A Bundt in the oven...

Snowy paths and icy roads make for a good excuse for staying home and baking...

I bought plenty of stewed apple at our village Christmas fair for the freezer, so that came out and went towards a Spiced Apple Breakfast Bundt Cake...



I got this recipe from 'Passionate Vegetarian' I'm not veggie but I've been carting this book around with me since my student days as everything I've ever tried out of it is a winner.
We couldn't wait till breakfast though...



Its very dense and moist, half pudding, half cake really. I don't know if i could go to work on a slice of it though - i think i'd need a mid morning nap!

The other reason for hiding out in the kitchen this weekend is the continuing schedule of work going on in the rest of the house. Walls continue to be knocked about, dust continues to fall,so this weekend the kitchen has been my sanctuary, and here it is...


Trust me it doesn't usually look this tidy but as I said there's nowhere else to run to! I've been playing around with furniture this weekend and brought my retro kitchen cupboard back in from the cold



I love it - it was a birthday present from BH but its always needed a repaint. I'm thinking of brightening it up with some colour...any ideas?


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White out!

Last night I wrote on the windscreen, this morning I couldn't find the windscreen! The snow has definitely hit East Yorkshire and this morning the scene that greeted us was gorgeous...


The Minifreerangers had to be forced to eat their breakfast as they were itching to get outside. Once amongst it there was no stopping them...



We've snowballed, sledged, rolled around and just got plain cold...now its hot chocolate time...mmm!

The other plus side to the snow...



This is the tidiest my veg patch has looked in months!

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White stuff...

Finally...



It's very light but it's here! The Minifreerangers are looking longingly at their sledges and right now there is no way near enough... But it's a start right? And a good excuse to throw another log on the fire - thats if we can get anwhere near it...



These two have staked their claim...

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The inspector said yes!!!

After sleepless nights and fretful thoughts we've had the good news we've been waiting to hear...the building inspector says yes - he's happy with our build, it meets all standards...we done good!!!!

So after months of this...




And plenty of this...




Were finally getting to this...



And now the plastering can begin - at last. I know buildings get signed off every day but they usually are built by people with lots of experience and a project manager. BH got a book from the library and watched a lot of grand designs but he's never built a home before and so when the man from the ministry said yes he was a very happy chap- and he might get some sleep now.

And me... Well I can't help it I'm planning cushions and wallpaper and carpets and now I can't sleep for thinking about it - help!!!

This will have to do for starters...



We call him John Deer and he's been waiting to find his home for too long now. We couldn't resist trying him out...

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He knows me so well...

Now that I've finally cleared up from Christmas - well almost - I can show you what Santa put under the tree for me this year... My very own Nigella red (I believe that's an official colour now!) lovely chunky Kitchenaid...swoon...

I believe BH finally buckled under ren years of hints and figured it was a bit like self gifting as he gets to be official cake taster! He also got a great bargain online which made it altogether a much more palatable purchase.

As for me I still have to stroke it every time I pass, I can't wait for all the Christmas grub to be used up so that I've got a good excuse to start baking again!

And thanks to freerangenan I've also got a fab new kniferack - the one sitting behind my lovely red Kitchenaid ( did I mention that already!) so thank you to my lovely family for totally totally getting me x

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A little taste of sunshine...

Last bakeup of the holidays today and a taste of somewhere sunny was definitely needed. We've been surrounded by rain and wind all day, rattling the windows and blowing the wheelie bins down the garden so i wanted something light and zesty to take away the winter blues ( and to use up some the leftover lemons sitting in the fruitbowl!)

These lovely lemon bars come from a favourite cookbook of mine The Dairy HollowHouse Cookbook by Crescent Dragonwagon - fab name I know! Every recipe has a great anecdote with it so if you ever see a copy snap it up.

Here it is...



And here's the recipe

Mix and press into the bottom of a baking tin

Half cup of butter
1 cup plain White flour
Quarter cup icing sugar

Beat

2 eggs
1 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons flour
Half teaspoon baking powder
Juice and rind of 2 lemons ( I added 1 more to the original recipe)

This mixture will be thin. Pour it over the first layer. Bake for 30 - 35 mins. Let cool slightly then sit with icing sugar.

Okay so they won't help with any diet resolutions but they are lush and brighten up the idea of tomorrow's back to work packed lunch.

I did think that a good walk with the dogs would make me feel less guilty about eating cake...I shook the lead, I put my coat on but these two are having none of it!






Oh well i tried!

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Stilton crazy...

Today signals the start of cheese week at our house, when the five tons of Stilton that we bought, received and somehow acquired must be eaten up or rendered somehow useful as part of our war on waste.

First up was the thanks to the mega talented Shaheen at Allotment2kitchen. I saw these cheese, potato and kale pasties on her site and new we had just the leftovers to make them...


Then using the same mixture with addition of cranberry sauce I made smaller puff parcels...



These started off bite size but grew... Or maybe that says something about the size of my mouth!

Then I moved on to cheese scones.




Never having made these before I went to Internet for inspiration and followed the recipe from the Stilton website- where else?! They turned out pretty well, they're bound for the freezer so i'll have to see how they fare there.

And to finish, blue cheese pasta, nice and simple after the afternoons bakeathon...



Okay so that's a blue cheese dressing too! Phew - at least the Stilton is all gone now...until next year that is. Now does anyone know what I can do with a wheelbarrow full of Brie?

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