Apricot and Almond Brittle

University (and GCSE and A level) exam season is starting in the next few weeks, so we'll all need that little bit of extra "brain food" (i.e. sugar) to keep us going through the long and seemingly very sunny days (and nights!) of revising for exams and meeting coursework deadlines.  Throughout the next few months, it will be very important for anyone taking exams to look after themselves and eat and sleep properly, so breakfast is a must, as well as little snacks throughout the day.  This apricot and almond brittle is a snack idea that I found in Home Sweet Home from The Hummingbird Bakery, and for any vegans out there, it's vegan-friendly too!

Ingredients (to make 1kg of brittle)

180g (6 1/2 oz) flaked almonds
200g (7 oz) dried apricots, thinly sliced
100g (3 1/2 oz) dark chocolate chips (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
600g (1lb 5oz) caster sugar
400ml (14 fl oz) water

Instructions

1. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment and preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius (325 degrees Fahrenheit), or gas mark 3.
2. Spread the flaked almonds onto the lined tray and toast them in the oven until they are a light golden colour - this will only take a few minutes.  Set aside to cool.
3. Once the toasted almonds are cool, add the sliced apricots and chocolate chips to the same tray and use your hands to mix them in evenly.
4. In a medium saucepan, dissolve the caster sugar in the water.  Bring to the boil and continue to boil for 15-20 minutes or until it forms a rich caramel colour.  Do not stir while the mixture is boiling or the caramel will crystallise; just gently swirl the pan from time to time.
5. Carefully pour the hot caramel over the nuts, fruit and chocolate, making sure to try and cover all of the ingredients evenly in sugar.  Carefully set aside as the tray will be hot, and leave the brittle to cool and set completely.
6. Once cooled, break into pieces to serve.

Berry Smoothie

First of all, a belated Happy New Year!  Second of all, it's the middle of exams here and everything's a bit of a mess, but after my deadline this afternoon, I have nothing until my presentation next Friday morning, so I'm going to give myself some time over the weekend to do a few non-academic things that need doing, such as writing a letter about an exciting little project that is coming up in February (the Food Festival), putting more stuff together for that, planning a few more radio shows, and catch up with a little bit of reading (which has been taking a back seat lately).  Thirdly, my only New Year's resolutions are to eat even more fruit and drink more water than I do already, and to sing, dance and enjoy life.  Tying in with the eating more fruit thing, yesterday, as well as three tubs of fruit (apple slices, oranges and grapes) during the day, I also rode the Sustrans smoothie bike that was at uni this week and made myself a yummy berry smoothie to drink while I was revising!  Here's how you can make it at home without a bike:

Ingredients (to make one cup)

1/2 a banana
a handful or two of mixed berries (e.g. raspberries, blueberries, blackcurrants, strawberries), chopped
a "glug" of apple juice

Instructions

1. Gradually mix all the ingredients together in a blender.
2. Once the mixture has reached a smooth consistency, pour into a cup and enjoy!