cooking Archives - Journeys Are My Diary

Recipe – Mocha Brownies

March 1, 2017 by Bel Leave a Comment

Anyone who reads my blog often will know, that the majority of time I’m busy sewing and working on Closet Geek. However I do have a huge passion for cooking (especially baking) and it’s rare that I find an excuse to take time off work and do so. This half term, Lily and I have been doing a lot of baking because she’s currently doing a project called Scrumdiddlyumptious at school, which focuses on chocolate. We’re making an A-Z of Chocolate for her project and part of that involves making lots of yummy food! The basic concept of her project is for us to make a page for every letter of the alphabet. Some pages will be information and history about chocolate, while others will be recipes. I think in total we have about twelve dishes we’ll be making, but over half term we made about half that.

This recipe that I’m sharing today is for Mocha Brownies (chocolate and coffee flavour) and they were absolutely delicious! The finished product is very similar to the ones Megan made Minecraft Brownie Blocks with but these are sort of an adult version (I only say that, as some people don’t really like their kids eating/drinking coffee). I however, am addicted to coffee! My Instagram is a constant stream of ice coffee pictures, while my Amazon wishlist is littered with coffee machines, mugs and I even have a bean grinder on there! Anyway, the coffee brownies were a big hit so I decided to share the recipe here on my blog.

Ingredients
– 3 eggs
– 450g sugar (brown is best but white works too)
– 350g plain flour
– 200g cocoa
– 250g chocolate chips
– 1 tbsp instant coffee granules, dissolved in 60ml boiling water (I personally used a coffee pod from
www.gourmesso.co.uk which worked brilliantly and gave a strong intense taste)
– 200ml oil
– ½ tsp salt
– ½ tsp baking powder
– 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

To start off, it’s always best to preheat oven. This needs to be set at 180 oC (Gas Mark 4). After that you need to grease two square 8 inch tins (or at least that’s what the recipe said, ours was actually longer and rectangular).

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, coffee, sugar, salt, baking powder and vanilla essence.

Once the mixture is smooth and combined, sift the cocoa and flour into the bowl slowly, stirring as you go.

Next you need to add the chocolate chips (or chopped up chocolate if you prefer chunks) and stir well to make sure they are spread throughout the mixture.

Finally you will need to divide the mixture equally between the two tins. Give them a tap on the counter to level them out and knock out any air bubbles.

Cook in the centre of the oven for 35-40 minutes, until the centre is no longer runny. You may need to stick a knife or skewer into the mixture at various intervals, just to check if the brownie is setting. You’ll know it’s done once the knife or skewer can be stuck into the mixture and comes out pretty much clean of mixture.

Allow to cool and if possible place onto a cooling rack (this isn’t essential so long as you’ve greased the tins well or even used greaseproof paper). Once cool cut into squares and serve.

As I mentioned before, we made several other chocolate items including; chocolate ice cream, ganache, rocky road and even chocolate Yorkshire Pudding. Of course none of these things are vital to this particular recipe, but served together they were pretty amazing. We actually had some friends around on the same evening and we served everyone chocolate Yorkshire Pudding, with brownies, rocky road, ice cream and ganache. There was cream too. Everyone said how amazing it all was and I admit it really was. I’d love to experiment a bit more with the Yorkshire Pudding recipe however as it wasn’t as good as I think it could be. Otherwise though, it was all Scrumdiddlyumptious!

Fruit Smoothie Recipe

October 3, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

This week the girls and I tried out a Fruit Smoothie recipe, adapted slightly to our taste. The recipe itself came from a cookbook by Bright Horizons nursery and since it’s always great to get the kids involved, we all worked together to make the smoothie.

As its one of the recipes that doesn’t require cooking, it’s great to do with the kids as they often get bored waiting for things to cook or bake. This one just meant we got to chop up fruit and even better, use the blender, you can add Powder Blend, you should learn why Is Using A Superfood Powder Blend A Good Choice For Your Health!

Ingredients
– 200g Oranges
– 200g Apples
– 150g Pineapple
– 200g Bananas
– 150g Raspberries (but we used strawberries instead)

Instructions

Start by washing, peeling and chopping the fruit into 2cm dices. Place the chopped fruit into your blender and pulse. Once the mixture has been turned into a pulp, add Healthxcel’s green powder for additional nutrition then blend thoroughly until the mixture is a drinkable texture. Chill the mixture completely before serving.

There were lots of great recipes in the cookbook we were sent and we hope to try some others like the risotto, paella and carbonara. This post is in association with Bright Horizons nursery in Tytherington.

Product Review – Savisto Ice Cream maker

August 25, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

I have always fancied trying my hand at making ice cream and this week I got the opportunity to review an ice cream maker from Savisto. This particular one was red (the same as my other kitchen appliances) and everyone in the house was excited to try it out.

The first thing that is important to note, is that making ice cream does need an element of forethought and preparation. The base of the ice cream maker needs to go in the freezer at least 12 hours before you want to make the ice cream – and the mixture you’re using to make the ice cream, needs to be mixed up and chilled too. Since the one we tried actually required heating milk and cream together, cooling and then chilling took the same amount of time as freezing the base (basically overnight).

Once we decided on the flavour we wanted to make (honeycomb), we bought the ingredients, placed the base in the freezer and mixed up the ingredients. As I mentioned before, the mixture needed to cool so it was all left overnight and made the next morning. The ice cream maker comes with both instructions and an ice cream recipes book so it was nice to not have to go looking for ice cream recipes.

Actually making the ice cream is super easy. Take the base out of the freezer and place the mixture into the bowl. Add the whisk to the lid and place (lock) on top. Plug in and turn on. You then just press to start and you’re away. The bowl mixes the ice cream for the set time (automatically set to 40 minutes) and once it’s finished, your ice cream is made.

When the ice cream is first made, its very soft scoop (which I loved). However we placed it in an old ice cream tub (I’d saved it and washed it out, knowing we would make ice cream during the week) and placed it back in the freezer to set a bit more. Later on, I used another recipe from the back of the recipe book to make some sauces and we served it up as desert after dinner.

So how would I rate the ice cream maker? It was pretty awesome. Set up and preparation were easy, other than needing to know you wanted to make ice cream at least 12 hours in advance. Making the ice cream took only 40 minutes and there is a chute on the lid so you can add ingredients towards the end (we did this with the honeycomb). The ice cream maker does all the work so you really don’t have to do anything. Once its done you can just scoop it all out and place into a tub to store. Cleaning the ice cream maker was also really easy and I just rinsed it under the tap and its now ready to go again.

Book Review: Cooking for Geeks

January 11, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

I was recently sent a really interesting looking cooking book called Cooking for Geeks and I was asked to review it. If you’ve ever fancied yourself as a Heston Blumenthal or some sort of mad scientist chef, this is the book for you!

This cookbook is its second edition and it is packed full of all sorts of weird and wonderful science. It answers questions you didn’t even know you have, provides information you never realised you wanted to know and gives you great ideas for the science behind inventing recipes yourself. Including everything from why we cook certain things at the temperature we do, what happens if you overclock a cooker and loads and loads of actual recipes, this cookbook is definitely aimed at the curious, inventive and hardcore chefs.

You can find lab work – like Making Ice Cream with Salt and Water

Information on Whipped Cream, including how to make it and even putting it to use in chocolate mousse

And loads more!

If you’re looking for an interesting gift to give, then definitely consider this. It’s both an interesting read and also a thought provoking one. The book is available from a variety of places, including Amazon. RRP is £26.50

Sexism Vs Home Making Skills

November 30, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

There was something on TV this week that got me thinking about sexism and how there is a thin line between sexism and being chivalrous for example. The topic in question was something on I’m a celebrity get me out of here, whereby a female was given the job of carrying logs and some members thought this unfair as she was a female and as such not as strong as the guys, where others argued women were just as happy to do those jobs and prove their strength. I personally felt it was a sexist thing to suggest, knowing that had I been in that position I too would have wanted to prove I could carry logs just as well as the next guy. HOWEVER, that’s not to say I wouldn’t be more than happy to accept if a guy offered to carry logs for me.

Growing up I think I’ve always been a fairly traditional thinker when it comes to getting married, having kids, being a stay-at-home-mum etc. but that’s not to say I believe it should be the same for everyone. I do think life is incredibly unequal and as per Jennifer Lawrence’s rant about actors being paid more than actresses, it may never really level off. Some women want the high power jobs and same rates of pay, some wish to run for parliament or to be head of the church etc. In this day and age I think it’s sad that we aren’t more equal, but at the same time is it really that backwards thinking to want to stay home, do the cooking and cleaning, sew/knit etc and have the guy earn the money and then come home to do the DIY.

A recent article I read on Craft-O-Maniac featured a survey done by Baytree Interiors that showed many people still want to learn home making skills and this is backed up by how many DIY, baking and home interior shows are on TV these days. Admittedly there is no gender specification as to who can watch these programs and it’s just as likely there are men out there who can knit, compared to women who do DIY. The survey showed that 31% of participants chose baking as their favourite hobby and 21% expressed the desire to learn sewing and altering clothes. As a stay-at-home mum myself, I love to cook (especially bake) and I recently started working on many sewing projects.

Am I a girlie girl? Sure. I do a lot of “typically” female jobs around the house, I paint my nails and wear makeup. Do I consider those jobs “women’s work”? Absolutely not. Chris does a lot of the DIY in our house but when I was single for four years I was more than capable of doing those jobs. And while I mend a hole in Chris’ trousers when he gets them, he’s also more than capable of doing so himself.

I don’t think that learning homemaking skills, or wanting a traditional lifestyle, makes you a sexist person. Just because we’re living in a modern society where things like jobs should be equal, it doesn’t mean we can’t have more old fashion values that still go hand-in-hand.

Recipe – Flapjack Squares

November 24, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Flapjack Squares

Though I’m currently trying to diet, there is nothing I like more than some sweet treats! Flapjack is a huge hit in our house and so I decided to share my recipe and method with my blog readers so you can make some yourself. This is a recipe passed down from when I used to cook with my Nanny as a child.

Ingredients
(Usually I prefer to cook in grams but this recipe was given to me in ounces)
– 16 oz porridge oats
– 12 oz butter or margerine
– 8 oz brown sugar
– 2 tbs golden syrup

Method

1. Weigh out the butter and sugar, adding to a pan on the stove. Add golden syrup and warm through till melted.

2. Weigh out the porridge oats and add to the pan. Stir through until the oats are all coated.

3. Grease a baking tray with marg/butter and then scrape contents of pan, into the tray. Flatten down, making sure mixture goes right to the edges of the tray.

4. Pre-heat oven to Gas Mark 4 and place the tray of flapjack into the oven. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, until golden but not too much colour.

5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for around 10-15 minutes. Cut into squares and remove from tray onto a cooling rack. Eat warm or allow to cool and then munch away!

Old El Paso – for the family

November 3, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

I was recently offered some goodies from Old El Paso but I have to admit, I’m a firm fan of Old El Paso anyway. My girls are both quite fussy eaters and more annoyingly, they both like opposite foods – so where one likes curry, the other hates it, and where the other likes chili, the other hates it. However chicken fajitas have long been a favourite in this household and we always have Old El Paso, probably every 2-4 weeks.

In the care package we were sent to review, there was of course fajitas and these were a great hit – alongside sour cream, refried beans and salsa. However something we hadn’t tried before was Stand ”N’ Stuff Tacos, so this was great to give a go.

The things you need for Tacos are super easy. Mince, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese (plus the packet of course). However since only I like lettuce and tomatoes, we skipped out on that part and just fried some onions alongside.

Inside the packet you get 8 soft tortilla tacos, some seasoning mix and some sauce. Making the tacos are easy – just fry the mince, add the seasoning and then serve alongside the sauce, cheese and whatever else you’re wanting (suggested lettuce and tomato, though we had fried onions and sour cream).

Once its all cooked up – add one happy family and enjoy a lovely dinner.

Though we’re yet to eat the fajitas (the girls like the mild version so I need to pick up a packet), I’m sure we will do before long. We’ve also tried the Taco Shells, Enchiladas and One Pan Rice Meals. We’ve enjoyed them all. I highly recommend Old El Paso for good value and great taste.

My Fave Fun Things to Do With the Kids

September 22, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

This post is contributed by Alex.

When you have kids, your world completely changes. You’re not focused on entertaining yourself anymore, you need to keep them happy and entertained. It can also help if the way you entertain them also teaches them a thing or two! Here are my fave fun things to do with the kids. Take a look for some inspiration!

Picnics

I love going for picnics with the kids. They love it too, especially on a nice day somewhere beautiful. We take a cosy blanket, and healthy snacks as well as a few treats. I like to take flasks of tea too. I always invite other members of the family to see if they want to come along too. If the weather is bad, no need to panic; indoor picnics are fun too!

Hiking

Hiking helps you to stay active and get some exercise as a family. I have a book that I like to pick routes from, so we only do one twice if we really enjoyed it. It’s always nice to explore new places in the area!

Arts and Crafts

I love doing arts and crafts with the kids. It helps to expand their imagination and improves so many skills depending on what we’re doing that day. We make jewellery, cards, and even just paint pretty pictures. It can get messy, but that’s what you sign up for when you have kids.

Theme Parks

If you want a fun day out with your brood, theme parks are a must. There are so many theme parks dotted all over the UK, so you have a lot of choice. There are nearly always bits especially for kids there too, with rides themed around programs like Wallace and Gromit. There’s nothing like watching your kids have an amazing time somewhere like this. And trust me, they’ll sleep well when you put them to bed.

Gardening

Gardening helps us all to get some sunlight and fresh air. The kids love to help me get rid of weeds and plant flowers. Even just water the garden! They learn all about bugs and things and take a real interest in gardening. You know what they say too, it’s good for them to get their hands dirty.

Cooking

Cooking teaches kids about what foods go well with other foods, different flavours, healthy meals, and so much more. They love creating things with me in the kitchen and then eating what we’ve made! We don’t always bake cakes and things; sometimes they just help me with the dinner.

Reading

Reading to kids helps them to expand their vocabulary and listening skills. If you take it in turn to read, they also improve their reading and speaking skills. You may also tell stories and introduce your child to countries of the world and their cultures, give them the right materials from little-global-citizens. You both will get to enjoy and have a great time together!

I guarantee you’ll have so much fun with your kids and love spending the quality time together. Make time for things like this at least a few times a week to help them develop and grow. Thanks for reading!

Recipe – Megan’s Minecraft Brownie Blocks

July 21, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Last week, Megan decided that she wanted to make brownies and since we were heading out to the supermarket anyway, I agreed to let her get the ingredients for her brownies. When we got back she set to making the brownies and did a pretty good job of managing by herself for the most part. After they were cooked and cooled she turned her brownies into Minecraft dirt blocks and though they didn’t turn out quite how she wanted them, I was still really proud of her!

Ingredients
100g unsalted butter
175g caster sugar
75g dark muscovado sugar
125g dark chocolate
1 tbsp golden syrup
2 eggs
1 tsp chocolate or vanilla extract
100g plain flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder

This makes approximately 9 large squares in a 20cm shallow square cake tin.

1) Pre-heat oven to 180/Gas Mark 4 and lightly grease baking tin and line with baking paper.

2) Place the butter, both sugars, dark chocolate (broken up) and golden syrup into a pan and heat through gently until all melted and combined. Leave to cool.

3) Beat together the eggs and flavouring and then add to the chocolate mixture once cooled.

4) Sieve together the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder, before folding carefully into the chocolate mixture.

5) Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking tin. Place in the oven and cook for approximately 25 minutes. The cake will begin to pull away from the sides of the tin and the top will be crisp, but the inside of the cake should still be quite stodgy and soft to the touch.

6) Leave the cake to cool completely before removing from the tin and then cut into squares and serve.

Megan obviously cut out cake into bite size pieces as she wanted them to represent Minecraft blocks. After she’d cut them up she mixed some icing sugar with green food colouring to make and icing and dribbled it over the top of some.

Once she was done, she placed the blocks in a certain patter and then made the same look on her Minecraft game to represent her brownie blocks. I think she did a fab job, especially as she’s not much of a baker!

Disney Countdown – Days 51 – 45

February 15, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Monday (51) – Feb 9th – Read a Disney book
Tuesday (50) – Feb 10th – Play a Disney game
Wednesday (49) – Feb 11th – Make or Draw Disney
Thursday (48) – Feb 12th – Paint Aurora peg-doll
Friday (47) – Feb 13th – Make Disney inspired food
Saturday (46) – Feb 14th – Dress up Disney
Sunday (45) – Feb 15th – ~~Watch Hunchback of Notre Dame~~

So this week has been a bit higgly piggly. Due to us being so busy, we’ve had to switch around tasks depending on where we are and what we’re doing. Majority of the week has been a different day’s task but we’ve mostly managed something at least each day! Monday was read a Disney book which we actually managed. We’re still carrying on with book 3 from the Never Girl series. Tuesday was play a Disney game, which we also managed – despite it being a Daddy day. The girls played on Disney Infinity in the car on the way to school. On Wednesday we were supposed to paint a peg-doll but switched it with the next day as the girls were staying at Grandma’s overnight. Instead on Wednesday they had to make or draw Disney which seems to have become a thing at Grandma’s recently! On Thursday when they were home, Megan painted the Aurora peg-doll, though she seems to be less and less happy with how they come out.

On Friday the kids were due to go to mum’s house overnight and she had planned to do some sort of Disney cake mix packet from Sainsbury’s. However the girls ended up off school for the day and not at mum’s, so I bought a packet mix instead and we made Mallow Minnie’s. On Saturday it was dress up Disney which we squeezed in between about 11.30am and 3.30pm. The girls had to get dressed regularly in the morning as we were going out for breakfast, then come home and change into dress-up clothes, before finally getting changed again as Lily had a party to go to. Finally came Sunday and we were set to watch The Hunchback of Notre Dame. However we had to take Chris to work (leaving around 11.30am), go out for lunch, go to my mum’s, fit in the movie in the afternoon, before taking Megan to a party at 4pm. Unfortunately when we got to mum’s, she had a friend there, who didn’t leave for almost another hour. This meant we couldn’t watch our DVD. As the girls went to their dad’s after Megan’s party, we were unable to watch it later too. As such, its been suspended till Tuesday when hopefully we’ll fit it in.