Pizza

Sorry that I have been a bit quiet lately, finding time to write up all my goings on is proving quite hard! But I am taking five minutes to tell you all about some amazing Pizzas that I made this week. Even if I do say so myself! Ever since I found out I can't have cows milk, it has upset me that I can't just order a pizza or get a ready made one from the supermarket anymore. But now I have made my own, I know that it is so easy and they taste so much better!

I used a recipe by Paul Hollywood and it uses figs. Now, I had never had figs before so I decided to have a try and oh my I have been missing out! They are now my new favourite thing! Lovely :)

I made the basic base and changed the topping according to the required taste. My man went for parma ham, mozzarella and sweetcorn.

I myself went for Parma ham, figs and goats cheese! A nice oozy melty goats cheese. How lovely :)

Okay they are not perfectly round, but how the heck do they manage that?! This way they look more home made and rustic, which is always good :)

But I am definitely a fig lady now!

Homemade Bread and Soup

With Winter suddenly hitting hard here in the UK, it is time to crack open the good book of soup and eat some warm and hearty foods! Having a day off I decided to treat myself and spend some time making bread and some chunky soup to welcome my man home from work (aren't I the little homemaker). I followed my previous bread recipe here to make the bread. Starting last night, because some of it needs to be done and left overnight.

Then I searched my book of soups trying to find a really nice and chunky soup. I came across Ham and Pearl Barley. Sorted!

Things you need for the soup:
* 2 tablespoons of olive oil
* 1 medium onion, finely diced
* 30g green lentils
* 30g red split lentils
* 30g pearl barley
* 2 medium carrots, diced
* 800ml chicken stock
* 250g cooked ham - I used Spam
* 200g tinned haricot beans, rinsed and drains
* 1 medium potato, peeled and diced
* 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

What you need to do:
1. Heat the oil in a saucepan (a large one), then fry the onion for 10 minutes until transparent.

2. Rinse the lentils and pearl barley, then add to the saucepan along with the carrots, potatoes and stock.

3. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Shred the ham into bite size pieces, then add the ham and haricot beans to the saucepan. Simmer for a further 30 minutes

5. Check that all the pulses are thoroughly cooked, add extra stock or water to adjust the consistency if required.

6. Season to taste, stir in the parsley, then serve. Preferably with homemade bread!! :)

Scrummy!!

Glitter Plum Christmas Jam!!

This jam is something that I made some family members for Christmas last year. They all said how much they loved it, so guess what?! They are getting it again!! If they were just being nice then tough! Ha ha!

I found this jam so easy to make, it takes around an hour, and about half an hour to prep. But it depends on the fruit your using.

What you need to make it:
* 350g Bramley Apples
* 1.3kg Plums
* 2 Oranges - juice (although you can use the zest too if you want a more Christmassy taste to it)
* 800g Caster Sugar (but I use Silver spoon preserving sugar and its just as good)
* 2 Lemons - juice only
* Edible Glitter for a bit of sparkle
* A large saucepan
* Thermometer
* Wooden spoon
* Clean Jam jars (around 4 1/2 litres are made)
* Jug
* Ladle

What to do:
1. Peel the apples and grate into the large saucepan, making sure you discard and pips and stalk. Cover with 500ml of water. Bring to the boil and cook until all the liquid has evaporated and the shreds of apple are falling apart.

2. While the apple is boiling take your plums (skin and everything, except the stones), and chop them all up into small chunks. Then when the apple is ready add them to the pan with the juice of the two oranges.

3. When the fruit starts to fall apart and the colour comes out of the skins to make the jam a lovely plum red colour, add the sugar and the juice of the two lemons.

4. Make sure that you constantly stir the mixture so that the sugar doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Place the thermometer onto the edge of the pan and wait until the mix is 104C in temperature. The jam will bubble and plop, be super careful as the sugar will burn you if it gets on you.

5. When the jam reaches the required temperature it is time to sterilise your jars. To do this I cleaned the jars thoroughly, then, leaving a small amount of water in the bottom of the jar I popped them into the microwave for 3 minutes on high. When they come out I pop them onto a tray with a tea towel on it, so that they don't slip and cover me in hot jam (it is likely to happen!).

6. Then I do the best bit. I take my edible glitter (any colour you want, last year it was gold, this year pink!) and sprinkle sprinkle into my jam. Give it a super mix and you are done so take it off the heat.

7. The next bit is the tricky bit. Some people use special funnels, some fancy cloths. Whatever you do just get it in the jar. I use a ladle into a pourable jug and poor it from the jug into my jar. Seal properly and your done.

All you need to do now is make your jars look pretty. However you chose to do that is fine by me. I usually pick fabric squares and a rustic string to wrap around the lid to protect it. :) Good luck with your jam making! X

Focaccia

On Friday night we had a couple of friends round for dinner. We decided to go Italian for the menu, and what's more Italian than scrummy bread! For the starter, we did a bit of Antipasti, a spread of meats and breads, olives etc. I decided to make my own Focaccia.

I have been making bread a lot recently and I have really enjoyed it. So I pulled out my Baking made easy book by Lorraine Pascale. I have also found the recipe here.

The bread went down a treat but we made so much more than we needed. So what is a girl to do other that waste it? Well today I knocked up a scrummy (even if I say so myself) sandwich! I took two pork chops, then in the pestle and mortar I ground up some rock salt and sage. Then on a board I coated both sides of the chops with olive oil, rubbing it into all the cracks. I then sprinkled the salt/sage mix and rubbed it all over the chops, before popping them into a really hot frying pan until crispy.

The Focaccia I warmed up a little in the oven to make it softer and cut in half through the centre. I spread over some apple sauce and then popped on some left over stuffing from last nights dinner.

When the meat was cooked I sliced it up and added it to the sandwich. I was given a large compliment by my man so it must have been good. Very stuffed now though. Time for an afternoon nap I think!

Bread

 

 

 

Making bread is something that I love to do. The smell of freshly baked bread is one of my favourite smells. I decided to test out the theory that you can get bread to prove in the bottom of a fridge overnight, not just in a warm place. It works, it's not a myth! I found this recipe and purchased my ingredients, getting a huge bag of flour so I can make lots more bread. The only change I made was that I mixed it and left the mix to rise overnight in the bottom of the fridge, it tripled in size, amazing!! I shall be making more x

Spanish Omelette

Going into a bare cupboard looking for lunch always makes me sad. So I decided to throw together some odd bits and bobs and make a Spanish omelette. It's something I have never made before, and I have no idea why. It was scrummy!

I sliced up a large potato, leaving the skin on, in the food processor and boiled them for 5 minutes. After draining the potatoes I popped them in a frying pan with some oil and fried them a little until they were crunchy. Then I took them out of the pan and added 3 eggs I had beaten with the juice of a lemon, some grated cheese and seasoning. Then quickly you pop the potatoes on and put the whole thing under the grill until golden brown and cooked on top. Turn out onto a plate and eat! Yum yum :)

Soup

Soup is one of my favourite feel good foods. When the weathers all rainy and cold out I love nothing better than sitting down with a steaming hot bowl and some chunky rustic bread! After recently finding out I am lactose intolerant I have really struggled to find foods that don't contain cows milk, its hidden in everything, and soup is no exception, all my favourites are inedible for me. So, my mum lent me her copy of the Covent Garden Food Co.'s A Soup for Every Day book, and so far I have made 2 soups completely from scratch, and I am very impressed! A couple of weeks ago I made a creamy chicken, and this week it was Butternut Squash and Goats cheese!

This book is amazing, it contains a different soup for every day of the year, some sweet, most savoury and all special days are covered! Boxing day Christmas left overs soup anyone? YUM! The best thing I love is that so far they have been so easy, and if I can get them right, anyone can! Best of all is that the recipes make between 4 - 6 portions, so if there's just two of you, or even one, I bought these soup bags from Lakeland and you just pop your soup in there and freeze it, or fridge it, and they don't spill! Grand!

Ingredients to serve 4:
2 tbsp olive oil
150g onion, diced
1tsp garlic puree
1tsp dried sage
800g butternut squash, peeled and cubed
600ml vegetable stock
100g soft, mild goats cheese, crumbled (I used Feta)

Method:
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion, then cook for 10 minutes until soft
2. Add the garlic puree, sage, and butternut squash, then gently cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally
3. Add the stock and bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the squash is tender
4. Stir in the goats cheese until melted
5. Blend until smooth, reheat gently, then season to taste and serve.

Beautiful with big crusty bread and butter! Nice and warming.. :)

Snapshop of my week...

This last week my man surprised me with a Birthday trip to Liverpool, the home of the Beatles! I turned 27 and wasn't really looking forward to the week so he took me away for a couple of days. We stayed in the Hard Days Night hotel in the Cavern Quarter of the city. This hotel is the fanciest hotel I have ever stayed in and we were lucky enough to get a Ringo room. We had a lovely two days in a city that was completely new to us, we ate some great Thai food at Chaophraya in Liverpool 1, visited the Beatles Story by the docks and found out lots of new information about the Beatles that I didn't already know. I think that my favourite place was Mathew Street, home of the Cavern Club (both the original and the re-built one), the Grapes pub where the Beatles had their pre and post gig drinks, and a generally nice atmosphere :) I enjoyed having a drink in the Cavern pub with some free live music, getting to read through all the people who have played their over the years and all the newspaper clippings with stories of goings on there. Great stuff! I say that if you get a chance to, go see it for yourselves.
x

Strawberry Jam

I have wanted to have a go at making Strawberry Jam for a little while now, but only now have we really got to the season to do it. So after stockpiling the strawberries I searched the Internet for a recipe. I wanted something different and I found it. Strawberry Balsamic Jam. I had heard that Strawberry jam was hard to make but this was so easy. I made two batches and I have had some great compliments.

Then came the nice bit, decorating my jars.  At Christmas when I made Jam I made my own labels from scratch. This time I wasn't feeling so creative so I trawled the Internet again and found these little numbers... Simple but lovely. I mite even try the Raspberry jam recipe off that page next!
:)

Snapshot of my week

This week has been a lovely one, filled with good times and nice food.
It started with a trip to the cinema to see the new Spiderman film (which was pretty good if I say so!). We went to the Electric in Birmingham, the oldest working Cinema in the UK. I find going to the cinema a bit of a chore sometimes, but I love the Electric. The atmosphere and the staff, the decor - I love all the original features, it is just a really great place!

Then we went to Bodega. Bodega is my favourite place to eat! They do amazing South American style food. I have never had a bad meal there, and their cocktails are pretty nice too! They have some great sister Venues too, everyone different and having their own great atmospheres.

I had the pork...

While my man went for the Burrito...

MMmmmm just thinking about it is making me hungry. It was a lovely day, topped off with sneaking a bit of afternoon crochet in. I am making some place mats for my new home, I will update you on these when I have completed them, I don't seem to have much time now...

I hope you look into these places and go visit, they really are great for a special occasion or just because. :)
x

Snapshot of my week

This week I have had an amazing week in Bigbury-on-Sea in Devon! Me and my man took a little break away and did not a lot. We visited Burgh Island which is a little island off the main coast of Bigbury-on-Sea, it  has an amazing 1930s hotel and was a second home to Agatha Christie, which is probably why an episode of Poirot was filmed there. There is an amazing pub on the Island called the Pilchard Inn. It's a great little pub, over 700 years old, and it's great watching the kite surfers while sipping on a cold pint. We had some amazing food, including the biggest Sunday roast, an amazing eggy bread, bacon and maple syrup stack, and a gorgeous cheddar and apple sandwich. We had a day out in Plymouth in which we saw that fantastic 1950's Ice cream van! and a day out in Looe in Cornwall, where I found The March Hare and purchased the most beautiful 1950's prom dress for a Jubilee Party :) We are very sad that the sun has now set on our little holiday away. But there's always next year :)