Cakes, Cakes, Cakes

Cupcakes. I am in love. They are not so good for the waist but fabulous on the tastebuds and definitely go someway to satisfying my creative cravings. I've posted a lot of pictures on my facebook profile recently, so if you're bored of my cupcakery then this probably isn't the post for you.

The Substitution Game

For the past few weeks, my husband, Lunch Hour Waffle has made me breakfast in bed on my Sunday morning lie in. I am under no illusions - this is part generous gesture on his behalf, and part "it's time to get up because I need to go out". Never the less, it is greatly appreciated by me. Sometimes we have homemade pancakes, sometimes we have rolls and sausage, occasionally croissants, usually orange juice. Homespun or not (the pancakes are by far my favourite) and regardless of the whys and wherefores, I love that he thinks to do this for me. I am realising that I am luckier than I previously thought in having him as my other half.

With this in mind, last week I decided it was high time I rustled up some Saturday morning breakfast goodies of my own. I often organise sausages from our local butcher, but I fancied something with a little more input than switching on the hob. My latest fixation is baking, so I hunted for a muffin recipe and found a recipe for Apple and Cinnamon muffins. Perfect - two of his favourite things and family friendly too. I made them last week, they were a big hit with all tasters, and so I wanted to make them again this week, full on Nigella style, in my dressing gown. Having mixed up the dry ingredients in a bowl, and most of the wet ingredients in a jug I realised I was missing something: yoghurt. Disaster? No. A sift through my fridge offered me the first of what would turn out to be FOUR subs! Sour cream for yoghurt, pecan nuts for almonds, dark brown sugar for light brown and apple sauce for apples (since when do I not have apples in my fruit bowl?) and you know what? They are perfect. Possibly slightly more dense than batch one but otherwise absolutely splendid. That's not very modest, is it?

Anyway the point is this - don't stress too much if you don't have the exact right ingredients in your cupboard for your chosen dish. If you have a well stocked store cupboard the chances are you've got something which will act as a substitute, and the more you cook, the better selection of ingredients your store cupboard will have to choose from. Sometimes the subs work brilliantly and sometimes they just about work and no more, but the fun is in the finding out.

Rice Crispie Brownies

I really should be being more productive. My big Bee, Heather, is sleeping on the sofa. This is unheard of these days - a snooze in the car is more likely. My little Bee, Megan, is midway through her lunch time nap.

Peace and quiet at the Bee Hive.

There are many things I could be doing. I could be folding washing and reloading the washing machine. I could be cleaning the bathroom. I could be trying to make sense of the nursery. I could even be out enjoying the splash of usually unseen Scottish sun bathing my house today. How I choose to spend my hour of peace today though is, as it so often is, in the kitchen.

Today's recipe is not what I thought my next post would be. I had thought maybe something more sophisticated than my last couple of offerings, yet here I am posting the recipe for Rice Crispie Brownies. It is Rice Crispie cake by another name, but creamy and addictive in a way ordinary chocolate and crispies aren't. This recipe comes from Nigella Lawson's Kitchen. The sophistication can wait.

100g butter (preferably unsalted)
150g milk choc chips
50g dark choc chips
75g golden syrup
150g Rice Crispies

150g chocolate chips - White, milk, dark or a mixture

Line a brownie tin with foil.

Melt the first 200g chocolate, butter and syrup on a low heat. When melted, remove from the heat and add the crispies. When cooled slightly, add the additional 150g chips.

Transfer to your lined tin and chill for roughly 4 hours.

Keeps for several days in a sealed tub but I guarantee it won't last that long! This is for all the BabyCentre girls.

30 Songs.2 - tsss tsss tsss tsss

My least favourite song? Easier than you'd think really. I mean, there are plenty of songs which don't do a lot for me or would rather not listen to... but only one which makes my ears bleed. Only one which makes me actually change the radio station or music channel (actually that's not true, I am a serial music channel hopper...but the radio station bit is true.) Just talking about this song makes me a little uncomfortable to be honest. It has that unfortunate dance beat which seems to hit a part of my eardrum untouched by any other genre.

Tsss Tsss Tsss Tsss.

Like that, see? And it's not that I don't like a good bit of dance music these days... my teenage indie self would be horrified at some of the stuff I listen to these days, since now I tend not to comform to what I think I ought to listen to and actually listen to what I like, and that covers a wide spectrum. In terms of dance music, what I like is clever dance music. I like interesting samples, catchy lyrics and something you can actually dance to (if you want). I like Chase and Status and the Prodigy. The only thing this song has going for it (and I'm clutching at straws here) is the video, which got people talking because it consists of nothing more than some leotarded up chicks stretching  (sorry, "doing aerobics").

I'd be perfectly happy to never hear this song again. Ever. I rather suspect I am on my own, or at least in a minority. Sadly, (for me anyway) radio DJs the country over seem to like it. It was number 1 in the UK for 6 weeks in 2004, and hit the number 1 spot in various other countries too. Either way, I have a feeling I'm destined to be sitting at some wedding or party in 20 years or so explaining to my kids why I don't like Call On Me by Eric Prydz.

Cheats Pizza and Garlic Bread

I made this last night. It's not the first time I've used this recipe, but last night I took a chunk of the dough and used the same cooking principle to make a cheese and tomato garlic bread too, kind of Dominos-esque. I have to say it was delicious. I served with potato wedges last night (I really wanted a Dominos!) but usually I serve with coleslaw and salads.

 

You can thank Jamie Oliver for this recipe.

  

 

1.5 mugs self raising flour

half a mug of tepid water (use the same mug)

pinch of salt

glug of olive oil

toppings: tomato sauce (I used passata mixed with pesto and a blob of tomato puree to thicken), cheese and other toppings as required. 

 

Mix the dough ingredients together until you have a soft dough, using a food processor if possible. Heat a frying pan on a medium high heat and drizzle with oil. Roll out your dough on a floured board and transfer to your frying pan. Switch on your grill to high. Top the pizza with your sauce, cheese and chosen toppings. Allow the base to firm up and go golden before transferring to the grill to cook the top. Keep checking, I usually turn the grill down a little so it cooks a little slower and more evenly.

To make a garlic bread to go alongside, chop a small chunk of dough off and cook in the same way. Top with tomato sauce, blob garlic butter over and top with cheese. You could also do a whole pizza size like this if you are feeding a crowd.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Sauce for Ice Cream

I made this on Sunday night as a weekend treat for us all. If you like Snickers this is for you. It takes no time at all, and tastes amazing. 

View Recipe

30 Songs.1 - I'm Spinning

So it's been  a while. I've been thinking about this blogging business for a while, how to start, what to talk about. Having the two little Bees I mentioned before and trying to keep afloat has left me with little time, so I decided to take a leaf out of Lunch Hour Waffle's book and do this 30 days business that's doing the rounds to get me started. 

The first song is Your Favourite Song. As someone with a pretty large collection of CDs and a great lover of music this one was a hard one to pick. It would be all too easy to go with a song I could listen to endlessly at the moment, only to be replaced with something else in a few weeks (Ceelo Green) or one of those classics which you kind of forget about until you hear it again (Sinead O'Connor, The Kinks). I could choose an old favourite which comes in and out of favour, one of those songs I love but could easily flick past on my iPod (Terrorvision) but instead I've decided to go with a track which swallows me up every time I hear it. 

I was aware of this band before I met my husband but would never have called myself a fan. I still wouldn't I don't think, even though on paper everything works. Big guitars? Check. Clever lyrics? Check. Good Live? Check. In fact, I would go as far as to say they are one of the best bands I have seen live. Somehow I've never made it into fan territory though. Bizarre, I know. The first time I saw them I was told I was unlikely to hear this track since they don't play it often - luckily for me they have played it each time I have seen them. I can't help but listen to this song intently whenever it is on and I would never skip past it. It reaches in to your soul somehow and fills you from the toes up. If you don't know this song, I urge you to listen to it. Even if it doesn't offer you what it offers me, at least I know I've shared it with you.

I give you Black, by Pearl Jam.