Day Twenty: For today’s photo prompt of baking treats, I decided to share a photo of some mince pies I baked for the lead up to Christmas.
Mince Pies
Have you enjoyed baking any treats for Christmas?
Thanks for stopping by,
Christine x
I wasn’t going to do a ‘flavour’ of 2017 post. I have struggled with finding new recipes to try this year. However after looking at pictures on my phone I have come to the conclusion that I have taken enough pictures to warrant a post. So here’s a ‘taste’ of my 2017!
I hope you enjoy!
January:
Roasted Vegetable Parcels
Roasted vegetable parcels have become a staple to our yearly menu. They are full of roasted red onions, peppers and cherry tomatoes. Wrapped up in a toasted tortilla with tomato puree and mozzarella. Served on a bed of salad leaves, they are delicious!
February:
Blind Scouse
28th February 2017 was World Scouse Day. The celebration of all things Scouse was in it’s fifth year! I celebrated by making a blind scouse.
March:
While David made a Victoria sponge, I was enjoying red velvet cakes and cucumber sandwiches. Part of an afternoon tea at Jam Liverpool.
April:
Another recipe I go back to time and time again is Chungah’s, one pot stuffed pepper casserole. I use bulgur wheat instead of ground beef and add a little bit more water. The result is a delicious, wholesome meal.
One pan stuffed pepper casserole
May:
After a meltdown in the kitchen, David took up the knives and oven gloves and managed to whip up a vegetable masala, with microwaved spicy Bombay potatoes.
Vegetable Masala
June:
A first for David and I in 2017, was attempting to make elder-flower champagne. It may have only stayed fizzy for 30 Days Wild, but it will be something we will attempt to make again next year. It made for a refreshing early summer’s drink. The whole family enjoyed it!
July:
A chippie tea from The Old Keswickian was enjoyable, especially at the lakeside of Derwentwater during our summer visit to Keswick.
August:
A three bean quinoa chilli (picture above), recipe from oh my veggies, is so filling and makes so may servings. I literally have three bean quinoa chilli for my work lunches, five days a week!! It’s as spicy as you want. I usually put in half a teaspoon of chilli powder! It’s so full of beans and vegetables, it’s become a staple in my repertoire.
September:
During a week off work I treated mum to a rich cream tea at Leaf, Liverpool. It was jummy!
October:
Brown Lentil Chilli
Another staple dinner I go to when I have no idea what to cook is a Brown Lentil Chilli, from Katya on A Little Broken. I serve the meal for two with toasted tortillas.
November:
Spicy bean and sausage casserole
Another recipe I return to is The Vegan Household’s/Gourmet Vegan, spicy butter bean and (vegan) sausage casserole. I use different sausage brands from Asda’s own to Linda McCartney, so not always vegan. However the result is always delicious and very filling!
December:
Mince Pies
Unfortunately the only pictures of the little mince pies I made this year were taken as part of the #7dayblackandwhitephotochallenge on Instagram. I used pre-made short crust pastry, but I think I’ll make my own next year.
So there you are, a flavour of my 2017!
Let me know if you have tried any of the recipes featured? Or my post has inspired you to try some of them!
Thanks for reading,
Christine x
Since I’ve managed to snap a few photos this week, I thought I would participate in another Sunday Sevens, devised by Natalie at Threads and bobbins.
Last Sunday was a hectic one! Not only did we visit Warrington looking for Christmas presents, we also managed to acquire four new friends for the aviary! Welcome to the Connor-Evans family, Forrest and Tarn, the Blue- faced Parrot Finches and Bill and Silvie, the Chocolate Silverbills.
White Poinsettia
On our travels we also popped into Bents to purchase a Poinsettia. I have been after a white Poinsettia since David gifted me one last Christmas. All the shops we visited had red ones, but at Bents they had a selection of red and white! Poinsettia’s can be poisonous to pets, so I’ve kept Artie away from mine.
Taking about Artie, he has been enjoying his Advent Calendar this month, as can be seen in the video below. 🙂
Keeping with the theme of Christmas, Friday 16th December was Christmas Jumper Day. As I don’t have a Christmas jumper, I wore my winter themed t-shirt to work! I also managed to (finally) purchase a Christmas wreath for the front door. It’s festooned with pine cones and even has festive lights! I think it looks quite fetching on the door!
Earlier in the week the yarden was visited by a pair of Great Tits. I managed to film one on the feeder.
Mid-week, while out walking the family dog, Riley I counted:
To fill the dark, cosy nights I have returned to a book I started reading last year! The Night Falling by Katherine Webb. It’s a pretty grim read but I will persevere.
On Saturday, David invited his family around for a curry night. He served his signature dish with naan and sides.
To finish off this post, I will share with you a snap I have taken of some home made mince pies. They have just come out of the oven! I will sample one later with some cream. 🙂
Mince Pies
Have you been doing any cooking for Christmas? What are your favourite traditions at this time of year?
Thanks for reading,
Christine xx
Christmas 2014 for me started in mid November when I sat writing my Christmas cards while David played console games with his friends in the living room downstairs.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been this excited and really looked forward to Christmas. Perhaps it’s because I am in my own home? Or that I am in a better place, emotionally and mentally? Either way come the 1st December I put up my new (muchly contested) Christmas tree.
Christmas Tree
In the weeks following, I busied myself making the obligatory mince pies and Christmas cakes, of which I made 40 individual ones!
Mini Christmas Cakes
Since the middle of December, I’ve been listening to Christmas carols and songs. I remember as a child, listening out for Father Christmas’s float as it passed our road, and of the carol singers who came knocking at our door. It’s a shame they don’t visit any more.
Whilst enjoying the festive music, I made a playlist, with such tracks as:
1. A Christmas Overture (Hess.)
2. It’s the most wonderful time of the year! (Andy Williams)
3. Sleigh Ride (Anderson)
4. The Snowman Suite (Blake)
5. A Christmas Festival (Anderson)
Artie will be witnessing his first Christmas with us. He has had an Advent calendar with chocolate catnip treats daily and has a stocking full of toys from Santa Paws!
Santa Paws’s stocking
With Christmas Eve upon us I am more excitable than ever. Christmas day is an anticlimax in contrast to the eve when my child self comes to the fore, all excited and nervous, hoping to hear the pitter patter of Rudolf’s feet on the roof!
Christmas lunch will be a concoction of Quorn roast and vegetables for me and a gammon joint for David.
Merry Christmas!
Christine, David and Artie! x
Friday was my day off! It was also my nephew Aaron’s 3rd birthday. I had planned to go to visit my brother with my mum to celebrate my nephew’s birthday, however in the morning I called to wake my mum up and found that she was bent over in agony. She had muscle spasms in her back and could not move for the pain! So that plan was abolished much to our disappointment.
For my day off then, though it wasn’t much of a day of relaxation as I was looking after mum, doing the house work, feeding laundry constantly into the washing machine and then walking the dog and cleaning up cat poop! I managed, in the downtime to make a loaf of bread. I just mixed the below ingredients together and then worked it until it was silky smooth. I left it for one hour to rise and then knocked it back to rest for another hour and double in size! I cooked it on gas mark 7 for 25 minutes and it was perfect! The best loaf I have made yet!
On Saturday David went to Aintree with his work colleagues to the races, while I stayed snuggled in bed, listened to Hans Zimmer and dreamed of my ‘happy place’. In the afternoon I helped mum make yet more mince pies!
My orchid which I bought last December and which I thought was dead has faced all the odds and has bloomed into a second life! How beautiful is it?
On Sunday we have planned more work on the house. I will probably end up painting a door, but I don’t want to paint. I am sick of painting!!!
Last weekend and this, I have been occupied with baking for Christmas. 😀
Last year the individual christmas cakes were a real hit with all the family, so I made some more for this coming season.
You can find the recipe here: http://www.deliaonline.com/how-to-cook/baking/how-to-make-a-christmas-cake.html
The mince pies were a little more difficult to make as the recipe I found online was not the best. The pastry kept falling apart! http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2174/unbelievably-easy-mince-pies However some have turned out ok!
I have also started my Christmas present shopping in earnest, though what to buy for David I do not know!
Christine Lucas 