Back in the kitchen….. {and a chocolate ice-cream recipe}

I don’t think of myself as a good cook or a good baker. I don’t think this is a lack of skill, more a lack of confidence. For too long I had this idea that baking or making a gourmet meal for my family, required something, something more than I had.

I didn’t used to be like this. I used to enjoy baking. I enjoyed cooking. It was relaxing; following the recipe and getting an outcome. Seeing my family enjoy eating it. But somewhere along the line, I lost my desire to be in the kitchen.

Lately though, I have been inspired to give it a shot again.

We have made dumplings from scratch and tried new salad recipes.  I made a paella last week and tonight I made parmesan and mustard crumbed chicken. I have also made home made ice-cream, cupcakes, muffins and a banana bread.

Some of them Poss has loved, some not, but we have added some unexpected dishes to our favourites list. And nobody has complained once!

My inspiration has come from other mums. The lovely Ruth from Gourmet Girlfriend, Jody from Lemon Rhodes, Meredith from Merri Made, Amy from The Misdaventurous Baker, Kate from Our Little Sins and my wonderful friend Carolyn (who doesn’t have a blog, but really really should).

Their recipes are mixed in with their busy lives. They try new things; some work, some don’t. But they show me I don’t have to be ‘perfect’ for my little family to enjoy my cooking.

So thanks lovely ladies – I am enjoying being back in the kitchen!

Simple Chocolate Ice-cream

• 1 cup of cocoa powder
• 2/3 cup of castor sugar
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups milk (the original recipe calls for full fat, but substituted it for skim and it worked fine)
• 3 1/4 cups of cream
• 1 tbs of vanilla essence

• Place the cocoa and the sugar into a bowl and stir to combine.
• Add milk, whisk until sugars have dissolved
• Stir in the cream and vanilla
• If you are using an ice-cream maker, this is where you put it in to churn. I churned it for about 30 minutes, before transferring it to a 2L plastic container and popping it in the freezer.
• You can probably still make it without the ice-cream maker by putting in the freezer in a plastic bowl and stirring it every 30 mins or so until it’s well combined and thickens. You might not get the same creamy texture, but the flavour would still be awesome!

What’s your favourite recipe? Who is your favourite food blogger? Now I am back in the kitchen I am on the hunt for inspirations!!