What a day

I love the weekend. It gives me the opportunity to just potter around, making things, catching up with friends and generally having fun. I made another batch of chocolate oat cookies on Saturday ready for the week ahead. They turned out well again so it's the third time of using the recipe, I thought it was time to share it with you.

Cream together:
110g butter or margarine (I always use Pure margarine)
110g caster sugar
85g light brown sugar
Then add 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract until combined well. Add 150g of plain flour, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder and the same of bicarbonate of soda and mix. Finally add 180g of rolled oats and 100-200g of chocolate (depending on how chocolatey you want the biscuits to be). Roll into walnut size balls (it should make about 32) and place on two baking sheets. Bake in an oven at 190 degrees centigrade for 8 minutes. The biscuits will spread out as they cook. Once out of the oven, leave to cool for a couple of minutes, then place on a cooling tray (don't leave them any longer as they then become to brittle to get off the tray without breaking).

I also had a second go at a Nigella Lawson ice cream recipe. I like it because it has alcohol in it which means it doesn't need churning. Don't worry though you won't even get tipsy with this recipe. The recipe is from her new book - Nigelissima. Although it's a ridiculous title, the recipe does work well.

Whip 600ml of double cream until at the soft peak stage. Mix in 2tbsps of cointreau (Nigella suggests a coffee liquer but I hate coffee so I changed it). Add in 8 crumbled meringues and fold in. Nigella then says to add 30g chopped dark chocolate. I've tried it with the chocolate and it was quite nice but this time I added 3 chopped crunchies (yummy). Line two loaf tins with cling film, enough to fold over the top). Divide the mixture between the two tins, smooth out and cover with the cling film. Place in the freezer for at least 4 hours. When you are ready to serve, make the chocolate sauce to go with it. Heat up 250ml of double cream with 125g of chopped dark or milk chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted. We enjoyed this in front of the Bourne Identity.

I was going to spend the afternoon working with felt and making some more beach hut ornaments but I met a friend instead and we went to a wonderful Lebanese restaurant in Woking which I can highly recommend. It's called Jeitta. The food was great and the service was fabulous and friendly. I'll definitely be going back with the family. I hope you enjoyed your weekend.