And the winner is... {Vita-Wheat lunch slices comp}

Thanks to all of you who entered! Sadly we can only have 1 winner, and the winner is...

Blithe!

I have to confess, anything with gorgonzola is a real winner for me. And teamed with proscuitto and fresh fig made it pretty compelling. I also loved that it was her fantasy topping. I have fantasy versus reality foods too. Usually at breakfast when I want bacon but end up having no-fat yogurt. *sigh*

Blithe, can you please pop me an email {mel@melkettle.com.au} with your contact details and I'll arrange for this gorgeous hamper to be delivered!

HUGE thanks again to Vita-Wheat Lunch Slices for providing the prize, and my samples. Nom nom nom...

New! Vita-Wheat Lunch Slices - and a competition {sponsored post}

Argh! What am I going to have for lunch! It's a frequent question I ask myself, generally around 11.30am. As I work from home I often have leftovers, or, even better, take the time to cook something yummy. But leftovers can sometimes be a bit boring {especially on the 3rd day...}. And I don't always have time or desire to cook. 


So when the lovely people at The Soup asked me if I wanted to try the new Vita-Wheat Lunch Slices, OF COURSE I said yes.

So. What are they like? Well, they are basically like regular Vita-Wheat biscuits on steroids! More than twice the size, and packed full of seeds and grains, they are a great alternative to bread for lunch.

I was sent sample packs of each of the four varieties - soy and linseed; sunflower, oats and chia; poppy, sunflower and rye; and sunflower, pumpkin and canola. I'd tell you my favourite but they are all pretty good! What I REALLY like is that I can pronounce all the ingredients. And yes, my grandmothers would have been familiar with them all too.

As well as sending me a bunch of samples, I've also been given a fabulous prize to give-away. This GREAT hamper will go to my reader who comes up with the most delicious sounding topping combo. So get your thinking caps on!

The prize!

To get you started, these are two of my favourites:

• avocado, smoked salmon, red onion and capers
• baba ganoush, leftover BBQ chicken and tomato

Baba ganoush, leftover BBQ chicken, tomato - I added a bit of lime salt. SO GOOD!

Avocado, smoked salmon, red onion rings and a couple of capers. 

So. To be in the running to win, tell me your favourite topping combo to go on the new Vita-Wheat Lunch Slices. The best answer will win the hamper of goodies. 

Competition closes at 5pm Brisbane time, Monday 24 October 2011. ENTER NOW! 

Read the fine print. 

P.S.  Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you if you want to enter the comp {so I can contact you if you win!} - either link to your website or email me mel AT melkettle.com.au 

WIN Melinda's Gluten Free Goodies {SPONSORED}

Did you know that about 1 in 100 Australian's have coeliac disease? And, staggeringly, 75% of people don't know that they have it! {or 157,000 of us - sheesh!}

What is coeliac disease I hear you ask - well, it's an auto-immune disease (simply, the body attacks itself - ick!). Coeliacs need to avoid gluten - a protein that is in heaps of foods including wheat, rye, barley and oats. Basically their bodies don't like these foods.

Imagine how hard it would be if you couldn't eat any of those foods! I know that I am just very grateful for my not-so-serious wheat and dairy intolerances.

But I draw this to your attention for 2 reasons. First, next week (13-20 March) is Coeliac Awareness Week.

And second {and MOST importantly}, my friend Melinda - from Melinda's Gluten Free Goodies - has launched a new iPhone app to help all of you who have friends who are coeliac {or have other food allergies}. YAY I hear you say! A simple solution for those of us who scratch our heads and wonder what to cook when entertaining our food-allergy-prone friends.

You can download the Allergy Free Entertaining app for the low, low price of $5.99 OR you can WIN a copy by entering the competition below.

But if this all sounds too hard, you can also buy one of Melinda's delicious sweet or savoury pre-mixes. Now, you mostly know that I'm not a fan of the pre-mix, but when Melinda gave me a few samples, I had to try them {actually, I delegated the cooking bit!}. My coeliac cousin was visiting, spied the pretty pink boxes, and whipped up the Sweet Caramel Cakes and the Lemon Curd Delights. In about 2 minutes flat. For afternoon tea. Her verdict - quick, easy and so, so delicious. 

Melinda's savoury range - the pepper and chive crackers are my favourite!

YUM! Home-baked Melinda's goodies. 

So, down to business. The competition. Tell me in 25 words or less what your biggest challenge is when cooking for people with food allergies or intolerances.

The best answer will win a $100 worth of Melinda's Gluten Free Goodies. The next 4 top answers will win a free download of the Allergy Free Entertaining App.

Competition closes on Thursday 31 March 2011. ENTER NOW!

Read the fine print. 

PS Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you if you want to enter the comp {so I can contact you if you win!} - either link to your website or email me mel AT melkettle.com.au 

AND the winners are... {SPONSORED POST}

WOW! Thank you so much to all of you who entered my first ever blog comp! And a big thank you to Finish Quantum for sponsoring it.

And of course thank you to my guest judge for helping me choose a winner. It was HARD! I could relate to so many of your answers:

• Claire @ Claire K Creations - I haven't  had cheesecake issues but when you use a spring-form pan, MAKE SURE THE CAKE IS COOKED before you pop the spring. Especially when you pop it in front of a dinner table full of guest {it was messy...}
• Redpene - I had a chilli incident but with a burning lip and burning hands. OUCH!
• Naisargi - I love tumeric, hate the yellow. A quick tip is to spray your plastic containers with a quick burst of oil before you add the leftovers - the coat of oil will prevent staining {this also works for preventing tomato stains}
• Kirsty Wallett - boiling oil terrifies me too - does anyone remember the old TV ad where a woman screams out "oh my God the chips!!" as her kitchen goes up in flames? Well, let's just say we had a similar family incident. I will hasten to add that I was not involved. I was overseas. And on the phone to the family member who screamed that out, dropped the phone and ran! And it was in the days when it cost about $5 a minute to call anywhere overseas...  
• Jane of Australia - I love garlic too. When I worked in retail many years ago a customer {a very cute, young male customer} stood a bit too close and said "pheewwweee I guess you ate a lot of garlic for dinner last night!" I was mortified...
• Kylie C - I had your experience but with spag bol made with kangaroo mince. I was NOT expecting such a strong smell or taste! 

But there can only be two winners. 

First prize is awarded to Redpene: "Fresh chilli. Love eating it, but cooking with it's a serious PITA, especially making sure none of the chilli juices make contact with skin. Let me tell you, attempting to remove a contact lens from your eye after you've been cooking with the hot stuff isn't that much fun."

Second prize goes to Kirsty Wallett: "Large amounts of boiling oil! I wanted to fry calamari, I didn't have a fryer, so used a pan. Got busy prepping & heard a ‘whoosh’ sound behind me (like a nuclear mushroom I imagine) & turned around to find my oil & pot on fire! The pot never recovered."

Thank you again to everyone who entered. 

Competition sponsored by Finish Quantum {SPONSORED}

I'm so excited to announce my first blog competition!

This competition is sponsored by Finish Quantum - they develop dishwashing products so of course I LOVE them as I HATE doing dishes {as anyone who knows me knows!}.

The Finish Quantum product is the most premium product in the Finish dishwasher range - and designed with the latest technology that cleans even the yukkiest muck of dirty dishes. I especially love that it cleans off the remains of my scrambled egg that I cook in a bowl in the microwave {I can't believe I just admitted I cook scrambled egg in the microwave...}.  My hubby loves that too (he used to be the one who scrubbed it off!

Thanks to Finish Quantum I have been given $250 worth of prizes. What do you have to do to enter?? It's simple.

Tell me, in 50 words or less {in the comments section below}, what ingredient you are too scared or intimidated to cook with and why.

The two answers I think are the best will win:

1st prize - a $150 gift voucher for your choice of Wheel & Barrow, Robins Kitchen or Taste for the Love of Cooking

2nd prize - a $100 gift voucher for your choice of Wheel & Barrow, Robins Kitchen or Taste for the Love of Cooking.

The competition closes at 5pm, AEST Sunday 23 January 2011. Winners will be notified by email and announced on this blog on Monday 24 January 2011.

One entry per person, Australian residents only {sorry readers overseas}.

Full terms and conditions can be viewed here.

Good luck!!!