STORY TIME | SCOLIOSIS

I've seen a lot of vlogs entitled "story time" lately, as a way for content creators to share a more personal story and raise awareness for a particular issue/condition that they have experienced. So, I wanted to do that same for something that I have had first-hand experience with.

What is scoliosis?

Scoliosis, the abnormal twisting and curvature of the spine, is a progressive medical condition with no cure. It affects approximately 1 in 35 people and often presents itself, or worsens, during the adolescence growth spurt and is more common in females than it is in males. It's not uncommon for people with this condition to experience no/very little pain and require no treatment at all. However, if left unchecked scoliosis can result in lifelong surgeries, disability, chronic pain and in some rare cases it can be life threatening. 

There is very little awareness for scoliosis considering the amount of people that are affected by it, because of that, I wanted to share "my story" to help shed some light on it. 

RECIPE | APRICOT CRUMBLE SQUARES

One of the old ladies my mum works for is always gifting her the most random things! She's the sweetest, most thoughtful lady. This week was a punnet of fresh apricots so as it's not usually a fruit we'd buy, we thought we might as well combine it with this weekends bake. A little flick through the cookbooks and we found a recipe for apricot crumble squares!

RECIPE | BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

Confession! I've never successfully made muffins, that both looked and tasted like actual muffins.

So, at the weekend I gave it another go. This time using one of Paul Hollywoods recipes from the BBC Food website.

Serves: 8 muffins

Ingredients:
110g plain flour
110g butter
65g caster sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2tsp baking powder
125g blueberries
pinch of nutmeg

double cream to serve

Method:

• Cream the butter and sugar together 
• Slowly add the eggs and mix for 3 minutes 
• Add the flour, baking powder and nutmeg - stir to combine
• Refrigerate for at least an hour, preferably overnight (I probably left the mixture in the fridge for 1 1/2 hours in total)
• Place a spoonful of the muffin mixture into each case, filling each to just over half way
• Stud each muffin with approx 8 blueberries
• Bake in an oven set at 200ºc for 20 mins or until golden on top

To my surprise they actually turned out okay. I wouldn't say they were exactly like muffins but more like blueberry cupcakes. Nevertheless the recipe works and they taste really good!

When it came to eating them, I reheated mine for 30 seconds in the microwave and then dolloped a healthy serving of cream on top! Delish! 

Do you have any tips for making muffins that look and taste like muffins, let me know in the comments below.

RECIPE | MARY BERRY CHERRY CAKE

My Nan celebrated her birthday last week and it's tradition in her flats for residents to bring cakes to "coffee morning" on the Monday. Mum and I baked a lemon drizzle cake, some cupcakes and a cherry cake for her to take down with her.

This is one of my favourite cakes to make, it's simple to make and super yummy! I always turn to Mary Berry or GoodFood for recipes for anything I make, this recipe is one of Mary Berry's and just happened to feature in the Great British Bake Off back in 2014!

I'm really happy with how it turned out!