boo hoo to cleaning

Why is it I have just spent 3 and a half hours cleaning and the place looks no different!!!!

At least it's a good workout, I must have lost about a stone simpy through sweating alone.

And why are all those ladies smiling, me thinks they have other things on their minds. (like the great big cake they will eat when all the work is done, reminds me it's lunchtime).

Or maybe they are smiling 'cos they got a lovely Cath Kidston syle apron like mine...

With an apron like this you have to smile when cleaning! Although I can't imagine my husband will be as impressed.

happy father's day

To all Dad's young and old - Happy Father's Day

Pancakes for Jacob's Dad today

Whisk together 110g/4oz of sifted flour and 2 eggs, add a pinch of salt and then 10fl oz of milk

Fry in a hot frying pan with a little butter, flip when edges start to brown

Add some lovely filling, strawberries and maple syrup went down very well!

And enjoy





glamping is for me

Glamping, I'm not ashamed to admit, is for me!

Before I went in April a friend said to me, 'it's not real camping is it'.  After our recent experience, the second one I've had of glamping, all I can say is - You camp your way and I'll glamp mine.

We had rainy days, glimpses of sunshine, marshmallows round the camp fire, chatting all night, baggy eyes in the morning, lazy days, more lazy days, visits to the farm animals, sleeping in more clothes than worn in a week, rounders on the fields, bacon sandwiches........ oh the list is endless.

This is the type of tent you are provided with when Glamping

(First 2 Photos borrowed from the Feather Down Farm website)

www.featherdown.co.uk

Wide open fields

Feeding the goats

Dinner by candlelight

Finding wildlife, and putting it back again (we know these are protected so we took real care)

Good old fashioned 'make up your own entertainment'

And beautiful sunsets

oh, forgot to mention - wood burning stove on the wooden decked flooring, 3 separate bedrooms with wooden based beds, leather sofa, rolled topped bath with shower and ...... a kitchen sink.

With friends, friends children and no need to rush Glamping is a treat and a half.

Recipe for French Apple cake

Hello,

here it is for any who have looked in but not found the recipe.

cake
450g cooking apples, cored and sliced
115g self-raising flour
5ml/1tsp baking powder
115g caster sugar
90ml milk
50g butter, melted
2 eggs
50g/1tsp fresh nutmeg, grated

topping
75g butter, softended or sunflower margarine
115g caster sugar
5ml/1tsp vanilla essence
icing sugar, to dust
1 egg

method
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees/325F/Gas 3
Grease and line 9in round cake tin

Put all the cake ingredients into a bowl or food processor and beat to a smooth batter

Slice the apples and lay in the tin covering the bottom completely

Pour the batter over the apples in the tin, level the top then bake for 40-45 mins until lightly golden

Near to the end of cooking cream the topping ingredients together, remove the cake when time is up and pour the topping over the top and return to oven for 20-25mins until golden brown

Cool the cake in the tin, then turn it out and dust lightly with icing sugar

This is a delicious cake and really lovely with icecream or single cream poured over.

Enjoy x

hub's pud - cherry clafoutis

A pud the hub tried out and we all ate far too much. The cherry stoner I got him for Christmas came in very handy!

This is a Gary Rhodes recipe, easy and quick to make (and hardly any mess in the kitchen to clean up afterwards).

The vanilla cream makes this extra lovely but I wouldn't have minded a big spoon of ice cream too.

Ingredients


For the clafoutis
2 free-range eggs
75g/2¾oz caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
40g/1½oz plain flour
100ml/3½fl oz double cream or crème fraîche
100ml/3½fl oz milk
butter, for greasing
225g/8oz cherries, stoned


For the cream
150ml/5fl oz double cream
25g/1oz icing or caster sugar
seeds from 1 vanilla pod

Method


1.For the clafoutis, preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Place the eggs and sugar in a large bowl and whisk together. Sift over the flour and whisk well then stir in cream or crème fraîche and milk. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.

2.Lightly butter a large baking dish and sprinkle with sugar to coat. Scatter the cherries in the dish and gently pour over the clafoutis batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the batter is just firm to the touch. If it is too soft in the centre, bake for a further five minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little before serving.

3.Whip together the cream, sugar and vanilla seeds to soft peaks and spoon over the clafoutis.

cooking bonanza

Jacob and I spent the day cooking up chutneys and chilli jelly.

Tomorrow is a little bit of last minute shopping and Friday is baking biscuits and mint creams to add to the food parcels.

christmas chutney

Well here it is, and it's quite lovely. I'm not sure whether to keep it in my own cupboards!

Blackberries from the allotment, straight from the freezer

All the ingredients except the blackberries go into a pan for a good old simmer

After a 30 minute simmer it was in with the blackberries for the most amazing red colour.

15 more minutes on a simmer and it was done.

How easy was that!

I LOVE FOOD