Gingerbread Men

Apparently gingerbread men are a traditional Luxembourgian dish as well so Mollie baked a batch on Tuesday. She plans to take some in for her teacher so we'll see if a bit of bribrey works! You'll find the recipe here.

Divinity from Above

Tennis winter league started today, we got off to a good start with all our team winning their matches. As we were hosting the match we provide the tea after. I am getting a bit of a reputation with my baking so I decided to wow everyone with this.

And wow them I did. I have to confess that it is very easy and as for the icing...divine!

Angelic Chocolate Cake

(recipe taken from You magazine)

Angel Sponge

8 medium egg whites

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cream of tartar

250g icing sugar, sifted

110g plain flour, sifted

30g cocoa powder, sifted

Icing

100g milk chocolate, broken up

15g unsalted butter

30g cocoa powder, sifted

50ml water

1 tbsp golden syrup

Preheat oven 170C/150C fan oven, grease 20cm angel food tin (or 20cm deep loose-bottom cake tin).

Whisk the egg whites, salt and tartar until stiff peaks are formed.

Whisk in the sugar.

Fold in the flour and cocoa.

Pour into tin and bake for 35-40 minutes. Leave to cool in tin.

Gently melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.

In another pan heat the cocoa, water and golden syrup, whisking until smooth.

Combine the two to make a thick icing.

Gently ease the cake out of the tin and slap on the icing. Leave to set.

Make lattices by melting some dark chocolate and leave to set. Stick the lattices into the cake as the icing sets.

Enjoy.

After pigging out on the tea at the tennis club I returned home to the beautiful aroma of a lasagne cooking. Since Joules has finished his degree he has loads of spare time and has started making dinner every Sunday. He researches his recipes and makes them all from scratch, no bolognese sauce out of a jar for him. Today he spent two and a half hours in the kitchen and much as I hate to admit it, he made an extremely good lasagne...ok, ok I admit that it was better than mine and, most importantly, he washed up all the pots and pans whilst I sat back with my glass of wine and booked...

The Return of...

After not one but two disastrous attempts I am please to announce that my flapjack baking mojo is back...




....Long may it stay!

What to call a post when you've got brain freeze?

Yesterday was not a good day. Well it probably was for Dillon because there was no mention of phone bills. First I had a disaster in the kitchen. As you know I introduced the USA to flapjacks...well some of you anyway. I was so good at making them I could do it standing on my head, blindfolded with my hands tied behind my back, (you want to come and see me try)? Then I lost my baking mojo. I blame it on the lack of sunlight last summer but for the last few months I've been very uninspired in the kitchen and if my family got a decent meal they were lucky. Somewhere along the line I've refound my baking mojo and have even been trying out new dishes when I remembered that I owed the wonderful Laurie some flapjacks. So I baked a batch yesterday, they looked perfect when I took them out of the oven and I was dying for them to cool so I could sample one. Then I forgot to remove them from the parchment in time and they stuck...solid...they were not budging an inch without bringing all the paper with them. On the bright side it was better than sticking to the pan, as the only place for them was the bin. Guess what I'm making today?

Also Mollie decided to have her third preteen temper tantrum in ten days. I was not the easiest of teens, in fact I'd go as far as saying I was very difficult, argumentative, stroppy and sulky. When Mollie was little she had some pretty bad tantrums but we found a way of dealing with them, she got over them and turned into a nice, pleasant, helpful girl (most of the time). I think mum will probably be smiling and thinking what goes around comes around, as for me? I'm hoping for a longer break before the next one and I'm hoping they don't go on for too many years.

Now after a bad day like that I need a laugh and who better to provide me with one than John:

THREE LITTLE DUCKS!

Three little ducks go into a Bar......

"Say, what's your name?" the bartender asked the first duck.
"Huey," was the reply.
"How's your day been, Huey?"
"Great. Lovely day.. Had a ball. Been in and out of puddles all day. What else could a duck want?" said Huey.
"Oh. That's nice," said the bartender. He turned to the second duck, "Hi, and what's your name?"
"Dewey," came the answer from duck number two.
"So how's your day been, Dewey! ?" he asked.
"Great. Lovely day. I've had a ball too. Been in and out of puddles all day myself. What else could a duck want?"
The bartender turned to the third duck and said, "So, you must be Louie?"


"No," she said, batting her eyelashes.
"My name is Puddles."

Decadence.

A while back Terri posted a recipe that immediately caught my eye, it was for toblerone cheesecake. I admit this caught my eye because I don't like toblerone and my family does and as I'll be in France with all my husbands family in less than four weeks I was delighted to be able to make my family something new and delicious safe in the knowledge that I wouldn't be tempted and I might yet look half decent in a bikini. Of course as I licked the bowl, expecting to not like the taste, so began a new love affair. It was delicious. This is the easiest, tastiest recipe ever made and I don't think it will be too long before I make it again. Next time I make it I will double the ingredients for the base as it was very thin compared to the thick toblerone cheese topping.

The Recipe

Base:
1 cup plain chocolate biscuit crumbs
80g melted butter
1/4 cup ground almonds

Filling:
2x 250g block Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup caster sugar
200g Toblerone Milk or Dark chocolate, melted
1/2 cup thickened cream (I used a pot of cream)

Method:
1. Combine biscuit crumbs, butter and almonds, press into the base of a lightly greased spring form pan. Chill.
2. Beat Philly for two minutes or until smooth. Add sugar, melted Toblerone chocolate and cream, continue beating until well combined.
3. Pour onto the prepared crumb base and refrigerate for 2-3 hours until set, or overnight. Serve topped with Toberlone shavings.
Serves 10

Wendy is currently hosting a meme in which you download a picture and play around with it. So I have turned this:

into this:

Finally may I recommend that you ask your husband to please remove his beer glass from the floor when he goes to bed then you won't get woken up at 8:30am by your six year old saying 'somebody left a glass on the floor and by accident I knocked it over and it's smashed'

The Next Jamie Oliver?

Yesterday Ben was feeling a bit bored as Dillon and Mollie are away camping with the scouts and his friend from down the road was out so I suggested that he help me with some baking. 'Is it for us ' he asked, 'no' I replied explaining that it was for a charity cake sale for some children who lived in an orphanage. Alas this didn't tug any heartstrings and he said he would only bake if it was fairy cakes for him. How could I refuse his big brown eyes, so he washed his hands and dragged the stool into the kitchen announcing that he was going to make them all by himself. He measured out the marge (with a little help from me) and sugar and asked to beat them with a spoon because he didn't 'like the noise of that loud thing' (electric beater). Next his favourite job, cracking the eggs, then folding in the flour. He even spooned all the mixture into the cases making very little mess (something Mollie has only done in the last year). After the cakes were cooked and cooled he had great fun making the icing, using a drop of every colour we have, and decorating them. Then it was time to eat.

Breaking the law...

The day had finally arrived.

I donned my long, black coat...

...my dark glasses...

...and my hat...

and stealthily crept into the den. Keeping my head down and glancing about furtively I quietly muttered my requirements. A quick nod and wink later I handed over my cash and was discreetly passed a brown paper bag.

Yeah, my first purchase of that substance that can't be legally sold here. Be warned, my mouth is sealed , I shall never divulge my sources no matter how much you beg or bribe me. I've found my dealer and I'm sticking with her.

As you can see my substance was put to good use.

And now a quiz for you:

What happened to the other half of my car key? Where was I when it happened? How did I get home? (If I wasn't home already)! All answers funny, sad or just plain stupid will be gratefully received and the winner will be awarded with a package of freshly baked flapjacks (as long as your friendly customs and excise personnel don't scoff them on the way over)!

Busy Baking

Yesterday morning was spent baking for another cake sale at the church.

This chocolate cake is an old recipe passed onto me and is really easy as you just bung all the ingredients into the bowl and mix for two minutes. It has treacle in it and tastes divine.

The lemon drizzle cake is Ben's favourite, I'm wondering if he'll ask me to buy it back!

You all know of my recent success with flapjacks, I can't make enough of them, (half of them were eaten before I got around to packaging them)

The theme for my fairy cakes was Spring.

Greek mountains and mopeds

As promised the long awaited story of myself, a Greek Island, a moped and a mountain.

First we have to travel back in time to the summer of 1989, I had finished school the previous year and had delayed going to university for a year. For a few months I worked in a toy factory making Webster the spider then I moved to a bank to join their student training scheme (I guess I forgot to tell them that I was only planning to work there for six months). It was fun, earning money was great but I was looking forward to my summer spent travelling in Europe.

I went travelling with my then boyfriend who'd I'd been with for nearly a year. He was a poor student hence we travelled only for a few months with all our clothes, tent, sleeping bags etc strapped to our backs. After an exhausting month in France and Italy we ended up in Greece ready for a rest. Sam had raved about an island she had visited which was quiet so off we went in search of peace. A four hour bus journey (very fast, windy roads and sheer cliffs) and ferry crossing later we landed on the island of Skyros.

Back in 1989 there were only two tarmac roads, a small fishing port and a village. To reach the campsite (which cost £4 a night) we had to climb down some very steep steps (think Clovelly). The campsite was basically a field with a few trees to create some shade and a shower/toilet block. We pitched our tent under one of the trees and were pleased to see that it was relatively quiet. The shower block was unworthy of that name as the showers only worked once during our month there, the rest of the time we had to hose ourselves down with cold water from the hose situated in the middle of the field. As for the toilets, well they were OK, what was not pleasant was the fact that you are not allowed to put anything down the toilet except what your body released. Therefore all toilet paper and sanitary products were placed in a bucket with no lid. Imagine then that the temperatures were well over 100 degrees and our diet consisted of beer and ouzo with no fruit or vegetables. The smell was enough to make you retch when nature called!

We had a lovely time, lazy days spent on the beach and evenings sampling the Greek Tavernas, we even got invited to a Greek wedding which was great fun. We met another couple from Scotland and decided to explore the island by hiring mopeds for a few days. The first day the menfolk took charge and we rode pillion, we discovered that there were NATO air bases dug into the mountains, there was very little to see but lots of barbed wire and exclusion signs. The next day was the girls turn to drive the mopeds. Although nervous I got the hang of it and loved driving around the island with the wind blowing in my hair (sorry Mum, no helmets). We found a deserted beach with a small tavern where we sipped beer (just the one) and ate roasted aubergine (eggplant).

Day three with the mopeds, was the last so we agreed to share the driving of the moped. My then boyfriend started the day driving and we explored a dirt track up a mountain. When we reached the top we were disappointed to find a huge gate and more barbed wire. We turned to drive down the mountain and switched drivers. I started off slowly, turning the throttle when the moped slipped off the dirt track onto some rocks. In my panic I slammed on the brakes, only in my panic I reacted as if riding a push bike and instead of putting on the brakes I accelerated with the moped heading towards the edge of the mountain...

...Luckily I removed my hands from the throttle, the moped skidded and came to a halt at the edge. I had completely cut my knee open and my boyfriend had burnt his leg on the exhaust. Looking back I was in major shock. The Scottish couple had a toilet roll with them (we knew what Greek toilets were like), so I could mop up the blood gushing from my knee and we doused the burnt leg with water. As we were on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere we had to get back on the mopeds (I refused to drive) and head back to civilisation. As we drove (very slowly) through a hamlet an old lady stopped us and poured yellow stuff over my knee unfortunately we spoke no Greek and she no English so I don't know what it was but her kindness has stuck with me.

Back in our field we debated whether my gaping wound require medical attention. Lack of money helped in our decision that I'd be fine with lots of bathing in the sea. To this day I have a very ugly scar on my knee and the knowledge that I was a very lucky girl.

I have no scanner so can't post pictures of me from this time so instead I share with you a picture of the three loaves of bread I made last week. I was going to dinner at my friends house, there were 14 girls from the tennis club meeting and I volunteered to provide the bread. The bread is the famous no knead bread that was taking the Internet by storm before Christmas. During the dinner I was paid the highest compliment, someone asked if the bread was homemade, someone else replied that no it was far too good for that. I (puffing my chest out proudly) informed them that yes it was homemade. I'm still getting compliments about it.

Flapjacks: The Recipe.

I was suprised after reading the comments to my post yesterday that flapjacks are not commonly known throughout the world as I know them. After some research I am unable to ascetain where they originate as a Scottish site claims they are not Scottish but they seem to be particular to the UK and Ireland. Indeed after reading wikepia anything can be called a flapjack:

'The word elements: flap- meaning a tossed mixture and jack, an uncertain word suggesting a variety, imply any ingredients could be called a flapjack'.

In Australia flapjacks are known as muesli bars, this makes sense to me because when I made Breakfast Muesli Bars I felt the bottom layer was similar to a flapjack.

So after all the interest and because I've already prepared two tasty recipes for Fum Monday here is the recipe I used to make flapjacks.

Flapjacks

275g Butter

275g Brown Sugar

7 Level tbsp golden syrup

450g Oats

Set the oven to 150 oC (325 oF)

Prepare a 14 ½” by 10 ½“ baking tray by lining it with baking parchment. Alternatively you can grease the tray well but any disaster may result in throwing away said tray!

Melt the butter, sugar and syrup over a gentle heat until melted.

Stir in the oats.

Press into the baking tray.

The trick is in the cooking and knowing your oven. I turned my oven down quite low and baked the flapjacks for 20 minutes even though the recipe states 30 minutes.

The flapjacks should just begin to change colour but will still be moist when they are ready to be taken out of the oven. Do not be tempted to leave them in any longer as they harden considerably as they cool down.

Leave them to cool in the tin for four minutes then cut them into squares.

Leave them in the tin for another 20 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

Success at Last!

After years of trying and countless disasters I have finally succeeded in...

making flapjacks.

Dillon, Mollie and Joules love flapjacks and I have tried out various recipes over the years with varying results. I have produced rock hard break your teeth flapjacks (thinking of you swampy), trays full of crumbly crumbs flapjacks and much mess in between but nothing that resembled a proper flapjack.

Last week I was semi successful except I used to much Golden Syrup and overcooked them. The middle ones tasted good, gooey and toffeeish but not like flapjacks. The outside ones were rock hard and stuck to the tin. I was too embarrassed to take a picture of the baking tray before I threw it in the bin. Yep you heard me right, the mixture was stuck solid and the tray was beyond rescue.

Today I bought a new tray and decided to have one last attempt. The recipe was given to me by my friend Sally and it was a recipe her Mum frequently used.

As you see I have finally produced a pretty perfect flapjack (or four).

Dillon is so going to love me when he gets home.

Soup for Brains.

Spent the morning baking for a cake sale at church tomorrow. I was asked to make about 20 muffins but somehow got my numbers mixed up and baked 67. Why I confused the number 50 with 20 I'm not sure then I made a few extra for my family as they complain if I make things for the tennis club/school/church and not for them. Anyway it looks like we'll be dining on muffins for the next week.

Mollie was in a Girls Brigade competition today. Her team came second in a dance. They should have won first prize purely because they were the only team who actually smiled their way through the dance and gave it some giz, you know they really moved their bodies and danced, danced, danced! Who knows what the judge was looking for. You may think I'm bias but I'm not, she has entered many of these competitions and her teams have never been close to winning, there have always been much better teams but today was different they were excellent. An ex Girls Brigade leader explained that these results can be political, who your leader knows/what your leader said etc which is a shame because it should be based on the work of the team. On a brighter note Mollie came second (out of about 50 girls) in an individual Drill Down competition. The girl who won was about 15 and Mollie was thrilled to come second.

Ben's latest love

Ben has developed a real passion for cats. There is a cat who hangs around his school field and Ben loves to play with him. Then there is the very friendly cat who hangs out at the tennis club, Ben would love to bring him home and doesn't believe me when I say that he already belongs to someone else. Then there is white bears choice of birthday cake, definitely influenced by Ben. Ben was having a friend over to play today and I said I'd bake a cake decorated with lots of coloured balls, (the only downside to white bears cake was that it only had two coloured balls on it). Ben asked me to make another kitty cake but with lots of coloured balls on it, he was very pleased with the result.

Roll on Summer!

'We're all going on a summer holiday
No more worries for a week or two
Sun and laughter on our summer holiday
For me and you oooh ooh
For a week or two'....(or three)

To quote Sir Cliff we are going on a summer holiday and it's been booked, yippee. My parents-in-law have booked three houses in France and want their three sons, one daughter, three daughters-in-law and seven grandchildren to join them for three weeks in June. Actually the three son's won't make the three weeks as they all work for their father and have to cover minding the business but they'll each get two weeks.

Much as I am very excited about a three week break in the sun, with tennis court and swimming pool I have a dilemma. I plan to spend my time looking hot (and feeling hot no doubt) in a sexy bikini swanning around the poolside. The problems with this are as follows:

1. I do not have a sexy bikini.
2. I do not look hot (and would not even if I did have a sexy bikini).
3. I do not know how to swan around (though I'm sure I could learn).
4. My mother-in-law is half the size of me.
5. My sisters-in-law are gorgeous and skinny.
6. I am not.

So last week I decided to tackle my problems and started my healthy eating campaign. I cannot diet because to me that means depriving yourself of food and I love food but I can cut down on the biscuit, sweet, sugar intake and eat more fruit. So far so good, in a week the only bad food to pass my lips have been one packet of crisps, a slice of cake and a scone. Hell, I may not go on the holiday looking sexy or thin but I'll look better than I do now, (and I think I'll buy a decent one piece swimming costume)!

With my healthy eating campaign underway I was delighted to read Barbara's blog last week. I had contemplated linking to Barbara on Fun Monday because out of all the food blogs I read I consistently make her recipes, from jam to apple cake to baked omelette's. I consider them straightforward recipes to make with ingredients I can easily purchase. The only reason I didn't link to Barbara on Fun Monday was because I knew there would be lots of reading and decided to link to one post only plus I already had the idea of writing this post.

So back to Barbara's post (I fear I am rambling a bit today) as soon as I spied the title 'blueberry breakfast bars' I was hooked, within seconds I was drooling over the photograph and knew that I would be making this no matter what the ingredients were. I hopped over to Farmgirl to get the recipe and all I needed to purchase was the blueberries. As this is not the season for blueberries they are very expensive but I had to make this recipe so purchased two cartons. When I started to measure my ingredients I was well short of the three and a half cups needed. After a quick search in my freezer I found some blackberries so added those to the blueberries, having made the recipe I think you could substitute the blueberries for a variety of fruit.


These are so yummy, OK I kid myself they are healthy but I am limiting myself to one a day. Dillon, when he tried them elevated me from 'a wonderful mum' to a 'wonderful, wonderful mum' but then asked whether I felt guilty for depriving him of these for the last 13 years! Some compliment I think.

What shall I bake?

I love using my silicone bread tin, no greasing or flouring and it can go in the dishwasher. So I had to buy these in Dunnes when I spotted them because I love the colour (and because they're practical)!

Fancy a Beer?

Today is Joules' birthday and luckily for the children he didn't have to rush off to work straight from the shower as he usually does and had time to open his presents and enjoy his homemade cards. Ben was especially pleased as he was dying to play Ace Combat the PSP game we had bought Joules.

After a delightful two hours in the playground where I sat in the sun reading my book while Ben, Mollie and their friend Shauna ran around getting lots of fresh air and exercise it was time to come home and make the cake. When I first asked the children what kind of cake they thought their Dad would like they suggested a motorbike cake. Now I know I like baking and love getting creative with birthday cakes even I know my limitations and said a decisive NO. Next suggestion was a can of beer and this I thought I could do.

I made a swiss roll (my kitchen aid was very useful whipping the sponge mix while I pottered around the kitchen)! Next I rolled out some fondant icing and painted it with food colouring and used an icing pen for the words. I melted some apricot jam to 'glue' the icing onto the cake and made a lid with some of the leftover icing. Unfortunately the photographs don't do it justice but I was very pleased with the end result.



P.S. Joules would not like you to get the wrong idea and assume he is an alcoholic!

A girl guide is always prepared!

At least I thought so but maybe not today. I invited my friend Sally and her three children to lunch, along with a friend each of Dillon and Mollie's so I ended up feeding nine. I just about had enough chairs and crockery to feed nine which was a start. I made a big pot of potato and bacon soup. At least I thought it was a big pot until I began serving and realised that the four teenage boys were all adult size. Lucikly for me there was enough with not a drop to spare and plently of cocktail sausages and homemade bread to feast apon. The surprise hit was the carrot I had cut up to dip into homous, the homous was not so popular but I found myself cutting up more and more carrot as the girls nibbled faster than I could cut. To finish off lunch I had made chocolate muffins and Sally had made some rice krispie squares.

After lunch the boys went for a walk along Killiney beach, the girls played on the trampoline and Sally and I sat down for a good natter as we hadn't seen each other since before Christmas and had a lot to catch up on.

The Scent of Christmas

One of my favourite foods at Christmas time is mince pies. I have loved them since I was a child and always felt fortunate that my sister, Sam hated them with a real passion because it meant all the more for me. Every year I make mince pies but have to admit that I'd cheat with ready made pastry and mincemeat from a jar. Since Sam's wonderful birthday present I no longer buy pastry as my Kitchen Aid makes it beautifully. I felt this pastry deserved homemade mincemeat so I got out my trusted Good Housekeeping Cookery Encyclopedia and made mincemeat. I added rum to the ingredients as the recipe had no alcohol and I omitted the almonds. I made nine jars and was longing to taste the mincemeat but you have to leave it to mature for two weeks.

At last on Saturday the two weeks was up. I was a bit disappointed with the first batch, OK I admit it, I made them on Friday and felt the flavour was rather bland. Sundays batch was much better and todays mincemeat smelt delicious as soon as I removed the lid and tasted even better. Next year I know to leave the mincemeat to mature longer, ie make it in early November. Somehow I suspect I'll be making another batch a lot sooner as Dillon seems to have inherited my mince pie obsession.

It's probably a bit late for this year but here's the recipe if you're interested.

1 lb currants
1 lb sultanas
1 lb raisins
1 lb chopped mixed peel
1 lb cooking apples, peeled and finely chopped
1 lb dark, soft, brown sugar
8 oz shredded vegetable suet
1 teasp ground nutmeg
1 teasp ground cinnamon
Grated rind and juice of 2 lemons

I added generous splashes rum (at least 6 tablespoons)

Mix all ingredients well in large bowl.
Cover and leave to stand for 2 days.
Stir well and put into jars.
Allow to mature for at least 2 weeks before using.

Preparation Day

I have to admit to have given up photographing my food. I could give you a thousand reasons/excuses (well about 10) but I won't bore you with them.

It's been mad busy in our house the last few days. Every free moment Dillon has been bag packing in Tesco with the scouts to raise money towards their summer camp. Mollie has joined him for five hours today as she will be leaving cubs and going to scouts in January. I was meant to help supervise them today but luckily they had too many adults so I was allowed to come home. This was very handy as tomorrow is Ben's birthday and I've spent the last four hours preparing for it.

It was very quiet in the house with Dillon and Mollie out and Joules studying so Ben and I had plenty of space and no distractions while we decorated the fairy cakes Mollie baked yesterday.


I put the icing on and Ben decorated the cakes. We had some large


and lots of small cakes. Next was time to make the party bags. I laid out the sheets of cellophane, Ben filled them with a toy, chocolate and sweets, then I tied them up. We thought they looked very pretty.


I lost my helper at this stage but continued to make the food boxes. We are going to the cinema to see Flushed Away and instead of taking them to McDonald's for a load of rubbish I decided to make food boxes with fairy cakes, Mars Bar cakes and a few sweets for them to snack on along with a bag of popcorn and a drink.


Now I can have a little rest until Ben goes to bed then I will be getting out the sellotape and wrapping paper ready for an early start tomorrow.

Busy, Busy, Busy

While I won't bore you with the boring details of my mundane day, of which I can assure you there are more than just a few; instead I will tell you about the fun I've been having with my latest gadget. I was going to say toy but didn't think Sam would appreciate that!

So, the Kitchen Aid has been very busy aiding me in the kitchen. I started off by whipping up some delicious sweet shortcrust pastry to make some mince pies (or snow pies as well call them in this house). I was so impressed with the pastry that I now have a big bowl of homemade mincemeat on the go. The pastry was far too good for a jar of shop bought mincemeat.


Next up was some bread from a recipe that does need kneading. My trusted friend kneaded the dough in little more than two minutes and two and a half hours later this beautiful loaf came out of the oven.


Finally I have prepared some pizza dough, now waiting in the fridge for the kids to make pizza over the weekend. Tomorrow I'm going to see how my Kitchen Aid likes making fairy cakes.