Biccie?

I have a pine chair in my kitchen, that I'm planning to paint when I next have a sunny morning to myself...and I think I've found just the cushion for it. How goddang cute is this!
Available from Folksy, this Custard Cream Cushion is just £18. A snip for such a quirky addition to your kitchen.

Smoked Mackerel with Couscous Salad

Never underestimate the sophistication of a child's palate. Now obviously most kids would be happy to live on a diet of cheese, bread and potato, but trying new things can also be a fun and exciting adventure. Anyway, I learnt a lesson in this when I discovered that, at about the age of 18 months, Toby loved smoked fish. As in, he will peel the skin off and eat it whilst licking his lips. Can't get enough of it. So it taught me to always offer him new things to try, even if he has turned it down in the past, and never think that something is "too grown up for him".
So here's a lovely fresh, summery, smoked mackerel dish that's great for lunch or dinner. Simply warm the mackerel fillets under the grill, whilst preparing a simple couscous salad:

Cook the couscous according to packet instructions-it literally takes 5 minutes so is super speedy. You'll need approximately 50g per person. Leave to cool, then add some chopped fresh parsley, the juice from half a lemon, some salt and pepper, and a good glug of extra virgin olive oil.
I added salad leaves to mine, along with some cucumber and tomatoes. For Toby, I omitted the salad leaves (he still can't get his head around salad..) and served the cucumber and tomato alongside. This was actually the first time I got him to eat raw tomato, so in my sad little way it's been a productive day already!

Goats Cheese and Mushroom Omelette

If you like a lot of dairy in your breakfast, you'll like this one. If that's too much too handle in the morning, it would also make a great lunch. In fact, when is there not a good time for an omelette?
Firstly, clean and slice a good hanful of chestnut mushrooms. Now cook in a non-stick frying pan (you shouldn't need any oil) until softened-this will take about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and put to one side. Wipe the pan clean.
Whisk 3 organic free range eggs in a bowl, and add a splash of milk and some salt and pepper. Melt a knob of butter in the pan, add the eggs, and whisk the surface to help create a light fluffy texture.

Add the mushrooms back to one half of the omelette. Grate over some hard goats cheese. Of course you can use whatever cheese you fancy but, frankly, I'll use any excuse for a bit of goats cheese...

After about 5 minutes, and when the underneath has turned a lovely golden brown, fold the non-mushroomy half over the mushroomy half.

(I'm sure there was a more articulate way of describing that, but please don't judge me!)

The inside of the omelette should cook in the heat, but if it looks too runny, pop a plate loosely over the pan and this will help seal in the heat to cook it through.

Now serve with an extra sprinkling of cheese, if you feel in the need for cheese....

Steak with Garlic Butter and Sauteed Potatoes

Some may say it's too indulgent to cook yourself up a big fat rump steak for dinner. Frankly, it is. But it's damn good, and pretty much guaranteed to put a smile on your greedy little face.

I served my steak with some great little sauteed potatoes. Just wash and halve a few new potatoes, then boil in salted water for 15-20 minutes until just soft. Drain, and shake them up in the colander to scuff them up a bit. Now heat 1tbsp of olive oil in a saute pan, add the potatoes, 1/2 a tsp chopped fresh rosemary, some sea salt and black pepper. Saute, tossing frequently, for about 15 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
(Before any of this, you need to take your steak out of the fridge to allow it to come up to room temperature.)
When your potatoes have been in the saute pan for 5 minutes, you can start cooking your steak. Heat a drop of olive oil in a frying pan, then add the steak. For medium-rare, cook for 2-2.5 minutes each side. When the first side is done, flip it over and add 1 chopped garlic clove and a small knob of butter to the pan alongside the steak. You can also season at this point.
Now baste the steak with the butter using a spoon. After 2.5 minutes, take the steak off the heat and leave to rest for 5 minutes.
Serve the steak with the garlic butter poured over, and the potatoes alongside.

Tomato, Chilli and Butterbean Soup with Parmesan Croutons

Here's my own soup recipe that I love. The butterbeans add great texture and bite, and it has only a hint of chilli so is suitable for kids. This recipe will make 2 adult portions or 1 adult and 2 children's portions.

1. First, finely chop 1 small onion and 1 clove of garlic. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a medium-sized saucepan, and gently soften the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes.
2. Add 1 tsp of freshly ground dried chilli (you can use fresh if you prefer), and cook for another minute, being careful not to let the chilli burn.
3. Pour in 1 tin of good quality chopped tomatoes. Re-fill 3/4 of the tin with water, and add this to the pan.
4. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.
5. After 15 minutes, add half a tin of drained butterbeans. You can use the dried ones of you prefer, but they need to be soaked overnight then boiled for at least an hour, and frankly, who can be bothered with that?!

6. Now leave the soup to cool a little, then whizz (that's a technical term there) with a hand-held blender until smooth. Pureeing these butterbeans will thicken the soup, much as you would use potato or flour in some other soups.
7. You can then stir in the remaining half of the tinned butterbeans, leaving them whole.
Or you can get your trusty helper to do this....

Now, how about some homemade croutons? I actually first knocked these up when I only had stale bread to have with my lunch..they do say necessity is the mother of invention, and that's certainly true in the kitchen.

I used wholemeal bread for these, but white bread would work just as well, if not better.
Cut your bread into cubes. Heat a generous 2tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan. Get it pretty hot. Add the bread cubes, and toss them in the oil. They'll take about 6-7 minutes until they turn golden brown. Halfway through, sprinkle over a liberal amount of grated parmesan, and keep tossing.

Serve the soup with the croutons alongside for people to help themselves, and some extra Parmesan for sprinkling if you're feeling in the need for cheese.

Pancake Overdose

Ok, I couldn't help myself. Having been left with a sense of underlying guilt from forgetting Pancake Day, we went a bit crazy with the pancakes for brunch today.


I always use this basic pancake recipe from Delia, and after a few times you'll find you remember the quantities anyway so won't need to look it up.



Now I'm dealing with the consequences of a large three-and-a-half year old bouncing around with a sugar rush. We're off to the park so that he can run it off!

Cupcakes @ Camden

Today we met my friend Rene at a local cafe called Coffee@Camden. We were sampling their cupcakes, as Rene was ordering an obscene amount for her birthday party in a couple of weeks.
As you can imagine, Toby was very excited at the sight of these sugar-laden beauties...

He enjoyed the cupcake almost as much as he revelled in the attention from the ladies working there. They took photos of him for use when they get their website up and running. Just another day in the life of my handsome little boy!

Working that charm once again.. I think Rene is smitten!