Post Xmas blues...

Hello, hope you all had a lovely Xmas day, all went fairly well in my house, apart from my oven being a bit overworked,  I still managed to get lunch ready for 2pm, so that was good. I always feel a bit down in the dumps when its all over, its such a big build up, and kind of give a big sigh of relief after xmas day.

My children have all been ill over the xmas period, so has been bit fraught to say the least, my little 3 year old has caught  a nasty cold-cough virus,from her brothers, so has been very unwell the last 3 days, not sleeping at night etc, so I haven't even managed to have a few glasses of wine and chill out yet, so I'm a bit fed up to say the least, as have worked hard, and need a bit of me time....

I will most definitely make up for it in the New year!

Leftovers

Anyway, we went out for lunch yesterday, so today I cooked the leftovers from the xmas dinner, I LOVE this as  much as the dinner itself. Its amazing how some cold veg, potatos and sausages can be transformed by a chopped fried onion and some crispy bacon. Delicious, we will have with some cold meat and gravy this afternoon.

Bubble and Squeak

 Well not much to do today as have a sick child, except stay in , keep cosy, watch more xmas repeats, cuddles and calpol.

WHAT FUN! :( Roll on the spring!

✯Christmas Ham ✯

This ham is basically Nigellas ham in cola recipe, but I have changed the glaze.

I make my ham this way every year now, I used to follow Leiths recipe where the ham is boiled in cider with various veg and spices, but I much prefer this way, its sweeter and dark, and  has a far superior flavour.

I used a 2.8 kg sweetcure gammon, and don't bother soaking overnight, my ham is never salty,but you can soak in cold water overnight if you prefer, or bring to boil, then drain off liquid .

Place your ham with the rind intact into a large deep pot, along with an onion chopped into 4  pieces, then pour over 2 litres of cola~ NOT diet, has to be full sugar, although I just buy the cheaper brand. you may not fit 2 litres in at first but as it reduces, keep topping it up so its covered.

Bring to boil, and cover with lid, not completely, and  then turn down to a rolling simmer for 2 1/2 -3 hours. Pre heat oven to gas 8/ 220 .

Drain, and place ham on a board, and leave to cool for 10 mins, remove the wrapper that held the rind intact, being careful not to pull off rind, the slice a layer of the rind away, leaving a a layer of fat about a cm or so thick, then score a diamond pattern into the fat.

Place the ham into a roasting tin with a layer of foil, stud with cloves, pat a layer of wholegrain mustard rubbing in so it soaks under the rind, then do the same with dark muscavodo sugar, then drizzle lots of honey over the top. Roast in the oven for 15 mins until burnished and bubbling.

Place on a board and use the glaze that has run into the pan, to baste a couple more times.

You can vary the glaze to your own taste, any good sticky jam , marmalde, or maple syrup will work just as well. Niglella uses treacle, but im not a fan, so use honey instead., you can use any mustard, Dijon, or English not too much english though, as  very hot!  A lot of folk breadcrumb it after a layer of mustard, whatever your preference!

Best ham in the world!

You will NOT be able to leave it alone, it is so delicious, hide from childen that sneakily pick!

Great to have with your turkey dinner, but sooo good cold with pickles and in sandwiches, it never lasts long enough. Enjoy! xx

✯Christmas love ❤



Well, I am really feeling festive now, and have been really busy in my kitchen this past week, well nothing unusual there!

Dab hand

 Last week little daughter and I made a batch of gorgeous Christmas biscuits for her school party, she is rather talented at decorating these little beauties, she cheekily  pops the little silver balls into her mouth, thinking I won't notice, ~they crunch very loudly~,  adults should stay well away, especially  if you have loose fillings...

Messy!

We made another batch yesterday to hang on the tree, and thought we would get a little more creative with the colours, they stand out on the tree, and look great, and of course are very yummy, they are vanilla flavored and are very much like shortbread, I'm keeping some back in a tin, elder sons can reach them easily , and cant stop eating them. Recipe here

We are also well stocked up with mince pies too, I love listening to the  Kings Choir carols  whilst I make them, I really am feeling excited now, and will be making my ham tomorrow, this is a  highlight of Xmas for me, I will put pics and recipe up tomorrow.

Mince pie stash

Daughter and I have also been making little bird decorations and stars, they look so pretty.

Xmas birds




Yesterday I trudged through the slush to my local park, armed with bin sack and secateurs and did a bit of tree pruning ;) so I could make some garlands, I  now have lots of holly pricks in my fingers! They make the house look so warm and inviting, its the final touch decoration wise.

All in all I am thoroughy enjoying myself, love being with the children the week leading up to the big day, watched Scrooge with eldest son last night, all cosy with fire on, with lights twinkling.  Little one is so excited , she can barley contain herself, if I have to listen to Jingle bells AGAIN! She has memorised 'Twas the night before Xmas' story too, she's struggling a bit with rememering all the reindeers names!

The only thing I wish for, is that certain members of my family had a little bit more Xmas spirit, you would think world war 3 was about to break out! Oh they can all squabble, but they won't dampen my spirits.

Oh and bring the snow back please just for Xmas eve~day!

Peace, Joy, and a very happy Christmas to all xxxxx

Wicked!

I never used to be as fan of west end shows, I thought they would all be cheesy and samey, I had my mind made up they were not my 'thing' How wrong could I be!

I went to my first show back in 2002 when I had recently  met my husband, he had already seen Willy Russel's Blood Brothers 6 times, and kept raving about it, saying I would love it, well I DID, and have since seen it 5 or 6 times, it is so good that whenever I get an oppurtunity to see a show, I don't want to be dissapointed, so just go and see it again!

Another time, husband and I thought we would give Phantom a shot, We absolutley hated, it did nothing for me AT ALL, each to there own. So after this matinee performance ,we went straight on to see Blood Brothers for the evening show, as we had felt robbed of our day out.

Wicked is SOOO fantastic, you must go and see it, especially if your big on the colour green. Everything that can light up, or glow is Green, right down to the foyer Xmas fairy lights!

On arrival

The  Apollo theatre inside is in itself a really beautiful gothical feast for the eyes. The pillars  and fittings around the stage, have been built to resemble the Emerald city and light up spectaculary. The whole production was amazing, the costumes breathtaking, and the two leading ladies, WOW there voices are BIG!!

 It ties in very clevery with The wizard of Oz storyline.  EIphalba is a complex character, a loner who is' different ' but very talented , and soon gets embroiled in a battle with the Wizard of Oz and its inhabitants,  who are living in a corrupt society. Poor Elphalba  is so misunderstood, and prejudged for her actions and her opinions, and labelled BAD, she really is GOOD! a rebel with a cause! Unlike her counterpart' Glinda the good' who is  conceited and vain, and will go with the status quo, with no thought for others, as long as she gets her own spoilt way.


I  would go and see this again tomorrow if I could.

Can't wait to see  Llloyd Webber's The Wizard of Oz when it starts next year.

Other shows/plays I want want  want to see are Oliver,Chicago, Billy Elliot, Woman in White,  Oscar Wilde's An ideal husband, and the Mousetrap.

Night lights

Looks like it will be a long wait to get through that lot.....:)

38 years young....

Yesterday morning I turned 38, ~clinging on to those 30's now~ I was woken to the sound of my gorgeous little daughter singing happy birthday, and jumping on my bed, handing me my birthday cards.I had a lovely day, didn't do any thing special, as husband is taking me up to London on Wednesday for a lovely lunch, and then on to see Wicked,  am really looking foward to that!



Blossom lights



Funky chilli lights

Presents recieved~ Red cherry blossom lights, and perfume bought by me (as husband is crap at buying me presents (usually a kitchen gadget)  Nigella~ kitchen book and chocolates from mum, red chilli pepper lights, from nan.These all look so fab in my kitchen, which is starting to resemble a grotto!  Also gratefully recieved,  a decent red wine from elder brother, and  Hugh Fearnley- Whittinstall book River cottage everyday book from younger brother, I feel truly honoured as neither usually remember, let alone buy me pressies!

Named sieve

My eldest son got me zilch, as claims he has no money as he is jobless, well that's his excuse ( he never saves, spends as soon as its in his hand) younger gave me his gifts on Sunday afternoon, as was going back to his dads, and wouldn't be seeing me on my actual birthday.As we say goodbye he opened the  boot of car, and hands me a sieve, yes a sieve, with price tag attached. He must have spent 2 hrs in TK Max on Saturday looking for a mum appropiate present, when I asked why he bought me it, he said 'well your old one hasn't got a handle has it?'  To which I replied 'yes but it still functions!'  he then said 'well I did get you something else, but its in my drawer in our room,' I asked 'why?' and he said 'beacuse I stood on it, and broke it, have a look when you get home'.

Once I got home,  I recovered a  beautiful glass blue flower with a broken stem, from sons drawer, it's not something I would have chosen myself, but it is nonetheless lovely, so he did put some thought into it after all! The stem was far too long anyway, but the main part was still intact so I have popped it in a pot next to my cactus, in front of my window so I can look at it when im washing up.







Blue flower

So after a nice lunch with mum and brothers, the biggest suprise ever, doorbell rings, my Christmas tree turned up! YAY! I was so pleased, as I always put my tree up in time for my birthday, so mum and I set it all up, and little one helped decorate it whilst listening to Carols.

I am really pleased with the tree, as have always had a real one, and was dubious about ordering a fake one online, as they never look like they do in the the pictures, but it actually looks better in real life, its hard to tell its a fake, it has a very natural shape, so hurrah, No needles and limp tree this year! It is rather large though, takes over my lounge, that's ok, I will move to a bigger house to accomadate it!

Had a scrummy lunch of melty cheese and bacon ciabattas and homemade chunky coleslaw,and as no one else was going to make me a cake, I made a pavlova, always a fave.

Pav

Finished the day with a few glasses of wine supplied by friends K and P;) with hubby, in candlelight, adoring my tree.

❄Snowed in..eagerly awaiting Christmas❄





I haven't been out since Monday morning, apart from in the garden, to watch childrens snowfights, and snowman making, its been quite blissful, all cosy and warm, have done lots of baking, and kept busy planning for Christmas.

Little daughter has written, and posted her first letter to |Father Christmas, well with help from mummy....




Letter to St Nic





Snow star yucca



This morning the children played, or should I say  wound each up,violently pelted each other with snowballs, then elder son stuffed snow down younger sons back, nearly making him cry, resulting in me nearly banging there heads together. They did  kindly make little sister a snowman, of which she is terrified to wake in the morning, and find melted (no chance) She actually cried when she watched Raymond Brigg's Snowman animation the other day, bless her, a chip off the old block, still gets me every time...

We have put some decorations up, I favour very natural looking decorations,  I HATE tinsel with a vengance, I like to 'see' my tree, so don't smother it in decorations. The red berry wreath and garland were a bargain at half price, from Argos last year. I have lots,and I mean LOTS of fairy lights around my house, my kitchen is starting to resemble Nigella's, I love them and leave them up all year round.

Festive fireplace

All of my chidren have spent hours playing with these delightful little dolls, over the years, they always end up rolling under the couch, so am forever trying to find them.

Russian Santas and penguins

                                                                     

 Nearer to Christmas day, I will go to the local park and cut holly, and  any type of attractive foliage with berries to decorate the table. We are waiting for our 'realisic' Xmas tree to arrive, I  have aways had a real tree, but have decided to invest in one that looks real, because im fed up with it dying on me after a week, no matter how much I keep it away from heat source, and water it, it looks droopy, and feels crispy by Christmas day. The snow has held up the delivery, so probably won't arrive until next weeek now, which is dissapointing, I like to have my tree up in time for my birthday on the 6th.

 I like to listen to traditional carols sung by the Cambridge choir, 'Christmas at Kings' whilst im decorating the tree, and have glass of port, with all the candles on, this makes me soo happy, and takes me right back to being a child.  My dad used to love Christmas, sadly he died at  a very young age, 14 years ago, and this time of year is when I miss his presence the most,  we always sat and watched Scrooge together,and Its a Wonderful life, I do this every year now with my boys, we always have special food, nibbles, they really enjoy it this too, they just know its the 'done 'thing with mum.I try and  keep all the traditions going, its a  special magical  time, and I hope my children will too.Everbody else in my family hates Xmas,  namely mum and brothers,which deeply saddens me, how can anyone 'hate' it? There are such simple pleasures to be had from the holiday, its not all about commercialism,  I'm not religious, and am certainly not an athesist either. I lean more towards its Pagan origins. Oh well 'Bah humbug'! to them, they will not dampen my spirits! Thankfully my husband , my children, and my friends love it.

 I will post pics of the new tree when its up, your opinions on whether it has a 'real' look to it, will be very  welcome please;)  



To celebrate our  Christmassy mood ,we made our first batch of mince pies today, they were so buttery and yummy, and a welcome treat coming in from the cold. I followed this recipe here


* Bear in mind, too add a little liquid, milk or water to your mix, to make the mix roll easier, or it will be too dry, and crumbly*

Rolling and cutting



'I want to put the snow on them' little one say's.

I'm really looking foward to next week  and hope the snow clears a bit, as im going up to London to see Wicked, for my birthday treat.As you may have guessed from previous posts, and my ' Dorothy painting on my header I Love TheWizard of Oz, should be great!

❄Happy cosy snowtime everbody!!☃
{Although I am rather looking foward to being able to venture out now}

Something out of nothing.

I was watching Nigel Slater's simple suppers last night, and it was about how we can make ingredients for a meal go much further for your family, making the meal much more economical. I have always done this without really thinking about it, I get a basic shop once a week, but nearly always have a full store cupboard, so the flexibility to make something out of very few fresh ingredients , is always a possibility, casseroles stews, and soups take minutes to prepare and give your family a wonderfully nutritious, filling and cheap meal, that is ultimately better than anything bought ready made, no matter how posh the label.

I took a pack of chicken legs out of the freezer yesterday, and this morning, looked through the fridge which was quite empty, and used up my last two onions, some celery, carrots, and a few spuds that had seen better days, and a tin of chick peas, and made a casserole.

To make:

Seal chicken legs in a little olive oil, until browned, set aside.
Fry roughly chopped onions, celery, and carrots, with a little garlic, until slightly browned and softened.

throw chicken back in, add 1 pint of chicken stock, I had some in freezer, or make up with couple stock cubes, and a small carton of vegetable soup also from the freezer, and 1 cup of left over gravy from sunday's roast, I NEVER never throw anything away that can be frozen ,and added to flavour a meal some other  time! I then added 2 sprigs fresh rosemary from garden, very handy herb, its really expensive in supermarkets, chop up a few small potatoes into small pieces,skin on, add a tin of chick peas, juice and all. A squirt of tomato puree, bring to boil and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, taste, then season well. leave to cool.



                                                                  
I served this with a little boiled rice, and some homemade soda bread from this recipe by Hugh Fearnley- Whittinstall here

Soda bread

                                                    
This is the first time I have made this bread, and I thought it was delicious, its very time consuming making bread with yeast, although it does have a better flavour. If you want to make a really quick loaf, or if you  you have an impromtu visit, this would be great to serve with some soup, or for mopping up juices from a stew or casserole, definitely fits the bill! I would say though, its taste and texture is more cake- scone like ,and I feel more suited to jam and butter, but nontheless my children all enjoyed it.

For pudding I made a really easy peasy, simple, but divine chocolate pudding taken from the very talented Sue, from Quince tree, she could easily give Nigella a run for her money, I am always inspired reading her blogs, and have tried lots of her wonderful recipes, so thanks for this Sue! Recipe here

                                   

The beauty of this pud is you don't need any fancy ingredients, just flour , cocoa, sugar, butter and milk, baking powder, salt.(All store cupboard stuff) but it tastes like you have slaved over it ,and loaded it with top quality chocolate, my boys didn't belive me that it din't have any in it, it must be served with cream though, and even the greediest person (namely eldest son) will only manage a small portion, he say's 'I will have the rest when I get back from rugby tonight, cos i'll be starving'!

                     As Sue say's its meant to look look like a cow pat!

              You can't help but dip your fingers in. Bon appetit bloggers!

Cup of tea and cake?

I make this cake every week, its very simple, and all the family love it, and its actually quite nutritious, as there isn't much fat in it, or sugar, compared to many sweet treats, and the big portion of dried fruit will count towards one of your 5 a day! Very filling, yummy and moist!


                                                              Fruitcake

                                                          You will need:

4oz  unsalted butter or Margarine ( I only use stork if I run out of butter)
6oz caster sugar
340g dried fruit mixed (raisins, sultanas, cherries, whatever you fancy or have in store cupboard)
1tsp bicarbonate soda
3 heaped tsp mixed spice (this is my preference-use less if you wish)
1 level tsp salt
4oz plain flour
4oz self raising flour
2 beaten eggs
8 floz water
100ml orange juice

Preheat oven to Gas 4/350f/180c

Place  butter, fruit, sugar, bicarb,mixed spice, and water into a pan and  bring to the  boil, and simmer, until bubbling and melted.                                           

Pour into a large mixing bowl, and allow to cool, I usually get my little daughter stirring it, to cool it quicker.

Once cooled, add the beaten eggs, and flours,and salt, stir well and finally add the orange juice, stir one more time, and pour into a deep greased and lined cake tin.

Cake needs to be on the centre shelf of  the oven, half way through cooking time  approx 45 mins, I cover the cake with a disc of foil to stop the top burning.  Test with a skewer after an 1hr and 15 mins, if it comes out clean your cake is done! allow to cool in tin for 5 mins and turn out onto a wired rack.

This cake will keep for a week to 10 days, in an airtight tin, if it's around long enough of course!

                                   Luverly with a cup of Rosie Lee, Enjoy! :)


                          

Halloween pics



I went to a  Pre Halloween bash last night, it was great fun, but I have suffered today with a hangover from hell... anyway a few pics of our goings on...

Spooky cupcakes

Werewolf  cakes

Daughter had fun dressing up as a witch

Little witch

Goth bride

This was my attempt, at kind of fancy dress... the make up was more vivid in real life than in this pic, but it looked good overall, a fun night was had by all, too much wine was consumed by myself, as well as some strange concoction from Germany, which I downed 3 shots of....  I need a week to recover!

Looking foward to half term, with the kids, with more pumpkin carving at the weekend, and an extra  hours sleep on Sunday!

Comfort food...

BBRRR,well, its turned very cold hasn't it? Hats, scarves and gloves for us, on school run yesterday and today, heating on. On cold days like this, don't we all want and crave, warm comfort food.

I fancied  pasta bake today, and its always quick, and easy to cook,  (20 mins prep, plus 20-25 mins in oven), you could make this up in the morning, and pop into oven, when you get back from school, or work. I just made this up as I went along today, with stuff I had that need using up, and it turned out rather superb!

                                                         Smokey Sausage Pasta Bake
                                                       
                                                                  Should serve 6                                  


                                                         1x 500 g packet penne pasta
                                                          6 Cumberland pork sausages
                                                                      I large onion
                                                                     2 cloves garlic
                                                              1 tin chopped tomatoes
                                                          1 heaped tsp smoked paprika
                                                              2 slugs dark soy sauce
                                                              2 slugs balsamic vinegar
                                                                        1tsp sugar
                                                            1tsp wholegrain mustard
                                                             Salt and pepper to taste
                                                       100 ml double cream (optional)
                                                 Grated medium cheddar to cover the top
                                                              
   Preheat oven to gas 6/200
  Boil pasta  in salted water, until nearly cooked, drain, set aside in a large baking dish
  Grill sausages, until cooked through. slice diagonally when cooled.
  Slice onion, fry until soft, add chopped garlic, cook for 1 min, add tomatoes, and all other ingredients, except the cream, bring to the boil, then simmer for 5 mins. Season to taste.
Add the cream, personally I love it, makes it a little more luxurious, but not so healthy, hey ho, it's ok  once in a while ;) heat through add a slug of milk so its not too thick, then mix into the pasta, into prepared oven dish, add the sausages, mix everthing together then sprinke with cheese. cover with foil.

                                                    
   Bake in centre top of oven for 15 mins, take foil off cook for further 10 mins until golden and crispy.

Serve with some green salad.

Yummy!

I also made the kids some very moreish chocolate brownies.

  These are dead simple to make and don't need any expensive chocolate, just plain cocoa, but they taste luxurious!

   This  recipe is from my fellow blogger Choc girl here

4 tablespoons cocoa powder

100g butter

200g sugar

2 eggs

75g plain flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*Tweak* I like couple small handfuls nuts, hazlenuts, pecans and walnuts are good!

 preheat your oven to 180°c/gas 4/350°f

grease or line a 20 x 20cm baking tin

over a low heat melt the butter and cocoa powder :

* I give it a quick zap in the microwave until melted*

leave to cool :

In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients together and add the vanilla extract :

break the eggs to your cooled chocolatey-butter mixture and stir well :

now tip the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry stuff and mix carefully :

don't over do it!

your mix will be quite thick and gorgeously glossy :

Spoon into your prepared tin, smooth over and bake for

15 - 20 minutes ~ it should be springy to touch but squidgey inside

You need small child or older ones to lick the bowl clean! 

Gooey chocolately heaven

    I'm off to my halloween party tomorrow, so pics to follow of  cakes, outfits etc, as mentioned in previous post.   Happy weekend to you all :)

                                                                                          

    

                                       
                                             




Rainy October...Halloween fun!

Rain, rain, and more rain, so far this month! I really love the autumn (when its dry!) the damp is horrible, it just takes a bit of getting used to, being stuck in so much, after the glorious summer we have had. But  yay!we have all the festivities to look foward to, Halloween, Bonfire night, and Christmas.. dare I mention it yet?

Saturday was a mega busy day, we layed laminate in our lounge, WOW what a killer that was, hubby and myself are hobbling about, like we are both 85! both have a dodgy back now! Still its a job well done, and we will be warm for winter with no draughts.

Whilst hubby was laying floor , I had a cooking fest, and  made a scrummy chicken chorizo, and chick pea casserole, with  home made foccacia with red onion, and rosemary (sorry no pics, because I forgot, what with all the commotion! ) but MY it was fabulous! Definitely be making it again, a real peasant dish with max flavours, it was so good to tuck into after all that hard work.  I did take some pics of the choc chip muffins I made, they were very good too! I only had 1 of course.;) 

Choc chip muffins

I then took daughter to park,  as weather was quite pleasant , we found conkers, fed the ducks, went squirrel spotting, and daughter got filthy on the slide as she went down head first at least 15 times!

Conker stash





Vampy inspired  dress!

 I am really looking foward to Halloween, my stepmum revels in this celebration in a big way, so is throwing a BIG bash this year, it is fancy dress (compulsory, or no entry)  I am NOT one for dressing up, I always feel really silly, think its for kids! but this year i'm wholeheartedly going the whole hog,and going for the black gothic bride look, make up, hair and all, (pics to follow) daughter is going to pumpkin carving the week before, and we have got her a cute little witch outfit,with broom, and I will paint her face green. Whether I get my man dressing up is another thing, I may have to bribe him...                                                   


Loving this gothic make up!

I'm going to HAVE to make some spooky cupcakes, to take  to the kids party I never need an excuse to make them, I LOVE, LOVE making cupcakes, so much more fun, and more intricate than everyday baking, I wish we had a local cake suppliers shop, I hate paying the extortionate delivery prices online, just for a few sprinkles, decorative bits and bobs, etc, so will have to drive 10 miles or so to a good one that always has everthing I need, and stock up!  Have found some fab ideas online, here are some I may steal ideas from!









Black and orange combos

 



Spooky spiders

What's the betting I get roped into doing 100 + cakes for adult party, hmmm......