A Matter of Choice

Bananas and recipes including them are a recently new discovery to me, I grew up detesting them but actually  'taught' myself to like them!  When I started going to Slimming World I decided it would be easier for me if I liked them as they were a very handy and reasonably filling snack and so I kept eating the occasional one and eventually they grew on me - to the point where I'd have one every morning without fail and I'd be most upset if we run out! After I'd hit my Slimming World target I continued to eat my new favourite fruit but realised I'd probably be able to improve it by putting it in a cake.   I've tried several different recipes now but this one for some reason is the best by far... 110g butter 110g sugar (can add some dark, but I didn't have any) 2 eggs 3 or 4 bananas (I used 4 and left one for the end so it was less mashed up) 225g SR Flour 1/2 tsp bicarb of soda 1 tsp cinanmon 140g raisins  (I used less than this as Leo ate ...

Cyprus - an island in the sun, with 340 days of sunshine a year, or so they told us!  So that means only 15 days of rain right?   I think that might be a little bit of exaggeration creeping into that sales pitch as it seems we've certainly had more than enough of this.... On Wednesday this was the view that greeted me as I opened the curtains,  I suddenly had the feeling this day was going to need a bit of effort to survive it. Leo has been suffering from a bad cough which had seemed to be on its way out but has now turned into a streaming cold.  I am amazed at the amount of snot that can be produced by one child! Because of this, Leo's not feeling his best and therefore is not he's usual happy self. A plan was needed to cheer him up....Let the activity day commence! First up...... Making biscuits, but not just any biscuits, oh no, a day like this calls for the most exciting biscuits you could imagine if you are 2..... train biscuits! Ther...

I've been on a bit of a domestic goddess fad lately, making enough Mince pie s to feed the village and  Onion Marmalde  but I took it to another level last week and made my own Lemon Curd, I'd even been saving jars to put it in! It was actually really easy to make, and a damn sight cheaper than buying it as I've not seen a jar for less than 4 euros here. I just need to find someone with a lemon tree and it would be cheaper still! You will need... Grated zest and juice of 4 large lemons 4 large eggs 350g golden castor sugar ( I didn't have any so used normal granulated, seem to still work!) 225g unsalted butter cut into small chunks 1 level desert spoon cornflour Lightly whisk eggs in a medium size saucepan then add the rest of the ingredients over a medium heat. Whisk continuously until mixture thickens, should be about 7 - 8 minutes. Then turn the heat to the lowest setting and continue to whisk for about another minute. Remove from the heat and...

One of the things I always enjoyed as a child in the run up to Christmas was doing the pre-Christmas baking with my Mum. Mince Pies, and Cheese Straws are the ones that stick in my mind, along with decorating the Christmas Cake with the ancient plastic Santa, holly and robins. It's only in recent years that I've decided that I like mince pies but apart from a couple of years when I left home I've always made them, it just doesn't feel like Christmas until I've made them now. Fortunately now I like them too I can actually eat my own cooking! Although I enjoy cooking, it's taking a while for me to enjoy cooking with Leo but he enjoys it and I want to involve him so I split my baking into two parts. He helped me make the pastry in the morning and I left it to chill until he had gone to bed before I made the pies. You can tell I'm getting old as I had actually planned to go to the pub with Aaron the night I made these but turned down my parents babysittin...

I'm not as good as I imagined I would be, finding new and interesting activities for Leo and I to do, the problem I think is the lack of patience  (erm, that would be mine not his!) so I've been putting it off really, the whole cooking together thing, but recently we made Choc Cornflake cakes and it went surprisingly well so encouraged by Jenny's 'I Love Cake'  linky and competition I decided to take the plunge and do some proper cooking with him... We went for the simple option and made Queen Cupcakes. 115g butter 115g caster sugar 2 large eggs, slightly beaten 4tsp lemon juice 175g self raising flour 115g currants 2-4 tbsp milk if necessary Pre-heat oven to 190c, Weigh out all ingredients before letting toddler loose in kitchen Mix butter and sugar until you get bored then hand to Mum to mix   until light and fluffy, Then beat in eggs and 1 tbsp of flour.. Pour in far too much lemon juice (when Mum gives you the bottle expecting you t...