Halloween Special : Pumpkins Aren't Just for Carving

Halloween marks the beginning of Autumn for me and although this can mean awful weather, it also means it's time for some real heart-warming food! Pumpkins are a great autumnal treat, I love to carve a pumpkin and make a Jack o' lantern as much as the next person, but there is a lot of unlocked potential in the pumpkin. We all buy them as decorations but how many of us actually use them in cooking? Here is a dessert recipe that will go down fantastically if you're throwing a Halloween party this year or even if you just want some delicious comfort food...

Pumpkin & Ginger Cheesecake 

Ingredients:

• 1 Pumpkin
• 400g of Cream Cheese
• Double Cream
• Ginger Biscuits
• Digestive Biscuits
• 2tbsp Butter
• 1 Egg
• 75g Caster Sugar
• 50g Dark Brown Sugar
• Ground Cinnamon
• Ground Ginger

Recipe:

1.  Firstly, you need to heat the oven to 180°C. Then cut the top of the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds from inside, just as you would if you were carving it.
   
   
   
2. When the inside is hollowed out, cut the pumpkin into quarters and from there, begin to peel and chop the flesh into smaller chunks.
   
   
   
3. Place all the chopped pumpkin flesh in a saucepan and bring to the boil, cook for 20-30 mins until the flesh has gone very soft.
   
   
   
4. Drain the pumpkin and leave it to cool, once cooled blend it in a food processor or with a hand blender.
5. While the pumpkin is cooling, you can prepare the cheesecake base. Mash up the ginger and digestive biscuits until reduced to crumbs and powder.
   
   
   
6. Heat the butter and stir it into the biscuit mix, then leave to set in the freezer for half an hour.
7. Once you have blended the pumpkin, add the cream cheese, double cream, sugar, egg and spices to the blender and gently blend the whole mix together.
   
   
   
8. When the mix is fully combined, pour over the cooled biscuit base and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. If the cheesecake is set in the centre, turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake to cool for at least an hour before serving. Keep refrigerated.
   
   
   
   
   

   

   Sprinkle ground cinnamon on top and tuck in!

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Make Your Own Terrarium

It is my boyfriend's birthday this weekend and he is notoriously impossible to buy gifts for. However, a few weeks ago we went to a great botanic garden and he was really interested in the cacti and succulents in the greenhouses. He has always appreciated a handmade gift so I decided to make him a terrarium this year. Terrariums have become really popular as great house decorations that are easy to look after, but instead of paying a fortune for one I can show you how to make your own so that it is cheaper and more personal. Your friends will be dying to know where you got it from!

You Will Need:

• Glass container
• Potting soil
• Aquarium gravel (I used aquarium gravel so I wouldn't be left with loads left over)
• Sand (I used a small bag of sand for bird cages for the same reason)
• Cactus or Succulent plants

First off, you need a good place to buy your plants from. I got mine from a Cornwall based company called Surreal Succulents. Their prices are reasonable (avg. £5.00 per plant) and they have a wide variety to choose from. They also offer you advice on how to care for your plants if you are new to gardening and they also distribute overseas.

Instructions:

1. Firstly, clean the glass container you are using by running it under the cold tap and remive and stickers or labels from it.
2. Pour the aquarium gravel into the base of the glass container (Tip: tip the container on its side if you are worried about breaking the glass). The gravel should be about 3-4cm deep. The gravel looks good but is also useful as this will provide drainage when you need to water the plant as your container won't have any holes in the base.
   
3. Next you will need to pour the soil on top of the gravel. Pat the soil down so that the base is firm but make some dips where the roots of your plant will go.
   
4. Carefully place the plant into the hole you have made in the soil and use your fingers to secure it in place by patting the soil down around the base of the plant.
5. Now that the plant is secure, begin to pour the sand into the container. Keep turning the container around so that you get an even coverage and try to avoid getting too much sand on the plant.
   
   
   
6. Wipe the sides of the glass to remove any residual soil or sand and then you are done! If you want you can add little ornaments as well, just make sure your plant has enough space to grow.

Here is the practice attempt...

...And here is the larger one I intend to use as a gift!

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Sunday Roast Leftovers: Chicken Noodle Soup

There's a chill in the air as Autumn is settling in which means it's time to start up the great British tradition of the Sunday Roast. As much as I love a roast dinner, there is always loads of meat leftover and, personally, I am not a fan of cold roast meat sandwiches so here is my alternative use for leftovers:

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

• Leftover chicken meat
• Chestnut mushrooms
• Dried noodles (Tip: to save money, I use one pack of cheap super noodles)
• 1 Small tin of sweetcorn
• Spring onions
• Savoy Cabbage
• 1 Chili
• 1 Small piece of fresh ginger
• 2-3 Garlic cloves
• Sesame or peanut oil
• Soy sauce
• Fish sauce
• ½ Lime

To Make Stock:

• Chicken bones and leftover skin
• 1 Carrot
• 1 Onion
• 2-3 Garlic cloves
• Boiling Water

All you need for delicious Chicken Noodle Soup after a roast dinner.

Recipe:

1. Chicken stock is the base of your soup and always tastes one hundred times better when it is made from scratch, rather than shop bought or stock cubes. To make your stock, remove all the meat from the roast chicken carcass and set it to one side.
2. Place the bones, any left over chicken skin and meat juices into a pan and cover in boiling water so that the whole carcass is submerged.
3. Roughly chop up a carrot and an onion and add these to the water along with some peeled and crushed garlic cloves.
4. Leave the stock to simmer for about 40 minutes, if necessary, add more water.
5. Once the stock is ready, drain the liquid through a colander into a separate pan and discard the carcass and vegetables.
6. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and add the chopped ginger, chili, garlic and some of the spring onion.
7. Add the chicken meat and fry it for a few minutes so it picks up the flavours, splash in some soy sauce and fish sauce, then add the whole lot into the chicken stock.
   
   
   
8. Leave the soup to simmer for 10 minutes so that the stock develops the heat from the chili and all the flavours.
9. Give the soup a stir and add the chestnut mushrooms, sweetcorn and the rest of the spring onion.
   
   
   
10. Leave to simmer, until the mushrooms have reduced in size, then add the strips of savoy cabbage.
11. Add the noodles a few minutes before you are ready to serve. Taste the soup, it may need a little more soy sauce and fish sauce or if it doesn't have much of a heat to it, add a little more chili.
12. Serve with a wedge of lime to squeeze into the soup and Enjoy!
    
    

    

    This is a great recipe for winter as the garlic and
    chili will help fight off any colds!

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