 

These are my own invention, lemon meringue white chocolate truffles!

Nayu's Craft Time #107 I Sort of Return

I'm going on a trip! I wish this was my suitcase.

Hi everyone! I'm back, kind of :) Going away Fri-Mon for a family weekend hence my 'sort of' return. Weather still isn't my friend right now, and I still think I may be in aftereffects of ketamine on Sunday (my mega strong pain meds) at least that's what I'm telling myself! but I'm doing what I can when I can, which is all any of us can do. 

This morning it took extra long to wake up because my cat appeared. I started stroking her, but then she kept wanting attention so every few moments I'd stop I give her a few strokes. So it was partly her own fault that breakfast was late! 

So far this morning I have renewed my driving licence. Needs to be done by 10th April so I realised I needed to get a move on. While family members used the post office for renewal, a friend had used the online renewal which uses your passport photo, so in the name of expediency (is that a word? Is it the right word? Sorry if it isn't) I spent 30 minutes sorting that out. I had to change the details several times because I managed to make mistakes, including calling myself a Doctor instead of a Miss. That's a case of the cursor going down a few options by accident on that particular drop down menu. >o< It says I should get one within 2 weeks....let's hope that's true! 

Yummy!

I've made a load of yummy lemon meringue truffles, some like these ones (round) and others a variety of shapes. It can be a little tricky getting them out of the moulds as the truffle part is soft (there's a layer of white chocolate underneath so they can be picked up), so it will be much easier making simple chocolates (melt chocolate, pour in mould) after lunch today. All of these are for the weekend, and I'm sure they will be enjoyed, along with some flapjacks. 

That's another part of the this post's title. I'm going to try and schedule posts until Tuesday, since I don't know how much internet access I'll have at where I'm staying. That's the theory, anyway! Will wait and see what happens ^o^ Rapidly using up my energy reserves today so will save post writing until tomorrow. These posts require thought, whereas the reviews for my other blog, Nayu's Reading Corner, don't since I write the main review shortly after reading the book so it's a matter of copy and paste.

(+ Good Afternoon + Good Evening!)