Archive for July, 2010

Cupcakes for the soul

{ July 28, 2010 @ 12:00 pm } · { Baking, Crafts }
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I love cupcakes, but if I ate them as much as I fancied I would be gigantonormous. So sometimes I have to be satisfied with drooling over a gorgeous photo of one. And let’s face it, the cupcake aesthetic is at least 50% of the enjoyment. If a cupcake looks rubbish, then you won’t enjoy it regardless of how tasty it is. I’ve been working hard recently to make sure my cupcakes look the business – here’s some of my current favourite things.

  • A great cupcake case – I’ve recently had some fantastic ones from Cupcake Catwalk. They are good quality, good value and you can get fabulous colours and patterns. I’m loving the deep purple ones and the pink polka dot ones at the moment.
  • Colourful frosting – you can’t beat Dr Oetker food colourings for brightening things up. They may be more expensive but cheap supermarket ones just seem to make frosting look dirty or grey.
  • Sparkle! – I don’t think you can go wrong with a bit of edible glitter. You can get it in so many colours from Sugarcraft Supplies. Just a sprinkle can turn an average cake into something that makes your eyes light up!
  • Sugarcraft adornments – for a dainty decoration some blossom flowers or stars look very pretty, especially on top of fondant icing.

For anyone who is on a diet or doesn’t have a cupcake to hand, you might enjoy looking at these!

summer christening cupcakes

glittery lavender cupcake

lemon surprise cupcakes

Salvos Salumeria

{ July 27, 2010 @ 12:00 pm } · { Cafes & Coffee shops, Specialty Food Emporia }
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For those who don’t already know, Salvo’s Salumeria is an awesome Italian cafe and delicatessen in Headingley. It’s next door to, and little sister of Salvo’s restaurant, named ‘Best Neighbourhood Italian’ by Gordon Ramsay’s F Word. It’s such a versatile place – you can get a great coffee or lunch, attend an Italian regional evening or stock up on tasty deli and store cupboard items. They will even make you up a gift hamper, which we gave as a Christmas gift to my in-laws last year to a warm reception. My only complaint about this little gem is that it is quite little! On a busy Saturday you can struggle to get a seat, but at the moment (weather permitting) there are lots of lovely tables al fresco.

We went there for lunch on saturday and it was delightful to sit in the balmy summer air sipping on a San Pellegrino. I had a spicy penne arrabiata, which was perfectly al dente and made with proper Italian sausage (not processed pepperoni type meat). Tom had a salami & swiss cheese ‘piadine’, which is a rolled flatbread. It was fresh and filled with peppery rocket to compliment the spicy salami. We also shared some mixed olives – which are such a treat! I think there were 4 different types in the dish, including one that was bright green and quite buttery – it tasted rich like expensive olive oil.

While we were there, we were of course tempted by the deli. There are so many types of salami for starters, let alone the cheese, olives, tomatoes, bread. We had no plans for tea, so we stocked up on Italian tapas. I asked for some advice about what would go well together, and they really knew their stuff. I brought away things I wouldn’t have necessarily chosen, and we really enjoyed it! I can especially recommend the salami infused with fennel and the sun dried black olives, yummy! If you are extremely lucky you can also get your hands on some smoked buffalo mozzarella. They fly it in to Leeds Bradford once a week (can’t remember which day) and it is available in the deli the following day. You can try it in Salvo’s on the affumicata pizza, and you will be hooked!

To top it all off the service is great – friendly, chatty and good advice. They’re also building a new kitchen at the back to improve on the tiny stove they currently use (I don’t know how they do it!) and based on their day time food I’m dying to go and try one of the regional evening dinners sometime soon.

Tea at Sunshine Bakery

{ July 25, 2010 @ 12:00 pm } · { Cafes & Coffee shops, Specialty Food Emporia }
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In a state of disbelief that my husband had never been to Sunshine bakery, I just had to take him there this weekend. I have had takeaway cupcakes from there many times before, but this time I was excited to be able to have a cup of tea from their mismatched china and take in the surroundings.

It was a very busy sunny Saturday in Chapel Allerton and we were lucky to get a table (there are 3 inside and 3 outside). There was a great choice of cupcakes and traybakes as we were there early (about 11am) but they were literally selling like hotcakes!

We shared a pot of tea, which was so charming served in vintage china and dainty tea spoons. I had a strawberry cheesecake cupcake, which was a very light sponge with quite a dense (in a good way) cheesecake topping and a fresh strawberry on top. It was delicious and not as sweet as some of the chocolate based ones I have had there before. Tom opted for the peanut butter brownie, which he rated highly. It was a bit gooey and a bit chewy and again, not too sweet.

We also took advantage of the fresh bread for sale and brought home some fantastic pesto rolls to have for tea. And for those Italian cofee lovers who can’t make it into town easily you can stock up on your Bottega Milanese coffee beans from there too!

Such a great start to our Saturday, and so much nicer than going to a chain cafe.

Baby biscotti

{ July 24, 2010 @ 12:00 pm } · { Baking, Family, Recipes }
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I’m not a big fan of giving Millie rusks, but she does sometimes need something good to gnaw on. The solution? Make your own! I trawled the internet for a good recipe and couldn’t quite find what I wanted so this is a bit of a hybrid of what I read. It’s great because you don’t use a lot of sugar, but add flavours like vanilla and spices to give them sweetness and taste. You can also swap out a bit of flour for some cocoa powder to make them chocolatey. Because you bake them twice they are good and solid to be chewed on but are still edible. In fact, I have been known to dunk one in a cup of tea!

Ingredients:

  • unsalted butter 30g
  • caster sugar 80g
  • 1 egg
  • baking powder 1/2 teaspoon
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon or ginger
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
  • plain flour 140g

Method:

  • preheat fan oven to 180 degrees C
  • cream butter & sugar, then add the egg
  • add vanilla, cinnamon, baking powder, salt
  • add the flour until mixture holds together (you may not need it all)
  • form the mixture into a wide sausage shape on a greased baking tray, or using parchment (pic 1 below)
  • bake for 20 mins
  • slice into thin pieces and lay flat on the tray, bake for 10 mins (pic 2 below)
  • turn over the biscuits and bake for a further 10 mins

These biscotti will keep for ages in an air tight box and can also freeze.

Jamie Oliver’s Lamb Stew

{ July 23, 2010 @ 12:00 pm } · { Recipes }
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This is a tasty warming sticky stew for one of those days when you need a bit of comfort food. We have made it twice this month because the weather has been so cold! It’s from the ‘Jamie’s Kitchen‘ cookbook but the recipe is available online here.

Great things about this stew:

  • It’s quite versatile because you can keep it light and serve with salad and crusty bread or you can add the traditional sunday lunch accoutrements.
  • It has hidden flavours in it that I wouldn’t particularly like individually. For example marmite and parsnips (they are grated up!)
  • It only takes about 1 1/2 hours to cook and will keep for a couple of days.
  • It has chippolatas skewered on rosemary stalks resting on top – what a great idea!
  • It’s not an expensive meal – a little lamb goes a long way

Highlights of Wales – by train, boat and tram!

{ July 22, 2010 @ 12:00 pm } · { Culture, Family, Travel }
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Let it be known that north Wales is a transport fan’s delight! With both of us having grown up with families who loved (and worked on) the railways we are keen to take Millie on as many trains as possible. and this extended to trams, canal boats and miniature railways during this holiday!

The Ffestiniog Railway

This is a favourite childhood memory of mine and one where the experience still matches the expectation! The Ffestiniog railway is a heritage steam railway between Blaenau Ffestiniog (an old slate mining town) and Porthmadog (a quaint harbour town). It’s 13 1/2 miles of stunning views from the slate mines to the salt marshes where you travel in comfortable restored rolling stock. A return journey sets you back £18.50, so it’s best to pick a good weather day to make sure you get those views.

The Great Orme Tramway

It’s the only cable hauled tramway in the UK and goes up the side of the Great Orme in Llandudno to its summit of 679ft. It’s great fun and reminded me of going on the trams in San Francisco on our honeymoon and the views from the top are amazing. You can do some pretty serious walking around the top of the Orme but come prepared for the weather – we walked out to the edge of it (about 30 mins away from the visitor centre) and got caught in an incredible rainstorm which came out of nowhere. Literally one minute it was bright blue sky, the next it was hailstones! The tram runs every 20 mins and is £5.60 for a return trip.

Horse Drawn Canal Boats

In Llangollen you can still have a ride on a canal boat the traditional 18th century way – pulled along by horses! The beautiful scenery is part of a world heritage site and it’s very calming travelling at such a sedate pace. The ride lasts about 45 mins and costs £6.

Betwys-y-coed Miniature Railway

This miniature railway is a must for any train enthusiasts. It’s a mile long (usually miniature steam train) ride and runs alongside the mainline track. To be fair I think Tom and I enjoyed it more than Millie, she looked distinctly puzzled by the whole thing but it was a well spent £1.50 for us!

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Highlights of Wales – the perfect location

{ July 21, 2010 @ 12:00 pm } · { Family, Travel }
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In the spirit of saving our sanity and having a holiday with our lovely 7 month old Millie pie we decided to embrace the great British holiday this year with a week in Wales. We booked it in January, and it was a tough decision whether or not to go abroad but I think we made the right choice despite the awful weather!

Accommodation & Location

We booked through a company called Under the Thatch which is great for finding unique, lovingly restored, eco friendly properties, which encourage you to support the local economy. We’ve booked with them a few times before and have always been really pleased.

This time, we had a gorgeous cottage in the middle of the countryside, near a village called Pentrefoelas. We were just outside Snowdonia national park, amidst beautiful scenery with access to some great activities. Plus it was only 2 1/2 hours drive from Leeds, which was a perfect distance to drive with the baby.

It is a contemporary barn conversion, owned by an architect and an interior designer and was done to a really high specification. They had somehow managed to create luxurious rustic charm. The kitchen was full of un-matching crockery, but fantastic cookware , the furniture was a mix of restored pieces and Ikea staples. There was a roaring log fire in the lounge (but central heating available too!), and cosy throws on the sofas.

The decor was neutral incorporating local wood and slate and scattered around the house were books, board games and interior design magazines to enjoy. It was the sort of place you could cosy up and relax without the need for tv or technology.

The outside space was lovely too – a decked area with seating, a bbq area and a garden with a view across the valley only interrupted by sheep. It was such a shame the weather was so bad we only got to sit out there once! However we did enjoy sitting in front of the real fire, which we hadn’t anticipated doing in July!

The house sleeps 8, and can be booked for weeks or weekends and it worked out at about £80 a night – which for high season I thought was pretty good! There’s also great access to outdoor activities, fantastic foodie finds and steam trains galore… more on that tomorrow!



Temple Newsam

{ July 20, 2010 @ 12:00 pm } · { Culture, Yorkshire places }
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I’m always on the lookout for nice things to do out & about with the baby, and especially when we are visited by one of the grandparents. On a recent visit from Tom’s mum we decided to make the most of the sun and go to Temple Newsam. It’s a grand old stately house & estate on the outskirts of Leeds which is run by the council. I’ve never been inside the house, but the extensive grounds are free. There’s plenty of grass for picnics and games, good walking (and pram friendly), a lake, and lots of planted garden areas.

There’s also the ‘home farm’ which is great for the kids. It was £3.25 per adult (kids under 5 are free) and there was lots to see from piglets and week old chicks in the cobbled farm yard to goats and cows in the paddocks. There was also a great play park amongst the paddocks with plenty of bark chipping underfoot to cushion the falls! Millie liked sitting on and patting the carved wooden animal seats but I could see her eyeing up the slide… maybe next time!

We did have lunch in the cafe, but to be honest you’d be better off bringing a picnic. The cafe is quite dirty (especially the highchairs – absolutely disgusting!) and the food is a bit stale and over priced. So, get your picnic rug out and enjoy a bit of summer sun in the lovely grounds!

Tiled Hall Cafe

{ July 19, 2010 @ 12:00 pm } · { Cafes & Coffee shops, Culture, Specialty Food Emporia }
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One of my favourite spots for lunch in Leeds city centre is the Tiled Hall Cafe. It co-exists with the art gallery in the former 19th century municipal library building. You can sit amidst fabulous high ceilings and carefully restored original tiles and enjoy some good Yorkshire grub. Savoury offerings include sandwiches, sausage rolls, pasties, quiche and jacket potatoes. Naughty things include great wedges of cake (victoria sponge, coffee cake, carrot cake and the like), cream scones and flapjacks. They also serve up a mean brew and premium soft drinks like Fentimans lemonade. They pride themselves on using local suppliers and local ingredients to showcase good Yorkshire produce.

Today I had a gorgeous focaccia with chicken, avocado & lime mayo served with coleslaw and Tom enjoyed a Wensleydale cheese and chutney sandwich. I also tried a fresh ‘super berry smoothie’ which I haven’t seen on the menu before – it was a deep red, thick, fruity glass of goodness that I’m sure goes a little way to combat the naughty cream scone….. I did share the scone with Tom, and very tasty it was too! So for 2 sandwiches, 2 drinks and one jam & cream scone it was £14 – not a bad price for lunch for two these days. Plus you get to enjoy it in elegant surroundings and feel good about flying the flag for Yorkshire produce.

Millie’s Garden Party

{ July 18, 2010 @ 12:00 pm } · { Baking, Family, Garden }
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I’ve been meaning to blog about this for a while to share some of the photos of Millie’s fantastic day! We didn’t want to have Millie christened as we don’t go to church, but we still wanted to get friends and family together for a party.

The result was a champagne afternoon tea garden party, which sadly given the awful British summer weather, became a house party hosted by Tom’s parents. Nonetheless we had a lovely day: A team of avid bakers donned their aprons to bake up a storm, including brownies, scones, cupcakes, chocolate cake, lemon cake, cookies and more….

….especially a fantastic celebration cake made by Zoe Biscombe. Bunting and balloons adorned the house, along with arrangements of beautiful yellow roses from my mum’s garden.

Cava corks were popped and around 40 guests braved the weather to eat, drink and take their turn at bouncing the baby! It was a lovely mingling of both sides of the family and friends and so nice to feel so loved and supported at this exciting and challenging time of our lives!

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