Summer Dessert | Eton Mess!

Hey Guys,

Now im back in the comfort of my family kitchen I thought I would bring you another recipe post as baking is something I really love. Today I fancied something fruity and sweet and all around summery and so I thought i'd quickly put together an Eton Mess! I love Eton Mess, its so quick and simple and really tasty! Normally you only use Strawberries but I threw in some Raspberries and Blueberries too because why not?! Hope you Enjoy!

Ingredients 
300ml of Whipping or Double Cream
100g Maringue Nests
1tbsp of Caster Sugar
1 tbsp of Icing Sugar 
and a few handfulls of fruit 

Method 

Start by adding your cream and both lots of sugar to a bowl and whisk until the cream is light and fluffy (be careful not to over whip, I made that mistake once!)

Next break up the meringue nests into large chunks and mix them into the cream.

Press your fruit with the back of a fork slightly to break them up and release the juice and stir them into the meringue mix and your done! 

Quick, simple and really tasty! Perfect for a summer bbq! Let me know what you guys think of this type of post, and if you'd like to see more! 

Food | Green Juice Challenge - Day 1

Hey Lovelies! 

Over the last few months i've heard so much talk about Green Juice, the benefits they bring you, the taste of them and not to mention the lovely look of them (which isn't to appetising.) Dieticians swear by them and the benefits to your energy levels, digestion, skin, blood sugar levels, liver, lungs and the list goes on.
 So after spending a few days researching I thought I would give it a go. I know some people do juice fasts and drink nothing but this, but I know i'd never stick to it, so I thought I would start by introducing the drinks once a day and see how I go. Im the worst for having my five a day and I thought this might be a good way, to get all your five a day in one. Cant hurt to try right?

I dont really have a recipe as such for the juice, i've just seen what other people put in and then mix and match my own juice. Todays juice was a definitely trial and error but now I know what it tastes like I have a better idea!

I used:

- A handful of Spinach 

- Small wedge of Cucumber 

- Small stalk of Celery *

- 1 Apple 

- 1 peach 

- A handful of grapes 

- Very small slice of lemon 

- Juice of half a lemon

- Cup of water 

* After trying this one I would definitely use a lot less celery, It ended up being one of the only things that I could taste (and not in a good way) 

I made a second one for my mum and used a lot more grapes and apple and less lemon and celery as they dominated the taste, and this was a lot better. She also made me strain out the pulp for her and it made it a lot more drinkable, I think this may be down to our blender not being that powerful though.

Judging on this second juice It was good! I mean lets be realistic, If they tasted like liquidized chocolate we would all have been drinking them for years. They aren't incredibly tasty but considering there was 6 of my 5 a day in it, it tasted pretty darn good! 

After drinking a glass of this I was shocked at how full it left me feeling, It was the first thing I 'ate/drank' this morning and sitting here at half past 3 this afternoon I've only had a slice of toast and Im still very full. Normally if i'd only consumed this must by this time I'd be feeling sluggish and even dizzy where my blood sugar levels are so low but right now I'm feeling great.

I know this is a slightly different post compared to my beauty posts but I thought seeing as im hoping this will improve my skin and well being I thought it would be a good way of documenting changes! 

Have you ever tried a juice detox? Or have any tips on recipes?

Pizza : Parma Ham, Red Pepper and Mozzarella

Hey Lovelies
 Today my mum gave me free reigns with buying and cooking dinner so do I make something uber sophisticated and healthy? Nope! Pizzaaa! I haven't made pizza from scratch in years and I loveee making bread which is a bonus! I got the original recipe from here and tweaked it slightly. Enjoy!

Ingredients 

Makes 2 Pizzas 

For The Base 

300g Strong Bread Flour 

1tsp instant yeast

1tsp salt 

1tbsp olive oil 

For The Tomato Sauce 

100ml Passata (I just use a jar of pizza topping if I can't get this)

Basil 

1 Garlic clove 

For The Topping 

125g Mozzarella 

Grated Cheese 

Handful of Cherry Tomatoes

1 slice Parma Ham per pizza

1 Red Pepper 

1 Red Onion

(Experiment with anything you have in the cupboards for different toppings)

Method 

- Preheat the oven to 240C/fan 220C /gas 8 

- Put the flour into a large bowl, then stir in the yeast and salt. Make a well, pour in 200ml warm water and the olive oil and mix together, I find it easiest with your hands until you have a soft, fairly wet dough. 

-Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 mins until smooth and set aside. You can leave the dough to rise if you like if you prefer thick crust pizza.

- Mix the passata, basil and crushed garlic together, then season to taste. Leave to stand at room temperature while you get on with shaping the base. Or if like me you couldn't get it whack out the jar of pizza topping ready! 

- If you've let the dough rise, give it a quick knead, then split into two balls. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into large circles, about the size of a pizza tray, using a rolling pin. The dough needs to be very thin as it will rise in the oven. 

- This is where the recipe got confusing so my edit is, put the baking tray/pizza trays in the oven to heat them up BEFORE you put the pizza on them, this way your base will cook completely and go nice and crispy.

- Smooth the sauce onto the bases and add your cheeses and the rest of the toppings, place onto the pre heated baking that and bake for 8-10 minutes or until nice and crispy and voila!

Thank you guys for reading, and I hope you don't mind more foodie posts! Until next time! 

Love 

Megan x 

Double Chocolate Cheesecake!

Hey Lovelies 

 Not many of you may know that along with beauty and fashion another one of my loves is cooking. I took catering during GCSE's and realised how much I loved making something out of nothing (even when it didn't turn out to great!) I loved bringing the food I made home and seeing my family and friends reaction and for a period of time I actually considered pursuing catering as a career.

 Cooking is the only time I feel completely clear and calm, the only time I think about nothing else apart from how many eggs I need, and so last night while I was sat stressed at work I decided to stop on the way home and pick up the ingredients for my go-to dessert. I love making this cheesecake, its so quick and simple and more importantly delicious, defiantly my secret indulgence and chocolate fix!

Ingredients

175g digestive biscuits 

50g butter 

300g cream cheese

200g mascarpone 

300g milk chocolate

100g dark chocolate

a little hint, using good quality chocolate with a high cocoa content really makes the dessert!

Recipe

- Start by crushing the biscuits and mixing them with the melted butter, the press the biscuit mix into a baking tin.

- Mix the cream cheese with the mascarpone in a bowl, I find using the back of a spoon the easiest way.

- Melt the milk and dark chocolate separately and fold the milk chocolate into the cream cheese mix.

- Stir in the dark chocolate until you have a marbled effect and spoon the mix into the tin.

- Leave the cheesecake to chill for two hours or over night and voila! 

Not the prettiest of deserts but by far the tastiest! 

Thank you for reading! Let me know if you guys don't mind this style of post and I promise my next post will be beauty related!

Love 

Megan

x