Gone Girl

Image from Amazon

James brought me this for Valentines Day, and as I was in the middle of a three-part series at the time, I thought I’d save it to start on our flight to Iceland last month. I’m a bit late in writing this as things have been so hectic, but better late than never!

The Split Worlds: All Is Fair

Image from Amazon

This is the last in the trilogy, following on from Any Other Name. 

Easy Easter Cupcakes

Our kitchen is in a huge state of disarray; there are cupboard carcasses installed in some areas, piles of tools everywhere, no flooring, no sink, no worktops… but we do now have our range in and hooked up to the electric. Alas, still no gas connection, so we can’t use the hobs, but we can at least use the oven! With minimal space, utensils and bowls/pans etc, I needed a really quick and easy recipe to make my Easter bake this year. Enter these easy cupcakes; they’re simple lightly spiced sponges with loads of Mini Eggs added for Eastery goodness. Obviously Mini Eggs are seasonal, but Smarties or M&Ms would work just as well!

My 5 Year Relationship with the Gym

This post is probably the most personal I’ve shared so far. I’m not sharing my life story or anything like that, but whilst signing in at the gym earlier this week, I noticed it said that I had been a member since April 2010... and it dawned on me that I've now been attending a gym for five whole years. I mean five years… that’s a long time. It got me thinking about how much my relationship and attitudes towards the gym have changed over those years and how I’ve changed as a person because of it.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Tarts

For Mother's Day this year, I hosted an afternoon tea for some of the wonderful ladies in my life; my Mum, my sister, my Nan and my God Mother.
I got out all of our pretty crockery and glasses, made up little triangle sandwiches and baked a whole host of sweet and savoury treats to share (obviously this was before our kitchen was taken out!). Some things I'd make before, like the scones and mini quiches, but I'll be sharing some of the other recipes over the next couple of weeks while we are without a kitchen, starting with these little PB & J tarts! And don't forget, you can follow me on Instagram - @jadebakes89

Muse - Psycho Tour

If anyone asks me who my favourite band are, since I was about 13 years old, my answer has always been Muse (closely followed by David Bowie, if you were interested). I love rock music, but Muse have always stood out for me as their music is so different to anything else around - or at least that's how I felt when I first heard them and first fell in love with their sound.

The Split Worlds: Any Other Name

Image taken from Amazon

 This is the second installment of the trilogy I am currently reading (you can read my post about the first part here).

Kitchen Update

I don’t know if you remember, but I shared my new kitchen space with you last year (here)…

Well, over Christmas we had a change of heart and decided to get a new kitchen sooner rather than later.

Mocha Sandwich Cookies

My godmother is the most awkward person to choose gifts for, so when her birthday came round this week I decided to bake her a gift instead of buying something. I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time due to an already busy week, so I thought I'd adapt the recipe I shared for ginger pinwheel biscuits to make some cookie dough which I could prepare in advance. And as you bake from frozen, it's super easy to have a batch of freshly baked cookies ready in a flash!

Alien Bust Amigurumi

Shhh... this is supposed to be a secret! I am only 90% sure that he won't see this, but I'm willing to take the risk... Here's what I've been working on for Mikey's birthday present this year!

The Breakfast Club – Blueberry Monkey Bread

As I mentioned in my last post, 2015 has been a year for big breakfasts, with big groups of friends. It’s been fun spending more time together in a more sociable (and less drunken) environment, and I hope that we can keep it up throughout the year. As hosts this weekend, James’ croquet madame muffins went down a treat, and my blueberry monkey bread was well received too. This recipe has been adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction's recipe for Homemade Cinnamon Monkey Bread. I forgot to take a photo of it before everyone tucked in, but you can see in the photo that I did manage to take what the structure is like inside. 

The Breakfast Club – Croque Madame Muffins

The new year marked the start of a new event for a group of our friends; The Breakfast Club. We’re taking it in turns to host fortnightly breakfasts in an effort to get together more often outside of the pub on a Friday night. So far we’ve been treated to a good old fry up, an American style brunch of pancakes and corned beef hash, and another intercontinental fusion of Indian eggs and bacon.

This weekend it was our turn, and we both chose a dish each to make for our friends. James went for croque madame muffins for the savoury option, and I chose to make a blueberry monkey bread ring for those with a sweeter tooth. Here I’m sharing James’ recipe for the croque madame muffins; I think as part of a larger spread, one each would be enough, but as the main event, I’d recommend two per person. Recipe adapted from The Little Paris Kitchen on BBC. This recipe makes 12.

The Split Worlds: Between Two Thorns

Image taken from Amazon

Whilst browsing our local Forbidden Planet in the run up to Christmas, I came across this series of novels by Emma Newman. I read the blurb on the back, and solely on the basis that they’re set in Bath (or it’s reflection in a fantasy world) decided to put them on my Christmas list.

Honey and Almond Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal cookies are one of my favourites. They are so easily adaptable, you can use the same base recipe for anything from fruity, to chocolatey, to nutty cookies - and you can get a lot of cookies from what seems like a relatively small amount of ingredients, depending on what size you make them, which makes them great for feeding a crowd. This recipe is adapted from here.

By the way, you can follow me on Instagram! I'm 'jadebakes89'.

Pistachio and Sea Salt Brownie Cake

I made this as birthday cake at work for another colleague - we've had three birthdays in three weeks! After making the fruity blueberry and coconut cake the previous week, I thought I'd go for something chocolaty this time, and this did not disappoint! I came across this recipe on BBC Good Food months ago, and so adapted this slightly to make this amazingly fudgy, pistachio topped brownie cake. It's a good one for making ahead as it'll keep for a few days and still be rich in the middle, and you could just as easily replace the pistachios with any other nut you fancy.

The Labyrinth Worm Amigurumi

Jim Henson's The Labyrinth is my all-time favourite movie; I think it's where my love of David Bowie stems from. I love the puppetry, the creatures, the costumes, Sarah's journey... everything.

Coconut and Blueberry Cake

This is the first birthday cake of the year at work; a light sponge topped with a generous amount of fresh cream and a mountain of blueberries. Although it might not be the prettiest cake, it's quick and easy to make, and went down a storm with my colleagues! 

The English Passengers

Cover Image from Amazon

The first book of 2015; English Passengers by Matthew Kneale. 

I actually started this way before Christmas, but didn't have much chance to read it until the new year. It follows the story of five characters and their adventures that become intertwined in a hilarious and unexpected way.

Oh my, cheesy chicken and bacon pie!

There’s nothing better on a cold, miserable evening than a nice warming pie – comfort food at its best. This is great for using up any left over chicken you have from your roast dinner, and it’s really simple to make. We actually served this between the two of us with just some steamed veg on the side (yes, we’re pigs) but it would easily feed four with a side of potatoes too. You could even make four individual pies in large ramekins – it’d make dishing up a little easier (less messy)!

Amigurumi Humpty Dumpty Puzzle

Pattern from Book People Studio

This is my first non-recipe post! I only got into crochet in late 2013, making a few little bits that included a hat, a scarf, and a blanket. For Christmas that year, I was given an amigurumi pattern book, and decided that this was more my thing than just making scarves. I made an entire mobile's worth of sea creatures with my new found skills, but then due to a (very long and drawn out) house move, I just couldn't find the time for this particular hobby. It has probably been just under a year since I last crocheted anything, but I've really enjoyed getting back into it and have a ton of things I now want to try making. 

Reflection and Potential Expansion

Chocolate and Ginger Pinwheel Biscuits

I can't believe this is my first post of 2015, and it's been over two months since my last recipe! I needed the break though - the run-up to Christmas, and the festive period itself, was hectic and finding time to keep this up to date would have been one commitment too many I think! I've still baked a lot - mostly as Christmas gifts and desserts for big family dinners - but was so preoccupied with other things that I forgot to take any photographs of a lot of it! Doh! These cookies though, are one of the few things that I do have a badly taken photo of, so I thought I'd start here. I made these for all our neighbours, and the lovely ladies that serve me in the bank when I go for work, as a little Christmas gift, they looked super cute in little cello-bags, decorated with ribbons and bells!