Apricot and Coconut Flapjack

I totally forgot about this little beauty.

Flapjack is one of those snacks that we like to think of as healthy, just because its got oats in. In reality, that's not the case. But that doesn't stop me loving them! And this is not just any flapjack, oh no. This is a tastier, more exciting take on the traditional flapjack. And its got fruit in, so lets kid ourselves that it's a superfood. I love making this during revision time, as it's easy to whip up, makes a LOT to keep aside and is great for when you have the munchies and need something substantial and comforting. Here's how you make it...

Ingredients:

85g soft brown sugar
85g butter
170g oats
4 tbsp golden syrup
50g dessicated coconut
1 handful dried apricots

Melt your butter, sugar and golden syrup in a large saucepan

Take off the heat and stir in the oats

Add in your coconut and chopped apricots.

Spread the mixture into a greased baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes at 170°C until golden brown

Once cooked, score out the squares whilst soft before they set. This makes it easier to separate when they harden, without making a big old mess.

And there you have it! One of the easiest snacks you can make, perfect for revision time. If you don't want to share them (why would you, they're friggin' amazing!) they will keep for a few days if stored in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

Festival Virgins

Festival season is here.

Despite all our attempts back in October, we weren't lucky enough to get tickets to Glastonbury. I was gutted. At least I've got Sziget to look forward to!


If anyone reading this is going to their very first festival, here are some of my tips:

Packing Essentials

1. Torch
Finding your tent at 2am after your fair share of ciders is a lot harder than you think, especially with those pesky guide ropes everywhere!

2. Cowboy Hat
When else can you wear one in public?! It also prevents the dreaded sunburnt scalp so you don't spend the week after looking like a Head & Shoulders before shot.

3. Tissues
There will NEVER be any loo roll - even on the first day. Buy several packets of Kleenex (trust me, there will never be enough to go around otherwise), pop in your bag and share with friends. Toilet roll is a lot more awkward to carry around, and chances are it will get all soggy anyway...

4. Alcohol
It is a well known fact that the drink prices at UK festivals are EXTORTIONATE. A lot of festivals ban alcohol into the arena - even if they let you take it into the campsite, what use is that?! Lucky for you, I have some sneaky tips...

- If your taking spirits, decant into a big plastic bottle. Then once you're in the campsite decant it further into smaller plastic bottles and top up with your mixer. If you are unlucky enough to get a savvy guard to sniff it out at least you haven't lost the whole lot! I've only been 'caught' once - he sniffed the bottle and either was unable to detect the smell of peach schnapps or couldn't be bothered to confiscate it off me. Didn't matter 'cos I had the booze!

- If you do try the previous method, don't confuse the vodka for water!

- Or you can get one of these:

5. Disposable BBQ
These are great on the first day, as you don't have to blow your money on food straight away. Also a lot more sociable, and a good way to mingle with your new neighbours (see below). It's also a good idea to take a few deckchairs so you have somewhere to sit outside of your tent

6. Cheap sunglasses/phone/camera
In fact just buy a cheap version of anything valuable you have to take out there. Chances are it will either get lost or ruined at a festival so save yourself the heartbreak!



General advice:

There will always be clashes between your favourite artists - it's inevitable. You won't be able to see everything. Just enjoy it in the moment rather than fret over how much time you have left at Bastille before you need to run somewhere else to catch the end of Vampire Weekend. If everyone else wants to see a different artist, don't let that stop you seeing an act you really want to, you'll regret it if you don't! Festivals are very sociable events, it's really not a big deal if you go somewhere solo!

Befriend your neighbours. Not only may you find someone who might want to see the artist you want, you're also less likely to get stuff pinched from your tent. There is ALWAYS a hungover dude chilling by the tents, he can watch the stuff.

Don't worry about how you look/smell. Everyone is in the same boat, trust me there are a lot smellier and dirtier people out there! All you need is some baby wipes, deodorant and dry shampoo to maintain a reasonable level of freshness. Don't bother with the showers - they cost money and waste a good few hours of your day, there's music to see!

Expectation:

Reality:

It's not all about the music. A lot of festivals have so much more going on, have an explore round some of the weird and wonderful tents. Glastonbury has loads of different 'villages' to explore - some of my best memories have been from stumbling across something unexpected!

Finally, don't go too hard on day one. Your first festival is exciting and it's easy to get carried away, but remember...It's a marathon not a sprint!

Have a cracking time!



Oh and one more thing. Don't pitch your tent near the portaloos.

Lunchtime Pasta

I went to see Miles Kane on monday! He was great, if you haven't already heard of him, you can have a listen here. It was a late night, with a lot of moshing and so I wasn't looking forward to the early morning drive to work the next day.

Now I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of preparing lunches. Unless I'm super duper organised and do it the night before, I can never be bothered in the morning, and for the past few weeks I've taken in some pitta bread and just added some houmous. Which is fine, but not that exciting every single day.

Luckily for me, I went home this weekend and made use of all the fancy oils and herbs we have to make a great big bowl of pasta salad to eat during the week. I often do this during uni - cook a load of meals when I go home and box it up in some tupperware containers so I don't have to worry about cooking or spending much money on food, it's a win-win situation!

This recipe is an old favourite, and is taken from Jamie Oliver:

You will need:

250g conchigliette pasta (small shell pasta)
1 orange pepper
1 red pepper
1 packet cherry tomatoes (approx 250g)
1 packet black olives (approx 150g)
1/2 a cucumber
1 handful of fresh basil
1 handful of chives

For the dressing:

4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
pinch of sea salt & black pepper
a squeeze of lemon juice
3 cloves of garlic


Boil the pasta in a pan of salted water with the garlic cloves. Meanwhile, chop up all your vegetables and herbs - I find it much easier to chop the chives up using a pair of scissors.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain it under cold water and remove the garlic cloves.

Make up your dressing, and add your garlic once it has been crushed. Then you just need to add your vegetables to the pasta, drizzle in your dressing and stir it all in.

For me this pasta tastes even better after a few days, just cling film it up or keep in some tupperware and you can enjoy a nice healthy lunch without any effort for the rest of the week! It's also great with barbeques, or as an addition to most summery dinners.

Enjoy!

Banana Bread

I love banana bread.

I could easily scoff my way through several slices a day if I felt the urge, and kid myself it counts towards my five-a-day. However my colleagues at work also love cake, so I thought I'd be nice and take it into the office for everyone to enjoy.

As desserts go, banana bread is possibly one of the cheapest and easiest things to make. All you need is few ripe bananas and the essential ingredients for a cake:

200g self raising flour (sifted)
100g margarine
400g mashed banana - the riper the better
150g caster sugar
2 eggs
50g walnuts
1/4 teaspoon mixed spice (optional)


In one bowl combine your flour, mixed spice and margarine. Rub together with your hands to get a breadcrumb-like consistency.

In another larger bowl, mix together your mashed bananas and caster sugar. Don't mash them up too much, you want them to still be nice and lumpy - you're not making a smoothie here!

Add your flour mixture, along with the chopped walnuts. Add your eggs and mix it all together.

Pour the mixture in a loaf tin, and cook for 1 hour at 175°C, or until golden brown. You can test its done by putting a skewer through - if it comes out clean it's done, if not leave it in a little longer.

Best served warm with some clotted cream and strawberries, but equally as good for breakfast/elevensees/foursees/any-time-you-want-sees!

Poptarts

Yesterday I went to visit some of my friends up in Sheffield for the end of uni celebrations.

Poptarts is in my opinion, one of the best student nights out. The club night is known for it's 90s cheesey pop (think s club 7 and the spice girls), although they play a bit of everything - from The Prodigy to The Human League. Adding in the fact that it was the last one of the year, it was a BIG night.



I'm not really a fan of 'cool' clubs, call me old fashioned but I like a good singalong to some nostalgic tunes. I can handle the odd dubsteb track, but could not hack a whole night of it! Student nights are known for their, erm lack of dignity, but I really think nowhere parties as hard as the students of Sheffield!





When the music stopped (finishing up appropriately with Take That - Never Forget), we were in no hurry to head home. Where do you go in sheffield when everywhere has closed?

BALTI KING.

''The most popular restaurant in Sheffield''

I'm not sure where they got that evidence from, but Balti King is one of my favourite places in the steel city. An indian restaurant open all through the night which serves over 50 different types of curries for less than a tenner? WHAT A GREAT IDEA! Stay classy, Sheffield.

We planned to visit the Peak District the following day, but due to the hangovers some of my friends were experiencing, we sacked that off and went for a late lunch in the pub. By the time I got home at 7, I was rather happy to see waiting for me on the table.

A classic Victoria Sponge, made by my lovely father. Recipe by Mary Berry

A great night out with some great people, congrats to everyone who is graduating!

Hello!

My very first blog post!

I have no idea if this is just going to be another one of my 'phases', along with learning to drum and setting up a jam business, but there's no harm in giving things a go if you have nothing to lose! I have debated this for a while, and decided that even if it does become the worst blog known to man, it could be nice to document what's probably going to be the most interesting years of my life to look back on when I'm old... and hopefully I may gain a bit of computer skills  in the process!

Here are 2 nice little quotes I found, courtesy of Pinterest. I think it sums up how I'm feeling today pretty well!

Anyway, here is to a weekend of baking!