Cookbook Challenge Update - May part 1

I cooked a lot of recipes from Lorraine Pascale's cookbook whilst I was at home over Easter, so many in fact that I am splitting this post into two otherwise it will be ridiculously long. Yet again, Lorraine is hitting it out the park in nearly every recipe - I love having a cookbook that I trust so completely! Ready to see what we've been eating?...try not to get too hungry looking at these pictures (I know I will)

Speed: This took a little while but it wasn't massively labour intensive so it was okay

Taste: I liked the mushroomy-ness and of course the pastry, I am just not a massive beef fan so I didn't really enjoy the hunk of steak inside.

Repeat: Not likely

Speed: This was fairly quick and easy - I have never made soup from tomato juice and it made a nice change from tinned tomatoes

Taste: A little bit spicy for me but otherwise this was a tasty soup

Repeat: Probably

Speed: The jam took a little while but it was fairly low maintenance so I didn't mind at all, the toastie itself was very quick

Taste: Delicious! Absolutely the ultimate comfort lunch! I loved it!

Repeat? Yes!

Speed: This was a slower cook meal but it was also a put it in and leave it so very little effort involved

Taste: Absolutely delicious! I really enjoyed it - very comforting with mashed potato, a real warmer of a meal!

Repeat? Absolutely!

Speed: Fairly quick and easy to make

Taste: Absolutely gorgeous - I love cauliflower cheese so much - absolutely the best way to eat cauliflower!

Repeat: Yup!

Speed: Another slower cook meal but definitely worth it, low effort

Taste: Delicious and comforting with mashed potato and the lovely wine sauce!

Repeat? Yes!

What have you been cooking this month? Any favourite recipes?

Love Rebecca

CookBook Challenge April Update

Another month has gone and I am making good progress with my Cookbook Challenge. Having cooked over a quarter of the recipes in Lorraine Pascale's 'Home Cooking Made Easy', it is fast becoming one of my favourite recipe books. 

Here is what I have been cooking over the last month...

Speed: ** - roasting the squash takes some forward planning but it is fairly low effort

Taste: Delicious! Lorraine says that this is the recipe that converted her from a model to a chef. I must admit I was sceptical that a soup could do this, but this soup is heavenly! Its is seriously delicious and I cannot wait to make it again!

Repeat? Absolutely

Speed: Takes 6 hours! But 100% worth it and fairly low effort

Taste: Delicious - I love how cooking the meat for this long makes it literally just fall apart - no need for carving this meat - it just falls apart

Repeat? Yes - the only change I would make would be to add parsnips to the vegetables

Speed: ***

Taste: Delicious chocolatey taste, dense cake but light at the same time - my first flour free cake and I really enjoyed it!

Repeat? Yes 

Speed: *** This had a lot of components but it was fairly easy to make

Taste: Absolutely delicious! The mustard mash is perfect with the the apples and caramelised onions and rosemary pork - a delicious autumnal meal

Repeat? Yes

Speed: ***

Taste: Delicious - the combination of the lamb and herbs was divine - these are very flavoursome burgers. The buns were delicious too although they did not turn out floury and soft like the recipe, instead they were crusty - I am going to try the recipe again in my oven at home and see if they are softer!

Repeat? Yes

Speed: ** - Rising time

Taste: This was a yummy crusty bread that looks impressive due to its shape

Repeat? Probably

Have a great week

Love Rebecca

Good Friends, Life and Cookbook Challenge Update

I just finished watching the Graduation episode episode of Glee...again. It usually succeeds to make my cry but this time was different. This time I realised that I am nearly there. Nearly graduating from University. I have just three weeks left this term, and then after the Easter break, I have a project to submit and two exams to sit and then that's it. My life in York, which has been home for the last 3 years will be over.

 I swing in my attitude towards this. Part of me is seriously excited about next year and what it will bring but the other half is gutted that I will be moving away, saying goodbye to some really great people who I have met, and leaving a place that has been so important in my life.

It is only really this year that I have got closer to some of my York friends - and I would kick myself for not doing it sooner because now our time here is limited. But now that we have grown closer, I am sure that come July, when we graduate, we will not be saying goodbye, but see you sometime.

My friend Louise and I have a lot in common including a love of baking and the shared ability to talk the hind leg off a donkey when we are together! Seriously - she is one of those people who just seems to be on my wavelength. So these last couple of weeks, we have been been alternating visiting each other, cooking dinner, chatting and watching movies. It is one of the highlights of my week and I enjoy it so much
 (this is where I kick myself for us not having started doing it sooner).

The last couple of week's, we have been cooking recipes out of my Lorraine Pascale book as part of my Cookbook Challenge.

Louise is awesome at serving out - she makes it look way better than I ever do so I will have to take note!

Taste - The chicken was really flavoursome and not too dry

Speed - Very quick!

Repeat - Yes 

Taste - The chorizo with thyme was a heavenly combination and the fish was delicate and flavoursome - delicious

Speed - Fairly quick

Repeat? - Yes definitely - need to cook this one for my parents

Last night we also watched the film Crazy Stupid Love. Have you seen it? If not you should... it is seriously good! It is a laugh out loud funny romantic comedy that is not as predictable as most of the rom-coms out there. And Ryan Gosling is in it (enough said!).

So now I realise how precious my time is, I am determined to make the most of it, spend time with my friends while it is still easy to do so!

Hope you had an equally awesome weekend!

Love Rebecca

Cookbook Challenge - Progress Report!

I am thrilled to say that several people liked the idea of the Cookbook Challenge and have found their cookbook ready to start cooking! If you are new to this no worries, its never too late to start! Just pick a recipe book and challenge yourself to cook every recipe in it!

I started while I was home for Christmas and have cooked about 10 of the recipes so far.

 I must say, I don't think that there is a recipe in there that I don't like the sound of which is great!

I have decided to share pictures of my dishes followed by a three step rating system that you may recognise from my recipe-a-week challenge last year...

Taste - 

Time/Effort - 

Repeat? - 

So without further ado, here is a round-up of my efforts so far...

Taste - Delicious - especially warm from the oven with soup

Time/Effort - A lot of kneading (this was actually very therapeutic) and rising time was needed 

Repeat? - Yes - they were fairly simple and delicious

Taste - DELICIOUS! We used ours for eggs Benedict by adding ham, poached egg and hollandaise sauce!

Time/Effort - Again kneading and rising. 

These were cooked first on the hob and then in the oven which I really enjoyed!

Repeat? - Yes! I am an eggs Benedict convert and love it all the more for using my own muffins

Taste - I love anything with puff pastry but the bacon here added a really nice taste to these - I served them with tomato soup

Time/Effort - Very easy and fairly quick

Repeat? - Yes :)

Taste - this salad had a very sophisticated feel to it - it was a yummy starter for our New Year's Eve meal

Time/Effort - This was really quick but I found it quite full on - a few hot pans to watch 

Repeat? - Possibly

 Taste - Carrots were delicious; really simple and I was surprised at how tender they were considering I used whole carrots!

Time/Effort - Easy, minimal effort

Repeat? - Yes!

Taste - I wasn't sold here but I think this is partially because I didn't cook them long enough - I would definitely try it again to get the crispy edges to the broccoli

Time/Effort - Easy, minimal effort

Repeat? - I would try it again to try and improve it

Taste - Seriously Amazing (this is my title, not the one given in the book!) I love lasagne, it is the dish I always request when I go home and this recipe is awesome - it replaces some of the mince with sausage meat and is just generally scrumptious

Time/Effort - It is fairly hands on but not in a difficult way, more that there are lots of components to make - it is so totally worth it anyway!

Repeat? - I am cooking it next week!

Taste - Really good - and from a gal who isn't very partial to fish, this is high praise! I really enjoyed the combination of salmon, sweet potatoes and herbs

Time/Effort - This was a really easy dish because you boil the salmon and sweet potato together then just drain and mash with the other ingredients. I really liked this method of making them as it didn't feel as fiddly

Repeat? - Yes

Taste - A. Maze. Ing. Seriously this is good - luxuriously so! We left it cook for about 4 hours and came back to a beautifully tender piece of lamb with a gorgeous casserole of vegetables and chorizo. A very special meal

Time/Effort - Takes a long time to cook but actual effort wasn't huge - just preparing vegetables and things

Repeat? - Yes - this is a great special occasion meal

Taste - Chocolate heaven! I love cheesecake. I adore chocolate. Therefore this dessert is divine! And I love the professional look of the top

Time/Effort - A bit of effort involved, and chilling time but nothing too fiddly - even the fancy looking decoration on top was fairly easy!

Repeat? - Yes please!

So there you have my efforts so far. I realise that I have given fairly high praise for nearly all the recipes.

 This is completely genuine and 100 % my opinion! I really enjoyed all the recipes I have cooked so far. The instructions are clear and easy to follow and the recipes themselves create delicious meals!

I am looking forward to cooking some more recipes out of this fantastic book!

How are you getting on with the 2013 Cookbook Challenge?

Love Rebecca 

2013 Cookbook Challenge

Now that Christmas is over, my mind has turned to the new year. I love new beginnings, fresh starts and opportunities to set some goals! I am one of those people who lives day to day life by my to-do lists - seriously I can barely function without one!
Anyway, last year, instead of New Year's resolutions, I created a list of 6 'aims' of things that I wanted to achieve in 2012. I will be reviewing by progress at the weekend, but for now, my mind has turned to next year's list!

One of my aims is the Cookbook Challenge!

The aim of the challenge is simple; to choose a recipe book - anyone you like - and cook every single recipe in it during 2013.

I really enjoy cooking but  I find that I am always cooking the same tried and tested meals out of them! So this is a great opportunity to try a whole set of new recipes!

I am cooking from Lorraine Pascal's ' Home Cooking Made Easy', it contains 100 recipes including starters, breads, mains, desserts, cookies and cakes! And they all look delicious!

I will be blogging about my progress, photographing my efforts, and at the end of the year, reviewing my chosen cookbook!

Want in? Why not join me?
Set yourself the challenge of cooking every recipe in a cookbook this year.

All you need to do....

1. Choose a cookbook
be realistic here - choose a book with recipes in you will enjoy cooking (and eating!)

2. Get cooking! Blog, instagram, tweet, whichever - just share your progress 

3. Join us at the end of the year to review your cookbook

Grab a button, spread the word, and get cooking!

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Leave a comment or drop me an email if you are joining me in the 2013 Cookbook Challenge!

Love Rebecca