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Wean your baby the Plum way

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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:

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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

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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.

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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

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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:

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Dining alfresco, one of my camping creations:

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Playtime with dad:

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Sleeping through the Gruffalo:

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Dancing to Rolf Harris:

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Uh oh I’m being watched…

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Gonna carry on anyway..

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We met Shrek!!!

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Bopping away to Mr Tumble:

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Playing games outside the tent with Dad:

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And on the last night waiting for Dub Pistols:

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The recipe challenge week 3. Campsite cooking

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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.

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

Foodie Penpals Reveal July 2012

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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:

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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Foodie penpals reveal

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This month my foodie penpals parcel was arriving from Vanessa in Greece! Pretty exciting yes?
Considering the distance my parcel had to come it arrived well within the allotted time and full of lovely goodies. Unfortunately we left the house for a week away pretty much as soon as it arrived so it came with us and therefore no pics!

Anyway I will tell you it included :

A bag of pistachios -my favourite nuts!
A snack bar which my other half inhaled and seemed to enjoy!
A bag of Lays snacks.. A bit like walkers sunbites and very tasty.
A marinade and dip mixture which I am looking forward to testing out
A lovely letter and postcard from Vanessa
To finish off two types or tea: hand picked mountain tea and black tea with lemon which sounds interesting. I’ll keep you posted when I try them 🙂

Anyway thanks to Vanessa for my parcel and if you want to see what I sent my lovely penpal Teresa from Devon you can read it here:Teresa’s blog

Using it all up in recipe challenge week 2

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As part of my new recipe challenge last week I made chicken in garlic and mushroom sauce well although today is only Monday I have outdone myself with two new recipes already under my belt for the week. I decided to do this as part of another personal challenge which is all about budgeting and creating little waste. So today I used up the remaining thigh and drumstick meat from the chicken I used to make the dish with the garlic and mushroom sauce in a chicken, chorizo and chickpea casserole for my first new recipe and then used up the old scraggly bits of meat and the rest of the carcass for my first ever attempt at making chicken stock. My house has smelt pretty damn good all day long.

The recipe for the chicken stock which I found on the wonderful Jamie Oliver website is here: Jamie’s easy chicken stock it really is easy to make and I enjoyed it. I can’t imagine I will be wanting shop bought stock anytime soon.

The casserole was made using just a frying pan and my slow cooker. I love my slow cooker, I probably don’t use it enough but its fab and they are reasonably cheap these days so treat yourself for those days when you want a delicious meal but less time fussing over a hot stove. Ideal for when you want to spend your evenings relaxing with your loved ones.

Chicken, chorizo and chickpea casserole

Chicken – I used two thighs, two drumsticks and a little breast meat
1 tin of chickpeas drained
3 inch chunk of chorizo chopped into small cubes
1/2 a courgette
2 sticks of celery
A handful of cubed sweet potato
1/2 green pepper chopped
Tin of chopped tomatoes
1 pint or chicken stock
Mushrooms chopped (optional)
Red onion diced
2 cloves of garlic minced
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of saffron threads
2 teaspoons of sweet smoked paprika

In a hot pan with a little olive oil brown your chicken and chorizo together before adding garlic,onions,celery and mushrooms leaving to soften.
Pour chickpeas,courgette,chopped tomatoes,pepper, sweet potato and stock as into slow cooker before adding saffron and paprika and turn onto high setting.
After 10 minutes add contents of pan into slow cooker also and leave for 3-4 hours.

And that’s it. Your kitchen will smell beautiful and the smoky sweet paprika combined with everything else will give you a delicious meal with hardly any hassle. Enjoy x