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We live in a new build house, well I say new build, it was when we moved in eight years ago. One of the first things we did to our garden was plant an apple tree. We have watched that tree grow each year hoping for apples and finally this year we got more than […]
10 Kid-Friendly Apple Recipes | Fun Cooking Ideas for Kids Read More »
I adore advocardo’s. They seem to be one of those things that people either love or hate. Me I love them, but I find it really hard to predict when they are just right to eat. So when we were challenged to make our perfect sandwich with Primula by the Tots100 to To celebrate National
This comforting and delicious chicken stew recipe has been passed down through the generations and my family loves Grandma’s Chicken soupy stew recipe. The clear chicken broth tastes amazing and is a total comfort food in our home. This is my Mum’s recipe and it is a family favorite with both the boys and even
Grandma’s Chicken Soupy Stew Recipe | Comforting and Delicious Read More »
Cooking and baking is something I do a lot with the boys. I cooked with my mum growing up and a lot of the skills I have are all down to her. Cooking and baking is great for children as it teaches them lots and lots of new skills including measuring and weighing (you can
My mum was an amazing cook and baker and growing up our home was filled with the smell of cooking and baking. She cooked everything from scratch including bread and biscuits. One of my favorite things that she baked was her savory scones. She could whip them up in 10 minutes flat and always said
Savory Scones with Peppers Recipe | Perfect for Breakfast or Snacks Read More »
Top ten food safety tips to protect your family from kitchen bugs
Last week was Food Safety Week 2013, run by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and this year they focused on ways to reduce the risk of food poisoning at home. Here are some simple tips to help keep you and your family safe.
1. Wash hands thoroughly with soap and warm water before cooking and after changing nappies, touching the bin, using the toilet, handling pets or preparing raw food.
2. Wash or change dish cloths, tea towels, sponges and oven gloves regularly and let them dry fully before you use them again.
3. Remove unnecessary clutter and wash worktops before and after cooking to prevent cross-contamination.
4. Always use a chopping board and wash the board in hot, soapy water after using and in between preparing raw and ready-to-eat foods. Better still, use a separate chopping board for each.
5. You don’t need to wash raw meat or poultry as thorough cooking will kill any surface germs. Washing meat can actually splash germs and raw juices onto other surfaces and equipment.
6. Make sure your fridge is set below 5°C to prevent harmful germs from growing and multiplying.
7. Don’t overfill your fridge. Air needs to be able to circulate to maintain the set temperature. If you are using infant formula we recommend you make up each feed as your baby needs it, using boiled water at a temperature of 70ºC or above to reduce the risk of infection, and use it within 2 hours. If you have no choice but to store made up bottles, do so in the coolest part of your fridge, away from the door, and for no more than 24 hours.
8. Cook food thoroughly until steaming hot in the middle to kill harmful bacteria. Food can then be cooled to a suitable temperature for children by cutting into smaller pieces and separating into shallow bowls, or even placing in a sealed container and running it under cold water.
9. ‘Use by’ dates are typically found on perishable products (dairy, meat and fish) and are based on scientific testing to determine how long these foods will stay safe. After that date, food could be unsafe to eat even if it is correctly stored and looks and smells fine. If you need to store a food for longer, consider freezing it.
10. ‘Best before’ dates are used on foods that have a longer shelf life and tell us how long the food will be at its best. After that date it is normally safe to eat, but its flavour and texture might have deteriorated.
To see how safe your kitchen habits are and for more tips, take the FSA’s Kitchen Check online. You can get your little ones involved too by downloading their fun young people’s activities.
Kitchen Check can be found at: www.food.gov.uk/kitchen-check
Top ten food safety tips to protect your family from kitchen bugs Read More »
My Ultimate Rocky Road Recipe: A Deliciously Indulgent Treat Read More »
I have recently been tested for celiacs, but thankfully this came back negative, however, on doctors orders I have been reducing my intake of gluten. One of the flours that my body can deal with is spelt. As a family we love baking and the boys both adore banana bread, so here is my take on banana bread made with spelt flour.
Banana Bread with Spelt Flour: A Healthy and Delicious Recipe Read More »
It has become something of a tradition that Maxi always has a chocolate smartie cake for his birthday. This year I decided to try and do something a little more eye catching. I love baking, but find icing larger cakes something of a chore. So this cake is very forgiving.
Cake Ingredients
6 oz of butter or marg
6 oz caster sugar
5 oz of self raising flour
1 oz of coco powder
1 teaspoon of baking powder
2 eggs
half teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 tablespoons of milk
Method.
Cream together the marg/butter and sugar. Then add the rest of the ingredients in and mix well!
Put in two 7 inch cake tins (I line the tins with parchment and grease) and place in to a preheated oven of 180 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. You can tell if the cakes are cooked if when you press the top it gives slightly but springs back.
Remove from oven and leave for 2 minutes before removing from tins and placing on to a wire rack to cool.
Icing Ingredients:
1 block of butter (250gm of 10 oz)
450 grams icing sugar
50 gms of coco powder
half teaspoon of vanilla extract
4 tablespoons of milk
Method
Soften the butter in a mixer before adding the other ingredients. Make sure you start mixing very slowly so you do not get icing sugar everywhere. If your mixer does not have a splatter guard then cover with a tea towel.
Assembling the cake
Sandwich together your two cakes with icing and then apply the remaining icing around and on top of the cake. You are going to use the using around the cake to stick the chocolate fingers to the cake, so make sure you have enough at the sides.
I applied the fingers and then refrigerated the cake overnight, before covering the top with smarties the following day.
