My boyfriend has regular laser treatment on his birthmark, and it usually gets really itchy and uncomfortable for days afterwards.  Last time he had it done, I promised to make his favourite pudding, cheesecake, to cheer him up.  I'm a rubbish girlfriend because I never quite got round to it 

This time, nothing was going to stop me!  So here it is - a chocolate and vanilla cheesecake.



It's a baked cheesecake where you make up a regular vanilla cheesecake mixture and spoon some into the pan.  Then mix melted chocolate with the rest of the mixture and spoon that in around the vanilla.  Use a fork to swirl the two together to give a kind of ripple effect.  I swirled in the chocolate mixture a bit too enthusiastically though, so it looks mostly chocolatey.  I can live with that.

He's just finished a serving and literally licked the plate clean, so I'll take that as a compliment 

[pinsNneedles]

  pinsNneedles    Whats a sausage roll?? Is that saugage cooked in a bread dough??  Or like a cabbage roll with sausage in it??   I'll bet it's tasty either way!

It's sausage meat rolled up in puff pastry, brushed with beaten egg, then baked.  Maybe it's a british thing...?

...

Just for you LeesaLove, I've taken a pic of one of my sausage rolls!  It's cold so it looks a bit wrinkly.  They're best when they're fresh out the oven.



Tonight's meal was much healthier than this!  We had grilled salmon that had been marinated in herbs, lemon on butter.  Served with cous cous, runner beans and tomato salad.

This is my version of a bento.  It's not a bento in the strict sense as it has no rice.  But I take something like this to work everyday and I love it!   



From left to right, there is...

Tuna pasta salad
Potato salad with green beans and bacon
Olives, pickled gerkins and a pickled walnut
Cherry tomatoes
Some grapes lurking about
Some salad with spinach and beetroot shreds

There was also some yoghurt with fresh raspberries, blueberries and strawberries in a separate tub.

Just thought I'd share 

This is called a Lemon Griesstorte (that's lemon semolina cake to you and me)



It's an flour-less cake, filled with lemon cream and raspberries.

In honour of the in-laws visiting.  Hope they like it!

 

Cherry simnel loaf, made on Good Friday.  It will have all been devoured by Easter Monday by me and my blokie   

It's full of marzipan, cherries, tons of dried fruit, icing on top, and 11 mini-eggs along the top.

Simnel cake is traditional in the UK at Easter.  The 11 eggs (or balls of marzipan) represent the 12 apostles of Jesus, minus Judas.  It's like Christmas cake, but a lot lighter, and full of different flavours.  It's done by the boiling method, which keeps it really juicy (and you don't break your arm creaming sugar and butter...)

I made this about a month ago.  The recipe called for a 9" cake tin.  I didn't have one, so used a 7" tin instead.  Result?  Very tall gateau!

It tasted great, but was impossible to cut into slices without it flopping over.

(Excuse the maniac I've-got-cake look on my face...)

This is really stretchy jersey cotton fabric, with ribbons for straps.  I added some elastic at the bust to give it a ruched look.





Detail of the ruche thing:


In case you're wondering, it's not hemmed yet!


Comments/criticism/improvements?

Hi everyone,

In my ongoing quest to avoid zips and stretchy fabric, I have been learning shirring!

This is a top I made yesterday, with shirring above and below the bust.  I got the fabric for £2 in the remnants bin - bargain!









What do you think?