Just because I can’t drink at the mo doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy good products. I sniff Andrew’s wine when he opens a good Malbec and it’s almost as good as drinking it. When I cook with spirits I taste a tablespoon (my limit before it makes me iffy) to get a good idea of of the flavour and what ingredients I can make it work with. So it was that the idea for this gin and orange cake was born from a single sip of the good stuff!
I find it hard to believe that it’s been seven months since my meningioma was removed. Sometimes it feels like yesterday, others it’s a distant memory. Not my usual foodie post, but one I felt that I wanted to share, to help others with a meningioma. Fair warning- there’s lots of my face when you scroll down!
** Note for fellow neuro folk – this post contains a moving gif **
Sweet!
If there’s a better way to spend an afternoon than eating cake, drinking tea and chatting with friends then I’m yet to find it. Afternoon tea is an opportunity to kick back with friends and bite sized food means you can nibble without it getting in the way of the chatter. Because we all know that the main reason for afternoon tea is to natter with friends!
The Courthouse was the location of my latest afternoon tea.* As the name suggests, this handsome building was indeed once home to the court in Knutsford town centre, but some sympathetic refurbishment has now seen a restaurant named Barristers and function rooms open, with boutique style bedrooms soon to follow.
Everything stops for tea…and cake!
We we treated to not one, but two types of afternoon tea at The Courthouse – and yes dear reader, I ate it all! Continue Reading
Balls. Protein balls. Probably not something you expected to pop up on SHE-EATS eh. But let me tell you, my husband is like the human dustbin ; there is no filling him up when he has been to the gym! So I was happy when some Vigor protein energy balls dropped through the letter box for us to try.
I’ve never eaten a protein ball in my life before now, assuming they were the mainstay of gym bunnies and ‘clean eaters’ (*eye roll*) with pink hued Insta grids, but the more I thought about them, the more they make sense as a sensible snack as I try my hardest to fight my sweet tooth. Andrew will often need a snack after the gym/ before tea/ after tea. So a protein hit will stave off that hunger. Also, when we go for a walk, better to have a small snack we can drop in to a pocket rather than get hungry and hit the cake as soon as we are done. Continue Reading
I am trying really hard to improve the photos I use on SHE-EATS. Sometimes I update old posts with new images (hello, ultimate brownie recipe and rabbit pie to name just a couple). But other times, a recipe is so good, that I want to share first and reshoot second. These chocolate hazelnut brownies are one example of that. I was snapping in a dark, winter kitchen on my phone as I baked, but the results were so good that I couldn’t not share! Next time I make them I will photograph again, but for now just sit back and enjoy the indulgence! Continue Reading
.
My evening with Parmigiano Reggiano showed me once again that Parmesan cheese deserves to take centre stage- the more mature examples have depth and character that just gets lost if it is only being melted into a risotto or grated over a pizza.
I love snacks, they are my sweet, sweet nemesis. So when I was looking for something to nibble over a few days I decided to turn to popcorn. But rather than smother it in salted caramel (as wonderful as that would be, and don’t think I won’t do that next time!), I decided to try savoury popcorn.
I used 30 month matured parmesan, oregano and sea salt and the result is a wonderful moorish and pretty grown up savoury popcorn.
Continue Reading
In this house, haggis is for life not just for Burns Night. It is something that we eat throughout the year when we are looking for something full of flavour, spice and comfort, yet is easy to cook and can be served in a myriad ways. 
Haggis is so easily available now (in the UK at least, I think America is no longer banning it either), and there are plenty of varieties including vegetarian, wild boar and Moroccan spiced. I’ve even had a couple of examples of Lancashire haggis, so it pays to try a few and find the one you like. I actually really like the veggie version, although I haven’t used it here, and I think you wouldn’t miss the meat in this dish at all if you wanted to use one. Continue Reading
The Chocolate Truffle ShuffleMy love of chocolate is no secret, but there is a special place in my heart for a good truffle. We spent a few weeks happily munching our way through the new collection of truffles from Beech’s Fine Chocolates, just to prove that point. Continue Reading
