Bitesized Rose Scones

Scones have not been a strong point for me, however with a little practice I'm sure that I will get the hang of them one day. I used a recipe from National Trust Simply Baking by Sybil Kapoor, which had a plain scones recipe as a base and then some adaptations underneath. The adaption I tried was for Rose Scones. This was as simple as adding 1/2tsp of rose water/ flavour to the milk before mixing it into the flour. However, you really have to be careful using rose water/ flavour as can be extremely strong and overpower the bake. No more than 1/2 tsp (maybe a little less) is advised.

Although I have made about 24 bite-size scones, 8 larger ones can be made from the same quantity of dough. 

Recipe Below

Pact Coffee

I'm not a huge coffee drinker but my other half is, so we like to have coffee in the house.Whilst I have been told that I can't make a good cup of instant coffee to save my life, I can make a good cup of freshly ground coffee. I found an offer to try pact coffee and have been sharing and inviting friends ever since, it's a bonus that I get my next bag for £1 instead of £6.95 for doing so. Although this isn't instant coffee I was lucky enough to  borrow a small cafetiere from my parents in which I could brew this coffee. I don't have a coffee grinder but you can order coffee beans whole or have it ground for you. Now with this coffee my boyfriend can wake up with a good cup each time.

The coffee is a little expensive but it tastes really nice and even I will have a mug or two occasionally. Each 250g bag is £6.95 with the exception of their Limited Edition, which is £8.95. The website says that each bag will make approximately 15 cups of coffee but in my experience they make more so not bad value for money really, just depends how much you like nice coffee.

Healthy Start to the Day

I used to be a serial breakfast skipper but one looking into weight loss and healthy eating a couple of years ago, I realised that it was a key part of my diet and a really good started my day. It really helps me keep full till lunch. Since then I have always had breakfast (unless I have a long lay in till 11-12ish then I have lunch straight away). 

Since I started having breakfast I used to loved sugar coated cereals but after finding and experimenting with granola/muesli and fruits I started having a healthier option. Calories wise my healthy breakfast always adds up more that a normal bowl of cereal, but tastes so much nicer and I get in a good portion on fruit to boot.

Fresh Doughnuts

                                                   

My boyfriend told me that I couldn't make doughnuts as of the dirty oil but armed with fresh oil for the deep fryer I ready to attempt them! For a first go I think it went rather well. I found a doughnut recipe in John Whaite bakes book and the Great British Bake Off (which one) book they were both the same recipe except the method was written slightly differently as well as the type of filling they used. So I used John Whaite bakes.

                                       

Crispy Chicken, Onion rings and homemade Chips

This is a rather unhealthy meal, but being unhealthy in moderation is a nice treat now and then. Just going to try and be good the rest of the week.  

My Boyfriend decided that he needed to change the oil for the deep fat fryer so thought it would be an awesome opportunity to make deep fried chicken, and to go along side this homemade onion rings and chips. I found a recipe to follow in Gordon Ramsey's Ultimate Home Cooking recipe book for Buttermilk Chicken and Homemade Chips. 

I made the chicken in batches and I changed my cooking method for the second batch. For one, the deep fryers temperature was too high the first time and made the coating very dark and chicken only just cooked (I don't want to give anyone food poising). Therefore I put the chicken in the oven after the coating tuned a nice golden colour to cook the chicken thoroughly. The onion rings and chips worked well first time though. 

Recipes for Crispy Chicken, Onion Rings and Chips Below

Sausage Roll and Mash With Onion and Mushroom Gravy

Haven't had a good sausage roll in ages so decided to make one! Found a recipe in The Constance Spry Cookery Book that I bought over the weekend, it recommend using flaky pastry so that's why I did. But I didn't just want a sausage roll so I served it with mash and a lovely reduced gravy. This made a good size lunch and I absolutely love how the gravy absorbs the onion/garlic and mushroom flavor as it reduces down.









Recipes Below 

Sausage and Chips - Grosvenor Fish Bar

There are two fish and chip shops with an eat in restaurants within Norwich city centre... That I know of and three fish and chip stalls on the market (2 long standing ones and 1 newish one).

Now the market stalls are the cheapest options and there are 2 really good, long standing ones. One is Ron's and the other is Lucy's, personally I always go to Ron's as they do battered sausages and Lucy's has an un-battered one, but whenever I go to the market there is usually a queue for both. The other one is Chip and Dip and is relatively new and not as popular. 

The two
restaurant style shops in the city centre are Orford Plaice and Grosvenor Fish Bar! Now I have tried both and I have to say Grosvenor's chips are much nicer and the atmosphere is better... however Orfords Plaice is more central being next to Debenhams while Grosvenor's is down the lanes which is a little further out. I haven't had a chance to compared their fish yet but their sausages are around the same quality but Grosvenor's has three sizes. These two establishments are pricier than the market stalls but still really good value.

Grosvenors Menu has items that you'll find in most chippys but they also have specials giving them a good range to go along side their chips including squid, tuna, mackerel and Shark nuggets! I really need to try more of these but I always end up fancying a sausage.