Tag Archives: Food

Recipe: Daim Biscuits

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You can’t beat a good biscuit – together with a nice cup of tea (or glass of milk for the kiddos) it can turn a bad day into a bearable one with the first bite. The children and I first made these biscuits over half term and then Casper and I whipped up another batch this week when he was off school with an ear infection. I honestly think that just the delicious smell wafting through the kitchen did him as much good as all the spoonfuls of Calpol put together! If you don’t believe me, try them for yourself, quick and easy to make, they are the perfect mix of soft and crunchy – what’s not to love?

Daim biscuits:

(makes around 20-30 biscuits)
100 g butter (at room temperature)
80g caster sugar
1 tbsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp golden syrup
150 g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 regular Daim bars (crushed into small pieces with a pestle and mortar)

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and knead into a dough. Divide in two pieces and roll into two long sausage shapes. Place them on a tray covered in baking parchment and flatten with your fingers. Bake in the oven at 175 C, for 12-15 minutes. Take out the tray and cut the biscuits diagonally before they have cooled.

Enjoy! X

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Recipe: Swedish ‘Sockerkaka’ Sponge Cake

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Sockerkaka

I realise this is a bit of a departure from my previous healthy living post but I just downloaded last week’s photos from my camera and wanted to share this recipe with you. Sockerkaka (meaning: Sugar cake) is incredibly popular in Sweden and it is the perfect cake to whip up when you have unexpected company as it’s so simple to make and pretty much all the ingredients are cupboard staples. I made this last week when my friend and her daughter came over, it took me no more than ten minutes to mix up the batter once the kids had gone to school and then I could get on with my work while it was baking in the oven. You could add other flavours such as cocoa powder or lemon juice and zest but this is the original (and in my opinion the best) recipe:

3 eggs
180 g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
50 g butter
100 ml milk
220 g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees. Whisk together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla essence until white and fluffy. Melt the butter and stir in the milk, then add that to the mixture. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl and carefully fold into the batter. Pour into a prepared ring cake tin and bake in the middle of the oven for 25-30 minutes.

A healthy breakfast to kick-start your day

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Breakfast

I hardly ever skip breakfast and on the rare days that I do, I very quickly live to regret it when the inevitable mid-morning energy slump sets in. Whether or not you adhere to the old saying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, a healthy one beats a sugar-laden bowl of cereal hands down. My favourite go-to breakfast is my homemade low carb muesli but on cold mornings I often crave something warm like eggs or porridge. I found this recipe on Pinterest – it’s super simple and guaranteed to keep your energy levels up until lunch time. And if you’re not a breakfast fan, it tastes just as good for lunch, maybe with a bowl of soup.

The recipe specified Ezekiel bread but I’ve never seen that in the supermarkets here so I substituted my regular Soy & Linseed bread. Simply toast the bread, spread avocado on top, sprinkle over some crushed red pepper, season with salt & pepper and top it all off with a fried egg, sunny side up.

A delicious start to the day!

This Week’s Favourites

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Finally December is here and the countdown to Christmas has begun in earnest. I have vowed that this is the year I am going to be organised and on top of things – no more frantically running around crowded shops the day before school breaks up or sitting up until 2am wrapping Christmas presents on the 24th. I have one friend who had already finished her shopping (including all the stocking fillers) and wrapped it all by mid November! Well, that is never going to be me and in some ways I think it would take the fun out of the run-up to Christmas to be finished so early on (or maybe I’m just jealous that I will never attain that level of organisation) BUT I am working my way through the mammoth list of presents (every year we say we’re going to cut down on the number of gifts and then still end up thinking ‘oh well, just one more won’t hurt..’) and even plan to do some wrapping this week which is a definite first for me.

Here are some pictures and a brief round-up of the last week of November:

1. The boys are on their best behaviour at the moment, knowing that Santa is watching every move. Cameron was being extra helpful this week and even helped to brush his little sister’s teeth.

2. He also read a bedtime story to both his siblings. Believe me, bedtime is not usually this calm in our household!

3. On Tuesday I went to the Swedish shop in south west London with my mum and Clemmie to stock up on Christmas essentials like saffron, gingerbread dough (so much easier than making your own) and glogg.

4. Just like the September issues of the fashion glossies are a must-buy, I think interior magazines really come into their own in December with each sumptuous cover outdoing the next in terms of Christmas decadence. Living Etc is hands down my favourite any time of year.

5. With two older brothers, I thought Clemmie would turn into a little Tomboy but at the moment it is all about dolls, princesses and pink everything.

6. We had some friends over for dinner last night and couldn’t resist cracking open the champagne while we were waiting for them to arrive.

7. Their daughter is Clemmie’s best friend so she had been asking all day when they coming. I bought this dress for her this week from Zara – so cute, I wish it came in an adult version!

8. The first of December and the first of Advent today so we lit a candle in the Iittala candle holder. Let the Christmas countdown begin!

Have a wonderful evening. X

Recipe – Lasagne without the Pasta

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I hardly ever eat pasta at home as my husband suffers from coeliac disease and has to avoid all wheat and gluten. The kids will often have spaghetti bolognese or other pasta dishes for their tea and occasionally my husband will make us all a carbonara with gluten free spaghetti on a weekend (although he is not mad about the taste or texture). Over time I have got used to cooking rice, potatoes or just vegetables to go with whatever meat/chicken/fish we’re having. Sometimes though, on a chilly autumn night, I long for a bowl of lasagne with a nice glass of red wine. So I was delighted to come across a recipe which uses thin courgette slices instead of the traditional pasta sheets. As well as being great for anyone with a gluten allergy, it also works for those trying to cut down on the carbs.

I make my own version of bolognese (slightly spicy with a splash of double cream) but you can use whatever recipe you like for the meat sauce.

1 onion – chopped

garlic oil or 1-2 garlic cloves and olive oil

500 g beef mince

1 can chopped tomatoes

2-3 teaspoons Sambal Oelek (or Thai red chilli paste)

1-2 tablespoons soy sauce

a splash of red wine

2-3 tablespoons double cream

1-2 courgettes – finely sliced lengthways, I use a cheese slicer (bought from Ikea) to make the slices really thin

Cheese sauce: 400-500 ml creme fraiche mixed with 300 ml grated cheese

Turn the oven to 175c. Fry the onion and garlic until softened. Add the mince, breaking it up with a fork or spatula. Let it brown then add the other ingredients and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Alternate the courgette slices, bolognese and cheese sauce in an oven proof rectangular dish, topping it with a sprinkle of grated cheese. Cook in the oven for 40 minutes and serve with vegetables or a green salad (and a glass or two of Vino Rosso for that authentic Italian taste)

This Week’s Favourites

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This week's faves 13:10

I suppose the title of this post should really be ‘last week’s favourites’…I’m a day late but with all the party preparations last week and then the clearing up yesterday I have a feeling I’ll be playing catch-up all week. Anyway here’s a quick round-up of the last seven days:

1. My thermos mug from Ikea comes in handy on busy mornings when I end up having breakfast on the run.

2. I made another batch of low carb muesli this week (find the recipe here) – my favourite breakfast.

3. Banana bread is great to put in the children’s lunch boxes and as an afternoon treat with a cup of tea. (Recipe here)

4. The week started off very warm and we made the most of the sunny weather with a trip to the playground after preschool. As the week went on it got progressively colder and I think it’s definitely time to dig out the hats and gloves (although I think the chances of finding a matching pair are very slim, given how many gloves were lost at school last winter).

5. Beautiful autumn colours on a crisp, sunny morning.

6. I had been looking for a new ‘smart’ winter coat for a while but not found anything that was quite right. I have a padded coat from Zara which is great when it gets really cold but I wanted a slightly dressier one to wear for nights out. Usually buying coats is a nightmare as I’m small and unless I find one in a petite fit (which means much less choice), the sleeves are too long and it swamps me. But I went into town mid-week to take a few things back and there it was – the perfect coat. As luck would have it there was one left in my size and, being H&M, it was a total bargain at only £39.99! I tried to find it online to link back to for a better picture but for some reason it’s not up on the H&M website, so you’ll have to make do with the picture I snapped in the changing room. The main body of the coat is a black and white tweed type of pattern, with black sleeves and a detachable fur collar which you can of course wear with other coats and jackets as well.

7. It was only a quick trip into town but I did manage to have a wander through our local department store where they were setting up the Christmas display. I know a lot of people complain that the stores bring out the Christmas decorations too early but I kind of like it. The boys’ birthdays are at the end of October and beginning of November but after that I like to start planning for the festive season – I can’t stand stressing about it in mid December when the shops are full of people and things are starting to run out, or worrying about Internet deliveries arriving in time. Only ten weeks to go until Christmas Day folks!

8. Every Friday Clemmie and I go to Gym Tots with my friend and her daughter. The girls love running around, climbing on all the gym equipment and bouncing on the trampolines.

9. As you probably know by now the week culminated with a birthday party for my husband which went on into the early hours of Sunday morning. We all had a great time and he got some fantastic presents – almost all of them golf related!

Hope you’ve all had a fantastic start to the week! X

My Latest TV Addiction

Posted in Family Life, Food & Recipes by

JamieCollage

My husband and I often have wildly different tastes in TV programmes. I like glamour and drama, with a healthy bit of cheese thrown in (think Revenge, Gossip Girl – RIP, I still miss Chuck & Blair – and Made in Chelsea) while he prefers sport, Top Gear or worthy documentaries, which I think I should watch to boost my intellect but just find sooo boring. But now and again our tastes do overlap – we were both avid followers of Homeland (starts again on Sunday, yay!) The Bridge, Borgen and The Americans, to name but a few.

Most recently, it’s TV chef extraordinaire Jamie Oliver’s (is he ever off the telly?) latest series Save with Jamie that has caught our attention. Neither of us is usually that enamored with cookery shows but we both like the idea of roasting a big joint of meat or grilling a side of salmon for a family Sunday lunch and then eeking it out to make another two or three meals during the week. Last Sunday we had roast chicken with all the trimmings and then boiled the carcass to make chicken stock which, together with the leftover meat, was turned into a stew that lasted us two days.

Of course I realise that there is certain irony in a multi-millionaire chef showing us mere mortals how to cut down on our food spend, but if it saves us money and makes meal planning that bit easier then I’m all for it. And say what you will about the ‘Naked Chef’, he is a national institution and you do get the feeling that he does really care about the eating habits of the nation, even if he is laughing all the way to the bank.

Find the chicken stew recipe here

Recipe: Gluten Free Apple & Blackberry Crumble

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Last weekend I made my first ever crumble. It was really easy and tasted delicious so I can’t believe it had taken me so long. My only excuse is that, until now, the children have not been super keen on cooked fruit. But it turns out that, if you add enough butter and sugar, they gobble it all up! It probably also helped that they had picked the apples and blackberries themselves a couple of days before.

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Ingredients

For the crumble

  • 30g/1¼oz unsalted butter

  • 3 large Bramley apples or similar tart cooking apples, peeled, cores removed, each apple cut into 0.5cm/¼in slices

  • 150g/5¼oz caster sugar

  • 80g/3oz fresh blackberries

For the crumble topping

  • 170g/6oz gluten free flour

  • 85g/3oz unsalted butter

  • 1-2 tbsps caster sugar

Preparation method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
  2. For the crumble filling, heat the butter in pan over a medium heat. Add the apple slices and fry for 3-4 minutes, or until softened.
  3. Add the sugar and stir well to coat the apples. Continue to cook until the apples are tender and golden-brown and the sugar has melted.
  4. Add the blackberries and stir gently to combine.
  5. For the crumble topping, sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and sugar and rub together, using your fingertips, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. (Or even better, put it all into a food processor like I did and mix until it looks like breadcrumbs)
  6. Spoon the apple and blackberry filling into a shallow ovenproof dish. Sprinkle over the topping mixture to just cover the filling. Transfer the dish to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the topping is pale golden brown and the filling is bubbling.

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A Taste of Sweden

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Many people probably think that Sweden’s culinary delights only consist of meatballs and pickled herring but it’s a well kept secret that the country also boasts some of the best ice cream and pizzas. Good enough to rival the Italians in my humble opinion. Not to mention the melt-in-your-mouth Marabou chocolate bars and the bakeries with their yummy cinnamon buns and flaky buttery Danish pastries.
I’m firmly of the belief that holidays are for indulging and this trip has been no exception. Maybe it’s a good thing that we’re leaving in three days’ time, otherwise I’d end up the size of a house!
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Recipe: Salmon with butter and chive sauce

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I love salmon (tasty, easy to cook and boosts your brain power – what’s not to like?) and this is hands down my favourite recipe. You have to try it, the sauce is out of this world but beware, it tastes good enough to eat straight out of the saucepan!

This dish tastes great with rice or any kind of potatoes – last night we ate it with boiled new potatoes and green beans, simple but yummy. I squeezed some lemon over the salmon fillets and seasoned them with sea salt with garlic and chilli from The Garlic Farm, before cooking in the oven at 180 degrees for around 15-20 minutes.

Here’s how to make the sauce:

Serves 4

2 finely chopped shallots
1 tbsp olive oil
150 ml white wine
1 fish stock cube
300 ml double cream
1 tbsp lemon juice
75 butter, cubed
3-4 tbsp finely chopped chives
50 ml crème fraiche

Saute the shallots in the oil for approximately 2 minutes. Add the wine, fish stock and double cream and simmer uncovered for around 20 minutes. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve and pour it back into a clean saucepan. Stir in the lemon juice and gradually add the butter cubes, whisking the sauce while the butter melts. Finally, add the chives and  crème fraiche.

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