What do you do when life give you snow? Make snow ice cream of course!
Ingredients:
To make:
Mix together milk, vanilla, and sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Slowly add the snow, stirring constantly, until it is thick. Enjoy!
So, I got my latest fish box from Delish Fish in Petershead, Scotland. This time is was perfectly vacuum- packed fresh Lemon Sole fillets. Ah, I thought to myself, this will be easy. I know that if kids don't like fish, it is likely that they WILL like Lemon Sole, because of it's mild flavour. FYI -- If you don't already know, by the cute little badge at the side of my blog, I'm participating in the Fish is the Dish campaign to help show that fish IS easy to prepare (if I can do it, so can you).
Continue reading "Pan-fried lemon sole with capers and parsley " »
My latest lot of fish appeared from Delish Fish in Scotland. This time we opened the suprisingly not-so-smelly package to reveal wild haddock and wild cod fillets, all caught in the North Sea. I'm particpating in the Fish is the Dish campaign to help show that fish is easy to prepare (cue if I can do it, so can you).
I'm helping Seafish with their Fish is the Dish campaign to help demonstrate that cooking fish is easy.
My first challenge was to make fish cakes with wild and smoked haddock (thanks to DelishFish for sending it to me, I got a very nice phone call from the owner in Peterhead to check that I received it.)
My Jerusalem artichokes are ready. Apologies in advance to anyone who is near me in the next couple of days!
Here's the finished cake. Yes, it's my first. I feel like I should christen her, she weighs nearly the same as a newborn. Thanks Delia, you've allowed me to find a new level of Englishness.
PS - I took this photo and posted using my iPhone!
PSS - You can download the star templates
A big thanks to Waitrose and Delia! I used her Classic Christmas Cake prepared ingredient pack. Had long Twitter discussions with @englishmum and @homemademum regarding cooking times. Yes, my first one really did take four hours!
Forget about being a yummy mummy, now it's all about being a jammy mummy. Yes, jam making is now officially cool; even Kate Moss is dipping her fingers into the pot.
I love eating jam, but am not so good at making it; it rarely sets properly and ends up a gooey (but tasty!) mess. The WI and Stoves put on Jam Making Master Class last week in London, in advance of the Real Jam Festival in November. Expert Kath Mepham and her hubby were on hand to help us novices perfect our jam making skills. Kath, who has been making jam for 40 years, was full of inside tips on how to make that award-winning pot. You could see my smile from Hawaii at the end of the session when she said my jam had a good set and real potential. Ace!
Continue reading "A Modern Mother makes jam (and by some freak miracle it sets!)" »
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.
Continue reading "Recipe: Annabel's Sweet and Sour Meatballs. Yum." »
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).
Continue reading "Thumbs up -- Annabel's escalopes with tomato and basil sauce" »
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.
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.
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.
Continue reading "On making Buzzy Bees with Annabel Karmel" »
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?
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:
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:
Continue reading "When life gives you snow, make snow ice cream!" »
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.
