Munchies and Munchkins

Food and travel

You are here: Home / Archives for munchiesandmunchkins

The Bestest time at Camp Bestival

· by · 6 Comments

So a few weeks ago we arrived home from the most amazing four days at Camp Bestival in Dorset. Exhausted, grubby, tanned and very happy. I was excited before we went but I could never have imagined just how good this festival would be.

There was so much to see and do all day long that it was more than a little overwhelming, the size on the festival site is incredible and at first it seems that you will never find your way about but we quickly got to grips with everything and by Saturday we felt like Camp Bestival regulars.

It is so much more than a music festival. It’s somewhere I could have happily taken my parents as well as my child and I know that they would have enjoyed it.

It was impossible to see everything we wanted to but I managed to see/try most things on my list which you can read here

Here is my Camp Bestival Diary 2012:

Day 1: We arrived at around midday on Thursday 26th and found out car park and camping plus plot with ease. Camping Plus is something I would definitely recommend. It costs an additional £100 per plot (not per person) but your camping spot is laid out for you, nobody can go into your space and there are posh showers and toilets just for camping plus customers. There are also special cafes/stalls which rarely had huge queues. I would do this again for sure. The rest of the evening was mainly wandering around the site and then chilling outside our tent watching what seemed like an Olympic contest for biggest and best tent going on all around us.

As I am not earning at the moment (maternity leave) we were hoping to keep to a fairly small budget for eating out so we look lots of foodie bits with us as well as the camping stove. New blog post coming soon all about camping food. After a lovely relaxing meal in the sunshine ( today has been so hot) we got set up for bed and had an early night.

20120823-132712.jpg

Day 2: On waking up and setting up for breakfast we discovered our gas bottle was in fact now empty. Oops. We made a short trip into town and then back to the beautiful festival site just in time for a quick lunch at the tent and back into the midst of things..

It’s hard to explain how much there is to do, eat and watch here .. You could walk around all day long and still not cover everything. So far today we have watched extreme sports, various bands and musicians, eaten ice cream, drank coconut water straight from the shells as well as trying tightrope walking , had lots of freebies and sun bathed. What a glorious day.

When you are in a crowd of 30,000 people you don’t expect to bump into people you know let alone people you vaguely recognise from a profile pic on twitter but that’s what happened.. After an organised meet with the lovely Aresidence,Melkshammum and bluebearwood earlier in the day I bumped into Abi (midwifetomum) Neil (higheight) and their gorgeous daughter Bo whilst taking an evening stroll, it was really nice to meet the people behind the tweets and we arranged to meet for drinks the following eve.

We ended day 2 watching Hot Chip with a sleeping baby across my lap sprawled on the grass near the castle. Perfect end to a pretty perfect day.

Day 3: All of the activities and fun seem to be wearing Izzy out and she had a lovely long sleep last night. Yay. This means we are all bright and refreshed today and ready for an action filled day. A nice big bacon butty breakfast by the tent and we head down to the castle stage to watch The Gruffalo.. A huge crowd of tired and hungover parents are soon cheered by an unbelievably lively albeit slightly inappropriate Dick & Dom and when The Gruffalo starts every childs face in the audience lights up and its amazing. Izzy unfortunately slept through most of The Gruffalo but she woke up in time for Mr Tumble and I’m so glad she did as he was fantastic. I hadn’t really appreciated how good he was until he was on stage but he was fab, myself and Izzy loved it.
Quick break back at the tent for lunch then it was off to meet Shrek. Woop. Should I really have been more excited than my child to see the REAL Shrek in person?! Probably not but I was and we even got to have a pic with him and Donkey. Fun. Izzy is obsessed with her shrek toy and she seemed happily shocked to see a lifesize version.

20120823-132121.jpg

It’s a little cooler today which is good news as although I love the sun it’s been a constant struggle to keep Izzy cool then warm (in the shade) and she is covered in a thin sheen of suncream at all times. Having said that the camp bestival site has plenty of shaded areas to chill out in for when the sun is just too strong as well as baby chill out areas and soft play tents. The chill out tent had lots of bepathen freebies too which was nice.

After a lazy few hours of strolling along eating ice cream and allowing myself a cheeky glass of Pimms whilst doing the hump watching The Rizzle Kicks we headed down to the Kids field to meet up with the lovely Abi,Neil&Bo. We walked down to the bandstand and sat down ready to chill out listening to Howard Marks reading an unusual version of Jack and the beanstalk. Lots of fun. This was a unique experience. His melodic voice calmed even the most boisterous children and five minutes in they were hanging on his every word. His version of Jack and the beanstalk with explanations of what a widow is and his own take on the moral of the story was truly a delight. Probably one of my fave CB experiences.

After the bedtime story we were hungry and had the most delicious chicken nachos from the funky and friendly Luardos. If you see their pink van at any festivals you just have to try their food. It’s the best street food/festival grub I have ever tried. Sprawled on the grass eating our food whilst Izzy played with new friend Bo we listened to Gekko- I’ll be honest I’d never heard of these guys prior to this and maybe if they hadn’t been on immediately after HM I wouldn’t have thought to watch them but I’m so glad I did. I loved their set and loved their obvious shock and glee when the enthralled audience demanded an encore. Will be keeping an eye/ear out their future gigs. After the it we checked out the Young British Foodies tent.. This as my third visit to the tent as I just loved walking round the stalls but we made our first and only purchase there which I think was the best decision we could have made.. RIBS! Seriously the best Ribs I have ever tasted from the Ribman. Ahh heavenly.

Next on our list of things to do was heading to the castle field to watch Kool and the gang. I was so excited as growing up my dad loved them and so I often heard their songs around the house. Kool and the gang were in a word EPIC. I rarely use that word but wow I loved it. A few songs they started with were well before my time I’m sure but we bopped along anyway but when they began to play their biggest hits such as: ladies nights, get down on it, Cherish ( my dads fave) and the massive crowd pleaser Celebrate it just became one of my favourite festival experiences ever. Such a happy lively group of singers and so energetic! The crowd were happy and it’s one of those songs which everyone will have personal memories attached from parties and their own previous celebrations. If you get a chance to see KOTG live – Do it.

20120823-132220.jpg

Day 4: Tired today after a busy day yesterday so we have a lazy morning and wander around the festival site we then queue to see The Wall of death making sure Izzy has her ear defenders on. What a fab experience! If you see the wall of death at any events or festivals make sure you go and look inside. So much fun and Izzy was enthralled. We have a quick lunch and then head to see Rolf Harris take over the Castle stage. This was fun, we sang along and listened to his stories before going to The Dingle Dell for some poetry followed by a secret gig! Lianne La Havas was this years secret performer and she has an extremely beautiful voice and it was nice being part of such a small performance. We headed back to the tent after the secret gig and packed everything up ready for our journey home tonight and within the hour we were back out and ready to treat ourself to some festie food..after all we had packed the stove away.

I chose to have a lamb flatbread kebab.. Yum. I was even inspired weeks later to make flatbreads after eating this, you can find that recipe here and Andrew chose Chicken &Chorizo Paella both were from lovely food stalls in the castle stage field. We also had some fresh lemonade from the Paella stand which was gorgeous. Whilst munching the opening song of Dub Pistols set started and the crowd loved it, We have seen Dub Pistols perform live 3 times and they are an amazing live act that really get the crowd going. We couldn’t have ended the festival on a better note. We left just as The Happy Mondays got started and it was a peaceful exit and journey home which I imagine would have been slightly more stressful if we had left on the Monday morning.

Overall it was an absolutely amazing festival experience. We are really hoping to go again next year and I would say its suitable for ALL ages.

Check out our Camp Bestival photo diary

Early bird tickets are available now so go to www.campbestival.com and buy yourself a guaranteed fantastic holiday experience for next year!

* I was lucky enough to be offered free tickets for this years festival in exchange for an honest review.

20120823-131406.jpg

Foodie baby. Recipe challenge week 5

· by · Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago I realised that I was feeding Izzy a lot of ready made baby foods. Ok so I had an excuse as we had been away and it just wasn’t possible to prepare food for Izzy at festivals otherwise but since being home I have been determined to change her diet and introduce new foods and textures.

In the last few weeks we have tried lots of new foods with various levels of success.

Firstly:

Drop Scones

You can find the recipe here
I adjusted the sugar levels slightly as was a little too much for my liking but otherwise I kept it the same.

20120823-111010.jpg

Izzy had these for breakfast served slightly warm spread with unsalted butter and she loved them! She also had some the following day served cold as a snack.

We ate them too with lots of maple syrup and they were so good.

Cheese and tomato slice

Puff pastry
Cheese
Tomatoes
Peppers
Passata

I used puff pastry sheets cut into squares, I then scored a 2cm border around the square and poked a fork in the middle a few times just to break the surface not to go through completely. I then put a little passata in the middle and spread it with a knife, sprinkled with cheese and added some chopped cherry tomatoes and peppers. For mine and Andrews I added red onion and freshly ground pepper. I baked in the oven until puffed up and the underneath was cooked completely.

20120823-111544.jpg

Izzy really enjoyed this immediately which I didn’t expect as I thought the texture would be too different for her but it was a success and we enjoyed them also served with a light salad.

Best served warm straight from the oven but obviously check it has cooled enough for your child especially the tomatoes!

You could add almost anything to these.

Omelette/scrambled egg combo

Eggs
Spinach (baby leaf)
Tomatoes
Full fat milk
Cheese
Butter

Chop spinach and tomatoes into very small pieces and saute until soft in the butter. Beat eggs with some full fat milk (Ingredient amounts depend on how many of you are eating) and pour over your spinach and tomatoes then sprinkle with grated cheese. Leave egg mixture set and then used a fork scramble it up and ensure egg is fully cooked before dishing up.

Izzy absolutely loves this and her dad does too.

20120823-112619.jpg

I realise these recipes probably don’t seem very exciting to us adults but to a baby discovering new food it’s a whole new world of flavours.

I have also noticed that on the days Izzy has protein rich dishes such as omelettes or chicken curry which she also loves that she seems to sleep longer and is more settled. Yay.

Wean your baby the Plum way

· by · Leave a Comment

Back in June, organic baby food brand, Plum, ran a competition to win a sought after place at the
first ever Plum Cookery School.

Five lucky mums were invited down to Buckinghamshire where the Cookery School opened its doors to reveal some of the tasty secrets behind Plum’s recipes and offered expert advice to support parents through the weaning process. The cookery school was made extra exciting with two special guests, celebrity chef Rachel Allen and child nutrition expert, Beverley Glock, who were both
a great help and really lovely as you will see in the new weaning videos.

I was one of those lucky mums and myself and Izzy had a fab time.

Plum’s new videos are designed to ensure that other mums can take advantage of Rachel
and Beverley’s advice whilst learning lots of cooking tips, eating fabulous food and having many of
their weaning worries resolved.

Click here to see the Plum Cookery School action in the third of Plum’s weaning videos. This video
covers stage three of weaning, where Beverley Glock cooks up two tasty dishes, including a Beef
Stroganoff that the whole family can enjoy. Please ignore my lack of camera skills.

If this video has got tummies rumbling and you can’t wait to learn more, all you need to do is
head on over to Plum’s You Tube channel (www.youtube.com/plumbaby).

The Plum cookery School in pictures:

20120816-122853.jpg

20120816-123106.jpg

If your little un hasn’t yet tried Plum products I’d recommend you give them a whirl as they taste amazing. Plus at the moment you can get a free coupon to download on Plum’s Facebook Page, now is your perfect time to introduce your baby to Plum! They are going thick and fast though and they only have 10,000 to give away, so hurry!
www.facebook.com/plumbaby

Recipe challenge week 4 – Flatbread

· by · 4 Comments

On our last night at this years Camp Bestival I had an absolutely amazing lamb kebab.. The flatbread was cooked in front of me and the most succulent lamb was added along with a superfood salad and a special sauce. It was one of my festival highlights..what can I say? I am a foodie after all. When I got home I tried to recreate said kebab and it was very good but not quite the same, I used Pitta breads instead of flatbread and it made a huge difference. So in this weeks challenge I decided to master making my own flatbreads and it was definitely worth it.

I found a simple recipe in my River Cottage Everyday book and it was fairly easy and so much tastier than any supermarket stuff:

Flat bread ingredients:

250g plain flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon rapeseed or olive oil
150ml warm water

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt. Add the oil and water and form into a dough with your hands.Turn out onto a floured work surface and knead for about 5 minutes, until the dough feels smooth and elastic. Cover the ball with an upturned mixing bowl and let it rest for 15 minutes.
When you are ready to cook and eat the flatbreads, roll the dough into a sausage shape and divide into 8 balls. Flour the work surface and roll out the dough to around 2-3mm thick, using plenty of flour. I find that the dough needs to rest once rolled out for at least 3-5 minutes.
Place a heavy-based non-stick frying pan – or a cast iron griddle – over a high heat and when it’s good and hot, turn the heat down a bit. Have a plate lined with a clean tea towel so you can put your cooked flatbreads on it to keep them warm and soft.
Shake off any excess flour and carefully lay a flatbread in the hot pan. Let it sit for a minute or two, until the dough looks ‘set’ on top and has started to lift away from the pan. Flip over and cook for another 30-45 seconds. Wrap the cooked flatbreads in the tea towel to keep warm while the rest are cooking.Serve the flatbreads while they are still soft and warm. Once cold, they won’t be quite the same. But they can be recycled by tearing them into pieces, brushing with a little oil, then crisping them up in a hot oven to make dipping chips, or flat croutons for soups or salads.

20120813-210307.jpg

Of all the recipes I have posted this is definitely one you should all try! Let me know if you do.

Camp Bestival photo diary

· by · 1 Comment

I know you are all eagerly awaiting my Camp Bestival review which should be posted later this week but just to whet your appetite here are some of my favourite pics from this years quite frankly amazing festival of fun:

Izzy in her little tent while we put up the big tent..she got tagged:

20120813-202702.jpg

Dining alfresco, one of my camping creations:

20120813-202808.jpg

Playtime with dad:

20120813-202932.jpg

Sleeping through the Gruffalo:

20120813-203101.jpg

Dancing to Rolf Harris:

20120813-203319.jpg

Uh oh I’m being watched…

20120813-203341.jpg

Gonna carry on anyway..

20120813-203418.jpg

We met Shrek!!!

20120813-203704.jpg

Bopping away to Mr Tumble:

20120813-203826.jpg

Playing games outside the tent with Dad:

20120813-203859.jpg

And on the last night waiting for Dub Pistols:

20120813-204009.jpg

The recipe challenge week 3. Campsite cooking

· by · 1 Comment

Ok so for the third week of my recipe challenge I was at the absolutely amazing and fantastic Camp Bestival. I was undeterred from my challenge and although my recipe is far from unique and maybe just a slight variant on dishes I have cooked previously I think the fact that I cooked it on an old gas camping stove just outside my tent gains me extra points yes?

Omelette/frittata camping combo:

8/9 cooked boiled potatoes ( I took mine already cooked to the festival in a Tupperware box)
3 eggs
2 inch chunk of chorizo diced
1/2 large red onion
50g of cheese
Sichuan peppercorns & smoked sea salt ( entirely optional but also entirely yummy)
Large frying pan ( if camping line with foil to ease washing up. Yes lazy.)
Spray oil

I lined my pan with foil and sprayed some olive oil 1cal spray on top, I use this when camping as easier and less likely to leak. Cook the chorizo, onions and potatoes until soft and tender, in a small cup beat 3 eggs and pour over the cooked mixture and season. When the egg has almost set sprinkle over some chopped cheese ( I used mature cheddar) and a little more pepper and serve when completely set. Cut into slices and serve with rocket leaves.

20120807-202843.jpg

Hope you enjoy and remember camping cooking doesn’t have to be just baked beans and bacon.

Foodie Penpals Reveal July 2012

· by · Leave a Comment

This is a short blog post as I have a very long blog post to write and it’s driving me nuts completing it.

I know it’s probably a bit naughty to say this but this month I received my favourite foodie penpal parcel so far. Here is a pic of my goodies:

20120731-210812.jpg

It included:

* Maldon smoked sea salt
* Sichuan peppercorns
* Goji berries
* peppermint tea
* Dried curry leaves
* Blue poppy seeds
* 2 x caramel shortbreads
* Dark chocolate sesame snaps

Lots of amazing goodies from the very lovely Jenny author of the blog : Bake

Myself and my OH have already munched the shortbreads and sesame snaps whilst the Smoked salt and Sichuan peppercorns have totally reformed our mealtimes including some gorgeous dishes I made whilst camping at Camp Bestival. I am excited to try the poppy seeds and curry leaves and have had a nibble on some Goji berries this eve. All in all I was thrilled.

Thanks Jenny!

Getting the best out of Camp Bestival

· by · 2 Comments

I’m very excited. In just 10 days myself, Andrew and Izzy are off to Dorset for Camp Bestival!!

If you haven’t heard of Camp Bestival before the you need to go check it out on the CB site as its quite frankly amazing.

20120716-122317.jpg

There are so many things going on over the 4 days that it’s a little overwhelming but in a very good way.

Here is a little summary of the parts that we don’t want to miss:

1. Howard Marks reading bedtime stories for the children.. Ok so Izzy will probably be already asleep when this happens but I want to hear them. I’ve heard Howard speak at a local theatre ( I imagine the stories he tells here will be different 😉 )and his voice is soft,melodic and well just perfect for bedtime stories.

2. Kool and the gang – yes I most certainly want to celebrate good times and cherish the love. My dad is a huge fan of Kool & the gang so I grew up listening to their fabulous tunes and I can’t wait to see them live. I’m also on a huge autograph hunt for my dad.

3. Rolf Harris – he’s a legend.

4. Jimmy Carr – I love his dry wit and immovable hair and I recently missed out on seeing him perform locally so this is perfect.

5. Little Roy – if you haven’t heard of this man who has recently given Nirvana a reggae makeover check him out here my other half loves Nirvana and we both like reggae

6. Shrek the musical – this shouldn’t be so far down my list as it will probably be the highlight of the festival for Izzy who is very attached to her belching, roaring Shrek toy.

20120716-113219.jpg

7. The Gruffalo – I have a feeling we will all enjoy this. Isn’t it great having a child and getting to do all the kids stuff again?

8. Festival food – ahh I love festival food. There are so many delectable treats on offer this year but these are what I really want to try:

Roasted corn, smoothies, ice cream (champagne flavour ..yes please), strawberries and cream with a Pimms to wash it down I hope.. The drool inducing tartiflette from La Grande Bouffe ( which I’ve never tried but sounds amazing) fish&chips, pies and salad/wraps for when I start to feel a little guilty. Have to give a special mention to Luardos in their funky pink van… This is street food at its absolute finest. We existed on Luardos burritos and nachos at the last festival we attended and will certainly be having some goodies at CB. According to the CB site they will be located in Kids garden. Lovely smiling staff too which is always a bonus.

20120716-125713.jpg

Ooh and the WI tent for tea and cakes. Yum.

9. The Schuh welly exchange: I need wellies and they need shoes. Read about it here

10. Soul park – this is probably just a dream as I will have my 10 month old demanding daughter with me but it just sounds well dreamy, hot tubs, saunas and massages ..at a festival? Wow.

11. One final special mention .. We are all looking forward to watching Dubpistols (even Izzy) they were easily one of the highlights of the last festival we went to and having met them I can also say they are lovely guys!

So at the moment that’s what I’m looking forward to the most but it changes daily and I also want to see the fireworks,the wall of death and silly weddings at the Big Love Inflatable Church.

I believe tickets are still available and the sun is looking to show its head next week too so come along.. Please let me know if you are attending!

* Camp Bestival is held in the grounds of Lulworth Castle, Dorset from July 26th-29th 2012. Buy tickets here

20120716-122355.jpg