Nutty Rocky Road

There's something ever so moreish about the combination of salty peanut butter and sweet chocolate. This recipe is ridiculously quick and simple to make and satisfies that naughty treat craving for a bit. Why, yes, it IS rather naughty but you won't be making it every day will you... If you have a nut allergy obviously don't use the peanut butter; you can replace it with tahini paste if you are not allergic to sesame seeds, otherwise just add a bit more chocolate and it will be plain old non-nutty Rocky Road!

Ingredients;

150g chocolate - approximately half dark half milk
25g butter
Generous heaped tblsp of golden syrup
Generous heaped tblsp of crunchy peanut butter
6 or 7 crushed digestive biscuits
Generous handful of chopped dried fruit
Generous handful of either mini marshmallows or chopped up big ones


Pop the chocolate, butter, syrup and peanut butter in a microwavable bowl and microwave on full for 1 minute. Stir. If it isn't fully melted then put it back in the microwave for another 30 seconds; this should be enough.

Add the dried fruit, crushed biscuits and the mini marshmalloows to the bowl and mix together thoroughly.

Pour the whole lot into a cake tin and refrigerate until firm.

To remove from the tin; hold it upside down & run warm water over the underside of the cake tin until the Rocky Road will rotate in the tin. Turn it out onto a plate, chop into bits & enjoy!

mmmmm caramel shortbread *drool*

title says it all really, I tried out Lucy's recipe for millionaire's shortbread yesterday (with some help from Lyra!) & so we have a plate of yummy sticky sweet shortbready, caramel-fudgey, chocolatey goodness in the fridge (temporarily I feel!)
very good, though shortbread a wee bit too crumbly so think I will need to knead it a bit more next time so it isn't so short (i.e. crumbly). sure I'll try it again though!!!!

Easy strawberry jam

This is such an easy recipe and I personally think the jam is about the best I've tasted if I do say so myself! It's dead simple and it doesn't use ridiculous amounts of sugar because it really doesn't need to last for *years* does it - it's so yummy that months would be pushing it but I expect it would last a year or so in sealed sterile jars. The boiling of the jam and sterilisation of the jars negates the need for masses of sugar and you really don't need pectin as strawberries contain enough themselves for it to set. OK there are plenty of recipes for strawberry jam online but this is my version - I don't usually do following recipes.

Ingredients -
1kilo strawberries (washed and hulled)
50ml lemon juice
300g granulated sugar

Make sure the jars and lids you will be using are very clean and fully sterilised, I use my baby bottle electric stream steriliser but you can wash the jars and lids thoroughly in very hot water then pop them on a baking tray and into an oven that has been heated to at least 100 degrees centigrade. Turn the oven off & leave them for at least 10 minutes. Once you remove them don't touch the inside of the jars or lids as that will undo your sterilisation. simple!

put all the ingredients together in a large saucepan and get your (clean!) hands in there and squish it all together until the strawberries are mostly mashed up with some medium sized lumps still remaining and it's all mixed together & a gorgeously glistening red..
Put the pan on the hob and bring to the boil.
Turn the heat down and simmer the jam, stirring and removing the foam that develops on top every 5 minutes or so.
After about 25 minutes do the cold plate test to see if the jam sets (put a blob of jam on a cold plate and allow it to cool. run a finger through it to check its consistency) - if the jam is too runny simmer for another 5-10 minutes and test again.
Once the jam is setting when tested pour the hot jam into the pre-sterilised jars leaving about 2cm at the top. put the lids on being careful not to touch the inside of jar or lid.
Allow to cool and eat :o)
On the jars have been opened do store in the fridge, otherwise it will last until you make the next batch!!!