Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to you!

Well our pumpkins are carved lit shining out their spooky glow from the porch as a beacon to all letting them know we are celebrating the all hallows night.

Mead open farm

 This week we visited Mead open farm as they were having a special Halloween event, It was a nice day for Autumn blue sky and warm, which is perfect for being outdoors looking at all the animals.

My husband is in the dog house!

My husband is in the dog house !!! It's rare that he is in there but this time he really does deserve it. His twisted and warped sence of humour has him in trouble. Even after the events he still finds it really funny sniggering like a naughty school boy.....MEN!!!

Smile International

 


Sophie has been given the chance to do her first bit of charity work with smile international. We had never heard about this before and it was brought to us through Sophie's pre school.

Christmas puddings

I really enjoy Christmas pudding its just delicious and some thing to look forward to as part of the Christmas feast.  As a home made Christmas pudding they are so fruity and indulgent yet light, not like the supermarket counter parts which are like eating a brick after your Christmas dinner making you feel sick and sleepy. 

This year i planned to make 2 as i heard that if you store one it matures over the year and tastes even better the next year, but im not so sure the little extra one is going to make it, it smells so good and is calling my name to eat it.

After the Christmas cake was made i added lots of figs and dates to my boozy fruit to soak up the rest of the boozy from the bottom of the tub and to boost up the rest of the fruit that was still getting merry from soaking.

After putting 600g of my boozy fruit in a bowl with 75g of flour, breadcrumbs, demerara sugar, 100g of vegetarian suet. Sophie was busy grating 1 brambly apple and a carrot to add, while i went to town with 2 tsp of mixed spice, 1/4 of fresh grated nutmeg , 1 tsp ginger, cinnamon, Sophie helped whisk up 3 eggs to add to the mix and i added lots of chopped pecans and almonds, last off we put almost a whole can of Mackeson stout. 

Next came the fun part where Mummy, Daddy and Sophie took turns stirring and making wishes for the year ahead.  Sophie wished for yoghurt, so she got her wish granted, as she was such a good little helper and was really good at stirring.

 Next the mix got put in the bowls covered with foil and placed inside large pans with water that came 3/4 of the way up the basin and it simmered for 7 hours with lids on, till they were done, of course you have to go back and check that they haven't boiled dry.  After the 7 hours the heat was turned off and they were allowed to stand until the they were cool to take out. They are covered and now waiting patiently for the special day where they will be crowned in brandy set alight and gobbled up with cream.  Poor little puddings, but it is so nice having something so special to wait for that you have made yourself. Roll on Christmas.

Autumn crown

After our visit to Astridge-forest i had collected lots of different types of leaves for Sophie so we could make an Autumn crown, no it is not a compost on her head ...

Astridge forest Sweet chestnuts

Today we went for a walk in Astridge forest to see the leaves change and see what we could find, however Sophie's agender was different we had just bought her some Wellington boots and she was obsessed with finding a puddle to jump into the test out said new wellies.

Chilli jam curry

 Well i didn't know what to call this as its not really a curry but i suppose it depends on how much chilli you like.  This was made using the tomato-and-chilli-jam i made recently and it tasted really good fruity from the tomatoes but not tomatoey deep rich flavours and a bit sweet.

 I used chicken thighs as i think they are really tasty and good value when you have a family.  I marinated and then browned off the meat and also cooked a large onion.

 I punched up some of the original flavours from that were in the jam already and and added these into the pan with a smaller tub of the jam.  I then added a can of coconut milk and left to simmer for 1 hour so all the flavours got a chance to mingle and come together.  If i had fresh coriander i would have finished off the meal with this but i didn't have any but it still tasted superb.

Pickled pears

I have wondered about pickled pears for a couple of years but either didn't have the time or wasn't sure about the taste.  I did have an hour spare and we did have a bumper crop of pears in the garden even though i am not convinced on the all that vinegar with the pears and how it will change the flavour of the suculate juicy fruit, if you don't try you wont know so i gave them a go.

Ladies that lunch Oct

 Oh loving being a mummy especial on days like this when your mummy friends all bring a dish of delicious home made food and you all share and have a good old gas about anything and everything.  Even though a few mummies could make it due to the dreaded lurgi making the rounds we had a ball and felt like balls after to from all that lovely grub, no tea tonight.

 What a feast was on offer Ham, cheese and tomato tart, Goats cheese pin wheels, Chicken Satay, Lemon drizzle cake and damson-batter-buns were all home made treats made lovingly by the girls.

Damson batter buns

With all the lovely damsons we foraged for most went into making damson wine but i saved some to make some damson batter buns for Sophie as her favourite word is CAKE ! and its a good way to sneak fruit into her.

Rosehip Syrup

 As said in my rosehip-tea post rose hips are really good for you packed with loads of vitamins, little ones may not enjoy drinking tea but this sweet treat is always appreciated by Sophie.  Great on pancakes, ice cream and my favourite snack yoghurt with rose hip syrup.

Rosehip tea

Rosehips are one of my favourite things to forage for they are packed with goodness with Vitamin A, B, C, E and K  and is excellent at fighting colds, as soon as i feel a little low or have a tickle in my throat i good cup of refreshing tea is a good fast fix to feeling better, especially as rose hips contain more vitamin C that citrous fruit. You can sweeten the tea with a little honey but i like the tart fruity flavour especially with a ginger biscuit. 

Tomato and Chilli jam

So i have 9lbs of Tomatoes left to preserve, one thing i make every year is tomato and chilli jam but this year i think i will have to make this on a bigger scale due to the bumper crop. I love this jam its really versatile great on salmon, prawns, squid and is nice on chicken sandwiches, stir fries and even in dressings and Sophie loves it as a pasta sauce and i use it as a tomato base in bolognese, chillies etc  

My hearty tomato soup

In six very sunny days i have collected 12lbs of tomatoes i have buckets of them and needed a way to preserve them before they all perish.