Halloween Weekend at Home!

This weekend I came back from university and spent the Halloween weekend at home! I went to Whole foods in South Kensington in London on Friday and bought this Spelt Penne pasta to try! It looked really good as apparently it is gluten free and wholegrain which I like. I had them in a mozzarella, pesto, tomato and basil pasta bake which was delicious! The pasta was had a nutty flavour which I really liked- I highly recommend them! And I wasn't left feeling horribly bloated after eating them as well!

Whilst at home I also tucked in to the christmas crisps that are out already!! I absolutely LOVE Cheeselets! They are amazing - my all time favourite cracker/crisp thing! If you havent already tried them, then you need to, you dont know what your missing!

Heres a photo of my pre-dinner snack of Rose Champange and a bowl of Cheeselets, Twiglets and smoked almonds (also another love of mine!!) in front of the fire reading magazines- perfect!!

Marshmallow Rice Crispy Squares!

As this week is Halloween, I decided to do a bit of baking! (even though this recipe doesn't actually involve the oven!) I love rice crispy squares, and I wanted to decorate them with a bit of melted chocolate on top!

The recipe: (makes about 6 sqaures)

-6 cups of rice crispies

-1 large bag of marshmallows (about 10oz)

-2 tbsp butter

-100g milk chocolate (or white/dark)

-Sprinkles for decorating

To make:

-First of all line a deep baking tray with baking paper and butter/oil it

-Then melt the butter in a large pan and add the marshmallows and cook over a medium heat until they have melted together

-Then tip in the rice crispies and stir until they are all coated and tip out in to the baking tray and squash it in to the corners and smooth the top with the back of a spoon

-Melt the chocolate in the microwave or over a bowl of heated water and drizzle over the rice crispies, and decorate with some sprinkles, or whatever you fancy!

-Leave to cool in the fridge for about an hour and then cut in to sqaures!

Above are the rice crispies in the baking tray before drizzling with chocolate!

Here is the finished product! Yummy yummy rice crispy sqaures! 

mmmmm

Chilli Con Carne!

So I spent this weekend at home and I like to cook wholesome and warm food when I'm back! I decided to make chilli con carne for my parents and I and it was so tasty!

It is pretty easy to make and includes chorizo which adds to the flavour! 

The Recipe: (serves 4)

-1lb of Beef mince

-Half a red onion, chopped

-1 clove of garlic, chopped

-1 stick of celery, chopped

-Half a large chorizo/ 6 mini chorizos

-1 can of Chopped tomatoes

-1 can of mixed beans in water (drained)

-1/2 can of water

-1 Tbsp tomato paste

-1/2 tsp Cumin

-1/2 tsp Chilli flakes

-1/2 tsp dried Coriander 

To make:

-First of all, cut the chorizos in to pieces and fry them in a deep pan until they give out some of their orange oil. Then add the Beef mince and cook until browned. Add the chopped onion, garlic and celery and cook for about 2 mins. 

-Add the spices, tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, drained beans, and then half  fill the empty tomato can with water and add.

-Give it a good stir to combine and bring to the boil, then turn the heat right down and simmer with the lid on for about 20 minutes. 

-After 20 minutes it should have reduced and be quite thick. So then serve it up with rice, lentils or just on its own with some grated cheese!

Above is the first stage, where the mine, chorizo and vegetables are cooking.

Above is the chilli before it had been left to cook for 20 mins

And here is the Chilli ready to eat with some lime and coriander rice!

It tastes so good!! : )

Pumpkins and Snog!

So its that time of the year again.. Halloween!! I find it so exciting, carving pumpkins and baking halloween treats! Below is my pumpkin that I carved at the weekend! I wanted to try something different this year, I think it looks quite scarey! 

Below is Sarah's pumpkin that she carved- I love the starry eyes! 

Also this weekend I met up with Eva and Sarah in London and we had another dinner date at Itsu Sushi, then on to Snog after! We also got ourselves some Ben's Cookies to have, but I'm afraid I ate them before I remembered to take a photo! I had peanut butter and triple chocolate flavour! So yummy.

Below are Eva and my Snog's! 

Chicken and Fennel Ragu!

So, this recipe was recommended to me by Eva, and it was very yummy indeed! I cooked it last night for my Aunt, my Dad and I, the original recipe says to add new potatoes to the ragu but instead I roasted them separately for some crispiness! But this was another really warming winter meal, and I had forgotten how much I like fennel! 

(Below is the ragu before adding the tomatoes and stock) 

The recipe: (serves 4 people, generously)

- 1 large fennel bulb

- 1 Banana shallot, sliced

- 1 garlic clove, chopped

- 1 red pepper (I used half yellow and half red)

- 3 large Chicken breasts, diced in to large chunks

- 1 x 400g can of chopped tomatoes

- 150ml chicken or vegetable stock

- 1 tsp chili flakes

- 1 tsp paprika

To make:

-Half, then quarter the fennel bulb and then cut in to large slices, then cut the pepper in to long strips. 

-Heat some oil in a large, deep frying pan, and add the chicken to colour. Then add the onions, peppers, garlic and fennel and cook for a further 5 mins, moving it around to cook evenly

-Add the chopped tomatoes, stock, paprika and chili flakes and bring the ragu to the boil. 

-Then cover the pan with a lid and turn the heat down to its lowest and leave to lightly simmer for about 20 minutes. Make sure to stir occasionally

-Then serve with anything you like, I served ours with roast potatoes and some brocoli! 

Below is the finished Chicken and Fennel ragu! 

Thanks to Eva for passing on the recipe!

Sausage and Lentil Casserole!

I wanted to have lots of wholesome food this weekend at home! So on friday night I made a sausage and lentil casserole for my dad and I! It was a recipe that I got from the Waitrose magazine, and it was real autumn food! Very warming- perfect for the cold weather outside!

It is really easy to make and doesn't take long either as you just leave it to simmer for 20 mins!

The recipe:

- 1 white onion, sliced

- 1 Garlic clove, chopped

- 1 x 400g can of lentils, drained

- 1 x 400g can of chopped tomatoes

- 6 herby sausages (could be any flavour you like)

- Drizzle of olive oil

- 1 tsp dried chili flakes

To make:

- Drizzle some olive oil in a large, deep frying pan and brown the sausages, then add the onions to cook as well. The sausages will need about 5-7 mins to brown

-Once browned, add the garlic clove, chili flakes, Chopped tomatoes and Lentils and bring to the boil

-Then put a lid on the pan and turn the heat down to the lowest heat - it should be lightly simmering, and then leave for about 15-20 mins, stirring occasionally

-Then serve with roast potatoes, green vegetables or

 just some crusty bread!

Gloriously Nutty Soda Bread!

One of the best things in life is the smell of freshly baked bread! And I was lucky enough to have that this weekend! I am currently at university in Loughborough but I came home for the weekend so I could have some good wholesome food, as Ive missed it!

So my dad baked this wonderful Soda bread loaf! It tasted lovely as it had fruit and nut bits in it, so tasted good with cheese and ham or with jam and butter!

The recipe: (makes one large loaf! - around 10 slices)

-250g Wholemeal flour

-250g Plain white flour

-25g butter

-150g Dorset Fruit and nut cereal (or anything similar)

-25g Golden caster sugar

-1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

-2 x 280ml carton of buttermilk

To make:

-Preheat oven to 190c/ Gas 5

-Put the flours in to a large bowl and rub in the butter

-Stir in the Fruit and nut cereal, sugar and bicarb. Then make a well in the centre and pour in the buttermilk and quickly bring it together to form a dough- the dough will be very soft and sticky 

-Tip on to a very floured surface and make it in to a round shape - around 20cm in diameter! 

-Put it on to a greased baking sheet and slice a deep cross in the top and bake for about 35-40 minutes until dark brown, and sounds hollow when tapped on the base. 

-Leave to cool on a wire rack with a tea towel on top and then enjoy!

Here is the inside of the bread- you can see the bits of nut and fruit inside. It was so tasty with a simple bit of butter!

Snog and Le Pain Quotidien!

I love my days out with my friends Eva, Sarah and Laura and this time we met up in London for dinner and a snog! ;)

We had dinner at Le Pain Quotidien, which has the best organic food and does a wonderful breakfast! We had various salads and a quiche!

Here is the link to their website- so you can have a peek at their food!

http://www.lepainquotidien.co.uk/

Above is the smoked Chicken salad that they do, it was really yummy and the croutons are baked brown bread!

Then below is their white bean and prosciutto ham salad! 

They also give you a big basket of bread to have with your meal, and Eva and I asked if we could try their white chocolate spread (meant for breakfast!) to have with it!! It tasted great.

Then on to Snog we went!! It is the best frozen yoghurt I have had, and I love the huge selection of things you can put on top! We visited the Kings Road Snog again, and I ended up having my usual and so did Eva!

Above is my usual, of plain frozen yoghurt with dark chocolate nibs with superfood (raisins, nuts and seeds!)

Then these are all of our Snogs together! Eva had her usual of chocolate frozen  yoghurt with brownie pieces and white chocolate stars! Then Sarah and Laura shared - I just dont know how they can hehe!! and they had a mixture of chocolate and plain frozen yoghurt with raspberries and blackberries!

Below are my three best friends, Sarah, Laura and Eva enjoying their Snogs! 

Banana Pancakes!

These pancakes are the best thing ever!! Thanks to Blogilates I got to know about these! Here is the video from her website on making them: http://www.blogilates.com/recipe-index/the-banana-pancakes-recipe-video 

I love to have these for a light supper with fruit and a drizzle of honey and some seeds thrown on top!

The recipe:

-1 Banana, mashed

-2 Eggs

To make:

-Mash the banana up in a bowl and add the two eggs, then mix together until well combined

-Heat a frying pan and spray with a little oil, then put the pancake mix in to the pan in little blobs (as they're easier to flip)

-They dont take long to cook at all but keep checking them!

-You dont really need any other sweetness as they are naturally sweet but add whatever you like on top - peanut butter would be yum!

Delights on the Cote d'Azur!

 At the beginning of September I went to the South of France with my parents to stay at one of our neighbour's Villas! It was still very hot and sunny which was great and very much needed after the horrid weather in the UK.

France just has the best food, everything looks amazing- fruit and veg, bread, pastries and cheese! 

The tomatoes above were absolutely enormous and had a lovely flavour. I came across these little heart shaped Camembert's which I thought were very sweet!

We were staying near St Tropez down on the Cote d'Azur which is such a beautiful town on the Mediterranean sea, but it has become a bit touristy due to celebrities coming and going. But the harbour is very impressive with huge yachts! We went to the Saturday market there, where we got some new reading glasses (I'm wearing them above!) and I got a raffia bag!

We then had to get some 'glace', I had pecan and Kinder bueno flavour - it was utterly delicious!

Rose wine is very popular in the South of France, and my parents and I are very interested in wines and always try and visit vineyards when we are in France. So we visited the 'Domaine de la Croix' which was just outside the town of La Croix val Mer. We had a tour and saw the vats where they keep the wine and we also saw the grapes being poured in to them.

We then had a taste of the wines they have on offer and tried the pure grape juice straight out of the press - which was very sweet! 

Harrods, Mori and Snog!

 One of my best friends Eva, lives in London and I often go up there to see her! We meet in our usual place of Harrods and then we mooch around looking at Chanel shoes (one of Eva's weaknesses!) and Designer handbags! We then have a look around the food hall and make a B-line for the chocolate section! We love Godiva Chocolates, and came across this huge hamper of Godiva choccies- if anyone bought me this I would literally marry them!

We also saw Godiva chocolate spread, which I am sure would taste amazing (but not at £8 a jar!! hehe). I love the look of these chocolate covered dried apricots, nuts, dried figs and dates, I think I might try making these at home, they would make nice presents!

Eva introduced me to Mori, which is an Asian restaurant, and they have pots of noodles in a broth - we had chicken, but there are also vegetarian dumpling, prawn and salmon flavour. We visited the Mori on the Kings Road and then went on to Snog!

Below is the Snog that I had with Eva! She had, chocolate frozen yoghurt with brownie pieces and white chocolate stars (her usual!) and I had original flavour frozen yoghurt with dark chocolate nibs and 'superfood' which was a mix of seeds, nuts and raisins! So so yummy!

Mountain Chefs course!

 In August my friend Ginny and I decided that it would be fun to go on a Mountain Chefs cookery course in the French Alps, where we learnt how to be Chalet girls! We stayed in a chalet for a week with 3 other people and were taught by a chef how to cook a weeks worth of meals for a family that you would cater for if you were a chalet host. 

Below Ginny and I are up in the mountains above our chalet on hay bales!

These are Goats cheese, leek and mushroom 'Pithiviers' which are puff pastry parcles. They were really easy to make and very tasty. We had them for lunch with a little rocket salad on the side! 

To make, you just cut out 2 puff pastry circles and place your filling inside, clamp the edges shut, egg wash them and then bake in the oven!

Our finished 'Pithivier' with rocket salad and balsamic drizzle.

Here I am up in the French Alps- such beautiful weather and scenery! 

We also learnt the more unpalatable side to cooking, where we had to fillet a chicken in to 2 breasts and 2 leg pieces! Here I am filleting my chicken!

With the chicken I filleted, we made Chicken breast with sweet potato puree on a bed of courgette ribbons and a chicken jus. This was one of my favourite meals that we made during the week! But soooo much butter went in to the puree, nearly a whole packet- eek!

We also made a lovely mushroom risotto for lunch with a rocket garnish on top

This was by far my favourite thing we made, it was a starter but delicious! It is a confit chicken ballotine, wrapped in Palma ham with apricot chutney! Yum! 

This was another starter we made, of smoked salmon roulade with avocado puree and a cumin crisp!

These brownies we made were de-licious! We also made the lemon thyme ice cream to go on top and the chocolate decorations!

On our last night of cooking we made some canapes from the left over food we made, these are them!

We also made Arancini balls, which is risotto rolled in breadcrumbs and deep fried- amazing!

Our last starter was a goats cheese tart with a balsamic vinegar glaze!

We had one free day before we went home from the French Alps, so Ginny and I indulged in a Raclette- Melted mountain cheese which you smear on to vegetables and french bread!

So all in all it was a pretty fattening week, but it was worth it and I had a lovely time with cooking with Ginny (here she is below tucking in to our raclette!)