pancake feast

so being half american, our usual pancake fare would be this for dinner on Shrove Tuesday....and i LOVE it! We also frequently eat this for weekend breakfasts

however this year i decided to learn how to make crepes. i had great intentions of picking up spinach, creme fraiche etc from the shops and following a recipe. however at 8:30pm i had just got the kids to bed, hungry husband home, feeling weak with hunger and exhaustion myself and had bought no extra ingredients and made no start on the "pancake feast" i had promised. i opened the fridge and decided to free-style.. determined to follow-through on my idea from earlier in the day, even though my energy, enthusiasm and mood had hit rock bottom!



Here's the easy crepe recipe i followed:

• 1. Melt a tablespoon of butter and set aside.
  2. Sift 125g plain flour and pinch of salt salt into a mixing bowl, then crack in an egg and mix well.
  3. Add 150ml milk and 150ml water and stir well
  4. Add the melted butter and beat until smooth and well combined
  
  
  Leave aside while you make your filling with whatever you have on hand in the fridge. Here's what i did:
  
  
  1. Heat oil in a pan
  2. Add a chopped onion and cook a few minutes
  3. Add four strips of bacon (chopped) and cook a few minutes
  4. Add a chopped chard (i had this in the fridge and had to look up what it was - use whatever veggies you can find) and cook/stir a few minutes
  5. Turn heat down and add 2 big tablespoons greek yoghurt
  6. Add pepper (i had a tiny bit of salsa that needed using up so added that as well)
  7. Pour crepe mixture in to a hot oiled pan until bubbly and flip it over
  8. Put your veggie/yoghurt mix on the crepe in the pan and add some grated cheddar cheese, when the crepe is browning underneath, fold it over and serve (or put in the oven while you make more)...
  
  

the first two i made were a disaster

the second two turned out well

and we saved just enough batter to finish off the meal with lemon and honey crepes

Not sure if i prefer the american pancake meal or the french crepe version but i did enjoy the savoury first course rather than a whole meal covered in maple syrup. I will definitely try more crepes as i think i could improve on the actual crepe itself and want to experiment with fillings. it could make a great meal for the kids as you can choose the fillings you know that they will like. i've never seen a crepe consumed so fast as when little mr z was handed one filled with nutella yesterday.

play doh convert

i always think why bother going to all the effort of making play doh when you can buy it so readily and cheaply? and when i HAVE gone to the effort - randomly selecting simple looking recipes from the internet - it's been a sticky disaster which has put me off play doh making altogether.

here's the bright store-bought stuff:

when we moved house six months ago my sister in law brought me home-made play doh for the kids. it was such a brilliant gift. in the chaos of house-moving, lovely fresh play doh to keep the kids entertained was so helpful. I have since used her recipe and it makes brilliant long-lasting play doh. i am a convert. the recipe lives on our fridge. Here it is:

still ready to roll (after months of life!):

i love this old rolling pin that my mum kept from when we were young

play doh village

two things

two things that drive me mad:

1. an exhausted child resisting sleep
2. a child resisting getting dressed

sleep and getting dressed are pretty major parts of our lives so i'm working on chilling out and not letting it get to me so much. an internal mother rage can boil at these things but i'm trying to breathe deep and let go...

after seeing daddy off to work this morning, little mr z told me :
'i told daddy two things - could he get back as quickly as he can so he can say goodnight to me specially, and mummy is going to read my story tonight.' - the importance of the bedtime ritual - he's planning it out already and it's 8am.

pasta play

pasta is so lovely and tactile - a tray of it kept my boy entertained for a long time yesterday - we added in a scooping pot... then a handbag..

and some weighing scales

the next day i put my two-year old to work cleaning up the pasta (ie. moving it from one container to the other - a 2yr old heaven)

until she poured the entire lot on to the floor and my son lept in with delight and the kitchen became a sea of pasta! 

 we cleared them all up together (the reward being pasta in the good pasta jar!). I'm just glad you boil pasta before eating it and am hoping no rabbit droppings got cleaned up with it!

unexpected guests

with a family of six turning up for tea i thought i better have some food ready. i also had my three year old to entertain. so we set to cooking. this simple meal was perfect for both involving little mr z and feeding hungry kids.

pour oil in two empty dishes

saute garlic and add two tins of chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper - leave to simmer

break up four mozzarella balls

and chop a big courgette in to slices

place a layer of lasagne on the bottom of the oiled dishes

pour some of the hot tomato mix over the lasagne sheets

put the courgette slices over the tomato 

spread the mozzarella over the courgette and add another layer of lasagne

Add another layer of tomato mix and cover in grated cheddar

bake in the oven (180) for 40 minutes

serve

taste-testing - yum!

had some left-over chocolate chip cookie dough in the freezer to finish things off

                                 

internal mother whip

I just came across this poem on my friend Rachel's blog:

If I Had My Child to Raise Over Again

by Diane Loomans

If I had my child to raise all over again,
I'd build self esteem first, and the house later.
I'd fingerpaint more, and point the finger less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I would care to know less and know to care more.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I'd do more hugging and less tugging.
I'd see the oak tree in the acorn more often.
I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.
I'd model less about the love of power,
And more about the power of love.

This made me cry. Why is it so hard to feel like an awesome mother? Some days I do. But too often the stuff of this poem plays on my mind and can fill me with guilt - the internal mother whip that we can too easily lash ourselves with. I don't want my mothering to be guilt-driven and all about me. So I'm hoping this poem can be - not a slap on the wrist, but new inspiration for tomorrow and the next day... Thank you Rach.

And here is something to make you laugh from our local pet shop. Laughter never fails to inspire and dilute stress 

wine and coffee

i recently saw this funny The Uppers & Downers of Parenting (Or, Coffee & Wine). it made me laugh. why do i find wine and coffee so very comforting. they take the edge off. make me believe that once i've had them i'll be able to cope.. so much better.. until the next morning when i feel like a half-dead fire-breathing dragon yet again. when will the cycle end? what can i do to break it and feel more human in the morning? lovely hubby tells me it's just exhausting having young children, that's just the way it is. i feel there's more. there could be more energy out there at my disposal, i could be a better mum with more energetic, patient, positive and calm thoughts in the morning. maybe i should eat more healthily, go to bed earlier, get some exercise, never drink alcohol.. but i need those comforts .. those are the good things. maybe i need to meditate, to pray, to do yoga. the battle for more patience, more energy continually alludes me. perhaps in lent i'll try some new things... if i can find the energy!! i will keep you posted

                                                  

camera flash going off in my face too early in the morning! ow!

hot toddies

hot toddies have got us through the winter. lovely hubby and i are somewhat addicted to our nightly ritual

We owe thanks to Nigel Slater's hot toddy recipe which is so delicious and smooth:

Put 1tsp of honey and a measure of whisky in a mug or heatproof glass. Add two cloves and half a cinnamon stick then top up with just-off-the-boil water. Stir in a slice of lemon and just enough lemon juice to balance the sweetness of the honey. Drink as soon as it doesn't burn your lips.

leaving the house

i am a mum, how did that happen? i've been a mum for four years and i feel like a novice.. like it was only days ago that lovely hubby and i would decide to go out, would put on our coats and leave... carrying nothing.. nothing!! we walked, meandered, stopped to look at things, shopped, sat in cafes, moved on to bars and eventually wandered home... chatting much of the way.

oh how things have changed. leaving the house now takes approximately one hour... each step moving us all closer to melt-down or tantrum - searching, packing, finding lost items, re-packing, remembering spares, zips, buttons, knots, velcro, hats, gloves, shoes, persuading, convincing, bribing, cajoling, threatening, pleading, crying, pretending to leave child behind and of course ... last minute pooing! Finally leaving, returning for forgotten items, finding keys, collecting forgotten item plus a few more, another toilet stop.. AND we're out! .... it must be almost lunch and nap time... better get home soon right!?

Some things I've forgotten how to do -

wandering slowly through an art gallery 

reading a magazine in a cool non-child-friendly cafe

while hubby sites across from me and does the same!

looking up for long enough to notice, appreciate and PHOTOGRAPH a shelf of trendy items 

taking a photo of ourselves

ahhh the indulgent days...

you know i wouldn't change a thing

but life has certainly changed

halloween

We had fun preparing for Halloween

little mr z enjoyed drawing his design on paper for a pumpkin face

and then drawing it on to the pumpkin

he used a sharp corn on the cob holder to poke out the lines of his face - easier and safer than a sharp knife!

and here they are - little mr z's much more exciting than mine - with the sharp teeth and cool nostrils

i would recommend roasting the pumpkin seeds in oil and salt - so delicious and more-ish. little mr z and i ate them all afternoon while we worked

And lovely hubby brought these beautiful vegetables home from the market