Cooking With Emz; Part I

Why hello there 🙂 let’s force me to make this a permanent thing shall me?

One of my many hobbies is baking. I find it very therapeutic and fun to eat, of course. It also helps that i’m good at it LOL

So I made millionaires shortbread (or caramel shortcake, both the same sort of thing)

I got this recipe from the condensed milk can, but changed it up a bit 🙂
You will need;

A 7inch brownie tin

Baking or greeseproof paper

200g shortbread (a good brand; i used tescos own and didn’t like it much)

175g of good unsalted butter (25g melted for the biscuit base)  – Okay so here’s where I had a problem. I used tesco value butter and it didn’t mix well with the sugar and condensed milk,  so I would use a very good brand of butter, such as lurpak. seeing as it’s the main ingredient, I wouldn’t skimp out just to save a pound or so **lesson learned

150g light brown soft sugar (if you want it to have a much stronger, sweeter taste of caramel, use dark brown soft sugar)

397g can Condensed Milk (I used carnation, of course)

200g milk or dark chocolate, whichever you prefer.

What you do;

Line your baking tin with the baking/greeseproof paper and set aside for now.

Crush your biscuits with a food processor or the violent way (bashing the crap out of it in a plastic bag wrapped in a dishcloth) melt the butter and add the now crushed biscuits until combined. place into the tin and flatten out, let it cool down in the fridge for 20mins, or if you’re impatient put into the freezer and make the caramel.

In a non stick pan, add the sugar and butter and put over a medium heat, until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. To make ‘golden caramel’ as it’s called, while continuing to stir, add the condensed milk until bubbles appear on the surface. remove from the heat as soon as it comes to the boil, otherwise it’ll burn.

Once this has been done and the biscuit base has cool completely, pour the caramel into the tin and put it into the fridge for about 30mins or until its cooled down completely. I wouldn’t recommend putting it into the freezer, so just be patient, I was LOL 🙂

Once that’s been done, melt the chocolate in whatever way you’re comfortable in and pour over the top, spreading it evenly. Let it cool down, then cut whatever way you like

This was my end result!

And that’s it! I really hope you try it, my family want me to make more LOL so it’s deffo a hit. also, it’s so nice and sweet it satisfies any sweet tooth 🙂 i’m not too sure about freezing but they should keep for about a week

until next time my lovelies;  stay sweet and sexy!

E

x

While we’re waiting…

So the last couple of days have been somewhat… stressful. But i woke up today happier than i’ve felt in a long while. Now, i can’t tell you why yet, but I promise i will soon 🙂

Sundays are rather a boring day for me. Today, i woke up and walked the dog. Now, usually i don’t do the mornings walks but my dads been away (the reason why will come up later). She’s been incredibly moody lately so i thought i’d take her on a long walk and find some squirrels (she likes them; not in a good way) but alas, our mission failed. So we came home, i made us some food (not the same food, obviously) and we watched some TV.

Most people don’t like working on Sundays, but i’d love to. As much as doing mostly nothing is ok, i’d rather be doing something constructive.

So now, i’m in my room, listening to music and thinking, like i always do. This past week has been… different. Firstly, my granddad was ill and had to have an operation. Thank goodness, he’s fine, but at the time it was bleak, to say the least. My dad went to Ireland, where he was having his operation on Tuesday, and he only got back today.

When my dad told me, a shot of fear ran through me. I’d never felt so scared, suddenly the thought of losing him was making my stomach hurt. But what scared me more was my reaction. Me and my granddad aren’t exactly close and we barely see each other (he and my nan live in Birmingham, i live in London) but knowing that they’re there is a great yet strange comfort to me. I was completely devastated. I had a job interview that afternoon and i couldn’t think straight. All the memories of him came flooding back, and every time my phone went off i was petrified it was my dad telling me the worst. When wednesday morning came round, he’d had his operation and was fine. When i heard that i just wanted to cry with joy.

You see, the reason i was so scared wasn’t because i was scared of losing him, i was scared of what  losing him would do to my dad. My dad is a man who doesn’t show his emotions, and even though he was acting completely normal when he told me, you could see in his eyes he was as scared as  i was, and i couldn’t handle it. People always say it’s worse seeing your mum in pain, but for me it’s seeing my dad in pain.

My granddad is recovering at home now and i’m so relived.

So that’s all from me for now. See you all soon

E

x

Quote.

‘There are two things in life that are very painful; When your love loves you and doesn’t tell you, and when your love doesn’t love you and tells you.’ – Shakespeare.

A short random thought.

So i’ve been thinking, about alot of things. Why bad things happen to good people. Why girls are still bitchy over events that happened almost 3 years ago. Why the bird is still sitting on my windowsill staring at me…

I feel i have all these instense thoughts but i just don’t know how to express them. That’s my problem, i can think of everything i want to say in my head but when it comes to saying it, it comes out wrong. Maybe that’s why i love writing so much. It tells the person whats going on in my head without me having to utter a single word. But that’s too easy, isn’t it?

Quiz.

Because i haven’t updated since Jan and feel i have been neglecting you.

Hair Color: Red at the moment
Eye Color: Brown
Height: 5 ft 4
Profession: Beauty Therapist & future business woman/millionaire
Relationship Status: In a relationship 🙂
Religious Views: Not sure…
My Favourite Color: Purple
Favourite Car: FORD FEISTA IN PINK. Yummmm.
Favourite Movie: I go by the last films i watch, so right now it’s Alice in Wonderland
Favourite Hobby: Reading & making jewellery
Favourite Song/Singer: Lady Gaga, not just because she’s big at the moment but because shes effing awesome
Favourite Book/Author: I can’t pick just one
Favourite School Subject: Drama
Favourite Vacation Destination: Canada
Favourite Food: Jamaican food
Favourite Restaurant: TGI Fridays!!!
Favourite Animal: Cats, dogs, guinea pigs and emus 😀
Favourite Store: Don’t have one
Favourite Celebrity: Lady gaga.
Favourite Childhood Friend: Um…
Favourite Childhood Memory: Sitting with my nanny & bro watching cartoons (miss you nanny x)
Favourite Baby Name: Keira for a girl & Thomas for a boy
Favourite Person In Your Life: You know who you are. x
Favourite Facebook Application : POKES.

~~~~~This or That~~~~~~~

Chocolate or Vanilla: Chocolate
Big Mac or Whopper: Ew neither
Coke or Pepsi : Cherry coke.
Beer or Wine: Don’t mind
Coffee or Tea: I only like coffee in a frapp.
Apple Juice or O.J.: OJ, can’t drink apple
Facebook or MySpace: Twitter 😉
Summer or Winter: Winter
Windows or Mac: Mac
Cats or Dogs: I love dogs, but i love cats more
Boxers or Briefs: Boxers on him ❤ yummy.
Rain or Shine : Shine
Chips or Popcorn: Ergh, i can’t have either too much.
Salty or Sweet: Salty
Plane or Boat: Plane
Morning or Night: Late afteroon or early morning.
Movie or Play: Both
Walk or Drive: Don’t mind either.
Money or Love: Love
Breakfast or Dinner: Dinner
Forgiveness or Revenge: Revenge
Paint or Wallpaper: Paint
House or Apartment: Apartment

~~~~~~~Do You?~~~~~~~

Have Any Pets: Yes, dog & guinea pig
Have Any Children: Nope
Smoke: NOPE 😀
Drink: Oh yeah.
Like To Cook: I love it
Play An Instrument: Trying to learn piano
Sing: On my own with the door closed.
Dance: Yes
Speak Multiple Languages: Once again, learning.
Ice Skate: I can fall over standing still. What do you think?
Swim: I LOVE it.
Paint: Depends.
Write: Adore it.
Tattoo’s: One on my wrist.
Piercing: 7

~~~~Have You Ever~~~~~~

Stolen Anything: Yep
Been Drunk Before Noon: LOL
Had Sex In A Public Place: Not yet 😉 LOL
Got A Speeding Ticket: Don’t drive yet
Been Arrested: Nope
Littered: I really don’t
Fantasized About A Co-Worker: No
Cheated On A Test: Probably
Cheated In A Relationship: Nope
Failed A Class: LOL R.E
Wished You Were Someone Else: I try not to anymore.

~~~~~Other~~~~~~~~~

Describe Yourself In One Word: Eccentric.
Biggest Fear: Spiders.
Biggest Regret: I don’t have regrets.
Dream Job: Business woman
Where Are You Right Now: On my computer
Where Would You Rather Be: In bed with my honey cuddling 🙂
Famous Person You Want To Meet: Lady gaga and we’d go have coffee!

Hello 2010, How are you feeling?

So it’s a new year & a new blog. What can i say about 2009? well…

I’d rather not get into it.

Last year had amazing highs, and excruciating lows. I honestly don’t know what to say about it. Maybe i’ll bore you with the details on a later date, when i’m not so drunk & emotional (:

Anyway, it’s 2010! a whole new decade. The past decade… well all i can say is it was an amazing learning curve. The best (and worst) years of my life so far… I can’t believe i’m 20. I still remember when i was 10, walking to school, having 10p in my pocket so i could call my mum on the payphone outside to tell her i made it to school. I still remember my friends, eager to see me, eager to see what sweets i had… i still remember the smells, the feelings, everything. How could that be 10 years ago?

So much has happened in these 10 years. I grew up. I made life long friends. I fell in love. I became a woman, almost. I had my first holiday aboard, I got my first piercing, first tattoo… All of my major ‘firsts’ was in the last decade. I was moulded into the person i am today because of the last decade. And although i’ve had my fair share of sadness and heartache (most of it in 2009) i wouldn’t change a single moment or memory. I’m so grateful for the people who have been there, every step of the way. I honestly don’t think i would be here without them.

So, what firsts will i look forward to in the next decade? Well… who knows. Lets just make it a good one.