Monthly Munch: October 2015

A mixed month.  We enjoyed visits from Graham's sister, Graham's parents, and my parents (not quite all at once!).  We suffered with lots of night-time waking, and sick boys during half-term.  We celebrated Toby's birthday.  I finished work, which made me happy and sad at the same time.  And we put the clocks back, which means it really does feel like winter.

Toby

Look at those cheeky grins!

- learned to ride his bike without stabilisers!

On the Tissington Trail

- is learning phonics with sign language at school.  He regularly gives us demonstrations.

- got a remote control car for his birthday, and got the hang of driving it straight away.

- loves to chat, but sometimes gets a bit stuck while he remembers what to say next: "Well... I mean... well... the thing is..."

Theo

- can sing "E-I-E-I-O" at the right time in "Old MacDonald had a farm".

- dances along to "Gangnam Style" (Oh yes!).

- loves aeroplanes.

Favourite book: 1001 Images of Aircraft

- is gradually starting to produce recognisable words, although "haaa" can mean hot, hand, hair or hole, depending on context.

Thankful for:

- a nice walk along the Tissington Trail

- a good place to work for the summer

- "Thanksgiving dinner" in October with all of our parents

Recipe of the Month - Blueberry Cheesecake Pots

I made these for dessert on Toby's birthday.  The recipe is slightly adapted from a raspberry version in Feelgood Family Food by Dean Edwards.  They're beautifully quick and easy, and because they're so small, you've probably got all the ingredients on hand without having to go and bulk-buy cream cheese.

Base
6 Nice or plain biscuits (1.5 oz)
1/2 oz butter
1/2 oz desiccated coconut

Topping
5 oz cream cheese
3 oz Greek yoghurt
1 1/2 oz honey
blueberries (I used frozen) or other berries

For the base, put the biscuits in a bag and bash them into crumbs.  Melt the butter and stir in the coconut and biscuit crumbs.  Press into the base of four small containers (mine were tealight holders in another life) and put into the fridge to set.

For the topping, whisk together the cream cheese, yoghurt and honey.  Taste to see if it's sweet enough, and add a bit more honey if you want.  Put 8 or 9 blueberries on top of each biscuit base - no need to defrost if they're frozen - then spoon the cream cheese mixture on top.  Finish off with a few more blueberries, and leave in the fridge until you want to eat them.