Granola aplenty!

I don't normally eat breakfast which is very bad for me as by mid morning I am ready to eat lunch, so decided last week to force myself to eat something before I leave the house. So the time seemed right to try out this granola recipe i've had my eye on for a while, courtesy of Nigella Lawson's Feast. The recipe makes a huge amount of it which is great as I now have enough for the next few weeks of breakfasts! Have got into the habit now of having a bowl before work and I can't get enough of it's crunchy, munchy, nutty goodness, and the added benefit of feeling all pure and healthy and slightly smug for making my own brekkie cereal!

Salmon, Leek & Tarragon Papillote

The finished result - we ate it so fast I didn't have time to take a picture! Here is the empty bag as evidence of the feasting... I thought this was a gorgeous meal, really simple but the paper packages make it seem fancy somehow, like some effort has gone into it and even my fish-hating fella liked it a lot. Will make this again, definately.

Never made these before so not sure how they're going to turn out! Had some salmon and creme fraiche left over and managed to find this recipe on the BBC website so giving it a bash. Salmon, leek, petite pois, creme fraiche and tarragon all wrapped up together in a tasty little package. I've topped each fillet with about a ton creme fraiche coz I love it, so have pretty much destroyed the healthy eating part of this dish, but who cares? I love the look of them even before cooking, so I really hope they taste as good cooked... will update after dinner. Here is the recipe if you want to have a go - http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1575/leeky-salmon-in-a-parcel

Butternut Squash Soup from Come Dine With Me!

Stole this recipe from Paul Ross' Come Dine With Me menu, and am a bit in love with it. It's the healthiest thing i've made in a long time and tastes really thick and creamy even though it's made up of nothing but chopped veg and stock! Forgot to take a pic of the blended soup so you'll have to make it yourselves to see how it turns out - http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/occasions/dinner-parties/come-dine-with-me/series-5/spicy-butternut-squash-soup-recipe_p_1.html

Double Chocolate Pecan Cookies Overload!

Had the day off today and had one hell of a sugar craving this afternoon so decided to throw these together - even though they were really easy and quick I still almost gnawed my own arm off while waiting for them to bake - what is wrong with me?? They are really nubbly (?) with big lumps of white and milk choc and plenty of luvverly pecans too. Have been eating them all afternoon and think I should probably give it a rest now before I blow up.

Poppy Seed Challah

I haven't made challah for years but I felt the urge to do so today. I love this bread, and i'm very grateful to my nan for introducing me to it as otherwise I might not have tried it! It isn't the easiest bread to find in Twickenham, and i've only ever seen it sold in Waitrose. I'm sure there are millions of places to get it up in London but I haven't got a clue if there are any Jewish foodstores near me, so i'll carry on making it myself! I love the sweetness the honey gives it, and I especially like it spread with cold butter and apricot jam...

Snow!

We had a great day of snow yesterday, the first real snow I remember for years and years. Unfortunately I wasn't lucky enough to miss work because of it, and managed to fall over an amazing 4 times during the 10 minute walk to and from work! Think I have seriously damaged my buttocks as a result...

Butterfly mad!

I've always liked the idea of having a wedding cake decorated with origami flowers or butterflies so I thought i'd try them out - these are a really simple fold and I really like the look of them, especially the patterned ones. Everything I eat today is going to have a paper butterfly on a wire sticking out of it to celebrate of it being a lazy saturday (the best kind)!

Coconut & Lime Cake - finally!!

This is one for my lovely geezer who has been asking me to make him a coconut cake for ages and I somehow haven't got around to it... sorry love! Anyway here it is. Recipe is from Mich Turner's Fantastic Party Cakes which is a really cracking cake book. The sponge and icing both have loads of coconut cream in them and the icing is laced with lovely sharp lime juice which really cuts through the sweetness. Also I get to show off my shiny new glass cake stand all the way from the U.S. of A! I love it even though it takes up about a quarter of my tiny kitchen!

Uncooked cake mix - my secret shame!

Does anyone else eat as much uncooked cake mix as they can when baking? I think i'm addicted... I wonder if I should worry about all that raw egg? Oh well! It tastes damn fine, I reckon a little bout of salmonella would be worth it.

Wasabi peanuts - sinus burning ahoy!

We got these wasabi peanuts from Borough market a couple of weeks ago and they are seriously powerful - i've had wasabi peas before but never peanuts, and I don't think they were ever quite this strong. I have to eat them one by one and even then the odd rogue one brings tears to my eyes! What I love about wasabi is the fact that the sensation only lasts a couple of seconds, so if you can get through that initial burst of pain behind your nose then you're away. Perfect with freezing cold lager!

Simplest & best lunch of brie, bread & grapes

There are few things better for lunch than this - grainy, malty bread full of seeds, a slab of creamy brie and a handful of ripe juicy grapes. Really simple but somehow incredibly satisfying, and full of a sort of rustic charm that makes me feel like a french farmer sitting down for grub. All that could improve this is a glass of wine but i'm not quite at the point of drinking this early in the day on my day off. Never say never though!

My first Dundee Cake!

Made for a mate of my friend Laura, who is apparently a big Dundee cake fan. Is it unusual to have someone young who really loves fruit cake? I don't know many people who do... This smelled absolutely gorgeous when I was mixing it, and the lovely fruity, whisky smell in my kitchen stayed around for days...

Mocha Cupcakes - so good!

These were taken from Cupcakes by Susannah Blake, but I substituted the chocolate coffee beans she added to the mixture for chocolate chips. The result was fantastic- I really REALLY loved these, and they were very popular with my family, in fact my sister nearly choked trying to shove a whole one in her mouth. And then showered me with cake crumbs by laughing through the mouthful. Nice.

Mini Chocolate Orange Muffins

I made these to try out my new rigid paper cases, which I really like the look of - they make the cake look so sweet and self-contained if that makes any sense(?) They didn't rise quite as high as I wanted but think that was my fault for trying to make quantities stretch too far - really wanted enough to fill my new wire cake stand so I could show it off!

Greg's Spidey Cake

What kind of cake do you make for a 25 year olds birthday? Spiderman! Why not?

The Ward Family Lion Cake

This cake has such a long tradition in my family. My mum used to make it for one or other of me and my sisters every year, I think she could probably make it with her eyes closed now. The design is from an ancient cake book which I think only ever got used for this recipe! I will continue the tradition by making it for my future children for each and every birthday until they move out...

Random birthday cake for Clare...