by Carla Louise | May 22, 2013 | carlalouise, Creating, Food & Baking, Life Magic |
If you’ve been reading this blog for more than about five minutes, you’ll notice I bake intermittently, but often. (As I live alone, I don’t dare have a regular baking day or I’d eat all the results practically before they came out of the oven.)
Last weekend, my parents were over helping me to build (ok, ok, Dad was building) a shelter for my soon-to-arrive barbecue, and during a coffee break, Mum casually dropped into conversation that my great-grandfather and great-grandmother ran a bakery of their own from the 1920s to the 1950s.
Why this particular morsel of information has never come up before, I don’t know – but it would appear that Fred’s Bakery was the family business until it was sold sometime in the fifties.
This, to me, provides a perfect explanation for why I bake when I’m sad, and why my baking usually turns out relatively well; why it’s perfectly normal for me to have memorised several recipes which I can bake at a moment’s notice, even in a kitchen I’ve never used before; and why I’m so fiercely determined to work for myself – my family have had their own businesses for nearly a hundred years!
Isn’t history glorious?
by Carla Louise | May 22, 2013 | At Home, Food & Baking, Journal, Memories |
If you’ve been reading this blog for more than about five minutes, you’ll notice I bake intermittently, but often. (As I live alone, I don’t dare have a regular baking day or I’d eat all the results practically before they came out of the oven.)
Last weekend, my parents were over helping me to build (ok, ok, Dad was building) a shelter for my soon-to-arrive barbecue, and during a coffee break, Mum casually dropped into conversation that my great-grandfather and great-grandmother ran a bakery of their own from the 1920s to the 1950s.
Why this particular morsel of information has never come up before, I don’t know – but it would appear that Fred’s Bakery was the family business until it was sold sometime in the fifties.
This, to me, provides a perfect explanation for why I bake when I’m sad, and why my baking usually turns out relatively well; why it’s perfectly normal for me to have memorised several recipes which I can bake at a moment’s notice, even in a kitchen I’ve never used before; and why I’m so fiercely determined to work for myself – my family have had their own businesses for nearly a hundred years!
by Carla Louise | May 14, 2013 | At Home, carlalouise, Food & Baking |
Ingredients:
Leftover roast chicken from one accidental “chuck it and chance it” lunch (approx 1/2 chicken, but you can adapt to your own preferences)
Most of a pot of Elmlea single – you can use actual single cream, I just didn’t have any
Salt & pepper
a glug of olive oil
A random amount of sweetcorn – I like lots in mine, so it was at least equal to the chicken, but is up to you
Pastry, preferably readymade as it’s quicker. I use shortcrust, but this also works well as individual small pies with puff pastry lids
A couple of tablespoons of dried tarragon, or, much preferable, a decent handful of fresh, chopped
Two teaspoons of nutmeg
1 cup of cider. or wine. or apple juice if you’d prefer no alcohol
—
Method
Pull all the chicken off the carcass and shred into small pieces. If using raw chicken, chop into small pieces.
Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan, and add the chicken. Cook till no longer pink in the middle (if using raw pierces) or heated through (if using cooked chicken)
Pour in the cream, closely followed by the cider or apple juice.
Add the tarragon, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste, and stir well.
Chuck in the sweetcorn, and when it’s all heated through, take off the heat and spoon into pie dish(es). I completely forgot to blind bake the bottom of the pie and it actually turned out ok!
Add the pastry lid and any decorations – I’m going with “rustic charm” rather than “slightly wonky heart”… you can brush with beaten egg or milk, whichever is closest, for a shine.
Bake for half an hour or so at 180 degrees ish – till it’s all nicely golden brown.
When it’s finished, serve with chips or mash, and peas… or just on its own as a rather lovely work lunch.
*my apologies for the single photo – it was all eaten before I had a chance to photograph a slice!!
by Carla Louise | May 12, 2013 | carlalouise, Food & Baking |
Put on your Rocky and Balls apron… (a housewarming present from Hannah – isn’t it fabulous?!)
Mix cake as normal (175g of everything, 3 eggs, chuck in some baking powder and vanilla essence. Never fails). Stir in proper gel colouring and marvel at the vivid hues. 
Attempt to layer different colours into cake tins without throwing at each other, the table or the giant rubber duck which was trying to be involved.
Bake for 15-20 minutes,turn out and let cool. 
Ice with white buttercream, honeycomb pieces and as much edible glitter as you fancy. Marvel again at the pretty colours – and enjoy! 
The colouring I’m using by Wilton, and now I’ve finally got my hands on some, I’ll never go back to liquid colouring! This would also be great for icing as it won’t dilute the icing to get a richer colour.
Can see these being great fun at Halloween… or for a patriotic cake!
by Carla Louise | May 12, 2013 | Creating, Food & Baking, Photography |
Put on your Rocky and Balls apron… (a housewarming present from Hannah – isn’t it fabulous?!)
Mix cake as normal (175g of everything, 3 eggs, chuck in some baking powder and vanilla essence. Never fails). Stir in proper gel colouring and marvel at the vivid hues.
Attempt to layer different colours into cake tins without throwing at each other, the table or the giant rubber duck which was trying to be involved.
Bake for 15-20 minutes,turn out and let cool.
Ice with white buttercream, honeycomb pieces and as much edible glitter as you fancy. Marvel again at the pretty colours – and enjoy!
The colouring I’m using by Wilton, and now I’ve finally got my hands on some, I’ll never go back to liquid colouring! This would also be great for icing as it won’t dilute the icing to get a richer colour.
Can see these being great fun at Halloween… or for a patriotic cake!
by Carla Louise | Oct 11, 2012 | Books |
Welcome to the sixteenth stop on the Make and Craft Magazine Blog Tour Bus! In conjunction with Make and Craft Magazine & Search Press, I have a copy of the fabulous Super Pops by Tamsin Aston with Judith Fertig to give away!
Super Pops, by Tasmin Aston with Judith Fertig, ISBN 9781844488384, published by Search Press, £12.99.
Books? Yes please – what’s this one like inside?
It’s just as much fun as it looks, and shows you what you need, what you can create and how to create cake pops. Which have been on my must-try list for absolutely ages! Search Press says “this book will make it easy for anyone to try out a range of indulgences that are sure to impress at parties, events, or as presents” and having looked through, I’d have to agree!
My personal favourite projects were, predictably, the ducks (well, this blog is called Ducking Fabulous after all),
the horses,
and the fabulously burlesque masks!
I have been in the process of escaping the City (quitting my day job in London for one much closer to home) and rehearsing for my first ever burlesque performance in the past week and a half, so haven’t had a chance to make any of the pops in the book, but it has very clear and precise instructions, which look easy to follow and effective.
To be in with a chance of winning a copy, register as a member on Make and Craft’s website (it’s very quick and it’s free!) and then pop back here and leave a comment on this post, including your Twitter username if you have one (and your email address anyway). I will draw the winner on Sunday 14th November and announce the winner here, and contact them directly too. Good luck!
If you don’t win, Make and Craft & Search Press are offering free P&P on this book – call Search Press on 01892 510850 and quote “Make and Craft Blog Tour”.
So – you mentioned a new magazine? Tell me more!
Make and Craft is a brilliant new magazine for the crafting community, which launches TOMORROW! (12th October 2012). All kinds of craft and making are covered so there’s something for everyone, and a kids’ craft club too – with my vast number of cousins, this is extra-fab!
Their website also has a forum and a blog, so you can keep up with the latest news, and chat to other crafters. The forum has a Book Club section, for regular chatting about books. As an ex-librarian who is a craft addict, I suspect this will be the place I haunt the most 🙂
They have a brilliant launch offer running – three issues for £3, or if you go for the digital option (fab for those of you who commute), it’s just £1 for 3 issues! Subscribe here…
Excellent. And what do you do?
Teehee, hello if you’re new to my blog! I’m Carla, I’m 26 and I do… lots of things! I have just quit the City for a job closer to home which is forming the base of my portfolio career. I blog here about craft, life, inspiration, driving and thrifting. I co-own Inkdrops Boxes, the first UK stationery subscription box company, and I’m an ex-librarian with a burlesque habit. Or perhaps, after Saturday, a burlesque dancer with a book habit?
Anyway, it’s lovely to see you and there’s usually a fair bit of crafting within these pages… so dive in, say hello in a comment and let me know where you blog or tweet – I’d love to chat!
Good stuff. So remind me of all the salient details?
Of course! The book is Super Pops, and to win it you need to register at Make and Craft and then come back here and leave a comment on this post 🙂
You can follow Make and Craft via their website, www.makeandcraft.com and on Twitter @MakeAndCraft, and Pinterest (www.pinterest.com/makeandcraft). Search Press, who publish all sorts of fabulous creative books, are at www.searchpress.com.
You can follow me here (www.duckingfabulous.co.uk), on Twitter @duckingfabulous and on Pinterest www.pinterest.com/duckingfabulous. You can also find Inkdrops at www.inkdrops.co.uk and @inkdropsbox. Come and say hi!
Make and Craft Issue 1 goes on sale tomorrow – squeeee! And the day after that, the blog baton is taken up by Hannah at Spans Studio – pop over and see her and which book she’s giving away!
Many thanks to Katharine and Freya at Make and Craft for letting me join the blog tour – I’m having a fabulous time seeing everyone else’s posts and catching up in the forum!
by Carla Louise | Jun 15, 2012 | Creating, Food & Baking, Personal Development |
Bit of a mish mash, wordy, linky post, as I’m having one of the busiest weeks ever and am running around like an entire flock of headless chickens. And then some. So here goes, stuff that has made me happy this week…
– Discovering all over again that I actually have the best friends a girl could ever possibly wish for. I am very, very lucky.
– Fluffy white bread for the first time in ages and Ben’s cookies from a colleague at work
– Emily coming round and cooking for me – this was the most luxurious thing ever, quite aside from the loveliness of seeing her
– Exciting snippets of other people’s news – new chapters all over the shop
– That feeling you get when opening a brand new document in InDesign and knowing you can create almost anything you want
– Planning outfits, shoes and accessories for the boudoir shoot next weekend
– Discovering a Bauhaus exhibition, which we hope to go to tomorrow, to assist the lovely Lou with her research for an application she’s doing
– Business course with Startup Saturday tomorrow, WordPress course on Wednesday for work and plans for my future
– Making lists and feeling a bit more in control of my workload, finances and life
– Plans for blogger meetups with Annastasia, a PPU store (more of that later) and expansion of Ducking Fabulous (more of that later too), among other things
– Unexpected commissions – and selling a necklace to my director, which was a very weird but very nice feeling! Unfortunately I neglected to photograph it, but will recreate it for the shop soon 🙂
– Val telling me that she saw an advert for a burlesque show and immediately thought of me, “just like when I see horses and ducks”. It’s becoming a part of me in a way I never expected, but I love it!
– Reading proper chick lit again – I’ve read nothing but non fiction for a couple of months and it was very good to lose myself in a couple of Fiona Gibson’s novels (go and read them if you haven’t already, they’re funny, poignant and I identify with the characters so much – even the ones I’m not yet!)
– Planning the 100 day challenge, or a version of it, to get a bit of stability back into my finances (thanks to Sophia at Tattooed Tealady for the inspiration)
– Boutique Baking and Jamie’s Great Britain– I am so looking forward to choosing things to make and bake from these books
– Deciding, after last Sunday’s #bbloggers chat, that my blog is a place for me to indulge my many passions and hobbies and loves – it might get more readers if it was more focused, but I prefer it to be a true reflection of my character and personality – chaotic but lovely!
Tomorrow I’m with Lou in London, planning for the future, and Sunday hopefully collecting my new bike (squeee) so more posts to come!
by Carla Louise | Mar 24, 2012 | Creating, Food & Baking |
Focaccia ready for the oven and a somewhat experimental baked cheesecake just emerged 🙂 We are aware the focaccia looks more like a naan bread. Minor details!
