Love Life | Madness Concert

Love Life | Madness Concert | Belfast 29th 2009

Woo! So last night we went to see Madness in Belfast for my friends birthday, it was a good night but i struggled a wee bit.. just with being dizzy and not feeling well.. i reallly enjoyed myself. Guna steal a lift over to Dils tonight and then tomorrow is her actual birthday.. its no longer new years eve.... so i need to make a cake and do things. Im so tired after everything. Just going to rest up this afternoon n have a wee sleep :) These photos are the best of a bad bunch!

See you all in 2010!

Love Life | Christmas Day

 Love Life | Christmas Day 

I was spoilt rotten today.. thank you so much parents and family! I got a cath kidston butter dish and sewing box.. i was so excited.. and cook books! And a hand blender and a bread machine! I nearly exploded! Im so tired right now though....

I LOVE all of my books and my butterdish.. i cant wait to use them.

and.. i wanted a picture of my lovely dress and also to add to the wardrobe remix pool but i look SO short!

Love Life | Christmas Eve

Love Life | Christmas Eve | Just a quick update

Today we went up to my aunty and uncles house and it was sooooo pictureesque with all the snow! It was amazing.. ive never seen snow lie like this and it will be the first white christmas in aaages.. unless it rains something serial tonight. So I was taking pictures....

Love Food | Chilli Jam

Love Food | Chilli Jam

Ok so I thought i should update this today as its a day of relaxation at my parents! Tomorrow starts off the visiting and eating so this will probably be the only time i get some peace! These are my lil chilli Jam jars resting on the window sill. I had to recook them to set them and they turned really flippin sticky.. so if i make this again i need to add a bit more lemon juice.

INGREDIENTS

150g long fresh red chillies, each deseeded and cut into about 4 pieces.

150g red peppers, cored, deseeded and cut into rough chunks

1kg jam sugar

600ml cider vinegar

6 x 250ml sealable jars, with vinegar-proof lid, such as Kilner jar or re-usable pickle jar

Serving Size : Makes approx. 1.5. Litre

The jars I used were spice jars from ikea... I washed them in soapy water and put them in the oven to sterilize.- This is courtesy of Nigella Lawson. I love her.

METHOD

1.	Sterilize your jars and leave to cool.
2.	Put the cut-up chillies into a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped. Add the chunks of red pepper and pulse again until you have a vibrantly red-flecked processor bowl.
3.	Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a wide, medium-sized pan over a low heat without stirring.
4.	Scrape the chilli-pepper mixture out of the bowl and add to the pan. Bring the pan to the boil, then leave it at a rollicking boil for 10 minutes.
5.	Take the pan off the heat and allow it cool. The liquid will become more syrupy, then from syrup to viscous and from viscous to jelly-like as it cools.
6.	After about 40 minutes, or once the red flecks are more or less evenly dispersed in the jelly (as the liquid firms up, the hints of chilli and pepper start being suspended in it rather than floating on it), ladle into your jars. If you want to stir gently at this stage, it will do no harm. Then seal tightly.

I Made This | December Daily 09 pt2

December Daily 09 pt 2.

I still have to do the cover for this bad boy! And then fill in today tomorrow and christmas day... I will definitely upload the rest at some stage.

For bingo cards go to the freebies section of the blog to download!

Love Food | Roast Tomato & Black Olive Pasta Sauce

FIRST SNOW | Then i was a domestic goddess

omg today was amazing. it never snows in Northern ireland.. never in december anyway. I got excited and then i didnt believe it - cuz i cud only see the skylight.. then i jumped up and got so exciiiited. Took a photo of all the snow from the rooftops too. Woo!

D was getting up to get ready for the bookshop and i jumped up as soon as i saw snow :) Ninja had the best time in it ever. but she wudnt step in it..

I love that theres some snow on her bum thats in the shape of a heart

Then before C-Unit went to work Geoff was giving him a lift and whilst clearing the car they were ambushed by a guy up the street! I was out in my pyjamas at almost midday taking photos lol. Cuz im classy :)

After all the excitement ended I decided I better get my bum in gear and make more sauces for the Gift Hampers I was making for people. Ive already made my chilli jam but it didnt set correctly so I was too busy to blog about it! but i will update with photos and recipe! Im also putting in a Pesto. i made a chutney on thursday night but didnt read the instructions and failed to notice it takes a month!

Anyway!! yes... 

Roast Tomato and Black Olive Pasta Sauce - 

this recipe makes LOADS. I gave away big jars and my dad is getting left overs. It really makes loads.

BTW Shallots - EVIL!!!

Its made me want to invest in an onion chopper. I thought my eyes were going to fall out.

Ingredients

1. 2.5kg ripe vine tomatoes, halved

2. 125ml olive oil, plus 4 tbsp

3. 3 shallots, finely sliced

4. Half a head of garlic, finely sliced

5. 1 red chilli, halved and deseeded

6. 2 tbsp red wine vinegar

7. 2 tsp caster sugar

8. 130g good black olives, pitted and roughly chopped

9. 3 tbsp capers, drained, rinsed and roughly chopped

Method

1. 1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. Put the tomatoes in a big roasting tin and drizzle with 4 tbsp olive oil. Season and roast for 30-40 minutes until softened.

2. 2. Meanwhile, gently heat 125ml olive oil in a big frying pan. Add the shallots, garlic and chilli and fry over a very low heat for 10 minutes until soft. Set aside for 10 minutes. Sieve into a jug and discard the solids.

3. 3. Pour the oil into a large pan and set over a medium heat. Crush the tomatoes with a fork and add to the pan. Simmer gently for 5 minutes, then add the vinegar, sugar, olives and capers. Simmer for a further 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick and rich. Check the seasoning and remove from the heat. Transfer to a sterilised jar or jars (see tip).

Nutritional info

Per 100g: 65kcals, 5.5g fat (0.8g saturated), 0.8g protein, 3.3g carbs, 2.9g sugar, 0.3g salt

I will update the blog with a picture of the finished gift hamper! Im going to need to instruct the other half to look for baskets or something. If theyre too expensive I might have to just wrap some boxes, which I dont mind.. cuz I can use brown paper and print out my labels and things.

Love Life | Naff Jumper Christmas Party

Naff Jumper Christmas Party

This was my favourite picture from the party

This is Adam, my good friend from work. I hadnt seen him in sooo long.

These are 3 Dictator Faces.... they were planning to take over canada.

I had a really great time at the party.. but i was so tired by about 11 i started getting a bit grumpy. But i made food and things, think i wore myself out preppin everything! My bfs housemate came round with him last night to use our oven to make an almighty huge polish honey cake.

n this is all the foood. it was so nice..

ooO we had to fix the carpet on the stairs too before people came round.. but we signed it first :P so whenever the landlord decides to change the carpet he'll see our lovely writing lol

D and i spent all day today lying about in our pjs and watching movies on the tv. Had a shower n got up about and hour ago lol.. now im guna think about dinner. possibly

Love Food | Sweet Potato & Butternut Squash Soup

Love Food | Sweet Potato & Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

Been spending some quality time with Nigella Lawson and she really put me in the mood for some butternut and sweet potato soup yesterday, so i nipped to the veg shop beside the house and got what i needed.. this is soooo easy to do its unreal.

Basically chop it all up, stick it in a pan and roast the veg... then blend and eat. Done and Done! Here is the recipe thought lol... just incase my incredibly detailed instructions of chopping and roasting werent enough!

Ive included a pic from Nigellas site to show u what it looks like while cooked. I was far too hungry to take photos. By the time anyone grabbed a camera i was on my second bowl :)

INGREDIENTS 350g diced butternut squash and sweet potato from a packet 750ml hot chicken or vegetable stock 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground mace good grinding of pepper 4 teaspoons buttermilk Serving Size : Serves 2 - I know it says 2 but it served a lot more than 2 in my house... we got about 6 bowls or so and lasted two days.

METHOD

1.	Put the diced butternut and sweet potato in a saucepan with the hot chicken or vegetable stock and both spices.
2.	Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Add some pepper to taste.
3.	Purée the soup in a blender – you will find that by removing the centre nozzle on the lid and placing a hand or tea towel over the top, you will not get a build-up of pressure or an explosion of soup on your walls.
4.	Pour the blended soup into two bowls, garnishing each bowl with swirls made with 2 teaspoons of buttermilk. ITS AMAZING!!!!

I also made some Sundried tomato and parmesan bread - it is flippin lovely! BUT lol i forgot about them and they turned into tiny little brick like rocks. I was so mad! But i took some lovely photos of the dough lol...

Forgive me for not blocking out the evil brand name of tesco. I would endorse anyother type of flour but that made by the evil supermarket chain but is what was i the house

Love Food | Tomato & Chilli Pesto Gift

Love Food | Tomato & Chilli Recipe for Christmas Gift

yesterday... totally sucked. But mum got me a new hat to cheer me up, which worked.

Last night D came over to cheer me up a lil bit after a bad hospital visit and he helped me make the Tomato & Chilli Pesto for the christmas gift boxes im making. I didnt take annnny photos.. but this was our first experience at evil evil evil faced shallots. The small ones are the meanest. I have never cried so much cutting an onion.

I think I blended mine a bit too much instead of pulsing it... but anyway!

Ingredients

1. 260g jar semi-dried tomatoes in oil
2. 1 red chilli, deseeded and roughly chopped
3. 25g pine nuts
4. 2 plump garlic cloves, crushed
5. Handful fresh flatleaf parsley leaves
6. 125ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for storing
7. 20g Parmesan, finely grated

Method

1. 1. Put the tomatoes, chilli, pine nuts, garlic, parsley and oil into a food processor and blend to a paste. Season well and transfer to a bowl.
2. 2. Stir in the Parmesan. Put into a sterilised jar or jars (see tip), then top with a film of olive oil.

Nutritional info

Per 100g: 466kcals, 43.9g fat (4.8g saturated), 2.6g protein, 0.7g carbs, 0.5g sugar, 0.1g salt

Chef's tip

Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Once open, use within 2 days. To sterilise jars (plus the lids, if you’re using them), otherwise this recipe will go mouldy, wash jars thoroughly in warm, clean, soapy water, rinse and drain upside down on kitchen towel. Place on a baking tray in a preheated oven at 140°C/fan120°C/gas 1 for 15-20 minutes.