Ratatouille Soup

This is a lovely soup bursting with vegetables and with a perfect warm kick to it. Just what one needs as the days turn chilly.

Serves 6

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion - peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 aubergine - chopped small
2 courgette - chopped small
1 green pepper - chopped small
1 red pepper - chopped small
400g tin chopped tomatoes
3 tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
900 ml vegetable stock
20g sun-dried tomatoes 

Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and garlic and cook for 5 mins without browning. 

Add half the aubergine, half the courgette and half the peppers to the pan and the remaining ingredients simmer for 20mins until all the vegetables are cooked and blend. Then add the rest of the vegetables and cook for a further 15 mins. 

Serve with a warm crusty brown roll, spread thickly with lurpak butter. Mmmmm. 

Facepack Friday

Facepack Friday was invented when Emily and I lived together and both had 9-5 jobs Monday to Friday. 

On a Friday one of us would stop off on the way home and stock up on supplies:

Ingredients for tortilla pizzas 
Ingredients for popcorn 
Face packs / ingredients for homemade face packs 
A Film
Wine / cocktail ingredients - optional  

Step 1. We'd make up our pizzas and cocktails. 

Step 2.Once the pizzas were finished we'd make up some popcorn pop on the film and take it in turns to give each other a facial, and face pack Friday was born. 

It was such a great tradition, instead of waking up on a Saturday morning hungover, we'd wake up relaxed and fresh faced, starting the weekend feeling preened and pampered. 

We don't work  standard 9-5 jobs and we don't live together anymore but we still have face pack Friday every now and again, even though sometimes it's on a Tuesday or a Saturday. 

Why not invite your friends around for a Facepack Friday, give each other facial, paint each other's nails, and top it off with some homemade snacks and maybe a homemade cocktail or two... And most importantly relax. 

Display Ladders

I'm sure you have seen the latest ladder craze, it's a great way to add height in the garden or in the home. I picked these ladders up at a car boot sale for £10 and they were pretty rough so mike wouldn't allow them in the house, but that's okay because they also work great in the garden. 

I painted them with Cuprinol outdoor paint in 'forget me not' blue. The lights are solar lights from IKEA, and I then placed a few pots of flowers on the steps. They dress up a rather drab corner of the yard. 

I'm going to plan a winter display for them so come the cold weather I can still have a bit of prettiness in the yard. 

Cheat's Individual Banofee Pie

This is a complete cheat at a banoffee pie. It's easy, naughty and delicious, in my mind, everything a pudding should be.

 

You will need:

Chocolate digestives (one per pudding)

Banana

Whipped cream (I whipped my own by hand - which was really hard! If you can't be bothered with the muscle power I suggest using an electric whisk.)

Dulce de Leche (Argentinian caramel in a jar, you can get this in big supermarkets, its usually with evaporated milk and things like that)

Grated chocolate

 

Now it is simply a matter of stacking those ingredients:

 

Finally grate chocolate over the top and tuck in... yum yum yum!

 

 

Emily x





Cocktail: English Garden

I'm a complete mojitos girl, but as I have a cocktail cabinet I have been trying to branch out. I also thought this was a good excuse to try out our homemade elder flower cordial in a cocktail.

Whilst looking up some ideas, I found a recipe for 'English Garden' cocktail on the Belvoir Fruit Farms website. I gave it a try, and it's lovely! Kinda a but mojito-ish , lovely and light and perfect for a summers evening.

2 lime wedges
5 mint leaves
20ml elderflower cordial
50ml white rum
100ml apple juice

Muddle together in a tall glass with some ice and garnish with some mint. 

DIY: Artificial Wreath

I have been meaning to make an artificial wreath for my back door for ages. I recently got around to making one and it's super easy.

I picked up the plain base wreath for £3.50 from a local haberdashery shop. However the artificial flowers were £12 for a bunch. These were more expensive than I was expecting, and I think you can buy cheaper ones but they can be a bit plastic looking. I only used about a third of the bunch. 

I basically tried and tested until I found a placement I liked. I was surprised at the simplicity of it. You can literally poke the stems through the woven base, and if you don't like it, pull it out again and start over. It took a few attempts but I'm really pleased with the outcome. 

The great thing about making your own wreath is you can change them around with the season. I don't know about you but the weathers changing pretty quickly around here and it's already starting to feel a lot like autumn so I'm going to start planning an autumn wreath, I'm thinking amber leaves and moss. So watch out for my next wreath blog. Then there's the Christmas wreath...

Bivouac

You would think that living three doors from each would mean that Hatty and I would see each other all the time, but actually we don't, so it's special when we get to spend the day together. At the end of last week we had one of those days at Bivouac near Masham in North Yorkshire.

 

 

We started our day with a little walk to the Druid's Temple. It's just five minutes up the lane from Bivouac and is pretty amazing. I don't know how old it is, but its impressive and fun to imagine all the things that might have happened there, especially at the big stone table (obviously we said 'hey' to Aslan and the Narnians at this point!) 

 



 

Having worked up an appetite we headed back to Bivouac which is nestled in the Yorkshie Dales with beautiful views. Everywhere you look there is wonderful detail, from the bay trees in tin buckets to handcrafted pieces, murals and mosaics, the whole place is a piece of art. 

 

Bivouac is a little bit of a future dream for Hatty and I... we'd love a glamping site and who knows one day we might just have one. Bivouac is a fabulous blend of rustic and luxury. Their accommodation includes yurts and wooden shacks, plus they have a little shop and a scrummy café restaurant, with a tree in it! I love this so much!

The café is set over three floors in a converted farm building. There is lots of exposed wood and comfy cushions, its incredibly cosy. We sat downstairs in a space dedicated to littlies, Millie played with toys and gave Hatty and I approximately five minutes of chat time. I can't wait for Autumn to make myself (I mean Millie) some of these leaf animals.

 

The café is now open on an evening and I think we'll be returning for the family pizza and quiz night. Our heads are swimming with ideas now, we're just trying to get them all down on paper so nothing gets lost, Hatty is already underway with a new dream book :) One day we'll share it all with you, promise!

 

Spiced Apple Chutney

I find nice chutney can be quite expensive so I prefer to make my own as I go through quite a lot in the cafe. I mostly use it in Wensleydale cheese and chutney sandwiches, I highly recommend, also good toasted! 

Makes 6-8 jars

1 onion - peeled and chopped

3 large brambly apples - peeled and chopped
100g sultanas
350g granulated sugar
425ml malt vinegar
1tsp ground mixed spice 
1tsp ground coriander 
1tsp paprika
1tsp salt

Put all the ingredients into a preserving pan. Slowly bring to the boil until the sugar has dissolved.

Simmer for 1½-2 hours, stirring from time to time to stop the chutney sticking to the pan.

When it is very thick and you can draw a wooden spoon across the base of the pan so that it leaves a channel behind it that does not immediately fill with liquid, the chutney is ready.

Turn into sterilized jars, seal and cool.

Store in a cool, dark cupboard for two to three months before eating.

Day Trip: Robin Hoods Bay

During our recent glamping holiday to Whitby in a vain attempt to stir ourselves from a mid holiday slumber we went for a short drive to Robin Hoods Bay for a brisk walk along the beach. 

Robin Hoods Bay is the pinnacle of cute seaside towns, we enjoyed some delicious food and coffee in Bramblewick cafe, and a good peak in all the cute little holiday cottages.