By Popular Demand

When I'm not blogging I am quite often Facebooking.

I just post little updates about daily life.  Mostly for my friends to enjoy but also for my sisters in Denmark.

And also quite separately on FlyLady to catch up with my FlySisters there and encourage/support/compare our chore Ta-Dah's

One of these posts resulted in a request for recipes (Hi Lisa!) and an enquiry about Mug Cozies (Hi Louise!)!

It started like this.....

We were invited to a friends house for a BBQ on Sunday evening (a chance for the men to get together and watch the football!!).  We were asked to bring a pud!

Hmmm! What was in the cupboards, what makes a transportable pud, something that tastes good, something that looks good.....

Rocky Road!

My recipe is a Nigella special....I think it was from her book Nigella Express.

BUT......we don't do it quite like Nigella!

Why?

1) Mostly I cook for kids who don't appreciate expensive ingredients
2) The ingredients are too expensive (especially for kids!)

I can't show you any creative step-by-step photographs as I'd made it before I received the request to share......( you need to get your crystal ball plugged in Lisa and ask BEFORE I've created so that I get the snaps done!)  Teehee!

Recipe:
125g Margarine (Butter in Nigellas)
300g of chocolate (Best Quality Choc in Nigellas....I used the Easter Eggs the kids hadn't eaten!)
3 tbsps of Golden Syrup (and if I don't have that I use anything runny like Honey or Maple Syrup)
200g of Rich Tea Biscuits (but I have also used shortbread and homemade gingerbread)
100g mini marshmallows (I only had 25g as Teenage Daughter had used my stash to decorate her Ice Cream Share at the weekend!  I also added 25g of Glace Cherries and 50g of Raisins!  I think you might be getting the picture of how this Delight can empty your cupboards of all those irritating bits!)

Method:
I line (not very prettily) an 8 or 9 inch square tin with baking paper.  Melt the marg, choc and syrup in a pan (do not allow to boil...it's YUK!). Just using your hands (very satisfying!) crush up your biscuits into the pan (crumbs to lumps is fine) and add all the other ingredients.  Mix it up until it is all coated in chocolate and put it into the prepped tin.  Use a spatula to press the mixture down and into the corners and smooth the top off.  Pop it into the fridge for an hour or two.  When set, cut into small chunks (I got about 30 out of mine), dust with icing sugar if you like and EAT!

And eaten they were!

I could only rescue this one sorry piece for a photo shoot ......

Not very Ta-Dah...but...TA-DAH......

...looking good huh?

The next offering was sparked by cleaning out my baking box in which I found Poppy Seeds...it reminded me I had bought them to make Lemon Poppyseed Muffins.....so I thought....I'll make them now!

I preheat the oven to 190C and pop cases into my muffin tin before I start.  I then get 2 jugs...one for wet and one for dry...like this.....

Dry jug:

10oz of Self Raising Flour

1tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

3oz Sugar

Wet Jug:

3 floz oil

8 floz milk

1 egg

(for a lower fat version use 1floz oil and 10 floz milk)

This is my basic muffin mix to which I add all sorts!

5oz berries, 4oz choc chips (a mix of the 2 for Raspberry and White Choc muffins), apples and raisins with spices, I'm sure you'll think of something!

To this I add 2 tbsps of Poppy Seeds to the Dry Jug and the juice and zest of 1 lemon and the zest of a lime (should have been juice and zest of 2 lemons BUT the lemon was very juicy and I fancied some lime zest for a hint of zing and a greenish tinge to the muffin!)

Add the wet to the dry and combine, don't worry if there are a few floury lumps....it's best not to overwork this.

Anyhow it looked like this..........

Divide the mix into 12 muffin cases and into the oven for around 20-25mins.

Once cooked remove to a cooling rack.............Ta-DAh!

Once cooler (but maybe still a little warm!), accompany with a lovely mug of Green Tea all cozied up in it's little jacket and EAT!!!!!!

I sometimes drizzle water icing over the top, maybe lemon/lime zest, or for different flavours buttercream and sprinkles.....go wild...have fun! (If they last long enough!)

But most of all ENJOY!

See you soon

Nora xx