Orange and Cardamon Cake.

Ok I think this is the best cake I have made so far... I say try every recipe but this one is a keeper and the children love it especially with vanilla ice cream in this warm weather.

Home-made Pizza.

What a treat for both me and the children. Kids get to cook and eat pizza and i get to have a evening off  just the odd help and of course clearing up but all in all a fab idea, so give this one a go. 

Hannah tucking into her creation...

I get the left over dough and pop as many toppings as possible on top, salami, asparagus, goats cheese, olives and basil yum yum.

Pizza Dough Ingredients:

4g Dry active yeast.

120ml Warm water.

170g Strong bread flour (plain is best).

2g White sugar.

2g Salt.

15ml Olive oil.

-Place water and yeast in a bowl (or food processor with blunt blade in) and leave for 10 mins, until nice and creamy.

-Add all dry ingredients and oil and mix until it forms a nice dough.

-Scoop out dough and pop on well floured surface.

- Divide into 2 or 3 balls and roll out into a thin pizza base.

- Smear on a thin layer of tomatoe puree and then add whatever toppings take your fancy.

-Pop in oven for about 10 mins and there we are, delicious home-made pizza.

Choc and Beetroot Brownies.

Delicious, moist and can almost convince yourself that they are good for you due to the beetroot content ha. Enjoy.

I grated the beetroot so you can see it clearly and it adds texture. The children liked these but you do eat most things if you think beetroot my cause a few issues just puree it.

Taken from good ol' Hugh F-W recipe.

Ingreidents:

250g butter.

250g Cooking Choc, broken into pieces.

3 eggs.

250g Caster sugar.

pinch of salt.

150g Self raising flour.

250g Beetroot, grated or pureed.

-Pre-heat oven to 160/180.

-Pop choc and butter in oven proof bowl and place over saucepan with simmering water in it, and stir till choc and butter have melted into a yummy mess.

-Whisk together eggs and sugar in large mixing bowl until creamy.

-Add choc mix into egg and sugar and stir/ fold until smooth.

- Add flour and salt.

-Finally mix in the beetroot.

-Pop mixture into a well greased tin and place in the oven.

-Remove from oven when they have a cracked top and still a little gooey inside. -Leave to cool then tip out and cut into little squares.

ENJOY! 

Kandis' Carrot and Cinnamon Cake

A delicious easy to to bake carrot cake (with no eggs). It almost lasted a the whole day but not quite.

 Who could resist giving kiddies vegetables in a cake... Brilliant.

A sprinkling of pumpkin seeds on top before its popped in the oven,  as they are full of many forms of goodness. Again another healthy reason to bake a cake!

Ingredients:

225g Plain wheat-meal flour

( I did 1/2 wheat-meal, 1/2 plain white).

1 tbsp ground cinnamon.

1/2 tbsp baking powder.

110g butter.

80g runny honey.

30g golden syrup.

110g sugar(brown if possible).

225g (roughly 4 

topped and tailed grated carrots).

Pre- heat oven to 180`c.

Mix flours, cinnamon and baking powder in large bowl.

Melt butter, honey, syrup and sugar in a saucepan. Once all melted and mixed together into a gooey deliciousness, pour into bowl with flour etc.

Mix well then add the grated carrot.

Pour mixture into a well greased loaf tin and if you want sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and pop into the oven for around 10-15 mins.

The cake is ready onced turned a lovely golden brown and if you place a knife into the middle of the cake it should come out just clean with a little moistness.

Enjoy!..

Wild Garlic Pesto

Wild Garlic (Ramsons) Pesto is a winner every time, whether its mixed into pasta, added to Bolognese or smeared on top of chicken. It only takes minutes to make.

 Wild Garlic growing in my Grandmothers woods.

Flowering Wild Garlic, these beautiful white flowers are a extra special garlic touch to any salad.

A large handful bunch is enough for one small jars worth of pesto.

End result a yummy Jar of home-made fresh and healthy pesto.

Ingredients:

Wild garlic.

Rapeseed oil (or olive oil).

Pine nuts or pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.

Recipe:

One of the easiest recipes with huge results.

-Collect or buy (as i saw it at Broadway market, London the other day) a large handful/bunch of wild garlic and pop it into a food processor.

-Add olive oil while food processor is on until the right consistency.

-Pour in nuts/ seeds and season.

-Spoon out into a sterilised jar and seal.

You can make pestos with most leafy, tasty herbs in the same way however, I would add a couple of cloves of garlic. Enjoy.