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Even Better Baking – With Dr. Oetker

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When Dr. Oetker got in touch and asked if I would like to recreate one of their recipes on the blog I didn’t have to be asked twice.

I use Dr. Oetker products regularly at home, I love their Fine Cooks 72% Extra Dark cooking chocolate ( good enough to nibble on while you bake ) plus they make excellent bits and bobs for decorating. As much as I love to bake and my cakes always turn out well, my decoration skills are…let’s say not quite as good although they are improving a bit with time and considerable effort.

I recently made this Elsa cake for my daughters fourth birthday:

Elsa cake frozen

I made the cake from scratch but the added extras including the blue frosting and the shimmer you can see across the cake came from Dr. Oetker products.

The recipe I was asked to create was for Macaroons. Now I have never made Macaroons before and here are some tips for making the process easier for yourself:

1. You NEED a piping bag. Don’t underestimate the importance of this.

2. You also NEED greaseproof paper or they WILL ALL stick to each and every baking tray you try.

3. Do not have small children running around poking their fingers in or generally messing everything up. As fun as it is…good Macaroons need patience and attention.

Want some more tips before you go any further? Check out this video:

Anyway….

We (myself and Izzy ) made these soft pink Macaroons with a purple buttercream liberally sprayed with shimmer. The twist here is that the purple buttercream is infused with lavender which tastes more than a bit awesome but more on that in a separate post.

Lavender cream macarons

These were slightly more rustic than I originally wanted but they worked and tasted great.

We also made these “princess” Macaroons which we simply filled with normal buttercream and rolled in some of the edible sugar decorations from the Dr. Oetker range. Don’t they look pretty?

Princess macarons

And at the very last minute when the final batch were in the oven I realised that without the buttercream these are both gluten and dairy free so I filled some with the Dr. Oetker readymade blue frosting which is also conveniently dairy and gluten free which made them the perfect treat for Chloe. I can’t tell you how excited she was by them!

You can find the recipe on the Dr. Oetker site here.

Now who wants to win some prizes?

Bake with Dr. Oetker to win!

Send your bakes that you have made using Dr. Oetker products and tell them what inspired you to make it with #Evenbetterbaking.

Each week Dr. Oetker will pick a Star Baker who will win a goodie bag, and entry into their prize draw to win an Ultimate Baking Hamper worth £500.

To keep up to date with all the latest Even Better Baking news, follow @droetkerbakes on Twitter,DrOetkerBaking on YouTube or likewww.facebook.com/DrOetkerBaking

*I was compensated for my time in recreating this recipe.

Sisters – Autumn 2015

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Every now and again I like to take a little look at how the girls are growing alongside each other. At how they are bonding and just loving life as only young children can.

They are both as busy as ever, Izzy just turned 4 and is full of ideas and questions about life. Some are funny..others a little odd and well some I’m not ready to answer yet.

Elsa birthday cake

Chloe is doing a little better lately, she’s still not quite where we would like her to be but compared to 3 months ago it’s a major improvement. If she just slept a little better then that would be great. Just look at how much healthier she looks!

Chloe

They drive each other crazy at times, Chloe is becoming a little tease and loves to taunt Izzy but mostly they are great together. They are really starting to play well and their little conversations make me laugh every day. Each morning they cuddle up on the settee, still sleepy and oh so loving.

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Luckily they both still want hugs with me too. Since I’ve returned to work both girls have become slightly clingier and Izzy especially gets a little upset when I leave but I know that she is also enjoying the extra time with both sets of grandparents. I’m finding it hard too and I always wish that I could be able to be at home full time with them but life isn’t that easy so we get on with things. I’m trying hard to focus on them as much as possible when I’m not in work and actually find I’m getting more organised with my time as a result. My family are the most important part of my life and I let nothing get in the way of that.

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Life is crazy and chaotic with two young girls but it’s wonderful and fun and full of love.

Food Blogger Of The Fortnight – Gingey Bites

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Name of blog: Gingey Bites

I first met Alex at a blogger event last year as we are both Official Bloggers for The BBC Good Food Show. We spent a day at Brompton Cookery School and it was lovely to meet a fellow blogger who was full of joy about food. I love Gingey Bites for it’s “proper” food – food I can easily picture myself both making and eating. I also enjoy her reviews which are always thorough and make you feel as if you were there enjoying the sumptuous meals she tries.

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A bit about Gingey Bites:

I started my blog in the summer of 2012 shortly before I was made redundant. I loved cooking and eating out and realised I was turning into one of those strange people who take pics of their dinner! I wanted to do something creative whilst I was off work and Gingey Bites was born! Here I am still going strong and loving every minute.

Your most popular recipe:

It’s not a recipe so much as a review. This is by far my most read post – I took the challenge to cook one of Jamie Olivers 30 minute meals within 30 minutes.

Jamie Oliver Asian Style Broth

Jamie Oliver Asian style broth

Your personal favourite recipe:

I absolutely love one pot recipes, anything in a sauce. So, curry, stew, chilli and casseroles! Like this recipe here

Where can we find you?
www.gingeybites.com
www.twitter.com/gingeybites
www.instagram.com/gingeybites

Superskin With Liz Earle

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*I am a member of Mumsnet Bloggers Network Research panel, a group of bloggers who have volunteered to review products, services, events and brands for Mumsnet. I have not paid for the product or to attend an event. I have editorial control and retain full editorial integrity*

All of you regular readers will know I am far from a beauty blogger but when I was offered to try out the Liz Earle Superskin Serum I jumped at the chance. As I get older I find like everyone my skin needs more attention and after a really difficult two years existing on little to no sleep I felt like my skin was dull and tired.

What they claim:

1. Even skin tone – with Persian silk tree extract to help fight the visible signs of fatigue, such as a dull complexion.

2. Lift and firm – with pomegranate flower extract to help boost collagen.

3. Plump and smooth – with rhubarb extract to help intensely hydrate skin”.

*Contains naturally active ingredients

Liz Earle Superskin Serum

Just 7 days ago I began using this Superskin Face Serum and I am here to tell you that it is REMARKABLE. Yes just 7 days of using it has made an improvement. Even on day 1 I noticed a visible tightening and glow to my face. By day 3 I felt like my skin was getting softer and now on day 7 it feels smooth and definitely brighter. In fact several people have commented on it.

I’m not a selfie fan by any stretch but I took a quick pic this morning, make up less, no filter and I can see the change in my skin.

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Please ignore the terrible quality of THE image and ahem ..my face but I felt reasonably fresh faced at 7am this morning..even if I didn’t feel it.

I must admit that at first I gawped a little at the price tag ( £48rrp ) BUT I do think it’s worth every penny. It’s not often I feel good about the way I look and this definitely helps which makes it pretty priceless in my opinion.

For once a beauty product which can back every claim it makes.

Overloaded Nachos

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Oh I do love Nachos. It’s the combination of crispy and gooey I think..and you know ALL the cheese.

If we have a movie night at home this is what we always have to munch on. Luckily we don’t have movie nights that often as this is rather calorific. Over time we have adapted our nachos combo until ah I finally feel it’s perfect.

These aren’t set amounts as it generally depends on how many of you are eating so adapt that as you wish.

You will need:

1 packet of tortilla chips ( we use either plain or cheesy )
8 meatballs in tomato sauce ( cooked )
1 green chilli, finely diced
3 tbsp of spicy BBQ sauce ( I used peri peri BBQ sauce )
250g of cheese ( we use a mix of cheddar and Red Leicester or similar – typically the scraps we have left in the fridge )

Tip your chips into an overprotective dish and evenly top with the meatballs and BBQ sauce followed by the green chilli and finally your cheese.

Nachos with meatballs

Bake in a hot oven for about 15 minutes until the chips around the outside have browned and the cheese is molten goodness.

Cheesy nachos with meatballs

Chicken Traybake With Basil, Tomatoes & Mozzarella

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I love cooking but quite often I just don’t have the time to fuss around for hours yet I still want fresh, flavourful food.

A traybake is ideal for when you have had a busy day and you don’t want loads of washing up or standing at the stove. This recipe is a really simple one using fresh, summery ( yes it’s still Summer..kind of ) ingredients.

You will need:

Chicken thighs ( depending on how many of you are eating)
A handful of fresh basil leaves
A mixture of tomatoes, whole or sliced in half
A ball of mozzarella, thickly sliced
Garlic oil or olive oil with some crushed garlic
Sea salt and crushed black pepper

Place your thighs in a roasting or baking tray, not too big so you can keep the ingredients snugly together. Add your tomatoes and basil, season and then drizzle over your oil – about a tbsp should do it.

Chicken and basil Traybake
Bake for approximately 25 minutes until the chicken is cooked and then add your mozzarella slices on top of the thighs and bake for a further few minutes until melted and gooey.

Mozzarella chicken

Serve immediately with the sides of your choice, we chose sweetcorn, baked sweet potatoes and roasted shallots. Delicious. Simple. Quick.

What are your go to easy meals for busy days?

The Way We Eat

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Everywhere you look you will see articles about clean eating, raw foods and mindful eating. Is this the new way of eating for our generation?

I can’t imagine our family ever going without the odd burger ( homemade of course ) Chips and a good serving of chocolate cake BUT everything in moderation right?

In my eyes that’s what mindful eating is, being aware of what you are eating. Knowing that if you eat something indulgent for lunch perhaps you should eat something lighter for your next meal. Perhaps you shouldn’t have pudding after every meal and pancakes for breakfast could become your Sunday special.. After all eat them too often and they are no longer a treat.

I don’t like to view foods as bad, or call myself naughty for eating them. I’m an adult and I choose what I eat.

Sometimes that’s fruit..sometimes that’s fudge.

Fresh figs

There is an interesting article on mindful eating here on the Legal & General site.

We have recently tried out one of the popular food meal boxes: Hello Fresh. All the produce was fresh, the meat was lean and healthy. Herbs, chillies, chopped tomatoes and coconut water were finishing touches to the meals. Whilst it’s not the type of thing I would do every month it was nice to try it out and I could certainly see us using something like this when we knew we had a busy week coming up.

It felt good to have a week of eating really well.

We have also started making loads of smoothies in our Bella Extract Pro and fresh veggie soups in the kCook.

What do you think of the Mindful Eating movement?

*We received a meal box in exchange for this post.

Top Toys Autumn 2015

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Living in a house with a nearly 4year old and a 2yr old there is always a hefty pile of toys strewn about. Every few months we have a bit of a re shuffle which ends up with some bags of book and toys being donated to charity, others being passed onto family members and favourites being stored in the attic for when our girls have their own children.

Out with the old, in with the new. My children are pretty lucky in that we receive toys regularly for to us to review at home which means they quite often get toys before they hit the shops. One toy which we received a little while ago is My Friend Freddy:

Freddy is a clever toy. You can answer 50 questions about your child on the app and Freddy will astonish them with the things they know. We have had a LOT of fun with this toy.

My friend freddy

We have also been having a play with some Twirlywoos, based on the popular CBeebies show. Our girls love this show and for me it’s one of the less annoying ones to have on in the house. These toys are squishy and bright and they have even been taken to bed sometimes.

Twirlywoos

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And finally some Pip Ahoy toys, also based on a TV show shown on the Milkshake channel ( part of channel 5 ). There are a great range of Pip Ahoy toys including a boat with figurines and some gorgeous cuddly soft ones.

Pip ahoy toys

What toys are your little ones loving?

* We were sent these toys to review.

Food Blog Of The Fortnight: Natural Kitchen Adventures

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Hello and welcome to a new blog feature: Food Blog Of The Fortnight! As well as writing a food blog I follow quite a few and I’ve built up a good list of favourites now. Over the next few months I’ll be sharing some of these blogs, both old and new.

Today I’d like to introduce you to:

Ceri of Natural Kitchen Adventures

Ceri jones natural kitchen adventures

I love this blog because it has healthy recipes which also sound ( and look ) appetising, quite often Ceri uses ingredients I wouldn’t think to use and so it’s also quite inspiring to not just food bloggers but home cooks.

A bit about Ceri:

I started my blog in May 2011, and it was initially called Cucina Ceri (Ceri’s kitchen in Italian). This was just a month after I ran the London Marathon, and I wanted a new healthy project to work on! I had blogged through my marathon training and in the process had rediscovered a love of writing – which had been somewhat quashed by not really enjoying or being skilled at English at GSCE level many moons ago! Some 4.5 years and a name change later I still love the writing aspect of blogging, and it comes far more naturally to me than the photography aspect. It goes without saying I love the cooking and recipe development aspect of blogging. Understanding a direct link between food & health and knowing that the blog gives me the opportunity to spread the word about healthy eating by sharing recipes that are easily accessible and downright tasty is my motivation to keep going!
2 years into my blogging journey I decided to leave my career, re-train as a health food chef and make my mission for healthy food part of my career. The blog has been with me through all of this transition process and whilst my blog is now a mixture of fun, sponsored posts and recipe development, as well as a marketing tool for my cooking classes and supper clubs I still love blogging and get excited each time I press publish on a new recipe. Blogging is a part of me now, I honestly don’t think I could give it up!

Your most popular recipe:

My most popular recipe isn’t that photogenic but it is what it is! http://naturalkitchenadventures.com/recipe/slow-cooked-spiced-pulled-lamb-shoulder/

Slow cooked pulled lamb

Your personal favourite recipe:

http://naturalkitchenadventures.com/recipe/decadent-dairy-free-chocolate-mousse/ If you love chocolate this is the only dessert recipe you will ever need!

Dairy free chocolate mousse

Where can we find you?:

www.instagram.com/cerikitchen
www.twitter.com/cerikitchen
www.facebook.com/naturalkitchenadventures
www.pinterest.com/cerikitchen

Come back in two weeks to see who is next!