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Frozen Food and Batch Cooking

May 12, 2017
2 min

Frozen Food and Batch Cooking

Following on from reading this article in the Daily Mail I was prompted to write this week about freezing food and batch cooking. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4486286/the-unpalatable-truth-ready-meals.html Time is always the biggest problem but looking at labels on these microwave meals and reading this article it really does frighten you to question what is in these meals we are serving to our family and ourselves? I know you cannot believe everything you read,

Kitchen Kids

May 5, 2017
2 min

Kitchen Kids

Interesting read and quite timely as my blog last week was questioning the future of our cookery skills. Waitrose Weekend newspaper – 27th April 2017 “Youngsters are learning the benefits of cooking from scratch earlier than ever…” I teach at several local schools in Surrey and Kent and completely agree with the article in the Waitrose newspaper. Cookery classes are becoming as popular as swimming and ballet! However the reason I agree with the article is that it is not all

Events 2017

May 5, 2017
3 min

Events 2017

List of events in the diary, constantly being added and amended. So check back frequently. **** Date: Wednesday 4th October Event: Monthly ‘hands on’ supper club – ‘Choctails – An evening of chocolate’ Venue: Crockham Hill Village Hall. Time: 7.30-9.30pm. After a popular evening at ‘Temper Temper’ in Tunbridge Wells we will be running something similar here in Crockham Hill. An evening of chocolate with two chocolate cocktails made in front of you (even a chance to have a go

Summer 2017 – Crockham Hill – Cookery Camp August

May 5, 2017
1 min

Summer 2017 – Crockham Hill – Cookery Camp August

This time we will be making some summer recipes : picnic ideas, preparing seasonal fruit and vegetables and summery sweets! “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 and flavours.” Date: Friday 25th August 2017 Time: 10-3pm Cost: £40 includes all ingredients and lunch Age

Summer 2017 Crockham Hill – Cookery Camp

May 5, 2017
1 min

Summer 2017 Crockham Hill – Cookery Camp

This time we will be making some summer recipes : picnic ideas, preparing seasonal fruit and vegetables and summery sweets! Date: Wednesday 26th July 2017 Time: 10-3pm Cost: £40 includes all ingredients and lunch Age Group: Boys & Girls aged 8-12 years Location: Crockham Hill Village Hall, TN8 6RP Please REMEMBER to bring a snack/drink and a container for you to take your goodies home in! For further details email jobanks@alivewithflavour.com Places are limited and need to

Live life on the veg…

Mar 16, 2017
3 min

Live life on the veg…

Riverford boxes of organic fruit and vegetables have been available for many years, delivered to your door. I would say they were the first company I remember and now they are one of many. I used to have a weekly Riverford delivery when the children were a little younger but cancelled due to work, school and supper time chaos! I loved the fact that I got lots of different vegetables in particular. In the supermarket I would tend to stick with the usual comfort of carrots and

Beetroot and Dark Chocolate Brownies

Feb 10, 2017
1 min

Beetroot and Dark Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients: 275g cooked beetroot 250g dark chocolate, broken into pieces 250g butter 3 eggs 200g golden caster sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 75g plain flour 50g cocoa powder pinch of salt Makes 15 Grease the base of cake tin or brownie pan. Place the beetroot in a food processor and whiz for a few minutes to form a smooth puree. Set aside Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, taking care that the bowl does the

Healthier Flapjacks

Jan 26, 2017
1 min

Healthier Flapjacks

We made these at my after school club with the children and they were all voted ‘very yummy’ by the children and all the Mums and Dads collecting. I talked to the children in small groups about refined sugar and the benefits of using dried fruit instead to sweeten naturally, a few of them were not convinced until they tasted… I don’t think many flapjack trays got all the way home for trying later. Irresistible and healthy with no refined sugar. The recipe is flexible you can

Back to January

Jan 20, 2017
2 min

Back to January

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

Banana Flapjacks

Jan 20, 2017
1 min

Banana Flapjacks

These are more banana bars or banana cake slices but with the oats and being baked they sort of classify a flapjack. They are really delicious, filling and nutritious too. MOST IMPORTANT NO REFINED SUGAR Ingredients: 150g/2cups of oats 50g coconut oil 3 bananas 125g chopped dates 1 tablespoon of maple syrup Melt the coconut oil in a pan over a low heat. Measure out and mix the oats and add to the saucepan to allow the oats to soak up the oil, for at least five minutes. Set

Tasty Bread Tartlets

Jan 18, 2017
1 min

Tasty Bread Tartlets

Ingredients: A little butter 4 slices of bread 2 eggs and 2 tablespoons milk a handful of fresh mint leaves 2 handfuls of frozen peas or corn kernels small handful of cheddar or parmesan cheese Turn the oven on to 375F (190C) Gas 5. Put a little butter on a piece of paper towel and rub it inside 4 of the holes in the muffin pan to grease it. Lay a piece of bread on chopping board and use the round cutter to cut out a circle of bread. Press it into the muffin pan. Do the same

Lean Leftovers

Jan 13, 2017
3 min

Lean Leftovers

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

No-stir Chicken/Turkey and Cranberry Risotto

Dec 16, 2016
1 min

No-stir Chicken/Turkey and Cranberry Risotto

This is another one pot but even easier as it can be made in the microwave. Ingredients: 1 cup dried cranberries 2 cups hot water 1 med. Onion 1 cup uncooked Arborio rice 1 tbsp olive oil 2 ¾ cups chicken stock ¾ cups dry white wine ½ tsp each salt and pepper ½ cup blanched slivered almonds 2 stalks celery 2 oz cream cheese 2 cups cooked chicken or turkey breasts (I use a pre-cooked deli chicken) ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley (optional) Combine cranberries

No-stir salmon and leek risotto

Dec 16, 2016
1 min

No-stir salmon and leek risotto

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

Last Friday Foodie Blog for 2016

Dec 16, 2016
2 min

Last Friday Foodie Blog for 2016

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 Markets and Present Ideas

Dec 12, 2016
2 min

Christmas Markets and Present Ideas

I have been looking at what I think is ‘the thing’ this Christmas, for ‘foodies’ that is… and in my opinion its the ‘How to make’ kit… I have never seen so many on the market you really can buy a kit to make everything and anything, or so it seems. Make your own bread and cakes are always in the supermarket year round but even ‘Delicious Magazine’ had a few on their ‘top gift ideas’ for this Christmas. 30-minute fudge a top present for a teenager, DIY Delicious-ness with a Ch

Dec 2, 2016
1 min

Christmas Muffins

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

Parmesan and rosemary shortbread biscuits

Nov 29, 2016
1 min

Parmesan and rosemary shortbread biscuits

Makes: approx. 18 shortbreads Ingredients: 150 grams plain flour 75 grams grated parmesan 100 grams soft unsalted butter 1 large egg yolk large handful of finely chopped rosemary METHOD Mix all the ingredients together – using bowl and spoon, electric mixer or food processor as wished – until a golden dough begins to form a clump. Turn it out onto a surface and knead for about 30 seconds until smooth, then divide into two. Take the first half and, using your hands, roll it in

Thanksgiving this side of the pond

Nov 25, 2016
2 min

Thanksgiving this side of the pond

Our teenage daughter was born in the states, Tennessee to be precise so we used to celebrate Thanksgiving in a big way. It was a good time of year for family to come from the UK and visit away from the Christmas holidays and we found Thanksgiving was more popular than Christmas for bringing American families together. Falling on the fourth Thursday of November the festival dates from 1621, when a group of New England pilgrims served a feast to their Native American neighbours

Canapes and first mincepie for the year!

Nov 5, 2016
2 min

Canapes and first mincepie for the year!

This was an extremely busy week. Back to normal after half term, and Halloween on a school night, which I can never remember! It didn’t cramp our style too badly but I think we had a lot less visitors… The Spirit of Christmas has been on all week at Olympia in South Kensington. I got up for the day with Sue and we had a great day, although slightly rushed – I realised my watch was still on summer time, so we missed the Champagne Tasting. It really got me in the mood, I cannot