Sunday 11 March 2012

I love #8

1. Discovering new meals. This week I had Jamie Oliver's Indian Style Steak and have to say it was delicious! It was taken from his 30 minute meals book and I had seen him make it on tv too. It's ridiculously easy and does actually take less than 30 minutes. No food processor or anything! The yoghurt dip and curry sauce was so nice, I couldn't stop eating it. We didn't make the deserts but that was because we were so stuffed from the main meal. The recipe is here if you want to have a go.

Picture from Jamie Oliver site
2. Listening to old music. It's only when foraging through your old things or looking through an Ipod that you rediscover some old classics. I love hearing music which reminds me of my teenage years. Currently getting back into Green Day, Blink 182 and Linkin Park. Haha!

3. Sunshine. Everything is better when the sun is out. People are more polite, it's easier to get out of bed and you have way more energy. It makes me actually want to go and do things. When it's cold and miserable I just want to hibernate. I'm excited about buying a few summery dresses and some new sandals for summer time. I know I'm being a bit hopeful in March but it won't be long until summer sun and socialising!

4. Bargains. I recently found a gorgeous pink dress in H&M for £7 and have also decided to sign up to Zumba classes which cost an amazing £14 for ten sessions. I'm also considering starting to grow my own herbs and vegetables and I'm getting quite excited at the thought of it. I'm not sure if that makes me boring or amazingly bohemian. Either way, I'm fine with it.


5. Feminism. Most people who know me probably don't see me as a feminist. Feminism is still (wrongly) associated with the burning of bras, clumpy shoes and 'man hating'. In my opinion, that is not what feminism is. I want to avoid a long, drawn out rant so I'll keep it short. I see feminism as women having an equal chance to succeed as men. Feminism is currently having a new uprising which can be seen in the form of Caitlin Moran's book 'How to be a Woman'. Not only that, but the recent Cosmopolitan I bought was all about feminism and the fact that women should be recognised for their contributions to society and not belittled or devalued simply because of their gender. Women of the World Festival is currently underway and I think it's great that we are now able to have more informed and frank conversations about feminism without claiming that feminists are angry, unfunny and frumpy individuals. I could talk about this endlessly so I'll stop now. Here's a video of Daniel Craig...

Frangipane and jam tarts

Well it seems life got in the way of blogging recently. I can't pretend I've been doing anything glamorous; I've mostly been working, baking some more of my blueberry cupcakes and trying to arrange exciting things for the upcoming months. At the end of the month I'm off to see some of my best friends in Bath and then next month I'll be off to Cardiff for some welsh based fun. Catching up with old university friends is one of my favourite things. I love seeing what they've been up to. The best thing is realising that despite not seeing them all the time, we can slide straight back into old ways and have a great time together. I'm also going to be heading to V Festival in August. Ridiculously excited!

 Today I wanted to share a recent baking beauty. Frangipane and jam tarts sound much more difficult than they are. They only take about 20 minutes in all and then you get a good looking desert to show off! This is another success from my boyfriend and I can't take the credit. I can definitely share the recipe though!



What you will need:
Raspberry or strawberry jam
Pre-made sweet pastry cases
Frozen summer fruits
1 orange
Caster sugar
Icing sugar

For the frangipane:
100g butter unsalted
100g ground almonds
100g caster sugar
1 egg
Orange zest
Vanilla extract

What to do:
Heat the oven to about 180C.

First, make the frangipane: mix all frangipane ingredients together. Leave the butter out to soften at room temperature first.

Put a spoon of jam in each case, then a spoon of frangipane, then jam, and then more frangipane!

Brush egg around the case to keep it from burning in the oven and also to give it a nice golden glow

 Put the tarts in the preheated oven for 15-18 mins

While the tarts are baking, you can make the sauce. This will only take a couple of minutes. In a saucepan add a generous squeeze of orange juice, some frozen summer fruits (blackberries, redcurrants etc) and a good sprinkling of sugar. Allow this to heat in the pan until sauce like. Taste it to check it is sweet enough for you. If not, then add more sugar.

When the tarts are done, whip them out of the oven.

Put them on a place and add the sauce. Sprinkle icing sugar over the top and voila! 



Tuck in and enjoy. 


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