3 weeks to go (so they say!!!)

Yep, that's right. The builders informed Span today that the work could be done in 3 WEEKS. Then, of course, we'll need to decorate, but WAHHHHHEEEEEEYYYY

I have a few pictures, mostly for my parents' benefit, as I am off to London tomorrow for Easter. We're in desperate need of a break so we are looking forward to it very much.

From entrance of new bedroom towards ensuite doorway
and again
Front window in new bedroom
Bedroom, from ensuite doorway.
Our bombsite, otherwise known as family bathroom!
The front
and again
The "new bit"
Now I need to think about colours!!

Another Recipe

I had a disaster with one recipe on Monday, but TAB redeemed itself yesterday when I attempted Normandy Casserole. I made it with pork instead of chicken as thats what we had in!
I thought of Lindy with her apple corer thing she bought. Sadly there is only one apple required for this recipe, but never mind!!

Normandy Casserole
Serves:4
Ready in: 1hr20
Calories per portion: 265
Total cost:£6.90 (according to magazine, I've no idea if that is accurate)

Ingredients
1tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and cut into wedges
2-3 garlic cloves,peeled and chopped
2 celery sticks, trimmed and sliced
450g/1lb chicken breast fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces
2tbsp flour
450ml/3/4pint apple juice
225g/8oz carrots, peeled and sliced
1tbsp soy sauce
100g/4oz button mushrooms,
1 red apple, cored and chopped
225g/8z thawed broad beans (I didn't use this)
freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 190C/fan oven 170C/Gas mark 5 10 misn before cooking. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan and saute the onion, garlic, celery and chicken for 5 mins, stirring frequently until the chicken is sealed.
Sprinkle in the flour and cook for 2 mins before gradually stirring in the apple juice. While stirring,bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and stir in the carrots and soy sauce. Pour into an ovenproof casserole dish and cover with a lid.
Cook for 45 mins and then stir in the mushrooms, apple, broad beans and seasoning.
Cook the casserole for a further 20 mins or until the chicken and vegeatbles are thoroughly cooked. Serve with sweet potato mash and wilted spinach.

What I did differently:
Pork instead of chicken, Added mushrooms at same time as carrots. Added a little more water (but it wasn't really needed in the end) Frozen peas instead of broad beans, added with 10mins cooking time left, to add colour. Served with jacket spuds and cauliflower as that is what we had in.
It was lovely, and the children, Span and myself enjoyed it.

Turning Corners??

Well, I think we might be. Psychologically, definitely. The scaffolding came down while I was out today. Woooooooopppeeeeeedoooo. It looks so good. I really need to get some pictures of it so I can show my family.

The toilet in the ensuite is in, a lot of plastering is complete, the front window is ready to go. In fact, its all go, and we can probably start thinking about decor soon. YAY!

On other notes, we went to Head over Heels with Lindy and Squidge and had a great time. Oscar just went up and down all morning. He really enjoyed it. He worked out the quickest way up, to get to the big red slide. In fact, I think his favourite was when Jas and I joined him for a slide too. It took J and me a bit longer to get up though. I think he overtook us twice! We had a quick drink there and then went to a sandwich shop for lunch. It was a bit slow, but I was pleased with it, and it was a lot cheaper than getting food at HOH (and arguably better quality!) We had a great time, and Oscar slept for 2.5 hours this afternoon. I knew he was pooped, but goodness. I hope he kips well tonight.

We're gearing up for Easter now. We head down to London on Good Friday, and after Lindy stating the obvious today (cheers!) I think we might stick around a bit. The only main issue I have with the extension is the lack of privacy while relieving oneself. Span doesn't seem to care, nor does Oz, but I can't do it. I'm no prude, but I just can't (wimp) So, I have been making several trips which involve a shop/cafe with toilets! This has made the last week quite expensive what with teas and coffees, not to say counterproductive because all that extra drink has it's effects, doesn't it! Sods law appeared yesterday and our local Tesco's toilets were bloody shut. I had to queue for the disabled loo, and then proceeded to buy stuff we probably didn't need. (or so it felt, anyway!)

So, back to what I was saying... we think that myself and the children will stay around in London, as I have no real commitments next week, due to Easter. I need to think about it, and let my parents know really, but that involves thought...

Wednesday Photo Time

Oscar, wearing Span's shoes. The childrens' latest obsession is shoes.... other people's
Here he is, just looking cute.
And Jas, looking soooo grown up. I love this t-shirt.
In the bath, a safe shot! You can see the breeze blocks of the "new bit" here. The wall was at the end of the bath, just behind Jas!
Lemon Tart shot. It was OK, perhaps a little tart ('scuse the pun)
A couple of self-portrait photos. Whilst my skin and weight are not at their best, they are a lot better than they used to be. I also get to show off our "lovely" bathroom, for possibly the last time ever. Those mirrors are bloody unforgiving, and those tiles... well, there are no words!

New hair cut. Cost a fortune, but probably worth it. I'm not convinced with the colouring. I'm undecide whether to go it alone next time, or treat myself. I'm having issues with whether the dye goes up far enough, as I suspect I have roots already, after 5 days. As for the skin, no flash is best!!!!

Extension Malaise

Gah, why does it have to take so long. I am tired of it. The disruption, the noise, the dust, the lot.

Yesterday morning, at around 9am, while I was at my Physics class, we finally lost our toilet. No, it was not removed by obsessive aliens, but removed to make way for our new entrance to our new bedroom.

We now have a lovely new toilet in our brank spanking new water closet downstairs. Except, it has no wall, no door, and no light, and entry requires turning the alarm off at night. It sucks. I dread every toilet trip as the seat is like ice. And this will go on for a few days yet. We can't even get the last window in to make it warmer as the damn scaffolding is in the way, and we can't take that down until the rendering is done. And we can't do that until we will get some clearer weather forecast for 3 whole days.

Have you SEEN the weather round here. ARRRRRRGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Other events of note over the last week include:
1. Finally deciding floor in new bit was at the wrong level (no one's fault, really), and confessing all to builders last friday. To cut a long story short, floor was lowered on the Monday, with no problems, apart from a weekend worth of worry.
2. Builder L going through the plasterboard where the bog used to be. Apparently saved by his crown jewels and a wooden joist. Les is fine, if a little embarrassed.
3. Builder T nearly doing exactly the same about 3 hours later.
4. Builder L knocking through old bathroom, into new, and breaking small pane of class in front door at same time, thus making all other dust protection methods useless, thus causing a vacuum which caused A LOT of dust to coat everything in it's path on the ground floor.
5. Did I mention the toilet....?

It WILL be worth it, It WILL be worth it, It WILL be worth it.

Recipes - Part 2 - Puds

LEMON TART (from one of my mum’s recipe books)
Ingredients
Pastry – either make, or buy sweet shortcrust pastry to fit dish.
Filling
Zest and juice of 2 lemons
150ml double cream
2 eggs
100g sugar

1. Dust cool surface and roll out chilled pastry to more than fit tin (so as not to stretch it… keep dusting!)
2. Chill in fridge for 20 mins (ish)
3. Heat oven to 180C
Put eggs, sugar, double cream and lemon zest and juice into bowl and whisk until creamy
4. Melt butter and whisk into lemon mixture, then pour into chilled pastry case
5. Carefully place the tart in oven and bake for 15 mins, then reduce the heat to 160C and bake for a further 20 mins or until the filling has set (I aim for it to be golden brown)
6. Leave to cool for 1 hour before serving

There is a blueberry version which is slightly different, but equally delicious. Recipe available on request!

CHOCOLATE LEMON CRUNCH
This is dedicated to my friend Teddy, who loves (and makes her own) Lemon curd. It is also from TAB, and I am yet to make it, but it sounds easy. It is supposedly a “low cal” cake, but considering ingredients, I’m not convinced. Perhaps you just need to have a small amount…

Serves: 8
Ready in: 20 mins (plus chilling time)
Total cost: £4.45

Ingredients
175g/6oz Chocolate digestive biscuits
2tbsp golden syrup
25g/1oz unsalted butter
6tbsp lemon curd
225g/8oz fresh raspberries
Mint sprig and sifted icing sugar to decorate (optional)
1. Finely crush the chocolate digestives. Pour the syrup into a heavy-based saucepan and add the butter. Heat gently until blended, then remove from the heat and add the crushed biscuits. Mix well, then press firmly into the base, and sides of a 20.5cm/8in loose-bottom or spring form flan tin. Chill in the fridge until required.
2. When ready to serve, spoon the lemon curd into the biscuit base, then top with the fresh raspberries. Decorate with a mint sprig and sprinkle with icing sugar, if using, and serve.

Finally, for now, is this recipe, which we found when we had too many over ripe bananas left. We'd had limited success with a previous complicated recipe I found, so I used this instead, and considering how easy it is, the resulting cake was delicious!

BANANA CAKE (off the internet… need to find link!)

This is a very basic recipe I found. It works very well and is so easy. And is mostly for Lindy, who had a Banana Cake “disaster” recently! He he

Ingredients
4oz butter of margarine
6oz sugar
2 eggs
8oz Self raising flour

Mash bananas with a sturdy fork
cream the butter and sugar together, and mix in eggs
Mix the two yellow sludges you now have, and mix in the flour
Scrape into loaf tin and bake for about 40 mins at Gas Mark 4/180C
The recipe ends here, but when I made it, the thing was clearly not done in the middle, so I turned the oven down to GM2 and left it for another 30 mins, whereupon it was fine.

(I’ve no idea what GM2 is in real temps (!) but Span did leave it on for a bit longer than 40 mins.

Recipes - Part 1 - Mains

My friends and I often chat about new recipes we like. I'm hopeless at getting round to things, but finally got my act together today, and sorted out a list of my recent favourites.

These ones, I think, are very child-friendly. Mostly because of the pasta, but also because they contain everything they need, including veg, and are soft and very tasty. I found them ideal for grown ups too!

CHICKEN AND CHORIZO PASTA
Found at “A Slice of Cherry Pie” http://www.asliceofcherrypie.blogspot.com/ (i need to learn how to link properly!!)

Ingredients2 chicken breasts sliced into bite-sized pieces
uncooked chorizo sausage cut into rounds about half inch thick
1 red onion, halved and sliced1 red or yellow pepper, chopped
1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 glass of red wine
Pasta of your choice
1. Cook enough pasta for 4 people in salted water and set aside.
2. Fry the chicken in olive oil until just cooked through and remove from the pan. Repeat with the chorizo sausage.
3. Fry the onion in the oil left from the chorizo for a few minutes until it starts to soften, removing any excess oil.
4. Add the pepper and fry for another couple of minutes, then turn up the heat and add the red wine. Allow to sizzle and reduce, then add the tomatoes and simmer until the sauce thickens and reduces.
5. Put the chicken and chorizo back into the pan along with the cooked pasta. Stir everything well and allow to heat through, then season to taste and serve.

Serves 4

FROM TAKE A BREAK MAGAZINE (My guilty secret, but now, I have the equivalent of a whole cookbook from all the recipes I keep from the centrefold!!!)

BACON AND BROCCOLI SPAGHETTI
Serves: 4
Ready in 20 mins
Cals per portion: 710
Total cost £4.30

Ingredients:
350g/12oz spaghetti
350g/12oz Broccoli florets (I just added what I had!)
8 rashers smoked streaky bacon (I used unsmoked, as it’s what we had!)
200ml carton (or tub) of crème fraiche
1tsp Horseradish sauce (optional.. I didn’t!)
150g/5oz Dolcelatte cheese, cubed (I used cheddar!)
2tbsp chopped walnuts (which, again, I left out as we didn’t have them in!

1.Cook spaghetti in a pan of lightly salted water for 5 mins. Add the broccoli and bring back to the boil, then cook for a further 6-7 mins or until the pasta is al dente (I actually cooked the Broc separately as I wanted it softer, for the children)
2. Meanwhile, grill the bacon until crispy, then break into pieces. Drain spaghetti and return to the pan. Stir in the crème fraiche, optional horseradish and cheese. Heat until cheese is starting to melt. Spoon into dishes, and scatter over bacon and nuts. Serve at once. (I just mixed the lot together rather than scattering at the end!)

SO, plenty of variation there, but I wanted to make it easier, and suitable (and palatable) for the children!

SPICY SAUSAGE PASTA

Serves 4
Ready in: 35 mins
Cals per portion: 635
Total cost £5.35

Ingredients
6 spicy pork and sweet pepper sausages (I used whatever was in freezer)
2tbsp olive oil
1 onion peeled and roughly chopped
1 fat red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
400g can of chopped tomatoes with garlic and herbs (I used plain)
2tbsps red pesto sauce
350g/12oz pasta shapes
150g frozen peas
1 ball mozzarella drained and diced (I used cheddar)
Fresh basil to garnish

1. Remove skins from the sausages and cut each into five pieces (I didn’t bother to skin them) Heat the oil in a large pan and fry sausages for 7-8 mins until browned. Remove from the pan, add the onion and chilli and cook for 4-5 mins until softened. Stir in the tomatoes and the pesto sauce, cover and simmer for 10 mins.
2. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a pan of lightly salted boiling water, according to packet instructions, adding peas for the last 5 mins of cooking. Drain and toss the sauce. Spoon into the warmed heatproof dish, and then scatter with the mozzarella and grill for 2-3 mins until melted. Garnish with Basil leaves and serve.

Photos of the last few days

The children just doing stuff. The dinner ones were just before and after *the* fall!

A relatively nice one of me and Jas (who looks cute, of course!)
I took this pic with a "night scenery" setting. It took about 20 secs to take and I am really pleased with how it came out (5th or 6th attempt!) It such a horrible evening out!
The children love their matching raincoats. They are from Boden and are fab, just not very warm, so we don't use them much over winter.


I thought we were "losing" our loo yesterday, and therefore toiletless for some considerable time. So, I made a last minute decision to go the airport viewing park. I used to go quite a bit before the children, and try and go when I have a spare moment as it is cheap, child friendly, and fun for all of us, WITH toilet facilities!!

Whilst we had a good time, it was fecking freezing and hailed at one point. We did see planes which seemed to please both of them, but it was a lot better once we were huddled in the car. I love my planes, but not THAT much! You can see the snow on the Pennines, behind the Virgin plane.

Exciting Amazon Delivery! (And cooking annoyances)

I got lots that I was looking forward to this week.

First and foremost, my TT Live DVD arrived. I haven't watched it yet, but I have a night on my own on Friday, so I shall enjoy it with a couple of glasses of wine. I cannot wait to see my boys again.

Then, I got a cupcake cook book. I intend to bake some this weekend, I think. That said, I attempted a lemon tart today, and my pastry went wrong. This pastry has never failed me before, but for some reason it didn't work today. I don't think being tired helped. You see, I should just buy the ready made stuff, but I won't rest until I make this particular batch. Next time though, I have learnt my lesson. Even my MIL doesn't make her own anymore.

Anyway I digress,

I also got the new Jill Mansell. It's the first time I have bought the hardback version, but it was a good price, and I do like her books.

Finally, I got a kids book about a Wombat. My friend's daughter Chloe got it from her uncle, and I loved it so much I bought it myself. To be honest, I think its going to be a present, but it is SUCH a cool book!

OH I love Amazon (and any other online shops for that matter) There is little better than getting packages. Even if we do pay for them ourselves!

Tired and "should be doings"

Tuesdays are just so busy.

I have to get up early, to make sure I get both children to separate nurseries in time for my Physics class at 9. Then, of course, I have Physics.

Next up, after Physics, is Toddler Group. Sadly I miss the first hour, but Jas gets a bit of playtime and I get a brew!

Then home for lunch and Jas sleeps, while I determine whether I should be doing Brownie stuff.

6pm is Brownies, which finishes at 7.30, so once I get home I am completely pooped.

And now, I have photos I should upload, Physics I should be learning, washing I should be sorting, knitting I should be relaxing with (hohum, I haven't knitted since Christmas when I hastily finished J's jumper while on way to family party!), Emails I should be writing, exercise I should be doing etc etc etc.

And what am I doing? Wasting time on the PC... ah well, it could be worse!