Foody DIY- Homemade Sushi Ginger

At the moment we’re on a bit of a Japanese food kick. Think lots of stir fries, sushi and ramen and you get the picture.

One thing that I love to have with Japanese food, sushi or not, is pickled ginger or gari as it is often called.

I get through so much of the stuff that when a rather bemused boyfriend suggested making my own I thought it might be a good idea.

The recipe is really simple and makes a jar more than twice the size of the ones you buy in the supermarket, for less money. I worked out that it cost me around £1.60 to make my big jar of ginger so whilst it takes a little while and smells a little, it’s more than worth it.

What you will need:

250g ginger, peeled

2 teaspoons salt

120ml rice vinegar

120ml water

110g sugar

Method:

1.       Use a vegetable peeler or sharp knife to thinly slice the ginger

2.       Place the ginger in a bowl and sprinkle with the salt and mix thoroughly, making sure that all of the ginger is coated. Leave for 30 minutes for the salt to draw out the excess liquid.

3.       Transfer the ginger into a sterilised jar, squeezing out any last liquid with your hands as you do so.

4.       Heat the water, sugar and vinegar on medium until the sugar is fully dissolved before turning to high and bringing to the boil (this is the smelly part!)

5.       Once boiled, tip the vinegar mixture into the jar of ginger so that the jar is full and the ginger fully covered.

6.       Allow to cool for 30 minutes before sealing and placing in the fridge for a week to pickle.

Once the ginger has pickled, it can be kept for a month in the fridge. Over the week where it I pickling, the ginger will slowly turn a light pink which it perfectly normal, it is a reaction between the ginger and the vinegar. 

And boom, there you have it, the recipe for your own homemade gari. If you make some of your own let me know, I’d love to know what you think of it.

Annie xx

Yummy Chocolate Slab

Hello,
I hope you've all had a lovely day with your mummy. We did presents this morning then went into town and bought lots of make-up and have just finished a fabby roast dinner. Its been a special day :)
One of the gifts I gave mum was this yummy homemade chocolate slab. I love making these and they look amazing when they're done so I thought you might like the method :) They make great gifts and are always appreciated!

The ingredients are brilliantly simple.
3 100g bars of dark chocolate (I use basics chocolate because I'm cheap like that and it still tastes great, but you can use any brand)
2 100g bars of white chocolate
yummy things to put on the top. I used sour cherries, dried apricots and mammoth pecan nuts. Other good choices would be smarties, raisins, malteasers or almonds.

1. Prepare your toppings so that they're all ready to go when your chocolate is ready.

2. Melt the dark chocolate. You should really do this in a bain marie but I'm a cook that likes to cut corners so I always melt mine in the microwave. Just make sure to stir every 30 seconds.

3. Spread the chocolate in a tray lined with grease proof paper (DO NOT forget the paper, you will end up chocolate deprived as the slab will stick to the tray in a horrible manner)

4. Melt the white chocolate in the same way and use a spoon to swirl the two colours together in a pretty spiral pattern.

5. Chuck on your toppings in an artistic and visually appealing manner and then if you have any, sprinkle on a little edible glitter and chill in the fridge until set.

Voila! Pretty, no?

These are such great fun to make, and so pretty. This version cost me just over £5 to make. Where as you can buy similar slabs for £12-£15 meaning you not only make a fab, personal gift, you also save yourself money at the same time :)

What did you treat your mother to this mothers day? Have you ever made a chocolate slab?

Annie x

A Few Favourites :)

Hello,
Today has been a long day with a 9 hour shift at work. What nicer way to unwind than by coming home and escaping to the dream world created by pinterest. I love looking over my boards when I'm feeling a little run down to cheer myself up and get a little motivation back :)

Here are a few of my favourites at the moment.

1. I think this is a pretty creative way to keep all of those pesky make-up brushes and eyeliner pencils organised so that they don't magically vanish into the depths of the make-up bag.

2. I am addicted to these yummy chocolate oaty treats. I posted the recipe for them *here*

3. This pin makes me smile because every girl should have a friendship as strong as this. My very best friend is going through a lot with illness at the moment but I know that one day this will be us. I love her to pieces.

4. How gorgeous is this pink kitchen? I think pink is a great colour in the kitchen, it seems to just shout domestic goddess to me whilst inspiring me to bake scary amounts of cake :P

5. These colours are just beautiful together and I love love love them mixed with the wood of the table. This would be an excellent colour theme for a wedding.

6. This is a sound piece of advice and a mantra that I try my best to live by. I think this would be a nice quote to paint either above a wardrobe entrance or around the edge of a mirror.

Do any of you do this when you're feeling a bit low? What are your favourite pins?

You can find me *here* if you feel like a good nosy around.

Annie x

Chocolatey Loveliness!

Hi again.
I can happily say that I am finally getting over my tonsillitis and am feeling human again today! Yay!
To celebrate I dug out one of the recipes that I had stored to make on pinterest and I have to say that it is delicious!
I'm a fan of everything sweet and cookie like so I was excited to find this recipe as it fulfills my sweetness requirements but as it also contains two cups of oats, honey instead of sugar and peanut butter to hold it together, it isn't anywhere near as sinful as most recipes out there!
So here it is, a lovely, chocolatey snack bar recipe!

Ingredients:
3tbsp smooth peanut butter (could use crunchy to add extra texture)
3tbsp runny honey
25g butter
2tsp dulce de leche (optional for extra sticky, richness)
1 bag milk chocolate chips
2 cups oats
handful of dried fruit (optional)

Method:
1. Pour the peanut butter, honey, dulce de leche and butter into a microwaveable bowl and heat for 30 seconds. Stir and then heat for a further 30 seconds or until the butter has fully melted.
2. Remove and add the chocolate chips, stirring until mostly melted into the mixture.
3. Add the oats and blend in fully so all are coated in the chocolatey mixture.
4. Stir in the optional dried fruit before tipping into a tray and cooling in the fridge to set for 1 hour.
5. Enjoy :)

I can promise that these treats are definitely worth making, and because they're nice and easy. they are a great, slightly healthier choice to make with children.

Give them a go and let me know what you think :)
Annie x

Let's Get Started!

Hello there,
I was planning on kicking off the new blog by making some delicious peanut butter cups to share, but, rather typically, the OH has polished off all of the peanut butter since I last looked.
SO, instead, I spent the afternoon battling a new chocolate torte recipe I found online.
In theory, it is an easy torte to make, and it is totally delicious...however it just didn't work for me today looks wise.
I would still hugely recommend trying it out, it tastes great!...and yours might turn out actually looking like torte, not just chocolate cake :P

Ingredients:

Method:

1. First of all, pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4/180c and grease a 23cm spring form cake tin.
2. Using an electric whisk, beat together the sugar and eggs for about 5 minutes until they are of a similar consistency to an old fashioned custard.
3. Next, gently heat the butter and chocolate together over a pan of water until smooth and glossy in appearance.
4. Using a metal spoon, fold the chocolate mix into the eggs and sugar until well combined.
5. Carefully add the flour and almonds and mix well until totally combined.
6. Pour into your baking tray and cook for 35 minutes until firm and a light crust has formed across the top of the torte.
7. Leave to cool until mildly warm and turn out of tin and dust with cocoa.
8. Eat before the OH does!

I think next time I decide to do some baking I'll stick to a recipe I know! And in a few days time I will be listing the peanut butter cups that I WILL make! 

Happy baking :) Let me know if you attempt to bake the infamous torte :)...And if you have a better torte recipe please please please share.

Annie x