Author Archives: Abi

Spiced Pumpkin Tea Bread

Posted on by Abi

 

Spiced Pumpkin Tea Bread

Spiced Pumpkin Tea Bread

You may have guessed by now that I’m a big fan of Pumpkins! Whether you put them in pies, soups or even cakes pumpkin is a seriously versatile vegetable that is entirely underused in the UK. Today I’m sharing my yummy recipe for Pumpkin Spiced Tea Bread. You may recall it featuring in our Halloween celebrations and it’s still a firm favourite.

Tip. I’m starting this recipe with a tip because it’s annoyingly hard to find Pumpkins in UK supermarkets past October. If you can’t find any then don’t despair, Butternut Squash makes a fabulous substitute!

Ingredients

225g/ 8oz Self Raising Flour

240g/ 9oz Caster Sugar

225g/ 8oz Pumpkin Puree (or butternut squash)

125ml/ 4floz Olive Oil

60ml/ 2floz Water

1/2 Tsp Ground Nutmeg

1/2 Tsp Allspice

1/2 Tsp Ground Cloves

1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger

1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

 

Begin by making your Pumpkin puree. There are two ways to do this, the first option is to roast the Pumpkin, see my full instructions on this post. You can also remove all the flesh from the inside using carving tools or even an ice cream scoop and then boil in water until soft. Puree using a blender and then strain through a sieve lined with kitchen paper for several hours. You should have more than enough puree to make this recipe at least twice.

In a large mixing bowl combine all the ingredients and mix until just combined.IMG_5144

Preheat your oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4 and bake for 50-55 minutes until golden and cooked through.

Leave to cool and serve in cut slices. It tastes very good with a little butter spread across the surface.

 

 

 

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Decorating a bedroom (it’s harder than you think)

Posted on by Abi

I was recently asked by a friend to give some advice on decorating her little girl’s bedroom. I was initially flattered as I dearly enjoy redecorating but I’m no interior designer. However having quickly agreed I almost immediate regretted it when she said…’Brilliant! I know you’re so good at getting bargains, I can’t wait to see what you find’.

Hmm… so now I had to help on design while keeping to a stringent budget as well. This favour suddenly felt distinctly like a job (albeit unpaid). Plus my friend doesn’t live near me, so I’m giving this ‘advice’ from afar.

Here was my brief

A midsleeper bed with a tent underneath.

A wardrobe with drawers (can’t be too expensive).

Fun chair for reading.

Bookcase.

Rug.

purple-pinkBed

Doesn’t sound too bad, but wait a minute what the heck is a midsleeper bed? I had immediate visions of some kind of snooze pod made of railway sleepers, but a tent as well? A midsleeper is basically a bed that looks to all intends and purposes like a bunk bed but instead of a second mattress at the bottom there’s usually a desk or play area.

I managed to find a Steens wooden midsleeper bed complete with tent at Clever Clicker. I believe this is also a fairly decent price for such a thing.

Wardrobe

The wardrobe I found significantly harder to source, either designs we liked were too high in price or the price was right and the build quality was low. In the end I found a really nice 1920s wardrobe on eBay which my friend collected and plans to paint. Obviously more work but the entire thing cost around £100 and they’ve ended up with a really solid durable piece of furniture. Unfortunately I don’t have a picture to show you at the moment as the room isn’t finished.

imb-32100026-m01Chair

I found a bread chair! Ha ha now there’s a sentence I never thought I’d write. This little chair looked so wonderful and whimsical, in fact I rather fancy one myself. It has to be shipped from Japan but I think it’s worth it.

7193240_R_Z001A_UC1308965Bookcase

We settled on this Mia Dolls house bookcase from Argos. Unfortunately it’s only made from chipboard although it does look very sweet. It was bought at a special offer price and I have to admit that the full price does seem rather steep for what it is.

rummet-rug-low-pile__0152080_PE310385_S4Rug

Good old Ikea to the rescue with this fabulous Rummet rug. Wonderfully girly and reasonably priced too.

 

In conclusion I’m not so sure I’d recommend helping a friend to decorate, it turns out to be harder than you might think 😛

 

 

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Gift Guide for the man in your life

Posted on by Abi

I think men are harder to buy presents for than women or children, partly because so many ‘manly’ gifts (tools, socks, aftershave etc) are boring and uninspired. As a general rule I want my recipient to know that I’ve considered their tastes and hobbies whenever I give a gift. With that in mind I’ve created this short gift guide full of ideas for that chap you know but can’t think what to gift.

timberland-earthkeeper-chukka-bootFor the outdoors man

For the man who likes to spend time outdoors roaming the countryside or tinkering with the car I don’t think you can go wrong with a really great pair of boots. I think this is the kind of gift which is often appreciated more during use, especially if you can find a stylish yet comfortable pair. I found these Timberland boots online at Cockney Rebel Fashions, they even have a few reduced pairs at the moment.

562978For the Gardener

Tools which lighten the load and make gardening more pleasurable can really be appreciated. I particularly love this Golden Gark Multi Purpose Lightweight Garden Rake from QVC. The ability to lift and scoop makes chores like mowing and leaf raking significantly easier.

51msJxwJjlL._SY450_For the creative man

Give your chap a brand new hobby! I really like this jar and bottle cutter from Supermarket USA on Amazon, it could be used to turn bottles into vases or drinking glasses.

p6351_column_grid_12For the smartphone fan

Smartphones are great until you get a call on a cold day and have to pull your gloves off to get the screen to respond. With these Mujjo Touchscreen Gloves from Firebox your guy can keep his hands toasty warm

p5611_column_grid_12You could even go a step further and nab these whimsical Bluetooth gloves also from Firebox, although the question of whether you might look slightly mad talking to your fingers still remains.

 

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