Kinder-tastic!

I'd like to think that somewhere there's a special toy lab full of slightly eccentric people trying to out do each other with ideas for the weirdest, wackiest things they can fit in a Kinder egg.

'…hey, what about a scary baby on wheels sucking a dummy?'

'…wait! wait! I've got one! A baby in a turban...on a magic carpet, that can levitate!'

'Yeah!'

And so it goes on.

Maybe they're all computer generated now, but I'd rather hang on to the image of some toy techie person trying to work out how to get a bug rowing a pea-pod boat into a small orange capsule.

Kinder Surprise! There's a good chance you probably will be…surprised, that is.

Some of the toys are truly inspired in a crazy creative kind of way, with little moving parts that slot together; like mini feats of engineering.

As you can probably tell, I am a fan: I've been collecting them on and off for over twenty years.

What can I say? I love tiny.

Wasted on kids in my opinion.

Though they're not always brilliant: not always a swiss clock with a bird popping out kind of brilliant...

Sometimes just a boring lump of plastic, or - my least favourite surprise - a puzzle.
So disappointing.

But the ones that move, or wobble, or fly or even light up - like this dragon - well, you've got to be happy with that…(or maybe just me?)

Probably my favourite one is the mice in a box - frightening to think it's actually about 20 years old.

Simple but  clever: a little mechanism inside means every time you slide the box open either way, a mouse pops out.  I'm also quite keen on the kung-fu monkey that karate chops a piece of wood.

He really does.

I want to say they aren't as good now as they used to be - and I think they did take a dip into dull. But recently the Kinder toys seem back on form - a pony with a ring that clips on its back you can wear (well, not me..) I'd show you if I could find it. My daughter loves the flower fairies with petal skirts. Again I'd show you...

For some reason I still kind of weigh them by hand, in the possibly mistaken belief that heavier is better. And I still give the chocolate to anyone who'll have it.

Surely no one buys them for the chocolate?

Ode to Croissants

Beaming crispy crescents

lying in a pile,

Hard resisting something

that looks like a smile )

The flaky bakey loveliness

sets many tums aflutter,

Possibly because they're made

with half a ton of butter.

Try not to look, to catch a smile

and focus on the bread,

But it's no use, I leave the shop

with five croissants instead.

(no prizes for guessing where we are at the moment…enjoying some sunshine and frequent visits to the Boulangerie :)

Egg carton flowers for Mother's Day

My little spring posy is based on the roses I made a couple of weeks ago. Egg cartons are great for flowers, and I was thinking this simple arrangement might come in handy with Mother's Day around the corner?

So, if you fancy making these flowers, you will need:
Egg cartons
Pipe cleaners (preferably yellow and green)
Coloured tissue paper
Paint
Glue
Lump of old modelling clay
Yogurt pot

Cut out a few egg cups from the carton for the daffodils, and keep the edges nice and wavy - makes it look more like petals.

Cut some middle cones out too for the crocus/bluebell shaped flower (seems to be a sort of cross between the two!) - use the corners for the petal tips and join by drawing a triangle on each side, like the picture above…

Paint them purple and the daffs a sunny yellow.

Pierce a hole through the bottom of the bells and the middle of the daffs (Best done by an adult - use nail scissors or similar - keep them closed, press down and twist carefully from side to side) Push a piece of pipe cleaner through (roughly 10cm/4in.) Bend it over to hold in place - try to keep the pipe cleaner nice and flat inside the daffs (so it's easier to stick the tissue paper centres here later).

With the bells, we used a longer piece of yellow pipe cleaner and pulled more of it through for the flower stamen, and then folded the pointy end over.

To finish off the daffs, fold a piece of orange or yellow tissue paper (about 10x10cm/4x4in.) until it's a 2cm/3/4in. wide strip - you don't want it sitting too high above the edge of the egg cup - then roll up tightly.

Let them unfurl a bit before gluing the end edge down. Brush plenty of glue inside the egg cups (and over the pipe cleaner middle) and stick the tissue paper centres in place.

For the daisies, cut a 1cm/1/2in. thin strip of white paper and snip into 6cm/21/2in. pieces. Fold them in half and round off the ends.

Open up and use the middle fold to arrange three evenly on top of each other, so it looks daisy-like.

Glue together and when dry, carefully make a hole (with nail scissors as before, but put a piece of modelling clay behind the flower centre, so you have something to push against). Make it big enough for a pipe cleaner.

Wind the pipe clearner around a few times for a fuller centre.

We cut some long leaves out of tissue paper and stuck them on too - the easiest way to do this is to wrap them around the stalks.

Arrange your blooms in a piece of old plasticine (modelling clay) - one of those mashed up, multi-coloured lumps…(make sure you warm it up a bit first, so the stalks go in)

Cut a strip of wrapping paper to decorate your pot - make sure it goes round with plenty to spare (about 1 and a half times), then cut into about 3 or 4 pieces - so much easier to glue on neatly like this! Overlap each piece.
You could tie a ribbon around instead.

Pop in your flowers.

Charity Challenge Day 6 - Chocolate Brownies save the day...

The brownies arrived in the nick of time: there was a sprinkling of dissent in the ranks, and I think the eldest was on the verge of a possible muffin mutiny. It appears you actually can have too much of a good thing.

Don't think he'd ever get sick of brownies though.

I know the internet is awash with brownie recipes, but sure one more won't hurt.
I make these a lot, probably the thing I bake the most. Perfect for cheering up grumpy kids/husband.

150g dark chocolate (60-70% cocoa)
150g butter
3 eggs
225g sugar
tsp vanilla extract
90g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
Grease and line a 20cm square tin (or round if you want a brownie cake) Oven 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.

Melt the chocolate and the butter together, and while that's going on, beat the eggs, sugar (brown or white) and vanilla in a large bowl. When the choc/butter has melted, let it cool for a bit before adding it to the sugary eggs - then tip in the flour and baking powder, and mix. 
Pour into your prepared tin, and pop into the oven for 15-20 mins. Cool before cutting.

As we only had 100g of chocolate, I reduced the quantities by a third, but probably could have done with a bit more flour as they're extremely gooey - not that anyone's complaining.

There has been an increase in moaning though as the week's gone on - not about what I'm giving them to eat; more about the lack of variety, and that they can't have what they want. This is no bad thing, because these moments, when the kids are thinking about not being able to have crisps or custard creams or whatever it might be; they're good times to remind them about children who never have any choices; children who are grateful for every meal and every mouthful. But not in a lecturey way, because I know they'd just switch off if I did that. It'll probably make more sense when they watch a bit of Sport Relief tonight and see where the money we've raised will be going.

For me, the Challenge has meant a lot more planning, cooking and thinking ahead - it's been good to do,  but know I'm not organised enough to keep it going. I was thinking that yesterday morning when I made the kids pancakes for breakfast with the leftover batter from the night before: they loved them and it gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling - but I'm not usually on the ball in the morning and don't need to add any extra chores. Hard enough getting them out the door by 7.30.
And remembering to brush my hair.

I used Hugh FW's drop scone/pancakes recipe, but watered down the milk to make it go further. We've done quite well making our milk supply last. I only have one milk drinker though, and he's been on water rations.

The old bits of bread mentioned last time were whizzed up to make breadcrumbs. I fried them with some butter, a splash of oil, a chopped clove of garlic, and a little rosemary from the garden (chopped so finely no child would spot it). I added a little grated cheese from the rations too, and then sprinkled the toasted breadcrumbs on our tomato pasta (popular in some parts of southern Italy as a cheap alternative to parmesan apparently).  I really liked the garlicky crunch with the pasta, and even got a thumbs up from the fusspot! But the youngest wasn't so keen - always bloomin' one, isn't there.

Anyway, they all ate it up.

I bribed them with brownies.


I'm doing the £12 Challenge for Sport Relief - if you're interested, my donation page is here.

Charity Challenge Day 4 - The art of deception

The fussy one had eaten nearly all his Almost Spanish Omelette before he realised there was potato in it. I'd cut the potato really, really small. Needs must you see.

Another Charity Challenge highlight has got to be using a chef's ring for the rosti - honestly it's not been out of the drawer for aaages, and I'd forgotten how a bit of neat uniformity can magically make things seem more appetising. Appearance matters for kids - well it does for mine, and frankly I'll take all the help I can get.

So I'll be making round food more often, and have another go at rosti cakes, though next time I'll squeeze more of the starchy liquid out of the grated potato; pretty sure that's the key to a good rosti.

We're over half way through now, and not wanting to tempt fate or anything, but our £12 veggie week is going better than expected - I'd even say my fussy blighter has eaten more than he usually does.
This has probably got a lot to do with a ready supply of homemade bread. Last year I used Recipe Junkie's delicious bread recipe, and even made a bubbly, yeasty sourdough starter, but this time I've gone for speed and stripped my bread prep down to the bare bones.

500g of strong flour in a big bowl with a 7g sachet of yeast sprinkled on one side and 5-10g of salt on the other (so the salt doesn't kill the yeast), then mix in 300ml of warm water, plonk out onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes.
Put the dough ball onto a very lightly greased tray and leave, covered with a tea towel, somewhere warm for one hour plus. Score the risen dough, and pop into a pre-heated oven at 220 degrees C for about 25 minutes. Should sound hollow when you tap the top, and seems to have worked fine so far, even with my old/new flour mixture.

I made some cider bread today, and know I've banged on about it before, At Length - but it really is the easiest bread EVER. No need to knead, and takes only a few minutes to prepare. If you've got some spare cider/lager/guinness knocking about do give it a go. I had the end of a bottle of cider in the fridge and cut back on the cheese and butter quantities so it didn't make too much of a dent in our rations.
It's best eaten on the day it's made, but that's never been a problem!

Also wanted to mention I've kept any spare bits of bread and ends of loaves for something I'm going to try tomorrow. I know I'm going to like it, just not so sure about the kids...
All will be revealed in the next post.

Charity Challenge Day 2 - Meal Plan

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Day 2 of our Charity Challenge, and I thought this little fellow might distract the kids from the general lack of breakfast on the table this morning...

The egg cosy body and head are crocheted, and the rest is knitted - still more confident knitting the fiddly bits really, especially if I'm making it up as I go along.

Shame we had to share the egg…

Anyway, now you know what I spent the £12 budget on (shopping list is here) I thought I'd run through our 7 day meal plan.

You'll notice I've started and ended the week on a crowd pleaser - the other part of my cunning plan is to make some morale boosting chocolate brownies on Thursday, just when I reckon spirits will be flagging. I'll have to alter recipe quantities as I could only afford 100g of dark chocolate; but it's the good stuff - 74% cocoa.

I'll be doing some recipe fiddling with other things like the apple cake too - it all has to fit with what we've got. The apples are our own; we had a bumper crop last year and stored some in the garage. Mind you most of them are rotten, or look pretty manky…

Not great, but managed to make some reasonably decent stewed apple. A friend has kindly donated 4 eggs from her hens and a few leeks from her garden. I'll be using 4 rather soft looking potatoes I found at the bottom of the cupboard, plus 3 onions. I'll also be using up old bags of flour -some so old I wouldn't be surprised if they started moving, but I'm purposefully not looking at use-by-dates - rather not know…
I've mixed in some of the new plain flour I bought with my old strong flour, for bread-making, and so far so good. A little flat looking maybe, but the kids seem to like it.  I found half a bag of oat bran too, also of questionable age (from a failed attempt at the Dukan diet I think) and I've been adding that to the bread and muffin ingredients.

Breakfast is homemade bread, though I'm hoping there might be some pancakes left over for Thursday morning.

Sunday
Lunch  Pesto pasta with a sprinkle of cheese, then apple crumble.
Dinner Tomato and cheese pizza/garlic bread pizza and peach muffins.

Monday 
Dinner Vegetarian sausages with rosti potato and carrots. Apple cake for afters.

Tuesday
Dinner  Almost Spanish omelette and carrot muffins.

Wednesday
Dinner  Leek and carrot soup with cider bread, followed by pancakes. 

Thursday
Dinner   Not quite Puttanesca pasta and chocolate brownies.

Friday
Dinner Savoury rice and chocolate brownies.

Saturday
Lunch   Lentil soup and homemade bread followed by peach muffins.
Dinner  Tomato and cheese pizza/garlic bread pizza and whatever's left for pudding!

Such a beautiful day on Sunday, so we had our pizzas outside. It was getting a bit parky by teatime, but that didn't seem to matter, seeing as all the grub disappeared in five minutes flat. I used a whole tin of chopped tomatoes and all the passata plus an onion to make the tomato sauce, but only spread a little on the pizzas - the rest has been put away for Thursday's pasta.

I'm really conscious of rationing everything out, and using things like butter/milk sparingly. I've even grated all our cheese into a tub...just makes it look like it'll go further somehow!


I'm doing the £12 Challenge for Sport Relief - if you're interested, my page is here.

Day One Charity Challenge - The List

Okay, so call me Norma.

No other takers for the Charity Challenge….obviously didn't make it sound remotely tempting!
Don't blame you really.

Anyway, my £12 shop took me all of 5 minutes, but planning what to buy took A LOT longer. It's all about the prep with something like this: squeezing as much as you can out of every single penny.
There was a good deal of list tinkering, calculator bashing, sighing, crossing out, cheek puffing, more sighing….

I'd have liked to try a few different vegetarian meals, but there's no point if the kids won't eat them, so I've played safe. All my groceries came from Lidl, except the tin of peaches I bought in Tesco's last week. The cheese was reduced which meant I had enough money left to buy some cream crackers…the height of excitement I know, but they'll provide a bit of variety for after-school snacks, so the kids don't tire of muffins. I purposefully haven't given them muffins for a while…or carrots. We'll be eating a lot of carrots.

It goes without saying there's nothing organic going on here...

15 eggs                 £1.35
Cheese 250g            90p
milk 4pts                £1
butter                        98p
2xplain flour (3kg)   98p
tinned toms               34p
passata                      29p
carrots 500g              75p
sugar 1kg                  79p
vegetarian sausages   98p
tinned peaches           35p
Pesto Rosso               89p
cream crackers           38p
dark chocolate           79p
pasta 500g                 29p
red lentils 500g          89p

TOTAL               £11.95

One big advantage I have over last year is I don't have to make packed lunches. The kids now have school dinners - pre-paid - so this should take some of the pressure off, and possibly ease the whinging.  I'm thinking mainly about the eldest here - he eats more than his Dad and is permanently starving.

There are five of us to feed today and next saturday, but during the week it's down to four. I'm starting off gently with homemade bread for breakfast, and tonight, everyone's favourite - margherita pizza and garlic bread pizza. Got to keep them happy. Like I said, it's all about the prep…

I'll post the full 7 day meal plan tomorrow, and explain why I blew 79p on a bar of dark chocolate.