Martha's Marvellous Munchies

It's beginning to almost feel like spring is coming!  We have snowdrops and crocuses in the back garden, and hopeful-looking buds on the daffodils in the front.  There have still been plenty of cold rainy days, but we've celebrated Theo's first birthday and Pancake Day to keep us cheerful. Toby - enjoys creating things and draws some really imaginative pictures.  He wanted to make a car out of a box, so he told me which bits to cut out (not forgetting the lights and exhaust!) and he stuck them all on. Attaching the rear windscreen Barely fitting in the finished vehicle!  - is excited that they are "doing science" at preschool.  Apparently stretchy green noodles are involved. - likes it when I put my Pilates exercise video on.  The other day I caught him perfecting Downward Dog in the hallway. Hips in the air! -welcomed all our visitors enthusiastically and had them playing Snakes and Ladders within minutes of their arrival. Quotes: ...

We had a proper mash-up of a pre-Lent celebration this year.  Toby got the idea that it was a party, and wanted to decorate, so I dug out some carnival beads that we got as freebies a few years ago.  He also made a picture. All that somehow put the idea into my head to go Cajun for dinner (New Orleans Mardi Gras and all that) so I tweaked my menu to include blackened fish (recipe below) and a very approximate vegetarian version of dirty rice.  The real thing, I discovered, uses chicken livers to provide the "dirty", which are not ingredients I tend to have lurking in the fridge. And then, of course, we had to have proper English pancakes for dessert.  With lemon juice and sugar, which is traditional, and with applesauce, Greek yoghurt and golden syrup, which is not.  But tastes fantastic. The one thing I did not do, I realised, was any shriving.  Confessing my sins and receiving absolution.  Starting Lent with a clean sheet. It's...

Yes, a year has rushed by, and our curled-up little bud of a baby has unfurled into a walking, talking   cruising, babbling, genuine one-year-old! The birthday itself was low-key, which I think is only fair when the chief player has no idea what's going on.  Graham's parents came to visit, and we are seeing mine soon, so the birthday boy gets to show off his new skills to his grandparents.  And eat cake.  Grandad brought a cake, which we ate for lunch, and I made a banana cake.  It had to be banana, really, for this one.  I'm not sure we yet have photographic evidence of Theo trying to stuff half a banana in his mouth all at once, but that will have to be remedied.  He is very good at it. And since it was his birthday, I feel entitled to sing Theo's praises for a few minutes. We love his infectious giggle and cheeky smile. We love the tuft of hair that sticks up between his double crown. We love the way he can entertain himself wit...

It's a rush blog this week, so you get a recipe.  Because that's quick and easy.  And so is cooking this. Pasta is a problem in our house.  Well, not so much the pasta, as what to put on it.  Graham doesn't like creamy sauces, and Toby isn't that keen on tomato ones, so that kind of leaves... pesto.  Or recipes like this where you just stir all the bits into the pasta, and it somehow has enough flavour and juiciness not to need a sauce. Pasta with sausage and greens 200g pasta 1 lb sausages 1 onion, sliced 50-100g spring greens / kale / whatever, sliced 1/4 tsp dried thyme 6-8 cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered, depending on size 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar Cook pasta and drain, reserving a little of the cooking water. In a large pan, fry the sausages.  When cooked, remove from the pan and slice on the diagonal. In fat from sausages, fry the onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the greens and thyme and cook 3-4 minutes more. Add the tom...

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...