How To Make Halloween Fun

Every year people look for ideas on how to make Halloween fun. It depends, of course, on whether you're hosting a party for adults or children or a mixed gathering. I think the best way of having fun on Halloween is to do a batch of good home cooking.

Here are some of the fabulous ideas that are out there waiting for you to try ....

 From tangled web custard tarts to spiderweb munch, halloween cupcakes to spooky popcorn witches, this page offers one of the best resources of Halloween recipe ideas you'll ever see.

My favourite? It has to be caramel dipped apples: a nice variation on the old red 'toffee apples' that so many of us grew up with!

Diamond Jubilee Celebrations, Cake & Ice Cream!

HM Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Diamond Jubilee this weekend and people in Britain and around the world will be sharing in the celebration. The longest reigning British monarch to date was Queen Victoria who reigned for 63 years, 7 months and we all hope to see HM Queen Elizbeth II break that record.

Celebrating such a special occasion means parties and get togethers and that means food and fun! There will be thousands of street parties and home parties this weekend and amongst the food will undoubtedly be cakes and ice cream.

Here is a very special Diamond Jubilee 'crown' cake along with red, white and blue cupcakes made by my friend Barbara Goodman. It has been this week's centrepiece at her family's 'Off The Wall' coffee shop and has been admired by everyone with countless requests to eat the entire display!

If you want to make your own celebratory ice cream then make some raspberry ripple ice cream and serve it topped with a few fresh blueberries. Simple, colourful, fun and delicious!

Medieval Recipes

The phrase "Food For Thought" comes to mind with this post. Most of us enjoy food, some of us enjoying cooking it too but how many of us stop to think about the food we eat compared to that eaten by our ancestors?

Reading about medieval food brings home just how different the food was in the past. Our medieval ancestors in England certainly did not know what a tomato was or even a potato and they generally didn't drink water as readily as we do today for fear of bacterial infection. No, apparently they drank ale much of the time and many of them made their own ale.

When you think of meat, you might assume that our medieval ancestors ate chicken as readily as we do today ... but you would be wrong, because although many peasants kept chickens, they generally did not kill them because they needed the eggs and could not afford to replace their chickens.

It was the rich and powerful people of medieval times that ate a rich and varied diet for they had serfs working the land for them, cultivating crops and taking care of livestock. At medieval banquets they would eat swans, peacock and heron as well as beef, mutton, pork and venison and there were even medieval desserts to enjoy such as pears in red wine and custard tart.

Amongst the most fascinating reading is that about medieval herbs.

English Tea & Muffins

One of the most enjoyable things to do on a winter's afternoon in England is to visit a good Tea Room. Whether it's cake or biscuits, a tray bake perhaps or a delicious muffin like the one in the photo, afternoon tea is thankfully a British tradition that is still alive.

And if you long for some homemade muffins, there are lots of muffin recipes on the web. If you don't like muffins but prefer chocolate ... well, again there are some great chocolate dessert recipes you can try. So if your local Tea Room is closed any time, you can stay home and keep your spirits up with a 'Homemade Afternoon Tea'.

Recipes - From Ice Cream To Thai To Muffins

This year I have tried to do more home cooking. I have really enjoyed making some Thai dishes and my family (thankfully!) have also enjoyed them.

Finding new recipes is a bit like looking for life insurance - there's such much to choose from that you don't know where to start!

So here are a few pointers ....

Want to try something a little exotic?
Here's a great Thai marinade

Like ice cream and live on the European mainland?
Try this European ice cream site

Want to try something from way back?
Here is a medieval recipes site

Looking for something sweet and indulgent as winter approaches? Try this raspberry and coffee muffin recipe