Month: February 2012

Posted on

Packed Lunches

What is it about packed lunches that make me want to shut my head in the fridge?  At school they were a treat saved for school trips.  The trepidation I felt as I peeked inside my tuppaware box to see what my mother had rustled up, was second to none.  It was never anything to write home about, but to me it was wonderful and integral to the thrill of the the trip (only floored by the visit to the gift shop).

seriously?

Today, packed lunches are the norm.  And I now have to make them for my 2 year old to take into nursery.  This is the same 2 year old that only eats weetabix.  She spent the last 5 months at nursery having their cooked lunches and never ate a thing.  I am sure they blame me for poor dietary habits, but the other two children were the same at that age, except with shreddies.  The health visitor assured me it was fine.  I was not so sure…

Anyway, undeterred I saw a book entitled ‘Healthy Lunchboxes for Kids’ which I guiltily bought in order to revolutionise my lunchbox packing skills.  Shouldn’t have bothered.  I am a mother of three and I defy anyone to get their kids to eat 3 bean soup or pepper stuffed wraps for lunch, let alone have the time and equipment to prepare and store it all.  The only redeeming feature was that they used the same Cath Kidston tins that I have and they looked better than I thought.  I need a book entitled ‘Packed lunches for kids who refuse to eat anything but wholegrain cereal’.  Now, that would be a useful addition to my heaving recipe bookshelves.  I’m afraid the other one is destined for next week’s NCT sale….

If you have any normal suggestions to help me out please let me know!

Posted on

Pancakes

Pancakes have lost their allure in my house.  Well, for me anyway.  This is mainly due to the fact that Husband cooks them most mornings for the kids. They nag; he caves. I clear up the mess.  Fear not though, we shall have them Shrove Tuesday with traditional jif lemon oozing from every pore.

My husband always makes the American style pancakes, akin to scotch pancakes in my opinion.  I prefer the more crepe-style ones; thinner, bigger and for me, much nicer to scoff!

Of course, the recipe I use for mine is a Nigella one…simple, quick and scrummy.  I always have them with lemon and sugar, but there is no end of possibilities. The kids go for chocolate spread or syrup but one of the nicest fillings I’ve had was cherry. Replicated by me via a can of cherry pie filling, warmed gently and spooned over the pancake. There was the temptation to add some squirty cream but then I remembered what it tastes of (nothing) so opted for without.

Ingredients taken from ‘How to Eat‘ it is merely:

125g ‘OO” flour (or plain if you like) 
300ml milk 
1 egg

Whisk them all up together and hey presto! (Nigella does have a bit more method than that, but I just whisk!).  She also recommends resting the batter; alas, I am far too hungry to do that and use it straight away.  One thing you must have (and I was told this method by a bona fide chef) is a hot, quality pan, else they’ll stick.  Then, drizzle about a teaspoon of oil in it to get hot then using a big scrunchy ball of kitchen towel, I wipe it out so you are left with an almost invisible layer of oil coating the pan.  I repeat this roughly every 5 pancakes, depending on how much the previous pancake stuck!
Try to avoid this when tossing….

Happy eating!

Posted on

Recipe Books

I got very excited yesterday when I saw that Lisa Faulkner’s new cook book is half price on Amazon at the moment to pre-order!  I loved her on Masterchef and I always prefer people who aren’t necessarily trained chefs but cook because they love it.  Like Nigella, who I also hear has a new book/series in the pipeline! VERY exciting!

So if, like me, you have an addiction to buying recipe books, why not try this one?  

I also treated myself to another recipe book.  The Book People do brilliant discount books and include new releases.  I ordered the hardback of Mrs Beeton’s How to Cook – a modernised version of the Mrs Beeton classic. Released in October 2011 it is just £7.99 down from the rrp of £25.00.

Both Lorraine Pascale books are on there too for about £6.99.
Happy shopping!
Posted on

Birthday Cake

After much humming and hah-ing about what cake to make for my daughter’s 2nd birthday I came up with a grassy knoll….

Not very exhilarating you may think, but atop it will be plonked, er carefully placed, Ben & Holly’s castle.  I was going to make Gaston the ladybird from the same series, but there is no way I am going to be able to get to the shops for black and red gel in time unless Waitrose get here tout de suite.  So grassy knoll it is with a few toadstools and perhaps a mini Gaston to decorate.
If you don’t have small children you will have no ides what I’m talking about, but suffice to say it’s a pre-school TV program that is funny enough for adults to enjoy (due to a very sarcastic Nanny Plum) and Littlest loves it.
The recipe I am using is an old favourite – very easy to make and it really is the most moist, scrummy chocolate cake ever.  At every birthday party, people can’t believe I made it.  I am never sure whether to take that as a compliment or not…
Anyway, it is, of course, a Nigella recipe from her book Feast.  I am wont to cheat and when time is tight use Betty Crocker instead of the given icing recipe, but shhh!  Don’t tell!

For the cake:

200g plain flour
200g caster sugar
1tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
40g best quality cocoa
175g soft, unsalted butter
2 large eggs (free range please!)
2 tsps vanilla extract (NOT essence!)
150ml sour cream

Method:

Preheat oven to 140ºC/gas mark 4.  Line two 20cm cake tins.


Bung all the ingredients into your kitchenaid/food processor and mix until you have a smooth, thick batter.  Divide between the two tins and bake for about 35 minutes but do check according to how your oven bakes (Mine new oven seems to cook very quickly and I take them out about 20-25 mins!).  I also put a small dish of water in the bottom of the oven to keep the sponge moist.
Leave to cool for 10 mins before turning them out of their tins and cooling on a wire rack.

I fill with 1/3 tub of Betty Crocker choc fudge icing and then splat the rest over the top.  Then leave as is, or decorate with flowers, mini-eggs, whatever takes your fancy!

My Easter cake, decorated by the kids!

Or, I have smoothed over some warmed apricot jam and then rolled icing to make a variety of party cakes.

Raaaaah!

Ah-ha!  I think I hear the soft rumble of a Waitrose van….Let the cake-making commence!