One-ingredient ice cream

What is this witchcraft?! How is this possible? Why haven't I heard about this before? And does this technically count as a recipe?
...Were some of the questions that passed through my mind when I discovered the one-ingredient ice cream. And guess what that one ingredients is? BANANA!!! :D Ain't it great? You can also use the frozen banana for banana milkshake, if you feel like having a banana fest.With the only ingredient being banana, you really can have some guilt-free ice cream.

One ingredient ice cream
Prep time: 20 minutes plus some time in the freezer
Serves: 3

Ingredient(s)
Uhm.... banana!
3 bananas
Honey and mint to garnish (optional)
And technically any other flavours you want to throw in, e.g. chocolate

Method

1. Choose bananas that are ripe but not mushy.
   
2. Peel the bananas and chop into thick rounds
   
3. Spread out evenly in tubs and freeze for two hours
   
4.  Put the solid pieces into a food processor and whisk to crumbs. It will probably get stuck, so you'll need to scrape the banana off the sides using a fork.
   
5. Suddenly, the banana will turn creamy!
6. You can eat it like this, like soft scoop ice cream or freeze for a further few hours to make more 'traditional' ice cream.
   
7. Serve with honey drizzled over and possibly some shavings of dark chocolate.

Cross-stitch

I recently just got back into cross-stitching, after making a large scale pillow. Once I made a bookmark, I realised that it was  a lot easier than I'd remembered, so I decided to try to design my own cross-stitch pattern. This was pretty difficult, actually, as I had to colour all the squares individually, and also try and design the piece at the same time.
 I then chose the colours to match my scheme as closely as possible(though maybe you'll want to do it the other way around, if you have a limited amount of coloured threads).

Yes, this isn't finished...

You will need:
-Blank cross-stitch design grid
-Coloured pencils
-Coloured embroidery threads and embroidery needle
-Adia fabric

1.Firstly, sketch a design roughly then transfer over to the design board. I actually did this 'blind', so I had no idea where I was going with it, which probably isn't advisable.

2. Try and use colours that are as close as you can get to what you have available, as it will allow you to see what the cross-stitch will probably look like.

3.You could even try picking the colour scheme before hand and creating a design around that. 

General tips for cross-stitching:

• You might want to use an embroidery loop, which will make sewing easier and keep the tension even.
  
• Always stitch in half-stitches and come back the other way to complete the cross, to save thread. Make sure that the crosses are always going the same way.
  
• Don't knot the thread: when starting, leave a short length at the back and stitch over it, and at the end pass the needle through the last 4 or so stitches. This stops the final piece looking lumpy.
  
• Use about 2-3 strands when sewing (each thread usually has 6)
  
• Cross of your design as you go
• To find where to start, you could the adia in half and half the other way, to find the centre. Mark the centre on your design as well and sew out from this point.
• Don't cut thread longer than the reach of your arm or you'll find it difficult to sew with.

OK, so back to your design...

4. I recommend that you use a 14-count aida piece - that is, 14 holes in an inch. This is the standard size for most cross-stitching, though you can get it as large as 6-count or smaller like 16-count. If you use this size, stitch with 2 threads.

5. Cut out the fabric so it is larger than what you need, to compensate for fraying and to limit the possibility that your design will go off the edge (opps!) Iron out any creases.

6. Find the middle and stitch in one loose stitch. Find the middle of your design as well.

7. Start from this point when you begin to stitch. Once you've established a few stitches, you can remove the loose marker stitch. Cross off as you complete stitches.

8. Following the general tips above, sew your design.

9. Iron out any creases, but don't iron directly on to the top of the worked piece - iron with the back upwards on a towel to avoid squashing the stitches.

 

 You can present this in a frame or make a design for a bookmark or maybe a pin cushion.

I actually didn't know the frame would be such a good fit!

Scones

Guess what...? It's another scone recipe!! Yeee! I promised there'd be more. At least this time, it's actually summer and over 10C outside. Unlike with the Mediterranean and raspberry counterparts, this is a straight- down-the-line, no-nonsense, proper tea-time scone. Yum yum.

Scones
Prep time: 25 minutes
Serves: 9
Cooking temp: Gas 7, 220C
Cooking time: 12 minutes

Ingredients
350g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp baking powder
85g cold butter
4bsp caster sugar
85g sultanas or raisins
150g natural full-fat yogurt
4 tbsp milk (not skimmed), plus extra to glaze
1 tsp vanilla extract
 
Method

1. Heat up the oven and place a baking sheet in.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. 
3. Chop the butter up into small cubes and add to the flour. Mix with a cutting action until it has disappeared.
   
4. Stir in the flour and sultanas. Make a well in the centre of the bowl.
   
5. In a small saucepan, gently heat the yogurt, milk and vanilla extract until hot - it might go lumpy.
   
6. Pour into the centre of the well and combine quickly with an ordinary knife until it is all incorporated, then stop.
   
7. Using your hands, knead the dough for a few minutes then turn out onto a floured surface.
8. Roll the dough to 4cm thick and cut out 9 rounds using a 7cm diameter cutter. Alternatively, divide into 9 balls and shape to circles.
   
9. Brush each scone with some milk.
10. Take the tray out of the oven and scatter over a bit of flour. Place the scones on the hot tray and cook for 12 minutes, until they are risen and golden.
    
11. Serve warm with jam, clotted cream or chopped fruit. If you want to eat them later, cover with a damp tea towel as they cool to keep them soft and warm up again before serving. 
    

Calzoni

Mmm, calzoni. Folded pizza. A bit like a cross between a cornish pasty and a... err... pizza. But why fold your pizza? I hear you cry. Why not just have a pizza, like this one ? (ehem ;) ) Well, I reply. Firstly, you can probably fit more into it, as it's all bundled up, and secondly it's just cool. Deal with it.
Now, I appreciate that 12 is quite a lot of people to make this for - unless you're doing it for a party or happen to have 9 or so siblings, I doubt very much that you'll need this much. However, 'half a can of tomatoes' or 'half an onion' is, frankly, unpractical, so this is what Alice and I did - make enough dough for the people you're cooking for, and make the full amount of tomato sauce: it is so versatile you can take what you need and use the rest later with spaghetti, lasange, basically anything that needs a tomatoey base. Or, another pizza. Horray!

Calzoni (I don't care if Alice thinks this is over the top. I like doing it)
Prep time: 40 minutes, +1 hour prooving
Serves: 12
Cooking temp: Gas 7, 210C
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingridients

for the dough:                        for 3: 
1 kilo strong white flour           250 strong white flour
2x 7g sachet yeast                  1/2 sachet of yeast
2 tbsps olive oil                       1/2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsps runny honey                1/2 tbsp runny honey
600ml warm water                  150ml warm water

for the tomato sauce:
1 tin chopped plum tomatoes
1 tin of water
2 cloves of garlic
1 large onion
1 large carrot
2 sticks of celery
2 tsp paprika
A dozen twists of black pepper
1 red pepper
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp dried herbs - e.g., Italian, Basil, Oregano
Fillings! Anything you want. Suggestions are basically the same as for the pizza:
-Cheese - mozzarella, about 40g per person. Maybe try blue cheeses, hard cheeses like Parmesan etc.
-Left over bolognese
-Slices of ham, chorizo, pepperoni, salamis, meatballs
-Vegetables: mushrooms, courgette, more peppers, jalapenos.
-Olives, sundried tomatoes, pineapple

Method

1. Place all the dry ingredients for the dough in a large bowl and stir briefly.
2. Add the honey and olive oil and the warm water.
   
3. Mix with a wooden spoon to a dough. Then, with your hands, knead for 10 minutes.
4. Leave the bowl covered in a warm place to prove for an hour.
   
5. Whilst this is happening, make the tomato sauce.

1. Finely chop the garlic, onion, carrort, celery and red pepper on a chopping board.
2. Put all these vegetables in a large saucepan with the water, parprika, pepper and tin of tomatoes. (Basically everything except the puree and herbs)
   
3. Bring to the boil and simmer for half an hour.
4. Using a stick blender, blend the sauce until smooth.
   
5. Stir in the puree and herbs and correct the seasoning.

1. Prepare the ingredients that you want to put on top and set aside. Preheat the oven at this stage.
2. Take your dough, which should have risen considerably, and knock it back with your knuckles for 2 minutes. Turn out onto a floured surface.
   
3. Divide into 12 balls (or however many you're cooking for) and roll each one out into a circle the size of a smallish plate, not too thin. Place on a greased tray (you may need more than one, or cook in batches)
   
4. Spoon 2-3 generous tablespoons of tomato sauce into the middle of each circle, and spread it out. You don't want corners where there's no sauce and just dough. (If you made the full amount and aren't using it all, put the rest in a bowl and store in the fridge)
   
5. Sprinkle over your choice of meats, cheese and other toppings.
   
6. Fold each pizza over to form a semi circle and seal the edges.
   
7. Drizzle over a little olive oil and some grated cheese
8. Bake in the centre of the oven in the middle shelf for 15 minutes, until golden.