A Minor Mishap

I feel so guilty.

My wonderful husband didn't bat an eyelid when he came home from work yesterday to find 'the little mess' I'd made earlier - the little mess that had actually doubled in size during the course of the afternoon after I had posted about it on my blog.

He set about taking all the hedge clippings, dead wood and other random garden debris through the side gate, up onto the raised deck, down the steps onto the lawn, over the somewhat water logged grass and finally onto an ever growing pile of similar waste waiting to be collected by a man with a trailer (I am hoping a very capacious trailer!)

The first problem was the 'through the side gate' part.

I had helpfully placed the pile onto a large tarpaulin thinking that all he would need to do would be to wrap the tarp around and tie it up to create a draggable bundle. This he did. The bundle was indeed draggable (provided you had sufficient body weight and knew how to use it). Unfortunately, the bundle was not 'pass-through-side-gate-able'. A goodly portion of the tangled mass had to be transferred into an oversize bag and taken separately to the intended destination before the remainder could be re-bundled and dragged once more.

Through the gate, up onto the raised deck and ... oh dear. Disaster struck.

The deck is in desperate need of a good pressure wash and re-oil. In its current state it can be quite slippery... and when you are not wearing the most appropriate footwear and dragging a bundle that is at least as big as you are, you might expect the possibility of a mishap. Although I did not witness the mishap, from his description of it I can report that it was a dramatic, high speed, uncontrolled backward tumble flat onto his back with resultant bang to backside and head.

He did eventually succeed in his mission to clear up my mess. He sustained  no serious damage but had a tender spot on the back of his skull and the knowledge that he was a clumsy fool.

He felt tenderness and embarrassment... and I felt guilt.

My guilt dictated that today I would steer well clear of the garden and my tendency to get carried away with the task at hand.

I baked instead. I hope that the job of 'clearing up' apple cake and cookies will be more agreeable.

A Review of the Year - one Monthly Resolution at a time

When I decided to abandon New Year's Resolutions in favour of 12 small monthly changes, I had no idea it would work so well or I'd enjoy it so much. This is a round up of the changes:

January To sort out and enjoy my haphazard collection of toiletries. I still don't make enough pamper time and I've still barely made a dent in some of those sweet smelling lotions, mousses, butters, scrubs and gels but at least I now have them organised and tempting me to open the lids and dip in rather than gathering dust, unloved and forgotten.

February Go the Extra Mile. This was a literal extra mile to build my comfortable running distance up from my usual 3 miles and it has been fantastic. I felt a huge sense of achievement when I completed my first Half Marathon  in October this year.

March Plank 40 minutes for Lent. The planking challenge was tough - really tough - but I did it and proved to myself that anything can be possible if you set your sights on it and put in the effort.

April To run with my husband. I mostly run with my daughters and I love it but running with my husband has now become something of a special time for both of us. Last weekend, we ran our local Xmas 5K fun run together in festive dress and I thoroughly enjoyed myself (especially when redeeming the free beer vouchers we were given at the finish)

Photograph by Duncan Murray

May The CHANGE It somehow seemed fitting to include the menopause in my monthly changes! Although my body is ardently hanging onto the last vestiges of fertility, I am still determined to power through and embrace the new challenges of a maturing body.

June Just Get on and Do It It is so easy to find a million reasons to not do something. I am getting very much better at ignoring those reasons. It is amazing how much you can achieve if you make the decision to just get on with it.

July Try new recipes I am really loving trying new recipes. I have perfected two of my favourite desserts - sticky toffee pudding and chocolate brownies. I have made a Dundee cake for Xmas (all gone  already) and discovered a pear crumble cake that satisfies my dad's non-sweet tooth. I even had a go at making lemon curd when I had an unexpected glut of lemons.

August Forgive myself Sometimes, despite my very best intentions, I fail. This month I failed to implement a change and in doing so, inadvertantly made possibly the biggest and most important change I have made all year - that is to forgive myself when I  get things wrong or don't live up to my own expectations.

September Read More Books The literary part of me has received much enrichment from a whole range of books - trashy novels, classics, modern literature, misery memoirs and even a bit of non fiction. It can be frustrating sometimes if the light is not bright - even with my reading glasses I can struggle to focus on the text. For those occasions, there is always the kindle loaded with the Game of Thrones series - on the embarrassingly large font setting!

October Try Something Different I loved being part of a new initiative in our town - singing in a 'pop-up' choir to co-incide with the first local arts festival - and sharing the experience with my daughters. We are on the look out for more projects to get involved with.

November Pole dancing Many years ago, my husband surprised me with a gift of a pole after I expressed an interest in pole dancing. I think he had visions of being entertained with erotic dancing and would in all likelihood be happy if I simply walked around it in high heels and skimpy lingerie. For me it was more about fitness and strength and connecting with my sensuality. I practised in private and never offered to put on a show for his benefit. I might have been more inclined to treat him to a demonstration if I'd been any good at it! I quickly realised that it is physically challenging, it hurts when you get it wrong (I have had some impressive bruises!) and I am very aware that my face contorts with concentration and the sick feeling I get if I overdo the spinning. I am certainly not the effortlessly graceful dancer I once imagined I might be!

Not one to be put off, I thought it was about time to resurrect my ambition and dedicated my November change to doing just that. I found some instructional videos on YouTube and started again from an absolute beginner's perspective.

I have learned from my running the importance of technique and posture and applied this to the pole. I broke the simplest spin down into tiny steps and worked hard to master it. I also know from my running that if you keep trying, you are bound to improve. I did improve but realised that I am a long way from where I want to be.

Following on from the success of the 2014 monthly changes I decided that my 2015 resolution could be: Learn to Pole Dance - 1 move a month for 12 months. This time next year with 12 moves in the bag, I should be performance ready!

December To have a simple lovely Christmas For this I am taking inspiration from my 6 year old daughter who wrote a Christmas planning list for me:

She seems to have it all covered!

A July Change Catchup with Vegetarian Haggis Money Bags

I have not written about the monthly resolutions that I replaced New Year Resolutions with since June. It isn't like I haven't thought about making the small monthly changes for the better or indeed making and enjoying the changes - it is simply that I have thus far failed to commit them to words. In respect of my June resolution which was to Just Get on and Do It, I shall begin to remedy that now.

Back at the beginning of the summer holidays (how far away that seems now, three days into the new term), we were visited by a friend my husband and I both knew at University. This friend has a very special place in my husband's life and we were honoured when he played the role of best man at our wedding. I always enjoy seeing him because his dry sense of humour never fails to make me laugh. I enjoy seeing him even more now since he met and fell in love with an amazing lady that, although I have only spent a small amount of time with, I adore.

They have three children between them and some interesting parenting ideas including 'technology free days' and 'try new food days'. My little ones are just as happy running round the garden inventing games as they are playing on the computer so technology bans would serve little purpose in our family. Trying new food, however, is something we could definitely benefit from. As much as I enjoy cooking (and eating) it is easy to fall into something of a rut. Churning out old favourites that I know everyone will be happy with week after week is OK I suppose, but not adventurous or exciting.

The seeds for my July resolution were sown.

At least once a week, I intend to try a new recipe or adapt an old one to (hopefully) extend the repertoire of family favourites.

I have found inspiration in the BBC's fantastically entertaining Great British Bake Off - who could not love the drama of the melted ice cream saga and the untimely departure of the Bearded Bake God Iain of the bin escapade infamy (binfamy?). I have reorganised my larder and sorted my cookbooks so I know what I have and where to find it (cupboards and drawers on the to do list). When I dine out, I do so now with a slightly analytical attitude as I ponder how to recreate anything especially good in my own kitchen.

Whilst in Edinburgh recently, I enjoyed two meals featuring the iconic Scottish savoury pudding - haggis. As a (mostly) non meat eater, I am talking about Vegetarian Haggis. Whether vegetarian haggis would have inspired the poet John Burns to pen the famous "Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face" Address is debatable, but  I LOVE it.

I have cooked Vegetarian Haggis for the family on Burns Night before but have never thought to use it in any way other than with the traditional 'neeps and tatties'. Inspired by my Scotland experience, this all changed.

First, I made Haggis Nachos. This was easy. I used Morrisons Value Tortilla Chips and put a generous layer in the bottom of individual oven proof serving dishes. On top,  I dolloped some home made salsa sauce  (fry chopped onion, green, pepper and chile pepper, add tin of chopped tomato and splash of hot chile sauce, heat to reduce). The next layer is the haggis (recipe for vegetarian haggis) and finally, top it with goats cheese. Pop it in the oven for a few minutes then garnish with soured cream and jalapenos. One of my dinner guests on this occasion did not like goats cheese so he had grated cheddar. We were all a bit jealous because it looked delicious. I wish I'd remembered to take a photo but I think I was deliberately putting photography to the back of my mind after the distress of losing all of the pictures I had taken in Edinburgh.

The second Haggis dish I attempted was more ambitious - Haggis Money Bags

I adapted my haggis recipe to make it more like the one I had sampled in Edinburgh. I used red onion (about double the quantity) and caramelised it before adding the other veg. Instead of chopped nuts I used a mixture of peanuts, cashew nuts and hazelnuts (again slightly more than the original version of the recipe) and chopped them roughly so they would add more texture. I swapped the red lentils for green ones (which, be warned, take much longer to soften). I also used less oatmeal to make a slightly sloppier consistency. Instead of cooking this in a loaf tin, I wrapped single portion servings topped with goats cheese in sheets of filo pastry. My filo pastry had been in the freezer since Xmas (I had the best of intentions to make a stunning chestnut stuffed filo wreath centrepiece but it never happened!). It had dried out quite badly and was really hard to manage. It felt less like cooking, more like doing a delicate skin graft. My 'money bags' were actually more reminiscent of mutated artichokes but as long as they held together during cooking (which they did) I wasn't too bothered.

I had intended to make a rich red wine sauce to serve with the Money Bags but life sort of got in the way and Bisto instant gravy had to suffice. No complaints. They were delicious.

Apple Cake made with Golden Syrup Sugar

For the last few months of 2013, I found myself having to economise in a way that I hadn't had to for many years. One of the changes I made in my weekly shopping basket was to avoid buying any fancy sugar - nothing but the cheapest white granulated. I used it in all my home baking and although the results were perfectly OK, I did miss the subtle flavour enhancing tastes imparted by the slightly more expensive unrefined sugars -  especially in my crumble toppings (I was making a lot of crumbles thanks to a glut of cooking apples from the tree in the garden).

Now that the purse strings have been loosened a little, I definitely think it is worth spending the extra to experiment with the whole range of sugars available. 

I was quite excited to see that Tate and Lyle had brought out a new, British inspired Golden Syrup Sugar - and even more excited to be offered a sample to try. 

As I still have apples in my larder, I decided to make an apple cake from a recipe that I have already adapted several times with good results. It is a lovely, comforting winter pud, great served hot or cold with cream, ice cream or custard. This is the recipe as I made it last night:

Apple Cake

200g SR flour ( I used the Savers budget range from Morrisons)

2tsp ground ginger

100g margarine

100g Golden Syrup Sugar

1 large egg (from my lovely hens)

8tbsp milk

1 cooking apple, peeled, cored and diced.

Extra Golden Syrup Sugar for sprinkling on top

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC

2. Mix flour and ginger together ( I didn't bother sieving)

3. Rub in the marg

4. Stir in the Golden Syrup Sugar (taking time to enjoy the smell!)

5. Add egg and milk and beat to a thick smooth batter

6. Stir in diced apple

7. Transfer to tin (I used a non stick 8" round one with removable bottom)

8. Sprinkle top with Golden Syrup Sugar (tricky because it has the consistency of wet sand) 

9. Cook until firm and golden, approx 35 mins

I was pleased with how it came out but as the saying goes - the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

I served it with cream and asked my husband for his verdict. He agreed with me that it was good but I pushed him further to see if he could identify a mystery ingredient. He took another mouthful, contemplated a while then said it tasted a bit like.... Golden Syrup!

10/10 for my husband's tastebuds and a big thumbs up for the new member of the Tate & Lyle family.

For information about the Tate & Lyle range, recipe ideas and more, visit http://www.tasteandsmile.co.uk/

A Fruity Start to Autumn

I've been really lucky this year with friends offering me fruit from their gardens. Juicy plums have been turned into pie filling for the freezer whilst my daughters made a delicious plum sponge. Apples, pears and damsons have been turned into crumbles and muffins and apple cake and yet more pie fillings. My freezer is beginning to look full of the promise of warming desserts to see us through the cold winter months.

Often, my kitchen will look like this...

...but the chickens enjoy picking over the waste before it finds its way into the compost bin.

I have a grape vine in my greenhouse and the crop of grapes this year has been the best yet.

The children aren't too keen on eating them because they are not seedless so I set about making some Grape Jelly. I found the recipe on the BBC Good Food website which is rapidly becoming my first port of call when I need inspiration. My father in law, who was staying with us at the time, kindly helped me in the kitchen and between us we made a beautiful bright red jelly with a gorgeous flavour and good set. The only disaster that we had (and it was a pretty major disaster) was that my one jar cracked when we poured the jelly in. We improvised and used a pyrex jug instead. It was the best solution at the time but it has been inconvenient not having my jug available to use and does not quite have the 'homemade jam' charm when brought to the table! On the plus side, the jelly is disappearing rapidly (delicious with scones) so my jar will be back in my cupboard soon.

I made a second batch of the jelly when I had collected some more jars. I hoped that I could save a jar to have with croissants for our Christmas day breakfast. I heated and mashed the washed fruit to release the juice and sieved it overnight through muslin.

I boiled it with Jam Sugar and lemon juice until it reached 105º on a sugar thermometer. I poured it into my jars which didn't crack this time. It had the same fantastic colour. It smelt divine. It totally refused to set!

I need my father in law back.

I may not have my Christmas day jam but I do have some rather tasty grape sauce - perfect for pouring over icecream.

Disney Cakes & Sweets

I was really happy when I was offered the chance to review the new Disney Cakes & Sweets Partwork that goes on sale September 4th. I love baking and my kids love Disney. Perfect!

I did imagine that with it being Disney, the Part work would be aimed at children. It isn't at all. It is a lavishly illustrated publication with a wealth of recipes to inspire adult bakers. The step by step instructions make even the more challenging projects seem achievable.

Each part comes with an exclusively designed Disney branded item. Part 1 includes a Mickey Mouse cookie cutter which I was keen to try out.

The cookie cutter was easy to use and I was delighted with my tray of smiling Mickeys. The children were enchanted with them just as they were so I didn't get round to icing them this time but I didn't feel daunted by the prospect. The ability to create professional looking results seemed totally within my grasp.

Unfortunately, my little boy was so excited by it all, that he managed to break my cookie cutter. I will definitely be keeping my eye open for a replacement Part 1 at the bargain introductory price of just 99p.

A Taste of Childhood

For Christmas, my mum bought me The Great British Book of Baking. It is the official book that  accompanied the BBC series The Great British Bake Off which she and I both enjoyed.

Mum bought me the book after I admired the copy she had purchased for herself - one of many recipe books that she treated herself to last year. The funny thing is that despite having an enviable collection of recipe books, she hardly ever cooks anything from them. She has her tried and tested recipes that she knows by heart and rarely deviates from them. More often these days, she lets my dad loose in the kitchen while she gets on with her latest knitting project or goes on her computer. Dad and recipes really don't mix.

So despite a wealth of ideas and inspiration at her fingertips, my mum's cooking repertoire remains small. She is very competent with what she does but feels no desire to get experimental.

The other odd thing about my mum's cooking, is her obssessive compulsion to have everything perfect. Biscuits must be regularly sized and shaped. Any that fail to meet her rigorous standards will be thrown in the bin (or given to dad to eat!). Choc chip cookies must each contain the same number and distribution of choc chips (she places them meticulously by hand to achieve this). I laugh about it with her but it really is very alien to me.

I love to cook. I especially love to try new things or tweak old recipes to give them a new twist. I do take a pride in the presentation but if it all goes wrong and looks like roadkill (which it often does), I am fine with it as long as everything is vaguely edible.

Recently I was reminded of a couple of old favourites of my mum when I came across a two hand written recipes. I remember her cooking these particular family favourites in the  kitchen of the house I grew up in. I had a go at making them myself.

Although the recipes couldn't possibly have belonged to my mum as they were metric - grams is a swear word to my strictly pounds and ounces mother - the taste and cooking smells were very nostalgic.

Of course, if my mum had made them, the jam wouldn't have been so blobby and uneven and the sultanas may just have been a little more evenly distributed!

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes for Ivy

It was my Ivy's 22nd birthday yesterday. Her boyfriend was working an evening shift so she came home for a birthday dinner with the family. Monday is one of my running nights so while I was kept busy with a 4 mile route around town, dad cooked up one of her favourite dinners - Mexican Enchiladas.

Earlier in the day, I had prepared a birthday treat of a cakey nature.

Ever since I had first heard of the idea of cooking sponge cake inside ice-cream cones and piping buttercream to give the appearance of a cornet, I have been dying to give it a go. This was my perfect opportunity. The cake mix did bubble up and over the cone which meant a lot of trimming and tidying up was necessary before the piping could begin. The plate of trimmings did not last long once a hungry Charis came home from school.

As often happens with me, time was running out when it came to the decorating. It all had to be done fairly quickly. Although I know I could have achieved a more professional finish and been more creative with toppings if time had allowed, I was quite pleased with the overall effect.

Ivy seemed happy enough with her plate of birthday cakes.

On the down side, they were very unstable being particularly top heavy. There were several toppling incidents and a couple of close misses which caused amusement rather than catastrophe.

Charis loves cake but hates wafer. We all watched with interest as she carefully peeled her dessert before eating. Perhaps I will stick to paper cases in the future!

St David's Day

I was a bit slow to realise that today was St David's Day. Living as I do close to the Welsh border, I did not want the day to pass without being commemorated in some small way. I had visions of doing arts and crafts with my little ones - painting egg boxes yellow to make daffodils - but I hadn't factored in how tired (and grumpy) Addy would be at the end of her first week back at school after half term.

I decided to abandon the daffodil project and concentrate instead on a welsh themed dinner. I found some good ideas on the BBC Good Food website but was somewhat limited by the ingredients I had available. I was unwilling to blow my weekly food budget by going out to buy extra groceries so I decided to make do with what I had.

My original meal plan for this evening was a lentil curry. I went ahead with that and also made a side dish of Welsh Onion Cake to create a Welsh/Indian fusion dining experience.

Welsh Onion Cake comprised of onions softened in butter sandwiched between layers of thinly sliced potato in a frying pan and baked in an oven. I'd never put my frying pan in the oven before but it was an all metal one and worked fine. The dish was supposed to be turned out onto a plate. Despite using a lining of greaseproof paper, a whole layer of potato (and the lining) stuck to the bottom of the pan. It all looked a bit of a sorry mess but it tasted great and went surprisingly well with the spicy lentils and rice.

The presentation of my Welsh Onion Cake was actually the least of my worries. I sliced the potatoes using a food processor and as I was removing the slicing attachment to wash up, I caught my thumb on the sharp blade. I didn't even realise I'd cut it at first, but the blood dripping from the end of my digit was difficult to ignore. My 16 year old daughter did her best to cover the wound with a combination of waterproof plaster oddments she found in the medicine cabinet but the blood just kept seeping out. My solution was to wear a latex glove to stop my bodily fluids from dripping in the dinner. It worked but it wasn't pretty.

Once the cooking was all done, I could have my cut dressed with a non-waterproof but much more effective covering

Even with the sore thumb, I really enjoyed my Welsh/Indian fusion experiment - and a bonus of my injury and non-waterproof dressing is that I can't possibly do the washing up!

Valentine Cookies, Carrots and Cenobites

I have been having a lovely time making Valentine Cookies for the family - and the positive response from everybody has certainly been enough to melt my heart.

Dylan was not so impressed with the heart shaped carrots I served him with his dinner yesterday. Just being heart shaped didn't stop them from being too yucky. Addy, on the other hand, was delighted which made my effort worthwhile.

I am feeling the romance today.

Red roses presented to me with my morning tea got the day off to a good start and we have candlelit Baked Camembert for two to look forward to as well as Red Wine, my favourite chocolates and a Valentines Social Dance. I'm not quite sure how we are going to fit it all in.

I was also surprised with a gift from my ever thoughtful friend Kirk. I was quite puzzled when a parcel was delivered. I knew I didn't have any reviews due and I hadn't ordered anything. When I opened it, all became clear - a replacement for my beloved Pinhead mask (Pinhead being the leader of the Cenobites from Clive Barker's Hellraiser).

A little poem sent on facebook read:

Roses are red
Violets are blue
A Valentine Pinhead 
Just for you xxxx

I can't stop smiling!

A Perfectly Lovely Few Days

One of the best things about having a busy schedule is taking a moment to look back at everything you have achieved and realising that if you can do all that in a few days, the possibilities for the next few years are limitless. I'm having one of those moments right now with my cup of coffee and keyboard and feeling very optimistic for the rapidly approaching new year.

Last Friday was my little Addy's school Winter Fayre. I had volunteered to run a 'Decorate a Cake' stall to keep the children entertained as well as making biscuits to serve with mulled wine as an alternative to  the more traditional mince pies on the refreshment stall. I love baking and I particularly love baking on a grand scale, usually for party food or in this case for a fundraiser. I baked four batches of butter biscuits cut in Xmas shapes and then set about the task of embellishing them with icing.

I had just finished decorating Xmas tree biscuits with royal icing (green food colouring producing a disappointingly insipid shade) using an 'outline and flood' technique and topped with a sprinkling of white glitter sugar when the doorbell rang. It was the postman delivering my latest issues of the Cake Decorating part work I subscribe to which included a Xmas Special. It couldn't have been more perfect timing. I used the snowflake cutters providedto emboss discs of ready roll icing to top circular biscuits and did something similar with star shaped ones. Leftover ready roll icing was perfect for transforming snowman shaped biscuits into proper little snowmen. I also had a go at cutting out delicate snowflake shapes using sugar paste. It was fiddly but effective and could well be used again when the time comes to decorate this year's Christmas cake.

I was pleased enough with my biscuits and although transporting them to the school was a bit nerve wracking (a gust of wind blew the cling film right off one tray), the job was done and another box on my to do list could be ticked.

How much money the Winter Fayre raised has not yet been released but I had the feeling that it was not well supported by parents. A lot of effort had been put in to make a successful event but without the people attending to spend their money, it would all be in vain. My 'Decorate a Cake' stall did very little business because there simply wasn't the steady flow of young people I'd hoped for, keen to roll their sleeves up and drizzle icing and sprinkles in imaginative ways. I am not blameless. My own children stayed at home because they were tired by the end of the week and I knew we had an early start the next day to pay a Xmas visit to the grandparents in Brighton.

As I left the Fayre (in a hurry as I still had packing to do), the lovely 'burger van man' gave me a bag full of unsold veggie sausages and burgers to take home. I enjoyed a little snack on my drive home and handed out warm, meaty(ish) goodies to the family on my return. The 'family' numbers were swelled on account of Taylor being home from Uni for the Xmas break. It was a joy to see her looking healthy, happy and confident after completing the milestone of her first term

I always love going to Brighton. It is where my husband grew up so has special meaning for him. It is where my older sister settled and holds many memories for me of her life and death. And it is where my husband's parents live still.

Addy was especially excited about seeing her grandparents and the promise of staying in a hotel.

A four year old's vision of a "ho-tayal"

My mother in law had a terrible health scare recently which resulted in the need for surgery on her heart so it was a wonderful surprise to see her looking fantastically well. Well enough to have gone dancing with her husband and well enough to have made a raspberry trifle for our tea. My mother in law's raspberry trifle is one of my absolutely most favourite things.

The hotel did not disappoint Addy and I thoroughly enjoyed cheering for James Arthur in the X Factor final on the telly from the huge, comfy bed with a pint of beer bought up from the bar.

It would be a shame to go all the way to the south coast and not visit the beach. We wrapped up warm and took the children for a walk along the seafront. It was cold but the sun came out - bracing and glorious. Unfortunately, Addy got a little too adventurous with the breaking waves and as King Canute could have told her, that will never end well. Soggy shoes, socks and trousers removed, she was wrapped in a warm blanket ready for the long journey home.

Borrowing one of Addy's hats and using hubby as a windbreak to keep warm

Hadn't realised I'd dressed Dylan as a mini dad!

Moments before Addy's soaking

The icing on the cake of a perfectly lovely few days was watching James Arthur win X factor 2012, back home in front of a blazing fire.

Garden Fresh

Chit Chat

Cake Decorating

Earlier this year I blogged about my love hate relationship with Part Works.

There is a new Part Work out now entitled Cake Decorating. I saw the advert for it on the telly and wanted it badly. The next day, I handed my 99p to the lady behind the counter at WH Smiths and became the proud owner of Part 1, complete with butterfly cutters, pink sparkle glitter (non toxic but not recommended for consumption!) and a cardboard, two tiered cupcake stand.

I have pored over the pages of the magazine so many times already that it is starting to look a little tatty. Recipes, clear instructions, advice, tips - it makes everything look so do-able ... stunning cakes within my grasp.

The lavishly illustrated pages are practically pornographic in their explicitness (that really is how carried away I get about cakes).

I love baking cakes and have always dabbled in cake decorating. Although I have made some memorable attempts, my skill never quite matches my enthusiasm or vision. I was starting to convince myself that subscribing to the new Part Work might be the equivalent of taking a course in cake decorating. I could hone my skills to a professional level and be in great demand whenever there was an occasion that warranted a centre piece of a sweet and edible nature. I imagined all the Birthdays, Anniversaries, Graduations, Weddings, Births, Christenings and more that would be in my near future and saw myself providing spectacular creations that would be greeted with the oohs and aahs of appreciation. I really shouldn't let my imagination wander off like that!

I was very close to subscribing there and then.

However, I have an invisible companion that sits on my shoulder. I am undecided whether it is more aligned with demon or angel but it does NOT like me to spend money on myself. I am getting much better at silencing it but it still whispers in my ear. Part Works add up to a ridiculous amount of money over the weeks and months. Could I really justify that expense? Would I even gain any benefit? Were my dreams of becoming a cake maker in demand simply fantasies that had no foundation in reality?

There was one way to put all of these doubts to rest and that was to have a go at making some of the treats featured.

I had a really good time making iced butterfly butter cookies and white choc chip cupcakes decorated with buttercream and carefully crafted, sparkly, flower paste butterflies. It didn't feel like cooking, it felt like making art. I was quite proud of the results for a first attempt and I did learn a lot from my mistakes - mostly in terms of the importance of getting the correct icing consistency for different applications and having the right food colourings. The kids were very happy with my efforts and enjoyed the taste testing.

My little ones wanted to get involved  so I did let them have a go too which was lovely.

My older girls are very supportive of me subscribing - I am guessing that the idea of a different baking project every week would influence them quite strongly! Even my mum gave me the words of encouragement "Go for it!"

I shall sleep on it but don't be surprised if the QWERTY Mum blog starts to feature a lot more in the way of decorated fancies.

Britain in a Day

The Britain in a Day project invited everybody across the country to upload a video to their You Tube channel of whatever they happened to be doing on 12 November 2011 to create a snapshot of life in the UK today. As making videos of my family is something I love to do, it seemed like a perfect opportunity for me.

We had a bonfire party planned for the 12th November and media student, Ivy, was home from Uni for it so she was available to help with filming the footage.

I always enjoy preparing for parties. It was lovely spending time cooking and getting the house ready. My eldest daughter's fireman boyfriend and his friend were our pyro-technicians and arrived with impressive armfuls of fireworks shortly after it began to get dark.

This has become something of a tradition for us. They provide the fireworks and I provide the food and venue. Each year, they find new ways to improve their "letting off" technique to give the best possible display. Whether it was the blow torch or simply the new firework supplier I don't know but they completely surpassed themselves this year with a display so spectacular it sent my two little ones running for cover! I am glad I had contributed  a few 'gentle' fireworks and some sparklers more appropriate for those fearful of the big explosions.

My scorched lawn bears testament to the power of the rockets that were sent skyward but I am sure the grass will recover and the blackened circles will fade much quicker than my memories, which thanks to the video can last indefinitely.

I have had to edit some of the soundtrack of my final video before submission so that it did not include any music (didn't think of that when my girls put on their 'bonfire playlist' halfway through filming!) It was a bit of a fiddle but totally worth it to be part of a such an ambitious social record.

Baked Camembert

Some time ago, I went out for a romantic meal with my husband. For our starter, we chose a shared Baked Camembert with Red Onion Marmalade and freshly baked bread. This is something that we have tried making at home since I had it as a main course (rather rebelliously when I was pregnant) at a restaurant that my in-laws sometimes take us to in Sussex.

The presentation of the starter when it was brought out to us on our table for two was something that elevated it way beyond the home effort that we had thus far accomplished. I made mental notes and at the first opportunity, tried to recreate it in my own kitchen. I didn't quite have the rustic wooden board that the restaurant had used to serve the starter but I did the best with what I had.

It was so easy and felt so special that it is definitely up there on my top 10 favourite treats.

This was how I did it.

1. Take one Camembert, some Red Onion Chutney, Part Baked Baguettes and chives (from the garden)

2. Score crisscrosses into the skin of the camembert with a sharp knife and place it back into the wooden lid.

 3. Place the cheese on a stoneware baking sheet and bake for 10mins in a preheated oven (220 ºC). Put the part baked bread on the baking sheet and cook for a further 7 - 10 minutes.

4. Slice the hot bread, garnish cheese with chopped chives and serve with chutney.

5. Enjoy. (Obviously, this cries out for a glass of wine to accompany it!)