Final Christmas Creations

This is my last post for the festive season.
Here are some of the gifts Pete and I created for our families...

I had a go at growing some hyacinth bulbs. I started them at the end of October, in the hope they'd be in flower by Christmas.... as you can see they weren't, but they were still well received anyway - have been promised photos for when they bloom!


After so many people comenting on my 'Pete's Chocolate chewy morsels' (see previous post for recipe) I decided to make a few tasty gifts. Now these went down a storm!! Only thing was I didn't make any for my sister, but I had made some for her husband - Note to self Louise likes chocolate and John doesn't like to share :-o It was entertaining never the less!!


Christmas Day was spent at The Williams household, half of which work in finance. This in mind Pete and I created some FT Times crackers, including individual 'designer' FT hats! They went down a storm. The only snagg was that on Christmas Eve, Pete's dad told his favorite xmas jokes!! All of which Pete had put in the crackers :D The good old ones never tier.

"How does the snowman get about?"
"On his iclicle!"


Here are the Christmas cards that we sent out this year. We made them using a "merry christmas' stamp, that Pete designed on the inside and an image I'd retouched & comp'ed together. Doesn't that Robin look merry & well fed!

Merry Christmas to all.
Hope you all had a fab day!!

x

Crimbo Mince Pies!

I love mince pies, especially with a slice of crumbly Red Cheshire Cheese! My family have always had a bit of Red Cheshire to hand when the mince pies are out.

You know originally the mince pie did contain meat :-O mincemeat was a way of preserving meat by mixing it with fruit, spices and alcohol. The initial mince pies were large rather than bite size.

I cheat a bit and buy ready made mince meat, but I do intend in making my own...
But I always think the pastry is key! I like it on the thin side, so when you take a bite it melts in your mouth.....

Here is the recipe I use for pastry: (makes 18)

• 200g plain flour
• 50g ground almonds
• 140g butter, chopped up in small pieces
• Zest of one orange (a zested is so much easier than a grater)
• 50g golden caster sugar
• 1 egg yolk

1. Preheat oven to 190oc/fan. Mix flour,ground almonds, butter, zest & caster sugar, until they bind.
2. Then add the yolk, roll into a ball, wrap in cling and chill in the fridge for at least 30mins.
3. Roll out the pastry on a sheet of cling (this helps prevent it cracking up). Use pastry cutters to cut out the rounds you need.
4. Bake in the oven for around 12mins in the oven.Cool in the tins for 5 mintues then cool on a wire rack.

I've eaten four already!!

Victoria Sponge Classic

This weekend I had been asked to bake a birthday cake for someone, they requested a Victoria Sponge. A true classic that is always loved!

Recipe

• 200g caster sugar
• 200g softened butter
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 200g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp milk

Finishing touches:

• Raspberry or strawberry jam
• Creme cheese fosting:
• 300g icing sugar
• 50g unsalted butter, at room temp
• 125g cream cheese, cold
  

1. Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Butter two 20cm sandwich tins and line with non-stick baking paper. In a large bowl, beat all the cake ingredients together until you have a smooth, soft batter.
2. Divide the mixture between the tins, smooth the surface with a spatula or the back of a spoon, then bake for about 20 mins until golden and the cake springs back when pressed. Turn onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.
3. To make the finishing touches, firstly, beat the butter then add the icing sugar. Now you can beat the butter and icing sugar with an electric hand, however this can go all over the place! So I use the crumble method by rubbing the butter into the icing sugar with my fingers (saves you covering the kitchen and yourself!!). Next beat in the cream cheese, once you've roughly mixed it in, turn the whisk on full speed & beat for 5mins - but no longer or otherwise it'll go runny.
   
4. Spread one of the cakes with some lovely jam - a good thick layer, yeah! Then place the other layer of cake on top and then spread the creme frosting on top.
5. Keep in an airtight container and eat within 2 days.... thats if you don't eat in the first few hours!?
   

December Equals Decorations!!

This year we decided to get a christmas tree and create a few other things to help make the flat look more festive.
We wanted to try and stay away from the tinsel side of things and try some new ideas..
Here is one of the tree decorations I found from a great shop in Shoreditch called 'Caravan'. It's a great little shop with lots of unique objects and items, I could've bought a lot more but i managed to restrain myself. http://www.caravanstyle.com/


We even managed to get some of the presents wrapped too. Pete got another stamp made at 'Blade Rubber' and we used it on the tags and paper - plus lots of ribbon.


I've also done a few tags with cutout too. Pritstick rules!!




My fav decoration - the star!
I made this star using bambo and cable ties, and lots of fairy lights. I have to say, I'm pretty chuffed with the results :D


Happy decorating!
x

Yorkshire Pud Success!!

This weekend was the first in December & to help to get into the spirit, it was also the Hither Green Christmas fair. It was a good turn out this year, with lots of little stalls, local school kids singing carols & German Sausage stand (not overly xmas, but tasty even so). Ha :O) they even had badges!!

One of my buys from the stalls... found it quite amusing as it is a saying my mum has always used.


Pete was ill this weekend, a bad case of 'man-flu + hangover'. As he is usually the one who cooks Sunday Roast, it was down to me to sort out.
I've always loved cooking, but have steared clear of doing Sunday roasts. So many things you have to cook to be ready at the same time = easy disaster!

The menu was: Roast Peppered Beef, honey roast veggies, sprouts, gravy & Yorkshire pud. Great yorkshire pud!?!?! Have tried it before and had ended up with a greasy spare tire, not good :O(
After failing at yorkshire pud to many times, I asked a few friends for advice.. Mrs Joanne Bouwens came to my rescue, with this brilliant recipe!! Thanks Jo x

Here were the results:
Just before the hot gravy was poured on top, at which point stopped taking photos & got stuck in!Here is the recipe Jo sent me, I think it was from a Jamie oliver recipe;

Makes 8-10 Yorkshire Pudding

Ingredients:
1/2 pint (285 millilitres) milk
4 ounces (115 grams) all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
3 eggs
Vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Mix the batter ingredients together. Let rest for 10 minutes
3. Preheat a Yorkshire pudding tray or muffin tin with 1/2-inch (1 centimetre) of oil in each section.
4. After the 10 minutes divide the batter into the tray. Cook for around 15 to 20 minutes until crisp and puffy, don't open the oven door before then or they won't rise.

Logo Stamp arrived!

I had these made at 'Blade Rubber' which makes stamps to order, they've been about since 1993.
Here is their link http://www.bladerubberstamps.co.uk/
I emailed by design over on the Tuesday and the following day I had a call saying that it was ready to be collected!

Here is what it looks like:

Curried Sweet Potato & lentil Soup

This week I've been struggling eating anything other than soup, due to my wisdom teeth. Which has been a bit of a nightmare, however due to my new 'wisdom' I came across this soup recipe!! It delicious and perfect for the wet wintery days.

Curried Sweet Potato & lentil Soup

• 2 tsp medium curry powder
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions , grated
• 1 eating apple , peeled, cored and grated
• 3 garlic cloves , crushed
• 20g pack coriander , stalks chopped
• thumb-size piece fresh root ginger , grated
• 750g sweet potatoes
• 1l vegetable stock
• 100g red lentils
• 150ml milk

1. Put the curry powder into a large saucepan, then toast over a medium heat for 2 mins. Add the olive oil, stirring as the spice sizzles in the pan. Tip in the onions, apple, garlic, coriander stalks and ginger, season, then gently cook for 5 mins, stirring every so often.
2. Meanwhile, peel, then grate the sweet potatoes. Tip into the pan with the stock, lentils, milk and seasoning, then simmer, covered, for 20 mins. Blend until smooth using a stick blender. Check the seasoning and serve, topped with roughly-chopped coriander leaves.

Enjoy!

CupCakes Galore!

This weekend I was invited to a 'baby shower' and was asked to bring some cake. I do love a reason to bake..... It was an afternoon tea party type thing I decided to have a go at a couple of new cupcake recipes.

A lemon cupcake with lemon frosting and a banana cupcake with chocolate frosting. They turned out really well. The sponge was lovely and light.

However I'm not going to put the recipes up as after trying them I felt the lemon ones could have been more lemony and the banana cupcakes were lovely but needed the frosting to have more of a cocoa hit and be a bit bitter, to counteract with the sweetness of the banana.

So I think I'll have a play around with the recipe a bit more. Once I've got it right I'll let you know.

That all said... they all went!
:D

Plum Fruity Chutney

So this was the second chutney I made. It isn't as firery as the first chutney but still has a little kick and is good for those who like a chutney to be a little sweetness to it.

Again like any chutney, always works best if you have an abundance of the main fruit used. However as I don't have a plum tree or even a garden, buying them in season, on offer from the supermarket is just as good.

I found this recipe on http://www.bbcgoodfood.com

RECIPE:

• 900g plums
• 2 Bramley apples (about 550g/1lb 4oz)
• 450g pears
• 1 large mango
• 900g muscovado sugar
• 500ml bottle cider vinegar
• 2 medium onions (not red)
• 85g chopped stem ginger (from a jar of ginger in syrup, or crystallized)
• 3 garlic cloves , finely chopped
• 1 tbsp mustard seeds
• 1 rounded tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp crushed dried chillies
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cinnamon stick
  

METHOD:

1. Halve, stone and chop the plums (about the same size as you would for an apple pie - not too big, not too small). Drop them into a large saucepan. Core, peel and chop the apples and pears in the same way. Peel, stone and chop the mango. Put all the fruit in the pan.
2. Stir sugar, vinegar, onions, ginger, garlic, mustard seeds, coriander, crushed chillies and salt into the pan, then drop the cinnamon stick on top. Heat slowly for about 20 mins, giving an occasional stir, until the sugar has dissolved. Now leave the chutney to simmer at a steady pace, without a lid, stirring occasionally until reduced and thickened, but still with a nice balance of syrupy juice. This will take about 1½ hrs. You don't want to cook it until all the liquid has gone, as it will thicken once it cools. Discard the cinnamon stick.
3. Using a heatproof jug, pour the chutney while still hot into sterilised jars. It will keep for about a year in a cool, dry place.

Firery Chutney - Wear glove trust me!

**Images on the way promise.......**

So on the weekend I made a couple of batches of chutneys. A firery one and a plum one....

This recipe is Pete's fav. It doesn't make loads & unless you've grown lots of red peppers, it isn't very cost effective. However it's BLOODY good!

Before you start take my advice when peeling the chillies - WEAR GLOVES otherwise your hands will be on fire - I know!

It's one of Jamie Oliver's recipes and is called:

cheeky chilli-pepper chutney

RECIPE:
• 8-10 fresh red chillies
• 8 ripe red peppers
• olive oil
• 2 medium red onions, peeled and chopped
a sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• a 5cm piece of cinnamon stick
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 100g brown sugar
150ml balsamic vinegar

METHOD
If you want your chutney to last for a while, make sure you have some small sterilized jars ready to go (see page 324). Place your chillies and peppers over a hot barbecue, in a griddle pan or on a tray under a hot grill, turning them now and then until blackened and blistered all over. Carefully lift the hot peppers and chillies into a bowl (the smaller chillies won’t take as long as the peppers so remove them first) and cover tightly with clingfilm. As they cool down, they’ll cook gently in their own steam. By the time they’re cool enough to handle, you’ll be able to peel the skin off easily.

When you’ve got rid of most of the skin, trimmed off the stalks and scooped out the seeds, you’ll be left with a pile of nice tasty peppers and chillies. Finely chop by hand or put in a food processor and whiz up. Then put to one side.

Heat a saucepan and pour in a splash of olive oil. Add the onions, rosemary, bay leaves and cinnamon and season with a little salt and pepper. Cook very slowly for about 20 minutes or so, until the onions become rich, golden and sticky.

Add the chopped peppers and chillies, the sugar and the vinegar to the onions and keep cooking. When the liquid reduces and you’re left with a lovely thick sticky chutney, season well to taste. Remove the cinnamon stick and the bay leaves. Either spoon into the sterilized jars and put them in a cool dark place, or keep in the fridge and use right away. In sterilized jars, the chutney should keep for a couple of months.

John-Boy's Jointing Skills

So this weekend I headed back home to the countryside and thought I do a post whilst I was up there. My brother in-law had been on shoot the day previous & wanted to show me how to skin and joint a pheasant.



You can't get much fresher or free-range meat than this! He was even kind enough to send me home with 4 breasts.

So last night I had a go cooking pheasant. Here is the recipe I used:

Pheasant breasts braised in cider

Recipe by Bella Radford From Masterchef

4 x pheasant breasts (young hen breasts if possible as they won t be so tough)
4 large rashers, lightly smoked bacon
500ml/17fl oz dry cider
5 shallots
butter
1 tsp caster sugar
30g/1oz plain flour
100ml/7tbsp full fat crème fraîche

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2. Butter the pheasant breasts and then wrap in the bacon. Place in an ovenproof dish (so that they aren t too cramped together) and then pop in the oven for 25 minutes.
3. After 25 minutes reduce the oven temperature to 170C/325F/Gas 3, pour 250ml/8 fl oz of the cider over the pheasant breasts, cover with a lid or tin foil, and return to the oven for another 60 minutes.
4. Towards the ending of the cooking time for the pheasants, pour the remaining cider into a saucepan and reduce by about half.
5. Thinly slice the shallots and cook very slowly in a little butter until soft. Then add the caster sugar and continue to cook until lightly caramelised. Remove off the heat until ready to finish the sauce.
6. Check the pheasant breasts during the cooking time to ensure that they do not dry out and add more cider if necessary.
7. To finish the sauce, add the flour to the shallots back on a gentle heat and mix together. You may need to add a little more butter at this stage if the shallots are very dry, but they shouldn't be. Now add the cider reduction and the crème fraîche and cook together over a low heat until the sauce starts to thicken.

It was really really tasty, but warning - keep an eye on the meat. It easily & quickly drys out, so don't be afraid to take it out of the oven a bit earlier if you so wish.

Enjoy!

Pete's Chocolate chewy morsels

These are quite simular to the chocolate fingers on a previous post I did, but these are very different and are Pete's fav. He says it's cause they are more chewy :)

So again dead easy to make...

Recipe:
200g Digestive biscuits
100g Butter
3 tbsp Golden Syrup
2 tbsp cocoa powder
50g raisins
100g dark choc

1. Butter a tin (can be whatever you have about - cake tin, bread tin ) an 18cm sandwich tin is good. I used a bread tin to help with the square edges.
2. Now the best bit, all that pent up anger - take it out on those biscuits. Put them in a bag first & bash into uneven crumbs.
3. Melt the butter and syrup in a pan. Stir in the cocoa and raisins and then the biscuit crumbs. Spoon into the tin and press firmly.
4. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water and then spread over the biscuit base.
   
5. Chill for at least half and hour. Cut up and serve!

Blueberry Zest Cake

Darker days, dreary weather and just a general feeling of yuk... So I decided bake a bright blueberry punch of a cake with a zesty kick to cheer things up a bit.

You can use any berries you have about & even mix them up a bit. Blueberries were on offer in the supermarket so I went with them.



Recipe:

225g softened butter , plus extra for greasing
225g golden caster sugar
4 medium eggs
2 limes, grated zest and juice
250g self-raising flour
25g ground almonds
200g blueberries

The syrup recipe:

8 tbsp lime juice (about 4 limes)
1 lime, grated zest
140g golden caster sugar


Method:

1. Line the base and grease the sides of a 20cm/8in square cake tin (not loose-based) with greaseproof paper and butter the paper - or you can divde the mixture into two smaller tins like I did - One cake for you and another for someone else :).
2. Set oven to 180C/Gas 4/fan oven 160C.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together until light. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a little flour towards the end to prevent curdling. Beat in the lime zest, then fold in the flour and almonds. Fold in enough lime juice - about 3 tablespoons - to give you a good dropping consistency (the mixture should drop easily from the spoon when tapped).
4. Fold in three quarters of the blueberries and raspberries and turn into the prepared tin. Smooth the surface, then scatter the remaining fruit on top - it will sink as the cake rises.
5. Bake for about 1 hour (cover with foil if beginning to brown too much), or until firm to a gentle prod in the centre. A skewer pushed into the centre should be clean when removed.
6. Meanwhile make the syrup: put the lime juice, zest and sugar in a small saucepan. Put over a gentle heat and stir, without allowing to bubble. The sugar should dissolve a little. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, prick all over with a skewer then spoon the syrup over it. To store, cool before wrapping in paper and/or foil.
7. Fill the kettle make a brew. Carefully remove the cake from the tin, discard the lining paper and cut into 12 pieces to serve. YUM!

Chocolate Brandy Fingers

These chocolate brandied currant fingers, really give you that cocoa choc hit!
And are also really easy to make:

75g currants
60ml Brandy
250g plain choc biscuit digestives
85g unsalted butter
330g dark choc chopped
190ml pouring cream

Place the currants and brandy in a small saucepan over a low heat and cook until the brandy is absorbed. Set aside to cool.

Place the biscuits and butter in a food processor and process until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Press mixture into a 10cm x 35cm loose bottom tin.

Put the choc and cream in a saucepan over a low heat and stir until the choc has melted and smooth. Add the currents, pour over the base and refidgerate for 2 hours until firm...

can serve as a pud with cream and rasberries......

Tasty Muesli

Hi all,

So randomly got up at 6am this week and was bored... so decided to make some muesli.
Now you're probably thinking, "Muesli, how boring!?!". But this is not the case with this muesli.

Once you try this muesli, you'll be addicted!! I mean it :D

So it's dead easy to make, here you go:


200g Traditional whole rolled oats
25g pumkin seeds
15g sunflower seeds
50g nuts (you can use whatever, I like Pecans, hazelnuts & Almonds) Chopped
3 tbspn maple syrup (can always add a little extra if you've got a sweet tooth)
75g dried apicots ready to eat
50g sultanas

Pre-heat oven to 200oc
In a large bowl mix your Oats, seeds, nuts and maple syrup. Spread mixture onto one large or two medium baking trays, that have been lined with baking paper.

Bake for 10-12mins until toasty, golden in colour.
Allow to cool a bit, then return to the bowl and mix in your dried fruit.

Store in an airtight contain - Keeps for 4 weeks (unless you eat it all in the same day!?)

Serve with ice cold milk.

LUSH!!!

Pin Wheels

Made some 'savory' snacks by request by several people & decided to make some tasty salami & olive pin wheels. Really quick to make and even easier to eat!

Salami & Olive Pin Wheels:
4 slices of salami
1/2 cup pitted black olives
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1 tbsp chopped Rosemary (or thyme)
2 tbsp Olive oil
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 pack pre-rolled puff pastry (found in butter section)

Pre-heat oven to 220oc


Whizz all ingredients (except pastry) in food processor & spread on your rolled out puff pastry.


Cut pastry into two pieces and roll each section up. Then cut into 1cm thick wheels. Place in oven for around 15mins.

Eat while warm & enjoy!

Mum's Flapjack Cookies

So this weekend I decided to make a batch of my fav flapjacks!
Now these aren't the average flapjacks, these are made using my mums recipe, which is more of a cookie than a slice.

They are sooo moreish and not too bad on the hips :o)

Victoria's Famous Flapjack Recipe:
6oz Traditional whole rolled oats
5oz Sugar
5oz Plain flour
1 tspn bicarb of soda
2 tbsp Boiling hot water
6oz block butter
1 tablespoon Syrup
(makes around 34 biscuits)

Preheat oven to 180oc
Mix the oats, sugar and flour together in bowl. In a seperate bowl mix the boiling water and bicarb of soda, then mix into the oat miture.

Melt the butter & syrup in a bowl over boiling water. once melted add to the oat mixture.
Roll into small balls and place on a baking tray covered with baking parchment, press two fingers into each blob. Make sure they are too close together as they will spread. If you're using one tray, do it in three batches.

Pop in the oven for around 12-14 mins, they won't take long.
leave to cool on the tray a bit to crispen up, then onto a wire rack to fully cool.

Make a large cuppa tea and enjoy!

Raisin me loaf!

So using my freebe stash of yeast from St John's, I jumped back into the kitchen to have a go at another loaf. I fancied trying something a bit different, so decided to do a 'Raisin, Hazelnut & shallot loaf.

Here is how I got on...

First fried off the shallots before adding my crushed hazelnuts and the raisins....


And then started working the dough. I'm currently having to do this on the kitchen table, as it works better being glass than a wooden surface - thus my back kills, let alone my arms...
You can see the shallot mixture in the backround which was added to the dough before leaving it to rise.

Throw, fold and trap in that air, Raaaa!!

Just before it goes in to be baked..
And the finished result - following as directed I baked them for 30mins, but think it may have needed 5 mins less. All the same it's lush!



Great with a bit of home-made pate, chutney & Pete's pickled onions :D