Biscoff Granola

Hello! Okay, so I have a confession to make, I am absolutely 100% addicted to Lotus Biscoff spread, smooth AND crunchy, i'm not fussy. I keep dreaming of ways that I can incorporate it into every bake (every meal!!) I make. So ,at the weekend I made a yummy Biscoff Cheesecake for dessert on Sunday but that left me with half a jar left, hmmm what to do with that? Yes, I could just have eaten it with a spoon, as I have done oh so many times before but then I had a lightbulb moment, why not make GRANOLA with it, then I could have it for breakfast too. So, in short if you love Biscoff as much as me, keep reading...

Ingredients

4 tablespoons of Biscoff/lotus spread (smooth or crunchy)

4 tablespoons of butter

5 Biscoff/lotus biscuits, bashed into crumbs

2 tablespoons of Demerera Sugar

a pinch of salt

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

250g of oats

Method

1. Melt butter and Biscoff spread on a low heat.
2. Mix oats, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.
3. Pour in the Biscoff/butter mix and mix until combined.
4. Spread granola mix unto a baking tray lined with baking paper.
5. Pop in the oven at 180 degrees for 20mins, mixing and turning the granola over half way through.
6. Leave to cool then mix through the Biscoff crumbs.
7. Enjoy however you like.

There you go, you can thank me later!! I know it's not the healthiest thing in the world but life's about balance and sometimes you just need to treat yourself and feed your Biscoff addiction. You could also add whatever you like to the recipe, some nuts would be delicious or dried fruit, but I'm a purist and just like the Biscoff flavour, I also like the crunch of the crumbled Biscoff biscuits, okay I will go, my mouth is watering now. Thank you so much for reading, i'm away to dream up some more Biscoff recipes,

Rachael xx.

Rhubarb and Strawberry Gin

Hello again! Hope everyone is well. So i'm back with a much requested recipe from my Instagram (@rachheron1, come say hi if you like!) for my home-made Strawberry and Rhubarb Gin. If you have been reading my blog for a while you will know that I am a little bit of a Gin obsessive. I don't really drink very much but when I do, I love nothing more than a REALLY NICE gin and tonic. So, I thought why not make my own. This is such a delicious gin recipe and is so easy to make, it is also much cheaper than buying a fancy bottle of gin.

We were lucky enough to be given the home-grown rhubarb from my father in law but if you grow your own fruit and veg you could make this even cheaper. Now that it's Blackberry season here in Northern Ireland i'm already planning to make a blackberry version of this gin. You could also substitute other fruits into this recipe and really make it your own. Some ginger with the rhubarb would be delicious or you could make a cranberry and orange gin for Christmas (now that would be delicious!). Anyway, let's get on with the recipe...

Ingredients

400g fresh rhubarb, chopped

400g fresh strawberries, chopped

300g caster sugar

a few juniper berries

a few star anise

a vanilla pod

any 700ml bottle of gin (we used a cheap one but you could also use your favourite brand)

Method

• Mix the strawberries, rhubarb, star anise, juniper berries, vanilla and sugar together in a large airtight jar and leave to macerate for 24 hours.
• After 24 hours add your bottle of gin and give it all a good mix. Leave this mixture in the fridge for 4 weeks.
• At the end of the 4 weeks remove the fruit from the mix and there you have it, your very own Rhubarb and Strawberry gin.

So my husband and I took on the very arduous task of discovering what this gin needed to be mixed with to make the best drink ( I know, I know but someone has to do it!). Cue a few Saturday nights worth of gin tasting ( my kind of night haha!). Anyway, here are the best combinations which we came up with. My personal favourite was gin, prosecco and a frozen strawberry in a champagne glass, it was just perfect.

Mixers:

Fentimans Rose lemonade

Bundaberg Ginger Beer

Fever Tree Elderflower Tonic Water

Prosecco

Garnishes:

Lots of Ice

Cucumber slices

fresh strawberries

slices of pear

So there you have it, a delicious gin recipe. If you think pf any more combination ideas please do let me know, I would love to hear your ideas. And, if you give this a go, I would also love to know what you think. Anyway, hope everyone is having a good week, as always, thank you so much for reading my little blog,

Rachael xx.