Christmas on Instagram

Here are just a few pics from my instagram account! I'm still rather a little obsessed with Instagram and find myself taking pictures too often with it. My profile is 'BETH2852' if you're curious :)

 I was making cranberry sauce in the first two pictures, fruity curry in the bottom right and stuffing for christmas day, bottom left.

 Scott and I went to the christmas market in Manchester again this year. The mosaic floor is in the town hall, and Scotts in front of the market and town hall. Below is Alfred my cat and Seabear my lazy doggy!

Scott and I over Christmas, and below a Christmas wreath from Manchester, and to the right the most incredible english breakfast we made a couple of days after christmas.

Eggs for breakfast

I've been craving the lovely free range eggs from the egg farm just round the corner from my house back home. And so last weekend my parents came to visit me and brought me a big tray full of eggs which I've been devouring this week. I tried dippy eggs and soldiers today, and it is by far one of my favourite and quite a nostalgic breakfast as my mum used to make it for me when I was younger.

I have to have the white part cooked as it really is pretty gross when it's all slimy, but the yolk is so much better when it is runny and golden. I'm an impatient cook and always pour boiled water over my eggs which can sometimes lead to them cracking, but it's a 50-50 chance, which I feel is worth taking :).....

I love these retro egg cups I was given from Homewood Bound Collections (one of my little going away presents from mum). But as you can see I was quite greedy and wanted three eggs when I only had two egg cups, which ruins the photographs a little ;)

Anyway, I will be back posting some more meals that I've been making on my new student budget soon !!

Bagel Time

Well I've just finished my first week of university and I'm already experimenting with lots of options for breakfast lunch and dinner. I'm used to food shopping for my family, but food shopping for one is slightly trickier yet more exciting as I can choose anything I fancy (within budget of course) and eat when and whatever I like. Of course there are draw backs, I have to buy little and often opposed to one big shop, but that means I get more creative with the ingredients I already have. However, walking through the isles in Morrision's I was heavily tempted by the 5 for £1 bagel offer in the bakery section. Bagel's aren't something I regularly eat, but occasionally I get a craving for them, and this was was on of those times. It's probably due to the fact I've been watching the Great British Bake off on BBC iplayer where they've recently made bagels. Did you know they part boil the bagel before putting it in the oven ? This is apparently what gives them their chewy texture. But besides that little gem of information, I was once again influenced by TV and couldn't wait to have a bagel for breakfast.

 Scott stayed this weekend which was really lovely. We both had bagels, but with different spreads. I personally like Philadelphia and strawberry jam, I know how weird that sounds, but I once had it at a friends house and never looked back !!! Scott opted for strawberry jam and cheese... a combination also favoured by my grandparents on sandwiches, but that's another story.....

 I also like peanut butter (and when I'm in a really terrible mood, peanut butter and nutella, wow), and I also like to have it as a ham and salad sandwich. We toast ours but that again is optional!

 There is obviously no need for me to write a recipe for this, it was more a sort of inspiration for breakfast, as it can be quite monotonous to have the same breakfast everyday and sometimes you just need a little change. So bring on the bagels :)

Eggs in pots (oeufs en cocotte)

I love eggs. They're lower fat than bacon, more filling than cereal, and delicious covered in tomato sauce :) I have them 5 out 7 days a week for breakfast, and usually I have them fried with a slice of toast. But recently I've been watching a BBC programme called 'The little Paris Kitchen' with Rachel Khoo, who creates delicious Parisian cuisine in a simple and easy to do way!

Here is one of the recipes I tried from her recipe book which is very good ! It has quite a Sophie Dahl pretty and feminine style about it, and I loved her TV series and cook book!

Eggs in Pots:

 Ingredients:

4 eggs

150g/5½oz  creme fraiche

thyme

ground nutmeg

paprika

salt and pepper

Toasted soldiers

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4

1. Add a desert spoonful of creme fraiche to you teacup.

Season with salt and pepper, and a pinch of grated nutmeg.

2. Crack in your egg

3. Add another desert spoon of creme fraiche

4. Season with paprika, a few small sprigs of thyme and a little more salt and pepper.

5. Place the teacups in a baking dish and pour enough lukewarm water into the dish to come halfway up the sides of the teacups,

and bake for 15 minutes.

leave them a little longer if you like your eggs firmer.

 While the eggs were cooking I took a few shots of Seabear who was looking sneakily at me in the kitchen. She is usually stood annoyingly right under the cooker when I'm making food so she can get all the bits that fall (as I'm quite a messy cook), but the sun was shining and she was more interested in basking in the sun!

Viola. Enjoy your eggs :)
I had mine with toasted wholemeal bread cut into soldiers and of course buttered. Ha and I must admit I did have two teacups worth of them instead of the supposed one per person ;)

This is another breakfast recipe called : Croque Madame Muffins

which I tried yesterday, which is equally delicious.  

http://www.saturdaykitchenrecipesearch.co.uk/rachel-khoo-croque-madame-muffins-the-little-paris-kitchen

I used ramekins in stead of muffin trays!