Q is for ...

to be honest I am not entirely sure. Lets be honest there was always going to be a letter or two for which I couldn't come up with a decent title!

So what do I use in my kitchen that begins with a 'Q'?

Well for a start there a 'quince'. A pear like fruit found in central and southern Europe and featured in the poem 'The Owl and the Pussycat'. I know of quince jam but can't  say I have ever tried it...so that is the end of that. Q is not for quince in my kitchen

Q is also not for Qinoa in my kitchen. I have seen it on the shelves, I have seen it named in recipes but I have yet to be brave enough to try it...even if it is a "complete protein" containing very good amino acids...its just not for me. Yet. 

I guess for me the most obviously choice in my kitchen is that Q is for Quick.

Cooking that is quick (and easy!) makes a whole lot of difference in any mummy's kitchen. And I am not talking about Jamie Oliver's meals in 30 minutes because, lets be honest, realistically they take 90 minutes. I am talking about those meals where recipes don't apply and that you can just throw on a plate in minutes (preferably less than five) in order to feed the hungry and occasionally angry hoards.

There are times (say 4.45pm most days) when my Little Giant is moaning because he is hungry and his energy levels are low and The Bug isn't helping things by either winding him up or deciding now is the best time to try out playing the keyboard at full volume. It's at these times when the only way I am guaranteed any silence is to tell them that dinner is ready and its like flicking a switch and as soon as the food is in their mouths they are quiet, happy and very content children.

On some days it's super easy as I may actually be prepared and already have something lovely in the oven or something to pull out the fridge and reheat from the day before. But there are days when waiting for the oven to heat so they can have fish fingers and smiley faces or cooking some sausages to go with a can of beans just won't cut it. It's these days when fresh tortellini (we call it surprise pasta)with a bit of pesto or cream cheese stirred in is your friend...that or eggy bread (which means I can have a nibble too) or an 'its and bits' tea. 

This last one is great for using up the last little bits of things, I basically put out a tasting plate of things for them to nibble on like olives, beetroot, gherkins, cheese cubes, chorizo or ham, crackers or bread soldiers, a spoonful of coleslaw or other raw fruit and veg. If you want to be really fancy you can make it into pictures. Now some of you may be thinking that they are very strange or strong flavours to be giving to children but they eat them because they have first seen us eat it and have tried it off of our plates. It really is one of the quickest meals they have and also keeps their diet varied and allows me to introduce new things in very small quantities.

P is for Pampered Chef

Pampered Chef...what is it? 

Let me be very clear, it isn't me standing in the kitchen with a face mask on whilst I cook.

It is a lovely range of kitchen ware and gadgetry that can make cooking and baking and doing what you do in the kitchen much easier. If not a lot more fun.

I first discovered the pampered chef products about 4 years ago whilst still pregnant with The Bug. My sister had become a Pampered Chef consultant and I dutifully hosted a party at our wimbledon flat, describing it to my friends as like an Anne Summers party but with stuff for the kitchen and a bit cooking to see how things work.  This was the first of 4 parties that I would end up hosting and I enjoyed every one of them.  In fact, by the last party my sister didn't even have to bring any of her demo kit as I had about a third of the catalogue in my kitchen cupboards already. 

Admittedly I didn't have to buy EVERYTHING that I had, some I got free as a bonus for the amount spent at my party and some bought with the points I earned from hosting the party or bought with the host discount.

Out of the various bits and pieces I have, I do havea few favourites and have listed them (complete with links to The Pampered Chef website) so you can pop over and have a nosey.

• My stoneware, in particular the pizza stone and medium bar pan get used pretty much every day. And for all sorts, I can cook meat on there then do some pizza or chips and then fish and there is absolutely no residual smell. They are amazing and naturally non stick so you don't have to cook with much oil, for example, the muffin pan I also turns out the most perfect and tall yorkshire puddings with only a brush of oil under the batter. I have five stoneware pieces, the three I have already mentioned along with the square baker and the large rectangular baker. In the states they also do a stone bunt tin which looks fantastic but they don't have that over here yet.
• The food chopper. I don't have time to finely dice ingredients for some recipies, and others i just want to cram as much veg in without The Two Monkeys paying much heed. The chopper is a great way of chopping up veg quickly and into really fine pieces...and its child safe too. The bug loves having a go with it.
• The knives. My dear husband got a large Santoku knife for Christmas about 3 years ago and he loves it. I don't use it as it is rather large for me but I do have the utility knife which I wield every day. It is so comfortable and comes with a life time guarantee but the quality is so good that I doubt we ever will have to use it.
• The large scoop. When it comes to baking cupcakes or muffins or individual cakes, there is nothing like the scoop to ensure that the batter makes it into the case without making a mess AND the final cakes are identically sized
• Prep pots. I have a set of 6 little glass prep pots that all come with plastic lids. They can be frozen, they can be heated (without the lids) and are just the bees knees for storing left overs for The Two Monkeys. 
• The brownie pan. Now I don't know about you, but to me when you make (and eat) brownies or banana bread the corners are the best bit. This little piece of magical bake ware means that you can  have 4 corners all to yourself with every piece you make. Also, the cooking time for your brownie is shorter as its in smaller portions...so you get to eat it faster. Win/Win situation all round really.

There are lots more products that I could rave about (the garlic crusher is just brilliant) but I thought I would stick to the ones that have proven them selves most useful and do get used everyday.

I have to admit there are a few items and gizmos that have barely been touched but mostly because I got them as a gift or because I bought them in order to use up the points...the egg slicer springs to mind, but I am thinking of reviving it for the boys to use with playdough. 

However, the biggest white elephant has to have been the trifle bowl. It was a free gift for achieving so many sales at one of the parties I had  but it sat unopened and unused for 2 years after I got it...in fact I first used it one weekend not so long ago after our move. It also happened to be the first trifle I had ever made but that is mostly because it has never been my favourite dessert. However, this particular weekend was fathers day and I had promised my dear husband that I would make him a trifle (with extra love mixed in) and not only did it look great in the stunning bowl that FINALLY got used but it tasted wonderful too.  Now since that weekend it has only been used a further two times BUT it is getting out of its box more frequently and I have no doubt it will put in a regular appearance during the Christmas season when we will have a full house of family visiting from South Africa.

I also have to add that along with such fabulous products The Pampered Chef team also produce some fantastic recipes to go with them.  One of our favourites  is the Mexican Chicken 'Lasagne' that we make in our square baker (more stoneware), it's a  total genius recipe that is always great to do when we have guests but can also be made mild enough for the little ones to eat too.

And that about wraps it up for this post.

The only thing I have left to say is that I was not paid for this post or given any products for it and I am not a sales consultant for Pampered Chef. This post is totally my own opinion of the products and I totally agree that what may work for me might not work for someone else.  If you want to find out more about The Pampered Chef you can find them on twitter and facebook or if you want to have your very own cooking show go and take a peek at this page to find your local consultant. 

L is for Leftovers

Leftovers.

Lets not just consign it to bubble and squeak...there are so many things that you can do with your leftovers.

Now I am not talking about eating the same chilli for 3 nights in a row, common sense would dictate that if you make a large chilli freeze at least half in 2 person portion containers for later in the month for an evening when you don't want to cook.  What I am talking about is all those bits and pieces from meals where you made too much that all too often get scraped out of the pan and straight into the bin without a second thought. But what if you were to save the extra pasta or rice or cut of meat for another day or another meal?

Since becoming a mummy I have learnt that even the little bits of what I or my dear husband don't eat are worth keeping - they will often be a perfect sized lunch (or at least part it) for The Two Monkeys the next day and its a time saver too. I can honestly say that when it gets to 5 to midday and the Little Giant has just woken up from his nap and is clamouring for food and I got busy doing other things with The Bug while he was sleeping...it makes me feel like I am winning at being a Mummy if I can just grab and reheat some lasagne or blend all the veggies and potatoes from last nights dinner into an instant soup.

Food waste and the amount of food waste households and supermarkets produce has been big news so far this year, along with various pieces on sell by and use by dates and funny shaped fruit and veg being discarded. But why has it taken so long for mainstream media to catch onto something that most family households already know and have probably known for decades...that often something like meat from a roast chicken on a Sunday will easily go into lunch boxes on Monday and even a stir fry on Tuesday. 

What has made our own food waste more visible is having to separate it out into a separate green caddy bin - we didn't have to do this when we were in Wimbledon, we just recycled our glass and plastics. We have the smaller caddy in the kitchen along with a biodegradable liner that once full gets put in a slightly larger one outside which is then emptied weekly. I think on average I fill the kitchen caddy twice a week  unless we have had a lot of friends over at the weekend in which case there may be more.  It hasn't been too difficult or overly smelly but I do make a point of washing both bins out each week to get rid of any nasty bacteria that may have decided to grow. I have also found since moving here with putting food waste in one bin and recycling in another I find that it takes a lot longer for our general waste bin to get full and is a real visual indicator of exactly how much we throw away in our culture.

So what is the point of this? Well, this year I am aiming to reduce, reuse and recycle more in our house and the kitchen is one of the main places in our house that I can do this.  Quite often with leftovers I just turn them into a stir fry or sandwiches but occasionally I will get quite creative. Lets be honest, if I have made a custard from scratch with egg yolks, the best thing to do with the whites is make meringues the next day and that is always a popular pudding in our house!

If you don't tend to keep food, why not try...especially with things loke stews and curries, as we all know they taste better the next day.  And if you are a food saver specialist do you have favourite recipes for your leftovers? Why not leave me a comment with your ideas as I love to swap kitchen tips!

I is for...

...inert, idle, immobile, inactive.

All these words could be used to describe the state of this blog. And yes, if this post seems familiar it is because I wrote something incredibly like this in October last year but it got deleted and no other posts followed on. Life got in the way - which is no bad thing! Being a stay-at-home-mum has, and continues to be, a lot of fun...even if it does mean I am constantly on the go.

When I started this blog I had fully intended to write about my experience of weaning The Bug, and our journey discovering food together. I had envisioned that I would write the alphabet series over 26 weeks and be done with it before moving onto another title sequence. Only problem them is that The Bug is just about to turn three and eats pretty much anything and everything we put in front of him.

Not only that but in the intervening years The Bug's little brother the Little Giant arrived (as you may have guessed from previous mentions of The Two Monkeys) and is also completely weaned and has a more voracious appetite than his brother. So I can't talk about his weaning journey either. Talk about blogger fail.

What's worse is that I have plenty of material to hand. I have meticulously photographed my baking and epic cooking achievements but they just sit idle on my laptop gathering digital dust.

So where does this leave me now? Playing catch up for the most part...but that is OK as my family (and cooking for them) come before my writing, or my crafting, or anything else really. Part of me wishes my writing could come before housework but invariably that also wins out too. But I am going to try and post every Friday from this point on for the remainder of 2014...I even have it scheduled in my diary.  In the meantime, if you want to read a real foodie blog, pop over and visit my friend Lucy at The Pie Patch as she is fairly awesome and is also into all sorts of crafty things that I like too.

'H' is for Hot Pie

OK, so I have kinda skewed the title of this post to make it fit the topic that I want but who can blame me? After all it is British Pie Week and therefore it is most appropriate to write about the British passion for pastry encased yumminess.

I mean, who ever came up with the idea for pies deserves an award for services to humanity and doing the world a huge favour. I mean there are chunky meat pies, then potato topped pies, little tarts and then fruity pies, cobblers and hot crust pies.

It makes my mouth water just thinking of it.

The alternative for 'H' is homemade, which is also (in part) what this post is about. I can honestly say that making a pie from scratch beats a store bought one of the same flavour (and I can say this as I bought one at the weekend) because you stir in that extra ingredient...love. (Smell the cheese of that last sentence there) But seriously, it does taste a whole lot better and you know exactly what goes into it. And most people will shrug off looking at the label but when it comes to feeding The Two Monkeys, it really does matter to me how much salt is in something and what additives it may have.

Having been inspired by the Hairy Bikers cookbook I was given for Christmas 2012 (as mentioned in an earlier post), I made my dear husband pick out a recipe for me to have a bash at for dinner one night.  My only previous pie attempts have been a fruit filled pies or a very lovely and sweet "Pumpkin Pie" from the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook, this would be my first foray into the world of savoury pies and I was a little nervous.

However, I want to make it perfectly clear that making pies really does take baking to a whole new level. It's more than just a mixture in a cupcake case, it is a process that leads to combining filling and pastry and doing your best to avoid a "soggy bottom"

So today I set about creating the "Creamy Chicken, Ham and Leek Pie" that my dear husband had selected, if you're interested in trying it you can find it here. The prep for the filling took me just under an hour, which was good as I could fit it in whilst my Little Giant had an afternoon nap and The Bug played in the room next door.  From there on in it was just a case of making the pie prior to cooking.

Interestingly enough, the shortcrust pastry for this recipe differs from others that I have previously made in that it uses an egg rather than just water.  If anything it created a smoother dough that I could use instantly rather than needing to let it rest.  I also made a point of using cold and cubed butter to make the pastry which I haven't  done in the past and it worked much better.

So we sat down to a very lovely hot pie for dinner tonight and enjoyed every last bite.  There was even some pastry left over for me to make some mini chocolate tortes for pudding.

'B' is for blender

I love this blender....'tis a thing of beauty.

Okay, so beauty may be a bit of a strong description but it is proving to be a wonderful kitchen companion.  Not just for The Bug's pureed meals but I find that I am using it for grown-up meals too.

For instance, yesterday I blitzed up some bread, cheese and garlic to stuff in some mushrooms for dinner. 

Today's blender bonanza was a fish pâté made from fresh sprats. I say it was pâté but I really just chucked the pan fried fish, sour cream, lemon juice, and a pinch of hot paprika in the blender and hit go. Just perfect for an afternoon snack, served on Krisprolls with some chili and lime sauce.

And it doesn't stop there, it also can convert into a hand blender...excellent for soups, especially when you don't want to decant the food out of the pan. Tonight was a fine example of that when I used it to make a very creamy mustard mash.

Just bootiful.

'A' is for apple

Stewed apple to be more precise.

With the thermometer dropping below zero it is all about good hot and hearty food. So today, with a few braburns that had been sitting on the windowsill for a week I went about peeling and chopping in with the intention of using said stewed fruit to mix in with The Bug's morning porridge for the next week.

However, it smelled so good that not all of the puree made it into the portion pots.  Some may have just fallen out of the pan and got mixed up with some cinnamon and in a bowl with some greek yoghurt.

Oppps.

Still, there was enough left over for three for four breakfasts

Let's start at the very beginning...

...because, as Rogers and Hammerstein said "it is a very good place to start." And today is going to he baby food as it really is where we all begin our adventures with food.

In the past three weeks I have baked, stewed, steamed and boiled my way through a huge amount of root vegetables...all for them to go into the blender and be turned into puree for my 6 month old son (who used to be referred to as "The Bug").  Whilst the food processor/hand blender are very good at their jobs and my son loves his food, it does all start looking the same.

For example, I cooked, pureed and froze (using a fabulous food cube tray) carrots, then butternut squash and then sweet potatoes and below is a sample of each...

Can you tell at a glance which cube is which vegetable? (Answers at the bottom of the post)

Had it not been for my minor OCD and my joy at being able to get my Sharpie out of the pencil case to lable up freezer bags for each veggie...I think I would have been quite lost!

Thankfully The Bug has moved on from just having orange vegetables and we are now mixing in chicken, white fish, pasta and rice (all blitzed until smooth though). If anything, making up cubes of vegies and then mixing them together has giving me some brilliant soup ideas this winter.

So that's it for today...nothing hugely spectacular but an insight into my kitchen none-the-less.

PS - the answers were a = sweet potato,  b = butternut squash, and c = carrot