Carrot Cake with Walnut and Pineapple and Fondant Rabbit decoration

It wouldn't be Easter without the Easter bunny! This is a carrot cake I actually made last year but hadn't gotten around to blogging about yet. It is decorated with a fondant rabbit and carrots, which I will explain how to make below.

You need:

2 cups soft brown sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla flavouring

2.5 cups plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup walnuts, chopped

1 pound of carrots, grated

1/2 cup pineapple, chopped

For the icing:

1 cup soft cheese

1/2 cup butter, sofened

2 cups icing sugar, sifted

I made a rabbit from fondant to decorate but you can also decorate with extra walnuts.

Preheat oven to 180C. Mix the sugar and flour in a large bowl.

Weighing the carrots - then grate them

Mix the eggs, oil and grated carrot and add the vanilla flavouring

Mix in to the dry ingredients and add the baking powder and cinnamon

Stir in the chopped walnuts

Then stir in the chopped pineapple

Spoon the mixture into a cake tin and cook in the preheated oven for 45-60 minutes, testing with a skewer.

When cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool.

I decided to make a rabbit and some carrots out of fondant to decorate the cake. First I coloured some white fondant with orange gel colouring left over from Halloween (Wilton brand) and some Sugarflair gooseberry colour for the carrot tops. I shaped the carrots and tops by hand; I used a knife to cut pieces out of the tops to make the greenery look more realistic, and used a fork to make indentations on the carrots.

To make the rabbit I followed the same principles as when I made a fondant cow. I made a large white ball for the body and a smaller one for the head, then cylinders of different sizes for the arms, legs and ears, I used some pink fondant for the centre of the ears and the nose, and a tiny bit of black fondant for the eyes. I used some modelling tools to make the indentations on the feet and also to make the mouth.

To make the frosting, carefully mix the soft cheese, butter and icing sugar until you have a suitably thick paste; if it needs to be thicker so you can spread it but it doesn't run, add more icing sugar. I spread the frosting over the top and around the sides of the cake.

Finally I placed the rabbit and carrots on top. This would be a good cake to make at Easter but it goes down well at any time of year!

I'm sharing this with Extra Veg, hosted by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours and Michelle at Utterly Scrummy; a carrot cake is a very tasty way to get one of your five a day!

I'm also sending this to Love Cake, hosted by Jibber Jabber UK, as the theme is "springing into Easter".

The theme for Calendar Cakes, hosted by Rachel at Dollybakes, is also Easter.

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Pinatolang Bulalo, Bulalo with Patola

Pinatolang Bulalo, Bulalo with Patola. This is half of the bulalo shank that I bought from Mahogany Market in Tagaytay. I have decided to cook a unique bulalo soup dish out of it. Instead of the usual cabage and/or pechay that goes with the traditional Bulalo Recipe I used Patola. Patola is a very versatile vegetable soup ingredient, there is sweet vegetable taste that makes any vegetable soup taste good. I just love this vegetable, I have a lot of recipe that I used patola as the main vegetable ingredient, click the links below to check them out.



Pinatolang Baka

Lomi with Patola

Patola Misua Soup with Shredded Chicken

Tinolang Manok sa Patola

Patola Misua Soup

Mais at Patola



As expected this version of Bulalo was a winner, the patola and beef combination made the difference. To cook my Pinatolang Bulalo, Bulalo with Patola is basically the same with any Bulalo recipe the only difference is I used patola for my vegetable.

Here is the recipe of my Pinatolang Bulalo, Bulalo with Patola, try it.





Ingredients:



1 to 1.5 kilo bulalo, beef shank, in one piece

2-3 large size patola, skinned, cut into circles/crosswise

1 whole garlic

1 tbsp peppercorn

2 medium size onion, quartered

salt





Cooking procedure:



Place the whole beef shank in a large sauce pan. Cover with water. Add the onion, garlic and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, remove scum that rises. Lower heat, cover and simmer/slow cook for 3 to 4 hours or until the beef tendons are tender. Remove the now tender beef shank from the casserole and keep aside. Place the remaining broth in a big bowl, set aside. Wash the pan of all scum, using a sieve strain the broth and replace in the same pan, add more water as necessary. Return the beef shank in the pan let it boil for a couple of minutes. Season with salt to taste. Now add in the patola and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes or until vegetables are just cook. Transfer in a big serving bowl and serve at once with a dipping sauce of patis, kalamansi and siling labuyo.

Check out other Bulalo recipe:



Bistek Bulalo with Pineapple

Bulalo Steak with Mushroom Sauce

Osso Buco, Osso Buco Bulalo

Sinigang na Bulalo

Cebu Pochero

Asado Bulalo

Bistek Bulalo

Bulalo

Source

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Roast Chicken with Zesty Chickpea Stuffing

This is a variation on a roast chicken recipe that you could try over Easter. The recipe comes from Franglais Kitchen, though she says to use a whole can of chickpeas and I could only get half a tin into the cavity. So once you have the chicken that you plan to roast, you need:

half a can of chickpeas

half a lemon

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp garam masala

pinch of chilli flakes

salt and pepper



Mix the chickpeas with the seasoning in a bowl

Spoon inside the cavity of the chicken and block the gap with half a lemon

Roast the chicken as normal, remembering to add on the cooking time for the extra weight of the stuffing

Carve the chicken and serve with the spicy chickpeas

I'm sending this to Bookmarked Recipes, hosted by Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes.

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Ginataang Kuhol with Kangkong

Ginataang Kuhol with Kangkong. I usually buy kuhol from South Supermarket at Filinvest Alabang whenever I am craving for Ginataang Kuhol, one thing for sure the kuhol sold at this supermarket are clean compared to the ones sold at wet markets. The snails are continuously soaked with fresh water and the snails would have expelled most of their excrement and spit out most of the dirt and grimes trapped on their shells. However to really make sure that the snails are clean I still have them soaked with water most of the day before cooking them for dinner. As I have previously mentioned on my first post of Ginataang Kuhol the snails require a thorough cleaning which includes brushing the shells and checking the snail guts as the shell tip are being chopped off, smelly snail indicate that it is dead and should be discarded, if possible the exposed intestines should also be removed, then the snails are finally washed with running water.

Cooking is basically similar with my old post of Ginataang Kuhol, only this time instead of using malungay leaves I used kangkong. Here is the recipe of my Ginataang Kuhol with Kangkong.





Ingredients:



1 kilo kuhol, edible snail

2 big bundle kangkong, trimmed

2 thumb sized ginger, skinned, cut into strips

1 head garlic, peeled, chopped

2 medium size onion, peeled chopped

1-2 pieces siling labuyo, chopped

3-4 pieces green long chili

4 cups pure coconut milk

1 large stalk lemongrass, trimmed, crushed

cooking oil

salt





Cooking procedure:

Place snail in a plastic container with lid, cover with water and let sit in for several hours to allow the snails to expel dirt and discard water, change water frequently wash and drain. Cut off tip of each shell about 2 to 3 turns using a big knife, discard broken shells and remove all visible entrails. Wash several times and drain, set aside. In a skillet or wok sauté garlic, ginger and onion. Add in the lemongrass, siling labuyo, 1 cup water and 3 cups of the pure coconut milk, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until liquid has reduced to half, stirring occasionally to prevent from curdling. Add in snails and cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Now add in the remaining coconut milk, long green chili and kangkong, season with salt to taste, cook for another 3 to 5 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked. Serve immediately.

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Malaga ken Marungay, Samaral at Malungay

Malaga ken Marungay, Samaral at Malungay. I just love samaral they are good for fish soup dishes, this my third samara fish soup dish. I have already in the archives tinowa and sinigang versions, this time it is the dinengdeng version. Dinengdeng is an Ilocano vegetable soup dish made up of medley of Pinoy vegetables topped with fish or seafood. Making today’s fish and vegetables dish Malaga ken Marungay, Samaral at Malungay is basically the same with the cooking of the traditional dinengdeng. For this recipe I have intentionally omitted the bagoong na isda ingredients which most Ilocanos would prefer as seasoning, instead I used just salt to for seasoning this will keep the flavors simple not overpowering the flavors of the fist and the vegetables. I did added also some leeks or spring onions and some ginger to cut the fishiness, the resultant dish is now cross of dinengdeng and tinowa.

Here is the recipe of my fish and vegetables soup dish Malaga ken Marungay, Samaral at Malungay.





Ingredients:



1 bunch malunggay leaves, removed from stem

1 bunch camote tops/leaves, trimmed

2 medium samaral, cleaned, slit diagonally

1 small size onion, quartered

2 medium size tomato, quartered

1 small bundle leek or spring onion, cut into 2” length

1 thumb size ginger, skinned, cut into strips

2-3 pieces long green chili

salt





Cooking procedure:



Fill halfway a medium size pot with water, bring to boil and add in the ginger, onion and tomato, simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Add in all the vegetables and cook for about 1 minute then add in the fish and continue to cook for 4 to 6 minutes or until the fish is cooked. Season with salt to taste. Serve hot.

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Slimming World-style Apple Creme Brulee

This dessert was inspired by one from the Slimming World Love Desserts recipe book but adapted to fit the ingredients I had in the house. I made it for a food tasting at my Slimming World group and was meant to use sliced mango for the base. I thought I had a tin of mango in the cupboard but the night before found it was mango puree, and I didn't have time to go shopping again, so I decided to use apples instead! It worked fine and while it isn't my favourite dessert I have ever made, it is pretty healthy and is a nice light alternative. The recipe I used was for individual desserts but I made this in one large dish as it is easier to share at food tasting.

Serves 4

3 apples, peeled and sliced

300g fat free Greek-style yogurt

4 tbsp sweetener

a few drops of vanilla flavouring

4 tbsp caster sugar

Each serving is 3 syns on all choices

Slice the apples and layer in the bottom of a dessert serving bowl.

Mix the yogurt, sweetener and vanilla and spoon over the apple.

Sprinkle the caster sugar over the top, and caramelise using a cook's blowtorch or a hot grill.

And that's all you need to do! The caramelised sugar on top gives a lovely snap when you dig in with a spoon and it's nice to have a slightly naughty topping on what is otherwise a very virtuous dessert.

I'm sending this to Dead Easy Desserts, hosted this month by Utterly Scrummy and created by Maison Cupcake, as this dessert is very easy and probably takes no more than about ten minutes to make.

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Restaurant Review - the Grapes, Sutton

Restaurant name: The Grapes

Location: High Street, Sutton

Description: Wetherspoons pub with a modern, brightly lit bar but the seating areas with the patterned carpets and heavy curtains looks a bit dark and old fashioned.

Reason for visit: Lunch with my parents while we were shopping in Sutton

I ate: Jacket potato with BBQ pulled pork which came with a small side salad

My companions ate: My mum had the cheese and tomato toastie as she only wanted a snack, whereas my dad had a hot dog will pulled pork, chips and onion rings

The food was: My jacket potato was quite disappointing as it was small and a bit dry, though the pulled pork filling was nice. My parents enjoyed their food; the hot dog looked particularly good though it was very calorific. That's one thing I like actually - Wetherspoons now puts calorie counts next to every item on the menu and there is also a section of the menu for meals of under 500 calories.

The atmosphere/service was: I felt like the pub had a bit of a dingy atmosphere which might be a bit unfair as I can't quite put my finger on why. The bar staff were perfectly polite and helpful.

Price range/value for money: Excellent - Wetherspoons is extremely good value, with lighter bites priced very cheaply and other deals like two meals for £6.99; my dad's hotdog was only about £7 if I recall and it was an absolutely huge meal with the chips and onion rings as well.

Would I recommend it? I am always happy to go to a Wetherspoons as I know there will be a huge choice on the menu with plenty of options for lower calorie meals and it's hard to find such good value for meals of this size. Having said that, I wouldn't especially recommend this particular pub as it just didn't strike me as particularly nice - it needs to be lighter and brighter somehow.

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Meal Planning Monday 2014 week 15

Back to a more normal week but as we will be moving house at some point (just waiting for the completion date) I need to start using up the food in the freezer. I'm actually a bit in the dark about how far in advance you have to switch the freezer off before you move, and how long you wait before you turn it back in again. It doesn't help that I have a combined fridge freezer so could be without a fridge for several days as well! I've gone through the freezer and made a list of everything in there (and, ahem, threw away a couple of things I couldn't identify) so meals for the next few weeks will be built around using things up.



I haven't done very well at losing weight over the last month or so (i.e. I haven't) so this week I am trying to follow a Slimming World 7-day meal plan as much as I can bearing in mind I usually don't like half their suggestions and that I am trying to use up food in the freezer.


Monday

Breakfast mango puree, plain yogurt, museli

Lunch ryvita with soft cheese or leftovers from boyfriend's birthday buffet yesterday


Dinner fish pie for me, sausage and mash for him



Tuesday

Breakfast mango puree, plain yogurt, museli

Lunch baked potato with tuna


Dinner going to a work event in the evening and I think the plan is for the team to go for a curry afterwards



Wednesday

Breakfast yogurt


Lunch sandwich/bagel


Dinner burger and chips for him, vege burger (as fewer calories) for me




Thursday

Breakfast yogurt


Lunch sandwich/bagel


Dinner salmon and dill tray bake with new potatoes magazine p.67




Friday

Breakfast yogurt


Lunch sandwich


Dinner SW herby crumbed fish with homemade chips - new magazine p.28




Saturday

Breakfast yogurt


Lunch tuna melt bagel


Dinner SW steak bearnaise with potato bake, magazine p.56



Sunday

Breakfast yogurt


Lunch beans on toast


Dinner SW coq au vin with herby mash, magazine p.54

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Psychedelic Swirls Birthday Card

This birthday card was made for a male friend who is very stylish and a snazzy dresser; I thought he would like the pattern and the colours. I simply used stickers from a pack I bought in Paperchase, which had circles of different sizes and different colours and a few swirls, and arranged them on the card in what I thought was a nice design. I then added a 'happy birthday' silver outline sticker at the bottom.

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Baked Egg and Sausage Buns

This recipe was inspired by one in a Weightwatchers cookery book though now that they've changed the way the Points are calculated I couldn't tell you how many it works out as.... but it's not specifically intended as 'diet food'. Instead, this is a quick and filling brunch recipe that is easy to make but just a little bit different.

You need one crusty bread roll per person- you could make your own, but I bought these fresh from the local bakery. Using a knife, cut a circle in the top then use a teaspoon to scoop out a little of the middle. Preheat oven to 180C.

You can spread a little butter or onion chutney in the hole or leave it plain, then fill with ready-to-eat cooked cocktail sausages. You could also cook a couple of sausages and cut them into bite-sized pieces.

Crack an egg carefully into the top and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the white of the egg has cooked.

Serve and enjoy - the yolk of the egg is still runny and the egg softens the inside of the bread roll a little, and the sausages are a treat when you get to the bottom. These made a great brunch!

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Meal Planning Monday 2014 - week 14

A busy week and one that I know is going to be terrible on the diet front! We have a double celebration for my boyfriend's birthday and I'm off to Paris for work for two days (I love my job!). As well as meals out the office is just a few doors down from Laduree, home of the most amazing macarons!



Monday

breakfast yogurt

lunch chicken sandwich

Dinner prawn linguine for me, chicken fajitas for the other half



Tuesday

Breakfast yogurt

Lunch baked potato with prawns

Dinner takeaway for my boyfriend's birthday followed by chocolate cake



Wednesday

Breakfast either toast at home or I will take a cereal bar with me as I'm off to Paris

Lunch probably a sandwich on the Eurostar

Dinner in a Parisian restaurant



Thursday

Breakfast at a breakfast briefing so whatever is provided

Lunch probably a sandwich or in a cafe on the way back to the gare du nord

Dinner back home but later than usual so I will want something quick for dinner and will probably have pasta if my boyfriend has already eaten or something from the freezer with chips if he hasn't eaten by the time I get home (he doesn't really like pasta in its own)


Friday

Breakfast yogurt

Lunch ryvita with cream cheese

Dinner spaghetti bolognese


Saturday

Breakfast yogurt

Lunch soup and fresh bread

Dinner out at the cinema for my boyfriend's birthday and he wants to eat at Nando's



Sunday

Brunch bacon sandwich for him, tuna melt bagel for me

Afternoon having my boyfriend's family over for his birthday so I'm making another chocolate cake and serving some snack food

Dinner will depend what we ate in the afternoon, we could just have something like beans on toast for dinner

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Restaurant review: Wagamama

Restaurant name: Wagamama

Location: Mansion House, London

Description: Casual Japanese-style dining. You sit on long benches - often sharing tables with strangers - and have a paper placemat on which the waiter scribbles the number of your order. Dishes range from huge bowls of soup and noodles to salads and bento boxes; there's also a nice range of fresh juices to drink.

Reason for visit: Lunch with work colleagues when our manager came over from America - he likes this kind of food and it was a chain he had never been to before. It's also quite cheap and quick.

I ate: Chicken katsu curry - chicken goujons in breadcrumbs with a spicy curry sauce and a mound of rice, £9.50. I had a very nice fresh juice with it from the seasonal menu that was printed on my paper placemat.

My companions ate: Kare lomen - ramen noodles with chicken - £10.25 and wagamama pad thai with chicken and prawns, £9.75.



The food was: Very good; Wagamama is a successful and popular chain and with good reason. The portions are large and filling but this never seems like 'heavy' food. My only complaint is that I find it impossible to eat any of the soup-based noodle dishes (which are full of broth) without sloshing it all down myself, which is why I often tend to stick to things like the chicken katsu curry!

The atmosphere/service was: Very low key and casual, and the service is fast. They let you know that they will bring dishes when they are ready - so you have side dishes rather than starters - but it meant that most of our group had finished their main courses before one of our friends received hers. We pointed that out to the waiter who apologised, but there was no reason given for the delay to her meal, which was the same kind of food that everyone else was eating. I also noticed when we left that there was quite a queue outside, but a lot of empty seats inside, which I didn't understand.

Price range/value for money: It seemed a little more expensive than I remember, but I hadn't been to a Wagamama for years and I expect prices are lower outside of central London. Even so, the portions are large and the prices are good value. Green tea is free of charge which makes a nice change from water and can keep the cost of a meal very low.

Would I recommend it? Yes, it's a good place for lunch or a quick dinner, with plenty of healthy options and it's not very expensive.

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Atelier des Chefs - Cook, Eat and Run

I enjoy cookery lessons and had a great time when I went to the Atelier des Chefs near St Paul's for my boyfriend's birthday; we had a private lesson making burgers and potato wedges. I worked near to the venue so when I knew I was leaving my job back in February, I decided to go there one last time. As well as 60 and 90 minute evening courses, they run a lunchtime session called "cook, eat and run". The idea is that you spend thirty minutes learning to prepare a dish, then you can either sit down and eat it or take it back to the office with you - so the whole thing fits neatly into a lunchbreak (as long as you work nearby!). Best of all, the whole thing - the lesson, and the meal that you get to eat - only costs £15.



The classes each focus on cooking one dish, so I had a look at the calendar and chose a date that suited me but also a meal that I liked the sound of. I chose a French dish of chicken with tarragon and creme fraiche.



When I arrived, there was only one other person there and we were waiting for one more. While we were waiting, the chef asked if we fancied making a chocolate brownie dessert, so of course we said yes! He had some melted chocolate and we whipped it up with the other ingredients and he poured the mixture into a tin which went into the oven, and that was that.

When the third person had arrived, we started the lesson. We each had a space on the workstation with bowls of ingredients, including mushrooms and fresh tarragon. The mushrooms had to be washed and sliced, the tarragon chopped and some onion chopped as well.

We tossed the chicken pieces in some oil - these big tongs were a particularly good tool for the job and I bought myself some similar ones afterwards.

The chicken is then griddled at a high temperature until it is cooked

We had some sliced potatoes which had been parboiled; these were added to a large frying pan along with the chicken, the onion, the creme fraiche and finally the tarragon.

It was a simple recipe but really very tasty. We served our own portions and sat down to eat.

The chef then took the chocolate brownies out of the oven, which he had made in a muffin tin. The brownies were chewy on the outside and almost runny on the inside - more like a chocolate fondant than a brownie. Absolutely delicious!

We were charged extra for the drinks we had with the meal and I didn't realise we were also going to be charged for the dessert as well; I thought we had been allowed to make it as a bonus to kill time while we were waiting for someone to turn up. On the other hand I didn't really mind paying a few pounds for such a delicious dessert! The class is extremely good value, at only £15 for the lesson and the food - you would pay at least that for the food alone in a pub or cafe as it was really good quality. I no longer work so close to the Atelier des Chefs location but I'm really not that far away so I hope to go again at some point. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a cookery course in London.

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Restaurant Review - The Ramblers Rest, Coulsdon

Restaurant name: The Ramblers Rest

Location: Coulsdon, Surrey

Description: Traditional pub with roaring fire and excellent restaurant area

Reason for visit: I've been here many times with my boyfriend and his family, and we went recently for dinner with my parents and his mum when my folks came to visit. It's not far from where I live, and on this particular occasion there was an England rugby match and I wanted a pub that wouldn't be showing the game!

I ate: Ale battered haddock, frites, minted pea purée & homemade tartare sauce £11.95

My companions ate: Three of us (the ladies) had the fish and chips, while my dad and my boyfriend had the West Country beef burger, £11.95 (other toppings extra).

The food was: The fish and chips was lovely - pretty much what you would expect. I liked that the chips were chunky (rather than fries)and served in little metal buckets. The burgers were pronounced good; the toppings you can choose from include cheese and bacon but also lobster tail! I may have to try that in a burger next time...

The atmosphere/service was: Good, the restaurant was quite busy and we did have to wait a little while but overall I like the atmosphere here, it's a sort of upmarket yet laid back country pub.

Price range/value for money: A little on the pricey end, particularly if you have cheese and bacon in your burger as that comes to £13.45, but the portions are large and the food is good.

Would I recommend it? Yes, I've been here quite a few times and really like it.

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