Ingredients

2 Slices of wholemeal bread
4 Plums
Brown sugar (light muscavado, demerara or soft light brown sugar would be best).
Butter

Equipment

An oven dish
A knife
A chopping board.

What to do

1. Using the chopping board, carefully cut the crusts off the bread.

2. Smear butter onto the oven dish. This will stop the crusts from sticking to the dish.

3. Butter the bread on one side – be generous and make sure you butter right up to the edges.

4. Then cut the bread into four squares. Cut the plums in half and then press each half onto a square of bread, the skin side pressed down onto the bread.

5. Dab a little blob of butter – about a quarter of a teaspoon – into each of the plums. Put it inside the hole left by the stone. Then sprinkle the plums with sugar – again, be generous.

6. Bake in the oven at 180 centigrade/Gas mark 4 for about 25 – 30 minutes. They are ready when they smell delicious, and the juices of the plums and the sugar have melted together to make a sticky caramel. Yum!

You can serve these will a blob of custard, cream or ice cream on top. I have even tried them with a square of dark chocolate on top – the chocolate melts and tastes fantastic with the hot plums.

‘I cannot wait to get to camp,’ said Jasmine, packing a rucksack so big it was nearly as big as her. ‘I just love it when we sit round the camp fire in the evening. We’ll probably have toasted marshmallows again, or maybe sausages and baked potatoes, cooked on the fire. Every thing tastes so much better when you’re outside.’

Jasmine tried to swing the massive rucksack onto her back, and nearly fell over sideways. ‘I think I’ll get dad to carry that to the car.’ She looked in the mirror and started to plait her hair into two pigtails. ‘Don’t you wish you were a Guide, Lucy? We get to do such exciting things’

‘No, not really,’ replied Lucy. She had decided she would spend the first weekend of the holidays trying out new recipes at home. ‘Aren’t you going to be a bit bored,’ asked Jasmine.

But Lucy loved cooking so much, she would even read recipe books before she went to sleep. Jasmine couldn’t understand it – ‘There’s no plot! What’s the point?’

The next night, Lucy sat in her room looking at recipes and dreaming of the meals she would cook when she was older. She had found a book on Moroccan cookery in the library, and now huddled up on her bed, with the rain lashing against the windows, she read about recipes for Lamb tagine with dates and preserved lemons and spicy vegetable cous cous sprinkled with almonds. Lucy became absorbed in the smells and tastes of North Africa, and was imagining that she was in a Moroccan castle, with huge fire places and red carpets and she was serving dinner on enormous wooden table lit with candles.

She had just decided that dessert would be freshly cooked meringues, with cold whipped cream and ginger syrup (to contrast with the spiciness of the cous cous), when her mobile phone rang.

‘Hello,’ she said, wondering who on earth would be ringing her so late. It was Jasmine and she sounded quite cross.

‘It’s a complete nightmare. It hasn’t stopped raining, our tent leaks and worst of all, we’ve been having cup-a-soups and pot noodles for tea. I can’t stand another night of this. If I see another pot noodle I’ll scream.’

‘Oh no, it sounds awful,’ said Lucy, secretly thinking how glad she was not to be a guide. ‘Are you going to come home early?’

‘No way,’ snapped Jasmine. ‘But I need you to bring me some dry clothes, nice food and ear plugs.’

‘Okay,’ said Lucy. ‘But why do you need ear plugs?’

‘Because,’ bellowed Jasmine down the phone, becomingly steadily more cross ‘SOMEONE in our tent snores and it is CERTAINLY NOT ME!’

Lucy got the impression that the last comment was aimed at someone else. Things did sound pretty grim. Lucy was suddenly back in rainy England after day dreaming about cooking in Morocco. She wondered if she could use the power of cooking to cheer up Jasmine and the rest of the Guides. And then she had an idea.

The next day, she got up early and baked a big batch of Coca Cola Cupcakes – they were Jasmine’s favourites, especially when they had fizzy cola bottles on the top. Then Lucy searched all the cupboards for stuff to make Corn Beef Hash – perfect camping food, because it is easy, delicious and only uses one pan. Perfect for when you are camping and only have a single stove.

‘Corned Beef, stock cube,’ Lucy muttered to herself as she put all the ingredients into a bag to cook later. ‘Potatoes, carrots, – and the secret ingredient.’

Jazzy’s mum drove Lucy to the camp site, which turned out to be a muddy field just a few miles away from where they lived. The guides did look rather miserable, with their hair and clothes dripping wet. As soon as Jasmine saw them, she raced over to give them a hug and then demanded to know what they had brought to eat.

‘Coca cola cupcakes – fantastic. We can have them with our cocoa later on. Oh and corn beef hash! What a good idea. I’ll tell captain, and then we can make a start on peeling the vegetables.’

An hour later, the corn beef hash was ready and smelled fantastic. Amazingly, the rain finally stopped and the guides managed to get a fire going. Warm at last, and with a plate of good food in front of them, everyone started to remember why camping was such good fun. Only Jasmine seemed unhappy, frowning at the food on her plate.

‘Looking for something?’ asked Lucy smiling, as she produced a bottle of brown sauce her pocket. The secret ingredient!

At last, Jasmine smiled. ‘You see,’ she said, squirting brown sauce all over the plate of corned beef hash. ‘Food does taste better outdoors – especially if it has brown sauce on!’
< Chapter 11 - Cupcakes-R-Us

Recipes

Corned Beef Hash

Coca Cola Cupcakes

Equipment

A large pan

A wooden spoon

A potato peeler

A knife to chop vegetables

A chopping board

Ingredients

(enough to serve 4 people)

4 Large potatoes

2-3 Carrots

1 Large onion

A stock cube (any sort will do – except fish!)

Large tin of corned beef

Tablespoon of cooking oil

What to do

1.   Chop the onions.  Peel the carrots and potatoes and cut them into large chunks.

2.  Heat the oil in a pan and add the onions.   Cook over a medium heat for three or four minutes until they start to soften.

3.  Add the chunks of carrots and potatoes and cook gently for two more minutes.

4.  Cover with water.  Crumble in the stock cube and bring to the boil.

5.  Add the tin of corned beef and break it up into chunks with the wooden spoon.  Add a bit more water so the meat and vegetables are completely covered, then allow to simmer for 15 – 20 minutes.   It is ready when the potatoes are cooked.

6.  Before serving, stir and taste.  Add pepper and salt, if you think it needs it.   (The corned beef is already quite salty.)  The texture will be like a very thick soup – a cross between soup and shepherd’s pie.

7.   Spoon it onto plates. Jasmine has to have brown sauce with hers. Some people like chilli sauce, whilst others like to serve it with a fried egg. If you have any other ideas, do let us know.

Story

Guide Camp SOS

…and boys might prefer this corned beef hash recipe.

The only thing to watch out for is that they cook really quickly.   The real life Lucy made Coca Cola Cupcakes last week, and burnt the first tray, because they cooked so quickly. (But she says they still tasted nice, even the burnt bits.)

Equipment you will need

Large bowl

Measuring jug

A large pan (preferably one with a heavy base, to stop the ingredients burning)

Wooden spoon

Muffin or cup cake tray

Muffin or cup cake paper cases

A sieve (to get the lumps out of the icing sugar)

Ingredients

For the sponge cakes
200 grams of plain flour
250 grams of caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon (the little spoon) of bicarbonate of soda (this will help the cakes rise – but only use 1/2 a teaspoon – any more and your cakes will taste very strange!)
1 large egg
125 ml of buttermilk (or warm up 125 ml of full fat milk in a pan with a squirt of lemon juice, but don’t let it boil. It just needs to be hand hot.)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
125 grams butter 2 tablespoons (the big spoon) of cocoa
175 ml of cola

Buttermilk is basically sour milk.   That’s why we can make it by mixing a bit of lemon juice with ordinary milk and warming it up.  When sour milk is mixed with bicarbonate of soda, millions of tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide are produced.   These bubbles expand even bigger when in the oven and make your cakes delicious and light.

For the icing

225 grams of icing sugar
30 grams of butter
3 tablespoons of cola
1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 packet of cola bottle sweets - either the jelly ones or the fizzy sugary ones, which ever you prefer!

What to do

(The trick is to mix the dry ingredients,  then the wet ingredients and then mix them all together at the last minute.  This will stop the cakes becoming heavy.)

1.  Put the paper cases into the tray.  Heat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade/Gas Mark 4.

2.  In a large bowl, mix the flour with the sugar, bicarbonate of soda and salt.

3.  In a pan, gently heat the butter, cocoa and cola until the butter is just melted.

4.  In a measuring jug beat the egg, with the buttermilk and vanilla.

5.  Pour the butter mixture into the flour and then add the egg mixture.   Mix this with a wooden spoon until the flour is all mixed in.

6.  Spoon the mixture into the papers cases, filling them slightly less than half full.   You will need to make two trays of cakes. If you have two cake trays, you can cook them all at once, otherwise just cook them separately.

7. Check the cakes after about 10 minutes. They are ready when they are risen, and are firm and slightly bouncy when you just them in the middle.    If they are not quite cooked, give them five more minutes then check them again.  When they are ready, put them out to cool, on a cooling tray if possible.

8.  Whilst the cakes are in the oven, start the icing.  Rinse out the pan and large bowl that you used before. In the pan, put the butter, cola, cocoa powder and vanilla extract for the icing.   Stir it over a low heat until the butter is just melted.

9.     Get a sieve and put it over the large bowl.   Add the icing sugar to the sieve and by tapping the sieve, the icing sugar will fall through the tiny holes into the bowl.  Keep tapping the sieve until only lumps are left then press these lumps through with your fingers.      (Note from Jazzy’s mum – sieving the icing sugar is not the most exciting job, but you HAVE to do it for this recipe. Otherwise you will end up with lumpy icing which will not look or taste nice.)

8.  Using a large spoon, add the sugar to the mixture in the pan and stir well.   You will end up with a thick brown icing, that looks a bit like brown margarine.     But it should taste much much nicer!

9. Using a spoon, dollop icing on top of each of the cakes and smooth it over with the back of the spoon.   It is best to do this when the cakes are still warm from the oven and the warmth will make the icing melt a little and go smooth.

10. Put a cola bottle sweet on top of each cake.    Delicious!

…if you like Cakes try these recipes:

Cupcakes

‘After Eight Mint’ Brownies

Story

Guide Camp SOS

If your carrot looks clean,  and the skin is fairly smooth,  then it would be a shame to peel it .  Just chop off the ends of the carrot (the bit with the stalk and the pointy bit at the bottom) and then scrub it with a hard brush. 

If your carrot is dirty and has black and brown lumps on the skin,   you will need to peel it.  Give the carrots a good wash to get off most of the dirt.  Chop off the ends and then peel off the outer layer of the carrot with a peeler

Your clean carrot is now ready for chopping or grating.

Recipes

Carrot and Coriander Soup

Homemade Coleslaw – use grated carrots to make this delicious side dish!

‘I still can’t believe it!  They were buying cakes from us for 50 pence and then selling them to people in the park for a pound!   50 pence per cake profit,  just for doing nothing!’

‘They did have to dress up as Easter Bunnies,’  Lucy pointed out reasonably.   ‘And they nearly got arrested by the police. Oh by the way, my mum saw PC Atherton yesterday.  He said the cakes were delicious!’

Jasmine didn’t answer.  She was still seething at the boys making a profit out of her hard work.  And deep down,  she was wishing she had thought of the Easter Bunny idea.   If anyone was going to look good in an Easter Bunny costume,  it was her!  

At that moment,  Aleesha from school knocked at the door.   She was soaking wet from the rain.

‘I am in so much trouble at school,’  she said,  pulling off her wet coat and flopping dramatically onto the settee.   ‘You won’t believe the homework Mr Banks has given us.  I’ve got to think of an idea for an internet business – by tomorrow!   You two have gotta help me.’

‘How long have you had to do it,’   asked Jasmine.

‘Four weeks,’  admitted Aleesha sulkily.  ’But the thing is,  everytime I think of it,  my head hurts and my brain goes blank.   So it is so not my fault!’

They sat in silence for about thirty seconds,  before deciding  they were too hungry to think.    Aleesha showed them how to make  Carrot and Coriander soup.    It was gorgeous and  Lucy was very impressed.

‘I didn’t know you could cook,’  she said.

‘Oh,  yeah,’  replied Aleesha casually.  ’This is my mum’s recipe.     We make it all the time at home.    Oh I wish I didn’t have that homework to do.’   

The soup was so good,   the three girls used their bread to mop up the last bits of soup from their plates.    It had stopped raining outside and the sun was beginning to shine through.

‘We could do with some cake now,’  sighed Lucy.   Aleesha nodded her head in agreement.  ’I could always eat cake.’

All at once,  Jasmine jumped.   ‘That’s it – that’s your business idea.    An internet cupcake delivery service!   Everyone loves cupcakes.   People order them by email – it could be for themselves,  or as presents.  And we bake and deliver them!’

Aleesha was doubtful.    ’Who would bother ordering a cupcake on the internet, when you could just go down to the shops and buy some.’

‘No,  no, no!’   Jasmine explained excitedly.   ‘Each cupcake is delivered by us in a fancy box.  We could decorate the cakes as well – so if your friend is ill,  you could send them a cupcake saying ‘Get well soon.’    Or you could send one to someone you liked,  with a love heart on.’  

And so that afternoon was filled with Aleesha writing out a business plan for ‘Cupcakes-R-Us’, their new internet cupcake delivery service.  Jasmine designed publicity for the school’s website, as well as sending individual emails out to everyone they knew.  Meanwhile Lucy checked her cookery books for the best ever cupcake recipe.

‘How much are we going to charge?’ asked Aleesha, chewing the end of her pen.

‘£2 each,’ said Jasmine firmly, remembering how much the boys had charged for the Chocolate Easter cakes.
‘With free delivery.’

Aleesha looked at Jasmine, as though she had gone completely mad.  ’Who is going to pay that much for a cupcake?’

The answer to this question was ‘quite a lot of people actually’ – as Jasmine pointed out to Aleesha later that day, when the orders started pouring in.    The first email was for a ‘Get Well Soon’ cupcake from Andrew to his grandma.  Then there were a couple of ‘Thank you’ cakes for a teacher who was leaving the school that term.

But things got really interesting when the orders for ‘I Love You’ cupcakes started to arrive.

‘Oh my goodness – I can’t believe it!’ squealed Aleesha.  ’Jenny Harper is sending James Pierce an ‘I love you’ cake! But HE is sending one to Sarah Ward, in Year 8. This is just the best internet business EVER!’

‘Just hurry up and make the boxes and cards,’ said Lucy.    ’Jasmine – have you finished decorating those cakes yet?’

Jasmine’s part of the kitchen was looking decidedly untidy, with icing sugar every where, including all over Jasmine.

‘Nearly finished, but cupcake decorating is harder that you think.    I still can’t get the writing on the cakes quite right, so I’m using sweets and stencils instead.  This is my best one.’

Jasmine held up a cupcake, covered in white icing and decorated with a bright red heart made out of chopped up bits of glace cherries.

‘That looks amazing,’ exclaimed Aleesha, genuinely impressed. ‘Right, we should do that for all the ‘I Love You’ cupcakes. I’ll write the name of the person sending it on the card.’

The last part of the day was spent with the girls riding round on their bikes, collecting money and delivering cupcakes. Each of them had a list of addresses, with a note of the type of cake to be delivered.  It was hard work but good fun. People really loved receiving the cakes.

Jasmine’s last delivery of the day was to Sam Foxton’s house.  Heather in their class had sent him an ‘I Love You’ cake. Jasmine leant her bike on the gate and walked up the driveway to the house.  She had never been to Sam Foxton’s house before, and so she had sneeky peak through the windows, whilst she was waiting for someone to answer the door.

Sam opened the door and immediately Jasmine presented him with the cupcake.

‘Hiya Sam,’ she said breezily. ‘I’m delivering you an ‘I Love You’ cupcake.’

Sam looked amazed and delighted at the same time.  ’Wow! Er, well thanks very much. Er, I don’t know what to say!’

‘You don’t have to say anything,’ Jasmine shrugged her shoulders.  She was about to go when suddenly, a thought occurred to her.  ’Its not from me you know! Its from Heather Middleton.’

For a brief moment, Sam seemed lost for words.  But then he laughed and said hurriedly ‘Oh yeah, I knew that! Ha, ha.’

Jasmine peered at him through narrowed eyes – was Sam Foxton blushing?!   Surely he didn’t think she would ever send him an ‘I Love you’ cake!      ’Right I had better go then,’ she said gruffly, grabbing her bike. ‘Enjoy your cake.’

As she rode away, she began to think of the Sam situation.  As the most popular boy in the school, he was likely to be getting a lot of cupcake deliveries. ‘It was probably be better if I didn’t deliver them,’ she resolved to herself. ‘I wouldn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea.  Especially not Sam Foxton!’

< Chapter 10 – Easter Bunnies Steal the Cakes!
Chapter 12 – Guide Camp SOS >

Recipes

Carrot and Coriander Soup

Cupcakes

Cooking skill

Cupcake decorating

Subscribe and be sure not miss the next exciting instalment!:

She will have learnt it  in ounces  (just ask her – 4 ounces of sugar,  margarine,  and flour,  with two eggs).   Here I have set the recipe out in grams and added a little vanilla extract to give it extra flavour.   But apart from that,  the recipe is exactly the same.

See if you can learn it off by heart too.   Then you will always be able to bake a tray of cupcakes,  no matter where you are!

This recipe will make 12 cupcakes or  8 muffin sized cupcakes.

Equipment you will need

A large mixing bowl

A wooden spoon

A cupcake or muffin tray ( muffin trays are deeper and make bigger cakes.)

Cupcake or muffin paper cases

A cooling rack (this allows the air to circulate underneath your cakes so that they cool a bit quicker.   If you don’t have one,  just use a plate).

Ingredients

125 grams of margarine (butter is okay too, but make sure it is very soft).

125 grams of sugar (caster sugar is best,  because it is a bit finer that granulated sugar).

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon (the small one) of vanilla extract (don’t worry if you don’t have this).

125 grams of self raising flour (this is flour that has added ingredients that will make your cakes light and fluffy).

A little milk

How to make your Cupcakes

1.  Heat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade/ gas mark 6.

2. Cream together the margarine and sugar.

3. Crack the eggs into the bowl and beat them (stir them hard as though you were beating a drum) until they are smooth.

4.  Add the vanilla extract and  then the flour,  stirring the mixture gently now,  until the flour has disappeared.   This is your cake mixture.  It should be a thick creamy mixture that falls off your spoon quite easily.  If it is too thick,  and sticks to the spoon,  stir a tablespoon of milk.  Try the spoon test again.  If it is still too thick,  add another tablespoon of milk until the mixture is just right.

5.  Put the cases into the tray.   Divide the mixture between the cases – they will be filled about halfway up – this doesn’t matter.  The mixture will rise up when it is cooking in the oven.

6.  Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes – then check your cupcakes.  You will know they are ready when they are golden brown on top and a bit springy when you touch the top of the cake.  (Get a grown up to help you with this bit.)   If they are not ready,  let them bake for another 5 minutes.

(Don’t forget – good cooks use all their senses.  You should be able to smell when these cakes are ready!)

7.  Let the cakes cool in the tray for 10 minutes until they are cool enough to move onto a cooling rack,  if you have one.  Just use a plate if not.  When they’re cool, test one as a treat.

8.  Now it’s time to do some cupcake decorating!

Story

Cupcakes-R-Us!

Cooking Skill

Cupcake decorating

…and some other Cake Recipes

Very Easy Chocolate Fudge Cakes

‘After Eight Mint’ Brownies

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of oil - sunflower oil is best, because it has no flavour, but olive oil will be OK too
1 medium sized onion
1 teaspoon (the small one) of ground coriander
1 large potato, peeled
4 large carrots
1.2 litres of stock - use 1 and a half chicken or vegetable stock cubes.   Beef stock cubes are a bit too strong for this recipe.
A bunch of fresh coriander leaves (don’t worry if you don’t have these, though the fresh coriander gives the soup a more delicate, sophisticated taste.)

Equipment

A large pan
A chopping board
A sharp knife

A blunt knife is more likely to slip and cut you than a sharp one.

A peeler
A wooden spoon
A measuring jug
A blender, or a sieve

How to make your Carrot and Coriander Soup

1. As always, prepare the vegetables first.   Chop the onions.  As with many soups, it doesn’t matter if the chopped onions are different sizes as you are going to blend them later. 

2. Prepare the carrots.  Chop them into chunks, no bigger that a centimetre thick.

3. Prepare the potato, and chop into medium sized chunks, a bit bigger than the carrots.

3. Heat the oil in the big pan over a medium heat.  Add the onions, and gently fry until they begin to soften.  (It usually takes 3 or 4 minutes). It is very important that you don’t let them burn.  Burnt bits would add a bitter flavour to your soup that you don’t want!

4. Once the onions are beginning to soften, sprinkle the ground coriander over the top and stir in.  Let it cook for another minute.  Cooking the spice in this way gives it a better flavour.

5. Add the stock, and add the carrots and potatoes.  Give the soup a stir, so the onions are not caught on the bottom of the pan.

6. Turn the heat up to bring the soup to the boil.  Once the soup is properly bubbling, turn the heat down again so it is just simmering (only tiny bubbles around the pan).

7. Allow the mixture to simmer for about 20 minutes.  The soup is ready when the potatoes and carrots are cooked through.  Poke one of the larger pieces of carrot and a piece of potato with a knife.  If the knife sticks in easily, the soup is ready.

8. If you have fresh coriander, add it too the soup now.  It doesn’t have to be chopped.

9. Blend the soup – beware that it is very hot and you may need an adult to help.  With a stick blender or liquidiser, whizz the soup until is fairly smooth.  Alternatively, use a sieve.  Wait for the mixture to cool and use a wooden spoon to push through the lumpy bits.  It will take a while, but you will have the smoothest soup of all!

10. Finally, heat the soup up again so it is nice and hot.  Taste it.  Do you need to add some pepper?  This is your soup, so you decide!

Other Soup Ideas

Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup

Leek and Potato Soup

And Soup-er Stories!

Cupcakes-R-Us

Soup in the Snow ]]> http://www.cookingforgirls.co.uk/recipes/carrot-and-coriander-soup/feed 2 http://www.cookingforgirls.co.uk/cooking-skills/cupcake-decorating http://www.cookingforgirls.co.uk/cooking-skills/cupcake-decorating#comments Wed, 06 May 2009 17:20:38 +0000 JazzysMum http://www.cookingforgirls.co.uk/?p=1083 Here are some TOP TIPS to help with your cupcake decorating!

First the icing.  You can buy royal icing ready made in a tub, but it can be expensive, here are three ways to make your own:

  

Icing sugar with lemon or orange juice

You could just use icing sugar with a few drops of lemon or orange juice.   Put about 150 grams of icing sugar into a bowl,  and add just a few drops of juice.    Stir the mixture hard with a wooden spoon.   The mixture needs to be smooth,  but still quite thick – a bit like thick yoghurt.

- or -

Instant royal icing in a packet

Use half a packet for your twelve cakes.  Follow the instructions on the side of the pack to make your icing.   Royal icing is great for decorating cakes as it is nice and thick and sets quite hard.    It looks really good on your cake.

- or -

Butter icing 

(This is similar to the topping used on the ‘Chocolate Easter Cakes‘.)

150 grams of soft butter

250 grams of seived icing sugar (it is seived to get out the lumps)

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (if you have it)

a little milk

1.  Cream the butter and sugar together.  Add the vanilla extract,  if you are using it.

2.  The mixture needs to be like thick cream or yoghurt.  If it is too thick,  add a little milk.   If it is too thin,  as some more seived sugar.

You can add a little food colouring to your icing,  if you want to experiment.   But white always looks good.

Decorating ideas

This is the bit where you can go wild with your cupcakes!

White icing with a cherry on top is an absolute classic!

Dolly Mixtures look fantastic,  and you can really create some wonderful designs with the different shapes.   Dolly mixtures also look great,  when the icing is coloured pale pink or blue.

If you want to make ‘I Love You’ cupcakes, like Jazzy and Lucy in Cupcakes-R-Us,  slice the pointy top off your cake before you ice it.  This gives you a nice flat surface to work on.   Then spread a thick layer of icing onto the cake.    Make a heart shape using small chopped up pieces of bright red glace cherries.

Writing on your cupcake can be tricky because they are so small.  The best way is to let the icing set hard on your cake,  then use an icing writing kit from the supermarket (they are in the baking ingredients section and cost about £2.)

Good luck and let us know how you do!

Recipe

Cupcakes

Story

Cupcakes-R-Us!

First (after you have got your mum or dad’s permission) choose a movie to show.   You could rent or buy one of the latest dvd’s,  but it may be better to play an old favourite that everyone loves – Mamma Mia or Grease are great to sing along to!    

Decide how many people to invite – everyone has got to fit on the sofa or on cushions on the floor,  so don’t invite too many people.   Three or four people would be perfect.

Then either send out invitations,  like Jazzy and Lucy did – or just tell people over the phone.   Tell them the date and the time and when the movie night will finish.

You could get them to come in fancy dress!   What about pirate costumes if you are going to watch Pirates of the Caribbean

Now the important bit!  Think about food.  Are you going to invite your guests to dinner?    If so,  homemade pizza and homemade coleslaw would be perfect. Perhaps you could invite a special friend over in the afternoon to help you get prepared.    (Top tip – keep it as easy and as simple for yourself as possible.  Don’t get too tired to enjoy your own party.)

Why not keep it really simple and just serve crisps and dips?  Or even better,  homemade popcorn!    Every body loves it and it is cheap and easy to do.     People will be thirsty too,  and so will need drinks.  It’s nice to be able to offer a choice – “would you like orange juice or lemonade?  or both mixed together?” – that way you can offer three different drinks for the price of two! 

On the day of the party,  arrange the room so it is nice and cosy and everyone can squash up together to watch the movie.    Cushions and quilts are great for creating an ultra cosy look.    Check the lighting.   It doesn’t want to be too bright,  because it will make it difficult to watch the movie.   But don’t make it too dark,  or people will be tripping up and knocking plates and drinks over!  

Get your food ready - coleslaw is great for parties because you can make it in the afternoon and store it in the fridge. Pizzas are a bit more tricky to prepare in advance, but you can make your dough mix and set it to rise before your guests arrive and then they can help to put on their own toppings!

Make sure you have got enough plates and cups for everyone.   (Another good reason not to invite too many people.)

Now – all you have to do is get yourself ready and you are ready for your Movie Night!    

Have a great time and let us know how you did!

Those Recipes Again:

Homemade Pizza

Homemade Coleslaw

Homemade Popcorn

The Story

Surprise Party

(P.S. – note from Jazzy’s mum.  Don’t forget to tidy up afterwards.  Get your friends to help you before they go and it will be done in no time!)