Has Christmas Day really come and gone already? It seems like we prepare for an absolute age and then it’s gone in a flash! I hope all your wishes came true and your dinners were delicious.

I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with family so I didn’t get a chance to cook which I missed! Yesterday I just relaxed and spent time playing with Izzy or watching tv with my OH but today I really wanted to get back in the kitchen. I was spoilt this year, spoilt by the wonderful time I got to spend with my family and the fabulous food I had to eat and once again spoilt with perfect presents from my OH and Izzy.

I won’t list all my presents but I will tell you that I will be experimenting with new recipes, cooking methods and playing with kitchen gadgets for quite some time!

Some of my books:

Already bookmarked around 30 MUST TRY recipes.

I was also lucky enough …after numerous hints to get a new waffle maker so it would have been rude to not try that out. It’s very different to my old waffle maker (my mums) so my first attempt looked like this:

I blame the waffle maker instructions. It said use 1 tablespoon of mixture .. Clearly not enough so I doubled it for attempt 2 which was a major improvement :

Both tasted delicious. For those interested the recipe I use for waffles is here and I often add extra ingredients such as vanilla or cinnamon… Or even chocolate chips.

Waffle making was not enough I needed to make something delicious for dinner so I tried a recipe which I have heard fave reviews about. Ham in coca cola. Sounds weird, tastes dreamy.
I used Nigellas recipe which you can find here I made a few small adjustments. Instead of using molasses followed by mustard powder and sugar I simply rubbed in a tablespoon of English mustard after I had placed my cloves in the scored fat and then followed by rubbing in 2 tablespoons of molasses. Worked well for me and the end result was so good I was amazed.

Here are some pics :

Bubbling hot hot hot

Just ready to go in the oven

Begging to be eaten but best leave it cool…

Worth waiting for

And one more just because it looked so pretty

If you have a ham lurking in your fridge you must try this, if not then well there are lots of hams in the shops at the moment. Buy one, try this. You will not be disappointed.

My kitchen addiction only seems to be growing so expect more and more recipes very soon.

I am aiming for healthier recipes in January. Until then enjoy.

P.S thanks for the feedback from you lovely people who tried my sprout recipe on Christmas Day. So glad you loved it too!