munchiesandmunchkins, Author at Munchies and Munchkins

Pub Grub Book Giveaway

May 20, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 92 Comments

I love eating in really good restaurants. I also love to eat in my local pub. I like to cook fine cuisine one day and a good old fashioned gammon, eggs and chips pub food style the next.

I’m fickle like that and well I just like love food.

Everyone has a favorite local pub. We have several. One we like to eat in when we have the children with us as it has a soft play and a fab kids menu. One is such a short walk from my house that we got to leave BOTH children at home recently ( albeit for 90mins or so) and had a meal for my birthday which was nice. The other does themed nights and really good offers on nice wines etc so we like to go there with our friends or family. None of the pubs serve fancy food and all are budget friendly.

When I was asked to write about my favourite pub there was never going to be just one as we enjoy and support lots of local pubs.

There is an article on the Wilson Field blog about how many local pubs are struggling at the moment and facing closure but luckily it doesn’t seem that way in our area. In fact our (nearest) local pub is booming after a recent (ish) change of hands as the food has improved massively.

Last night I had steak and ale pie with sautéed potatoes and it was GOOD.

When I make this type of food at home ( pub style gammon or steak etc ) I like to make sautéed potatoes to accompany it. This is how I make my ultimate sautéed potatoes:

You will need:

A large frying pan
Leftover boiled potatoes ( these work best) or just parboiled potatoes cut into small chunks
Olive oil
Butter
Garlic
Seasalt ( I used Maldon smoked salt)
Crushed peppercorns ( I used normal and Sichuan)

Place a largish nob of butter into your pan along with a large glug of olive oil ( Jamie Olive style) and wait until your oil is fairly hot before adding your potatoes. Cook for a few minutes on a high heat, then lower your heat and cook for a further 5-8 minutes. Finally turn the heat back up and cook for a few more minutes giving your pan a shake occasionally to stop sticking and ensure an even colour on your potatoes. Cover with a healthy pinch of crushed seasalt and peppercorns, give another shake and serve immediately.

These potatoes are so delicious ,even better than chips in my opinion. Using potatoes that you cooked the day before and refrigerated gives the absolute best results.

Yum. For a fiery twist add some dried chilli flakes with your seasoning.

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* I was given a pub cookbook, quiz book and joke book in return for writing about my favourite pubs.

Family Fun On The Farm

May 20, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 2 Comments

Last week we had the pleasure of visiting Coombe Mill in Cornwall, those of you that have been will understand when I say that you can’t really get just how beautiful it is unless you have been there. The lovely photos I’ve seen shared on reviews and blogs are a definite hint but I had no idea how big it would be or how picturesque.

We didn’t stay there but popped in for a day to visit Fiona and her wonderful farm as we were in Cornwall for a holiday but it’s safe to say we will be back.

I won’t drone on as I’m feeling a bit rubbish today but I do want to show you our photos:

We didn’t really want to leave. We had a good look around the various cottages and lodges and it does look like a dreamy place to stay!

Country Kids..Cornwall Edition

May 17, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 3 Comments

I’ve been meaning to join in on the fabulous Country Kids linky hosted by Fiona of Coombe Mill for some time now but something always seems to get in the way.

This week after spending some time at Coombe Mill I had no excuse.

We spend a lot of time outdoors, exploring the area around our local estuary.. playing at the park or just in our garden. We have been on teddy bears picnics in local woodland and had fun on local beaches but like most people I do feel like we don’t do it enough. Summer now seems to have arrived so I believe we must make the most of it and get outside as much as possible. I want my children to have a childhood like mine.. Making dens, camping in the garden and hunting for worms are all on the to do list. Izzy is that little bit older and able to participate a lot more so I am hoping for a summer of adventures and fun.

I’m on holiday still so this post isn’t going to be a long one but here are some photos of us enjoying the extremely beautiful Coombe Mill and the gardens of the hotel we are staying in. We definitely chose the right time to visit Cornwall .. The sun has most definitely got his hat on.

These are just iPhone pics as silly me forgot to bring the card reader for my iPad. So many lovely pics to follow next week..

I’m Your Mother..Not Your Friend

May 13, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 5 Comments

Recently my eldest daughter has started to push my buttons a little more than usual. She has had an awful cold/cough and it’s made her properly miserable and not exactly a joy to be around. For a few days I let her sulk and whine and play up as I felt sorry for her – she was ill after all. But as she (slowly) got better I found my fun loving, generous toddler had a very naughty streak. It’s probably not very naughty to most people but to me it is.

We have started having to be stricter with the ways we discipline her, for her sake and for ours. I don’t want a rude, disobedient child and for her she needs consistency so as to avoid confusion.

One example of this is Peppa Pig. Have you watched many of the episodes?

Peppa is quite rude. She says the word boring in nearly every episode. Usually in response to something her mum has suggested that they do or somewhere they should go. Izzy is a bit in love with old PP, ( it’s the only programme she will watch and completely get lost in it) and quickly began repeating it. If I offered her food… It was boring. If I suggested we go see someone.. They were boring. You get the picture. Slightly funny initially then wanting to tear my hair out frustrating very shortly after.

So we have stopped her watching it. For now. To some this may seem extreme but it’s been three days now and her use of the B word has reduced from 10-15 times per hour to about 5 times a day. She understands it’s rude to say it about everything and is learning that when you are naughty there are consequences.

I won’t stop it forever I promise you. She loves her too much for that. In fact we are going to see the theatre show in June but it’s never too early for her to learn that you can’t do everything you see on TV. Also limiting TV time is never a bad thing.

I’ve also noticed she (PP) will often say about her Dads tummy being too big etc.. Another thing I really don’t want Izzy to start saying to people. Weight issues are a conversation I don’t want to start just yet. She’s not even 3!

This last few weeks has made me think about something my mum said to me a while back which is that when parenting young children that you have to remember to be their mother .. Not their friend. I’m sure I’m not the only person guilty of wanting to be their child’s favourite person?

After having quite a few months last year of not being able to do as much with Izzy as I could due to the pregnancy etc I felt pretty guilty that our relationship was changing and maybe it did but I’ve started to understand it will continue to do that. One minute I am in Izzys words “brilliant” and she “loves me soooooo much” and other days I am brushed aside for no reason.

She is a person just like me, who has good days and bad days. Some days I will annoy her ( like she annoys me) and some days well I will be the worlds coolest mum ( in her eyes at least).

I mean we all have days like this right?

My relationship with my own mum has changed many times over the years. I’ve always loved her (of course) but in my teens we definitely rubbed each other up the wrong way on many occasions. A combination of me being a pain and rebellious and my mum having some pretty awful mood swings, health issues and depression because of that. Fast forward to now and maybe I’m not supposed to but I will say that I think of my mum as a friend. She is a wonderful mother first and foremost but if something happens I immediately want to share it with her – like you would with your friend but if anything goes wrong I want to lean on her like you would with a parent.

That’s how I want to be with my daughters. A mother now when it is most important. Supportive, loving but firm. And later on well it would be great if they saw me as a friend too.

It’s only now looking back that I realise how great my parents were at their most important job – raising me and my siblings. It takes becoming a parent to know how hard it is from the most basic of decisions to the sleep deprivation and day to day life.

Lots To Look Forward To..

May 12, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

It’s been a while since I wrote on here about how I’m feeling. The past 18 months have been very up and down and unfortunately at times a lot more down than up. BUT finally I’m starting to feel as if there will be more ups.

I have a totally gorgeous family.

Who apart from a really horrible lingering virus over the past fortnight are healthy and happy.

Who make my days full of laughter and love. And the occasionally wanting to pull my hair period of frustration..but that’s normal right?

A baby who has a contented,calm personality and who manages to charm everyone she meets… She also bites my nipples (ouch) but I’ll forgive that.

A toddler who literally makes me laugh out loud at least several times a day. She also has found a new favourite word “boring” and I cannot tell you how much this annoys me.

A man who has been so incredibly supportive and is always full of bright ideas for our future. He can drive me crazy on occasion but for the most part he’s pretty brilliant. He also makes pretty epic ice cream.

I’ve still got 6 months left of maternity leave ( which includes a lot of budgeting and thrifty ways but we have managed it and I’m so thankful for this extra time at home with my girls). We have lots planned for this 6 months including at least three festivals, a trip to Cornwall next week to review a beautiful hotel. A blogging conference, The BBC Good Food shows and the possibility of starting some new work freelance at home doing something that I love… Which will hopefully mean I won’t have to work full time at my boring sensible job. Yay.

So a lot to be thankful for.

You can’t always dwell on the past. The future is so much more interesting.

This year will be what we make of it. And we have big plans.

Excited.

Siblings – May

May 12, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

Another month, another thousand or so photos taken on my iphone or camera. So many funny pics of the little ones, often blurry and out of focus as I try to capture something while it happens. I have however taken a little step back. I don’t try to capture everything. Some things are perfectly perfect just in my head as a memory. I don’t want to miss out on being part of the memories because I’m taking photos of them.

But still there are lots of photos – 😀

Izzy and Chloe are still loving being sisters, Chloe more so than ever. She is fascinated by her older sister and Izzy can make her giggle like no one else. Izzy in turn dotes on her for the most part and I will often catch her giving her a stealthy kiss and saying Chloe is my best friend. Aww.

She doesn’t quite understand that some things are just for Chloe and still assumes that all toys that arrive are for her. She was ridiculously excited when a new bumbo seat arrived for Chloe ( who had been using one that had been passed onto us ) and jumped about saying it’s my birthday..it’s my birthday.

Later that day when they were both sat in their bumbo seats ( Chloe in the old one I should add) I took this photo which was just about when I said it was nearly bedtime. Izzy loves her bed, both at nap time and in the night but still does the typical toddler strop face when I say it’s that time of day.

This had to be my siblings photo for this month:

I’m a bit behind with our family of four photos but we are off on holiday soon so we should have plenty of photo opps 😉

Silent Sunday

May 11, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 6 Comments

Such A Buzz About Food at Bristol Food Connections 2014

May 7, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 1 Comment

You may remember last week I wrote about some of the food festivals I’m attending this summer, well on the weekend I attended the first one at Bristol Food Connections. The 11 day festival commenced on May 1st and it was on May 3rd that we visited.

We arrived early but it was already bustling with visitors and the air was thick with the smell of ribs, BBQ and goodness! Walking into a food festival is an instant hunger pang for me but we held off to get over to the BBC area for a cookery demo from the highly entertaining John Torode.

He was great to watch and kept the audience smiling throughout.

He gave loads of useful tips particularly for his pad Thai recipe

* Oil the wok around the outside
* Use wet noodles
* Use equal quantities of ginger, garlic and coriander root ( not the leaves which taste entirely different ) to make a Thai paste which can be used in lots of dishes. Did you know coriander root tastes of bubblegum?
In his own words.. This will make some rootin, tootin Thai food.

He also gave lots of history to the food he used and also managed to smash up a pestle and mortar by being a little enthusiastic. Enthusiastic is probably the key word to describe his demo, he is so clearly passionate about food that it’s a joy to watch him cook.

He was pushed for time at the end..ironic as it’s normally the Masterchef contestants being hurried along but he managed 😉

I grabbed a few photos of the finished dishes and somehow managed to stop myself from nabbing a bite..

I liked the idea of serving the Pad Thai in quarters ( 1 with chilli, 1 with sesame seeds etc ) so people can choose the part they want.

I also managed to nab a quick photo of him backstage afterwards..

After the demo I was hungry..obviously. So we headed to the street food area to share some paella and a chorizo roll before ambling lazily over to the college green ..on route we grabbed some juice:

It was a strawberry, melon, mint and coconut water drink called hydrate me which was an appropriate name as it was so refreshing – I will definitely be making this at home in my Vitamix.

At the college green we found the Slow Food Quarter which was two marquees – one selling products such as coffee, cheese, cakes, Welsh Pig and much more:

Then another which was a pop up pizzeria both surrounded by sun seekers lounging on the grass – did I mention we had a perfect day of weather. Glorious.

The pizza of the day was more like a ciabatta pizza sandwich but it still tasted incredible..

Feeling a little too full of good food we walked back to the BBC area for a look around and then headed into the Produce Market.

I didn’t go too crazy ( the benefit of shopping on a full belly) but bought some truffle salt and dried porcini as well as a bottle of elderflower sparkling wine and we grabbed an afternoon tea to munch in the sunshine.

All in all we had a lovely day, I highly recommend visiting before the festival ends. I really hope it runs again next year.

As ever at the end of a food festival I am super excited about food and cooking. Expect lots of foodie posts over the next few weeks.

More Of What Matters With Morrisons

May 5, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 1 Comment

I was recently chosen along with a number of other bloggers to be a Morrisons Mum. I was given some vouchers and invited to go shopping instore to see their new price reductions.

Morrisons have recently reduced the prices of over 1200 products – with household brands like Hovis and Tate & Lyle as well as their own brand stock.

Encouraging bloggers to shop and write about their purchases was a brilliant idea. I’ve seen so much buzz about it online with recipe ideas and bargain products being shared on social media. A successful campaign no doubt.

But is it actually any good?

I used to shop in Morrisons when it first opened near me a few years ago, I liked it initially but being completely honest I did not find it as cheap as my other local supermarkets so I stopped going. I’ve popped in occasionally over the past year or so, usually when I get a voucher through my door but I’m not a regular customer by any stretch.

So this to me was an opportunity to check them out again. Properly. And with a weeks free shopping to boot.

It’s funny how often I go into a supermarket and barely look around. I’m normally rushed, checking off a list and trying to keep two little ones happy while I do it. But this time I decided not to plan a shopping list and just buy what looked good to me at the time, also both girls were contented and well behaved so I took my time.

What I loved initially was the fresh and brightly coloured veggies and fruits on display as you walk in, the mist over the shelves is a pretty effect too. Izzy was soon pointing out the various things she wanted such as blueberries, grapes and peppers and I was more than happy to indulge her healthy appetite!

Their selection of veggies is great and I particularly liked the different tomatoes, so much so we bought three kinds.

We bought lots of fresh bread as the bakery smelt so darn good including tiger bread which is a real favourite in our house.

A lot of products I would typically buy in a food shop were reduced with the new price cuts which is great for us including all the varieties of cream which we use a lot of as we make our own ice cream. Recipe post to follow!

The store ( at least my local store ) is bright, well laid out and clean. Everything is easy to find, the staff were helpful – in particular the butcher and the bakery staff which is always nice and there were lots of balloons swaying in the air which had Chloe transfixed for the entire duration of our shop – must keep some permanently blown up in my house.

I will share some full recipes with you later in the week of dishes I have cooked and the cost per meal so you know how easy and budget friendly it can be.

For now I will share a few photos of dishes we have cooked over the weekend using Morrisons products:

Griddled Asparagus – just perfect. I boiled for 4 mins in salted water, then rubbed with oil and salt and griddled for 5 minutes.

Cheats Chicken Korma.. We used chicken thighs ( cooked sous vide ) with diced sweet potato, courgette and green pepper. Sautéed in a pan then added the korma sauce and enjoyed with rice and naan bread.

Pork and chorizo burgers, halloumi burgers with chargrilled naans.. I forgot to buy bread rolls! Naughty mammy.

Chocolate cake.. Recipe to follow

We finished out the bank holiday with a rather nice brunch, griddled tomatoes and asparagus (again) with scrambled eggs and chorizo ( made in the sous vide and more than a bit good ) and I even griddled the tiger bread – I’m loving my griddle can’t you tell?

My verdict on the new, improved (well cheaper) Morrisons – I’m impressed. I enjoyed the shopping experience. Will I shop there forever more? Who knows. I’m pretty fickle and a bargain hunter so if the prices remain competitive then maybe so!

* I was provided with £80 worth of shopping vouchers with which to complete my shop and asked to write about my experience in return.

Monday WAS Meal Planning Day

April 30, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

I know I only started back writing meal plans last week and then I only went and totally forgot this week.. Oops.

So here it is..

Monday : RibEye steaks with new potatoes, mixed peppercorn sauce, garlic mushrooms and chargrilled tomatoes We bought two ribeye steaks at a local food festival on the weekend and I was eager to try them in the sous vide and see just how good they could be. I also bought a few varieties of peppercorns so I made an awesome sauce to accompany.

Tuesday: Pork loin steaks with apple sauce, homemade chips and peas

Wednesday: Chicken Korma with rice and poppadoms

Thursday: Tomato Gnocchi Bake – we needed at least one veggie meal!

Friday: BBQ including 48 hr ribs and chicken

Saturday: Food festival delights

Sunday: Alfresco dining – menu to be planned out

So that’s our week.. How is yours looking?

Pub Grub Book Giveaway

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Family Fun On The Farm

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Country Kids..Cornwall Edition

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I’m Your Mother..Not Your Friend

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Lots To Look Forward To..

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Siblings – May

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Silent Sunday

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Such A Buzz About Food at Bristol Food Connections 2014

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More Of What Matters With Morrisons

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Monday WAS Meal Planning Day

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