Wednesday, 29 April 2020

Easy Peasy Carbonara

Yesterday was a carbonara sort of day and made me think also of my Italian holidays.


Ingredients 

2 tablespoons of plain flour 

Knob of butter / spread 
Mixed herbs 

Garlic 

Spoonful of mayonnaise 

500 ml milk


Method 

Make a roux with the flour and butter heat gently over a pan 

Once it’s all smooth then gradually add the milk 

Throw in the garlic herbs etc add a dollop if mayonnaise and a crack of black pepper 

Set aside 

Cook your spaghetti 

Reheat the sauce adding in a little extra milk if needed

Poor over spaghetti 

I had mine with salmon and green beans and bacon 




Sunday, 26 April 2020

AD


Money Saving Tips for People Who Struggle with Cash

Some of us are more likely to struggle with cash than others.
It’s not that you don’t want to save money, it’s just that you have a hard time controlling the impulse to spend all of the cash that you earn as soon as it lands in your bank account. Maybe you get blown away by all the marketing and ads that you see when you’re living your day-to-day life. Or perhaps you have a problematic relationship with money that stems from somewhere else in your life.
Whatever the reason for your issues with money, it’s time to overcome the problem and start making progress towards a better quality of life. We’ve got some top tips for people who want to stop struggling with cash, once and for all. 

1.   Try Used Before Buying New

We often prefer the idea of buying new items rather than checking out thrift stores when we need a new piece of furniture or an updated phone. However, you’d be surprised how many high-quality items that you can get for a low price when they’ve been used, even if they were only used once or twice. Plenty of people open the packaging of an item and decide that they don’t want it. That means that you’re getting something that’s basically as good as new, for a fraction of the price.
These days, you don’t have to even wander around charity shops looking for what you need. There’s the option to shop for used items on everything from eBay to Facebook Marketplace. 

2.   Use Cash, Not Card

Spending just cash is often the best way to improve your relationship with money if you have a habit of spending passively. Basically, spending passively means that you buy things without thinking about how your purchases are going to affect you in the long term. However, if you go out knowing that you only have so much money to last you the entire week, then you’re more likely to pay attention to every penny. 
Freeze your debit or credit cards if you have to or give them to someone who will keep them out of reach. Once you’ve done that, figure out how much cash you need for each day, and take only that amount with you wherever you go. 

3.   Get Someone to Shop With You

This isn’t an excuse to send someone to the supermarket for you when you’re feeling lazy. However, if you know that you have trouble with sticking to lists or impulse purchasing, then it might be helpful to have someone you care about to join you as a kind of shopping buddy. They can come with you when you’re going to the supermarket to buy food every couple of weeks, and make sure that you don’t spend anymore than you’ve planned for. 
This is a great way to build up a habit of saying “no” to your impulses. As you begin to feel more confident in your ability to control your temptations, you’ll be able to start going shopping on your own again. 

4.   Look for Extra Ways to Earn

Maybe your issue with cash is that you never have enough of it. If the life that you want to live can’t be funded by your current career, then it might be time to look for other ways to earn. You’d be surprised by how much money you can make by setting up a freelance career in your spare time on the internet. You may need to borrow money from somewhere so you can afford a computer and the equipment that you need to run your side job, but eventually you’ll end up with a lot more cash in your savings account.
You might find that you’re so good at working digitally, that you can even turn it into your fundamental career. That means that you have the opportunity to build an entirely new lifestyle for yourself. 

5.   Sell Everything You Don’t Need

Finally, speaking of looking for extra ways to earn, go through all of your belongings and commit to selling anything that you haven’t used in the last few months. Unless the item has some serious sentimental value, then it’s probably just taking up space in your cupboards or closets. Get rid of the items that you don’t need and you could make a profit in the process. 
Not only will you make some extra money from your sales, but you’ll end up with more space in your home, and less clutter to worry about too. 
-->

Friday, 24 April 2020

Chocolate Loaf With Green Tea and Vanilla

I was bored this morning so I vacuumed did the washing tidied oh and baked .....





Ingredients


100g/4oz unsalted butter, softened
110/4oz Dark Sugar
2 large eggs
0.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp powdered instant coffee (optional)
175g/6oz plain flour
80g/3oz cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
100ml of Green Tea or you could use milk if you wish

Adjust quantities to suit.


Method 


Preheat the oven to 160c or gas mark 4 . You can either grease and line a 2lb cake tin with baking parchment or as I did use cake release from Lakeland.

First mix the sugar and butter together till fluffy .



Add the plain flour , coco powder and baking powder,  ( the optional coffee powder if you wish )
Add the 2 tsp of vanilla extract.
Next mix in the eggs.





Add 100 ml of Green tea.

The mixture will seem quite loose this is fine.

Pour the mixture into your prepared loaf tin .




The bake in the oven for around 1 hour 20 adjust your cooking time if you have a fan assisted oven.


Turn out the loaf , leave to cool.

Then decorate as you wish .

Hello boredom .. Hello



Wednesday, 15 April 2020

Giant Cookie Cooked In A Skillet

Giant Cookie

What is better than a normal sized cookie WHY of curse it is a Giant Cookie , do you have to share well that is open to debate !


A skillet is a handy piece of kit and it is one I am glad to have in my kitchen it is a very faithful friend  and it can be used for so many recipes and the first one I had to try was of course a giant Cookie.

Ingredients 



125g Soft Brown Sugar 

2 teaspoons of Vanilla extract

100g(4 1/2 oz ) chocolate chips

185g of plain flour

a Tablespoon Of Nutella

a Tablespoon of peanut butter 

1/4 tea spoon of baking powder

2 eggs

Milk to bind it ( add just enough to suit )

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180c. I slightly greased my skillet

2.Using a wooden spoon or electric whisk to mix the egg into the sugar and then adding one Ingredient at a time. Mix well till mixed ! You’ll end up with Cookie dough .

3. Fill your skillet and pat down well.

4. cook at 180 c for around 25 minutes but keep at eye on it.

5. Leave to cool and serve with ice cream.

Serves 4 or 2 hungry people 







Of Wishes

Of travel I dream of where to go heart and mind do wander so 

Of cobbled streets and winding roads and getting lost I love to do 

Of exploring high and low and finding hidden gems of street bars and cafes to watch the people come and go

Of evenings golden glow bouncing of ancient stones I  hark back to fond times of travel as I knew it

Of a promise I make to my feet you will roam again 

Of a promise to special friends we will will tea and spa again