Cooking & Lifestyle Blog

The presents are sorted, the Christmas cake is ready for decorating, and the festive celebrations are reaching their peak: what better way to enjoy the final days in the run-up to Christmas than with some tasty seasonal baking for the whole family to get involved in. See below for a great recipe for gingerbread biscuits, as well as a bonus craft project that’ll have your home smelling delightfully fragrant throughout the festive season.

The holiday season is upon us! Whether for you Christmas is a time to remember the birth of Christ or simply rejoice in the festivities that brighten up a dark winter, there is much to enjoy. In today’s blog we’re offering a classic Christmas recipe – mouthwatering Mince Pies – as well as a fun seasonal craft project for all the family.

The health benefits of plant-based diets are well reported, but there are also other advantages for increasing the amount of vegetables you eat. Hugely versatile, vegetables go well with pastas and starches and can even be used as the basis of a whole meal.

It’s the first week back at work for most of us, and the ardour behind those New Year resolutions is beginning to fade. The indulgence of the festive season may have prompted, as it usually does, a revival in the desire to eat healthily, but it can be difficult to maintain these good intentions if it doesn’t always feel like the easier option. To help you see how easy it can be, we’ve compiled this basic guide on how and where to source the best fresh organic produce, so that you can enjoy eating well!

Well, quite frankly we're stuffed. As in, we ate a lot of food over the Christmas break. No doubt many of you reading this will have also over-indulged over the holidays, so here at Flame Tree we thought we should try and shape up a little over January. But just who would we be if we didn't impart some advice onto you, our lovely readers? 

Hopefully as we get closer to Christmas, you may find some free time to spend with your young ones. Whether you have some holiday booked or only have the weekends and evenings free, these small projects are easy complete and should provide some enjoyment your family.

It won’t be long now before it’s that time of year again and you can indulge in plentiful Christmas feasts, all the while going crazy trying to guess what presents are hidden in the boxes under the tree. But time has this infuriating habit of pressing pause when you’re desperate for it to fast forward, and as a result the Advent weeks often feel more like centuries. We feel for you here at Flame Tree: here are 9 winter destinations in Europe you should definitely consider as an early Christmas treat to keep you distracted while Santa does his thing.

Autumn always passes by in a blur of walking home through drizzly streets, standing in your hot shower just a little bit longer and lots and lots of comfort food to keep the chills out.

As bodies grow and age, they change, but the basic rules of drawing stay the same. Break it down into simple shapes. And, remember, you don’t have to draw from the nude – careful observation can help you make accurate figure drawings in or out of clothes.

Most of us think of it as little more than a delicious condiment to add to our fish and chips, but vinegar is also an effective all-purpose cleaner that is perfect for use around the home. In fact, records show that vinegar has been produced commercially and used for all kinds of cleaning from as early as 3000 BC! Remarkably versatile, antibacterial and safe, vinegar is a simple, eco-friendly option that is great for regular use. Today we’re going to look at how it can be used in the kitchen: kitchen surfaces and items are used on a daily basis, and their role in food preparation means that it is highly important to keep these areas hygienic. There is no end of its uses there, from dealing with soap build-up in dishwashers and microwaves, to tackling food containers that have been stained and scented by strong foods and liquids. With a few of these quick and easy solutions you can make the most of this miraculous product and keep your kitchen and cooking implements free of germs and unpleasant odours.