Monday 19th March 2012
My little girl Jemima will be six on Friday. The story of her birth is the bedtime ramble she always asks for when I tuck her in. She giggles all the way through and I am sure she doesn`t believe its a real story. The scene is set 6 years ago in the little town of Pershore. We were due to go to York for my younger brother`s wedding to the beautiful Katie. I knew I was in labour but still managed to pack an estate car with all our special clothes , including a small fairy costume and a crib! Then I called Matty at work and suggested we set off forgetting to mention that I was having a few twinges. Unfortunately as we entered a traffic jam at Matlock the contractions were coming fast and furious every six minutes. I came clean and the twins in the back began to sing the Hakuna Matata "No worries" song much to my dismay and disbelief. My little angel didn`t want to miss the party so we literally had a drive thru delivery at Chesterfield hospital and she popped out at a whopping 9lbs 8oz, I should have listened to the twins after all. We went to the wedding the next day - I was up slapping on the makeup the next morning so I could be discharged. Of course post partem euphoria aside , I felt like death.But when I looked into her eyes and had several glasses of Champagne I knew this was the first of many wonderful parties to come with my little Jem...
Happy Birthday Mima surprise.
Jemima is mad for mushrooms and sherry what a delightful combo!
1 pack of chestnut mushrooms
1 pot of double cream
1 slug of sherry
1 nob of butter
Toasted buttered bagel
Fry the chopped up mushrooms in the butter, add a splash of soya sauce if you have some handy.
Add the cream and reduce adding plenty of salt and pepper. Add a slosh of cream sherry and a handful of chopped flat leafed parsley.
Serve on a toasted bagel.
Guess what we`re having for Jemima`s brekky- minus the sherry! xx
Monday, 19 March 2012
Thursday, 15 March 2012
Thursday 15th March 2012
I love Bridget Jones,been there , done that , bought the giant knickers.
Gingerbread man for Kyle
12oz plain flour
2tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
4oz chilled butter
6oz light muscavado sugar
2tbs golden syrup
1 egg
Sieve the flour and spices and bicarb in a bowl and rub in the butter until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Stir in the sugar. Beat the egg and syrup together and add to the flour mixture. Knead into a dough and roll out and cut into gingerbread boys. my Mum used to make witches out of this recipe for Halloween. Place on a greased baking tray and cook at gas mark 4/180 degrees for 15 mins until they are dark golden.
Mix icing sugar and a little water together to make a runny icing then decorate with smarties.
Kyle Gwillam my ginger boy who ran away ...this one`s for you.
I love Bridget Jones,been there , done that , bought the giant knickers.
Like her , no matter how hard I try I will always be just a little bit fat and there`s nothing illegal about that. In the 1970s I can remember playing tennis in the back garden with my big brother Tim and his friend Kyle Gwillam ( I was so in love with that boy,strange really because he was ginger and cockney -not really my blueprint now for a soul mate!)I was wearing green flash tennis shoes and little denim shorts and it was that scorchio Summer of 76 so I had taken my Tshirt off and was bounding around like an eager puppy being ball girl. Butterball girl more like! I saw my Mum`s look of horror as she ran out to cover up my delumptious plumpness with the first thing she could grab which was a teatowel. That was when I realised I was ample and so began a lifetime of wishing I was thinner.It is only now, 36 years later that I am truly comfortable in my own skin and know that there are so many worse things in this World than being fat.(You could be mean,impolite or a bully or stupid or all of the above.) My body has made three babies and so I have no complaints. Infact if Kyle Gwillam is reading this right now I would happily play him at tennis anytime...minus the teatowel!!
Gingerbread man for Kyle
12oz plain flour
2tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
4oz chilled butter
6oz light muscavado sugar
2tbs golden syrup
1 egg
Sieve the flour and spices and bicarb in a bowl and rub in the butter until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Stir in the sugar. Beat the egg and syrup together and add to the flour mixture. Knead into a dough and roll out and cut into gingerbread boys. my Mum used to make witches out of this recipe for Halloween. Place on a greased baking tray and cook at gas mark 4/180 degrees for 15 mins until they are dark golden.
Mix icing sugar and a little water together to make a runny icing then decorate with smarties.
Kyle Gwillam my ginger boy who ran away ...this one`s for you.
Wednesday, 14 March 2012
Wednesday 14th March 2012
I was born aged about 40 I think.My favourite occupation at nursery was giving out the juice and biscuits and then I graduated to making marzipan fruits on the playdough table. I absolutely hated school and being separated from my Mum.That painful slap of separation was too much to bear and I clung onto the steering wheel of her MG midget for dear life rather than be tossed into the alien environment that was school. Mrs brown had a moustache problem and smelled a bit mouldy to me whereas my mum was pure glamour.The scent of Paris perfume or white Linen instantly puts me at ease and in mind of my sweetheart Mum even today. She was a terrible cook but fed us intravenous self esteem. Everyday as we left for school she would call after us "Don`t forget you are the greatest!" and we believed her. No spotty teenage taunts of "Fatty" could permeate my "I`m the greatest aura" wrapped around me by my mother`s love. Aged 18 (mentally still middle aged) I threw a dinner party for my coming of age. Beef wellington and mango sorbets were on the menu washed down with a case of Pol Roger. it was all very sophisticated until my rakish older brother turned up and ravished one of my friends under the dining room table!
And so now I actually am 40 and much to my family`s mirth I am a teacher. I am on a mission to make it the F word- "fun" and I endeavour to smell nice and tell all my little charges that they are The Greatest!
Duck in orange sauce
1 duck breast per person liberally seasoned
big nob of butter
marmalade
Bisto gravy
port
Fry the duck breasts skin side down for 10 mins until crispy then place in the oven (Gas 7)for 10-20 mins depending on how rare you like them. In the meantime make up some Bisto gravy and add 2 tbs of marmalade and a slosh of Port, season and reduce then serve with the duck, some creamy mash and savoy cabbage. Very 70s in honour of my yummy Mummy.
As I eat these I can hear bill Wither`s "Lovely Day" playing in my head and can remember a delicious young man who used to sing the song to me.
I was born aged about 40 I think.My favourite occupation at nursery was giving out the juice and biscuits and then I graduated to making marzipan fruits on the playdough table. I absolutely hated school and being separated from my Mum.That painful slap of separation was too much to bear and I clung onto the steering wheel of her MG midget for dear life rather than be tossed into the alien environment that was school. Mrs brown had a moustache problem and smelled a bit mouldy to me whereas my mum was pure glamour.The scent of Paris perfume or white Linen instantly puts me at ease and in mind of my sweetheart Mum even today. She was a terrible cook but fed us intravenous self esteem. Everyday as we left for school she would call after us "Don`t forget you are the greatest!" and we believed her. No spotty teenage taunts of "Fatty" could permeate my "I`m the greatest aura" wrapped around me by my mother`s love. Aged 18 (mentally still middle aged) I threw a dinner party for my coming of age. Beef wellington and mango sorbets were on the menu washed down with a case of Pol Roger. it was all very sophisticated until my rakish older brother turned up and ravished one of my friends under the dining room table!
And so now I actually am 40 and much to my family`s mirth I am a teacher. I am on a mission to make it the F word- "fun" and I endeavour to smell nice and tell all my little charges that they are The Greatest!
Duck in orange sauce
1 duck breast per person liberally seasoned
big nob of butter
marmalade
Bisto gravy
port
Fry the duck breasts skin side down for 10 mins until crispy then place in the oven (Gas 7)for 10-20 mins depending on how rare you like them. In the meantime make up some Bisto gravy and add 2 tbs of marmalade and a slosh of Port, season and reduce then serve with the duck, some creamy mash and savoy cabbage. Very 70s in honour of my yummy Mummy.
As I eat these I can hear bill Wither`s "Lovely Day" playing in my head and can remember a delicious young man who used to sing the song to me.
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
Tuesday 13th March 2012
My mum`s parents were really influential in my childhood. They met on a bus in the 1930s when my Grandad gave Nanna a ticket and asked her out. By the end of the journey she had taken off her engagement ring that some other unlucky fella had given her and so Muriel and George were an item. After the war ,which luckily George survived, the sailor returned and they brought up three lovely children on a little council estate in York. My children always thought Nanna was the richest lady we knew(whereas infact she was probably the poorest) because of the wonderful welcome she lavished on us, the copious cups of tea, Battenberg cake and pocket money that was always in plentiful supply when we visited. My Grandparents worked in the Rowntrees chocolate factory, once George was a chauffeur for a rich hotelier Mr Brown. My Dad recalls as a child him giving all the local urchins rides around the crescent in the back of the Bentley! In later years Grandad was the caretaker in a posh boarding school. Just a simple man but a role so fitting for the both of them. "Care takers" perfectly sums them up because they took care of everyone lucky enough to know them.I believe they still take care of me today with the only legacy they left me, that is Love.
Yorkshire puddings
4oz white plain flour
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1/2 pint milk
1/2oz beef dripping or butter melted
pepper
Sieve the flour and salt in to a bowl make a well in the centre and plop in the eggs. Draw in the flour to the centre and slowly beat in the milk and melted butter/dripping. When it is smooth and the thickness of single cream leave to stand in the bowl for half an hour.Grease a bun tray with lard and place into a hot oven. When the fat has melted add the pudding mixture, my nanna swore a little pepper before baking always made them rise. A hot oven and lots of whisking helps too.
Serve with hot roast beef and onion gravy and a big hug only your Nanna or the memory of your Nanna can deliver.
This one is for all those Grandparents whose love didn`t cost a thing.
My mum`s parents were really influential in my childhood. They met on a bus in the 1930s when my Grandad gave Nanna a ticket and asked her out. By the end of the journey she had taken off her engagement ring that some other unlucky fella had given her and so Muriel and George were an item. After the war ,which luckily George survived, the sailor returned and they brought up three lovely children on a little council estate in York. My children always thought Nanna was the richest lady we knew(whereas infact she was probably the poorest) because of the wonderful welcome she lavished on us, the copious cups of tea, Battenberg cake and pocket money that was always in plentiful supply when we visited. My Grandparents worked in the Rowntrees chocolate factory, once George was a chauffeur for a rich hotelier Mr Brown. My Dad recalls as a child him giving all the local urchins rides around the crescent in the back of the Bentley! In later years Grandad was the caretaker in a posh boarding school. Just a simple man but a role so fitting for the both of them. "Care takers" perfectly sums them up because they took care of everyone lucky enough to know them.I believe they still take care of me today with the only legacy they left me, that is Love.
Yorkshire puddings
4oz white plain flour
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1/2 pint milk
1/2oz beef dripping or butter melted
pepper
Sieve the flour and salt in to a bowl make a well in the centre and plop in the eggs. Draw in the flour to the centre and slowly beat in the milk and melted butter/dripping. When it is smooth and the thickness of single cream leave to stand in the bowl for half an hour.Grease a bun tray with lard and place into a hot oven. When the fat has melted add the pudding mixture, my nanna swore a little pepper before baking always made them rise. A hot oven and lots of whisking helps too.
Serve with hot roast beef and onion gravy and a big hug only your Nanna or the memory of your Nanna can deliver.
This one is for all those Grandparents whose love didn`t cost a thing.
Monday, 12 March 2012
Monday 12th March 2012
My spiritual home without doubt for me is Cornwall. I have been to a little fishing village called Gorran Haven every Summer of my life and in between times if I could manage the 8hr drive. My idea of Heaven is a Cornish pasty and a dip in the ocean. It is my special place where I have built sandcastles and caught mackerel as a child and now as a Mummy with my children and so the circle of life in the sand continues. It is my mum`s favourite place too as she first came on holiday there in the 60s with my Dad when they were 16. The place is timeless, one day I hope we will be salty, wrinkled old ladies there together swimming in the sea everyday and eating Cornish pasties.My youngest daughter Jemima, I am happy to report ,has the same Mermaid soul as Mum and I and the other day decided she wants to get married there and that all the guests will have to jump off the pier with herand her groom and have icecreams after.
Clarey`s Pasties
8oz ready made filo pastry
8oz spinach wilted in butter with a grating of nutmeg
1 pack of feta cheese crumbled
2oz cottage cheese
1 red onion sliced
1 clove garlic grated
Butter and an egg for glazing
After cooking the spinach in butter mix together with the cheeses and onion and garlic.Roll the pastry out into 6 side plate sized rounds and fill half a circle with the cheese and spinach. Brush the edges with beaten egg and crimp up the edges using finger and thumb or spare pair of false teeth(only joking!) We used to make these in the Turkish restaurant but deep fried them - they were called Musca borek and we served them with deep fried chorizo sausages. Coat the pastry with melted butter and cook for about 15mins, gas mark 7 or until they are golden.
Of course real Cornish pasties can only be made in Cornwall so until I live where my heart lies I`ll have to make do with cheese ones!
My spiritual home without doubt for me is Cornwall. I have been to a little fishing village called Gorran Haven every Summer of my life and in between times if I could manage the 8hr drive. My idea of Heaven is a Cornish pasty and a dip in the ocean. It is my special place where I have built sandcastles and caught mackerel as a child and now as a Mummy with my children and so the circle of life in the sand continues. It is my mum`s favourite place too as she first came on holiday there in the 60s with my Dad when they were 16. The place is timeless, one day I hope we will be salty, wrinkled old ladies there together swimming in the sea everyday and eating Cornish pasties.My youngest daughter Jemima, I am happy to report ,has the same Mermaid soul as Mum and I and the other day decided she wants to get married there and that all the guests will have to jump off the pier with herand her groom and have icecreams after.
Clarey`s Pasties
8oz ready made filo pastry
8oz spinach wilted in butter with a grating of nutmeg
1 pack of feta cheese crumbled
2oz cottage cheese
1 red onion sliced
1 clove garlic grated
Butter and an egg for glazing
After cooking the spinach in butter mix together with the cheeses and onion and garlic.Roll the pastry out into 6 side plate sized rounds and fill half a circle with the cheese and spinach. Brush the edges with beaten egg and crimp up the edges using finger and thumb or spare pair of false teeth(only joking!) We used to make these in the Turkish restaurant but deep fried them - they were called Musca borek and we served them with deep fried chorizo sausages. Coat the pastry with melted butter and cook for about 15mins, gas mark 7 or until they are golden.
Of course real Cornish pasties can only be made in Cornwall so until I live where my heart lies I`ll have to make do with cheese ones!
Sunday, 11 March 2012
Sunday 11th March 2012
One Summer I worked with my friend Jilly in a paper bag factory in Germany. It was a mind numbing job blowing up industrial sacks with a huge wind tunnel, then flattening them and packaging them. The place was called Weinheim and we stayed in a gorgeous company flat in a black and white medieval building. One weekend there was a beer festival and we got roped in to being serving wenches and I had to cook something British for the Germans. Roast beef rolled in brown sugar and mustard was a success and they all loved my apple crumble. We lived next door to an ice cream parlour and had lots of rides in an Irishman`s red Porsche to see Heidelberg. His name was Pat and he was in love with the ice cream maid called Maria. I was in love with a beautiful man called Andrew who went to America and broke my heart. Summer love melts away like ice cream but the memory of it makes it all worthwhile.
Heidelberg Apple crumble.
450g Granny Smith apples
50g dark muscavado sugar
pinch of ground cinnamon
Crumble topping
200g plain flour
100g rolled oats
pinch of salt
175g dark muscavado sugar
200g butter
Peel and cut the apples and place in an oven proof dish, sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon. To make the crumble rub the flour and butter together until it looks like breadcrumbs, stir in the sugar and oats and top the apple mixture. Bake in a gas 6 oven for 40 mins untilthe crimble is golden brown. Serve hot with some toffee sauce and some Lake district vanilla icecream or extra special vanilla custard. Yum Yum!
I don`t want to go back in time to the paper bag factory but it`s nice to remember a time when I served beer all night and made friends with some Germans over a big bowl of crumble.
One Summer I worked with my friend Jilly in a paper bag factory in Germany. It was a mind numbing job blowing up industrial sacks with a huge wind tunnel, then flattening them and packaging them. The place was called Weinheim and we stayed in a gorgeous company flat in a black and white medieval building. One weekend there was a beer festival and we got roped in to being serving wenches and I had to cook something British for the Germans. Roast beef rolled in brown sugar and mustard was a success and they all loved my apple crumble. We lived next door to an ice cream parlour and had lots of rides in an Irishman`s red Porsche to see Heidelberg. His name was Pat and he was in love with the ice cream maid called Maria. I was in love with a beautiful man called Andrew who went to America and broke my heart. Summer love melts away like ice cream but the memory of it makes it all worthwhile.
Heidelberg Apple crumble.
450g Granny Smith apples
50g dark muscavado sugar
pinch of ground cinnamon
Crumble topping
200g plain flour
100g rolled oats
pinch of salt
175g dark muscavado sugar
200g butter
Peel and cut the apples and place in an oven proof dish, sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon. To make the crumble rub the flour and butter together until it looks like breadcrumbs, stir in the sugar and oats and top the apple mixture. Bake in a gas 6 oven for 40 mins untilthe crimble is golden brown. Serve hot with some toffee sauce and some Lake district vanilla icecream or extra special vanilla custard. Yum Yum!
I don`t want to go back in time to the paper bag factory but it`s nice to remember a time when I served beer all night and made friends with some Germans over a big bowl of crumble.
Saturday, 10 March 2012
What`s for dinner Clarey?: Saturday 10th March 2012I used to live in a vil...
What`s for dinner Clarey?: Saturday 10th March 2012
I used to live in a vil...: Saturday 10th March 2012 I used to live in a village in Hertfordshire called Wheathampstead. My memories of early childhood were all outs...
I used to live in a vil...: Saturday 10th March 2012 I used to live in a village in Hertfordshire called Wheathampstead. My memories of early childhood were all outs...
Saturday 10th March 2012
Watercress pate
This is delicious on hot crusty bread eaten outside.
2 cups of garlic and herb cream cheese
1 bunch of watercress chopped.
Whizz this up in a blender and let the flavours combine for a couple of hours, so simple yet delicious.
Happy Saturday! xxx
I used to live in a village in Hertfordshire called Wheathampstead. My memories of early childhood were all outside. On my Grifter bike riding daredevillishly up and down devil`s dyke. All the fun we had at 33 Tudor Road will stay with me for a lifetime. The Queen`s silver Jubillee, street parties,Tupperware parties, stealing Dubonnet from the drinks cabinet!My Dad used to sell Cresta which was a cream soda advertised by a bear. Once he turned up at one of my birthday parties dressed as the Cresta polar bear and terrified all my friends who were playing in the garden.My mum also found a Roman coin in that garden as we were close to St.Albans (Verulanium) she sold it for £50 -a fortune in those days to buy my brother a leather jacket. As you grow up you look back and realise all the sacrifices your parents made for you, they all add up to make you who you are.
Life is all about give and take- my parents exemplified this to me, for as long as you give more than you take you will find happiness.Watercress pate
This is delicious on hot crusty bread eaten outside.
2 cups of garlic and herb cream cheese
1 bunch of watercress chopped.
Whizz this up in a blender and let the flavours combine for a couple of hours, so simple yet delicious.
Happy Saturday! xxx
Friday, 9 March 2012
What`s for dinner Clarey?: Monday 27th February 2012When I was a little girl...
What`s for dinner Clarey?: Monday 27th February 2012
When I was a little girl...: Monday 27th February 2012 When I was a little girl in the 1970s , the sun always seemed to shine, I was going to grow up to be Sandy from G...
When I was a little girl...: Monday 27th February 2012 When I was a little girl in the 1970s , the sun always seemed to shine, I was going to grow up to be Sandy from G...
What`s for dinner Clarey?: Sunday 26th February 2012Spring is on her way bu...
What`s for dinner Clarey?: Sunday 26th February 2012
Spring is on her way bu...: Sunday 26th February 2012 Spring is on her way but while we are still in February it`s OK to retreat to our lairs and have a carbohydrate...
Spring is on her way bu...: Sunday 26th February 2012 Spring is on her way but while we are still in February it`s OK to retreat to our lairs and have a carbohydrate...
What`s for dinner Clarey?: Saturday 25th February 2012Last night my son wa...
What`s for dinner Clarey?: Saturday 25th February 2012
Last night my son wa...: Saturday 25th February 2012 Last night my son was rushed to hospital for an operation and thankfully all is well. All my worries about me...
Last night my son wa...: Saturday 25th February 2012 Last night my son was rushed to hospital for an operation and thankfully all is well. All my worries about me...
What`s for dinner Clarey?: Friday 24th FebruaryFriday is the best night of...
What`s for dinner Clarey?: Friday 24th February
Friday is the best night of...: Friday 24th February Friday is the best night of the week . Red wine and a coal fire and a snuggle on the sofa accompanied by Chicken keba...
Friday is the best night of...: Friday 24th February Friday is the best night of the week . Red wine and a coal fire and a snuggle on the sofa accompanied by Chicken keba...
What`s for dinner Clarey?: I am a tired out teacher with three delicious chil...
What`s for dinner Clarey?: I am a tired out teacher with three delicious chil...: I am a tired out teacher with three delicious children and a hungry husband living in the lovely lake district where it rains everyday.My ki...
What`s for dinner Clarey?: Wednesday 29th February 2012I love it when Marc...
What`s for dinner Clarey?: Wednesday 29th February 2012
I love it when Marc...: Wednesday 29th February 2012 I love it when March arrives and at school that means World book day which means dressing up! I have spent th...
I love it when Marc...: Wednesday 29th February 2012 I love it when March arrives and at school that means World book day which means dressing up! I have spent th...
What`s for dinner Clarey?: Friday 9th March 2012Where did that week go? I ...
What`s for dinner Clarey?: Friday 9th March 2012
Where did that week go? I ...: Friday 9th March 2012 Where did that week go? I do love Fridays with the promise of a roaring fire, a big dinner and a snuggle on the sofa...
Where did that week go? I ...: Friday 9th March 2012 Where did that week go? I do love Fridays with the promise of a roaring fire, a big dinner and a snuggle on the sofa...
Friday 9th March 2012
Where did that week go? I do love Fridays with the promise of a roaring fire, a big dinner and a snuggle on the sofa but I just wish we could all slow down a bit. Spend a worry free weekend relaxing. While the children are budding ballerinas,footballers and ping -pong kings I have to admit defeat and rush around like R2D2!
I love Star wars and had the most hilarious handwriting lesson today making the children sing the theme tune whilst pretending they had light sabres instead of pencils to write with... a life lived to the full is all we can hope for isn`t it. This recipe is for my beautiful best friend Emma...I don`t get to see her very often but she cheers me on to success everyday of my life and I know she is rushing around having a parallel life to mine ,only in York.
One day my Ruby slippers will work Em.
Quick Tzatziki for tired out teachers
large carton(500g) thick Greek yoghurt
2 fat cloves of garlic grated
6 fresh mint leaves torn into small pieces
1 tbs mint sauce
1 whole cucumber grated , then all water squeezed out in a tea towel
Mix all of the above together, season with sea salt , pepper and serve with crudites for a healthy dip or on top of lamb kebabs to cool it down. As always a toasted pitta and blob of hummus goes perfectly with this.
I hope you all get a lie in tomorrow and a sunny weekend to recharge your batteries. Mucho love.C xxx
Where did that week go? I do love Fridays with the promise of a roaring fire, a big dinner and a snuggle on the sofa but I just wish we could all slow down a bit. Spend a worry free weekend relaxing. While the children are budding ballerinas,footballers and ping -pong kings I have to admit defeat and rush around like R2D2!
I love Star wars and had the most hilarious handwriting lesson today making the children sing the theme tune whilst pretending they had light sabres instead of pencils to write with... a life lived to the full is all we can hope for isn`t it. This recipe is for my beautiful best friend Emma...I don`t get to see her very often but she cheers me on to success everyday of my life and I know she is rushing around having a parallel life to mine ,only in York.
One day my Ruby slippers will work Em.
Quick Tzatziki for tired out teachers
large carton(500g) thick Greek yoghurt
2 fat cloves of garlic grated
6 fresh mint leaves torn into small pieces
1 tbs mint sauce
1 whole cucumber grated , then all water squeezed out in a tea towel
Mix all of the above together, season with sea salt , pepper and serve with crudites for a healthy dip or on top of lamb kebabs to cool it down. As always a toasted pitta and blob of hummus goes perfectly with this.
I hope you all get a lie in tomorrow and a sunny weekend to recharge your batteries. Mucho love.C xxx
Thursday, 8 March 2012
Thursday 9th march 2012
When I worked in York I used to eat tuna sandwiches everyday for lunch without fail from a great sandwich shop called Starterfresh. They were huge barm cakes stuffed with tuna mayonnaise and salad and loads of raw onion. my poor class mustn`t have got too close in the afternoons! This little ritual went on for the best part of 8 years until I got pregnant. I was reading that in Malton they make the pigs super fertile and have more multiple births by feeding them tuna and you`ve guessed it on the twenty week scan there were two little heads in there."We`re having a two headed baby" Matty flapped. "No said the sonographer- TWINS!" i feel like I should write a tuna recipe now but my twins` favourite is Mummy`s chilli.
Chilli for James and Lily
1lb best mince
2 large onions
4 level tsp chilli powder
4 cloves of garlic crushed
big nob of butter
olive oil
2 fresh red chillis deseeded and chopped
2 tins of kidney beans
2 tins of tomatoes
1 tube of tomato puree
salt
sugar
black pepper
Beef stock
Red wine
splash of sherry
1 ring of chorizo sliced and fried
Fry the onions garlic, chillis, chilli powder in the butter and a slug of oil until softened then add the mince and fry until browned. Add the tomato puree and cook for 10 mins until it caramelises. Add the tomatoes and a glass of red wine(drink one yourself) and a spoon of sugar to bring out the flavour of the tomatoes.Add a little beef stock and simmer for an hour or until tender.Then add the kidney beans and fried chorizo 20 mins before serving. Adda little slug of sherry and a splash of cream if it`s too spicy or more tabasco /chilli sauce if not hot enough.
This is fab with baked potatoes , butter , grated cheese and a blob of hummus or soured cream ontop.
If there is any left I like to put it into flour tortillas and top with cheese sauce, parmesan and mozzarella and make a chilli lasagne!
Right I`m hungry now. Whoever you are eating with tonight give them a cuddle!
When I worked in York I used to eat tuna sandwiches everyday for lunch without fail from a great sandwich shop called Starterfresh. They were huge barm cakes stuffed with tuna mayonnaise and salad and loads of raw onion. my poor class mustn`t have got too close in the afternoons! This little ritual went on for the best part of 8 years until I got pregnant. I was reading that in Malton they make the pigs super fertile and have more multiple births by feeding them tuna and you`ve guessed it on the twenty week scan there were two little heads in there."We`re having a two headed baby" Matty flapped. "No said the sonographer- TWINS!" i feel like I should write a tuna recipe now but my twins` favourite is Mummy`s chilli.
Chilli for James and Lily
1lb best mince
2 large onions
4 level tsp chilli powder
4 cloves of garlic crushed
big nob of butter
olive oil
2 fresh red chillis deseeded and chopped
2 tins of kidney beans
2 tins of tomatoes
1 tube of tomato puree
salt
sugar
black pepper
Beef stock
Red wine
splash of sherry
1 ring of chorizo sliced and fried
Fry the onions garlic, chillis, chilli powder in the butter and a slug of oil until softened then add the mince and fry until browned. Add the tomato puree and cook for 10 mins until it caramelises. Add the tomatoes and a glass of red wine(drink one yourself) and a spoon of sugar to bring out the flavour of the tomatoes.Add a little beef stock and simmer for an hour or until tender.Then add the kidney beans and fried chorizo 20 mins before serving. Adda little slug of sherry and a splash of cream if it`s too spicy or more tabasco /chilli sauce if not hot enough.
This is fab with baked potatoes , butter , grated cheese and a blob of hummus or soured cream ontop.
If there is any left I like to put it into flour tortillas and top with cheese sauce, parmesan and mozzarella and make a chilli lasagne!
Right I`m hungry now. Whoever you are eating with tonight give them a cuddle!
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Wednesday 7th March 2012
In the Winter I am proud to be Hairy Clarey , noones going to see my bare legs and Matty just thinks I`m his strawberry of love. Today was sunny, time to have a bath and shed my Winter coat! it`s so wonderful for the Seasons to be turning and moving on. My fab friend Shaz is moving on tonight...this one is for you.
Lamb kebabs for Shaz
4 lamb steaks chopped into bitesize pieces
4 red onions
4 green peppers
1tbs runny honey
3tbs olive oil
a few sprigs of rosemary chopped
2tbs tomato puree
4 cloves garlic crushed
splash of soya sauce
English mustard
brown sugar
wooden kebab skewers
Marinate the lamb in the oil, honey,garlic, rosemary,soya sauce and tomato puree for a couple of hours or overnight. Roughly chop the onions and peppers. Thread the lamb, peppers and onions onto the skewers . If you like mustard like I do dip one side of the kebabs into the mustard then roll the into brown sugar. Grill or BBQ.
I promise I`ll make these for you Shaz at your housewarming BBQ! xxx
In the Winter I am proud to be Hairy Clarey , noones going to see my bare legs and Matty just thinks I`m his strawberry of love. Today was sunny, time to have a bath and shed my Winter coat! it`s so wonderful for the Seasons to be turning and moving on. My fab friend Shaz is moving on tonight...this one is for you.
Lamb kebabs for Shaz
4 lamb steaks chopped into bitesize pieces
4 red onions
4 green peppers
1tbs runny honey
3tbs olive oil
a few sprigs of rosemary chopped
2tbs tomato puree
4 cloves garlic crushed
splash of soya sauce
English mustard
brown sugar
wooden kebab skewers
Marinate the lamb in the oil, honey,garlic, rosemary,soya sauce and tomato puree for a couple of hours or overnight. Roughly chop the onions and peppers. Thread the lamb, peppers and onions onto the skewers . If you like mustard like I do dip one side of the kebabs into the mustard then roll the into brown sugar. Grill or BBQ.
I promise I`ll make these for you Shaz at your housewarming BBQ! xxx
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
Tuesday 5th March 2012
My Mum and Dad are divorced but they did used to quite like each other! I can always remember the balloon going up when he invited the whole family for Christmas as my Mum was somewhat of a reluctant cook.She agreed to it as long as she got a new cooker and a house extension (Wow! She got it!) Every night for a month I was tantalised from my bed with smells of beef in red wine and carrot soup being prepared and put away in the freezer wafting upstairs to my bedroom. Another time he invited the entire cricket team round for dinner! Mum went to M&S and passed it all off as her own. Food and family times are my happiest childhood memories, Chinese takeaways from the Loon Che , fish and chips from Bill`s greasy palace, waking up on my birthday to the smell of my mum cooking me a cake for my breakfast. My Dad`s gravy on Christmas day ... I could go on and on but hopefully I am baking some wonderful memories for my children all of them made with love.
Joey`s easy peasy pasta
spaghetti( a handful per person)
1 pack of smoked salmon
1/2 lemon
small pot of double cream
splash of white wine (reserve rest of bottle for yourself!)
small pack of grated gran padano or similar Parmesan like cheese
2 cloves of garlic smashed
big nob of butter
handful of frozen or freshly shelled peas
handful of flat leafed parsley
salt and black pepper
Boil up the pasta in boiling salted water until it sticks if you throw a strand at the wall. Drain, but reserve a little of the cooking water. In another pan fry the garlic in a little butter , add the strips of salmon, cream, wine, cheese and peas and warm through until bubbling. Taste and season with S&P and a squeeze of lemon. Butter the spaghetti and swirl it round til it`s glossy , mix in the salmon sauce and top with the parsley. Serve in warmed bowls with the rest of the wine and a nice fella.
Night night.xx
My Mum and Dad are divorced but they did used to quite like each other! I can always remember the balloon going up when he invited the whole family for Christmas as my Mum was somewhat of a reluctant cook.She agreed to it as long as she got a new cooker and a house extension (Wow! She got it!) Every night for a month I was tantalised from my bed with smells of beef in red wine and carrot soup being prepared and put away in the freezer wafting upstairs to my bedroom. Another time he invited the entire cricket team round for dinner! Mum went to M&S and passed it all off as her own. Food and family times are my happiest childhood memories, Chinese takeaways from the Loon Che , fish and chips from Bill`s greasy palace, waking up on my birthday to the smell of my mum cooking me a cake for my breakfast. My Dad`s gravy on Christmas day ... I could go on and on but hopefully I am baking some wonderful memories for my children all of them made with love.
Joey`s easy peasy pasta
spaghetti( a handful per person)
1 pack of smoked salmon
1/2 lemon
small pot of double cream
splash of white wine (reserve rest of bottle for yourself!)
small pack of grated gran padano or similar Parmesan like cheese
2 cloves of garlic smashed
big nob of butter
handful of frozen or freshly shelled peas
handful of flat leafed parsley
salt and black pepper
Boil up the pasta in boiling salted water until it sticks if you throw a strand at the wall. Drain, but reserve a little of the cooking water. In another pan fry the garlic in a little butter , add the strips of salmon, cream, wine, cheese and peas and warm through until bubbling. Taste and season with S&P and a squeeze of lemon. Butter the spaghetti and swirl it round til it`s glossy , mix in the salmon sauce and top with the parsley. Serve in warmed bowls with the rest of the wine and a nice fella.
Night night.xx
Monday, 5 March 2012
Monday 5th March 2012
I love coming home when it is still light, it makes you feel full of hope that Spring is well on the way. In the Winter months I go round the house turning on every light and light up the fire and candles to add warmth and glow to our home. I turn the heating up too till it`s practically "tropical!"Matty comes home and systematically goes round extinguishing all the lights and tells the children off for turning the heating dial round to "scorchio"(I should admit to it I know)...but Clare means "light" and I`m on a mission to brighten up my little World. Random acts of kindness really keep my spirits up. Today I bought a lovely bunch of red tulips and one for "someone else"(at the time I didn`t know who the "someone else" would be) but like magic I bumped into a lovely friend of mine who has been ill. She was wearing a bright red coat and I just knew the flowers were meant for her.
This is my recipe for Aubergine dip some call it Aubergine caviar or baba ganoush...I call it yummy served with a hot pitta , tabouleh salad and lamb kebabs.
Aubergine dip (Patlican salata)
I use to make this at the Bodrum restaurant in Manchester, where my friends were from Morrocco,Malta, Turkey and Iraq. Dionne the belly dancer would bring us strawberries and bananas dipped in white Belgian chocolate for after the shift.Happy days.
2 1/2 lbs Aubergines
6 tbs olive oil
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2tbs tahini paste
1 tsp caster sugar
4 cloves garlic crushed
1tsp ground cumin
1tsp smoked paprika
sea salt & pepper
1/2 bunch of flat leafed parsley chopped
1/2 bunch of coriander chopped
Grill the aubergines whole turning all the while until blackened, leave to cool.
Split the aubergines and put the pulp into a food processor and add all the other ingredients. Whizz until a smooth paste. Taste and season with more garlic or paprika to taste.
This was the best dish anyone ever taught me- Garo Cetinoglu thank you.xxx
Sunday, 4 March 2012
Sunday 4th March 2012
When you wake up to sunshine and it`s the weekend and you`re with the people you love the most then days don`t get any better than this.
I am always worrying in the Winter months and lack of sunshine makes me doubt myself and feel that tomorrow I`m going to get caught out and the World will find out I`m rubbish! It`s the darkness of Winter that acts like a magnifying glass making any little worries seem huge. I read somewhere today on this lovely sunny Spring morning that in your life both Faith and Fear will sail into your harbour, but it is your harbour so you get to choose which one lays down it`s anchor. So have Faith in yourself and give any fear the heave ho, 99% of the things we worry might happen , never do and out of any adversity comes opportunity.
Right enough of my prattling on! I believe in lazy Sundays ,snuggles on the sofa and big bowls of curry for everyone! This is a Veggie curry that all the family loves...
Vegetable curry
1 tin of chickpeas
1 tin of red kidney beans
1 potato chopped
4 cloves of garlic crushed
1 head of broccoli florets
1/2 a cauliflower
curry paste (any strength you like)
big nob of butter
1 block of creamed coconut
I stock cube (chicken or veggie)
1 pint of whole milk
1 bunch of fresh coriander chopped
1 large onion chopped
1 spoon of sugar
sea salt and pepper
Here`s what you do...
Fry the onions , garlic and 2tbs of curry paste together. At the same time boil the cauliflower florets, potato and broccoli in salted water until tender.(reserve the cooking water to add to the curry.) Add the kidney beans, chickpeas and other vegetables to the pan and grate the creamed coconut bar into the curry, add the pint of milk and a tbs of sugar and let it simmer until all cooked through. Crumble the stock cube into the curry and add a little of the veggie water to the pot. Taste and season with salt and pepper and add the chopped coriander.serve with sticky rice or a nice warm chappati.
Have a good Sunday night. Mucho love Clarey xx
When you wake up to sunshine and it`s the weekend and you`re with the people you love the most then days don`t get any better than this.
I am always worrying in the Winter months and lack of sunshine makes me doubt myself and feel that tomorrow I`m going to get caught out and the World will find out I`m rubbish! It`s the darkness of Winter that acts like a magnifying glass making any little worries seem huge. I read somewhere today on this lovely sunny Spring morning that in your life both Faith and Fear will sail into your harbour, but it is your harbour so you get to choose which one lays down it`s anchor. So have Faith in yourself and give any fear the heave ho, 99% of the things we worry might happen , never do and out of any adversity comes opportunity.
Right enough of my prattling on! I believe in lazy Sundays ,snuggles on the sofa and big bowls of curry for everyone! This is a Veggie curry that all the family loves...
Vegetable curry
1 tin of chickpeas
1 tin of red kidney beans
1 potato chopped
4 cloves of garlic crushed
1 head of broccoli florets
1/2 a cauliflower
curry paste (any strength you like)
big nob of butter
1 block of creamed coconut
I stock cube (chicken or veggie)
1 pint of whole milk
1 bunch of fresh coriander chopped
1 large onion chopped
1 spoon of sugar
sea salt and pepper
Here`s what you do...
Fry the onions , garlic and 2tbs of curry paste together. At the same time boil the cauliflower florets, potato and broccoli in salted water until tender.(reserve the cooking water to add to the curry.) Add the kidney beans, chickpeas and other vegetables to the pan and grate the creamed coconut bar into the curry, add the pint of milk and a tbs of sugar and let it simmer until all cooked through. Crumble the stock cube into the curry and add a little of the veggie water to the pot. Taste and season with salt and pepper and add the chopped coriander.serve with sticky rice or a nice warm chappati.
Have a good Sunday night. Mucho love Clarey xx
Saturday, 3 March 2012
Saturday 3rd March 2012
Saturday mornings are top banana aren`t they? Everyone piles into our bed and I lie there looking at all my wonderful brood , like a pride of lions. Pride comes before a fall and usually I have to leave them all to pad downstairs to make brekky. Although a lie in has been out of the question for at least 11 years for me and my laughter lines(sleep deprivation scars more like) have been well earned. I wouldn`t change being tired, skint with a messy house for the World. They are my World.
As long as every night I have kissed them and told them I love them and that they are the "Greatest" just like my Mum did ,I know they will be just fine. Happiness rests on such little things. So after croissants stuffed with smoked salmon and cream cheese we have our own Saturday kitchen.
I might as well admit it...My name is Clarey and I`m a chocoholic.
Cornflake crackles
My Mum used to make these for us in the 70s , when sweets were a rare treat.
4oz sugar
4oz butter
6tbs cocoa
4tbs golden syrup
4oz cornflakes
Space dust or smashed up crunchie bar to decorate plus Smarties
Melt the butter , sugar, cocoa and syrup in a pan and cook until a lovely melted chocolatey sauce then stir in the cornflakes and spoon into paper bun cases and put in the fridge to set. Before eating sprinkle with space dust for a real crackle or crunchie bar, top with a Smartie or two! Gold rush or should I say suagar rush allround!
Happy Saturday! The best bit of course about this recipe is licking the bowl and spoon.xx
Saturday mornings are top banana aren`t they? Everyone piles into our bed and I lie there looking at all my wonderful brood , like a pride of lions. Pride comes before a fall and usually I have to leave them all to pad downstairs to make brekky. Although a lie in has been out of the question for at least 11 years for me and my laughter lines(sleep deprivation scars more like) have been well earned. I wouldn`t change being tired, skint with a messy house for the World. They are my World.
As long as every night I have kissed them and told them I love them and that they are the "Greatest" just like my Mum did ,I know they will be just fine. Happiness rests on such little things. So after croissants stuffed with smoked salmon and cream cheese we have our own Saturday kitchen.
I might as well admit it...My name is Clarey and I`m a chocoholic.
Cornflake crackles
My Mum used to make these for us in the 70s , when sweets were a rare treat.
4oz sugar
4oz butter
6tbs cocoa
4tbs golden syrup
4oz cornflakes
Space dust or smashed up crunchie bar to decorate plus Smarties
Melt the butter , sugar, cocoa and syrup in a pan and cook until a lovely melted chocolatey sauce then stir in the cornflakes and spoon into paper bun cases and put in the fridge to set. Before eating sprinkle with space dust for a real crackle or crunchie bar, top with a Smartie or two! Gold rush or should I say suagar rush allround!
Happy Saturday! The best bit of course about this recipe is licking the bowl and spoon.xx
Friday, 2 March 2012
Friday 2nd March 2012
Today is Friday "eat a pie day" in our house. As a small child I can vividly remember driving up to York to stay with my Grandparents "Poppa and Gaggy". We first smelled the hops at John Smith`s brewery at Tacaster , then got a whiff of sugar beet and a lung full of kitkat chocolate as we passed British Sugar then Rowntrees...and in a sensory sniff I knew we were home. Waiting for us was always an individual Shepherds Pie each , in a brown earthenware oval dish. I felt special...it was all mine. Even today that comfort food is my absolute favourite. Best served on a Friday night with someone you love and a glass of Champagne.
Shepherds Pie
400g lamb mince
2 large onions diced
2 carrots diced
2 sticks of celery chopped
4 cloves of garlic crushed
pinch of any chopped herbs
tomato puree
pinch of sugar
beef stock
milk
slosh of sherry
Big nob of butter
sea salt
pepper
Mash
6 large red potatoes
cream
1 egg yolk
1/2 a red onion grated
few slices of pancetta
bigger nob of butter!
Melt the butter and fry the onions,carrots,celery and garlic til softened. Then add the mince and brown, at this stage put in a big squirt of tomato puree and a pinch of sugar and keep cooking the mince for 10 mins until it almost caramelises. Add the stock, herbs, S&P, sherry and splash of milk to the gravy and cook for another 10 mins.
Boil up the potatoes in salted water until soft ,mash and add the egg yolk, splash of cream, salt and pepper and the very finely grated onion and big nob of butter ,mix until lovely and creamy.
Put the mince in a pot ( or individual pots for your sweethearts) and top with the mash. Make tram lines on top with a fork and dot with a little butter and then put into a medium oven (Gas 6) until warmed through and crispy on top. Serve with some purple stemmed broccoli, a glass of Champagne and someone you love.
Happy Weekend O gorgeous ones.
Today is Friday "eat a pie day" in our house. As a small child I can vividly remember driving up to York to stay with my Grandparents "Poppa and Gaggy". We first smelled the hops at John Smith`s brewery at Tacaster , then got a whiff of sugar beet and a lung full of kitkat chocolate as we passed British Sugar then Rowntrees...and in a sensory sniff I knew we were home. Waiting for us was always an individual Shepherds Pie each , in a brown earthenware oval dish. I felt special...it was all mine. Even today that comfort food is my absolute favourite. Best served on a Friday night with someone you love and a glass of Champagne.
Shepherds Pie
400g lamb mince
2 large onions diced
2 carrots diced
2 sticks of celery chopped
4 cloves of garlic crushed
pinch of any chopped herbs
tomato puree
pinch of sugar
beef stock
milk
slosh of sherry
Big nob of butter
sea salt
pepper
Mash
6 large red potatoes
cream
1 egg yolk
1/2 a red onion grated
few slices of pancetta
bigger nob of butter!
Melt the butter and fry the onions,carrots,celery and garlic til softened. Then add the mince and brown, at this stage put in a big squirt of tomato puree and a pinch of sugar and keep cooking the mince for 10 mins until it almost caramelises. Add the stock, herbs, S&P, sherry and splash of milk to the gravy and cook for another 10 mins.
Boil up the potatoes in salted water until soft ,mash and add the egg yolk, splash of cream, salt and pepper and the very finely grated onion and big nob of butter ,mix until lovely and creamy.
Put the mince in a pot ( or individual pots for your sweethearts) and top with the mash. Make tram lines on top with a fork and dot with a little butter and then put into a medium oven (Gas 6) until warmed through and crispy on top. Serve with some purple stemmed broccoli, a glass of Champagne and someone you love.
Happy Weekend O gorgeous ones.
Thursday, 1 March 2012
Thursday 1st march 2012
I was just thinking today that all I lack is time. Like all slummy Mummys who juggle work and bambinos my precious time gets spent on difficult people or horrible jobs like cat litter patrol or cobweb wrecking. My children love Dr Who and if I could go for a ride in his Tardis there is no doubt I would travel back in time to when my Nanna was alive and go and see her more often , listen to her wise words and drink sherry and eat Battenburg cake and not rush off to go on some silly errand. I have no regrets , I spent lots of happy days with her as a child learning to cheat at cards and as a woman struggling with twin babies whom she worked her magic on with a Kit kat and a sausage sandwich! She has attained Legendary status at our house and we toast her every night "cheers my luvvybums" we all say and slug back a little Bristol cream.
So spend your time wisely , life is like a coin which you get to spend any way you like, but you only get to spend it once.
Tiffin
This a no bake chocolate biscuit cake
1/2 a packet of digestive biscuits crushed
4tbs butter
4tbs sugar
2tbs golden syrup
2tbs cocoa
box of maltesers
White or milk belgian chocolate (I use a bar of each)
Another slimming treat (Ha Ha) I tell you what it beats Kendal mintcake hands down as an energy booster when you`re stuck up Snowdon or Scaffell Pike!
Crush the biscuits , you can use choc chip cookies as an alternative if you like. Melt the butter syrup, sugar and cocoa together to make a chocolatey sauce - go easy on the cocoa as it can be quite bitter.Pour over the biscuits and press into a buttered tin , press the Maltesers in at this stage and pop in the fridge to set. Meanwhile melt the chocolate then drizzle over the top milk first then white on top.
Cheers my luvvybums!xxx
I was just thinking today that all I lack is time. Like all slummy Mummys who juggle work and bambinos my precious time gets spent on difficult people or horrible jobs like cat litter patrol or cobweb wrecking. My children love Dr Who and if I could go for a ride in his Tardis there is no doubt I would travel back in time to when my Nanna was alive and go and see her more often , listen to her wise words and drink sherry and eat Battenburg cake and not rush off to go on some silly errand. I have no regrets , I spent lots of happy days with her as a child learning to cheat at cards and as a woman struggling with twin babies whom she worked her magic on with a Kit kat and a sausage sandwich! She has attained Legendary status at our house and we toast her every night "cheers my luvvybums" we all say and slug back a little Bristol cream.
So spend your time wisely , life is like a coin which you get to spend any way you like, but you only get to spend it once.
Tiffin
This a no bake chocolate biscuit cake
1/2 a packet of digestive biscuits crushed
4tbs butter
4tbs sugar
2tbs golden syrup
2tbs cocoa
box of maltesers
White or milk belgian chocolate (I use a bar of each)
Another slimming treat (Ha Ha) I tell you what it beats Kendal mintcake hands down as an energy booster when you`re stuck up Snowdon or Scaffell Pike!
Crush the biscuits , you can use choc chip cookies as an alternative if you like. Melt the butter syrup, sugar and cocoa together to make a chocolatey sauce - go easy on the cocoa as it can be quite bitter.Pour over the biscuits and press into a buttered tin , press the Maltesers in at this stage and pop in the fridge to set. Meanwhile melt the chocolate then drizzle over the top milk first then white on top.
Cheers my luvvybums!xxx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)