Martha's Marvellous Munchies

It's been a quiet kind of month.  Lots of cold weather has meant lots of board games and Wii sports, and only short excursions outside.  And lots of boys waking up lots of nights has meant lots of sleepy parents who go to bed early too! Toby - has suddenly got really good at bowling on the Wii. ... and building big towers out of giant Lego  - likes me to write him his own shopping list when we go to the supermarket. - is now doing one full day at preschool, instead of just mornings.  He makes sure I've made a good packed lunch for him! With soft toys old and new; the rainbow bear is from Build-a-Bear, thanks to Auntie Colette. - wrote a birthday card for his friend all by himself (with advice on the spelling). Quotes: Overheard while he was playing: "Do you drive?" "No." "That's OK, you can't kill me if you don't drive." At Sunday School the leader asked, "Does anyone remember what 'refuge' meant, fro...

"I'm playing Snakes and Ladders with Jesus, because I haven't got anyone else to play with." Lest you think I have a super-spiritual four-year-old, I should inform you that we have a plastic Jesus figure that a friend gave Graham as a joke.  If Jesus is not around to play games, the toy penguin or dog get roped in.  Toby's pretty much board game crazy right now. But usually it's Mum or Dad who gets to sit down and play endless rounds of Ludo, Three Little Pigs, or the current favourite, Snakes and Ladders.  None of these are exactly challenging (although Toby is surprisingly good at winning), so you get plenty of time to ponder the deeper questions of life.  Such as, what sadist designed the Snakes and Ladders board? Oh yes, it's a very cunning design.  At the bottom you have lots of lovely ladders to go bouncing up, so you get halfway up the board in no time at all and think you'll win super easily.  But if you miss the mega-ladder up to 8...

Leftovers are the thing these days, right?  A recent magazine I read had a recipe for Christmas Cake Alaska, which sounds more complicated than making the original cake!  Plus, how do you have leftover Christmas cake?  It lasts forever, and we're still happily munching our way through ours.  I wouldn't even dare try and disappear with a chunk of it! Anyway, if I am trying to use up leftovers, I use (a) something that will actually go off and (b) as little effort as possible.  Sometimes the results are surprisingly good. Pear & Marzipan Tart The photography is not surprisingly good.  Sorry. lump of leftover pastry lump of leftover marzipan 1 pear Roll out pastry to line a suitable dish (I used a Pyrex lid about 6 inch diameter). Roll out the marzipan to fit in the base of the pastry case. Peel, core and slice the pear, and arrange the slices on top of the marzipan. Bake for about 20 minutes at 180C / 350F until the pastry is done and p...

A few days ago was the twelfth day of Christmas (Toby was keeping careful count), otherwise known as the Feast of the Epiphany, when we remember the visit of the wise men to Jesus. Re-reading the story, I was struck by how disastrous their visit was. You remember, of course, the nice part.  The three (or however many) wise men, following a beautiful big shining star, are getting close to their goal and stop at Herod's palace to ask for directions.  "Bethlehem!" say the clever advisors there, so off go the wise men, only to find the star helpfully illuminating the very house they require.  Full of joy, they see Jesus and present their priceless gifts. Pause to appreciate the tableau: these rich and intelligent men bowing in worship to a tiny baby. Brimming with good feelings, the wise men return home.  They have found the special One they sought; done homage; honoured him with meaningful and costly presents; achieved their quest. But here the sto...