St. Andrews

We're just back from a few days at the golfing town called St. Andrews.   We stayed in a lovely house called Morton of Pitmilly at Kingsbarn, a wee village next to St. Andrews which was set inside a working farm.   Of course, we managed to blag a bag full of fresh veg before we left; beetroot, potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage and cucumber, to name a few.   I'm looking forward to making a stew!

Whilst there, my friend Irene prepared a monkfish stew with the addition of wee dumplings from me using the fresh veg from the farm whilst I got on with making brushcetta alongside olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip, crusty bread, olives and sun-blushed tomatoes as a starter and salmon tempura for the kids with a salad of chopped cucumber and apple.

Did I take pictures to share with you?   No I did not, for various reasons, the main one being the food was inhaled before you could say "can you wait until I take a picture for my blog............." because the answer would have been a resounding "no" or even a "bog off".   But it was good and looked well tasty.  I know you'll hopefully take my word for it.

No food photies, only kids; normal service will be resumed shortly...............

Kids in St. Andrews High Street with Skye the dog

 Dear gawd....

Lucy on Beach

It was a gorgeous day

Happy and confused?

Back to normality......?

I was looking forward to my post today; the food for the week, a receipt, under fifty pounds.. basically, normality. This being the winter autumn still...? of discontent when it comes to illness, I was naive to think it would be so. Lulled into a false sense of security, I floated to bed last night, with a list in my head of all I would achieve come Monday lunchtime. This list became null and void yet again when a small lass, shivering and sad, appeared by my bedside in the wee hours with a fever. One lass turned to two and, once again, I find myself with children home from school.

Calling the school up, I felt guilty, as if I'd somehow concocted an evil plan to keep them off, so that I could send them up some chimneys later. Its not that the school isn't lovely and they always respond well but it just seems to be every other week. I suppose this is what happens when you have three children. Soup for everyone!

But still... the cooking continues. Lentil soup, spicy onions, pakora, chicken noodle soup, breads, cakes and stews. This week, it will once again be soups and stews with a few pasta dishes thrown in for good measure. I'll be going shopping later, ensuring I take cash...a good little ploy to ensure I don't spend over the budget...and this is how the menu for the week looks:
Macaroni Cheese
Beef Stew with Dumplings
Haddock Chowder
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Rigatoni al Forno
Parsnip and Apple soup
Vegetable Soup and homemade bread
Hearthbread pizza
Tomato and Chilli soup
Fruit Loaf
Birthday Cake for Grandpa
Yet More Indian Food for Friday Night's Dinner with Friends

I tried out a new pakora batter. I mixed flour with bicarbonate of soda and made the batter thinner with a quick beating at the end to get a light, frothy but crispy coating; I tried it on onion rings which were ideal but this would work well with bhaji or any other pakora.
New Batter
100g plain flour
40g gram flour
1tsp salt, ground cumin, turmeric, bicarb
Half teaspoon chilli powder
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons coriander seeds, lightly crushed
*You could just use a pakora mix or, as I did, I added in a bit of both.
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons veg/groundnut oil
Oil for frying
Water to make a batter

Sift all the powdered, dry ingredients together and add the lemon juice and oil; it'll froth a bit because of the lemon juice reacting with the bicarb. Slowly, stir in water to make a thin batter, consistency of single cream. I beat this at the end for 30 seconds to air it as I believe that is what creates a crispy batter. Mix in onions (or veg of choice) and coriander seeds.

Heat oil, and test by dropping in a tiny amount of batter; it should immediately start to bubble and float to the top. Place tablespoons or more of the onion batter mix into the hot oil and cook until brown on both sides. I've videotaped my efforts for you to giggle at....

I went to Fi's house with Jo on Thursday evening and took some hearthbread; it was tasty but I realised this is always better hot....it reheats beautifully and remember to add a drizzle more olive oil when you take it out the oven...also, remember just how garlicky it is. The original recipe calls for 3 heads of garlic....yes, 3!!! I use one, roasted beforehand but this is still a lot of garlic! Beware. That's all I'm saying....

I made thank you cards last week, to give out to my friends and family who very kindly bought me wonderful gifts. I used an image of the flowers my friend Ann sent me; they really were incredibly beautiful....the flowers, I mean.

From ski to knee in three easy steps

Feeling better, I went to the ski club on Monday for lessons; I forgot how much I loved it and felt fine afterwards. Come Tuesday, I couldn't walk, missed a step what with the jelly leg syndrome I appeared to be experiencing and hurt my bleedin' knee. I missed yoga and lunch with Ann but remained philosophical; I had lots of stuff to do within the house so I'd catch up with that instead.

The phone rang: could you come collect Kelly from school please as she is ill. Will this never end?

I gave up, lay on the couch with her and watched re-runs of Friends and the Gilmore Girls.

I did make bread and roasted peppers for tea...

...apart from that, no news, so some old photies for your perusal instead...

From this.....


...to this!


That's Fraser, swinging his kilt!


From this...


...to this!

Where does the time go?

Buns, pasta and randomness

The kids are sharing a room at the moment because of the painting and decorating. They are driving me round the bend. I've considered all manner of things to make them still but for the love of all that is holy, they just keep at it! They just can't stop chattering like monkeys, even with a two day ban on all electronic equipment. I've even gotten a bit of cheek; not usual in this house, I can tell ya! "I can't turn on the light for you mummy, it's electric!" with a smug grin.

I've had no choice but to pour a large glass of wine tonight what with the abuse and my sore bones....that was the yoga...my legs have seized into a permanent lotus position....I've had to crawl round the house on my ar$£, pulling myself from place to place with my upper limbs...just as well my arms are like tree trunks, what with all the vinyasas.....

I know it's a pretty crappy picture but I stole it, edited it and all in two minutes....I have wine waiting after all.

I made Nutella buns last night; they sure don't look pretty but they tasted divine. The kids bounded down the stairs, two at a time, the smell tantalising their taste buds. When I told them it was Nutella Buns, they practically fainted with happiness. I allowed them a scant half a bun each for supper but that there would be plenty, ready and waiting for breakfast. Probably the sugar rush to the head which made them so wired last night....oh dear, they had cheese and pickles tonight. It's going to be nightmares, isn't it? Sigh.

I used the schneken pastry recipe but instead of slathering over egg and milk mix with the cinnamon filling, I layered on a great big dod of Nutella instead and rolled the dough, swiss roll like and cut into slices. I let it rest for another 15-12 minutes then baked at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes. The smell alone is worth it. If you are selling your home, make these. You'd sell your home three times over and for twice the cost.

I made macaroni cheese for the kids and the spinach, feta, spicy tomato pasta for us. I've adapted this from a ricotta cheese recipe and the spinach didn't exactly enthrall me....it's the smell but this is a really tasty little number. Like the Nutella buns, it doesn't look like much but totally tastes better than it looks.

Spinach & Feta Pasta

1 garlic clove, finely chopped
A pinch of dried chillies
A tablespoon of olive oil
1 tin (400g approx.) of plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper
A good handful of fresh spinach leaves
Approx. 200g feta, cubed
A handful of pine nuts, dry toasted
Linguine

Fry the garlic and chili over a medium heat in the olive oil until soft. Keep an eye on it, you don't want it to brown as it will go bitter. Add the tin of tomatoes. Do not stir yet. Leave the sauce to thicken and bubble then gently mash the tomatoes with a fork. Add the vinegar and salt and pepper and set aside.

Cook the linguine as per instructions. Steam the spinach for a few minutes above the pasta water. Drain the linguine and add to the tomato sauce, add the spinach and feta and mix. Place into serving bowl and sprinkle over pine nuts. Eat heartily.

And now for some randomness: Lucy wandered round taking odd photographs tonight so I thought I'd share them with you.

A photograph in a silver frame of my first graduation, in my early 20s.


A partial shot of my party invite, still to be distributed.


We were watching Friends.


Lucy's eyeball.

Wordless Wednesday

The party's over.

It has been a wonderful weekend. Really. Even with yesterday's hangover. The hair of the dog at Ricky and Irene's was totally unexpected but actually seemed to help. Worrying.

The tea party today turned into a brunch as everyone was arriving at 12.30. It seemed appropriate, being a Sunday and having a fridge full of bacon and a cupboard full of eggs and tomatoes. I served bacon, sausages, potato scones, potato frittata, (the potatoes first cooked in olive oil, thyme, rosemary and garlic, all removed before adding the eggs), a cheese omelette cooked in oil and an omelette with spring onions and Parmesan cooked in butter.

I cut large tomatoes in half and roasted them with olive oil, a large handful of chopped basil, a sprinkling of thyme, a grating of Parmesan and a drizzle of balsamic. I added a great big pinch of Maldon sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and popped them in the oven at 150 degrees Celsius. I slow roasted them for an hour and they really were delicious; the tomatoes were soft and sweet, the basil crunchy...I really recommend these. We served rolls, bread and butter and great steaming mugs of tea, what else?

After brunch, we had birthday cake and coffee. It was a calm, chatty, lovely birthday brunch. When everyone left, I knew I had to move and move fast. I realised if I didn't keep moving that I might fall down in a little heap and not move for a few hours, bar some twitching. So, I went upstairs to repair the damage 10 or 12 kids can amazingly inflict in such a short time.

By then, I wasn't fit for cooking even though Frank my wonderful father in law was here. I suggested pizza at Massimo's as a birthday treat and everyone thought it was a grand idea. Hallelujah! We bumped into the lovely Jo and family who, amongst almost all of Bearsden, had had the same idea as us: they were seating them out the door! The sfiziosa pizza was lovely although not as spicy as normal and I ate only a few slices. The kids hardly ate anything before running outdoors to play. Sigh. Thank goodness for take out boxes.

I laughed heartily when Brian 'suggested' making snickerdoodle cake. Instead, we went to Asda where the kids got to spend some of their birthday money and mini chocolate muffins were bought for those who wanted to partake in a sweet. I know, I hear you all cry...but they didn't even eat their dinner! Look, it was their birthday, we're all allowed a day off from the norm. So yes, I let them have muffins and sweets too. Thrrp.

After all this and feeling slightly faint, I stumbled inside, grasping about in the haze for coffee. But I had a revelation last night. More on that later. The revelation came back to me and I crawled up the stairs at 8pm, shouting instructions for baths (for the children) and went for a 30 minute walk in the sun. The day still isn't over as uniforms need to be found but you know, I'm alive, I'm well and I have three happy children, a smug husband and a reasonably contented father in law. Life is grand.

A small party glimpse...

...I can't believe no-one took pictures of the BBQ party food for me but such is life and we have a small glimpse.

Birthday cake!

Parachute Games organised by Val...great fun!

There sure were a lot of kids!

Exhaustion

What a wonderful bbq; the kids had a ball, the parents were laughing and even the sun shone...well, for some of the time. The treasure hunt went down a treat as did the wonderful games Val played with them...thank you Val, who also cooked!

80 sausages, 80 burgers, 100 hotdogs, 40 ribs, 12 veggie burgers, 8 veggie skewers, 6 prawn skewers, 24 chicken breasts, potato salad, mozzarella and tomato salad were all consumed in their entirety. Most of the pasta was eaten as was the fruit salad and there was not even a crumb of chocolate cake left. It was a lovely night.

Some friends came back afterwards but I eventually succumbed to tiredness (apparently...oops) and woke in a dehydrated and tired mess. That's when I realised I had kids staying over and there was a fun day planned at the bear factory and then food, drink, sweets... It's 4pm and I'm just home. Exhaustion is creeping in. The kids were wonderful though and it was a nice day. I must away and get showered again though as we are heading to Ricky and Irene's. Oh, and then there is tomorrow's tea party....................!