How To Make 3D Gingerbread Unicorns

The Jedward of the unicorn world

I couldn't make anything but fantastical gingerbread for my final Domestic Sluttery recipe, could I? From that first foray into tiny mug houses, I've known that a life of 3D gingerbread was for me. I'm still inordinately proud of baking a gingerbread TARDIS in celebration of Doctor Who's 50th anniversary (a feat which got me a write-up in the national press, don't you know) - so much so, I couldn't actually bring myself to eat it. It sat on my coffee table for ages - weeks, I think - until its roof caved in. No such qualms with these gingerbread unicorns, whose heads and tails were bitten off shortly after these photos were taken. I expect they'll grow back.

You may have noticed that unicorns are very important to Team Sluttery. In fact, I'm pretty sure some of us are actually part-unicorn. To celebrate our love, I wanted to combine gingerbread and unicorns, and I was inspired by the 3D dinosaur and safari cookie cutters that we've already featured on the site. Since no-one's made a unicorn version yet, I figured it fell to me to draw up a template.

I've made you this magical template!

After you've downloaded your template, remember to go into your printing preferences and select 'actual size' before you print, otherwise you're going to get a giant unicorn. Not necessarily a bad thing, I know, but not one we're properly prepared for. If you'd like a sturdier shape to cut around, stick your paper print-out onto a clean bit of thick card (remember it's going to be touching the dough, so not the bottom of that manky box that's been sitting on the floor all week), and cut out all the bits.

And now for the sappy bit*. One of the best things about coming up with recipes for DS has been you lot. Every photo of a gingerbread creation, every tweet about a new favourite meal, every comment telling me how you've adapted and adopted one of my recipes - they've all made me beam. I hope you'll have fun exploring the archives when we've gone, and that you continue to tweet me your experimental gingerbread photos. Starting with these little rascals:

3D Gingerbread Unicorns (makes a blessing**)
Preparation time: About 40 minutes
Fridge time: 1 hour
Cooking time: Less than 15 minutes per batch (30 minutes in total)
You will need:

• 150g unsalted butter
• 110g golden syrup
• 65g golden caster sugar
• 65g dark muscovado sugar
• 360g plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• A tiny pinch of salt
• A selection of glitter icing pens (Dr Oetker's Neon Glitter Writing Icing is a wondrous 4-pack of unicorn-approved shades)

Show-off

Make it!

1. In a large saucepan over a low heat, melt the butter, syrup, and both sugars. 
2. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger, and cinnamon into a large bowl, and add the salt. Take the melted butter and sweet stuff mixture off the heat, and add to the dry ingredients.
3. Stir everything until you have a firm dough, then leave to cool in the bowl for a few minutes before rolling out to 2-3cm thick on a floured surface. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for about an hour.
4. Before the chilling time is over, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Line two baking trays with parchment. Print your template if you haven't already, and cut out the shapes.
5. Take the dough out of the fridge, and roll out half of it - on a floured surface, using a floury pin - to 4mm thick. 
6. Use a sharp knife to cut out your unicorns, remembering to do enough legs for the bodies. Transfer the pieces to the baking trays and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes, until golden. Err on the side of slightly overcooked if you're not sure - an extra couple of minutes will make your biscuits a wee bit sturdier.
7. Remove from the oven, and while the biscuits are still warm, use your knife to reopen the leg slots if they've closed up a bit. Pretend it's unicorn surgery. Place the biscuits on a wire rack to cool. 
8. Re-line your baking trays, and repeat steps 5-7 for the remaining dough (if you have a massive oven, you can do everything at once - two trays at a time is my limit!).
9. Once the biscuits have cooled, DECORATE. You can go WILD, but glitter and lots of colours are obligatory. Unicorn rules, I'm afraid. Don't forget the hooves. 
10. Assemble your unicorns by slotting the legs onto the bodies, and then decorate the other side of each biscuit (if you want - depends on how you'll be presenting them to your adoring public). 
11. Toss your multi-coloured mane, stamp your sparkly hoof, rear up in a cloud of glitter: you've made 3D gingerbread unicorns, and you are fabulous. 

"That was neigh bother at all!" - Scotland's last remaining unicorn

* I'm back for Sales Spy on Friday. This is just my foodie goodbye.

** About 10.

Savour The Moment: Our Favourite Savoury Recipes

Since we announced that the site is closing, loads of you have been asking where you're going to get exciting recipes from. Luckily, we've got whole archives of them. There are literally thousands. Rather than leave you high and dry, we've rounded up our finest recipes so you have loads of ideas for what to have for your tea.

We've actually done a lot of the hard work for you - our weekly top ten recipe posts are the best way to search for whatever you want cook. Whether it's chorizo or leftovers or you just fancy something quick for your lunch, we've got you covered. This weekend might involve some of our favourite takeaway recipes, and definitely some telly-watching treats.

You have to make a shooter's sandwich at least once in your life. And our chicken chicharon. Deep fried chicken skins are part of a very happy life. And high cholesterol.

You might think our finest achievement in pasta experimentation is our mac 'n' cheese picnic slice, but you'd be wrong. It's obviously our drunken spaghetti. What's better than cooking pasta in a bottle of red wine? Nothing. Nothing at all. Although our Italian wedding soup might give it a run for its money.

You might have noticed that we're pork fans. It's hard to imagine a summer without our sticky ribs, or without pork scratchings or beer and bacon nuts accompanying our beers. We've even cooked pork in a bottle of red wine.

Oh hey, remember when we made bacon roses?

We bloody love bacon. We love it in all sorts of glorious ways but it's a pretty essential part of a Sluttery breakfast: whether as breakfast cups, in a bacon chapati, or as part of a full English loaf.

We love chicken too (we're really quite greedy), especially when it comes in the form of buttermilk fried chicken. Which you're making tasty things with chicken, have a gander at our coconut baked chicken and Breton chicken recipes. We've even made gin 'n' tonic chicken kebabs.

Chicken makes for a pretty mean curry too: try our spring chicken curry or our mini tikka pasties. With our brains in curry mode, let's not forget our slow-cooked beef, and creamy seafood curries. And one of our all-time favourites has to be this coconut and chickpea curry, you've probably got everything in the cupboard to make it already.

The same goes for Mujaddara: it's a more recent recipe but one that's gone straight to the top of the cheap but oh-so-tasty list. While we're obviously hanging around the lentils part of our kitchen cupboards, we've dug out the ingredients to make our squash and chickpea roast, the Buddha bowl, or the GREATEST HOUMOUS EVER.

Our vegetarian recipes are so popular, some of our favourites include these sweetcorn and halloumi fritters. These beetroot and feta fritters are also marvellous (not least because the fritters in the picture look like the cookie monster). Roasted vegetable couscous is a quick and easy tea, while we swear this veggie Laska has health giving properties. We've got veggie sides covered too, from onion rings to cauliflower poppers to sweet potato fries.

The potato gets a lot of love around these parts too. Especially when coupled with cheese as in these croque monsieur potatoes or tartiflette. We've made them into dauphinoise, tortilla, latkes and aloo masala. No spud has been left unearthed in our hunt for the best potato recipes.

Pastry - go on, buy the readymade stuff, we won't tell - is a great way to bring great things together: Pear, dolcelatte & walnut? Check. Salmon and broccoli? Yep. Roasted fennel and feta. Aha.  But a really simple pleasure is this red onion tart.

Of all the fish and seafood recipes we've done, our gluten free fish fingers are our favourite. Obviously. The Spanish seafood stew is also a staple around these parts. For a speedy supper, these smoky mussels are damn impressive, while our kedgeree doubles up as supper/hangover breakfast. (We won't tell anyone about our dirty anchovy pasta secret if you don't.)

It's not just our fish fingers that our suitable for a gluten free diet. Caleigh's magic has created gluten free gnocchi, ravioli and this delicious bibimbap too, to name just a tiny fraction of our g.f. repertoire.

There are thousands of recipes in our archives: go and explore them. You'll never need to resort to beans on toast for tea again. But if you decide you do, we've got that covered too.

The Definitive Domestic Sluttery Cocktail Roundup

Over the years, the Domestic Sluttery writers have collected enough bottles of booze to open a medium-sized bar. We've also had the very best cocktail barman to mix our drinks for us. Cocktail Nick has been mixing, infusing, muddling and shaking for The Boy and His Poison for three years. He's created a cut out and keep cocktail guide and he's written the only guide to glassware you'll ever need. He's the only chap in a team of very noisy women and for that he deserves a martini medal. Here's our definitive Domestic Sluttery cocktail guide.

Of course, our favourite of Nick's concoctions is the brilliant Hendrick's gin sorbet. No need to go searching for our top gin recipes, we've compiled them all for you (honestly, he's all about the gin martini). And we've rounded up our top summer cocktails.

Sloe gin jelly with a scoop of lemon sorbet on the top is your new favourite 'friends coming over for tea' pudding. We've even got a sloe gin recipe for you. If you got any left after all of your jelly making, pop it in a Wibble.

We're going a bit crazy for Negronis at the moment (Frances is celebrating her birthday in Franks tonight). Join us for a negroni gin float. Or a Ms Negroni. Or even a slice of negroni pie (yep, still baking with our booze). Try The Professional if you fancy a twist on the classic.

Damn we love a peach cocktail. This peach and mint julep is one of our favourites. Or you could make a peach and bourbon smash. And do pop some gin and processo in our peach and mint iced tea.

The Greyhound is a truly excellent cocktail but we mainly love it because the piece of lime looks like a dolphin.

It's very, very likely that team DS is going to be drinking applejacks at some point this week. Make sure you also try our apple pie flip.

Remember when we made gin glow in the dark to celebrate Doctor Who? The Sonic Screwdriver is a wonderful thing. So's our Batman-inspired Dark Knight cocktail. Don't get Nick talking about Anne Hathaway.

Damn the Scofflaw is a gorgeous colour, isn't it? To make the most of those martini glasses, an archangel, a London sour, martinez or a Nicola 6 will keep you tipsy until Thursday. And the Eastside? That's the perfect summer drink.

Let's just take a second to admire the Three Kings Cobbler. And then let's make some.

We like infusing things. A lot. Give Nick a jar and some booze and a couple of weeks of impatient 'is it ready yet?' whining and he'll whip you up a great cocktail. You must try his bacon bourbon immediately (and then put it in an old fashioned with a slice of candied bacon on the side). Veggie? Try our apply pie bourbon. If vodka is more your thing, infuse some with strawberries and basil. While you're spending weeks making booze, check out our collection of booze gifts. There's limoncello and rhubarb and custard vodka.

You don't just have to put whisky in your old fashioned. This tequila old fashioned is a thing of beauty. If you've still got a tequila craving, try our chilli and lemongrass margarita or watermelon cooler.

We aren't really shot drinkers (seriously, sambucca really needs to crawl in a hole and die), but there's one exception: the crack baby. We aren't responsible for your falling over. This week we'll also be making one too many Sluttery pitchers, which we thought was a brilliant drink to serve at our book launch. Someone had to go out and get more vodka, someone's mother spent a large part of the evening loudly insisting it was just fruit juice.

We are a huge fan of the hangover-busting breakfast cocktail. If you need to clear away the cobwebs, try a Corpse Reviver #2 or a breakfast martini (comes with toast!) A bloody mary martini will have you back to your old self in no time. The mid-morning reviver was written in celebration of our first appearance on BBC Woman's Hour. We did not partake before we went on air.

And of course, someone has to have The Last Word.

Love It or, err, Love It: Marmite Cake

Have you ever tried to explain Marmite to someone who doesn't know what it is? It's basically impossible: "Err, it's this delicious, brown salty yeast sludge that you put on toast and things." The world knows that there are Marmite naysayers, but I am not one of them! Bring it forth, say I! 

Every self-respecting yeast extract lover knows that marmite is best paired with cheddar cheese. What happens when you're sick of sandwiches and are sitting in a park that doesn't have toaster facilities? We're doing what we did with the Mac n Cheese and are baking it! 

Savoury cakes are great for picnics, and you can riff on the flavours to combine whatever you like into delicious snack form. But this one is Marmite. Unequivocally, unapologetically Marmite.

Marmite Cake

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Baking time: 30-40 minutes

You'll need:

• 250g plain flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 200g mature cheddar cheese, grated
• 4 free-range eggs
• 125ml olive oil
• 100ml milk
• 1 tablespoon plain yoghurt
• 1 tsp Marmite
• Large pinch of salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

For the topping:

• 20g butter, melted
• 2 tsp Marmite

Make it!

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 and lightly grease a 20cm round cake tin. (A silicon one works well for this).
2. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl along with 150g of the cheese and stir to combine. (Save the rest of the cheese for the top later).
3. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs until very frothy and gradually add the olive oil, milk, yoghurt, and Marmite, whisking well to combine. Season with the salt and black pepper, if you like.
4. Add the egg to the flour mixture in batches, stirring to combine. 
5. Scoop into the cake tin and smooth out evenly, the sprinkle the top with the rest of the grated cheese.
6. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the cheese is golden and the cake feels firm. 
7. Cool in the tin for a few minutes.

The topping:

1. Melt the butter and Marmite together in a small saucepan. 
2. Whilst the cake is still warm, poke holes in the top with a skewer and drizzle over the melted butter-Marmite mixture. 
3. Serve with LARGE SLICES OF CHEDDAR and revel in glorious Marmiteyness...

Sluttishly Savoury: Mac & Cheese Picnic Slice

So this is tragically the final savoury post from me for D.S. Tear. I've had so much fun creating these posts, it sure is hard to say goodbye. I want to keep things true to form with this final recipe; easy, no fuss, but inspired with good times in mind.

We're ending on a July high - the parks (in London) have been completely overwhelmed. I trust it must be the same around the rest of the county. There has never been a better time than to have a party outdoors. You can be Queens (and kings) of the parks, supping on bubbly things. Not wanting to sound too sensible here but you'll need a few carbs to balance out the bubbles, and this mac and cheese picnic loaf will sort you right out.

I found myself eating cold spaghetti carbonara out of the fridge the other night — no judgement. I resolved there and then that cold spaghetti should be elevated to al fresco eating, not shameful secret eating. So here it is - mac and cheese, baked in a loaf tin and sliced.

By mixing cooked (or leftover) spaghetti with cheese, ham and eggs and baking it all makes for a dense, creamy slice of the spaghetti pie. Its structural integrity means it's perfect for picnic parties. Don't hold back on the cheese and ham, and throw in whatever you like; sun blushed tomatoes, olives, herbs etc.

Note — if you have any left over, take it home, fry (or griddle) each slice in butter, top with a fried egg and put some chilli sauce on the side. Pure filth, but when has that ever been a problem?

Spaghetti Pie (serves 8 at a picnic) 
Preparation Time: 15mins
Cooking Time: 1 hour

You will need:

• 500g spaghetti or macaroni
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 200g feta cheese, crumbled
• 100g gruyere cheese, grated
• 200g crème fraîche
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• a handful of ham, finely chopped (I used parma)
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Make it!

1. Pre-heat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3. Cook the spaghetti for 8 minutes, or until al dente. Rinse under cold water to cool it down.
2. Beat the eggs in a bowl, crumble in the feta, gruyere, crème fraîche, garlic and ham. Toss the spaghetti through and season well. 
3. Lightly olive oil your baking tin (a loaf tin works well) and add the spaghetti, push it down a little so it's densely packed. 
4. Bake for about an hour. Leave to cool, then turn out and slice. 

Gluten Free: Pimm's Trifle

Of all the gluten free recipes we've brought you, one has been notable by its absence. Trifle. I've been wrestling with trifle sponge for a long time (not literally, that would be weird). Much like with gremlins, bad things happen when you add liquid to gluten free cake. It tends to soak up far more than regular cake and the texture can only be described as "squishy crumbs". I've tried to make trifle with stale cake, muffins and genoise sponge. I've baked more versions of lady fingers and Savoirdi than you can imagine. Each time, they've burned or crumbled, and once, it spread into one massive sheet of very thin biscuit. The answer, it turned out, lay in a swiss roll sponge. There's no butter in the sponge, much like traditional trifle sponge, but it 's baked in a tin and it far more forgiving.

This is a Pimm's trifle. For me, a sherry trifle is too synonymous with Christmas, but Pimm's is a summer drink. We don't eat enough trifle in summer months, it's time to do something about that. And hey, when else can you put cucumber in your trifle and not face ridicule?!

Pimm's Trifle (serves 8)

Trifle Sponge
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time 15 minutes
You'll need:

• 2 large eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 60g caster sugar
• 60g gluten free plain flour mix, sifted

Make it!

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 and grease and line a 20cm square cake tin.
2. Whisk the eggs, yolk and caster sugar for about 10 minutes, until light, fluffy and pale. The mixture will be at least 3 times its original volume when it's ready. (If you're using an electric hand whisk or stand mixture, it'll probably only take 5 minutes.)
3. Add half the GF flour and carefully fold it in. Don't use a wooden spoon here or you'll lose all of that lovely air from the mixture.
4. Add the rest of the flour mix and gently fold it in until the mixture is smooth.
5. Pour into the tin and spread the mixture into the edges. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown and firm to the touch.
6. Leave to cool before cutting into fingers.

For the trifle
Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus 4 hours to set the jelly
You'll need:

• a 7cm piece of cucumber
• 6 strawberries
• 1 orange
• a couple of sprigs of mint, leaves only
• 170ml Pimm's, plus 3-4 tbsp extra
• 12g sachet of gelatine granules (I used Dr Oetker)
• 400ml lemonade
• 500g ready made custard (make sure it's gluten free, a few aren't)
• 300ml double cream
• freeze dried strawberries and chopped mint, to garnish

Make it!

1. Remove the seeds from the cucumber and cube the rest.
2. Hull the strawberries and chop into pieces the same sort of size as the cucumber.
3. Zest the orange and set the zest aside. Cut the top and bottom off the orange and remove the skin and pith from the outside. Cut the segments out of the orange and cut each segment into 2 or 3 pieces. Squeeze the juice out of the 'carcass' of the orange and set aside with the zest.
4. Finely chop the mint leaves and mix with the cucumber, strawberries and orange segments. Add 3-4 tablespoons of Pimm's and toss together.
5. Place sponge fingers in the bottom of a bowl and sprinkle your Pimm's fruit over the top.
6. Heat the 170ml Pimm's in a saucepan. When it come to the boil, remove from the heat and sprinkle the gelatine over the top. Stir until all the granules are dissolved, then pour into the lemonade and stir to combine.
7. Pour the jelly mixture over the sponge and fruit. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours to set the jelly.
8. Once the jelly has set, mix the orange zest and juice with the custard and pour on top of the jelly.
9. Whip the cream until it is at the soft peak stage, then spread it on top of the custard.
10. Sprinkle freeze dried strawberries and chopped mint over the top to decorate.

The Boy and his Poison: The Black Rat

This is a deceptively simple yet incredible long-cocktail. However, it's actually my brother's recipe. Last weekend, for his wedding, he not only sourced the drink, he also selected special glassware and left specific instructions for the bar staff to make it... and all this effort just for the head table where I was sat as the best man. It was in part a thank-you for the purgatory of the lead-up to the day, but his main motivation was a concession to what he called my 'recreational cocktail snobbery'.

It turned out to be the saviour of my role, providing much needed fuel for my speech. The hit of rum with the tang of orange and sweet fizz of the cola makes for a fantastic summer drink. So, welcome to a sophisticatedly tasty twist on a rum and coke - the Black Rat.

You’ll Need

• 75ml Rum
• 100ml Orange Juice
• Dash of Cola
• Dash of White Rum
• Squeeze of lime (optional)
• Dash of Angostura Butters (optional)
• Crushed ice

Make it

1. Pour the rum and orange juice in a shaker with a squeeze of lime and stir.
2. Fill a small glass or preferably a drink jar with crushed ice (if you don’t have any crushed ice just batter some ice cubes in a resealable bag with a rolling pin).
3. Strain the orange and rum over the ice. 
4. Pour over a dash of cola, a dash of white rum and a drop of angostura bitters.
5. Garnish with a slice of lime and serve with a straw.

Let Her Eat Cake: Bellini Cheesecake

Picture the scene: it's summer during the late 1930s in Venice, and Hemingway has just slumped into Harry's Bar to demand a drink and look for somewhere to cool down. What's that? A bellini? Why of course...

Ripe peaches have got to be the taste of summer and this cheesecake is a little like a bellini in cake form: ok, it doesn't contain prosecco (you get to drink that alongside it) but it is light, refreshing, fragrant, fruity and not a little bit boozy. Fresh peaches to caramelise beautifully are an absolute must for this recipe. Try and get them from a greengrocers, rather than a supermarket chiller, they'll be so much better.

Summer Peach Cheesecake
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Chilling time: 4 hours +

You will need:
For the base:

• 200g digestive biscuits
• 80g butter
• 2 tbsp ground almonds
• 50g white chocolate, grated

For the topping:

• 100g mascarpone
• 400g cream cheese
• 3 tbsp icing sugar
• 3 tbsp crème de pêche (peach liqueur - use peach juice or bellini puree if you can't find any, but I got mine from Aldi!)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out
• 1 fresh peach, peeled and diced

To decorate:

• 3 fresh peaches, sliced
• 2 tbsp crème de pêche
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• handful of almonds, chopped

Make it!
The base:

1. Grease a 23cm, spring form tin.
2. Place the biscuits in a zip-lock bag, seal and bash with something heavy until crushed. Tip into mixing bowl.
3. Melt the butter and stir into the crushed biscuits, until completely combined.
4. Stir in the almonds and finely grated white chocolate.
5. Spoon the mixture into the tin, pressing down firmly and to the edges into an even layer.
6. Cover and place in the fridge to chill.

The topping:

1. In a large bowl, mix together the mascarpone, cream cheese and icing sugar until well combined. Add more icing sugar to taste, if you like.
2. Stir in the crème de pêche, vanilla and diced peach until evenly distributed.
3. Spoon onto the chilled base, smoothing over the top.
4. Cover and place in the fridge for at least four hours to set, or overnight.
5. When ready to serve, carefully remove the ring part of the tin.
6. Place the fresh peaches on a clean baking tray or ovenproof dish and sprinkle over the crème de pêche, caster sugar and chopped almonds.
7. Place under a hot grill until the peach slices are beginning to caramelise and soften (be careful that the almonds aren't catching) or use a chef's blowtorch to caramelise the sugar. 
8. Transfer to a plate to cool before arranging on top of the cheesecake and sprinkling with a few more almonds. Serve with some very, very cold prosecco and bask in glorious summerness.

Sluttishly Savoury: Pickled Red Cabbage

I have come to the conclusion that pickling vegetables improves your life hugely. Particularly pickled red cabbage. This is no weird exaggeration. Let me explain. It's the humblest of vegetables - often sidelined to winter braising. That is until we introduce it to vinegar. It then transforms into something freaking insane: it turns BRIGHT purple, it looks like fireworks on a plate, but most importantly, this slutty 'lil accruement can be sleeping in its kilner jar for months and months ready to partner up with a whole range of tasty items. 

To name a few: pulled pork, kebabs, sausages, burgers, anything barbecued. It's goes great with smoked mackerel pate, oily fish and cured meats. You can throw it in coleslaw, have it in sandwiches, it's endless.

Also, it has magical healing properties. It prevents flu, it's a gastro-regulator which means whether you're blocked or loose (sorry) it'll sort you right out. It's good if you're anaemic, if you have respiratory problems but perhaps most importantly - it works miracles on a raging hangover.  

Convinced this stuff should be free on the NHS. Now go forth and pickle.   

Pickled Red Cabbage (makes a large kilner jar's worth)

Preparation Time: 30mins

Inactive Time: 3 hours

Cooking Time: 15mins

• 1 average sized red cabbage, quartered, woody stem removed and finely shredded
• 2 handfuls of table salt
• 1 litre white wine vinegar (cheap stuff)
• 300ml red wine (cheap stuff)
• 250g caster sugar 
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 3 bay leaves

Make it!

1. Place the shredded cabbage in a large colander with a bowl underneath. Scatter the salt over and give it a mix with your hands to make sure all the cabbage is coated. Leave for a few hours. This draws the moisture out (which collects in the bowl beneath) and removes the bitterness. 
2. After 3 hours, wash the salt off and place in a massive bowl or your largest pan. 
3. Heat the vinegar and red wine in a large pan with the sugar, peppercorns and bay leaves. Once it's boiling, remove from the heat and strain off the spices. 
4. Pour the clear hot liquid all over the red cabbage to fully submerge it. Leave to cool completely.
5. When cool, transfer the cabbage and liquid to a sterilised jar and keep refrigerated. Ready to use the next day, and lasts for months and months. 

Top Ten Barbecue Recipes

Phew! It's way too hot to have the oven on. Your choice is simple; eat cold food or cook outside. Assuming that you don't get caught in a sudden downpour which drenches the food and flames, a barbecue is a pretty delicious option. May we suggest you throw some of these recipes on the barbie?

Burgers. Every barbecue needs a few. We've got burgers to suit every taste! From smoky beef and Thai, to chicken and cheesy. You'll never need to look elsewhere for burgers again.

These sticky ribs are worth firing up the barbecue, even if they're the only thing you cook. Can't find ribs? I've used the same marinade for chicken drumsticks to wonderful effect, there really is no excuse not to try this.

Have you ever noticed how many foods on sticks you find at barbecues? Of course, it's the best way to avoid burning your fingers, just don't poke yourself in the nose while you eat. Gin and tonic lovers will go crazy for these gin-soaked chicken kebabs and vegetarians will love our halloumi skewers. I'd put the Quorn pieces in this barbecue hoisin Quorn recipe on skewers, too.

It's not a barbecue without potato salad. If you have some space on the grill for extra carbs, we've got three ways to barbecue potatoes. Actually, I'm often more excited about the sides than the meat on the barbecue. Case in point - Mexican corn on the cob. No barbecue should be without cucumber and red onion pickle (this comes with a warning: you will eat the whole jar in one sitting).

Don't forget dessert! The ol' banana-on-the-barbecue is a classic for good reason. Try this dairy free version. Not a banana-fan? Try mango skewers instead. See? Food on sticks are a barbecue staple!

Still hungry?! Check out more of our top ten recipe posts.

Sluttishly Sweet: Pickled Watermelon Rind

Pickled watermelon rind is one of those culinary curiosities that befuddles my brain thinking about how it came into existence. Who looked at a watermelon, ate all its sweet, juicy flesh, spat out the seeds and then thought, "Hmm, I think I might try pickling all these leftover bits"?

Whatever the answer - and there's some dispute about whether the first watermelon rind pickle was made in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, or the Deep South - I am thankful to that experimental cook. These pickles are delicious - sweet, sour, and a little bit spicy. They taste like a warm, summery Christmas - surely the perfect flavour - and they're great with cold meats and cheese, and anything barbecued. I love mine with stilton or goat's cheese, or a lovely bit of prosciutto.

The pickling process spans a couple of days, but most of that is fridge time. It's not labour intensive at all, so next time you buy a watermelon, keep those rinds and give this recipe a go. It's important to note that these are not cupboard pickles - they're fridge pickles, and will last a maximum of 10 days in there. That's why I only made a small batch - although the recipe scales up if you fancy making more.

And if you need a something to sing while you pickle, I can highly recommend my reworking of Beyoncé's Drunk In Love:

"I've been pickling watermelon"

Na na na na etc.

Pickled Watermelon Rind (makes enough to fill one 500ml-capacity jar)
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Fridge time: 48 hours in total
Cooking time: 10 minutes + 1 hour countertop cooling time

You will need:

• 400g watermelon rind, green skin removed with a peeler, and a sliver of pink flesh still intact. It should be cut into small chunks. For guidance, my whole melon weighed 3kg; the piece I used for this recipe weighed around 1kg, and that gave me 400g of rinds.
• 2 level tbsp salt
• 100ml distilled white vinegar
• 100g sugar (granulated or caster)
• ½ cinnamon stick
• 1 star anise
• 2-3 cloves
• 1 tsp pink peppercorns (optional)
• 1 small dried red chilli (optional)

Make it!

1. The watermelon rind pieces need to soak in salty water overnight, so put them in a bowl (not aluminium), then mix 350ml cold water with the salt and pour over the top. Cover, and leave in the fridge for 24 hours.
2. Once that's done, drain the rinds and rinse them really well in a colander.  
3. In a large saucepan, combine the rinds, vinegar, sugar, and 100ml water and simmer, stirring all the while, until the sugar dissolves. Add the star anise, cinnamon stick half, cloves, peppercorns and chilli and simmer for five more minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from the heat, and set aside to cool for about an hour. Then use a slotted spoon to scoop the rinds and spices into a sterilised 500ml Kilner jar or similar, and pour over the liquid so that the rinds are completely covered. 
5. Seal the jar and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before eating. Keep in the fridge for no more than 10 days. 

Tip!

• Play about with the spices and flavourings - ginger and lemon would be delicious instead of - or as well as - the above ingredients. 

Design Porn: Sous Chef's Cute As Buttons Bento Boxes

 

KAWAII! *does that thing with the V-sign and massive smile, tries to look cute, fails*

Seriously though, can we have a word about these beautiful, fun bento boxes? I fell in love with them at Sous Chef's Christmas preview last week, but when I found you could get them online already well - Christmas bedamned, these require sharing.

We're massive fans of Sous Chef here at Sluttery. You can get every delicious ingredient under the sun, and fantastic kits. It's incredibly specialist. When I spoke to its founder, Nicola Lando, she said she'd initially been a bit worried that these boxes weren't serious enough. But that is precisely why they're wonderful: most bento boxes I've seen have been incredibly practical and MORTIFYINGLY dull.

Each of these cost £19.95 and would make a fantastic present to someone or, as with all Sluttery present ideas, to yourself. Did I mention how preposterously cute they are? I may be getting slightly hysterical over the whole thing.

Just pop a miso sachet in the top to add hot water to later, your stew or whatever in the middle, and rice or buns or other goodies in the bottom. Or whatever you like. If you are organised enough to make packed lunches, this here is your reward. And get yourself a pair of floral travel chopsticks while you're at it.

Now comes the tricky part: choosing your favourite.

The geisha boxes are like the most adorable Lego. Pick a colour! Purple geisha?

Or pink geisha?

This samurai warrior looks quite monumentally up to no good. Predictably, I love him.

How about the sumo warrior? So proud!

Sous Chef is foodie gift central - you can actually get lost looking through its pages - and these adorable, aspirational packed lunch boxes feature highly on my lists for friends in the future. Sorry Helen! Look away now! OH GOD IT'S TOO LATE.