HELLO, I AM CRAFTY VIXEN. I WILL TEACH YOU HOW TO MAKE EXTRAORDINARY STUFF.

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Stephen Leighton’s magnificent coffee beans are not his only claim to fame. It’s not just his exuberance and boundless enthusiasm for his profession that shines through in the beans he sells online from his West Midlands roastery. His background also sets him apart: he’s also (almost certainly) the only coffee roaster to have started out working in prisons, inspired by the sitcom Porridge. I spent all my childhood wanting to be a prison officer and then in my first week I hated it,” he says ruefully. But after hard work in his spare time, he soon devised an escape plan. “I was importing green beans for home roasting from the States, because I’ve always been passionate about good coffee.

Great Ingredients

A rule of thumb for buying coffee is: the more information on the packet the better. They should be able to tell you where the coffee is from – the country, the region, even the farm where it was grown. Look for roasted-on dates. If the roaster won’t tell you when it was roasted, you’ve.

vixen-slider-3Correct ingredients for great Coffee

Italian Coffee Maker

The easiest way to brew great coffee. Everyone is familiar with cafetières and, because of the increased grind size, it’s harder to get it wrong.When the kettle has boiled, let it rest for a while. Warm the carafe with hot water and discard before adding the ground coffee – I recommend.

vixen-slider-4Choose the right coffee Maker

Drink it like a Boss

Pour in about a third of the water and leave for 30 seconds. Stir the grinds and add the remaining water. Leave for a further four minutes. Warm your cups with hot water. When the time is up, stir once and scoop the grinds off the top. Plunge, serve and enjoy. And remember, drink it slowly and with joy.

vixen-slider-6Decoration is important

I firmly believe that espresso should be left in the coffee shop, he advises. Let the professionals do it because there are so many things that can go wrong and the equipment is so expensive. - Stephen Leighton

Then I decided to buy a little two-kilo roaster. I put it in my garage at home, built a really rubbish website and started selling online. I used to roast in the evenings after work, till until two or three in the morning, and I’d take the parcels to the post office at lunch.” The plan eventually paid off. Leighton was able to give up the prison work after a few yearsand open a 10,000sq ft roastery in Stafford in the West Midlands.

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Tender chocolate cake is layered with raspberry jam and rich chocolate ganache (a mixture of melted chocolate and whipping cream) in this great dessert. Fresh raspberries make a pretty and easy topping.

This amazing raspberry double chocolate cake will melt in your mouth. It is delicious and not hard to bake. Your guest or family will enjoy every bite they will make.

INGREDIENTS

Cake:

  • Nonstick vegetable oil spray
  • 2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. (If cakes form domes, place kitchen towel atop hot cakes, then press gently with palm of hand to level.) Cool completely in pans on cooling racks. DO AHEAD:Can be made 1 day ahead.

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s aint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is a celebration observed on February 14 each year. It is celebrated in many countries around the world, although it is not a public holiday in most of them.St. Valentine’s Day began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. Several martyrdom stories were invented for the various Valentines that belonged to February 14, and added to latermartyrologies. It is just around the corner and why not show your love with these cute crochet hearts? 

You can tie them to candles, or to a gift as a part of the wrapping. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero eros et accumsanet iusto odio dignissim qui blandit praesent. Nam liber tempor cum soluta nobis eleifend.

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