For the second year in a row I have made a beef pot roast for New Years Day Dinner. I like that it’s simple when realistically you are going to wake up late, and most likely a little bit worse for wear.
This morning when I eventually woke up, I went straight into making it.
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In the run up to Christmas I did eventually find the time to ice my cake, but only just enough time. In the end I went for a very simple Christmas tree decoration.
Using leftover turkey (or maybe even ham), rice, a couple of eggs and some Chinese 5 spices you can whip up a very quick taste Christmassy dinner.
I’ve been meaning to post this for a while.
Every couple of weeks I have been feeding my Chocolate Christmas Cake with Amaretto.
Of course I can’t tell you much about how it tastes, but it smells wonderful – deep, rich and christmassy. Every time I unwrap the cake the aroma fills the kitchen.
Tomorrow I will ice the cake, however I still haven’t quite decided on how to decorate it, my options so far on this iced Christmas cake pinboard.
Then once I have taken like a billion photos, I will chop it up and eat it.
I’ll let you know how it tastes.
If you use Pinterest then you may have seen this image before. For a while it was everywhere.
Source: pin4fun4412.blogspot.com via CoffeeMuffins on Pinterest
I’m not exactly a skilled knitter, and I also don’t really have the patience to do long simple patterns – I need to feel like I am pushing myself. After looking at the notes on the project on Ravelry for Boot Candy Boot Toppers, this looked like the perfect pattern for me. It is quick to knit up, knitted in the round (new to me) and with cables.
At the end of December I wrote a post about how I had stopped cooking and baking during the stress of planning a wedding. How I had resolved to get myself back into it using a list of techniques and dishes I wanted to create by the end of 2012. Needless to say I can’t strike a single thing off of that list.
My first year as a married woman has not been spent as a domestic goddess, with apron on, baking delicious treats and warming homely dinners. While it is extremely unlikely I will ever be that woman, I can always hope (and pursue) more of a life/work balance for the next year.
However there was one thing that shines out above all others on the list, to bake, marzipan and ice a cake.
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Last summer I was growing a whole host of different veggies in my garden, but in the end I never got much of anything. Unless 3 cherry tomatoes counts as a glut.
Towards the middle of last summer my Mum brought me up a rhubarb plant, by this point I had very low expectations of anything in my garden.
However I planted it, not really believing that it would last the winter. (With new rhubarbs you are meant to leave them a year to bed in before picking).
Surprisingly not only did it survive but it’s doing amazingly well!
With my homegrown rhubarb I knew I wanted to something a bit different – not something I could buy in the shops like a pie or crumble and something so good I would have to blog about it.
It’s been a while since I have made the staple of this blog – the muffin – so the decision was easy.
I also have plans for Rhubarb Vodka and Rhubarb Ice Cream.
The weather in the UK and especially Edinburgh has been pretty terrible. Yesterday Matt and I popped out for lunch in the sunshine (with no rain forecast) by the time we were walking home it was torrential.
In my family we have running jokes about the moment you even think of having a barbecue the rain will come on, it’s similar to when the washing machine goes into its final spin cycle. No matter how blue the sky is, or how distant the clouds are, the weather will turn for the worse.
So I am responsible for the terrible weather in Edinburgh this summer. In June I bought a P-O-P-S-I-C-L-E mould.
I apologise.
Since then we have barely had a day of sunshine, and the temperature hasn’t raised above 16oC. I had imagined the summer spent with lots of great experiments with these icy treats. Could you get 5 of your 6 a day from a popsicle? Could you successfully recreate a G&T popsicle? Frozen champagne?
My best laid plans are not to be, however you can’t give up entirely, so I went ahead and made these cherry popsicles anyway.
Definitely worth the effort, even if the tips of my toes were turning blue in sandals as we ate them :)
The husband and I have been doing a fair amount of traveling recently Amsterdam, Dublin, London and most recently a week long holiday on the Greek island of Rhodes. While discovering a new city or relaxing on a beach somewhere ranks pretty highly on my favourite things to do, airport travel, funnily enough, does not.
However I have to grudgingly admit the airport food is getting a little bit better. Gone are the days when a flight from Glasgow meant the choice of Burger King or a slightly dried up sandwich. In Edinburgh I actually enjoy going to Eat before a flight, as they do light and tasty meals.
I have been wanting to recreate their Ham & Potato Summer Salad for a while, it’s pretty simple and it’s a salad that can be great for dinner not just lunch :)
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While in Amsterdam I noticed that in our hotel beside the coffee and tea there was a glass full of mint. At that time in the morning I thought nothing of it, and filled my coffee cup. (I don’t often do a lot of thinking before my morning coffee).
But then on our last day we stopped in a cafe for one last coffee before heading to the airport. On the drinks menu was Fresh Mint Tea.
Welcome to CoffeeMuffins! A blog that started out about two of my favourite (unhealthy) things has become rather more balanced, and I try to post just as many healthy meals as cakes.
I'd love to hear from you! 
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