Further down the list of festive preparations, however, I cannot find a purple tractor for my 5 year old nephew, every other colour, the hunt continues! My blog from this time last year where I talked about Christmas present ideas and home kits were popular.  Here we are again and there are still some of my favourites on the Delicious Magazine, Gift Guide for this year (like to think I am accurate with my predictions). “For the experimental – home-curing kits for salmon or ba

Date: Saturday 9th December 2017 Time: 11:30-2.30pm Venue: Crockham Hill Village Hall, TN8 6RP Come and get all ready for Christmas…decorate your own festive wreath ready to hang on the door, lunch and a glass of bubbles to get you into the Christmas mood and a chance to see Christmas canapes demonstrated which can all be made in advance! Cost is £50 and includes all equipment needed for your wreath, food, and a glass of bubbles to get you in to the festive mood. #wreath #pre

Date: Thursday 9th November Time: 7pm – 9.30pm Venue: The Little Bull, Brenchley, Kent Cost: £19.95 Tickets available by contacting The Little Bull in Brenchley 01892 724985 A lovely way to spend a couple of hours with friends. Sit back, relax and watch as Jo demonstrates festive canapés to wow your family and guests.  Enjoy eating the results as well ! Examples of canapés: Parmesan shortbread with pea and mint hummus, baked camembert with sun dried tomato and pesto, sweet ch

Thursday 6th April 2017  – Crockham Hill Primary School, Hall and Kitchen After 8 years dedicated to food, Jo Banks brings creative recipe ideas together through fun, clear, interactive presentations and hands-on workshops/classes. “Cookery is a life skill and a subject I feel very passionate about! I have two daughters and I feel the more children can be involved in preparing food – from the beginning – the more likely they will enjoy eating and exploring adventurous tastes

Another week has whizzed past, sticking with no alcohol and watching the calories, who said this was a good idea? I have had to look harder at hardy winter vegetables that are in season and thinking about more adventurous recipes in the kitchen. Love all the swede and turnips particularly butternut squash, sweet potatoes and of course carrots, cauliflower, chard, kale, leeks, and parsnips. So easy just simply roasting these vegetables and I do like Brussel sprouts but you may

So January is quite a dull month. Short of money as we are paying off credit cards and Christmas expenses, weather is very cold and then in this country very wet… and certainly in our house we are trying to be good with cutting back on sugary, fatty snacks and its the 19th and I have not had one glass of wine, which has to be a record… With this I have had a busy week of looking at healthier after school snack options. Both of my daughters come in starving after school and of

How was Christmas? it already seems a long time ago… It was a flurry of food and family for me but no snow until now! Generally it was a good one for us as a family. Boxing Day meal went very well with ham, quiches and salads which I had tried to prep in advance, and yes it was a relatively relaxed event. I did over cater which is better than under catering. I boiled two hams and we only used and needed one so New Years Eve we had the other ham, which actually worked out well

I love this recipe as its a throw in one pot and pop in the oven. You add the sliced pieces of smoked salmon to serve with a little fresh dill. Ingredients: rapeseed oil for frying 500g leeks, thinly sliced 2 garlic cloves, crushed 300g risotto rice 500ml vegetable stock 750ml milk 100ml creme fraiche juice of 2 lemons 200g smoked salmon pieces fresh dill Heat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Using a oven/flameproof casserole dish with a lid, fry the oil and leeks for a few minutes un

So today the girls break up from school and the routine all changes as we have a couple of weeks of well earned holidays. Last night we went up to Kew Gardens to see the Christmas lights and they really are magical. Some displays are with music and others are just a feature like the ‘beehive’ – beautiful and if you are already booked in this Christmas to visit, I hope you enjoy as much as we did! Christmas presents are nearly all wrapped and I have posted all my cards (that w

Christmas Muffins Ingredients: 2 cups self-raising flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon ground allspice ½ cup light brown sugar 1 cup fruit mincemeat 1 egg, lightly beaten ½ cup (4oz) butter, melted ¾ cup buttermilk 1 tablespoon milk 2 teaspoons Demerara sugar Preheat oven to 400F / 200C Mix the flour, baking powder, allspice, and brown sugar together in a large bowl. Melt your butter and mix together the mincemeat, egg, melted butter, buttermilk, and milk. Add the wet i

Adapted from Delia’s Happy Christmas recipe book. Ingredients: 450g cooking apples, cored and peeled and chopped small 225g shredded suet 350g raisins 225g sultanas 225g currants 225g whole candied peel,finely chopped 350g soft dark brown sugar zest and juice of 2 oranges zest and juice of 2 lemons 50g almond slivers 4 teaspoons mixed ground spice 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon whole nutmeg, for grating 6 tablespoons of brandy Method: Combine all the ingredients, except the bra

Hopefully Christmas cake is made and pudding too, if you make it from scratch.  I have also made homemade mincemeat this year which I love and makes a real difference in those mince pies! I have enough jars to get me through the holidays. Another delicious recipe idea is Christmas muffins. A delicious way to use up leftover jars of mincemeat after Christmas or to christen a new jar, whichever way, they are great with a cup of coffee over the Christmas period. As you know I ha