Torviewtoronto: giveaway

Showing posts with label giveaway. Show all posts

Plasma car review and giveaways

We didn't ride the Plasma Car on this flooring, it is just for the purpose of pictures

I had a wonderful opportunity to review this plasma car. It is an awesome ride. The only thing needed to ride this car is, energy and a mood to have fun.

Everything on the car is controlled by the steering wheels. There are NO batteries, gears or pedals. It is easy to assemble, as the instructions are straight forward. The car will hold up to 120 lbs on uneven surfaces and 220 lbs on smooth surfaces. I love the sleek design and the attractive choice of bright colours that are available.

It is recommended by the designers to ride the car on smooth floors. We used them on hardwood floors because it is freezing outside and there is snow :) So far, nothing happened to the floor and there were no scrapes. Children and adults will have to learn to share ;) and patiently wait for their turn to ride the car. It is easy to spend hours of fun moving around in this car.

Plasma car is generously sponsoring 2 cars to giveaway. Giveaways are open to USA and Canada and ends on January 31st. Update: The giveaway winners are Heather and Laura

Dinosaur birthday cake

This birthday cake is made for my little guy.

One recipe of chocolate cake baked in a heart shape pan. Cut the heart shape from the middle into two, put some icing in between and attach it together. Place the cake over the cake board by putting some icing on the board. I used a homemade cake board.

For the chocolate cake:

I used the same recipe as the butter cake but instead of 1 1/2 cups flour I used,

1 1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 tsp baking powder

One recipe butter cake baked in a circle shape pan.

I carved each shape of the dinosaur with a knife. I made stencils by drawing the shapes on paper first. This way there is no waste and I used up all the cake.

To cover the body I used chocolate buttercream and dusted with cocoa powder. I added some sprinkles to add some friendliness and colour to the dinosaur body.

For the eyes, I used chocolate fudge with a little bit of royal icing and peppercorn.

Oreo cookies for the mouth and the rest was dusted on the cake board.

For the claws I dipped one side of the cashew nuts in melted chocolate.

For the spikes I cut marshmallow into triangles then dipped in melted chocolate.

The cake board is decorated with green tinted desiccated coconut and crushed oreos. To finish up I made this decorative tree.

Check out Smorgie for a list of restaurants. The site is easy to use when trying to find places to go for a night out, meet clients, or to find local eats when traveling. This is an easy way to keep a list of restaurants and recommend it to friends. It is free to join it, all you do is sign up with your email address. This sponsorship is brought by Smorgie.com who have partnered with foodieblog for this promotion.

I am excited to have been visited by the fairy hobmother on this special day to receive a gift card. Check out the Induction technology cooking appliance. It saves money in the long run and uses magnetic fields to heat the base and sides of compatible induction pans. The hob itself is cool to the touch for safety reasons, it is easy to clean and has a child lock. There is a video on the site that explains it well. Dear friends who are following Torviewtoronto, Hobmother will visit one of you soon :)

Bombay biryani

There are two giveaways that ends December 15th: Please check and leave a comment on the posts if you are interested and want to win.

Fun kits to bake with children for the holidays.

Camelina oil a healthy oil with lots of benefits.

A good offer for the holidays if you want to Learn the secrets of professional photographers check this out.

1 1/2 cups basmati rice soak for 1/2 hour

1 tbsp salt

water 1" above the rice level

Cook the rice separate with 1 tbsp salt in water about 1" above the rice level. Cook until more than half cooked, remove from heat and drain the water if there is any.

2 tbsp ghee or oil

2 cups meat cut into cubes

1 cup onion

1 cup tomatoes

1 cup potatoes cut into cubes

1 tbsp ginger grated or paste

1/2 tbsp garlic paste

1/2 cup yogurt whipped

2 tbsp biryani mix *

1 1/2 cups water *

Heat ghee or oil and fry the onions till golden. Then add the tomatoes and fry till it softens. Add meat, ginger, garlic, potatoes, yogurt and biryani mix. Fry for about 10 minutes then add 1 1/2 cups water and cook on low heat till meat is tender.

* If making chicken reduce the amount of water to 1 cup and cook covered. Increase the heat and make the gravy thick.

Spread the cooked meat and curry in a pot then layer the rice, make two layers. Cover the pot tight and cook on low heat till rice is fully cooked. Mix before serving.

This rice can be served with raita yogurt salad.

* Recipe adapted from Shan Bombay biryani packet. It is sometimes convenient to use these types of spice mixtures that has lots of flavour.

Panko coated fried chicken

Dear friends,

Check out the fabulous dishes linked to the food palette series finale rainbow colours. Thank you for participating in the food palette series, please accept this award.

A special thank you to all the dear friends for leaving encouraging comments and following the site. Happy to have friends like you :)

Panko coated fried chicken

8 to 10 pieces of chicken

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/2 tbsp chillie powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup water

Boil the chicken with turmeric, salt and chillie powder for about 10 minutes till the water evaporates. Reduce or increase the water depending on the amount of chicken and size of the pieces. Leave it to cool.

batter to dip

1 egg

1/4 cup flour

1/4 to 1/2 cup water

Make a batter with a thick pourable consistency.

Dip the cooled chicken in the batter. And coat with the panko breadcrumb mixture.

breadcrumb coat

1 to 2 cups panko breadcrumbs to coat

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Mix all the ingredients. Coat the chicken and keep it ready to fry.

oil to fry

Fry the chicken in a pan with oil 2" high. Fry till all sides are golden brown in high to medium high heat temperature, reduce the temperature if it is getting brown fast. Serve hot with sauce.

There is no need to fry for a long time because the chicken was cooked before it was fried.

This goes to Midweek fiesta.

Sweet mango chutney, giveaway and event

1 unripe mango 1 1/2 cups minced in a food processor

1/2 cup to 3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tbsp garlic

1/2 tbsp ginger

1/4 tsp chillie powder

1 tbsp vinegar

Mix the minced mango with sugar and leave it covered with a cling film at room temperature for about 18 hours.

After marinating mix all the ingredients and cook in low medium heat till it thickens. There is no need to cover while it is cooking.

Cool and then put in air tight container or bottle. This chutney can be kept in the fridge and used as needed.

Here is a giveaway to the movies, please email if you want the passes.

There is a family friendly event in New York on the 22nd of October from 10am to 2pm at Central park by Team Continuum.

Team Continuum is a not for profit organization, found in 2003. They provide immediate, vital, non-medical assistance to cancer patients and their families. If you like to register for this "Team CAN challenge" event or donate to this cause please do.

Disclosure This sponsorship is brought by Team Continuum who we have partnered with for this promotion.

Artisan bread

I am so happy to have won this fabulous book from Amy. This thoughtful giveaway of the "Artisan bread in five minutes a day" has taught me many things just by reading the beginning of the book :) I am so happy that she shared it.

Jeff and Zoe, the authors explain everything that is needed to make the perfect bread in 5 minutes. The methods in the book is easy to follow. The best thing about the method is there is no need to knead :)

It will help a lot to read the book before making. Here is their master recipe that makes 4 loaves.

1 1/2 tbsp yeast

1 1/2 tbsp salt

3 cups luke warm water

6 1/2 cups of flour

cornmeal to put on the bottom

flour for dusting

Incorporate everything into a plastic bucket with a wooden spoon, it is easy to do this because it is a wet dough.

Leave it on the counter to rise. After about 2 hours, it is ready to bake or to be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks to use as needed.

Sprinkle about a tsp of flour over the dough that is resting and pick up a portion about the size of a grapefruit. If needed dust some flour in the hands and keep turning the dough without kneading to tuck the ends to the bottom.

Put some cornmeal onto a flat wooden or metal board and let it rise for 20 to 40 minutes.

Dust some flour over the top of the boule and slash the bread about 1/4" to 1/2" deep.

Bake in a preheated pizza stone at 450F for about 25 to 30 minutes. The stone should be in the middle of the oven. Leave the broiler tray on the bottom rack to pour 1 cup of water after the bread is quickly placed on the stone, this is important to create the crust.

The method from measuring to preparing the oven is explained very well in the book. There are so many important tidbits and delicious easy recipes in the book. So if you get a chance do read it.

Thanks again Amy, I am very happy that you shared this fabulous book and glad I won the giveaway.

Fish baked in banana leaf

400g (1 pkt) sole or any type of fish fillet

2 tbsp coconut oil or vegetable oil

1/2 cup onion

1/4 cup tomatoes

1 green chillie optional

1/2 tsp ginger grated

1 tbsp tamarind

1/2 tsp chillie flakes

1/2 tsp fennel seeds coarsely ground

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp salt

banana leaves to wrap

Heat 1 tbsp oil sauté the onions with the spices, garlic and ginger. When it is a little soft add the tamarind liquid and tomatoes. Cook for about 2 minutes for the spices to blend.

Place the fish fillet on the banana leaf and put the sauce over it and wrap with the leaf. There is no need to wrap it tightly.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 425F, the time depends on the type of fish and preference. If there is lots of liquid leave for another 5 minutes more in the oven for it to absorb. The fish doesn't need to become dry, it is better if there is some liquid left.

Any type of fish fillet can be used. If banana leaves are not available, use foil or wax paper.

This goes to MLLA #39.

I won the book Plate to Pixel by Helene Dujardin from Susan, the well seasoned cook for participating on her MLLA #37. I enjoy this monthly event very much, prior to this event I wasn't sure what legumes included :) Thank you Susan for this knowledge and for this fabulous book which is user friendly with awesome pictures and tips.

Susan, this is my first win blogging :) I very much appreciate your kind words and hoping to benefit from this book :)

This "thank you" picture goes to black and white wednesday.

Food palette series finale rainbow colours

Dear friends,

Thank you for your continuous support on the Food palette series, it was a year ago I excitedly announced the start of this series.

We started off with the colour orange sponsored by CSN.

Then followed by the

colour red sponsored by CSN,

colour green sponsored by Herb seeds,

colour white sponsored by CSN,

colour brown sponsored by CSN,

colour pink just for fun,

colour purple sponsored by Cavena and

colour black just for fun.

Many of you had eagerly asked me for the next colour, which has always put an exciting smile :) Along the way I have learned many things from all of you and hope you did as well.

Do check out these previous colours, you will be surprised on the collection and how everyone went out of their way to try some unique innovative dishes.

Glad I kept going with this event :) To end the event we will celebrate with a rainbow of colours and include the colours blue, red, orange, yellow, green, indigo and violet :)