Warm Up With Maggie Beer Soups*

As we head towards Winter, the days are getting chillier, rain is falling from the heavens and my general mood could be described as 'grumpy'. I'm a bit over driving in the rain, walking to school in the rain, and most of all, sitting in the damn rain for an hour at my son's weekly soccer training.

Thank god for coffee, afternoon visits from the neighbourhood's friendliest cat, Panda, and soup! Foodland have been marking down the Campbells Country Ladle soups lately, so I've been stocking up on Rich and Creamy Pumpkin and Creamy Chicken. However, even I get sick of the same old soups after a while, which I why I happily accepted the offer to trial a couple of Maggie Beer soups, Spiced Lamb and Tomato*, and Minestrone*. Spiced Lamb and Tomato is a welcome addition to the already established range of soups, which includes the flavours Pea & Ham, Lamb & Lentil, Minestrone and Sweet Potato, Pear & Ginger. Unfortunately I wasn't sent the other newbie to the range, Kale, Chickpea & Apple, which sounds interesting and would have been great to try. If you're interested in reading more about the Maggie Beer soup range, you can read my review of three other flavours here.

Directions: So easy! Just rip off the top of the packet, microwave for 3 minutes, stirring at the halfway point. Or you could heat it up on the stove-top, but who can be stuffed with that?

Spiced Lamb & Tomato Soup*

"With the tradition of a country cook's repertoire, this soup is thick with ripe tomato and spices, with the satisfying addition of perfectly cooked lamb."

Both hubby and I enjoyed this delicious soup. You can tell from the rich brown colour of the liquid that the soup is bursting with flavour, and this translates when put to the taste test. The liquid itself has a robust, well-developed flavour and the chunky vegetables really make this a meal in itself. The lamb is tender and juicy, and altogether the components of this thick soup combine to make a delicious, heart-warming meal. A firm favourite!

Minestrone Soup*

"With a strong nod to its mediterranean inspiration, this minestrone soup is thick with fresh vegetables and herbs with the addition of hearty cannellini beans."

This tastes so healthy, like you're eating two day's worth of vegetables in the one sitting! The liquid component is thinner and the flavour's not quite as robust as the Spiced Lamb & Tomato soup, but it's really packed full of vegetables. Unfortunately I'm not the biggest fan of cannellini beans, but I appreciate the generous mix of ingredients included in this one. I'd go for this one, with it's thinner consistency as an Entree to a main meal, and (on another occasion) use the Spiced Lamb & Tomato as a lazy Winter meal on its own.

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Disclaimer: Products marked * were provided for editorial consideration. Reviews are my honest, unbiased opinion. Please see the Disclosure page for further information.

What's your favourite soup flavour? Have you tried Maggie Beer soups before?

Maggie Beer Burnt Fig, Honeycomb & Caramel Ice Cream*

What's your favourite icecream flavour? My fussy son loves chocolate (don't most kids!?) and occasionally he'll get super-adventurous and opt for Neapolitan. Hubby will eat any type of icecream and I don't judge him for that. I love citrus flavours, especially in gelato form! Give me a lemon and lime gelato tub and you won't hear a peep out of me (because I'll be too busy scoffing it lol). But the other type of icecream I love is Gourmet. The type where two or three posh ingredients feature in the title, and it costs a bit more than your standard container of Vanilla, but is totally worth it. Like for instance....

Burnt Fig, Honeycomb & Caramel Ice Cream*. Sounds a bit special, doesn't it?

"With near cult status, this ice cream combines the richness of burnished figs with smooth caramel, golden honeycomb and real cream." ~ Maggie Beer

My husband and I both loved this yummy dessert. As you can see from my photos, I fancied myself a food stylist and totes smashed up a Crunchie chocolate bar to add character. Because honeycomb! I could have gone the Violet Crumble route, but Woolies had Crunchies on special, so Crunchie it was. I feel like I'm typing Crunchie a lot. Anyhoo, when I dished up our icecream I poured the smashed Crunchie (haha, sorry) over the top and BY GOD was it fantastic. It added a 'Crunchie' (OMG, last one, so sorry) texture that totally complemented the smooth, creamy Burnt Fig ice cream. You can really taste the Burnt Fig, too. It's been taken to the perfect level of 'burnished'. How does one even do this? I don't know. But Maggie, does and that's all that matters. Did I mention that this ice cream is also available in stick format, as in smothered in milk chocolate, Magnum-style?

Here's a serving suggestion from the Maggie Beer site: Warm Brioche with Burnt Fig, Honeycomb & Caramel Ice Cream. I still don't understand what brioche is you guys, but it does sound delicious. Just so long as I can smash a Crunchie over it! (I am going to hell).

Maggie Beer ice cream is available at Woolworths. Please see here for further Stockist information.

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Disclaimer: *This product was provided for editorial consideration. Reviews are my honest opinion. Links are for information purposes only and are not affiliate links. Please see the Disclosure page for further information.

Question: What's your favourite ice cream flavour?

Review: Maggie Beer Apricot Jam!*

Recently I was contacted about jam. Maggie Beer's Apricot Jam*, to be precise. Would I like to try some? Umm, yes please! After trialling and reviewing the delicious Maggie Beer Soup range (see my Review here), I was not passing this opportunity up!

From the Maggie Beer website: "A traditional preserve made with ripe, seasonal fruit. Apricot jam made this way should be given pride of place in an elaborate breakfast. Spread generously onto thick pieces of wholemeal toast with lashings of unsalted butter, slathered with jam so full of fruit that you need to press it down to make it stay on the toast."

The only disappointment with this Maggie Beer Apricot Jam is that the jar isn't big enough! The taste is sweet, delicious and bursting with flavour. The consistency is chunky, thick and resplendent with large, juicy apricot pieces. The apricots in this jam are so big I actually think they're full-sized or possibly halved apricots. Never before have I experienced a jam that contains such large pieces of fruit. Can a product taste gourmet? I don't know, but this jam just tastes yummy and better than the usual jams you buy from the supermarket.

The ingredients in this product are Fresh Apricot (49%), Sugar, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Vegetable Gum (Pectin).

Maggie Beer also makes Burnt Fig Jam and Raspberry & Pomegranate Jam and sells a trio called Jam Packed which contains Seville Marmalade. Interestingly, Jam Packed costs $29.90, but if you buy the three products it contains separately you'll only pay $29.85. That's five cents cheaper! Get onto this anomaly, Maggie Beer team! LOL.

How do you like your jam? Scones with jam and cream were met with great enthusiasm in my house, especially with thick Dollop cream. Yum! I also tried out this Apricot Jam on hot crumpets and English Muffins for breakfast, which made my mornings a bit special compared to the usual Vegemite on toast.

I found this recipe for Apricot Jam Fool With Almond And Rosemary Crisp on the Maggie Beer website and thought I'd include it for the Masterchefs out there!

Photo Credit: photo taken from the Maggie Beer website

Apricot Jam Fool With Almond And Rosemary Crisp
(recipe courtesy of maggiebeer.com.au)

INGREDIENTS
2/3 cup mascarpone
1 cup thickened cream
1/2 cup Apricot Jam
50ml Verjuice
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup flaked almonds
1 tspn rosemary, finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. To make the almond crisp, place the Verjuice, brown sugar, almonds and rosemary in a bowl and toss to combine.

3. Spread the almond mixture evenly on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

4. Bake for 9 minutes then rotate the tray and cook for another 9 minutes, watching to make sure the sugar does not burn.

5. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool, then break into shards.

6. Place the thickened cream into a mixing bowl and whisk until a soft peak. Fold through the mascarpone until combined.

7. To serve place ½ the cream mixture into the serving glasses then add ½ of the jam.

8. Repeat the layers finishing with apricot jam on the top.

9. Place shards of the almond and rosemary crisp on top along with rosemary to garnish

~~~~~~~~~

Apricot Jam is available from the Maggie Beer website, $9.95 for 285g.

*Disclaimer: This product was provided for consideration. No payment was received. Apricot Fool recipe and photo credit to the Maggie Beer website. This review is my honest opinion, as always.

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What's your favourite jam flavour?

Review: Maggie Beer Soup Range!

Three soups from the Maggie Beer range

I was excited to receive a media release recently, regarding the Maggie Beer range of soups. Here in South Australia, Maggie is a bit of a local treasure! You may be familiar with Maggie through her ABC TV show The Cook and the Chef, her appearances on Channel 10's MasterChef or perhaps her many successful cookbooks. She also runs The Farm Shop in the Barossa Valley and sells her gourmet products online. Of course, with the imminent onset of winter in Australia, it's the perfect time of year to be talking about soup. It's comfort food that warms the heart and the soul!

Maggie Beer: "My food philosophy will always remain; to cook from the heart, making the most of each and every ingredient I have to hand. Taste and quality are paramount in the creation of my range. My aim is to make the very best products available to everyone, regardless of cooking skills or the time restrictions of a busy lifestyle. I hope I can share my love of a good food life with you all."

There are five flavours in Maggie's heat and eat Soup range: old favourites Minestrone; Pea & Ham; Sweet Potato, Pear & Ginger plus two newbies, Mushroom and Lamb & Lentil. I love the pouch packaging. It's easy to rip off the top and either stand the pouch up in the microwave, or heat on the stove in a saucepan. At only 2-3 minutes in the microwave or 5 minutes on the stove, this is a meal that is convenient, simple to prepare and ready to serve in next to no time. I appreciate having a healthy dinner option in the house, and on nights where I really can't be bothered fussing around in the kitchen, these soups are a great alternative to ordering a pizza! Here are my thoughts on the three flavours I was sent......

Lamb & Lentil

Lamb & Lentil
This soup was delicious. Packed full of vegetables and tasty herbs, the lamb pieces were tender and succulent. This pretty much defines Winter (it is coming, you know) comfort food for me; hearty, meaty soup dense with healthy vegies. Even the lentils were yummy, and I'm not usually a lentil lover. I served this with cracked black pepper sprinkled over the top for some kick and it added the perfect final touch.

Ingredients include chicken stock, parsnip, celery, onion, verjuice, dijon mustard, lamb and brown lentils.

Pea & Ham

Pea & Ham
This was my favourite of the three soups. Again, this soup's chock a block with small chunky vegies. It's creamy, and the aroma of the ham in particular is a standout. The flavours meld perfectly together, with the bacon adding a lovely smokiness. This tasted fresher than tinned soup, and I'm not sure if the pouch packaging has anything to do with it, or if it's the gourmet recipe. My pea-despising husband surprisingly enjoyed this soup (he seriously hates peas), and commented it was really nice, so Maggie Beer is very talented indeed!

Ingredients include green split peas, chicken stock, bacon, grated carrot, garlic paste and extra virgin olive oil.

Sweet Potato, Pear & Ginger

Sweet Potato, Pear & Ginger
Hubby and I ate this last, because out of the three, it sounded the most like a dessert soup! What an intriguing combination of flavours! When I first tasted this silky smooth soup, I was taken aback, because it's a strange taste. The pear really comes to the forefront flavour-wise, and I can't say I really even tasted the ginger, such was the subtlety of it. But my tastebuds adjusted to the unusual concoction, and I ended up enjoying it! This is a great Vegetarian option.

Ingredients include vegetable stock, tomato, parsley, garlic, bay leaves, cream, lemon juice, thyme and white pepper.

RRP $8.49 each (500g)
Check out the Where To Buy page on Maggie's website for a Stockist near you.

Disclaimer: These products were provided for consideration. I was not paid. All reviews are my honest opinion.

What flavour takes your fancy?