Thursday 18 February 2016

Ultimate Yorkie Puds


Makes 12

Ingredients
1/2 Large 'mug' of plain flour
1/2 Large 'mug' of eggs
1/2 Large 'mug' of milk
Vegetable oil
A pinch of salt and pepper

Tip: To make more or less just change the measuring tool you use, just make sure you keep equal measures.

Method
1. Pre-heat oven to 180°.
2. Pour oil into a muffin tin case up to a 1/4 of the way and place in oven.
3. In a bowl, combine flour, eggs, milk and a pinch of salt and pepper and whisk until smooth.
4. Once oil is piping hot (be careful), equally pour mixture into each muffin case (should be up to 2/3 of the way or nearabouts).
5. Cook for 15 minutes and whatever you do, DO NOT open the oven door!

Serve with a scrumptious roast dinner and lashings of gravy!

G.

Sunday 14 February 2016

Curried Carrot, Pepper & Sweet Potato Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients
6 Large carrots
2 Peppers (red, yellow or orange)
1 Large sweet potato
1/2 Red Onion
1 Tsp cumin seeds
3 Tbsp curry powder
1/2 Tsp chilli powder
2 Garlic cloves
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1L Stock (chicken or vegetable)
A pinch of salt and pepper

Method 

1. Peel and roughly chop carrots and sweet potato, then roughly chop the onion and peppers.
2. In a large pan, fry off cumin seeds, curry powder, chilli powder and garlic cloves in vegetable oil on a low - medium heat (make sure it doesn't burn or you will get an unpleasant taste!)
3. Add vegetables to pan and sweat off for 10 minutes on a low - medium heat.
4. Add stock and a pinch of salt and pepper to pan and leave to simmer until vegetables are thoroughly cooked (25 minutes on a low - medium heat) - overcooked is better!
5. Using a hand blender, blend until smooth and creamy.


Serve with a crusty bread roll and a sprinkle of chilli powder!

G.

Thursday 11 February 2016

Valentine's Gift Ideas for Him or Her



For those of you that haven't noticed, it's coming up to that time again - Valentine's Day! If you have a partner, whether you're a hopeless romantic or haven't got an ounce of romance in your body, it's about time you get looking for a little gift for the one you love. Now we're going to be honest, we are not the biggest fans on giving lavish gifts on Valentine's as we would much rather treat our boyfriend's on their Birthday and Christmas. However, it is nice to give them a little treat to show your love. So here are our top 10 gift ideas to buy this valentine's.

1.


Personalised Hanging Slate Sign
£12.99


2.

 Personalised Natural Cushion
£22.99

3.

 Image 1 of You Are My Cup Of Tea 

You Are My Cup Of Tea
£6.00

4.

 Image 1 of ASOS You're My Favourite iPhone 6 and 6s Case

ASOS You're My Favourite iPhone 6 and 6s Case
£8.00

5.

Image 3 of Bluebella Emma Playsuit

Bluebella Emma Playsuit
£29.00

6.

Image 1 of Men's Society Smooth Operator Shave Set 

Men's Society Smooth Operator Shave Set
£25.00

7.

Love Potions
Love Potions
£10.00

8.


 

Sunset Roses
£24.99

 

www.gettingpersonal.co.uk
www.asos.com
www.hotelchocolat.com/uk
www.paperchase.co.uk
www.flyingflowers.co.uk/

 G.



Everyday Handbag Essentials




Okay, so I need to begin with saying that yes, sometimes my bag can be a bit of a mess as it can sometimes contain old car park tickets or empty chewing gum wrappers, but let’s move on from that...  As actually when it comes to my handbag I'm pretty well organised most of the time! Every morning I give it a quick tidy and make sure that I’ve got what I need and no more.
FYI of course I carry my keys and phone, but no one is interested in that.



Purse
My beloved Vivienne Westwood. I was brought this for my birthday a couple of years back from my boyfriend. Yes, it is big but I love fitting everything in it including cards, receipts and photos etc. I adore the tartan, it's just beautiful. 


iPod
Yes, I am aware that we are in an era of streaming but I'm a bit old school and still love my iPod. I love buying CD's and physically being able to see the money I've spent, not to mention I love artwork so I would always choose buying CD's and then synching it to my iPod over streaming any day.

Headphones
So when it came to buying a pair of headphones I simply googled "best headphones under £50". The result: well many websites claimed the AKG K451 are the best, and they were not wrong. Great quality of sound, they have a unique twist and fold design making them compact and easy to carry/store and they effectively cancel out background noise. Wherever my iPod goes, they go!

Concealer
  I always carry concealer. My tried and tested favourite is MAC Studio Finish SPF concealer. It leaves a great finish, but the best thing about this concealer is that it is tiny so it can fit in any bag!

Hand Cream
I'm obsessed with having clean hands. You will forever see me washing my hands constantly and I always moisturise straight after. My favourite hand cream to use is by L'Occitane en Provence. Just one small amount leaves your hands so soft and they have the most amazing scents, this one in particular is Jasmin Passion.

Lip Balm
I know this is controversial but I'm not a massive fan of Vaseline. Oooh I said it! Instead my go to lip balm is Nivea Lip Care Essential. It feels lush and you don't have to use your fingers unlike Vaseline.

Sunglasses
... Because you never know when you might need them in England! I tend to buy mine from Dorothy Perkins as they're cheap, long lasting and do the job perfectly fine!

G.