Biscuit Tiffin

This is one of the easiest and most yummy chocolate tray bakes ever to grace the earth. You think rocky road is good? You haven't lived chocolate heaven until you've had this tiffin. The hardest thing about it is waiting for it to set before tucking in!

makes 18 (big chunks!)

300g chocolate digestive biscuits

100g glace cherries

100g sultanas

200g dark chocolate

200g milk chocolate

4 tbsp golden syrup

250g butter

Bash up biscuits and add sultanas and chopped up cherries.

Melt chocolate, golden syrup and butter in a bowl over a pan of boiling water.

Pour melted ingredients into the biscuit mix.

Put in a greased cling filmed 13" x 9" rectangle tin and leave to set.

DIY: Gift Book

I first made one of these a couple of weeks ago for someone who's birthday present was a membership and a day out so there was nothing to unwrap. Making a little book with photos and poems made an extra little keep-sake and was much more exciting than just being told what was going to happen.

I then decided to make one for my husband for his first Father's Day. It's just a little keepsake and was lovely to make and hopefully will be lovely to receive on Sunday!

Gather together lots of pretty bits of paper and card (I have a slight obsession with stationary and paper so I tend to buy things when I see them on sale or in discount stores and consequentially have boxes full of pretty paper!) Paul loves maps so I've put an old road map into my mix. Try to stick to a theme, or two to three colours.

 

Then create! I admit, I'm rubbish at planning and like to dive straight in and see where it takes me, but if you like instructions I have tried to take you through what I did...

 



 
1. Choose your front cover and fold lengthways into thirds. Make one third into a point.
2. Fold the paper as thus
3. Fold the point over and chop it off if it extends over the top... this creates pockets on the inside of the cover.
4. Fold in half and chop about an inch off the front side and fold the back cover over the front - hope that makes sense!

You now have the cover of your book... time to add pages!

 

5. Add extra pages - as many as you think you can fill! They can be all different pages or the same - I've only added one folded piece of paper which essentially adds four pages.

6. Once you have your desired number of pages fix in place. If you have a big enough stapler you can use this or stitch them together by doing a long running stitch along the spine.

7. Add envelopes (I cut this one down and put it back together with washi tape so it fitted the page), extra post its, pretty bits of paper - just use a glue stick.

 

 

8. Add the personal touches - photographs, poems, sentiments - if you have bought tickets slot them in a pocket, what a lovely surprise that would be for someone!

 

Then finish off with a label and a closing mechanism - here I've used a peg but you could use two buttons with tied string, poppers or even Velcro!

 

I want to make these for everyone - so watch out people I buy gifts for!

 

 

And Happy Father's Day for Sunday lovely Daddys!

 

Emily x







No Pastry Quiches

These are great for the whole family and particularly good for Baby-Led Weaning or moving your little one onto finger foods. What I love about them is firstly, they are so easy and secondly really versatile and easy to cater to different tastes.

 

You need 1 beaten egg per two 'quiches'. You'll also need:

• Milk (full fat if making for babies and toddlers)
• Your choice of filling and the possibilities are endless... Today I used some grated cheddar, spinach (washed and chopped) and a chopped spring onion.

If you are making them all the same simply put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together. If you want to vary the ingredients (for example make adult and baby versions) put the common ingredients in the bowl (egg and milk for sure and whatever else) then pour into silicone muffin cases (either singles or a tray) being careful to leave room for the remaining ingredients. Such as...

 

Examples for babies/children (of course you can eat these too but you may want something a bit more adult):



• Cheese and tomato
• Cheese and onion
• Chicken (shredded quite small) and spinach

For adults:

• Broccoli (lightly steamed) and blue cheese
• Chorizo, peppers and a dash of paprika on top
• Feta and sun dried tomatoes

Once they are all finished pop them in the over (200degrees/Gas mark6) for about 20mins - ta da!

 

See how easy it can be to cater to different tastes? These are great for lunches on the go or at home and especially good for picnics as you can easily make a big batch. I wouldn't recommend freezing them but they will keep in the fridge for a day.

I'd love to know ideas for what you put in yours...

Other good baby proof/ family recipes include Homemade Fish Fingers and Italian Shepherd's Pie

Emily x

Hatty's Top 10 Films

These are my top 10 films at the moment, they are not in any particular order and I like them all for different reasons, but mostly they are all the kind of films you can watch over and over. The reality is my top 7 films are ALL the Harry potter films (judge all you like but it's the truth) but I couldn't exactly have them taking up 7 out of 10 spots so these are my top 10 excluding Harry potter! I'm not claiming to be some film buff and that you will defiantly love them too but here they are, my honest top films, I think they are worth giving a try... whilst donning a face mask, eating tortilla pizza and sipping red wine, but maybe that's just me! Happy go lucky - I first saw this film with one of my great friends at uni, we ate salty popcorn and supped my Thermos flask of tomato soup that I had forgotten to have for lunch, it's a sweet memory and this is a sweet film.

Pretty in pink - Again this has uni memories for me, A bunch of girl friends and I went to watch this in a lovely independent cinema in Newcastle called the Tyneside and enjoyed Kopperberg cider and many giggles at the amazing 1980s cheese! 

A good year - a feel good film that will have you packing your bags and leaving your job to live on a vineyard in France. 

Stealing beauty - a coming of age film that again will make you dream of holidays in rustic farm houses in Italy.

Chocolat - Have chocolates at the ready with this one, it will have your mouth watering and I don't just mean over Johnny Depp.

The grand Budapest hotel - for retro decor eye candy that will blow your mind and have you laughing all the way through, well it did for us, plus I loved all that 1970s orange decor. 

The boat that rocked - you know when you have that feeling that you totally missed out because you didn't live you 20s in the 1970s, that what this film is all about, I love the insight into that rock n roll era.

The great gatsby - This is a visually amazing film and makes you actually wished you had been there to truly experience the debauchery of prohibition in the 1920s 

The imaginarium of doctor parnassus -a magical escape to another world that will have your mind whirling.

Avatar - a beautiful, magical and wonderful film that will make your skin tingle.

Instagram Album

I love Instagram, I love that it encourages me to take little snap shots of my life. I look through my photos from a couple of years ago and it brings back so many memories. The only problem is having them all stored on my phone and not printing them out enough. I looked into having them printed or a book made up, but because I have nearly 300 photos it was looking to be quite expensive so I decided to make my own. 

First I downloaded all the photos off my phone onto my laptop and resized them to 3.5 x 3.5 inch this fits six on an A4 page. 
I printed them all off onto matte photo paper and cut them out using a guillotine.

Next I punched two holes in them on the left hand side and used ring binder clips to fix them together, I got these from eBay.

The photos are quite fragile so I bought some thick white board to use as a front and back cover and stamped the year on the front.

This was not a quick project, it was a lengthily process. I'd say altogether it it took between 10-15 hours to complete, I just did a couple of hours on an evening in front of the tv until it was completed. I intend to keep printing them and adding to the albums little by little.

I have them stored in a vintage oxo tin on my coffee table. 

Easy Peasy Mini Lemon Meringue Pies

This is a total cheat of a recipe, but they taste great and look really cute. Sometimes you just need a quick and easy dessert option.

I sometimes make my own pastry but for the sake of the ease of this recipe use shop bought pastry (and you know what? It ain't half bad either!) 

300g pre rolled shortcrust pastry
Jar of lemon curd
2 egg whites 
2 oz caster sugar

Line mini tart tins with the pre rolled shortcrust pastry and blind bake for 12 mins, take the baking beans out and bake the pastry for a further 8 mins.
Spread a tablespoon of lemon curd into each pastry case.
Whisk the egg whites until fluffy, slowly add half the caster sugar, then fold in the remaining caster sugar. Spoon the meringue on top of the lemon curd and make as high and fluffy as possible. 
Bake at 150 c for 15mins.

Tip: if your not eating the lemon meringues until the following day, turn the oven off and leave them in the oven, this will make the meringue crispier, but don't forget their in there! 

Day Out: Staithes, North Yorkshire

Staithes is a picturesque, seaside fishing village and last week we joined our other sister (Rebecca) as she took a mini tour of North Yorkshire with her boyfriend (Pato).

 

 

We enjoyed a little wander, a fishy pub lunch with a sea view in the 'Cod and Lobster' and of course the obligatory ice cream. We even happened upon a fab shop, 'Dotty about Vintage' and Hatty picked up some traditional decks chairs (which we got in the car, just).

 

 

On such a beautiful sunny day it was easy to see what inspired a group of artists called 'Staithes Group' or 'Northern Impressionists' who are celebrated during the annual 'Staithes Festival or Arts and Heritage' which will be held again in September this year (http://www.staithesfestival.com/) 

 

 

 

 

 

Emily x