D.I.Y. Bread.

At my home we had run out of one of those necessity type things, bread. I didn't like the idea of going to the shops and buying some, especially when I knew we had all the ingredients to make our own. So I did. This is just like any other bread dough recipe. (In fact, I split this batch into thirds, and made three different breads.) Mix together strong bread flour, with a sachet of yeast, some salt and a sprinkle of sugar. Make a well, and gradually pour in some tepid water. Fold the edges of your flour mix into the water, and work it. Keep adding more water, until it forms into a a good shape. (A ball.) Then place it onto a floured work surface and knead it. Leave it to rise in a dry place, for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Knock the air out of it and knead again for not as long. Then make it in to any shape you wish and add any flavourings. I put mine in an oiled bread tin. Leave it to rise again for about 20 minutes. Then bake in the oven at 230, for about 15-30 minutes depending on your shape. Break it open, butter it, hold it, smell it, love it.

Chocolate and Raspberry Cupcakes.

At some point in June, it rained. Rather a lot. = No outdoor fun. Perhaps we should bake cakes...! (Yes.) (I'm not in anyway encouraging it to rain, in fact I prefer sunshine.) These were like any other cupcake recipe, this one used self-raising flour, so no need for baking powder or soda. I added a tiny splash of raspberry jus from some jam to the mix and then baked the little darlings in the oven for 15 minutes. Meanwhile I made a butter cream icing, adding some red food colouring and some raspberry jam! If the mixture is too thick add a splash of milk or if not thick enough either more icing sugar (but be careful, taste before) or more butter. Decorate them how you wish- I did mine all differently using chocolate sprinkles and raspberries! Lovely.

Street Party Scotch Eggs.

Quite simply put, this has oddly been one of my most desirably, desperate, do's of the last two years! - I have wanted to make homemade scotch egg's for so long, but have never found the time or occasion. Drum roll... Jubilee street party. (Of course!) These were, honestly, the talk of the party (kind of). My Mum and I made these together. We hard boiled about 8 eggs (bare in mind, we halved ours on serving), we removed sausage meat from some pork sausages, and then seasoned it with pepper and sage. We then coated our eggs in the meat mixture and then dipped them in... more egg, then finally covered these beauties in a breadcrumb mixture. We also double coated ours, for extra crunch. We then shallow fried them in some oil, and left them to drain, before cutting them to serve and giving them a final sprinkle of pepper. God bless scotch eggs! (... alright, and the Queen.)

Afternoon Tea at Harrods.



Firstly, my apologies about the alignment and sizing of these photos. But, I really did not want to post them separately. These are two snippets from the most excellent afternoon tea at Harrods, London. The occasion- my sister's 22nd Birthday, 1st of June. I had to show you these photos, because, it was quite honestly the best tea and cakes I have ever had. (I have had, a lot of tea and cake...) The image at the top was this marvellous lollipop of a hard white chocolate shell (coloured pale green), coated in we think silvery coca puffs... (still good), and then, inside... the most amazing, melting, rich, chocolate. Ohhh. What a delight! Then below you can see a selection of pastries, cakes, scones etc. The best thing, was the green coloured mousse sitting between some choux pastry. It was a pistachio cream! And it was good!

Milkshake Madness.

During that hot bit in May, myself and my boyfriend decided to make a couple of refreshing milkshakes. We each came up with our own, and sort of made them up as we went along. As you can see, I went with a delicious but incredibly thick, Oreo milkshake, which was amazing- It tasted like cake! But I must admit, it was so thick and so filling, I couldn't finish it. (Rubbish.) However, my boyfriend made a light and refreshing strawberry milkshake, with a clever sneaky hint of lemon (which works, his idea!). I confess, his was the better one, but I will be making them both again, I just need to improve my ingredients. If you want to have ago, just use about 3 scoops of good quality ice cream (any flavour you like), a tiny splash of milk, some ice (make it nice and cool), and any ingredients you wish- be it, pineapple, peach, peanut M&M's or even pistachio... (Err...) :)

Two Scoops of Ice Cream for Two!

You may remember, back in May, we had something that we like to call, 'Summer'. During this 'summery' time, myself and my best friend decided to pay a visit to our beach, and take a gander at all the sunny, sea gull-tastic, sun cream submerged, Southerners and others... My kind friend treated us both to a delightful New Forest Ice Cream, two scoops, of which they were, mint choc-chip (our shared personal favourite), and honey-comb crunch. (Our new almost over taking favourite). We have a small little kiosk at our beach that sells these marvellous ice creams, and other things like coke and ginger beer floats! (Don't you just love summer.) (That time it was hot in May.) :)

Seasonal Cooking.

Having your own vegetable patch in your garden is quite remarkably satisfying and rewarding. (Even if you do get over loaded with veg!) For a simple, tasty supper, I made this enjoyable pasta dish. I cooked some herby, pork sausages in the oven until perfectly golden and sizzling. Meanwhile I boiled this delightful pasta, called 'Conchiglioni', it is curled and rounded, so that it can scoop up all of the lovely pasta sauce! YUM, well done. Once my pasta was almost cooked I plonked in my purple sprouting broccoli from our very own garden. (Don't be scared if the water seems like it's turning purple, it'll change!) I don't like to cook this for too long, it's nice with just a little bite and crunch to it. (Equally you could steam it.) I then in a separate pan made a delicious creamy tomato sauce, using passata, soft cream cheese, and Parmesan. I then sliced up my sausages, and combined all the ingredients together once cooked. Lastly I gave the whole thing a few scattered shavings of Parmesan and a crack of black pepper. Done!

Tuna Steak with Griddled Pineapple.

First of all, I cannot stress how much this was quite literally, the best meal, I have ever made, unfor'tuna'tely, for myself! It was too good! Restaurant quality if you will... This was grilled tuna steak, with simple, yet spicy Asian noodles, topped with a piece of mouth watering griddled pineapple. The combination of the juicy tuna steak and the mouth watering pineapple, just cleansed your pallet over and over again, the whole trio in this dish was like the trinity of good food. I would highly recommend doing this. (I'm definitely doing it again, and I NEED someone to try it, just to know HOW great it is!)

The Simple Things.

After having returned from Germany, I came to appreciate the satisfaction received from simple, good quality food. (A similar ideal to the Italians...) However, whilst there I enjoyed things like a hot roll, with just butter and a pinch of salt. Sounds dull perhaps, but my word, there is nothing quite like it on a cold Northern German afternoon, with a cup of Earl Grey. Another thing I came to learn, was that German's, much like many Europeans, love cheese! I luckily enough got to visit a local cheese makers, directly across from the dairy in the North of Germany, and purchased a selection of lovely Cheese's. - This was my English meets German breakfast interpretation of simply, a hot piece of roll, with some butter, a sprinkle of salt, a piece of German cheese, and a beautifully soft boiled egg. Simplistic perfection!

Family Recipe- Paella!

Proper Paella. This is my Dad's recipe. This can be called a Paella, because my Dad has a rather lovely, large, paella dish pan. (Although we do use it for other dishes too) Anyway, in this recipe, we have included, fried onions, peppers, mushrooms, peas, prawns, mussels, and chicken thighs on the bone. Our seasonings are turmeric (for the yellow factor), paprika, pinch of chili powder, salt and pepper, that is about it! (OH WAIT.) I must add- we cheekily do not use proper Paella rice... Confession! We use Arborio Risotto rice, which is fairly similar, you want a nice absorbent rice. Alas, that is that! Give it a try! Olé, Olé, Olé!