Thank you Mum.

So I thought I should end my Mother's Day series, for this year, with a little thank you to my Mum. I'm not going to go all mushy on here but sometimes a little mush goes down well.

I can safely say I probably wouldn't have started this blog if my Mum hadn't of taught me how to cook. I can remember baking and making a massive mess in kitchen every Sunday. She also taught me how to appreciate the good things in life and most importantly she taught me how to throw a tea party/ buffet in style. No one can ever beat a buffet by my mum. 

But she's also helped me through some of my darkest days and I don't think without her love and support I could have recovered the way I did. And she's right about endless cups of tea, they can almost cure anything!

So I thought that today would be the perfect day to say a massive thank you to my mum and share some hideous photos with you all. I hope you get a good laugh. I was a chubby kid! 

She will be coming over for a big Sunday lunch and a few presents. I just can't wait!

To all of you Mum's out there. Happy Mother's day and I hope you get spoilt like you should!

Mothers day: Fabric hangers DIY.

Another Mother's day post for you. As with a lot of "holidays" I sometimes think it is time for people to show off. Who can buy the biggest card, the biggest bunch of flowers and the most expensive gift. I like to take a more simple approach to things and I hate the pressures that are put on people who feel like they have to buy things to prove that there mum's mean a lot to them. It's rubbish and you know it!

I have a lovely present planned for my mum but I'm not going to say what it is just yet. I've put my blog in her favourites along with a few others and you've never know, she might just be reading. (Hi mum!) I've put a lot of thought into it and I can't wait to see her face come Sunday. I will be buying her a bunch of flowers along with her present but I'll be doing what I do every year, wait until the Monday when you can pick bunches up for 50p, forget paying ten times that amount! Having to wait one day means nothing. 

Anyway onto my DIY and this one is super easy. There's nothing nicer than a wardrobe full of wooden hangers and I picked these up from poundland. I decided that these needed pretty-ing up! They'd make a great small gift for Mothers day and they are so easy to make!

You will need:

2 wooden hangers

scraps of material 

scissors

a glue stick

First, apply glue to the metal hanger. 

Cut a long piece of fabric, the prettier the better!

Begin to wrap the material around the hanger, securing the ends with a dab more glue.

Cut another piece of fabric and tie into a bow around the bottom of the metal hanger.

And voila. You're done. Repeat with the other hanger.

Wrap in some beautiful tissue and big pink bow. Such a simple gift.

Mothers day: Bacon & egg pie.

So I've started my Easter posts and I thought with just over 1 week to go I should start my Mothers day posts. There's only a few but just enough to hopefully inspire you to make or bake something for mothers day rather than buying some tat from the card shop.

Bacon and egg pie. Yum. My mum used to make this a lot. Back when I was vegetarian she would use veggie bacon but now I'm meat eating again I've used real smoked bacon. It's delicious and you can't go wrong with pie in my eyes. My original plan was to make a spring pie full of vegetables and chicken but since my food poisoning incident I'm still not quite ready to eat it yet. 

You could make leaves or any other little pastry decorations to go on top but I settled for flowers because it is Mothers day after all and mum's deserve flowers! 

You will need:

500g plain flour

230g butter

cold water

pinch of salt

sprinkling of mixed herbs

8 rashers of bacon

4 eggs

salt

pinch of black pepper

sprinkle of mixed herbs

milk, to glaze

Heat oven to 190ºC, 370ºF, Gas Mark 5. Line a 20 cm (8 inch) ovenproof plate or foil baking dish.

Mix flour and salt in basin, rub in fat.

Using a knife to cut and stir, mix with cold water to form a stiff dough.

Turn dough on to a floured surface and knead lightly.

Roll out and use as required below.

Divide the pastry into 2, roll out and line the plate.

Grill or fry bacon until crisp - drain off the fat. Add bacon to the beaten eggs along with the seasoning and herbs if used.

Pour mixture onto pastry, dampen edges and cover with the second round of pastry.

Seal edges and decorate with pastry flowers. Make a hole in the centre and brush with beaten egg or milk, sprinkle a few more herbs on top.

Bake for about 35-40 minutes until golden brown.

Serve warm or cold.