Latest news with #homemade
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Lifestyle
- News.com.au
How to freeze gnocchi
Got leftover homemade gnocchi? Here's how to freeze it so you always have some on hand for a quick and easy dinner.
Washington Post
3 days ago
- Health
- Washington Post
This homemade vegan cottage cheese is quick and protein-rich
Make it or buy it? When it comes to food, the answer depends on so many variables, such as: How much time are you willing to spend? How much money? Will the homemade version be better than what you can buy? Or will you get enough satisfaction from the DIY process that none of the previous questions matter?
BBC News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Ditchingham Doctor Who fan brings joy with life-size Daleks
A Doctor Who superfan who creates homemade Daleks to support charities says he wanted to turn a character that "hates the human race" into a "cause for something good".Mark Casto, 67, from Ditchingham, Norfolk - known as Dalek man - recycles everything from Christmas baubles to dustbin lids to create the life-size by his daughter Amy, who made a gingerbread version, Mr Casto has built several homemade Daleks since lockdown to support homeless people and disability Casto said: "They've changed a lot during the years and they're still so popular - it just goes to show that, like Spiderman and Batman, they've just got something special about them." Despite thinking the Daleks were "creepy" when he first saw them on TV as a child in the 1960s, Mr Casto said they had the biggest influence on him."I was obsessed with them and when I got older, I wanted to build them and eventually had the skills and time to do it," he said. The handmade Daleks take about six to seven months to piece together and measure roughly six feet (1.8 metres) tall and four feet (1.2 metres) are made using recycled materials including timber and plywood, fibreglass and even knitting needles. 'Like a prop' Mr Casto made his first Dalek almost five years ago and named it Dalek DL as a reference to its dustbin lid then, he has built five more, with names including Dalek Rad, Dalek Bert and Dalek of his Daleks have mobility scooters within them, so Mr Casto can often be seen whizzing around his local area disguised as his villainous said: "I often get people walking their dogs past me and stay still like I'm a prop, and I wait until they come a bit closer and if the dog seems okay, one of my favourite lines to say in the Dalek voice is 'what is this creature on the lead?'. "If they say that's their dog, I then say: 'I was not talking to you'."The Daleks have helped generate publicity for charities including Emmaus, which works to end homelessness, and Waveney Enterprises, which provides a space for people with learning disabilities to express themselves through craft and life skills, and is celebrating its 40th anniversary this Casto said he had no plans to make any further Daleks - instead those he already has will be put to good use at events and organisations across the of them will be at a children's event at Latitude Festival in Suffolk in July. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Independent
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Doctor Who superfan's homemade Daleks bring joy and support to UK charities
A Doctor Who superfan who creates homemade Daleks to support charities said he has turned a character which 'wants to destroy planet Earth' into a 'cause for something good'. Mark Casto is 67 and retired, but has had an eclectic mix of jobs including as a cartoonist, chef, graphic designer and Baptist minister. Inspired by his daughter Amy who made a gingerbread version of the popular Doctor Who villain, Mr Casto now spends his days creating life-sized Dalek replicas to bring joy and publicity to charities supporting disabled and homeless people. 'A lot of people around here know me as the Dalek man,' Mr Casto, who lives in Ditchingham, Norfolk, told the PA news agency. 'I use them to raise money for a charity or help support a good cause. 'It's good to be able to take something that hates the whole human race and wants to destroy planet Earth, and turn it into a cause for something good.' He made his first Dalek roughly around the time the Covid pandemic began, which he called Dalek DL to pay homage to its head being made from a dustbin lid, which has since been deconstructed and revamped as Dalek Ernie. Since then, he has constructed five more, the majority of which stay in a room in his house when not entertaining people, and have been given names including Dalek Rad, Dalek Bert and Dalek Blisteron. They have taken Mr Casto between six to seven months to piece together and are roughly six feet high and four feet wide. He has used recycled timber and other items like Christmas baubles to create the sensor globes and knitting needles for the weapons, with materials including fibreglass, plywood and metal being welded together to create the support frames for the Daleks. Mr Casto has cited the website Project Dalek as being his go-to source for information on how to build the Doctor Who villains. So far, the Daleks have helped generate publicity for the work done by charities including Emmaus, which aims to end homelessness, and Waveney Enterprises, which provides a space for people with learning disabilities to express themselves through crafting and life skills, and is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. 'I work with a lot of people at Waveney Enterprises that have Down's syndrome and are very big Dr Who fans, and I started working there right after Covid struck,' Mr Casto said. 'I suggested we have a project where we create a Dalek of our own and it involved carpentry and electronics, and we recently completed that. 'It was a pleasure making Dalek Doom with them and they were really excited and all had a go using the voice modulator to do the Dalek voice, and it now lives in (the charity's) craft workshop in Beccles.' Two of the Daleks have mobility scooters inside them, so Mr Casto can often be seen whizzing around his local area disguised as his villainous alter-ego, which has led to some amusing interactions. 'I often get people walking their dogs past me and stay still like I'm a prop, and I wait until they come a bit closer and if the dog seems okay, one of my favourite lines to say in the Dalek voice is 'what is this creature on the lead?'' he said. 'If they say that's their dog, I then say: 'I was not talking to you'.' He also met Barbara Loft, who starred in Doctor Who television story The Mind Robber in her youth. 'One day, when I was in Dalek Rad, this lady came out of her cottage and looked at me and said: 'oh, a Dalek how random' and I told her: 'Daleks are not random, you will be exterminated',' Mr Casto explained. 'She came over and told me she acted alongside Patrick Troughton in Doctor Who in 1968. 'What were the chances of that? That was a highlight.' Despite thinking the Daleks were 'creepy' when he first saw them on his TV as a child in the 1960s, he said they had the biggest influence on him. 'When the Daleks first appeared on TV, they were so strange – we'd never really seen anything quite like them before,' he said. 'I was obsessed with them and when I got older, I wanted to build them and eventually had the skills and time to do it. 'They've changed a lot during the years as well and they're still so popular after so long, and it just goes to show that, like Spiderman and Batman, they've just got something special about them.' The former graphic designer said he has no plans to make any further Daleks – instead those he already has will be put to good use at events and organisations across the country. Mr Casto's Daleks are preparing for a busy summer, as two of them will be at a children's event at Latitude Festival in Suffolk in July.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
One wedding cake costs £10 from Sainsbury's… the other is from a top bakery - so can YOU tell which is which?
They're both three-tiers, covered in delicious buttercream icing, and decorated beautifully. However one of these show-stopping cakes is £27 from a luxury bakery, while the other is a homemade creation with a price tag of just £10 - but can you spot the difference? The more expensive, but equally beautiful creation, is from UK-based bakery chain loved by influencers and foodies alike, Patisserie Valerie. Meanwhile the other is home made, using three Sainsbury's sponge cakes for a tenner, which is similar to what you could find at a premium vendor. UK content creator Lyre took to her TikTok account, @theleggofamily, to showcase how she created the stunning delicacy using just Victoria Sponge Cakes from the supermarket. The mother-of-one who often shares creative money saving hacks on her platform, revealed the cake can be used for any celebration and it's simple to do. For the thrifty creation, which is decorated with gold cake toppers, Lyre explained that she bought three boxes of Taste the Difference Victoria Sponge Cakes for £2 each from the supermarket using Nectar prices. She also bought vanilla cream icing, which cost £3, and gold cake toppers from Temu. The influencer also revealed she previously purchased a cake decorating kit from TikTik shop which helped her with the process, but this wasn't essential. She described her hack as: 'Budget-friendly and perfect for birthdays or any special occasion.' In the clip, which racked up more than 280,000 views, Lyre began by getting a cake stand and removing the cakes from their packaging. She sliced the curved top off each of the cakes so they could neatly be stacked on top of each other. The savvy mother then put a layer of Vanilla Buttercream-style icing in between each cake to keep them in place and to add extra filling. She then spread the icing around all of them, creating one large three-tierd structure. Next, she used an icing scraper to smooth out the icing and a piping tool to decorate the edges. Many were really impressed with the professional looking creation and rushed to the comments. One person wrote: 'Does it stay upright without any support? l can't bake at all so might give this a go!' To which Lyre replied: 'Yes!! Make sure you put it on the fridge after 1st coat of icing for one hour then do 2nd coat of icing then fridge it.' Another asked: 'So how much were the decorations ? And how long did it take you from start to finish including washing up cleaning after you ,also actually going to buy it all too, people don't think about all that.' 'To make it didn't take me long as well prolly 15-20 mins max!' Lyre said. 'But I put it in the fridge for one hour after first icing then did another icing again.' Another added: 'Only seeing this now after we paid our deposit for our wedding cake in August.' A fourth penned: 'Perfect for when you don't have time to bake, also saves time on the washing up.' Many were really impressed with the professional looking creation and rushed to the comments One also expressed: 'I think this is great if you can't cook but wanna still do a cake you have the knowledge in crumb coating get the betty Crocker cake mix so easy.' However for nearly three times the price, but less of the hassle, you could opt for the Ultimate Raspberry Ripple Cake, which is three layers of sponge, raspberry cream and raspberry jam filling with white and pink buttercream from the popular bakery. It comes after another woman revealed how she transformed four chocolate mud cakes from the supermarket into a spectacular 30-something birthday cake. The mother-of-two, from Australia, bought the chocolate cakes from Woolworths before decorating them with stunning pink buttercream flowers and hearts. The incredible tip has been described as 'the best supermarket hack yet' with hundreds of home cooks commenting on the design. The mother posted photos of the cake transformation on Facebook and said the cake was much larger than she expected once it had been completed. She bought a 30-something cake topper for the dessert which she paired with a golden palm frond as the key decorations. The cake was coloured in rose pink, lavender and gold tones, which impressed the others in the group. 'Your cake has left me speechless, just how? What an excellent cake designer,' one woman applauded on the post. The woman posted a series of pictures, including recipe screenshots, to explain exactly how she managed to decorate the cakes so well. 'Thank you for giving such good instructions, so people like me can attempt a hack like this,' one woman marveled. Other pretended to be upset with the amazing effort. 'This group has no room for actual talent, go away,' one mum laughed. The mother used some of the cake in heart-shaped molds and said the cake was 'so moist' she just rolled it up inside without needing to use icing to stick it together. She also used silicon molds to make tiny chocolate blocks and used different sized chocolate balls covered in pink and purple chocolate to add to the the effect of the tower.
