messy muffins

Have just put in a batch of white chocolate chip and cranberry muffins, got a bit messy as usual when I pour the mixture into the cases as it goes all over the tin! 

muffins de-messed and oven ready ^

Sophie Dahl's lovely cookery programme is on tonight, which I am looking forward to. Last weeks was great, she made a very delicious looking roasted tomato soup with double baked cheese and chive potatoes which I am hoping to make soon, just when I always want the soup I realise I'll have to wait for the tomatoes and onions to roast and then make something else because I'm too hungry and impatient to wait!

I'm loving listening to Eliza Doolittle at the moment, her music is so plinky plonky, sweet and summery with a bit of London attitude thrown in there for good measure. The Skinny Genes video is adorable as well, I really like the way she is styled in this and how the outfits pop with the other colours in the video. 

So I'm going to enjoy a bit of the doolittle before the muffins are ready.

Love FF x 

every morning should start with blueberry risen pancakes

I have taken and modified this recipe from the lovely "Spooning with Rosie" by Rosie Lovell. I have just found her blog today as well which I've now added to my sidebar. It's a lovely blog with pictures of the meals she makes and places she goes.

Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day, so I always try and make it special to start the day on a high, I had never made pancakes before this either so that was a bit of a trial and I was very pleased with the outcome.

Ingredients:

1 medium egg

130g self raising flour

50g caster sugar

a pinch of salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

150ml full fat milk (I used semi-skimmed and they still turn out fine, but full fat would probably be better)

2 tablespoons butter

150g blueberries (or enough to dot 5 or 6 in each small pancake)

(I've taken these instructions from Rosie's recipe, so not claiming it is my own apart from a couple of my minute modifications!)

Beat the egg in a mixing bowl, add half the flour, the sugar, the salt and baking powder and beat with a whisk. This will form an elastic batter. Then add the milk, making sure the batter isn't lumpy and is of a light and smooth consistency. Then add the remaining flour. It may need a little water to loosen it further. The mixture should be entirely lumpless. Set aside for an hour as it makes for a better pancake.

Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a large bottomed frying pan so it is silky with fat but not to the point of deep frying. Allow the butter to melt and become hot and slippy when the pan is tilted.

Dot 5 or 6 blueberries in 3 corners of the saucepan. Pour a small amount of batter over each collection of blueberries to form three small pancakes in the pan. Allow them to really brown and go golden on the bottom. They will be ready to turn when the top side is beginning to firm and is bubbling. Flip each one over with a heatproof spatula and brown the other side. They should rise a little and each side should take just over a minute.

Dust some icing sugar over the top for a delicious morning treat.

Love FF x

what I've been eating lately...

Goats cheese and blueberry salad with a balsamic and honey dressing. 


Panini with balsamic and Worcestershire sauce soaked tomatoes with parmesan cheese and pesto. 

Pizza toscana at Vapiano - an Italian self serve style restaurant that I went to when I was in London, Great Portland Street, just off of Oxford Street. 


Easter baking extravaganza with some lovely friends. (incl. D sisters)


At the Easter Baking extravaganza - made by one of the girls there.



My favourite dish to make - risotto - this one with courgette, parmesan and lemon. 


Nigella's Millionaire Shortbread. (That me and my sister made) 


My sister's concoction of a bagel with cheese, tomato, pear and garlic oil - amazing.


Reese's peanut butter cups - I love these. 


Brannigans crisps - a memory of my childhood that my sister found at a shop in her university town and brought back. 

Love FF x

beautiful kitchenwares

   I've been daydreaming a lot about my perfect grown up kitchen, one with all the right appliances to use with any recipes, but not high-tech ones, oldy worldly-esque appliances. With arranged flowers in a watering can on the side and one of those deep deep white bath looking sinks. Sophie Dahl's kitchen on her programme makes me a tad green with envy. She has such a beautiful kitchen, even the food products she buys have lovely little patterned packaging. With that in mind I thought I'd post a few photos of some kitchenwares I really would like in the future, in my cuisine de mes rêves.

Vintage Lyons Green Label Tea Tin - Ebay - Buy Now £8.99


Vintage 1960s Orange Ringways Tea Storage Tin - Ebay 



Vintage Huntley & Palmers Biscuit Tin Olde England
- Ebay - Buy Now £8.99 


Vintage c1930 Cup and Saucer and Tea Plate Trio
- Love Miss Daisy Vintage - £15 



Cake Tin - Paperchase - £7


Regency Cake Stand - Urban Outfitters - £40 


Le Creuset Blue Traditional Stove Top Whistling Kettle
- Ebay

Love FF x

Vintage china and tea sets

For quite a while now I've been in love with vintage china-esque tea sets, especially flowery ones. Then I watched Sophie Dahl's cookery show last night (which was very lovely by the way) and she had the most amazing, beautiful kitchen and house. It looked like the cutest little place, with an outside area she could relax in and a lovely little kitchen with a cabinet full of mismatched flowery china tea cups and plates.

I've seen a lovely one (above) on one of my new favourite websites, Love Miss Daisy.

I just long for the day of having my own house, with a beautiful old fashioned style kitchen of my own, with a rustic farmhouse table, flowery china tea cups and a lovely whistling kettle brewing on the stove!

Love FF x

Orgasmic Rocky Road Crunch Bars (Nigella Christmas Style)

These rocky road bars are absolutely delish, courtesy of a recipe from Nigella's Christmas Cookbook - Nigella Christmas: Food, Family, Friends, Festivities. My mum made these bars at Christmas, and I was debating which recipe to use as I wanted to make some and then I remembered this one and remembered it being a winner! It's an extremely easy recipe, so although I have had quite a few compliments on the bars, "orgasmic" being one, I can't take credit for it as the recipe and process of making it is that easy!

Here is Nigella's recipe (again, not claiming it's my own! especially as I've copied and pasted this one from a website!) :

Makes around 24 bars

Ingredients:

250g/9oz dark chocolate, chopped
150g/5oz milk chocolate, chopped
175g/6oz butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
4 tbsp golden syrup
200g/7oz amaretti biscuits (I used rich tea as I couldn't find any amaretti biscuits in my local supermarket, but amaretti would be much much better!)
150g/5oz shelled Brazil nuts
150g/5oz red glacé cherries
125g/4oz mini marshmallows
1 tbsp icing sugar

Method

1. Place the dark and milk chocolate pieces into a heavy-based pan. Add the butter and golden syrup and cook over a low heat to melt and combine.

2. Place the amaretti biscuits into a freezer bag and bash with a rolling pin to make crumbs of various sizes.

3. Place the Brazil nuts into another freezer bag and bash in the same way.

4. Take the pan of melted chocolate mixture off the heat and add the crushed biscuits and nuts.

5. Add the glacé cherries and mini marshmallows. Fold the mixture carefully to coat all of the solid ingredients with the syrupy chocolate mixture.

6. Pour the mixture into a 25cm/10in x 30cm/12in greased and lined baking tray and smooth the surface as much as possible (although it will look bumpy).

7. Refrigerate for two hours, or until firm enough to cut. Dust with icing sugar.

8. Remove the block of rocky road from the tray and cut into 24 rectangles.

Enjoy!

Love FF x

The Delicious Miss Dahl

I'm quite excited because there's a new cookery programme on BBC2 tonight at 8.30pm called "The Delicious Miss Dahl". Sophie Dahl cooks up some delicious recipes and the first episode is called "Selfish" - about the delights of cooking whatever you want, just for one. (Kind of perfect for me in a way! I absolutely love being able to be selfish and cook whatever I want, just for me!)

However, I'm not always selfish when cooking as I also very much agree with her in how she thinks romance is linked to food. I think it really is and I have little ideas and stories in my head how certain recipes would go with certain romantical moments. Or even how some recipes fit perfectly with certain situations, not just romantic ones. I really relate to the idea of cooking out of love for others, like friends but also a loved one like a boyfriend or partner but then I can easily slip to selfish cooking, as I explained above, both are just so joyful!

Love FF x