Cheese, biscuits, records and a birthday. A good day.

I love birthdays and I love December so December birthdays are absolutely my most favourite (after my own of course). Both my sister and Rich are December babies so it's triple the food, fun and presents this month whoppie! Today is Rich's so he's taking a half day off work this afternoon and we're going to head down to a new vinyl and coffee shop that's opened on Mill Road. It's the first of it's kind in Cambridge, the only vinyls you can buy here (apart from in Fopp and HMV) are from the market so having a real life record shop that also sells lots of tea and cake can only be a truly wonderful thing. We're excited. We're also heading out to Midsummer House this evening for a birthday tea. It's a 5 courser set in a little house on Midsummer Common and the food is supposed to be really quite fancy. I can't wait.

Because it's only the two of us today we thought a full on cake this evening, after a 5 course meal may be a little indulgent (and also we would definitely eat it all by Friday, which is not ideal) so we're saving the Hummingbird Mississippi Mudpie cake until our party on Saturday (I think it's going to take me most of Friday to make). However, it is a birthday and what's a birthday without a cake of some description? I've opted, as a surprise to go for some blue cheese and savoury biscuits. When I started the baking thing he said he was waiting for me to get to the savoury biscuits, and he loves cheese so I thought why not create a cheese and biscuit cake of sorts. 

I couldn't find spelt flour anywhere so went with wholewheat so they don't have the same nutty taste as Spelt biscuits would but they are tasty. They have a wholesome flavour and would be smashing with some blue cheese and a dollop of chutney. (This is also counting as today's advent recipe. A bit of savoury in there can be a lovely little addition).

I followed this recipe from the Guardian making a few little changes

Oat and Seed Biscuits

250g wholewheat flour, plus a little extra for rolling

25g dark brown sugar

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp salt

125g unsalted butter, softened

75g rolled oats

50ml cold milk, plus extra to finish

2tbsp golden linseeds

2tbsp pumpkin seeds

Pop the flour, sugar, bicarb and salt in a bowl, and rub in the butter. 

Stir in the oats, then mix in the milk until you have a smooth dough. 

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough till about the thickness of a pound coin and cut using circular cookie cutter. Place them on a tray lined with baking paper. 

Brush with milk and bake at 170C for about 25-30 minutes, until crisp.

These are perfect for a homemade Christmas present, as an after dinner treat with friends or in front of Love Actually, wrapped up in a cosy blanket with a glass of mulled wine.

Now bring me some figgy biscuits...(please)

It's the first of December yippee! It is now officially acceptable to have on the Christmas scents and listen to carols whilst baking. I always get so excited at the beginning of December, the build up to Christmas is such a fun, magical and truly delicious time of the year.

Rich's birthday is tomorrow so we don't put up our tree or decorations until after it. We'll put them up on Friday this year, just in time for our 'Deck the Hall's' Christmas party. The advent calendar however is allowed to break these rules so I went down to the shed and fished it out today yay! Last year was our first Christmas in our very own home so we decided it would be festive and homey to make our own advent calendar. I say we, I had nothing to do with the production of it. Sewing is not my forte. Rich on the other hand is a dab hand with the old sewing machine so was able to whip up a little advent stocking calendar for us.

Last year we stuffed it with Terry's Chocolate Orange pieces. Yum. This year though, as I'm starting the old biscuit business and biscuits are a daily bake in the flat now, I've decided we'll have a little biscuit treat in there instead. So I'll share our advent biscuit recipes on here.

I mentioned in the other post I'd been trying a bit of healthier baking and baked a batch of raw cookies. They passed the taste test so now I'll share them with you. I think they're particularly festive because they contain figs, walnuts and some christmassy spices. They are gluten, refined sugar and grain free. Full only of healthy goodness, which means you can nibble away guilt free! So a super way to kick off this fabulous month.

Christmas themed Figgy Biscuit

1/2 cup almonds
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp pomegranate juice
6 dried figs
Pomegranate gems to decorate

Whack it all in the blender and blend until a sticky dough forms

Lightly flour a clean surface and roll out the dough.

Cut into suitably festive shapes (or whatever you would prefer). You could also roll them into little balls, which are equally delightful to munch on.

Pop in the freezer for about 10 mins to firm up

Store in the fridge.

Rosemary and Walnut Figgy Delights

1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup rolled oats
6 figs
A few rosemary leaves (I used too much, you only need a subtle hint)
1 tbsp honey

Whack it all in the blender and blend until a sticky dough forms

Lightly flour a clean surface and roll out the dough.

Cut into suitably festive shapes (or whatever you would prefer). You could also roll them into little balls, which are equally delightful to munch on.

Pop in the freezer for about 10 mins to firm up

Store in the fridge.

These are wonderful served just before bed, with a steamy cup of decaf tea and and a little listen to a traditional carol, like this one.

Have the most delicious December.

Lizzie x

Friday's 30 second dance party

So the oven is broken, which, when you are trying to set up a baking business is a slight inconvenience. It broke last Saturday so we have been 6 days without an oven. 6 days. However, today we popped to John Lewis and purchased a new one! We've gone for a Neff (Neff the Chef as the lady told us) she said it was the one they use on bake off. I was sold immediately.

The lack of oven-ness in my life has however led me to branch out to try some new, non-bake recipes which has been rather enjoyable, particularly the batch I put together this evening. I'm going to experiment with trying a more plant based diet. Low energy levels and an onset of insomnia have led me to look into changing my diet sightly. Thus the biscuits I put together this evening are raw and refined sugar free (I didn't have gluten free oats so there's still some of the old gluten in there but that can be changed easily). I'll hopefully post the recipe tomorrow when I've given them to the taste tester (Rich) and seen if there are any bits I can add to make them more spangly. One recipe contains nature's beautiful gems that are pomegranates though so I already think they're pretty spangly.

For now, I'll leave you with a nearly refined free and raw truffle (it contains 75% dark chocolate which prevents it from being so but you could eliminate this of course). A healthier take on a Terrys Chocolate orange I like to think, but equally as tasty and full of bits which have some actual benefits. Here goes.

Lizzie's Chocolate Orange Truffles (title is a work in progress)

1/2 cup cashews
1/2cup jumbo oats
2 tbsp honey
Zest of half an orange
Juice of half an orange
100g 75%/80% dark chocolate

Pop the cashews, oats, honey, zest and juice into a blender and blend until combined and a slightly sticky mixture has formed. If it's too wet or too sticky to handle, just throw in a little more oats or cashews, whichever you would prefer more of.

Roll the mixture into truffle sized balls and pop in the fridge for an hour or until firm.

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof glass bowl on a hob.

Dip the truffles into the chocolate so they are completely coated then place on a plate covered in baking paper.

Pop back into the fridge for another hour or so until completely set. (Store in the fridge)

Enjoy with a cheeky glass of red wine and some R Kelly Ignition for todays Friday 30 second dance party (it is a Friday after all).

Have the most delicious Friday.

Lizzie x

Tea at Three

Winter has arrived and Christmas is most definitely around the corner. The temperature has dropped, Band Aid are playing on the radio again, choirs and brass bands are bringing Cambridge town centre to life and the shops are looking particularly spangly and sparkly at the moment.

One of my most favourite parts of this time of year is being cosy with friends and family, meeting in warm pubs, toasting by the raging fire; watching strictly and the xfactor with friends, passing comments and judgements like you would and indeed could have done it more impressively and delving into those treats which really only come about this time of year and that is why they are so much more special and delicious.

One of my most favourite tastes and smells of this side of winter is mulled wine, in any form. For me, it holds everything Christmas is and I am not ashamed to say I have already been delving into it for some of my baking - although I am yet to indulge in a glass. That is on the list of things to do this evening.

Earlier this year Rich's mum very kindly gave us a jar of her homemade plum and mulled wine and jam and whilst spreading it very generously over my toast one morning, decided it might work extremely well as a biscuit filler. It does.

One way I have incorporated it into my baking is through these rather cheeky jammie dodgers. These are rich and indulgent crumbly bites of goodness. Glorious. I'm working on how to try and get the jam a little more stretchy - like the jam in a actual jammie dodger so will let you know when that one is worked out.  Enough chat.

Mulled Wine Jammie Dodgers

I used the Martha Stewart recipe for Linzer cookies as she uses hazelnuts which really does add that extra Christmas zing to them.

• 1 cup unblanched hazelnuts
• 227g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• Icing sugar, for dusting
• 2/3 cup mulled wine jam

Pre heat the oven to 190c and pop in the hazelnuts for about 10 minutes, until toasted. Once out of the oven, allow to cool  and then rub in a towel to remove as much of the skin as you can. Throw these into the blender and blend away for a couple of minutes, until they are finely ground.

Using your electric mixer and its paddle attachement, beat sugar and butter together on a medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat on a low speed until all combined and smooth then beat in the vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the ground hazelnuts, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and sifted flour. Add these to the wet mixture and beat on a low speed until just combined. 

Split the dough in two and flatten into discs. Wrap the discs in clingfilm and pop in the fridge for at least an hour until firm or overnight (the flavours have time to come together). 

Pre heat the oven to 180c and on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until about 1/4" thick and cut out your chosen shapes using a cookie cutter. Using a smaller cutter, cut out the middle of half of the cookies.

Bake until the edges are golden (around 12 - 16 minutes) turning half way through. Pop them onto a cooling rack until completely cooled. 

Once completely cooled, spread a teaspoon of jam on the bottom layer of the biscuit and then put the top on. Once all have been made, sift a bit of icing sugar on top to give that extra bit of something. 

Enjoy these as part of a tea at three pick me up with a cup of darjeeling tea (it's lightness is a good contrast) and a little listen to some Billie Holiday and Guilty.

Lizzie x

Winter is coming...

There are few more satisfying things than snuggling up with a warm bowl of delicious porridge on a clear, cold morning. So that's just what I did. Lovingly wrapping my oats up in some almond milk, chopped banana, dried cranberries, a drizzle of honey and a sprinkling of cinnamon to make it that extra bit wintry. Sublime.

Is this whole winter, cuddly cosy thing affecting you at the moment? It's really taking over here! As I mentioned in the last post, the winter incense is already burning and the heating is keeping me toasty. All this is the required inspiration for some winter style cookies so that's exactly what I whipped up yesterday afternoon and whipped up is just what you can do with these cheeky chappies, they only take about 8 minutes to cook and require no refrigeration time! Perfect for those impulse cookie cravings.

These are however more than just butter, sugar and flour. The butter for a start is melted and beaten in with the egg which is what I think makes them that little bit more melty in the mouth. Then you've also got the ground almonds, oats, dried cranberries and white chocolate. All mixed together to make a soft, slightly chewy, wintry tasting dollop of goodness.

The recipe was very kindly donated to me by my mother in law who swore by them as some excellent winter treats to whip up for those last minute people popping in for a cuppa.

Ingredients:

150g butter melted
150g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
50g ground almonds
50g porridge oats
50g dried cranberries
50g soft brown sugar
50g caster sugar
100g white chocolate chunks (go for good quality white chocolate, it really does make a difference)
1 large egg or 2 small egg yolks

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180c
1. Melt the butter and set aside to cool
2. Sieve the flour and bicarbonate soda in a bowl
3. Stir in the cranberries, sugar, almonds, oats and chocolate
4. Whisk together the cooled butter and egg and then stir into the dry ingredients

5. Form walnut sized balls and place them 2 inches apart on a lined baking tray. Flatten them down with a teaspoon

6. Bake for 8 minutes. Leave to cool slightly on the tray and then transfer to a cooling rack. They will be squidgy when they come out but that's good - they'll continue to cook. If they come out too hard, they'll be like rocks when they've completely cooled.

Leave to cool for a bit  (but if a little bit accidentally breaks off and pops into your mouth, that's absolutely fine) then sit down and enjoy with a cup of tea and if you fancy a bit of a weep, the new John Lewis advert or the original of Real Love by John Lennon. What are your winter cookie go to's?

Lizzie x

Looking for - the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe

I absolutely adore this time of year. The steady build up to Christmas is happening, the temperature is dropping, fires are burning, the heating is coming on and the winter incense is wafting around the flat. Beautiful. It also makes for the most delicious, if slightly chilly morning run - but that's when they're best.

I'm currently in the process of trying to set up a market stall at Cambridge Market but as ever there is a great deal of paperwork and council regulations to go through before anything can move forward. This waiting period however has presented me with the time to trial and error some recipes which is always an enjoyable experience and one I have very much stuck my wooden spoon into.

When setting up a cookie/biscuit stall the most obvious recipe I thought I needed to tackle was of course the ever faithful Chocolate chip Cookie recipe. I use ever faithful here with a serious pinch of salt (something I must use less of in my next batch) as actually I think the Chocolate Chip Cookie is one of the trickiest to perfect, and perfect quite honestly is what they need to be (chewy middle with a lovely crispy shell. Yum).

So I set about investigating this famous, comforting and well documented baked good and there is an awful lot of information about this little guy out there, ridiculous amounts quite frankly. Almost every recipe I came across claimed to be 'The best ever!' and all were fairly varying. However, I came across a link from the New York Times  and their quest to find the perfect choc chip cookie recipe so decided to put this one into the mix. I also came across Handle the Heats ultimate guide to the perfect choc chip cookie where she carried out a series of tests to see what actually goes into making the perfect cookie. After reading these and a silly amount of others, I set to work.

At this moment in time, I have only trialled three of the recipes at various stages in their cookie cycle. I used the NY times and also borrowed the idea from Handle the Heat to trial the Toll House recipe with a couple of changes. I made up the batches as required. For the NY times I didn't change anything at all, what I did instead was experiment with the timing. I put the first batch in immediately after whipping it up and pressed them very flat down. Two huge errors just there. Flattening them down only made them very crispy (I'm after a crunchy exterior with a chewy interior). They were also very buttery. I then left the batter for 6 hours -a slightly better taste but not brilliant. I had also left a batch in the fridge for 36 hours as recommended for a rich, butterscotch taste.

The first batch attempts - oh dear.

I took the batter out, let it sit for about 20 minutes and then rolled it up into golf sized balls. Placed these on the baking tray and pressed down very gently (I would do it even more gently next time), popped them in the oven for 15 mins so they came out golden but soft (they still cook for a while after they've been brought out so in fact I would only put them in for 10 mins next time). The taste is far superior. It has a caramely, butterschotchy after taste and when mixed with the saltyness is pure indulgence. The only thing I didn't do was add enough chocolate. I thought I would try grating it in this time but it really just doesn't have the same effect as munching into a large bit of gooey goodness.  I still think this batch could be chewier and so I wouldn't press at all next time, instead I would leave them in a golf ball state (the only thing I would worry about here is them becoming too cakey so will try and let you know).

The Toll House I am really struggling with. I trialled two recipes here, the control (the recipe as it came) and one replacing the plain flour with bread flour. The first batch (the one that went straight in) produced slightly chewier cookies from the bread flour. However, the 36 hour batch just didn't quite carry it off. Both recipes produced very flat, sprawling cookies. The taste was alright after the 36 hours but I'm not convinced.

A rather unconvincing batch

I am still very much in the exploration stage with this rascals. I'm going to try the adaptations to the NY times recipe and I've found another one I want to give a whirl. If anyone has any suggestions on how to achieve the perfect crunchy yet chewy chocolate chip cookie please send them this way! I'm off to further research!

Have a tremendous night of fireworks, wooly hats, mulled wine and bonfires!

Lizzie x

Friday 30 Second Dance Party

It's been a day of job and volunteer apps which can be pretty draining, boring and tiresome. It also makes me very hungry without actually being hungry which is a pain in the bum. I've been picking at food all afternoon and after dropping the dreaded Ebay parcel off, it was 3 o'clock.   Although not hungry, I needed something to satisfy so decided on making a delicious, green energising juice to go with my 30 Second Dance Party aiding a Friday afternoon slump and readying for the weekend.

For the juice I just threw what I could find in the fridge but it's actually turned out pretty well. I threw in an apple, celery stick, handful of spinach, a few mint leaves from the garden and a sprinkle of hemp seeds. Whizzed it together with some water and added some ice part way through for some coolness; then poured, added a straw and supped. Beautiful.

The Friday 30 Second Dance Party was led by Beyonce today and the tune that is Love on Top. I'm feeling so much more smiley already.

Who would lead your Friday 30 Second Dance Party today?

Have a deliciously decadent Friday.

Lizzie x

An epic Ebay fail

We've had a Kmix blender on Ebay for a couple of weeks now and this morning I woke to our first lot of correspondence for it, an email requesting a possible pick up. I was excited. This is the first thing I have put up for sale on Ebay (this is an important fact for what is to follow). Having not checked progress thus far and discovering the sale ended today, I decided it was probably a good time to look at what was going on. We had 143 views and 21 watches which I thought was pretty good, then I saw the price. Now, I will openly admit I struggled somewhat getting this thing up on there it took me a good part of an hour - researching prices on Amazon and from other Ebay sellers, taking photos, trying to write a description of it etc. Then I lost it and had to start again. My main aim was to get a Buy it Now price up there which I definitely did. I definitely pressed Buy it Now and put in a price. Definitely. Fast forward to this morning 6 hours before the auction finishes and it's going for £1.21. What a plonker.

To rid of my frustration I decided a run was in order. Looking back to my list of things 'to do' I had put down some more running events and so we've signed up to the Cambridge Half Marathon in March. The running shoes are back on and it couldn't have been a more beautiful morning for it. For me, Cambridge is one of the most delightful places in the sunshine and with copper coloured leaves gently swaying in the brisk wind and the sensational smell of cool damp and fires heating houses, it really felt like Autumn had arrived. One of the best times of the year.

I'm now sat here with my date, almond and banana breakfast smoothie, (I'm making my way through the Deliciously Ella collection from the website and her app - such lovely recipes) they really are a great way to (re)start the day. My main aim for today is to find what it really is I want to do with my career and I am determined to produce a shortlist or something of that nature. I better get researching whilst listening to a bit of Taylor Swift's 'Shake it Off'.

Have a delicious day.

Lizzie x

'Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted'

I have recently left my job in teaching and am currently waiting to pursue a new career. During this interim period, I have been given the gift of time. Throughout my teacher training and the career that followed my one complaint was that of not having enough time to ‘do things’. What these things were exactly I am not entirely sure. One aim when leaving the profession was to use this time I now had to ‘do things’ but as of yet I don’t believe I have achieved this goal. Autumn is upon us now and Autumn solutions seem to be a thing at the moment so I’m going to use this blog to make some.

I’ve made a list of some ‘things’ I am determined to start using my time doing and am hoping having a blog with them written down on will help me(?!)

This is the list I have developed so far sat in my favourite coffee shop in Cambridge - Hot Numbers.

Baking - I say I love to bake but only really do the basics. We bought a Kmix on Sunday and it needs to be utilised. I need to learn to bake properly and start experimenting. So that’s what I’m going to do. 

Photography - My Dad gave us a Canon SLR camera last year and I’m ashamed to say I have never learnt to use it properly and in all honesty don’t even really take it out very much. I’m going to get onto some Youtube tutorials and start taking some decent pictures.

Walking - The above leads quite nicely onto this. Living in Cambridge, we are surrounded by beautiful countryside. I’m going to start exploring and taking my camera with me. Walking and nature are supposed to be good for the soul and I’m going to discover how true this is.

Gardening - We have a rather large garden and it’s in a bit of a pickle. Within the year and a half we’ve lived here, I’ve been out and done something in it once. For about an hour. Shameful. I’m going to get in touch with nature. Start caring for the plants, actually learning what a weed is and getting rid of it. 

Reading new books - I have always loved reading but over the past few years have claimed I haven’t had enough time for it. This is definitely not true now and I’m going to start reading more. I’m currently on Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and it’s great. Any other must reads are most welcome.

Watching classic films - When I lived with my sister in Brighton a few years ago we made a list of classic films we knew we should have watched -The Graduate, Trainspotting, The Big Labowski, Pulp Fiction… I’m going to continue with this list and start watching more. Any suggestions for titles are most appreciated. 

Running more - Exercise is something I enjoy doing and is one of the few things I have done more of in my ‘free time’. In March we took part in the Liverpool Half Marathon and despite near heart failure and a small breakdown half way through, I did actually enjoy it and would like to do more events like it. 

This is just the start of my list. I’m going to continue adding to it. Any ideas or suggestions are always welcome. I’m off to try some baking with Kenneth the Kmix and then watch the next episode of Greys (one has to wean themselves off these addictions). 

Lizzie x