DIY - Heart Bracelet

Home made bracelets are always much more beautiful than ones you can buy, but often the simple beaded ones can get a bit boring. I'm going to teach a way of creating a cute pattern on a bracelet using only 2 threads.

For this bracelet, you will need 8 strands of thread, all 25inches long. You will need 4 of them to be one colour, and the other 4 to be another colour. I chose pink and blue.

First, cut your threads to length, tie them together with a 3 inch tail, and arrange the strands as they are in the picture below. 

This pattern is made up of 4 rows; 2 normal, then 2 special. The normal rows use the same colour all the way across. The special rows start with one stitch in one colour, then use the other colour for the rest of the row.

This is how you create a stitch.

Begin with a normal row of red. To do this, tie the end reds to the blues next to them, and keep working you way in. Then tie the 2 red strands together. This shown below.

Next, do the same with the outer blue strands.

 

For the special rows, tie the second outer most strands to the outer strands, then tie the new 2nd most outer strands inwards. So for the third row, tie the outer blues to the outer pinks, then tie those pink strands to the other strands until they meet. Then, connect the pink strands in the middle.

Repeat the last step using opposite colours.

Continue repeating those 4 rows (shown below on a basic diagram) , and you will begin to notice your heart pattern emerging.

Basic diagram

Smoothie Sunday- Orange and Ginger

So after baking the ginger cake for my Grandma yesterday, I actually have a lot of ginger left over. I located an Innocent smoothie recipe book on our bookshelves, and decided to experiment. Kitchen science time. 

Using inspiration from the book, and bearing in mind which ingredients they paired together, I came up with a combination I wanted to try. This smoothie involved orange, ginger, honey and cucumber. Orange is a great base for a smoothie as it pairs with pretty much anything, and is a great source of vitamin C. I added the ginger as we currently have plenty of this around, and then I added honey to sweeten things up. I always add cucumber as my last ingredient to smoothies, simply because it's flavour usually gets drowned out by the other ingredients, so it's extra vitamins that you can't even taste- perfect!

So I tried my new invention and loved it! It has a very earthy taste- the perfect combo of fruity and spicy! The sweetness of the honey compliments the spiciness of the ginger, and creates a beautiful flavour for any time of day!

This recipe really doesn't involve much time or effort! It's quick to whip up, and quick to clear away; perfect for a school morning!

Ingredients-

✢ 1 orange (the larger the better)

✢ 1 glass of orange juice (to thin it out)

✢ 1 ball of stem ginger (if you are unsure, start with less & gradually add more)

✢ 1 or 2tbsp of honey (to your taste)

✢ 2inches of cucumber (rind and all)

Equipment-

✢ Blender

✢ Sieve

✢ Knife

✢ Glass

To make your smoothie, first remove the rind from your orange and chop your cucumber to size. Then-
Blend, sieve, drink!
That's it!

The sieving part isn't vital, but if you're like me and you blended the orange without removing the pith and segment skin, you might find it a bit more pleasant after sieving.

Hope you enjoy your smoothie!

BAKE - Ginger Cake

So, my whole family are really into their spices; spice can liven up any meal or cake, so why wait until Christmas? So as my Grandma is over for her birthday, I figured why not bake her a nice ginger cake? I'm going to share my favourite recipe with you for the traditional ginger cake. This recipe involves a lot of ingredients and steps, but as long as you have everything ready, it's really not diffucult! Plus, it's worth all the time and effort- this cake is gorgeously spongey and moist, with a slightly crisp, chewy top.

Portions: 10        

Approximate Overall Time: 1 1/2 - 2 hours

❀ Ingredients ❀

For the cake:

✧ 225g self-raising flour

✧ 100g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing 

✧ 2tsp ground ginger

✧ 1tsp bicarbonate of soda

✧ 1/2tsp ground cinnamon

✧ 100g golden syrup

✧ 100g black treacle

✧ 100g light brown soft sugar

✧ 50g stem dinger (diced)

✧ 2 medium eggs

✧ 200ml milk

For the icing:

✧ 2tbsp ginger syrup (from the stem ginger jar) 

✧ 100g icing sugar

✧ 2tbsp boiling water

How to make your ginger cake-

1  Preheat the oven to 180°c, fan 160°c, gas mark 4. Grease a     square 20cm cake tin and/or line with baking paper. I lined the base and greased the edges, and found it worked brilliantly.

2  Using a food processor, combine the flour, butter, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and cinnamon until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. It shouldn't take long, so don't leave it on for too long as the butter could heat up and melt slightly. This wouldn't be a major issue, but you could end up with a doughy mixture and find it harder to use later on.

3  In a medium sized pan, place the syrup, treacle, sugar, and stem ginger. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved (this could take about 5-10minutes), then cook on a high heat for 1 minute then remove immediately. During that minute, small bubbles should be appearing at the surface.

4  Beat the milk into the syrup mixture. It might make a bit of a roaring noise as it will be very hot, just make sure to keep the mixture moving until it is combined. Leave the mixture to cool for a couple of minutes (stirring occasionally), then beat in the eggs one at a time. The mixture will still be very hot, so as soon as one egg is in, beat quickly and get it thoroughly combined, as the eggs might cook if they are left to sit on top of the mixture. Next, stir in the flour and butter mixture (make sure there are no streaks of flour visible). Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes.

5  When the cake is ready, remove from the oven and leave to cool on a cooling rack. When cool, pierce all over with a thin skewer so that the icing can soak into the cake later on.

6  Whilst the cake is cooling, it's time to prepare the icing.  To make the icing, combine the hot water, ginger syrup and icing sugar in a relatively small bowl. Once the cake has fully cooled, remove from the tin, and drizzle the icing over. I didn't use all of the icing, but if you want to cover the cake completely then use it all. Keep in mind that the icing will dry partly clear, so if you drizzle it in a specific pattern, it might not be visible. 

Rose made of stem ginger and fondant icing.

Per serving: 

337 calories, 10.1g fat, 5.5g sat fat, 39.5g total sugars, 0.7g salt.

COOK - Fried Egg Slice

So school is fast approaching, and that means hurried mornings of simple, boring breakfasts. I spent my holidays making myself pancakes or French toast for my breakfast, and so returning to a simple bowl of Wheetabix is going to feel a bit lifeless.
I've got a quick and delicious way to spice up a simple slice of toast in just 5 minutes. The bread is a great source of carbohydrate to give you energy for the upcoming day, plus the egg provides protein that will strengthen and repair your muscles.

You will need-
☀1 egg
☀1 slice of toast
☀Oil/butter
☀Frying Pan

How to make your Fried Egg Slice-
1) Place the frying pan over the heat (hob, AGA), and add about 1tsp of oil/butter into the centre.
2) Cut a hole in your slice of bread (I used a cookie cutter to get the perfect circle). The hole should be just smaller than a regular fried egg. It doesn't have to be circular, but you might struggle to get the egg white where you want it to with busy shapes.
3) Place your slice of bread in the frying pan, and crack the egg into the hole you created. To make it picture perfect, very carefully push the yolk to the centre using the end of a spoon/fork. Do not push it with anything sharp as you may break the yolk, and it will not look a pretty as you aimed for...
4) Once the white has turned from transparent to white, remove the slice from the pan and serve.

If the rest of the slice is too plain for you, add some jam, Nutella or your favourite spread to liven it up a bit! 

Trust me, this does not take as long as it sounds, but if you are unsure, then simply practise this at home whilst you have some free time so you know exactly what you are doing. 

DIY - Lip Scrub

Flakey lips aren't the most attractive things, let alone the most comfortable. It's important to keep them hydrated and soft, especially when it's cold or windy outside. I'm going to share with you a simple recipe using ingredients that you can find in your kitchen, to keep your lips looking and feeling healthy.

For 4/5 applications of Lip Scrub you will need-
‣2tbsp Sugar (The smaller the grains the better, large grains can be abrasive and harsh on your lips.)
‣1tsp Honey (Use the liquid, runny honey rather than the soft, spreadable honey.)
‣1/2tsp Olive Oil (Regular or extra virgin, it doesn't really matter.)
‣1 empty container to store it in (for example, and old lip balm pot, or even just a small tub.)
‣Bowl and teaspoon to stir

To create your scrub, simply combine the ingredients in a small bowl, and carefully spoon it into your empty container.

To apply the lip scrub, dab your lips with a warm, damp towel. Then, scoop a clump (about the size of 5p coin) onto your lips, and gently massage it over for about 1 minute. Use the damp towel to gently remove the scrub, and finish with your favourite lip balm to allow your lips to settle down. The balms I like to use are the Nivea milk and honey balm from the Pure & Natural range, and the Nivea lip butters. I will link both of these products at the end of the post.

Nivea Pure & Natural Milk & Honey lip balm.

Nivea lip butters; Caramel Cream, Raspberry Rose,  Vanilla Macadamia.

I hope you enjoy using your organic, chemical-free lip scrub, and that it does your lips wonders. If it felt quite harsh and scratchy on your lips, try using a finer sugar- your don't want to cut your lips and make matters worse.

Nivea Milk & Honey Lip Balm-

http://www.boots.com/en/Nivea-Pure-Natural-Lip-Care_1160754/

Nivea Lip Butters-
http://www.boots.com/en/Nivea-Lip-Tin-Vanilla_1288107/
http://www.boots.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10052&productId=1288105
http://www.boots.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10052&productId=1288103