Week 15 dinner menu

Monday - Lamb chops, new potatoes and peas
Tuesday - Jacket potato with cheese, coleslaw and salad
Wednesday - Chinese baked beans and rice
Thursday - Chicken madras and rice
Friday - Scallop, prawn and pea risotto
Saturday - Steak and mash
Sunday - Yaki udon and gyoza

Chilli muffins and red velvet cupcakes

Had another baking day today, so grabbed the Hummingbird cookbook and got to work.  First of all the savoury - I'm not a fan of savoury cakes, but my husband is willing to try (nearly) anything.    The first batch was a cheese, sweetcorn and chilli muffin.

They were made according to the recipe - verdict from Bart?  They need a little something extra, maybe salt.  The recipe only asks for 1/8th of a teaspoon, so next time I will try a little more and see if it helps.

Next was the sweet.  Here I chose the red velvet cupcakes - what seems to be Hummingbirds signature cupcake.  It was the first time I had used soda bicarb and vinegar as the raising agent, but they came out very well if I do say so myself!

Verdict?  The recipe makes too much frosting, and the frosting is a bit too sweet for my taste, so will attempt to reduce this next time.  The cake itself is lovely and light - and very very red.

Week 14 dinner menu

Monday - Chicken and leek risotto
Tuesday - Freezer surprise
Wednesday - Honey and mustard pork chops, potato croquettes and beans
Thursday - Linguine with buttered fish
Friday - Yaki Udon and gyoza
Saturday - French onion soup, quiche lorraine and salad
Sunday - Meatballs, mash potato and veg

Tiramisu cupcakes

A week ago I treated myself to a lovely Dualit hand mixer and a new cook book - the Hummingbird Cake Days book.  As its mothers day, and I get to do what I like I decided to do some baking.  The very first recipe in the book is a variation on one of my favorite desserts - Tiramisu - so today I have made Tiramisu cupcakes.

They are definitely a treat, with the amount of cream, sugar and mascarpone in them!

For a special occasion treat these are very worthwhile.

Week 13 dinner menu

Monday - Chicken curry, brown rice and naan bread
Tuesday - Mince and mash
Wednesday - Fish pasta and salad
Thursday - Beef and barley stew with mashed potato
Friday - Chicken Yaki Udon and gyoza
Saturday - Lamb kebabs, pitta and salad
Sunday - Roast duck with all the trimmings

Cake baking - ricotta, apricot and almond cake

I'm not good at baking, I am happy to admit that.  But I am good at eating it!  I'm usually just a little bit disappointed by supermarket cakes (except for cadbury chocolate mini rolls - I can inhale those), so I thought I would bake a cake myself.

Now, there is no way that I can invent my own recipe, so I had a look through my cook books, and got out the Good food 101 slow cooking recipes, which has a couple of tasty cakes in it.  Having treated myself to a new hand food mixer, of course I had to make use of it, so I made a ricotta, apricot and almond cake.  Takes 90 minutes to bake, and is obviously good for you, as real apricots are involved :)

I couldn't find the recipe on the good food website, so if you want to try the cake yourself, you either have to pop round for a cup of tea and a slice of cake (while stocks last) or buy the cook book :)

Sorry!

Sorry for the lack of recipe updates recently, my daughter has started nursery, and bringing all of the bugs home with her, so she is like a plague carrier, passing it all to me!  Having not been around children for many years, I have alot of bugs to get immune to.

Hopefully normal service will be resumed shortly.

Week 12 dinner menu

Monday - Japanese chicken curry and rice, gyoza
Tuesday - Leftover curry and rice
Wednesday - Freezer surprise
Thursday - Chilli con carne and rice
Friday - Home made fish and chips
Saturday - Scallops with pea puree, coq au vin, tart tatin
Sunday - Roast chicken and all the trimmings

Week 11 dinner menu

Monday - Steak and mash
Tuesday  - Fried gnocchi with shallots, pancetta and spinach
Wednesday - Sausages and mash
Thursday - Lasagne, garlic bread and salad
Friday - Chinese feast
Saturday - four cheese and ham ravioli in tomato sauce, pork chops with honey and mustard glaze and mash
Sunday - roast lamb and all the trimmings

Week 10 dinner menu

Monday - Early pancake day
Tuesday - Steak, mash and carrots
Wednesday - Freezer surprise
Thursday - Chicken chasseur, slow cooker rice pudding
Friday - Sticky belly pork, spicy potato wedges and salad
Saturday - Chinese feast
Sunday - Roast lamb with all the trimmings