After Sally tagged Pippa, Emma and Vic to show us our fridge, I was asked by WORLDFOODS fusion of flavours to show you my kitchen, so I decided I would make a quick video of the kitchen, but I didn’t tidy up before I did. This is in the hope that you get an idea of what my kitchen looks like.
I am a great fan of affirmations and inspiration quotes and sayings and have been looking for a way to display some of these in my home. I spend a lot of my time in the kitchen, cooking, eating breakfast, washing the pots, putting the washer on, sitting and chatting to friends. So was ideally looking for something to use in the kitchen. I also wanted to be able to update the words as and when I needed to. MadDad came up with the idea of a chalkboard after me and MaxiMad painted the playhouse. Never one to sit on my laurels I set too yesterday. We marked out the area more »
Make a start on homemade christmas items
Encourage the boys more in the Kitchen
sort the boys toys, sell, give away and recycle all that we can
Find something to occupy me at junior football matches
Learn something new
Decorate Maxi’s bedroom. We have some great things that GLTC and Next have provided for it, so really need to crack on
Talk to my consultant about operation that I need
Summer 2013 was a great time, the BEST summer we have ever had as a family. It was relaxed, filled with fun and sun. It was a summer that will go down in history, that we will look back on in years to come. I see it as a faded photograph with curled ages, slightly worn through over handling, but something treasured to be held close to our hearts. I think that the weather made the summer, but also the fact that we all tried new things, went new places and really tried to embrace the changes that surround us. We succeeded in less electronic time as a family, but didn’t manage to get camping.
Feel free to join in and make your own goals and aims for the autumn, I would love to know what they are.
As the years have gone on we have learned that we just can not grow carrots. That cabbages are hit and miss for us and although we can grow onions they are actually really inexpensive to buy so are not best use of our tiny bit of land.
This year we have planted new potatoes, cabbage, sprouts, broad beans, peas, strawberries, tomatoes, peppers (in the conservatory), pak choi and salad leaves. We have three raised beds which have the peas in one, potatoes in another and broccoli and sprouts in the other. Each year we rotate what is in each of the beds and as soon as the potatoes come out in a week or so we will be planting some winter kale and other winter greens (spring cabbages).
We have two large barrels which both have broad beans in this year. We want to encourage the boys to eat them and growing them is often the best way for us to introduce a food to them. In fact the peas never get from pod to plate, just pod to mouth! We are growing strawberries in hanging boxes and baskets, but they are very small this year. Perhaps we need top replace them next year. Has anyone else had this issue?
Tomatoes are also grown in planters and we have one tumbler in almost the flowers, which has done remarkably well.
I also have a number of pots with herbs in including Sage, Chives, Mint, Rosemary, which remain outside all year round and we have more tender ones in the kitchen including Basil.
Banishing family recipes to the bin
How many times have you been eating something delicious and asked for the recipe, only to be told it’s a family secret passed down through generations? Well, it’s not exactly a regular occurrence but it must have happened a few times.
Every single time I can’t help but wonder why it has to be a secret. Can this delicious food not be shared between friends as well? I understand that these treasured recipes might evoke memories of a late family member or a particular special occasion but let us in on the secret too.
Unfortunately, I don’t have any family recipes that were created by my great-great-great-grandmother. I’m lucky if I can remember what my own mother used to cook for me. It’s a shame, but my family just isn’t that talented in the kitchen.
I’m not going to pretend that I am a spectacular cook but I can whip up some simple dishes if I have a recipe to follow. It doesn’t make it any easier when people refuse to share their recipes. Of course, I could turn to a cookbook but I find that most of these dishes end up bland or just not very nice.
So, to show my circle of friends that I can also pull something together that resembles a tasty meal and I don’t need an ancient recipe to help, I threw a dinner party. Now, I’ll let you in on my little secret… Schwartz recipe inspiration kits.
These kits are amazing. They include pre-measured pots of herbs, spices and seasoning and also come with a free recipe card. I decided to throw together a beef stew for my friends and it was so easy to make.
All you needed, aside from the beef stew mix, was a few ingredients that I already had at home, including the meat and vegetables. To make this delicious meal and surprise your friends and family all you have to do is brown the beef,fry off the vegetables, add the herbs and seasoning before transferring to the oven for a couple of hours.
Even the dumplings were simple enough to make; you just put them on the top of the stew and return to the oven.
As me and my friends were tucking into a hearty home-cooked meal, you’ll never guess what…they asked me for the recipe! Who needs old-fashioned hand-me-down recipes from hundreds of years ago when you can whip up delicious meals with no effort at all?
Today we were sent some Snazaroo face paints by the wonderful chaps and chapesses at Panasonic and Mini decided he wanted to have his face painted as Dracula. So me and Maxi sat him down and I did the best of a bad job. When I was finished Maxi asked if he could put a pumpkin on my face using a stencil we had been sent, so I said of course and then he asked for a couple of stencils on his face. I bit down hard on my lip and tried not to squeal a th shock and stenciled on a bat and a spider web as requested.
I then went in the kitchen to tidy up the mess and light the pumpkins and left the boys to play a board game. You can then imagine my shock when I walked in to find Maxi had been in the dressing up box and put on Mini’s skeleton costume from last year. Yes it was short, but he had put on his black thermal pants under, so you couldn’t tell.
I decided not to say anything and you should have seen MadDads face when he got home. He was delighted and for the first time ever he took both boys trick or treating. So good things come to those who wait, either that or the lure of all that Halloween candy got too much for him!
There is something about Autumn that sets me off on a mad cleaning frenzy. I know I should do it in spring, but for both me and MadDad it is an Autumn thing. We have just decorated the lounge, sitting room and hall, well painted them and I have the kitchen next on the list.
Cleaning is not my favorite past time, but since having the boys it is something that I get them to help me with. As I want them to help it is important to me that we use natural products, so that I feel safe having them use them too. My cleaning kit at the moment consists of white vinegar, bicarbonate of soda, a gentle soap, borax substitute, tea tree oil and cloths.
All purpose spray cleaner
1/2 cup of white vinegar
2 teaspoons of borax substitute
A dab of liquid soap
5 drops of tea trea oil
2 cups hot tap water
Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake until the washing soda has dissolved. Apply and wipe off with a sponge or rag. I have a bag full of old tea towels t shirts etc that we use in the kitchen, in addition to some microfibre cloths that we use for cleaning. I also have a post about 15 uses for white vinegar over on A Thrifty Mum.
The only time that I really use kitchen roll is when I am cleaning the bin or the toilets, as I can use the sheet and then pop it in the compost bin for hygiene reasons.
Even as I grew up and had a family of my own, my mum always encouraged me to cook and I realised that she had given me a firm foundation in the kitchen and love of seasonal produce. I know you are only a dish, but I cried a little last night for a woman that I miss so much and then when I saw you in the bin this morning I cried a little more for the time in my life you represent.
Yes, I know my mum would be saying “it is just a dish Jen” and indeed it is, but also a thousand memories were baking inside it and it will always hold a place in my heart.
I have been tagged by ???????? to let you see where I blog. I have shown this space before in my kitchen Vlog, yes I blog in the kitchen. The kitchen really is the heart of my home and the room I spent the most time in. If I was to have my way, we would live in an open plan house
Kids, it is safe to say, love outdoor fun. Having younglings play around in the back or front yard is an easy way to support their development and let them have fun all the while playing it safe. If on top of this, your children get to experience plants and gardening, it all becomes much better.
Tips to Simplify Christmas without Losing the Magic is a paid collaborative post. I absolutely adore the holiday season, but not the stress of it all, so over the last few years we have worked hard at simplifying Christmas without losing the magic and the best bit is each year gets even better. So follow our tips on how to simplify Christmas and you will thank me not just now but next year too.
With the cost of gas and electricity prices sky rocketing it is more important than ever to learn how to save energy when cooking. Did you know that cooking typically accounts for 13.8% of electricity demand in UK homes, with freezing or cooling food requiring a further 16.8% of the electricity used on average according to the Energy Saving Trust?
We love easy weekend breakfasts or brunch here and breakfast waffles are a regular on our weekend menu. These Breakfast waffles are delicious but more than that they are simple to prepare (no separating eggs) and can be tweaked to make savoury or sweet waffles depending on your preference, either way, they taste amazing.
Fabulous meal planner apps is a paid collaborative post with collaboration with O2, but all thoughts and experiences are my own One of our top priorities as a family is mealtimes, eating healthily and ensuring we have a balanced diet, but there are times when I find cooking and feeding my family really monotonous. Things took a turn last year when I developed an illness that meant I had to focus on my wellbeing and go on the FODMAP diet. I am not sure how I would have managed without my iPhone 12 and a number of Apps to help me with the menu planning and the grocery list.
Christmas truly is a special time of year – an occasion for families to get together and spend some quality time, and a chance to reflect upon the year that was. Plus, there’s nothing quite like the many traditions that go along with the festive season: putting up a tree, decorating the house, wrapping the presents. However, there’s a reason that pockets get tight in December. Gift-giving can set you back a hefty amount, and if you’re short on money, it’s easy to feel like you don’t have the means to make Christmas exactly what it should be. Rest assured, there are plenty of ways to have a magical Christmas on more »
Once you’ve scoured city centres like Liverpool, Manchester or London for your new home, and you’ve found your perfect place, now it’s onto the fun part – making it feel like home! Whether you’re renting an apartment for the first time or you’re a seasoned professional, there are tips and tricks that you can utilise to really make your rented flat feel your own.
Learn how to clear your clutter once and for all with our simple to follow clutter cleaning strategies perfect for families. I love a calm and clean home but I am not a fan of all the hard graft that constantly cleaning means. Instead, I am all about working smarter not harder and the best way I have found to do this is by eliminating or embracing my clutter. By instituting small habits that break the cycle of clutter and eliminating the spaces and routines in our home which always seem to magically breed more work. So I want to share with you a system that works and you will not more »
Top 7 Activities for Children while They Are Stuck at Home In 2021, the reality is quite ambiguous. The pandemic is not over yet, some adults have not stopped working remotely, and summer will bring back all the children from schools to homes. Since COVID is still out, not all parents are ready to let their loved ones leave the house. But what child wants to spend the warmest time of the year surrounded by four walls? Right, there are not so many of them.
My teen has been begging to make Kinder Bueno Brownies since seeing them on Tik Tok, but he forgot to save the recipe, so we adapted our favourite brownie recipe and a week, a lot of chocolate and taste testing later we have perfected our recipe for Kinder Bueno Brownies.
These free colour by number printable worksheets are the perfect quick activity that will entertain kids and reinforce number recognition and maths all in one!
