Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Meal Planning Monday 2017 Week 26

So the weather has turned and it doesn't look like we will be having barbecues this week! Never mind - not long til we go on holiday to sunny Malta.

Monday
Lunch: chicken salad with watermelon
Dinner: taking my husband to the optician after work to help me choose a new pair of glasses so we might get some dinner while we are out

Tuesday
Lunch: working from home - maybe a toasted sandwich
Dinner: home late after a circuits class; will probably have a microwave risotto when I get home

Wednesday;
Lunch: salad or sandwich as I don't have long to eat before going to a school where I volunteer
Dinner: salmon and vegetables for me, chicken grillsteak for him (meant to do last week but didn't)

Thursday
Lunch: salad
Dinner: pizza from the freezer as I think we will be home late

Friday
Lunch: salad
Dinner: chicken goujons/ fishfingers and chips

Saturday
Lunch: crumpet pizzas
Dinner: chicken and bacon pies with mashed potatoes

Sunday
Lunch: lemon chicken pasta with rest of jar of sauce
Dinner: toad in the hole

Join in the blog hop!



 

Saturday, June 24, 2017

Restaurant review: Cote Brasserie, St Christophers Place, London

I had a late dinner at Cote one evening with my mother-in-law after I had been to a KitchenAid cooking demonstration with chef Michael Moore. The demo didn't finish until 9 and even though I'd had a couple of bites to eat, trying some of the food that Michael cooked, it didn't really count as dinner.

We were near St Christopher's Place and my mother-in-law knew of Cote and wanted to go there - we passed some much more interesting restaurants as we walked, like Bone Daddies, but we were also with one of her work colleagues at the time so I didn't want to suggest anything else - I knew Cote would be comfortable, with plenty on the menu for everyone and in any case eating ramen (which Bone Daddies serves) is a pretty messy experience and probably not something to do with a work contact!

Because it was late I didn't want a heavy meal and also nothing that would take too long to cook or eat; there was a plats rapides menu that offered a couple of dishes that could be served quickly - I had the cod goujons for £11.95 which were essentially fishfingers but very large, chunky ones - nothing like the floppy flat ones you sometimes get in packets! It came with French fries- I declined the option of peas - and tartare sauce, and was very good. I recommend it if you are in the area, but next time I might try Bone Daddies!

 



Friday, June 23, 2017

Monochrome Fashion Mannequin Greeting Card


On a recent visit to a Hobbycraft I treated myself to a card making magazine which came with a whole sheet of unmounted rubber stamps relating to both DIY and tools and sewing equipment - a sewing machine, bobbins, knitting needles and wool and a wire mannequin.

I have a lovely turquoise wire mannequin I bought when I moved to my last house as I had a huge bedroom and was living on my own for the first time in years so could have a more feminine bedroom. Now that my husband and I own a house together - that is bigger but doesn't have a near-20ft long bedroom like I used to - the mannequin has been relegated to the spare room that I've nicknamed my craft room.

So I was immediately attracted to the mannequin stamp and stamped it in black ink just to the left of centre on a square card blank. Then I wasn't quite sure what to do!

Having started off with black ink against a white background I decided to go for a monochrome effect for the whole card, and remembered I had some black and white patterned papers. I cut off a strip and stuck it down the right hand third of the card - it looks a bit like flock wallpaper.

I used a 'just for you' stamp from the same set on white paper which I mounted onto black card, and secured to the card with two gold brads in the shape of stars. I really liked the finished effect and sent this to one of my best friends on her birthday.

I'm sharing this with Cardz 4 Galz where the theme is 'sew and sew'

Thursday, June 22, 2017

Slimming World Linguine with Crab and Chilli

This dish reminds me of something I would order in an Italian restaurant or better still, eat while on holiday somewhere sunny, ideally with a view of the ocean. It's actually based on a Slimming World recipe for the rather more prosaically named 'crab noodles' and is really quick to throw together.

Cook some linguine or spaghetti according to pack instructions; when is cooked, drain, and add some tinned crab (a small tin will do 1-2 people depending on how generous you want to be with the crab), a few dried red chilli flakes or a pinch of fresh chopped red chilli, some finely chopped red onion, a squeeze of lime juice, and the grated zest of the lime, and some fresh parsley on top. Serve with broccoli or a salad on the side. Delicious!

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Restaurant Review: Wasabi, Borough High Street, London

Commuting is never fun though in the past I’ve quite enjoyed sitting on a train with a good book or a newspaper – these days however it’s a deeply unpleasant experience. My trains are frequently cancelled or delayed, and I’ve lost count of the number of times Southern has been on strike in the past 12 months.
 
It was one of those days where I had finished late at work, got to London Bridge station to find the train was cancelled and I had a 45 minute wait until the next one. As I wouldn’t get home until about 9pm and it was a nice evening, I decided to make the most of it and get some dinner.
 
Walking back down from the station I passed a Jamie’s bar, and stuck my head inside, but it was packed and I wanted to sit down. I meandered a little way along the street, noticing that all the bars and pubs were crowded and the only other options seemed to be the likes of Pret, or a little place I thought might be an Italian from the name but when I stuck my head in turned out to be a kebab shop.
 

Wasabi seemed the best option as it had seating, a choice of hot or cold food and would be pretty quick. As well as sushi Wasabi sells bento boxes, salads and dishes like sweet chilli chicken and rice. I chose a hot chicken katsu which came in a pot, with rice on the bottom, a piece of breaded chicken in a separate section on top and a container of katsu sauce, for you to mix together as you wish. I like the fact that you can add the sauce however you want it – it had quite a kick but I did end up using all of it.
 
It was very filling and really nice – on a par with somewhere like Wagamama so if you are looking for a takeaway chicken katsu curry you can eat at your desk back at work, I recommend this. I just hope that I don’t end up having to eat dinner on the go because my train is cancelled again!

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Dr. Oetker Popcorn Fudge Brownies

Monday, June 19, 2017

Meal Planning Monday 2017 - Week 25

We've just had the most amazing weekend away for our first wedding anniversary; just got home on Monday lunchtime with the rest of the day off with gorgeous weather to enjoy - why can't life always be like this?!

Monday
Lunch  back home in time for a late lunch from our anniversary weekend away so we will want something quick; beans on toast or similar will do.
Dinner – barbecue: whole roast chicken from the Weber course we did plus grilled broccoli with garlic and chilli
 
Tuesday
Lunch – wfh – salad with rest of chicken from Monday
Dinner – ready meal after circuits class
 
Wednesday
Lunch- sandwich – only have 10 mins to eat before I go to the school where I volunteer
Dinner- barbecued steak with potato wedges / baked potato with sour cream and chives and salad
 
Thursday
Lunch- chicken salad
Dinner- salmon and vegetables for me, chicken grillsteak and mashed potatoes for him
 
Friday
Lunch- chicken salad
Dinner- chicken goujons/ fish and chips
 
Saturday
Lunch- fresh bread, ham, cheese etc (as I will probably have to go food shopping today so can pick up some fresh bread)
Dinner- assuming the weather is still good, homemade pizza on the barbecue, with some sides. Followed by chocolate molten puddings also on the barbecue - both Weber recipes
 
Sunday
Lunch- fresh pasta (ravioli)
Dinner- Lemon chicken from a jar of sauce - as an experiment, if the hubby likes it I will make my own next time! With a naan bread for him, and rice (with veg for me).

Join the blog hop

Saturday, June 17, 2017

Father's Day Shirt and Tie card



This card would be really nice alongside this cake...  but if you don't have time for baking this is a quick and easy make. It's not my neatest - I made it rather on the hoof standing up in my craft room which I had tidied in anticipation of new double glazing being done that week, and didn't want to get out all my craft supplies again and mess everything up!

You can use any pattern for the background - plain, striped, checked - anything that would resemble a man's shirt. This piece of paper is actually an offcut from a piece of wrapping paper!

I cut out the tie not following a template (you can tell, oops) and added a 'happy Father's Day' silver outline sticker; it doesn't show up too well in this photo and it looked better in real life!

I'm sending this to:
Cardz for Guyz - something blue for Father's Day
Always Fun Challenges - for a male or dad
Crafty Cardmakers - Father's Day

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Get Well Soon Card for a True Hero

I finally found a use for that 'hero' sticker.....

Usually when I share the cards I've made, it's so that people might be able to take the ideas and create something similar for the same occasion, should they so wish. But this get well card is a bit unique and I doubt many people have the occasion to send a card wishing a friend a speedy recovery after getting injured while defending innocent people in a terrorist attack. (Though it would also make a good Father's Day card!).

The London terror attacks were scary enough without waiting for news all night of a friend I knew was in one of the pubs involved, knowing nobody could get through on his phone, then fearing the worst after hearing he was among the injured. Thanks to the efforts of some of his friends who called around hospitals to track him down, a few hours later we learned he was already out of surgery and doing well. Now I can't stop welling up not only when I think about what happened but when I see the continued news coverage calling him a hero. Not many people would have the courage to step in and defend someone being attacked - as we later learned, by two of the terrorists - engaging them and  preventing them from moving on to immediately harm others, and sustaining severe injuries himself in the process. Geoff Ho, the nation salutes you.

While waiting to be able to visit Geoff I decided to make him a get well card and found I had the perfect thing.

Years ago I bought a packet of stickers for father's day which had various dad-related words and sentiments. There were a few I thought I'd never use, but I hadn't thrown them out just in case - words like tough guy. I don't think my dad would mind me admitting those don't specifically apply to him - my dad is more mild-mannered.

I suddenly remembered these stickers and found a pre-printed card blank -it looks more pink in this photo but was mainly purple. I mounted a different sticker in each circle and a 'get well soon' die cut in another.

I was able to deliver the card in person when I went to visit Geoff in hospital and I am glad to say he is now back home and on the mend.

 
I'm sharing this card with the Unicorn Challenge where the theme is 'for the guys' and also the Cards in Envy challenge with the theme 'you're the man' and Lawn Fanatics where the theme is 'cheerful get well'.

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Weber BBQ Cookery Class at the Abinger Cookery School

Our Weber gas barbecue is my husband's pride and joy. We bought it for our first summer in our new house - I can't remember how much it cost, but I know it was a lot compared to other barbecues, but it's so easy to use and cooks food perfectly - a far cry from the barbecues I remember as a child, where you had to wait hours (or so it seemed) for the coals to burn and then there was a risk that food would be burnt on the outside and raw on the inside... which when you're a child doesn't seem like that much of a big deal (other than making sure you get the sausage that is less burnt than your sister's) but obviously isn't very safe.

With a gas barbecue it's almost instant so we can get home from work at 7pm and cook dinner outside; you can regulate the temperature and also which flames burn so you can cook over direct or indirect heat and they are easier to clean. Some people think they aren't as authentic, and you don't get such a smoky flavour - though these days you can buy things to use on gas barbecues for smoky flavour  anyway.

My husband had a gas barbecue at his family's house for years so when we bought our own home it was a given that we would buy one, and more to the point that we would buy Weber.

For me, one of the best things about our barbecue is that my husband loves to use it. He doesn't cook at all, so I'm the one making dinner after we both get home from work every day, but in the summer he's always keen to grill and ends up being the one to cook dinner. Admittedly I still help but it does give me a bit of a break!

He's really good at cooking the basics - sausages and burgers, and over the last two years I got him to be a bit more adventurous - despite some initial scepticism on his part we were barbecuing fish to make spicy fish tacos, and even pizza, which is surprisingly easy. I wanted to take it up a notch and get my husband to take a barbecue cooking lesson, which I thought he would enjoy.

The Weber Grill Academy

Weber runs a barbecue school called the Grill Academy - it used to be in one location but now they have teamed up with cookery schools around the country so you can find somewhere local to you. I booked us both onto a course at the Abinger Cookery School in Surrey - they do all sorts of other cookery classes which look very appealing.

They do a few Weber cookery courses- charcoal grilling, seafood, winter warmers, essentials and classic. The classic course covers sausages, marinated chicken, burgers and beer can chicken - I know my husband is good at cooking most of that (I've even done beer can chicken at home before in the oven). I wanted us to learn something a bit different so we did the essentials course, which included:

  • Stonebaked pizza
  • Beer can chicken with herb and butter paprika rub
  • Sirloin or ribeye steaks
  • Smoked pork loin & crackling
  • Grilled broccoli with chilli and garlic
  • Coal roasted sweet potatoes with salsa verde
  • Chocolate molten puddings

  • The cookery school is in a converted pub in a pretty little village; it has a few rooms where different classes were taking place at the same time plus an outdoor area where we were. Unfortunately we got caught in terrible traffic and were 45 minutes late after the start of the class, so we missed all the food prep - people were marinating, chopping ingredients and so on. I think my husband didn't mind that we missed that part as he was more interested in the actual barbecuing aspect but it was a shame.

    One thing I noticed that amused me was that of the 15 or so people there, I was the only woman! Most people had come in pairs but all male, either friends, father and son and so on. It's the only time I've ever seen so many men in a cookery class!


We went outside and the tutor explained the different types of barbecues that you can get and different types of cooking. I learnt some useful tips like:
  • Clean the grill by heating it up a little and rubbing with the cut side of half a lemon or an onion. It's best to use lemon if you will be cooking chicken or fish, and onion if you are cooking red meat. Discard the lemon or onion afterwards.
  • Sausages are best cooked over an indirect heat so if you have a gas barbecue, have the flame going on one side of the barbecue and cook the sausages on the other side where there is no flame. This will stop them getting burnt!
You can buy all sorts of bits of equipment I didn't know about like a grilling tray to do small pieces of chicken, halloumi and vegetables; you can also buy these very amusing-looking chicken infusers, to do the beer can chicken I mentioned above.

It's not particularly easy or probably safe to balance a whole chicken with a beer can up it on a barbecue; Weber sells two types of gadget you can use for this.

The first, the Weber Poultry Roaster, is shown in the left of the picture below. It basically holds a can in place - you can use beer, ginger beer, Coke or Fanta, or anything that comes in a can. It holds the can in place inside the chicken and as it cooks, the liquid steams up inside the chicken, keeping it moist and giving it flavour.


The gadget on the right of the photo above is the Weber Style Poultry Infusion Roaster- this one is more expensive but I think would give a better result. Rather than using a can, you pour liquid into the central container meaning you can use anything - orange juice, red wine etc - and there is a cap in the top to stop the steam escaping. This means the juices run down into the tray underneath which you can use for basting.

We watched both types being cooked; the class ran for four hours, with the first hour being spent on prep; this sort of chicken will take about an hour and a half to cook; you can find a similar recipe on the Weber website.

 
The tutor had already made the pizza dough and demonstrated what to do; we then took it in turns rolling out a piece of dough, topping it with chopped tomatoes and mozzarella, and using a wooden paddle to place it on top of a pizza stone on the barbecue. You can find a recipe here. The pizzas only took a couple of minutes to cook and were really good.

Here's the tutor demonstrating:


And here I am stretching and tossing my pizza dough!


My finished pizza - I can never seem to roll out dough into a neat circle!


The steaks were marinated or rubbed with something, I wasn't sure, and simply placed on the barbecue. My husband got to help the tutor by turning the steaks... and that was as hands on as he was able to get in the whole class, which is a shame - it was more a case of watching demonstrations than actually cooking.

The pork loin had also been rubbed with something and was cooking in a roasting basket that I haven't seen before on a barbecue - it's a useful bit of kit as you can cook a large joint of meat to feed a lot of people.

I don't recall seeing the broccoli being grilled I don't think, and the sweet potatoes were simply wrapped in foil (probably rubbed with salt and oil) and put on the barbecue.

We also watched the tutor cook a paella that a couple of the other attendees had helped prepare and they helped cook. I didn't know you could do paella on the barbecue - some Weber barbecues have a grill with a removable circle in the middle and you can take this out and put a pizza stone in (though we managed fine by putting the pizza stone on top of the grill)  or you can put a big round dish like this into the gap. The pan is very large though so this isn't something you would cook for only a couple of people, but it seems a really nice alternative to a traditional meat-feast barbecue if you are having non-meat eaters or just want to do something different. Here's a recipe for a seafood paella from the Weber site.


Once everything was cooked it was sliced up and we got to try a bit of everything - it all tasted fantastic and we have definitely got lots of ideas for our next barbecue!
 

 


While we were eating the tutor made dessert; it was a shame we weren't involved in the prep or even the cooking as he did explain afterwards what he'd done but we were too busy eating at the time! Did you know you could make chocolate fondant on the barbecue? I didn't! Here's the Weber recipe - they are really good!


 
We both really enjoyed the barbecue course and learnt lots of useful little tips as well as some different things we can cook on the barbecue. My only criticism was that it wasn't very hands on - for the money (£99 per person) I would have expected a bit more actual cooking and less time just watching. When I've done barbecue cooking classes before, we had one barbecue to two or three people and everyone cooked their own food - I know this wouldn't be possible with the bigger joints of meat that we did but a group of a dozen or so people watching one man cook isn't what I imagined. Having said that this was a really good course and I do recommend it if you are either new to barbecuing or considering whether to buy a Weber (as a couple of people on the course were - as we used three or four types of their grills) or if like us you want to expand your barbecue cooking repertoire.
 

 

 

Monday, June 12, 2017

Meal Planning Monday 2017 - week 24

Not many meals to plan this week as my husband is unusually out a lot and then we are away at the weekend, leaving the cat in the company of the cat sitter. I'm really looking forward to the weekend as it's our first wedding anniversary and we are going back to our wedding venue and where we spent our wedding night. The weather is forecast to be great so it should be a good weekend!

Monday
Lunch - I'm working from home as we are having double glazing and new doors being put in. For lunch I will have grilled prawns with passion fruit (pictured right).

Dinner - my husband is out at a work event so I will have a stir-fry

Tuesday
Lunch - working from home again. Potato rosti with smoked salmon and poached egg
Dinner - home late (8.30) after circuits class so a Weightwatchers ready meal

Wednesday
Lunch - back at work - salad of some kind
Dinner - hopefully the weather will be nice for a BBQ with my husband

Thursday
Lunch - salad again
Dinner - my husband is at another work event; I'll have the rest of the stir-fry

Friday
Lunch - salad again
Dinner - fishcakes and mashed potato for me, chicken in breadcrumbs for him

This is a blog hop, join in!

Thursday, June 8, 2017

Old Bay Fried Chicken

I've written about Old Bay seasoning before - if you're American you are probably familiar with it but if you're British or from another country, probably not. Old Bay is a seasoning made in Baltimore for more than 75 years; it was paired originally with seafood but is popular particularly in the state of Maryland with all sorts of dishes. Read more about Old Bay's cult following.

This is a very simple and not particularly healthy recipe but probably OK in moderation; I'm sharing it because I'd forgotten how good fried chicken can be. You can find the Old Bay recipe here; you don't really need to follow exact quantities and can use whatever kind of chicken pieces you want - legs, thighs, even pieces of chicken breast. If you are using legs, which take longer to cook, I would advise baking them in the oven first and finishing off in the oil, to make sure the chidken is cooked through. You can do that with the other chicken pieces as well to be on the safe side.

Mix Old Bay seasoning and flour in a shallow bowl or a freezer bag. Beat an egg (one egg will do enough chicken for two people, roughly) in another shallow bowl. Dip the chicken in the egg and then the flour mixture, or if using a bag, place the chicken in the bag and shake until it is coated.

Part-cook the chicken in the oven if you wish; heat an inch of oil in a large saucepan until just bubbling and carefully place the chicken using tongs into the hot oil, turning as each side becomes golden brown. Remove from the oil with tongs and drain on kitchen paper.





Monday, June 5, 2017

Meal Planning Monday 2017 Week 23

The weather has reverted to not being so warm again so I don’t think we will barbecue this week – unless we can’t use the kitchen as our windows and patio doors are being replaced at some point! As I write on Monday evening it's chucking it down with rain which is good for the garden I suppose - very different from the blazing sunshine we had on the London to Brighton classic and sports car rally yesterday
 
   
Monday
Lunch - chicken salad
Dinner - Lasagne with veg
 
Tuesday  - working from home
Lunch - baked potato
Dinner - at circuits class til 8.30 so need a quick dinner, it might have to be a ready meal or instant risotto or something on toast
 
Wednesday – my husband is off as our double glazing is being done. I don’t know which day this week or next they are doing the kitchen and whether that will affect my ability to cook!
 Lunch - sandwich as I'm doing my fortnightly school volunteering and have only got ten minutes for lunch
Dinner - spaghetti carbonara
 
Thursday
Lunch- chicken salad or leftover spaghetti
Dinner - chilli and ginger glazed cod for me and my mother in law, chicken for my husband (from Weightwatchers Delicious p130)
 
Friday
Lunch- salad
Dinner- sausage and chips
 
Saturday
Lunch- Findus crispy pancakes - bit of a blast from the past
Dinner- chicken breast marinated in garlic, lemon juice and olive oil, with a baked sweet potato and salad, I was going to do last week but didn't
 
Sunday
Lunch- crumpets with eggs, bacon etc
Dinner - roast chicken thighs
 
This is a blog hop, join in!
 
 

Saturday, June 3, 2017

Just For You Birthday Cupcake Card


This is a quick and easy card that is quite girly; I made it when I was in the middle of actually tidying up after a card making session and putting everything away! As I did so, I spotted a piece of patterned backing paper with a cute cupcake design and decided it didn't need much adding  - and at the same time remembered I had a few puffy cupcake stickers left from a pack I bought in Paperchase years ago.

I also had a circle sticker saying 'just for you' which I put in the centre of the card, with a cupcake sticker inside the circle- it was just the right size. I added another cupcake sticker on top of one of the cupcake images on the backing paper and a piece of pink ribbon across the bottom.

I'm sharing this with Ooh la la Creations as their theme is food or drink.

Friday, June 2, 2017

Bright Colours Festive Bauble Christmas Card


One of the card making magazines I subscribed to just before Christmas came with a selection of freebies to make your own Christmas cards. As well as the free gift on the front cover, there were the usual printed papers in the middle of the magazine. These are thin pages printed on both sides - which seems a bit pointless as you can usually only use one side - and related images that you can cut out.

What was unusual was the colour scheme - pinks, yellows, blues and purples, not normally colours that are associated with Christmas. I used one of the printed papers showing Christmas baubles to cover a card blank and cut around some other baubles and used adhesive pads to raise them off the card. The sentiment in the middle is also from the printed papers in the magazine, stuck onto card and mounted again with an adhesive pad. It's a bit different from the other Christmas cards you might receive!

I'm sharing this with Sparkles Christmas Challenges as this month they've asked crafters to use non-traditional colours.

Thursday, June 1, 2017

Nutella and Frangelico Pancake Bake

This Shrove Tuesday we invited my husband's mum over to dinner, and while I considered making savoury pancakes as the main course I knew I really wanted to do them as dessert. It would have involved me making several pancakes one at a time and keeping them warm and I wondered if there was an easier option - something where I could layer the pancakes together as a dessert.

This recipe for Nutella pancakes from Nigella was just the thing! I decided to make life even easier for myself and buy ready-made crepes, which I spread with Nutella and folded up and poured over some melted butter and Frangelico hazelnut liqueur. My husband doesn't like nuts (pieces of nut, anyway) so I left off the chopped hazelnuts that Nigella recommends sprinkling over the top.

They only needed ten minutes baked in the oven; serve with whipped cream for a delicious decadent dessert!

This is Frangelico, if you haven't tried it before. It's a liqueur made with Italian hazelnuts and its origins are thought to date back 300 years when hazelnuts were distilled by monks (hence the design of the label!). It tastes really nice in cocktails.


Spread the crepes with Nutella and fold and layer in a serving dish


Pour over the cream and Frangelico


Bake in the oven for ten minutes


Serve with whipped cream


Leftovers.... yum!


I'm sending this to CookBlogShare, hosted this week by Hijacked by Twins.