I started the week off with a mammoth session in the kitchen and, with the hubby ensconced at a football game I even had to do my own washing up – sad times! First on the agenda was some Sticky Toffee Cupcakes from Boutique Baking, a recipe I had had my eye on for a while. Luckily before I started a noticed that I needed to halve the recipe (something I had failed to spot earlier), I mean I like cake but I don’t think the two of us could have got through 24 cupcakes without being seriously sick. So I diligently made the icing and left it to firm up, did the washing up and then cracked on with the cakes themselves. The mixture was really easy to whip up and I could smell that delicious scent of warm toffee before I knew it and dousing them in syrup when they came out of the oven ensured that the cakes were suitably sticky. Once cool I removed small pieces from the cakes and filled with dulce de leche before piping on the icing and sprinkling with fudge pieces (I opted not to make the very fancy toppers). Having not made any cupcakes for quite some time I think perhaps my piping skills need a little more work, but despite that these were absolutely heavenly – they tasted exactly like sticky toffee puddings and with the caramel oozing out of the centre they were a really luxurious treat! 
In between the various stages of cupcake making/decorating I was also putting together the evening meal of Hummus Kawarma (Lamb) with Lemon Sauce from Jerusalem. This not only added to the washing up but also the very slight possibility that I might pipe hummus onto my cupcakes instead of icing – thankfully I did manage to avoid this faux pas! I had already soaked the chickpeas overnight with some bicarbonate of soda and just needed to cook them for thirty minutes or so before blitzing with all the other ingredients. What I was left with was some of the nicest hummus I have made, and a jolly great big bowl of it at that! Once the hummus was made I chopped the lamb and left it to marinate until dinner time, when I quickly fried it and topped a delicious bed of hummus with the spiced lamb and drizzled with the herby lemon sauce. Served with some warm pitta bread this was a deliciously hands-on meal, and the generous amount of hummus that the recipe made meant we could enjoy more of it for lunch the next day (though sadly as I was so full of hummus this was the day that hubby had to go without any dinner as I didn’t feel like cooking the pork chops I had planned on…not that he ever mentions it at all!).With some leftover smoked salmon in the fridge I made Penne con Zucchine e Salmone from Gino’s Pasta, although I did alter the recipe slightly as I had used all my lemons for the hummus and part way through cooking I decided a splash of cream would be a nice addition…so for the most part it is true to the original. I just find dishes a little dry when there is absolutely no sauce with which to coat the pasta, and I’ve cooked enough pasta to know what I’m doing by now (I hope). Well there were certainly no complaints in our house, though to be honest he was just grateful to be given some food as the events of Hummus-gate had left him feeling very nervous.
My final recipe of the week was a Gratin of Sliced Tomatoes from Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book, a very simple dish of sliced tomatoes baked with basil and sherry, to which some cream and a topping of cheese is added towards the end of cooking, and for someone who likes tomatoes as much as I do it was a must. This was a lovely simple dish to end the week with, which is always appreciated on a Friday night and served with just some crusty bread was not too heavy either – just perfect when you have cupcakes for supper!
Recipe Count: 116
New Target: 156
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