Baker & Foodie Content Creator
My name is Lee, welcome to my pages. I hope we can have fun together?
When I’m not developing recipes for others, writing guest blogs, writing my own blog, or even trying to learn how to paint, I’m usually spending time with the amazing Mr G (my husband) or with my lovely daughter or my lovely son (very proud mum).
What is this all about? Great question. This site is about real cooking and baking, real recipes and real mistakes.
No filters here, (although i’d love to find a filter that can take ten years worth of laugh lines away. Just me, whats happening, and whatever cameras or phone i have to hand .
There are many things that get under my bonnet and wiggle around, one of those is food waste. If i buy ingredients specifically for a recipe, and i only need a small amount of the ingredients, i want to be able to use the rest up and not have to throw them away. My mum used to say , “Waste not Want not” is that still a saying ?
For me, waste is not just about using up all the ingredients. What about leftover food? If i’m able , i hope to give ideas as to how to use up any leftovers too.
Be Brave
Cooking isn’t hard , neither is baking, its all about being brave and being ok with making mistakes
Lamb Peka- A Croatian Lamb Dish , a recipe that needs to be in every family recipe book for those days that you need amazing flavours but don’t want to work too hard. Full of flavour and a Croatian dish and sends love smells around my kitchen every time i make it.
Asparagus Tart with Wild Garlic Butter Flaky Pastry recipe is one of the easiest savoury tart to make and really showcases the summers crop pf asparagus.
Using wild garlic butter to make the quick flaky pastry is a game changer, and the pastry takes this tart from something good to something great.
Kuglof – Croatian Apple Bundt Cake recipe. A cake that looks as good as it tastes. With undertones of citrus and with apples running through the light sponge, It’s light and comes out of the tin in that unmistakable shape from the Bundt tin. Its the tin that gives the name to the cake, so if you can find a pretty one in a charity shop, i’d snap it up straight away.
Slow Cooker Balsamic Caramelised Onions, so easy to make and great for a family BBQ or for a crowd of people. When i need time for other things, this is the way to cook onions that are soft and full of favour.
No Yeast Beer Bread with Black Olives & Rosemary so easy to make without any yeast. Once it’s mixed it just takes a hot oven for it to rise to perfection every time!
When the beer is added to the dry bread ingredients, the beer’s yeast content reacts with the baking powder and starches in the flour, causing the dough to rise and start to leaven. I hope that sounded as though i know what i’m talking about?!
Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Lettuce Wraps, an easy to made and delicious to eat recipe thats great for those days when i want to have the comfort of the slow cooker and also want it to taste a little lighter. Introducing the magic powder of Vegeta, a Croatian staple in every kitchen that is always right next to the paprika, another staple.
Gruyere cheese gives the quiche a rich, creamy, salty and nutty flavour which goes perfectly with the lardons (or bacon bits), the creamy texture of the eggs with the added pinch of nutmeg.
One Pot Chicken, Bacon & Parsnip Curry with Chick Peas & White Beans recipe has no grinding and is perfect for a mid week comfort meal for all the family.
Easy to make and easy to eat , packed full of parsnips and beans a great dish to use up some of those tinned beans and chickpeas. Pantry ingredients cooked in the best way
Chicken Thigh Pie with Red Pepper, Baby SweetCorn Surrounded by Rosemary Flaky Pastry – Made with Chicken Cuppa Soup
Not much time to get stuff together, so a batch of my 30-minute flaky pastry, some packet chicken cuppa soup mix and I was ready to go. There always seems to be just a little pastry left.
Those bits left over from rolling out, and i cant bear to waste them, so i always have to find something else to use them for and what i wrap the pastry around depends on what i have lying around
Harissa & Dark Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread recipe. Really black and overripe are the perfect bananas to use for any banana bread recipe. Those bananas that lie in the fruit bowl forgotten and rejected are the ones to use.
So, why harissa in this recipe? The only way to answer this question is to make it for yourself and try it.
The short answer is that the harissa adds a little bit if umami and a small bit of heat on my tongue, a combination i like.
Honey Nut Cornflake & Coconut Biscuits recipe – Gluten Free recipe. So easy that making them with kids is a great way to spend an afternoon of messy baking.
Then there’s the fact there’s no need to rush out to the shop if I want to satisfy my sweet fix, all of the ingredients are in my pantry right when I need them.
Pistachio Cream Filled Biscotti recipe, a combination of layers of smooth pistachio cream surrounded by a firm yet crumbly twice baked biscuit. Not too sweet and nothing difficult about making these, which is why they are on my favourite biscuit list. Fancy biscuits that are so tasty.
Chocolate & Pistachio Thumbprint Cookies with Pistachio Cream Recipe. Oh my, these Chocolate & Pistachio Thumbprint Cookies with Pistachio Cream are something else, and by that, I mean they’re very special.
Saffron & Pistachio Biscuits, a recipe that is so easy to make and once you’ve tried them, you’ll be addicted to their flavour and beautiful golden colour.
Gluten Free Sweet Potato Lasagne with Pork Sausage, Chicken Mince & Kale recipe, perfect for Freeze ahead Friday food. So easy to make and it’s great to make ahead. Thinly sliced sweet potto substituted for pasta is a fabulous way of cutting out the gluten and adding more vegetables. Cut out the red meat and using pork sausage and chicken mince gives it an edge for a healthier January. No matter how healthy food is, i wont eat it unless it taste great , and this does.
Easy to make and easy to eat Dill and Black pepper Gravlax . Dill cured salmon, one of the easiest things to make and perfect for a special event and get together. Christmas, birthdays or any celebration, make this for every family get together.
An Ultimate Chocolate Cake with Caramel & Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream & Almond Praline recipe. Easy to make and once assembled, an in the middle of the table showstopper.
The Swiss meringue buttercream is smooth and flavoured with caramel and chocolate giving it a luxury texture and Topped with almond brittle, takes it over the top indulgent .
Lattice Pear & Tinned Peach Pie recipe
Easy , tasty and so pretty too. Using tinned peaches means this pie can be made even in the winter months. Sweet short crust pasty thats really crumbly tops fresh pears and tinned peaches.
Making a lattice top for a pie is very easy and strangely satisfying. Take a look at the recipe to see exactly how easy it is!
Pear Frangipane Tart recipe.
With the ground almonds, soft sweet pears, buttery crumbly pastry and the added lemon zest, this Pear Frangipane Tart tastes deliciously indulgent and fresh.
If, like me, you’re a make ahead kind of person, preferring to spend as much time around the dinner table chatting (the lovely Mr G would say chatting a little too much ), then it’s a perfect pudding to get together the day before, either cooking it to eat cold or, get it all ready to bake on the day to eat warm.
One Pot Slow Cooker Beef & Pig Heart Stew with Onions, Mushrooms & Carrots recipe. This is an all in one pot, slow cooker, mega sized dish for a family meal or a few days of tasty leftovers, I think a stew is even better when it’s had a day to gather its flavours.
