Monday 27 January 2014

LAZY MONDAY: FRENCH TOAST

27 JANUARY 2013

I skipped lazy Sunday this week and decided to do lazy Monday instead. A very much spontaneous use of my remaining annual leave had me sleeping soundly rather than dragging myself out of bed at 6am this morning. With the extra time on my hands I thought I'd have something a bit different for breakfast. It's been a long time since I've had French toast - cinnamony and indulgent, this recipe for French toast is the perfect lazy morning treat. Enjoy!




INGREDIENTS: (serves 2)

4 slices of white bread (crusty bread works best)
1 large egg
2-3 tablespoons of full fat milk
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Maple syrup to taste
1 banana (optional)

METHOD:

Whisk together the egg, milk and cinnamon in a shallow bowl until fully combined. Coat either side of each slice of bread by dipping it in the mixture. 

Melt a knob of butter in a frying pan or griddle pan. Fry your bread until golden brown on both sides. Serve with fresh sliced banana and a drizzle of maple syrup.


LOVE | Hannah

Wednesday 22 January 2014

HEAVEN SCENT

22 JANUARY 2014

I don't know about you, but after Christmas and with the new year looming, I felt like I needed a clear out. Having purged my room of clutter it looked homely for the first time in years, but there was something missing: a homely fragrance.

I toyed with the idea of buying something from John Lewis or The White Company - those stores always smell so beautiful - but after shopping around I felt I couldn't justify the price of these top-of-the-range diffusers. A single diffuser was priced at anywhere between £15 and £20 without refills or spare reeds. So, I decided to make my own...



I purchased a Stoneglow diffuser refill in the delicately yummy fragrance of White Tea and Wisteria for £12 from John Lewis and some spare diffuser reeds (you can 20 of these from Sainsbury's for a £1 or so). I poured my fragrance into a bottle from Lakeland which cost me £1.99 and finished with a cut-off of white ribbon tied in a bow. Simple and easy. Despite the initial investment, this homemade diffuser will last me many months longer than a ready-made version costing the same amount, and I get the satisfaction of having made it myself!

LOVE | Hannah

Sunday 19 January 2014

LAZY SUNDAY: CROISSANTS

19 JANUARY 2013

Fruit and veg and healthy grains might do you good, but so does a little bit of what you fancy, and after the week I've had I fancy some croissants. Warm, buttery, homemade croissants. Plain or filled with chocolate or jam, these traditional french breakfast pastries are divine. So, if you're feeling like a little treat, why not have a go at making some of these beauties. 




This recipe is from Paul Hollywood's, How to Bake.

INGREDIENTS:

500g strong white bread flour
300g chilled unsalted butter
300ml cool water
10g salt
10g fast action yeast
80g caster sugar
1 medium egg

METHOD:

Put the flour in a large mixing bowl with a dough hook attached. Add the sugar and salt to one side of the bowl and the yeast to the other. Pour in the water and mix on a slow speed for 2 minutes, and then on a medium speed for approximately 6 minutes.

Pour the thick, sticky dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball. Put into a clean plastic bag and chill in the fridge for an hour.

Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a rectangle roughly 20cm x 60cm. Flour the butter on both sides and bash with a rolling pin until big enough to cover two thirds of the dough. Fold over the uncovered third of the dough leaving half of the butter exposed. Trim off the exposed half of the butter without cutting the dough underneath and place on top of the folded dough. Fold the newly exposed dough over the butter. You should now have a little dough and butter tower - dough, butter, dough, butter, dough. Pinch the sides to seal the butter. Lightly flour and place back in the plastic bag to chill in the fridge for another hour.

Remove the dough from the bag and place on a lightly floured surface with the narrower end facing you. Roll out into a long rectangle and fold the top third of the dough down towards the centre. Fold the bottom third of the dough up over the throe you just folded - this is called one turn. Place bag in the bag and chill in the fridge for a further hour. Repeat this process twice more and leave the dough in the fridge overnight, or for at least 8 hours.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is roughly a 30cm x 42cm rectangle. Cut the rectangle in half lengthways (you should have 2 rectangles 42cm x 15cm). Now cut 6 triangles from each rectangle - each needs to be roughly 12cm across the base and15cm high from base to tip.

Roll each triangle tightly from base to tip. If you want to add a filling, place it on the triangle of dough before rolling. Put you rolled croissants onto prepared baking trays, cover with cling film or a clean plastic bag, and leave to prove at room temperature until doubled in size. This should take 2 to 3 hours.

Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees celsius. Make an egg wash with an egg and a pinch of salt and brush over the croissants. Bake int he oven for approximately 15 - 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm and enjoy!

NOTE: Chocolate croissants are wonderful glazed with apricot jam and spindled with flaked almonds. Otherwise, these are beautiful filled with cheese and tomato and cracked black pepper.


LOVE | Hannah


Thursday 16 January 2014

DOUBLE RAINBOW

16 JANUARY 2014




Pouring rain, straight hair and heels don't mix well, but a double rainbow somehow makes up for the resulting frizz and wet toes. Nature and science never cease to amaze me. Beautiful.



LOVE | Hannah

Sunday 12 January 2014

LAZY SUNDAY BREAKFAST

12 JANUARY 2014

If you fancy a little indulgence on this frosty Sunday morning, why not try the classic breakfast combination of a poached egg and smoked salmon? New years diet-friendly, this delicious combo is high in protein and vitamin B12, essential for absorbing iron and preventing conditions like anaemia that are common in pregnancy and those suffering from Crohn's disease. 


HOW TO...
Add a tablespoon of vinegar to simmering watering and swirl with a teaspoon before cracking in your egg. The vinegar should help to bind the yolk and create a beautiful round shaped egg. Simmer gently for 3 minutes for a perfectly runny yolk. Serve on a bed of smoked salmon and top with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and sprinkling of cracked black pepper. 


LOVE | Hannah

Saturday 11 January 2014

BUSY BUSY BUSY

11 JANUARY 2014



Hello lovely readers! I hope you've all had a good first full week back at work - well, as good as work can be anyway. Mine has been productive, if a little crazy as you might be able to tell from the pause in posts. Not only has work been hectic, but I've found myself struggling to juggle a whole host of new things - the result of making one too many new years resolutions no doubt!

But still, I like being busy as more often than not it means exciting new things on the horizon. For me, this means making a conscious effort to develop my hobbies and, slightly more terrifyingly, taking the ultimate leap into adulthood by buying my first home. I've made a good start on the hobbies front having joined a local photographic society and invested in my first ever MacBook! The house hunt on the other hand has been a touch less successful... 

I'm currently getting some software installed on my Mac, so I'll be technology-less for a little while. Until we are reunited I won't be able to blog as often as I'd like, but please bear with me - I've got loads of exciting recipes, photos and crafty ideas to share with you! Take care, everyone and have a fabulously relaxing weekend!

LOVE | Hannah

Monday 6 January 2014

10 FOLLOWERS!

6 JANUARY 2014




It might not sound like much to some, but Chantilly Press has reached 10 followers and I couldn't be more proud! I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued readership and support - I couldn't do it without you!

LOVE | Hannah

Sunday 5 January 2014

THE HUMBLE CORK

5 JANUARY 2014

Looking through my Bloglovin feed this week, I was pleased to see plenty of new-year-inspired posts, but the post that caught my eye was one from craft and design blog, A Beautiful Mess. The idea involves collecting corks from bottles of wine shared over special moments. The result is a keepsake jar full of corks, each inscribed with the memory it helped to make. Not only is this beautifully sentimental, but looks fabulously stylish too.

Naturally, I couldn't wait to start a wine cork memory jar myself. So, I took the cork from a bottle of wine we shared when toasting in the new year and placed in inside a jar we bought from a brewery just off route 66 in Flagstaff, Arizona. I'm looking forward to seeing how my jar develops over the next few years as I share lots of happy wine-filled memories with my family and friends!





LOVE | Hannah

Thursday 2 January 2014

HOMEMADE MUESLI

2 JANUARY 2013

Happy new year everybody! I hope you had indulgent celebrations wherever you were - it's good to treat yourself from time to time!

For many, a new year signals a new beginning and the chance to make changes for the better. For me, 2014 is my chance to develop my interest in cooking and food, experimenting with recipes I know and finding healthy alternatives to some of my more guilty pleasures.

Some of you may already know that I suffer from Crohn's disease, an immune disorder affecting the functioning of the digestive system, often leading to the need for complex surgeries and gruelling drugs regimes. Many sufferers find certain foods can trigger flare-ups in their illness, and so find it easier and safer to avoid certain food groups altogether.

I've had Crohn's disease for 16 years now, and I am yet to find any consistency between sufferers in either their symptoms or the foods that they have an aversion to. Thus, it is difficult to generalise when recommending diet regimes for Crohn's sufferers. All I know is that eliminating 'junk' or heavily processed foods seems to have helped me over the past year or so. This is the inspiration behind my homemade muesli. It is made from entirely natural ingredients, no added sugar or preservatives, just the natural sweetness from the fruits and nuts that make up this yummy breakfast.



Click here to see how you can make some for yourself and get your 2014 off to a naturally healthy start! Don't be afraid to comment, let me know you get on an what you think.

LOVE | Hannah