Foodie Penpals - August

I joined in with foodie pen pals this month after an abscence of over  year - I have missed getting a surprise parcel of foody goodies every month!

My lovely parcel came from Christine  and I sent a parcel to Ellie . Its such a fun idea - I love finding little items to send and every parcel I have had has been fantastic and this months was such a treat!

This is my box of goodies 

Arent they fab - everything was labeled with an Alice in Wonderland tags ( want them!!) and a description on the back of where they were from and how to use. There were also some lovely recipes which I will definately be doing..

I have tried a few things so far

This was delicious - one of the best cups of tea - lovely, strong and refreshing which is my perfect cup of tea. would love to have this all the time but don't think my budget can stretch to Fortnum and Mason tea everyday . There are another 2 sachets which I will save for special me time!

**photo of granola**

I love Granola and have it most days with 0% vanilla yoghurt so it was lovely to try a new flavour - This was Peach, Orange and peach with puffed wheat and bran flakes in - delicious - it was a fruity explosion with every bite - yum!

There are some spices which I will be using and a recipe card for something called Bitmap which I haven't heard of .

Will try this as a vegetarian version... will report back...

I'm not a real lover of popcorn but always manage to eat it! Will save this for an evening with a good film (which Christine has suggested on her tag)

Aren't these a lovely size! I love minature things ! Looking forward to trying these with a delicious salad.

Overall I was delighted with everything and look forward to next months parcel! If you would like to join in then click here 

Hello Fresh....meal 2

So the second of my Hello Fresh meals was Coconut Dhal with Homemade Chapati.

This is a meal that I haven't ever attempted before so I was pleased to be making this.

As usual all he ingredients were included.

The recipe was so easy to follow and everything is weighed out - Here are my hands making chapati! That was messy!

So here is the finished dish and a photo of the 'proper' one!

 A close up!

So my thoughts on this meal.... Easy to make and tasted delicious- I forgot how much I loved lentils, but there wasn't enough for 2 people which was unusual for one of their recipes as there is normally enough for a meal the next day . I will be making this one again but maybe doubling the quantity!

My bake - Easter egg Caramel Blondies featured in a local magazine!

I forgot to post one of the most exciting things that has happened in my little baking life! My caramel easter egg blondies were featured in the local free magazine! They were delicious of course but very rich!
Each month the baking club has an advert in the magazine and my recipe was the feature back in April......

Here is the article and my finished bake...

Homemade Pizza

I have never made Pizza before - there I have admitted it! I now know how easy it is and am ashamed of myself... But only slightly because sometimes you just can't beat a  Dr ooooeeeeetttkkkeeeerrr pizza!
Baking club last month was all about Pizzas! We had our lovely artisan baker Paul come and give us a demonstration on how to make pizza. So I am now a convert and will be making some of my own pizzas however in my defense making pizza hasn't been on my list of priorities since I have 2 children under 3 - just getting through the day is an achievement in itself ! But now that Molly is getting a little older I will definately have a go.

This is my finished pizza

I only took one photo as I was so busy chatting to everyone ! I've said it before but I will say it again! I love baking club! the people are lovely and we have a great laugh.
The pizza sauce that we used was a Jamie Oliver one it was delicious and can be easily frozen. My toppings were mushrooms, peppers,onions and of course cheese. It was delicious - homemade pizzas are the best!
It wasn't just pizza that we ate at baking club - we were all asked to bring something homemade and this months topic was anything Italien. So I made Cantuccini which is like biscotti but doesn't need baking twice.

They were delicious - I chose to make them with dark chocolate and almonds , they were so easy to make and they would be fabulous with coffee.

 - I am going to make some for christmas presents, making them christmassy with  cranberry and white chocolate.. Mouth is watering thinking about them....

Hello Fresh - Cooking made easy

This week I have had a free box of 3 meals from Hello Fresh that my lovely friend Sarah sent me. I have tried Hello Fresh before and they are fab - delicious and easy to do with fantastic results.

My 3 meals were vegetarian and all of them are meals that I wouldn't have bothered to try normally. The meals are : Coconut Dal with Homemade Chapati, Sweet Potato Wraps, Minted Tzatziki & toasted Almonds and Bodacious Black Bean, Halloumi and Quinoa Salad.

So first one is the Halloumi recipe. The box comes with everything you need this recipe included - Quinoa, Salad onion, red pepper, spinach, Organic black beans, coriander, corn on the cob, Halloumi, smoked paprika and lime. The recipe was quick and only took 25 mins.

The recipe cards are easy to follow I love how there are photos to show you how to do some steps.

This is my finished meal .....

And this is the Hello Fresh version.......

I really enjoyed this meal - I haven't used Quinoa ( apparently prounced Keeenwaaaaaaa!) before and was worried that there wouldn't be enough for me and Stephen - I was also convinced that it would be bland but I was very very surprised!!! It was delicious, there was a lot of taste and each mouthful was lovely and crunchy. There was plenty for 2 people ( stephen had seconds and took a large portion to work the next day). I would make this one again and pleased that I had a go...... Next one to try is Coconut Dal with Homemade Chapati.............

Rabbit Cake pops....Scary version...

I love Baking Club, its a small group of women of all ages and abilities in baking and each month we do something that I either have never thought of making or can't be bothered to make so am really excited every time. This month it was Cake Pops now I love the idea of cake pops and have always wanted to have a go at making them but normally don't have the time to make them or when I have made them what do I do with them? yes I could eat 20 cake pops but don't think that would be very wise.... What do other people do with all the bakes that they make and can't eat?? Would be really handy if there was a Police station or Old Peoples home next door, could then pass on my bakes! - cooking for fun has taken a bit of a backseat recently now that I have 2 children so I am always pleased to spend a couple of hours with like minded people gossiping and making things.

Now as with most things I always think 'oh they look easy' ......... Well I was a little bit wrong with  cake pops.... Yes they are easy to make but decorating is another story!!!

So here is what I had in my minds eye that I was making...




Lovely bunnies from Bakerella (she makes them look soooooooo easy!)

And then this happened....




Errrrr not really what I was hoping for! To be fair it was really hot in the room we were baking in and the white chocolate wouldn't set.. and I was also a bit over zealous with the red food colouring.....Pathetic excuses!

Here are the rest of them...


I was very sad! Firstly they don't look like fluffy little bunnies but very scary vampire pigs! Needless to say I am not going to try cake pops for a long time......

Sewing - A crayon roll

I love Pinterest !! My life was very empty without it , I can spend hours and hours browsing and pinning things I want to make and cook and don't get me started on the house of dreams pinning - but speaking to friends  I don't think I am alone in my obsession - I even have one friend who has a Unicorn board! I digress .... what does this have to do with a crayon roll? Well I keep pinning how to make them and they look so easy... (thats what I say about everything!)


So I decided to have a go and they were easy to make! I was so pleased with the results that I made another and have also cut out patterns for another 3! They use a small amount of fabric which is great and you can have fun playing around with different fabrics, All of my friends who have children will be getting these as presents!

The clasp (if thats what you can call it ) to close the roll is one of Mollys hairbands and I have just bought some buttons that I will be using for future crayon rolls

There are lots of other ideas for these 'rolls' - you just alter the size of the roll and pockets. Some ideas are for crotchet hooks, knitting needles, make up brushes or one that I am going to have a try at a first aid kit that I can keep in the car and nappy bag.

There are a lot of patterns available - I used this one 

I love an easy sewing project! Molly loves it as well and keeps taking the crayons out and putting them back in! Right off to sew another one......