A couple of weeks ago, I discovered this washing up video on YouTube, that I thought was quite cute and funny. I followed the link to their site, "Stop Washing Up." They have a contest on their page running right through June, where if you join the site and answer a question, you have the chance to win a free dishwasher. You had to answer in 15 words, why you needed a new dishwasher.

I am always joking around with people when they get to talking about dishwashers. Ever since we got married, Todd has always done the dishes. He says that since I do all the cooking, he doesn't mind doing the dishes, which works for me. When people get to talking about their dishwashers, I have always said that I have a 72 year old dishwasher that still works like a charm. At first people look at me a bit strangely, until they realize I am talking about the Toddster, and they have a bit of a laugh about it.

So anyways, to make a long story short, I entered the contest by talking about my 72 year old dishwasher, and guess who is the Week 3 Winner of their dishwasher giveaway campaign??? YOU GOT IT PONTIAC!! It's MOI!! ME!! Yeppers, today was my lucky day!! Todd and I had just been out for a short walk with Mitzie along the River Dee and gotten into the house when the telephone rang. I answered it and it was a Zanussi PR person informing me that my entry had won for this week!! Can you say over the moon???

I am just thrilled. I have always wanted a dishwasher since I moved over here. It's been on my wish list, along with a clothes drier since day one. I already have a Zanussi washing machine, and we are really pleased with it, so I just know I will be pleased with this dishwasher. All I have to do now is to check out their site and pick which one I want!! Needless to say, this has really made my day!



Of course, I baked a cake to celebrate!! How could I not???



And not just any cake either. An incredibly tasty Toasty Topped Butter Cake, or what my mom used to call a Lazy Daisy Cake.



This is one of my favourite cakes. A moist and scrummy basic butter cake, topped with a lucious toffee topping that is applied after the main cake is baked and then broiled until caramelized!!



Mom always put just coconut in hers, but as you know, I like to take things just that little bit further, and so I use a mix of half coconut and half flaked almonds, for an extra depth of flavour and crunch.



This went down a real treat! Wow. A new dishwasher, a cute Pup, the Toddster and a tasty cake all in one day! I do believe I am just the luckiest woman in the world! (Todd is feeling rather lucky as well, especially now that he knows his dishwashing days are numbered!!)

Wandering through the grocery store as I am won't to do on occasion, I came across a real bargain. They were selling off turkey legs, and quite large ones too, for only £3. That is a large drumstick and a large thigh! There's quite a lot of meat on those you know!



I know that they can sometimes be tough, but this is nothing that a nice simmering won't help.

I came home and popped the two bits into a large saucepan along with some lightly salted water to cover, a few peppercorns, a bay leaf, a carrot, half an onion and a celery heart and then I brought it to a boil. Once it came to the boil, I reduced it to a simmer and then let it bubble away for a couple of hours.



Oh my, what a lovely stock I had at the end of it all, and a good lot of tender meat as well. Perfect stock for a soup and lots of nice meat for a tasty casserole bake!



I could have used it in sandwiches as well, had I wanted to . . . or a pot pie, but we wanted an oven bake.



A bit of rice, some cooked veg, onions, celery, cheese, a tin of soup and a few other bit and I had a delicious casserole that had Todd smacking his lips as it was baking . . . it smelled so good!



He licked his plate clean and went back for seconds. I ♥ it when that happens! I do love to please my man. It makes me happy.

Economical, delicious and easy.

This is a simple cake and very easy to make. Sometimes people think that if something is simple, then it can't be very good, but they are so wrong . . . wrong, wrong!

In my experience it is quite often the simplest things that taste the best of all!



Our local shops frequently have punnets of stone fruit on for £1 a punnet. They call it home ripening fruit, but . . . in my experience it never ripens. That fruit will rot before it ripens. It never gets soft or sweet. I am not sure why that is. Perhaps it is the stuff they spray on it to keep it so that it will store in their warehouses longer, I don't know. Maybe they don't really do that, perhaps it's nothing more than an old wive's tale or a nasty rumour . . .



Having said that one wonders why even risk eating it at all, I don't know! I expect if it is well washed it is ok for consumption. We'll just go down that route ok?



Anyways, just because you know it won't ever really truly ripen to the point where you could eat it out of hand, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't risk buying it. These fruits are quite often the perfect fruits to bake or cook with!



When you do bake a cake or a crumble, or a pie, it's quite acceptable and even desireable to use fruit that's not quite fully ripened. It holds it's shape better, and the cooking process makes it highly edible. A bit of sugar and it sweetens up quite nicely.



I got a punnet of apricots earlier in the week for a pound and they were just perfect for this cake. Plums would also work very well.



It's a flat kind of cake. I like to dust it with lots of icing sugar and then serve it up with dollops of creme fraiche. Todd would say it is one of his favourites. ☺ I ♥ that!



*Apricot Sheet Cake*
Makes one baking sheet sized cake
Printable Recipe

A sweet batter encasing lovely baked apricots. You will need a baking sheet approximately 10 by 15 inches in size.

160g of unsalted butter, softened (about 11 1/2 TBS)
240g of caster sugar (1 1/4 cup)
pinch salt
4 large free range eggs
the finely grated zest of one unwaxed lemon
1 tsp almond extract
300g of plain flour (2 1/4 cups)
2 tsp baking powder
6 TBS milk
Enough apricot halves to cover the baking sheet when halved
sugar for sprinkling
icing sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Butter a baking sheet with a one inch lip. Lightly dust with flour. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggsuntil combines. Stir in the lemon zest and almond extract. Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, alternately with the milk, until all are well combined. Spread this batter into the pan. Wash the apricots and cut in half, discarding the pit. Lay the halves on top of the batter decoratively, rounded side down and open side up. Sprinkle with some sugar.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool completely before serving. Dust with some icing sugar before serving if desired.

We took ourselves into Chester today to have a walk around. We had been going to go for a drive into Wales . . . but it was Ladie's Day at the Race Course, and only a food would subject themselves to trying to drive through the middle of Chester in a car on race day . . . seriously. The traffic is insane.



So we went into town on the bus instead. We walked up and down the rows. There's a lot of neat shops there. We poked around and explored. We went to the market cafe and had lunch. (fish and chips with mushy peas, yum!) We watched all the ladies walking up and down the cobbled streets in their race day finery, high heels and fascinators. It was amazing.



And then we found a little Green Grocer's and they had fresh English Strawberries sitting outside, £1 a punnet. Oh, they smelled so good. Fresh English Strawberries, warm from the sunshine, so delicious. I couldn't resist and picked up a few punnets, of course . . . as well as a tasty looking cauliflower for 98p and a hunk of broccoli for Mitzie. (She's on a diet and it's supposed to be good for fat free treats.)



June traditionally means two things in the UK. Wimbledon and fresh strawberries. I know you are probably tired of hearing me say this . . . but we have got the best berries here. (I know, I am just a tad biased, but it's true!)



So anyways, after we came home, I decided to make us dessert for supper. (You should try it sometime.) We had had a big lunch and so we didn't really want much for our tea. When in doubt . . . have dessert instead! I thought some nice strawberry shortcakes would go down a real treat.



It was my first time making them this year. And . . . they were fabulous. Oh so tasty and delicious. We didn't miss supper at all. We just sat here watching a film on the telly and enjoying these beautiful berries.



It won't be the last time I make Strawberry Shortcake this summer, but the first one of the season is always kinda special, if you know what I mean.



*Strawberry Shortcake*
Makes 6 servings
Printable Recipe

Nothing but old fashioned, simple, late springtime goodness. Delicious!

For the cakes:
8.5 ounces plain flour (2 cups)
1 TBS caster sugar
1 TBS baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 ounces of chilled butter, cut into bits
250ml of milk (1 cup)

You will also need:
3 punnets of ripe strawberries (about 6 cups)
5 TBS caster sugar, divided
500ml of double cream (2 cups)

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark6. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Butter the parchment. Set aside.

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Drop in the butter and rub it into the flour mixture with yoru fingertip until the mixture resembles rough meal. Stir in the milk with a fork. You should have a soft droppable dough. Drop by six equal portions onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving some space in between each. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Remove from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cakes are baking, wash and hull your berries. Slice into a bowl and stir together with 3 TBS of the sugar. Set aide to macerate.

Whip the cream and remaining 2 TBS of sugar together until soft peaks form.

Slice the cooled cakes in half. Place the bottom halves of the cakes into dessert bowls. Top with some of the berries and then a spoonful of cream. Place the top halves of the biscuits on top and then top with more berries and cream. Serve immediately.

Time for a Saturday Teatime Treat! I actually made these to bring to a friend.

I just adore lemon anything, but Todd is not a real fan of lemon at all . . . so I thought that I could make these . . . just have one myself, and then give the rest away. That way I get to taste and enjoy a reasonable amount, and then they're gone, gone, gone and out of temptation's way! (Don't feel too sorry for Todd. I always bake him something he will like as well.)



I got to taste. My friend got to enjoy. Todd didn't have to suffer through any accidental lemon poisoning! It was a win all around situation!



I adore lemon curd and I had some lemons that were getting close to needing to be used up, so it was the perfect day to make some and these cupcakes are the perfect way to use that lemon curd up! Also win/win! (I love it when everything works out that way)



I also happened to have a carton of mini meringues that I had purchased a few weeks back, which was lucky!



I had seen a recipe similar to this somewhere, but couldn't find it. I found lots where you made meringue and baked it on top of the cupcakes, but none that used mini already baked meringues. I hate it when that happens, and I can't find what I know I've seen, but nevermind . . . . I just winged it, by baking my favourite cupcake recipe, and turning them into lemon cupcakes.



I then hollowed out the centres of the baked cakes, and then brushed a yummy lemon and sugar glaze on top while they were still warm so that all that lemony goodness was somewhat absorbed and the edges were all crusty.



I filled the hollows with some lemon curd and then plunked a tasty meringue on the top of each lemon curd pool.

Quick. Easy. Pretty. Impressive. And . . . very, VERY scrummy!!!!



*Lemon Meringue Cupcakes*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe

Delicious cupcakes with a tart lemon glaze, a lovely lemon curd filling and topped with a crispy baby meringue!

For the cupcakes:
4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature (1/2 cup)
4 ounces caster sugar (2/3 cup)
2 large free range eggs
the finely grated zest of one unwaxed lemon
1/2 tsp lemon extract
4 ounces self raising flour (scant cup)
1/2 tsp baking powder

For the glaze:
the finely grated zest of one unwaxed lemon
the juice of one lemon
1/3 cup caster sugar

You will also need:
a jar of lemon curd, homemade or storebought
a container of mini meringues

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/gas mark 4. Line a 12 hole bun tray with 12 cupcake cases. Set aside.

Place all the cupcake ingredients into a bowl. Beat well with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Divide the mixture evenly between the cupcake cases. Bake for 15 minutes, or until well risen and the centres spring back when lightly touched. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack.

Mix the lemon juice, lemon zest and caster sugar for the glaze together, stirring to combine well. While the cupcakes are still warm, and using a melon baller, remove a bit from the centre of each cupcake, and discard. Brush the edges and the centre area with the glaze. Fill the hollow with some lemon curd and pop a meringue onto the top. Serve immediately.

One thing my Todd has always wanted to do is to go to a diner to eat. You know . . . just like the ones on the telly that you see in all those American movies.

All chrome and formica . . . and juke boxes, waitresses named Sally, and a coffee cup that has no bottom.

Club sandwiches, gravy fries and mile high pies.



I thought I would try to recreate a Diner meal for him here at home tonight, but in as low fat as possible. One of my favourites back home use to be the Hot Hamburger Sandwich Platter.



A big oval platter, loaded up with hot fries, a huge hamburger pattie on a toasted bun, with oodles of gravy slathered over top and a small bucket of coleslaw on the side. Washed down with an ice cold soda pop. It can't be beat!



It might not be much to look at, but what it lacks in looks, it more than makes up for in flavour. I used extra lean ground steak, which I flavoured with onion powder, garlic, seasoning salt and black pepper . . . lots of onion and garlic. I then divided the meat into four equal shapes and then flattened them as thin as I could into a huge flat irregular sized burgers, so they had lots of little nooks and crannies on the edges.



Because they were really thin, they cooked in quick time and all the moisture stayed inside the burger, so they were moist as well as flavourful, with a nice sear on the outside. The chips . . . why oven baked of course, and cut so thin that they also turned out nicely browned with crisp golden edges.



You can make your own pan gravy if you wish. (I tell you how) or you can just open a tin of beef gravy. Me, I opted for Bisto, coz there is not much fat in it., and it's as easy as boiling the kettle.



Even the coleslaw, my own homemade, was low in fat . . . as I used a fat free mayo and low fat creme fraiche. The only thing I didn't do was to put on a short dress and ask him to "kiss ma grits!" (I also didn't ask for a tip!) Oh, and there was no pie . . . sigh . . .




*Hot Hamburger Platter Dinner*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

It's diner food for the UK! A delicious well flavoured hot hamburger patty on a toasted bun half, topped with gravy and served with crispy fries and coleslaw!

1 pound extra lean minced steak
1 TBS minced garlic
1 TBS onion powder
1 tsp seasoned salt
5 TBS flour
1 litre of beef broth
4 large baking potatoes
oil
seasonings for the fries (I like the smoked paprika, sweet red pepper and thyme mix from M&S)
salt and black pepper
Toasted Bun halves
Coleslaw, your own or purchased

Preheat the oven to 225*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Have ready a large baking sheet.

Wash the potatoes and dry well. Cut into thin chips. Toss them onto the baking sheet. Pour about 1 TBS of oil over top along with some of your chosen seasoning and some salt and black pepper. Toss together with your hands. Place into the heated oven and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.

Mix together the minced steak, garlic, onion powder, seasoned salt and a bit of salt and lots of black pepper to taste. (You can pinch off a little bit and fry it in a pan to see if you have the seasoning correct if you wish.) Shape into large flat irregular shaped patties.

Place a large skillet over mediium high heat. Add a bit of oil and fry the patties until well browned on both sides and cooked through. Remove and keep warm. Reserve any drippings in the pan. There probably won't be much. You will need about 4 TBS. You can add some butter to the pan drippings to make this up. Once the fat is melted and hot, stir in the flour, whisking it in well. Slowly whisk in the broth a bit at a time, whisking until the gravy thickens. Simmer for several minutes then taste and adjust seasoning as required.

Divide the fries between 4 heated plates. Place a toasted bun half on each and top with a burger. Spoon over some of the gravy, making sure it covers the burger and some of the chips. Serve with coleslaw on the side. Enjoy!

I love bread for breakfast . . . muffins, tea breads, pancakes, waffles and tasty little gems like this recipe here today.

Delicious Cherry Granola Breakfast Buns.



A drop type of scone, all short and buttery . . . each crumbly buttery mound filled with delicious cherry preserves and topped with some crunchy granola. Baked until golden brown and then glazed with a delicious vanilla icing drizzle.




Oh so good! Sweet and savoury at the same time, with some crunch and meltingly buttery goodness.



What's not to like??



Oh, and did I remember to tell you that they are quick as a wink to make, easy and you can have them on the table in about 20 minutes???



Well . . . You can! Go on . . . what you waiting for??? Your family will thank you for them!



*Cherry Granola Breakfast Buns*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe

Buttery drop scones, filled with cherry preserves and granola crumbles, and then glazed with a delicious vanilla drizzle. Yummo!

8.5 ounces plain flour (2 cups)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 TBS caster sugar
3/4 tsp salt
8 TBS butter, melted
250ml of cold buttermilk (1 cup)
cherry fruit preserves
1 crisp granola bar crumbled (I used Nature's Valley honey and oat)
to glaze:
2 heaped dessertspoons of icing sugar
milk
vanilla



Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 6. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and sugar. Stir together the melted butter and cold buttermilk. Stir this into the flour mixture. You should have a somewhat sticky dough of dropping consistency. Drop this mixture by heaped tablespoonful's onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving some space inbetween for spreading. You should get 12 mounds.

Using the back of a wet teaspoon, make a shallow hollow in the centre of each. Drop a scant teaspoon of cherry preserves into each hollow. Sprinkle some of the crumbled granola bar over each.

Bake for about 15 minutes, until browned on the bottoms and golden on the tops. Remove from the oven. Allow them to cool for a few minutes.

Whisk together the icing sugar along with a few drops of milk and vanilla, to make a drizzable consistency glaze. Drizzle over top of the breakfast buns. Serve while still warm. Store any leftovers in an airtight container. Reheat briefly in the microwave before serving. (Not too long as you don't want the jam to get too hot, about 15 to 20 seconds should do the trick.)