Marie Cookpad

  We were very grateful to have been able to get our hands on a fruit and vegetable box last week.  It was filled with all sorts of lovely things and I have been making sure that I make the most of everything that was in the box.   I have been enjoying eating the apples out of hand, and Todd has been enjoying the bananas.  One night I made us a cut fruit salad with some of the bananas, some cut up oranges, a kiwi and some coconut.   And of course we have been enjoying the potatoes, onions, broccoli, carrots and cauliflower in the box.  I still have parsnips and a butternut squash to make use of.  Not a problem.   There was a quantity of Conference pears, which can be awfully hard to eat out of hand, but they are beautiful for cooking with as they hold their shape well.    Conference pears are a medium-sized pear with an elongated bottle aand are quite similar in appearance to the 'Bosc pear'. A table pear, it is suitable for fresh-cut pr...

  I saw this fabulous casserole on Half Baked Harvest one day and I fell in love with the photograph and recipe.  I mean . . . . croissants, jam, cream cheese, eggs, fruit  . . .  what's not to love about that!  I thought to myself, I'm IN!   However it was far too large of a casserole for me to justifiably bake for Todd and myself, and it will be about a month and a half before my kids come over.  I didn't want to wait that long.  I wanted to taste this gorgeousness NOW!   I also happened to have 3 large stale croissants here in the house leftover from when Todd bought some at Costco the other day. We had eaten as many of them that we could and I couldn't bear throwing any of them away.  This breakfast casserole was really calling my name.   Her recipe serves 8 people. We are only 2. What to do, what to do . . . .  I reduced it by half and then by half again and crossed my fingers.   Just look at that.  It turned o...

  I had purchased rather a lot of apples that needed using up and so I thought to make us an apple crumble.  I say us, but really I mean Todd.  I hardly ever eat dessert, although I do always taste it.  Quality control, you know how it goes. This turned out fabulously tasty!  It is also a part of my  commitment to sharing more recipes for smaller families this year.   If you are not a smaller family, you could certainly double the ingredients for this one, or I do have a full sized crumble recipe here .   You will need an 8-inch oven-proof skillet to bake this in, but failing that you can also bake it in a small casserole or loaf tin.  (That's pouring cream on top.)   Todd loves custard or cream on his fruit desserts . . . .  well, really he loves it on any dessert, and he is a lucky creature in that he seems to be able to eat these things without any problem, whereas  I just have to look at them and I put on ten pounds. ...

   Baked Apples one of the comfort foods we like to enjoy in the Winter months.  Apples are plentiful and at their best. We don't mind having the oven on, and they are delicious and very easy to do.   I had recently gotten some fabulous Organic Dried Cranberries and Ceylon Cinnamon Sticks from Buy Wholefoods Online and I felt they would be perfect for using in this simple and easy dessert. If you are not familiar with Buy Whole Foods Online you really need to look them up. I buy all of my dried fruit from them every year for my Christmas Cakes, and other bits and bobs throughout the year. Buy Whole Foods Online is an international health food supplier, based in Minster, Ramsgate, North East Kent. They deliver top quality natural and organic wholefoods, and related healthy living products, directly to homes and businesses across the UK and Europe. I have always been very happy with both their products and their service.   Baked apples make for a lovely breakfas...