Keep Calm and Blog On! #BlogOnMOSI

On May 2nd, the annual Blog On conference took place at Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry. Some fantastic brands and PR companies were in attendance. There was some lovely food, with breakfast by Brioche Pasquier, The Co-Operative providing the wine and Hungry House sponsoring the wonderful cake, that kept us all happily fed throughout the day. Some of my favourite blogging buddies were in attendance, providing the company and the laughs.  With some fantastic giveaways and goody bags, we were properly spoiled!  

It was lovely to find out about some great new products such as the QVS range of great value make-up brushes and the new, cool science related toys from Brainstorm. (The Magno.Z toys are awesome!) Black Sheep Wools generously gave out some lovely things like pom-pom makers and French knitting spools, which will be great for introducing my kids to some new crafting skills. The wonderful Sandra from Thinking Slimmer was there and I'm excited to be working with her again soon. Hopefully I'll lose the last of my excess weight! The More Vitamin drinks were a great new discovery for me. Still or sparkling flavoured water with added vitamins and minerals for both adults and kids seems like a really good idea, plus the drinks taste lovely. An easy way of adding some extra nutrients to your diet.

There was a really informative and well delivered session on advanced blogging that I enjoyed from one of the PR companies in attendance. I don't really see my blog as a business, but still found some useful tips and ideas and the presentation was really professional and engaging. Other sessions included a YouTube talk. I leave my YouTube channel to take care of itself and it does pretty well, so I just carry on in my own laid back way! One day I might take up vlogging, when I can think of something interesting to say! The photography session gave us the chance to look at some nice pictures, then go off into the museum to take some of our own. Thankfully I had my technical, photography whizz and blogging buddy Bex to help me with the technical stuff while we snapped the steam train outside. The niche session we attended was on lifestyle blogging, but it didn't really resonate with me at all. Maybe I should have hopped across to the food blogging session instead?

I don't worry too much about my stats, rankings, DA or PR or any of that stuff - I write because I enjoy it and I love having a little corner of cyberspace to call my own. Every view is a bonus, any comments are excitedly and gratefully received. I really value being able to work with brands and work hard to provide a professional service that retains my own personal touch. I don't stress over my blog/life balance and switch off my laptop all weekend long to enjoy my family without distraction. I enjoy being a part of this community and have some lovely people that I count as friends. I'm one content and happy blogger!

Blog On is genuinely one of the most relaxed and friendly blogging conferences, and being in Manchester it is really convenient for me. I'd definitely recommend it to any bloggers looking for a good, bloggy day out!  I'll be keeping an eye out for Blog On 2016.

A Seasonal Spread with Brioche Pasquier

Brioche Pasquier and Tots 100 have laid down a seasonal challenge to bloggers to create an autumnal family feast with a French flair using some lovely Brioche Pasquier goodies. I love their range of delicious French bakery products, as they bring back memories of wonderful family holidays spent in France where we have enjoyed breakfasting on croissants, brioche and pain au lait.  The products are authentic and made to traditional recipes.  

Brioche Pasquier also have a lovely kid friendly brioche, called Pitch, which comes in individually wrapped portions, and are filled with delicious fillings or studded with choc chips.  They are great for eating on the go, as a snack or for popping into lunch boxes.

With a brioche loaf and some Milk Chocolate Pitch, the kids and I set about preparing  a family feast of seasonal ingredients that we could enjoy together.  The Pitch, as well as being a great snacking product, also makes a great base for a Chocolate Brioche Pudding.  We sliced the brioche and arranged them in a pyrex dish before pouring over a chocolate custard made with eggs, sugar, single cream, milk and cocoa.  We sprinkled dark chocolate chips over the top and it was then baked in the oven at GM 4 until set.

Our main course consisted of some wonderfully French baked Camembert cheeses to make an indulgent cheesy fondue.  You simply remove the plastic wrapper and put the cheese back into its wooden base and bake for about 20 minutes at GM5.  One of the cheeses had garlic cloves pushed into the skin to add a bit of a kick of flavour. 

Baked Camembert is one of the children's favourite meals.  It is a really fun experience, using wooden skewers to pick up the bite size chunks of food and dip them in the molten cheese.

To dip in the gooey cheese we served boiled baby potatoes, Quorn sausage pieces, veggie meatballs, carrot sticks, French stick and oven toasted squares of Brioche.

It's a very interactive and sociable way to enjoy a seasonal feast.  It's a great way to get Freddy, who can be quite fussy, eating as he cannot resist the lure of the cheese or the fun of stabbing his food.  He loves it!

Having Mason jars of apple juice, really added to the seasonal feel of our very French autumnal family feast.  Ian and I may have uncorked a nice bottle of French red wine to go with our meal to add to our theme!

This meal would work brilliantly well as an al fresco dining experience if you get some nice autumn afternoons, but right now with this cold, wet and windy weather, we chose to dine indoors in the warm!

The oven toasted Brioche squares were a great accompaniment to the Camembert. Being cut them toasted, they held their shape and structure enough to make perfect dippers. The slightly sweet taste of the bread was delicious when eaten with the creamy cheese.  

The warm Chocolate Brioche Pudding ended the meal.  Kizzy was not a fan as the wobbly consistency put her straight off.  So she had an intact Milk Chocolate Pitch instead!  However, Ian and I enjoyed some served with vanilla ice cream.  It was a very chocolatey, comforting and warming dessert.

All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our Seasonal feast with a French flavour. It is a lovely way of eating together as it is so much fun and so hands on.  The Pasquier Brioche products were the inspiration behind the menu and they really are great kitchen staples for snacking or for using as a part of a meal.

My Fooodie Review Round Up - Wahaca, Brioche Pasquier and Ilumi

Wahaca Sauce

Wahaca is bringing some Mexican heat to my cooking, with their range of Smoky Chipotle, Fruity Habanero and Fiery Arbol chilli sauces.  Created by Masterchef winner Thomasina Miers, they are made with carefully selected chillies to create a versatile sauce for marinading, drizzling or cooking.

I used the Fiery Arbol Chilli sauce to add a kick of heat to my Quorn and Vegetable Satay (made simply using sugar and salt free peanut butter and coconut milk).  It added a lovely warmth to the dish.

Brioche Pasquier 

My children are big fans of French bakery items, which bring back many happy memories of holidaying in France. When they were sent some Brioche Pasquier items to try out they were eager to tuck in!

The individually wrapped Pains as Chocolate and the new Pitch chocolate brioche rolls are perfect for snacking on the go or for lunchboxes.  The Pains au Lait are deliciously soft rolls  that little ones will love.

The kid friendly Pitch rolls are available in Chocolate, Choc Chip, Lemon, and Strawberry flavours.  The chocolate ones are filled with a dark chocolate centre. Kizzy absolutely loves them!

All Brioche Pasquier products are free from artificial preservatives and colours, and are made using traditional, authentic recipes and techniques.  They bring a taste of France to breakfast, lunch and snacktime.

Ilumi Vegetarian Range - GF, dairy free and nut free.


Ilumi is a range of allergen free ready meals, sauces, soups and rices which are lovingly created using natural ingredients to enhance wellbeing.  They contain no nuts, no milk and no gluten making them great for people with allergies or for those trying to cut down on dairy or follow a GF diet.  Coming in convenient pouches, they can be enjoyed at home or eaten anywhere where they can be reheated.

The ingredients lists are clearly displayed on the front of the packaging and read like a homemade recipe. No nasty additives or chemicals, just real food, herbs and spices.  Ilumi have recently expanded their vegetarian range and I was sent a few samples to try out.

I was delighted to see that the dishes were all vegan as well as being GF friendly so they fitted in perfectly with my latest healthy eating.  They are convenient for those days when I have been too busy to make something completely from scratch.

Vegetable and Chickpea Jalfrezi - medium hot curry sauce covers butternut squash, chickpeas and peppers in this dish.  Perfect served with rice.
Geng Gari Curry with Butternut Squash - with coconut milk, sweet potato and butternut squash blended together in the sauce this is a sweet dish offset by the use of lemon grass and lime juice. This tasted authentically Thai with its sweet and sharp flavours.
Spicy Harira Soup - lentils, chickpea and tomato combine to make a spiced soup. Great if you like your food a bit spicy! A big hit with my husband.
Vegetable Biryani - a mildly aromatic rice dish, packed with vegetable pieces.  It's nice and moist and tasty with nice chunks of vegetable throughout.

You can shop online at www.ilumiworld.com where the soup costs £1.75 a pouch and vegetarian main meals cost £2.75. There are lots of choices for vegans and vegetarians.  Ilumi is quality convenience food at a reasonable price.