Making Whoopee!

It's been a month?   Wow.   June IS a busy time but still.

I have been cooking a lot.

Asparagus and Artichoke Salad with Poached Egg

This salad was just delightful; I roasted the asparagus in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil, lemon juice, black pepper and sea salt for 6-8 minutes; it comes out perfectly cooked and so tasty.   I tossed the artichokes in there half way through with some dried mint and added both to the salad of olive oil, honey and balsamic dressed leaves, Iberico ham, goat's cheese and cucumber topped with a poached egg.   A salad fit for a queen.

 Cupcakes for Jo
 

 

 Pan-fried Salmon with sesame oil, linseeds and salad

Artichoke and Iberico Ham Salad with Parmesan

I have also been running around like the proverbial blue-bum fly trying to pack it all in in time for school finishing which was last week.   When the last day came, it was a blessed relief!   The kids played in the park with their friends; the park throbbed with mums, dads and kids having picnics, riding their bikes, playing on the swings.....the sun shone and we all exhaled, knowing we had 7 weeks of holiday time with the kids to look forward to.  I say we all exhaled; some will hold their breath for the entire 7 weeks, some will be ok for the first 4 until they find they want to run away screaming to the hills and some will just grin and bear it...e.ach to their own; right now I'm happy.........!

 I want my holiday to begin NOW!

We went on holiday to Crieff Hydro and then Alton Towers, the biggest theme park in the UK; again, the sun shone and the kids had a ball.  

Crieff Hydro with sis and niece

Beautiful view over Crieff 

Lunch shenanigans

Beautiful horses

 

Feeding them grass

Hydro Reception...happy to be there!

Entering Alton Towers

One of the tamer rides!

On holiday we had salads, haggis, fajitas, creme brulee, hotdogs, hotpots, steak sandwiches and lots of fruit and wine!   Pretty tasty fayre, all in all.   

On our return journey, we stopped off at Morecambe Beach;

Jumping for Joy!

It's always good to be home.

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Roast chicken with lemon and thyme 

On coming home, we cooked up a roast chicken, stuffed with lemon and thyme, Jersey Royal potatoes drizzled with olive oil, butter and sea salt, roasted potatoes, steamed broccoli and baby sweetcorn, peas and green beans coated in pesto...a new discovery and really delicious.... rice, gremolata breadcrumbs (toasted breadcrumbs with parsely, lemon rind and garlic), gravy made with the juices from the pan with a glass of champagne added and reduced.   A lovely home cooked meal.

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Crepes stuffed with Nutella and banana, topped with icing sugar and ice cream from the local Italian cafe.    Mmmmmmm.

 ...

And now I try and redeem myself for the rest of the week; roasted tomatoes drizzled with pesto on Ryvita.

 Today, I make Whoopees for the first time; they're just out of the oven, the first batch going to Val's house today...watch this space for results.   They have been cooked in the USA for some time now and have come to these shores, looking to dethrone the cupcakes crown.   A cross between a cake and a cookie, sandwiched between a layer of vanilla buttercream, they may just do that very thing.

AWOL

Forgive me, bloggers, for I have sinned, it's been five days since my last blog post and I have little or no excuse except that it was a holiday weekend and when not cooking, painting, cleaning, hanging out with the kids or exercising ha! when I say exercising, I mean the contemplation of starting a new routine, donning the gear and looking at the size of my butt in the mirror; I'm gonna stand at the back of my yoga class from now on, I was drawing, yoga-ing and shopping.

Kelly's Room, almost complete. She asked for a dove in that painting!

We're getting there....


...almost!

I had a lovely, spur of the moment drink in the Burnbrae on Thursday night with Anne and we put the world to rights. Friday was spent Ikea shopping for kids stuff, coorying in with the little 'uns, playing games and doing more cleaning, sorting and painting in the children's bedrooms. I made no plans for the evening as I had a yoga session booked in, courtesy of Jo, at the Chi Yoga Centre in Glasgow as Manju Jois the son of Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois, who sadly died this year, both world renowned ashtanga teachers was in Glasgow, teaching. It was excellent.

Saturday evening, we donned a dress or two check out my new dodgy hairdo and headed to Lyn's for Chinese food, home cooked by her husband Ken and some beverages or two of the alcoholic kind. It was a lovely evening although my thinking was, that as it was so close, we could all just walk home at midnight; not my finest hour or the best laid plan. Two out of the three children were fast asleep when we decided to go and carrying them, although an option to be considered as a last resort, didn't bode well with four inch heels. They clung to me, walking like the waking dead and collapsed into their beds in wee heaps. I've learnt that particular lesson.

We took Kelly's friend Ellie with us on Sunday to meet up with Ann and Eric and Ruiradh for bowling and a late lunch. Cooking was certainly attempted over the weekend but for some reason, my memory is vague. I did bake some lovely bread on Monday, alongside cinnamon buns. I used my hearthbread recipe but changed the toppings; I made two large rectangle bread sheets and cut a line in the middle of each. One hearthbread was drizzled with olive oil and sea salt with one half sprinkled with Parmesan and a little basil. The other hearthbread was topped with a mixture of baked garlic see hearthbread recipe, blended with rosemary, salt and olive oil. One half was dotted with cherry tomatoes.

We had the breads with chicken, egg salad, pickles, sauteed potatoes baked with cheese and a little butter. I think we sat at the table for at least two hours, eating, chatting and getting our faces stuck into the lovely cinnamon, iced buns, Kelly's, of course, laced with Nutella.

I had a dodgy hair experience on Saturday; it was actually a nice place, very friendly, lots of mugs of steaming coffee and tea and a wonderful head massage alongside a shower but that's just typical wee lassie hair washing experience but the resulting damage was not. The muted lighting of the place made my hair look like Jennifer Anniston's and, despite being severely overcharged don't get it, this always seems to happen to me, even if I object...don't think I look like the rich sort...I was happy with the do but once into the light, the donning of glasses by my family waiting in the car and the sniggering of those that passed me by made me realise that, in actual fact, I looked more like I'd been painting with a nice magnolia and dropped the paintbrush on my head. So tonight, I shall be colouring it myself. A very expensive mistake.

The next few weeks, I shall be focusing on some low fat but still tasty dinners on a budget. I have 14 pounds who would like to leave me for pastures new and, never being one to stand in the way of progress or adventure, I've accepted the need for those pounds to leave and at least they've given me some notice. I shall spend however long it takes four weeks would be nice, however, since that is a ridiculous goal and with my penchant for baked goods, curries and stews, it's doubtful really,therefore I'd be happy if it took 10 weeks and, not being one to diet, it will have to be by cutting down a little, changing some meals to low fat and plenty of exercise. Tasty and low fat? Watch this space.

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.

Karen and Anne

I've just been to the pub (guess which one) with the gorgeous Karen and Anne. It's now past midnight but I promised lamb koftas and lamb koftas you shall get, Karen, my friend!

Tomorrow, we are going away with a few other families to a lovely house in St. Abbs near North Berwick, Scotland. I've been cooking up a storm all day and have so far came up with caramelised onions, roast lamb, what looks like a thousand filo pastry muffins with a variety of fillings including goats cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, cheddar cheese, Parmesan etc. They look and taste lovely. These are the easiest but most impressive looking little starter dish; you basically cut filo pastry into squares then oil the muffin tin, place in the first filo layer and press it down, brush with butter or oil (I used olive oil) and repeat four to five times. Don't worry about the edges, the rougher the better. Then fill.

My first filling was tomatoes, salt and pepper, goats cheese, some fresh thyme and rosemary. The second batch was similar but with caramelised onions...you get the idea. Anything you want. Then, for every batch, pour the following mix in carefully...1 egg, about 4 fl. oz. double cream and a huge handful Parmesan cheese; whisk together and pour into each muffin until half to three quarters filled. Bake in oven at 170 degrees celsius for around 10-15 minutes...basically, as soon as they go brown and the cheese is bubbling and golden. Keep your eye on them after the first then minutes.

Wonderful munch...scooby snacks....crunch...

Lamb koftas were made to go alongside the roast lamb. I'm going to make my homemade bbq sauce in the morning but this time I'm going to add ground fennel and star anise...oh yes, my friend, time for some good old experimentation! I'll report back of course.

The bbq sauce will be brushed atop of the lamb for the last ten minutes of cooking and also used to brush over the lamb koftas.

Lamb Koftas
* 500g minced lamb
* 1 tsp ground cumin
* 2 tsp ground coriander
* 2 fat garlic cloves , crushed
* 1 tbsp chopped mint
* oil for brushing
Mix together all the ingredients until well blended. Divide into 6 balls, then roll each ball on a board with a cupped hand to turn them into ovals. Don't worry if they look more like lumpy brains...

Thread onto 6 skewers and brush with oil. I shall also be brushing it with bbq sauce at the last minute.

To cook on a griddle: heat the pan until you can feel a good heat rising and cook for 3-4 mins each side. Don't turn until they are well sealed or the meat will stick to the grill or pan. Season if you want, and set aside. Serve the koftas with yogurt and spiced flat breads or as I plan to do, tsatziki, pitta bread and a whole host of other accompaniments.
To BBQ:
Put the meat skewers on the grill over a medium heat for about 3-4 mins each side.
BTW...140 calories per Kofta!!
I've not cooked these before so I'm a little premature in posting the recipe...I can't see how it could possibly go wrong though.... ;O) Good luck Karen.

I'll post the other recipes when I return my lovely blogger friends. I leave you with some photos...far too many photos...of my filo muffins.

Pasta Supper

Want a really quick, tasty but low fat (and cheap) pasta supper? Then try the following recipe I just made for my tea; it was really good, it took 10 minutes to cook, preparation was minimal and I couldn't eat it all as it was incredibly filling.
Pasta Supper
4 Tomatoes (or more) cut into quarters
Pesto (yes, I know but I love the stuff and I made A LOT!)
Goats Cheese
Salt and Pepper
Spaghetti (100g)

Put oven on to around 200 Celsius
Drizzle pesto over tomatoes, around a tablespoon and add sea salt & black pepper.
Crumble over a little goats cheese to taste...feta would work just as well.
Place in oven. After around 5 or so minutes, put water on to boil for spaghetti. Cook spaghetti as per instructions and drain.
Take tomatoes out of oven and blend 3/4 of them in a blender...if no blender then mash with a fork.
Pour blended mix over spaghetti and bowl up! Arrange the remaining tomatoes around the plate. Enjoy.


I'm not a calorie counter...life is too short, right? However, I'd say I'm more aware these days and for future reference, I've worked out that this pasta comes to 458 calories for the full serving. See the following breakdown:
350 calories for 100g uncooked spaghetti
0 calories for tomatoes
58 calories in pesto although as you are all well aware, mine was made without pine nuts!
50 calories for the goats cheese (the creamy kind, used around 25g)
Total calories 458 which is pretty good going; I didn't finish mine tonight as it was too much. The amount of sauce was enough for 2 so if you were to add another 50g pasta then the total for two would be 633 or 316 per serving. No wonder I'm losing weight.

The approx. cost of this per serving is 55 pence. Yup, you heard right.
Asda Spaghetti on offer at 2 for £1, 1kg pasta. Per 150g therefore is 15 pence.
Tomatoes approx. 14 pence each x 4=56 pence
Goats cheese cost 25p (Asda £10 per kg)
Pesto I'm just going to estimate at 15 pence per tablespoon although it could well be less.
Total Cost=£1.11/2= 55 pence per serving!! Goodness...who says you can't eat well for less?

Sunshine and Sandals.

I've not been shopping this week yet as there seems to be plenty of food left over from the weekend's celebrations. I can't seem to sit still even though it's been so busy; my energy levels are fluctuating between very high and crash and burn so I'm thinking a slow and steady pace all week will keep me going.

Yesterday, I took most of the remaining basil I had left and made a pesto by blending together garlic, Parmesan, salt and olive oil. I didn't have pine nuts, yet again because I can't seem to find them anywhere! It's like they've suddenly become extinct or as rare as...well, a rare thing; the labels are there in the shops, taunting me: 'pine nuts', 'organic pine nuts', 'not quite organic but still ok pine nuts'. Yet the shelves are empty. Has there been a national shortage, a crisis I'm unaware off? Is it something to do with the disappearing bees? Who knows? Any thoughts? So, yes, back to the point, my pesto had no nuts but still tasted delicious.

I also had a good pile of tomatoes left so yesterday I slow roasted them as I did for the brunch, with basil, Parmesan, salt, olive oil and balsamic vinegar and placed them in the fridge, once cooked (after eating some straight from the oven and burning my tongue...greedy wench).

When I was hungry later on, I boiled up some fusilli and added a spoonful of the pesto, a handful of the tomatoes and a wee amount of olives to the cooked pasta.....talk about a taste sensation! It is so true that the simplest dishes are just the best...it was wonderful.

After such a great meal, Kelly, Lucy and I walked to the park whilst Fraser was at his last 'Beavers' meet. It took us around 40 minutes and Kelly took her bike; she is becoming really confident and was very safe which was good to see. After a play around the park, we wandered down to MacDonalds for ice cream...the extra ten minute walk in the sun was lovely and I only had a spoonful of the white stuff.

Today, as usual, I had a mad dash out the door to get to yoga in time and was buoyed along by the sunshine and sandals; there is something wonderful about having your feet out in the sun, not something we get to experience too often in Scotland! Yoga was wonderful and really instructive; I learnt a lot about my breathing and bandhas and felt great, if in dire need of coffee and lots of it. Afterwards, I walked down to meet Ann for our usual activity which instead of leading us all the way to Milngavie, a town a few miles away, led us instead to the Burnbrae for a plate of their wonderful antipasti and an afternoon of chat.

I shall come up with some inventive pasta for the return of the clan from swimming and give it some name which sounds Italian and like I've been cooking it for years...as long as it tastes good and is said with authority, they should believe but there are too many dishes with 'a la Helen' these days.....