All posts tagged food

Diet of Worms

I wonder how many History students will end up on this page …

Unfortunately, I can tell you zip all about the events of 1521 at the Imperial Diet of Worms in the Holy Roman Empire. My A-level History teacher was obviously wasting her time in trying to educate me on that one.

No, these are the right sorts of worms – the sort that interest T.

gardenworms

As far as I know, he has never actually eaten a worm, although that isn’t saying much. As far as I know, he has never eaten any peas, cheese, pasta or mashed potato … and he will not ever never eat a tomato. Not even if you call it a moonsquirter.

Nevertheless, it was T’s idea to bake a worm cake.

wormcaketop

That’s why I can’t offer any fluffy chicks or cute bunnies on this Easter weekend.

Only worms.

wormcake

Worm Cake

Take a basic chocolate Easter egg nest recipe, press it all into the base of a circular pan and decorate with jelly worms (or snakes that do a good impression of worms).

3 Comments

by amerrierworld on March 30, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in cakes, chocolate

Tagged baking, cake, cooking, Easter, families, food, recipes

Posted by amerrierworld on March 30, 2013

https://amerrierworld.com/2013/03/30/diet-of-worms/

I’m a Star!

This blog post (and the modest title!) comes to you from M, my 7-year old daughter …

I’m a Star!

Today I woke up in need to bake some cookies. I found a cook book full of treats and surprises and finally found a recipe that sounded very nice.

So I went to the work top and got all the ingredients out so I would be ready, but one of the ingredients wasn’t there. I searched the shops in need of this special ingredient but I couldn’t find it. I know, I thought. I’ll go back home and get into the spacecraft and whizz into space and ask the aliens for some stardust.

In I got, buckled myself in and typed which planet I wanted to go to. I typed in Mars. And……..

Zoom, off I went. I got the stardust and went back down to Earth again.

Right, I thought to myself. I’ve got all the ingredients I need so now it’s time to get baking.

needtobake

First I weighed the butter (5 oz) and then put the butter away in the big mixing bowl . Then I got out the stardust (golden caster sugar) and weighed it (5 oz) and put that in the big mixing bowl. I mixed it till light and fluffy. Then I went to get one egg and cracked it into the mixing bowl, then I got the lemon juice (two tablespoons) and tipped that in the big mixing bowl too. Then I mixed it all up.

crackingegg

After a while I got the flour (12 oz) and mixed that all up as well. Then I put it in the star chiller (fridge) for 10 to 15 minutes until it was firm.

After 10 minutes I got it out of the star chiller and placed it between 2 pieces of Clingfilm and slowly rolled it out. Then I got my star cutter and cutted some stars and put them on some trays ready to go into the star cosy (oven).

rollandcut

I put them in the star cosy for 7 minutes. When I took them out I left them to cool on a wire rack.

Now I had to make the icing for them. To make the icing, I got some icing sugar and some lemon juice and mixed them together and then got some twinkle sprinkles (sprinkles) and placed them on the cookies. Then ahhh, all the stars went zooming off to space ready for the night.

starcookies

5 Comments

by amerrierworld on February 10, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in biscuits and cookies

Tagged baking, cookies, cooking, families, food, recipes

Posted by amerrierworld on February 10, 2013

https://amerrierworld.com/2013/02/10/im-a-star/

Chocolate Fudge Cake

T wanted to bake.

tbake

He wanted to bake a cake.

bakeacake

He wanted to bake a chocolate cake.

folding

He wanted to bake a chocolate fudge cake.

timer

T likes his cake …

chocfudgecake

… (and his diggers).

diggers

Chocolate Fudge Cake (adapted from Leiths Baking Bible)

4 oz butter
4 oz caster sugar
4 oz light muscovado sugar
1 oz molasses
4 eggs
6 oz self-raising flour
2 oz cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
a pinch salt
6 tbsp creme fraiche
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the icing
8 oz plain chocolate
8 oz creme fraiche
1 tbsp caster sugar

Chocolate drops to decorate

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and line two 8″ round sandwich tins with baking parchment.

Cream the butter and sugars.

Lightly beat the eggs, then beat in gradually to the creamed mixture.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Fold into the creamed mixture alternately with the creme fraiche.

Stir in the vanilla.

Divide the batter between the two tins and bake in the centre of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes until the cake tops are springy.

Cool on a wire rack for 10 mins before turning out and cooling completely.

Make the icing – melt the chocolate in a bowl, either over a pan of hot water or in the microwave. Stir in the creme fraiche and sugar. Use liberally to sandwich and ice the cake.

Decorate with the chocolate drops.

Yum.

4 Comments

by amerrierworld on January 30, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in cakes, chocolate

Tagged baking, cake, chocolate, cooking, food, recipes

Posted by amerrierworld on January 30, 2013

https://amerrierworld.com/2013/01/30/chocolate-fudge-cake/

My True Love Gave Me a Milka Colada

eightmaids

Today is the 8th day of Christmas.

So what? Yesterday was the 7th and tomorrow will be the 9th. What’s so special about the 8th that you have to write a blog post about it?

Well, you see – I didn’t get the 7th or the 9th. For that matter, I didn’t get the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th …

Okay, okay – we get the picture. Thanks for the maths lesson – but what are you talking about??

Sorry. Didn’t I say? The fantastically wonderful Clemmie of Innocent Drinks challenged me as one of 12 bloggers to create a non-alcoholic mocktail inspired by the Twelve Days of Christmas. I got the 8th day – eight maids a milking, and all that. Karen got the 1st, Marie got the 2nd, Nanya got the 3rd, Helen got the 4th, Dom got the 5th, Kate (not me – another Kate) got the 6th and Jacqueline got the 7th.

And the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th? Or did you think we wouldn’t notice? It’s hardly advanced number theory here, you know.

Err. Not sure. You’ll have to check Innocent’s Twitter updates for those mocktail recipes – each drink is linked to the matching recipe card on the day itself. BUT … as a special Christmas pressie, Innocent are going to compile all of the mocktails in a downloadable recipe book, which will be available once the 12 days are completed.

And you got the 8th day?

Yep.

Soooo … where’s your milkmaid-inspired recipe then?

Ah, yes. I was wondering who’d be the first to spot that …

Ta daaaah!!

milkacolada

Milka Colada (inspired by the 8th Day of Christmas)

Serves 2

250ml Innocent Tropical juice
250ml coconut milk
3 tbsp condensed milk
2 pineapple wedges for garnish
2 maraschino cherries for garnish

Combine the Innocent Tropical juice, coconut milk and condensed milk in a blender. Add a handful of ice and blend until smooth.

Pour into 2 cocktail glasses and serve with a garnish of pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry on the rim of each glass.

recipecard

8 Comments

by amerrierworld on December 20, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in drinks, fruit

Tagged Christmas, cooking, food, Inspiration, recipes

Posted by amerrierworld on December 20, 2012

https://amerrierworld.com/2012/12/20/my-true-love-gave-me-a-milka-colada/

Christmas Hampers

Before now, the only hamper I’ve ever received was a basket of smelly stuff wrapped tightly in blow-dried cellophane from The Body Shop. This was when I was twelve years old and White Musk was a coveted scent among teenage girls. Do you remember those little sniff bottles they had with tester samples from each range? Seaweed, tangerine … Perhaps they still have them – I haven’t been into a Body Shop for decades, so they’re firmly placed in the realms of nostalgia for me. Like Pizzaland …

Okay, I seem to have strayed from the point a bit. The important thing is that I’ve never received a gourmet food hamper. Never, that is, until a couple of weeks or so ago when Hampergifts sent me some Yuletide Delight in the form of foodie heaven – a beautifully-parceled hamper from their lovely Christmas Hampers range.

hamper

I have to confess that a large part of Hamper Fun lies in the unwrapping. Firstly, there’s a knock on the door and a courier hands you a large – a very large – brown, cardboard box. My childhood dream is instantly fulfilled at this point. But then comes the tearing off of sellotape, the opening of the box, the discovery of a bow-tied basket, the satisfying splitting of the cellophane and the feverish excitement as the bursting goodies tumble out. Never mind what’s actually in the basket – I’m having too much fun already with just the packaging!

bowtied

Fortunately, my husband and children are less easily pleased than me and have questions that need to be answered before they will consider endorsing my fave review. Is the bottle of wine drinkable? Is the chocolate delicious? How good is the Turkish Delight? What are the yellow things in that jar there?

After judicious tasting, the answers turned out to be yes, yes, very and preserved pears.

pears

So, I’m happy to report that if you’re stuck on what to send those friends and relatives who live further away from you than on your doorstep, one of the gift hampers from Hampergifts may be the answer to your problems (unless you think your friends would share my delight in receiving just a cardboard box, of course – admittedly a cheaper alternative, but don’t blame me if they fail to recognise the Christmas spirit in that idea).

yuletidedelight