GOURMET DOGGY TREATS...

Finally getting to grips with this whole baking lark and feeling particularly generous this morning, I decided to treat my gorgeous little pooch, Sookie, to her very own homemade Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits.

Hunting for a particularly scrumptious recipe and catering to Sookie's biggest weakness; PEANUT BUTTER, I found this recipe especially fitting...

WHAT YOU'll NEED:

•  128g of Plain Wholemeal Flour
•  1/2 tbsp. of Baking Powder
•  64g of Smooth Peanut Butter
•  6oz of Skimmed Milk

First pre-heat the oven to 190°C.

Next mix flour and baking powder in one small bowl and combine milk and peanut butter in separate medium bowl. 

Whisk milk and peanut butter into a smooth paste, then slowly add dry ingredients to wet and mix. 

Mix until it reaches the consistency of a soft dough.

Then dust surface in flour and roll out dough to about 1/4 of and inch think. 

Use cookie cutters to form shapes and place biscuits onto a lightly greased baking tray to cook for about 20mins until light brown. 

This could be a painful 20mins...

When done remove biscuits and leave to cool.

I cant tell you what they taste like but Sookie sure approves...

 WARNING: there'll be no going back after this...no more crumby dog biscuits, no more cheapy doggy chocs, its gourmet all the way... Because they know y'know!?

CHOCOLATE CHUNK WELSH CAKES...

Being someone who ALWAYS has a sweet tooth I found myself literally drooling after stumbling across an ingenious recipe of... Chocolate Chunk Welsh Cakes. 

Feeling particularly culinary creative this week I thought I'd give it a go and before I even really knew what I was doing I found myself stirring, mixing and rolling out my welsh cake mix... whilst making one hell of a mess might I add!

What you'll need: 
•  225g of Plain Self Raising Flour
•  125g Unsalted Butter
•  50g Caster Sugar
•  25g Chocolate Chunks
•  1 Egg
•  2 tbsp Milk
•  Pinch of Salt

Start by sifting 225g of flour and a pinch of salt into a large mixing bowl. Then add the butter and rub until the mix resembles bread crumbs. Then stir in 50f of caster sugar.



Add the chocolate chunks and make a well in the centre of the mixture to add the egg and milk. Mix well until of forms a firm dough.

Next flour the surface and rolling pin and roll mixture out until about 1cm thick. 

Using round cookie cutters cut out cakes and place on a lightly greased griddle to cook for about 2-3mins until golden brown on both sides. 

Of course, I had my own little helper...

So she got her own Doggie Cake...

A modern twist on a traditional dish... Happy Baking!

JUICY...

Don't ask me whats possessed me, but I've taken it upon myself to start the Juice Diet. With an impending trip to the States I feel it appropriate to detox and cleanse before gorging myself and filling my boots with fatty yet yummy fast food, Taco Bell being at the top of my list. 

Initially, I cannot lie, I am pretty excited, whether this feeling lasts over the next 7-10 days, we shall see. But I've done my research, some of the recipes are to die for, my juicer has arrived and I'm ready!

 On your Marks, Get Set, JUICE!

Todays Juice:

• 3 Granny Smith Green Apples

• Handful of Strawberries

•  1 Mango 

Charles Jacobs Juice Extractor (here)

Here goes nothing... Wish me luck!

Ill be sure to keep you updated on my progress but until then...

Happy Juicing! 

COOK-O-PHOBE

Anyone who knows me would know that I am by no means a fantastic cook, but luckily I have a wonderful boyfriend who is, and he's here to hold my hand throughout the whole ordeal.

I suppose I would consider myself a slight cook-o-phobe. The thought of dicing, slicing and chopping all gets me a little bit flustered, give me a makeup brush over a cleaver any day.

So, with all that said, on tonight's menu is Chicken on a bed of Refried Beans with Sweet Potato Fries. An American themed dish for all you followers across the pond, Happy 4th July!

Wish me luck!

BBQ Sauce, What you'll need: 
•  450ml water
•  100g tomato puree
•  1/2 cup cider vinegar
•  1/4 tbsp butter
•  1.1/2 small onions, sliced
•  3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
•  3 tbsp spicy mustard
•  2 tbsp honey
•  1 tsp ground garlic
•  1 beef stock cube
•  1 tsp paprika
•  2 tsp chili powder
•  salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat pan on a medium heat, add butter to melt, sliced onions and ground garlic. Sauté and leave to brown. Once brown, add beef stock and water. Stir until dissolved. Add the remaining ingredients, stir and leave to simmer for 15 minutes. Once ready, smother your grilled or pre-cooked chicken breast. 

Refried Beans, What you'll need:

• 1/2 small onion, diced

• 1 tbsp olive oil

•  450g tinned kidney beans

• grated cheddar cheese to taste

• pinch of sugar

Sauté onions in olive oil till brown. Drain kidney beans and bring to the boil in 1.2ltr of water. Once boiled drain 95% of water and add remaining beans and water to onions. Mash until desired consistency, add cheese and sugar to taste. Cook time approx. 15 minutes. 

Sweet Potato Fries, What you'll need:

• 2 tbsp of olive oil

•  2 tbsp light soy sauce

• 2 large sweet potatoes

• salt to taste

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees with baking tray. Slice potatoes to desired thickness, measure out olive oil and soy sauce into tupperware and add sweet potato. Seal and shake. Add ingredients to baking tray and leave to cook for 30-40 minutes, till crispy. 

It looked nice but it tasted even better! Dinner was a success and I may even cook more often.