Cucumber agua fresca

Making anything is rewarding, that feeling of having created something, achieving the goal that you set out to. So, beautiful cook book in hand (I'm a sucker for good photos!), page bookmarked, my sister and I decided that we wanted to have a go at making this lovely refreshing drink; which was to accompany the tasty chilli and slaw that we were having for tea (all homemade of course!) that weekend.

Ingredients.
4 English cucumbers
1/2 green chilli, finely chopped
juice of 5 limes
4 tablespoons agave syrup
1 litre of water
handful of mint leaves, plus extra to garnish
pinch of salt
Whiz all the ingredients in a blender; then strain through a fine sieve lined with muslin. Pour into glasses and serve with plenty of ice and mint!
(Recipe from Wahaca Mexican food at home by Thomasina Miers)
Now since making this drink - and it was v lovely indeed - I have actually located agave syrup on the sugar isle in the *big* supermarkets; we didn't have any this particular weekend and so substituted with maple syrup which actually worked fine. We also didn't have a fine sieve and had totally forgotten the muslin - so used a clean old pair of tights stretched over a colander!!! now there's creativeness in the kitchen for you, and two people determined to make these drinks! x

The 52MMMC Week 6

Wellllllll here I am and I'll be posting about my makes a couple of weeks later than planned. Excuses yes, a few, mainly the day job, orders to complete and the fact that my little sister has recently got engaged and is getting married in March 2011!!!!! So many plans have been made already. I've been home to visit my parents for a family get together where all the plans that have been made so far were disclosed, so there we go, lots going on......

Anyhow, as I was off home for a visit I didn't want to go empty handed and so got out the baking book to bake a little something to take home, a sweet treat to share.......

so after flicking through the pages I decided to have a go at:


ingredients ready


and so the measuring and mixing begins


melting down


whisking up


more mixing


the ginger mix ready for the final ingredients


adding all the fruit


poured and ready to bake


being cut into slices prior to being consumed!


the taste verdict from the family was a thumbs up (phew!) so all good there. A sweet treat success! :) x

The 52 Marvellous Makes Madness Challenge...... Number 1

Well hello! Hope the weekend finds you all good.

After being invited by A Thrifty Mrs to be a part of her '52 Marvellous Makes Challenge' I thought I'd better post about 'our' efforts and show you the results.
For the challenge - the aim is to make one item a week for a year. Be it a cake, a hat, basically anything - as long as you enjoy it.

So after telling 'The Man' about the challenge he got carried away (don't expect it to last though!) and we made three lots of home baked goodies to consume.
Here are the pics to show you!

Our untidy kitchen and (far too cluttered for my liking!) kitchen surface, ready for creating!


we whipped up Wholemeal Raspberry Muffins



Sticky Ginger Cakes



And our best triumph and our first time ever making it - Baked Blueberry Cheesecake





perfect yumminess, nom, nom, nom


So there you go my first post for the first week of the challenge, only 51 to go!!
:) x