The Tudge Rum Rocket Cocktail

For a cocktail with a difference, take one champagne glass

1. Add 4 ice cubes
2. One two caps of dark rum
3. One cap of Bottle Green Lemon and Gingergrass Cordial
4. Fill to the top with soda water
5. Add one slice of lemon

Cava or Processco makes an interesting replacement for the soda water

Walking Up Kilimanjaro

On May 10th, I'm attempting to walk to the top of Kilimanjaro.

I'm raising money for Practical Action, so please consider sponsoring me via my JustGiving page

If you'd like to know a little more about the trip, I've setup a microsite at www.charlesvskili.me.uk

Mozzarella, Parmesan and Goats Cheese Macaroni

Mac & Cheese by Dalboz17,
on Flickr

The cheeses listed here are the ones that I like to use, but you can use an combination of hard and soft cheeses with different melting points. The goats cheese won't melt, so you end up with little pocket of goats cheese

With the ingredients, you can vary them as you see fit - this normally feeds 2 hungry adults and kids

• 250g of macaroni
• 2oz (56g) of butter 
• 2oz (56g) of flour
• 1 pint of full of milk
• 1 pack of pancetta cubes (or bacon)
• 250g of grated mozzarella or  cheddar cheese
• 50g of parmesan
• 50g of goats cheese - cubed
• 1 teaspoon of corn flour

1. Cook the macaroni in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 8-10 minutes; drain well and set aside in an ovenproof dish
2. Melt the butter in a microwave (or pan) and then stir the flour in until you have smooth paste
3. Put the milk into a pan and place on the hob. Scrape all the paste into the pan and start whisking as it gets warm. After around 5-10 minutes you'll have a thickened and smooth sauce
4. Gently fry the pancetta cubes until nicely browned and then mix into the macaroni so that they well distributed
5. Scatter the corn flour into the mozzarella or cheddar and mix with your hands. This stops the fat and proteins separating and gives you a nice shiny sauce
6. Pour the mozzarella or cheddar into the sauce and whisk quickly until all the cheese is melted
7. Add the parmesan and whisk 
8. Finally add the goats cheese and whisk
9. Pour the cheese sauce over the macaroni and add some more mozzarella or cheddar over the top followed by some parmesan
10. Place under a hot grill until bubbling.

The corn flour trick came from the excellent How to Cook Like Heston

Made in Mumbles Website goes live

Another quick post, this time to announce that my wifes website has finally gone live.

Her business Made in Mumbles, offers a wide range of fresh flower arrangements for any occasion delivered to anywhere in Swansea.

She is also running a series of Christmas flower arranging courses, throughout November

How to stop people tagging you in Facebook Photos

If you'd prefer all of your friends on Facebook not to be informed when someone else tags you, follow these simple instructions.

Unfortunately there is no way to stop people from tagging you apart from leaving Facebook

1) Goto Account > Privacy Settings

2) Select the Customise Options at the bottom

3) Select Photos and videos you're tagged in option halfway down the page

4) Select the Customise Option

5) Select Only Me


6) Select Save Settings

It's good to be blogging again

Not much has been happening on this blog recently as I've been devoting my attention to my new company blog Always Be Testing which contains lot of useful hints and tips about internet marketing

Got 12 posts under my belt so far and determined to keep up the momentum

Helping Small Business

In these tough times, it's even harder for small businesses to find the money to either build or maintain a website.

We've been testing out a new framework for the Wordpress platform called Thesis to create a website that can be quickly and easily updated by our clients.

We're pleased to announce the launch of our first one. Built for John Roberts who runs wine tasting courses and events in swansea, it allow him to quickly edit the pages and he'll be writing a blog shortly