Tomato and Basil Bruschetta

Tomato and basil are, in my opinion, a jaw dropping combination, used in many sauces and salads. It is made even better when you add mozzarella to it; then adding some leaves like rocket to make the salad ‘Caprese’. So many have assumed that the combination originates from the isle of Capri, just off the coast of Naples. Tomato and basil are a very famous duo, much like other timeless classics such as lemon and thyme, pork and apple or even chocolate and vanilla.

My Bruschetta (Pronounced Brusketta)

So this is Bruschetta; that wonderful array of herb and fruity flavours on a rustic loaf. It just screams the words ‘Italian’ and ‘Mediterranean’. Yet, I didn’t make mine in the way you usually would. This is a quick fix for a snack or meal – as I speak I’m munching on a piece – but could additionally be upgraded into a wonderful plate of appetizers, by adding further ingredients and preparing the dish with a different method. Therefore, if you want to make it using the more traditional style of using the skins of much larger tomatoes, click here for a particularly good recipe for it.

50 shades of blue… (Cupcakes)

Looking at the title and image, you may be wondering two things. Firstly, what do cupcakes have to do with the best-selling but quite inappropriate novel by E. L. James? And secondly, what is a cupcake doing in a teacup? 

A real teacake!

I’m going to answer both. Today, whilst shopping, I found a packet of Dr Oetker’s food colouring gels and thought they would be a better answer to my cry for colour than the old fashioned sour tasting liquids. The packet said that it would take 12 or so drops to make the perfect dark blue I wanted. It lied. After going through at least fifty shades of blue and using all the azure gel; I was left with this mockery of navy. I soon cheered up, as to my delight, I found a lovely treasure of my Grandmother’s and decided it would serve as a nice holder for all of my cakes. 

Lancashire Cheese and Ham Tart

This is my return from my evil lair – where I spent months watching films, feeling uninspired, revising for exams and even baking cupcakes. I hope to commit a lot more to the site over the next few months and stay more on top of things. 

Loyal to my county!

First things first, I was born in Grimsby. Which I think (hope) is in Lancashire. My geographical skill level is incredibly low. So I am entitled to a rant on how amazing this town and its cheese is. I’ve also visited Holland at least once every year. The amount of cheese they consume is equal the amount of tea we drink. I know. Shocking. So you can tell I like cheese. And with my birth town producing such excellent produce, I knew I had to try and bake with it.

Pear Surprise

Surprise! It’s pear surprise! Actually, it’s just pear halves with cream and chocolate sauce and nuts and ice cream. Surprise! Wrong. The real surprise is that a dessert, even easier to make than jelly and ice cream can taste so yummy. When people say the simple things in life are the ones that count, they really do mean it.

Closer look

Ice cream tastes good with fruit. Stat. Fruit tastes good with cream. Stat. Chocolate tastes good with nuts. Stat. I think you get the idea. This pudding could’ve and was probably made up by a child. So you need to keep with the theme and just shove it all into a tall sundae glass, and chuck some sauce on, letting it ooze and drip down the side. I bet you’re salivating now. I know I am.

Hummingbird Caramel Cupcakes

Half term is for happiness. Happiness is for Hummingbird. Hummingbird is for cupcakes..? Well, I couldn’t think of anything else that began with ‘H’. 

Trademark swirl

Caramel in cupcakes? I must say, I’ve never heard it done before, and I’ve certainly never used it in my cooking. Just opening the tin was a whole new experience. Looking at the golden goo, just waiting to ooze out and fall into dollops into my bowl, I couldn’t believe that this would let my cupcakes turn out any way, other than too soggy.

Winter Warmer

Frosty the snowman… Winter wonderland… White Christmas… They all have one thing in common, other than Christmas. Snow! Yes, Snow! The white stuff which we all love though you end up getting delayed by hours to get to work or hit in the back of the head by a stupid kid! Yay! Snow! 

Snow is falling...

So. Everyone’s got to have a good drink that you can sip in front of the fire, to help you get through the cold period. You probably have a hot choccie, like many of us tend to do. Not anymore. You now have Phoebe’s-super-awesome-kickass-choccie-cinammon-bubbly-aero thing. Ok, I’ll be honest, I just posted this to show off my garden snow photography and the fact I bought some new Aero cocoa mix, which, might I add, is amazing. Speaking of good chocolates, I might recommend switching the milk for white chocolate. It sounds strange but actually is amazing. Whether you like it or not, we can all agree that’s it’s better than the over-priced, tasteless coffee in a size only big enough for giants to manage, from Starbucks. Which, sadly, I end up sitting in every Friday.

Triple Chocolate Cake

Triple Chocolate Cake… Perfect for a celebration… Or just any time you’re feeling hungry! 

Tripled!

So. You may be wondering why a ‘Triple Chocolate Cake’ has 2 layers – not 3. This is because the amount of chocolate icing you spread on instantly triples the chocolatiness; it’s so thick! As you can see, I lathered the whole cake in this oozing muddy mess (as you should!) so after a hard decision of to-make-or-not-to-make? I went for Betty Crocker’s Rich and Creamy Chocolate Frosting as it was so much cheaper and easier for a large cake. In the end, I gave this cake to my Aunt for HER birthday (Jeez, so many b-days in February!) and she loved it, so I’m hoping you will too!

My Bir-day Surprise!

It’s my birthday! Woohoo! So here is the second post of the day, and with it, the cake I will be enjoying with my family later on today. By the way, the word ‘Bir-day’ originates from the year of ’02, when I learned about birthdays, yet could not bring myself to pronounce it correctly. Take a peek and recreate this cake – it’s one iPod iEat!!

iCake

“Grandma,” I said, frowning, “You are NOT making my birthday cake.” (Please, dear reader, don’t get the impression she is bad at this, she is good enough to run her own shop for cake-making.) “I want to make my cake, all by myself, and I want to make an amazing one as I will be a teenager.” She immediately began to protest and in a spur of a moment attempt to stop her, I told her I would make an iPod cake. She surrendered, and I slouched back into my comfy chair to watch TV. Suddenly, it hit me. I couldn’t make the simple chocolate cake I had planned – I had to make an iPod cake!

A (Late) Valentine’s Day treat!

For all you love birds out there (Uh-oh, beginning to sound like one of those dodgy DJs) I’ve got a special Valentine’s surprise for you, which is late! Yay! As you can see I have a tendency to post themed posts AFTER the event.

Mon Gateau (Check out my French skillz)

Look how good I am at cake-making! See that beautiful and elegant decorative heart on the top with white icing piped perfectly on top, see the gorgeous ribbon I tied round it to get it a professional finish… Ok, I’ll give it to you. I didn’t make it.

Watercress soup

Sorry, I’ve been ‘dead to the world’ for a while. But now I’ve received Bi*Rite Market’s Eat Good Food from my very generous friend Sarah – sarahowens.wordpress.com , I have so many more recipes to share with you! But let’s go back to basics with ‘The Aga Book’ by Mary Berry.

All chopped

Watercress, known among other leaf vegetables for its tangy and peppery taste is delicious in soup. Generally, these are based on potatoes; but this one is mainly on onion, so much lighter. Remember, with all vegetables it is best to get them fresh and organic from a farmers’ market, but until I next get access to one, it’s the supermarket for now. It is one of the healthiest things I have cooked since starting this website and is the sort of thing you’ll see on the Weight Watchers site. However, I think it would be nicer with a little meat in, and next time I make this, I’ll go all Chinese on you, and use a recipe involving pork.