slow cooked chicken provencal.

on a fresh, sunny spring evening, there's nothing quite like a light, warming meal with home baked bread and cold glass of wine. chicken provenҫal is a french inspired dish which embraces the union of garlic, rosemary, marjoram and thyme in a mouthwatering tomato sauce. this weekend, i tried out this simple recipe from the latest schwartz slow cooker spice mix collection along with a freshly baked cheese loaf. 

chorizo and thyme fougasse bread.

when i first saw lorraine pascale effortlessly make this bread on her baking programme, i knew i definitely wanted to try it when I had a proper mixer and dough hook of my own. there’s nothing quite like the smell of freshly baked bread; and the combination smokey chorizo and heavenly thyme that infused my kitchen definitely added to this.  

i seem to have acquired quite a few little kitchen gadgets and gizmos lately – my lovely granny bought me a pasta machine last christmas, my mum got me a huge mussel pot from france, i’ve raided kitchenware shops for ravioli presses, piping tips and tartlet tins and i searched high and low for a bamboo steamer to make my own dim sum.

i’ve always wanted to try out a proper classic mixer to help improve my basic culinary skills - and what better than the original kenwood chef? this comes with a k beater, balloon whisk and the much anticipated dough hook! argos sell a brill range of kenwood chefs and the like; including the gorgeous retro kmix, the sleek and sophisticated premier mixers and the timeless classic chef. i can’t believe they first launched in 1947!