Monday 28 February 2011

Where are you??

Let's see if we can spot Nessie ...



Nope, she's not hiding here.





Oh, is that her?

Er nope, that Mr Ronny the Rat.




Oh, there you are Nessie!

You have been hiding.

"I certainly have. And I have been waiting for ages, for you to find me" squeaked Nessie,

Wednesday 23 February 2011

Sleeping in my arms...

Nessie had been very tired this evening,
so tired in fact, that she's sleeping in my arms!



This reminds me of an song by Florence & the machines.



Isle Esme...

From the courtesy of Summit Entertainment, they have provided an sneek peek of what Isle Esme will look like in Breaking Dawn.




Photo of the Cullens House...


An photo of the Cullens house from Breaking Dawn



Sunday 20 February 2011

Breaking Dawn in Hollywood Magazine...




Haggis making...

Yesterday, I decided to make Haggis. Yes, you heard me right. Unfortunately, I'm not Scottish I had missed Robert Burns Night (Burns Night), which was on 25th January 2011. However, never the less, its never too late to make something tasty.

So, I got to work whilst Nessie had been sleeping all day and night long...

If you had never had or made Haggis before, then just follow this recipe into making the tastiest Haggis.

I personally, had never ever made Haggis and was a bit afraid of the finished result. However, after following the step by step instructions from bbcgoodfood and making the Neeps and Tatties, I decided to better get cooking...

How to cook an Haggis


Serves 8

Ingredients
  • 450g haggis

Ready in 1 hour

1.Preheat the oven to fan 180C/conventional 200C/gas 6. Remove the outer packaging from the haggis then prick all over with a fork, wrap in foil like a baked potato and bake in the oven for 1 hour.


2.To serve, split open the haggis with a sharp knife and spoon the contents over neeps and tatties or serve separately.
 
 
For the Neeps & Tatties
 
Ingredients
8 large baking potatoes, washed, peel left on and cut into 2cm x 4cm chunks
6 tbsp light olive oil or sunflower
1 swede weighing about 675g/11⁄2lb, peeled and roughly chopped
50g butter , plus extra for serving

1.The day before you want to serve, preheat the oven to fan oven 200C/conventional 220C/gas 7. Put the potatoes into a pan of lightly salted water, return to the boil and cook for 5 minutes. Drain the potatoes, put them back into the pan and place it back on the heat for a couple of minutes to dry out.



2.Meanwhile, pour the oil into a large roasting tin (you may have to use two) and heat it in the oven until smoking hot. Now stir the potatoes into the hot oil and return to the oven to roast, turning occasionally, for 55 minutes.

3.Cook the swede in boiling salted water for 50-55 minutes, or until very soft. Drain and add to the roasted potatoes. Roughly mash everything together, keeping quite chunky, then cool, cover and keep in a cool place.

4.To serve, preheat the oven to fan 180C/conventional 200C/gas 6. Uncover the potatoes and swede, dot with the butter and put in the oven to reheat for 25-30 minutes, stirring now and again until piping hot. Serve with lots of butter.



Whisky sauce

Ingredients

500ml/17fl oz double cream
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp whisky
sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
1 tbsp chopped fresh chives
½ lemon, juice only


Method
1. For the whisky sauce, heat the double cream in a pan over a medium heat. Add the wholegrain mustard, Dijon mustard and whisky and stir to combine. Increase the heat until the mixture is simmering and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes.
2.Remove the pan from the heat and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground white pepper. Stir in the tablespoon of chives, then whisk in the lemon juice. Serve warm.

Recipe from www.bbc.co.uk - The Hairy Bikers

The Result:

Heartwarming and delicious, served with some Scotch Whiskey on the side.

Enjoy.



Sunday 13 February 2011

Eating.... and making an Chocolate & Strawberry tart....

While Nessie had been busy eating,
I had been busy in the kitchen making...


So, what am I making today? Well, today I'm going to make an Chocolate Strawberry Tart, a recipe from hotelchocolat



Chocolate Strawberry Tart


Serves: 10

Preparation time: 30 mins
Standing time: 2 hours
Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients

Pastry

•250g flour
•100g Icing Sugar
•1 pinch of Salt
•1tbsp cocoa powder
•200g butter
•2 egg yolks, lightly beaten with 1tbs of water

Chocolate Praline Filling

•50g Classic Liquid Chocolate ( I used melted Dark Chocolate)
•200g Smudge ( I used Nutella instead)
•200ml whipped cream

Topping
•150g sliced strawberries
•100g strawberry jam

Method

Pastry

1.Place all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, add butter and rub in with the fingertips until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Or use a food processor to save a bit of time!

2.Make a well in the centre on your dry ingredients and add the egg yolk and water mix.

3.Combine mixture with a wooden spoon, then knead by hand to form a ball of dough.

4.Cover with cling film and place in a refrigerator for at least an hour before using.

5.Pre heat oven to 180C (350F) Gas Mark 4.

6.Lightly grease an 11-inch flan tin.

7.Roll out the pastry so it is about 2mm thick.

8.Now line the baking tray with pastry.

9.Cover the pastry with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans or chickpeas.

10.Cook in pre-heated oven for 15-20 mins

11.Leave to cool and remove the greaseproof paper and beans/peas.



Filling

1.Bring cream to the boil in a pan on the hob or in a microwave proof bowl in the microwave and pour it over chocolate and smudge.

2.Stir well and spread over pastry

3.Leave to cool


Topping
1.Add slices of strawberries.

2.Heat jam until it becomes a runny glaze consistency, this can be done in a pan over the hob or in a microwave proof bowl in the microwave.

3.Arrange strawberries on top of the praline filling.
4.Spread jam over the strawberries.

5.Allow jam to set in fridge and serve.


Wednesday 9 February 2011

Wednesday....


When I woke up, Nessie was waiting for me by her cage door.



Shall I let her come out and play??









Sunday 6 February 2011

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Cast...




Friday 4 February 2011

Carrot eating...

Whilst I had been doing some tidying around the house,
I thought I would get a nice carrot slice for Nessie to eat...




The weather has been quite cold here in England,
so eating lots of vegetables, fruit, etc will keep all our
strengths up.





Apart from that Nessie has been sleeping,

and



Sleeping.....


zzzz..
z






zz









zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz



z..............





And.....


More sleeping....zzzZZZZ


What have you been up to today??