Pip-pip onk-onk!

On Monday, we took S to see In the Night Garden Live at the Trafford Centre in Manchester. I had, up until around a week before the show, been considering selling my tickets on as I really couldn't imagine my active, boisterous, yet at times very shy little boy sitting still for an hour. However I'm so glad we took him along as I could never have imagined how mesmerised he would be by the whole experience.

The show took place in a specially constructed inflatable Showdome, with buggy parking, microwaves and plenty of baby changing facilities - as soon as we arrived we knew that people were running the show who completely understood how it can be taking a child anywhere new; this was incredibly reassuring.

The ticket price included a free programme which took a little of the sting away from the ticket price - although S was a little bit young to appreciate the content, it's something we can put away for him to enjoy in the future.

We sat down in the Showdome with 20 minutes to spare before the show started, we were a little worried about this as S doesn't like sitting still but there was plenty of room for him to explore, and better still he was allowed to! Up and down the stairs, round and round the room, and lots of other friendly children to say "HIYA!" to. As soon as the opening music began however, he sat on our knees and watched intently, clapping and shouting away.

All the main characters from the TV show were present, along with some fantastic puppeteers. Perspective was played with brilliantly as Makka Pakka grew and shrunk depending on which characters he was interacting with. We attended the Pinky Ponk show where Makka Pakka washed the characters' faces; there is also a Ninky Nonk show which I believe involves Igglepiggle losing his blanket. The stories aren't going to win any Booker prizes but the children absolutely loved watching Igglepiggle, Upsy Daisy, the Tombliboos, the Pontipines and of course Makka Pakka getting up to all the usual tricks they see on television.

It's definitely worth a visit - we can't wait until next year!

A Fiscal Fast

I have been reading about Jeff Yeager and his 'Fiscal Fast' concept recently and it's something that really touched a nerve with me. Our freezer is constantly full to bursting and our food cupboard is overflowing into the loft crawl space, yet I shop in Tesco most days because I fancy something particular for tea. Since going back to work after maternity leave we have less money each month than we used to and with energy prices constantly rising we need to start cutting some corners somewhere.

So. I have decided that this week I am going to do a 3 day fiscal fast and see how we get on. I have meal planned as follows:

Tonight - Youngs Fish and Chips - these were reduced to £1.19 each in Tesco which is a bargain as the fish is light and delicious - such a treat.
Wednesday - Green vegetable risotto to use up all those odds and ends of vegetables we have in the salad drawer
Thursday - Andrea's Pasta e Fagioli (or Pasta Fazool if you're Dean Martin...)
Friday - Vegetable curry from the freezer (will be taking S to Zoom Playcentre in Stockport on Friday so will need to spend some money but not on dinner if the meal plan goes to, ahem, plan).

Hopefully along with the bread in the bread bin, the boxes upon boxes of cereal we have in the storage space, the 5 pints of milk and the endless stocks of pasta and tinned tomatoes, this should see us through without spending anything else!

I have also downloaded myself a free app called Food Planner and Groceries from Google Play that allows me to add recipes from the web then add ingredients from those recipes onto a shopping list so I will be trying that over the next few weeks to see if it helps reduce all those little top up shops that are killing my budget. Wish me luck!

Courgette and Red Onion Tart

With fathers day lunch with the inlaws looming and a toddler under my feet, I needed something that could be thrown together quickly and easily but that would come out of the oven looking and tasting great. Hubby stumbled upon this recipe in the Tesco Real Food magazine and with a courgette languishing in the fridge left over from a moussaka earlier that week, it was perfect. I served it with with lemon-herb roasted new potatoes and some chargrilled asparagus - and with a chilled glass of white wine it made for a special, albeit relaxed lunch. S enjoyed it too, cut into grabbable slices with a few of the potatoes and some spears of well cooked asparagus.

Ingredients

• 1 x 375g pack ready-rolled puff pastry
• 1 large egg, beaten
• knob of butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 courgettes, sliced
• 1 red onion, finely sliced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 50g (2oz) pine nuts
• 150ml (5fl oz) creme fraiche
• 50g (2½oz) Parmesan

Method

1 Preheat the oven to gas 7, 220°C, fan 200°C. Unroll the pastry on to an oiled baking sheet and score a 3cm (1½in) wide border. Prick inside the border with a fork and brush the pastry with a little of the egg. Bake for 12 minutes, until risen and lightly golden.
2 Meanwhile, heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan. Add the courgettes, onion and garlic. Fry over a medium heat for 6-8 minutes, then stir in the pine nuts.

Gently press down the middle of the pastry, to allow room for the filling. Set aside to cool for 5-10 minutes.
Mix together the crème fraîche with half the Parmesan and the remaining beaten egg. Spread the mixture inside the border and top with the fried vegetables and remaining Parmesan. Return to the oven for 15-20 minutes, until cooked through.

Almond Bizcocho

After the lovely weather of a few weeks ago vanished into what looks like being yet another washed out English summer, I found myself dreaming of days spent in Barcelona, Valencia and Seville, bones warmed by the Mediterranean sun, delicious food at my beck and call, so this recipe positively leapt off the page of my rain-spattered Metro newspaper on a grey commute into Manchester. I made the cake at the weekend, deciding to forgo the caramel oranges so that we could eat it sliced from the cake tin when the sun yet again failed to make an appearance.

The ground almonds add an almost fudge-like texture to the cake and the scent of the orange zest brings back memories of ad-hoc picnics beneath orange trees in the cloister gardens of the Monasterio de San Clemente in Seville. ¡Muy Delicioso!

Almond Bizcocho with Caramel Oranges

 

 

Ingredients (Serves 8)

200ml olive oil, plus extra for greasing

175g plain flour

2tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

100g ground almonds

175g caster sugar

3 large, free-range eggs, lightly beaten

Finely grated zest of 1 orange

100ml freshly squeezed orange juice  

For the caramel oranges: 

8 blood oranges or small, juicy oranges

200g caster sugar

6tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice, strained

Method

Step 1: For the caramel oranges, cut a slice off the top and bottom of each orange, then slice away all the skin, ensuring the white pith is completely removed. Cut each orange across the segments into slices, reserving all the juices. Put the sugar into a large pan with 120ml cold water. Leave over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved, then boil rapidly until the syrup has turned into a brick-red caramel. Remove from the heat and plunge the base of the pan into cold water to stop it cooking any further. Stand back (as it will splutter) and add the orange juice. The caramel will form a lump in the bottom of the pan. Return to a low heat and stir until it dissolves again. Leave to cool very slightly then, while it is still liquid, pour over the sliced oranges and chill for at least 1 hour.

Step 2: For the almond bizcocho, preheat the oven to 170°C /gas mark 3. Grease a 1kg loaf tin with olive oil and line with greaseproof paper. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl and stir in ground almonds and caster sugar. Make a well in the centre and add the beaten eggs, olive oil, orange zest and juice. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet to make a smooth batter. Pour  the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for about 1 hour, covering the surface loosely with a sheet of paper after about 50min, once it is a rich golden brown. A skewer, pushed into the centre of the cake, should come away clean.

Step 3: Remove the cake from the tin and peel back the lining paper. Leave to cool on a wire rack. To serve, cut into 16 slices. Place a slice on to each plate and spoon some of the caramel oranges partly over the slice. Top with another slice and drizzle over a little caramel syrup.

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/lifestyle/900948-jose-pizarros-spanish-flavours-profiles-the-riches-of-the-nation#ixzz1xTgtjnSD

Fridays with S

Recently (probably because S has decided to start sleeping properly so I can actually function outside of his waking hours) I have been feeling inspired to cook, bake and generally produce delicious food again. Needing somewhere to share the recipes I've been finding, I decided to resurrect my Baby Scrumptious blog; however I then realised I didn't really have the energy to maintain two blogs - so I have decided to merge it with Fridays with S. From now on my tales of Fridays spent with the boy will appear here alongside declious recipes and anything else I want to share with my friends.

So, to kickstart the blog again, here is a recipe for Salted Caramel Brownies from The Guardian magazine. Make them, they're amazing. One tip - the recipe for the salted caramel makes about three times as much as you actually need so it's an idea to have some other recipes on hand to use it up - perhaps these Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, or maybe just drizzle it warm over some good quality vanilla ice cream. Yum.

Salted Caramel Brownies

For the salted caramel
90g golden caster sugar
60ml double cream
¼ tsp sea salt flakes
60g unsalted butter, cubed

For the brownies
200g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
250g unsalted butter
4 large eggs
175g caster sugar
150g light brown soft sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
120g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp sea salt flakes
20g cocoa powder

Start with the caramel: tip the sugar into a heavy-based pan and add two tablespoons of water. Heat gently, stirring only until the sugar dissolves, then turn the heat to medium-high and let the syrup come to the boil undisturbed. Simmer briskly, swirling the pan occasionally but never stirring, until the caramel turns a rich amber. Remove from the heat, stir in the cream and salt, then the butter, and set aside to cool.

Now for the brownies. Line a 23cm x 32cm brownie tin with nonstick baking parchment. Heat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Melt the chocolate and butter over a pan of simmering water (or in the microwave), and set aside to cool.

Beat the eggs, sugars and vanilla in an electric mixer (or with a whisk) until increased in volume. Sift in the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa, pour in the melted chocolate and butter, and beat briefly to combine. Scrape half the mixture into the tin and dot teaspoonfuls of salted caramel over the surface. Cover with the remaining brownie mix and top with more teaspoonfuls of caramel. Slide into the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until almost firm in the middle. When cool, turn out and cut into 18 bars.

All Apologies

 'Tyred' at Eureka!

 I have been very lax in updating this blog for the past few weeks for a myriad of reasons - mainly though, I'd started to feel like I'd done everything there was to do on a Friday with S so felt very uninspired to write.

However, I've noticed a change in him over the past week or so; he seems to have suddenly, overnight, become a little boy - no longer a baby. So I'm feeling inspired again and ready to start exploring the world again.

A quick update then. Since I last posted we have attended two Friday birthday parties (both very different in scale and location, both very fun), visited MOSI again a few times for Experitots, been on holiday to a rainy Scarborough and visited Eureka! in Halifax with his Grandparents. All in all we've had a lovely time together.

Tomorrow brings something new for S - a visit to The Bridgewater Hall to see The Casablanca Steps performing a free lunchtime concert. The Casablanca Steps are a 4 piece band who perform music from and influenced by the 1920's and 30's - I'm hoping S will pick up a few Charleston steps!

What Shall We Do Today?

Last Friday, S and I had no plans at all so we decided to just head into Manchester and see what happened. The first thing to happen was that S was sick all down himself on the train, ruining his coat, all his clothes, his footmuff and the straps of his buggy. Following a quick change and a wipe down, he was back into his buggy, happy as Larry. A side note, if you're on a train and see a mum on her own trying to clean up a squirmy toddler, don't just move to the other end of the carriage, try offering some help...

Anyway. Once we arrived in Manchester, after a quick visit to Primark for a spare set of clothes to replace the spare set S was now wearing, we went to Manchester Art Gallery for a play in the Clore Interactive Gallery. We borrowed a sensory bag from the information desk which contained lots of different textured items for S to explore. True to form, he picked up a rubber ball and wandered around the gallery holding it.

After we'd been to the Gallery we headed to the Virgin Money Lounge so that S could have a sleep and I could have a coffee in peace. The staff there are very welcoming and are happy for the two of us to just come along and use their facilities - and the great thing is, everything is free if you are a Virgin Money customer!

Refreshed, the two of us went to MOSI for a run around the Experiment gallery where S played in the soft play area and had a good look around at all the flashing lights.

On the way home, he was sick again... poor S :(