What better to cook than cookies............

Leah's friend came over yesterday, so we baked some cookies together. You are supposed to use chocolate chips for the recipe, but I used mixed fruit instead.

Here is the recipe.

4oz butter or margarine

2oz caster sugar

3oz soft brown sugar

8oz plain flour

1tsp baking powder

1tsp vanilla extract

1 egg, beaten

4oz of choc chips (white and brown) I used mixed fruit instead

set oven for 180 degrees and grease 2 baking sheets

cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

add egg a bit at a time, along with the vanilla extract.

sift the flour and baking powder together over the mixture and stir in with a metal spoon. Stir in the fruit.

using 2 spoons, place the mixture on the baking sheets, wide enough apart to allow for spreading whilst cooking. makes 15 cookies.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden, moving around in the over after 10 minutes for even cooking if necessary.

Leave on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack for cooling.

Enjoy!!

Preparing for Christmas

The last few days before Christmas are always busy, let alone when you're youngest isn't sleeping due to an ear infection. Luckily the antibiotics seem to be working, so we're in for a better Christmas than it could have been.

The tree is up and decorated, although parents of young children know how tempting it is for the kiddlies to mess with the tree. I'm constantly redressing it where Leah has been fiddling to make it 'better'!

We madesome decorative presents to go on the tree this year, from mini cereal boxes, wrapping paper and ribbon.So easy yey so effective. They look great although I haven't been able to photograph them well enough yet.

I even put my sewing skills (?) to the test this year and made one - yes one - felt bauble. TA DA!

Today Leah and I made some very tasty mince pies, and even though I told her that raw pastry was not very nice, she didn't believe me and went ahead and ate it. It was spat out and left on the worktop - need I say more?

They are very tasty anyway, especially with a cup of tea. Not bad for my own pastry making skills - the chicken liver pate is being made tomorrow. Wish me luck!

We had a big dump of snow of saturday, and I managed to get into the garden quite soon after to take some photos.

The apple tree looked so pretty I just had to show you the picture of this snow covered branch.

Mmmmmmm.......................pizza!

On Thursday Richard went out for a curry, so I thought I would treat Leah and myself to pizza, except we were going to make it ourselves.

I made a recipe for basic dough courtesy of Jamie Oliver, but halved it using about 500g of flour.

We let the dough prove until double in size (about 40 minutes or so)

and in the meantime got our toppings ready (can you see my hot chillies hidden in there?). Not a great choice, but all I had in the fridge!

Once the dough was rolled out I covered it in my tomato sauce (made earlier using passata, olive oil, carrot, celery, onion and garlic all whizzed up together)

then added my lovely toppings.

Here is Leah's finished cooked one,

and mine!

And as I had had some dough left I made a nice little loaf.

Yummy, yummy, yummy!!

Yummy jam.....

Take some cherries (5lb or 2.5kg) and stone them. Add them to a large pan along with some stones in a muslin bag.

Simmer with the juice of 2-3 lemons or 1 tsp of citric acid for 20 - 30 minutes.

Once boiled, dissolve in 3.5 lb (1.75kg) of sugar then boil rapidly until setting point is reached. (This can be tested by putting a small plate into the freezer, then once cold pouring a small amount onto the plate. If the mixture wrinkles when pushed, setting point has been reached - hopefully!)

Once put in jars, leave to cool......

......then enjoy for breakfast with a lovely cup of tea!

So many cherries!

My brother in law's cherry tree produces an abundance of cherries each summer, most of which end up in the bird's tummies. This year I climbed up the tree and picked myself a ton (or so it seemed) of lovely juicy red cherries.

Now I can only eat so many myself so I have roped my Mum into a jam making session this afternoon. I have never made jam before so I am quite looking forward to it. I just hope it turns out OK. I just couldn't see all that lovely fruit go to waste. If we are successful I will be up that tree again quicker that you know it!

On another note, our shopping arrived today and Leah spied the sushi I ordered. She hasn't quite got the hang of chop sticks yet but she does her best! It's one of her favourites, what an odd child I have!