Gluten and Dairy Free Chocolate Cheesecake

Gluten and Dairy Free Chocolate Cheesecake

Published in Issue 23, June 2013

Written by Claire from Elderberry Arts

www.elderberryarts.co.uk

This is a very forgiving, quick and easy recipe for a creamy chocolate cheesecake free from gluten and dairy products. 

Step 1. Put biscuits into a food processor and blend into fine crumbs.

Step 2. Add 2 tablespoons of the coco powder and mix briefly to combine.

Step 3.  Melt the spread and mix it into the biscuit crumbs using a spoon until it is beginning to stick together.

Step 4. Pour the biscuit mix into a container and press down firmly to form the cheesecake base.

Step 5.  Wipe out the food processor bowl. Put all the cheese into the bowl the remaining coco powder and sugar. Mix well to combine. You can add more sugar or coco to taste if you wish.

Step 6. Spoon the chocolate filling on top of the base and spread with the back of a spoon to cover the biscuit base. Cover and chill for several hours or preferably overnight. 

The cheesecake can also be placed in the freezer for a few hours to speed up setting. 

Gluten and dairy free biscuits can be bought in Tesco, Sainsbury’s and many health food stores. Any biscuit will work so you could try chocolate chip cookies for the base (Sainsbury’s sell dairy free chocolate chip cookie) or if you are only avoiding gluten, chocolate digestives. 

The base can be made with a combination of biscuits and nuts.  Process the nuts before adding the biscuits as they will take longer to break up. 

Tesco sell several varieties of dairy and gluten free cheese. The original creamy version is perfect for this recipe. Other varieties can also be bought in health and alternative food shops or online. Sheese is another often seen brand. 

A plain cheesecake can be created by leaving out the coco powder. This can be eaten plain or topped with a fruit sauce, fruit pieces, dairy free chocolate buttons or shavings or even chopped gluten and dairy free brownie pieces. The possibilities are endless. 

Competitions from Both Sides of the Fence

Competitions from Both Sides of the Fence

Published in Issue 23, June 2013

Written by Tracey from WowThankYou
www.WowThankYou.co.uk
Best Cuppa In Town

www.bestcuppaintown.com

Can you remember where you were on Thursday 15 June 2006? I can. At approximately 12:20 I was getting ready to drive to an acupuncture appointment in mid-Wales, about a 40 minute car ride from my home on the coast in West Wales. The phone rang – I didn’t really want to take it as I didn’t want to be late – but I’m SO glad that I did. It was the Daily Express calling to inform me that I’d won a £30,000 convertible car … wow! I had entered the competition the previous weekend by text, having seen it while visiting my parents. I was 30 weeks pregnant with my first child at the time, and I had been an avid ‘comper’ for about two years. It was the pinnacle win of my hobby, and alas my commitment to it fell along the wayside when my daughter was born and I ran out of spare time!

The hobby of competitions becomes addictive. I remember entering 200 postcard competitions in a single evening (golly, think of the cost of doing that now!)  – and when I posted them all, I felt a huge wave of achievement … and the excitement and anticipation kicked in that I could be sent a winning letter with some wonderful goodies.  Over the two years I won more than a car – prizes ranged from a £1200 Currys voucher, 2 x coffee machines, a crate of wine, a range oven, a weekend at Gleneagles in Scotland, a toaster, kettle, Kenwood food mixer, a camera, a camcorder, lots of baby goodies, hair care items (brushes, shampoo, straighteners) … I loved awaiting the postman each day!

Why am I telling you all this? 

Well, I wanted to explain what it’s like when you spot a competition on a website or in a magazine, when you are a comper … I’ve lost count of the number of competitions I’ve ripped out of magazines at the hairdressers, or items I’ve needed to buy in order to enter a prize draw – as I said, it’s an addictive pastime, and you want to enter everything you can find. My hobby introduced me to brands I’d never heard of before, took me to websites I’d never visited before, read product descriptions in order to answer a question … and I was never alone in doing this…

A typical competition on the internet gets over 6,000 entries. 6,000 people who, like me, want to win the item on offer. And if we need to find an answer before we can enter, we look for it – carefully, in order to ensure it is correct. There are thousands of people in the UK scanning websites every day looking for competitions to enter – and there are online competition portals and forums that pretty much tell you where to go. OK, people may not hang around on the site for very long post-entering, as when you’re in the ‘competition zone’ you are pretty much looking to enter as many as you can in the time available. But you do get to know these websites and you remember them and revisit them when you need to purchase something specific. 

I remember being introduced to the website Firebox.com this way – I visited their site every month to enter their competitions – and that following Christmas I purchased some presents from them and have done ever since.

As I mentioned, since the birth of Millie-Mae and then Toby I’ve not been as active a comper as I’d like to be. And now the children are in school and nursery I am looking to free up a few hours here and there to get into it again … but for now I’m putting my experience to good use on the flipside of the coin…

I believe I have good knowledge of how a comper ‘works’, and I use this information on WowThankYou by regularly offering competition prizes. I also list the competitions on the competition forums I mentioned earlier – I WANT compers to flock to the page to enter because I know that this is a sure-fire way of introducing them to the WowThankYou brand, and they WILL come back and purchase from us at some point. We average between 2,000 and 2,500 entries per competition over the month that it runs. The numbers are slowly climbing, which I put down to persistence and continuity - When you place an order on the WowThankYou website during the checkout process you are asked where you heard of us and we’re starting to see ‘entering a competition’ given as their answer.  

With our competitions, you need to answer a question that is hidden somewhere within the seller’s store (who has donated the prize). I make sure it isn’t too easy as I want them to really see the items they are looking at. We can attribute a huge rise in sales to some sellers who have either currently or previously offered a prize – and this prize could cost as little as £8-10. There’s not many opportunities where this amount of money will get you 2,500-3,000 visitors …

And that’s the joy of competitions – compers don’t care what the value of the prize is as they enter everything, because they know there’s a higher chance that they’ll win the ‘smaller’ items rather than the cars, campervans, exotic holidays etc. To a comper, a win is a win, it’s as simple as that.

But yes I know what you’re thinking – “why encourage these people to enter?” Simple answer – because they are also online shoppers! Trust me – as a comper online, you are pretty nifty with a computer as you spend so much time on one entering prize draws, and quite honestly you simply don’t have time to go out shopping so buy online instead. It’s a winning formula, it really is.

So if you are looking for ways to get noticed, think about offering a competition prize on your blog, FB or twitter page. Don’t just run the one – when it ends, start another … keep doing it and people will slowly start to remember you and your brand. And then when they need to buy something, they’ll return not as a comper but as a customer, which is what we all want to see!

The Craft Box - Notebook Cover

The Craft Box - Notebook Cover

Published in Issue 23, June 2013

Written by Tina from Shinyes

http://shinyies.co.uk

This is what I did...

I rummaged through my craft box and gathered :

Very thick card (saved from a package delivery), 

White card,
PVA glue,
Paintbrush,
Button,
Ribbon,
Clear nail varnish,
Pencil,
Ruler,
Scissors,
Decorative papers,
Silver coloured letter stickers
Notebook.

Step 1.  I cut and trimmed the very thick card, both the same size but making sure that they were comfortably bigger than my notebook. These were to become the front and back cover of the re-usable notebook cover.

Step 2. I began covering my front and back cover with the decorative papers, beginning with the corners. I made sure that there was plenty of excess paper which could be folded over the edge of the covers, hiding the unsightly edges. Using the PVA glue and paintbrush, I continued to cover all eight corners.

Step 3. I covered the rest in decorative papers, again folding over the excess to hide the edges of the very thick card.

Step 4.  I turned over one of the boards and cutting some decorative paper, I covered the back, hiding all the excess papers that had been folded over when covering the edges. I only did this to one of the boards to start with. The other would come a bit later.

Step 5.  I then cut a small rectangle of ribbon and sealed the edges with clear nail varnish to prevent fraying, and sewed a button onto the centre, this was to become part of the fastening for the notebook cover. I then measured a length of ribbon to go round the other board, giving plenty of wiggle room to allow for the extra thickness that the cheap notebook would make. Then I again sealed the edges with clear nail varnish, and cut a hole for the button to go through. After the button hole had been stitched, I had my notebook cover fastening.

Step 6.  Again using PVA glue I attached the button to the front board and the button hole ribbon to the back board, folding the excess ribbon round it's edge. Then I was able to cover the board in my decorative paper, covering the excess paper and the ribbon.

Step 7.  Then it was time to attach the two boards together. I cut a piece of ribbon (you need thick ribbon for this, I would recommend two inches wide) making sure it didn't quite reach the length of the boards. Again I used clear nail varnish to prevent fraying, and glued the ribbon to both boards, leaving a gap between that was wide enough for the thickness of the notebook.

After it was dry, I held my breath and tested that it worked. It did!

Step 8. Then I began drawing out the parts that the front and back cover of the notebook would slot into to keep them in place. I made them slightly bigger than the covers and added tabs that would be used to glue them to the inside of the boards. 

When I came to putting the notebook covers inside, I found that the notebook covers were getting caught on the tabs I had made to glue the housing into place, so I cut the notebook covers down about an inch and they went in without a problem.

Step 9.  My final finishing touch to my completed notebook cover was to use the silver coloured stickers and name my finished  item “Notebook”

All done.

I was very pleased with the result and am contemplating making more of them as gifts for family and friends.

The end result - a beautiful notebook, a heap load of fun and an eagerness to start my next project. Visit Tina at www.shinyies.co.uk

Meet Mick Brown - Artist

Meet Mick Brown - Artist

Published in Issue 23, June 2013

Written by Mick from Red Poppy Art

www.redpoppyart.co.uk

I've always drawn and painted (even before I could walk) and at school I was involved in painting all the back-drops for two large stages every time plays were performed. I also ended up painting murals all over our common rooms and corridors during holiday times! So I learnt how to scale work up to a large size very early on. This changed my perception as I realised what appeared to be large daubs coalesced the further you stepped back ! (This was obviously stored away for later use).Since then I have worked as a graphic designer (before p.c.) where I learned my craft properly after that I used my skills and talent to work as a mural painter and I also worked with Interior designers creating specialist paint effects for new builds. My customers would either want their children's bedrooms and nurseries painted top to bottom or they would want a sky painted right across a huge ceiling.

During this time I was invited to open a studio near where I lived in a local community centre the only proviso was would I be prepared to tutor community members one night a week? Looking back I think this was the turning point in my painting career as I've met so many artists who are obsessed with getting their work seen and sold I actually started to realise this wasn't the way forward. The more people who started coming through the doors the more I realised I was helping them not only to draw and paint but also to build their confidence and I actually started modifying my technique in tutoring and painting so much so that my whole approach to painting completely turned itself on its head.

The Tanfield community studio has been running for over 10 years now and is entirely voluntary I take a nominal fee for heat and light. We occasionally obtain funding for equipment but I teach students to make their own stuff and recycle and re-use everything.

Over the last 15 years I have had various features in local newspapers either for jobs I've been working on or pieces of work I've donated to local charities for fund-raising. This has helped them out a great deal and they've always written back and thanked me, some of these letters are on my website. One painting in particular I donated to a diamond charity event raised around £400 or so but more importantly the guest of honour was H.R.H. the Countess of Wessex and she saw my work. So sometimes its not about grubbing about to sell the work. I give about 4/5 pieces away every year to charities and I find this more rewarding.

I have also exhibited in quite a few local galleries and have been lucky enough to sell on those occasions, however the galleries take such a large proportion it is not cost effective to use them and I rely on the public visiting my studio direct. This also helps because I don't believe in framing the work as I like the customer to make their own choice, they seem happier with that choice.

My second studio runs out of Glenroyd House in Consett, County Durham. One day I walked into my local D.C.V.S. office and told them what I could do and would they like to make use of me as a volunteer. It didn't take them long to fit my skills and talents to 'local art classes' and we now have nearly 30 people on our books. From the beginning I think we knew this was going to be the start of something new as Consett is a depressed area and there are a lot of people existng on the fringes of the community who have challenges and it was very much a case of "if you build it they will come". By word of mouth more and more people started coming to the class with all different abilities and life experience. The role of coach or tutor has changed as I've had to learn to take on people with varying challenges in their own lives and they are truly inspirational to work with. This has had a dramatic effect/affect on my own work as my painting and drawing has become so paired down and de-constructed I am able to paint without any pre-planning. It is completely spontaneous! I try to pass on this method to my students as in my own personal life I've had challenges too!

Over the past few years I have been forming a social enterprise which is a largely non-profit organisation and diverts any funding into sourcing resources to keep moving art forward. I am not interested in personal greed and I cannot have anything as superficial as money clouding the production of my work. I have had to learn to balance my tutoring and my own painting but this is half the fun, I'm lucky to be able to paint for myself and not allow the aquisition of material objects control my art.

 To see more of Mick you can check out his website www.redpoppyart.co.uk Also on Facebook here www.facebook.com/mick.brownartist.3  and here www.facebook.com/MickBrownArtist 

Something Outta Nothing A Fabulous Feast For Free

Something Outta Nothing A Fabulous Feast For Free

Published in Issue 23, June 2013

Written by Gill from Personal Space Interiors

http://personal-space-interiors.blogspot.co.uk

In the interests of scrimping (and making sure nothing lurks in the fridge, freezer or store cupboard for too long) I like to have a good kitchen clear out every couple of months. It saves money, gives me the opportunity to clean without having to rearrange the entire kitchen and allows my inventive side to come to the fore. That despondent cry “There’s nothing to eat!” just isn’t allowed in my house. There’s always something; it just takes a little time and imagination…

An Indian Feast; perfect for a Saturday night in

My Indian feast was made entirely from the store cupboard, plus a few everyday essential ingredients like potatoes, onions, eggs and butter. This is a vegetarian meal; you could add prawns or chicken to the main curry dish for meat eaters, or remove the eggs and butter/ghee to make the meal suitable for vegans.

Serves 4-6

 Potato and egg curry

 Sweet and sour lentil dhal

 Mushroom bhaji

 Almond pilau rice

 Fresh chapati

Potato and egg curry

This is perfect for using up bits and pieces from the fridge. I’ve made this curry with some left over new potatoes, some eggs and green beans but you could pretty much use anything you like. Aubergine, cauliflower and broad beans work brilliantly. It’ll work well with chicken or prawns if you prefer a meat based dish.

 New potatoes – approx. 500g

 4 eggs

 1 large onion finely chopped

 1 tbsp olive oil and a knob of butter or ghee

 2 cloves garlic crushed

 Thumb sized piece of ginger peeled and grated, or ½ tsp ground ginger

 1tsp each of ground coriander, cumin and garam masala

 1 tin coconut milk

 400ml chicken or vegetable stock

 Vegetables – green beans, peas, broad beans, aubergine, cauliflower etc. cut into even sized pieces around 2cm

 Salt, pepper and if you have it, fresh coriander roughly chopped

1. Cut the potatoes into chunks, parboil for 5 minutes if raw and roast in a little olive oil until golden.

2. Boil the eggs for 7 minutes, run under cold water then drain, peel and cut into quarters.

3. Cook the onion gently in a large lidded sauté pan with a drizzle of oil and a knob of butter until golden and soft.

4. Add the spices, garlic and ginger to the onions and fry for a minute to form a paste.

5. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer gently for 20 minutes.

6. Season to taste and add the fresh herbs.

Sweet and sour lentil dhal

You can use red or yellow lentils for this. I prefer yellow for the fabulous colour with the turmeric. If you have too many yellow lentils you can make a pot of pease pudding too. Simply take 4 tbsp cooked lentils from the pan after step 1, season well and blitz to a smooth puree. Keep in a covered pot in the fridge. It will set to a smooth paste. Delicious with ham.

 250g dried lentils

 500ml chicken or vegetable stock

 2 bay leaves

 1 tsp turmeric

 2 tbsp cider vinegar or tamarind paste if you have it

 2 tbsp brown sugar

1. Rinse the lentils in cold water and place in a saucepan. Cover with stock, add the bay leaves and turmeric and simmer until tender – around 25 minutes.

2. Add the cider vinegar (or tamarind paste) and sugar and mix thoroughly until the sugar has dissolved. The lentils will break up as you mix to form a rough puree.

3. Season to taste.

Mushroom Bhaji

This is a great way to use up mushrooms that are starting to look a little sad.  A breathable mushroom bag will keep your mushrooms dry and fresh in the fridge for longer.

 Sliced mushrooms – any closed cup variety will do

 1 tsp each olive oil and butter or ghee

 1 clove garlic crushed

 1 tsp each coriander and cumin

 Juice of half a lemon

 1 tsp corn flour slaked with a little water to a smooth paste

 100ml white wine

 200ml chicken or vegetable stock

1. In a small saucepan, fry the mushrooms in the oil and butter until golden.

2. Add the garlic, spices and lemon juice and simmer for a minute.

3. Add the wine and stock and simmer until reduced by half.

4. Stir the corn flour through until thickened and let it simmer for a couple of minutes.

5. Season to taste.

Almond pilau rice

 1 large onion, finely chopped

 2 cloves garlic, crushed

 300g basmati rice rinsed in cold water

 600ml cold water

 Knob of butter or ghee

 100g flaked almonds

1. Fry the onion in a little olive oil until golden, then add the garlic to soften for a minute.

2. Stir the rice through to make sure each grain is coated then add the water, cover and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and let the rice simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the rice covered to continue to steam. Don’t be tempted to stir the rice – the lid needs to stay on for the cooking to finish.

3. Toast the almonds in a small pan until lightly golden.

4. Add the butter and almonds to the rice and fork through gently. Season to taste.

Fresh chapati

The quickest easiest bread in the world! They take 5 minutes to make and 2 minutes each to cook, and they’re great for getting the kids involved too. This mix will make around 10 chapatis.

 450g plain flour

 1 tbsp olive oil

 Warm water

 Melted butter or ghee, or olive oil

1. Place the flour in a large mixing bowl and drizzle in the oil.

2. Add enough warm water to form a soft and pliable dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth – around 5 minutes.

3. Place a wide shallow frying pan over a medium/high heat

4. Divide the dough into 10 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball then roll out to 3mm thickness.

5. Place the chapatti in the hot dry pan and cook until it puffs up on top and begins to brown underneath. Turn over and cook until this side is browned.

6. Place the cooked chapati on a warmed plate and brush with melted butter or ghee. Cover with foil to keep warm, then carry on with the rest of the dough until you have a lovely stack of fresh chapatis.

7. Perfect with pickles – hot lime is my favourite.

I hope you enjoy my recipes. Why not follow my blog for other foodie treats
www.personal-space-interiors.blogspot.co.uk

Creating A Photo Mosaic Coaster

Creating A Photo Mosaic Coaster

Published in Issue 23, June 2013

Written by Carrie from Streutertech

www.streuter.com

Looking for a quick gift idea for Father's Day? 

What dad doesn't love receiving homemade gifts from their children?

 Here's a great project that's both quick and easy, finishing in 1 to 2 hours, depending upon your style.

Materials:

Photograph or artwork
4" coaster tile
2" x 2" clear glass
Package of 3/8" tiles (1/2" or 1" tiles will work, as well)
No Days Mosaic Adhesive film
Scissors or razor
Standard heat gun or embossing heat tool
Long pair of tweezers (or other heat proof tool)
Black sanded grout
Latex gloves
Dust mask
Container for mixing water and grout
Cork backing
HoneyDoo Powerbond Glue


Step 1. To create a custom photo coaster, the first thing you need is a photograph cut to 2" x 2". (You can also use a piece of artwork, just re-size it to 2" x 2".)

Step 2.  Cut the No Days Mosaic Adhesive to fit the coaster surface and another piece that is slightly larger than the photo. Find the center of the coaster and place the photo between the two pieces of No Days Mosaic Adhesive. Put the glass over the top of the photo and adhesive.  So, now you've got the coaster substrate in front of you with a layer of No Days Mosaic Adhesive film on it. On top of that, you've got your photograph in the center of the coaster with a piece of No Days Mosaic Adhesive that covers it. Then, you place the clear glass on top of that. So this is what you've got so far.

Step 3. Now, you'll need to fill in all the empty space. Cover the coaster with the rest of the tiles, remembering to leave little gaps (1/16" to 1/8") for the grout lines. It's not important that your lines are straight. In fact, it adds a bit of interest if they're not that straight! Also, you don't need to worry that all the tiles are in the exact spot they're supposed to be, as you can move them into position while you're heating.

Step 4. After you've covered your coaster, it's time to heat set the tiles in place with a standard heat gun or embossing heat tool. Begin by holding the heat gun about 6"-8" above your coaster and turn it on low. As the tiles begin to heat, you can begin to move the heat gun closer. You don't want to start too close, though, or else you'll end up blowing the tiles off the substrate with the force of the hot air!

As the adhesive heats up, you will see it start to turn glossy and liquefy. You need to make sure to heat the tiles enough so that the adhesive underneath them also liquefies.

Step 5. Using a pair of long tweezers or other heat proof tool, push gently on the tiles to see if they move. If the tiles skid or stick, then the adhesive under them is not fully heated. If the tiles glide as you push on them, they have heated the adhesive underneath. When the tiles are heated thoroughly, you can easily move the tiles around and position them into place.  While heating, you'll need to press down on the clear glass in the middle of the coaster to push out any air bubbles that get trapped under the glass and on top of the photo.

Step 6. After the tiles have cooled down (5-7 minutes), you're ready to grout. Before beginning to grout, check that all the tiles are fully adhered. The tiles along the edges of the coaster will be the ones that may not have been heated enough. If you push and pull on them and they pop off, you need to heat longer. If you begin grouting and still have pieces that pop off, clean the area free of grout, place another small piece of adhesive under it and re-heat the tile to activate the adhesive.

Wearing a dust mask, mix a small amount of black sanded grout (a handful) in a cup with just a bit of water (maybe a teaspoon). Stir the grout around with your fingers until it is thoroughly mixed and about the consistency of peanut butter. Spread the grout on top of your coaster, rubbing the grout across the tiles to force the grout down into the gaps. Don't try to push the grout into the gaps vertically, it won't pack it in there tightly. After you've got the grout in all of the spaces, stain the edges and underside of the coaster by rubbing the grout against them. (Alternatively, you can paint the edges and back after you're finished with the coaster.)

Step 7. After you've finished grouting, wait about 10 minutes for the grout to become hazy on top of the tiles. Then, you can polish the tiles lightly with a paper towel. You can call the coaster finished now, or you can add some rubber pads to the bottom to protect surfaces that the coaster will lay on. Otherwise, you can continue with the instructions below to attach a cork backing. The HoneyDoo Powerbond will take a bit longer to cure, but the end result looks very professional.

Step 8. While waiting for the grout to set up, cut the cork backing (you can find this at craft stores) by cutting it slightly smaller than your coaster (3-7/8"). After polishing your coaster, flip it over to the back side. Smear the HoneyDoo Powerbond glue in a thin layer around the entire surface of the cork backing, BUT stay at least 1/4" from the edges.  While the glue is drying, it will expand slightly and fill in the gap.

Step 9. After gluing, flip the coaster over to press the cork backing flat and let the glue dry (2-3 hours). You may want to add a grout sealer to protect the grout, and prevent the black edges from smudging.

Now, you've got a gift that dad can take to work with him to remind him of the littles while he's away!

All Buttoned Up

All Buttoned Up

Published In Issue 23, June 2013

Written by Sally from The Bead Bounty

www.thebeadbounty.weebly.com

As a Lamp work bead artist, I like to keep my product innovative and fresh and was recently giving a lot of thought to new designs and products.

I was chatting with ‘Creative Crafting’ editor Anna one day and she suggested ‘Buttons’. I wasn’t sure at first because there was more to them than just using a mandrel (the metal rod you use to wind beads).  This was going to take some thinking about. Well, I did think about it and after only a couple of attempts came up with the best way of doing them.

Who would have guessed that Glass Bead making would lead me into the wonderful world of Buttons? I never would have, not in a million years, but now, glass buttons have me hooked. Oh, was I excited! These buttons were going to be one off original works of wearable art that would finish off the best of handcrafted projects. I started with some simple domed buttons with raised flower patterns.  I did these in pairs and although they were similar, they were in fact quite different from each other.

I then moved on to multi-layered buttons, some with encased flowers and some with raised flower design.

Delving further still, I made some open petal flowers, making the flower itself the button.

Last but not least and these have me, hook, line and sinker, I started to make ‘Fish’.

Fun and Funky Fish buttons, with a character all of their own. Each one has a name and the quirkiest face you have ever seen.

So I will continue on my quest to come up with interesting and varied button designs to delight my customers with and hope you have enjoyed seeing some of them too.

We know that there are many, many button lovers out there. Why not pop along to see Sally, she can create something ‘Especially for you!’

www.thebeadbounty.weebly.com