Skip to main content

Monthly Munch: September 2015

This month we have had to adjust to being parents of an actual school student!  The amount of new information has been almost as bewildering for us as for him, but we are starting to get our heads around the mysteries of phonics, online communication and what to take for show and tell.

September sunflowers

We've enjoyed plenty of warm sunny days, so the boys have been getting lots of outdoor play.  At this time of year you feel like you want to soak up every last minute of sunlight before the cold and dark close in.  I've been painting the fence.

Toby

- started primary school!  We've had some tears and fears, but gradually the worries are dying down and the enjoyment is creeping up.  He's already won a certificate for an excellent picture of his house.

Walking to school, first day.

OBE: Our Best Ever

- got to sit in the driver's seat of a winning racecar at Donington racetrack


-achieved a childhood rite of passage by falling off his bike into stinging nettles.  He got stung all up one arm, poor kid, but recovered fairly quickly.


- is really good at swinging himself on the swing.  With just a little push to get started, he can get himself going high.

Theo

- walked all the way to the "big" playground, about 1/3 of a mile - with detours to splash in every puddle, stomp on every drain cover and eat every blackberry.

Beware!  Boy with big stick!


- is into personal grooming.  He points at his toothbrush and says "teee", and tries to comb his own hair.  He still hates having his face wiped, though.

- is great friends with the little girl next door.  He calls her "Pappa" (for Poppy) and runs to give her a hug every time he sees her.

At Stowe Gardens (not a temple)

Thankful for:

- our new car.  The Renault we acquired in a rush when we got back to the UK had lasted far longer than we ever expected (which was about 6 months, quite frankly), but it was at its last gasp.  Graham found a very well-maintained Rover 75 for a great price, which has taken its place next to the MG to give us a pair of classic British cars.

- my great husband, who I can trust to handle all this car-buying stuff.  He does all the research and I try to make intelligent noises when he tells me about engine sizes and fuel economy.  Plus he saved us a ton of money on the insurance, so he's definitely earned his keep this month!

- getting to see the lunar eclipse, even if it did result in remarkably little sleep that night.


Recipe of the Month: Chocolate fruit & nut flapjack


I had the flavours of a Cadburys Fruit & Nut bar in mind - milk chocolate, currants and hazelnuts.  It's actually the second time I've made it now, but the first time it vanished before I could photograph it.  Doesn't look so good when you're taking a picture of a few crumbs...


4 oz golden syrup
8 oz sugar
12 oz hard margarine or butter
1 lb rolled porridge oats
4 oz currants
4 oz hazelnuts, roughly bashed or chopped
4 oz milk or dark chocolate chips

Grease and line an 8"x13" baking tin.  Melt the margarine in a large bowl (2 minutes in the microwave), then add the syrup and sugar and heat for another 2-3 minutes.  Or you can put all three ingredients in a large saucepan and melt them together that way.  Then add the oats and mix really well.  If you're using a wooden spoon it'll definitely make your arm ache, but keep going until it's all coming together in a cohesive lump.  It makes the texture much better, I promise you.  If you're fortunate enough to have a stand mixer, don't give it longer than 5 minutes or it will get too airy.

I admit to going metric with the additions, because chocolate chips come in 100g packets, which is actually about 3.5 oz.  But the main flapjack recipe is so neat in Imperial and converts to annoying half-grams in metric.  So there you go.  Measure out 100g or 3 or 3.5 or 4 oz, or figure it out in cups, or toss in a couple of handfuls.  The important thing is, DON'T PUT THE CHOCOLATE IN YET!  Mix in the currants and nuts first.  The chocolate melts really quickly in the warm mixture, so chuck it in last, give it one quick stir to distribute the chips, and get it in the tin quick.  Give it a good smooth out - it won't spread by itself in the oven, so make sure you squish it into the corners and make it nice and flat.  Put it in the oven at 180C/350F and bake for 18-20 minutes.  Leave to cool before removing from the tin and cutting.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Very Persistent Widow, or, We're Going on a Judge Hunt

Image by Pexels from Pixabay   At church this morning I was leading the kids group for the five- to seven-year olds. We are studying parables at the moment - the short and punchy stories that Jesus told. Today's was about the persistent widow, who kept on going to the judge's house to demand justice. As I read it, echoes of The Very Hungry Caterpillar came into my head: "...and he was STILL hungry!" as well as images from We're Going on a Bear Hunt: "Mud! Thick, oozy mud!" So here is the version of The Persistent Widow that Jesus would, I am sure, have told, if his audience had been a group of infant school kids. They seemed to enjoy it. I hope you do too.  If you have a small child to help with the knocks and the "No!"s, so much the better. The Very Persistent Widow Lydia was a widow. That means her husband had died. She didn’t have any children, so she lived all by herself. Now someone had done something wrong to Lydia. Maybe someone had

I have a piano!!!

OK, maybe we should have bought a stand! But who cares if it doesn't have the most aesthetically pleasing setting - it's great to have something to play on again. My most loving and wonderful husband had obviously picked up a few signs that I was missing my piano (no, I wasn't hinting that badly!) and a few days ago said, "I was just in the guitar shop and they had a big sale on keyboards - do you want to take a look?" So we went and browsed around a bit, and he firmly dragged me away from the $1000+ models and made me look at some more reasonable ones, and after some discussion we went for this little Casio. It's more portable than the type with a built-in stand, which was a big consideration when we know we're moving in less than 2 years and I had to leave my old one behind for precisely that reason. It's got weighted keys so the touch is good; the sound could be better but it renders Bach quite prettily even if not really coping with Rachm

The Churnet Way: a ribbon of water

I drove across the Staffordshire Moorlands on the A52, the morning open around me. The Sunday Service was on the radio, and my heart sang along with the BBC Singers, who were celebrating their 100th anniversary. The road plunged downhill to Froghall and I cut off the service in the middle of the Lord's Prayer (oops. sorry, Lord) as I arrived at Froghall Wharf car park. old lime kilns at Froghall Wharf It was a cold and breezeless morning. I set off along the Caldon Canal towpath, crossing a lock and passing a tunnel which looked like an awfully tight squeeze for any boat. A metal fence, expanses of cracked concrete, and some crumbling brick buildings were all that remained of what must have been a large factory alongside the canal. A metal pipe drooped forlornly, its broken end gaping. A cheery mouse brightened up one old building. I reached the final corner of the fence, and the industrial landscape dropped away behind me. The canal narrowed to a thin ribbon of water. It seemed ha