Monthly Munch: February

Sunset at Kedleston Park

Toby

We went out and forgot his jacket, so he had to wear Graham's fleece!

- likes kissing and holding his new baby brother, and gives Theo his comfort blanket when he cries.

- is getting tired of everyone asking, "Is this your baby brother, then?"

- can read quite a few words now. I have found myself saying, "Don't read too long, now," as I put him to bed.

Megabloks creation

- quotes of the moment: "What do you do if you don't like duck? If you don't like duck, you're rather stuck!" from that classic of British comedy, Fawlty Towers.

"Come on, old buddy! You can do it! Suck up that water, take in that sunlight!" which is Papa Bear talking to his giant pumpkin in The Berenstain Bears and the Prize Pumpkin, but is adaptable to a surprising number of situations. The car has been exhorted to "suck up that diesel", and Theo to "suck up that milk".

And from the same source: "Get me my pitchfork!"

Theo

- is no longer a bump, but a happy and healthy baby!

- has been showered with clothes and cuddles from many adoring fans.

- appears to be training for some kind of hiccup championships.

Thankful for:
- the safe and timely arrival of Theo.

- so many friends, family and neighbours who have provided food, sent presents and looked after Toby. Your generosity is amazing!

- longer days and spring flowers.

Recipe of the month: Coconut Cookies

These are quite a plain cookie - effectively coconut shortbread - so I'd recommend butter rather than margarine for flavour. If you wanted to get fancy you could top just half with the coconut, and sandwich them in pairs with raspberry jam.

2 oz / 1/4 cup light brown sugar
4 oz / 1 stick lightly salted butter, cubed
6 oz / 1 1/2 cups plain (all-purpose) flour
1 oz / 1/4 cup desiccated (flaked) coconut plus extra for topping
1-2 tbsp milk

Place sugar, butter, flour and coconut into a food processor and whiz to combine. Add milk one tbsp at a time and pulse until it starts coming together. Tip out onto a work surface and knead to form a firm dough. Roll out to 3mm / 1/4 inch thick and cut out with a 6 cm / 2 1/2 inch round cutter.

Place on baking tray and top each cookie with a generous pinch of coconut. Bake at 180C / 350F for 8 minutes until coconut is toasted and cookies are just golden, being careful not to overcook. Cool on wire rack. Makes 24.

Comments

Erewash Valley Trail: Ilkeston

You could spend a lot of time following old canals and railways in the Erewash Valley. This walk included parts of the Erewash Canal, the Nottingham Canal, the Nutbrook Canal, and the Stanton branch line, and I could have continued further along any one of those, if I'd had the time. I started in Kirk Hallam, which is mostly a post-war housing estate with a distinctive outline on the map: the main road to Ilkeston through the middle, and a loop road encircling the village. It looks like the London Underground logo. I parked at the lake at the top of the loop. There was a sculpture commemorating the nearby Stanton Ironworks - the ground remembers the roar of the blast read the inscription around the base - and the remains of a lock on the Nutbrook Canal. Heading towards Ilkeston, I crossed a former golf course, now a nature reserve called Pewit Coronation Meadows, passed a large sports centre, and was soon in the town centre. There was a general impression of red-brickiness, with l...

Ten books that shaped my life

Ten books that shaped my life in some way. Now that wasn't a problem. I scanned the bookshelves and picked out nine favourites without the slightest difficulty (the tenth took a little longer). The problem was that, on the Facebook challenge, I wasn't supposed to explain why . Nope. Having picked out my ten, I couldn't let them go without saying why they were special to me. These books are more than a collection of words by an author. They are particular editions of those words - taped-up, egg-stained, dust-jacketless and battered - which have come into my life, been carried around to different homes, and become part of who I am. How to Be a Domestic Goddess Well, every woman needs an instruction manual, doesn't she? Nigella's recipes mean lazy Saturday mornings eating pancakes, comforting crumbles on a rainy night, Christmas cakes, savoury onion pies and mounds of bread dough. If you avoid the occasional extravagance (20 mini Bundt tins...

National Forest Way: Bagworth and Thornton Reservoir

I'd hoped to be further along with my walking by now, but a combination of illness, bad weather, and inset days meant that I couldn't get out for a few weeks. At the first sign of a break in the clouds, I was ready to go. It had rained heavily the day before, and there was still a watery feel to the air. I parked at Thornton Reservoir and donned waterproof trousers and wellies, then started by following a footpath along the back of some houses in Thornton. The village is perched on a ridge, which slopes down to the reservoir on one side, and Bagworth Heath woods on the other. view to Bagworth Heath woods I picked up the Leicestershire Round opposite the village school, and followed it past an old mill, across a railway line, and through the woods. One section of the path was particularly squelchy. At the end of the woods, the footpath sign pointed right, which I assumed meant I should follow the road. It wasn't until afterwards that I realised I could have crossed over and ...

Martha's Marvellous Munchies

Search This Blog