The weather was unbelievable today – grey, overcast, snow and even a hail storm. Is it really the beginning of April? This morning we had to go out as the toddler had a hair appointment. Little Sis got her first hair cut too, one quick snip across her fringe and she can see again. When we were home with the front door shut firmly behind us we started baking. We needed a sweet treat so turned to our favourite, classic butterfly (or fairy) cakes. They are simple to make but look and taste great! Just in case you want to…
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I’ve always wanted a slow cooker, which is lucky, because I was offered the new Morphy Richards Sear and Stew Slow Cooker to review as part of my role as a Morphy Richards Innovator. Initially I turned to Twitter for help and was inundated with recipe suggestions. So far we’ve tried pulled pork and rice pudding and I’ve ordered some Slow Cooking recipe books for inspiration. The Slow Cooker is incredibly easy to use, light and goes in the dish washer – what more could you ask for?! The Sear and Stew Slow Cooker allows searing and slow cooking in the…
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I was invited to take part in Good Natured’s Winter Warmer recipe challenge. Good Natured produce a range of pesticide-residue fruit and vegetables, including the wholesome Splendid Spuds. I was sent a bag of freshly picked Splended Spuds and have hopefully created a ‘winter-warmer’ potato recipe you will enjoy. It’s a family favourite in our household and a great variation (I think!) of a British classic with a modern twist. Here is my recipe for Indian Shepherd’s Pie (Shepherd’s Pie with an Indian twist!) You will need: Oil 1 medium onion, diced 2 tbsp garlic puree 2 tsp ground ginger…
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I spent yesterday afternoon baking my first apple cake. The recipe was suggested by Sian Hallewell, and was handpicked by Jean Christophe Novelli to appear in the new cookery book Let’s Get Cooking! by Flora Cuisine. Let’s Get Cooking! contains 30 everyday recipes, from simple suppers to great cakes, by mums and dads from across the UK. It was created after they ran a recipe competition on their Facebook page earlier in the year. Flora Cuisine is a healthy cooking oil which is great for frying, roasting and baking. It has 45% less saturated fat than olive oil which means…
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When Whitworths challenged me to use their lovely new sugars I wondered what I could make. Fortunately they have a handy section on their website which you can search by category or sugar type. It’s probably no surprise I have a bit of a sweet tooth. I love honeycomb so was excited to see a recipe for it on Whitworth’s website. I found it difficult to get the right consistency so I had a few attempts. Fortunatley you really don’t need many ingredients and it literally takes 5 minutes to heat and transfer to a tray to cool. Using Whitworths…
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I love eating fish and always make sure the toddler eats a healthy portion at least once a week too. One of our favourite recipes is for tuna pasta bake. It’s really quick to put together and I always make plenty so I can freeze a couple of portions. Ingredients: Dried pasta (I usually use 60g per adult and used 240g for this recipe) 1 onion, chopped garlic puree 1 tin of Reel Fish tuna 1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400g) sprinkle of dried mixed herbs grated cheese for the top Method: Cook the dried pasta, drain, and leave to…
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Did you know that Whitworths have recently launched a new ‘Whitworths for Baking’ range, comprising of six high quality baking sugars – fine caster, superfine icing, fine demerara, crunchy demerara, light soft brown sugar and dark soft brown sugar, as well as a ‘Twist and Sprinkle’ icing sugar duster with built in sieve. The range has been made and packaged especially with home bakers in mind. Easy Butternut Squash soup recipe The Whitworths website has some great recipes and not all of them are cakey. As well as cakes, biscuits, and desserts there are also some savoury suggestions. I liked…
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I was challenged to bake a family friendly recipe using Anchor Butter. I wanted to get my toddler involved as he loves baking so we made some yummy vanilla cupcakes. Ingredients: 125g Anchor butter 125g caster sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence 2 eggs 125g self-raising flour dash of milk Method: Cream the butter and sugar and add the vanilla essence. Beat the eggs and add to the mixture. Fold in the flour and add milk as necessary. Divide between 12 cases and bake for 15-20 minutes at 180ºC. I used the new silicone cupcake cases sent to us from Anchor.…
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I was stupidly excited when I heard the people behind Mollie Makes were bringing out a new magazine called The Simple Things. I’ve decided that I need my monthly fix of craft eye candy, even if I’ve never made any of the cover gifts, to keep me sane. The idea behind The Simple Things is to embrace a simple life. This is what I need. My life is cluttered, my brain is cluttered, my house is cluttered. I picked up a copy, read through it and knew what we would be doing today. An article about picking fruit really struck a…