The Things You Love.

A cup of strong +Yorkshire Tea and an awesome onion bagel, filled with a fancy poached egg, a slice of good ham and a drop of jarred hollandaise sauce. (Pretty much an easy version of eggs Benedict.) These two things are one of my favourite combinations for breakfast. A great way to start a day. Eggs especially are full of protein and vitamins. Enjoy the things you love, embrace them, sometimes add in a new ingredient perhaps, just for a change! OR keep it how you like. Simple.

Asian Baked Salmon.

This dish was highly influenced by a recipe of the same title discovered in 'Jamie's 30 Minute Meals'. (Cheers +Jamie Oliver !) To create this I placed a salmon fillet in to a baking tray, covered it with Chinese five spice, nutmeg and a pinch of chili powder. Then rubbed it in with some soy sauce. I placed the salmon in the oven for 15 minutes, till it was cooked in the middle and crisp on top. To accompany the fish I made some noodles in a vegetable broth, and boiled some green beans along the side. I then placed the noodles and broth in to a bowl, splashed in some soy sauce, put the beans on top to create a bed for the salmon and then garnished with chopped spring onions and red pepper. It is a flavoursome, fusion of fine ingredients. Sensational.

Splendid Speedy Snack.

During 2012 I discovered a new thing! And now, I feel ready to share it with you all. This was a thing I had not seen before, at least not in supermarkets: Square mountain bread from the wonderful bakers at Warburtons. I had a friend round not long ago and we were both rather peckish, I happened to have the mountain bread in the cupboard along with a jar of salsa, tomatoes and Cheddar cheese in the fridge, a packet of rocket and some red onions. I placed the bread on a baking tray, covered with the salsa, then dressed with chopped red onions, grated cheese and layed on tomatoes. I put all of these lovely bits under the grill for 10 minutes, until the cheese was nice and melted. Right at the last minute I placed some rocket on the top and a twist of black pepper! It really is the quickest thing, and tastes as good as pizza! Worth a try. 

Tuna Steak Curry.

Being a large fan of tuna fish and curry, I decided to form a collaboration of the two in this easy recipe. A good thing to buy is frozen tuna steaks, they come ready sealed individually, and you can keep in them in the freezer for when ever! Simply take out an hour or so before cooking. Firstly chop and prepare all of your vegetables, wash your rice (if you wish to have it), then put the rice on the hob and get a large pan on with some oil. Fry off your vegetables, I choose red and yellow peppers, red onions and tomatoes, until softened. Then when you're ready add in your tuna steak. Cook gently on both sides till it suits your preference. Lastly add in some curry paste (I used a Korma, you could also make this from scratch if you wanted), then add in some coconut milk or natural yogurt and any other seasonings you like, coriander, pepper, chili flakes etc. Then plate up the curry with the rice and enjoy! It's ruddy good.

Best of 2012 and More.

Two words: Honeycomb cheesecake. This is just one of the many delicious cakes at the fantastic 'Tenth Hole' tea room along the south coast in Southsea. If ever you are in the Portsmouth & Southsea area and are a bit of a tea nut (like me!), then get yourself along to the 'Tenth Hole'! It is quaint, popular in the summer, and right next to the golf course! They have amazing selections of enormous cakes, including Oreo cheesecake, and mars bar, to name just a couple. Plus almost everything has glitter on it, in it, all over the shop! (Brilliant.) They also do amazing doorstep loaf sarnies and other goodies! - A definite spot to visit in 2013.

Oregano and Olive Oil!

After returning from a holiday in Greece, I took inspiration from the summery foods I had tried on my visit. One important thing I learnt, is that, no matter what you're making or eating, you can probably always find a herb to go with it! And for Greek food, it is pretty much always- OREGANO. Aside from herbs, the Greeks know how to make amazing olive oil. I attempted to recreate a taste of the cuisine. Number one rule: Keep it simple. I griddled a pork chop, some courgette and green peppers. Boiled some rice, with a pinch of turmeric for the yellow factor. Made a simple side salad of tomato, red onion, and cucumber. Then plate the whole lot up together, drizzle your salad with some good olive oil, and cover the entire bunch in OREGANO. Go crazy! It is a simple, balanced plate of food, but mighty satisfying.

Huevos Rancheros!

THIS, is Huevos Rancheros... A popular Mexican breakfast dish. Mexicans believe that breakfast is 'the most' important meal of the day. You'll see why after you've tried this awesome selection of ingredients! Take one piece of tortilla or mountain bread, lay it flat in a baking dish, cover the bread with a mixture of red & green peppers, spring onions, tomatoes, whatever you like! Then crack a couple of eggs on top of this wonderful bunch of goodness. Sprinkle the whole lot with loads of coriander, chilli flakes and even some jack cheese if you wanted! Place in the oven for about 10-15 minutes at around 180. Then... once the eggs are firm and it's all brilliant looking, poke a knife or fork into your eggs, and enjoy the tasty mess! Fantástico.

Rocky Road, Wherever You Like!

As a precaution, I should warn you... these are possibly, the naughtiest, yet, tastiest rocky road bites, you just might/should make for yourself! (And 'maybe' even share them!) To make these blocks of beauty, you will need: 2 packets of maltesers, 2 snickers bars, 1 bag of pink + white marshmallows, a bar of 70% or higher dark chocolate, some golden syrup, and 1/2 a packet of digestive biscuits. In a large bowl, bash up your maltersers with the end of a rolling pin (or if your fancy, chop them in to halves...oooh.) Then chop up your marshmallows into quarters, so you get tiny gooey magic bits. Bash up your biscuits in with the m'tesers, then add the marshies. Drizzle this with a table spoon of golden syrup. (Sounds really bad... or... really good?) In a metal bowl, above some simmering water, melt your bar of dark chocolate, and when it looks like it's almost ready, drop in the snickers pieces, and fold it together, until well combined. Then remove from heat (allow it too cool for a little while, but not too long...) Line a tin with parchment paper. Combine your chocolate, with your other goodies, and mix it altogether! Then, lastly, pour this into your lined tin and once properly cooled, place in the fridge for up to 1 hour, best results over night. Enjoy! (Don't forget to lick the bowl.) Plus, you can adjust & add whatever you like to this recipe. Be it: pistachio, mars bars, raisins, jelly tots, rice krispies, yogurt coated raisins!! (Now we're talking) ...

Forgive Me. Pretty Peas?

Before even beginning to write about this dish (gasp), I must apologise for the 'extreme' lack of posts and can only present this pretty, plate of pea & mint risotto, as a flag of forgiveness. I can only hope that this will not happen again... (fingers crossed!) But, lets not dwell any longer. Here- is a healthy, heavenly, herbalicious, lunch/dinner dish that will surely send your sensations in to a supreme sanctuary of... mmmmmmmm's. For this, you must first make a risotto bianco (white): using risotto rice, ladles of good quality chicken stock (or vegetable), a splash of white wine, chopped onions, pinch of salt and pepper. Then, the fun part! You can add a mixture of things to give your bianco a boom. I used garden peas, boiled with mint, chili, and pepper. Which I then strained and blended to a smooth paste. Fold this mix into your bianco, for a great, colour and taste combo. Then garnish with Parmesan, olive oil and a sprig of mint. Vuala!!

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!

Certainly Not Paella.

This was my quick and tasty one pan dinner. Now, it has lots of similar ingredients to a paella, but I simply cannot call it one, because firstly I didn't add any turmeric or saffron to the rice, and I didn't cook it in an awesome paella pan. Which you must do if your making a paella! Anyway, I boiled some long grain rice, and once it was almost soft I removed it from the pan, in to a bowl. I then fried some onions and bacon. Once softened I added prawns and chorizo. Then when cooked through, some frozen peas and loads of parsley. I then added the rice back to the pan and mixed it through. Was really nice and oddly refreshing. :)