Beabarella bakes Paul Hollywood's Iced Fingers Recipe- losing my virginity; the bread making one...

It's a strange thing how a man can tempt you into doing things that you would have never contemplated before. I'd like to think that Im not a typically girly girl; Im northern and stubborn and like mature Cheddar but one look from a Mr Paul Hollywood and i'd be giggling like a geisha from behind my handfan; whilst, simultaneously doing a wee down my leg. So far though, luckily for me and probably him, all he has got me doing is baking bread.

I don't know why, but in all the time i've been cooking, apart from a few shameful 'add water' style packet mixes; I've never baked my own bread. I don't know why really 'cos the smell to me is more addictive then crack (i'd imagine...i'm strictly an Ovaltine girl myself). 

It made sense to my little mind that I should make something I'm very very familiar with putting in my mouthhole so that when I tried them I would know if i'd got them right or not. Now, not blowing my own trumpet or anything but, I am a time served, kick ass Iced Finger eater...If there was a Brownie badge for it- POW! That bad boy would be right on my sash.... So I tried them first and maybe because I'm very dedicated in  my iced finger eating, they turned out pretty good! 

I followed this recipe : Paul Hollywood Iced Fingers from BBC FOOD and it was really simple to understand and not at all overwhelming for a first time baker. 

This was my baby after its first prove. It felt sooo nice, like a bald mouse i'd imagine...or a hairless cat.. oddly soothing to touch.

I think I messed up a little 'cos I split my batch across two trays thinking they were going to end up as one big bread loaf, but in actual fact, they are meant to touch and meld together a little and then you split them later, so I did a bad! 

See what I mean, they're meant to be joined, so if i'd stuck them all on one tray i'd have been laughing! 

In my opinion, the more jam and cream the better.... 

I think they look pretty good. Your meant to dip the top of the buns into the icing but i'm such a cack-handed knack that i would have just ended up drowning them or dropping all the cream and jam out, so it seemed a better idea to pipe it on the top. 

I can't believe that I haven't done bread before and I really don't know why I thought it was going to be so tricky. I think its the time it takes to make them that can be slightly off putting but it's not like you have to sit over them watching; you can go away, play hopscotch, do some knitting, some kiln work- whatever you want! They're really worth it and taste in a different league to the shop bought ones. 

Is it just me then, or do you guys have a bit of a phobia in the kitchen? Also have you tried any of the delectable Mr Hollywood's recipes out and what did you think of them??? 

xxxxx

COOKING: Im Bea and Im disgusting.....

So, you may have noticed, you may not, that my site name has changed and I am no longer Beabarella, well, no longer just Beabarella but "Beabarella Bakes". I think this is my affirmative way of saying this isn't really a beauty blog anymore but a baking one. I reckon i'll still be whittering away about other random bits and pieces as I am Billy Connelly, round the houses before I get there type of person and it takes me a week to say what I want to usually; but it will be 97.356% baking...approximately...

Recently, I've been thinking- as all ladies do: "where the knack does all my money go?" Well, we got the kitchen re done recently- NEVER AGAIN!!!! More stressful then getting married or moving house I swear!!!! and when I started putting everything back into it I kinda figured out why.

I AM BEABARELLA AND I HAVE A DIRTY ASS COOKBOOK ADDICTION!! 

These bad boys are just the ones that I use regularly so I thought they were worth keeping out, some are still packed away in boxes till I can get a bookcase built for them. There are 70! yes, 70 books on that wall, and say a cookbook costs an average of £10, thats £700!!! Madness... but I suppose everyone has a vice; I don't smoke and I work weekends so very rarely get to go out so I'z gotta spend my doe on something! 

If anyone is after a new cookbook, I've put pictures up of some of the ones I use the most....

The Art of French Baking is an absolute bible and covers all the basics from your different pastries and doughs to fillings and toppings, all classically, beautifully and simply done. The artwork is one of my favourites and it's got everything covered. 

Sticking with France, we head over to Ms Rachel Khoo and her "Little Paris Kitchen". If Im cooking for just myself but wants something a bit special she's the gal to see. Beautiful food, simply done. I loved the series and this book is the take away version- it gets used a lot!

Maybe because she's not Nigella who just seems have the crown of "lady food pornographer" and all around queen of female food presenting- you just got to love Nigella and I do, she's one of my idols, but maybe because of that; Sophie Dahl really got over looked. I really wish she had got another TV series but at least she got another cookbook and both "Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights" and "From Season to Season" are dam good books. The food is simple, straightforward and no it probably wont win her any gastronomy awards, she's not a Heston fiddling about with "Pickled Fox's Ovaries" but it is filed with some really yummy food.... I got your back Soph! 

I've got all the Nigella books and use Feast the most and quite a few Gordon Ramsey's but i'm not his biggest fan... he's angry and has an angry forehead... Jamie is always a win and I'm starting to fall in love with Nigel Slater. For parties, "The Vintage Tea Party" always has something up or should I say, inside its sleeve... hahah! I did a funny! Sleeve! You get it? No...okay.......

Last week I got myself 3 new books, Mary Berry's Baking Bible (Queen M-Bez as she's known round ours) Annie Bell's Baking Bible- about as close to religion as i will ever get but the one that I am just itching to try is Signe Johansen's "Scandilicious". I don't know if its my overfondness of Ikea or what but i've always loved everything Scandi... I like their way of life, their outlook, their homes and mostly their food. For a girl that loves things pickled, it's the perfect cuisine...and cinnamon! They love cinnamon just as much as I do. 

This weekend, although I've got my actual job to go to, will be mainly taken over by this book. I'll let you know what I think of it next week but so far im as giddy as a...giddy horse?? I dunno, something giddy....... 

Also, also, also, do you guys have any books you can recommend to me? I'm always on the lookout for new ones so If you have one you like, drop me a little message!!! Thanks dolls!!!

xxxx 

Oh remember to hunt me down on either Instagram @littlefoxheart or on Tumblr by clicking here!!!!!

RANDOMNESS: I want this!!!

If only i could make it!! 

Back to Beabarella!!

So.... i did it again!! What kind of useless toad am I?? Ive been away for 5 months!!! 5!! But, I'm back and thankyou to everyone who has stuck with me and sent me little messages asking where I am and that you missed my posts.....

Well, whats been going on with you guys then??? Major changes have happened Chez Beabarella! First of all, we got a new puppy!! 

This is Otis! He's 7 weeks old and a Cavalier Spaniel..... He's sooo ridiculously tiny and he's scared of everything and he just wants to love you and lick your face..... Dolly is still being as beautiful and farty as ever:

SEE!!! B-E-A-UTIFUL!!!! 

Secondly, remember my old tattoo that I was getting lasered off?? It's gone!! It has now been replaced by a yummy tribute to my grandma.... 

aaaaaand I got an amazing thigh tattoo from one of the raddest tattooers around, Mrs Rachel Baldwin! He's a cool ass fox who I have named Jerome... He likes Ovaltine and The Sopranos...probably....

Tattoo's have pretty much taken over my life at the minute.....  not only am I steadily getting covered in them but I'm also selling my own paintings from my local tattoo shop!!! How exciting!! They're tattoo style and to be honest i'd love to get into tattooing but I know how much time and commitment it takes to become a tattoo artist and I have something I want to start dedicating my time to just a little bit more.......

It's always been something I've wanted to do but I've always thought "am I good enough" or "am I this or that" and I just figure life is faffing short and if you don't try things now mrs, you never will... (me turning 26 may have had something to do with this...) So, i've started writing a cook book! Even if  no one ever reads it and I just pass it onto Dolly to cook for her puppies one day, its still an exciting thing.... 

See; I have been busy while i've been away! These are some of my favourite things i've been playing with. Who would have thought that one day i'd be spending my nights perfecting pork pies? All the coolest kids do it, it's the new smoking- everyone looks cool with a pork pie in their hand! 

Doing all this thinking about cook books has made me think about this blog too. I haven't bothered with make up in months, all my money is going on new cake moulds or cook books or zesters- Told you! I'M A COOL ASS MOTHER FLIPPER!!!

I just don't know what to do with this blog now? Do I set up a separate blog and close this one down or do I just use this one? Gah! Decisions decisions.... What do you guys think? 

Bea xxxx

PS: I'm on instagram and tumblr now!!!! You can find me at @littlefoxheart on Instagram and HERE on Tumblr xxx

RANDOMNESS: I haven't forgotten you!!!

Okay, so the last time i wrote a post it was me kissing ass saying i promise to be back here writing more ... so what do i do- I don't do another post for 807 million years! Well what happened was that i have turned into a grown up and got a real actual persons job and i have been working a squillion hours a week. Please don't think that i've forgotten about you all cos I really haven't and i'll definitely get on here properly soon and tell you all in full whats been going on and whatnot.... also please keep commenting- i always read the comments and genuinely LOVE you guys keeping in touch!!!
mwwwwwwwah! xxxx

COOKING: Whats been keeping me busy...

So yes, I've been away for 96 hundred years but i'm back now and to justify my far-away-ness I thought i would show you some pics of whats been keeping me busy...The uni bit is not very interesting and would just be pictures of me reading Wuthering Heights and imagining I was Kathy and I was humping Heathcliff in a barn....too much? anywhoo...

So I figured i would show you some cakey pics- far more exciting.....

See! I've been a busy little pickle! Theres a few more but you get the gist. Cooking has literally taken over my life at the moment and i've always just thought of it as my hobby but the more and more I do it i'm starting to think of it as a career!! How exciting and grown up...'sept i'd be titting about with buns for a living- excellent! I went out the other day and spent nearly £100 on cookbooks...it's what Jesus would want I reckon?!? When most people are reading novels, Im reading cookbooks- very cool of me I know! Oh except I have been drawn into the whole 50 Shades of Grey business... I know its a little old news now but I haven't been here so do we like it??!! Have to say, or should say as a Lit student that the writing is pretty bad BUT it's just so un-put-downable! It's like Cheese Squares or Simply Red...you know its not right but sometimes you just have to!!

Randomness: THANKS FOR STICKING WITH ME

Just cos ..... <3 

x

Randomness: Return to the Mac....

Well this feels a little strange... I can't believe that my last post was in April! It feels like I have been away from you guys foooorever. Sooo where to start then and explain my reasons for been a dirty great stay-away! Well first of all, I had the end of uni getting ontop of me so obv that was a priority. Then I was poorly with what I think was the plague for about a month! Seriously it was ridiculous I thought i may loose a limb or my sanity- luckily i still have them both! Well, the sanity is questionable, never sure i had it in the forst place....and thirdly I discovered internet bitches and how fecking evil some people can be...not going into details can't be flapped and were all about the peace and love here kids!!

I was just going to stop the blog but then I keep seeing your comments rolling in here and there and I'm getting the itch again and most of all I've missed you all, especially you lovelies that I talk to on a regular basis....so here I am if you want me??!!

Exciting things have happened too while I've been away, I've gotten a new job and I'm playing with cakes and baking alot more and I'm thinking of changing my uni course, giving up the dizzying heights of Literature to study Patisserie...as one does... I've re done my house, Im a red head again.. the hubs has been in Nigeria 8 weeks! gah! I miss him! and Dolly is still hopelessly cute and fat!

I think thats it all!? More importanly, how are all of you?? I'm desperate to know and check that you haven't all been stolen by pirates!! Get in touch, muuuchas love, Bea xx

Randomness: bllllleuuurghhhh!!!!

Hello lovelies!!!
Not a big post!! I just wanted to drop in and say a quick "'Ello" and that I'm still here its just that I have been infected with some kind of air-born Rickets or Scurvy I can't tell which, maybe the Plague- who knows!!! Anywhoo I am ill and gross and I just don't have the energy at the minute to put together a post that is vaguely informative or more importantly coherent! 


So aside from my Lurgey a few exciting things have happened.... The Beau is home but we can't go out and do anything nice because of my riddled-ness but still it's nice to have him back even if it's just to look after the dogs so I can sit and feel sorry for myself AND we are looking- just looking, he keeps reiterating this part; at buying a new house. What fun!! I swear there is some gypsy in me somewhere I just never settle and I've been itching to move for the last 4 years; we've only been here 5 years now. This would be my 23rd house in 25 years!! Cripes!! 


So yeah...I will be back over the weekend me reckons but for now I shall leave you with this very accurate visual interpretation of how i feel at la mo!!

Playlist: Music for my Youth

I've had a bit of a shitty week and for some reason unbeknownst to me; whenever I'm feeling low, I get really nostalgic and wish for times when I was all young and care free and disco dancing with a Jack and Coke in one hand and a cigarette in the other.... I was young- I didn't understand that it's not a win! I just wanted to do some disco dancing and kiss a boy. Now I'm married, the cigarettes are gone and yoga is in. I have replaced disco dancing with baking and a Jack Daniels for a Gin and Tonic. But for today I am 18 again and I am dancing around my kitchen to these treats; partying like its 2006...

(This is me circa 2006, the only picture I have from then really I think... I can't remember who I was talking to and I forgot my boobies were ever that brilliant...ahhh youth)

Hey Scenesters- The Cribs

Hounds of Love- The Futureheads

Beating Hearts Baby- Head Automatica

An Honest Mistake- The Bravery

Date with the Night- Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Daft Punk is Playing in My House- LCD Soundsystem

Club Foot- Kasabian

Fake Tales of San Francisco- Arctic Monkeys

Last Night- The Strokes

Naive- The Kooks

Craft: The easy peasy T Shirt shopper!

Eeeexciting! Today is my first ever craft post and I was trying to think about which thing to do first so it seemed a little obvious to use the one that I use the most. These bags are just the handiest thing. They are great for prezzies for people and a fab way of doing a bit of recycling and general do-goodery. Biggest bonus they are pretty much a piece of piddle to make!

You will need:

An old tee, something with a good design

Pair of pretty sharp Scissors

A Stapler

 Gaffa/Rhino Tape

a Tape Measure

A Pen

Little tip: if you have a dark t shirt, get black gaffa; a light one get the white. Just looks better....

The first thing that you need to do is to turn the t shirt inside out and cut off the sleeves.

Lay your T Shirt out as flat as you can and then starting at the bottom lay strips of Gaffa across the fabric. You want to smooth out any creases in the fabric as you go, it just makes life easier later on. Keep working up the fabric right the way to the top! Once you have gone right to the top, flip the t shirt and do the same on the back. Having a Cat assistant is optional.....

So when you are done taping you will have sort of sealed the t shirt shut. You now need to trim it up. Cut an inch off the bottom so that it in now open again and cut out the neck hole.  Down the sides cut away any excess tape but being ridiculously careful not to cut through the fabric.  

You now need to trim the sleeves. You want to make them a little exaggerated as these bits are going to form your handles. Once you have a shape your happy with, fold your t shirt in half so that you can create the mirror image down the other side of your t shirt and your handles will match and trim away! 


You then need to fold your t shirt so that the two side seems are on top of each other. So instead of the seems running down the sides they are in the middle.

Making sure your hems are matching, half and inch up from the bottom staple right across the bottom. You want the staples as straight and as close to each other as possible.

Run a strip of Gaffa over the staples so that you don't end up catching your fingers on them.

So you need to move back up to the top of the bag now to sort out the handles. In the neck hole, you need to make that shape more exaggerated so that you can get all of your crap in the bag! Im limited by the print on mine as I didn't want to cut through Darth's Lightsaber; I don't think he could handle that- so I had to cut my hole slightly smaller. You want to do it to around the pink line that I drew on the t shirt if you can; if you can't it just means you have a smaller hole but it's not a big problem! 


Right now comes the tricky bit. Stick with me and hopefully the pictures help to make things a little clearer... You need to make this shape out of the t shirt....

To do it, you pick up the bag by one of it's bottom corners and it should naturally bend in the middle. You then need to grab the opposite corner and nip them together. Then lay them down flat on the floor or table and it should make the shape above.

From that bottom point you want to measure 5 inches up the bag and draw a straight line across. No, I'm not really sure why my tape measure says 3 inches, Im such a dumbass sometimes but it is definitely 5 inches from that bottom point.

Now trim off that extra little point that you don't need and like you did on the bottom; staple right across the line and then cover it with a strip of gaffa again. Then flip the bag over and do the same with the other point. All you need to do then is just turn the bag inside out! I hope i've made the instructions as clear as I can. It's not the easiest thing to describe but it really is the easiest thing to make!

What do we think?? Im pretty pleased with this one really and i've been using it to store all my knitting in. You could make a whole fleet of them for re-usable shopping bags and you would look the dandiest kid in Morrisons! Hurrrah! 

Cooking: Baked Eggs with Spring Greens and me Marinated in Gin...

Well, I'm sat here trying to type up this post in a state that can only be described as "Gin Marinated"....Horrific! 

Me at the start of the night:  

Pretty reasonable I think you'll agree. Plus I was wearing my Black Milk Leggings so was feeling pretty dandy!

And this is after: 

Nessa has turned into the tiniest elf and I just.......christ....sleepy gin eyes! 

So to say I am all delicate and hungover is an understatement and when I am delicate and hungover there is only one thing I must do: nest on the sofa and eat. At the minute all I want is a McDonald's Fillet O Fish and a vat of Ribena so I thought it would be appropriate to do a food post. I cooked this the other night and it was absolutely delish. So while for the rest of the day, I will be eating things like this: 

you should definitely try this little baby. It serves 2 as a lunch or just one as a greedy dinner. Needless to say, I had it to myself.

Baked Eggs with Spring Greens.

Preheat the oven to 180C, regular oven or 160C fan

Butter for Greasing

1 Bay Leaf

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Tbsp of Fresh Tarragon

1 Red Onion

100g of Spring Greens, shredded.

(you can also use Swiss Chard but my supermarket never sells it and I hadn't been to the Farm Shop, even some savoy cabbage or kale would be good)

2 eggs

110g of crumbled goats cheese

Butter your ramekins or baking dish if your having this to yourself and stick them aside. Chop your onions. I diced them but you could just as easily have half moons; it may even look a little prettier. Then heat your oil, I'm using that liquid Flora at the minute and I think it's pretty good and a bit healthier then regular olive oil. When your oils hot enough add your onions and bay leaf. You want to caramelise the onions, not colour them so don't have the heat too high. Also if you add a pinch of salt to your onions, it stops them frazzling- Handy tip! 

I've given you a weigh for your spring greens but the best thing you can do is fill up your dish, heap it us a little as the greens will wilt some. Your onions should take about 15 minutes to gently caramelise and when they're done, take them off the heat, fish out the bay leaf and add in your greens. You don't want to fry them at all, just wilt them and they should have enough liquid on the leaves if you've washed them that they just steam and wilt slighlty. Give them a good stirring round the pan for a minute and then transfer them to the ramekins or dish.

Evenly distribute your onions and greens in the dish and then make a little well for your eggs. Crack your eggs into their little wells and give them a good seasoning. Then pop them into the bottom shelf of your oven for 10 minutes. In the meantime you want to roughly chop your tarragon; you don't want it too fine, nice strands.

When it's had it's 10 minutes, take the dish out of the oven and wack on the grill. While your grills heating up, sprinkle your goats cheese over the top. I had a little piece of stilton that needed using so I threw that on there too but normally I would just stick to the goats cheese. Add your tarragon on top and then pop it back under the grill until the cheese bubbles and melts.

  

Et Voila! C'est magnifique n'est-ce pas ? It's all delicious and melting underneath and the top gets crisp and crunchy. I served it with some crispy bread for dipping up all the eggy cheesy bits and it was just heavenly. Also I think it's a really nice way to serve eggs instead of just frying or poaching them...Also I think you could play about with it quite alot. I was thinking that a few roasted baby beetroots, sliced into wedges and thrown in would be yum too; it's one of those where you can adapt it to what you like best. What would you do with it?