Lately

I like having piles of books to look at on my lamp table. Piles of non-fiction books or magazines or cook books or craft books. Then when, if ever, I get a moment to sit down I can flick through them. I like to surround myself with inspiration whether it be inspirational literature, people or activities. Lately, I am loving 'The Food Doctor'. Not that I want to diet or lose weight I just enjoy learning about what is good for you. It's common sense really but I want to adjust our meals and snacks to healthier options to indulge in a healthier lifestyle. In contradiction, you may notice this book lies almost sheepishly on top of Annie Bell's Baking Bible! Oops.

I'm not saying I don't want treats because I do but they don't always have to be chocolate covered or pastry lined! For example, this evening I made a batch of healthy(ish) apricot and oat flapjacks. I like to make a batch of something on a Sunday to pop into Luke's pack up and for Ben to have something different to snack on.

300g butter
200g organic set honey
450g oats
1tbs dried aprictos
1tbs sesame seeds
1/2 tsp ginger

This recipe is EASY, QUICK and requires only TWO POTS!

Melt the butter and honey. Add the remaining ingredients until combined. Pour into a lined, shallow tin. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180degrees for 25-30 mins. Cut into squares immediately but leave to cool and set in the tin. DONE!

Our Christmas presents are almost complete. We have bought and wrapped most of them using last years M&S sale wrapping paper. I don't know about you but we always have a couple of people that we only want to spend a couple of pound on but don't want it to be some useless tat that will go in the bin. In these instances I usually opt for food gifts! Hence the crackers and chutney from my work. I don't mean to be biased but I would be over the moon with a little gift like that!

Finally, I will share with you my Christmas cake disaster! I usually make Nigel Slater's Christmas cake however I decided to try the Betty's recipe instead to see how they compare. I came across the recipe in my Good Food magazine subscription and was pleasantly surprised to see how easy this new recipe would be. So, last week I let my fruit soak overnight and got to work the following day only realising once I put it in the oven that I had measured everything in MILLILITRES and not grams! I could have sobbed. A lot of people said the ml>g measurement shouldn't make that much of a difference but it did and I had to get rid of it in the end. Since this catastrophe I haven't bothered re doing it. I keep drinking the sherry instead!

How has your Christmas cake turned out? Hopefully better than mine!