Cookie Time Saver

Don't you sometimes wish you could have just one (or two) freshly baked cookies without having to make and cook a whole batch?

Here's how you can do it!

Take your favourite cookie recipe (mine is the chewy kind - see this one I have on my blog if you're looking for one) and make more dough than you need.

Form balls of dough, just like you would if you were baking the cookies, and lay them on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet flat in the freezer for 2-3 hours.

Once fully hardened, you can remove the baking sheet, and place all of the uncooked cookie balls in a plastic bag and pop the bag back in the freezer.

Then, when you fancy one, place one in the oven on a small lined baking tray and cook as per your cookie baking recipe, adding on 1 or so minutes to the cooking time!

And there you go, in a matter of minutes you'll have one freshly baked cookie without all the faff of mixing the dough. YUM!!!

Adapted Wartime Dress

A few months ago I was on the hunt for a dress that was suitable for work, but wasn't black or made out of really thick material. The shops didn't delivery quite what I had in mind so I decided to take this pattern and turn it from a semi-casual jersey dress to something a little bit smarter. 

I always make it difficult for myself (unintentionally); this pattern is designed for jersey, but I wanted a more fitted finish, so I used a non-stretch fabric. Because the pattern is made to be slightly more casual and less fitted, I had to make three fundamental changes:

1) I added a zip underneath my left arm, so that I could actually get in and out of the dress

2) I had to take some of the material out of the front bodice panel; I made it a little shorter from top to bottom. If I was making this pattern out of jersey (like I was supposed to) this extra fabric would have draped over nicely and made it very flattering. However, because I was making it out of a slightly stiffer fabric, that extra bit of fabric would have poofed out and looked pretty weird.

3) I also took some material out of the front skirt so that the gathers weren't there. I just took in the side seams at the top, which maybe isn't the most professional way of doing it, but it seemed to work out just fine for me :)

I chose to use a medium weight polycotton, somewhat similar to a tea towel... you laugh, it has been commented on. My only trouble with using this type of fabric was that it frayed constantly and I don't have an overlocker at the moment (it's on my list), so I had to do some careful zigzag stitching along the edges in places.

TIP: Although I used a non-stretch fabric, I did choose one with a little 'give' - I'd suggest this to get the best results.

Don't be scared to experiment!

And i'd love to see your creations, so please do share them!

Buttered Carrots

What do you think of when you think about adding veg to your meal? Boiled greens and carrots?...That would be most people's answer. No more!

I don't know about you, but personally I find boiled vegetables vastly over-rated; whilst perfectly acceptable, it often simply serves a '5-a-day' purpose. Because of this we don't always get our much needed vitamins because we find eating veg quite tasteless and boring. Boiling veg is also not a great way of getting our vitamins because most of the goodness ends up in the discarded water.

This is where the wonder of buttered carrots comes in - seriously, I could eat them all day and as a consequence, I eat much more veg that I would do otherwise.

Method
Now, I can hear you saying 'but butter is really bad for you'. In large quantities, yes, but all I use is teaspoon's worth per 2 carrots.

1) Chop your carrots into chunks - I like to julienne them
2) Place them in a small saucepan (which you have a tight fitting lid for)
3) Add a teaspoon of butter
4) Add a teaspoon of water
5) Place the lid onto the saucepan. Make sure to leave your leave your lid on; this stops the butter and water evaporating
6) Gently heat for 7-8minutes, shaking the pan occasionally
And you're done

Using this method you eat up all the vitamins that would have otherwise been discarded, and more importantly, you'll love every mouthful

Variations
Add a little honey to make them sweet
Add a tiny amount of Marmite - this doesn't actually make them taste Marmitey, just gives a bit of saltiness and coming from a marmite hater, tastes pretty good actually!
Add a little soy sauce if your having a chinese dish
Add a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar if you want a richer taste

You can cook most vegetables using this method and everyone will ask you how on earth you made them taste so nice! It makes even courgettes taste good ;)

Have you got any other ways of eating your 5-a-day?

Sunday Roast is over... Lets make soup!

Everyone loves a good roast - but we don't all make the most of everything it has to offer. After all, a roast takes some (albeit enjoyable) time to prepare and cook. So why not get more from your next Sunday Roast....and make some soup!?!

All you'll need are the left over bones, some vegetables and spices/herbs. I'm going to talk you through a couple of chicken based recipes, but there's no stopping you using any other kind of meat as a base.

Serving: One medium chicken carcass will give you around 5 servings

Method
1) First step is to make some stock - place the bones in a large saucepan and add 3 pints of boiling water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 40mins with a lid on the saucepan

TIP: Try and remove most of the fatty parts left on the bones, as otherwise you'll end up with a fat layer that you'll have to remove at the end - which can be tricky.

2) Well that was easy, you've just got some fresh and immenslely tasty stock. Next take your choice of vegetables (around 2 medium bowls full, roughly chopped) and place them in the boiling stock.

3) Season and then add herbs/spices if your chosen soup requires them

4) Simmer for another 25mins, until vegetables are soft

5) Take off the heat and blend - make it as lumpy or as smooth as you like. If you prefer thick soup, add some cornflour (remember to mix it with cold water before adding it to the soup) or thickening granules

6) And you're done - so simple and so much cheaper/healthier than soups you buy in shops!

I love making the most of our Sunday Roast - I find it so satisfying to take all the chicken off the bones, saving that for another meal and then making stock/soup from the left overs as well! You can use the fresh tasty stock just as stock with other recipes if you don't fancy making soup out of it.

So there's your very basic soup recipe. Below are a couple of my favourite vegetable/herbs/spices combinations using a chicken base. But don't forget - experiment! Try adding lentils for a thicker more warming result (great for a wintery day), cream, or even noodles.

Spicy Butternut Squash - Try adding cayenne pepper, cumin, a small amount of chilli powder and of course butternut squash (1 whole butternut squash would do around 4 servings)










Roasted Pepper & Sweet Potato - This is great if you roast the peppers and sweet potatoes before adding them to the stock (if you do this, you'll only need to simmer the veg for 5-10mins). Add lots of fresh herbs - I like thyme and a little rosemary.






Stock Tip: If you have some leftover stock or don't fancy soup - try freezing it in ice-cube trays so you'll always have fresh 'stock cubes' to use at a moments notice

Experiment and find your favourite soup :)

Italian Sausage Pasta to impress...with a little cheat

Have you ever needed a quick meal that still looks amazing? Perhaps you have some unexpected guests? No need to get flustered...here's what I always fall back on.

Time saving element: Squeeze the sausage meat out of the store bought sausages!! SO SIMPLE but so effective!!

Pasta is usually pretty boring when you make it at home, and never has that wow factor that you get in a restaurant, but with this simple trick you can make even the most simplest of pasta dishes look incredible.

Tip: Jazz up the dish further by using decorative shaped pasta; my favourites are Campanelle and Gigli; and serve on a large plain coloured or white plate. Start with some breads and oil, put a dry white wine, some fresh parmesan and a fresh potted plant (e.g. basil) on the table and your quests will think they've jetted off to Italy for the evening. Maybe...

Try it and let me know how it turns out :)


Here's a really quick recipe to give you an idea of how you could use this trick:

Ingredients
2 garlic cloves
1 red onion
2 handfuls of rocket (you can substitute this with mixed leaves if you prefer)
1 fresh chilli
4 store bought or fresh butcher sausages
2 mugfulls of dried pasta
1 can of tin chopped tomatoes
mixed herbs
olive oil, salt and pepper to season

Serving: 2 portions

Method
1) Cut the onion in half vertically, i.e. cutting through the stalk end and base/root. Lie the onion cut side down on the chopping board and thinly slice from the stalk end to the base/root, to make crescent shapes
2) Finely chop the fresh chilli and garlic
3) Put the dried pasta in a saucepan, add water and a little salt, increase temperature until it's boiling and then reduce slightly so it can simmer
4) Add a little olive oil to a large frying pan, once hot add the garlic and chilli and stir
5) Once garlic starts to turn golden, add the onion and stir for a further 5 minutes
6) Now for the fun bit! Take your first sausage carefully unwrapping the skin at one end. You may find using scissors to score down one side of the sausage makes this step easier. Begin to squeeze out 1cm lengths of sausage meat and drop into the frying pan. Make sure you stir the ingredients occasionally and repeat this step for all sausages
7) Once sausages have browned, add tomatoes, stir and season with salt pepper and herbs of your choice; simmer for another 5 minutes
8) Drain pasta and add to the frying pan
9) Stir sauce into pasta for a minute or so, add the rocket leaves, give one final quick stir and serve.
10) Enjoy :)

Introduction

With an aspiration to be the perfect domestic goddess (at the age of 23), whilst hankering after anything that will save me time, this is where i'll begin my journey into developing The Contemporary Traditionalist.


This is a space where i'll be sharing any inspiration, ideas, projects, achievements and failures, in the hope of inspiring all those who yearn for domestic perfection, but just don't have the time!


I hope you'll join me :)