Make Your Own Raspberry Vodka

This is something I like to do quite a lot at University. You have to leave it for a while for the flavours to properly infuse, but once its done you'll always have a tasty vodka you can even drink straight if you like. My girlfriend and I like to put it with orange juice to make a really good cocktail.

- 75cl Bottle of good quality vodka (40% not 37.5%)
- 300g Raspberries
- 150g Caster sugar
- 1 Vanilla pod
- 1 1L Clip Jar (sterilised)

- Add the vodka, raspberries, caster sugar and vanilla pod (scarpe the seeds out  and add the pod and seeds) to a saucepan and heat very gently (because we don't want to lose any of the alcohol) just long enough to melt the sugar and break down the raspberries slightly (about 5 minutes).

- Put the raspberry vodka mixture into the Clip Jar and put in a cool, dry place. Leave for at least a month. But the longer you leave it the better it will be. Give it the occasional shake to make sure its mixing well.

The vodka raspberries go really well with chocolate too. I like to garnish my homemade chocolate mousse with a few to add a boozy kick.

Enjoy!

Rich Chocolate Ice Cream

I do a lot of experimenting with different flavours of ice cream, but there are two that I get asked to make all the time. One of them is this delicious chocolate ice cream (the other, just in case your wondering - you will have to wait for). Unfortunately, you will need an ice cream machine for this recipe, unless you are truly dedicated in which case you can take it out of the freezer every10-15 minutes and stir to make sure it stays nice and creamy. 

- 300ml Double cream

- 300ml Milk (whole or semi)

- 100g Dark chocolate (but no more than 65% cacao)

- 50g Milk chocolate 

- 7 egg yolks 

- 150g Caster sugar

- 1tsp Vanilla extract (not essence)

- Combine the milk and cream in a saucepan and heat until it comes to a gentle boil. Meanwhile, in a bowl whisk together the egg yolks and caster sugar until it turns almost white in colour. 

- Once the cream/milk has come to the boil, slowly pour it into the bowl with the eggs, stirring all the time. Once you have combined the two, add the vanilla and chocolate (save a few pieces if you want to add them at the end as chocolate chips).

- Put the chocolate mixture back into the saucepan and heat gently until it thickens slightly. Make sure it does not boil, or it will split. 

- You have the ice cream mixture, now all you need to do it put it in your ice cream machine.  

Enjoy! Its pretty good on its own but if you're feeling inspired add some crushed hazelnuts.

 

Korean Spring Onion Noodles

This is a great little recipe I like to make loads at university because its so quick, easy and most importantly, cheap. You can play around with the ingredients in this recipe too, to get it just how you like it.

- 1 Medium sized rump steak
- 4 Spring onions
- 1 Thumb sized piece of ginger
- 1 Tbsp of dark soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp of light soy sauce
- 1/2 Tbsp sherry vinegar - or cider vinegar
- 2 Tsp Honey
- 1 Tsp of sesame seed oil
- 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil
- 400g fresh egg noodles

1. Slice the rump steak into thin strips, discarding any fat. Place in a bowl with the light soy sauce, olive oil and 1tsp of honey and leave to sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

2. Very finely slice the spring onions (save a few slices for garnish later) and chop your ginger until it resembles a paste. Place into a separate bowl with the dark soy sauce, sesame oil, sherry vinegar and the last tsp of honey.

3. Have a frying pan on a medium-high heat and put your marinated beef into the pan, when it starts to colour. Put your noodles in the pan and heat through.

4. Pour the noodles and steak into the bowl with the spring onion dressing. Toss the noodles in the dressing and serve with a few of the fine slices of spring onion sprinkled on top.

Enjoy the first recipe in the Heathy Eating section!