We are a new little family and as this is our son’s first Christmas I want to start some of our own Christmas traditions which I hope will make it really special every year. Some we can’t do until he’s a bit older but here’s my wish list: Put up the Advent calendar I made which has plenty of room for a chocolate coin in each pocket Receive a letter from Father Christmas (via the NSPCC) Visit Father Christmas (this year we enjoyed a trip to see him here) Go to Oxford Street to see the Christmas lights or visit…
-
-
Tonight I am making the most random food stuff for Christmas – onion marmalade. It started off as an innocent conversation with my mother the other day. It ended tonight in me peeling 10 large onions and making marmalade for the first (and probably last time). I’m not sure how our jars of homemade marmalade will be received as Christmas gifts. I might stock up on some jars of sweets just in case. I’ve seen some lovely jars of fizzy gummies, white snowies, cola cubes and jelly babies which will go down very well. I’m hoping to have some time…
-
Pesto is a little bit of Italian cooking magic that Sacla have very close to their hearts. Pesto is perfect with pasta but can also be added to meat, fish and vegetables. Apparently a combination of freshly picked basil and Grana Padano cheese is the secret behind every recipe and all the sauces are made in Italy. I was recently sent three of their pesto sauces to try. Classic Basil Pesto We usually buy this when we fancy something simple for dinner. We stir it through pasta and eat it with plenty of garlic bread – yummy. The classic green…
-
What is it about being a mummy to an adorable little boy that has turned me into some kind of Nigella? Since having Edward I just want to bake and cook all day long, even though he is still on the puree. Long gone are the days I would nip into M&S for something to bung in the oven for dinner. Now I plan what we’ll eat in advance and I make all our meals from scratch. Since my husbands’ illness earlier this year our diet is now wheat free and virtually free of red meat. Some of my highlights…
-
We were given an opportunity to test some Aunt Bessie products. As a busy mummy I SEIZED this opportunity – we love Aunt Bessie products and I’m happy to reduce my time in the kitchen so I can spend more time with my family. My husband and I also realised we had not sat down to a roast since Edward was born! Today we spent some time in the biggest food shop we could find, searching the shelves for Aunt Bessie products. There was a wider range than I had anticipated and we purchased homestyle roast potatoes, irresistable yorkshire puddings,…
-
I recently offered to review an iPhone app for the Nigella Quick Collection. This app contains lots of recipes ideas for quick meals, laid out in 6 steps or less, and allows you to choose what to cook based on what key ingredient you have available. My little one is too young to cook with just yet (and he hasn’t enjoyed the purees I’ve slaved over) so I used the app with my three nieces, age 6, 14 and 18. They older two nieces decided to make something for dinner and the younger niece wanted to make some cakes. For…
-
A couple of weeks ago I came across a thread on British Mummy Bloggers looking for people to try Garofalo pasta. Apparently Garofalo is one of Italy’s favourite pasta brands. It’s available nationwide from Ocado as well as in many delis up and down the country. I was sent two packets to try: some radiatori and spaghetti. We are big pasta eaters in our household so I was keen to try a new brand of pasta. I used the spaghetti in a simple spaghetti bolognese and we had the radiatori with pesto from Waitrose. Both pastas were easy to cook…
-
Today we tidied up the garden in preparation for winter. It was pretty warm all weekend but it must get colder soon. We made and ate chocolate brownies. I finished packing up some swaps to take to the Post Office tomorrow. I throughly depressed myself by watching My Boy Jack, which was all about Rudyard Kiplings son who died in the First World War. It reminded me of my great uncle who died. He was Private Alfred Mansel Young, South Wales Borderers. Died Monday 24h July 1916, age 21, and has no known grave. He is standing at the back…
-
Spent a lovely weekend staying local for a change. We spent Saturday visiting Crouch End and watching Shaun of the Dead – the two go really well together! And today we visited our local farmers market and garden centre in the grounds of Ally Pally. We have stocked up on tools for tackling the garden but are hoping our poor rotten tree will come down of its own accord in the windy weather we’re having at the moment. Otherwise my poor boyfriend will have to learn how to pull it down before it falls and destroys our brand new fence.…