Bonfire Night 2015

Last night my boyfriend and I went to watch a firework display on the green. We got there about 45 minutes before the fireworks were due to start so we kept warm with jacket potatoes and then treated ourselves to toffee apples before the display began! 

The sky lit up with an array of beautiful colours:

Happy Halloween!

Cinnamon and Apple Pie

We have a bumper crop of deliciously sweet apples this year that are dropping off the tree quicker than we can eat them, so I've been trying out new recipes to make the most of them. 

This recipe has a very autumnal feel with the cinnamon being a nice contrast to the sweet apple and it is so simple to make especially if you cheat a little with the pastry and buy pre-made like I did. I used jus-rol shortcrust pastry which was just the right amount for the pie. 

Here are the ingredients and steps I followed:

Ingredients:

350g shortcrust pastry

50g caster sugar

8-10 apples

1 tsp cinnamon

1. Peel and chop the apples and place in a bowl. 

2. Add the caster sugar and cinnamon powder and mix to ensure an even coverage.

3. Transfer to a pan and cook on a low-medium heat for about ten minutes until the sugar caramelises. Then turn off the heat and allow to cool. 

4. Roll out half of the pastry so it is 5mm thick and line the dish. Roll out the remaining pastry and either cut into strips for a lattice cover or one whole piece with slits for the steam to escape. Spoon the apples in and cover the pie with the lattice or lid. Brush the pastry with milk.

5. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes on gas mark 6 until golden. 

6. Serve with custard or cream and enjoy!

Kerylos Villa Beaulieu

In July I went to Nice for a few days of sunshine, warmth and relaxation. I've been to Nice quite a few times now and seen most of the popular tourist spots of the French Riviera such as the beautiful Villa Ephrussi de Rotschild in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, the perfume factories of Grasse and the palace in Monaco, so it is getting harder to find new things to see and explore. 

This time round though I popped into the tourist information centre for a map and spotted a leaflet for the Villa Kerylos in Beaulieu so we took the next bus and spent the morning exploring the Greek villa.

The audio guides gave a lot of information about the history of the villa, which was built in the early 1900s by French archaeologist Theodore Reinach and is filled with copies of Ancient Greek furniture and statues. 

After our tour of the villa we sat on the veranda and ate lunch whilst enjoying the idyllic views over the sea.

Horsley Park

Last week I had a few days off from work so we spent a few days in Horsley Park, enjoying the crisp autumn air, countryside walks and rare lie-ins. We were very lucky with the weather, it was sunshine and blue skies although there was a definite chill in the air signalling that winter is well on it's way.

Saturday afternoon PYO

This afternoon was spent at our local PYO fruit farm strolling through strawberry rows looking for the biggest and most red berries, getting lost in a maize maze and suppressing squash envy! We got caught in a downpour so headed back to the shop to pay for our bounty - multi-coloured courgettes and strawberries - and waited for the rain to pass with a cup of tea and slice of delicious chocolate cake in the fruit shop tea room. 

Once the rain had stopped we headed back to our car past the petting zoo where we saw the cutest Pygmy goats who were super friendly, I could have taken them all home with me! 

Feeding the littlest Pygmy goat

Getting up close with the camera

Big smiles for the camera!

Home Bargains baking essentials

With a new series of the Great British Bake Off just around the corner, I've been inspired to flick through my baking books and make notes of the next recipes I want to test. Unfortunately it's been ages since I last had both the time and energy to get weighing, mixing and decorating, but I've made up for it by stockpiling pretty cupcake cases and cake toppers, so when I do finally get round to it my cakes will be the best dressed around! 

Home bargains has always had pretty bake-ware and accessories but recently I've noticed they have a large range of Wilton products for unbelievable prices. I haven't previously bought much from the Wilton range as I've found it a bit expensive, but i know it is popular with bakers and I've had my eye on some flower shaped cupcake cases for a while. My luck was in last week when I called in to my local store on my way home from work and I picked up a few things from both the Wilton and home bargains ranges which I thought I'd share. 

The tulip baking cups were a bargain at 49p. There are 24 cases in the pack and they are good quality cases which should keep your cupcakes perfectly formed as they bake, unlike those thin white ones you get in cake mix boxes which fold all over the place as soon as you put the mixture in them, leaving you with some oddly shaped creations. 

The food writers were 59p and look like they will be easy to use and quicker than icing pens for when you're running short on time. As they are festive colours I won't be using these until Christmas time, but I will look them up online and see if they have good reviews. 

The other cupcake cases were from home bargains own range and I think they were 39p. The last thing I need is more cupcake cases (I'm on the verge of becoming a "collector" of them!) but with such cute prints I couldn't resist.

The red bags were 59p I think, or maybe 79p, I can't remember exactly. They are paper bags which are perfect for packaging up your homemade sweet treats to take to work or on picnics or to give as a gift. They also come with stickers to seal them.

The vintage dream cupcake sets were 99p each. I have a few similar sets from Poundland but these are far prettier so I just had to get them. Plus the ones from Poundland are all holiday-themed, which means this purchase was okay as these can be used YEAR ROUND. If that isn't reason alone to buy them I don't know what is...at least that's what I keep telling myself!

Has anyone else found any baking bargains recently?

P.s. Lakeland have their summer sale on at the moment and there are some reductions on gorgeous bake-ware, including a 3d carousal mold. I'm consequently trying to avoid the website....for now!