Good things

The next apprentice?

2012-02-12T16:07:00.000Z

My 8 week old daughter, Olivia, is learning to think like a champion! Is she "The Donald"s next apprentice??

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies - no bake!

2012-02-06T15:42:00.002Z

I hate baking.
Unless it all can be mixed up in bowl or it is fail proof. I don't like the science, you have to be so exact with your measurements in baking. I cook by the "a dash of this and a sprinkle of that" method, which sooooo does not work for baking.
However... I do have some recipes that I swear by as they are SERIOUSLY easy to make, I never get them wrong (even when I add or subtract a little of whatever I fancy...) and they taste DELICIOUS! (see bottom of page for my favourite, easy treats)

My most recent discovery are the "no bake chocolate peanut butter cookies. Yummm... All the ingredients are mixed up in a pot (takes about 5 minutes), then spooned onto a baking sheet. Then you make a cup of tea and wait for those babies to cool and harden. Hardly a lot of work. We could even pretend it's healthy because it contains a lot of oats. But I'm not sure that would fly...

Ingredients

2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa
a pinch of salt
1 stick/113g butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup peanut butter (coarse is best)
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups oatmeal
Waxed paper

Directions

In a heavy saucepan bring to a boil, the sugar, salt, cocoa, butter and milk. Let boil for 3 minutes then add peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal. On a sheet of waxed paper, drop mixture by the teaspoonfuls, until cooled and hardened.

Other favourite, lazy-baker desserts:
Brownies
Blondies
Sweet and Salty Crunch Nut Bars
Salted Caramel Chocolate Pretzel Bark
Cherry Pie
Peanut Butter Cups
Apple Spice Cake

Slow roast pork tortillas

2012-02-05T17:54:00.001Z

Another easy peasy dinner full of flavour - providing you are organised enough to set off the hours it takes to slow roast the pork!

Ingredients:

Slices of pork shoulder

Dry rub spices & herbs

1 can pineapple chunks or slices

1 bunch fresh coriander, chopped

Sour cream or creme fraiche

Tortilla wraps

Hot sauce

Method:

Make a dry rub from salt, pepper, smoky paprika powder, garlic powder, oregano, brown sugar, thyme and chilli powder.

Place slices of pork shoulder in a casserole dish. Drizzle a little olive oil over the meat, then add the dry rub and massage well into the meat.

Cover dish with tin foil and cook for 4 hours at 125C/250F. Halfway through the cooking, I add a can of drained pineapple chunks, which I sprinkle over the meat before it goes back in the oven.

When finished, chop up the pork and place in a bowl along with the pineapple, drizzled with some of the roasting liquid to keep meat moist.

Heat tortillas and assemble with the pork/pineapple combo, sour cream and sprinkle with fresh, chopped coriander. Drizzle with optional hot sauce, roll up and enjoy!

Sweet, sticky chilli beef

2012-02-05T17:37:00.002Z

I like to use skirt steak for this. Skirt steak is cheap and full of flavour, but it needs some work to tenderize, which is why it's perfect for any steak dinner where you have time to marinate the meat.
We had this dish in a local restaurant a few weeks back and, after begging the chef to tell me how he made this, I swear it'll be a regular feature on our dinner table.

I can only tell you approximate measurements, as I cook by the "a dash of this and that" method, so I suggest you add to taste...

Ingredients:
500g Skirt steak (or other steak you prefer)
Soya sauce ( 1 cup?)
Sweet chilli sauce (I use at least 1/2 bottle)
Salt (I use Maldon)
Pepper
A bunch of fresh coriander, chopped
A pinch of dried chilli flakes

Method:
Marinate skirt steak in soya sauce, either over night in the fridge or 4 hrs in room temperature.
Remove steak from marinade and slice into fine slices, against the grain. Reserve marinade.
Brown the meat in a frying pan, then add the soya sauce (marinade) and all the other ingredients. Cook until the sauce has gone thick and sticky, covering each slice.
Serve on its own as a snack or with noodles or rice as a main course.

Good luck and bon appetite!

Fluffy American banana/bacon/sweet potato/pumpkin pancakes

2012-02-05T16:57:00.000Z

Ingredients

135g/4¾oz plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp caster sugar
130ml/4½fl oz milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp melted butter (allowed to cool slightly) or olive oil, plus extra for cooking

Optional extra fillings:
1 or 2 Bananas, mashed with a fork
Bacon bits - fry these till crispy and add to batter along with the mashed banana or on their own
Mashed sweet potatoes (great way to use up leftovers!) + 1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 can pumpkin puree

To serve
Maple syrup
Golden syrup
Butter
Honey butter (home made butter mixed with honey)

Preparation method

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and caster sugar into a large bowl. In a separate bowl or jug, lightly whisk together the milk and egg, then whisk in the melted butter.

Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and, using a fork, beat until you have a smooth batter. Any lumps will soon disappear with a little mixing. Add the optional extras and mix well. Let the batter stand for a few minutes.

Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add a knob of butter. When it's melted, add a ladle of batter (or two if your frying pan is big enough to cook two pancakes at the same time). It will seem very thick but this is how it should be. Wait until the top of the pancake begins to bubble, then turn it over and cook until both sides are golden brown and the pancake has risen to about 1cm (½in) thick.

Repeat until all the batter is used up. You can keep the pancakes warm in a low oven, but they taste best fresh out the pan.

Serve with lashings of real maple syrup and extra butter if you like.

Gift idea: Photo Diary

2011-12-13T08:40:00.001Z

I got one of these for Rik a couple of years ago, and they are great! Really good quality and guaranteed to put a smile on your face every day. Make one for your loved one with pictures of the two of you, or make one for your mother with a picture of your kids. They make a great, original gift and are affordable too.

PhotoBox does really good ones, that's where I got mine from. Vistaprint does another version though I haven't seen this one.

Cheeseburger Wellington

2011-12-11T23:16:00.001Z

Tonight's dinner: cheeseburgers wrapped in puff pastry!

It's as easy as this:

Preheat oven to 210C (fan).

Use ready rolled puff pastry and cut into 4 equal size squares. Stretch each square a little so they get large enough to cover and wrap a burger. Rub a teaspoon of mustard on the pastry sheet.

Cook burgers till done and add cheddar + gouda cheese + caramelized onions

Cover and wrap the burger in the pastry sheet and place burgers on baking paper.

Cook 15-20 mins

Serve!

Wedding ideas: Galvanised Bucket Favours & Placecards

2011-12-03T09:23:00.000Z

Bucket Placecards

Personalize galvanized buckets with adhesive or rub-on letters. Fill the buckets with sweets for the guests to take home. The buckets can be bought extremely cheap on Ebay, at approx 50 pence each.

Buckets filled with caramelized cranberries:

Autumn Wedding Favour

Filled with sweets and decorated with a cute bow:

They are available in various colours as well, for those that prefer this:

And why not keep the theme going using larger, galvanised buckets for your flowers also? You can buy these buckets super cheap at Ikea. They are timeless, look great and are versatile for use after the wedding also!

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Perfect sweet potato fries

2011-12-02T12:31:00.001Z

Preheat your oven to 220C/450F (fan assisted)

You need:

Sweet potatoes

Olive oil

Maldon Sea Salt

Black Pepper

Ground Cumin

Method:

Cut the pointy ends off the potatoes. You don't want the skinny bits as these will burn as they cook faster than the fries.

Peel the potatoes and toss in a little bit of olive oil, lots of black pepper and a few pinches of Maldon sea salt and ground cumin. Don't overdo it with the oil, you just want to coat them, not bathe them.

Make sure you toss the potatoes with your hands so that each get well coated with oil and seasoning. Pour onto a baking sheet covered with baking paper and spread them out so that none are touching. If the touch, they will go soggy rather than crisp.

Cook for 15 mins, then turn the fries over and cook another 10 minutes.

You cannot fail if you follow this recipe. Serve right away. YUM!!

Thanks to jessyratfink for this. The fries came out more perfect than I have ever managed to make them before!

Chicken and Mango Chutney Curry in 10 minutes

2011-11-30T12:50:00.000Z

How to make a DELICIOUS curry in ten minutes (well, it needs to simmer for about 20 minutes but that is no work for you!).

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts
1 tsp jerk seasoning
Olive oil
1 sweet potato
5 tbsps mango chutney
2 tbsps Jamaican curry powder
1 potato
1 carrot
1 onion
Pinch of black pepper
Pinch of salt
2 cloves garlic
4 tsps allspice
310ml chicken stock

Method

Slice the chicken and season with 3 tbsps of allspice, 1 garlic clove, salt and black pepper and leave to marinate, ideally overnight.

Heat some oil in a pan and fry the chicken until it is golden brown and remove from the pan.

Dice the onions, carrot and potato and add to the pan, along with another clove of garlic. Leave them to sweat for a few minutes and add the Jamaican curry powder and mango chutney.

Once the vegetables have softened, return the chicken to the pan and add the chicken stock.

Reduce the mixture down until you have the desired consistency and remove from the heat.

Peel and slice the sweet potato, coat in oil and heat on a griddle pan for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the heat and sprinkle the remaining allspice and jerk seasoning.

Serve together with rice.

Please note that when I made this, I didn't have any sweet potatoes and I didn't marinade the chicken. Also, I used jerk marinade in place of jerk seasoning (basically, I pan fried the chicken with about 2 tbsp jerk marinade). I also used hot mango chutney and only 1 tbsp allspice, which I added to the simmering pan. I probably simmered this on really low heat for about 45 minutes but on a slightly higher heat, the 20 minutes the recipe calls for will be enough. I think this would be nice with naan bread and possibly a sprinkling of fresh coriander. Will try this next time.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Pretzel Bark

2011-11-21T09:46:00.001Z

OMG.

This thing needs to come with a big, fat WARNING sign. This is a combination of everything delicious: sweet, salty, savoury, crispy AND buttery. It's the kind of candy where you keep reaching for "just one more..."

OK, you have been warned so you can proceed.

...see below for recipe...

It is up to you whether you want to spread this recipe over a large baking sheet or divide it between two slightly smaller ones. I used two and avoided too much overlapping of the pretzels, so my bark was quite thin and easy to break up.

Ingredients:

A bag of salted mini pretzels (aka "normal" pretzels, not the massive ones), 150 - 250 g.
225 g unsalted butter (or two sticks)
1 cup light brown sugar
400 g milk chocolate
1 tbsp Maldon salt

Method:
Preheat oven to 200C. Line a baking sheet (or two, depending on size) with baking paper and scatter the pretzels over in a single layer. Don't worry about a little overlapping!

In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter completely over medium heat. Once it's melted, add the sugar and stir constantly until it's darkened and thick. This takes about 3 minutes. You want to watch the heat here, because if it boils it will burn, so if it's bubbling too much, turn the heat down. Stir in the salt.
When the caramel is thick, pour it over the pretzels evenly. If it doesn't cover the pretzels completely, do not fret: Put the pan into the oven for about 5 minutes, until the caramel has spread to the edges and is bubbly.

Meanwhile, either in a bain marie or in the microwave, melt 400g milk chocolate. Take the caramel and pretzels out of the oven and drizzle the melted chocolate over the caramel, with the help of a tablespoon.

When the bark is to your liking, put it in the refrigerator for at least an hour. When it is cooled, take it out and lift the bark out of the pan. Break it into pieces.

I put mine in a large plastic container and keep it in the fridge. I made this to have as snacks for visiting guests when the baby is born, but I am not so sure it will last long enough. Thankfully, it is incredibly easy to make! ;-)

Enjoy and let me know how you get on!

Adapted from Two Recipes. Many many thanks for sharing this with the world.

Gift idea: Towels

2011-11-18T10:29:00.000Z

Give away a set of fresh, soft, new towels! Roll them up, put them in a basket, add a ribbon - and you have an impressive gift that is guaranteed to be cherished:

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Tesco actually sells towels in an amazing range of colours, so does M&S and Dunhelm Mill.

Happy shopping!

Hot tip: Lasagne with Bacon!

2011-11-04T10:49:00.000Z

My husband made us dinner last night and, as we had some leftover bacon in the fridge, he draped this on top of the cheese. And MAN - what a taste revelation that was! From now on, lasagne will always be made with bacon in the this house! Try it for yourself!

Pumpkin cake

2011-11-04T10:15:00.000Z

This cake is in my opinion, far superior to the traditional pumpkin pie. This winter-spice pumpkin pound cake is moist, delicious and comforting. It'll keep for a long time and is really easy to make.

Admittedly, I only really make "one-bowl-cakes", aka cakes that can be mixed in one bowl and poured into a baking dish and voila - ready to serve! And this cake (like the other I post on this blog) is just like that. No sifting of flour, just adding ingredients to a bowl, mix and cook.

Ingredients

175g self raising flour
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

OR (if you don't have self raising flour)

1.5 cups flour
2.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

plus

1½ tsp mixed spice
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
50g unsalted butter
140g caster sugar
200g tinned pumpkin puree
1 tbsp milk
1 large egg

(Note: I added 1 tsp ground cinnamon and a pinch of salt, but omitted the mixed spice as I didn't have any)

For the caramel syrup

125g sugar
100ml water

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas mark 4. Line a 900g loaf tin (about 21.5cm x 11cm x 6cm deep) with baking paper.

2. Mix together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, mixed spice and nutmeg, then add the butter and rub in. Add the caster sugar and mix well.

3. Mix together the pumpkin, milk and beaten egg, add to the flour mixture and fold in - but do not overwork.

4. Spoon into the prepared tin (lined with baking parchment) and bake for 35-40 minutes, until well risen.

5. Once the cake is cooked, remove from the oven and cool slightly, leaving it in the tin.

6. Place the sugar into a pan and just cover with water, bring to the boil and boil until the sugar turns to a light caramel.

7. Add the 100ml of water. It will splutter and boil, so stand back!

8. Re-boil until the caramel is dissolved and cool slightly.

9. Using a skewer, lightly prick the sponge, then pour over the syrup.

10. Cool and lift out, remove the paper and slice.

To serve

Dust with icing sugar and serve with thick cream.

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Gift idea: Infused oils

2011-11-03T10:50:00.000Z

Infused oils make great bases for salad dressings, marinades and sauces. They look great on your kitchen shelf and adds an amazing dimension when drizzled over roast potatoes, pizza, salad, chicken or grilled fish.

For herb oils, always use whole, fresh leaves. It's a good idea to bruise them a little to release the flavours before you bottle them.

I bought these little bottles of light olive oil and added sprigs of rosemary from the garden to each bottle. In a few weeks, the rosemary will have infused and be wonderful over roast potatoes. As you use the oil, keep topping up with fresh oil and it will keep infusing. Vegetable oil is fine, no need for anything expensive. I only used olive oil in this case cause the bottles are so cute. In fact, olive oil will go rancid if exposed to sunlight for any length of time, so I prefer to use sunflower or vegetable oil (which also can be cooked at a higher temperature).

I made this oil at least a year back. It consists of (a lot of) dried chilli flakes and 3 garlic cloves. Whenever I see the need, I top up with vegetable oil. The oil just keeps getting better with time (and very potent!)

You can easily infuse your own oils and it only costs a fraction of the ones you buy in the shop.
There are two ways to do this: cold infusion or hot infusion.

The cold method (as I did with both oils above) is easy, but takes more time to infuse. If you heat the oil a little before pouring it over the herbs/spices, the warm oil will speed up the infusion process a little.

Hot infusion is done by heating the oil and the herbs/spices in a pot for 5 minutes to release the flavours. Make sure it sizzles, but by all means avoid the oil getting too hot as it will taste burnt.

Wouldn't it make an awesome present to give away a range of infused oils with different flavours?
What a colourful, tasty, practical and decorative gift!

Try these variations (or a combination) and use about 1 cup of herbs/spices to 4 cups of oil:

Chilli
Garlic
Rosemary
Oregano
Thyme
Basil
Lemon
Ginger

Saving tip: don't throw away your empty olive oil bottles, but use these to make flavoured oils in. Remember to use sunflower or vegetable oil in place of olive oil as these bland tasting oils will bring out the flavour of the herbs/spices more.

Home Made Bath Salt

2011-10-26T10:25:00.000+01:00

Mix sea salt with scented oils, dried flowers or herbs to make a nice pampering gift:

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Make certain jars are absolutely dry. Salts absorb moisture, so this project will work better in low humidity.

Start with about 4 cups of sea salt or kosher salt. Mix in several drops of an aromatic bath oil (available at bath and beauty stores) and, if you wish, dried fragrant plants, such as lavender or eucalyptus. Use a few spoonfuls of salts per bath.

Home made salsa in 5 minutes

2011-10-21T12:14:00.002+01:00

Prep time: 5 mins

image source

1 red chili, deseeded and chopped
1 sweet, pointed red paprika, deseeded (slighly sweeter than the red bell peppers)
1 small red onion
1 tin chopped tomatoes, well drained
2 tbsp chopped, fresh coriander/cilantro (you can use basil in place of the cilantro if you wish)
100 ml extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until desired consistency has been achieved. Check for seasoning and refrigerate for an hour before serving, if there is time :-)

If you want to go all out, this should be accompanied by my guacamole - it's well worth the extra few minutes and you might just end up skipping dinner - these two appetizers are so amazingly tasty! (and healthy too, apart from the tortilla chips, but that's what we call a balanced diet, right? ;-))

Make a table runner from old handkerchiefs

2011-10-18T15:10:00.002+01:00

Source

Craft a runner using old handkerchiefs to dress up a plain table.

To make a table runner, measure the length of your table (plus overhang) to determine how many hankies you'll need. To connect the first two, flip them pattern side down, overlapping the edges by about ⅜ inch; pin, then stitch together. Continue attaching handkerchiefs in this manner until the runner is complete.

Gino D'Acampo' s Rum Truffles

2011-10-14T14:34:00.002+01:00

For some very strange reason, this recipe was never published after Gino's appearance on This Morning. However, it briefly appeared on Google and I was able to write it down:

Ingredients:

125 grams dark chocolate
small knob butter
2tbsp rum
50g desicated coconut
100g (sponge) cake crumbs

Method:

Melt chocolate and butter in a bain marie. Add the rum, coconut and cake crumbs. Roll into balls and toss in cocoa powder, icing sugar or chopped nuts. Refrigerate until firm and serve.

These should keep for weeks in a plastic tub in the fridge.

Optional ingredients: almonds, hazelnut, seedless raspberry jam, apricot jam, other liquor.

These truffles are easier to roll and work with than truffles made from traditional ganache as both the butter and the chocolate goes firm when cold.

Pictured above: I made 1 batch as per the recipe and 1 batch with chopped, roasted hazelnuts in place of the coconut. I then rolled balls from each batch in chopped hazelnuts, icing sugar or chocolate sprinkles. In retrospect, I have to admit that everyone who tried them, preferred the ones made with dessicated coconut. Also, they are best when served cold.

Coconut & Lemon Bundt Cakes - make your own wedding cakes

2011-10-14T09:20:00.000+01:00

I made our wedding cakes myself and this was the result:

Not bad, eh?

And trust me, these cakes are delicious!

Also, if you look closely at the photo, you'll see that I used paper banquet rolls for table cloths and paper plates for the cakes. It was simple, affordable and beautiful. I made the cakes a week in advance, wrapped them really well in clingfilm to avoid freezer burns and kept them in the freezer until the day before the wedding. I brought them into the venue and let them defrost over night, then instructed the caterers to sprinkle the cakes and silk flowers with the icing sugar I had brought in along with a small sifter.

It was simple and looked perfect in my opinion.

You don't need to pay £300 for a wedding cake, hire white linen, plates etc. If you are happy to keep it rustic, it will save you hundreds of £££ and as an added bonus, make it all that much more personal with your own touch..

The recipe to the two cakes I made can be found here:

Coconut Bundt Cake

Please note, the recipe calls for coconut essence, which is not available in the UK, so I used Malibu rum instead. Instead of the pineapple glaze, I made a syrup from Malibu rum and sugar and poured over the cake whilst still in the pan. I let the cake soak this up for 10 mins or so before turning it out. This is definitely a cake for coconut lovers like myself - yum!!

Lemon Cake

Instead of making two smaller cakes, I poured the whole batch into a large bundt pan. This worked perfectly. This cake is really fresh and lemony - delicious!

Pumpkin crafts and uses for adults

2011-10-12T13:26:00.001+01:00

As Halloween is just around the corner, I thought I'd give you some alternative ideas for uses of pumpkins!
Here are some easy, original & fun projects you can play with. More with an adult twist this time!

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Paint pumpkins with black paint for a chic look

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Extend a colorful welcome with this pumpkin basket floral arrangement. It's as easy to make as a jack-o'-lantern, and the pumpkin's rich color is a natural foil for a bunch of seasonal market flowers or the last gleanings from your garden.

Vase of Fall Flowers

how-to

A grown up take on the jack-o-lantern, with a painted silhouette of an old fashioned lantern.

Pumpkin Candle Holder

Bird Feeder

Jamie Olivers steak sandwich with garlic mushrooms

2011-10-07T13:05:00.001+01:00

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Serves 2.
Ingredients are higlighted in Bold.

Start by prereheating grill to max heat.

Prepare mushrooms:

Get 4 portobello mushrooms. Brush them clean with a dry paper towel if you have to.
In a roasting dish just big enough to hold the 4 mushrooms, mix 2 crushed cloves of garlic, 1/2 a chopped, red chilli (or 1 tsp dried, red chilli flakes), chop a few sprigs fresh parsley, a squeeze of lemon juice, a drizzle of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) and a pinch of sea salt. Mix and rub all over each mushroom. Place mushrooms in the dish, stalk side up. As mushrooms are a sponge, it will continue to soak up these lovely flavours. Drizzle a bit more olive oil over each mushroom and top with chunks of cheddar cheese or goat cheese. Cook under the hot grill until cheese has melted and mushroom has started browning.

Note: you might want to put off the cooking of the mushrooms until you have cooked your steak, as you
want to serve mushrooms warm (whilst the steak doesn't have to be).

image source

Make Salsa:

Chop a handful of grilled peppers with a small bunch of parsley, a pinch of dried thyme and a little olive oil. Mix it up and leave the flavours to marry on the chopping board.

Prepare Steak:

Get a 250/300g rump steak. Rub with oil, sea salt and pepper.
Heat a griddle pan on max heat for 5 mins, then stick the steak in and fry to medium doneness. If
steak is 1 inch thick, this means 3 mins on either side.

Prepare bread:

Warm your ciabatta for a few mins under the grill with the mushrooms, just make sure it doesn't burn.
Slice lenghtwise and drizzle with EVOO and spoon on about 3 tsp hot horseradish. Spread this out to
cover the bread, then cover the bottom half of the ciabatta with a bunch of rocket or watercress.

Rest the steak:

When steak is cooked, let it rest on top of your salsa for at least 5 mins. This is good cold too, so if you choose to cook the steak and make the salsa well in advance, this is fine.

After resting, remove the steak from the salsa and slice at and angle into thin-ish slices. Drape these over the greens on the bread. Mix the salsa with the meat juices and top the meat with the mixure. Rub the top half of the ciabatta on the chopping board to mop up any remaining juices, then place it on top of the meat. Press down firmly, then let go. This will allow the bread to soak up more juice.

image source

Kitchen set: matching pot holders and dishcloths

2011-10-07T12:46:00.000+01:00

These are the newest additions to my range of products: Hand make pot holders with matching dishcloths.

(Pot holders can double as trivets as they are really nice and thick)

The dishcloths are of far superior quality to those that you buy in the shop and they can be washed at 60C. And also, look how pretty the colours are! These will make a great gift too, as these items are essential to all kitchens.

More colours to be added to the range shortly.

Visit my shop Nordic Touch, where I have now added a new category: "For The Kitchen"

Baby Britts Nursery

2011-10-05T11:05:00.000+01:00

I am so lucky to be married to a man with so many creative skills!
My husband Richard has not only designed and built our garden furniture this year, but also painted the cutest murals on the wall in the baby's room.
At an early stage, I know she will love the strong colours and shortly after, the animals.
He also had a brilliant idea that on her birthday every year, she can choose a new animal for him to paint on her wall. I love it!
This is such a bright, happy room and it makes me smile every time I go in there. 8 weeks to go till due date!

Pictures of Mother and Baby

2011-10-04T13:43:00.000+01:00

I took a series of pictures of my friend Tracy and her 3 month old baby the other day. It was such a fun little photo session. All light is natural and it was comfortably done in our living room.

If you want photos done of you and your baby or bump, contact me for a quote by email or use the comment field below.

Picture in black and white:

Same picture, untouched:

Whiskey Sours with Dried Orange Slices

2011-10-01T10:29:00.001+01:00

This is such a yummy, fresh aperitif!
For some strange reason, we always seem to have a lot of whiskey in the house. My husband drinks bourbon, but rarely whiskey, yet we always have a bottle around. So, our favourite way to "use it up", is to make whiskey sours. We are having a dinner party tonight and for snacks, I will be serving my home made salsa and guacamole with tortilla chips. Whiskey sours are a great accompaniment to this as it is slightly tart.

Here is the cocktail recipe:

4 cups orange juice
1 cup fresh lemon juice (from 8 lemons)
1 cup triple sec
2 1/2 cups whiskey (or bourbon)
Juice from the Maraschino cherry jar
Ice (for serving)
Orange slices (for serving)
Maraschino cherry (for serving)

Mix and serve in a pitcher.

If I'm in the mood, I sometimes serve these cocktails with oven-dried orange slices, which works really great. They are easy to do too:

Finely slice 1 orange and sprinkle with 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat. Top with orange slices in a single layer, and generously dust with sugar. Bake until the peels are dry and the flesh is translucent, about 2 1/2 hours.

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For a sweet alternative, dip half the dried orange slice in melted, plain chocolate and cool. This is delicious and looks great too!

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Presents: Snap up bargains at the supermarket!

2011-09-29T12:10:00.000+01:00

Every home has certain household essentials, such as toothpaste, deodorant, toilet paper, dishwasher and washing tablets etc. I always make sure to bulk buy these.

I have a rule when it comes to bulk buying: if an item is on half price or less, I buy in bulk. We always get vouchers from supermarkets in the post, offering 10% off and so on. I never bother with these as I know that most items will be on a better deal sooner rather than later anyhow.

Some supermarket items, more than others, are ideal presents for adults. A nice body spray, a great smelling shampoo/ moisturiser/ shower soap/ bath foam? Or how about a bag of good coffee? Some good olive oil?

We have a box in the workshop where we store presents all year round. When we find things that are ideal as presents, we put them in the box and we decide later who gets what. We dig into the box when we need hostess gifts, birthday presents and Christmas Presents. When we go to a dinner party, I sometimes prefer to bring the hostess a bottle of olive oil rather than flowers. It is more original, you know it will be used and it lasts longer.

Keep this in mind throughout the year and bulk buy when it's on half price or less offer. Buy some for yourself and some as presents.

Picnic basket/ Gift Hamper: what an ideal present! Buy items on offer and assemble a mix as it fits.
Here are ideas for what to fill the basket with for different occasions:

House warming gift basket: Buy a bunch of essentials, such as a kitchen surface cleaning spray, a scented candle, stick a loo roll in, toothpaste, a bottle of wine, tea, coffee and bath foam.

Baby starter basket: diapers, baby oil, talcum powder, a bottle of wine and some truffles for the new mum and dad, a baby blanket, muslin cloths, bibs, zinc cream and baby wipes.

Birthday/Christmas picnic basket (adjust ingredients to whether it is a man or a woman receiving the hamper and whether they are serious foodies or not! Also, make sure to buy things that don't need refrigeration): a bottle of wine (always), shower gel, moisturiser, scented candles, washing tablets, olive oil, dish cloths, tea towels, some interesting spices/ seasoning/ marinade, a box of Maldon sea salt, some nice jam, antipastis (jar of olives, sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, grilled peppers...), a chorizo sausage, risotto rice, dried mushrooms, good quality vanilla extract, chutneys, chocolate, honey...

My point is: presents that will be used, drank or eaten are good presents. They do not have to be expensive, especially with a little bit of forward planning. But it is miles better to buy people something fairly trivial than something that will end up in the back of a cupboard somewhere and never be seen again!

Have fun with it and let us know if you have any tips!

Perfect Cheese Boards

2011-09-29T09:31:00.000+01:00

My friend Tracy once gave me a brilliant tip with regards to cheese boards: Buy a slab of marble, place it in the freezer for 2 hours and it makes the perfect cheese board as it will stay cold for many hours, hence avoiding warm, sweaty cheese.
So, I was lucky last year and found a large marble board at TK Maxx (approx 40 x 50cm) for less than £10 which already had rubber pads at the base to avoid scratches.
You can easily make this yourself too. Go to your local DIY store, such as B&Q, buy a slab of marble and buy felt pads to stick at each corner of the base.

If you want to go all out as a present, why not buy a selection of cheeses and give those away along with the marble?

picture source

Another great idea is to use slate. It won't stay as cold, but it looks really rustic and has the benefit that you can write on it!

picture source

Gift idea: Scented Sugars

2011-09-27T12:36:00.001+01:00

Scented sugar adds a subtle perfume and flavor to coffee, fruit desserts, and baked goods. Layer granulated sugar with aromatic edibles like scented geranium leaves, rose petals, cinnamon sticks, orange and lemon peel (first set out for a day to dry), or vanilla beans. Mix small batches, and let them sit for a few days in tightly sealed jars while the scents infuse the sugar. One jar or a trio serves makes an unusual present for whomever you think could use a little sweetness.

Source

Gift idea: A bunch of candles

2011-09-25T14:05:00.000+01:00

Everyone that knows me well, knows that I am obsessed with candles!

If you know someone likeminded, why not buy a nice silk or lace ribbon, some silk paper and a variety of dinner candles?

What a cute little present, and guaranteed to be a hit! A larger bunch for Christmas/ birthday and a smaller bunch as a hostess gift. Perfect.

Photo Source

Weekend Breakfast: Coddled Eggs

2011-09-25T13:18:00.002+01:00

The perfect weekend breakfast for two

1) Crack 2 eggs into each ramekin

2) Pour 1 tbsp of single cream over each

3) Season with a pinch of salt and pepper

4) Sprinkle with a pinch of grated cheese (I use cheddar)

5) Place in an oven proof dish and fill half way up with boiling water

6) Cook at 200C for 12 minutes

7) Serve!

Yum....

Hand Made Corkboard from Used Wine Corks

2011-09-21T09:38:00.000+01:00

Wine corks are about to become a thing of the past. Why not collect as many as you can and make your own corkboard from various brands of wine? I use a cheap corkboard from Tesco as a base (this costs about £3) and a hot glue gun to attach the corks. Lie them out to measure before gluing, as corks vary slightly in size and patterns from the producers logo. I love the fact that some of them are stained with wine, it makes them look even more rustic.

Go on and make one for yourself! It is not difficult, but the recipient of the gift will love it and you will love drinking a lot of wine in the meantime!

This is the result from the first one we made:

Click here for larger image

And this is another one I made, where we stained the edge with dark oil:

I sell this one in my shop Nordic Touch

Kim's Knock Out Twice Baked Potatoes

2011-09-19T16:09:00.000+01:00

I am eternally grateful to my American friend Kim for giving me this recipe. And for being the most amazing cook.
This dish is not for calorie-phobes, although it IS the perfect side dish if you are looking for something warm and hearty. It goes well with any type of meat, although I prefer it as a side dish to steak.
These should preferably be prepared some time in advance, then cooked right before serving. You can easily prepare them a day in advance if you so wish.

picture source

Ingredients:
6-8 Large Baking Potatoes
450g. Cream Cheese
230 g. Salted Butter
Milk or Cream
Dried, Minced Onion
3-4 Fresh Garlic Cloves
Salt and Pepper
2 jars Dried, Chopped Chives
150 g. Bacon Bits
4 cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated
Paprika

Instructions:

Wash potatoes and wrap individually in aluminum foil. Bake at 220C/ 450 F for an hour and twenty minutes.
While potatoes are baking, get a very large mixing bowl and place the butter and cream cheese in the bowl to soften.
When potatoes are done baking remove from oven and immediately unwrap and slice in half length-wise to make “potato boats”.
Using a spoon, carefully spoon out the inside of each potato boats into the large mixing bowl with butter and cream cheese, leaving a very thin amount of potato left close to the outside skin.
Place each empty potato boat in an ungreased glass baking pan. (The number of baking pans you’ll need will depend on the size of the potatoes you bought. I usually end up with a couple of 9x13’s and one 9x9)

When you’ve got all the boats prepared, it’s time to make the mixture to fill them!

Using a mixer, mix the butter, cream cheese and potatoes together. Add milk or cream to make it creamy, but not runny. If you get it too runny they’ll fall out of the boats when serving. You can always add more grated cheddar cheese to help soak up the milk or cream later.
Add a “palm-full” of pepper and salt, add 2-3 “palm-full’s” of dried minced onion, and add 3-4 cloves of fresh minced garlic cloves. Mix.
Add one and half jars of dried chopped chives. Mix.
Add 100g. of the bacon bits. Mix.
Add 2 ½ to 3 cups of sharp, grated cheddar. (Note – it is important to use sharp cheddar and not mild cheddar. It is also better with hand-shredded cheddar as opposed to the pre-grated stuff in the bag. It melts better and has better flavor!) Mix.

If your mixture is still very creamy, add more cheddar. It should be a very thick mixture of everything so that when you spoon it into the boats, you’ll need your finger to push it off the spoon.

Now, spoon the mixture into the empty potato boats. I usually will fill each one about level up the sides of the potatoes and then with the left over mixture go back over each boat to spread evenly. Each potato will have a heaping amount of the mixture.
Top with leftover grated cheddar, bacon pieces, and chives. Sprinkle with paprika.
Refrigerate until ready to serve. To prepare for serving, heat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes. Everything is cooked so you just want to be sure the potatoes are “hot through”.

Note – you can prepare and freeze potatoes, just do not top potatoes with the grated cheese until you have thawed them and are ready to heat them. The cheese gets crusty in the freezer and won’t melt well.

Roast beef cooked in red wine and blackcurrant juice

2011-09-16T16:14:00.000+01:00

This is one of my mothers dinner party recipes. Terribly easy (as most of the recipes I put on here) and a sure crowd pleaser. Unless your friends are vegetarian, in which case you should never have them over for dinner in the first place ;-)

picture source

Ingredients:

1.5kg beef for roasting
1 onion
1 pt red wine
1 pt blackcurrant juice/squash
1 pt water
1tsp black peppercorns
2-3 bay leaves
1 tub single cream (or crème fraiche)

Method:

1) You can use topside, silverside or any cut of beef for roasting. In my case, I am cooking a piece that weighs 1.5kg.
2) Remove beef from it's packaging and pat dry.
3) Rub a little oil onto the meat, pat on some coarse black pepper and seal the beef in a very hot frying pan.
4) In a large pot, add a pint of red wine, a pint of blackcurrant fruit juice (squash) and pint of water. Then add two half onions (peeled), a couple of bay leaves and 1 tsp black peppercorns. If I have any, I thrown in a few sprigs of parsley or thyme and occasionally a tsp of juniper berries.
5) Bring the liquid to a boil, then add the seared beef. Simmer under a lid.
6) Boil the beef until the cooking thermometer reads 65C at the centre of the roast. At this point, it will be pink in the middle. If you prefer your meat well done, wait till it reads 70C.
7) Remove meat from liquid and let it rest of a minimum of 15 mins. I sometimes make this hours ahead as it is just as good served at room temperature. If you wish to make this a day early, let the steak cool down at room temperature, then wrap in foil and keep in fridge over night. Remove from fridge at least an hour before you want to serve the meat so it's not too cold.
8) Nearly done! Now moving on to the sauce. Strain the liquid you boiled the meat in. This is going to be the basis for your sauce. Return as much liquid as you need for your sauce to the boil. Let the liquid reduce somewhat. If you find it is too thin, you can thicken it with cornflour.
9) Add single cream as desired. Crème Fraiche should also work. Heat through and serve!

Today, I will serve this with Twice Baked Potatoes and Caesar Salad.

On the menu: a concoction wrapped in lettuce!

2011-09-15T17:59:00.002+01:00

I always laugh when people ask me for this recipe, cause it's so completely made up of things I have in the fridge thrown together. But yummy nevertheless. And healthy. And very quick to make!

It all goes in one bowl - less dishes!

Prep and cooking time: approx 15 mins.

1) throw a handful of salted peanuts and raisins into a bowl

2) Fry some mushrooms. Add to bowl.

3) Fry some onions, peppers and garlic. I fry my vegetables in my self infused garlic/chilli oil for extra heat. Add to bowl.

4) Fry minced beef. Season with chilli flakes, cumin, salt and pepper (and whatever other spice you think might fit). Add to bowl.

5) Boil rice and add to bowl. Drizzle with Ketjap Manis or soya sauce and check again for seasoning. Mix well.

6) Serve with crispy lettuce leaves which is great and healthy alternative to tortilla wraps. Let guests fill their own leaves and enjoy!

Optional extras: tinned chunks of pineapple and sweetcorn... Experiment!

Homemade Christmas Presents: Flavoured finishing salt

2011-09-15T15:45:00.001+01:00

Everyone knows that I like to make my Christmas presents. From now and until Christmas, I will provide simple tips for how you can make yours. Easy and affordable. And don't forget: everyone loves that personal touch that you get from handmade pressies!

My mother gave me a gift last year that was completely genius. She gave me two tubs of home made, flavoured salts. One with chilli, the other with herbs.
As it turns out, this is the easiest thing ever to make - and it'll save you a small fortune. Not to mention what a nice gift it makes! I won't tell you how much of what ingredient to use, as I think this should be up to you. You might want a hint of flavour or very strong flavour salt. Here is a guideline however:
If you use herbs (fresh or dried), mix 2 tbsp herbs to 1 cup salt. For chilli, smoked paprika, lavender etc, use 1 tbsp of flavouring per cup of salt.
However, you can safely use a quarter cup of seasoning to every 3/4 cup of salt.

You want the salt to be coarse, not fine. So you have two options: Buy Maldon salt which already has that perfect, flaky consistency - or buy rock salt and give it a whizz in the food processor.

Suggested Flavours:

Mixed herbs: buy a selection of herbs, such as basil, thyme/lemon thyme, oregano, sage (be careful with rosemary. You can add a little, but it can be very overpowering). Clean the herbs and pat them dry. If you are using rock salt, put the herbs in a food processor, then add the salt and pulse to break the salt into smaller bits. Transfer mixture to a baking tray. You can either dry the herb/salt mixture in the oven (100C for an hour, stirring occasionally) or you can air dry it. The salt will suck the moisture out of the herbs in no time. If you are using Maldon salt, mix the chopped herbs with the salt, but don't put the salt in the food processor.
When dried, transfer to a jar with a lid.

Chilli: Chop fresh, red chillies (with or without seeds) and mix with the salt. Dry as above.

Lavender: Add dried lavender and salt to a jar with a lid. Shake to mix and leave to infuse. Great with salad, tomatoes and avocados.

Lemon: Using a potato peeler, peel lemon zest off the lemon. Make sure not to cut into the white, fleshy bit, it is very bitter. Whizz it up to a fine consistency in the food processor, then add salt (see above). The oils from the lemon makes the salt really fragrant and is delicious with all seafood, vegetables and grilled chicken. Air dry mixure for a couple of hours, then transfer to a jar.

Rosemary Sea Salt:

1. In a large, high-sided saute pan, combine salt and rosemary. Place over medium heat, and warm through, about 10 minutes. Transfer salt and rosemary mixture to a container. Let cool 5 minutes, uncovered; then cover with an airtight lid. Let stand at least overnight.

2. When ready to fill containers, discard old rosemary. Fill desired containers with salt, and garnish top with a fresh sprig of rosemary; seal containers.

Source

Have fun with this - experiment with various flavours & let me know how you get on!

Deer This Year

2011-08-31T12:34:00.001+01:00

It seems like the Norwegian design involving all things deer are still in trend. The high street shops are selling Norwegian style woolly jumpers and I have decided to jump on the trend and make a range of homeware featuring reindeer motifs:

Visit Nordic Touch to see the full Christmas range:

Clockwise: 1) set of 4 napkins, 2) Set of 4 coasters, 3) Extra Large Matchbox, 4) Trivet/Pot Stand

Also made this tea towel today, I love it!

Autumn and Candles

2011-08-30T11:12:00.001+01:00

I love autumn. There are so much fresh, cheap produce in the shops, the food gets heartier and we are slowly pulling out wool jumpers out from the back of the wardrobe. Yes, I miss the darker season now. Putting some logs on the fire, listening to the crackling flames, the smell... and candles. I love candles. I always make a trip to Ikea at this time a year to stock up on my tea lights. In the winter, I like to have candles in the whole house - no electric lights. It creates a magical ambience. So welcoming, calm and warm. When we lived in our apartment, I once counted how many candles and tealights (in holders) I had in the living room alone, and got to a whopping 38! I have downscaled a little now, to 25 (!). On top of that, I also have them in the bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchen and dining room. Oh, and the hallway of course.

So, for a candle obsessed person like me, it is of course natural to make matchboxes. They look miles nicer to have lying on your mantelpiece or coffee table than a lighter or regular matches. I have many different designs, so it should be possible for everyone to find one that would suit their interior style and colours. I keep one in each room and god knows I get through them. The boxes can be refilled with empty if you so wish.

Here, I have made a collage of some of the matchboxes on offer at my shop, Nordic Touch :

Some all-season motifs:

For cherub lovers:

And for that little extra at Christmas:

To see the complete selection, go to my website, Nordic Touch

Have a happy & safe candle-season, folks!

Fruit Flavoured Spirits & Pear In a Bottle

2011-08-26T13:08:00.000+01:00

We have two small pear trees in our garden. They have produced a surprising amount of fruit and I was asking for advise on what to do with them all when my mother gave me this really cool tips: growing pears in a bottle. It is too late to do it this year, but I will sure have a go next year. When the pears are tiny, you stick them into a bottle and tie the bottle to the branch. This way, the pear will grow inside the pear and work as a greenhouse. When ripe, you cut the pear and bottle from the tree and fill the bottle with Vodka, Rum or Whiskey - the booze of your choice.

As it's too late in the season to do this, I decided to go ahead and make some pear whiskey anyhow. We had about 3 fingers of Bells whiskey in the cabined, which is a perfect amount to experiment with. So, I chopped up some ripe pears, added some sugar and shook the bottle. I will shake it daily for the next week, then leave it to infuse until Christmas before I strain it. Taste test results to follow!

Pears from the garden:

Home made whiskey infusion:

Pear in a bottle:

Brandy & Pear in a bottle (what a lovely gift you can make yourself!):

Image source

Other ideas:

Your imagination really sets the limits for what you can infuse spirits with. We have made cherry vodka, gooseberry vodka, bramble vodka, bramble brandy and orange brandy. The only thing we made so far that I won't make again, was cherry brandy with cinnamon. It might be decent to use in a Christmas pudding, but not for drinking.

I also want to make my own limoncello this year. I can only imagine how gorgeous this Italian liquor must be when home made, using organic lemons. Which is another hot tip: Use organic fruit when infusing in liquid! Otherwise, you will be drinking whatever chemicals that has been used on the fruits, unless you really scrub them first.

I loooove American Liquor stores....the choice is enormous:

Infused vodkas, suggested flavours:

Cranberry
Vanilla (tap the pods a little to release flavour before adding to the vodka)
Mango
Pineapple
Chili
Lemon (use unwaxed, organic fruit - you don't want all those chemicals to dissolve in your drink!)
Lime
Pearl Onions and Olives
Lemon grass
Ginger

Honey & Oat

Basil

Mint
Grapes
Tangerines
Pomegranate
Lavender

If infusing fruit, use 1-3 good sized pieces.
If infusing herbs, use 1-2 fists filled of the herb (depending upon the potency of the herb).
If infusing berries, use 2-4 fists filled with the berries. You may also want to bruise (squish a little) them first.
If infusing peppers, use as many as you want. The more you use and the longer you infuse, the spicier the vodka will be.

Source: click here for more tips!

Other:

Limoncello

Blackberry Whiskey

If you have a recipe to share, let us know!

Good luck and have fun with it. 'This the season to pick fruits and play with it!!

Make your own!

2011-08-25T15:03:00.000+01:00

I have decided to make a batch of Frozen Coconut Yoghurt. I love frozen yoghurt. It's much healthier than ice cream and just as good, if not...dare I say...better?
The recipes I have been looking up, requires Coconut Extract, which happens to be nearly impossible to find in the UK (apart from buying at extortionate prices online). So, in true fashion, I decided that I want to make my own! Every time I find it difficult to get something or I think the price is ridiculous, I trawl the internet to figure out a way to make my own. And voila! Now sharing my tips with you for some of my DIY mixes:

Coconut Extract:
1/3 cup freshly grated coconut
1/2 cup vodka

Mix the two in a jar with a lid and shake daily for 7 days. Keep in a dry, cool place. Strain the coconut and pour the liquid back in the jar. This is your extract. I am sure you can find something yummy to make with the coconut flesh too.

Vanilla Extract:

INGREDIENTS

3 vanilla beans
1 cup vodka
glass jar with tight fitting lid

METHOD

1 Use kitchen scissors or a sharp paring knife to cut lengthwise down each vanilla bean, splitting them in half, leaving an inch at the end connected.

2 Put vanilla beans in a glass jar or bottle with a tight fitting lid (mason jars work well). Cover completely with the vodka.

3 Give the bottle a good shake every once in a while. Store in a dark, cool place for 2 months or longer.

Lasts for years. You can keep topping it off with vodka once in a while as you use it, just remember to give it a good shake.

You can also make vanilla sugar by putting a split vanilla bean into a jar of white, granulated sugar. Great way to infuse the sugar with vanilla flavor for baking.

Taco Seasoning:

This recipe is as close as you can get to the stuff you buy in the little, overprized sachets in the shop. Receipe has been adapted/improved slightly by myself.

Makes 100 servings

1/4 cup chili powder
(original recipe calls for 1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons, but this is REALLY spicy, so I halved it. You can add more to taste, but with half as listed above, the taste is more authentic)
2-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
2-1/2 teaspoons onion powder
2-1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
2-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon and 2 teaspoons paprika
1/4 cup and 1 tablespoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon black pepper

Mix all ingredients together and pour into an airtight container. Makes a lovely present for all food lovers!

Visiting Eger Vineyard in Hungary

2011-08-24T13:45:00.003+01:00

Back in 2006, when I worked for Esso in Budapest, we were treated to a daytrip to Eger Vineyard in Hungary. For you wine buffs out there, this is where the beautiful Egri Bikaver (Bulls Blood of Eger) is produced. According to legend, the name originates from the invasion of Suleiman the Magnificent around 1552.

"To motivate and support the small group of soldiers during the Siege of Eger castle they were served delicious food and a lot of red wine. Among the Turkish soldiers it was rumored that bull's blood was mixed into the red wine, as otherwise the strength and firm resistance of the town and castle of Eger could not be explained." Wikipedia (as you can see, Wikipedia has also used my photo for this article)

The vineyard is huge and incredibly tourist friendly. You can spend the night here, eat at their gourmet restaurant and learn all about the local wines. I have been to a fair few winetasting courses in my life, but this place offers the best by a mile.

For the event, we were asked to pick some grapes (end of season) and these were stamped by foot. Of course, they harvest the grapes by more modern methods now, but the owners wanted to demonstrate how the wine making process was done in the old days.

The day at the vineyard started before 8am and in good, Hungarian fashion, we were greeted with a shot or two of honey and raisin Palinka... (Hungarian schnapps. Veeeeery alcoholic...)

Grounds:

Grape picking:

Amongst the vines:

Grape stamping:

Tasting...

Wine tasting (the real way):

The somelier told us that their wine casks was kept outside to age for 12 months, to endure all weather conditions as this gives the wood casks flavour and consequently the wine that goes in them. He said that the casks are soaked in the rain and snow, dried out in the sun and then rolled in hot coals to create a smoky flavour. After the casks/barrels are ready, the wine is then aged in them for a minimum of 12 months.

We also learnt that the best accompaniment for wine tasting is walnuts, cubes of apple and hard, white cheese, such as cheddar. This was presented in bowls on the table and rightly so, worked great as palate cleansers.

This guy really knew his stuff, it was amazing what he was able to teach us. I would highly recommend a trip to Eger if you are visiting Hungary.

Wine tasting cellar:

The bar/restaurant:

Good uses for Bandannas

2011-08-23T11:43:00.000+01:00

Bandanas are cheap and come in all sorts of lovely colours and patterns. Novelty bandannas include reversibles, animal patterns, stripes, maps and more. Below are crafts made with the more traditional paisley pattern. The options are many, to suit any taste. Here are some great, alternative uses for them!

Bandanna Table Runner

Bandanna Table Cloth

Bandanna Napkins

Bandanna Apron

Bandanna Seat Cushion

Bandanna Cushion (made by me):

Bandanna Lampshade

Bandanna Laundry Bag

Wedding: Ideas for Table Numbers and Names

2011-08-17T15:59:00.003+01:00

At our wedding, we choose to have table names rather than numbers. We found a picture of us that we liked and photoshopped in appropriate images, one for each table:

We got the idea from Martha Stewart:

The website has many cute, original ideas. I love this one too, as it doubles as a floral arrangement at the perfect height:

Alternatively, why not use the bottle of wine on the table?

For how-to details, visit the Martha Stewart website

Yarn-wrapped bottles

2011-08-17T09:41:00.006+01:00

Came across this cute idea for making your own wedding centrepiece. I figure Paul Masson wine bottles will be perfect for this - and you'll have an excuse to drink wine as well!Buy cheap yarn at your local market in the palate that you are looking for, get some friends to help you out, and voila!

Source: styleathome

A bit of yarn in your color palette transforms plain glass bottles and jars into pretty accent pieces. Start with vintage milk bottles or recycled jam jars, or pick up some Ball jars in clear or blue shades. Coil yarn around all or some of the jar, or experiment with adding a bow. Avoid round jars or vases: although a slight curve or a tapered bottleneck is not too difficult to cover, a fishbowl shape can be tricky.

Materials
Makes 12 jars
• 12 glass jars or bottles (we recommend milk bottles or Ball jars in different sizes)
• 1 to 3 skeins of yarn in complementary colors (go with chunky yarn for a more homespun look)
• Double-sided tape
• Scissors

Instructions
1 Apply tape to curved areas. Apply double-sided tape evenly over any curved portions of the bottle that you’d like to cover with yarn, such as the curved neck of the milk bottle; this will hold the yarn in place, making an easier job of wrapping as well as a neater-looking result.

2 Wrap the bottle. Starting with the lip or base of the bottle, attach the end of your yarn to the bottle with a small piece of double-sided tape, slightly below (if starting from the lip) or above (if starting from the base) where you want the yarn coil to begin. Begin wrapping the yarn around the bottle, wrapping over the loose end and making tight, even coils that follow the profile of the bottle. When you are about 1/2 inch from where you want to stop wrapping, apply a small piece of double-sided tape to your intended stopping point, wrap to there, trim the yarn, and smooth the loose end down onto the tape to hide it.

3 Add a bow (optional). To add a bow, begin wrapping from the base of the bottle (or wherever you want the yarn coils to begin). When you reach the spot where you would like to place your bow, apply a bit of double-sided tape to that spot and press the yarn down to secure it. Measure about 10 inches of yarn, and then trim it so that the end hangs loose. This will be the first half of your bow. Starting with a new piece of yarn, begin wrapping from the lip of the bottle. Stop when you reach the first half of your bow. Apply a bit of double-sided tape just to the right of it, and press the yarn down to secure. Measure about 10 inches of yarn, and trim. This will be the second half of your bow (figure 1). Tie the two loose ends together in a bow. Trim the ends with scissors.

Variations
• Happy Graphic Use fat yarn in red and other primary colours.

• Organic Minimal Use thin yarns in whites, grays, sea foam, or khaki. Wrap the bottles in an arbitrary crisscross pattern to create an organic, Japanese-inspired look.

Cheats Meatballs from Sausages

2011-08-16T12:48:00.003+01:00

Squeeze meat out of sausages into little balls. They don't have to be even size. Throw away the skin.

Brown meat in a frying pan with a bit of oil, then add garlic and chopped onions (optional).

Fry till onions get translucent, then add a tin of chopped tomatoes and make your tomato sauce.

Cook for as long as you can be bothered and serve with pasta.

Wasabi Prawn Salad + Chilli and Chive Prawn Salad

2011-08-16T12:12:00.007+01:00

These recipes are so simple - and utterly delicious.

In Norway, we eat a LOT of seafood. In every shape and form.

2 different recipes for prawn salad follows. This is meant to be spread on fresh bread, toast or as part of a smorgasbord.

If you want to serve food the Scandinavian way, get a selection of cold cuts, smoked salmon, gravadlax (serve with gravadlax mustard and dill sauce of course), a selection of cheeses, pate(s), melon, strawberries, grapes, prawn salad(s) and lots of fresh bread with butter (don't you dare using margarine!).

Now...the trick to making Prawn Salads is to drain the prawns thoroughly. Place prawns (thawed) in a sieve and leave for a couple of hours, then pat dry with a teatowel. You want as little moisture as possible from these babies.

Now you know this, we can proceed...

Wasabi Prawn salad:

Mix mayonnaise with wasabi (either the powdered stuff or the drops) until you get the desired spicyness. Add drained prawns, raw chopped onions and chopped crabsticks (optional). Check for taste, you might decide to add more wasabi as the seafood mellow it out a little.

Mix well and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Chilli and Chive Prawns Salad:

To Creme Fraiche, add plenty of chopped, deseeded red chilli and chopped, fresh chives.

Then add the drained prawns, mix well and again, refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Frugality: Tips and Advice for a frugal lifestyle

2011-08-08T15:04:00.008+01:00

Wikipedia describes frugal living as follows:
"Frugal living is practiced by those who aim to cut expenses, have more money, and get the most they possibly can from their money. When thinking about being frugal, most people think about giving up things or living below their means. This is definitely not the case."

In April 2010, I was made redundant from my job. I felt completely lost for direction, had no idea what I wanted to do next, apart from setting up my own business. I had wanted to do this for years, but I have never been a risk taker so the prospect of not having a stabile income terrified me. Richard, my husband, told me that he has seen me come and go in a few jobs over the years and it never seemed like I had "found my place". So he encouraged me to start my own company and we agreed that, with some effort, we should be able to live on one salary.

Having always bought what I wanted, I felt like we were pretty much saturated materialistically, also proven by the simple fact that I could never answer when someone asked me what I wanted for Christmas.

So, I was actually really excited to start this new journey of economical living.
...And I soon learnt that being frugal does not mean that you have to compromise your quality of life in any way. Now, I want to share what I have learnt. I hope you will find this useful.

1) Cook a batch of chilli at least once every couple of weeks.
You can bulk it up with rice, pasta, tortilla chips or baguette, even use it as a base for your lasagna.

2) Beware of cost per 100g rather than the price of the pack.

3) Buy your fruit and veg from the market once a week.

4) If you have room to store dried goods and frozen food, bulk buy!

5) Make your own baby food.
As long as you don't add salt or spices (spicy ones) to your food, you can puree the food you eat and feed it to the baby. This way, the child gets used to the food you eat and it should be a cheap way to provide nutricious food for the little one.
Tip: mash avocado and banana (together). This is super healthy, easy and perfect babyfood!

6) Use jam jars as tea light holders.
The Bonne Maman range is perfect. The shape is nice and the label peels off easily. Put some sand or rice grains at the bottom to keep tea light in place. Also perfect for outdoor use as lanterns. If you keep the lid, you can just screw this back on when you are not using it, this way rain will not get in and you can leave it outside.

7) Ikea tea towels make perfect fabric napkins and can be washed a million times.

8) Buy microfibre dishcloths and bleach them in the sink overnight at least once a week. They cost a little more, but they are extremely durable.

9) Get flowers from the market or use green plants in place of flowers in your house.

10) Plant food: tea from used tea bags and potato peelings make great plant food. Just place it on top of the soil. Easy as that.

11) Learn to cook!
People that say they don't have time to cook don't know what they are talking about. They either can't cook or they don't want to.

12) Have dinner parties instead of eating out.
More space, no loud music, wine and food at a fraction of price and you can sit around the table as long as you'd like! Unless you have friends that also like to host dinner parties, it is nothing wrong in asking people to bring their own wine. At a pinch, we have also had parties where we have agreed to split the cost of the food and drinks. I happily buy the booze + ingredients, then cook up a major feast for say, 6 people, and it ends up costing less than £20/head.

13) Beware of marketing, know your stuff:
some cheap brands are as good as the more expensive ones. Know which ones that are a marketing trap and which are not. When it comes to coffee, for example, it is very easy to taste which are cheap and nasty from the better brands.
These staples are, in my mind, safe to buy from the "own" brands:
Tinned tomatoes (just add some sugar and a dash of vinegar when cooking)
Kidney Beans
Dried pasta
Rice
Porridge Oats
Tortilla chips (plain)

14) Instead of champagne, buy prosecco (approx £6/bottle) or Cava (approx £4.50/bottle), althought the Cava (in my opinion) needs to be mixed with something as it tastes a little cheaper than Prosecco. My tip: Pour a shot of gin in the flute, then half a shot of elderflower cordial. Top with Cava and voila: the most delicious cocktail!

15) Buy online! Ebay and price comparison websites can save you hundreds!

16) Baby stuff: Babies grow out of clothes after a month or so. There is no point buying anything expensive. Accept hand me downs from friends and don't be afraid of buying clothes from Asda or Tesco etc. They have loads of cute baby clothes! Ebay is a good source for various items also, just beware that if you buy a bed etc, you need to get a new matress.

17) Smart cars are perfect cars either as a second car for a family or if you don't have children.
Road tax is only £35/year and insurance is cheap. Made by Mercedes Benz, these are quality cars that hardly depreciates in value. It is cheap to run also, due to it's light weight, so will save you a fortune in petrol. And they are so much fun to drive!!

18) Buy skirt steak instead of fillet.
Skirt steak needs a little bit more "work", so you need to marinade this meat before cooking it. But when you have, you will swear by this as it is a very flavourful cut of beef and marinading it makes it super tender.

19) Beware false economy.
Learn which products give you value for money and which doesn't. Don't buy toilet paper that can double as sandpaper.

20) Curtains: we recently bought some great, neutral curtains for the living room from £-stretcher at £9.99 each. I'd gone to Dunhelm Mill previous to that, and struggled to find anything I liked for less than £60.

21) Spices: Bulk buy herbs and spices from chinese supermarkets.
They cost a fraction of the price, and I am talking a FRACTION. Those of you that cook on a regular basis, this is essential. Those little, tiny jars of herbs and spices you buy at he supermarket are insanely expensive. I bulk buy coarse pepper, chilli flakes, ground cumin, oregano, rosemary, thyme, curry powder, chilli powder and large bottles of soya sauce and I probably pay a tenth of what it costs in a normal supermarket.

22) Grow your own basil.
Buy a pot of basil from the supermarket and place it in the sunniest spot in the house, in a soup bowl (or equivalent). Basil needs to be watered from the bottom, never from the top, so make sure there is always water in the bowl.

23) Expensive items like dishwasher tablets and washing up tablets: buy when they are on half price offer rather than when you need them!

24) Be adventurous with your cooking - use up your leftovers!
I call them fridge cleaner meals and I love making these cause you never know what combo you're gonna come up with. You need to have some knowledge of cooking to do this, but you'll learn as you go.

25) Make up: there is a difference between cheap and expensive brands (designer brands). However, compact powder and bronzers are safe to buy cheap. So is Mascara: Try Maybelline Full'N Soft Mascara, there is really no need to buy Chanel.

26) Don't skimp on perfume. Cheap perfume is nasty. However: if you use body lotion or body butter that smells nice, you don't need perfume. Don't buy expensive body butter. Most of the supermarket chains have their own range and they come in a variety of divine scents!

27) Holidays: Use tripadvisor!! You will find the highest rated hotels at a price that suits you. The best hotel I have ever stayed in, I found through trip advisor. It was probably a 3 star hotel, but better than any 5 star out there - and at a fraction of the price.

28) Go off the beaten track. Most major cities are expensive to holiday in. Why not travel to the more remote and quaint villages? The food will be better and people are nicer. And you get a much more authentic experience of the country you are in.

29) Buy tea lights from Ikea. It may sound silly, but when you use as many as I do, it's not. They cost £1.50 for 100 tea lights, as opposed to £4 in some grocery stores. And they are better quality too.

That's all I can think of for now, folks! Please share your own tips, there are plenty of people that would be happy to hear them!

Being a little philosophical...

2011-08-05T11:43:00.003+01:00

A friend once told me her theory on existentialism. You may think she has a point or that the theory is completely ridiculous, but regardless, I like the idea of it.
Here goes:

The more lives you live, the more experience you gain. Successful people are likely to have lived more lives than someone that fails a lot. In each life, you are surrounded by a lot of the same people. It is no coincidence why you meet some of the people you do. Some are there to teach you a lesson, some to support you and some to make you wiser. The bad ones will keep coming back in each life until you learn your lesson. When you do, they will go away and you will be wiser for it. Have you ever seen a baby and said "he is an old soul"? It may be creepy, but this might just be the case.

Of course, no one remembers their previous existence, but I really like the idea that we gain wisdom and knowledge as we grow. Take from it what you want.

I hope I one day will be strong enough to not be so hurt and disappointed when people turn out to be something other than I thought they were. I am still on a journey to learn to separate the good from the bad.

I feel much more capable of this now than I was when I was younger. Life experience is a wonderful thing. In that sense, I am also glad I have waited till I am older to have children. I feel more ready and prepared now. I will teach my child to be honest and to stand up for herself.

I lost a friend this year because I told her a home truth, which I still stand by. Rather than discussing it with me, her passive aggressive nature leads her to never talking to me again, complete ignorance. Part of me is thinking: good riddance, I don't want to be round people like that anyway and another part of me can't help being so disappointed when people turn out to be...rubbish.

A friend of mine recently had the worst experience: her boyfriend proposed to her, then out of the blue within weeks, told her it was over and he has met someone else. What kind of person does that to someone they (once) cared about? May he burn in hell.
When I heard this, I told my husband: "there are so many women who has never been fortunate enough to meet the right man. And you hear stories like this and you understand why they get cynical. The male race is hardly doing themselves and favours by acts like these. And if I hear ONE MORE MAN saying women are complicated, I will rip into him!"

How about if we just treat each other like you want to be treated. Surely, a society would function so much better if we could live by this reasonably simple rule?

Ok, enough philosophy for today folks. Have a lovely weekend.

Lots of love to the good people out there from me.

Spare Rib Sauce

2011-08-04T09:31:00.003+01:00

Ok, all spare rib lovers out there: you must try this recipe or you are seriously missing out.

I have finally got round to publishing this, after being asked many times by friends. This is by far the best (in my opinion) rib sauce - ever! I find that the stuff you buy in the shops are too sweet, too thick (so it burns) or too bitter. This is easy to mix up as long as you have the ingredients, most of which are a staple in my cupboard anyway.

Franks Red Hot pepper sauce is widely available in the US, but in the UK, it is only available in Tesco, Sainsburys and Waitrose. For those of you who has been to the US or any TGI Friday, this is the sauce they use for making Buffalo Wings. Please let me know what you think and if you have a better recipe (that truly is a dare!), let me know and it will be tested :-)

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Franks Red Hot
3 Tbsp Tomato Ketchup
3 Tbsp Clear honey
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 Bay Leaves
650g Pork Spare Ribs

Method:

Mix all ingredients together and pour over ribs. Cover ribs well with the sauce on both sides. Roast at 200C/gas6 for 50 minutes.

Week 23 - It's a girl, for sure!

2011-08-03T14:23:00.008+01:00

Another ultrasound yesterday :-)
I am glad she was on her back last time, it gave us a chance to see her again! She is so cute, she has big, chubby cheeks and a little button nose. We asked the nurse to check again to confirm that it was in fact a girl as previously suspected. For a long time, she kept her legs together, but as she turned around half way through the scan, she flashed it all and it definitely a girl. I am off to buy pink things now!
At the scan, it appeared that she kept trying to suck her thumb, but she kept missing her mouth and hitting her nose instead. Too cute!
I have been desperate for Rik to feel her kick in the last week. She has been quite the kick-boxer, but all demure when daddy tries to feel for it. Until last night, when we were in bed, when she finally let him feel her kicks - twice :-)

Home made truffles

2011-07-28T12:23:00.005+01:00

Make ganache, cool and scrape with a spoon. Shape into a ball and roll in chopped nuts, cocoa powder or dessicated coconut. This requires some practice, but you'll soon get it right. trick is to not keep them in your hand for long as they will melt. Use a melonballer to scoop balls, or just a teaspoon. We made 4 batches and added a different liquor to each. Malibu to the coconut truffles, Tia Maria to the cocoa truffles, Akevitt (aquavit) & dark rum. Use your imagination! We also added seedless rasberry jam to a batch and it was amazing! If using alcohol, be very careful with the amount you add. If you add too much, the ganache will not set.

Use this as a rough guideline:

225g good-quality milk, plain or dark chocolate, broken into pieces
1/2 cup double cream
1 tablespoon liqueur (optional)

Mix all ingredients and melt in a bain-marie. Proceed as above.

For an alternative to a wedding cake, why not make a tower of various truffles?

Source: marthastewart

American Mall Pretzels

2011-07-28T11:02:00.005+01:00

As opposed to the German style pretzels, which are crunchy, these are soft, buttery and oh-so-yummy!

Ingredients

1 package active dry yeast
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/8 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup bread flour
2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 tablespoons baking soda
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt

Directions

1) In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast, brown sugar and salt in 1 1/2 cups warm water. Stir in flour, and knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover, and let rise for one hour.

2) Combine 2 cups warm water and baking soda in an 8 inch square pan. Line 6 baking sheets with parchment paper.

3) After dough has risen, cut into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a 3 foot rope, pencil thin or thinner. Twist into a pretzel shape, and dip into the baking soda solution. Place onto parchment covered baking sheets, and let rise 15 to 20 minutes.

4) Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

5) Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with coarse salt, garlic salt or cinnamon sugar.

Find original recipe here.

Chocolate covered figs and cherries

2011-07-28T10:36:00.004+01:00

Quarter dried figs and use whole, pitted cherries. Dip in melted chocolate, using a toothpick. Drip off and place sticks in styrofoam so chocolate can harden:

Brownies

2011-07-28T09:47:00.007+01:00

These delectable brownies are one of the highest rated on the internet. They are really and truly memorable. You can add so many things to them - my favourite is M&M's. Try for yourself and enjoy this gooey delight. Not to mention that these brownies are possibly the easiest dessert in the world to make! No bain-marie, no waiting for things to cool down... heaven.

I usually make a double recipe as they keep really well in the fridge. Dare I say, they are even better after a few days and when eaten cold...? I then use 1/2 cup cocoa and 1/2 cup nesquick or drinking chocolate. The brownie then gets slightly more milk-chocolatey. If course, you can make it all milk-chocolately if you'd like, it's up to you!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (or 115g.) butter, melted (measure 1/2 cup of butter, then melt this)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Additions (whatever floats your boat!):

A pinch of cayenne pepper or chilli flakes
1 tsp black pepper (known to enhance the flavour of chocolate)
Mint extract
Mint chocolate
1 -2 cup chocolate chips (semisweet, white, butterscotch, peanut butter)
1 -2 cup raisins
1 -2 cup chopped maraschino cherry
1 -2 cup chopped nuts
1 -2 cup M&M'
1-2 cup Smarties
1 -2 cup Reese's peanut butter pieces
1 -2 cup miniature marshmallow
1 cup Dessicated coconut
2-4 tbsp Rum
1/2 cup peanut butter + chopped peanut butter cups

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 175C/ 350°F.
2) Grease an 8 inch square pan or line with foil.
3) In a medium bowl combine melted butter and cocoa and stir until cocoa is dissolved.
4) Add sugar and mix well.
5) Add eggs one at a time and stir until well combined.
6) Stir in vanilla, flour and salt until you no longer see any flour (do not overmix).
7) Fold in "WHATEVER FLOATS YOUR BOAT"!
8) Spread in pan and bake for approximately 25 minutes.
9) DO NOT OVER-BAKE -- your brownies will come out dry. Adjust time/temp accordingly for your oven. If you do the knife/toothpick test, it should come out with moist crumbs, not clean.
10) Cool completely before cutting into squares.
11) For vegetarian omit the marshmallows.
12) For double recipe, bake in 9x12 pan and add 5 minutes to baking time.

Find original recipe here.

Note: my favourite mix so far is to add 1 cup dessicated coconut, 4 tbsp dark rum and 1-2 cups Smarties -(although I buy the equivalent at ASDA at a much cheaper price) YUM!!

Pan-Roasted Corn and Tomato Salad

2011-07-28T09:38:00.003+01:00

This recipe, from Mark Bittmann of the NY Times offers a very different twist to a salad.

Ingredients:

1/4 pound bacon, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
4 to 6 ears corn, stripped of their kernels (2 to 3 cups)
Juice of 1 lime, or more to taste
2 cups cored and chopped tomatoes
1 medium ripe avocado, pitted, peeled and chopped
2 fresh small chilies, like Thai, seeded and minced
Salt and black pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, more or less.

Method:

1. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it begins to render fat; add onion and cook until just softened, about 5 minutes, then add corn. Continue cooking, stirring or shaking pan occasionally, until corn begins to brown a bit, about 5 more minutes; remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Drain fat if you wish.

2. Put lime juice in a large bowl and add bacon-corn mixture; then toss with remaining ingredients. Taste, adjust the seasoning and serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 4 servings.

Image and recipe: NYTimes.

Check out Bittmanns video recipes here, they are so entertaining!
Mark Bittmann, "The Minimalist" Video Recipes.

Fattouche

2011-07-28T09:30:00.004+01:00

I love Lebanese food. This is a Lebanese salad which is amazingly flavourful, colourful, healthy and delicious! The chopping takes a little time, but trust me, it'll be worth it! This is an ideal side dish with any meat or fish - and the only side dish you'll need.

Ingredients

3 pitta bread
4 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
4 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp sumac
240 g ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
4 spring onions, sliced
6 radishes, sliced
1 green pepper, diced
1 cucumber, cut into chunks
8 sprigs of flat leaf parsley, leaves stripped
8 sprigs of mint, leaves chopped
1/2 cos lettuce, sliced into ribbons
black pepper
pomegranate seeds, to garnish (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the grill. Open out each of the pitta breads and toast under the grill until golden. Break the toasted pitta into pieces and drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil.

2. Using a pestle and mortar pound crush the garlic and salt crystals into a paste. Mix with the lemon juice, remaining olive oil and sumac to make a salad dressing

3. Mix together the chopped tomato, sliced spring onion, radish slices, green pepper and cucumber in a large salad bowl. Mix in the parsley, mint, lettuce and toasted pitta bread. Toss with the salad dressing. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds, if using, and serve.

Get the original recipe for Fattouche here.

Ricotta & Parmesan Gnocchi in Tomato Sauce

2011-07-25T09:55:00.002+01:00

Gnocchi:

200g/7oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting

225g/8oz ricotta

3 free-range egg yolks

40g/1oz parmesan, freshly grated

pinch freshly grated nutmeg

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Tomato sauce:

6 tbsp olive oil

3 large garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

1 chilli, sliced

2 x 400g/14oz cans tinned, chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp sugar

1tsp salt

1 large pinch pepper

1 tsp dried oregano

1 dash balsamic vinegar (or use wine vinegar if you don't have balsamico)

handful basil leaves

Preparation method:

1) Mix the flour, ricotta, egg yolks, parmesan, nutmeg and seasoning together in a large bowl to form a soft, moist dough.

2) Tip the mixture out onto a floured work surface and knead for 3-5 minutes. Roll the dough into a long, thin sausage shape, then cut into gnocchi about 1-2cm long.

3) Make the sauce. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the garlic and chilli for one minute, then remove the pan from the heat and add the tomatoes.

4) Return the pan to the heat. Add sugar, salt, oregano and vinegar. Let the sauce simmer on low heat for at least five minutes.

5) Cook the gnocchi for 3-4 minutes in a large saucepan of salted boiling water. They will float to the top, so remove with a slotted spoon.

6) Add the gnocchi to the tomato sauce. Cook for another 5 minutes on low heat, making sure dumplings are well covered in the sauce.

7) Spoon the gnocchi onto a large serving plate. Sprinkle the basil leaves over the plate and offer a generous grating of fresh parmesan.

Lemon and Passionfruit Curd

2011-07-22T12:56:00.001+01:00

4 large eggs
125g of unsalted butter, cubed
225g of caster sugar
zest and juice of 3 unwaxed lemons
seeds and pulp of 2 passionfruits

Beat the eggs and strain into a medium sized heat proof bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Do not allow the bottom of the of the bowl to come into contact with the water or the heat will scramble the eggs.

Stir the mixture continuously until it reaches the consistency of very thick custard. Remove from the heat and stand the bowl in a sink of cold water to speed up the cooling process, stirring occasionally until cold

Pour into sterilised jars, cover and store in the fridge until needed.

It will keep, in the fridge, for up to a week!

Lemon Green Beans

2011-07-20T10:26:00.002+01:00

This is a great side dish to steak.

Serves 4-6

2 packs french beans

Juice of 1 lemon

1tbsp sugar

1 tsp Maldon salt

Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan. Add the green beans, ends trimmed off. Toss for a few minutes. Add sugar, lemon juice and salt. Toss till well covered and sugar has melted. Serve al dente.

Week 20: A rollercoaster

2011-07-17T13:43:00.009+01:00

The baby started kicking about 2 weeks ago, which is by far my favourite thing about the experience. It is getting a little stronger every week now.

Up until this point, the whole thing is very surreal. In week 12, the ultrasound shows a picture of something that doesn't look quite human yet and you can feel no movement. Then, it becomes gradually more realistic as you hear the heartbeat and feel the kicking.

And eventually, it starts to hit home when, in week 20 (3 days ago), when we had the anomaly scan, revealing a healthy, beautiful little girl! They got a pretty good shot of her face too and it makes all the hardship of pregnancy worth it now. Here is the baby's second portrait (she seems to be covering her ears, lol!):

Being pregnant really is a giant rollercoaster. Anyone that claims it is easy or purely pleasurable are either lying, extremely lucky or have already given birth and forgotten what it was like.

I am a bit of a worrier. I like to be in control of everything and this is something I can't control. The pelvic girdle pain is pretty tough at times, when I cannot lift my leg onto the sofa and walking causes agony. Naturally, the pelvis needs to expand to give room for the baby, but it also natural to associate pain with something being wrong.

So, the relief of seeing the baby looking perfect was enormous. I think the ultrasound is completely crucial for parents-to-be to bond with the baby.

They measure the most amazing things: distance between the eyes, depth of the eyes, size of the brain, bones, check for cleft lip, heartbeat etc. The technology is amazing and I am very glad it is available to us. We are going back for another scan on August 2nd, as the baby was lying on her back, refusing to turn over so they could check her kidneys. I am glad cause it means I get to have another look! We have also booked a 4D scan for week 27, which will be a truly awesome experience. Those are so realistic that you can pretty much tell what the baby will look like when it's born. We partly do it cause we think it will be very cool for the baby to see when she gets older.

Rik is so excited it melts my heart. We have already bought a pram and he keeps showing it to people and faffing with it. When we found out we were having a girl, he headed straight to Next Baby and bought a cardigan and a pair of shoes for the little one. He strokes my belly every day and occasionally bends down to kiss it. Other times, he shouts at it, saying "come out soon, so we can play!!"

Despite of having 5 siblings, it is only now I am starting to understand what I have been told for years: that having your own is completely different. I have always joked that I already have had 2 kids as two of my siblings are a lot younger than me and I have gone through most of what a parent does with them. I am fully aware that it is a really tough job and have no rose tinted glasses on. I am terrified of so many things. I am also incredibly conscious of taking care of our marriage through this. So many people break up when the child is little as the lack of sleep, rest, sex and attention seems to put a strain on a lot of relationships. We talk about this a lot. I think it is crucial to communicate through it all and work as a team. And have time for each other.

All fears aside, I think we are getting ready now, slowly starting to worry a little less and instead look forward to the madness!

Matt's Mum's Sausage Casserole

2011-07-05T17:53:00.005+01:00

...affectionately named as my husband and I tend to name dishes based on who gave us the recipe. There are Synne Prawns, Dorothy's Sweet Potato Casserole and Matt's Mum's Casserole.
This is the easiest thing you can do, and I would be shocked if you get it wrong. Recipe is simple and most of it does itself.

1 can tinned, chopped tomatoes
1 can baked beans
1/2 pint gravy (I use Bisto)
Onions (I like lots of onions)
Sausages (as many as you'd like!)
Salt and pepper to taste

Optional: thyme and chilli sauce

Fry onions and sausages. Add to a heavy casserole/pot. Add the tomatoes, beans and gravy. Let simmer for as long as you can. Serve with mashed potatoes.
The mix of ingredients sounds bizarre, but this dish is absolutely amazing comfort food! Do NOT double the amount of tins you use even if you are cooking loads of sausages! I have tried this and it goes very wet!

Skirt Steak Marinade

2011-07-05T15:59:00.005+01:00

I use this for skirt steak, but you can use it with any cut of beef. Skirt steak is a really affordable cut with lots of flavour, but it needs a bit of work. So, marinade your steak in this marinade for 24-48 hours in an airtight container or ziploc bag and it will be one of the best things you have ever eaten!
Once the meat is cooked, I suggest you wrap it in several layers of tin foil and then in a towel, to rest for an hour or so. This will give you maximum flavour! Before serving, cut the meat into 1-inch thick slices against the grain. If the meat is now room temperature, have no fear - it just tastes even more delicious!
I tend to estimate about 200 - 300 grams of beef for each person. Whatever meat is left over makes for delicious pizza topping or sandwich filler. Or slice finely and eat as carpaccio (we have ours rare)!

1 kg skirt steak
1 1/2 c. oil
3/4 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. wine vinegar
1/3 c. fresh lemon juice
1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. pepper
1 lg. sprig parsley
1 lg. clove garlic, crushed

Place steak in airtight container. Combine all ingredients in an airtight container and blend with a hand blender. Place steak in marinade. Fit lid on tight and shake to cover the meat. Refrigerate 12- 48 hours, shaking occasionally.

Remove meat from marinade and wait till it comes to room temperature. This ensures that the meat doesn't get shock and goes tough.

Grill or broil until well browned on outside, but pink inside. Cut meat diagonally or against the grain into thin slices and serve.

Potato Salad

2011-07-04T16:45:00.003+01:00

1.5 kg new potatoes, cut into approx 1 inch cubes. Leave skin on, anything else is too much work!
1 medium jar cornichons, drained and chopped
1 large red onion, finely sliced
Handful fresh chives, chopped
4 spring onions, chopped
4 heaped tbsp mayo
4 heaped tbsp creme fraiche
Maldon salt and coarse pepper

Boil the potatoes until tender, about 8 mins. Let them cool, then place them in a large serving bowl. Add cornichons with the mustard seeds and dill etc that was in the jar it came in, along with the onion, chives and spring onion. Mix it up. If the potatoes break a little, who cares? Add the mayo and creme fraiche and mix again, adding salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until time to serve. To make it look pretty, you can spinkle some dill over before serving. Bon appetit!

Mango Papaya Salsa

2011-07-04T16:40:00.002+01:00

1 can mango, diced
1 can papaya, diced
1 small red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 orange bell pepper, diced
2 lime, juiced
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving, so the flavours can mingle. Serve as a side dish to grilled fish (although I recently served it with BBQ meats, so whatever takes your fancy!)

Week 18 - Heartbeat

2011-06-29T08:42:00.002+01:00

Last week, I was at the hospital for my quadruple test and meeting with the consultant. I got to hear the babys heartbeat for the first time. Strong and healthy. Daddy was gutted to miss it, but he was in Paris on business. And it is only 2 weeks till our anomaly scan, where we hopefully will find out if it's a boy or girl! Siri Katrine arrives here a week Monday and will be joining us for the scan. She is so excited she could burst. She is sure the baby is a girl. A small majority seems to be leaning in favour of girl and some go as far as resorting to "tricks" to find out. I have had salt sprinkled in my hair, rings hung in a strand of hair over my tummy etc. I just laugh, I don't believe any of it. We are also booking a 4D scan in September. It is fascinating how you can see what the baby will look like but also, it will be so cool for the child to see itself in the womb when it gets a little older.
I think I have started feeling movement now. Finally! There are little flutters that I no longer think is digestion, lol. It's not very strong yet though, so I am dying for it to be a clear cut kick and also for when it is strong enough for daddy to feel it. We went to see Tracy's little newborn, Jessica, on Sunday. She was 5 days old and adorable! Daddy got so broody after that, he kept leaning down to my tummy and shout "come out, I want to play!"! I keep telling him it's a little early yet, considering we are only nearly half way! lol
I am having really strange and mad baby dreams nowadays. I think it's my brain processing all the thoughts about how different life is going to be when the baby is born.

Babys is now about 17 cm from top to toe:

I am actually loosing weight as the baby seems to eat everything I eat. No wonder the baby's weight triples in these 3 weeks!

Week 12: first ultrasound!

2011-05-20T15:34:00.002+01:00

I was so anxious before our first scan. Although my boobs have grown 2 bra sizes already and there is a clear bump, I still feared that we would get to the scan and my tummy would be empty. But no, there was a healthy, active little thing - kicking, rubbing it's eyes and moving around!
As soon as we got home, we put the picture from the scan on Facebook and mum called, shouting "it looks like me!!", LOL!
Well, you can judge for yourself:

The baby is now about 3 inches long, the size of a peach. Read more about this weeks development here:

Your little peach-sized miracle is still growing rapidly and now weighs in at around one ounce with a length of three inches- about the length of a small goldfish. The proportions of head to body are now approaching normal.

Vocal cords and teeth are forming in preparation for major disruption to your life in a few months time! The ears are now developed to a stage where the baby may be able to hear your voice; so start practising those lullabies.

The diaphragm is still being exercised and strengthened by the hiccups and your baby’s bone marrow is busy making the white blood cells needed for fighting infection after birth. Organs are forming in order to make the hormones necessary for ongoing development and the intestines are now moving to your baby’s tummy from the umbilical cord where they have been patiently waiting.

Tiny hairs start to cover the body and the senses of taste and smell are further refined. Amazingly, your baby’s unique fingerprints are now perfectly formed. If you are expecting a girl she will already have around two million eggs in her ovaries.

And this is what the baby looks like this week:

Growing rapidly! Next scan is on the 14th July where we hope to find out if we're having a boy or a girl. Rik is currently doing a poll, making people guess - and he is keeping tabs on the blackboard in the kitchen.

My appetite is slowly coming back, although I seem to still crave mostly healthy food. Still gag at the thought of some foods though. Seems like I can only eat fresh food and nothing too complex.

We are absolutely loving our new house and everything about it. Strange to imagine that this is gonna be the house where our child grows up and we will grow old in.

Week 8 - it's starting to look like a baby!

2011-04-14T11:27:00.005+01:00

I receive emails every week informing me of the babys progress. We are now in week 8 and it reads as follows:

Baby is now the size of a raspberry (30mm or one whole inch) and is growing at a rate of about a millimeter every day. Her trunk will be straightening out and, though you can't feel it yet, baby is busy moving those little arms, legs, and slightly-webbed fingers and toes. Upper and lower limbs all show recognizable elbow and knee joints and the lower limb bones are starting to ossify. Your baby is finally starting to take on some very distinct human features. Her little tail has disappeared completely and she no longer looks like an alien or sea creature!

Right now, your baby’s head is disproportionately larger than the rest of her body making up almost half of your little one’s height and weight!

My sense of smell is still like that of a bloodhound. I told Rik the other day that this might pass in the next few weeks and he said: "but it's like a superpower, I'd be such a shame to loose it!"
So far, the baby is treating me, it's "host", really well. I have no morning sickness and my mood has not altered. Unlike some women, I neither cry or throw hissyfits. Thankfully!
My ankle is healing as well, slowly but surely. I walked to Tesco yesterday and found that the shopping trolley is the perfect rehabilitation tool, so today, I plan to go there, get a trolley and walk around the shop for an hour! lol! Whatever works, right?? As it turns out though, pregnancy makes your bones brittle and your ligaments weaker, so you are more likely to get sprains and break bones. I make sure to take Calcium, Vitamin D and Folic Acid every day. And I will be SO careful where I put my feet from now on. I really feel like I need to start exercising again, after a week of doing none. I don't want to put on loads of weight (my belly is big enough as it is!), so I try to eat healthy. As soon as I can, I will get back into walking an hour a day, although it is recommended that you only exercise 4 days a week when you are pregnant. You need your heart to be strong for the next phases to avoid high blood pressure etc. For now, physiotherapy in Tesco will do. :-)

Baby Britt is Brewing!

2011-04-11T09:48:00.011+01:00

April 2nd: Decided to take a pregancy test. My skin felt very flu-like and I kept feeling like I was gonna get my period, but it was now a week and a half late. And true enough, after peeing on a stick (well, two sticks actually, just to be sure), there were two very clear, red lines! After a crazy cry/laugh (the kind you do when you are really happy, but you can't quite believe something is happening), Rik and I sat down on the sofa and giggled about how textbook we are being: marriage --> house --> child.

The past 4 years really has been an adventure and everything is falling neatly into place. I am glad we've waited this long to try for a baby, cause frankly, I wouldn't have been ready any sooner. I've always felt like certain criteria needed to be in place before I had kids: a house, a husband, stable finances, a car...not to mention me being at peace with myself. I am there. And Rik will be the best dad ever. He is so excited, it makes my heart melt to observe his enthusiasm!

In two days, I will be 7 weeks pregnant and Baby Britt (let's call it BB) will be the size of a blueberry. I can't quite comprehend that there is something growing inside me and not sure it will become real until we have the first scan. Annoyingly, they don't do the scans now until you are 12-16 weeks pregnant, which seems like an eternity from now! I have no signs of morning sickness and my skin is no longer hurting. However, I have such a heightened sense of smell, Rik says that I should be hired by the police as a sniffer-dog!

I have decided to write a blog about the pregnancy, mostly as my own diary but also as it might be an interesting thing for BB to read when BB is all grown up (I can't bring myself to calling the baby "it"!).

In the meantime, I would love it if other mothers or parents-to-be want to share their experiences.

Speaking of which: can anyone recommend a good alcohol free wine? Does this even exists?

Elin xx

Mexican Lasagne Rocks!

2011-04-01T13:45:00.011+01:00

I did another food experiment the other day, and I am so so proud of the result! For those of you that have a phobia for making white sauce, this is ideal: no white sauce involved - anyone can make this. It's fast and easy!

Mexican Lasagne (yum!!)

*****EDIT: I made this a second time with diced carrots, courgette and a large can of refried beans. Even better! *****

I made a huge portion of this, enough to feed 8 adults, but you can obviously adapt the recipe to make it smaller. I cooked the lasagne in a large, deep roasting dish measuring approx 28cm (wide) x 37cm (long) x 6cm (high). Making it this big is great if you want to freeze some portions/have a large family/casual entertaining etc. If you have some left over for lunch the next day, that is never a bad thing!
You can improvise a lot with the spices. I normally make my own taco seasoning, but as I am out, the spices below is a somewhat improvised version.

Ingredients:

2 stalks of celery, chopped
1kg extra lean mince beef
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 red chilli, rib and seeds removed, chopped
salt + pepper
1 tbsp dry oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tin chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 tablets sweeteners (instead of sugar, to counteract the acidity of the tomatoes. In place of sweeteners, you can use 1 tbsp sugar or honey.)

2 onions, chopped
1/2 cup frozen sweetcorn
8 tortilla wraps
1 tub reduced fat sour cream
1 jar Doritos salsa
grated cheddar cheese

optional: chopped, fresh coriander

Method:

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a frying pan. Add the celery and cook for 2 minutes, then add the mince and cook til browned. Add the spices/seasoning and cook this into the meat for a minute or so. Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and sweeteners and cook....well, for as long as you are bothered, really.

You can do this a few hours in advance of serving. The meat and spices etc will continue to blend and will only taste better after being left for a while.

When you are ready to proceed, add the raw, chopped onions and frozen sweetcorn to the mince mix. Mix well.

Add a veeeery thin layer of mince to the bottom of the roasting dish. Then cover with 4 tortilla wraps (try to get an even thickness by tearing them apart a little). Spread half the remaining mince over and cover with another 4 torilla wraps. Spread the rest of the mince over the top, and then cover the top layer of the mince with the sour cream and the salsa. Finish off by topping the dish with a generous layer of cheese. Bake at 200C until cheese has turned golden.
Serve with a sprinkling of chopped coriander and a side salad if you wish.

Good luck and Bon Appetit!

Lavender Honey Chicken

2011-03-27T15:50:00.003+01:00

My husband and I had this dish in a small restaurant in Gordes, France, during our honeymoon. This is now my absolute favourite way of cooking chicken. We bought the lavender honey in that very town, but normal honey would work well too. I am also on a mission to make Rosemary honey chicken, aka buying normal honey and steeping a sprig of rosemary in it for a period of time. I will let you know how this pans out.

Ingredients:

1 kg chicken thighs
salt
pepper
4 tbsp Lavender Honey

Heat oven to 200C.
Place the chicken thighs in a roasting pan and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast in oven till done, about 45 minutes (although this varies from oven to oven). Remove from oven and pour off excess water. Drizzle chicken generously with honey and place back in oven. Cook until the honey on the chicken caramelizes and turns golden. I tend to warm the honey in the microwave, so it goes runny, then baste the chicken with a pastry brush.

Serve warm or cold with the tzatziki and spicy potatoes below.

Spicy Roast Potatoes with Cumin and Chilli

2011-03-27T15:40:00.005+01:00

These are simply delectable served with Honey Chicken and tzatziki. All you need for a superb summer BBQ meal!
Warning: When you've had these potatoes, you'll never go back...

Ingredients:

750g miniature new potatoes
1tsp ground cumin
1tsp smoked paprika
1tsp chilli powder or cayenne pepper
Oil

Heat oven to 200C.
Par boil the new potatoes for 8 minutes. Drain and let water evaporate. You can also skip this step and place them straight into the oven, but then they take slightly longer to cook (about 1 hour).

Drizzle oil over the potatoes, then sprinkle with cumin, smoked paprika and chilli powder. Make sure potatoes are evenly coated with the oil and spices.

Roast (or BBQ) till they blister or turn golden.

Serve and enjoy!

The secret to making Tzatziki

2011-03-27T14:35:00.004+01:00

In my opinion, the secret is to strain the grated cucumber. Otherwise, the tzatziki gets too runny. Don't worry about straining the yoghurt as long as you buy Greek yoghurt (stay away from the non fat stuff, it's far too watery!).

Ingredients:

500g Greek Style Yoghurt
1/2 grated cucumber, strained
1-2 tbsp lemon Juice
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Make sure you have squeezed most of the water out of the cucumber (I place it in a sieve and apply pressure with my fist), then mix all the above ingredients. Refrigerate at least an hour before serving.

I normally serve this either as a part of a mezze, with pita breads and hummus etc, or as an accompaniment to grilled chicken, roast baby new potatoes etc.

Aubergine Imam

2011-03-25T13:00:00.006Z

I had this in a Greek restaurant recently. It was amazing, served with lamb koftas on a bed of cous-cous. This was my attempt at recreating it, and I didn't do bad... :-)

After convincing the waiter to give me the recipe, he said the secret lies in a good tomato sauce, to which you add the aubergines.

Ingredients:

4 aubergines
4 medium onions
5 cloves garlic, chopped
4 tins chopped tomatoes
4 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 bottle red wine
1 large handful fresh parsley, chopped
1 large handful fresh coriander, chopped
Season to taste

Add after cooking: 3 large handfuls chopped, green olives

Instructions:

Cut the aubergines in half lenghtwise and roast in oven for about 15 mins on 200C. Meanwhile, heat some oil in an oven proof dish and fry the garlic and onion for a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes, brown sugar, red wine and chopped herbs.
Remove the aubergines from the oven, and cut them into inch size cubes (approx). Add to the tomato sauce, then drizzle a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil over the dish.
Put the lid on and bake the mixture on 150C for 4 hours.

Stir in the chopped olives when the dish has finished cooking.

Serve hot with food or at room temperature with toasted pita bread as a healthy snack.

Note: this dish will only get better after a day or two, when the flavours have had time to mingle. This recipe makes a huge batch, so freeze portion sizes or keep in fridge, covered, for up to a week!

Good luck!

The secret to a GREAT Bloody Mary...

2011-03-22T17:46:00.004Z

The Americans are good at making these, which is where I learnt how to make mine. In England, the barman will mostly look at you in a funny way of you order them, then pour you some vodka and serve with a self-service can of luke warm tomato juice. If you are lucky (and you often have to ask for this), you will also get another self service option, where the barman will plonk a bottle of Tabasco and a bottle of worcestershire sauce next to it.
No wonder most people I speak to say they hate Bloody Marys. And it also explains why I am so darn determined to make people drink MY version, which has yet a flawless record of conversion. All haters become lovers. Try for yourself and let me know if you like it:

In a shaker, mix:
A handful of ice cubes
1/2 tsp horseradish (I have used creamed before and this works fine too)
The juice of 1/2 - 1 lime (to taste)
a couple of pinches celery salt
a pinch black pepper
a couple of olives
a shot or two of vodka
as much Tabasco & Worcestershire sauce as you like
Fill up with tomato juice
...and shake!

Taste to see if you need more Tabasco & Worcestershire sauce.
Pour into a large tumbler, finish off with a swirl of sherry (important!) and add a stick of fresh celery plus a wedge of lime.

All you need now is to have some friends around on a Sunday morning for a Bloody Mary breakfast with freshly baked bread, cheeses and coldcuts. Weekend sorted.

Cucquitas...or cucumber margaritas!

2011-03-22T17:37:00.003Z

Try these and you will never look back... What an incredible summer cocktail! See photo in previous post.

Makes 9 cocktails

1 large English cucumber or 2 standard 6-inch-long cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced (3 cups), plus more slices for garnish
1 1/2 cups 100 percent agave silver tequila
1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 cup Lime Simple Syrup
1 lime wedge
Coarse salt
6 to 7 cups small ice cubes

Directions

Place cucumber, tequila, lime juice, and simple syrup in the jar of a blender; blend until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a pitcher. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
Moisten the rims of three 6-ounce martini glasses with lime wedge. Place salt in a shallow dish. Dip rims of glasses in salt to coat.
Fill a cocktail shaker 3/4 full with ice. Add 1 1/2 cups cucumber mixture. Cover and shake 10 to 15 seconds. Strain until prepared glasses. Garnish with cucumber slices. Repeat process with remaining ice and cucumber mixture.

Source Martha Stewart

Hot & Cheesy Artichoke Dip

2011-03-22T17:26:00.012Z

This is one of my very favourite things to make when we have guests over for nibbles and drinks. I tend to serve with tortilla chips, crudites and cold beer or cucumber margaritas (as pictured).

SERVINGS: 3 cups dip
PREP TIME: 5
COOK TIME: 20

INGREDIENTS:
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup ranch or blue cheese salad dressing
1/2 cup Franks Red Hot Cayenne Pepper Sauce (you can buy this in Tesco or Sainsburys)
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack or crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, well drained and coursely chopped

DIRECTIONS:
HEAT oven to 175C/ 350°F. Place cream cheese into deep pie plate. Stir until smooth.
MIX in salad dressing, Frank's RedHot Sauce and cheeses. Stir in artichoke hearts.
BAKE 20 min. or until mixture is heated through; stir. Garnish as desired. Serve with crackers or vegetables.

TIPS:
Microwave Directions: Prepare as above. Place in microwave-safe dish. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH 5 min. until hot, stirring halfway through cooking.
Low Fat Tip: Just substitute the reduced-calorie versions of the cheeses and salad dressing above.

Source Frank's Red Hot Recipes

Rice and Peas, Elin's way

2011-03-11T10:37:00.000Z

1 large onion
1 cup rice
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
handful salted peanuts
3 tbsp jerk seasoning
1 can black beans

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pot. Chop and fry onions till translucent. Add the rice and stir in with the rice for about a minute. Add jerk seasoning and coconut. Stir in for a minute or so. Add chicken stock, stir and cook for 5 mins. Add black beans and peanuts and cook for another 4-5 mins until the rice is done. Check liquid levels as you go, making sure it doesn't boil dry.
Bon Appetit!!

Mushroom sauce

2011-02-07T22:00:00.003Z

...this is soooo delicious with steak!

1/2 Onion
Mushrooms
Creme Fraiche
Browning Sauce
Seasoning

Finely chop ½ onion. Fry this in oil and after a few minutes, ass finely sliced mushrooms. Cook until all is softened. Add a tub of creme fraiche and a few drops of Browning sauce. Season with Knorr all purpose seasoning, salt and pepper. Serve!

Thanks to my friend Synne, probably the best chef I know!!

Seriously addictive prawns

2011-02-07T21:51:00.002Z

24 raw tiger prawns

Mix:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 cloves garlic
A few drops Tabasco (to taste)
Pepper and salt

Fry the prawns in a pan with a little bit of oil. After a few seconds, add the butter mix to the pan and cook this with the prawns.
As soon as the prawns have gone pink, squeeze half a lime over the prawns and spinkle with a handful of fresh, chopped parsley.

Thanks to my friend Synne for what might well be the most delicious prawns EVER! ♥

"Home made" ice cream

2010-11-06T00:10:00.002Z

What to do with last nights leftover dessert? I served baklava with honey, raisins and greek yogurt, but was left with 8 pieces of baklava. What to do?

Buy a tub of vanilla ice cream. Leave in room temperature for 15 mins till soft enough to stir (you might need to transfer to a bowl for the next step). Add chopped baklavas and milk chocolate, stir to mix and eat!!
If there is any left, freeze it in the ice cream tub!

Tonights dessert was Nigella Lawsons Sweet and Salty Crunch Nut Bars. Next mission is to chop those up and add to the ice cream. My mum used to serve ice cream scattered with peanuts, m&m's and bananas when we were little. The sweet and salty combo is a winner! Yum!

Hot & Sour Soup

2010-10-27T18:17:00.002+01:00

1liter chicken stock
Juice of 2 limes + zest
1 inch fresh ginger, chopped into matchsticks
4 cloves garlic
2 chillies (seeds optional)
1 red pepper
3 flat mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp soy sauce (to taste)
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 lemongrass, bruised, whole (remove before serving)
2-3 tbsp rice vinegar (to taste)
2-3 tbsp brown sugar (to taste)
3-4 spring onions, chopped
2 heaped tbsp cornflour, dissolved in cold water
sesame oil to fry
Prawns
tin of bamboo shots
pak choi, add at the end, leaves only
coriander (add at the end, sprinkle over soup)

And on the menu is...

2010-09-24T18:18:00.003+01:00

Fruits de mer - yesterdays dinner

2010-09-05T10:32:00.008+01:00

When we stayed in Flavigny-Sur-Ozerain on our honeymoon, we came across the most delicious seafood meal EVER! They called it fruits de mer and I was determined to make this at home. Now, looking up fruit de mer on the internet yields many hits, but none of them are recipes for the kind I made yesterday. So, time for improvisation! And man, all I can say is SUCCESS!! So it is my duty to share me recipe for this insanely divine seafood dish with you:

1 kg. mixed seafood, defrosted and drained
6 chopped, large tomatoes
1 finely sliced onion
1 or 2 cups green, pitted olives
1/2 cup ketchup (possibly more, you have to look at the consistency)
1 tbsp cornflour
3 tbsp EVOO
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp paprika powder
a few splashes of Tabasco
Salt
Pepper

Mix all the liquid stuff + mustard together and check for seasoning. I used 1 tsp coarse, black pepper and 1 tsp maldon salt. Pour this into a frying pan on high heat and add the remaining ingredients. Let is come to the boil and take it off the heat as soon as you think it is all heated through. If you leave it too long, the seafood will get tough.

Make sure you buy seafood that has already been cooked (aka the prawns are pink, not grey), otherwise you are looking at slightly longer cooking times).

My mixture was pretty wet, so I used a slotted spoon to transfer the mix to another bowl, leaving some of the liquid behind. I let it all cool down and served it with some chilled white wine and a spoon each for all to dig in. I am sure this would have been delicious with rustic bread or toasted slices of ciabatta also, or you serve it warm with pasta for a more filling dinner.

Try it and love it! Let me know how you got on!

Trivet filled with cardamom, cinnamon and oats

2010-08-25T12:04:00.001+01:00

Trivet filled with cardamom, cinnamon and oats
Originally uploaded by Elin B

When you put a hot pan on this, the trivet releases the aroma of freshly baked buns.
Wipe clean only (unless you want porridge!)

www.nordictouch.co.uk

Lantern/ tea light holder

2010-08-25T11:55:00.001+01:00

Lantern/ tea light holder
Originally uploaded by Elin B

I came across this idea in a Norwegian interior magazine. What a brilliant idea! To recycle your tin cans into lanterns, decorating with a cute napkin you already have lying around - how clever and pretty is that??

Baked Oatmeal

2009-02-27T09:45:00.006Z

picture source

Basic recipe:
4 cups oatmeal (quick cooking or old fashioned)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup apple sauce, I make my own cause its got less sugar than the shop bought
1 cup brown sugar

Optional:
chopped nuts
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp dessicated coconut
1 tsp vanilla extract
Raisins/Cranberries (let soak in hot water before adding, to plump them up); or
Apricots, fresh or dried; or
Mashed bananas

Natural yoghurt, to serve

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F/ 170 degrees C
2. In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients.
3. Mix in milk, eggs, applesauce, brown sugar.
4. Pour into a greased casserole dish.
5. Bake at for 45 minutes.
6. Serve hot, topped with yogurt if desired.

This will also freeze well. Just let it cool, cut into squares and wrap individually before freezing.

Thanks to keen5 for this recipe!

Inspiration...

2009-02-23T15:49:00.019Z

Tommy Bahama

Martha Stewart

FloridaDesign Magazine

Tommy Bahama

Location of my dream home....

Sources: Tommy Bahama, Martha Stewart and Florida Design

Rosemary and Garlic Steak with Blue Cheese Potatoes

2009-02-16T12:15:00.010Z

Grilled Steak With Blue Cheese Potatoes
Serves 3

Ingredients

3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary, plus sprigs for garnish
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus more for brushing
Freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp meat tenderizer
1 tsp "Aromat" seasoning or Accent (or other msg)
1.5 pounds skirt steak (about 3/4 inch thick)
1 pound small red potatoes
Coarse salt
1/2 - 1 cup blue cheese, crumbled

Directions
Make marinade from the garlic, rosemary, Worcestershire sauce, EVOO, pepper, meat tenderizer and Aromat/Accent. Pour the marinade into a large ziploc bag and add the meat. Lock the bag and massage the marinade into the meat, then refrigerate for 4 hours.

Preheat grill to high. Cover potatoes with cold water in a medium saucepan; add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain; let cool slightly. Slice potatoes in half, and brush lightly with oil; season with salt and pepper.
Grill steak, turning once, to desired doneness, 3 minutes per side for rare. Set aside to rest for 10 minutes under tin foil. Meanwhile, grill potatoes, turning once, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Immediately sprinkle with cheese. Thinly slice steak against grain. Divide steak and potatoes among 3 plates. Serve, garnished with rosemary sprigs.

Cocktail party shopping list - essentials

2009-02-10T14:48:00.003Z

These ingredients will make Gin and Tonic, Vodka and Tonic, Cosmopolitan, Margarita, Caipiroska and Whisky Sour.

Vodka
Whisky
Gin
Tequila
Rose's lime
triple Sec
orange juice
cranberry juice
Soda water
Tonic water

Limes
Lemons
Maraschino cherries
Green Queen Olives
Tortilla chips
Salsa
Guacamole
Brown sugar

LOTS of ice cubes

Check out http://www.drinksmixer.com for recipes

Kate Hudson's Boozy berry trifle

2009-02-05T14:12:00.007Z

Note: Frozen fruit will do just as well as fresh for this recipe. I buy the containers of frozen summer fruits and they work perfectly well.

Ingredients
2 containers strawberries, washed, hulled and quartered
2 containers blackberries, washed
2 containers blueberries, washed
2 containers raspberries, washed
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier or Coconut liqueur such as Malibu
1/2 cup brandy or dark rum
1 8-inch store-bought vanilla sponge cake
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
2 to 3 sprigs fresh mint

Preparation
In a large bowl, combine the berries, turbinado sugar and orange liqueur. Toss gently to coat and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
When you're ready to assemble the trifle (don't assemble it more than 8 hours before you want to eat it), slice the domed top of the cake off and discard (or save it to snack on).
Slice the remaining cake into two equal layers (they should each be about a half-inch thick). If your cake is a little bit too large to fit inside of your trifle dish, cut a small wedge out of each layer and then fold the cut sides together to make it fit.

In a stand mixer with a whip attachment or a large bowl with a hand mixer, combine the heavy cream and sugar, and beat until the cream is smooth and holds a medium peak.
Spread about 1 cup (eyeball it) of whipped cream into the bottom of the trifle dish. Lay one layer of cake on top, cover with half of the berries along with some of the juice from the bottom of the berry bowl and sprinkle with about half of the coconut. Cover this layer with about 1 1/2 cups of the whipped cream (eyeball it) and make another layer with the remaining cake, berries and berry juice. Garnish the top with the remaining whipped cream and finish it off with the remaining coconut and a few sprigs of mint. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Source: the Rachael Ray show

Last night's dinner: Ceviche!!

2009-02-05T11:54:00.002Z

350 g fresh, raw coley, cut into small cubes (1/4 inch)
1/2 cup lime juice or juice of 2 fresh limes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Finely chop or small dice...
3 spring onions
1 red onion
1/4 red pepper
1/4 green pepper
1/4 yellow pepper
4 cloves garlic
1 stick of celery
1/2 red chilli, de-seeded, alt. 1 tbsp jalapeno
1 handful fresh coriander

Swirl of EVOO (Extra virgin olive oil)

Place fish cubes in a bowl and pour lime juice over. Let "cook" for a 1/2 hour. The juice breaks the protein down just as if it were heated.
Toss the vegetables and add to the fish and lime juice, then cover and leave mix to marinade for 4 hours (...if you have time. It will still taste delicious after just an hour). Just before serving, toss again, pouring off excess liquid. Pour back liquid to your own preference.
Serve on it's own or with tortilla chips.
F A N T A S T I C!

How to make your own Reeses peanut butter cups

2009-02-03T12:07:00.002Z

You can make your own peanut butter cups - and trust me, they are much better than the stuff you buy in the shops!! Recipe is adapted from http://www.topsecretrecipes.com

You need to melt 12 oz of chocolate (milk or plain). In a separate bowl, mix 1 cup of peanut butter with 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1/4 tsp salt. With 2 teaspoons, make a small ball of the peanut butter mix and place in the centre of a small muffin cup. Flatten a little, but not so it touches the edges as this will allow for the peanut butter to be encapsuled by chocolate. Then, pour some melted chocolate over the peanut butter mix and let it cool till hard.

Recipes that I MUST try (review will follow):

2009-02-03T11:50:00.003Z

Chipotle Lime Glazed Shrimp

Blood Orange Halloumi Salad

Pulled chicken

Peanut Butter Brownies

Rum tested - for Rum lovers

2009-01-16T14:56:00.006Z

In English:
34 rums tested

In Norwegian...
Dark rum
Light rum

I ♥ this bedding

2009-01-14T16:56:00.003Z

From Croscill (Boulevard collection)

Clever sofa, made from Single divan beds!

2009-01-14T16:39:00.005Z

(rammemadrass in Norwegian)
With some nice cushions, this is a cheap and brilliant idea!!

Source: Linda Nordlis blog

I ♥ these cushions

2009-01-14T14:29:00.007Z

Country:

Stars and stripes (I have ordered this!):

http://www.ekmpowershop4.com/ekmps/shops/blueberrystore/country-cushion-871-p.asp

And this is brilliant...this blogger refuses to pay £40 for a cushion, so she made her own imitation range and it looks great!

http://emmelines.blogg.no/1188341863_jeg_klarte_det.html

I ♥ Lexington

2009-01-14T12:05:00.014Z

Sefridges sell Lexington stuff, but why can this not be bought online?? Their loss, cause I will have to make my own (read: get my brilliant mum to make it for me)!

Love the little, blue and white cups...

...and this cushion:

Source: click here

10 dishes to make from your leftover chilli

2009-01-13T15:15:00.006Z

1) Mexican Lasagne
2) Lasagne
3) Chimichangas
4) Cottage pie (instead of a potato mash "lid", mix 50/50 potatoes and parsnips and mash with butter, parmesan and milk or cream, then top with cheese)
5) Bolognaise
6) Tacos
7) Enchiladas
8) Chili Nachos
9) Beef Tortilla Casserole
10) Nacho Casserole

Yellow and white bathroom

2009-01-09T13:54:00.002Z

It's so light and airy... Looks really inviting, like spring...