Spring time wedding cakes

It seems to be quite fashionable to have a tower of mini cakes or cupcakes rather than a tiered wedding cake at the moment. It's also a lot easier to serve and portion! For me a cake the size of what you would normally have as a 'slice' (that therefore has a higher ratio of icing to sponge) isn't ideal. I know however it would be some girls idea of a dream. My friend Kerry comes into mind, who I've witnessed peeling off the icing first to eat before the sponge! Ah well, they are cute. I wish I had dotted icing inside the flowers... next time eh.

I would personally prefer the cakes like below, not a big fan of icing. For me it's all about the sponge and jaaaaaaam.

Here is a wee pic of the wedding tower of cupcakes I do, also very pretty.

Oak Smoked Black Bacon

My friend Colleen bought me a treat back from Enniskillen, Northern Ireland - Oak Smoked Black Bacon!

Pat O’Doherty’s own home reared pigs are a mix of four speciality breeds including Saddlebacks, Wessex, Tamworth and Gloustershire Old Spots, reared in totally free range conditions in the forest on Inishcorkish Island and are checked on every other day. The pigs forage on the wild grasses, herbs and shrubs, infusing the meat with natural flavour before it is cured for up to three months then naturally smoked over oak.

Thanks Coll, I'm looking forward to trying their black pudding ;)

Chocolate Chip Brioche

Josh and I made Brioche. He's not a great help, he wants to eat all the time.. the ducks yesterday didn't see any of his supply of bread. He will take my calls though, when I've got sticky hands!

Broadway Market

We went over to Broadway market on Sunday, I really love it, buzzing but not too busy. I drank enough beer to forget about the calories consumed whilst just perusing the stalls!

 Eddie's Cafe has closed down!!! Nooo!!! This was the real deal, lovely guy, tea out of polystyrene cups and a fry-up for a few quid. It hadn't changed for years but looks like so many of these new places now trying to create a retro feel, or american diner experience. Eddie, you will be missed.

 But there are still so many great things to see and eat!

Testing cakes in the pub :)

Moroccan chicken

This chicken isn't fully roasted but it doesn't taste too different, if anything more juicy just without such crispy skin. But you don't need the crispy skin when you've got the crispiest Goose fat potatoes! There's not a whole lot of things that Nick does better than me, but I got to say, his roast potatoes always steal the show ;) Here he mixed them with cubed sweet potato too which added a little something. 

You need a large casserole pot that will fit a whole chicken in. 

Saute some sliced onions with a little garlic in a good glug of olive oil. Sprinkle in a pinch of saffron strands. Now you can either put a jointed chicken in and brown the pieces or you can just plonk the whole chicken in. Pour over chicken stock to about half the way up the chicken. Simmer for 45 minutes. 

At this stage, I lift out the chicken and drain of its juices back into the pan. Drizzle a little olive oil over the skin and pop into a hot oven to roast until cooked. 

Turn the heat down on the casserole pan and add a few sliced carrots and the sliced skin of 4 small preserved lemons. This recipe is nothing without the preserved lemons! 

The sauce will start to reduce. Season, and add a little ground ginger and the smallest pinch of cinnamon. Add chopped coriander and parsley and two small handfuls of olives (black, green, violet or a mix) It doesn't matter if the olives are stoned or not, but if they're not tell your guests!

The sauce will reduce to a gravy consistency and will be perfect spooned over your chicken and roasties. 

Sticky chicken thighs in Asian marinade

Do I really need to persuade you to make these? I can taste it through the screen, I want to lick the screen. I am taking Nick out tonight for a surprise stand up show in Soho, like my alliteration? So lets be quick...


6-8 Chicken thighs
Juice of 2 limes
6 tbsp soy sauce (kikkoman) 
2 tbsp runny honey
2 chopped fresh red chillies/ dash of chilli sauce
1 tbsp of fish sauce
4 crushed cloves garlic
1 thumb of ginger grated (best to use microplane)
fresh coriander


Marinade chicken thighs for at least 1 hour in fridge.
Pop into a preheated oven 180-190C on baking tray.
Wait for 35-40 minutes until cooked and eat with anything from noodles to baked potatoes and salad. Top with more chilli and coriander.


Lick your fingers and pat your back. Make sure you do this last step in the right order hehe. 

Spinach and broccoli soup

I am eating bright coloured things this month. I really think it's the only thing to stop me getting ill. What can be healthier than a bowl of bright green soup? Oh, and check out these mini tangerines I saw in M&S, terribly cute.

Serves 6

1 head of broccoli

1 bag of spinach

1 potato

2 pints of chicken stock

1 large onion

1 small clove of garlic

pinch of nutmeg or all spice, salt and pepper

Fry chopped onion in a little olive oil, slowly until the onion is sweet. Crush the garlic in and stir, followed by a potato, cubed.

After 5 minutes, add stock and bring to simmering point. 

Chop broccoli and add to soup, simmer for 10 minutes. 

Turn the heat off.

When tender, blend. Once blended, add the spinach and wait a couple of minutes until the spinach has wilted in the soup before whizzing again (this retains that bright green colour and keeps all the goodness in) 

Taste and add a good pinch of nutmeg or allspice and then salt and pepper to taste. 

It's hard to tell how small these are! (the bowl fits in the palm of my hand)