Food

Eight Photos of Happiness

17/07/2015 by MrsSavageAngel Leave a Comment

So recently I was tagged by the lovely Maria over at Suburban Mum to share 8 pictures that make me happy. They can be from any time period and of any thing as far as I can tell, they just have to make me smile. So here you go Maria and thanks for the lovely wander down memory lane!

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1) Apologies for the poor quality of this one, it’s a scan of a print out, but it was too cute not to kick things off with. I love this picture for several reasons. Firstly it’s of baby me and how cute was I (and how much do I look like the boy here!)? It was taken one Christmas (I think I must have just turned one – yes I was also an early walker!) and I love the retro tree in the background. It was taken at my beloved Nanna and Granddad’s, where I spent so many happy days as a child. But mostly its because of the bongabonga drum. That thing in my hand. It was some kind of drum with beads on string that made a noise when you twizzled it back and forth. As the first grandchild it was my duty to pull both the beads and the strings off this bad boy. But it remained on display, hung on the wall in the lounge. All the grandchildren played with it over the years and when my Nanna died, it was the one thing from the house that came home with me. This is probably the last photo of the bongabonga drum intact(ish). And it always makes me smile!

Lisa in Newquay '96

2) My second choice was this picture of me when I was 17. It was taken outside our holiday flat, on my first holiday without my parents. Me and three friends (Loulou, James and Liam) all trundled off to Newquay for the week and it was the most exciting thing I’d ever done at the time. The weather was so so and the flat really ‘vintage’ shall we say, but I didn’t care. Even when it rained we played games of Shithead that lasted hours and drank huge bottles of Country Manor. It was awesome. I also love this picture because I think its the nicest one I have of me as a teenager. I bloody loved that dress.

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3) My third choice is this one of me and the hubster. We met when we were just 19 and this was taken four weeks after we met. We were both dressed up to go to our friend’s 6th form leavers ball (or what would now be called a prom). It was such a great night and doesn’t he look a dish? I’ve had this photo framed and in the lounge of every house we’ve ever lived in. It’s one of my absolute faves!

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4) My fourth picture is this one of me in the Indian Ocean. Ben and I got married in 2008 but we knew years before we got married that we wanted to go to the Maldives for our honeymoon. So in March 2009 we did (we waited until the following year to go in the Maldivian summer). This picture was taken not long after we arrived on Komandoo and was taken from the balcony of our water villa. It was absolutely THE best holiday I’ve ever had.

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5) My fifth photo was another one taken on Komandoo. We were walking along the beach to dinner, when I grabbed this great shot of Ben’s footprints in the sand. I love the light in this one and I’m pretty pleased with the composition too. I want to get it printed and framed for the bathroom (one day, when I get round to it!)

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6) My sixth picture is this one of Ben with Oscar. It was taken on our first (or second, it’s a very hazy time for me) night home with our new baby and no one could sleep. Oscar would only stop crying if Ben held him wrapped in his dressing gown like this. I know it looks like Ben is asleep (it was after all taken at 3 in the morning), but he’s not. He just looks so peaceful. That time was anything but peaceful, for either of us, but this photo reminds me that there were moments of bliss.

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7) My seventh picture is this one of Ben and his sister Rachel. It was taken on a childhood day out in the 80’s. The venue had costumes to dress up in and took a ye olde time photo of you wearing them. I found this one at Ben’s mums house a few years ago and nearly wet myself laughing. Its Rachel’s face that gets me. She swears she was just ‘not smiling, because they were told Victorians didn’t smile in photos’. I think she looks like she’s about to do someone some serious damage. When Ben’s grandparents celebrated their Diamond Wedding in March, the family put a book of photos together for them. Fortunately this was added and even more brilliantly we were all given copies of the book. Now I can take it out and laugh at this one any time I like (sorry Rach!)

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8) My final picture is a recent one, taken on our wonderful family holiday to Bluestone Resort in Wales. This was taken on our trip to the beautiful Barafundel Bay, which was such a special day for me. Oscar surprises us most days, but that day he really shocked us with how grown up he seemed. He ran ahead, but never ran away. He laughed, he smiled, he didn’t run straight into the sea. What could have been a nightmare, turned into a dream and this picture of him confidently striding down the steps to the bay, fills my heart with happiness. Especially as I know seconds later, he turned round and asked to be carried. He’s still my baby ?

Thank you so much for inspiring me to do this Maria. I’d liked to tag:

Nat over at Diary of an Unexpected Mother

Carly at Carlyakamummy

and

Stevie at A Cornish Mum

If they’d care to join in.

Layered Flag Dip Recipe

04/07/2015 by MrsSavageAngel Leave a Comment

We don’t have a summer holiday the way the Americans do. Our weather is so unpredictable, even in the summer, that BBQs tend to be last minute things, with no planning involved. So when my American friend Bethany suggested we have a Summer BBQ months ago it was actually really exciting to plan. Weather be damned! And when she suggested having it on 4th July, to celebrate Independance Day, well, I hit the Pinterest with a vengeance.

Having used Pinterest for Oscar’s birthday party recently, I was aware how bonkers they go for party theming stateside, so was unsurprised to see how many ideas there were for a 4th July shindig. I found a red, white and blue version of everything you could possibly need or want at your patriotic BBQ, some of it really awesome looking, some incredibly tacky. Then I saw this recipe for a layered dip. Designed to look like the American flag! It was just so, well, American. I knew straight away I had to make it as a centrepiece for my first all American cookout.

Tex Mex Layered Dip. Flag decoration optional!

It was actually incredibly easy to make, but looked amazing and tasted fantastic.

Ingredients

1 can Refried Beans
1 packet Taco Seasoning
1 pot salsa
1 pot olives (about 100g)
Half an iceberg lettuce, shredded
1 bag of grated cheese (I used Monterey Jack, but any mild cheddar would do)
1 large tub of Philidelphia
1 large pot of sour cream
1 large/beef tomato

If you want to do the flag decoration then also:

Handful of Blue Tortilla chips
2/3 slices of mozerella or other pale coloured cheese

Blue Tortilla Chips. Not dyed, but made from actual blue corn. I got these from Ocado but you can find them in many large supermarkets.

Method

Mix the taco seasoning with the Refried beans and spread the mixture over the base of a large rectangular dish

Cover the beans with the salsa, cut the olives in half and sprinkle over the salsa.

Top with the shredded iceberg lettuce and the cheese

Mix together the Philadelphia with the sour cream.

If you’re going to make this into a flag, then use a small amount of the cream cheese mix to make a small square in the the top left hand corner of the dish.

Blitz the blue corn chips in the food processor (or otherwise crush). Sprinkle the crumbs onto the square of cream cheese mix.

Then put the rest of the cream cheese mix in a freezer bag or a piping bag (depending on how fancy you are 😉 ), snip the end off and pipe stripes across the dish.

Chop the tomato finely and fill the gaps inbetween the cream cheese mix.

I had a tiny star cutter (thank you the boy’s playdoh box) but you could just use a straw a make dots in place of stars. Cut them out of the mozerella (the sheet slices, not the fresh stuff) and pop them on the blue chip crumbs.

Et voila!

Serve with the remainder of the blue corn chips or any other tortilla chips you like. Or a fork. It’s that good!

Obviously, we would have less need for a dip that looks like an American flag, in the UK, but I totally urge you just to make a stripy one instead. Or if you’re the crafty type, how about a Union Flag?

Let me know if you have a go at this. I’d love to hear if you like it as much as I, and my guests, did.

The Boy Makes… Gluten Free Peanut Butter and Banana Cookies

02/07/2015 by MrsSavageAngel Leave a Comment

The hottest day of the year yesterday and today? Pah. Gloomy, murky, rainy! What the dickens is going on? It’s July for goodness sake. Well there really was little else for it we needed to bake today and something comforting on this warm/cold/murky/grey July day. Happy British Summertime.

Like many of our forays into the kitchen I looked in the cupboards, saw what we had, and googled the ingredients for inspiration. That’s when I found this recipe over at the awesomely name Yammie’s Noshery. The beautiful photos won me over and I just had to give them a go.

So I got the bowls out, called Oscar over and told him to get get a chair to stand on. And he did! Lets just take a moment there to marvel at that fact. Ahhhhhh. Right, so anyway the cookies, yes?

Peanut Butter and Banana Cookies

These were great to make with the boy as unlike recent attempts in the kitchen they required no melting or hob work. Perfect for little hands who just love to dump stuff in a bowl and mix.

Ingredients

The original has these in cups, but I’ve converted to grams, cos I’m super nice like that. I’ve also made a few tweaks, including using gluten free flour as usual. Should you prefer standard flour then just omit the Xanthan Gum

130g peanut butter (I used crunchy which I think works amazingly, but smooth would be good too, particularly if these are for small children)
50g softened unsalted butter
220g soft brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large ripe banana
200g gluten free plain flour
1/4 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Granulated sugar for rolling (I used caster, but any kind would be good)

Apologies for the lack of photos of the boy helping me. I promise you he did, but I’d left my phone in the other room and you know how they are once they start something!

Method

Preheat the oven to 180c or Gas Mark 5.
Mix the peanut butter, butter and sugar together.
Mash the banana. Add to the butter mix along with the vanilla extract and stir well.
Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined into an easy to work dough.
Take walnut size pieces and roll into balls. Roll each ball in the granulated sugar and place on a baking sheet covered in baking parchment.
Press lightly with the prongs of a fork to make the chequered pattern. The cookies will spread, so don’t put too many on a tray or too close together. I used two baking sheets to make 19 cookies.
Bake for around 10-15 minutes or until golden.
Leave to cool on cooling racks before snaffling greedily behind the kitchen door so the children don’t see you.

Press lightly with the back of a fork this way and that to get the criss cross pattern. — Press lightly in to the uncooked dough with the back of a fork this way and that to get the criss cross pattern.

I am totally going to have to make these again (not that the waistband on my jeans wants me too – they’re so good). The boy loved mixing the ingredients and the mixture is so tactile. Rather like very soft play dough. And so quick. From ingredient to grateful munching in around 20 minutes. I can see them being really good with added cinnamon and rolled in demerara sugar closer to Christmas.

So next time you have a friends coming over and there’s a gluten free eater among them, whip up a batch of these. Everyone will be grateful you did.

Delicious Gluten Free Peanut Butter and Banana cookies. Great with a coffee!

The Boy Makes…Apple & Pear Almond Crumble

17/05/2015 by MrsSavageAngel Leave a Comment

OK so this is a teensy bit of a cheat in the ‘The Boy Makes’ series. Oscar did indeed help me make this, but only parts of it (for reasons that will become clear). However, this is my first foray into a completely new, throw it together and see what happens recipe and as such I couldn’t not include it here. Plus once you taste it, you’ll thank me forever more!

So a crumble you say. Usually the reserve of Autumnal feasts and its true it does have a taste of the colder weather about it, but it came about because I had a load of fruit that was lying bruised in my fruit bowl. Apples and Pears were what I had so Apple and Pear something it had to be. I chose a crumble because although Ben loves a crumble (as do I) what with one thing and a Slimming World I haven’t made one for ages. It’s not exactly a health food now is it, but I can tell you now making nothing else makes me feel as mumly or wifely or as god damn gorgeous in the kitchen!

Ingredients

Three ripe pears
Two large ripe eating apples
1 tsp ground cinnamon
100ml maple syrup
50g cold hard unsalted butter
100g plain flour
100g caster sugar
100g almonds (I used whole ones blitzed in the processor but you could use ready chopped ones)

For the fruit filling

Peel and chop the fruit into quarters. Core and slice each quarter thinly. This is difficult to have a three year old help with so I did this before he joined in
Put the fruit into a mixing bowl and add cinnamon and maple syrup. Stir well
Pour the contents into a suitably homely pie dish
Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool

For the topping

Cube the cold butter and add to the flour
Rub the butter and flour between the pads of your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs (or as near as damned). Remember as you rub the butter and flour together, to lift it out of the bowl. This adds air and a crispness later. Again this was tricky for the boy to be involved with but he enjoyed watching me!
Stir through the sugar
If you are using whole almonds, blitz them in the food processor until evenly chopped. If using chopped almonds open the packet!
Stir the almonds through the crumb mixture
Tip the crumb mixture over cooled fruit and bake at 200C or Gas Mark 6 for 30 minutes

Serve as you see fit. I like to serve mine with vanilla ice cream (something about the contrast between hot and cold is just mouth watering), but you could use cream, custard or nothing at all!

Et voila. The very best crumble I have ever eaten. I’m sorry Mum and I’m sorry to both of my Nanna’s, but it really is that good.

I leave the recipe with you, jealous that you get to try it for the first time and hope you love it as much as I do.

You’re very welcome 😉

The Boy Makes…The Best GF Banana Bread Ever!

30/04/2015 by MrsSavageAngel Leave a Comment

I’ve not had much luck with gluten free cakes so far. They’ve been OK, pleasant enough I suppose and Oscar’s been happy enough to wolf them all down, so they can’t have been that bad. But I don’t know, they just didn’t taste quite right, if you know what I mean. So I decided to give our family favourite a gluten free make over and see if I couldn’t make a really good gf cake.

Ben’s absolute favourite cake is Chocolate Banana Bread. It’s a slightly tinkered with version of this Nigella staple and I’ve made it many times. It’s great fun to make, primarily because I love squishing the bananas, and so I thought Oscar would enjoy it too. We gave it a go two weeks ago and it was such a roaring success, with everyone who tried it, that we’ve made three more since. And not one has hung around for long! It has a moist quality I’ve not found in other gf cakes and using good size overly ripe fruit gives it a wonderful banana sweetness.

So just for you this is our gf version of the best banana bread you’ll ever taste.

As in previous recipes we used my Kitchen Aid, but you could also do this by hand.

175 grams plain gluten free flour (we use Doves Farm)
1/4 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder (we use Waitrose Cooks Ingredient Baking Powder)
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
125 grams unsalted butter
150 grams caster sugar
2 large eggs
4 good size ripe bananas (the riper the better!)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 170 C/gas mark 3/325 F.
Mash the bananas with a fork until a smooth puree and leave to one side.
Put the GF flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, bicarb and salt in a bow and mix well.
Melt the butter. I do this by microwaving in short bursts.
Add the melted butter and sugar to the mixer bowl and beat until blended. Beat in one egg at a time, then add the mashed bananas and vanilla extract.
With the mixer on slow, add a third of the flour mixture at a time, mixing well each time.
Pour the mixture into a lined loaf tin and bake for 1-11/4 hours.
Leave in the tin to cool for half an hour before inverting cake onto cooling rack and peeling off the paper.

Beat wet ingredients, then add flour mix a third at a time

Have a toddler that gets bored half way through and leaves you too it. Hey what? Hang on this is supposed to be The Boy Makes... not leave poor mama to it! — Have a toddler that gets bored half way through and leaves you too it. Hey what? Hang on this is supposed to be ‘The Boy Makes…’ not ‘Leave poor mama to it…’!

We assume it lasts well for a few days in an airtight container blah blah blah….. It’s only lasted a few days wrapped in foil in our house. Absolutely delicious when the boy’s gone to bed, sliced thickly, warmed in the microwave and severed with Vanilla Ice Cream!