Valentine's Gifts

It has been so nice to have a weekend that has been relaxing! I bought two books this afternoon and I intend to curl up in the reading nook and get stuck into one of them this evening whilst Matt is out playing a gig tonight.

Last weekend, however, was another story. It's a tradition in my house to always make some sort of treat when it's an occasion, and Valentine's is no exception. This year Matthew cooked a delicious 3 course meal and as he was in charge of the food, I didn't have to worry about it and could focus all my energy on treats for the office - and boy did it need energy.

My first attempt was a pathetic failure. My idea of making pink marshmallow rice krispie cakes seemed so simple! But the marshmallow mixture was such a sticky mess that I could not cut them into a heart shape (as I desperately wished). So on to attempt number 2: chocolate rice krispie cakes. These wouldn't be sticky, right? And I'd seen so many tutorials online about how easy it was to cut them out with a cookie cutter - surely they wouldn't lie to me?

Wrong.

Once hardened, the cakes just broke apart. Far too delicate for me to give as gifts and I wasn't risking them crumbling over everyone in the office. I tried it many different ways - cutting them out (broke apart) packing them into cookie cutters and then pushing them out (broke apart) and pushing them out of the cutter at the perfect temperature (worked! yippee!! - but blatantly not spending all that time and effort ensuring the perfect temperature for over 40 cakes).

This is the only heart I managed to create. The heart in the cutter broke. Bummer.

So I had to get my thinking cap on. By the time I'd completed my two disasters it was Saturday evening and I had to think of something that I knew would work - something I was confident making. But cakes and biscuits were out of the question. Since going gluten-free, I haven't yet perfected baking where I'd be happy to give the end result to other people. I'm still learning, and I wanted to be able to hand out a little treat that I knew they'd enjoy. Especially as the Christmas Puddini Bonbons went down so well at Christmas.. I needed to keep me reputation up high!

And finally, it hit me. The chocolate florentines! I'd been making these almost every week and could easily whip up some more. Not only are they really cheap to make and naturally gluten free (which is by all means a good thing when giving food to people who aren't coeliac) but they easily cut into heart shapes! (I knew this as I had a batch in my fridge at the time and tested it out - perfect.)

I set to work making the florentines and added a couple of drops of red food coloring to the mixture to get a pinkish tone. Popped them in the oven, the freezer to let them cool down a bit, and started to cut them out. I made two batches in total - enough to make just over 20 large and 20 small hearts.

They were so cute.

But the task wasn't over. I couldn't just take them in in a tin. Oh no - I needed to take them in in a wicker basket, all wrapped up with ribbon. So I spent Sunday evening on the floor surrounded by cellophane and pink ribbon. But it was worth it.

Aren't they adorable? And the basket was almost as exciting as the finished treats themselves! I spray painted this bad boy a couple of weeks ago and it was so perfect for this occasion. I'm thinking of buying a few more to decorate, as they only cost £4 and make all the difference when it comes to presenting gifts.

Everyone at work loved them. Some asked for more (always nice to hear!) and other's took them home to their girlfriends as an extra present (though how they'd pass them off as their own is beyond me, as we obviously don't have a cooker in the office).

But it was great to be able to put a smile on their faces. That's why I do it - sure I like making things, but I like to see the happiness it can bring when others realise that there are people in the world who like doing nice things.

Banoffee Pie

When guests are coming over, I always like to have a little something ready for them to eat. Sometimes this means I'm up early on a Sunday morning, baking banana bread so it's fresh out of the oven by the time they arrive. Other times it means creating a buffet-style lunch, and in Winter I like to make soups.

But sometimes I don't have the time to get busy in the kitchen. Either because I have too much to do, or it's an almost unexpected arrival and I've not been able to get to the shops to get the ingredients I need. In these cases, I have a very quick and easy Banoffee Pie to make.

Melt 100g butter in a pan. While the butter is melting, put 250g digestive biscuits into a food processor and and blend until finely crushed (note: you can also do this by putting the biscuits into a plastic food bag and crushing them with a rolling pin).

Add the biscuits to the butter and stir until evenly mixed. Put the mixture into a (greased) loose bottomed cake tin and with the back of a spoon, evenly spread out the mixture and create a crust along the sides. Sit in the fridge for about 20 minutes while the mixture firms up, and get started on your whipped cream!

Whip double (or whipping) cream with an electric whisk and fold in some chopped bananas. Once the base is set, remove from the tin, add a 397g tin of carnation caramel (this is for super time saving - for super penny-saving, get a tin of condensed milk and turn to caramel by boiling for 2 hours or so - follow instructions on tin) and top with the whipped cream and banana mixture.

Dust with cocoa powder and leave in the fridge until guests are ready to be treated!

While not the best Banoffee Pie to have ever been made in the history of Banoffee Pies, it's pretty damn tasty! And credit where credit's due, Matthew's friend regularly goes to the restaurant where the Banoffee Pie was created, The Hungry Monk, here in East Sussex, and he said that my pie was very good!

The best thing about this recipe is that it can be made from things already in the house. Biscuits? In the cupboard. Cream? Generally always in the fridge to be used in some form of pasta dish or with cake. Bananas? Yep, nearly always have those, too! And who doesn't have butter?? Just keep some Condensed Milk or Caramel in your store cupboard and you'll be ready to go whenever you hear that guests are popping around to visit.

Who needs to know it barely cost a thing and took you no time at all? Don't let them in on the secret!

Serving Ware

I love dishes. And bowls. And glasses. And cake stands.

Number 1 reason is because they look so pretty! But the second reason is because they hide the packaging.

I don't like packaging. I don't like handing out bags of crisps to guests and getting them to dip their tortilla chips into a plastic pot of guacamole.

Serving ware is the ultimate way of making something that is cheap look presentable and thought out. I think a nice tray is a great investment - especially if your kitchen and livingroom isn't open plan. Imagine how nice it would be for you if you went to a friends house, and instead of her holding a bottle of wine under one arm and wine glass stems between all fingers, she walked in with a tray full of glasses poured and ready to drink. It costs about a fiver and makes a great impression for your guests, time and time again.

Pancake Day Party