New Issue of Playground Magazine

Tommorrow Caroline from Playground Magazine will be calling in with the latest issue of Playground Magazine and once again she invited me to share a recipe with her readers.

I can't wait to see the new issue but until they arrive it is available to view online so click to take a sneek peak!

And this is Caroline's blog with extra news and articles:
http://magazinemum.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/make-it-yours.html

Pear Gingerbread Recipe

I created this recipe for Pear Gingerbread for the winter issue of Playground magazine which will be published in the next couple of weeks but thought I would share it here too as it's perfect for autumn & bonfire night.

Ingredients:
250ml apple juice (use for poaching then keep 100ml back for the cake)
2 pears
1 vanilla pod (optional)
100 grams golden syrup
100 grams unsalted butter
40 grams black treacle
100 grams dark muscovado sugar
2 medium free range eggs
250 grams self raising flour
2 heaped teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Pinch of salt

Method:
1) Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celcius.
2) Grease and line the base of an 8 inch square baking tin and line with greaseproof paper.
3) First poach the pears for 5 minutes in the apple juice with the vanilla pod and drain, keeping the apple juice for later.

4) Melt together the syrups, butter and sugar in a pan and leave to cool slightly.
5) Sieve together the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
6) Pour in the butter & syrup mix and whisk together, then whisk in the eggs and 100ml of apple juice.
7) Transfer the mixture to the baking tin and arrange the poached pears on top.

8) Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean (check near to the pears as this bit takes the longest to bake.
9) Cool in the tin for 30 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
10) It is delicious warm (with cream!) but tastes even better the next day when the spicy flavours develop. Store in a cool place wrapped in greaseproof paper and foil.

New Magazine - The Simple Things

I was excited to arrive back from holiday and find issue one of The Simple Things waiting on my doormat. It is a brand new magazine from the publishers of Mollie Makes and although I spend a lot of time these days reading articles and blogs online you can't beat a proper paper magazine; sitting down in a comfortable chair, away from the computer with a cup of tea and a slice of cake with no distractions!

Autumn always makes me feel like spending more time at home. I love this season for getting back into the kitchen, trying out new recipe ideas gathered on my travels over the summer, sewing, knitting again and finally getting around to the DIY jobs that have been on my to do list since spring but somehow didn't seem as important in the summer months.

The Simple Things is the perfect companion to this autumn mood as it celebrates the small things that make a difference in the longer term. There are articles about the Slow Food movement, markets to explore, specialist producers and shops, gardening, seasonal recipes and crafts and decorating ideas to try.

What I like best is that the focus is not on shopping and spending money to make improvements but on rediscovering simple pleasures and making small changes to enjoy life a little bit more. I will definitely be trying the spice cake with rhubarb recipe, though perhaps with some pears, and it has reminded me to plant some bulbs now to cheer me up next spring!

http://www.thesimplethings.com/