AMERICAN:ENGLISH CONVERSION CHART

I own lots of American recipe books, but some of the measurements have often been awkward to work out. I do now have a set of cup measures, but this chart still comes in handy for liquid & butter measures etc.

LIQUID MEASURES

1 Cup US = 275ml

1 Pint US = 550ml

1 Quart US = 900ml

SPOON MEASURES

1 Level Tablespoon Flour - 15g Flour

1 Heaped Tablespoon Flour - 28g Flour

1 Level Tablespoon Sugar = 28g Sugar

1 Level Tablespoon Butter = 15g Butter

SPOON MEASURES

1 Cup Rice US = 225g Rice

1 Cup Flour US = 115g Flour

1 Cup Butter US = 225g Butter

1 Stick Butter US = 115g Butter

1 Cup Dried Fruit US = 225g Dried Fruit

1 Cup Brown Sugar US = 180g Brown Sugar

1 Cup Granulated Sugar US = 225g Granulated Sugar

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New Year Everyone - I hope you all had a good Christmas and wish you all the best for the new year!

This Christmas I decided to make my own Christmas cake and Mincemeat. I was really pleased with the mincemeat - the taste was out of this world. But the cake was a little disappointing - it tasted exactly like a bought one, even though there must have been 1/2 bottle of brandy in it. I keep telling myself this is a good thing as at least it didn't taste horrible!

The only problem now is I still have half a cake left and I am supposed to be eating a little more healthily!! - it will keep I suppose, lol

PUMPKIN SOUP

500g Pumpkin
25g Butter
1 Onion - chopped
2 Garlic Cloves - crushed
1 1/4pt Chicken or Vegetable Stock
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
Salt & pepper

Slice the top from the pumpkin and discard the seeds and remove the rind. Chop into cubes. Melt the butter and fry the chopped onion and crushed garlic for 2 - 3 minutes then add the pumpkin and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the stock and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to the boil and simmer for approximately 20 minutes. Leave to cool and whizz in a blender until smooth.

VINTAGE COOKERY

As promised a few weeks ago my Auntie bought me some cookery books that belonged to my nan, and look what I found inside - some four-leafed clover that I found as a child. I even remember putting them there! The clover must be at least 32 years old if not more!

The book, by the way, was published in 1936.

Welsh Cakes

350g S.R. Flour
2tsp Baking Powder
175g Margerine
100g Currants
3/4 tsp Mixed Spice
1 Large Egg
about 2tbs Milk
Caster sugar to finish

Put flour and baking powder into a large bowl and rub in the margarine until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, currants and spice. Beat the egg with the milk, then add this to the mixture and mix to form a firm dough, adding more milk if required.

Roll out on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of about 5mm and cut into rounds with a 3 inch (7.5cm) plain round cutter.

Heat oil in a griddle or heavy based frying pan and cook Welshcakes on a low heat for approx 3mins on each side until golden brown. Do not cook too fast as the centre will not be done.

Cool on a wire rack and dust with icing sugar. Serve buttered. Best eaten on the day they were made.

LEEK AND POTATO SOUP

As it was St. David's Day on the 1st, I thought I would share this recipe, it's delicious:

2 Large Leeks
1 Onion
1 Large Potato
20z Butter or Margerine
1pt Hot Vegetable Stock
1/2 pt Milk
1/4pt Double or Whipping cream
1/4pt Natural Yoghurt
Salt and Pepper
Dash of Tobasco Sauce
2 tbs Chopped Chives

Wash and trim leeks and cut into rings. Finely chop onion. Peel and dice potato.

Cook onion and leeks in the butter or marg. until softened. Add potato and stock. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer gently for 20mins. Add the milk. Blend soup in a liquidizer until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and whisk in cream, yogurt, salt, pepper and Tabasco.

This soup may be eaten hot or cold. If serving cold garnish with freshly chopped chives.

TOBLERONE CAKE

A couple of years ago, I bought this lovely little folder to put all the recipes that I wanted to keep from magazines etc. I was handed a recipe for a Toblerone Cake in W.H. Smith of all places. I have never made it but I thought it looked interesting:

Ingredients

200g Toblerone

60z Digestive Biscuits

3oz Butter or margarine

10fl oz Double Cream

Flake or White Chocolate

Method

Melt butter in pan. Pour over crumbled biscuits. Mix and use to line an 8" tin. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Melt the Toblerone. Whisk the cream (not stiff). When the chocolate has started to cool, fold in cream. Pour the mixture over the base. Return cake to fridge for 1 hour. Decorate with flake or white chocolate.

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES, LEMON TRAY BAKE AND A CHEAP CREDIT CRUNCH SUPPER

As I have now finished crafting for for my Valentine Swap, I decided to spend the afternoon baking and cooking. As I am trying my best to cut costs I made chocolate cupcakes using cocoa powder for the chocolate flavouring - they taste just as good as using real chocolate. I made 18 about 3hrs ago and there are now 11 left!

I also made a huge Lemon Tray Bake (I bake them in my roasting tin) with a view to them lasting all week. Although this rarely happens with my kids around!

The best money saver today though has to be our supper. I made Tomato Pasta using a Jamie Oliver jar of pasta sauce. These are on offer at the moment at Tesco for only 89p a jar. I added a pack of spaghetti costing 49p and topped it all with a little grated cheese. There was more than enough to feed all 4 of us.

I then made pancakes for afters using ingredients from my store cupboard. This has to be the cheapest meal I've ever cooked - I'm now going to see if I can better this one next week!

CREDIT CRUNCH RECIPES

A everyone has been feeling the pinch just lately, I have been going through my recipe books for cheap and cheerful recipes. I came across this one other day and I didn't have to buy any ingredients at all - they were all in my store cupboard!





BANANA BUTTERSCOTCH PUDDING



For The Pudding:



125g plain flour

3 tsp baking powder

125g caster sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 banana, mashed

250ml milk

1tsp vanilla extract

85g butter melted


For The Topping:


100g soft brown sugar

2tbs golden syrup

150ml boiling water


Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream to serve(I used a tin of Evaporated Milk)

Preheat oven 180'C. Gas Mark 4. Sift flour and baking powder into a bowel. Add caster sugar. Mix together beaten egg, mashed banana, milk, vanilla extract and melted butter. Pour into a 1.25ml dish and place on a baking tray.



To make topping, mix brown sugar, syrup, and boiling water in a pan and bring to the boil. Pour slowly over pudding. Bake for 30-40mins until golden and firm in the centre. The pudding will separate with the butterscotch sauce at the bottom and a spongy topping.

Yummy - a great one for the kids.