Spec Ops: The Line – UK Release

I am just so excited about this so I had to share it on my blog! The day has finally come for the UK release of Spec Ops: The Line, seeing all of the hard work that has gone into the game by everyone at Yager, the boyfriend included has made it so exciting to start seeing the fruits of their labour. TV advertisements and billboards around the city have made it all seem more real, but nothing can beat the arrival of our complimentary copy of the game!

Finally we have our copy of Spec Ops: The Line

Please let me know if you get a chance to buy or play this game, I would love to hear your reviews! I am not a gamer usually but I cannot wait to play this this weekend!

Chocolate Brownies

I did not have time to post this recipe over the weekend, but on Saturday evening after a day of shopping, I made Chocolate Brownies for my boyfriend and I to enjoy with yet another game of football. I improvised an old recipe that I had along with another one from Jamie Oliver and this was the result;

Ingredients

• 250g of Unsalted Butter
• 200g of Milk Chocolate
• 100g of Chopped Almonds (Walnuts would also work well)
• 80g of Cocoa Powder
• 65g of Plain Flour
• 1tsp of Baking Powder
• 360g of Caster Sugar
• 4 Large Eggs

The Chocolate Brownie Mix Ready for Baking

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C
2. Line a baking dish (around 25cm x 25cm) with greaseproof paper and set aside
3. Then mix the cocoa, flour, baking powder and sugar in a large bowl for later
4. In a large glass bowl melt the chocolate and butter together over a pan of simmering water until smooth
5. Add the nuts and stir in
6. Then add the cocoa mixture that you had set aside to the chocolate mixture, keeping it simmering over the heat, and stir thoroughly
7. Then add the eggs and beat into the mixture (still over the simmering water) and beat until the mixture is a silky consistency
8. Pour the mixture into the lined baking tray and put in the oven for 25 minutes
9. The brownie should not be cooked like a cake but should instead be springy on the outside whilst still gooey on the inside
10. When cooked remove the brownie from the oven and allow to cook in the tray
11. Then transfer the brownie to a chopping board (using the greaseproof paper) and cut as desired

A Large Chunk of Chocolate Brownie

Luckily they tasted great, they were rich but at the same time moist and delicious! They are not as nutty as I had hoped so this recipe actually has more nuts in it than I used this time around but I will be adding more next time for sure. Although after another meal of my Home-made Vegetable Curry these brownies were not quite the refreshing dessert that I needed, but yummy all the same!

I would love to hear from you if you make any of my desserts!

Toad in the Hole

As the England game was on last night (the less said the better) and we were having some friends over for dinner and to watch the game I wanted to make something ‘English‘ so after being highly indecisive and quite unimaginative I decided to make Toad in the Hole. However, one of our guests had never tried it and in fact did not even know what it was so it turned out to be a great choice and here is the recipe;

Ingredients

• 12 Sausages (Pork or Poultry, which I use as I do not eat pork)
• 225g of Plain Flour
• 3 Eggs
• 225ml of Milk
• 165ml of Water

My Toad in the Hole Ready for the Oven

Method

1. Firstly cook the sausages on a baking tray in the oven, at 180 they will take 12-15 minutes
2. Whilst they are cooking place a baking dish (around 25cm x 25cm) in the oven with a little bit of oil in it to heat up
3. Sift the flour into a bowl and create a well in the centre
4. Break the eggs into the well and beat into the flour
5. Gradually add the milk and water and continue to beat until the batter is smooth
6. When the sausages are cooked pour the batter mix into the dish with the heated oil and add the sausages
7. Put into the oven for 35-40 minutes and serve

Serving Suggestions

I simply served this dish with gravy and mixed boiled vegetables and it tasted great

My Yummy Cooked Toad in the Hole

This meal was so quick and easy but still tasted great! It really was in-keeping with our English themed evening which was finished off with a strawberry and biscuit bake that was home-made by our guests for dessert!

My First Guest Post

I was really pleased to be asked to guest post on Europe Files Blog, so as it was published this week I thought I would share the link for everyone to see! Please click here to read my guest post.

Chocolate Tiffin Bar

Due to the excitement of the final group stages of Euro 2012 and Germany playing last night, we unfortunately were not having dinner with our friends. Which to be honest I was mainly disappointed about as I wanted to make my first apple crumble and custard but that will now be saved for a later date. So instead I decided not to make anything for dessert this week, which was met by a sad face of my boyfriend who said ‘we (not him) can still make something yummy just for us) so here is it, Chocolate Tiffin Bar;

Ingredients

• 200g of Digestive Biscuits
• 200g of Milk Chocolate
• 100g of Walnuts
• 100g of Almonds
• 65g of Ready Made Meringue
• 150g of Unsalted Butter
• 100g of Mini Marshmallows
• 1tbsp of Golden Syrup

My Set Chocolate Tiffin Bar

Method

1. Firstly line a large plastic container (around 20cmx30cm) with cling film, leaving plenty of extra film around the edges to help turn out your tiffin when its set
2. Break the biscuits up into small pieces in a large bowl
3. Add the walnuts, almonds and marshmallows and mix together
4. Put the chocolate, butter and broken up meringue into a glass bowl and put on a low heat over a pan of simmering water until the butter and chocolate are almost melted
5. At this point add the golden syrup and stir until thoroughly melted
6. Combine the biscuit/nut mix and the chocolate and stir thoroughly ensuring that all ingredients are covered in chocolate
7. Pour the mixture into the line plastic container and push down to form a solid bar
8. Place in into the fridge until it has set
9. After it is completely set turn the tiffin out of the container onto a plate and slice into chunky slices ready to serve

I have a few recommendations for anyone making this; firstly buy peeled almonds, secondly, prepare everything before you start, it is fairly simple to make but I found myself in a rush at times during cooking and finally, make this recipe it is amazing!

The only place I have every tried tiffin is in coffee shops and I am usually disappointed to find cherries or raisins in them, so by making it at home I can put all of my favourite things in them to make a truly delicious dessert or snack that can be kept in the cupboard to enjoy all week long. The tiffin turned out delicious and would actually be great to make with kids as there is no baking involved, however be sure to only let them have a small piece as the sugar levels in this tasty treat are really high!

If you are watching the waistline (aren’t we all) this is not the best thing to enjoy however it is so rich and chocolatey that after one small piece I was satisfied so I like the idea of keeping it in my cupboard to enjoy as a naughty but rewarding treat!

Mango Fool with Whipped Cream

To finish off a Saturday of delicious but surprisingly healthy food in our house was a dessert of Mango Fool with Whipped Cream. However I cannot take credit for dreaming up this recipe as it is borrowed from another blog, Stephanie at Modernchristianwoman.com posted this recipe last week and I have been dying to make it since I saw it. So I thought it would be a great dessert after curry as the flavours are really complimentary and here is the recipe I used;

Ingredients

• 2 Small Mangos Diced
• 2tbsp of Lime Juice
• 1tsp of Sugar
• Freshly Whipped Cream (I cheated and used a can but only because I had it leftover)

My Mango Fools with Whipped Cream

Method

1. Place the diced mango, lime juice and sugar in a blender
2. Pulse until smooth
3. Spoon into glasses and top with whipped cream

I was right, it was a great dessert for after curry, the light refreshing flavour was really delicious. Although, the boyfriend did moan that I may have put a bit too much lime juice in so next time I will restrain myself for him! It was still really delicious and I think it would be a great snack to keep in the refrigerator in-case I get hungry, much healthier than a chocolate biscuit!

Home-Made Vegetable Curry

Yesterday the weather was grim in Berlin, so my boyfriend and I had the pleasure of enjoying a rare lazy day watching TV and relaxing. At the end of these lazy days there is nothing better than enjoying delicious food, however most people opt for a takeaway but not in our house. Instead of ordering in from our local curry house I made a Home-Made Vegetable Curry and here is my recipe;

Ingredients

• 1 Large Onion
• 1 Tin of Sweetcorn
• 1 Green Pepper
• 200g of Potatoes
• 400g of Tinned Tomatoes
• 100ml of Milk
• 8tbsp of Yoghurt
• 5tbsp of Curry Spice Mix
• 3tbsp of Oil
• 1tbsp of Tomato Puree
• 1tsp of Lemon Juice

My Home-made Vegetable Curry

Method

1. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion for 4-5 minutes until it is light browned
2. Add 5 measures of the curry spice mix and cook for 30 seconds
3. Then add the vegetables (green pepper, sweetcorn and potatoes) and fry for 2-3 minutes
4. Stir in the tinned tomatoes and milk and bring to the boil
5. Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 15minutes, stirring occasionally
6. After 15 minutes take off the lid to your pan and cook for a further 15 minutes (this point is also a good time to start your rice)
7. Add the yoghurt, tomato puree and lemon juice and cook for a further 3 minutes

Serving Suggestions

I usually serve my vegetable curry with chicken flavoured rice and salad, but it is also great with naan bread, poppadums and pilau rice.

Whichever way you enjoy your curry using this recipe you can be sure that it is delicious, this recipe is made weekly in our household. Although these are the most commonly used ingredients that I use this curry recipe can be used for a chicken or meat curry by adding 500g of meat instead of or as well as the vegetables, just be sure to make sure it does not dry out and add a little water if it does.

Strawberry and Banana Smoothies

Today is a wet and windy day in Berlin so the boyfriend and I elected to stay in with yummy treats and lots of TV.  So after my first attempt during the week with some left-over, bordering gone off fruit we made smoothies. As the fruit bowl is full after the weekly shop we have to choose which fruits we wanted. On the menu today; Strawberry and Banana Smoothies.

Ingredients

• 2 Bananas
• 8-10 Strawberries (dependant on size)
• 200ml of Juice (we used multi-fruit but whatever takes your fancy)
• Lots of Ice

My Strawberry and Banana Smoothies

Method

1. Put all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth

Serving Size: 2 glasses

The smoothies tasted great and are a really refreshing treat when it is hot, which it is here despite the wind and rain. The best thing about making smoothies is that there is no rules or guidelines, put whatever fruit you want in them and experiment with the flavours, all of my attempts have tasted great!

If you have a favourite smoothie flavour I would love to hear them.

Lemon Cake with White Chocolate Frosting

Last night we had a friend over for dinner to unfortunately say goodbye as he is leaving Berlin later this month so it was my prerogative to make sure he left remembering how amazing at cooking I was!  I had dinner and dessert all planned but as we know things never go to plan, after spending the day enjoying the sunshine here in Berlin watching my boyfriend play football and an end of season BBQ, we were running extremely late. I was very proud of myself for whipping up the lasagne in 30 minutes and having it cooking in the oven when our guest arrived but their was no time for me to prepare dessert. So the pressure was on as our dining table is in our kitchen, so I had to bake in front of everyone, something I usually try to avoid. Especially when making a recipe that I had ‘adapted’ myself – on the menu tonight Lemon Cake with White Chocolate Frosting;

Ingredients

• 100g of Sugar
• 100g of Butter
• 100g of Flour
• 2 Large Eggs
• 100g of White Chocolate
• 150g of Icing Sugar
• 3tbsp of Water
• 5tbsp of Lemon Juice

My Lemon Cake with White Chocolate Frosting

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190
2. Mix the flour and sugar in a bowl
3. Add the butter and mix until the mixture is crumbly
4. Add the 2 eggs and stir until the mixture is smooth
5. Finally add the lemon juice and stir
6. Pour into a greased (with butter) cake tin (the one I use is 18cm)
7. Put into the oven for 15-20 minutes until cooked
8. When it is baked allow to cool for 15minutes
9. Mix the icing sugar and water into a bowl
10. Then in a glass bowl melt the white chocolate over a pan of boiling water
11. When melted add the white chocolate to the icing and stir thoroughly – this needs to be done quickly before the chocolate hardens
12. Then pour the frosting onto the cake and spread evenly over the top
13. Allow to cool for a further 15 minutes and serve

The cake was really delicious and thankfully successful. The result was a dense lemony sponge that is much lighter to enjoy than a chocolate cake. This was the first time that I had made this recipe this way and I will be doing it again as it is the perfect accompaniment to a summer’s evening.

I want one of these…

I want one of these

Isn’t it so pretty, this is on my list of things that I am just dying to add to my kitchen. I love the one in the picture above as it is red and not too expensive, I cannot believe how expensive some of them are!  I have been looking at/lusting over them for a while now and it seems they range from around £100 – £500, I would really love one as I think it would make me bake a lot more and aid me in the recipes that I currently make. I am sure that it would be a life saver for whisking egg whites as that is my biggest dread when baking!  This one is available on Amazon here, and I am hoping that this blog post might drop a big hint to those people who should buy me presents!!

I am always looking for new things for my kitchen wish list so would love to know what your favourite kitchen gadgets are!