We Love Cooking! [Search results for apple juice] 

I am not a big alcohol drinker, I never have been, mainly due to being a complete lightweight, who feels the effects of it after one glass! Unlike many other fellas my age I don't love beer and generally stick to spirits if I am drinking on a night out. Which leads me on to my little confession... I have a, not so secret, penchant for cocktails! I have no shame in ordering an apple martini or a mohito while everyone around me is skulling pints and generally don't care if the glass is frosted with pink sugar or if a tropical mini umbrella has been elegantly plopped in the glass. I just feel if I am going to spend money on alcohol it might as well be worth it and have a sense of occassion about it. Probably one of the best things I have done for nights in, with friends over has been, to create my homemade versions of my favourite cocktails. Check out this quick and easy recipe for Strawberry Daiquiris. If you aren't big on specific measurements think of the recipe as, half rum, half apple juice, a handful of strawberries, a tablespoon of caster sugar and a handful of ice cubes- blitz and enjoy!

Simple Strawberry Daiquiris
In my opinion nothing is more impressive than a good cocktail at a dinner party, to get a great night started! Now although strawberry daiquiris may not be the most manly of cocktails, they are my drink of choice and this is my recipe for foolproof super tasty daiquiris. Though I have to add, this recipe does come with a warning, once you learn it, you may find yourself making them all too often! I use frozen strawberries here as it is so convenient to have a few packets of them stocked up in the freezer. Using frozen berries means you end up with a really delicious slush and you can also use any other frozen berries in this mix, so experiment with the ingredients!

Serves 6
400g strawberries, frozen
300ml white rum
300ml pressed apple juice
1 tablespoon of caster sugar
A small handful of ice cubes

Place the strawberries and ice cubes in a food processor, pour in the apple juice, rum and sprinkle in the sugar.
Blitz for about 30 seconds until you get a smooth slushy mixture.
Taste a teaspoonful as you may need to add a little more sugar to taste.
Serve in frosted cocktail glasses, it's the only way to enjoy them!

This is what we woke up to this morning. Now if that doesn't get you going on a Monday morning I don't know what will! After a pretty unsettled couple of weeks were back on track with a healthy lifestyle starting with a nice healthy jog last night, unfortunately I know it's going to be broken up yet again when we hit Sweden on Friday!

This is a great breakfast to start the week. So many people forget about breakfast, but when your mother told you to eat it, she was right! When you think about it logically, your body hasn't received any nutrients since the night before and is therefore running practically on empty! When you wait till twelve to nourish your body you have wasted a whole morning, when you could have had your body full of nutrients releasing energy.

As a general rule it is always better to eat something for breakfast rather than nothing. People who are making the time excuse generally aren't being realistic, I made this breakfast and ate it in 20 mins and it was a fairly big one, every person can make the time in the morning, by setting the alarm that little bit earlier.

Getting out of bed is a mental thing, when the alarm goes off I get straight out of bed and don't leave myself time to consider those extra few minutes I could waste by staying there. Try it tomorrow, just get straight up when the alarm rings, it's not that hard and you feel great about yourself too! Well that's what I told the girlfriend when I dragged her out of bed this morning! :)

Mixed Fruit Smoothie

1. 1/2 cup of Mixed Frozen Berries
2. 1 Banana
3. Orange or Apple Juice (not from concentrate)

I always keep some frozen mixed berries (Boylan's) which you can get in most supermarkets these days, as there perfect for smoothies because they last for a long time in the freezer. Throw the Berries in a container with the banana and fill the container up as far as the berries with Orange or Apple juice.

Then blend and serve, it's really quick and really easy.

After a fairly busy weekend the majority of my worldly belongings have been moved into our new house! The bad news we got today however is that it's going to take a whopping 25 days to get broadband installed in the house because there hasn't been a line there since 1994. So a life of robbing other peoples internet is what's on the cards for the next 25 days. Which isn't a bad thing really, I mean I would get far more things done if I wasn't drooling over my new favourite food blog What Katie Ate and talking crap on twitter. The truth is that I will probably far more focused now on cooking in the kitchen without my laptop keys getting covered in flour, corners nearly being singed and screen getting a lovely smattering of grease.

We should really talk about the kitchen, it is a bit of a work in progress but there is lots and lots of light and space so in the next few days I'll be adding a few touches to make it perfect and then you most definitely will be due a photo or two. Very exciting stuff! The other advantage this new lovely house has is a big back garden, which at the moment looks like an overgrown jungle, but with a bit of work, by next spring will make the perfect little vegetable garden! Right enough new house talk how about a recipe?

Rustic Apple and Blackberry Galettes
These are one of my favorite little autumnal (yes I said autumnal, it rolls off the tongue doesn't it!) desserts, because they are really easy and make you look like a baking genius, when, realistically all you do is make some pastry and fill it with apples and blackberries. No messing around with blind baking, pie tins, or fancy latticing here, this is a no fuss dessert which you have to serve with cream or, even better, a soft scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Serves 4
Pastry:
250g of plain flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
140g of chilled butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg yolk
3 tablespoons of cold water

Filling:
250g of blackberries
250g of cooking apples, peeled and sliced thinly
4 tablespoons of light brown sugar
A good squeeze of lemon juice
1 egg whisked together with a drop of milk to brush on the galettes

Add the flour, sugar, salt and butter to a mixing bowl.
Using your fingertips, combine the dry ingredients with the butter, until it resembles coarse bread crumbs. This can take time, but don't worry the mixture will come together.
Add the egg yolk and water and form the dough using your hands.
Press the dough into a sausage shape and cover it in clingfilm, place in the fridge to chill for at least 30-40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 190oC/Gas mark 5.
Mix together the blackberries, apples, sugar, and lemon juice in a bowl and set aside.
Split the dough in four and roll each quarter out into 6"/15cm circles on a floured work surface with a rolling pin. Transfer the rounds to a baking sheet with a non stick surface.
Add a handful of the blackberry apple mix to the centre of each pastry circle and fold the sides of the pastry up and over the sides of the fruit mix. Brush with the pastry with egg wash and place in the oven to bake for 20-30 minutes. Allow to cool before serving with a dollop of thick, cool whipped cream and dust with a little icing sugar.

Everyone has their favourite way of enjoying pancakes, personally I love them nice and simple with a sprinkle of sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice, sweet and fresh! Generally the more simple ideas seem to work when it comes to serving up really tasty pancakes and to be honest nothing gets more simple than a spread of nutella and scattering of chopped toasted hazelnuts. To make life easy zap the nutella in the microwave for about 30 seconds and it will be much easier to spread or drizzle! I posted this basic pancake recipe I use all the time last year but in case you're looking for one today here it is again. If you're not a chocolate fan, why not try these caramel apple pancakes!

Basic Pancake Recipe
You can easily make this batter the night before to save time in the morning. Have a little melted butter in a bowl and some kitchen paper so you can wipe the pan before adding a ladle of the batter.

Makes 12-14 pancakes
110g of plain flour.
A pinch of salt.
2 large eggs.
200ml of milk.
75ml of water.
2 tablespoons of melted butter.

Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl and with a spoon make a well in the center. Break the eggs into the well and using a whisk slowly incorporate them with the flour. Don't worry too much about lumps as they should disappear when you add the rest of the liquid. Gradually add the milk and water until you have a light batter. Heat a little butter in your frying pan over a hot heat, and add 2 tablespoons of melted butter to the batter, stir through to combine. Add a ladle full of the batter to the hot pan and move from side to side until it evenly covers the surface of the pan. Reduce the heat and cook for about a minute each side or until the batter begins to take a nice golden colour. Feel free to try your hand at flipping half way through!
Serve straight away with your filling of choice, or try the classic filling of lemon juice and sugar. You can cook all the batter off and save the pancakes for later. Simply layer the crepes on top each other, cover with some cling film and store in the fridge. They should heat up well in a microwave.

Since it's pancake Tuesday tomorrow, I thought I'd post a basic pancake recipe so you can prepare the batter ahead of time- Tomorrow I have a super tasty caramel apple sauce to post which goes perfect with pancakes, so stay tuned for that!

This recipe is a little nostalgic for me, it comes from a Delia Smith cookbook, "Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course", which is one of the oldest cook book's we have in our house. The first page is signed by my auntie Ann who had bought it for my mom as a belated Christmas present and is dated January the 22nd 1983. The book is full of old cards, notes, and handwritten recipes which have been collected over the years. Pancakes were one of the first things I learned to cook and when I actually went to check up the proper quantities, the pages were partially stuck together and full of splatters- which is for me, the sign of a truly great recipe!

Basic Pancake Recipe
You can easily make this batter the night before to save time in the morning. Have a little melted butter in a bowl and some kitchen paper so you can wipe the pan before adding a ladle of the batter.

Makes 12-14 recipes.
110g of plain flour.
A pinch of salt.
2 large eggs.
200ml of milk.
75ml of water.
2 tablespoons of melted butter.

Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl and with a spoon make a well in the center. Break the eggs into the well and using a whisk slowly incorporate them with the flour. Don't worry too much about lumps as they should disappear when you add the rest of the liquid. Gradually add the milk and water until you have a light batter. Heat a little butter in your frying pan over a hot heat, and add 2 tablespoons of melted butter to the batter, stir through to combine. Add a ladle full of the batter to the hot pan and move from side to side until it evenly covers the surface of the pan. Reduce the heat and cook for about a minute each side or until the batter begins to take a nice golden colour. Feel free to try your hand at flipping half way through!
Serve straight away with your filling of choice, or try the classic filling of lemon juice and sugar. You can cook all the batter off and save the pancakes for later. Simply layer the crepes on top each other, cover with some cling film and store in the fridge. They should heat up well in a microwave.