Skip to main content

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.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Baby Language

For some reason baby equipment is an area in which American English differs markedly from British English. As well as learning how to care for a baby, we had to learn a whole new vocabulary! Fortunately we are now fluently bilingual, and I have compiled a handy US-UK baby dictionary for you. Diaper n. Nappy Mom says if you can read this change my diaper. The first time you change one of these you will be all thumbs and stick the little adhesive tabs to yourself, the baby and probably the changing mat before you get them where they ought to go. A few years later you will be able to lasso a running toddler and change them before they even know what's happened (yes, I have seen it done). You will also get through more diapers than you ever thought possible, creating scary amounts of expense and waste. Hence we are now mostly using: Cloth diaper n. Reusable nappy Cool baby. No longer those terry squares, the main drawback is that there are now so many types it can be qu
5 comments
Read more

our new apartment

Moving was a slightly surreal experience given that our new place looks almost exactly the same as the old one, except for being a different layout. That's what you get for living in a throw-'em-up-and-pack-'em-in apartment complex I guess - albeit a very nice one. So, entering apartment 433: To your right is the master bedroom: with en-suite bathroom: and looking back, from your left, that's a walk-in closet, door to the hallway and door to the bathroom: Following the layout so far? OK, go back to the hallway and put your back to the front door again, and this time walk straight forwards into the sitting room: As you can see, ahead of you is the door to the balcony: for which I have grand plans for a herb garden and other plants. Leading off the living room is the dining area: and if you walk through that and round to your right you reach the kitchen: Go back through the living room again: and if you turn right (
3 comments
Read more

Speedy Steamed Pudding

One of the highlights of being in catered halls for a couple of years at university was the sponge puddings. Great big sheets of chocolate or vanilla sponge, carved into hefty blocks and doused with thick custard. The main courses were edible at best, but those puddings would fill you up for a week. Good solid puddings, whether baked, steamed or boiled, have been a mainstay of English cooking for centuries. Something about the cold, damp, dark winters inspired British cooks to endless variations on suet, jam, currants, custard and other comforting ingredients. Once I left the nurturing environs of my parents' house and university halls, pudding stopped being an everyday affair and became a more haphazard, if-I-feel-like-making-any event. And steamed puddings especially, with their two hours over simmering water, don't really lend themselves to spur of the moment dessert-making. However, technology has moved on since those first days of puddings. I'd been vaguely
5 comments
Read more