Valentines Peppermint Creams

 

I vividly remember the taste of peppermint creams as a child. Super sharp mint with the soft, sweet icing sugar. I've been craving them for a while but couldn't get my hands on a vegan version.

Valentine's day seemed like the perfect opportunity to have a little experiment and I've managed to make the cutest marble effect peppermint hearts. I'm super happy with these and they were so easy! I don't own a weighing scale so all my measurements are in cups or spoons. There's plenty of conversion websites online if you're a grams kinda person.

I'm not going to pretend the marble effect was for anything other than looking cool on instagram but I think it gives my favourite 90's treat a cool 2018 vibe. 

Recipe:

1 cup of icing sugar sieved

1 and a half tablespoons of dairy free butter (I used flora)

Half a teaspoon of American peppermint extract 

2 drops of vegan friendly pink food colouring

• Melt the butter and mix in a bowl with the icing sugar and peppermint extract until it starts to come together to form a dough
• Add a tiny drop of food colouring and continue to mix in a figure of 8 motion
• Add the rest of the food colouring when required
• The trick to getting the marble effect is to add the food colouring sparingly and stop mixing before the entire mixture turns pink
• Once happy you're happy with your pattern, use a rolling pin to roll the mixture until it's about 1cm thick and cut with your cutest heart cookie cutters

Leave in an air tight container to set overnight or eat the right away if you just can't wait. 

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Lucy xo

Recipe: Oreo Popcorn

Oreo Popcorn is the most simple snack to make and is always a crowd pleaser. If you're having a movie night or just need to use up some left over goodies you need to try this.

Start by crushing the Oreo biscuits using the end of a rolling pin (or something similar). I like to crush them into big chunks of similar size to a popcorn kernel. Pop them in a bowl with some melted chocolate and throw your popcorn in there too. All you need to do now is mix it all together. The melted chocolate helps coat the popcorn in Oreo pieces so if you need more just keep adding to the mixture until you have an even distribution.

Okay.. the ultimate Popcorn question - salty or sweet?

ox Lucy

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Halloween Popcorn

Halloween is almost upon us so I've made the perfect treat for a scary movie night in.

I picked up some of Butterkist's limited edition green popcorn for only £1 in Tesco and decided to make some treat cones. To be honnest I think the green popcorn could easily be mistaken as sprouts but for me they're scarier than any ghosts and ghouls so I just went for it. I found some Halloween sprinkles in B&M bargains and bought some Reese's Pieces for no other reason than the colours worked well. I bought some chocolate chips in Poundland with the intention of melting them and incorporating all the ingredients together but turns out it was terrible to melt- won't be trying that again!

I simply layered up all the goodies, starting with the halloween sprinkles. There are ghosts, bats and little orange pumpkins. They're super cute. I decided not to use the orange sprinkles but they'd definitely work well. I only used the orange and yellow Reese's Pieces so I could eat the brown ones right away to stick with the theme and then topped up the bag with the popcorn.

These little cones will make the perfect sidekick for a scary movie marathon or if you want to go that extra mile for your tick or treaters this year. I'll be eating mine whilst watching Scream Queens - I'm not one for super scary!

I hope you have a great halloween!

ox Lucy 

Recipe | Nutella hot chocolate

When I posted this photo on my instagram this week it received a fair few likes so here's how I made it and how you can too.

It might be March but the weatherman must be stuck way back in January where I live. So far this week we've had rain, hail and snow leaving me feeling pretty chilly at the end of the day. One of my favourite ways to cheer myself up after a cold walk home from the station is with a large mug of Nutella hot chocolate. 

I'm putting a disclaimer out there right now and saying the word 'recipe' is a slight exaggeration, suggesting there's something complicated about this when it's far from it. The only two ingredients you need are a glass of milk and your trusty jar of Nutella. Warm the milk in a saucepan on a medium to high heat but be careful not to let it boil. Give it a whisk every now and then to distribute the heat and once it begins to bubble turn the heat down to a simmer. 

Now comes the fun part. Add a tablespoon or two.. or even three of Nutella and whisk into the milk until completely dissolved give it a little taste test to see if it's as chocolatey as you like it before pouring it into your mug and supping away on one of the best hot chocolates to pass your lips. Of course this is the basic recipe and I'd highly recommend experimenting with additions such as cinnamon, peppermint and obviously throwing a handful of marshmallows on top.

Have a great weekend!
ox Lucy 

Six Weeks To Summer: #2 Detox Water

I've seen detox water recipes all over Pinterest lately and after binging on BBQ food and fry ups over the Bank Holiday weekend I thought it was time to cleanse my body of all the badness before starting my healthy eating regime on the run up to my holiday in 5 weeks.

I've played around with a few ingredients over the last few days but the combination that tastes best to me is lemon, mint and cucumber. I'd go as far as saying it makes water even more refreshing if that is at all possible and I just can't get enough.

Slice the lemon making sure to remove and seeds, you don't wanna be gulping those bad boys. Wash the mint leaves and thinly slice the cucumber. I like to slice in length ways but there's no real reason for this apart from I think it looks prettier. As for portions I tend to go for 3-4 slices of lemon and cucumber with a handful of mint then once they're in the cup I fill it up with water.

So how can you benefit? We all know lemon is good for us, it's the juice that aides digestion. Cucumber gets rid of those nasty toxins in our liver and kidneys whilst mint does a little bit of both as well as helping with lady cramps which for me is just a massive bonus.

Lots of people seem to leave the water to infuse overnight but I've been making mine first thing in the morning and start drinking it around lunch time. I refill with fresh water and ice up to three times throughout the day - anymore and the mint really doesn't taste so good and all the goodness will be gone by then anyway.

I'm really enjoying detox water, it's a great way to add some nutrients into your diet and a tasty way of making sure lots of water is consumed throughout the day. Have you tried detox water before? If so, what are your favourite ingredients? I'd love some new ideas.

Lucy ox

This is the second in my 'Six Weeks to Summer' series, you can view the first here.

Thai Red Curry Prawn Wrap

I absolutely love this recipe, it can be adapted depending on how much spice you prefer and is so quick and cheap to make. I often have it for lunch but sometimes substitute the wrap for rice and have it for my evening meal. Here's what you'll need to make it:

• Garlic clove
• Spring onions
• Thai curry paste
• Prawns (if frozen, thoroughly thaw fist)
• Coconut milk
• Fish sauce
• Mixed veg (I use a stir fry mix from Tesco that includes red cabbage, Sugarsnap peas, carrots and tender stem broccoli 
• Tortilla

On a medium heat sauté a crushed garlic clove and a handful of chopped spring onions in a wok or frying pan.

Once softened add a heaped teaspoon of thai curry paste and stir. I always use red but if you prefer something less spicy then green will work just as well.

Add the prawns, I find 6-8 are enough but that depends on the size so use your culinary instinct and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until the prawns are cooked.

Two tablespoons of coconut milk is now added and can be used to reduce the heat of the curry paste. At this point, a teaspoon of fish sauce with it, throw in your mixed veg and let it simmer on a low heat until they're tender.

In the meantime, heat the tortilla in the oven or microwave.

When it's ready, plonk the curry onto the tortilla, wrap it up in such a manner that will prevent fall out and gobble it down.

I usually put some fresh spinach in the tortilla before folding it but that's just because my idol is Popeye.

Lucy ox

Everyday I'm crumblin'

Comfort food is undoubtably a favourite at this time of year and what's better than an apple crumble for dessert.

Ingredients:

• 3 Cooking apples
• 75g Butter
• 100g Sugar
• 150g Plain flour
• 1tsp Cinnamon 

Mix the sugar, flour and cinnamon in bowl then add the butter. I find it easier to chop the butter into smallish cubes.

Use your fingers to gently rub all the ingredients together, making sure you do so evenly until it resembles a fine crumb like texture with no big lumps of butter.

Next, peel and core the apples before cutting them into cubes.

Saute the apples in a frying pan with a teaspoon of sugar. Stir occasionally until the apple cubes start to soften.

Transfer to an oven proof dish and sprinkle on your crumble topping.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180ºC for 30 minutes or until it turns a lovely golden brown.

What are your favourite comfort bakes for winter?

Lucy ox

Lazy Sunday

If I had my way, every Sunday would be a lazy one, filled with food, music and films.

My ideal Sunday brunch meal is pancakes. My topping of choice? Banana, peanut butter and honey. Lately I've been using this recipe from Sophie Jane and the end result has been perfect pancakes every time.

When I'm relaxing I like to listen to mostly acoustic music and I'm a sucker for acoustic cover versions of song I'd usually boogie on the dance floor to. The way an artist puts their own stamp on somebody else's song but with the familiarity of the tune you love.. perfect. Here's my Lazy Sunday playlist for today

Finally, I like to spend the afternoon watching movies, usually comedies or rom coms. Sunday afternoon is not the time for thrillers or action films, I like to let my brain take a bit of a break. Naturally, at this time of year I'm watching Christmas movies, not your classics like Elf or The Grinch (far too soon) but all those terribly cheesey films channel 5 shows that make you cringe but still give you that festive feeling. I began watching A Boyfriend for Christmas, next up is Noel and then Annie Claus is Coming to Town... yeah, I've not heard of them either.

How are you spending your Sunday? What's your ideal Sunday brunch?

Love Lucy ox