Recipe - Pumpkin Pie

I'm not a coffee lover so you will never find me with a PSL (Pumpkin Spiced Latte) over the autumn months even though I'd love to try one. Something else that I have never tried but thought, 'why the hell not give it a shot!' is Pumpkin Pie.

Making use of the leftovers from carving that pumpkin this is a sweet treat way to make sure nothing goes to waste. The spices make it taste just like my favourite season should and it will be a struggle not to eat the whole thing. Maybe just one more slice, I must say I don't know why I had never given it a go before!

Ingredients

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

110g butter
300g flour
80g caster sugar
1 egg

Pumpkin Pie Filling

750g pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into chunks
350g sweet shortcrust pastry
plain flour, for dusting
140g caster sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp fresh nutmeg, grated
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
25g butter, melted
175ml milk

Method to the Madness

Make up pastry by rubbing the flour and butter together until in crumbs. Add the sugar and egg and bring together into a soft dough.

Place the pumpkin in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Once tender drain the pumpkin and let cool.

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use it to line a loose-bottomed tart tin. Pop in the fridge to chill for 15 mins. Line the pastry with baking parchment and baking beans, then bake for 15 mins. Remove the baking beans and paper, and cook for another 10 mins until the base is pale golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

 Increase oven temperature to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Push the cooled pumpkin through a sieve into a large bowl. In a different bowl, combine the sugar, salt, nutmeg and half the cinnamon. Next mix in the beaten eggs, melted butter and milk, then add to the pumpkin purée and stir to combine.

Pour into the pastry shell and cook for 10 mins, then reduce the temperature to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.

Continue to bake for 35-40 mins until the filling has just set. If you fancy take out after 20 minutes to add some pastry decoration.

Leave to cool, then remove the pie from the tin. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon. Serve chilled.

Happy Halloween!
C x

October Favourites

Hitting you with a October Favourites right before the end of the month because why not!

Happy 'officially Autumn' now the clocks have gone back, and FYI it is only 8 Friday's until Christmas! Oh yes, that's exciting.

Music

Can't Pretend - Tom Odell - I'm a little bit late to this party but loving this song a hella lot.

Can't Feel My Face - The Weekend - A good dancing around the kitchen song this one!

Heart's On Fire - Passenger - I normally avoid the slow, acoustic songs (they make me too melancholic) but in my quest to find wedding music I have been listening to a few lovely ones including this one.

Books

The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood is a dystopian novel (my favourite!) and pretty addictive to read. Parts of it stop and make you think about what decisions you would make if needed and also the practicality of their future. I do wish that they had gone into the events that took them to that place and I wasn't a huge fan of the ending but having said that this is a solid novel that you should definitely give a read.

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson I read in about two days because I couldn't put it down. I've been reading quite a few thrillers which have been surprising me recently and it's quite pleasant. I do love to be surprised when reading. This is another book which makes you think about how far you would go, if at all. The story is multi-layered and very well written and I love the view points from the different characters who you should hate but can't quite bring yourself too. MUST READ.

 

Fashion

My student discount ran out last week which was very sad indeed and it wouldn't be a last hurrah unless I used it to buy something. Namely this coat from Dorothy Perkins which I freaking LOVE. It has this gorgeous brushed fabric texture which makes is super soft. So many people have said how lovely it looks and well you know you can never have enough coats right?

Blonde Waterfall Coat - Dorothy Perkins - £49.00 (although 10% off at the moment!)

I am also wrapping up warm in this incredible snood from H&M. For a start it is in a very dark grey and well I just love all things grey, but secondly it is huge and snuggly. The link is below but I would recommend going in store to buy as I have never had a good H&M online buying experience.

Knitted Scarf - H&M - £12.99

C x

Wedmin

Wedmin (or wedding admin) has completely taken over my life. Everyone keeps saying to me "how have you got everything so sorted?!" ~ the answer is easy, I love a project!

I have dived into wedding planning like I might dive into a box of fried chicken after a night out. With total enthusiasm and a complete lack of shame. And why shouldn't I? It all needs to be sorted so I might as well do it when I can.

To this end I have so far completed the following tasks with still a year to go until I get married:

• Date booked - we are having a October wedding
• Save the dates sent
• Venue hired
• Church hired
• DJ hired
• Catering chosen
• Decorations started
• Invites designed
• Florist appointment made
• Table plan 80% complete
• Videographer hired
• Photographer almost booked and of course 
• Wedding dress found.   

This does not mean that I am some kind of crazy, this just means that I know what I want and there is no point denying it. 

I would like to point out though that I am having a few problems, wrestling with myself over money, and wondering if I can really justify spending £500 more on a photographer just because I like her personality better than the £900 one. There was also a huge amount of guilt attached to finding "The Dress" which I will go into more detail in a post to follow ~ oh the suspense ~  

I went to the National Wedding Show at the weekend with a couple of other friends who are also getting married and we had a fantastic time. I was going to blog about it but it turns out that when you are there you kind of just get sucked into it all and I barely took any photos show off the exhibits, although of course I still managed to take some for research!

 If you are getting married though I really do think you pop along to a wedding show. Even if you don't end up using any of the vendors you meet it is a great place to be able to get away with talking about your day, plus it is always lovely to watch a fashion show and look at all the beautiful dresses. The next National Wedding Show is in February and you can buy tickets here.

So far I am 100% happy with the choices that we have made and I find myself thinking about the big day constantly. I do have wedding fever and I am pretty bloody happy about that. At the rate I'm going I will have several stress free months before the big day because I will have got it all done by May!  

C x

B.A. Hons

I've graduated!!! Can you believe it?! I certainly can't! All that work and I finally get to put some letters after my name, which I will be doing on EVERYTHING.

It was such a good day yesterday, I felt so proud of myself which is such a lovely feeling. I also felt that my friends and family were proud of me too.

The ceremony was held at the Barbican Centre and I turned up quite early to get registered and robed. We unfortunately were not allowed hats, which was rubbish but I did get the full robes which were ridiculously heavy!

I really would say to anyone who is looking to do Open University, do it! Yes it takes a long time and yes it requires hard work and some dedication but the feeling of satisfaction that I got yesterday was worth all of that.

I was so nervous though. I don't think I have ever felt that nervous! My pulse was pounding and all I heard was my name being called before I walked across the stage. I didn't hear my family cheering, I didn't hear any clapping, I just needed to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other! Everyone said it would all be over so quickly but it seemed like time stopped almost.

We went for lunch at Finch's, near the Barbican Centre with my family, Leigh's family and one of my best friends. I had the Duck breast which was very tasty but a little on the small side. The interiors were very instagramable and they had reserved my table with scrabble letters which was a nice touch.

It was such a brilliant day, and I got to keep my scroll too! I love that I can now say officially that I have a 2.1 English Literature degree and I have accomplished what I always hoped I would. Maybe now I will go on to do a Masters!

C x

When the lights go out

I arrived back at my house tonight to find that we had no power. Nothing at all. Obviously being the adult that I am the first thing I did was check the fuse box! No joy.

Then started the, 'well what shall I do with my time.' I decided to have a shower, only apparently (and who knew?!) hot water requires electricity to make it hot. Apparently I'm not as adult as I'd like to think or surely I would have known this!

So I did what every British person does in a crisis. I made a cup of tea. I boiled the water on the hob and everything. It was pretty good actually despite my lack of enjoyment of tea in general.

It was then that I started to think: what would we do without power? A little while ago Leigh and I watched a programme called Revolution. The premise of the show was actually pretty good. It was a post apocalyptic storyline where electricity has gone. It just goes one day and doesn't come back. Unfortunately the show didn't make it past a second series but I found the whole idea fascinating. One of the things that struck me the most was that a mother who had lost her children could no longer see pictures of them as they were all on her phone which was now unable to be charged. Even now as I type this by candlelight, I kid you not - I feel like a modern Janet Austen, it is nice to actually sit down and write this because I have nothing else to distract me. Although I am worrying about my phone battery...

I know its been said before but it is so easy to be distracted nowadays. TV, Internet etc etc. It all takes away from doing things that actually engage us socially and gives us time to use our brains.

It's actually quite romantic to sit here with only the light from the night sky and a candle. I might start enforcing a power out hour in the house where we have to do things we would normally put to one side.

I'm going to bed now to get a (relatively) early night because I might as well. I've learnt two things about this blackout. 1. My phone torch kicks out more light than any candle and 2. I quite like feeling like a nineteenth century author.

C x

August Favourites

Getting to the end of summer is normally a cause of sadness, but since I love Autumn and I cannot wait to get back in to jumpers I'm glad August is over! Having said all that it has been a particularly good summer and in some ways I will be sad to leave another one behind.

But enough of that - let's crack on with the faves.

Books

I have two time travel books that I have loved this month. Apparently I went searching for this genre for a while! First up is 'The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August' by Claire North. If you love history,suspense and humour then this is the book for you. Working on the idea that there are those among us who can repeat their lives over and over with butterfly effect consequences it is interesting to see the characters develop.

 The second is 'Life after Life' by Kate Atkinson. This novel has been cleverly written so even though you are going over the same life again and again there is always a slight change, making sure you don't get bored. It is also set over WWII which is my favourite period to read about anyway!

The Day We Disappeared by Lucy Robinson- I have read a lot of books over my life. Recently it is very difficult to surprise me in novels, I can see what a plot is going, which is why I am including this book in my favourites. Because although I picked it up as a bit of fluff reading two things happened when I read it. 1) I thought I had guessed the plot twist and then it hit me and I was surprised! 2) I read this book in one day. I got home from work and I read it all the way to the end, ignoring the last episode of Glee in favour of this book. That says a lot.

 

The Martian by Andy Weir - Now I read this book last year but thought it might not appeal to all so decided not to include it in my favourites, however with the release of the film I thought I should mention that you should all read the book too! It was a lot funnier than I thought it would be, you almost need to think 'Castaway' on Mars. I am super looking forward to the film but if you do get a chance to read this book, do!

Music

I have been loving summer music with several new favourites that you might like to lend an ear to.

Hungry (Nikias Ibach Remix) - Dotan just makes me want to get up and dance and sway and it makes me wish I'd gone on holiday and played this driving along a coastline.

Listen here!

Peanut Butter Jelly - Galantis is what I like to call 'a good walk to work' song. It's a little bit silly and a lotta bit catchy.

Listen here! 

Unfinished Symphony - The Six is another one of those catchy, dancey songs that I love so much. This one has been around a while but I haven't done a favourites in ages so it has been saved up!

Listen here!

We Ride - Missy Higgins. I found this song through a good old shazam on a youtube video I was watching of someone's world trip. It just provoked all sorts of emotions in me and although I normally try to avoid the slower songs because they make me sad when I only want to be happy, I don't mind with this song.

Fashion

I am quite disappointed with the fashion world right now - if there is one style I really could do without it is 70's fashion. All those browns and suede and yeah I'm not really a fan. I do however need a dress for graduation next month so I've bought the following to try (both Dorothy Perkins):

 Blush Pencil Dress - Was £38 Now £26

Lavender 50's Lace Dress - Was £75 Now £30

Home

I'm including this little beauty in here rather than in 'Books' as the books I write about tend to lean more to the fiction side. This however has taken pride of place in my house where all can see and I LOVE IT. I first found Anna Maes Mac and Cheese a couple of years ago at Glastonbury and I have been an addict ever since. Now I can actually make it their way on my own. With over 50 recipes this is one recipe book that makes me hella happy!

Beauty

I already have another one of these Bourjois lippies and I love it so much I've gone back for more. I love that it goes on like a lipgloss before settling into a matte lipstick. I find it to be quite pigmented, giving a strong colour and it wears for several hours before you need to reapply. I've gone for no 12 - Velvet this time around and I love it.

I am not a big make-up wearer. As I'm sure I've said before when I can remember my 'face' normally consists of eyeliner, mascara and some lippie. If I'm feeling really adventurous maybe some eye shadow. But I went and picked up some new bits from Boots the other day and that included a new mascara which has to be one of the best I've owned. It makes my eyelashes look so long and as it's from the 'Seventeen' brand you don't have to break the bank to buy it. Mine is in the colour Brown Black which has a slightly subtler look than just Black.

 

I hope you have all had a wonderful summer!

C x

Recipe - Coconut Macaroons

I love coconut and I love condensed milk so this recipe might just be one of my favourites. Crisp on the outside and chewy in the middle these macaroons are quick to make and keep for while (if they last that long!)

Ingredients

400g sweetened shredded coconut
200ml condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs whites
120g milk chocolate

Method to the Madness

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line two trays with baking paper.

In a medium bowl, mix together the shredded coconut, condensed milk and vanilla extract.

Separate the yolks and whites carefully!

  
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

Fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.

Using two spoons, form heaped tablespoons of the mixture into mounds on the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden and the bottoms and edges are deeply golden.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave, stopping and stirring every 30 second intervals so it doesn't burn. Dip the bottoms of the macaroons in the chocolate and return upside down to the trays.

Place the macaroons in the refrigerator for 30 minutes so the chocolate to sets then eat the whole lot with a cup of tea.

C x