Lemon cod with basil bean mash

I thought I'd share this recipe with you all as it's one of our favorites. It's a great week night dinner, easy to make and healthy.

Follow the link below for the recipe I followed

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/7189/lemon-cod-with-basil-bean-mash

Looks quite fancy for something that even my husband can make!!!

Let me know how you get on and please recommend any other recipes you think I should try in the comments section below.

Enjoy!

AMAZING Chocolate cake

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4577/wedding-cake-rich-dark-chocolate-cake

This is my all time favourite chocolate cake. My friend and I discovered it when looking for a substantial chocolate cake to use as part of our wedding cake. It's really only for special occasions as it's quite rich (and expensive). Perfect to celebrate Weddings, birthdays, anniversary's, Fridays, Saturdays.....Mondays?!!!

I made this one for my husband for his birthday last year and then my mother made it for him this year (I had a 6 week old baby, pretty good excuse). We actually made the cake 2 months before when I was pregnant and put it in the freezer (undecorated), my mother then took it out of the freezer the day before to leave it to defrost and then decorated it.

We covered the whole thing with a chocolate butter icing then drizzled it with melted white chocolate. Then let this cool a little before drizzling it with melted milk chocolate, tipping the plate to let it pour over the side. Finally decorating it with whole strawberries which I had dipped in melted milk chocolate. To finish drizzle with white chocolate using a chop stick. You need a very sharp knife to get through all the chocolate but its well worth it! A definite crowd pleaser!

Paper Cut

I am pleased to finally share with you all one of my latest creations.

 PERSONALISED PAPER CUT

My lovely sister-in-law Emma married the equally lovely Sam last weekend and as part of their present I made them a personalised 'Paper Cut'.

I have been wanting to try to make a 'Paper Cut' for absolutely ages. They are such a great idea for presents, cheap to make and full of love.

If you would like to make one of your own here are the steps that I followed:

1. Materials

-Choose your paper. If you are going to frame it like I have, then the paper doesn't have to have any weight to it. I chose a light grey to sit behind and a slightly textured off white paper to cut. Don't use card,  I started with card but it isn't as easy to cut so you don't get such clean lines.
-Craft knife, doesn't need to be anything fancy.
-Cutting board or surface to cut on. I used a magazine.
-A frame

2. Design

To get a really clean design I would recommend creating your design using a computer. I used Illustrator. I placed a rectangle the size of my frame in the background then added the grey shapes on top. The grey is what you will be cutting out so bear in mind that the white should all be connected together, be warned this may make your brain hurt a bit!!
Once you have finished flip your design so that it is back to front.
Adding a personal touch makes it even more special. Can you spot the two little cats I added into this one?

3. Print

Print to scale onto your top paper. Use a light grey colour so that it can't be seen through the paper.

4. Start cutting.

This is the time consuming bit. Very carefully cut out the grey sections. Cut the small bits first, leave the larger sections to last to avoid ripping the paper.

5. Frame.

Cut your work and backing paper to the size of your frame.

Place in to your frame, wrap up and give to your loved ones!