Every year we have my parents and the in-laws over for a movie watching fest. This year, the plan is to watch both of the modern Sherlock Holmes movies which I was given for my birthday. I've been making some food for the evening. I've made some breadsticks using the pizza dough recipe. These aren't like the breadsticks you'll find in the supermarket. As my dd says, they're more like bread than sticks but they're great for dipping into hummus.
I made the hummus last night and I also made some baba ganoush which is a tasty aubergine dip. I had some aubergines that didn't look very happy in the fridge so I cut off the sad bits and roasted the rest of the aubergine. It was the equivalent to two aubergines. When they were soft, I took them out of the oven and allowed to cool. I then scraped the flesh out from inside and put in a food processor with 2 cloves of garlic (peeled), juice of half a lemon and 3-4 spoons of tahini. I used a spoon that wasn't quite as big as a tablespoon. I whizzed all the ingredients together adding salt and pepper to taste. The plan is to eat this with the breadsticks. I'll also serve my homemade marinated olives so it should be quite a feast with chocolate brownies for dessert.
I hope you all have a wonderful New Year's Eve and that all your wishes come true (and you manage to stick to your resolutions). I'd love to hear what you've been up to and what resolutions you have set yourself. I'm planning to cook more healthy food and get fitter this year. Plenty of walking and cycling in the local countryside. Who needs a gym when it's all on my front door.
Monday, 31 December 2012
Saturday, 29 December 2012
Penguins
When we went for a walk at the beginning of the holiday, I saw a lovely window display in a local village with the cutest penguins.
They were my inspiration for today's crafting. I've made some penguin key rings in a variety of different colours. Here's the first one
And here are the rest of the family
All made while watching back to back NCIS. Now that's what I call a perfect afternoon. How did y spend yours?
They were my inspiration for today's crafting. I've made some penguin key rings in a variety of different colours. Here's the first one
And here are the rest of the family
All made while watching back to back NCIS. Now that's what I call a perfect afternoon. How did y spend yours?
Macaroni Cheese
With ds not having eaten very much during the day, you can imagine he wasn't in the best of moods when we returned home from our family trip to London. He started with getting all his favourite foods from the freezer but then he decided to return them all again. Sometimes, you just have to let your children work through their own moods. The next I knew, he was asking me how long it takes to cook macaroni cheese and he had started to weight out the ingredients. He decided that it wouldn't take much longer than cooking the frozen food and it would be much tastier. So this is what he made...
He was only cooking for himself but decided to make enough so he could eat it today as well. I just let him get on with it under the strict instructions that he would have to wash the cheese sauce pan (I hate that job as I normally have to scrape some burnt bits off the bottom).
He cooked 400g of rigatoni. While this was cooking, he made the cheese sauce. He melted 100g of margarine (Pure) and added 100g of plain flour and cooked these together for a couple of minutes. He then added 2 pints of semi-skimmed milk a bit at a time, making a roux. When all the milk had been added, he boiled the mixture, stirring all the time. Once the mixture had thickened, he to it off the heat and added grated cheese, enough to make a cheesy sauce. He divided the mixture between two dishes and mixed with the cheese sauce. He then sprinkled cheese on top and baked in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees centigrade for 20 minutes. Ds might have thought he was making it for himself but dd and I got in on the act and it was delicious. We had some peas with it which was a nice addition (ds only had 2 peas as the macaroni cheese is the star act as far as he's concerned). How crazy, ds was completely exhausted and hungry but chose to make this for dinner which is not the quickest thing to make.
A day out in London
We spent a lovely day in London yesterday walking and seeing the sites. We started off at Borough Market, the food market which can be found underneath the railway arches next to Southwark cathedral. It always reminds of the first Harry Potter movie when Hagrid takes Harry to Diagon Alley. We walked to the market from Waterloo station along the south bank of the river Thames. it was a lovely walk and we saw St Paul's cathedral and the city skyline in the distance.
when we arrived at the market it was full of tasting opportunities and ideas for making. There were some beautiful vegetable and fruit displays which just make you want to eat fresh food all the time.
There were various bakeries at the market and for the first time ever I was able to look at their wares and say 'I've made that'. To be honest, it only really happened with the bread sticks - the rest of the bread is beyond my capabilities at the moment. I also saw a fudge stall that really did look like the fudge that I made for Christmas presents. There were some lovely olive oil and cheeses to try which I took full advantage of. The only slight fly in the ointment was that ds and dd were also with me and they really didn't want to be there. You can't have it all. At least I had my mum and dad there and they were happy to come along on the tasting ride.
I had an amazing halloumi cheese bap for lunch which was amazing value at £4.80. It was full to bursting with salad, halloumi and sauces and I was served by a lovely cheeky chappy. It was so big that I remained full for the rest of the day. We ate it sitting next to the cathedral on some lovely pink seats. Unfortunately, dd and ds didn't find anything to eat which didn't help their good humour. Note to self, bring along plenty of food that they like on a trip to London to avoid any grumpiness.
After the trip to the market, we walked over the river, viewing Tower Bridge and the Tower of London on the way.
It was definitely a day for seeing the sites. We also walked past the Monument. They say if you lay it down it will take you to the starting point of the Great Fire of London. We then decided to wait for a bus but we had just missed it so decided to keep on walking. Ds wanted to go to a bike shop in Holburn, so we had a lovely 2 mile walk through the city. We even walked through Smithfield meat market which I had never visited before. Luckily, it wasn't in full swing so we could just enjoy the architecture.
By this time, our feet were hurting and we were still hunting for food for ds and dd. Anything that was offered was not good enough (can you see the theme here. Ds didn't eat until we returned home). We took a bus back to Trafalgar Square to see the Christmas tree donated by Norway.
It looked beautiful all lit up in the twilight. We then moved onto the lights of regents street and oxford street. The regent street lights were based on the 12 days of Christmas so mum and I sand the song as we travelled down the street on the bus. I'm not sure what the other people thought of that. Dh and ds stayed downstairs I'm sure to avoid the singing.
when we arrived at the market it was full of tasting opportunities and ideas for making. There were some beautiful vegetable and fruit displays which just make you want to eat fresh food all the time.
There were various bakeries at the market and for the first time ever I was able to look at their wares and say 'I've made that'. To be honest, it only really happened with the bread sticks - the rest of the bread is beyond my capabilities at the moment. I also saw a fudge stall that really did look like the fudge that I made for Christmas presents. There were some lovely olive oil and cheeses to try which I took full advantage of. The only slight fly in the ointment was that ds and dd were also with me and they really didn't want to be there. You can't have it all. At least I had my mum and dad there and they were happy to come along on the tasting ride.
I had an amazing halloumi cheese bap for lunch which was amazing value at £4.80. It was full to bursting with salad, halloumi and sauces and I was served by a lovely cheeky chappy. It was so big that I remained full for the rest of the day. We ate it sitting next to the cathedral on some lovely pink seats. Unfortunately, dd and ds didn't find anything to eat which didn't help their good humour. Note to self, bring along plenty of food that they like on a trip to London to avoid any grumpiness.
After the trip to the market, we walked over the river, viewing Tower Bridge and the Tower of London on the way.
It was definitely a day for seeing the sites. We also walked past the Monument. They say if you lay it down it will take you to the starting point of the Great Fire of London. We then decided to wait for a bus but we had just missed it so decided to keep on walking. Ds wanted to go to a bike shop in Holburn, so we had a lovely 2 mile walk through the city. We even walked through Smithfield meat market which I had never visited before. Luckily, it wasn't in full swing so we could just enjoy the architecture.
By this time, our feet were hurting and we were still hunting for food for ds and dd. Anything that was offered was not good enough (can you see the theme here. Ds didn't eat until we returned home). We took a bus back to Trafalgar Square to see the Christmas tree donated by Norway.
It looked beautiful all lit up in the twilight. We then moved onto the lights of regents street and oxford street. The regent street lights were based on the 12 days of Christmas so mum and I sand the song as we travelled down the street on the bus. I'm not sure what the other people thought of that. Dh and ds stayed downstairs I'm sure to avoid the singing.
Thursday, 27 December 2012
Gifting
Well, the season of goodwill is over for another year. It takes me all year to build up my stock of presents and then a few days for them all to be given to the right recipient. Yesterday was our traditional family get together with my dad's sisters and their children (and their children). We were supposed to be heading for Essex for the afternoon but the sickness bug struck that side of the family down. I hope they start to feel better soon. Instead, we travelled to Kent to my cousin's house as she agreed to host at the last mint. What a star. Even though it was a last minute change, there was still loads of food (thank you to the local pizza takeaway) and laughs. I made some more muffins for the party (way too many this time). I added a mincemeat muffin to my repertoire which proved just as yummy as the rest. As I had run out of muffin cases before Christmas Day, I used my silicone cases and some cup cake cases which meant that I managed to get 24 small muffins out of a 12 muffin recipe. To make the muffins you need to mix all the dry ingredients together...
280g self raising flour (you can use plain flour and add a tsp of baking powder but I had run out)
Half tsp bicarbonate of soda
Half tsp salt
85g caster sugar
Add all the wet ingredients...
8oz milk
3oz vegetable oil
1 egg
A jar of mincemeat (I used a jar of homemade mincemeat that I found at the back of my preserves cupboard).
Mix so that you can't see any flour but the batter should look lumpy. Don't over mix. Spoon into muffin cases and bake at 200 degrees centigrade for 20-25 minutes.
They didn't go as quickly as the Christmas Day muffins so now I'll need to reorganise the freezer so I can find a space for them. Also lurking in the freezer is the bread that we got on Christmas Eve for 10p - I think Christmas Day is now the only day of the year that the supermarkets aren't open. That's a bit of a sobering thought.
I hope you all have a restful rest of the week after the exertions of the last couple of days. I have managed to fit in watching Dowton Abbey between putting and taking it the muffins so at least I've had some time on the sofa. The wonderful thing about I-player is at you can pause when things need to be taken from the oven. We have also managed to fit in a couple of walks.
Enjoy the rest of the holidays.
280g self raising flour (you can use plain flour and add a tsp of baking powder but I had run out)
Half tsp bicarbonate of soda
Half tsp salt
85g caster sugar
Add all the wet ingredients...
8oz milk
3oz vegetable oil
1 egg
A jar of mincemeat (I used a jar of homemade mincemeat that I found at the back of my preserves cupboard).
Mix so that you can't see any flour but the batter should look lumpy. Don't over mix. Spoon into muffin cases and bake at 200 degrees centigrade for 20-25 minutes.
They didn't go as quickly as the Christmas Day muffins so now I'll need to reorganise the freezer so I can find a space for them. Also lurking in the freezer is the bread that we got on Christmas Eve for 10p - I think Christmas Day is now the only day of the year that the supermarkets aren't open. That's a bit of a sobering thought.
I hope you all have a restful rest of the week after the exertions of the last couple of days. I have managed to fit in watching Dowton Abbey between putting and taking it the muffins so at least I've had some time on the sofa. The wonderful thing about I-player is at you can pause when things need to be taken from the oven. We have also managed to fit in a couple of walks.
Enjoy the rest of the holidays.
Tuesday, 25 December 2012
Happy Christmas
Happy Christmas to everyone. I hope it brings you peace and goodwill. I've been up since 6.30am this morning to cook the muffins for Christmas morning. We celebrate Christmas with my in-laws each year so baking in the morning is the least that I can do. So far, I've made chocolate chip muffins and raspberry muffins. This is the recipe that I used...
225g plain flour
110g caster sugar
3tsps baking powder
Half tsp salt
Mix all the dry ingredients together and then add the wet ingredients...
8 fl oz milk
3 fl oz vegetable oil
1tsp vanilla essence
1egg
You need to make sure you don't over mix as the muffins then become quite heavy. For chocolate chip muffins, cut up a 100g bar of milk chocolate and mix in with the dry ingredients. For the raspberry muffins, add 100g frozen or fresh muffins to the dry ingredients. Spoon into the cases and then sprinkle with Demerara sugar. Each batch makes 12 muffins. Bake in an oven at 200 degrees centigrade for 20-25 minutes and then enjoy.
225g plain flour
110g caster sugar
3tsps baking powder
Half tsp salt
Mix all the dry ingredients together and then add the wet ingredients...
8 fl oz milk
3 fl oz vegetable oil
1tsp vanilla essence
1egg
Monday, 24 December 2012
Key Rings
I just wanted to show you what I have been working on over the weekend. It started as this...
and here is one of the finished key rings....
I'm really pleased with the way they have turned out. They have some home grown lavender inside them as well so they smell as good as they look. Off now to sort out the last bits of Christmas baking. Have a lovely, relaxing Christmas Eve.
and here is one of the finished key rings....
I'm really pleased with the way they have turned out. They have some home grown lavender inside them as well so they smell as good as they look. Off now to sort out the last bits of Christmas baking. Have a lovely, relaxing Christmas Eve.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)