Blog - Munchies and Munchkins

Cardigan Food Festival Preview & Review

August 6, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

This weekend we are heading to Cardigan Food Festival. I’m obsessed with food festivals and would visit one every week if my wallet and waistline would allow it. The samples, the cheese, the oils..the smell of great food cooking away..bliss.

This years festival is shaping up to be a great one with exhibitors such as Althea Gourmet Marshmallows, Gwynne’s Ice Cream, The Little Welsh Deli, Pembrokeshire Wood Fired Pizza, PortuGales and lots more.

Then you have all the activies and entertainment on offer such as boat rides, musical performers and demos from chefs and even a duck race.

I’m thinking my foodie day goes a bit like this.. Samples to start ( of course ) then some pizza from the Pembrokeshire Wood fired pizza washed down with a coke float from Gwynnes Ice Cream, perhaps a Portuguese custard tart from Portu Gales and to take home some pasties from The Little Welsh Deli, Gourmet Marshmallows and whatever else catches my eye.

I’ll let you know what I think after the festival.

Have you got any food festival plans this year? Tell me which ones you love.

Well I said I would update you after the festival:

It was a beautifully sunny day which made the festival so enjoyable. People were lounging around in the seated food area eating all the delightful food on offer. We bought lots of great Welsh produce such as cheese, sausages and chutneys. On the day we ate some fabulous pasties from The Little Welsh Deli,csome gorgeous brownies and salted caramel ice cream from Gwynnes Icecream – delicious. We will definitely be attending next year.

*This post is in collaboration with Visit Wales.

The kCook – Hot Chocolate Recipe

August 5, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 6 Comments

I was recently sent a kCook from Kenwood to review and create some recipes.

If you don’t know much about the kCook, it’s a really clever product. It’s a neat, compact machine which takes up very little space in your kitchen yet delivers a whole host of uses. There are options for steaming one pot cooking and normal cooking. You can use it to make sauces, main meals, desserts, drinks, dips and more. Also there is an accompanying app which has 200 recipes for you to use.

I’m just getting to grips with it and I promise to share a more exciting recipe with you soon but for now I just wanted to let you know about a recipe I created for a very rich, dark hot chocolate. I tried the standard hot choc recipe which is on the app and it’s fabulous but being me I had to make up my own. I love dark hot chocolate and this is rich and luxurious. Thick and creamy without being sickly.

You will need:

500ml of semi skimmed milk
150g of dark chocolate ( approx 50% )
100g sugar
1tsp vanilla extract

Place your chocolate in the kCook with the chopping attachment in the pot. Put the lid on and chop for about 20seconds. Remove the chopper and add the stirring attachment. Add the milk and sugar, replace lid, press the start/pause button and reduce the cooking time to 6 minutes. Remove lid and pot carefully. Pour into a large jug first before serving with mini marshmallows.

Serves 2 – large mugs or Mason jars.

This hot chocolate is thick and indulgent so I don’t think it needs added cream but if you want to take it a step further just add a dollop of whipped cream and some sprinkled chocolate bits on top.

Sisters In The Summer

August 5, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 1 Comment

It’s quite amazing to watch your children grow and bond in front of your eyes. To see the love and hate each other in equal measures. To imagine the friendship that will be there in years to come.

Izzy and Chloe spend many hours squabbling and fighting, snatching toys and being jealous of every minute the other gets attention from us. Lately though I’ve seen a shift. Yes the anger and niggles are still there but there is a real relationship developing. They play together, pretending to be mothers and babies. They chat to each other and laugh at one another. It’s a real joy to see. The moments may not last long but they are there and they are becoming more frequent.

I’m sure there will be many ups and downs between them over the years and I know it will be challenging but for now I’m enjoying these moments.

Camp Bestival 2015 Review

August 4, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 1 Comment

You may have noticed a bit of a blog silence over the weekend? We spent four fun packed days at Camp Bestival and have returned exhausted, grubby and full of fabulous memories.

Here is what we thought of this years festival and some photos from our stay to give you a little glimpse of the fabulousness of this family festival:

This year we chose to GLAMP! There are a wide variety of choices of places to stay at the festival. From standard camping ( far superior to tear festivals ) to camping plus – an area which allows you to choose a space before you arrive, it also means you can arrange for friends and family to stay close by and you can ensure nobody encroaches your space. In the glamping area you can choose from bell tents, to tipis and even gypsy wagons. We have tried all of the camping option and not been disappointed by any of them.

One of our favourite parts about CB are the bits we don’t arrange, sat playing with circus equipment in the kids field whilst watching a dinosaur stroll past, an evening walk in the tingly dell or free activities at one of the many stands/stalls run by brands and charities. There are so many options to choose form , many of which allow parents that little chance to relax. We watched a film one day in the Big Top and a puppet show while enjoying lunch on another.

Oh and never forgot the face painting!

The food options on site are incredible, its part music and family festival and part food festival in my eyes. Its so exciting to try the various traders but we also love enjoying a meal next to our tent for the real camping vibe. Also worth noting are the gluten free and vegan choices – a must if you have intolerances and it certainly made our lives easier with Chloe.

We loved the day when we were eating our supper in one of the fields and a steel band started playing Uptown Funk, we were soon up and dancing along!

Glow sticks and neon facepaints are essential festival items, buy on site or prepare in advance by purchasing from Amazon before you leave.

You will definitely come across some strange but wonderful characters!

Art town is spectacular fun if you have crafty kids, just remember to leave your worries about paint stains at home!

Daily friendships are formed and you will be sure to find buddies in neighbouring tents, its a really family vibe.

There are so many things that I could rave about but I am pretty tired.. follow me on social media and you will see that rarely a few weeks go by without some kind of Camp Bestival chatter. Buy tickets now – you will not regret it!

Don’t forget early bird tickets go on sale on Friday 7th August. Check out www.campbestival.net for more info.

An Afternoon Tea Masterclass At The Celtic Manor

July 28, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 2 Comments

Recently I was invited to attend an afternoon tea cookery demonstration at The Celtic Manor. I love afternoon tea, the prettiness of the tiny cakes, the delicate sandwiches and the endless cups of tea. I didn’t need to be asked twice.

Having stayed at The Celtic Manor previously and knowing how much of an emphasis they put on quality I had high hopes for this event and I was not disappointed.

On arrival myself and my sister had a cup of tea with a piece of millionaires shortbread which got us off to a good start.

We then headed into the Masterclass and what a treat that was. We were shown how to make miniature trifles, batterberg sponges, vanilla cones and many more..

It was fascinating watching the chef at work, creating such intricate cakes with ease. Plus we had a chance to sample each creation. I wondered at the end of the class if I would have any room for the actual tea ( I did of course manage ).

As a real food and cookery lover I had an inkling I would enjoy the demos but it was a surprise to see my sister who doesn’t really enjoy cooking so engaged in it too. I think this would be such a fabulous gift for someone. It’s a great girls day out although I see no reason at all why men wouldn’t love it too. After all who doesn’t love cake after cake after cake?

After the class we were taken back to the bar area for a gin cocktail beautifully served in a tea cup before being seated for our afternoon tea.

The savoury selection of canapés and wraps were served in a picnic basket which was so incredibly cute I just wanted to take it home with me. The frittata and egg mayo brioche were my favourites although it was all delicious.

I didn’t think I could eat another cake but I did, more than one actually. After the cakes and sandwiches we were served two warm scones with tubs of clotted cream and jams which somehow I didn’t photograph..they were awesome I promise.

Alongside the food there was a wide array of teas to choose from as well as refreshing raspberry lemonade which was so incredibly good. The remainder of the tea which we couldn’t finish was packed up in two boxes for us to take home and was greedily jumped on by our family on our return.

I think these masterclasses and demonstrations that are held at The Celtic Manor and The Newbridge On Usk are excellent value for money. The event we went to would have cost £45 for everything. I think for what you experience and eat it’s a bit of a bargain. It’s a luxurious and indulgent experience. There are more of these events coming up. I like the sound of the Christmas Foodie Gifts demo. You can read more about them here.

*We were invited to review the cookery demonstration and as such our tea was complimentary.

A Day In London With Ballymaloe Country Relish

July 28, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

Last month I went to London for the day to attend a few different blogging events, it was an action packed, ridiculously hot and thoroughly enjoyable day. One of the events I attended was at Cactus Kitchens and was a demonstration lunch with one of my very favourite chefs Rachel Allen and Ballymaloe Country Relish.

The afternoon started well with a glass of ice old lemonade which was definitely needed after some tube travelling on the hottest day of the year. Rachel showed us how to make gorgeous soda bread rolls and loaves as well as sausage rolls, scotch eggs, burgers and cheese fondue all enhanced in some way by Ballymaloe Relish whether by a dollop added into the mix or added at the end.

As you can imagine the food was incredible, we all enjoyed sampling the goodies on offer – my favourites being the sausage rolls and the devilled eggs. We also took some of the bread and relish home with us.

I’ve since used mine in loads of ways from homemade burgers, to liven up my mayo and I love it with a good strong cheese and oatcakes.

I’d definitely suggest buying some to give it a go. There are some other great products in the Ballymaloe range including jalapeño relish and mint jelly! Yum.

Thanks to Rachel and the Ballymaloe team for a great afternoon.

Indulgent Chocolate Salted Caramel Cake

July 27, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 36 Comments

I shared a photo of this chocolate salted caramel cake on social media over the weekend and it caused a bit of excitement. It seems the combo of chocolate and salted caramel is one which appeals to a lot of people.

Originally this recipe was created just to use up some leftover salted caramel sauce. Leftover sauce you say? Surely you could just eat that from the jar. Well yes but when you make a salted caramel ice cream for a business to be served alongside the homemade sauce and there is a little leftover there is no way you could possibly eat it every week. Even if you do have a very sweet tooth.

I love chocolate cake but I’m often left disappointed by the lack of flavour. This cake has two layers of chocolate sponge with salted caramel sauce soaked in, topped and filled with an indulgent dark chocolate ganache. It’s rich and luxurious. You really do only need a small slice so it serves quite a few people and drizzled with some warm salted caramel sauce it would make a great dinner party dessert.

For this recipe, you will need:

For the cake:

150g of Self Raising flour
30g of good quality cocoa (sieved)
175g softened butter
175g Caster sugar
1 level tsp baking powder
3 large eggs
1 tbsp milk
100g of melted dark chocolate

For the salted caramel sauce:

50g soft brown sugar
50g caster sugar
50g golden syrup
75g butter
125ml double cream
1 tsp of sea salt

For the Ganache:

100g dark chocolate chips or finely chopped ( I used high quality Belgian chips)
75ml double cream

To make your cake:

Grease and line two 20cm cake tins. Preheat your oven to 180c.
In a large bowl ( or stand mixer ) combine your flour, cocoa, sugar, butter, eggs, baking powder and milk and beat until your mixture is smooth. Melt your chocolate and mix into the batter

before dividing between your cake tins and baking for approximately 20 mins. Keep a close eye, they are ready when the bounce back when a finger is pressed lightly on top.

Place on a wire rack to cool slightly.

Salted Caramel:

Melt your butter, sugar and syrup together slowly in a pan until combined and molten ( don’t be tempted to dip a finger in ) remove from heat and add your cream, stir and return to heat for a minute or two. Add your salt ( 1/2 a spoon at a time – everyone’s taste is different ) and stir. Leave to cool before decanting into a jug or jar.

While your cake is still warm, pour half of your salted caramel over the two halves and leave to cool. This allows the caramel to sink in, getting the flavour deep inside the cake and keeping it moist.

To make your Ganache:

Put your chocolate into a glass bowl.
Slowly heat your cream in a heavy based saucepan until simmering but not boiling then pour over your chocolate and stir quickly until the chocolate had melted and you have a gooey, silken sauce.

Leave to cool until thickened like frosting or buttercream icing.

To decorate and fill:

Use your remaining cooled salted caramel sauce to spread/pour over 1 half of the cake and use a third of the ganache to cover the other and sandwich together. Use the remaining ganache to cover the sides and top. You can’t really go wrong here. You can make it look perfect but I quite like the effect when it’s just roughly covered with a spatula or knife. It just looks more appetising to me..plus it’s easier.

It’s worth leaving the ganache to set a little more before diving in as it creates a fudgy coating which is just delicious.

This is one recipe I can see me making again and again.

Check out these other indulgent chocolatey caramel desserts:

Baileys Salted Caramel Tarts
Salted Caramel Chocolate Pots
Chocolate and Salted Caramel Tart
White Chocolate & Salted Caramel eclairs
Salted Caramel & Chocolate Brownies
Salted Caramel & Peach Sundae
Marmite Caramel Brownies

I’m linking up with Cake Club hosted by Kerry.

Festival & Camping Essentials

July 24, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 3 Comments

Festival and camping season is here and with it comes a host of questions as to what to take, what you actually need and what will make your stay that little bit more comfortable. Perhaps you want to make your camping experience a DIY Glamping trip?

We have camped quite a few times over the years as well as attended numerous festivals both with and without children. Here are some of the products we will be taking with us this year and why.

At some point in your trip you will need a sanitising spray – whether it’s for post toilet trip or just to ease your mind about their general grubbiness before food. This Aquaint spray is great as it’s alcohol free and completely safe to be ingested which means you can spray it on tops of beakers or even bottle teats. Plus it’s small so won’t take up much space in your luggage.

Wet Wipes are an absolute essential for adults and children alike. Home Bargains have a selection of normal wipes, antibacterial wipes and deodorant wipes to cover all of your wet wipe needs. They also have glow ears, festival bootees for your feet, cool bags and fashion jewellery as well as a make your own flag kit which we will be attempting tomorrow. Definitely worth a trip to your local store:

Snacks. When you get to your tent at the end of each day you will definitely feel the need for a midnight feast after you finally get the children to sleep. Some great ideas for snacks include:

Munchy Seeds – seed mixes and breakfast toppers in handy snack packs. We have been sampling some at home and they are delicious!

Clif Bars – having only read about these in American novels I was excited to try them and they do not disappoint. Full of flavour and pretty filling too.

Crisps – Seabrook have lots of great flavoured crisps including our favourite salt & vinegar. Additional perk in that all of their crisps are gluten free;-)

If you do have allergies or dietary requirements it’s worth noting you may not always find what you need in the food vendors or cafés on site so be prepared. Orgran have an extensive selection of products which are dairy, egg, soya , gluten and nut free. Plus they taste good and they have fun offerings for children. We are taking a number of their products with us to Camp Bestival next week.

Zoot bars are also handy snacks. Dairy and Gluten free and full of ingredients which are natural and good for you.

Metcalfes Popcorn are useful snacks to have in your bag, low calorie but tasty too. We love the new Honey Bee flavour.

Bottles of juice or water are needed as we normally do a lot of walking. I like these Cranberry Juices from Ocean Spray, Life Tonic drinks – my favourite being the elderflower and juniper. And the kids love the Vita Coco cartons too – plus you can freeze these which means they keep the coolbox cool.

Boots have lots of useful products for festivals including sunscreen, dry shampoo, make up removing wipes, bite and sting spray, dry body wash – which will be handy for when the shower queues get too long!

If you will be BBQ’ing or cooking outside your tent then these delicious Encona marinades would liven up your meats. Serve them with mayos and dress your salads with this garlic and herb sauce from Hellmans and you will be eating as well as you would at home!

At the end of the night I have to have a big mug of hot chocolate, I like these options from Galaxy:

My favourite is the Malteser.

I normally take a bar or two of good chocolate as well and they work pretty well for an indulgent cup of hot choc. Love these Seed & Bean bars:

What about luggage and storage?

We end up taking lots and getting it back and forth from the car can be a pain. We have discovered these bags and storage boxes from The Camouflage Company. They look stylish and are great for lugging things about and also for storing things neatly in your tent.

Much prettier than a black bag or a cardboard box don’t you think?

Festival fashion is important too don’t ya know? Especially for the kids. We fell in love with these t shirts from Climbing Trees.

Chloe explored the pirate ship wearing her pirate tee shirt shouting ah har.. Ignore the snotty nose please!

You may see her little wellies which we had during last winter, they are from Bogs footwear and as well as being massively cute they are very durable – as you can see. Both girls love wearing them and I’ve been sent a pair of my own to try.

How cute are these fruity wellies?

Craghoppers have clothes that have a built in insect repellant and sun protection. I particularly like the children’s onesie which is both cool and comfy but my favourite are my lounge pants. Perfect for lounging around outside my tent. I had a pair sent to me a few months ago and I can honestly tell you they are THE most comfortable piece of clothing that I have ever owned. Ever. Well worth the £50 price tag.

Finally perhaps not for festivals but for camping trips these solar lights from Philips would be great for lighting up the area outside your tent safely. We use them in the garden, easy to set up and emit a fabulous glow come nightfall.

Add to that some wine, glow sticks and bubble guns and our festival hoard is almost complete. What do you take?

* Some items in this post have been gifted.

Admitting Your Child Can Be Naughty

July 24, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

It sounds like such a normal thing right? Admitting your child can be naughty. Every child is naughty at some point.

I’m talking defiance and stubborn acts rather than full scale tantrums in the supermarket by the way.

How many times do I hear myself say..

She’s tired
She’s hungry
She’s feeling unwell
She’s had too much sugar
She’s bored
Shes overwhelmed…

The list goes on.

But maybe she’s just feeling a little naughty? Maybe she’s a three year old who is pushing her boundaries.

I have found myself accepting it more lately, trying not to make excuses for why my child is misbehaving. The excuses I make are usually to myself or Andrew because for the most part she’s really well behaved for others. Choosing to keep her utterly awful moods for when I myself am extremely tired and grouchy.

I kind of understand it to a degree.

Don’t we all have days where we just want to answer people with because I want to or to reject our food because it’s not the right colour? We don’t because we are adults and we have grown up to realise that life isn’t exactly how we want it all of the time. As a child that must be very difficult to comprehend. After all food is always there ( for most children whenever they want it ) they are clothed, have toys and money..hey they have loads of it. Their money box is positively brimming with pennies. Life is great, they can do what they want.. Or they can try.

They try to push us because that’s how they learn. We give in too easily then they continue to push. We fight too hard they become scared. Where is the middle ground?

I wish I had the answer. All I know is that every day she is trying to find her way in this world. To establish her footing in our family and all we can do is show her the way we would like her to behave. Show her kindness in our ways and love every day.

Another thing I’m actively trying to do is to stop saying in a minute ( or at least not so much ) because I read an article recently which hit home a little. How can I expect her to listen to me the first time I ask when so often I hear myself say just a minute or I’m busy..

I’m working on this. It’s a habit that’s not easy to change, especially when with two small children I do genuinely have points in the day when I don’t have time to answer endless questions but if stopping makes her realise her words are just as important as mine then it’s a change I want to make.

Often enough her little questions and chats are the moments which light up my day. Like yesterday when she told me that when I was born she remembered it and I was so cute..and today when she told me I was the best cook in the whole wide world.

Not all days are difficult. In fact some are positively rosy. Parenting a 3 year old is not easy and it’s a daily challenge but it can be truly marvellous too. They can definitely be charmers and terrors just days apart.

We just have to learn to ride through the stormy days.

My child is nice. She can also be naughty. I accept that.

3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

July 22, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 10 Comments

If you haven’t seen images of these 3 ingredient cookies floating around social media lately then where have you been??

I’ve seen them everywhere I look and of course this meant I had to try them out. Also they are dairy and gluten free which means they are suitable for all of us.

I’m not sure where the recipe originated from, I’ve seen it shared from so many sites and images that I can’t give you an exact source but my inspiration was taken from Pinterest.

As the title suggests this recipe uses just 3 ingredients.

You will need:

1 cup of Peanut Butter
1 cup of sugar ( I used caster although the recipe just said white )
1 medium egg ( it just said 1 egg. I used medium )

Preheat your oven to 180c.

Mix your ingredients together until completely conbined. Spoon dollops of mixture onto a baking tray lined with baking paper/parchment. The amount you make depends on the size of biscuit you want. I made about 12 and they were a decent size. If I made it again I would probably make about 15 so more treat sized.

Bake for about 8-10 minutes, keep a close eye. You want them to be still a little soft on top. Leave to cool slightly before attempting to move. Dust with a little caster sugar and serve.

These are delicious. I’d make them again in a second. Easy and quick prep and a short baking time mean you can have snacks ready to eat in 20 minutes.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: