A Modern Mother

Recipe: Annabel's Sweet and Sour Meatballs. Yum.

The modern family is a pasta crazy household. I think we could live on pasta and water alone  -- OK, and some wine for the adults ;-)  Annabel Karmel knows this, and we've been testing some of the recipes from her new cookbook Top 100 Pasta Dishes.

Last time we tried Annabel's escallops with tomatoes and basil sauce with much success. This time I let my pickiest eater choose a recipe (the one that swears she is allergic to vegetables).  She found this pic of sweet and sour meatballs and asked if I could make it "without the green stuff". I immediately took her cue; meatballs are an excellent vehicle to "hide" nutritious things like vegetables. Annabel adds grated apple to hers to give more flavour and keep them moist.

Thumbs up -- Annabel's escalopes with tomato and basil sauce

Those that read my blog regularly know that my children aren't the best eaters and that I was slowly turning into England's version of Eyjafallajokull: catering to children and adults and picky eaters was going to make ME explode.

Thankfully that all stopped last year. I now make one evening meal that we all enjoy together. I can't tell you how much this has transformed my life. It's worth it just to walk by the fish finger aisle and not mentally calculate how many boxes I need for the week.

So when Annabel Karmel asked me to try out some of the recipes from her latest cooking bible -- Top 100 Pasta Dishes -- I agreed. This book clearly was written for me. Pasta is an all time favourite, and the tagline is: 100 easy, everyday recipes for the whole family. This woman is after my heart (or my paycheck). 

Well this should be fun

Remember when I said I should have been a food blogger? And remember my ongoing quest to find meals the whole family will enjoy?

Well, get this, Annabel Karmel has just challenged me to try some of her recipes each week ... Julie and Julia style. They are from her upcoming "Top 100 Pasta Dishes - 100 easy everyday recipes for the whole family." BTW -- did you know that Annabel is the UK's 4th best selling cookery author?

So, Annabel, YES! I'll do it! I'm always on the lookout for new recipes and I secretly want to be a food blogger. I have to warn you that my girls are big Masterchef fans ... and now every meal I make is ranked 1 out of 10, with intimate details of what worked and what didn't.

My first post will be out on 10th May.

Disclosure: I get a free book.

Serious mum envy

OK, I'm a sucker for cute edible food, especially when chocolate is involved. I made these Chocolate Nest Cupcakes for my daughters 8th birthday party. They are from Annabel Karmel's Princess Party Cookbook. Shhhhh! Don't tell Annabel I cheated -- I used a cake mix and pre-made icing. Try it for Easter: you make nests out of Cadbury flakes, and then finish with three pretty eggs and a chick. I got the Cadbury eggs and chicks from HobbyCraft.

Some of the mums' noses were pressed up against the glass as they dropped off. Serious mum envy.

On making Buzzy Bees with Annabel Karmel

This is a sponsored post

So .... I went to this blogger event in London. Traffic was bad and I arrived about an hour late. As I walked up to the Georgian House, I reached into the caverns of my bag in search of a mint. Rummaging around I found, oh, what's that? A gumi bear? Ouch! What the blank is that? I pulled out the name badge from the last blogger event.

Thank God some nice person handed me a steaming cup of coffee as soon as I arrived. I was just getting my barrings (spotting fellow bloggers NixdMinx, Are We Nearly There Yet Mummy, Who's the Mummy, A Mother's Rambling and Suburban Mummy) when I turned round to stare straight down at a waif of a woman with a big smile and equally big blond tresses. She said hello. This woman looked way too finished to be a mum blogger. Then the light went off.

OMG, you're Annabel Karmel! I blurted out. I remembered something about her in the email from the PR agency, and wished I had actually read the brief. It must be her, she looked exactly like the little photo in the back of all those cook books. Only smaller. Tiny. Like Minnie Mouse, with blond hair. My mouth felt dry.

Eating dirt

Last year I made a huge effort to get the girls to eat "regular" food (as in not "kid food").  Though sausages and baked beans and fish fingers were popular and fairly easy to make, I knew it was time to make the switch. I was also tired of preparing two meals ... one for them and one for me and my husband. After lots or trial and error, it worked! Now I get really excited when I find a recipe that we all love. Especially one with a really cool name. Here's how the conversation at the Scott household went last night:

What's for dinner mum?

Dirty rice.

Giggles.

You mean we're eating DIRT?

More healthy meals the kids love...

Hubby gave me Jamie's America for Christmas, and I have spent a few evenings browsing his recipes on my quest to find more meals the whole family will enjoy...

To my delight I stumbled upon Southern Red Bean and Pork. This is real comfort food.  It's lovely and chunky and full of hidden veggies. You could even make it in a slow cooker. You'll need to buy the book for the official recipe, but here's my take on it:

When life gives you snow, make snow ice cream!

It DUMPED snow in the Thames Valley yesterday. I got stuck with the girls for THREE HOURS, and finally abandoned the car and walked two miles home.

So what do you do when life give you snow? Make snow ice cream of course!

Ingredients:

• 250 ml (1 cup) milk
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 5 - 7 cups snow! (clean and fluffy, not packed)

Continuing on the easy dinner theme...

This year I was on a mission to get my girls eating more than just chicken nuggets and sausage, beans and chips. Guess what? We did it!!

We now eat five out of seven meals together, and I only cook one dish. Who would have known?!

This is one of our favourites, and it's super easy to make. I wouldn't exactly call it low cal, but it is delish. You can get all the ingredients from the international section of Tesco.

Apologies in advance

My Jerusalem artichokes are ready. Apologies in advance to anyone who is near me in the next couple of days!