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Homemade fish fingers

By Clare Albans / 10 Oct 2014

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1412971050926{padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]Sometimes, you just see a recipe and you know you have to make it. Did you ever get that feeling? I did with this fish finger recipe! As much as I like cooking different dishes, I do have a soft spot for a fish finger sarnie. It sounds a bit faffsome to…

Brownie badges

By Clare Albans / 09 Oct 2014

My friend Donna has recently taken over the running of her local Brownie pack – yes, she’s a Brown Owl! How cool is that?! I was in the Brownies and then the Guides when I was a girl, although I don’t think I really appreciated them as much as I should have done at the time. In…

Steak and ale cobbler

By Clare Albans / 04 Oct 2014

Autumn is definitely here, which means the days are getting shorter and I just crave comfort food! As is traditional in our house, I made a Parkin to mark the start of the new season, and I made a yummy Guinness Parkin (click here for the recipe) which doesn’t use a whole can of Guinness.…

The Great Northern Quilt Show 2014

By Clare Albans / 03 Oct 2014

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1412355365456{padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]At the end of August, me and Mum went along to The Great Northern Quilt Show in Harrogate (yes, I’m still catching up with post writing!). We had never been before so didn’t really know what to expect, but it was brilliant! The show lasted for three days and we went on…

Project Life storage

By Clare Albans / 02 Oct 2014

As I collected everything I needed to get started with Project Life, I realised that I had ended up with lots of different things in different boxes. It would be great, I thought, to have everything in one place, particularly as I don’t have a craft room so tend to move all my stuff around…

Slow roast tomato salad

By Clare Albans / 01 Oct 2014

I work with a great team of people in my day job, and one of the things we do quite regularly is swap recipe ideas. This one is a recipe from my friend Donna – she brought this in for her lunch one day and we all did that thing where we no longer wanted…

Blackberry curd

By Clare Albans / 07 Sep 2014

Many of you will already know that I am a huge fan of making curds, and this blackberry curd is fab.

Malteaser tiffin

By Clare Albans / 12 Jun 2014

It feels like ages since my last post – and it also feels good to be back! 🙂 I thought that I’d share this amazing recipe for Malteaser tiffin with you first. I’m a big fan of tiffin, and this version is extra chocolatey! I changed the original recipe slightly by using 70% dark chocolate…

Spinach and feta tart

By Clare Albans / 20 May 2014

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This spinach and feta tart is surprisingly easy to make and tastes delicious – it’s perfect for a summer meal or you could take it on a picnic too. I made my pastry from scratch, but you could use a pack of shop-bought to make it even easier. What’s really great about this recipe is that…

Tutorial: how to make a floral bouquet

By Clare Albans / 16 May 2014

The School of Thrift has had a wedding theme for the last couple of weeks, and it has been really inspiring to see lots of ideas on the Festival of Thrift Google+ page! [Edit: Google+ now no longer exists, so you’ll have to believe me!). I’ve already written a tutorial post about how to make…

Ginger crunch

By Clare Albans / 15 May 2014

This weekend looks set to be a lovely sunny weekend, so get your picnic baskets out and get out there! This recipe for Ginger Crunch is the perfect to make to take out on a picnic – it really is so SO good 🙂 Ginger is definitely one of my favourite flavours, and if (like…

Citrus and marzipan Bakewell tart

By Clare Albans / 15 Apr 2014

If you’re looking for a sweet Easter treat, look no further! This delicious citrus and marzipan Bakewell tart is a twist on a classic Bakewell. It is perfect for an Easter lunch – or for any other occasion actually!

Mississippi mud pie

By Clare Albans / 16 Feb 2014

  Mississippi mud pie is a traditional American pudding and it is a real treat – definitely one for a special occasion! We made a smaller one for our day-after-Valentine’s meal that used just half of the amounts given here, which served 4 (so more for dessert tonight – yay!). This is another recipe from Gordon…

Jamie Oliver’s Beef Stroganoff

By Clare Albans / 03 Feb 2014

As many of you will already know, I’m a huge fan of Jamie Oliver’s recipes. I’ve blogged about a few of his recipes in the past, perhaps the most popular being the pork marsala with mushroom rice. That recipe, and this beef stroganoff, are taken from Jamie’s 15-Minute Meals. Many people have said that the…

Nigella Lawson’s breakfast bars

By Clare Albans / 01 Feb 2014

I have to admit that I’m a real cereal fanatic – particularly when it comes to muesli! I usually mix up my own with lots of fruit and nuts, and when I saw these breakfast bars I just had to give them a go. This recipe comes from Nigella Lawson’s ‘Nigella Express‘ and she says…

Sticky honey, almond and banana cake

By Clare Albans / 29 Nov 2013

We have friends staying this weekend and I’m a firm believer that there should always be cake in the house when people come to stay. So I made this old favourite – it’s actually the only way me and Tom will eat bananas! I use my brownie pan to make this sticky honey almond and…

Tutorial: How to make photo cards

By Clare Albans / 28 Nov 2013

Photo cards are really simple to make, and you can customise them for every occasion. I do find myself looking at a view and thinking ‘that would make a lovely card’, so be warned – once you’ve started, you’ll always be looking for that perfect photo! You just need a few simple things to be…

Pac Man iced biscuits

By Clare Albans / 09 Nov 2013

  We’ve had these Pac Man cookie cutters since last Christmas and have been meaning to make them ever since then! This week there was a good reason to do it – our friend Kimberley had an 80s themed roller disco for her birthday, so this was perfect. They are really easy to make but…

Bakewell Cake

By Clare Albans / 13 Oct 2013

It’s always good to have cake in the house when people come to stay, and this weekend our lovely friend (and old flatmate) Katrina came to visit 🙂 So I decided to try out a recipe from Rachel Allen’s ‘Cake‘ and this Bakewell Cake seemed like a good choice. It’s a really easy recipe and…

Dark chocolate and ginger cookies

By Clare Albans / 14 Sep 2013

I absolutely love The Great British Bake Off, and am already hooked on the new series! I’ve just got the books of two previous winners, and this recipe come from John Whaite Bakes (John won the third series). It’s one of those books where you want to make everything in it! I love the photography…

Rich chocolate almond cake with white chocolate frosting

By Clare Albans / 08 Sep 2013

Last week we had a pre-birthday celebration for our lovely friend Hannah, and everyone brought something along to contribute to the meal. We were set the challenge of making a birthday cake – but what sort of cake do you make for the person who made you the most amazing wedding cake?! So we decided…

Tuna and Courgette Quiche

By Clare Albans / 19 Jun 2013

My Mum used to make this tuna and courgette quiche when I was younger, and now we both make it! It’s really tasty and easy to make. You can either make the pastry yourself, or use cheat pastry from the shop if you want to make it quickly! It makes a great summer meal or…

Honey Cake

By Clare Albans / 16 Apr 2013

I’m trying to be super healthy at the moment, because operation wedding dress is officially on! But I did make this yummy cake for Mum’s birthday, which doesn’t count (that’s what I keep telling myself anyway!). It is a James Martin recipe from the BBC website and is really easy to make – I actually…

Orange and Almond Cake

By Clare Albans / 22 Mar 2013

Whilst I was doing some sleepy baking last night (see yesterday’s post!), Tom was making another cake. His looked much better than mine and it tasted amazing too – possibly the moistest (is that a word?) cake I’ve ever had, and really zingy too. Tom is getting a reputation for being a star baker at…

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