Posts Tagged ‘cooking’
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The home preservation society
Back in the day, every girl knew how to make home preserves. These days, making your own gherkins, jams, relishes, etc isn’t just a quirky throwback skill, it’s also a way to stretch out the taste of summer long into the autumn and winter… and save a bit of cash while you’re at it.
My mum recently showed me how to make chutney. It’s not the speediest of ventures, but the results are delicious. What’s more, this oola mission is sure to save me money on my grocery bill (ok, a small savings there) and also come in handy at Christmas when I wrap up a jar with some biscuits as a festive little gift.
Posted in Food
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Posh afternoon tea for two for £10 [Part 2]
My home-made afternoon tea went down a treat – have a look at the results:
Admittedly I came in just over budget at £11.94, but think I did an OK good job with making my own scones and sandwiches. Remember, I’m not the best of cooks, so this was something of a challenge for me. I also have a very tiny kitchen and not a huge range of baking utensils, but I made–do with a few substitutes. For instance, I don’t own any scone cutters, so I used a glass tumbler to cut out the rounds of dough instead. And I also don’t have a pastry brush, so I ‘brushed’ milk on the tops of the scones with my (very clean!) finger tips! Thankfully the scone recipe was super-easy and they came out quite well – and it was lovely eating them warm and straight out of the oven.
Scones before …
… and looking v. golden and gorgeous, after!I picked some flowers out of the garden for my ‘centrepiece’ and dug out all my vintage china to set the table. I got a new cake stand for my birthday, which looked very pretty piled with scones and retro English biscuits. I ended up going for Jammy Dodgers, Party Rings and Fondant Fancies. My friend brought along her own art-deco cup, saucer and plate, and I think we achieved that mis-matched vintage look we were going for.
Despite going over budget, it was a big success and we had a lovely afternoon. Watch the video below and see me making a huge mess in the kitchen. I’m not called the Swedish Chef (from the Muppets) for no reason…
TOTAL SPENT: £11.94
COST OF AFTERNOON TEA FOR TWO AT LONDON’S DORCHESTER HOTEL: £75.36 (not including the discretionary service charge we usually pay)
SAVINGS: £63.42PROS:
• Could relax with friend at home.
• Lovely warm scones straight out of the oven.CONS:
• The shopping, cooking and cleaning-up afterwards.
• Not exactly Dorchester-standard food.
Posted in Food
