Treats and eats

This weekend we found (lurking in our wine rack) a sneaky little a bottle of red wine.  Warm days aren't really conducive for red wine drinking...but Sangria totally rocks our socks.

We used the basic recipe:  3 parts red wine, 1 part orange juice, 2 parts lemonade or 7up.  Apples, oranges, a pear and some mint are also floating around this lovely little concoction.  

And make room for more excitement!  These bad boys arrived today:

I've got a Vanilla in the freezer awaiting the Berry Iced Coffee treatment.  Nespresso has introduced Vanilla, Caramel and Chocolate flavour capsules.  Holy yum.

In other news, I thought I would bake some macaroons.  I've got a history with macaroons.  A sticky, disappointing history.  I've tried everything: the French method, the easy method, the Italian method, wax paper, macaroon mat, blah blah blah.

I have yet to produce a quality batch of macaroons.  Until today.

See that?  FEET.  ACTUAL MACAROON FEET!

Time for a dirty little secret.

I can't believe it.  The countless attempts - all ending in failure - and then THIS comes along.  And they turn out PERFECT.  I'm shocked.  Plus, it was EASY.  Macaroons?  Easy??

Blasphemy.  Fraud.

So what does this mean for madame baker?  Well.  I'm not going to let a box mix of macaroons knock me down.   I'm going to take on macaroons again...one day.  Maybe there's something special in this mix that I don't know about.  With that said, I'm going to take my freshly made macaroons and my iced Vanilla coffee and I'm going to enjoy the sunshine.  After all - only a week and half left!

xx

Blueberries: Field to Pie

I've been craving blueberries and all of a sudden, signs for pick your own blueberries have been popping up everywhere I turned.  I suggested going blueberry picking at the weekend.  B had visions of blueberry pancakes.  Me?  Pie.  

We headed to Fairgreen Farms in Middleton. The farm was hidden down a long and windy dirt track which didn't appear to be heading anywhere.  But then -  jackpot. 

(Rocking the O-H-I-O)

(See that cardigan?  Autumn is coming....)

We collected two containers at roughly one kilo each for £9. Bargain!

I have been dying to make blueberry pie.  It's one of those things I've just never seen here in the UK. I used a crust recipe from Sprinkle Bakes (best crust recipe I've found) and coated the berries in tons of sugar before baking. 

Mmmm. 

While waiting for the pie, I baked some lemon and basil cookies. I wasn't sure about them - even after they came out of the oven I ate about four just trying to work out if I liked the flavour.  I'm taking them to rehearsal tonight so the girls can be the judges!  Recipe here.

And Finally...

Pie!  Real blueberry pie!  I'm so excited!

I can't wait for Rich to get home from work so we can sample this delish dish.  More baking to come - I LOVE the summer holidays!

xx

Weekend fun

The weekend started off with a bang with the Year 13 Leavers Do. I celebrate by chopping my hair off - look! A fringe!!!

The evening was Gatsby inspired - my fabulous colleague Jo came in proper flapper attire and looked gorgeous!

It was a lovely night - celebrating two years of hard work with the kids was great fun. The staff who came were on great form as well, making the evening a great laugh!

Following that, Rich and I headed to Norwich for a wander and a bit of a shop. We stumbled upon Macarons & More - AMAZING macaroons and beautiful marshmallows. 

I've been totally inspired so am going to try out these recipes this week!

Double Vanilla Macaroons

Homemade Marshmallows

Hopefully I'll have some yummy treats to share!

Have a good Monday!

Xx