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Idiot proof Orange and Almond cupcakes

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Orange and Poppy Seed Cupcake

For anyone that can’t follow baking instructions (me) these cupcakes turned out to be idiot proof.

I had the following ingredients in my cupboard and thought I’d make some tasty little cakes.

Some of the Ingredients for Orange Poppy Seed Cupcakes

Ingredients:

125g Butter (softened)

2/3 cup soft brown sugar (or Caster Sugar)

1 large Orange (grate the rind and juiced)

2 eggs at room temperature

1 cup self-raising flour

3/4 cup ground almonds

Some of the ingredients for Orange & Poppy Seed Cupcakes1 tablespoon of Poppy Seeds (optional)

1 tablespoon of Popping Candy (optional)

Icing Sugar (for dusting)

I thought I would make some simple cupcakes for an afternoon / tea time treat.

My daughter arrived home from school early today and I was just assembling the ingredients when she asked if she could help with the baking.

The instructions for cupcakes are so simple, as we have made these so many times, I didn’t pay too much attention to actually reading it properly.

I somehow managed to put the Self raising flour and sugar together in the bowl while I was measuring out the ingredients.

What I should have done was creamed the butter and sugar together along with the eggs and the grated orange.Orange and Poppy Cupcakes (8)

However, when I’m baking with my kids, I am distracted by their questions and excitement at the steps involved in cake baking. This time the distraction took the form of what additional ingredients we should add in the mix to make it our own (Popping Candy) and my personal favorite ingredient for cakes, Poppy Seeds, which gives a cake a bit of a crunchy texture.

Also, using brown sugar was a better alternative than caster sugar, if you have this instead, as it’s not so processed and will give the final cupcakes a softer caramel flavour.  As the sugar was lumpy, I asked my daughter to separate the sugar and we added this into the flour.Eggs and Butter with Grated Orange

So, instead of creaming the butter and sugar together, we mixed the butter with the eggs along with the grated orange zest which produced a very runny looking batter.

By this point I realised my mistake, it would be impossible to separate the sugar from the flour and combine this into the batter mixture, so I got my trusty electric hand-whisk and mixed the batter into the sugary flour instead.

The resulting mixture formed the cake mixture that looked about right. Into this we added the orange juice (1/4 cup) and the almond flour, this was gently folded into the mix, along with the poppy seeds and popping candy.

Batter for Orange and Poppy Seed CupcakesOnce these ingredients were combined, we put them into the little cupcake cases into the cake tins. This recipe makes about 12-14 generous sized cupcakes.

I love cupcake cases as they’re so easy, no greasing the tins and no worries or hassle of whether the cake will come out of the baking tin at the end of baking, so we use the paper cases a lot.

Added to the fact that the individual cakes are easy for packed lunches, they really are a mini cake perfect to take anywhere.

Poppy Seeds and Popping Candy in Cake BatterWe put the tray of cupcakes into a pre-heated oven on 180 c, and let them bake for 15-18 minutes (checking at about 14 mins, to see if they were cooked as we have a fan oven, things tend to cook faster) Use a skewer or knife to put into the cupcake and if it comes out clean, they’re cooked.

Cake Mix in cupcake casesReally you are supposed to wait until the cupcakes have cooled before dusting with icing sugar.

By this time, my youngest had arrived from school too and both kids were now not content with just licking the remaining mixture from the mixing bowl as the smell of the orangey almond cakes had filled the kitchen and dining room.

They wanted to eat them straight away, so we dusted the cupcakes in the tins straight from the oven. (You are supposed to let them cool before dusting the icing sugar)

Orange and Poppy Cupcakes (1)Pretty much fool proof as they turned out pretty good in spite of the fact that we forgot to cream the sugar and butter and added a few optional extras of popping candy and poppy seeds.

I had just enough time to put a few on a small plate and take the pictures for this post before they disappeared.

Soothing Hot Lemon & Honey drink remedy for colds and flu

Posted in At home, Drink, Family, Health & Wellness, lifestyle, Uncategorized by

Hot Lemon & Honey drink remedy for cold

I came down with a cold not long after returning from our holiday. I have a feeling that it was probably caught whilst on holiday, but the symptoms only started to show once we got home.

By last Monday, my head felt as if it was caught in a vice and a sore throat was making me feel as if it was on fire.

My first thoughts was to turn to the usual remedy in our medicine cupboard, which is a hot mug of Lemsip. After two days however, I didn’t feel much better, in fact I was counting down the hours to my next fix of Lemsip.

It was at this point that I decided to stop using Lemsip and try something more natural as my stomach wasn’t feeling too great with all the chemicals and my head was feeling fuzzy as if it was wrapped in cotton wool.

Lemon and Honey as a hot drink was easy to make and since when you look at the ingredients on a pack of Lemsip, it contains for the most part lemon and paracetamol, plus a decongestants.

I decided that all natural ingredients would be better and hopefully it would also act as a detox and help cleanse my digestive system.

For blocked nose, instead of the chemical decongestants in the Lemsip, I have been inhaling steam from boiling hot water and adding a few drops of Olbas Oil (If you don’t have this, eucalyptus or any type of oil that has menthol/mint essential will have a similar effect) in a large bowl with a towel over my head.

Adding a few drops of lemon essential oil to the water as well, means that the steam is also acting as a facial, opening pores and giving my skin a deep clean.

As a parent, I’ve never been keen on using over the counter medicines on my kids. In fact my youngest doesn’t like Calpol (a liquid suspension of paracetamol in syrup) that I used to give them when they were very young. She too prefers the hot drink of Lemon and Honey when ever she feels a sore throat beginning to take hold.

For coughs, on my last visit to the GP with my daughter when she had a bad cough, he advised that a simple linctus of honey and lemon or glycerine would be just as effective as an over the counter medicine to help soothe a cough.

In fact in the UK, the National Health Service has information about simple treatments for colds and coughs, which advises against over the counter medicines for coughs as there isn’t enough evidence that they are effective.

 

Easy open chicken pie supper

Posted in At home, baking, Food, Uncategorized by
Chicken and shortcrust pastry bake

Open pie bake chicken slice

 

My hubby is such a creative cook.

This evening we were treated to this fab tasting open chicken pastry slice. He had originally bought all the ingredients to make a traditional chicken pie, but the warm weather meant it was going to be a bit too heavy for everyone to enjoy.

Instead, he laid out the pastry on a baking sheet and blind baked it for 5-6 minutes so that the base would not go soggy. (The pastry is one of those pre-made sheets you can get from any supermarket, so it’s really quick to make)

On top of the pastry, chicken fillet slices that had covered liberally with Pesto sauce was laid across the pastry sheet.

Easy chicken bake

Easy chicken bake

Over this,  were laid some lovely tender vegetables. As we had some spinach left over from last weeks organic veg box, we used these along with some colourful red and orange baby peppers and some baby tomatoes which were freshly bought from the supermarket that day.

They were drizzled with some olive oil, so that they would not burn in the oven and baked for 25 minutes on a temperature setting of 200 degrees c, we checked 5 mins before to see if it’s cooked.

Once baked, it was cut into 4 large slices and served with some French fries and French beans. (It can serve 6, but we were hungry)

And as usual there was no need to announce supper, the kids and our cats were hovering round the kitchen once the smell of the chicken baking in the pastry started to fill the house with its wonderful aroma.

Delicious!

 

 

 

 

Mango and Cherry Loaf

Posted in At home, baking, Food, Home, inspiration, lifestyle by
Mango and Cherry Loaf

Mango and Cherry Loaf

We usually make this lovely cake with over ripe bananas. However, as we had an over ripe Mango, which no one was too keen on, I thought it would be good to try using the banana and apricot recipe rather than throw it away.

Having rummaged around in our cupboard, I discovered we were out of dried apricots, but we did have some dried figs, prunes and a tub of glacé morello cherries.

Mango and Morello Cherry

Over ripe Mango and morello cherries found in our cupboard

Since cherries would give the loaf some colour, I decided it would do rather than go and get some dried apricots. I like the idea of using what’s in a cupboard and experimenting more than sticking rigidly to a recipe. This is by far the best way of discovering something new and tasty.

By the time I had assembled the ingredients, my eldest appeared in the kitchen and decided to help with the baking. I was smiling since a few days ago I’d written a post about Google search trends, the British Bake off and that I would have to get my kids to help me with some baking.

There was no need to ask, baking is, next to Minecraft something that my eldest enjoys.

Based on the recipe from the River Cottage Family Cookbook, this loaf is very simple to make, there are no whisks or electrical appliances involved, just a spoon and some elbow grease.

Cream the sugar and butter together (Prior to this I had accidentally put flour into the bowl and had to separate the flour from the butter as I had been distracted by my daughter peeling the skin from the over ripe Mango and mashing it up with a fork).

Add the 2 eggs and beat until mixed together.

Add chopped morello cherries.

Add the grated zest of 1 lemon (we used half a lemon zest and all the zest of a small lime)

Add the mashed mango (or over ripe mashed bananas as in the original recipe instead) and add to the mix.

Mashed Mango for baking

Mashed overipe Mango

Gently fold in the self-raising flour.

Pour into a loaf tin which has been lined with a large loaf tin case, I like this as it’s easier to clean the loaf tin afterwards. It also means I don’t need to butter the tin.

Bake in a pre-heated oven for 50-60 minutes on 160c/Gas Mark 3 (Check around 50 minutes, put a knife/skewer through the middle and if it comes out clean, then it’s ready)

The lovely scent of the baking and the mango and cherry filled the kitchen and our living room and this got the attention of both my hubby and youngest who wanted to know when it would be ready to eat.

Unfortunately, they needed a bit of patience as once it was removed from the oven, it needed to cool on a baking rack before it can be enjoyed.

As the loaf was baked just before tea-time on Saturday, it was perfect to serve as our dessert. We usually find that although the loaf will keep for a few days, it never usually lasts longer than a day because it gets eaten as snack.

I think this recipe made with Mango and Cherry makes a lovely alternative to the bananas and apricot version.

Softened butter with eggs and sugar

Soften Sugar and Butter and beat the eggs

For the reciepe:

Dried apricots (squidgy ones) or Morello Cherries 75g

Saltanas 75g (we didn’t have any so used more cherries)

1 Lemon

Unsalted butter, 100g soft but not melted

Caster Sugar 125g

2 large (free range) eggs

3 large ripe bananas (we used a large mango)

Self raising flour 200g

Loaf tin measuring about 13 x 23 x 7 cm

Do let me know if you’re looking forward to watching the Great British Bake-off.

Soften Sugar and Butter and beat the eggs
Over ripe cherry and morello cherries found in our cupboard
Mashed overipe Mango
Mango and Morello Cherry cake batter
Tin loaf cases
Cake batter in loaf tin
Mango and Morello Cherry in loaf tin
Slices of Mango and Morello Cherry loaf
Original recipe for Banana Loaf cake
The River Cottage Family Cookbook

Dinner awaits – Stir Fried Squid with Udon Noodles

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Stir fried Squid with Udon Noodles

Stir-fried Squid, Vegetables and Udon Noodles

This week, the kids have finished school and they are staying with their Nanny and Grandad.

We have to negotiate the holidays carefully, or else we don’t get to see them all summer as the kids like to spend as much time with their grandparents as possible.

I think it’s because they are a lot more laid back and spoil them, which I suppose is the right of any grandparent.

 

 

This week also allows us, that is my hubby and me, to re-connect and be a couple, pre-kids, a kind of whole week of date nights.

Except, that I haven’t done all that well in terms of making time for this. I’d forgotten about a work social event tonight which was one of those work functions where you are expected to attend.

Vegiables for Stir Fry

vegetables for the stir fry

We were meant to have a lovely quiet meal at home.

Patient as ever, when I texted my hubby earlier in the day to say I’d be a bit late home, he didn’t make any further comment.

When I called on my way home tonight, he laughed as I’d accidentally left my mobile on as I was asking for directions to the nearest tube station, I felt pretty guilty by now as it was getting late so made sure to say that I didn’t expect him to wait for me, but to eat before I arrived.

When I arrived home, he’d prepared all the veg and as if this wasn’t pretty cool, he’d gotten some fresh squid which he’d purchased earlier in the morning, my favourite seafood so that it could be stir-fried and ready as soon as I arrived home.

The photos really don’t do justice to this dish, it’s so simple but very tasty!

Fresh Squid

Fresh Squid

A stir fry medley of vegetables – any three veg combination of 3 colours, orange, green and yellow/red, with a little freshly chopped ginger and garlic, plus little fresh rings of squid. It’s not to everyone’s taste, squid that is – but it could be any little morsels of fish, chicken, red meat or tofu, all stir-fried with a dash of soy sauce and Oyster Sauce together with fresh Udon Noodles, Stir fried in just a few minutes in a wok.

A bowl of heaven awaited me on my return from work tonight.

 

Easy brunch – Prosciutto & eggs with Spinach in a cup

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Prosciutto egg cups

Prosciutto egg cups

I am always amazed at the creativity with which my husband cooks. Today, he said he was going to make some egg and bacon for lunch and asked me if I knew where the silicone muffin cases were stored. This piqued my interest and he explained that he was planning to cook the eggs in the muffin cases wrapped in bacon.

Since we also had some spinach from our Organic box from last week, which we should have used up. They were now a little limp, but still too good to throw away, the leaves were washed, trimmed and sautéed to wilt them a little with some garlic and onions in a pan with a little butter. This was done so that they could be used as a filling with the eggs.

Eggs wrapped in Proscuitto in a silicone muffin case

Eggs wrapped in prosciutto in a silicone muffin case

After lining the Muffin cases with some oil, 8 cases were lined with prosciutto, into 4 of these, whole eggs were simply cracked and dropped into the cases. In the other 4 cases, the sautéed spinach was added, into which 3 eggs were whisked and added into the little cases. Salt and pepper were added at the end for seasoning.

They were baked in a preheated oven at 180c – 200c (for a fan assisted oven 180c, 200 if not) for about 10-15 minutes.

I checked them at around 10 minutes and left them for a little longer, as my kids preferred their eggs well done.

They were served with a simple salad with a lemon and honey dressing, along with some french fries.

Spinach & eggs wrapped in Prosciutto

Spinach & eggs wrapped in Prosciutto

As my husband doesn’t really get on with dairy, these were perfect, You can of course vary the filling, we used spinach, but tomatoes and cheese would work too along with some slices of mushrooms. The eggs, bacon and spinach were a hit with everyone, I think it was because the eggs looked so sunny and enticing, wrapped in little parcels of thin cured Italian Prosciutto.  It was also a good way to use up the spinach. There was nothing left on the plates to clear up afterwards.

Do let me know if you have tried this recipe before and what other fillings can go into the little cases.

How to use Star Anise with Coca Cola and Gammon

Posted in At home, Food, Kitchen, Uncategorized by
Star Anise

Star Anise used to flavour Gammon

These wonderful starshaped hard seeds have been used by the Chinese for generations. It was always a go to spice that my parents would use to make any ordinary piece of meat, chicken or pork transform into something that we would find irresistibly tasty.

The smell of Star Anise is as the name suggests similar to aniseed or fennel and has been used by the Chinese for cooking. It is the major ingredient in Chinese five spice and it is also used for medicinal purposes.

A few years ago, we came across a recipe from one of Nigella’s cookbooks – I think it is from Feast, where she writes and provides recipes from all over the world and explains some of the cultural relevance of special events.

Whenever we cook with Star Anise, the smell of the cooking transforms the kitchen and instantly transports you to somewhere exotic, even with everyday ingredients. Just one Star Anise will do the trick used with any meat and even Tofu. When combined with Soy Sauce, Star Anise is going to instantly conjure up the smell of a Chinese feast.

Nigella’s recipe is one which steeps a piece of Gammon in a can of coca cola. The combination of sweet sugary cola along with the saltiness of the Gammon combine beautifully. Best of all it’s as simple as putting a piece of Gammon into a pot along with the cola, a stick of celery, an onion and carrot stick if you have these to hand and letting it all cook on a low gentle simmering heat for as long as possible. The longer you cook the Gammon, the more it takes on the sweetness of the Cola and all the other ingredients in the pot.

To be honest, we didn’t even look at the cook book to start cooking the Gammon. I think that’s a sign of a good recipe, one that you can remember and don’t have to worry about measuring out anything. The basic principals of the dish allow you to be creative and experiment.

Gammon with Coca Cola, Cinamon and Star Anise

Gammon with Coca Cola, Cinnamon and Star Anise

We added our twist by including one Star Anise and a stick of Cinnamon. The result, the most wonderfully fragrant meat, soft and tender. The cola, along with the star anise and cinnamon stick has combined to make a liquor that can be poured over the meat and any accompanying side dishes.

For an everyday Saturday afternoon meal with the kids, it was as easy as putting the Gammon on the stove to simmer away.

To accompany this dish, this week’s organic veg box included broad beans which arrived still encased in their pods and the potatoes looked as if they had been given to us with their mud still on to protect them.

It was only right to cook them as simply as possible to let as much of their natural flavour to come through.

My youngest helped shell the lovely broad beans and once the muddy new potatoes have been washed, they revealed tender skin beneath so we left them on, I think the skins make the potatoes fuller in their flavour, which simply means you just cook them until they are tender and add a little knob of butter just before serving.

I think when you have the quality of freshly picked vegetables, whether they are from your own garden or carefully sourced from an organic farm, they taste best when you do as little as possible to them.

Our Saturday tea which was originally just plain Gammon, with chips from the freezer and peas, turned into something else, we couldn’t resist using the vegetables from the organic box (we usually try and stretch to last two weeks). and used up most of the box this weekend.

What was going to be an ordinary meal ended up being a little more exotic – best of all, there were no left overs, which means it was a hit with the kids.

Sliced gammon that has been cooked with Star Anise, Cinamon and Cola
Broad Beans still in their pods
Cooked Broad beans with Carrots
Organic Muddy New Potatoes
Organic New Potatoes, gently cooked
Organic carrots trimmed

Father’s Day and a 5 star breakfast – Update

Posted in At home, Family, Food, Health & Wellness, Home, Wellbeing by
Breakfast tray with freshly brewed coffee, sesame seed bagel with bacon.

Breakfast tray with freshly brewed coffee, sesame seed bagel with bacon.

I managed to wake fairly early this morning, by the time I headed downstairs, my eldest was awake too, this was a good sign.

Reminding her to wish her dad a happy father’s day, she asked what I was doing up. I let her know that I was making dad breakfast.

Columbian Coffee, Marmalade and Rasberry Jam for breakfast

Coffee, Jam, Marmalade, ingredients for breakfast

She got out of bed pretty quick and came down to inspect what I was doing. By the time I had found the bacon in the fridge, she was in keen to join in and with the pan on the stove had taken over to fry the bacon.

We had Sesame bagels in the cupboard, along with sliced bread, so these went into the toaster.

By the time the coffee was brewed, my youngest had made an appearance, she took one look and disappeared upstairs.

Hand Made Father's Day Card

Hand Made Father’s Day Card

When she came down, we had just started to put breakfast on the table. She presented her dad with a card.

I hadn’t seen what she had written and assumed this was a card she had gone to buy with her nanny when she came to visit on Tuesday. Turns out she’d made it.

It produced a burst of laughter from my husband. I looked at the card and as he’d only just had his birthday, the humour and timing was perfect.

Although I’d had an idea to treat my husband to a breakfast, the kind you get in a swanky hotel, when you order room service, wearing their fluffy bathrobe and slippers.  We used to enjoy these as a treat on weekend breaks, when we were just a couple without kids, when breakfast would arrive cooked to perfection. It didn’t turn out quite the way it was planned.

As my cooking skills are basic and it mostly involved keeping my eldest from burning herself on the hot stove, it ended up a simple home made breakfast, with a few good ingredients. I think this breakfast turned out better.

Father’s Day and a 5 star breakfast

Posted in At home, Food, Uncategorized, Wellbeing by
Columbian coffee, marmalade and Rasberry jam for breakfast

Coffee, jam, Marmalade ingredients for breakfast

 

This is a quick post today, as we’ve been visiting our parents to watch my father in law perform in a choir concert.

For Father’s Day, I had the idea of getting a few things my husband enjoys and pulling off a great breakfast, with the kids helping me. I picked up a few ingredients on the way home from work on Friday:

Coffee – artisan bag of Columbian coffee, hand made.  I love the smell that hits you when you open a fresh bag of ground coffee.

Rasberry jam

Marmalade

In the cupboard, I should have the following. (Unless the kids have eaten their way through some of it)

Sliced Bread for Toast

Croissants

Bacon  & eggs, of course

Pics of how we got on later. Could be good, could be a disaster –  I’m not a morning person at the weekends, the kids know not to wake me up too early. They went to bed very late this evening so I’m not sure if they will be up without being grumpy.

Come back later to see if we made it together.

 

Organic Veg Box update

Posted in Food, Health & Wellness, Home by
Bunched carrots

Bunched carrots

These lovely carrots were in Friday’s Organic veg box.

As they arrive complete with their stems, they are a reminder that they were freshly pulled from the ground.

They can be a little soft, because they are so fresh and have not been stored for long like winter carrots, so we like to soak them in very cold water so they become crisp and crunchy. It makes them easier to slice too.

We only needed five of these to add to the garden peas which we had already in the fridge.

As the weather had become cloudy, we decided against a barbeque outdoor.

Since most of the food had been bought for a planned barbeque, we had light summer veg, such as garden peas and asparagus, so we used these as part of Sunday’s roast .

The Pork Belly which would have been for the barbeque, was scored and then salted (to take the moisture out) to make the outer layer of fat crisp up in the oven.

It takes a good 2-3 hours for the Pork Belly to cook slowly on a low heat, (about 160 degrees) so that the fat within the meat can release it’s deliciousness.

In the past, we’ve usually roasted pork above a bed of root veg, so that as the juices run, they combine with the veg to make the gravy. A side effect of this is that the roasting pan at the end of the meal is easier to clean.

Roast belly of pork

Roast belly of pork

Belly of pork is thinner and this meant that resting it on veg might make the whole thing soft. Instead, we filled the bottom of the pan with water and put the pork above on a rack, so that the meat could roast with a bath of steaming water to keep the meat tender.

It worked out quite well as the skin became crispy and the meat was soft and buttery.

To compliment the pork, a sauce was made, with fresh apricots, that had been peeled and the stone removed, they were cooked with some sugar and honey and then strained to take away any pulp to make a smooth sauce. (We didn’t have any cooking apples to hand)

Along with this, was some Venus black rice that was a gift. We had never tried this variety of rice, and when cooked the rice turned a deep purple and had a nutty aroma.

Even though the weather was overcast today, we still enjoyed the time to just cook and enjoy lunch together.

The smell of the cooking and food usually brings the cats in from the garden, and today was no different. They sit on the kitchen window sill inspecting the meat, waiting for one of us to relent and feed them.

Shelling the garden peas with dad
Freshly shelled garden peas and carrots
English asparagus cooked till tender
Slices of roast belly of pork
Black Venus Rice
Freshly made apricot sauce