With Valentines Day coming up this week, and my stove being out of commission, I thought it would be fun to do something different and create a delicious picnic for my sweetie pie and I to share for the occasion.  Its really fun to do and really doesn't take a lot of work.  

The weather has been right miserable lately, but that doesn't mean we can't still enjoy a picnic.  Some of the nicest picnics can be shared right within the four walls of your comfy home!

 

The centre piece of my picnic was a delicious Buffalo Chicken Salad that I threw together.  You will find the recipe below for a basic chicken salad and 10 variations.  This is just one of them, and I can tell you it is really tasty!

 

 

I had a good old rummage around the refrigerator this morning while my husband was out and by the time he came home, I had a picnic feast for two more than ready.  

We had some leftover potato salad and coleslaw from the other day, so that was packed  into a container for sharing . . .  

  

I always have lots of cheeses on hand, chutney's and crackers and so I did up a small cheese tray for us to enjoy.  I used some vintage white cheddar, Danish blue, wensleydale with cranberries and boursin cheeses.  

I put the chutney into a small Bonne Maman Jar and an assortment of crackers and some butter for spreading in a sandwich container. Be sure to include a knife for cutting up the cheeses and a spoon for the chutney.  

  

You will want a toasted baguette or crisp breads to have with the chicken salad, or even some salad greens.  My husband isn't one much for salad greens, so I had soft baguettes for him. No toasting today as there is no oven.

 

There was a Melton Mowbray Pork Pie in the refrigerator (his favourite pie) and some cheese and onion rolls, so I added a container with them, as well as some English Mustard for him to enjoy with a slice of pie.  I also had some black and green grapes, so I washed some of them and put them into another container.  

Something sweet is always welcome, so I added a container of his favourite biscuits/cookies and some fruit yogurts. 

 

I also added the required cutlery, dinner plates and glasses, along with some tea light candles (for romance),  a blanket to sit on, a book of poetry to share with each other and a fun game to play. 

  

A bottle of sparkling apple juice was the finishing touch.  I then packed it into our picnic basket . . .  its a red metal one with chrome handles that I bought several years back.  

I think its really pretty, although in all truth a wicker one is better as this one is quite heavy once you get it packed.  It didn't all quite fit inside, but no matter we weren't going very far . . . 

 

And with there being two of us, we carried the juice separately along with the bread, games and poetry.  

As I said, we did not have far to go!

 

My husband was pleasantly surprised when he got home.  I put some nice music on for us to listen to and in all truth, we sat at the table  . . .  these old bones of ours are not fond of floor sitting, not anymore  . . . 

 

It was a really nice spread . . . 

  

 

I had my chicken salad on salad greens . . .  my husband, of course,  did not.  Oh well . . .

 

The star of course was the chicken salad.  I did the Buffalo Chicken version and it was absolutely fabulous. 

The recipe comes from a magazine on chicken that I bought at the grocery store the last time I was visiting Canada.  Its a lovely basic recipe . . . . 

 

And then of course there are ten different variations . . .  sure to suit every taste!

 

This really was a lot of fun! And it didn't really take a lot of effort on my part.

 

It made a change from the usual Winter bill of fare  . . . 

  

And injected a bit of sunshine and romance into what was simply a cold, blustery, rainy day! 

 

Even if you don't want to do something like this for Valentines Day, it would be fun to just do it on any day to help chase away the Winter doldrums's and blues.   

Happy Sunday and Bon Appetit! 

 

I think Vanilla pudding has to be one of my favourites of the pudding flavours. Now when I am speaking here of pudding, I am talking about the North American kind of pudding, which is like a thick custard which is eaten cold, and comes in a variety of flavours.  I am not speaking of the British pudding which essential is just a word to describe any sweet dessert enjoyed at the end of a meal.

 

Something incredibly beautiful happens to a simple vanilla pudding when you add the flavours of cardamom and lemon.  It becomes WOW!  I set out to make a simple vanilla pudding today and then my wheels started turning and I decided to amp it up a tiny bit.  Am I ever glad that I did! 

 

If you are a regular reader of my blog you will remember that the other day my stove/hob stopped working.  We are waiting for an engineer to come and have a look at it.  The appointment is on Monday.  In the meantime we purchases a portable hot plate to use for simple cooking and heating things up.  When we weighed the cost of eating ready meals or restaurant meals against the purchase of this, it was well worth it.  Two dinners out would have more than paid for it.  Problem solved, plus I can use it after for things as well.  Cooking videos come to mind, but don't get all excited yet.  I am not that good at figuring out how to do these things! 

 

Now back to the pudding.  This is a really simple dessert.  Really simple.  You need to only remember a few things . . .

 

One, don't be in a rush.  You don't really want the milk to come to the boil  . . .  use a medium heat so that the bottom of your pan doesn't get too hot . . .

 

Also keep stirring/whisking as you cook it.  This will go a long ways towards preventing lumps in your pudding,or scorching the bottom!

 

I can remember when we were children and my mother first started to work outside the home.  She hired a woman named Mrs Robar to take care of the house and cook the meals for us children. She was a rather large woman with an abundance of hairy moles on her face.  One day she made butterscotch pudding for us and she scorched it.  The pudding was full of little brown lumps. 

 

We children refused to eat it because we thought some of the  moles had fallen off her face into the pudding. Children do think some really strange things . . .  the poor dear. 

 

You could of course use single cream or half and half instead of the evaporated milk.  Both would work fine.  In the interest of fat and calories, I chose to use no fat evaporated milk, which gave the same result . . .

  

A rich and delicious pudding that everyone will enjoy tucking into.  Seriously you cannot taste the evaporated milk, and if you didn't see it going in, you would never know it was there.

 

You can also very successfully cut the recipe in half.  I did today and it was just perfect.  I am kind wishing I hadn't however, as now I am wanting more.  Probably a good thing that I didn't make the whole recipe I think  . . .  Bon Appetit! 

 

There is not a lot of cooking going on here at the moment with our cooker being out of service!  We have an engineer booked to come and have a look at it on Monday, and God willing, he will be able to fix it!  Fingers crossed! Cookers are big ticket items!  In the meantime after  figuring out what it would cost to eat out for five days, we purchased a counter-top hot plate, which will be great for heating up soups, scrambling eggs, etc.  I don't think there will be any real cooking going on, but you never know.  Today we had some delicious Roast Beef, Horseradish and Baby Rocket Sandwiches, along with some Deli potato Salad and Cheese Slaw.  They went down a real treat.  I thought I would take this opportunity to share with you my rules and tips on how to make a better sandwich.

 

I can tell you that the whole time I was growing up, I never had a horrible sandwich made by my mother.  Mom made the best sandwiches and I learnt a lot from watching her.  Even a humble sandwich of white bread and Heinz sandwich spread was a feast. 

How many times have you been disappointed with a purchased sandwich . . .  dry bread . . .  lack of filling . . .  tasteless filling, etc. Too many times for me to count, in my experience.  I don't know how they can get something which is so simple so very wrong, but more often than not they do! 

 

Making your own Sandwiches doesn't really take a lot of effort or time. There are a few rules to follow however, which will help to make your sandwiches/butties/sarnies to be the best darned ones on the block!  These are my tips and secrets, and now they can be yours too! 

 

Any sandwich worth making, or eating is worthy of only the best ingredients. If you start with the best, you are well on your way to a fine eating experience.  I like to use quality bread, and the freshest bread that I can.  I also like to use interesting bread.  Sour Dough loaves, whole grain breads, seeded buns,  French Baguettes, and even the humble sliced white bread can make for a really great sandwich if you start with the best and the freshest you can find.  Today I used fresh store baked Croissants.  The starch/bread/wrap is one of the key factors in your sandwich.  Why stint on quality, when to do so can make a huge difference between making a sandwich, or making a SANDWICH!  Just make sure that the bread you choose is sturdy enough to stand up to the filling you are going to use.  Quality and care can make a huge difference between a sandwich that isn't worthy and a sandwich that will hold up to a journey and be able to stand for several hours prior to eating.

Fresh meats, fish, or cheeses . . .  fresh vegetables . . .  quality condiments, all of these things go a long ways towards building a better buttie.  Do NOT stint on any of these items.  

 

Choose the right bread for the right filling.  Chewier, crustier bread works well with study fillings, softer bread works best with soft fillings.  For instance serving an egg salad on a very chewy crusty bread doesn't work. By the time you have chewed through the bread, half of your filling is escaping from the edges and falling into your lap. Not all breads and fillings are created equal.  Texture is important. On a softer bread you might be able to get away with more filling, but on a super crusty bread this can be disastrous. Be judicious about balance between your choice of bread, your filling and the amounts you choose to use.

 

So now you have gathered all of your ingredients, and they are the best, and balanced, and you are ready to begin . . .  in all truth, even with all of these factors in place, you can still ruin a sandwich by not treating it properly.  Spread any sandwich which is going to have a wet filling generously with butter, or mayonnaise, and right to the edges of the bread.  This helps to provide a barrier which can prevent a soggy filling from soaking into the bread.  It also helps to prevent dry corners which will only end up being discarded in the trash, uneaten.  Don't be chintzy with any of your condiments really, but do remember there is a fine line between just enough and over the top.  You also don't want them to overwhelm the sandwich.  So a thin even spread of butter works well, and then any other condiment you are using, bearing in  mind that strong flavours need to be used sparingly or they will completely take over and can even create an inedible sandwich.  When I first moved here to the UK, I had no idea of how really strong English Mustard was.  I was slathering it on my husband's sandwiches just like regular American Mustard.  It was only once he told me that it was blowing his head off I realised that less was actually more. 

  

When using sliced meats and cheeses, I find that they work much better when thinly sliced.  It is easy to layer them, and you can create something much more visually beautiful. They are also easier to bite through, when they are thinly sliced.  Also layer them evenly so that you don't end up with more in the middle than you do at the edges.  I like to put any vegetables on first, after the mayonnaise or horseradish or mustard, chutney, etc.  

Make sure your vegetables are washed and dried.  I slice tomatoes super thin and then layer, it is the same with cucumbers, or pickles, lettuces or any other vegetables.   I often use my  Essential 5-in-1 vegetable shredder to slice my vegetables. It is  a really handy tool to have in the kitchen.  Easy to use, clean, store and maintain.  I love it and use it a lot.  You can find out more here. 

 

If you are taking your sandwiches on a journey, either to school, or work, or even on a picnic, you will want to make sure that you have cut them into manageable shapes and sizes. I like to cut them either in half diagonally or horizontally, depending on where I am going with them.  If I am going on a picnic, cutting them in half horizontally makes them much easier to pack.  

If I am eating them at home, cutting them in half diagonally is perfect, and if you are using them for a tea party, removing the crusts and then cutting them into smaller sized shapes is best, not much more than two bite size. 

If you are packing them to go, make sure that you wrap them well in either greaseproof/waxed paper, plastic cling film, or even bees-wax wraps (best for the environment) to help to keep them fresh. Make sure you store them in a sturdy container or box to help prevent them from being crushed.

If you have some really wet ingredients/add-ins you might even want to store them separately, ready to add to the sandwich at the last minute.  That way you can be really sure that your sandwiches won't be soggy. 

If you are making sandwiches ahead to serve for something like a tea party, I cover them with damp paper towels or tea towels.  Just wet the towels with cold water and then squeeze out as much of the water that you can.  Lay the towels gently over the top of the sandwiches, covering them completely, and store in a refrigerator, until you are ready to lay them out, uncovering them only at the last minute.  They will stay fresher longer.

 

By choosing the right ingredients, layering them proportionately, and with care, you can always be assured that you are going to have a great sandwich, that everyone will be able to enjoy.  Look for a balance in flavours and structure.  Its never pleasant to eat a sandwich that is falling apart as you are eating it, or whose fillings are slipping out the sides and back.  Its also not nice to eat a sandwich whose flavour is completely over-powered by the strongest flavoured ingredient in the mix! By following these simple hints and tips you can be sure that every sandwich, even a simple one,  is a feast to be enjoyed!  Bon Appetit! 

 

Do you want the good news or the bad news first.  Okay, I'll give you the bad news.  My stove is broken. It's a combined gas electric and until I can afford to have it fixed, nothing is coming out of it.  

 

The gas burners have an electric ignition and the oven is totally electric.  I managed to get this cake baked and then Kaput!!!  That is the good news  . . .  at least this cake was finished baking!  Every silver lining and all that!

 

Normally I would have a whole queue of recipes waiting to post so you mightn't even have noticed.  

 

Unfortunately with recent events, that is not the case, so this cake is pretty much it until further notice. 

 

Perhaps this is the Universe's way of  telling me to slow down . . .  and maybe that's not a bad thing. 

 

This is a really lovely cake.  Its pretty basic, but its moist and delicious . . . 

 

Its the kind of cake that your nan would have cut and sat down in front of you when you went around to visit.  My maternal grandmother passed away when I was five years old. 

 

That must have been so hard for my mum . . .  she would have only been about 28 years old.  When I think about it, I am so blessed to have had my mum around for as long as I did.

 

My paternal Grandmaman passed away when I was about 28 years old, so a lot older (in her 80's).  I don't recall her ever making us cake, but she made beautiful meat pies and pancakes.

 

This cake is a lovely cake, truly.  Its simple . . .  there is nothing complicated here . . . 

 

Just simple flour, sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla . . . oh, and buttermilk.  I actually didn't have any buttermilk today, so I added some lemon juice to whole milk to make sour milk, and it worked beautifully. 

 

Just beat all the ingredients together and spread the batter in a pan and bake . . . 

  

The frosting is also really easy, and uses simple ingredients . . .  icing sugar (or confectioner's sugar as it is also known or powdered sugar) . . .  butter, cocoa powder (not drink mix), vanilla and some more buttermilk

 

Spread this creamy chocolate frosting on top of the cooled cake and you are basically done . . .

 

I like to put some sprinkles on top to dress it up a bit.  They look really pretty! 

  

With a glass of cold milk on the side, you can't lose.  The kids, big and small . . .  are really going to love this!

 

I really hope that my stove isn't out of commission for very long, but maybe I do need a break.  Hope you bake this cake and that you  and your family truly enjoy it!  Bon Appetit! 

Note - ingredients can be doubled successfully to make a larger cake.  Just bake in a 9 by 13 inch pan for 35 to 40 minutes.