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I sometimes pop into my local Iceland to pick up some good quality bargains. A friend recently asked me to recommend a list of what is good to buy there. So I thought I’d share my list and if you are out shopping this weekend, why not try your local Iceland you may be surprised by what you find.

Iceland Goodies:

• Cheese
• Bread/crumpets/potato scones etc
• Frozen vegetables
• Own brand frozen pizzas (cheap, delicious & good ingredients)
• Family sized lasagna (good ingredients & great value)
• Fresh fruit & vegetables
• Free range eggs (6 for 99p, or maybe £1)
• Wine

Please leave a comment if you buy any particular items from Iceland, they could be added to my list!

I’ve been reading Jamie Oliver’s “Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook”. Since this book was given to me it’s been sporadically used, but I decide to try reading it from cover to cover to learn something new. I’m still in the process of reading it now.

So far I’ve found Jamie’s emphasis on good quality ingredients has intensified my interest in this subject. Jamie says Italians eat very well but fairly cheaply by buying expensive meat to eat a couple of times a week and great risottos, pastas, frittatas on other days to drive down the food bills. This concept could replace the idea of eating cheap mass produced bargain meat everyday, as seems to be a trend in Britain. My husband is a big meat eater and I discussed these ideas with him, what can I say, Jamie Oliver won him over! Less meat, but better quality, more expensive meat for us from now on.

In the light of all this my husband charged me with the task of finding us some good local farm shops. Boy did I do a good job! We visited Calcott Hall Farm Shop, Billericay, Essex. When we walked in we were blown away. We’ve shopped in a lot of farm shops, but this beat them all. Every shelf was packed full of the best quality vegetables, displayed beautifully, there was such a range of homemade products, a great butchery department, something for everyone and it was all competitively priced. The staff were really friendly and helpful and we can’t wait to visit again.

If you live in Essex or are visiting I urge you to try this shop out. See their website here. Maybe you have already visited this farm shop – please leave a comment, what did you think of it? What about farm shops in your area? Any recommendations?

Since I had my baby boy, I’ve become more interested in knowing the ingredients in everything I buy than ever before. George loves ice cream and I began to wonder what exactly was in ice cream. When I looked on the back of the tub from the supermarket I wasn’t too happy with the list of ingredients, preservatives and a whole bunch or other stuff that I felt sure wasn’t necessary. So, when I got home and started googling ice cream recipes I soon found out that ice cream is only a frozen egg custard with whipped cream added; simple ingredients, that although fattening, are a better option than the stuff I had been buying from the supermarket. Next, I had to find a recipe that did not require an ice cream maker, simply because I don’t have one. I finally found a recipe, not on the internet, but on my own bookshelf in Tanya Ramsay’s book Family Kitchen and adapted it to suit my tastes.

Here it is, enjoy:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 fresh vanilla pod
• 1/2 pint milk (skimmed or full fat)
• 3 egg yolks
• 4oz caster sugar
• 1/2 pint double cream
• 50g chocolate chips

Method:

1. Split vanilla pod open and place with milk into a pan, heat gently until nearly boiling.
2. Beat the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl.
3. Pour a little of the hot milk in with the egg mixture whisking quickly, slowly add the rest of the milk whisking all the time so that the eggs do not curdle.
4. Pour the egg and milk mixture back into the pan over a low heat, stir gently, but continuously, until the mixture has thickened and coats the back of a wooden spoon.
5. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely.
6. Meanwhile, whisk the cream until thick and once the egg/milk mixture is cool mix it together with the cream.
7. Remove the vanilla pod, add in the chocolate chips and stir.
8. Place in a plastic container with a lid and put in the freezer for approx 3 hours, after which take the mixture and stir well to ensure it freezes evenly (the edges will freeze first, the middle will be last, so by stirring the mixture it will replace the need for an ice cream maker).
9. Leave in the freezer over night or at least 6-8 hours – then enjoy!

Top Tip:

Since the ice cream uses only the yolk of the egg you could use the egg white to make meringues – a great accompaniment to serve with the ice cream.

On our wedding list we had a set of very expensive non-stick dishwasher proof saucepans. I cook a lot and 5 years on the frying pan in my set is not holding up so well. Recently I tried to cook a Tortilla, the spanish version of Frittata. The difference was that the tortilla required me put a plate over my frying pan turn out the nearly cooked contents and then slide it back into the pan to cook the underside. This was easier said than done and my frying pan let me down, hence the reason I have not blogged on this topic and no pictures of the finished product have appeared! It’s a shame as I cooked the recipe to the instructions of Miriam Clegg, our Deputy Prime Minister’s wife, who is Spanish and sent her recipe into the Times a couple of months ago. I thought a recipe from the Deputy PM’s wife would make an interesting blog and hope to try again soon.

Now, the reason I’m sharing this kitchen disaster is to ask for your thoughts on non-stick pans. Can anybody recommend an excellent non-stick frying pan which is also a reasonable price? Please leave your recommendations by commenting below. I look forward to your advice!

I’ve been avidly watching Jamie Oliver’s new show on channel 4. It is addictive and very eye opening. If you haven’t been watching it you can catch up on youtube here.

Just like the channel 4 show Jamie’s School Dinners, Jamie visits school canteens, but this time in America. He wants to see exactly what food kids are being served. The results from both shows are quite shocking. Pizza for breakfast – yes pizza for breakfast – you have to watch this show to believe it.

Jamie makes us realise that we all need to consider what we are eating; consider the hidden fats, sugars and salts in our shop bought convenience foods. He also emphasises how important it is to get kids involved in home cooking – luckily since I love to cook and have a teaching degree I find it easy to get my little boy involved – but Jamie’s project is great because it shows others, who may feel less confident in the kitchen, where to get started. Teaching children about basic food ingredients is one place to start and in one of the youtube clips below you can see just why it is so important.

As a Mum one of the most interesting sections of the show so far was to see how Jamie Oliver tried to show children how bad foods like chicken nuggets can be for them, and regardless they still wanted to eat them – watch the clips from the show below they will really get you thinking! Watch Jamie today channel 4 10pm.

Just a quick post for all UK readers.

The Daily Express and The Daily Star have a £5 discount voucher for shopping at Lidl. If you spend £30 or over £5 will deducted from your bill. The voucher is available in the two newspapers all next week and the voucher is valid until Sunday 3rd October 2010.

I love Lidl. I think it is great value and they sell lots of good products from the continent. Their yogurt is delicious, their olives and sun-dried tomatoes very good value, their free range eggs are 6 for 99p and I think it is the cheapest place to buy a free range chicken. I also buy all my cleaning products at Lidl too; if you haven’t shopped there before you will be surprised by how much you can save on your weekly shopping bill.

I bought a Daily Express yesterday for my voucher, it cost 70p. Look out for the voucher – happy shopping!

*If from time to time you find special offers please email [email protected], or post details on my facebook page, so I can share them with other readers.

Recently it has been all about blackberries in our household. My little boy loves them; he is surprisingly good at spotting even the smallest blackberry patch and despite the thorns he is able to pick them himself. Every walk we go on he is looking out for blackberries! I’m pleased he likes them as they are packed full of vitamin C. In fact, this blog is inspired entirely by my boy, who suggested to his Nanny and I that blackberries and ice cream would be a good idea, we were suitably impressed – 2 years old and a chef in the making. His first own contribution to my blog.

If you want to have some fruit for free use blackberries, they are growing everywhere at the moment. If you do get out and pick some here are some ideas for your blackberries:

1. Heat blackberries with a few teaspoons of water and sugar in a saucepan til soft, pour over ice cream.
2. Add berries to breakfast cereal.
3. Make blackberry jam.
4. Stew apples and blackberries in a saucepan, add custard to make delicious fruit fool.
5. Mock Trifle - this recipe of mine combines chocolate and blackberries.
6. Cook rich meat such as duck or venison and add blackberries to the pan with red wine for a delicious sauce.
7. Add berries to both plain and fruit yogurt to add some extra vitamins.
8. Use blackberries to top a pavlova.
9. Blackberries are great added to a pear or apple crumble.
10. Whiz blackberries in a blender with yogurt and milk to make a smoothie.

Marguerite born 1915 became a home economist for the Ministry of Food during World War II. She provided ideas for rationed food and became well known when her ideas were broadcast on BBC radio in a programme called Kitchen Front and a show entitled Woman’s Hour.

Following on from this she went to work at Harrods for their Ministry of Food Advice Bureau, where she worked giving demonstrations on cooking and household appliances.

Her first TV cookery show began in the late 1940s and she continued to present on television for many years. Her work started with a show called Designed for Women and continued to the 21st Century with Carlton’s show Taste.

Marguerite has written over 100 books spanning an vast range. She has written several books with recipes to benefit health such as her recent book entitled ‘Eat to Beat Arthritis’.

My brief synopsis of Marguerite and her work does not do justice to her prolific career. Many call her the first ‘celebrity chef’ and you will find her recipe books on the shelves of many grandparents. At over 90 Jamie Oliver claims Marguerite as a close friend and she worked with him on his school dinner campaign. All in all a very impressive lady!

Photography taken from The Daily Mail.

Mmmm I love avocado. Not just because it tastes great but because it is so good for you. I think there is nothing better than eating something you love and knowing, rather than it being a naughty treat like cake, you are actually eating something healthy.

Avocado is packed full of goodness. It has vitamin C, B6, E, K, magnesium, folic acid, lutein and potassium as well as other health giving properties. Here a few of the health benefits these nutrients provide:

• Maintaining healthy blood pressure.
• Good eye health in the eldery.
• Supports proper muscle function.
• Healthy skin.
• Helps produce antibodies to support our immune system.
• Provides folic acid an essential part of a pregnant woman’s diet for the healthy growth of her baby.
• Healthy source of fat.

Here is a way I like to serve avocado as a starter or lunch served with crusty bread:

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 rashes bacon, chopped into small chunks
• Handful of chopped chives
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• Black pepper
• 1 ripe avocado
• Mixed salad leaves

Method:

1. Heat oil in a frying pan, add bacon and fry until crisp.
2. Add chives, black pepper and lemon juice, stir.
3. Set saucepan aside to cool a little.
4. Remove skin and stone from avocado, slice thinly*.
5. Place mixed salad leaves on two plates, divide avocado into two portions and serve on top of salad.
6. Pour the warm dressing of oil, bacon and lemon juice over the avocado.

* This youtube video is really helpful if you’ve never chopped up an avocado before or find it fiddly.

My baby boy turns 2 this week and we threw him a party. He is totally Thomas the Tank Engine mad and so it wasn’t hard to choose a theme. I went cupcake crazy and made 40 Thomas cupcakes which went down a storm with both children and adults! They were totally delicious partly due to the vanilla sugar and partly due to the sweet cream cheese topping. I made a mixture of vanilla and chocolate cupcakes with both plain cream cheese icing and cream cheese/chocolate icing. Now how to make cupcakes Thomas themed? Well, first I found some Thomas rice paper toppers on ebay so that was easy, but I wanted to do something more. Then I found Thomas silicone ice cube trays and was able to use these to make Thomas chocolate shapes to top the cakes! Here are the pictures and the recipe:

Thomas the Tank Cupcakes Thomas the Tank Cupcakes Thomas the Tank cupcakes Thomas the Tank Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Makes roughly 20 cupcakes

• 8oz unsalted butter
• 80z sifted vanilla caster sugar (make this by storing caster sugar for several days with a vanilla pod to infuse)
• 80z sifted self-rising flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 4 large free range eggs
• 2 tsp milk
• 1 tbsp coca powder
• 1 tbsp drinking chocolate powder

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°c.
2. Make sure butter is soft and, in a large bowl, mix well with caster sugar until smooth.
3. Add half the flour, all the baking powder, and 2 eggs to the bowl, fold in gradually and gently.
4. Add the rest of the flour, eggs and milk, fold in gently.
5. Test mixture, it should drop easily from your spoon, if it is sloppy add a tbsp more flour, if it is too thick add a tsp more milk.
6. Be gently with your mixture and fold gently this will keep air in the mixture.
7. Spoon half the mixture into cupcake cases, fill each case no more than half full or they will rise too high to ice easily.
8. Gently fold cocoa powder and drinking chocolate into remaining mixture and then spoon into remaining cases, again only fill cases half full.
9. Bake cakes for anywhere between 15-25 minutes this will depend on your oven*.

*A fan oven will cook cakes more evenly and quicker, but all ovens vary and you must check your cakes after 15 minutes. Try to check the cakes through the glass of the oven door (if you have a glass front) if you open the oven too early it will change the temperature and can effect how they rise. When you think the cakes have risen open the oven and test the cakes by pushing a skewer into one, if it comes out clean without any wet mixture then they should be ready – see the photograph below for the cakes straight out of the oven.

Thomas the Tank Cupcakes Thomas the Tank Cupcakes Thomas the Tank cupcakes Thomas the Tank Cupcakes

Icing:

Ingredients:

• 500g full fat cream cheese
• 12 oz sifted icing sugar
• 100g dark or milk chocolate

Method:

1. Mix cream cheese and icing sugar well**.
2. Pipe half the icing onto a variety of chocolate and vanilla cupcakes.
3. Melt chocolate and pour into remaining icing, mix well.
4. Pipe chocolate icing onto remaining cupcakes.

** Full fat cream cheese is needed as low fat will not keep its shape when piping.

Thomas Chocolate Shapes:

To make these shapes buy silicone Thomas ice cube trays available online. Melt chocolate and pour into moulds, cover the ice cube tray with cling film and place in the freeze over night. Pop out Thomas chocolates and make another batch. Place on top of the iced cupcakes.

Cupcake Stand:

Inspired by Annies-eats.com I made my own cupcake stand. It is really easy to make and you can read all the instructions on Annie’s blog, but I made it even easier by using some old cake board instead of starting from scratch.

My beautiful boy turns 2.

Thomas the Tank Cupcakes Thomas the Tank Cupcakes Thomas the Tank cupcakes Thomas the Tank Cupcakes

Thomas the Tank Cupcakes Thomas the Tank Cupcakes Thomas the Tank cupcakes Thomas the Tank Cupcakes

Thomas the Tank Cupcakes Thomas the Tank Cupcakes Thomas the Tank cupcakes Thomas the Tank Cupcakes