I won't lie, when an email landed in my inbox inviting me to River Cottage Canteen in Winchester, I jumped at the chance. Having had the pleasure of visiting River Cottage HQ not once but twice, I knew I would be in for a treat.

Christmas Tree Cookies

• 170g salted butter
• 100g icing sugar
• 2 egg yolks (Keep the whites for a wash.)
• 175g plain flour
• 2tbsp cornflour
• A couple of drops of caramel flavouring
• green food gel
• sprinkles

What are your favourite festive bakes? If you are looking for an alternative Christmas cake, why not check out my easy to make snow globe cake. Or if cake pops are your thing then I have some super cute Rudolph cake pops too.

Wow, time is quite literally flying at the moment. I don't feel as though I have had a second to do anything. Christmas is rapidly approaching and if I don't get myself sorted this coming week, I am going to have to cancel it! Thank the Lord for Amazon Prime.


If you follow my instagram you will see that I have been baking cakes galore. Little man turned 5. Yes that's right 5! How did that happen. It seems like yesterday that he was born. Now he is a (usually) cute 5 year old. Innocent and inquisitive. He skips when he is happy and is currently singing Christmas Carols at every opportunity so that he can annoy middle man. He had his first proper party this year too. In the past we have celebrated with my "baby friends." This year, there was no getting away from the fact that he wanted his own party. I was concerned that he wouldn't know anyone to invite, however, he has fitted into school life and made so many friends. The problem was who not to invite, due to number restrictions!


Five days later and big man turned 9. The last year of single figures. All he is really interested in is Match Attax. I suppose I have to be grateful that they don't take up too much space. He is still my little scientist, and puts me to shame, with his rendition of the periodic table song. I can only get to sodium and then I struggle!


Middle man is middle man and is still planning world domination. Or for this weekend something Pokemon related instead. To be honest, I don't even understand what he is talking about half the time now. He has made the most amusing Christmas cards this year. I think that if Santa is found eating mince pies semi naked by a fireplace then, he would face the police and no more present giving. Let's hope no one wakes up to Father Christmas like this on Christmas Eve!


My ideas of getting organised have fallen into a deep dark abyss. If one more person asks me "what are you doing with all your free time" I may throttle them. In addition to attempting to make it to the gym 3 times a week and sorting out the boys at various sporting events and after school clubs, I have obviously been getting ready for the above mentioned Birthdays. I have also had some fantastic blogging conferences which just make me even more excited about blogging. I enjoyed a festive feast at River Cottage and have decided that this blog will now be primarily food focused. Improving my photography is my number one priority. For days out posts there is A Strong Coffee To Go and after 2 years of saying I will start vlogging, now I really am going to. Whether anyone watches is another matter, but I have been playing around with imovie and love learning new skills. So in answer to everyone I seem to meet. I don't have any free time.

So that's a little update from me. I have some lovely Christmas recipes on the way. Oh and did I mention I met Hugh?

These pancetta and red wine Brussels sprouts are perfect side dish for a festive meal this Christmas. Sweet, sticky and full of flavour, I could actually eat these as a meal on their own!

Pancetta And Red Wine Brussels Sprouts

• 500g Brussels Sprouts peeled
• 65g pancetta
• 1/2 a red onion chopped
• 1 clove of garlic chopped
• a knob of butter
• a dessert spoon of plain flour
• 1 glass of red wine
• A dessert spoon of golden syrup

If you are stumped on what to get a Foodie this Christmas then Delicius Anchovies might be their thing. They are part of the Ciao Gusto range which can be purchased from Ocado. I don't know about you, but I always happy to receive a selection of good quality edible products!


I was sent an anchovy tasting box which is an unusual and beautifully presented gift. The tasting box contains 4 small jars of anchovies each stored in different flavoured oil. The jars contain double anchovy fillets in olive oil, capers, herbs de Provence and Italian chilli oil. The gift box also contains a special fork and a leaflet about the anchovies and some recipe suggestions.


You can find more recipe ideas on the Ciao Gusto website has a number of recipe ideas. I adapted one of the recipes to make these tasty canapes.

Here I fried some small sweet peppers before adding a chilli oil anchovies and mozzarella ball.


When I went to a Tuscan cooking course earlier this year, I had the most amazing tempura anchovies paired with sage. I am going to have to recreate these at home with some of these Delicious anchovies.


The anchovies are sourced from the Mediterranean using a traditional lampara fishing boat. In order to make the best anchovies, they are processed within 24hrs.  After it has been caught, the fish is cured. The slower the curing the better the finished product. The anchovies are neatly laid into the jar and display a beautiful pinkish colour.

I am excited to be able to offer one of my readers the chance to win a tasting box like this for themselves (or as a thoughtful gift to a Foodie friend.) Just complete the Gleam entry below. Good Luck!


A Delicius Tasting Box

You are going to either love or hate these cheese and marmite sausage rolls. Personally, I love marmite, so they are a winner for me.


I don't know about you, but I have given up buying supermarket sausage rolls. They are mainly pastry and not much flavour. These are packed full of flavour and are easily made with just 5 ingredients. (Well if you want to make your own pastry it will be more, but I bought some ready rolled shortcrust when it was on offer the other day.)

Cheese and Marmite Sausage Rolls

• 1 packet of ready rolled shortcrust pastry
• 6 sausages
• 100g grated cheddar
• 2tsp marmite
• 1 egg to wash

I have made a number of anti gravity cakes. I like them as they have a wow factor but are actually really easy. This cake was made even easier by using chocolate fingers around the side of the cake.

Pick 'n' Mix Anti Gravity Cake

• 12oz self rasing flour
• 12oz caster sugar
• 12oz butter
• 6 eggs
• 1 cake pop stick
• 1 tub of Betty Crocker's chocolate fudge frosting
• 3 packets of chocolate fingers
• ribbon
• a few chunks of chocolate to melt
• pick 'n' mix sweets
• pick 'n' mix bag and a small piece of blu tack

You may have read that last week that I visited River Cottage HQ for a fantastic festive feast. Unfortunately I didn't get to speak to the lovely Vicki from Free From Fairy but on my way out I was lucky enough to pick up some of her flour that she had left behind. Free from baking is something I would like to try more of, and after the success of these scones I am going to give some more recipes a go.

I used Vicki's perfect gluten free scone recipe as the base to this recipe, as I have only made scones once before and never gluten free ones! I was concerned that being gluten free they would have a different texture, but I am pleased to say that they were really good. The feta really comes through in the flavour and the courgette helps keep them moist.

This recipe makes around 14 scones, depending on the size of your cutter.

Gluten Free Feta And Courgette Scones

• 350g The Free From Fairy Self Raising Flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 75g butter
• 175ml milk
• 200g courgette grated
• 150g feta cheese
• 1tsp paprika
• 1tsp dried mint

They are great eaten with butter or alongside soup.


You can purchase Free From Fairy Flour from Amazon or in bigger quantities from The Free From Fairy.




Vicky has not asked me to blog about her flour, but as I was impressed with it I wanted to let you all know!

Christmas Tree Meringues With Summer Fruits

• 2 egg whites
• 180g caster sugar
• Green food gel
• Gold sugar stars
• Sprinkles
• Creme Fraiche
• Summer fruits

Last week I was lucky enough to visit River Cottage for the second time. This occasion was to enjoy a festive winter feast. Situated on the Devon and Dorset boarder, River Cottage HQ is the base of their Cookery and Chef's school and offers a unique dining experience. The ethos behind everything at River Cottage is to serve wholesome, locally grown organic food. Quality is key. The chefs can tell you where every part of the meal has come from. It is their love and enthusiasm for this way of life that seems to make the whole place so special. The food is some of the best I have ever eaten.


The nearest town to River Cottage is Axminster. I stayed in a lovely B&B called Spillers Farm which is about 10 minutes driver from River Cottage. The owners agreed that River Cottage really was a special place to have a meal. Late afternoon saw me take the bumpy tractor ride down the hill to the River Cottage.


We had a quick wander round before we were given a demonstration on Brining. This is essentially preserving meat in a salt water mixture. It is not something I had ever considered doing myself before. Then they mentioned adding gin to the mix if you were using chicken and my ears picked up! Watch this space. We then headed into the warm and cosy yurt for a chat before sitting down for our special feast.


I can't stress how good the food was. Canapes including mussels were handed round. I don't eat or like mussels. Correction. I do eat and like mussels if I am at River Cottage. Next was a rabbit one. Again I would say I don't eat rabbit. When you are at a place with this standard of cooking then you will try it! And guess what, I do eat and do like rabbit.

We were treated to a locally produced apple aperitif. Ice cold and sweet.


Whilst we were busy chatting and enjoying the canapes, the chefs were busy plating up.


The starter was a mushroom ravioli that was packed full of flavour.


Next up was the most amazing piece of pork I have ever eaten. Sweet and sticky, and beautiful.


Often I find desserts at a restaurant are usually a let down. Well not at River Cottage. This was hands down the best creme brulee I have ever eaten. (And trust me I have had a fair few!) The dessert with caramel and apple flavours was simply delicious. Great food combined with fantastic company meant I had a beautiful evening. I had the pleasure of chatting to the lovely Pippa who writes recipes at The Slimming Foodie, Natasha who has great recipes and photography at Kitchen Sanctuary and the Nathalie from the Intolerant Gourmand for any free from recipes.


As the evening drew to a close I was sad to be leaving such a special place. If you have the chance to visit for a meal or a cookery course then take it. You won't be disappointed.

I love this watercress soup recipe with no potatoes.I find the starch in the potatoes makes a soup gloopy and this has a much nicer texture.



My Mum used to make this soup when I was little and I was so pleased when she passed on the recipe. The internet was against us as for some reason. No matter how many times she tried to e mail it me, I never received it! This recipe serves 4 people and is easy to half if you only want to make it for two.

Personally I like to add a little bit of creme fraiche and cheese to my watercress soup. but that is optional.

Watercress Soup (With No Potatoes)

• 100g butter or margarine
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 packets of watercress
• 50g plain flour
• 75ml chicken stock
• 300ml milk
• salt and pepper to season

These shortbread biscuits are made using my Grandma's recipe. Actually I preferred to call her Nan but it doesn't sound as good does it? I should also point out that whilst it is a short recipe passed down from my Grandma to my Mum, I have no idea where she got it. It may well be like the episode of Friends where Phoebe found out her Grandma's secret cookie recipe was from the back of a packet. Either way, the cookies are easy to make and remind me of being little. They aren't as buttery as my usual shortbread recipe, and the cherry on the top.

Grandma's Shortbread Biscuits

• 1 egg yolk
• 3oz caster sugar 
• 5oz margarine
• 8oz self raising flour
• a pinch of salt

For The Top


• egg white wash
• glace cherries cut in half

I chose to pipe my chocolate orange meringue nests using a star nozzle. If you want to do the same there are a couple of things to bare in mind. Firstly, you must grate the chocolate. Finely chopped chocolate will clog up the nozzle. Secondly, the higher you pipe the walls, the more likely the nest will crack as it cools. This doesn't make any change to the taste, just appearance.

Chocolate Orange Meringue Nests

• 2 egg whites
• 140g caster sugar 
• 1tsp cocoa powder
• 40g grated chocolate orange

For The Topping 


• 90ml double cream
• 2 tins of mandarin pieces
• 3 pieces of chocolate orange cut in half and a small amount of grated