It must be rhubarb season? Well, Aldi had 400g packets of rhubarb for 69p! Gary has always said he doesn’t like/hates rhubarb crumble so I bought some to try & change his mind… And it turns out he does rather like rhubarb crumble after all!

Anyway, I was in Aldi again and noticed the rhubarb had been reduced to 29p per packet – bargain or what? So I bought a couple with the intention of trying out some new recipes. I didn’t really fancy anything super fattening so I started browsing for a healthy rhubarb recipe. I ended up adapting a recipe from Rachel Allen’s Home Cooking – substituting the plain flour for wholemeal flour and using greek yogurt instead of milk. This is the first time I have ever dared to adapt a recipe and I am pleased to say that it worked fine.

And I reckon the muffins are pretty healthy! If you fancy trying them here is the recipe:

You Will Need:

150g soft light brown sugar

1tbsp sunflower oil

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

100ml greek yogurt

100g rhubarb, finely diced

175g wholemeal flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarb

pinch salt

How To Make:

Preheat the oven to 200degC and line a muffin tin with cases (makes 12). Place 125g of the sugar, the sunflower oil, egg, vanilla extract and yogurt into a bowl and mix well. Stir in the rhubarb. Mix in the flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt – stir until just combined (do not over-mix). Pour into the muffin cases. Sprinkle the remaining sugar on top of the batter in each case. Bake for 18-20mins.

These really were yummy, both hot out of the oven and cold. The rhubarb added a really nice flavour and even Gary liked them! By the time I got round to taking a picture there were only 3 muffins left (ooops) after we ate plenty and gave my brother some to take home!

I will definitely make these again. They would also be nice with a crumble style topping on top of the muffins… mmmm!

So I still have some rhubarb left over – any more ideas for fab recipes using it?? x

If I don’t write this post today I will forever forget what books I read in April, as my memory is already starting to fade!

The Case of The Missing Servant by Tarquin Hall

Source – recommended on Twitter. This had really good reviews but I was sooo disappointed. I pretty much hated it! I kept having to check that it wasn’t translated into English as it is written in an Indian “colloquial style” language which I just couldn’t get used to. Couldn’t wait to finish it. 1.5/5

The Redeemer by Jo Nesbo

Source – lent by Sarah. This is the 3rd (I think) book in the Harry Hole series. I found the story quite long & tedious although I did like catching up with the characters. Not as good as the others. 3/5

Iggie’s House by Judy Blume

Source – amongst a bag of books received from Freecycle. I don’t remember reading any of these books as a child (although the author’s name is familiar) so I decided to give this a go. It was quite good & dealt with race relations. I finished it in an hour as well! 3/5

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Source – recommended on Twitter. Absolutely loved this right from the start! It was magical! The actual story wasn’t that fantastic but I just loved the atmosphere of it. 4/5

Lorelei’s Secret by Carloyn Parkhrst

Source – picked at random in the library as I liked the colour of the spine! This sounded really good from the description but I was slightly disappointed. It was about a dog who was the sole witness to his owner’s death. The grieving husband tries to get the dog to talk to discover if his wife’s death was suicide or an accident. 3/5

Book of the month = The Night Circus!

Book of the year so far = The Hunger Games!

As always, let me know if you have read any fab books recently! x

Helllo! Haven’t blogged for a while, haven’t really had the inclination to do it tbh, but here I am now, so all is well.

My perfect Saturday usually involves making scones. I used to make them every Saturday morning when I was little using my Granny’s recipe. I have since forgotten this recipe (must ask my mum if she can find it at home). I even carried my Saturday morning scone making on at uni for a bit (which my flatmates loved!).

Me & Scones, A Kind Of Love Story:

My favourite type is plain, although I will eat wheaten (wholemeal) & cherry. A big nooo to fruit scones though – I went to about 6 different cafes in the Lake District trying to find a plain scone… Best eaten hot out of the oven, or heated up. Best with butter, although I also like jam & cream. I have my jam & cream the Cornish way, with jam first then a dollop of cream on top. My favourite thing to bake – I can whip up a batch in less than 20 min.

Gary’s favourite scones are my wheaten scones (a N.Irish thing). But I like to try different recipes all the time. So I thought why not document all the recipes that I try and see which ones come out on top?!

Today I used a recipe that I have used before and got good results from. It is from The Great British Book of Baking (book to accompany series 1 of The Great British Bake-Off). Light and fluffy and crumbly and buttery….! YUM Definite thumbs up for this recipe.

You Will Need:

250g self raising flour

pinch salt

50g caster sugar

50g butter

1 egg

100ml milk or buttermilk (I have always just used milk)

How To Make:

Preheat oven to 220degC. Sift the flour, salt and sugar into a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour using the tips of your fingers. Beat the egg with the milk and stir in using a round-bladed knife. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead gently. Pat the dough out to around 3cm thick and cut out shapes. Place onto greased baking tray and bake for 10 minutes – EASY!

PS – It says this recipe makes 8 scones, but it usually only makes around 5 for me. But then I do like to make mine nice & thick, and usually use a heart-shaped cutter!

Is anyone else a fan of scones? Or have you any favourite must-try scone recipes that I could try out? x

I have wanted a caravan for ages, but Gary always said he would never have one (something to do with Jeremy Clarkson’s hatred of them on Top Gear?!). So I am pleased to announce that we now are the proud owners of a 1992 Challenger Swift caravan! It was originally my mum’s caravan, then she gave it to my brother to use, who then gave it to us!!! Even Gary did get a bit excited. Plus we are getting a new car to be able to tow it, so that’s a bonus for him.

It means we will be able to go away to all the dog displays in the summer (we are in the Cheshire Dog Display Team) without the hassle of having to pitch a tent in the cold & wet! And hopefully have lots of adventures all over the UK (& maybe abroad!).

Gary & Holly

Even though it’s not that old in caravan terms and still is in good condition, the pink floral upholstery etc isn’t quite to our taste! We have bought new fabric to make removable covers for the seats – I just need to figure out how to sew them up haha! We have taken up the old manky carpet and are going to put vinyl down which will be much easier to clean with 2 muddy pups running in and out.

Our little kitchen area & back seats

Oh, and these 1970′s esque light shades definitely have to go!

Hmmm?!

Apart from that, just a good clean inside & out and she will be looking good. It is a girl, I have decided. But we still need a name for her…. Any ideas?!

Outside view (a little bit bashed in places but hey – she is 20 years old!)

Chester & Holly settle in!

Do any of you like caravanning? Or have you ever refurbished a van? x

There are a couple of things guaranteed to make me smile – cake (of course) and animals!! So I was excited to visit Chester Zoo at the weekend as part of Kim’s birthday plans. I loved seeing all of the animals but especially the big cats!

What is your favourite animal to see at the zoo? I am now thinking that I would like to work at the zoo haha…

So Easter has been and gone for another year. I hope you all had a lovely time and ate lots of chocolate of course! On Easter Sunday I decided to do some Easter baking.  I made chocolate cupcakes from my “Cupcakes From The Primrose Bakery” book and topped them with a vanilla buttercream (some was coloured with yellow food colouring) and mini eggs. I tried out my new Wilton 1M nozzle that Kim got me for my birthday!

I tried 2 cupcakes with frozen creme eggs inside and topped them with the yellow buttercream and a bit of creme egg on top. They didn’t work brilliantly, I think it would be better to use mini creme eggs inside the cupcake. They were still yummy though, even if very rich!

Even Chester tried to get a bite!

PS – The chocolate cupcakes from The Primrose Bakery book are soo nice! Probably the nicest ones I have made so far – nice and moist.

Did you do any baking over Easter? x

The last meeting of the Warrington Clandestine Cake Club had the theme – “No Dairy, No Eggs, No Gluten, No problem” as we recently had a gluten-intolerant member join and she couldn’t eat any of the cakes! I had never baked anything gluten free before so I was definitely up for the challenge. I got lots of books out of the library to browse but in the end I opted for this Gluten Free Lime & Coconut Cake from River Cottage Baking.

It was super easy to make, and I also made a coconut and lime sort of buttercream to ice the cake with – using creamed coconut, lime zest & juice and butter. The icing was delicious! The cake itself was pretty nice too – although it didn’t have as nice a rise as a cake made with normal flour would have. Maybe I could make it in a smaller loaf tin next time to make it appear a bit thicker? I will definitely be making it again. I only managed to taste a little tiny slice of it at the Cake Club before it was all gone, and I need more of it!!!

The Clandestine Cake Club itself was a great night, held in the cosy The Palmyra bar. I hadn’t been to the Warrington meetings in a couple of months so it was nice to meet some lovely new members! The cakes themselves were delicious! Possibly my favourites out of all the cake clubs I have been to so far! Yes, really! The cakes I tried were so light and airy and tasty – yum yum!

Can’t wait for the next meeting – in the meantime I have the Chester Cake Club to look forward to on Thurs 26 April! Will have to decide soon what I am going to bake!

The Likeness by Tana French

Source – lent by Sarah. I flippin well loved this book! I read my 1st book by her in January and although I enjoyed it, I was a teensy bit disappointed with the ending. I was glad to see that this book had a nice tied-up ending. It features much of the same characters as the 1st book which was nice.  I was going to give this 5 out of 5 but then I remembered one tiny thing which annoyed me, oh and the chapters are very long! – so 4.5/5 it is!

The Radleys by Matt Haig

Source – recommended on Twitter. Hmmm an unusual book. I started off taking it quite seriously as I was reading it. Then it started getting slightly silly & I just went with it. Quite enjoyable and certainly different. 3.5/5

Howard’s End Is On The Landing by Susan Hill

Source – recommended on Twitter. I was quite excited about this book as I wanted to get loads of tips and ideas about books to read. It started off OK but I quickly became bored. This book has pretty good reviews but I just didn’t like it. The only thing I got from it is that I want to read some Virginia Woolf. Maybe my reading tastes aren’t as refined as they should be but it didn’t really interest me. 2/5

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Source – recommended and lent by Kim. I don;t think I would have read this book if it hadn’t been for Kim. I would have seen it as too much of a fantasy novel for me. I have never been interested in fantasy books and have never read Harry Potter or Twilight or anything. Well I am sooo glad I read this. I was hooked from the beginning, and although it wasn’t perfect I really really enjoyed it. I can’t wait to see the film now! By the end of the book I didn’t much like the main character which I thought was strange… but I still can’t wait to read the next 2 books. 4.5/5

Dead Simple by Peter James

Source – recommended somewhere, can’t remember! I found this really difficult to get into after the fast-paced easy reading of The Hunger Games. However, I persevered and I’m glad I did as once it got going I really enjoyed it. A few good twists and turns and the main character is very likeable. This book is the 1st one in a new series so I will definitely read some more to follow the same characters. 4/5

Book of the month = The Hunger Games – loved it!!

Has anyone else read any of these books? As usual, if you have any book recommendations let me know in the comments! x

Thanks for all your birthday wishes on my last post – I had a great 30th birthday weekend. Last week Gary & I took the pups for a little trip to The Lake District for a couple of nights. We had amazing weather and enjoyed lots of nice long walks. Loads of photos to show you all – I tried to cut them down as much as possible but there is still a lot!

How cute? Treats left for the pups!

Gary & the pups lake-side at our hotel.

View from hotel (unfortunately not from our room!)

Planning our route.

Amazing view!

Us at the top of the climb!

Water stop for pups.

Cooling off!

Little Holly.

Chester waiting to go through the dog gate!

Waterfall!

Pretty tea garden – muddy boots & dogs were welcome!

Chester by his sign!

2 lovely pups.

Bowness at sunset.

Overall a fab trip. I think we would like to try bringing the caravan up to the Lake District next time. I doubt it will be until next Spring as apparently it is way too busy during the summer season, and not really enjoyable at all. Does anyone else like holidaying in the Lake District? x