Spring Clean

So Saturday was the first day off Ive had in ages, my boyfriend is away in London so I thought I would invite my friends over for dinner and some drinks.

We hadn't seen each other since my birthday so there wass much catching up to do. I didn't cook anything too difficult just a spaghetti bolognaise (yes another one) I did try the focaccia recipe I mentioned in my bread related post.

Before:


After:


It tasted pretty good, it wasn't as flat or oily as I think focaccia is supposed to be (but when I write it like that it doesn't sound appetising anyway!) any tips?

Ive also had to clean the state that is my flat. The terrapins are squeaky clean as well, Ben normally cleans them so I had to pretty much blag my way through the cleaning process, my back is killing me and their water doesnt even look as nice as when Ben does it...still better than the green soup they were swimming in, poor darlings!

hope you all had lovely weekends

Emily x

Chapatis

I made Chapatis for the first time ever last night.

They arent difficult but they taste great!


Ben took a sneaky photo of me in my pjs while I was cooking, I dont make much effort when Im staying at home as you can see, also had most of my hair cut off only reaches my shoulders now!

do you like my mental kitchen?

Dining with friends

Me and my friends dont see each other nearly enough now uni is over and we all have real jobs and grown up responsibilities. So we meet up for evenings to catch up on goss and eat delicious food made by our own fair hands.


Curry night at my old flat
Bethan made samosas from scratch!


Soup, chicken with dauphinois and cheesecake evening




there is always much wine to be consumed also :)

Butternut and nutbutter soup

Another River Cottage recipe for you!

1 butternut squash, about 800g-1kg
Large knob of unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 small medium-hot chilli, deseeded and chopped, or a pinch of dried chilli flakes
A 3cm piece of fresh ginger, grated
1 large garlic clove, crushed1 small garlic clove, chopped
About 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
227g jar of crunchy or smooth peanut butter
Juice of 1 lime
3 tbsp finely chopped coriander
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

(simmering away before I blended it)
look here for the method

http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/chefs/hugh-fearnley-whittingstall/butternut-and-nut-butter-soup-recipe

changes I made to recipe:
I didnt add ginger or corriander (didnt have any in the house)
I used a vegtable stock and crunchy peanut butter

Next time, I would use smooth peanut butter just out of preference and I think I used a very hot chilli because it had quite a kick so I will use chilli flakes next time.

It was really easy to make, I didnt have to be constantly stirring or watching so thats a bonus, you can leave it for 20mins and do something else!

It tasted delicious :)

with crusty tiger bread too!

homemade lunches

I watched an episode of River Cottage the other day, it was all about making lunches interesting. I am a sucker for buying my lunches in town with all the food places just round the corner I often buy a Boots meal deal or a Gregs, probably costing me around £15 a week :/

I know that many people take their own lunches to work and this is nothing new. However River cottage suggested some quick tasty alternatives to rushed sandwiches made the night before, such as a butternut squash soup which I want to try.

I tried the recipie for pastys made from leftovers.
Here they are before and after going in the oven.




I used a frozen puff pastry because its quicker than making your own pastry and mine is always a bit hit or miss. I filled it with leftover chilli con carne from the night before.

So me and my boyfriend had nice filling lunches that saved us money!

next time I will try a different filling and remember to poke holes in the top of the pastry before putting in the oven (I think thats why some of them split).

More cooking

I tried one of the philadelphia recipies I had seen on an advert this week.

It was basically pasta with the philly cheese and chives sauce and grilled veg.

Its perfect for when you want someting quick to make and easy. I used tesco frozen meditterean vegetables (peppers, aubergine, courgette and the like) put that in the oven and boiled the pasta. When done I mixed the pasta and veg in a bowl and added half a tub of philly and a splash of milk. I then seasoned with pepper. It was yum!

I was so hungry I forgot to take a photograph so here is the one from the website (i used different veg)

I also made a delicious curry this week. Its my basic recipe that I tweek depending what I have in the house!

This one was chicken marinated in spice mix of:
curry powder
garam masala
black pepper
chilli powder
garlic powder

I then chopped and fried one red onion and a green pepper, when brown I added the chicken.

When the chicken is cooked through I added a tin of chopped tomatoes, table spoon tomato puree and a vegetable stock cube.

I let it simmer while he rice boiled and then added more of the spices used to marinate chicken until it was to my taste!

1970s gems

More lovely seventies items.

These belong to my Mum, so I took pictures because the colours and photography is just so aesthetically pleasing to me at the moment!

This is a Habitat catalogue from 1975, I'm sure they sell similar items today! fashions really do come full circle! My Mum pointed out some of the light fixtues she and Dad had in their first house together.


All the prawn cocktails and aspic jellies you could dream of! :/
The 70s isnt normally an era I think about because I dont consider it vintage (my parents would be offended if I did ha!) But since finding the new flat Im keen to run with the style of the time to make a wonderfully groovy living space.

I tried to nab some of the kitchen items my parents had from Mum is still too fond of them.nevermind! I will have to hit the charity shops!

Recent cooking experiements

The things you do when there is no internet to distract you!

Ive not missed having a computer that much because I have had chance to sew and cook more instead.

Here are my latest dishes

This one isnt very special but its the first recipe I have attempted from my Moomin cookbook



Pasta Bake with mince and a creamy cheese sauce (It had a moomin name but I havent got the book with me sorry!)


Lemon cupcakes, The icing went a bit funny and didnt spread how I would have liked but they tasted lush. These cakes are something my grandma used to make a lot, she doesnt bake much anymore but I expect she could still give me hints on getting the best icing. She always made them in a tray bake style so they were square shaped maybe thats the trick!


Steak and onion pie!!! My first ever attempt at pie! It was good, but I need a smaller dish as there was more pastry lid than filling ha.


In my haste to taste (ha) I delved in too quickly and forgot to take a picture so here it is on its plate with mash and peas. Sorry about the messy gravy spill, I am not one for plate presentation unless I'm doing a dinner party, after all it doesnt stay on the plate very long!


Coffee cakes.


Another speciality of my grandma and another icing failure for me. Once again they were yummy to eat.

My grandma always used to make a big coffee sponge with coffee buttercream and walnut topping. I love coffee cake even though I dont like to drink it :)

Chicken and dauphinoise potatoes.
First time I have made the potatoes this way, I apologise again for the messy presentation.


Apple Crumble

Another first: crumble (I know how easy it is now)


and the leftover apples made these!


most of my cupcake recipies I used to make the cakes in this blog are from a book I got for my birthday, when I am back in Cardiff I will post the details of it. (although the apple cakes look the same as in the book I changed the recipe of the filling a little bit)

Lastly just a picture of a beef curry I sometimes make. I admit I did try with the presentation here, my flatmate discovered some cups we had made perfect rice molds! still managed some unsightly splashes though :P

Computer problems

My poor computer is broken! I am currently using a friends laptop.
I am quite annoyed because my pc wasn't quite 2 years old and its beyond fixing! lame.

An update:

Ive booked my trip to Amsterdam!

I have been sewing a few little things mainly using patterns from 'Softies' a craft book.

The laptop has no photo card reader so I cant upload photographs.

Without a computer to distract me in the evenings I have been doing a lot of cooking. I love trying out new recipes (I think my boyfriend appreciates it too)
I will do a post on the meals I tried.

Tonight I am going to look at a prospective flat to rent when this tenancy runs out, it should be fun. I like my current flat and it is ideally located but a bit on the small side and rather expensive. So me and Ben will be looking for a new place for us to move into (it will be our first flat together not sharing with friends!!)

Anyway when the computer situation is solved I will be back to regular posts.

Shepherds pie

Last night it was my turn to cook for my housemates and my boyfriend, we take it in turns each week to do one meal and sit to eat together. Its always really nice to have a good chat. We also get a pudding :P

I made 2 shepherds pies since there was 6 of us. I also did some roast parsnips for those of us who liked them (I may have got distracted and let them go a little too crispy!)


My other housemates bought a cheesecake and made a raspberry coulis to go with it.

It was lovely :)

Food Glorious Food!

I love cooking and I love trying new recipes and experimenting with them too.
(id like to think of myself as quite the domestic goddess but cut me some slack when i use a jar mix because i am a poor student)
Here are some of the things I have cooked recently.

I ADORE mexican food!

chicken fajitas - discovery sauce, with chicken, peppers, lettuce and topped with cheese and mayo on a flour tortilla.


Chicken Quesadillas - old el paso kit (shhhh!) with chicken peppers and tinned tomatos, hot salsa and a blob of mayo (love it).


We had a BBQ yesterday and i made chicken kebabs i used a BBQ marinade and then just slid button mushrooms, onions and red peppers onto skewers in between the chicken. they were gorgeous!



For my degree course, we have to have a end of year exhibition so me and some of the other photo art ladies held a cake sale to raise money for posters etc.
here is our lovely spread - thanks to vinnie, emily k, claire and daryl for the yummy cakes! we raised £30!



and lastly some home baking just for me and my housemates! chocolate biscuits! -the recipe is from Women's Weekly cookies and Biscuits cookery book. I changed the shape and decorations though :P



My boyfriend is a lucky boy! which reminds me! we had our 1 year anniversary last sunday! we went out for a meal at Wagamamas in Cardiff, it was lovely, i shall post the photographs when i get a chance but right now im off to a photoshoot!
ciao for now! x