The university checklist

Tags

a student flat, antiseptic cream, baking tray, Bank account details, bathroom, bedroom, Blue Tac, boots, bowls, bread, bubble bath, card, cereal, charger, checklist, cheque book, clean, clothes, cloths, coat hangers, Congratulations, creature comforts, cutlery set, documents, Driving license, duvet covers, eat out, en-suite, ethernet cable, exam, fresh, frying pan, glasses, halls, headphones, home, ink, insurance, jam, ketchup, kitchen, kitchen roll, laptop, letter, milk, mineral water, mirror, mixing bowl, mobile phone, mugs, National Insurance card, NHS number, pack, Paracetamol, parents, partying, pasta, pillow cases, plasters, plates, printer, sanctuary, scissors, shampoo, shared house, sharp knife, sheets, shower gel, student loan, stuff, surge protection, Tea towels

Well, you have only gone and done it and got a place at university.

Congratulations.

Now the partying is over, it’s time to get down to business, book your accommodation, buy those books and pack your stuff.

Whether you a moving into halls, a student flat or shared house, you will want to take your creature comforts as well as essentials with you, so we have put together a checklist to get you started.

Documents
Before you leave home, have these documents with you, as well as getting copies and emailing it to yourself and your parents:
University and course acceptance letter plus exam certificates
Accommodation contract and insurance documents
Student loan documents
Bank account details, card and cheque book
Driving license and passport as well as up NHS number and National Insurance card

Gadgets
You will be so used to having everything under one roof, you might forget that you won’t be just a gadget away when you aren’t at home. This might seem like a big list, but it is worth having:
Laptop plus charger, USB stick and an ethernet cable
Mobile phone and charger
Headphones
Power extension cable with surge protection
Printer with ink

Kitchen
Yes, you could eat out all the time, but it makes more sense to do cook for yourself and to do this you will need:
A frying pan or a wok and a sauce pan
A cutlery set, sharp knife, scissors and spare teaspoons
Two glasses, mugs, plates and bowls
A baking tray and mixing bowl
A water bottle – buying endless bottles of mineral water on campus soon adds up
Tea towels, cloths, kitchen roll, soap and washing up liquid
A box of basic groceries with cereal, bread, milk, jam, tea, coffee, pasta, ketchup and an emergency bottle of vodka to break the ice with your neighbours

Your bedroom
Your bedroom will be your sanctuary so make it as comfortable as you can and take:
Two sheets, two duvet covers and pillow cases as well as a decent duvet and pillows
Mattress protector – take our word for it on this one
Clothes and coat hangers
Photos of friends & family as well as posters and Blue Tac
A lamp and lampshade
A mirror
Contraception

Bathroom
We can’t promise you will get an en-suite at uni so be prepared to share a bathroom and take this little lot with you so you, and your surroundings, are clean and fresh.
Several towels
Medication and a basic first aid kit with plasters, paracetamol, antiseptic cream and wipes
Febreeze and washing powder
A toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, shop, shower gel, bubble bath and any other home comforts
Toilet roll

Of course, you won’t be far from a Tesco or Boots, so you can shop when you arrive but this little should help to get you started and can probably be paid for by the bank of mum and dad before you leave.

Good luck!

Team Pure-Beauty

Easter treats

Tags

apart, £2 coin, bank holiday, blunt knife, bottles, bunny, buns, butter, butter and jam, caster sugar, catch up, chill, cling film, corners, cream, cross, crosses, cup of tea, cuppa, designs, digestives, dough, dried fruit, Easter, eating, egg, enjoy, flour, fluffy, fold, food colouring, full fat milk, fun, goodies ], hide, hone, honey, hop, ingredients, jam, mini eggs, mixed spice, oval, oven, packet, pipe, plastic food bag, pre-heat, rack, roll, rub, shapes, shopping basket, space, sprinkles, tablespoons, thickness, trim, vanilla extract, warm, yeats

With Easter just around the corner and the long bank holiday ahead of us, you just know people will be popping by for a cuppa and catch up.

Rather than being caught on the hop (see what we did there) and having to dig out a packet of dodgy digestives, what not make some Easter goodies at home and you will be ready for anything?

Easter isn’t Easter without hot cross buns and they taste better than ever if you make your own.

To make eight tasty treats, add the following ingredients to your shopping basket:

• 500g strong white
bread flour
• 1⁄2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 heaped teaspoons of mixed spice
• 50g caster sugar
• 50g salted butter
• 200ml full fat milk
• 200g mixed dried fruit
• 2 medium free range eggs
• 7g sachet easy-blend dried yeast
• Honey

To make the buns, first pre-heat your oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas.

Sift the flour into a bowl and stir in the mixed spice, salt and sugar then rub in the butter with your fingertips. Add the dried fruit, then sprinkle over the yeast and stir in. Gently warm the milk then beat with the eggs and pour in the dried ingredients. Using a blunt knife, mix the ingredients to a moist dough, then leave to settled for 20 minutes.

Cut the dough into eight equal pieces and shaped these into buns. Space apart on a baking sheet, cover loosely with cling film and leave in a warm place until for around 45 minutes until they are half the size again. Mix a little flour with two tablespoons of water to make a paste, pour into a plastic food bag and make a tiny hole in one of the corners. Pipe crosses on top of each bun, put them in the oven and cook for 15 minutes until risen and golden. Trim the excess cross mixture from the buns, then brush with the honey and enjoy warm with butter and jam.

A plate of beautiful biscuits will impress your guests. This recipe is super easy to make and you can be as creative as you like with the decorations. For one batch, you will need:

• 125g butter, softened
• 125g caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp. extra
• One free range egg, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 250g plain flour
• Icing sugar
• Bottles of food colouring
• Sprinkles and mini eggs

To get things started, pre-heat the oven to gas 5, 190°C, fan 170°C and line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.

Cream together the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy then add the egg and vanilla extract. Gradually fold in the flour then create a ball of dough and wrapped this in cling film and chill in the fridge for an hour.

Take the dough out and roll out to the thickness of a £2 coin, then cut the dough into oval shapes; if you can find bunny or oval cutters, these are perfect.

Chill for another 30 minutes before baking for 15 minutes and then leave to cool on a rack.

Make up the icing according to pack instructions and add food colouring to make your designs really stand out. Ice, add sprinkles and mini eggs then leave to dry before eating with a cup of tea!

Now all that is left to do is hide those eggs and let the Easter fun begin.

Team Pure Beauty

Chocolate Week Comes to Town

Tags

baking powder, bars, boiling point, boiling water, buttons, cake, caster sugar, chocolate, cinnamon stick, cold, cream, dark, egg, free range eggs, fridge, greate, jam, jar, marshmallows, milk, mug, mugs, organic, pan, recipe, salt, seeds, self-raising flour, semi-skimmed milk, smaller pieces, strawberry jam, sugar, tins, vanilla pod, white

Love chocolate then you will love the fact that this week is Chocolate Week, culminating in The Chocolate Show at Olympia National Hall, London.

Milk, white, dark, organic, buttons, bars, the list goes on so we have looked at the best ways to indulge in this worldwide food phenomena.

Let’s face is, everyone loves chocolate cake, don’t they?

It is easy to make and for one cake you will need:

50g cocoa powder
3 large free range eggs
6 tablespoons of boiling water
4 tablespoons of semi-skimmed milk
175g self-raising flour
1 rounded teaspoon of baking powder
100g of softened butter
300g /caster sugar

For the icing you will need:
150g of broken up, good quality dark
150ml double cream
3 tablespoons of strawberry jam
Icing sugar for dusting

The method for baking this chocolate delight is very simple:

Preheat your oven to 180C / 350F / Gas 4, then grease two 20cm sandwich tins.

Put the cocoa powder and boiling water in a large bowl and mix into a smooth paste. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat until they are all combined well.

Divide the mixture into the two tins then place in the oven. Bake for around 30 minutes, until well risen and slightly coming away from the sides of the tin.

As the cake cooks, start on your icing. Pop the chocolate pieces and cream in a bowl, put the bowl over a pan of simmering water until melted, then leave to cool.

When cool, move the cakes from the tins and spread the bottom of each one with jam . Spread half the icing on the jam, sandwich together and put the rest of the icing on the top. Dust with icing sugar and serve in slices with a mug of hot

When we talk about hot chocolate we don’t mean a packet mix but a delicious, creamy drink that leaves you full and satisfied.

This recipe is perfect for cold winter days and you will need:

1 litre of semi-skimmed milk
150g good quality, plain chocolate, broken into small pieces
Extra chocolate for grating
1 vanilla pod split and seeds scraped out
1 cinnamon stick
A little caster sugar
Mini marshmallows

Making this luxurious drink is super-easy:
Gently heat the vanilla pod and seeds, cinnamon stick and milk in a saucepan until boiling.
With the pan taken away from the heat, add the chocolate pieces and then stir until it melts.
Whisk the liquid until frothy, pour into your favourite mugs. Grate a little chocolate on the top and together with several marshmallows and you are good to go.

Chocolate spread is a kitchen cupboard staple for many but why buy it when you can make your own? For one decent sized jar, you will need:

140g of dark, good quality chocolate, chopped into smaller pieces
160g of double cream
45g of caster sugar
2g of salt

To make the spread put the cream, sugar and salt into a pain and bring to boiling point. Pour the hot mixture over the chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth. Use a hand blender to smooth the mix and once cooled, pour into a sterlised jar and put in the fridge.

Happy Chocolate Week.

Team Pure-Beauty

Hot cross buns anyone?

Tags

beaten, bunnies, butter, cake, dough, Easter, eggs, flour, fruit, gas make six, greased baking sheet, hot cross buns, jam, knead, milk, newspapers, portions, Pure Beauty, rounds, size, smooth, spices, sugar, tablespoon, teaspoon, water, yeast

Everyone looks forward to the four-day weekend over Easter. It is a great to have the time to kick back, catch up with family and friends and enjoy some tasty treats.

From cute cookies and egg nests to seminal cake and chocolate bunnies, there’s no end of Easter themed goodies to eat at the time of year. Whilst it is easy to pick up BOGOF offers in the supermarket, there’s something really satisfying about sitting down with a piece of cake, you have baked from scratch.

We have done some baking ourselves and have found a recipe for the best ever hot cross buns and we think you’ll love them too.

This is an easy to follow recipe but be aware that it takes quite a lot of time to prepare. It is vital to follow each step and let the dough rise so that you really do get soft, fluffy buns that taste as good as they look.

Ingredients

• 400g of strong white bread flour and a little extra for dusting
• 50g of plain flour for creating the crosses
• A 7g sachet of fast-action dried yeast
• 100g of currants, raisins and peel (it is totally up to you which dried fruits you use but keep the quantities right)
• 50g of golden caster sugar, plus an extra teaspoon for the crosses
• One teaspoon of mixed spice and one of ground cinnamon
• 250ml of slightly warmed full fat mill
• One medium egg, beaten
• 50g unsalted butter
• One teaspoon of salt
• Two tablespoons of apricot jam
• Place the strong flour, yeast, caster sugar, salt and spices in a bowl and mix. Make a well in the centre of the mixture and pour in the warm milk, beaten eggs and butter. Mix it together with a wooden spoon and finish of with your hands.

Knead the dough on a floured surface for around ten minutes or until it becomes springy and really smooth. Leave the dough to rise in a lightly greased bowl and cover with a clean, damp tea towel, somewhere warm.

The next step is to place dough onto a lightly floured surface and flatten before scattering on the dried fruit. Knead the dough a few more times before dividing into eight even portions which you then need to roll in smooth rounds and place on a greased baking sheet, leaving some room between each bun for it to rise. Cover with a tea towel again and leave for about 20 minutes until they have doubled in size.

Heat your oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark six.

To make the crosses, mix the extra plain flour with a teaspoon of sugar and five tablespoons of water and create a thick paste. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag and carefully pipe white lines on the buns to make the crosses.

If you’re going to eat the buns untoasted, gently heat the apricot jam in a pan, and brush the warm liquid onto the buns using a pastry brush. If you plan to toast them, then don’t use the sugar glaze as it will burn and spoilt your hard work.

Place in the hot over for 20 minutes until the buns are light brown.

Once the buns have cooled down, enjoy with butter and jam a cup of tea as you read the newspapers.

Happy Easter from all of us at Pure Beauty.

Pancakes – How Do You Eat yours?

Tags

bacon, batter, butter, cheese, chocolate, creme fresh, dollop, eggs, flip, ham, healthy, jam, lemon, Lent, lover, minute, pancake, prawns, savoury, Shrove Tuesday, strawberry, sugar, sweet

We don’t know how it has come around so quickly, but it is time get flipping, as Tuesday February 9 is Pancake Day.

Officially known as Shrove Tuesday, this is one day when you can be as creative as you like and concoct food combinations you might otherwise steer clear of.

Ever wondered why we celebrate Pancake Day and what it’s all about?

Well, let us explain.

Pancake Day isn’t just about stuffing ourselves silly, it is in the calendar because it marks the day before Lent, a period of fasting and prayer, before Easter.

The tradition of eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday started out as a way to use up ingredients including butter, milk and eggs that would otherwise go bad during Lent. Pancakes, particularly thin and buttery crepes, were a great way to clear the cupboards in one easy and indulgent dish with no waste to throw away.

The tradition has carried on and one many people around the world look forward to and enjoy.

We have a fail safe batter recipe to share with you so you will have perfect pancakes on the big day and can carry on this tradition.

Ingredients
140g plain flour
200ml whole milk
2 eggs
25g butter (unsalted) melted, plus extra for greasing

Method
Sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a medium-size bowl. Create a well and then mix in the milk and eggs and slowly start to whisk. Add the milk and water, whisking constantly and add the flour as you do so.

Whisk the batter until it is smooth, then set aside to rest for half and hour before whisking the melted butter into the batter.

Heat the pan over a medium heat and lightly grease with melted butter. Using a ladle, pour around two tablespoons of batter into the pan and swirl around the bottom so it is evenly coated.

You are aiming for a delicate, crepe like pancake so cook for just under a minute one each side and try not to drop the pancake on the floor as you flip it.

Slide the pancake out of the pan and get working on the next one as your testers try out toppings.

Talking of toppings, there are so many we don’t know where to start.

You can go simple with lemon and sugar, just sugar, strawberry jam or chocolate spread.

If you are more a savoury pancake lover how about ham and cheese, crispy bacon and maple syrup, prawns or cheese and broccoli.

If you are still on that New Year health kick, add berries, bananas, mangoes with a squeeze of lemon and a dollop of crème fresh.

Enjoy and let us know how you get on.

Oh, and don’t forget to give something up for Lent!