Saturday bake day

Happy Saturday strawberry bon bons! Hope you are all well and happy : ) I am uber happy, even more so than usual, as it is half term! I have made some great plans for next week, all will be revealed soon!

Today has been more laid back than usual for me as hubby is ill with flu so I have been in full on wife mode! I stopped off at Waitrose for some get well soon bits for hubby and then spent the afternoon making home made vegetable soup and chocolate brownies! Today's post shows the delicious results! ; )

My favourite cook books! Today I used the book second from the left with the flowery spine, a  birthday gift from hubby's Grandma.

1) Break 225g of good quality plain chocolate (at least 60% cocoa solids) into pieces and place in a heat proof bowl. Add 175g of butter to the chocolate. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering hot water but make sure they do not come into contact at all. Set the timer for 10 minutes and allow the chocolate and butter to melt slowly.

2) In the meantime, whisk together 100g caster sugar with 3 large eggs.

3) In a large bowl, add all the ingredients together; the melted butter and chocolate, the sugar and eggs, and 175g of self raising flour. Mix together until all the ingredients are combined.

4) Add 100g white chocolate chips and 50g of milk chocolate chips to the mixture and stir in fully.

5) Pour the brownie mixture in a 25cm non-stick baking tin and smooth over.

6) Ta-da! 30 minutes at 180 degrees and the brownie should be cooked. Leave to cool before removing from the tin and cutting into squares.

7) The brownies cut into squares and stacked onto a cake stand.

I served the brownie with Haagen-Daz's chocolate, praline and caramel ice cream for hubby, perfect get well soon dessert! : )

More soon dear readers, enjoy the rest of the weekend : ) XOXO

Christmas Cookies : )

Hello lemon bon bons how are you all today? I have had the most ridiculously lazy day ever. I didn't wake up until 11 (no alarm clock in half term!) and then allowed myself to stay in bed til half 12. It was so nice not having to rush around for anything, I am going to enjoy it while it lasts! I decided to have a practice run making some Christmas biscuits today so set off later in the afternoon for a couple of ingredients from Tesco. Here's how I got on...

1) Get all of your ingredients ready, you will need 2 tsp of vanilla extract, 250g butter, 140g caster sugar, 1 yolk of  an egg and 300g plain flour. The cookie cutters to the right were a Christmas present from my mother in law and were perfect for creating festive shapes.

2) After weighing out the ingredients, mix the butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon until light and creamy.

3) Stir in the egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat in quickly. Then sift the flour and continue to stir in. Towards the end, you will have to get your hands in in order to turn the mixture into a firm dough.

4) Flour the kitchen surface and roll the dough out with a rolling pin. Use the cookie cutters to cut out shapes., and evenly space them out on a greased non-stick baking sheet. Cook in the oven for 12 minutes at 180 degrees, and then place them on a wire rack to cool.

5) Decorate! I used an icing sugar mix to create the white icing, and a sprinkling of icing sugar on a few as hubby is not such a big fan of icing as I am! You could experiment with different colours and toppings too as I intended to (but ran out of time!) Still, I like the white, I think it looks like snow, simple and effective : )

So there you have it, I think they turned out quite well for my first attempt, however, I have learnt some lessons for next time:

1) The icing sugar mix was quite messy and tricky to apply so next time I may try some ready to roll icing stuck down on top of the biscuit with apricot jam.
2) I am going to buy some tubes of different coloured writing icing as it will be quick and easy to create designs then without having to use my piping bag.
3) Make sure I only using my baking sheets (I used a regular cooking tray with one load of biscuits, and despite being greased it was not non-stick at all, so all the biscuits on that tray broke up).
4) Remove my wedding rings beforehand - when kneading the dough, it all got stuck between my diamonds, meaning I had to use an old toothbrush and washing up liquid to scrub it all out afterwards!)

Love to you all, more soon xoxo

October round up

Hello twinkly icicles, how are you all? I am enjoying my first day of half term, it's always so lovely to hit the snooze button and wake up refreshed and relaxed at 10 0' clock! I took Woody to the vet today for his myximatosis jab and a general check up, he was so scared bless him, he shook the whole time and kept trying to jump into my arms. I think it really is true that animals just know when they are at the vets. I felt so bad afterwards I dropped him home and then went to Pets at Home and spent a small fortune on treats for him, as well as some Christmas presents for his stocking!!

I thought it would be fun to do a round up blog post today, as I haven't done one for a while now, here goes...

My favourite TV show of the moment: This is a tough one as there is so much on I am enjoying at the moment! I would have to say 'Educating Essex' though. If you haven't seen any of this documentary you can catch up on 4OD, I really do think its worth a watch if you are interested about life in a typical Comprehensive secondary school in the UK. Some people have slated the attitude of some of the staff but I think they are great, they relate to the pupils well and reflect modern day teenagers, their likes and dislikes. I think the school and staff are providing a bloody good example for the pupils in the school (which is Ofsted rated Outstanding).

Best buy: Easy, my Mulberry! The pleasure/buzz hasn't worn off from this, especially when you go out and about and actually hear women whispering 'OMG look at her Mulberry!' Hahaha love it, see, instantly recognisable!! Rather randomly I would also say that another of my best buys recently has been my Glade Christmas scented candles... they are making me feel even more Christmassy and Festive!

Most looking forward to: Halloween! I love anything that fills the shop with seasonal products! I have already purchased a large tub of sweets for trick or treaters, last year we had some adorable local children knocking with their parents, dressed up to the nines in their Halloween finery. I also went to a halloween party last year dressed like this:

I went dressed as a sailor, however most people were in 'typical' halloween outfits such as witches, dracula, zombies etc... I think I misunderstood the brief! Haha loved the outfit though and looking at this picture makes me want to dye my hair red again!!

Listening to: Rihanna, Kanye West (not much new there!) and Beyonce's new stuff.

Best film: The best film I have seen recently is 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'. I loved the dark, gritty tale and cold war setting, I want to read the book now.

Best book: I am currently reading and enjoying 'Difficult daughters' by Manju Kapur which is set during the Partition. It explores the topics of education, love and parental relationships, I particularly like the way the book is written and the fast pace throughout.

On my wishlist: Hehe see previous posts on my Christmas wishlists! There are lots of things I want at the moment, however, one thing does spring to mind. I really want to try the new Vivo make up that is sold exclusively in Tesco as I have heard so many good things about it from other bloggers. I have visited the 2 Tesco stores where I live and neither have had it : ( The search continues!

I want this!!

October/November brings: Halloween and Fireworks excitement, lots of cosy nights in with hubby and Woody, more Christmas organisation and planning, and a trip to the Country Living Christmas show in Islington with my best friend and our mums! So excited for that!

The Country Living Christmas Fair in Islington, London.

Aim for the week: Relax, relax and relax some more! I am also going to shop a bit, watch some films and practice making some Christmas biscuits! In case I didn't say it before, I LOVE half term!! : )

Well that's just about everything, more soon strawberry bon bons xoxo

My week in pictures

What I ate: Lots of home made, locally sourced food! Being at home is an excellent excuse to indulge my domestic side, and I have been visiting little organic farm shops for all my fruit and veg. As I blogged about here, I made a lovely chicken Korma that went down very well in my household! Today, I made some cupcakes using a recipe from my new Primrose bakery book. They were a light vanilla sponge topped with a rich vanilla buttercream (which I piped using my new piping set from Lakeland) So yum, perfect afternoon snack!

What made me happy: Lots of different things are making me happy at the moment, and my house bunny Woody is definitely one of them! He is the kindest, tamest, loveliest bunny I have ever met and I just want to squish him with cuddles! He is also a fan of my home grown organic veg, and has today been munching on purple sprouting broccoli and carrots! Only the best for my boy! : ) xx

What I am dreaming of: Right now I am dreaming of a trip to Moscow early next year! One of my best friends Anna will be there for 6 months for her second law placement and has invited me and another best friend to visit. Flights are reasonable but visas look set to be more difficult as you have to have a Russian citizen invite you into the country... there are ways round it but its tricky so I envisage a trip to the Russian embassy in London at some point!! Still, I am already dreaming about the Kremlin and the Red square and hope that we do get to go...

What I have purchased this week: Firstly, I am very excited to have got my hands on the heritage tweed jacket from new season H & M that I blogged about here - in London I was unable to locate a small size, but I managed to find one size 8 in the Maidstone branch! Cashback! I also purchased a few little bits and bobs for my nails this week, a strengthening clear varnish by Sally Hansen, a lovely pink shade by GOSH cosmetics and a gorgeous little pink tube of hand cream that I bought for my handbag! Lastly, I bought some bits and bobs for the house, including a little 'home' sign for my hallway wall : )

What I am listening to: Right now, Radio 2! Great mix of classics and debate about current events have kept me amused in the kitchen all day! I have also been listening to hubbys Metronomy album, and re-living memories of the Big Chill festival : )

What I am looking forward to next week: Firstly, I am looking forward to a leisurely lunch and catch up at Rocket in Canary Wharf, London with 3 very good friends, and then some shopping in the afternoon. I am also looking forw ard to going into school to pick up the kids AS and A Level results... nervous as well but they did their exams such a long time ago, I just need to know!!

Hope you all had a lovely week, it's Friday.... : ) xx