Semi-Wordless Wednesday

It's bleedin' snowing again.   I've decided to embrace it fully;  no complaining, no effigies this time around...I'm going to don a pair of green, flowery wellies and go build a snow cat.   I'm going to walk in it, singing Jingle Bells at the top of my lungs.   The neighbours look at me strange anyway, it shouldn't make much difference.

So here's to the snow!   Put on a hat, a thick pair of gloves and go out in it, enjoying it whilst you can because when that heatwave hits, you'll be praying for some of the white stuff.  

Or should I just stay in...........?

The kids on their way to school this morning

 

But it's spring inside

 

Chicken and rice soup; perfect for today's lunch

Sleeping dollies...awww.

 

Tulips

Last night's roast chicken

 

Oh daffy, if you'd only heid yer hing

I'd have a word to rhyme with spring.

 

Camembert Cheese & Pesto Tart with pine nuts...leftover pie!

 

The kids at the People's Palace, Glasgow Green last week

 

My angry donkey impression...

.yeah, I've heard the one about how I should be at the other end already....

Menu 1 of 2010, week 1-3

I decided to combine my shopping to a fortnight this time around; the roads are treacherous and there were a few good 2 for 1 bargains so it made sense to go for two weeks worth instead of one. The shopping came to £102, £2 being for a Children in Need shopping carrier bag so we're bang on target of £50 per week. I shall scan the receipt once I remember where I put it, but 5 minutes ago. Ah, the memory loss that happens as you get older....not joyful...not joyful at all.

What was I talking about? Oh, yes......

Meals:
Dinner x 14

Lamb Escalopes with curried rice, potatoes and chick peas, roasted tomatoes and lemon and mint yoghurt sauce.

Mince and Tatties

Roast Chicken with vegetable cous cous, petit pois and broccoli

Spinach salad with roasted goats cheese, pine nuts, onion confit and a lemon and herb dressing

One pot beef stew and potatoes

Baked haddock and mash with wee peas

Spaghetti and meatballs

Chargrilled artichokes with Parmesan

Chicken salad with sesame seeds and soy dressing

Lentil & Vegetable Soup with Homemade Bread

Sausage & Mash

Vegetable Curry

Spaghetti Carbonara

Fry up

___________ Lunches x 14

Lentil & Vegetable Soup

Chicken noodle Soup

Tomato soup

Chinese Noodle Soup with ginger and spring onions

Spinach and leek soup

Carrot & Ginger soup

Sandwiches

Pasta

Toast and beans

Hearthbread

Egg Salad

Croissants

Mini quichelets

Homemade bread and jam
__________
Breakfast:

Cereal

Croissants

Pancakes

Pikelets

Scrambled Eggs

Toast

Sausages and tomatoes
____________
Snacks:

Fruit

Fruit Salad

Crisps

Pikelets

Shortbread with chocolate

Cookies

Toasted almonds

Caramelised pecans and almonds
_____________________________
I'd made a vegetable curry the other day using chick peas, potatoes and onions.

I quickly stir fried some spices including dried chilli, fenugreek, cinnamon, cumin and coriander and then added a chopped onion, some peeled and chopped potatoes and then drained and washed chick peas. I stirred and left for a few minutes before adding a tin of chopped tomatoes and some vegetable stock. I brought it to the boil and then simmered for around 15 minutes, until the chick peas and potatoes were almost soft. I then added a cup of washed basmati rice, topped up with a little bit more stock, brought it to the boil again and then simmered for a further 10 minutes until the rice was cooked. It looked delicious and tasted lovely. The rice had soaked up the flavour nicely.

We had the curry with some homemade flat bread and there was lots of curry leftover so tonight, it was reheated and served alongside lamb escalopes, roasted tomatoes and a lemon and mint yoghurt sauce. The escalopes were dusted with smoked paprika and a grinding of black pepper. They were cooked for a few minutes each side until nicely browned and then wrapped in foil to rest for 10 minutes. Plain yoghurt was given some chopped mint, a squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkling of sea salt as a quick and tasty sauce accompaniment. The tomatoes were virtually tossed into the oven and roasted with no further adornment except for a little touch of salt when they were ready.

The entire dish took about 6 minutes to prepare. There are leftover escalopes as there was 6 altogether, enough for three people; I'm sure it could be added to a salad or for a snack on a bun with some caramelised onions later!

Talking of caramelised onions; I made this bread and then topped it with slices of camembert and onion confit....

Cooked...and delicious!

This one is baked brie, caramelised onions and caramelised pecan nuts.
Looks messy, sounds odd...but mmm mmmmm!

Wordless Wednesday?

I have too much to say.

This week has been spent in the house, mainly cleaning. I'm not even going to begin to bore you with the details except to say, God I'm Bored. If the children say they are Bored, I tell them non possible, mon petit pois (pretentiousness runs in the family) the only people who get Bored are stupid people, people with no imagination. We once had a funeral for Bored (hence the capital letter...you were wondering where I was going with that, weren't you?). We buried him in a box (yes, Bored is a he...of course he is)and said a few kind words and then Bored no longer lived with us. Bored, Can't and Won't all had funerals. We mourned their passing briefly but emotionally.

But Bored is back. He has risen from the dead and I'm trying to keep him hidden within the confines of my head. I can't let the kids see him as they'll be scared, confused and happy, all at the same time. I know how to get rid of him but I miss the wee fella and he has to stick around whilst I continue my rant round the house. Or else Clutter and Confusion will come back. Sigh.

Bored had a nap whilst my mum and big sis visited with wee baby M. I made my usual indoor picnic, this time consisting of cold meats, a round of Camembert, crackers, tomatoes, Parmesan, Pastrami and rolls. The kids had cheese and pickled onion sandwiches with chopped apple and crisps. I then made Welsh Cakes. I had forgotten how much I love these little treats. You cook them in a dry pan which makes life kinda easy as they take around 5 minutes and taste delicious either on their own or with jam...of course, Kelly poured half a jar of Nutella on hers. I tried to tell her everything tastes good with Nutella and maybe she should try it on it's own first but her invisible lalalala and fingers in the ears look was apparent.

Welshcakes
125g cold, diced unsalted butter
250g self-raising flour
75g caster sugar (plus a bit more for sprinkling)
Quarter teaspoon ground allspice (if you can't find, mix some powdered nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves)
100g sultanas or raisins
1 large egg, beaten
Crinkle Cutter, round, approx. 7.5cm and griddle or frying pan

Rub the butter into the flour like you would pastry until it resembles sandy breadcrumbs...don't worry if a little lumpy, then add sugar, spice and dried fruit and stir. Add egg and mix with spatula or wooden spoon. I get in with my hands at this point just to give it a quick knead but hands should be cold and work quickly so it doesn't get warm. You don't have to do this though. Form a ball and then flatten a bit into a disc shape, cover with clingfilm (is this the same as serrano wrap?) and place in fridge for at least 20 minutes.

Roll out onto floured surface to just under a cm thick and then use crinkle cutter to cut out rounds. You will need to re-roll to cut out the rest. It should give you between 10-16, depending on the size of your cutter and the thickness. Neither matters too much.

Preheat the pan over a medium heat, no oil, and place Welshcakes inside and cook for approx. 3 minutes each side. The cakes will rise a bit and go golden-dark brown. I like these on the dark brown side. Remove to a cold plate and sprinkle with caster sugar. Leave to cool and set in the middle before eating with jam, plain (too dry for me)or even that bleedin' Nutella!



I have so many things to sell on ebay; I'm going to start with my teeny weeny Karen Millen suits that I used to wear for work. They are in excellent condition, will now be viewed as vintage and will be worn by some slim, young girl who doesn't know the half of it yet...good on her! I'm putting the proceeds towards my Canada Fund. More on that later...

Bank Holiday Monday

On the last Bank Holiday Monday, I took the kids to The Burrell where we met up with friends to take part in a decathlon. The kids had great fun and then we all piled back to mine for food. I like to make pasta fresh but I decided to be prepared as I didn't want to come back and spend an hour cooking plus I knew the kids would be champing at the bit for their tea! I made in advance a large lasagna, a large Macaroni Cheese and I made the linguine with lemon and feta fresh. I prepared a fresh loaf by slicing it about a third of the way down and filling it with garlic butter. I bought a garlic pizza and added some fresh rosemary and sea salt before cooking it. There were 6 adults and 7 kids.

When I came home, I put the oven on and quickly prepared some antipasti and olives plus a small round of Camembert. I didn't put out bread because there was a lot of food and bread for the main course and I didn't want anyone filling up. The children who didn't want antipasti got stuck into a large bowl of Doritos!

The pre-cooked lasagna was placed in the oven and 25 minutes later, the macaroni was put in. Then, I cooked the linguine. The lasagna was brought out to the table first and the bread was put in its place in the oven. I prepared some cucumber, tomatoes and yellow pepper for the kids as an accompaniment and tomatoes with pesto as an accompaniment for the adults.

The food went down a treat and afterwards we had home-made lemon cupcakes and lemon cake.

I'd definitely do this again as it was suitable for everyone and perfect for a 6pm tea. Next time however, I would not pre-cook the lasagna; I'd prepare it all as usual in the dish but then cover it in clingfilm and put in fridge; the pasta becomes a bit too hard and slightly burnt round the edges if pre-cooked in a large dish. The macaroni cheese was fine but next time I'd prepare the cheese sauce but not cook the pasta until we were ready to eat it. The heat distribution, possibly just in my crappy oven although it is fan assisted, meant that I had to rescue the dish before it started to brown but the middle was only warm and not yet hot.

Lemon cake recipes to follow.