Soft Amaretti Biscuits

This recipe was given to me at Christmas, and to be honest, I'm not really sure I made them completely right, as I think they're much bigger than they're actually meant to be. They are, however, delicious, and definitely worth giving a go. The proper recipe is from countryliving.co.uk and can be used to create really adorable gifts.

Ingredients (these are half the original recipe)
175g caster sugar
125g ground almonds
20g plain flour
2 large egg whites
a couple of drops of almond essence
zest of 1/2 a lemon

Method (takes around 30 minutes)
1. Heat the oven to 180 degrees and line 2 baking trays with baking parchment (I had to use tin foil, which worked just as well).
2. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the sugar before combining the remaining sugar with the ground almonds and the flour.

3. Whisk the egg whites until frothy and light but not stiff, then add the almond essence and lemon zest.
4. Spoon by spoon, add the almond mixture to the egg whites until it forms a soft mixture which just holds its shape. Leave this mixture to firm up for 10 minutes.
5. Put teaspoons of the mixture on the baking tray, being sure to space them well apart. With a wet finger, shape the top of the dough into domes, then sprinkle with the remaining sugar. 
6. Bake for 15 minutes until they are golden at the edges and slightly pulling away from the parchment or foil, then turn off the oven and leave inside for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack or a plate to cool. 
7. If your macaroons are small enough, place two of them together and wrap in cute tissue paper to make adorable gifts. These can be kept in an airtight container.

Leek and Mushroom Pasta Bake

This is really quick to make, and doesn't have to be baked (we didn't bake ours, we were too hungry to wait). It is tastier if you bake it though.

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 leek, finely chopped

5 button cup mushrooms, finely chopped

4 handfuls of pasta

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon plain flour

milk (not sure how much, didn't measure it)

1 cup cheese, grated

Method
1. Boil the pasta in slightly salted water.
2. Fry the leeks and mushrooms in a little oil until soft.
3. Add the butter and melt it. Then add the flour and stir until it is fully incorporated.

4. Slowly add the milk while stirring until you have a creamy sauce. Then add the cheese and stir until it has completely melted and the sauce is thick and creamy.

5. Once the pasta is fully cooked, add it to the sauce and mix it all together.
6. If you're baking it, place in a suitable dish, and sprinkle some extra cheese on top and place in a preheated oven (approx 180 degrees) and bake for 20 mins until the cheese on top is golden brown.

Grandad's Birthday Cake

Ok so I'm not actually posting the recipe (the cake's just a simple sponge) but I wanted to blog the cake I made for my grandad's birthday because I'm rather proud of it, even with it's wonkiness :)

PS- better photos to come as I am currently blogging from my phone

Peanut Butter Cookies

My stepmum gave me this recipe for Christmas, which is brilliant! These cookies are so tasty, Daz, who doesn't like sweet things, likes them, and Heather, who doesn't like peanut butter, likes them. 

Ingredients

125g butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon lemon rind

1/3 cup caster sugar

1/3 cup light brown muscovado sugar (lightly packed)

1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter

1 and 1/4 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

1. Cream together the butter, lemon rind, sugars and peanut butter.

2. Sieve in the flour and bicarbonate of soda and work in using a wooden spoon. This should create quite a breadcrumby dough. 

3. Roll heaped teaspoons of dough into small balls and place on a greased baking tray.

4. Press biscuits down lightly with a fork, first crosswise then lengthwise to create a crinkled effect.

5. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes until lightly browned, then allow to cool on a wire rack.

Lentil Soup

I actually made this about 2 weeks ago, but haven't had chance to blog it. Lentil soup is brilliant as a quick winter warmer, and is always good if you're feeling a bit rubbish. It's best served with warmed baguettes with plenty of butter on them.

Ingredients (serves 3-4)
200g red lentils
1 medium onion (finely chopped)
4 large potatoes (cubed)
3 carrots (chopped)
2 tspn black pepper
1litre vegetable stock

Method
1. Soften the onion, potatoes and carrots in oil for 5-10 minutes.
2. Stir in the lentils and black pepper and leave for 2 minutes.
3. Add enough stock to cover the lentil by about an inch, and bring to the boil. Cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more stock if the soup is thickening too quickly. 

4. Once the lentils and vegetables are softened, serve with crusty bread or baguettes. 

Homemade Pizza

This should have been uploaded a few days ago, but I've had internet problems. Although I'm not too bothered about that now, because I've got lots of baking/cooking things for Christmas which I'm uber excited to use, and so might go slightly blogging mental once I'm back after the Christmas holiday!


I love making my own pizza, it's quick and easy, and uses ingredients that we almost always have in the house. Once the base is made, you can add whatever you like really, but this one's pretty simple because it was made the day before I went home for Christmas and we didn't have much left in the house. I forgot to take a picture once it was done, I was very hungry and it smelt amazing, so I only have a picture of just before it went in the oven.

Ingredients (the dough makes enough to serve 2)

Dough
1 cup self raising flour
1 cup plain flour
6 tbspn cooking oil
2/3 cup milk

Topping - this is variable, throw on whatever you fancy, but for this one, I used -
2 tbspn tomato paste
1 tbspn garlic puree
1 tbspn sticky BBQ sauce
1 red onion finely chopped
1 handful mushrooms roughly chopped
lots of cheese (I didn't weigh it)
sprinkle of basil and thyme

I know recipes that use cups are annoying, because everyone's cups are different, but I've put a picture of mine compared to a normal Strongbow can so you know sort of what size it is. Although my stepmum apparently paid attention to my hatred of cup sizes and bought me some proper measuring cups for Christmas (yay)!

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

1. Sieve all the flour into a bowl and create a hole in the middle. Pour the oil into the whole and mix together thoroughly, either with your hands or a small spoon. 

2. Add the milk slowly, continually mixing with your hands. The dough should go a little gooey, but not so sticky that you can't get it off your hands.

3. Sprinkle some flour on a surface, your hands, and a rolling pin, and roll the dough until it's around 1cm thick, turning it over a few times to prevent sticking. 

4. Grease a baking tray with oil, and place the dough on it. At this point, if you like, you can be inventive and create a thick crust by folding the edges over, which can then be stuffed (this is really tasty if you create little pouches with feta in them).

5. Spread the tomato paste, garlic puree and BBQ sauce evenly over the base, leaving approx a centimetre clear around the edge. 
6. Spread your toppings over the sauce, with the cheese going on last.
7. Sprinkle on the basil and thyme, and place in the over for 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on it in the last few minutes, because if you leave it thin crust, it can burn quickly.

Vegetable Paella

Vege paella's kinda helpful if you have some veg which needs using. Obviously, traditional paella usually has some kind of seafood in it, but seafood's gross, so I can't offer any help with that. This is really quick and easy to throw together, and is pretty tasty without the spices if you can't afford them. 
The original recipe is from a BBC Good Food recipe book my stepmum gave me when I came to uni. It's one of the 101 range, and I would massively recommend getting a couple, they're great!

Ingredients (serves 4)

8oz rice
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1garlic clove
2 peppers (I used one orange and one red)
4oz mushrooms (I used 4 large mushrooms, couldn't be bothered to weigh them)
1.5 pints vege stock (I make half a pint properly and then just use water to top it up)
4oz frozen peas
1 tspn paprika
1 tspn saffron, although I don't have any so have never used it in this recipe
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

Method (takes around 30 mins)
1. Cook the onion in a pan until soft, then add the garlic, peppers and mushrooms. 
2. Once the veg has cooked through, add the rice and stir for 1 minute, before adding all of the stock. Leave to cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is almost cooked (add more water if you need to).
3. Throw in the peas and cook for a further 5 minutes.
3. After serving, scatter the tomato and parsley over the paella. A nice touch for this dish is to add cheese, feta is best, but a strong cheddar works just as well too.