London 2012 - The Encore

Last weekend, my parents and I went down to London for the Anniversary Games at the Olympic Stadium. It was amazing to be back there having watched two sessions of Athletics at the Olympics last year. Although the atmosphere was very different (missed the amazing Games-maker Volunteers!), we had a fantastic evening. We were there on Friday night which meant we saw Usain Bolt in the 100m. It was brilliant to watch and he was a great personality coming out at the start of the meeting and doing a lap of the track on a rocket!

Its hard to believe that a year has passed already!

Love Rebecca

London 2012 Olympics - Week One

I am very lucky to have been to the Olympic Park having seen 2 events already AND still have two to see next week! I'm afraid that my blog is therefore quite quiet at the moment...please forgive me! Here is a selection of photos from my first trip to London...

Wembley

Badminton Courts

Great Britian vs Germany Mixed Doubles 

Basketball Stadium

Aquatic Centre

Olympic Park

Tower Bridge

I cannot wait to go back to London on Monday to see Diving and two sessions of Athletics! I hope you are enjoying watching the Olympics too!

Love Rebecca

The Olympics Have Arrived

Finally, 7 years after Great Britain was awarded the honour of hosting the 2012 Olympic Games, it is here. I watched the opening ceremony in awe last night - it was an incredible spectacle and stood true to the mantra of the games to 'Inspire a Generation'. 

My case is packed and I am off to London in a couple of hours for a few days to see Badminton, Swimming and Basketball! I will not be taking my laptop so will be having a short blogging break! In the meantime...if you are enjoying the Olympics, why not check out the Olympic Countdown projects I have been posting for the last few months.

Ticket Holder

Passport Cover

Union Jack Shopper

London 2012 Freezer Paper Tee

Olympic Friendship Bracelets

Great Britain Storage Boxes

London 2012 Keyrings

Sunshine Bars

Patriotic Fruit Pizza

Knit Purse

Star Hoody

Crayon Notebooks

Olympic Ring Cake Pops

Olympic Ring Biscuits

British Feast

Red White and Blue Tie Dye

Mini Steak and Ale Pies

Mini Toad in the Holes

Mini Bubble and Squeak

Mini Bakewell Tarts

Mini Bramble Apple Pies

Opening Ceremony Olympic Feast - Mini Apple and Bramble Pies

Today I am sharing the recipe for yummy mini apple and bramble pies. These are perfect as part of the Opening Ceremony British Feast!




Sweet Pastry
makes 8 tarts
adapted from Jamie Oliver's 'Jamie at Home'
250g plain flour
50g icing sugar
125g cold butter, cubed
zest 1/2 lemon
1 large egg, beaten
Splash of milk

1. Rub together flour, icing sugar and butter until you have a fine crumbly mixture
2. Add lemon zest
3. Add eggs and milk and work into flour until you have a soft dough
4. Put to rest in the fridge for half an hour while you make the filling

Filling
makes 8 tarts
2 Bramley Apples, peeled and sliced
2 Handfuls of brambles
sprinkle of sugar

1. Microwave apples for 4 minutes until soft and mushy
2. Stir in brambles
3. Add sugar to taste

Assemble

1. Roll out pastry to thickness of £1 coin
2. Cut small strips of baking parchment and put in muffin tins as shown in picture above

3. Use large mug to cut large circles for base and push into muffin tins.
4. Fill case with filling
5. Top with smaller circle, use a fork to press the edges together, make a hole in the top
6. Bake at 180 for 15-20 minutes until browned
7. Cool on a wire rack

Love Rebecca

Opening Ceremony Olympic Feast - Mini Bakewell Tarts

Today I am sharing the recipe for mini Bakewell Tarts - a traditional British pudding. Traditionally these are made with cherry jam but feel free to use your favourite...I used Raspberry!


Sweet Pastry
makes 6 tarts
adapted from Jamie Oliver's 'Jamie at Home'
250g plain flour
50g icing sugar
125g cold butter, cubed
zest 1/2 lemon
1 large egg, beaten
Splash of milk

1. Rub together flour, icing sugar and butter until you have a fine crumbly mixture
2. Add lemon zest
3. Add eggs and milk and work into flour until you have a soft dough
4. Put to rest in the fridge for half an hour
5. Roll out pastry until thickness of a 50p piece
6. Line mini tartlet cases and bake in oven at 180C for 10- 15 minutes until lightly golden

Frangipane
makes 6 tarts
adapted from Jamie Oliver's 'Jamie's Dinners'
230g ground almonds
200g unsalted butter
200g sugar
2 eggs, beaten
6 heaped tsp jam of your choice

1. Blitz butter and sugar in food processor
2. Add to almonds and eggs, fold until mixed and smooth
3. Leave in fridge to firm up for 30 minutes

Assemble

sliced almonds to scatter

1. Spread bottom of tart with jam
2. Top with frangipane, smooth the top and scatter with sliced almonds





































Love Rebecca

Opening Ceremony Olympic Feast - Mini Bubble and Squeak Balls

Bubble and Squeak is a yummy vegetable side dish with a very cool name! This recipe is for a very basic (2 ingredient) bubble and squeak but if you want to add some grated carrot or other veggies, feel free!

Mini Bubble and Squeak
makes 6 balls
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
200g cabbage, finely shredded

1. Boil potatoes until soft then mash with a knob of butter
2. Stir in cabbage
3. Transfer to a frying pan and fry for 15-20 minutes until browned
4. Leave until cool enough to touch, mould into oval/ball shapes

We also had parsnip and carrot sticks, baked in the oven at 180 for 30-40 minutes until golden brown.

Love Rebecca

Opening Ceremony Olympic Feast - Mini Toad in the Hole

This has always been one of my favourite meals - a British classic made up of Sausages and Yorkshire pudding - don't forget the onion gravy - the essential accompaniment.


Mini Toad in the Holes
makes 6
adapted from Jamie Oliver's 'Happy Days with the Naked Chef'
180ml milk
80g plain flour
2 eggs
3 chipolata sausages, halved
vegetable oil

1. Pour a small amount of vegetable oil into 6 parts of a muffin tin
2. Put in an oven heated at full blast (240C)
3. Beat together milk, flour and eggs until smooth
4.After 10-15 minutes, when the oil is hot, open the oven, and pour batter into each tin section until 3/4 full. Add half a sausage to each pudding and shut oven. DO NOT OPEN it again until the toad in the holes have risen, golden and crisp (about 15-20 minutes)

Onion Gravy
1 red onion, finely chopped
400ml vegetable stock
Bisto Gravy Granules


1. Fry off red onion until softened
2. Add stock and cook for 10-15 minutes
3. Stir in gravy granules until gravy is thickened to your taste


Love Rebecca

Opening Ceremony Olympic Feast - Mini Steak and Ale Pies

Today I give you the recipe for mini steak and ale pies. The filling for this takes time but it is sooo worth it! Trust me...this is actually the best steak and ale pie I have had! The recipe works well for a normal sized pie too!

Steak and Ale Pie 
makes 6-9 mini pies
adapted from Jamie Oliver
2 red onions, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
20g butter, plus extra for greasing
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 large stick of celery, trimmed and chopped
3 large mushrooms, peeled and sliced
750g brisket of beef or stewing beef, cut into 2cm cubes
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
1 bottle of old Ale
1 1/2 heaped tablespoons plain flour
150g grated Cheddar cheese
500g Puff pastry

1. Fry onions gently for about 10 minutes until softened. Use an ovenproof dish.

2. Turn the heat up and add garlic, butter, carrots, celery, and mushrooms - stir and heat through for 5 minutes

3. Add beef and rosemary. Season. Fry on a high heat for 5 minutes

4. Pour in enough Ale to cover meat and vegetables. Stir in flour

5. Cover with lid and put in the oven at 190C for 1 1/2 hours. 

6. Stir, add more ale if dry and return to oven for a further hour until the meat is tender, rich, dark and thick

7. Roll out puff pastry until as thick as 2 £1 coins - cut out tops for the mini pies. Roll out again to the thickness of a 50p piece. From this, cut out pastry for the pie bodies.

8. Put strips of baking parchment into muffin tins and then insert pastry to form case of pie

9. Fill with steak filling, top with pastry lid and use a fork to crimp the edges and seal the pie. Poke a hole in the top to let the steam out.

10. Bake at 180C for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is puffed and golden

Love Rebecca

Opening Ceremony Olympic Feast - Tie Dye Table Cloth

This is the first part of the Olympic Opening Ceremony British feast - a red, white and blue table cloth to jazz up your dinner table! The perfect base for your British Feast. 

This is my first EVER (shock horror!) attempt at tie dye so bear with me...here is what I learned...

The back of the dye packet says 'wear gloves' - don't ignore this instruction! - I did and ended up with dead-looking hands for the rest of the day!

Anyway... I bought a flat single sheet (this took major effort...do people not use flat sheets on their bed anymore?!?!) and used some Dylon Hand-use dyes to make this table cloth and I was really pleased with the result.

Materials

Flat single sheet (washed and left slightly damp)

Red and Blue dye

Elastic Bands

Squeezy Bottles (I used some ketchup bottles I bought for £1)

Bin bags

1. Pinch the sheet in the centre and pull up, wrapping together until your sheet is long and thin - see picture  (I then divided the second half into two as in the picture below - this was because my sheet was so big). Use elastic bands to tie together every 5-6 inches- make sure these are really tight!

2. Make up the dye as per the packet instructions. Pour into squeezy bottles and add colour to each section (alternate between red and blue leaving the very top section white)

3. Wrap each section in a plastic bag and leave for 5-6 hours. Remove from the plastic bag and run under cold water until the water runs clear. Remove the elastic bands and run under water again until the water is clear. Wash on a warm wash to set the colour

4. Unwind your sheet and admire your work!

Love Rebecca

Olympic Countdown - 1 week to go - Opening Ceremony Feast

1 week to go until the London 2012 Olympics start! For my final countdown project I planned a Great British Feast perfect for the opening ceremony night featuring mini versions of  some classic British foods. 

I am away at Brownie camp next week but everyday whilst I am gone (starting from tomorrow), a new component of the meal will be featured on the blog! So have a go at making some or all of the classic British dishes to open the Olympics in 2012.

Mini Steak and Ale Pies

Mini Toad in the Holes

Mini Bubble and Squeak

Mini Bakewell Tarts

Mini Bramble Apple Pies

And a little craft project to keep you going...a ttie dye red white and blue table cloth to set the scene for your feast!

Hope you enjoy the posts over the next week in the lead up to the Olympics

Love Rebecca