I can safely say that I’ve literally made hundreds of school lunches over the years and I’ve hundreds more to make.
If you’ve got a child starting school this year or if you are looking to freshen up your lunchboxes, here are my top, tried and tested, tips for packing a lunchbox: Read More
This ham soup with dumplings is a great one-pot meal. You could even freeze the cooking water from the ham on Christmas Day and reheat it to make the soup at a later date. 
Take a large, heavy bottomed saucepan with a firm lid. Pour in the stock, soup mix and chopped vegetables and bring to a simmer. Put the lid on and simmer for 20 minutes. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, scallions and melted butter. Then slowly pour in the cold water in quarters. Stir the mixture with a fork and stop adding water when you have a stiff dough. Once the vegetables in the pot are cooked and tender, stir in the shredded ham. Shape the dough into small ping-pong sized balls. Sit them on top of the soup. Put the lid back on the pot and simmer for 15 minutes. Using a large spoon, gently turn the dough over and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Serve in large soup bowls and eat with a spoon. Ham Soup With Dumplings
Ingredients
Method
NB: Soup mix is a dried mixture of pulses that you can buy in your supermarket. There are 2 types. One requires presoaking, I only buy the ready to use version! You’ll typically find a mixture of barley, wheat, lentils and small beans in the mixture. Very handy for bulking up a soup or stew and adding fibre to your diet.
I’ll keep it short today! These egg tarts are great for lunchboxes. You can make them ahead and they will keep in a lined box in the fridge for up to 2 days. They also reheat very well too. I just lash whatever squishy veg/leftover meat I have in the fridge into the tarts. Don’t complicate things, make life easy on yourself.
Note you’ll also need about 200g of rice or baking beans for this recipe but they aren’t eaten and can be used again on another occasion.
It’s so hot I’ve considered (not for the first time this year) cooking biscuits on the car dashboard. Unfortunately I’ve discovered it’s not quite hot enough here so I’ll have to forget about that fantasy for another day, or a trip abroad perhaps.
I made the mistake of putting the boys to bed 3 hours late last night. We were out and about and by the time we got home they wanted a snack which pushed bedtime to 10.30pm. There wasn’t a hope of them lying on this morning though because the 2-year-old gave the household a rousing rendition of ‘The Wheels On The Bus’ at 6am. It was very kind of him I must say, considering it is his father’s least favourite song. When you drive a bus/coach for a living it’s the very worst song you can be woken up with.
Continuing with my not-well-thought-through streak, I decided to go for a walk to the bank in the 27 degree heat this afternoon, in a pair of jeans, pushing the buggy with 2 tired small boys. That ended. Well.
Today’s lovely lunch was the result of the boys pulling at the coriander in the front wilderness garden and walking in the house with a fist or two of coriander flowers. They are beautiful, so fragrant and delicate and perfectly edible. This beetroot roast lemon salad is low-fat and salt-free, as is the dressing. I’ve had a few friends enquire over the past week for recipes like this that are easy to put together and healthy!
The teen swears that her all time favourite meal is my homemade baked beans. She is always happy with a slice of toast and a big ladle of goodness and I’m delighted that she’s eating well. Feeding hungry teens on a budget can be tricky! Read More
There’s an hour before bedtime. We call it crazy-hour in this house. This evening it was marked by the two boys running around in circles, shouting and giggling. All I can do is watch and embrace the madness. As himself doesn’t get home until close to bedtime it can be hard to try to eat a full dinner while the crazy-hour is underway. I try to eat my main meal during the day with the boys and then have a lighter supper after they go to bed. That’s the idea behind this warm prawn salad. Read More
I’ve reached that point in January where my body just craves healthy food. I think it’s down to the need to feel well and boost vital nutrients in the body. I realise that I normally blog on a sweet-savoury rotation but I’ve not been baking much recently. I’ll try my best to squeeze something sweet in soon I promise! Read More
Today is the day that I will get a tea break to myself, all to myself, while the 2 year old naps and the other kids are in school, himself will be at work. I will get a tea break. I will drink a hot cup of tea from start to finish and the house will be quiet. Apart from the quiet bubble of the slow cooker that is. Please do read the advisory note on cooking with dried beans in a slow cooker at the end of this post. Read More
Today we went for a walk. This is a momentous occasion. Between chest infections, colds, flu and the dreadful weather we’ve had over the past month these trips out haven’t been happening. Wow but getting out in the fresh air with the two boys is good for the soul. I love my home, it’s such a haven from the bad weather; warm and cosy, but it’s no substitute for the pure Vitamin D and glorious breeze coming in off the sea that we benefit from. Read More
I was recently contacted by Maille, who asked me to review a gift box of their premium mustards. What better way to review a product than to try it in a recipe and see how it stands up to my Savoury Crumble with Mustard? Read More
This day fortnight (insert shriek of panic here) you will probably get to the point where you don’t want to see another piece of turkey or ham for a month. Yet sitting in front of you is half an uneaten turkey and likewise a ham. Christmas can be a time of excess and you’ll always spot it at the Christmas dinner table.
The weekend has come to a close, and I’m practising a little bit of mindfulness. The opportunity to sit and just think is so cleansing and refreshing for me that I think I should do it more. It’s not just that I’m working on my mind, I’m paring back many of my favourite recipes to simple, clean flavours that work like this green bean salad. Read More