Showing posts with label Tag. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tag. Show all posts

Friday, 29 June 2012

ABC Award

Thank you to Gem from Cupcake Crazy Gem who recently presented me with this ABC (Awesome Blog Content) award. For fun, you’ve got to give some random facts about yourself, one for every letter of the alphabet! So here's my 26 alphabet related facts about me! 

A – Apple & Spice. My blog. I started it during my uni days and never expected it to grow and still be going strong 5 years later. It’s great at pushing me to be creative and try new recipes and showing me the vast culinary world out there.

B – Backwards. My friends and family often describe myself as backwards as I don’t fit your typical stereotype. I’m not that interested in fashion and would sooner have a new baking tin than a new pair of shoes. When doing those fun personality tests, I’m often in the 2% who say something different to the norm or I’ll like foods no one else does. I like being a bit quirky though and it means I have ideas other people might not, which can be useful.

C – Coeliac. Since being diagnosed nearly two years ago, my diet and lifestyle has changed quite dramatically. However, I feel it’s an experience that’s made me stronger and only increased my interest in discovering new foods.

D – Desserts. Some of my favourite things to bake. I eat dessert every day, it doesn’t have to be extravagant – some stewed fruit and yoghurt can be just as enjoyable as a large slice of carrot cake.

E – Eating. I love trying new foods and flavours. Different cuisines, foods and cultures interest me so much. Every time I see something new I think ‘ohhh wonder what that tastes like.’ This very snazzy looking watermelon radish was a recent discovery while in America.

F – Fruit. I love all fruit (except kiwi which I’m allergic to) and often eat 5 portions a day, before even adding veg into the equation. I love summer and autumn when all the berries, plums, apples and pears come into season. There’s nothing like freshly picked fruit.

G – Grow Your Own. There is a special kind of enjoyment about eating something you have grown yourself. I currently have 4 different varieties of potato, 3 varieties of tomato, a strawberry plant and a dwarf pear tree all growing in pots on the patio. You don’t need grass to home grow.

H – Health. Our health is one of the most important things. As much as I love desserts and sweet things, I also make sure to include lots of wholegrains, fruits and veg to my diet. My uni course, being coeliac and vegetarian has only increased my awareness of how important our health is.

I – Ice Cream. One of the best I ever had was a hazelnut gelato in Italy when I was 16. Divine

J – Job. I’m currently job hunting. If anyone knows of a job where the skills of a coeliac, vegetarian, baking enthusiast, blog writer and all round foodie with a food and nutrition degree is required – let me know!

K – Kitkat. My childhood nickname. I’m not sure how it started as I didn’t eat a lot of kitkat biscuits. I think it’s just because it sounded good when spoken with my name ‘Kitkat Katie’

L – Lightning. There is something so awe-inspiring about watching a thunderstorm, patricianly at night. Powerful, slightly frightening and strangely beautiful at the same time.

M – Mum & Dad. They’ve given me such love and support and always been there to share my highs and lows. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without them.

N – Newquay. Lots of happy memories of family holidays spent here. Days on the beach, learning to body board in the sea and walks along the coast.

O – Onwards & Upwards! My motto for life. If things don’t turn out as you wanted, don’t dwell on the past, but look to the future. Equally if things are going well, don’t stop, keep going… Onwards…!

P – Peas! I love them, they are so versatile. Try eating them straight from the freezer on a hot day, they are like little balls of sorbet – delicious.

Q – Quiet. Everyone needs a bit of quiet time now and then.

RReading. I always have a book on the go and read a few pages every night. I’ve just started Fall of Giants by Ken Follett (one of my favourite authors) and at 850 pages it’s going to take a while.

S – Siblings. I have an older sister Caroline (Caz) and a younger brother Jonathan (JJ). We are all 4 years and 4 months apart, with me being the middle child. We are really close to each other, but I do remember suffering a bit from middle child syndrome when I was younger. Being jealous, as my brother got away with everything being the baby of the family, while my sister got to do everything first and I was stuck in the middle. It’s better now we’re older and have each become our own unique people.

T – Technology. I think we have too much of it. I like phones, computers and the internet but feel we are all connected to it too much now. Sometimes it’s good to keep our own thoughts to ourselves. I don’t have an i-phone, i-pod, Twitter or Facebook account for this reason.

UUSA. I’ve been twice, once to Chicago and once to Los Angeles. I loved it and can even picture myself living there for a year or two. I loved how their broad range of different foods and cuisines were so accessible. It made being a coeliac vegetarian quite easy. Plus they have specialist shops you just wouldn’t get here in the UK, like whole stores dedicated to popcorn – how cool!

V – Vegetarian. I’ve been vegetarian since I was 9, over 16 years! I’m the only one in my family who is, which also adds to me being ‘backwards’ in their eyes.

W – Walking. This is my favourite form of exercise. I love wandering off and exploring new areas, particularly in the countryside where each new hill or corner reveals something new. I find it so peaceful and it gives me time to think.

X – XXX. Indicating kisses at the end of a letter, always a nice thing to receive.

Y – Yogurt. I eat it nearly every day and prefer it to milk on my cereal. It must be natural and unsweetened, although I often add my own berries, cinnamon or even a little nutella to it.

Z – ZZzzzzz enough facts about me!


I now pass this award onto 5 of my favourite bloggers. You must link back to the person who gave you the award before passing it on:

Wednesday, 26 May 2010

7 Things for 2 Awards

A while back the lovely Johanna of Green Gourmet Giraffe presented me with two blog awards.
The Kreativ blogger award and the Beautiful Blogger award. Thanks Johanna! I have had the pleasure of receiving the Kreativ blogger award in the past, so I’m going to pass on the Beautiful Blogger award.
This requires me to list 7 random facts about myself before passing the award onto 7 other boggers.

Without further ado, here are the 7 facts about me (apologies in advance for my rantings, if anyone is offended by my views it was unintentional)

1) Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day. Porridge, muesli, yoghurt, fruit, bagels, waffles, pancakes, muffins, toast, specialty breads and jams, granola, scrambled eggs, scones, toasted sandwiches etc etc. I love them all. It’s amazing what a wide variety of different food, tastes and texture you can have for one meal. They can be hot or cold, healthy or ridiculously indulgent. Even simple things like pouring hot milk on your cereal transforms it into a completely different breakfast experience. I normally eat quite a healthy breakfast, but the odd indulgent treat at weekends is great. I can’t understand people who miss breakfast or who eat exactly the same thing every day – yes have porridge every morning if you want but as least alter the toppings, add some fruit and cinnamon to it for a change – please!

2) Many people know that apples are one of my favourite fruits but recently I have switched my daily fruit of choice to be pears – they’ve got to be quite crisp though and eaten raw, whereas apples are good in any form.

3) I love going for long walks in the countryside but hate cycling. Walking is so relaxing and peaceful. You get to see and appreciate all the wonders of nature and can go by yourself or with a companion. Whereas cycling, to me, feel unnatural, you can’t really talk to other people while you are doing it and in the summer you get splattered with lots of little midges.

4) I’d rather be a little too hot than too cold in temperature.

5) My clothing seems to be going through a floral stage. The last three items of clothing I bought have all been covered with big prints of flowers. Not sure how this started as always used to avoid clothes like this.

6) I quite enjoy housework – ironing, hovering, washing up etc but find dusting a chore – not sure why.

7) I don’t like foods that taste too much of burnt caramel, I find it too intense and sweet. A little caramel is good, as a sauce or drizzle, but when its one of the main flavours I find it too overpowering. Hence I don’t like crème brulee or tarte tatin.

Hopefully you found those interesting and don’t think me completely crackers now. The 7 bloggers I wish to pass the award onto are:
Monica of Lick The Bowl Good – I ‘met’ Monica through The Cake Slice group and she is truly a master of creating delicious treats and cakes and has introduced me to some indulgent American bakes and pies

Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake – she has a fantastic variety of delicious fresh recipes but its her fabulous looking cookies and bundt cakes that always have me racing to the oven

Patricia of Technicolor Kitchen – a fellow cake, cookie and dessert lover. She is truly talented and are photos are stunning

Samantha of The Caked Crusader – a woman after my own heart, a true cake lover. She bakes wonderfully deep and satisfying cakes and organises the London Cupcake Challenges – which I fully intend going to myself one day soon!

Marie of The English Kitchen – has a wide range of tasty, fresh, healthy and indulgent recipes. Great mix of sweet and savoury dishes, ideal when I’m stuck for inspiration

Hilary of Let Her Bake Cake – a fellow baking enthusiast. Some divine recipes and beautiful photography

Chele of Chocolate Teapot – she is always ready with a kind comment and has a whole host of delicious recipes using fresh seasonal ingredients

Friday, 15 January 2010

10 Things Award

A few days ago I was delighted to receive award from Issy of Cupcakes and Cornwall. The idea behind the award is to list 10 things that make you happy and then pass the award on to 10 bloggers whose blogs brighten your day.

So 10 things that make me smile are:
1. The aroma of a cake baking in the oven
2. Going for walks and being rewarded with finding secret hidden views
3. Sinking into a hot bath on a cold day
4. The taste of freshly baked bread
5. Reading a good book snuggled up in bed
6. A hug
7. Sharing life’s ups and downs with a friend over dinner
8. Finding a new variety of apple to taste
9. Spending a day with the family
10. A good nights sleep (I’m a bit of an insomniac)

The 10 bloggers who I am passing the award on to for brightening my day are:
1. The Caked Crusader
2. Lick The Bowl Good
3. Maltese Bakes and More
4. Let Her Bake Cake
5. Feeding My Enthusiasms
6. Green Gourmet Giraffe
7. Antics of A Cycling Cook
8. Pig Pig’s Corner
9. Technicolour Kitchen
10. Katie Cakes

If you want to take part in this blogging award you can! Just follow these instructions:
1. Copy the award image into a post
2. Then list 10 things that make you happy
3. Tag 10 bloggers who brighten your day
4. Put in a link to their blogs
5. Notify the award receivers
6. Award recipients must link back to sender's blog

So, what makes you smile?

Thursday, 23 July 2009

The Kreativ Blogger Award

A few days ago I was given The Kreativ Blogger award by two lovely ladies, Nora from Nora The Kitchen ‘Splorer and TracieMoo from Bitter Sweet Flavours. Thanks girls, it brought a huge smile to my face.

The Kreativ Blogger Award comes with some rules:
1 Thank the person(s) who has given you the award (Thank you Nora & TracieMoo!)
2 Copy the logo and place it on your blog
3 Link to the person who has nominated you for the award
4 Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting
5 Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers
6 Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate
7 Leave a comment on each of the blogs to let them know they've been nominated


Seven Facts about me:
1) I adore cake in any form, from light and fluffy to dense, spiced and fruity – I’d have cake over a bar of chocolate any day.

2) I don’t enjoy shopping for clothes but will never pass up the chance to explore a food market or bakeware shop.

3) Like Nora, whenever I visit a restaurant the first section I look at is the desserts.

4) The Sound of Music is probably my favourite film – whenever I was ill off school I always used to watch it, lying on the sofa snuggled under my duvet. Even though they keep bursting into song throughout the film, I find this is part of its charm and yet modern films do this it irritates me – strange.

5) I hate throwing food away and often have lunches consisting of 2 days of previous meal leftovers, such as cold potatoes, salads, breads, quiches, even boiled carrots – they make great houmous and veg sarnies! and if breads getting a little dry then I toast it or dip it into soup.

6) I have just found out that I have obtained a 2:1 degree in Food & Nutrition from uni!! Now busy job hunting with little success (I want to do more the practical food side than the nutrition side – bakery, recipe testing, magazines etc so if anyone’s got any jobs going…)

7) I never put butter on my bread if adding another topping. I find jam, houmous or pickle etc add enough of their own moisture.



The next seven 'Kreativ Blogger' holders I would like to pass the award onto are:
The Caked Crusader – a fellow sponge pudding enthusiast and her custard tart recipe is divine!

Nic of Cherrapeno – a lovely blogger who shares my love of exploring foodie markets and shows.

Sam of Antics of A Cycling Cook – some wonderful recipes, making the most of fresh seasonal produce.

Rosie of Baking Cakes Galore – a fellow baking enthusiast with some great recipes for afternoon tea.

Snooky Doodle Cakes – a cake decorating master!

Johanna of Green Gourmet Giraffe – a fellow vegetarian and a great source of inspiration when I’m stuck for ideas of what to make for dinner.

Karina of Karina’s Kitchen – a gluten free goddess who proves avoiding gluten doesn’t mean missing out on tasty meals and treats.

All wonderful bloggers with such fun and creative flair and a great writing style.

Saturday, 12 April 2008

An Award and A Six Word Memoir

Firstly I would like to thank Gigi for awarding me a ‘E for Excellence’ award. Thanks Gigi, I’m really touched.

I wish to pass the award on to Naomi from Straight Into Bed Cakefree And Dried. She has an amazing gluten free blog full of delicious and creative recipes. Her wide knowledge and use of alternative flours always amazes me.



I was recently tagged by Johanna from Green Gourmet Giraffe for a Six Word Memoir. This involves trying to sum up my personality and capturing the essence of ‘me’ in just 6 words. It’s a lot harder than it sounds. Below are my six chosen little words.

Bake-aholic
Passionate
Creative
Optimistic
Backwards
Thoughtful

I am now passing the challenge on to six other bloggers who have to write six words about themselves, pass the tag on to six others and link back here.

Sunday, 12 August 2007

Creative Tagging

Gigi from Gigi Cakes has tagged me for a Creative Tag. This involves writing 8 of your fellow bloggers names in a creative way. The first name has to be the name of the person who tagged you and then 7 others. The aim is to use a background picture of something that you find amazing in the world. Be as creative as you like.

Below is a little information about honey and honey bees from The Honey Association. Hopefully you will see why I find them so amazing.

Honeybees are the most important producers of honey. They gather nectar from flowers and plants and carry it to their hive where other worker bees then take over. They add enzymes, any water evaporates away and this, together with the action of the enzyme, turns the nectar into honey.

Honey has long been recognized as a natural medicine for thousands of years. It has antiseptic properties and can be used as a remedy for sore throats, burns and cuts.

Honey is one of the oldest foods in existence. It was found in the tomb of King Tut and amazingly was still edible. Honey is the only known food that never spoils. There is no need to refrigerate it, even once opened. It can be stored in a dry cupboard indefinitely, although, If moisture gets into the jar it can start to crystalise.
Honey has different flavours and colours, depending on the location of the hive and kinds of flowers the bees visit.
One honeybee visits between 50 - 100 flowers during one collection flight from the hive. Despite this, an average worker bee makes only about 1½ teaspoons of honey in its lifetime!

Honey is hygroscopic, meaning it attracts water, so it is good for baking cakes as it keeps them moister for longer (always a bonus).

The Creative Tags

Gigi from Gigi Cakes



Anne from Anne’s Food






Jenjen from Milk & Cookies


Johanna from The Passionate Cook


Myriam from Once Upon A Tart




Nicole from Baking Bites

Tuesday, 24 July 2007

All About MeMe

Well I’m now back from France and back to work. I had a wonderful time and ate some really delicious breads and cakes which I promise to write about soon.

However, while I was away I have been tagged by Gigi from gigi cakes for a MeMe. The rules are as follows:

"Each player starts with eight random facts or habits about himself or herself. A tagged player then writes a blog entry with the eight things, as well as these rules. Then the player tags eight others and lists their names on his or her blog. Remember to leave a comment for your newly tagged players, letting them know they have been tagged and to read your blog!"
So without further ado here are eight little facts you probably didn’t know about me.

1) When I was nine my elder sister persuaded me to watch Jarrasic park with her. It absolutely terrified me and I had nightmares for around 4 years afterwards. I still can’t watch TV adverts for programmes including dinasores, such as the Walking with Dinersas documentary that was on a couple years ago.
2) My nickname is Kitkat. It has nothing to do with the chocolate bar, and was given to me by me sister when I was little. She liked the sound of it – Kitkat Katie.
3) I used to collect (and still own) things with big yellow smiley faces on. People got to know I collected them and it was all I ever received for birthdays and Christmas’s for about 3 years. I now own over 50 different objects with smiley faces on them. Everything from pencil sharpeners, cushions, posters, purses, napkins and badges.
4) I am allergic to Kiwi. Not drastically but if I eat it my tongue becomes sore, tingly and covered in little red spots.
5) One of my favourite books is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I used to read it enthralled. I love the style in which it is written and used to read it imagining I was Jane, surviving my way through school, the excitement of escaping, getting a job in a new and exciting place and the adventures that followed.
6) My favourite film of all time is The Sound of Music. I must have watched it over 50 times and I know all the songs off by heart. It always reminds me of my childhood and being ill as it was all I ever requested to watch, lying on the sofa when unwell.
7) Four is my lucky number, closely followed by sixteen. Afterall, 4 x 4 = 16.
8) While other people get excited by clothes shopping or buying a new pair of shoes I could (and do) spend hours browsing round foods shops and obtaining new kitchen gadgets. I now own so much kitchen equipment that it doesn’t all fit in my kitchen cupboards. One half of my wardrobe is taken up by cake tins, muffin cases, a waffle iron and an assortment of pastry cutters and piping bags.

I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about me and don’t now think I’m slightly deranged.

The eight bloggers I tag are:
Anna from Baking for Britian
Bonnie from Daydream Delicious
Niki from Esurientes
Meeta from What’s for Lunch Honey?
Joe from Culinary in the Country
Bea from La Tartine Gourmande
Lex Culinaria and
The Canadian Baker

Sorry if you have already been tagged, I’m not sure who has and who hasn’t.