Happy Halloween!

Well we really got into Halloween this year! It all started on Friday when I finally decided to turn my pumpkin into pumpin pie, which I later took to a friend's for dinner.

I made a pumpkin puree by simmering the flesh of two pumpkins with a cinnamon stick, for about 20 minutes, until tender. Drain, then whizz with a hand blender.

I mixed 2 cups of the puree (american cup measurements) with 1 can of condensed milk, 2 tbsp cornflour, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 3/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp ground cloves,1/2 tsp ground ginger and 1/2 tsp salt.

Pour the mixture into a part-baked shortcrust pastry base, and bake in an oven heated to 180'C/Gas 4 for about 40 minutes.

Serve warm with whipped double cream. I got the recipe from another great blog which you can find here: http://www.divinetaste.com/

Today, after waking up a tad worse for wear after a Halloween party last night, we attended two different kids' Halloween parties. I baked some spooky goods..

Toby the Spider got into the holiday spirit. I think that Halloween may now be his favourite time of year, as he grazed on biscuits, cakes, sweets and chocolate-covered aples throughout the day! It was also his first time trick-or-treating and he loved it.

Pukka.

The weekend will soon be upon us, and I'm going to a Halloween house party on Saturday night. I imagine a fair bit of drinking will take place, so in anticipation of this I have been having a very clean-living sort of week, with lots of water, juice and herbal teas like these from Pukka. I particularly recommend the "love" tea and the "night time" tea which contains oatstraw, chamomile and lavender. All their teas are 100% organic, and you can get them from wholefoods stores or online at http://www.pukkaherbs.com/
In the meantime, I'm still figuring out what to do with my pumpkin. Any hot recipes you want to share? x

Apple Pancakes with Maple Syrup Butter

Last night my sister and her boyfriend came to stay, and we went out for a few drinks with friends. Needless to say this morning we needed a substantial breakfast, and this one really did the job! You do have to embrace the amount of butter and fat you are going to consume with this dish..although if you were that health conscious you won't have been out drinking the night before! So do it like an American and enjoy...

PANCAKES (makes 15-18)

200g self raising flour

100g caster sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 egg

200ml milk

2 apples, peeled and grated

1 tsp butter

MAPLE SYRUP BUTTER

85g butter, softened

3 tbsp maple syrup

1. Mix the flour, sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl, and make a well in the centre. Beat the egg and milk together and pour into the well.

2. Using a wooden spoon, gently combine the dry ingredients into the wet.

3. Stir in the grated apple.

4. Heat the butter in a large frying pan over a low heat, until melted and bubbling.

5. Add 3 tablespoon of the pancake mixture to the pan, to make 3 pancakes. Cook this side for about 1 minute, until bubbles appear and the top looks set, then flip over and cook the other side for another minute. The pancakes should be golden brown-if not, increase the heat slightly.

6. Repeat, in batches, until all the pancake batter has been used.

7. To make the maple syrup butter, melt the butter and syrup in a pan over a low heat, and stir until combined. pour into your prettiest serving jug to cheer up your morning.

Pile the pancakes onto a warm plate and serve with crispy bacon and scrambled eggs (not pictured, as Simon was already digging in!). Give this one a go for your next weekend brunch and let me know what you think! x

The boy's done good.

Well Jamie, you've done it again! I have to say, the new 30 Minute Meals series is genius. Granted, we can't all chop at super-chef-speed, so perhaps the time allowance isn't completely accurate, but there's some great recipes and time-saving tips that I know I will use in my kitchen. I'll definitely be getting the accompanying book: a little birdie told me that it's currently only £8 in Sainsbury's.

So far I've been most inspired by his "Oozy Mushroom Risotto" served with a spinach salad, followed by quick lemon and raspberry cheesecake pots. Equally as tempting is the Spinach and Feta Filo Pie, followed by ice cream balls coated in a mix of dark chocolate, hazelnuts and ground espresso beans. I mean, come on! I'm tempted to go out and buy those ingredients right now! And don't even get me started on tonight's ultimate steak sarnie.

I'll keep you posted on my attempts to re-create these awesome delights. Meanwhile, you can find these recipes and more at http://www.jamieoliver.com/

Don't mess with a classic.

Is anyone else a bit excited that Fairy have re-launched the classic white plastic bottle to celebrate their 50th anniversary? No? Just me then. This is so going to be made into a fairy for our christmas tree this year. Geez, my life is pure rock 'n roll.

A final fling.

Right. I know I was going to have a detox when I returned from my Mum's, but really, since when was a weekend a good time to start something like that?
Ssooo yes, I may have cooked a roast for me and Alice yesterday. There may have been carrots and parnsips roasted in honey, and potatoes roasted in a whole lot of oil....



And there may have been a bowl like this containing copious amounts of butter and sugar. Which may or may not have been made into Apple and Blackberry Crumble. Which we may have eaten on the sofa, watching the X Factor Results...with cream poured over.

But hey, you've got to go out with a bang. Or, at least, a huge sigh-the likes of which you only get with what I like to call that post-roast feeling.

OK so no more baking now...at least for a little while. Oh wait, Halloween's coming up, and I'm sure I've got a great Pumpkin Pie recipe somewhere...

Dad's Birthday Gut-Buster

I feel as if I've put on half a stone since coming to visit my parents! Every meal has been something of an event, and in particular Dad's birthday dinner on Monday...


Mum's lasagne is the best, I can never make it quite like hers...

Then her homemade Banoffee Pie. Crush up a pack of digestive biscuits and chocolate chips, by putting in a plastic bag and smashing with a rolling pin. Put into a mixing bowl, pour over some melted butter, then press into a loose bottomed tin or flan dish and put in the fridge to harden.

Spread over some tinned caramel (you could use dulche de leche, but Mum used Carnations), add some sliced banana, then top with whipped cream (buy fresh and whip it yourself). Grate dark chocolate all over, then pop back in the fridge for a couple of hours to set.

Now that's some serious pie. You'll need a good lie down after this one!

Stay tuned for Miss P's Detox when I get home! x

A Mum-Size Roast

Me and Toby have come to stay with my parents for a few days. The welcome would have been worth the drive up here by itself-Mum's roast beef with yorkshire's . Now I can make a good roast, but sometimes you just need your Mum to make you one, you know? Luckily I'd worn my lounge pants though, 'cos her portions are even bigger then mine!

2 for 1

So I turned what was left of last night's bolognese into a spicy chilli by re-heating it, whilst adding paprika, ground cumin, cayenne pepper, dried chilli flakes and some tinned haricot beans (you can use whatever beans you have handy-I always keep some in my storecupboard). Serve with white rice. Guacamole, sour cream and cheese optional! Go me.

Tweet Tweet

Well I finally gave in to the temptation of twitter..mostly to promote the blog, and also to keep and eye out for who's doing what in the culinary world. So far I'm most excited about following Greg Wallace (twitter name puddingface..how adorable), Giles Coren and The Chef Wore Chanel (check out http://www.thechefworechanel.blogspot.com).

Follow me at @MissPsKitchen for little updates on my life. Love you all xx

I wish I was in Italy..

...because sometimes nothing beats an enormous bowl of bolognese. And because I went to see Eat, Pray, Love last night and it made me desperate for a bit of travel and culture. It was beautifully shot, and there were so many close ups of delicious Italian food, that if you love your food then you should go see this film! (not forgetting the equally delicious Javier Bardem.)

So tonight we pigged out on pasta, and pretended we were in Rome. Although I doubt the Italians would put extra mature cheddar on their bolognese. In fact, I think it would really piss them off.

"Me Time"

I'm a huge fan of homemade soups. As soon as I first realised how easy and cheap it was to make soup yourself, I vowed never to buy it ready made again! This is mostly true...although sometimes, when your 3 year old decides to get up at 6 in the morning, and steal your purple nail varnish to paint his chest of drawers (true story-this happened this very morning), you just lack the enthusiasm. It is on such days that I will turn to a ready made soup, but only in the form of Covent Garden, Heinz Cream of Tomato, or quality organic soups such as the one I had today.

So Toby went to nursery for a few hours and I put my feet up with a big mug of comfort....I love you, darling, but you are exhausting!

Sweet Potato and Sausage Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

Do you ever get into one of those conversations with someone, when you're so hungry, that you just start to list all the meals you fancy eating? Well that's how Rene and I spent most of the afternoon at work today. I honestly couldn't wait to get home and cook myself something delicious and hearty for dinner! So I made this salad, based on something similar I saw ages ago in a magazine and, for some reason, was craving it tonight.

Basically you need to wash 1/2 a medium sweet potato, then cut it into bite-sized pieces (no need to peel). Put onto a baking tray, drizle with olive oil and roast in the oven for about 40 minutes.

Add your sausages to the tray after 10 minutes, to cook alongside the potato (or you can grill the sausages, if you'd rather).

Arrange some salad leaves on a plate and add 1/2 a red onion, thinly sliced.

Make a quick dressing by mixing 1 tsp wholegrain mustard, 1 tsp honey and a good glug of olive oil. Season.

Add your sweet potato (which should be deliciously sticky) and sausages to the salad, then pour the dressing all over.

Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes

Today, Toby and I learnt a very important lesson about baking. If you don't thoroughly mix your cake mixture until it's smooth and has no lumps, terrible things will happen. Well, basically the lumps of butter won't just melt in as you might think, they'll create a heavy middle which means you'll be left with a hole in each cake!

I really should have known better, but was in a hurry to finish these as we were picking up my friend Steph who came to visit.

I'd like to mention this was Toby's messily paper case filling, not mine!

Here you can see the holes mentioned. Actually for this recipe it ended up working quite well, as the lemon drizzle filled the hole and created a kind of gooey, lemony centre. So it's up to you-stir thoroughly and have a better crack at it than me, or try my very own creation of melt in the middle lemon drizzle cupcakes!

Either way, here's the actual recipe:

For the sponge

125 g softened butter

125g caster sugar

2 medium eggs

finely grated rind of 1 lemon

125g self raising flour

For the icing

Juice of 1 lemon

Approx 50g icing sugar

A splash of water, if needed

Preheat oven to 190'C/Gas 5.

Beat the butter and suagr in a bowl until it is light and fluffy.

Add the eggs, lemon rind and flour and beat the mixture thouroughly UNTIL SMOOTH.

Divide the mixture between 12 paper cases in a muffin tray.

Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until the cakes are risen and just firm.

Remove from the oven and leave to col on a wire rack while you make the icing:

Mix together the icing sugar and lemon juice in a bowl, adding more sugar/a touch of water, until you have the right consistency.

Pour the icing over the cooled cupcakes, then leave to harden and dig in!