Apple & Carrot Juice + 16 Juice and Smoothie Recipes

A long long time ago a young 26 year old wished for a juicer for her birthday. Her desire for such a kitchen appliance came from the thought that store bought apple juice had too much added sugar. Her wish was granted and she was gifted a juicer.

The first juice she made was apple juice. She soon realised that apple juice needed no added sugar as it was super super sweet and needed to be diluted with water.

After that the juicer lived on a shelf, forgotten, and eventually covered in dust. 

Fast forward to present day and with a new slow juicer sitting on her counter 24/7 juicing has become away to drink more then water. See I don't like squash nor do I drink much soda so to add something besides water I am experimenting with freshly squeezed juice and smoothies.

That's right the girl in the story is me! As if you didn't know..... Anyhow here are couple of juice recipes I have made recently. I have also included several juices and smoothies from other bloggers that I just have to try out soon!

Apple & Carrot Juice: 

4 large carrots
2 apple
1 lime
1 small piece of ginger about an inch
1/4 cucumber

- Chop the vegetables and fruit into chunks that fit your juicers chute before juicing them. Then pour into your favorite class with a few ice cubes!

Pineapple Fizz 

1 small pineapple
sparkling water

- Cut the pineapple length wise and juice. Pour into your favorite glass with a few ice cubes and top up with sparkling water.

I love carrot juice and I was very pleased with the Apple & Carrot Juice the lime and ginger counter acts the sweetness of the carrots and apples with a sharp twist. Pineapple Fizz is the simplest juice ever! Pineapple juice plus sparkling water and done. I found it refreshing and light. Definitely recommend it as a mocktail for the upcoming spring and summer seasons!

I am always looking for excuses to use my juicer and here are some great recipes from fellow bloggers!

The Petite Cook - Vegan Apple Pie Smoothie & Carrot Berry Smoothie & Wonderland Smoothie (pictured below)

From Plate to Pen - Simple Banana Smoothie with Ginger

Made with Pink - Ultimate Healthy Green Mojito Smoothie

Fab Food - 5-a-Day Fruit Smoothie 

Foodie Quine - Strawberry, Blackcurrant & Coconut Water Smoothie, (pictured below) Sparkling Mojito Cocktail Juice, Purple Power Juice - Blackberries, Plums, Beetroot, Apples & Fig, Caipirinha Mocktail Juice

Baking Queen 74 - Blackcurrent and Blueberry Smoothie 

Tin and Thyme - Cucumber and Celery Smoothie (pictured below) & Berry and Rose Kefir Smoothie

Kavey Eats - 3 Ingredient Smoothie | Banana, Matcha & Prune & Golden Banana, Turmeric & Maple Syrup Smoothie (pictured below) 

*images are owned by the respective bloggers listed and linked above 

Lemon Cake: The Lunar Chronicles

My tastes in books is very broad, I would give any book no matter the label a chance. However, I am prone to gravitate towards fantasy and science fiction. Even better if the two are mixed. Which is exactly what you get with the Lunar Chronicles.

The first book in the series is Cinder - based on surprise surprise Cinderella! Except she's a cyborg and a wanted fugitive. That's all I can say without giving too much away. I enjoyed it so much I couldn't wait to read what happened next in Scarlet. A story about a young girl who is looking for her grandmother and seeks help from a wolf. Marissa Meyer ties the two stories together very smoothly as she continued to do in Cress. The only title that might cause a raised eyebrow as it's the one name that isn't as obvious as the others if you haven't read the first two. Cress's story is based on Rapunzel and it's very cleverly done. The last but, not last title is Winter, which is based on no other then Snow White. Winter is the final book in the series and the fattest - probably due to the tying up of all the other stories as well as having a story for Winter.

In the end of the series they eat cake. I know it was a little bit random when Scarlet is like "Yo, everyone this has been a blast and so to celebrate here's a cake!" I can't say too much more without giving out spoilers and that's the last thing I want to do as this post is suppose to inspire you to read this series.

Anyhow, the cake Scarlet brings out is lemon. Therefore it made sense to me to make a lemon cake. Cake is a great comfort food and when mourning the end of a great series it good to have cake waiting for you. Just my option, but I dare you to deny it!

Lemon Cake

200g unsalted butter, room temperature
200g caster sugar
pinch of salt
2 lemons, zest
4 medium eggs
200g self-rising flour

Heat the oven to 175C and prepare two 7 inch or 18cm cake tins by lining the bottom of the tin and greasing the sides with butter. Beat the butter in a free standing mixer or with a handheld mixer, until soft. Add the sugar, salt, and lemon zest to the butter and beat together until pale and fluffy. In a separate bowl beat the eggs together until just combined. Slowly add the eggs the butter mixture. It will probably curdle when it does that just add a tablespoon or two of the flour (from the amount above not extra). Once all the eggs are added sift in the rest of the flour and beat until just combined. Divide between the batter between the cake tins and gently smooth out. Bake in the oven for 15-25 minutes. Cake should be a light brown and springy to the touch. If in doubt use the skewer test.

While the cake is baking make the lemon sugar syrup: 150ml freshly squeezed lemon juice (use the lemons from the zest and about another one or two lemons) and 150g caster sugar. In a sauce pan bring the lemon juice and sugar to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer until the sugar dissolves and it thickens up a little.

When the cakes come out of the oven leave them to cool for a short while before soaking the tops of the sponge with the lemon sugar syrup. Remove from the tin and leave to cool completely before icing.

Lemon Buttercream
80g unsalted butter, room temperature
80g icing sugar, sifted
pinch of salt
40g lemon curd + 1 tbsp

Beat the butter until soft before adding the icing sugar. Beat the butter and sugar together until soft and fluffy and lighter in color. Then fold in the lemon curd.

to finish the cake: Ice the bottom layer with half the buttercream and a tablespoon of the lemon curd place the other cake layer on top and ice the top layer with the rest of the buttercream.

*Recipe was adapted from Peggy Porschen's Baking Boutique.

On My Book Shelf: 6 Titles on my Reading List

"We lose ourselves in books, we find ourselves there too." - Unknown

I have read a lot of books in my life, too many to count! However, there are probably 10 times the amount of books I've read that I haven't read. Here are 6 books I have sitting on my bookshelf right now ... the only thing I have to decide is which to read first!

My Lady Jane: The Not Entirely True Story by Hand, Ashton, Meadows
- At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling problems aren’t for Jane to worry about. Jane gets to be Queen of England. Like that could go wrong.
+ This book kept appearing on my social media feeds and in the end I gave in and bought myself a copy. I am looking forward to it as it sounds like it should be a good laugh!

The Little Shop of Happy Ever After by Jenny Colgan
- Nina is a librarian who spends her days happily matchmaking books and people - she always knows what someone should read next. But when her beloved library closes and she's suddenly out of a job, Nina has no idea what to do next. Then an advert catches her eye: she could be the owner of a tiny little bookshop bus, driving around the Scottish highlands.
Using up all her courage, and her savings, Nina makes a new start in the beautiful Scottish highlands. But real life is a bit trickier than the stories she loves - especially when she keeps having to be rescued by the grumpy-but-gorgeous farmer next door...
+ I have read almost all of Jenny Colgan's books and they never disappoint. So, this one better not!

The Improbability of Love by Hannah Rothschild
- When lovelorn Annie McDee stumbles across a dirty painting in a junk shop while looking for a present for an unsuitable man, she has no idea what she has discovered. Soon she finds herself drawn unwillingly into the tumultuous London art world, populated by exiled Russian oligarchs, avaricious Sheikas, desperate auctioneers and unscrupulous dealers, all scheming to get their hands on her painting - a lost eighteenth-century masterpiece called 'The Improbability of Love'. Delving into the painting's past, Annie will uncover not just an illustrious list of former owners, but some of the darkest secrets of European history - and in doing so she might just learn to open up to the possibility of falling in love again.
+ I have heard great things about this book. I am trying not to have too high expectations, because I am in fear of it not being as great as it's portrayed as.....

In the Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami
- It's just before New Year, and Frank, an overweight American tourist, has hired Kenji to take him on a guided tour of Tokyo's nightlife. But, Frank's behaviour is so odd that Kenji begins to entertain a horrible suspicion: his client may in fact have murderous desires. Although Kenji is far from innocent himself, he unwillingly descends with Frank into an inferno of evil, from which only his sixteen-year-old girlfriend, Jun, can possibly save him.
+ This book was recommended to me as I am a fan Haruki Murakami. It sounds like it's going to be an odd book, which is what appeals to me!

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
- Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. It's an eternal party, shown on TV 24 hours a day - gorgeous, glamorous, deadly! Because, once you pass through Coldtown's gates, you can never leave...
+ Holly Black has quickly become one of my favorite authors so I asked for this book from Santa and he brought it for me. Actually I bought it and gave it to myself.

Girls & Sex by Peggy Orenstein
- A generation gap has emerged between parents and their daughters. Mothers and fathers have little idea about the pressures and expectations they face or how they feel about them.
Drawing on in-depth interviews with young women and a wide range of psychologists and experts, renowned journalist and bestselling author Peggy Orenstein goes where most others fear to tread, pulling back the curtain on the hidden truths and hard lessons of girls’ sex lives in the modern world.
+ I read non-fiction here and there. This title originally made me think it was going to be sex and the city like fiction book. However, I picked it up and started reading and I read a whole chapter before I decided to buy it and see what it's all about!

What is on your Book Shelf? 

I am always looking for new recommendations so, if there is anything you think I'd like or that you just love leave me a comment below!   

Mary Berry's Classic Rice Pudding

Until I moved to the UK I had never ever tried Rice Pudding. To be honest the sound and look of it did not make me want to try it anytime soon. I thought it was a going to feel weird in my mouth. There is no other way to say that...

Anyhow. I have sort of become a bit addicted to Muller Rice's limited edition maple syrup flavor and I thought hey this must be pretty easy to make at home! So, I went straight to Mary Berry. This is her recipe from Mary Berry Cooks, I've had the book for a couple of years now, but I have never made anything out of it. Not sure why, it has some great looking recipes.

Again anywho. I wanted rice pudding so I made rice pudding. The thing that I love about rice pudding, after I realised it doesn't feel weird in your mouth and I got over the fact I was eating rice as a dessert, is that it tastes great on it's own, but it's a great base for other flavors. You can add a teaspoon of jam or curd to it. Fresh fruit is always a great addition as well as maple syrup or chocolate sauce. Plus, it's fairly inexpensive to make which is always a bonus.

Mary Berry's Classic Rice Pudding

100g pudding rice
50g caster sugar
600ml milk
300ml single cream
25g butter
pinch of grated nutmeg

One must have a baking dish that will hold 900ml of liquid and then some. Heat the oven to 150C. Put the rice and sugar in the baking dish. Then pour the milk and cream over the top giving it a little stir. Cut up the butter into little cubes and place around the dish randomly before sprinkling the top with a pinch or two of grated nutmeg. Bake for 30 minutes. Give it a stir before placing back in the oven for another 1 1/2 hours. Should have a skin over the top and the rice should have absorbed the milk and cream.

It turned out lovely and I guarantee that I will be making this again soon! Only thing is is that it's not a quick dessert, it requires time, but it's well worth the wait!

*For more Mary Berry recipes pick up one of her many books
*This post is not associated with Mary Berry in any shape or form all opinions are my own. Please see my contact/policy page above for more information.
*Check out the time I met the legend - it was while I got this book signed!

New Look and M&M Cookies

It's no secret that my blogging days have been waning. I haven't been baking as much as I used too with life and other activities taking up my time. It was a debate, after the last couple of years, if I was going to continue blogging.

It is a lot of work to keep a blog up and running - all the writing, editing of text and photos, and of course self promotion. It's all about balancing it all and I think it's about time to get back to blogging, with a new look and a new outlook on life!

I thought I'd start with something fun and easy - M&M cookies! I was doing my weekly food shop and they had the bags of M&M's hanging in in the middle of the isle and I was like I want those. More specifically I want those in cookies. So, I made it happen. About a month later, but I still made it happen!

M&M Cookies

150g soft unsalted butter
125g soft light brown sugar
100g caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, fridge cold
1 egg yolk, fridge cold
300g flour
½ tsp bicarb of soda
100g milk/dark chocolate chunks
165g M&M's plain or peanut!

Heat the oven to 170*C/gas mark 3 and line your baking sheet. Melt butter and let cool a little bit, put both sugars in a bowl and then beat in melted butter. Then beat in vanilla, the cold egg and cold egg yolk until light and creamy. Slowly mix in the flour and bicarb until just blended (I mixed it in a couple of batches) fold in chocolate chunks and M&M's. Use a medium ice cream scoop or a 1/4 measuring cup to divide the cookie dough into a dozen cookie dough balls. Keep cookie dough in the fridge between baking. Bake for 15-17 minutes. Leave to cool on the tray for a few minutes.
*adapted from Nigella's recipe in Kitchen

I can't tell you how much of the cookie dough was consumed before being put on the baking tray or I might have to kill you - as the saying goes. Although I can hint that it was more then a little. Cookie dough is so good.... I know you're not suppose to eat it with raw eggs and flour and stuff....but it's so good!!

Cookies fresh out of the oven are irroestiable! This cookie recipe is my go to cookie recipe. I have used it over and over again and I just add whatever I want to it! M&M's today white chocolate and macadamia nuts tomorrow and Revel's the next day! 

Hey! So, what do you think of the new look? A big thank you to Anna at Designer Blogs for giving my blog an awesome makeover! 

What a Year! {My Word for 2017}

Sometimes a year passes by without you noticing. They breeze by - easy. Other years take forever. They are hard. I knew I was due a couple of hard years considering how easy my life seemed to be prior.

I have been taking part in Susannah Conway's December Reflections on Instagram and today's prompt is My Word for 2017. This isn't the first year I have thought of a word I want to describe my up coming year. Most of the time I don't want to think of the year ahead at all. This year needs to be different and so it's a good time to reflect and pick a word.

This year I want to find a part of that has been missing for a while. My creative side has been but to the sidelines for too long. I have an art degree and I think it's about time I put it to use. My word for this year is "create." To create something amazing. It's probably about time.

I am still baking just not as much as I used to. I hope to keep this blog up - just with a few changes. 

Here is a video I made reflecting 2016 and the things I did with United Cakedom!

Revolución De Cuba - Reading, Berkshire

Revolución De Cuba has it all! When I say it has it all I mean it has everything you could ask for to have a great night out: Cocktails, food, and dancing! The atmosphere was sophisticated yet it was very chilled.

For you old Reading-ers it's located in the old HMV on Friar street and it's huge inside! It looks amazing with great front seating and a place to dance in the back. The upstairs, where we were taught how to make some great cocktails, is the room they rent out for events and it's gorgeous with an outside patio that can be covered if need be!

We started the night with Strawberry Daiquiri's before taking one of their Cocktail Masterclasses! We were taught how to make a classic Mojito and told a bit about the mojito. The very lovely lady who was showing us explain that all cocktails have two straws because in probation times cocktails were expensive and therefore were shared between a husband and wife. The bent straw is for the lady and the sticky up straw is for the man.

Then we were taught how to make the Zombie with their own secret Zombie mix topped with pineapple and orange juice.  I volunteered to make this one as it meant I got to use a torch to light it on fire! It was a lot of fun to make and it had an interesting flavor that makes it stand out from other cocktails!

The last cocktail we were shown how to make was the Pornstar Rumtini - made with rum instead of vodka. If you have never had one I suggest you do! It comes with a shot of Prosecco to use as a palate  cleanser although some people pour it in or just drink it as a shot. Weirdos.

It was a lot of fun learning how to make cocktails and hearing the stories behind them! If this sounds like a great night out to you check out their website, linked below, for the different Masterclass's you can book for you and your friends! Best bit is that you get to drink everything you make!

For me the night wasn't over we were offered a variety of their tapas before learning how to salsa! It was a bit daunting, but the instructor was good at telling us what to do! I felt I caught on okay towards the end!

If you haven't checked it out yet, I suggest you do!

Revolución De Cuba - 138-141 Friar St, Reading RG1 1EX

*I was invited to visit and review - all opinions are my own - no other compensation was given.