Category: Recipes

So, as I mentioned a few weeks ago, I have rather a lot of apples from my apple tree. They are quite nice to eat on their own, but I prefer them baked.

On Sunday evening I had some time to myself so I decided to do some baking, although up first was something else:

After seeing Laura post this recipe I knew I had to have a go. Salted Almond Butter Fudge- so many good words in one recipe!

It was quick to make- I used the microwave to melt the coconut oil, and then left it to harden in the fridge while I had a run. When I got home I had a nibble, but it was not quite hard enough to properly slice. It is so good though.

A few pieces with some earl grey tea for a pre-evening-work boost.

Next up, Caramel Apple bars. I had made these before, but copied the recipe down wrong so had to have a google before I could get started. The original is here– these are a bit of a sugar bomb, but the smell when they bake is gorgeous with the apples and cinnamon. I did use coconut sugar instead of brown sugar to make a token effort!

Instead of making the caramel sauce for the top, I used some from a jar as I bought some in the Lake District last Easter and have not used it yet!

These are so good. The oats make it a sort of gooey flapjack texture, and the cooked apple and spices are just delicious with the caramel.

Next up, I fancy something with blackberries. I saw a lovely cake in a tearoom which had blackberries smushed into the buttercream, and although I am not a huge fan of buttercream, it did look very pretty.

What’s next on your baking list?

Hey peeps

I am trying to get more organised. I have notebooks filled with lists, but recently I have started using my computer to help me a bit more. I use my calendar online, and have recently signed up to Evernote, although I don’t think I am really using it that well just yet.

One of the things I have started is a list for recipes that I find online. I used to just write them down on a scrap of paper, and then when I came to make them I would struggle to find the original recipe. Well, no more. Sort of.

weeks ago I saw a recipe for coconut chocolate slices, that used coconut flour. I am not the biggest fan of coconut flour, but I have some and need to use it up. So in my little note I saved the link to the recipe (which is here if you fancy a look). Hurrah! But I forgot to say where the link came from. Although I think it came from Cat’s blog. ? Sorry if it was somewhere else!

Anyway, I liked the look of the recipe as it only used 2 eggs- so often coconut flour ones need 5 or 6. Plus chocolate and coconut are such a good combination.

I used a smaller pan (I think mine is 6×6 inches) and the mixture was very thick so I really had to spread it out and press it down. But it baked beautifully.

Perfect post run dessert.

How do you keep organised? 

Sainsbury’s are one of the only retailers who use cage-free eggs in their own brand products. I will only ever buy free range eggs (or I get them from my mum as she keeps hens) and I think that only products using free range eggs can be approved by the Vegetarian Society. I would not call myself a militant vegetarian, but free range eggs are something I feel really strongly about. My mum sometimes gets chicks from a farm, sometimes she gets live eggs to hatch if one hen gets broody, and a few times she has had rescue hens, which generally are chickens that were in battery farms but have stopped producing eggs so regularly. Seeing what they look like when she first gets them is horrible- they have hardly any feathers, bald  patches, they are so scrawny. But the worst part is that they don’t display normal chicken behaviour. The bottom of my parents’ garden is fenced off for the hens (with fencing over the top of some little apple trees to try and keep out the foxes) and the hens can scratch in the ground to their heart’s content. But the rescue hens don’t know how to do this- I imagine they have never seen grass or mud before. Thankfully after a few weeks of being with the other hens they pick up the behaviour, and their feathers grow back. They don’t tend to lay eggs every day, but they still lay lots each week. So often is I visit I will be given eggs to take home, but if I buy them instead, I will only ever buy free range eggs. Anyway, Sainsbury’s have asked bloggers to post a recipe using their eggs, and I was happy to oblige.

As you may know, I have been developing a love for French Toast. I have often found it too eggy, but on holiday this summer I had it a few times and it was gorgeous, so it has become one of my weekend breakfasts. All it needs is bread (I used sliced brioche), an egg, and some milk. Simple.

This is not really a recipe, more of a “how to”. The apple tree in our garden produced a bumper crop this year, so I decided to have some spiced apple alongside. I cracked one egg into a pasta bowl, and added a splash of almond milk and some almond extract. I whisked it up, and then lay the bread in there to soak while I cooked the apple (in a tsp coconut oil and a little cinnamon).

Once the apple was soft I put that on the plate and cooked the toast in the pan (love a one pan meal)- over a low- medium heat one slice at a time for a few minutes each side until golden.

With a little maple butter on one (I am trying to make it last as long as possible) and maple syrup on the other, it was such a delicious breakfast.

Sainsbury’s have a little video about their cage free eggs which you can watch here.

Are you a free range egg fan? What is the most unusual pet you have had? We had a stick insect when we were little, imaginatively called Sticky.

*I was sent vouchers from Sainsbury’s to pay for ingredients for this post. All opinions are my own.