Victoria Sponge

The first cake I ever learnt to make was victoria sponge. I messed up making it several times however I was determined and practiced until it was perfect. I dont like to blow my own trumpet but I can honestly say it's the best victoria sponge I have ever eaten. This recipe book was my mums, it was old fashioned, pictures were in black and white and a bit tatty. I dont think my mum had ever even used it. Here we are though years later and it's my most prized possession. I wanted to share this recipe with you all 💕

8oz Self Raising Flour

8oz Mixture of margarine and butter

8oz Caster Sugar

2 teaspoon Vanilla essence

4 eggs

Dash of salt

Jam

Double Cream

Line two baking tins with greaseproof paper and set your oven to 180 degrees

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and leave to the side.

Add the butter and caster sugar and mix until it starts to get a creamy texture and the colour turns pale. Add the vanilla essence. Slowly add 1/4 of the flour and one egg and mix. Repeat until all the flour and eggs have been used and its mixed in.

Distribute your mixture between the two tins and put in the oven for 25-30mins. It should be done when you can put a piece of spagetti in it and it comes out clean.

Let it cool. Once mix the cream until fully whipped. Then spread the jam and cream on the cake and put together. Enjoy with a cup of tea x

BOLOGNESE

Why is mince the most tastiest, moorish meat? It can be a big filthy burger, super sloppy meatball, ring burner chilli or wholesome cottage pie, anything with mince in is delicious. To all you veggies, dont believe the hype about bacon, mince is the real god, even quorn mince is preety nice to be fair. For me though the mince dish that makes me weak at the knees is bolognese. Its rich, garlicy, meaty, boozy and quite frankly sexy. Have you seen lady & the tramp? Thats how they fall in love! This explains everything. So next time your planning on wooing someone give them a plate full of bolognese, a glass of red wine, some garlic bread & a candle, they will be yours at first bite. 

I have fond memories of my lovely friends cooking bolognese, whether it was Abby in Madrid who fed us some super sexy bolognese & then we all went out with our garlicy breaths & meaty farts. Or Jo who when I am having a bad day seems to just magic up some bolognese in minutes (these are the kinds of friends you need to keep). It just seems that this humble dish isnt so humble after all, its everything you want and its guaranteed to make you feel warm & fuzzy. 

This is my take on bolognese, sometimes i also put one chilli in there but this ones the original. Play Barry White when eating & make for friends, lovers or mothers.

INGREDIENTS

500g Lean Beef Mince

400g Fresh Spaghetti

1 pack of Bacon Lardons

1 pack of Passata

2 Red Onions

1 Celery

1 Carrot

5 cloves of garlic

Grated Grana Padano

1 Beef Stock

1 Large Glass of red wine

2 Sprigs of fresh Rosemary

Handful of fresh basil

1tsp Dried Oregano

2 Bay Leaves

Garlic Bread

METHOD

Get a large saucepan & put on medium heat, add olive oil & fry the bacon until golden & crisp. Reduce heat & add onions, carrots, celery & garlic. Next remove leaves from rosemary & add. Fry until veg has softened. Add the mince and stir until brown all over. Add passata, basil (leave a sprig behind to serve), oregano, bay leaves, stock cube & wine. Give everything a stir & then let bubble away for 30/45 mins until flavours start to develop. Then season & add a little grana padano. Meanwhile boil some water & cook the fresh spagetti for about 5 mins. Once cooked drain & add the bolognaise sauce, give it all a good stir. Then serve with some grated grana padona, basil, garlic bread & bottle of wine!

Enjoy!

Baileys, Banana, Chocolate & Pecan Bread & Butter Pudding

This recipe is not for the faint hearted! Delicious but extremely filling & calorific, comfy clothes advised!

Ingredients

75g unsalted butter 

7-8 Slices of white bread

100g Caster Sugar

1 Vanilla Pod

4 Large Free Range Eggs

600ml Double Cream

600ml Semi-Skimmed Milk

4 Ripe Bananas

75g pecan nuts

100ml Baileys

100g Dark Chocolate

METHOD

Put the oven to 180c/350f/Gas 4. Butter all the bread on one side then cut into triangles. Whisk the sugar, vanilla seeds & eggs together the add cream & milk until smooth. Peel & roughly slice the bananas, then bash up pecans & chocolate. Grease your baking dish with butter, then layer bread (butter side up), choclate, pecans & Bananas. Drizzle over the baileys once done & finally pour over the cream until all bread is covered. Leave to stand until bread soaks up liquid (about 20 mins). Put in the oven for 35 mins until golden brown. Finish with a sprinkle of sugar on top & blowtorch until caramelized. 

Pad Kra Pao Gai - ผัดกระเพราไก่

Ingredients (Serves 1)

1 Egg

1 Chicken Breast

5 Cloves of garlic

4 Thai chillies

1 tsp Oyster Sauce

1 tsp Light Soy Sauce

1/2 tsp Sugar

1 tsp Dark Soy Sauce

1 Handful of Holy Basil (found in any good asian supermarket)

Method

Cut Chicken into strips. Put the chilli, garlic in pestle & mortar & ground to a paste. Heat wok, add a splash of oil, chilli & garlic paste, fry for about 20 seconds until fragrant. Toss in the chicken and cook. Once chicken has almost finished cooking add, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, sugar and the dark soy. Keep frying for another 30 seconds. Grab a handful of holy basil and toss into the pan, fold in the rest of mixture and turn off heat. Fry your egg and serve onto with some jasmine rice

Vegan Black Bean & Sweet Potato Caribbean Curry with Rice and Peas and Grilled Cinnamon Pineapple

Carribean food gets me so excited, there is something about it that feels fun. I am never sure if thats because it usually involves drinking rum and ting or if irs because my taste budes salvate over that sweet chilli heat that a scotch bonnet likes to warm you with. My first experiance of carribean food was in a field at Glastonbury, stoned and chowing in down on some delicious jerk chicken, since then I have matured somewhat and have been trying and experimenting with my own take on carribean cooking. 

This recipe is a great crowd pleaser and as its a one pot cook its great for when you have some extra marvalous guests that you want to look after and entertain asthe minimum fuss will allow you to concentrate on them

Serve with Lilt if your not drinking or Rum and Ting!

BLACK BEAN AND SWEET POTATO CURRY

2 Red Onions, 1 Diced, 1 Roughly Chopped

50g Ginger

Corriander 

2 tbsp Dark Rum

3 tbsp Jerk Seasoning

2 Thyme Sprigs

400g Chopped Tomatoes

4 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar

1 Scotch Bonnet (More if your Bold)

2 Limes

6 Cloves of Garlic

3 tbsp Demerara Sugar

2 Veg Stock Cubes

1 kg Sweet Potato

2 x 400g cans black beans

450g Roasted Red Peppers

Soften the diced onion in oil with the garlic. Once done turn off heat, whizz the roughly chopped onion, ginger, chilli, juice of the lime, rum, half of the corriander and jerk seasoning in a blender. Then add to the soften onion and garlic, fry until fragrant. Stir in Thyme, chopped tomatoes, vinegar, sugar and stock cubes with about 600ml of water, Simmer for 10mins. Then drop in the peeled and chopped sweet potato, simmer for 15/20 mins. Stir in the beans, chopped peppers and season, simmer for another 10 until potatoes start to become tender. Cool and leave (can be left for up to 2 days, if you make this in the morning and leave it until the evening though I think this would be best). When ready to eat, heat through and chop some corriander to serve with a squeeze of some lime. 

 

RICE AND PEAS

Brown Rice

2 x 400g Coconut Milk

Spring Onions

400g Kidney Beans

1 Veg Stock

1 tbsp All Spice

Cook the rice in coconut milk, juice of the kidney beans and beans, chopped up spring onion and all spice. As its brown rice it will take longer to cook so keep veg stock and water to a side to keep topping up rice. Season and serve once cooked

GRILLED CINNAMON PINEAPPLE

1 Pineapple  

2 tbsp Cinnamon

Sprinkle cinnamon on chopped pineapple. Cook on griddle pan until starts to caramalise and brown

Oozy Boozy Mushroom Risotto & Steak

Cooking with wine is always a dangerous move, I always plan a recipe writing "add one glass of wine", all I am doing is kidding myself really, I end up plonking half a bottle in & drinking the rest. This recipe is really delicious & heartwarming, I decided to serve steak with the risotto this time as I was having a dinner party and needed that va va voom but it can be enjoyed by itself as a vegetarian dish. That old rule "dont eat garlic & kiss someone" might apply to this recipe, I personally think thats a crap rule, garlic smooches for all I say. 

This recipe should always be served with nice wine, garlic bread & lovely people to enjoy it with.

Ingrediants

Steak (I used flat iron but each to their own)

1 stick celery

1 onion

15g dried porchini mushrooms

2 sprigs rosemary

1 chicken or vegie stock cube

300g arborio rice

1 glassof wine (or however much you decide to plonk in)

500g mixed mushrooms

3 sprigs thyme

Bulb of garlic

Parmesan Cheese

Butter

A lemon

Method

Place the onion, celery & dried porchini in food processor & pulse until finely chopped. Put some olive oil in a frying pan & add the mixture. Stir while it cooks. Finely chop the rosemary & add with the rice. Stir for about a minute. Then add the wine & stock cube with boiling water. Stir until all the moisture is absorbed. Keep stiring & continuinely adding moisture if needed. Add the mushrroms with a large knob of butter to another pan with loads of garlic and cook them whilst still stiring the risotto pan. When the rice has begun to soften add the cooked mushrooms, thyme leaves, squeeze of lemon and stir in some butter. At this point check your seasoning, you will probably need salt & pepper adding. Keep stiring. When its almost done, heat up a griddle pan & put a knob of butter in with some salt & pepper and cook your steak to your own prefence. When all cooked chop the steak and serve over the risotto with a nice bottle of white wine ( Gavi is always great), garlic bread and parmesan.

Enjoy xo

GOAN FISH CURRY

Indian food is in my heart, I have warm memories of going out for food with my popa who was born in India, Delhi & trying all these unusual delicious dishes. My popa taught me so much; about life, about love, about family, there are not enough words to eloquently describe how fantastic a man he was. Indian food always reminds me of him, it reminds me of spending time with my family and cousins, and it reminds me of those Sunday's ending up in rusholme at the Sanam eating enough to explode

With Spring blooming and the evenings getting longer, I wanted to make a light, fresh, healthy dish that packs all those beautiful Indian spices that I love so much. What is better than making a Goan Fish Curry, milder than its northern counterparts; this curry has a sweet and sour element that is extremely addictive. 

As always, make with love, for the people you love.

RECIPE

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

1 tsp mustard seeds

Thumb of fresh root ginger

1½ tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp turmeric

4 garlic cloves, crushed

2 red chillies, chopped

2 tsp tamarind paste

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 can coconut milk

600g firm white fish fillets (I used Haddock but Cod, Monkfish of Talapia would also be nice)

A few coriander sprigs, to garnish

Method


Heat the oil in the pan, add the chopped onion and mustard seeds and cook over a low to medium heat, until the onion is soft and light golden in colour. Peel and grate the ginger and add to the pan, then add the ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, garlic and chillies. Cook, stirring frequently, for a minute or so, until the aroma of the spices is released. Add the tamarind paste, chopped tomatoes and coconut milk to the pan, then pour in 100ml water. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for about 10 minutes, until thickened slightly. Season to taste. Tip the fish into the pan and cook for 2–3 minutes. When the fish is just cooked – it should be opaque – remove from the heat. Serve with rice, naan and scatter with the coriander.

Enjoy! Don't blame me if you get addicted to this recipe! 

MEATBALLS

Everyone has something that they love, for me its cooking. When I have had a really shit day, I want to cook, drink a glass of red wine and create an amazing dish. This is a recipe I discovered a couple of years back and has been a favourite ever since. Sometimes the loved simple recipes are the most important. This dish is all about proper home cooking, big bold flavours and enough garlic to keep away any potential suitors 

Enjoy this dish with a bottle of red wine

Meatballs:

3 tbsp breadcrumbs

Milk

Red Chilli

200g minced beef

200g minced pork

3 garlic cloves, 

flat leaf parsley

Flour

Grana Padano

For the tomato sauce:

2 shallots

3 garlic cloves

½ red chilli

Glug of red wine

2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes

Small bunch of basil

2 tbsp pitted green olives

1 tbsp chopped oregano

Tsp Honey

Tsp Balsamic Vinegar

Tip the breadcrumbs into a bowl, pour on just enough milk to cover. Put mince, garlic, parsley, cheese, chilli and breadcrumbs in bowl and mix with hands. Then roll into balls, you choose shape. Then dust in flour and brown til slightly chared in a pan. Once cooked remove & put to side. Deglaze the pan with a splash of wine, then gently fry the shallots, garlic and chilli for 2-3 minutes until soft. Add the tinned tomatoes along with the basil and some seasoning. Throw in the olives and let the sauce simmer and thicken. Add the meatballs to the tomato sauce and then transfer to an ovenproof dish. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Serve with garlic bread, spaghetti, wine and friends

BEERCAN JERK CHICKEN, SPICY AVOCADO & MANGO SALSA, RICE & BEANS!

The sounds and smells of summer is intoxicating; the sizzling of meat on the BBQ, freshly mowed grass, suncream drenched skin, cold refreshing glass of pimms. Its the season to party, hang out with good friends and eat delicious food. After frequenting numerous festivals, I have been fortunate to taste some of the best street food around. Over the years I have developed a love for caribbean food, with its complex flavours and its fresh punchy kick. Known as soul food as it promises to deliver soothing comfort food that evokes warm feelings and memories. How can you not get excited about food that claims to do that!!

Food for me is all about love, happiness and family. My Dad, who to this day is still the best cook I know, he teached me about quality ingredients, good food and flavor. My Grandma who might not be quite Delia Smith but she is famous for her vegetable soup and Rhubarb crumble and finally Emma, my best friend, the only person I know who really shares my passion for good food, she also makes an amazing green thai curry. Its these people and influences who got me interested in cooking and made me care about what I put in my body. Also made me believe that if you put passion and love into your cooking you will only achieve greatness.

This recipe packs a punch and a kiss all at the same time and should be enjoyed with the people that you love....

Beercan Jerk Chicken

Free Range Chicken

Can of beer

2tbsp dark rum

2tbsp honey

Glug of vinegar

3 cloves garlic

A piece of ginger the size of your thumb

1tbsp all spice

1tbsp black peppercorns

1tbsp dried chilli flakes

2 scotch bonnet chillies (seeds if your feeling brave)

1 good handful of fresh corriander

Juice & zest or 2 limes

1tbsp salt

3 spring onions

2tbsp oil

Preheat oven to about 150 making sure that there is enough room for the chicken to stand upright. First drink half the beer out of the can and then impale the chickens arse with the can so the chicken is standing upright. Then chop and put all the other ingrediants in blender & blitz. Marinade chicken and put in oven for 2 hours.

Spicy Avacado & Mango Salsa

Avacado

Mango

Red Onion

Red Chilli

1 Lime

Corriander

Chop all ingredients and mix together with a squeeze of lime. Mmmm....

Rice & Beans

Brown rice

Beans 

Tumeric

Salt

Paprika

Leave beans to soak over night in salty water. Then cook rice in rice cooker with beans and add teaspoon of tumeric and paprika and hey presto!

Enjoy and don't be afraid to experiment with the ingredients!

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BITCHEZ BURGERZ! MAPLE, BACON, PULLED PORK BURGER!

Valentines is such a fucking bitch, everyone moaning or being disgustingly happy! A couple of years back I got my heart well and truly broken by some absolute loser who didn't deserve my tears; it was Valentines day and quite frankly I wanted to suffocate myself under a duvet, but my beautiful friend Hannah Clark rang me up, told me to put my best dress on, sacked off her boyfriend and took me for a slap up meal at the Hilton. It was honestly the loveliest thing that someone has ever done for me and absolutely meant the world. It was that though that made me make my vow, valentines is for my bitches, the people who really wont ever let me down, will always dry my tears and hold my hand. So this valentines I decided to woo the ones I love with a tower of meat! I introduce "Bitchez Burgerz"!!!

Ingredients

Maple Syrup

Bacon

Burger Buns

Burgers

Pulled Pork

Onions

Lettuce

Tomatoes

Onion Rings

Gherkins

Cheese

BBQ Sauce

First, buy a joint of pork, slow roast until looking slutty, then cover in BBQ sauce, slow roast for another 30 mins. Then buy beef and make burgerz! You can also buy pre made burgerz, look, I’m not gonna judge as long as you eat ALL the meat. Grill. Cook your bacon, grill or fry, I honestly don’t care. Then build. BUILD. BUILD. BUILD. Make sure it has every bitching thing on there, including those dirty onion rings. Serve with fries. This is one to make the bitches cry. Oh meat, you are my sanctuary! If your heart hurts call 911 or alternatively call burger king. 

I love you ladies & men xxxx

A burger poem....

CHICKEN, CHORIZO & CHICKPEA STEW

After living in Madrid for a year I got an addiction to chorizo that I've not quite fully recoved from yet. This is one of the most delicious, heartwarming dishes that leaves you completly satisfied but still wanting more! The flavours really complement each other perfectly and its an absolute dream when enjoyed with good friends and a bottle of red wine

Chicken, chorizo and chickpea stew

Chicken thighs

Chickpeas

Chirizo

Onion

Garlic

Red wine

Chopped tomatoes

Chicken stock

Bay leaf

Brown off the chicken skin on the thighs in a pan, add chopped garlic, onion & chorizo. Turn down heat and add chicken stock, slowly simmer for 2-3 mins. Add tomatoes, red wine and chickpeas and bring to boil to reduce sauce for 5-10 mins. Turn down heat and add bay leaf and leave to simmer for an hour. ENJOY with a big honk of crusty bread & a large glass of red wine!

PIZZA PERFECTION

Dough, glorious dough, why do you taunt me so! No real introduction needed, just a sheer love and appreciation of a bloody good pizza. DE-LI-CIOUS. I have died and gone to pizza heaven.

Dough

1 kg white bread flour or Tipo '00' flour

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 x 7 g dried yeast sachets

1 tablespoon golden caster sugar

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

650 ml lukewarm water

Sieve the flour and salt on to a clean work surface and make a well in the middle. In a jug, mix the yeast, sugar and olive oil into the water and leave for a few minutes, then pour into the well. Bring the flour in gradually from the sides and swirl it into the liquid. Keep mixing, drawing larger amounts of flour in, and when it all starts to come together, work the rest of the flour in with your clean, flour-dusted hands. Knead until you have a smooth, springy dough. Place the ball of dough in a large flour-dusted bowl and flour the top of it. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and place in a warm room for about an hour until the dough has doubled in size.  Now remove the dough to a flour-dusted surface and knead it around a bit to push the air out with your hands. You can either use it immediately, or keep it, wrapped in clingfilm, in the fridge (or freezer) until required. If using straight away, divide the dough up into as many little balls as you want to make pizzas – this amount of dough is enough to make about six to eight medium pizzas.

Tomato Sauce

olive oil

4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced

1 bunch fresh basil, leaves picked and torn

3 x 400 g good-quality tinned plum tomatoes

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

Place a large non-stick frying pan on the heat and pour in 4 generous lugs of olive oil. Add the garlic, shake the pan around a bit and, once the garlic begins to colour lightly, add the basil and the tomatoes. Using the back of a wooden spoon, mush and squash the tomatoes as much as you can.  Season the sauce with salt and pepper. As soon as it comes to the boil, remove the pan from the heat. Strain the sauce through a coarse sieve into a bowl, using your wooden spoon to push any larger bits of tomato through. Discard the basil and garlic that will be left in the sieve, but make sure you scrape any of the tomatoey goodness off the back of the sieve into the bowl. Pour the sauce back into the pan, bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 5 minutes to concentrate the flavours. It will be ready when it's the perfect consistency for spreading on your pizza. 

I decided to top my pizza with mozzarella (torn not chopped) and anchovies (because anchovies are delicious). The rest is really up to you! ENJOY! 

KEY LIME PIE

Why are limes the most goddamn delicious thing on this planet? This recipe has limes & biscuits!! It seriously yummy. Bowl lickingly good! 

Key Lime Pie

• 300g Hob Nobs
• 150g butter, melted
• 1 x 397g tin condensed milk
• 3 medium egg yolks
• finely grated zest and juice of 4 limes
• 300ml double cream
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• extra lime zest, to decorate
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• Heat the oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Whizz the biscuits to crumbs in a food processor (or put in a strong plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin). Mix with the melted butter and press into the base and up the sides of a 22cm loose-based tart tin. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and cool. Put the egg yolks in a large bowl and whisk for a minute with electric beaters. Add the condensed milk and whisk for 3 minutes then add the zest and juice and whisk again for 3 minutes. Pour the filling into the cooled base then put back in the oven for 15 minutes. Cool then chill for at least 3 hours or overnight if you like. When you are ready to serve, carefully remove the pie from the tin and put on a serving plate. To decorate, softly whip together the cream and icing sugar. Dollop or pipe the cream onto the top of the pie and finish with extra lime zest.

Diets not allowed. Calorie me up. 

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CHINESE FEAST - Chinese Braised Beef, Chilli Bok Choi and Marinaded Beansprouts

Chinese food is so disgustingly tasty that I want to put my head in a whole bowl of noodles and smother myself in soy. Im in love with this dish as it provides all the soft elegant fragrances of Chinese food but there is enough sticky juices to satisfy your craving for naughty 'takeaway' food. This dish is a perfect saturday night dinner party favourite.

Chinese Braised Beef

• 3-4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp Honey
• 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• good thumb-size piece fresh root ginger, peeled and shredded
• 1 bunch spring onions, sliced
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced
• 1½ kg braising beef
• 2 tbsp plain flour, well seasoned
• 1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
• 2 star anise 
• 2 tsp light muscovado sugar (or use whatever you've got)
• 3 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
• 3 tbsp dark soy sauce, plus more to serve
• 500ml Beef Stock
• steamed bok choi 
• Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large, shallow casserole. Fry the garlic, ginger, onions and chilli for 3 mins until soft and fragrant. Tip onto a plate. Toss the beef in the flour, add 1 tbsp more oil to the pan, then brown the meat in batches, adding the final tbsp oil if you need to. Add the five-spice and star anise (if using) to the pan, tip in the gingery mix, then fry for 1 min until the spices are fragrant. Add the sugar, then the beef and stir until combined. Keep the heat high, then splash in the wine scraping up any meaty bits. Heat oven to 150C/fan 130C/gas 2. Pour in the soy and stock (it won’t cover the meat completely), bring to a simmer, then tightly cover, transfer to the oven and cook for 1½-2 hrs, stirring the meat halfway through. The meat should be very soft, and any sinewy bits should have melted away. Season with more soy. Nestle the cooked bok choi into the pan, then bring to the table.

Chilli Bok Choi

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 heads bok choi, split in half lengthways
• 3 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 long red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
• Heat the oil in a wok, add the garlic and fry for 2 mins. Tip in the bok choi and stir well over the heat for 4 mins until it wilts. Pour in the oyster sauce, soy and 50ml water. Simmer for a further 3 mins, then scatter over the chilli to serve.

Marinaded Beansprouts

  Bag of Beansprouts

  

  Oyster Sauce

  Honey

  Soy

  Really simply heat the honey, soy and oyster sauce in a pan for 3 minutes then add the beansprouts and cover with the sauce and then cook for a further 3 minutes. Serve. 

Serve all these dishes with rice and noodles and wear stretchy pants. De-li-cious.

X x X

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