A home for Veronika and her children

Please donate and then scroll down to see my shared recipes as a thank you to you.

Veronika's story

Veronika and her children spent 21/2 months fleeing the war in Ukraine to get to the U.K. Veronika and her 3 children had to sleep on stations and rely on the kindness of strangers for food and shelter and now that they are here I would like to raise the funds to provide a safe home for them. Hi, my name is Kristina Stitt and I am fundraising for Veronika Zhadorozhnia and her three children and elderly mother who fled the front line - Kharkiv in Ukraine at the start of the Russian invasion. Veronika arrived in the UK in May, along with her 3 children aged 3, 6 and 10, and her mother Svitlana. They left everything they owned in Ukraine and they are now trying to rebuild their shattered lives in the safety of the United Kingdom. I have been hosting them in my home through the Homes for Ukraine scheme for the past 6 months.

We are now trying to find accommodation for Veronika and her lovely family, so they can have a space of their own and be able to live independently. However, it has proven very difficult for them to find a permanent place to live as there is no social housing options for a family of this size and they, like everyone else, have to wait in line for accommodation. As such, we are looking to rent a home privately for the family.

In order to do this, we need to provide 12 months’ rent upfront.

We would like Veronika and family to be able to stay close by to our local community, amongst friends and close to the children's school where they have settled.

We need to raise £10,000 to meet the requirement for the first years rent and we have to pay this upfront. The alternative is that Veronika and the children would be put in one hotel room with no cooking facilities and over 20 miles from the local school where the children have settled and made friends.

I would be so grateful for any donation you can make to this worthy cause, and for you to share this message with friends - in return I am happy to share my best cake and bake recipes which I will post on this site starting with my ultimate chocolate brownies (scroll down to the bottom of the page) - so you do get a little something for your donation, but most importantly you will be helping Veronika and her family to make a fresh start,

If any additional money is raised it will be used to help other refugees in similar circumstances. I am part of a group made up of 15 sponsors, housing a total of 36 Ukrainians’ in the South Oxfordshire area.

Many, many thanks for your donations and help.

Check out my latest recipe:

THE BEST STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING

Medium 60 minutes Dessert 4-6 Servings

INGREDIENTS

175g Dates stoned and chopped into 8ths

(I love to use Medjool dates for this recipe as they have a beautiful toffee flavour and they make the lightest Sticky Toffee puddings)

300mls Boiling Water

1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

175g Caster sugar

50g Unsalted Butter

2 Eggs

175g Self Raising Flour

1 tsp Vanilla Essence

FOR THE SAUCE

300mls Double Cream

50g Demerara sugar

50g Butter

1 tsp black treacle (optional)

YOU WILL NEED

One 20 x 20cm square baking tin lined with non stick baking parchment or a 22cm x 25cm rectangular tin will also do.

COOKING STEPS

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/350°F/ Gas Mark 4

Put the dates and the 300mls of boiling water into a pan over a medium heat and bring back to the boil and cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Allow to cool - the dates should have softened and be a rough puree in consistency.

Meanwhile, cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.

Next slowly add the eggs to the sugar and butter and beat well, adding a couple of tablespoons of the flour to stop the mixture curdling.

Now add the bicarbonate of soda to the dates and water and mix it in allowing it to fizz, then add this mixture to the eggs, butter and sugar mix.

Finally, fold in the remaining flour and then add the vanilla essence and mix gently until combined well.

Pour the mixture into the lined baking tin (don’t worry that the mixture is quite runny)

Bake in the oven for 35-40minutes until just firm to touch.

To make the sauce, place the cream and sugar, butter and treacle (if using) into a pan over a low heat and stir together until mixed. Bring the mixture to the boil and then simmer for 4-5 minutes stirring until the sugar melts and you have a lovely thick golden toffee sauce.

To serve, cut the pudding into portions and generously spoon over the sauce.

If I am making these for a special occasion – I like to make individual portions. The easiest way I have found to do this, is to make the mixture as per the recipe and then divide the mixture up into muffin tins lined with paper cases. Cooking time is reduced to 15-20 minutes. Once cooked remove the paper cases and turn the puddings upside down so the bottom of the muffin is pointing up. Place in the middle of a serving plate or bowl and pour the sauce over the individual puddings.

Serve with a dollop of ice cream or some pouring cream.

RAISIN AND OATMEAL COOKIES

Top tip – heat your measuring spoon by running under a hot tap before measuring your treacle, this will mean your treacle falls easily off the spoon

Makes 6-8 Cookies

INGREDIENTS

230g cold unsalted butter diced

200g light brown sugar (you can use muscovado or dark brown sugar whatever you have available)

50g granulated sugar (use caster sugar if you don’t have granulated)

190g plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp of ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground mixed spice (optional)

½ tsp of salt

2 eggs

1 tbs of black treacle or mollases

2 tsp vanilla essence

240g jumbo whole rolled oats

150g raisins

A baking tin lined with non-stick baking paper

COOKING STEPS

1. Using a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer gently mix the butter for 30 seconds to slightly soften.

2. Add the sugars and mix together for 20 seconds

3. Next combine the spices and flour with the bicarbonate of soda and add to the butter and sugar mix. Mix for 30-40 seconds until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

4. At this stage fold in the oats and raisins and if desired the nuts.

5. Whisk the eggs gently and then measure out the treacle and vanilla essence and add to the eggs.

6. With the mixer going at a medium speed, add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and mix just to the point where the cookie dough comes together. It will be sticky.

7. Chill the dough for 30 minutes or until it is firm enough to handle.

8. Take the cookie dough from the chiller and divide into balls of between 60-80g depending on how large you want your cookies. I do this using an ice cream scoop.

9. Lay on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking parchment and chill for at least 90 minutes, but preferably overnight – I like to put mine in the freezer to fully chill. This will stop the cookies from spreading when cooked. You can also put the cookie balls into a freezer bag at this stage and keep them in the freezer (for up to 3 months) until you are ready to bake them.

10. When you are ready to bake the cookies – heat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/350°F/ Gas Mark 4 and put a baking tray in the oven to heat up.

11. When the oven comes to temperature transfer the chilled dough balls with the baking parchment onto the heated tray, flatten the tops of the dough balls ever so slightly and then cook in the oven for 12-14 minutes until golden brown.

12. The cookies will be soft when they come out of the oven so leave them for 10 minutes to firm up before transferring them to a baking rack or eating them.

13. The cookies will stay fresh for up to 5 days.

And here is my first recipe for

THE ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

INGREDIENTS

175g dark chocolate 70% cocoa butter broken into small pieces

175g unsalted butter at room temperature

250g caster sugar

3 large eggs

120g plain flour

2 tsp vanilla essence

80g chocolate chips

A pinch of salt

20cm x 20cm square baking tin lined with non-stick baking paper

COOKING STEPS

Heat the oven to 170˚C/Fan 160˚C, gas mark 4

1. Put the chocolate and butter in a glass bowl and place over a pan of simmering water stirring often until the chocolate and butter are melted (do not let the water get too hot or the chocolate will split). This can be done in a microwave - put the chocolate in a microwave proof dish and heat at 450w for 2 minutes - stir the chocolate and add the butter and return to the microwave for 2 minutes at 450w. Stir well to mix the butter with the chocolate.

2. Add the sugar and salt to the melted chocolate and butter and beat well.

3. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs together, then add them gradually to the chocolate mixture combining well.

4. Sift the flour into the mixture and beat until smooth – the mixture should have the consistency of a chocolate mousse.

5. Finally, mix in the vanilla essence until well mixed and then fold in the chocolate chips.

6. Spoon the mixture into the tin, levelling the surface. Bake for 22-25 minutes (in my oven with the oven at 170˚C ( I don't use the fan) it takes 23 minutes). The top of the brownie should be pale brown and the middle should be still soft to touch. It will have a slight wobble when removed from the oven.

7. Leave the brownies to cool in the tin, they will start to firm up, then cut into 12 or 16 pieces. If your brownies are still gooey do not worry – just put them in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight and they will firm up.

8. Eat by themselves or serve gently warmed in the microwave, with vanilla ice cream.

I also make these using a 20cm x 32cm x 3cm baking tin and use the following quantities:

THE ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

INGREDIENTS

265g dark chocolate 70% cocoa butter broken into small pieces

265g unsalted butter at room temperature

375g caster sugar

5 large eggs

180g plain flour

3 tsp vanilla essence

140g chocolate chips

Two pinches of salt

20cm x 32cm x 3cm baking tin lined with non-stick baking paper

Use the same method as above, but bake for 27 - 30 minutes (mine take 28 minutes in my oven without the fan at 170˚C.)

Enjoy!