Seen on TV...

Gosh... When the flu strikes, it strikes! My son went down first, then he gave it to my 1 1/2 years old daughter (there is nothing more excruciating than listening to a baby's hoarse cry and moaning with discomfort through the night). Now it's my turn to moan and sip some heavenly chicken soup (forever grateful to my mom who taught it to my cook):

The saving grace of my miserable day was watching an episode of Rachel Allen: Bake!
I am not a big fan of Rachel Allen, but I had programmed my satellite box to record the episodes anyway. And wow what a good idea that was. I loved this particular episode.

She first taught a class of beginner cooks how to make basic cookie dough. Then gave them an array of really exciting toppings to chose from. Some really tempting combinations they came up:

- white chocolate, dried cranberries and orange zest
- chocolate and ginger
- poppy seeds and orange zest (!!)

So next on my list: making my own cookies!!

Next, she baked the most amazing Walnut Cake With American Frosting. I could literally taste it with my eyes - the base looked incredibly moist and rich and the frosting, oh my, made the cake to look like a cloud straight from heaven. I managed to find the video and recipe here:

http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/607557

Enjoy!!!

Achoooo!...