Uniforms, Mugdock and Mud

Mugdock Wood

There are promises everywhere of deals galore but the humble school uniform still ends up costing me a fortune. Three times everything soon adds up; it's not just the trousers and the shirts and the jumpers but then there's school bags, pencils, socks, hair bands, hats, a lung and a mummy's will to live.

The kids look forward to buying school uniforms so we make a day of it, usually involving ten shops to find Kelly the best jumper or Lucy the perfect hair band. Fraser just goes with the flow..."whatever, mum". We trawled the shop looking for just the right shoes for Kelly and school bags which could be customised. I resisted the urge to tell them that in our day a poly bag would have done and 'customised' meant graffiti, no matter what you called it.

We had grandpa to stay and quite a lot of trips planned over the past few days. The kids have had a ball and the rest of the week is just as busy. Next week, they'll attend the church summer school every morning, in preparation of getting up at a fairly reasonable hour for school. It's free, it's crafty and all three can attend....anyone up for coffee and cake next week, I'll meet you at the corner; it's on me!

In the meantime, I'm planning my trip to Canada and I'm really, really looking forward to it. I'll arrive in Toronto and fly out to Montreal for the weekend with the lovely Kate and Jill. Then I'll see Pauline, my old school friend who ran away with a tall, handsome Canadian and her lovely brood, one of which I haven't even met before and then possibly head to Niagara on the Lake for a tour of the wineries, a show at the famous Shaw Theatre and a slap up meal. After that, it's spa, shopping, walking, reading, swimming and cocktails. Happy sigh.

I've been walking daily, for miles at a time and yet these pesky pounds just don't seem to be shifting; actually, they are, but it's been so dang slow. I know it's supposed to be good for it to come off slowly but sheesh, come on! Months of walking every day, cutting down on what I already think of as a healthy diet and I've lost half a stone (7 pounds). I'd rather it was off than on, of course but come ON!! SHIFT, DAMN YOU, SHIFT!

We had a wonderful brunch for my mum's birthday on Sunday and afterwards I walked to Byres Road...a hub of activity in the West End of Glasgow...and sat outside Kember & Jones in the sunshine drinking their lovely illy coffee. I purchased some of their sunblushed tomatoes with oregano to have with pasta later on that evening. The family gate-crashed me chilling and we wandered around in the sunshine, stopping in Nancy Smillie and De-Courcy's Arcade along the way. When we got home, the kids, dad and Grandpa had an omelette with baked potato and salad whilst I cooked some spaghetti and mixed it with homemade pesto, the sunblushed tomatoes and a small handful of grated parmesan cheese.

Although I love the sun-blushed tomatoes from Kember & Jones, I've discovered that Tesco (a supermarket chain) sell them at half the price. I bought some and added my own oregano and they were delicious.
We walked through Mugdock wood yesterday, starting at Milngavie, the beginning of The West Highland Way. We headed up to the castle to catch frogs and newts and then for lunch at the little cafe in the courtyard. We got caught in the rain a few times but it was a brilliant walk, the kids not noticing how long it was as they were having a grand time with their pals. Fraser decided to see how deep some quick sand was though...eejit...and almost sunk in to the bog but we caught him just in time.

Kelly and Laura with the wee 'uns trailing behind.

Lucy with a newt.

Ciaran and Fraser as the Grim Reaper...apparently.

Lucy, Lemon and J.

Helen's Meatballs!

What can be better than a huge, steaming dish of spaghetti and meatballs? Rice and meatballs? This dish goes well with both but since there is always lots left over, the remainder gets used to add to cooked fettuccine, placed in a foil package or individual packages, covered with mozzarella and baked for 10 minutes or so. This is actually my favourite way to serve meatballs and there is something about the mozzarella sticking to the foil, all gooey and hot that makes it taste even better. As with most sauces, this tastes even better the next day so you can prepare this in advance although the kids might complain!

The kids love helping with this dish but you have to watch over them whilst they scrub their little hands both before and afterwards as their tiny fingers are ideal for rolling the little meatballs whilst raw. They also love plopping them into the sauce but make sure they are wearing aprons.

The Meatballs
500g minced beef
1 egg
1 grated tablespoon Parmesan cheese
3 grated tablespoons cheddar cheese
1 minced garlic clove
2 teaspoons mixed dried herbs
3 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon salt

The Tomato Sauce
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
20g unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
700g (1 bottle) tomato passata-if only cartons available at 500g, use two.
350g chicken/vegetable stock
Small tablespoon caster sugar
125ml full fat milk (use semi if you prefer)

Put all meatball ingredients into a bowl and mix, adding black pepper to taste. Get the kids to sit round the table and shape little balls, about a teaspoon per meatball. You'll get loads, around 40-60, depending on the size of the teaspoon! Cover the meatballs and put in fridge; this makes them less likely to break up when it is time to cook them.

The tomato sauce is almost the same as for the lasagna. Put onion and garlic into processor and blitz to a pulp. Heat the butter and oil in a pan over a low heat and cook onion mixture for around 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it, you do not want it to go brown or burn. Stir every now and then.

Add passata and stock, sprinkle in sugar and a good pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. If you wish, you can add a dash of wine but I tend not to do that for this dish. Let the sauce bubble away for 10 minutes and then add the milk. Stir and let it come back to the boil.

Take the meatballs out of the fridge and drop them one at a time into the sauce. Do not stir to begin with even if you can see the top of some of the meatballs. Shake the pan a little and wait a few minutes. Then, give a gentle stir with a wooden spoon, turn the sauce down a little...you still want it boiling though, a heavy simmer if you like, and partially cover pan with a lid. After 20 minutes, it will be ready. Taste and add some seasoning if you need it.

Serve with spaghetti, rice or fettuccine. With spaghetti, add a good grating of Parmesan. With fettuccine, add the mozzarella and bake in foil. Delicious!

This recipe has been adapted from a Nigella recipe in her book 'Feast'.

Pasta Fest!

Pasta Fest, as the kids like to call it, is a night of various different kinds of...well, pasta....! I made the kedgeree (recipe to follow soon) last night for Brian and I as the kids really wanted Macaroni and Cheese with garlic pizza. Brian ended up eating the macaroni too so I sat on my own some with my wee bowl of kedgeree, glowering at them all and froze the rest. So tonight, there will be no macaroni...there will be tantrums (and that's just from Brian) but I'm not making it two nights in row. Pasta Fest always involves one pasta dish never before tried and is usually made up of leftover kitchen ingredients. So tonight, the menu is.....
Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Spaghetti Frittata
Rigatoni al Forno
Puffy Bread

We usually have someone turn up on Pasta night, quite by chance (hmm) so I always make plenty. All pasta dishes keep really well and can be heated up either in a pan, in the oven or by microwave. I prefer to place leftover pasta in foil, sprinkle over mozzarella, regardless of the dish and seal, bake in oven at 170 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes. Ensure pasta has come to room temperature and that oven has had a chance to heat before placing anything in the oven !

Spaghetti alla Carbonara (Helen's 2nd version)
Cook the spaghetti as per instructions.
Fry 2 finely chopped slices of bacon or pancetta in olive oil until crispy. Turn the heat down and add a a little extra olive oil and small amount of butter, a finely chopped shallot or half small onion and cook until soft. Stir and ensure the onion does not go brown (adding a few drops of water will help this but don't leave it, keep checking and stirring). Add a finely sliced clove of garlic if you wish but it must not burn so stir constantly. Do not add garlic at the same time as the onion(with any dish) as it cooks far quicker and can easily turn bitter. If adding garlic, cook on allow heat for 1 minute and then add a splash of white wine. Let it come to a quick boil and bubble away for a few minutes then turn it off.

In a separate bowl, beat together 2 eggs (if making for a family of four or five-halve the ingredients if less), double cream to taste- I use approx. 4 tablespoons but feel free to use more or less and two large handfuls of Parmesan.

When spaghetti is cooked, add it to wine/bacon mix and stir. Immediately afterwards, add the cream/egg mix and toss well. Add a good grinding of black pepper and a fine grating of nutmeg. Serve with extra Parmesan.

Spaghetti Frittata (New dish!)
This is taken and slightly adapted from Nigella's Feast cookbook but with added chorizo.
Ingredients:
Knob of butter
Few drops of garlic infused oil (shove a bashed garlic clove in some olive oil, cover and leave for an hour if none already made up)
200g cooked spaghetti
4-5 eggs
Sausage shaped chorizo, cut a few thick slices and chop roughly.

Beat the eggs and add some salt, the cooked spaghetti and chorizo. Add to hot pan (with oil) and swirl around until pan covered. Nigella tells you to put it under a grill at this point but I will be sliding it on to a plate, placing the pan on top of the plate and using oven gloves to hold the pan and plate together tightly. Then, I'll be turning it over so that the uncooked side of the frittata is in the pan...did that make sense?? I don't like uncooked egg and coming across a runny bit would not be good for my appetite so I'm cooking this like I would do any other frittata. Oven gloves are a must, the pan and frittata will be hot. Be careful.

Cook in pan for a few minutes, checking underneath to ensure it doesn't burn. Sprinkle with whatever fresh herbs you have (thyme, rosemary, basil, parsley) and a little sea salt and black pepper. Slice like a pizza.

Rigatoni al Forno
There is no need for exacting measurements with this dish. Make enough pasta for the amount of people and how hungry they are and add as much or as little sauce as you like. Remember, the meat sauce freezes really well and tonight I'll be using some already prepared weeks ago. This means you only have the bechamel to do. This dish freezes just as well as lasagna. Place in foil packages, enough for two and sprinkle over some fresh Parmesan before freezing. It can be re-heated from frozen over a low heat but I prefer to take it out of the freezer the night before and then out of the fridge 20 minutes before re-heating, if I have the time. It cuts down on heating time and ensures evenly distributed warmth of the dish!

The meat sauce and bechamel is exactly the same as for the lasagna (see below). Put the oven on to 200 degrees Celsius and then cook the pasta in boiling water as per instructions. Remember to salt the water. Drain and add back to the pan, adding the bechamel sauce, mixing well. Then add the meat sauce, mix again and add to buttered, oven proof dish. Cover with grated Parmesan and bake for 30 minutes or less. The top should be golden and a bit crispy in places.

Puffy Bread
This is utterly delicious which I can't quite understand considering the very basic ingredients. It's probably the deep frying part although because they cook so quickly and then drain on kitchen towel, they do not hold a lot of fat. I use these to accompany curries (I originally got the recipe from Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Recipes, and is also known as poori bread) but it is a great change to the usual garlic bread with pasta. The kids love it.
100g sieved (discard the remnants in the sieve) wholewheat flour
100g plain flour
Half teaspoon salt
120ml milk (or water)
Vegetable oil-2 tbs for cooking, more for frying.

Put flour and salt in a bowl. Dribble the oil over the top and rub in until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Slowly add the milk or water until a stiff ball of dough is formed. Empty the ball onto a clean, lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until smooth. Form a ball again and rub a little oil over the ball and either place inside a plastic bag or wrap in clingfilm. A sandwich bag is easier. Set aside for 30 minutes.

Knead the doughball once again and then divide into 12 equal balls. Don't worry if you get more or less! Have something handy to cover 11 of the balls with-I use clingfilm or a clean tea towel which I've ran under water and squeezed all the excess water out of-and with the 12th ball, flatten it and roll out into into a pancake or circle shape. If you have the space, do all the balls and cover with the tea towel or cling film on a single layer....they'll stick otherwise. I have found myself without the space and running back and forth rolling out each ball as I cook it!

Heat around 1 inch of oil in a deep pan, wok or frying pan. It has to be deep as the oil and bread bubbles upwards. Let it get really hot. Have a platter nearby lined with kitchen towel. Lift up the first 'poori' and lay it careful on the surface of the oil. Its ok if the first few sink as they should quickly rise back up again and begin to sizzle. Using the back of a slotted spoon, push the bread back into the oil with tiny, swift strokes. As you push down on one side, the other side puffs up so you keep moving about. Within seconds, the bread is ready and puffed up. Turn it over and cook for about 10 seconds then put onto platter. If the oil is not hot enough or for other unknown reasons, sometimes the bread doesn't puff up all that much; don't worry, it's still delicious and won't happen with them all. Put down more kitchen towel if the platter is full and keep adding the pooris.

Once you've made this bread once, you'll realise it isn't as much hassle as it sounds. Its really pretty straightforward but like everything in life, a wee bit of practice makes perfect. And a lot of practice with this bread is worth it.