Easter Holibags

April is the month of no return; the kids are at school for a total of approx. 7 days, the rest being dedicated to Easter holidays, bank holidays, the Royal Wedding and there may be an election in there too.   So how do you keep them entertained?   No, seriously, HOW.........?   Nah, only kidding, I have this down to a tee after years of practice.   It's a finely tuned balance of food, entertainment, jammie days and the occasional throwing money at the situation.

The secret is not to peak too early ain't that the truth....; so here's how it's going so far: Saturday after school ends, have great friends who throw a party or throw it yourself to celebrate the start of the holidays and who will supply you with a constant flow of gin and champagne, the kids a constant supply of sweeties, Easter egg hunts and dvds.   A bit of sunshine helps, if you can arrange it as an hour at the park for the kids, and only the kids, you'll be sitting sipping that gin and tonic helps tremendously.

The Sunday, arrange for some visitors...not too early, you've been drinking gin remember, but not too late either, you'll be in need of those bacon rolls and lemon cake to aid your recovery.   It just so happened it was Mothers Day...perfect; breakfast in bed, for me a toasted bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese and huge mugs of tea....then up to make the cake and then chill on the sofa with the Sunday papers until mum and sisters arrive.   See, we're all happy; the kids are happy to see their family, adrenalin pounds at the excitement of it all tiring them out and you get to sit still.  And eat.   Doing not much at all.   That's important.  

So they've had a busy weekend, it's time to take stock and chill for a few days but only if it's raining; if it's sunny, you must go out in Glasgow as we don't know when that rare ball in the sky might surface once more or at least, throw the kids out but in general, Monday is the day for jammies, dvds, cookies, food and games.

Tuesday was a wee bit similar, truth be told I spent the day cooking, see below, but it gets them ready for a nice long walk to the train station come Wednesday for a trip the the cinema .   By 7.30pm, they're home, fed and tired and mum can go meet her pals at the pub.   

 

That leads us nicely to today; the girls are having a pony day where they get to clean out, pony ride etc. and me and the lad get to have some laddie time:
"So, Fraser, what shall we do today?"
"Stay in, play the Wii"
"The sun is shining, son, lets go do something"
"I think that would be good, but for now, I really think you should have a coffee and a biscuit first and why don't you go on the computer for a wee while?   You deserve it"
"Well...ok....."

Hence my bloggy update.  

Now to the issue of food: this week, I cooked Martha's Beef Goulash, Moroccan Style Chicken with Couscous and my Original Chilli recipe; I've experimented over the past year with chilli, my favourite having sirloin steak in it as well as mince but you know how I like to get value for money and although it is indeed a tasty chilli, the sirloin and extra ingredients push up the cost enormously.   My original chilli costs less and is a good starting point where extra ingredients can be added.  

Helen's Original Chilli

 

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced (I like the long, pointed peppers as sweeter) 
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 heaped tsp hot chilli powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 500g lean minced beef
• 1 beef stock cube
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• ½ tsp dried marjoram or mixed herbs containing marjoram
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 410g can red kidney beans 
• Square of dark chocolate
• Teaspoon cocoa powder
• Half cup coffee

1. Add oil to a large pan and add the onions and cook for 5 minutes on medium; stir occasionally.  Once the onions are soft, add the garlic, red pepper, chilli, paprika and cumin. Give it a stir, then leave it to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Brown the mince. Turn the heat up, add the meat to the pan and brown; break up the mince with your wooden spoon.  Keep stirring and breaking up the mince until totally browned.
3. Mix the stock cube with 300ml/1⁄2 pint of hot water. Pour this into the pan with the mince. Add the can of chopped tomatoes and the marjoram, sugar, cocoa powder, coffee, tomato puree and add a good shake of salt and pepper. Stir.
4. Bring to the boil, give it a good stir and put a lid on. Turn down the heat until it is simmering and leave for 1 hour. Stir every now and then.
5. Add the beans and chocolate.   Bring to the boil again, and gently simmer without the lid for another 15 minutes, adding a little water if you think it needs it. Taste and season well.   Have a wee bowlful because hey, you made it, you deserve it but then leave for at least an hour or overnight before serving for dinner as the flavours really get a chance to adhere.

* I serve mine with flatbread or rice, topped with a little grated cheese and natural yoghurt.
** Add chopped up chillies for an extra kick.

Enough already!

View from the house; we've hit a thaw..apparently!


Sun setting


G'bye sun; we only knew you for a brief moment...but you warmed our toes and noses..we'll miss you.

Please help me. I'm so cold. My nose is permanently pink. The tips of my ears can no longer be felt can you ever feel your ears though?. At a party at Sam's on Saturday night, the temperature was so much on our minds, we even discussed the weather; good for sledging, bad for walking, whether it was stalagmites or stalactites....really, we shouldn't be discussing such things, especially not on a Saturday night! We should be merrily drinking and singing Bohemian Rhapsody at the top of our voices ok, the first person to mention Boxing day gets hurt. Apparently, you remember stalactites as coming downwards because "tights come down". "Yeah" I mumbled "maybe in Fife....". All those over the age of 41 seemed to know this; all us under had no idea what they were on about.

Despite the brief weather talk, it was a lovely Saturday night and the house was toasty...very, very important when accepting invitations these days. We had lovely chilli, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, tortillas, wraps, antipasti, couscous, olives, dips and much, much more. Delicious. Sam even came up with two lovely wee birthday cakes Happy birthday Ann and Ian....*thrrrp* with fireworks on top...yup, actual burn-your-eyebrows-blind-you-for-life fireworks...but we Glaswegians like to live on the edge I know you're not Glaswegian Sam but you have to accept an honorary status after at least 10 years.

The spread; that empty space was filled with glorious couscous!


Ian and Ann's surprise cakes! The now no longer have eyebrows.

During the holiday period, the cold doesn't seem to be as much of a nuisance because the kids are here, we're all playing and snuggling up to watch old movies which is great fun...I forgot how funny My Fair Lady with Audrey Hepburn was:

Mrs. Eynsford-Hill: I do hope we wont have any unseasonable cold spells, they bring on so much influenza. And the whole of our family is susceptible to it.
Eliza Doolittle: My Aunt died of influenza, or so they said. But its my belief they done the old woman in.
Mrs. Higgins: Done her in?
Eliza Doolittle: Yes, lord love you. Why should she die of influenza, when she come through diphtheria right enough the year before. Fairly blue with it she was. They all thought she was dead. But my father, he kept ladling gin down her throat. Then she come to so sudden she bit the bowl right off the spoon.
Mrs. Eynsford-Hill: Dear Me!
Eliza Doolittle: Now what call would a woman with that strength in her have to die of influenza? And what become of her new straw hat that should have come to me?
[pause]
Eliza Doolittle: Somebody pinched it. And what I say is: them 'as pinched it, done her in.
Lord Boxington: Done her in? Done her in did you say?
Lady Boxington: Whatever does it mean?
Mrs. Higgins: Its the new slang meaning someone has killed her.
Mrs. Eynsford-Hill: Surely you don't think someone killed her?
Eliza Doolittle: Do I not? Them she lived with would have killed her for a hatpin, let alone a hat.
Mrs. Eynsford-Hill: But it can't have been right for your father to be pouring spirits down her throat like that, it could have killed her.
Eliza Doolittle: Not her, gin was mother's milk to her. Besides he poured so much down his own throat, he knew the good of it.
Lord Boxington: Do you mean he drank?
Eliza Doolittle: Drank? My word something chronic.
[responding to freddy's laughter]
Eliza Doolittle: Here! What are you sniggering at?
Freddy Eynsford-Hill: The new small talk, you do it so awfully well.
Eliza Doolittle: Well if I was doing it proper, what was you sniggering at? Have I said anything I oughtn't?
Mrs. Higgins: No my dear.
Eliza Doolittle: Well thats a mercy anyhow...

---

....but after the holidays have past, there is that week. That first week the kids are back to school, I'm barely organised and it's too damn cold anyway! But then we move on to this week. I always like this one as motivation goes up and the blues come down; it's week 3 of the new year already and the cold, despite it being a big blue pain in the pants, is not going to limit me anymore. The heating is on full blast, the thermals have been sent over by helicopter, courtesy of Marks and Sparks and I'm going out. Yes! Out I tell you. If you don't hear from me for a few days, send a mountain rescue team up The Whangie. Tell them to bring gin. Lots of it.

Thursday night's all right for drinking

Last night, my friend Karen had a few of us gals over for wine and snacks. I so wish I'd had my camera with me because my eyes bulged when she brought out this huge platter of antipasti, tomatoes, strawberries, grapes, cheese, pate, crackers and crudites as well as dips and crisps. Trying to hide my glee by actually letting someone else get to the platter before me, as my borderline mannerly mind dictates, I sat tap, tap, tapping my foot before practically shoving Anne out of the way as she hovered over the cheese. I tried to shield the platter from Shona but she stabbed me with a fork to get in. She didn't actually stab me with anything but I could tell she was thinking about it.

It was utterly delicious and perfect alongside my red wine and what with the great chat and company, I had a lovely night.

Anne had recently been on holiday and whilst perusing the goods for sale in a local farm shop, she came across a plaque, a plaque that she had no choice but to purchase for me. If I had seen it first, and it was a choice between eating that night and buying the plaque for her, I'd have still purchased the plaque because never has a truer plaque been seen:
She also got one for herself. And just to show how much blogging has pervaded my world, my first thought after laughing was 'Vintage Kitten' would love this. I love it. It has pride of place in my kitchen. Thank you Anne.

I shall be making bread today...bread and cake. Dinner will consist of bacon, egg and chips with homemade bread and butter, a classic if somewhat lazy British delicacy which we all get cravings for from time to time. Sometimes, it's sausages and occasionally, there are beans. Sometimes you also have to add a tomato, just to live a little, you know? I happen to be going out again tonight, two nights in a row not being my forte so I shall need comfort food, a day of light activity and an eye pack to disguise the night before. Wish me luck.

Burnbrae and Tonic

Anne and I went to the Burnbrae; she came with me at short notice tonight and had to walk in the rain with me to get there. We had a gin and slimline tonic or three, some good chat and a great laugh, even if it was at both our husband's expense. The men at the next table are traumatised for life. I discovered a gin and slimline tonic is 50 calories whilst a large glass of wine is 135. This makes me happy. The crisps are a post-requisite of the pub, but just the one packet!