Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake - Recipe

Ingredients 

50g poppy seeds 

185ml warm milk 

220g caster sugar 

3 eggs 

300g self-raising flour 

200g unsalted butter, softened 

1 lemon, rind grated, juiced 

300g icing sugar

Method to the madness

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grab a loaf pan and lightly grease.

Combine the poppy seeds and milk in a bowl and set aside for 15 minutes.

Add all the ingredients to an electric mixer. Beat on high for 5 minutes until the mixture is pale and thick. 

Pour into your greased pan

Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Turn onto a wire rack to cool.

  

Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter and place in a bowl with the icing sugar and lemon juice. Beat with an electric beater until smooth, then drizzle over the cake.

Enjoy with a cup of tea!

 xxx

Mexican Pork and Beans - Recipe

Ingredients

Tin of mixed beans in tomato sauce

600g (21oz) diced pork

1 courgette

Handful of mushrooms

1 onion, diced

1 pepper

2tsp Worcestershire sauce

½tsp chilli powder

1 garlic clove, crushed

1tsp sweet chilli sauce

60g (2oz) barbecue sauce

1ltr boiled water

Method to the madness

Chop up all your vegetables and then place into a large saucepan with the beans, 1litre water, the pork, onion, Worcestershire sauce, garlic , sweet chilli sauce and chilli powder  (I also had some left over fajita spice so I chucked that in as well).

Bring to boil then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour until the mixture has started to thicken. I broke up the pieces of diced pork, by using 2 forks to roughly pull the pieces into shreds (although this might have worked better if I’d left it in a bit longer). Add the barbecue sauce, mix well and cook for a further 10 minutes.

For dinner last night I served this with brown rice, a sprinkle of cheese and a splodge of guacamole and crème fraîche, but there was enough left over for lunch so I put the pork and bean mixture, guac and crème fraîche into a tortilla wrap and reheated at work.

I literally don’t think I have the words to describe how incredibly tasty this recipe is. I think it’s definitely going to be a meal time staple. You must try this! 

Trust me - it tastes better than it looks! 

xxx