Yesterday Margret Thatcher died.
This seems to have brought up a mixture of emotions in people and has shown a distinct divide in peoples ages, for it seems the younger generation don't know who she was. An article in a national news paper posted by an old friend on face book demonstrated this. People know that as a life has been lost, that a family is greiving, that they should feel the empathy of loss but when it comes to a woman who effected so many lives in this country in a non-to brilliant way, people are conflicted.
Margret Thatcher came to power in May 1979 now as i was only 1 years old at the time i can't begin to start spouting various different views on that particular moment in History because i quite understandably don't remember it.
However she remained in post until 1990 which means i have very real memories of life with her as Prime Minister in the mid to late 80's.
In the early 80's i was quite lucky my father was a policeman and my mother was a nurse, we lived in police owned housing amongst other policing families and i was very happy. I knew we were by no means well off but i also understood we weren't poor either. Having a policeman and a nurse as parents i never experienced the unemployment many families went through when Margret Thatcher sold off or shut down most of the British industries. I lived in a nice Surrey Village which was predominantly white and as such had no experience of the racial tensions in the larger cities. The only memories of unrest and riots i have, are of images i saw on T.V. and I was to little to understand the Falklands war etc.
However by 1987 my idyllic little life (as i saw it aged 9) was turned on it's head, no longer having working parents, no longer living in my comfortable 3 bed police estate house surrounded by like minded children in Surrey, I was living in the North of England and suddenly the realities of life were becoming apparent. Whether it was the move to a new area, the things I was now experiencing or the fact that i was getting older and just understood more I'm not sure, but i was defiantly aware that the things the government were doing were not there to help families like mine.
I can remember my Parents struggling to find the money for the day to day things and the anguish and arguments the implimention of the pole tax had on them, to this day one of biggest arguments i remember my parents having was over finding the money to pay the pole tax an argument that continued right up to the moment i watched my father hand over the cash.
But by 1990 even to a now 12 year old Girl it looked like she was on her way out, the Iraqi war loomed Sadam Hussein was the enemy. When she was replaced by John Major as far as i was was concerned nothing really changed, life was still difficult for any family who wasn't already very wealthy and the class divide seemed massive.
By 1994 when the Labour Party and Tony Blair came to power i was back living in the South of England i was in my year 11 at school and the future at last seemed bright, my mother was back in nursing and father having recovered from a Heart attack was back working too. The pole tax had been axed by John Major to the only just slightly better community charge which was per household not per adult and i like many people my age thought we could make a go of life.
So where are we now? did we learn from the experiences of earlier years? no I don't think we did, aged 34 i seem to have time travelled back to the 80's, we have a government who is out to look after like minded people, if you are already well off-you're fine, the government is making sure you keep your huge house, your massive incomes with your bonuses, your children can continue to go to their private schools with the opportunities you've come to expect when you fork out £1000's. They will enter the job market with ease because as my much missed dad used to say it's not what you know it's who you know. They will be able to afford a house as a first time buyer because mummy and daddy can lend them the cash to buy it, but what about normal people who's there to help us right now?
I have well educated friends, people who were told if they went to university they'd guarantee themselves good jobs-yet they're either unemployed due to redundancies and downsizing, have jobs well below what they are qualified for as it's the only work they can get or for the lucky few who do have a job in their chosen field -are crippled by student loan repayments.
You can't afford to buy a house any more but there is no available social housing, the benefit system which is suppose to look after us when we most need it isn't doing it's job, the whole establishment seems bias to one section of society and who are we told to blame for all of this? the government themselves oh god No, we are told to blame the poor!
I dread to think what is ahead for those leaving school this year, I hope they still have that cocky level of optimism that you have aged 17-18 where you think you can make a difference, that it will be different for you, because as of yet the reality of life hasn't come and kicked the shit out of you! I hope they do go on to make a difference, I hope they do have better opportunities, I hope that in history lessons they are taught about Margret Thatcher and that against all odds she became the first and so far only female Prime Minister. Most of all I hope they are success for our sake-as this is the generation that will be running the nursing home we end up in!
These are the things that I think about as I attempt to make salted caramel sauce, to go in the chocolate cupcakes i have made while my children are out exhausting their grandparents. I wonder or maybe that is worry about what our current government is doing, what will my sons be leaving school to do? how best can i help them be prepared for a world where greed and immorality is rewarded, but compassion and dedication to helping others is not (don't get me started on how under paid and mistreated i think nurses are, and my rant on the NHS is for another time)
How will i help my sons buy a home when i have no chance of buying one myself? i can only blindly soldier on working hard, giving my sons a work ethic and hope that one day this will pay off for them.
In the mean time-you may not be able to buy happiness but you can buy cupcakes and that is kind of the same thing (actualy i think that's bollocks beacause buying stuff would sure as hell mke me happier right now) unfortunately while doing all this thinking I've made toffee not caramel sauce so will have to start again.
Tuesday, 9 April 2013
Monday, 11 March 2013
The Cinema snacks con.
Imagine the situation, hell has frozen over, there is a blue moon and yes there is a film out at the cinema that all three of my kids want to see.....We've all been there, all you want is a nice family trip to the cinema to see a film. Except having chosen the film and found a convenient time for everyone to go you are now faced with how much it's going to cost you.
These days an adult ticket to a bog basic film is £8.50 which isn't that horrific except how often do you get a bog standard film... (They are now so rare the cinema has to list them as 2D so you know there's no extra bits) if you want an adult 3D film it's £11.50 +80p for glasses (thats the film where you all sit in the dark wearing silly looking glasses in the hope things will become so realistic it'll feel like they're really going to smack you in the face, when in fact you just sit there for over 90 minuets squinting and getting a head ache eventually taking them off to watch the last half an hour as a fuzzy blurry version) then you have the adult IMAX ticket costing £13.90 +80p for glasses if its 3D ( this is the one with the massive screen...huge!) and finally I think you have the D-BOX ticket costing £14.90 +80p for your glasses again should it be 3d as well.
So lets say for the sake of argument you've got two adults and three kids and you all want to go and see a 3D film and being the unorganised twit you are, you've left the glasses you bought last time at home on the table-which annoyingly is where you put them so you wouldn't forget them and so have had to purchase five new pairs. That bit alone has just cost you £70.10!!!
Now the cinema rules state that no outside food or drinks are to be bought into or consumed inside the premises... Now I don't know a mother going who abides by this rule but again for the sake of argument we will pretend we do (or that the prepared sweets bought in readiness for the trip are at home next to the sodding 3d glasses because you thought he was picking them up and he thought you had them in your handbag which in his eyes is like bloody Mary Poppin's carpet bag and can fit just about anything in it) so giving the kids the chat about sharing you queue for snacks so we go for 3 drinks between 5 of us, two bags of pop corn, one bag of minstrels, some pick'n'mix and some natcho's for me ( if I'm going to pay over £70 to see a film I haven't chosen I want some sodding natcho's..... plus I hate pop corn and pick'n'mix) this little lot came to just over £29 bringing our total to £99!!! For a film that only lasts 90 frigging minuets!! We didn't even get a drink or snack each we're sharing them! People complain about the adverts and trailers.... No I want trailers I want as much as physically possible because I just spent almost £100 to go and see a film with my family!
When did charging that much become acceptable? When did family treats and days out require a mortgage? I love the cinema I was bought up by father to enjoy and savour the experience, it's a place I can go with my children for a giggle and adventure. Somewhere I can meet my best mate and sob uncontrollably through a film that captures the human sole so much you are as wound up in the story as the actors are. It is still the perfect first date, 10th date ... We've been dating for 4 years but still like night alone at the cinema date. It is the perfect place to go when you're alone and want to a few hours of escapism uninterrupted with no one who wants to share your drink, eat your expensively purchased snack or decides right at the good bit they really need the toilet.
I support the cinema's but when you are faced with these sort of charges you can see why down loading is so rife and why people try and sneak their own snacks in. I mean for gods sake McDonald's is next door, now I know we are all responsible parents who only give our kids fast food, snacks and sugary drinks as a treat very occasionally blah blah blah, but why when I can buy an ice cold coke for 99p next door do I have to pay £3.80 for the same size in the cinema?
I remember the days when a little purple ticket used to pop out of the brass counter and it cost me £4.50 which meant with the remaining £5.50 (£10 was all I ever needed on a cinema night out) I could have a coke and some sweets and possibly even some chips on the way home... Ok yes it was 1994 but still the coke is the same... The sweets are the same, the length of the film etc is still the same so why does it cost that much more??
Why can't reasonably priced food be available? Or forget the stupid rule about bringing our own food in and let us walk openly through with our sweets and drinks. Food be it snacks or proper meals can enhance a good day-out without it people can get tetchy and grumpy when hungry (I'm talking about me here not the kids) and cutting the cost of food means we're much more likely to come back on a much more regular basis.
Until then I have invested in a monthly cinema pass so I can see as many movies as I like for £17.99 a month which is really only two 2D films a month and its paid for its self.... Unless you want 3D or IMAX or D-BOX they all cost extra naturally.
These days an adult ticket to a bog basic film is £8.50 which isn't that horrific except how often do you get a bog standard film... (They are now so rare the cinema has to list them as 2D so you know there's no extra bits) if you want an adult 3D film it's £11.50 +80p for glasses (thats the film where you all sit in the dark wearing silly looking glasses in the hope things will become so realistic it'll feel like they're really going to smack you in the face, when in fact you just sit there for over 90 minuets squinting and getting a head ache eventually taking them off to watch the last half an hour as a fuzzy blurry version) then you have the adult IMAX ticket costing £13.90 +80p for glasses if its 3D ( this is the one with the massive screen...huge!) and finally I think you have the D-BOX ticket costing £14.90 +80p for your glasses again should it be 3d as well.
So lets say for the sake of argument you've got two adults and three kids and you all want to go and see a 3D film and being the unorganised twit you are, you've left the glasses you bought last time at home on the table-which annoyingly is where you put them so you wouldn't forget them and so have had to purchase five new pairs. That bit alone has just cost you £70.10!!!
Now the cinema rules state that no outside food or drinks are to be bought into or consumed inside the premises... Now I don't know a mother going who abides by this rule but again for the sake of argument we will pretend we do (or that the prepared sweets bought in readiness for the trip are at home next to the sodding 3d glasses because you thought he was picking them up and he thought you had them in your handbag which in his eyes is like bloody Mary Poppin's carpet bag and can fit just about anything in it) so giving the kids the chat about sharing you queue for snacks so we go for 3 drinks between 5 of us, two bags of pop corn, one bag of minstrels, some pick'n'mix and some natcho's for me ( if I'm going to pay over £70 to see a film I haven't chosen I want some sodding natcho's..... plus I hate pop corn and pick'n'mix) this little lot came to just over £29 bringing our total to £99!!! For a film that only lasts 90 frigging minuets!! We didn't even get a drink or snack each we're sharing them! People complain about the adverts and trailers.... No I want trailers I want as much as physically possible because I just spent almost £100 to go and see a film with my family!
When did charging that much become acceptable? When did family treats and days out require a mortgage? I love the cinema I was bought up by father to enjoy and savour the experience, it's a place I can go with my children for a giggle and adventure. Somewhere I can meet my best mate and sob uncontrollably through a film that captures the human sole so much you are as wound up in the story as the actors are. It is still the perfect first date, 10th date ... We've been dating for 4 years but still like night alone at the cinema date. It is the perfect place to go when you're alone and want to a few hours of escapism uninterrupted with no one who wants to share your drink, eat your expensively purchased snack or decides right at the good bit they really need the toilet.
I support the cinema's but when you are faced with these sort of charges you can see why down loading is so rife and why people try and sneak their own snacks in. I mean for gods sake McDonald's is next door, now I know we are all responsible parents who only give our kids fast food, snacks and sugary drinks as a treat very occasionally blah blah blah, but why when I can buy an ice cold coke for 99p next door do I have to pay £3.80 for the same size in the cinema?
I remember the days when a little purple ticket used to pop out of the brass counter and it cost me £4.50 which meant with the remaining £5.50 (£10 was all I ever needed on a cinema night out) I could have a coke and some sweets and possibly even some chips on the way home... Ok yes it was 1994 but still the coke is the same... The sweets are the same, the length of the film etc is still the same so why does it cost that much more??
Why can't reasonably priced food be available? Or forget the stupid rule about bringing our own food in and let us walk openly through with our sweets and drinks. Food be it snacks or proper meals can enhance a good day-out without it people can get tetchy and grumpy when hungry (I'm talking about me here not the kids) and cutting the cost of food means we're much more likely to come back on a much more regular basis.
Until then I have invested in a monthly cinema pass so I can see as many movies as I like for £17.99 a month which is really only two 2D films a month and its paid for its self.... Unless you want 3D or IMAX or D-BOX they all cost extra naturally.
Monday, 18 February 2013
The Fizzy Drink Tax
Recently in the media there has been yet another wave of
panic over foods that aren't good for you, aren't what they claim to be and
foods that have been labelled incorrectly.
Is this something new? No of course it’s not, there is
always a report from someone, a study by some university, a group of doctors
who through their research, have found that .... certain foods aren't good for
you.... or cause health issues etc etc.
Should we all listen intently to every word they say? Well
yes it’s probably a good idea to keep up to date with recent findings because
when armed with all the facts and information you are able to make an informed
decision yourself.
It's the ability to make decisions for yourself or the view
that we can’t, that makes me angry about all these findings. After each new
revelation, certain groups of society assume we can't make informed choices and
try and do it for us! Take the doctors who propose, that a tax on fizzy drinks will help fight the growing epidemic of obesity. Do I understand that fizzy drinks are loaded with sugar?... um yes I do, do I know that large amounts of sugar can lead to debilitating health problems?... yes I do, do I understand that the number of obese adults and children is rising? Yes I do, do I understand that obesity costs the NHS hundreds of thousands every year? ...well yes again I am aware of this, and yet it is assumed that although I am aware of these important facts, that I still can't be trusted to make a decision over whether I should purchase a sugary fizzy drink of my own free will and so to 'help' me they are going to make these drinks more expensive.
Would this is stop me from buying a fizzy drink when I feel
I want one? No probably not it'll just make me moan that I'm forking out more
cash than I used to.
Do I let my children drink sugar fuelled fizzy drinks? On
the whole no I don't, as an adult armed with the knowledge that a lot of these
drinks are full of sugar and sweeteners and caffeine and colours and additives,
I don't have them on offer in my house on a regular basis.... note I say 'on
offer' there are such drinks in my house but if you are under 18 years old you have
to ask if you can have one and the answer is nearly always no. This is
because I know they rot your teeth, and can lead to health issues and I don't
want to be the person who introduces such problems to my own children....
However I am not a fizzy drink fascist if we are out for
lunch with friends I will allow a fizzy drink with the food (I do try and steer
their choice but in the hope that I will one day have free thinking well
informed adult offspring who are capable of making their own food and drink
choices I ultimately let them have the final say...unless they are under 6
years old then what I say goes!)
I hold my hand up…… I am a comfort eater, food makes me feel
better, if I’m stressed I reach for something sweet, if I’m upset or hurt I like
any food going! Especially stodgy savoury meals, if I’m lonely I eat- almost
like the food is instead of company, if I have company in the evening I like to
share a little something. Is this a problem? Yes it is. Instead of dealing with
the problem, I am eating to cover the feelings. Are there consequences to this?
Yes I have put on weight and am now classed as overweight. Should I do something about this? Oh come on? Anyone
reading this knows I should and so I am, the first step has been to recognise
what I eat and when, I have been keeping track of both and have been quite
surprised.
Next is to cut down (there’s no way I would completely cut
stuff out so cutting down is good) and then there is tackling the cause of the
problem that made me want to eat in the first place. That’s the bit that’s difficult
but without the aid of professional help I think I am doing pretty well. I find
that as this year as I am approaching 35 years old, a creeping ‘I don’t give a
fuck’ attitude is becoming noticeable and my ever present liking of sarcasm is
becoming more prominent.
Do these things help me when the feeling of wanting to grab
something edible to make me feel better comes over me? Surprisingly yes, being
able to identify the cause of the problem and thinking I don’t give a fuck
right now means that instead of sitting hidden in the kitchen eating the contents
of the fridge I am able to go and do something else. I am educated enough to know for my own health
I need to lose weight and the best way to do that is to eat sensibly and
exercise more. I may not always be consistent and being overweight can
sometimes in its self-lead to feelings that make me want to eat but I can make
the choice not to…..and to exercise when I do indulge.
All this said I will add one Exception…….. at 11am when I’m
at work and as the only non-coffee/tea drinker in the office, I reserve the
right to have a fizzy drink as a sugary/caffeine fuelled pick me up! Judge me
if you wish I simply don’t give a fuck.
Thursday, 23 August 2012
The diet, The cookery programmes and me
Its been ages since I was able to sit down and write something for my Blog, apart from being very busy i thought that by not writing about food constantly i would be able to stop thinking about it and therefore stop eating so much of it. As I should have concluded before, this has not happened! although i have halved the amount I bake (and therefore eat) I did not stop.
Now it's the time of year when some lovely cookery programmes have come back on TV and there I am of an evening drooling over recipes that although I probably couldn't manage to make so successfully myself , I have a sudden and desperate need to try.
Am I the only person who sits in front of these programmes craving what's being cooked on the screen? I assume not or they (and subsequent books, websites etc.) wouldn't be so popular.
I do wonder if I am the only person who suddenly (despite eating earlier) finds them selves starving and looking through the fridge and cupboards for something-anything, to satisfy this urgent need?
I know I probably shouldn't watch what has become know as "food porn" amongst my friends and myself but just like 'those' men who search their computers for something to satisfy their own porn 'need's' I do the same.
I search the internet looking recipes (thank god for Google) I am on the mailing list for numerous celebrity chefs, I have 'liked' loads of food related pages on Facebook-so much so that the advertising that now appears next to all the things my friends, old school friends and random people I haven't seen in years are getting up to is ALL food related and yes I do click on them!! I follow chefs and food programmes on twitter and get so excited when one of them messages me back.
I spend evenings texting other like minded friends about the programmes we're watching on the TV because I know they feel the same way!.... Some are worse!
Enjoying food is not a problem as such, and home baking and cooking is enjoying a much welcomed and needed revival helped by these luscious cookery programmes. I once knew a women who despite having two children and a husband to provide meals for couldn't cook anything if it didn't come out of a packet and at a push needed water adding to it, when I asked whether she would like to learn how to cook something herself she looked at me as if I was mad and just said "why?"
It's nice that I don't have to feel guilty about cooking things from scratch, (I was always amazed that people would say but Tesco do a frozen version that you just shove in the oven for 25 minutes, do you want people to think you have nothing better to do than cook?)
I don't think I have set the women's movement back 50 years by not only enjoying cooking things myself but occasionally doing it so well others like eating it. I don't think Emily Pankhurst would be standing there bashing me over the head with a 'women to vote' sign, blaming me for the inequality of women.
Is there a down side to being obsessed with cookery programmes.... well yes if you eat everything you cook you end up like me considerably heavier than you were before and its expensive! to buy all the ingredients to make a dish from scratch costs more than double the pre-packaged supermarket equivalent but oh-my-god does it taste better! Sometimes when pushed for time or cash I have bought some of 'those' products and wonder if there would have been more flavour in the cardboard sleeve I removed before cooking it than there was in the food its self.
So I have continued to buy my much loved and used cookery books, I wont hear a bad word said against Mary Berry, ( I want to be her when I'm older) and will just have to get down the gym to try and work off some of that cheesecake.... but ooooo a new cookery programme.... about cooking with less calories but not having to resort to tasteless lettuce and starvation..... and it's not presented by a stick insect with perfectly manicured nails that you just know has never eaten carb's in her entire life and would probably break if you chucked a bag of frozen chips at her... The Hairy Bikers have heard my silent plea and come to help me.... now where can I buy that cook book?
Now it's the time of year when some lovely cookery programmes have come back on TV and there I am of an evening drooling over recipes that although I probably couldn't manage to make so successfully myself , I have a sudden and desperate need to try.
Am I the only person who sits in front of these programmes craving what's being cooked on the screen? I assume not or they (and subsequent books, websites etc.) wouldn't be so popular.
I do wonder if I am the only person who suddenly (despite eating earlier) finds them selves starving and looking through the fridge and cupboards for something-anything, to satisfy this urgent need?
I know I probably shouldn't watch what has become know as "food porn" amongst my friends and myself but just like 'those' men who search their computers for something to satisfy their own porn 'need's' I do the same.
I search the internet looking recipes (thank god for Google) I am on the mailing list for numerous celebrity chefs, I have 'liked' loads of food related pages on Facebook-so much so that the advertising that now appears next to all the things my friends, old school friends and random people I haven't seen in years are getting up to is ALL food related and yes I do click on them!! I follow chefs and food programmes on twitter and get so excited when one of them messages me back.
I spend evenings texting other like minded friends about the programmes we're watching on the TV because I know they feel the same way!.... Some are worse!
Enjoying food is not a problem as such, and home baking and cooking is enjoying a much welcomed and needed revival helped by these luscious cookery programmes. I once knew a women who despite having two children and a husband to provide meals for couldn't cook anything if it didn't come out of a packet and at a push needed water adding to it, when I asked whether she would like to learn how to cook something herself she looked at me as if I was mad and just said "why?"
It's nice that I don't have to feel guilty about cooking things from scratch, (I was always amazed that people would say but Tesco do a frozen version that you just shove in the oven for 25 minutes, do you want people to think you have nothing better to do than cook?)
I don't think I have set the women's movement back 50 years by not only enjoying cooking things myself but occasionally doing it so well others like eating it. I don't think Emily Pankhurst would be standing there bashing me over the head with a 'women to vote' sign, blaming me for the inequality of women.
Is there a down side to being obsessed with cookery programmes.... well yes if you eat everything you cook you end up like me considerably heavier than you were before and its expensive! to buy all the ingredients to make a dish from scratch costs more than double the pre-packaged supermarket equivalent but oh-my-god does it taste better! Sometimes when pushed for time or cash I have bought some of 'those' products and wonder if there would have been more flavour in the cardboard sleeve I removed before cooking it than there was in the food its self.
So I have continued to buy my much loved and used cookery books, I wont hear a bad word said against Mary Berry, ( I want to be her when I'm older) and will just have to get down the gym to try and work off some of that cheesecake.... but ooooo a new cookery programme.... about cooking with less calories but not having to resort to tasteless lettuce and starvation..... and it's not presented by a stick insect with perfectly manicured nails that you just know has never eaten carb's in her entire life and would probably break if you chucked a bag of frozen chips at her... The Hairy Bikers have heard my silent plea and come to help me.... now where can I buy that cook book?
Monday, 9 April 2012
Easter, chocolate and afternoon naps
The children have been off school for approximately 10 days, for most of these 10 days the weather has been less than brilliant and not having a bank account full of 'disposable' money these have been filled with less than luxurious activity's.
They are lucky that each weekend their Father comes to collect them and they go to spend 2 nights with him at his house, providing them with a little break by the sea, some much needed 'Dad' time and a few days away from their rather frazzled and stressed out mum.
While with me this past week the children have been spending their carefully saved Birthday, Easter and or pocket money (not forgetting the just because we bumped into grandma money) they have quite cleverly bought themselves an array of little treats which while providing a shopping trip where not to much damage is done to my purse they have learned to choose toys or games which they can play together or to pool their money and buy something to share between them (in theory anyway)
They have been lucky enough to visit or be visited by many family and friends and to cook with their (as mentioned before) frazzled and rather stressed out mum.
Of all my children my middle son is my budding chef. At 8 years old he loves to watch cookery programmes with or without me and models himself (jokingly I hope- or I could be in trouble as he gets older) on being a cross between Heston Blumenthal (for his scientific and experimental approach to cooking-if there's a possibility of an explosion he's over the moon and he was quite disappointment when I explained that no Tesco do not sell items like liquid nitrogen ) Gordon Ramsey (for his temper and bad language-not that i tolerate either) and Jamie Oliver (for what my son calls the bish bash bosh approach to cooking) but his absolute favourite cookery programmes are the American ones you can watch on channels like the food network 'outrageous food' and 'diners, drive-ins and dives' and currently showing on the Dave channel 'Man v's Food' (my personal favourite right now too)
This food enthusiasm means that given the chance he'd have us all sitting down to 40lb steak and cheese sandwiches which we must finish within 60 minuets in order for our photo to go on the wall and to win a t-shirt and so it is with a little regret I have had to try and tone down his list of ingredients and teach him to make the basics which he may one day find useful if not slightly boring.
This Easter holiday has seen us make our own marshmallow (which lead to marshmallow iced cupcakes) Our own Easter eggs (which had a variety of little extras -his butterscotch pieces in milk chocolate being my favourite) chocolate cornflake bites, fudge, an Easter bunny cake and extreme burgers (there was nothing special about the burgers them selves, in fact they were shop bought, it was the way they were presented on the plate- HUGE is an understatement).
An enormous amount of chocolate has been consumed by the boys and the boyfriend this Easter holiday be it melted and moulded at home home or one of the many ones that have been given by relatives on an Easter visit, a few have been put on top of my wardrobe out of reach to try and eke out the rate of consumption and its on a rainy miserably cold Easter Monday that I write this watching the boys and the boyfriend have an afternoon nap full up on chocolate...... well its only once a year its not going to do any harm to let them feast on a bit more tomorrow.
They are lucky that each weekend their Father comes to collect them and they go to spend 2 nights with him at his house, providing them with a little break by the sea, some much needed 'Dad' time and a few days away from their rather frazzled and stressed out mum.
While with me this past week the children have been spending their carefully saved Birthday, Easter and or pocket money (not forgetting the just because we bumped into grandma money) they have quite cleverly bought themselves an array of little treats which while providing a shopping trip where not to much damage is done to my purse they have learned to choose toys or games which they can play together or to pool their money and buy something to share between them (in theory anyway)
They have been lucky enough to visit or be visited by many family and friends and to cook with their (as mentioned before) frazzled and rather stressed out mum.
Of all my children my middle son is my budding chef. At 8 years old he loves to watch cookery programmes with or without me and models himself (jokingly I hope- or I could be in trouble as he gets older) on being a cross between Heston Blumenthal (for his scientific and experimental approach to cooking-if there's a possibility of an explosion he's over the moon and he was quite disappointment when I explained that no Tesco do not sell items like liquid nitrogen ) Gordon Ramsey (for his temper and bad language-not that i tolerate either) and Jamie Oliver (for what my son calls the bish bash bosh approach to cooking) but his absolute favourite cookery programmes are the American ones you can watch on channels like the food network 'outrageous food' and 'diners, drive-ins and dives' and currently showing on the Dave channel 'Man v's Food' (my personal favourite right now too)
This food enthusiasm means that given the chance he'd have us all sitting down to 40lb steak and cheese sandwiches which we must finish within 60 minuets in order for our photo to go on the wall and to win a t-shirt and so it is with a little regret I have had to try and tone down his list of ingredients and teach him to make the basics which he may one day find useful if not slightly boring.
This Easter holiday has seen us make our own marshmallow (which lead to marshmallow iced cupcakes) Our own Easter eggs (which had a variety of little extras -his butterscotch pieces in milk chocolate being my favourite) chocolate cornflake bites, fudge, an Easter bunny cake and extreme burgers (there was nothing special about the burgers them selves, in fact they were shop bought, it was the way they were presented on the plate- HUGE is an understatement).
An enormous amount of chocolate has been consumed by the boys and the boyfriend this Easter holiday be it melted and moulded at home home or one of the many ones that have been given by relatives on an Easter visit, a few have been put on top of my wardrobe out of reach to try and eke out the rate of consumption and its on a rainy miserably cold Easter Monday that I write this watching the boys and the boyfriend have an afternoon nap full up on chocolate...... well its only once a year its not going to do any harm to let them feast on a bit more tomorrow.
Wednesday, 14 March 2012
New Layout and children's birthday cakes
Today I finally found the time to sit down and create a new layout for this blog. The old one felt tired and I found the colours dark and uninspiring so have gone for a much more girlish approach of light pinks, purples etc.
I haven't updated this in a good few weeks but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy baking! In fact thanks to some encouragement from friends I've actually started to make cakes for other people. A new page will be added to this blog soon detailing a price list should anyone else like to order anything in the future. Its all still in its planning stages but hopefully will come about soon.
The thing I have often found about people who sell the cakes they make, is that they are usually for a celebration of some sort, a child's birthday, a 30th or a wedding but I'd like to do cake-just because.... because its lunch time.... because its 2.30pm and I've been working my butt off all day in the office and damn well deserve cake..... because I'm cuddled up the sofa watching TV and fancy something nice to eat, (I find eating cake while watching the biggest loser can make you feel a tad guilty though... yet I still do it) and its on these occasions you don't want a massive cake covered in sugar paste and fondant icing that says happy birthday (although if that is what you fancy go on...indulge!) I think you want a slice of a nice lemon cake, a chocolate fudge cake, a carrot cake or a fruit cake, maybe even a decadent little cupcake.
I want to provide those as well as the lovely celebration cakes made to order, O.k I'm your girl if you want a birthday cake because your friend is turning 40 but I want to be the girl you come to because your mum is popping round for coffee on Saturday afternoon and a bit of cake would be nice with your cup of tea, or you have a load of mums popping round one morning so your toddlers can play together and a box of cupcakes would be a nice treat before you spend the next 3 hours scrubbing trod-in plasticine out of your carpet and trying desperately to remove the Biro scribbling on newly decorated hall walls.
Cake should be a universally enjoyed little goody, yes we all agree it can be calorific and is not the dieters best friend, but like most things if eaten in moderation and you keep an eye on portion sizes (in my case don't let my friend Heather slice the cake her portions are enough to feed a small family) it can still be enjoyed . I'm going to be experimenting soon with dairy free, gluten free, and diet friendly cakes too.
I don't understand why people go to Tesco (or any other over priced supermarket) and spend over £5 to take home a cake which is so dry you have to have a drink with it in order to swallow the bloody sponge, when for a few pounds more you can have a fresh soft moist home made cake which is far superior in taste and texture. I love buying peoples home made cakes, I love going to the sorts of cafes where the cakes are either baked on site or bought in daily from a small company who supply freshly baked home made cakes. When they've run out that's it-you can't have any more (should have got there earlier is my advise) they don't go out the back and unpack a crate that may have been sitting there for days!
This week I have made a birthday cake for my son who turned 8, a set of cupcakes for him to give his friends, a gruffelo birthday cake for a friends little girl and various macaroons, biscuits, cakes and sweets and I have loved every second of it. I bake these things because I love to do it (and yeah o.k I am that person who likes to have a little something to eat while watching EastEnders).
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| Chocolate fudge cake |
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| Thundercat cupcakes |
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| Thundercat cake |
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| Lemon cake mascarpone lemon icing |
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
Restaurants in Crawley
Having decided today that one of my favourite activities is eating out in restaurants (actually eating in general) and by this I don't just mean snooty fine dining type places (although I do like to go to those as well...WITHOUT the children though) I mean good old fashioned family eateries where you can happily take your 2 year old and know they will have high chairs and the noise children make wont be cringe worthily embarrassing. Little cafes that you just want to stop by to grab a little lunch in. Fast food places, food courts in shopping malls basically anywhere that serves food I regard as a treat (I'm not cooking, washing up clearing up etc. so it classify s as a treat in my book!) and having tried to look up many of the places available in my area there aren't many reviews with the type of information I required so I've decided to do some myself on this blog.
I will try to take in everything and report back (with photos of coarse) not only on the food but the service, facilities accessibility etc. in the hope that I can recommend places and save others from making mistakes.
I am going to try and start this with a visit tomorrow evening to Wusungdan in The High Street, Crawley,RH10 1BS it offer Chinese, Thai and Singapore cuisine, it offers these as part of an all you can buffet with a minimum of 45 dishes to choose from. This sounds like a perfect start to me and I look forward to letting you know what I think. These will obviously be personal opinions with some of the opinions of those I dine with thrown in for good measure.
I will try to take in everything and report back (with photos of coarse) not only on the food but the service, facilities accessibility etc. in the hope that I can recommend places and save others from making mistakes.
I am going to try and start this with a visit tomorrow evening to Wusungdan in The High Street, Crawley,RH10 1BS it offer Chinese, Thai and Singapore cuisine, it offers these as part of an all you can buffet with a minimum of 45 dishes to choose from. This sounds like a perfect start to me and I look forward to letting you know what I think. These will obviously be personal opinions with some of the opinions of those I dine with thrown in for good measure.
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
Valentines day cupcakes (What's happened to valentines day?)
What's happened to 'love heart' sweets?
In order to add a sweet and loving, yet cheeky and fun message to my valentines day cupcakes I went and bought some love heart sweets to decorate valentines cupcakes but upon opening the tube i was confronted by sweet after sweet with a less than affectionate sentiment.
Who wants one that says bye bye, just mates, gee wizz, just say no or good pals? I think being given a sweet that says bye bye or just friends is really harsh.... unless your 9 years old anyway.
I was lulled into a false sense of security after being given 2 of these sweets by the boyfriend at the weekend as he and his nieces and nephews chomped happily on the mini tubes you can buy, he sweetly asked one of his nieces to pass me the hand picked sweet that said love you and a second that said my all. I thought the tubes must be still filled with sweets professing similar sentiments like when i was a little girl but its not true, in a massive tube only one said 'love you' followed by one that said 'all mine' and apart from 'nice girl' and 'my boy' they were the only ones not disappointingly platonic.
I am well aware that valentines day is a commercial expensive way that people feel pressurised in to showing someone they care when they should do it all year round etc etc etc. Trust me I have heard every excuse going from various boyfriends over the last 20 years as to why its a waste of time and although I agree in part that showing someone you love them all year round is a must, that little gifts dotted throughout the months are lovely, is there really anything wrong with a special day each year being set aside when you get a card that tells you in no uncertain terms that you are loved/fancied/cared for? maybe a nice meal cooked and a time where in our very busy hectic lives we take a few hours to show someone special that despite everything we do really still feel that way. Why is it naff? why is it a waste of money or time or effort? is it perhaps just laziness? a case i love you, you know that so why bother making a special show of it on the 14th of February? Who knows but i love it and while i am battling against the tide of misery i have still made valentines cupcakes- yes red iced love heart adorning tacky sentimental cakes that can be used as a demonstration to say perhaps what you struggle to say yourself.
In order to add a sweet and loving, yet cheeky and fun message to my valentines day cupcakes I went and bought some love heart sweets to decorate valentines cupcakes but upon opening the tube i was confronted by sweet after sweet with a less than affectionate sentiment.
Who wants one that says bye bye, just mates, gee wizz, just say no or good pals? I think being given a sweet that says bye bye or just friends is really harsh.... unless your 9 years old anyway.
I was lulled into a false sense of security after being given 2 of these sweets by the boyfriend at the weekend as he and his nieces and nephews chomped happily on the mini tubes you can buy, he sweetly asked one of his nieces to pass me the hand picked sweet that said love you and a second that said my all. I thought the tubes must be still filled with sweets professing similar sentiments like when i was a little girl but its not true, in a massive tube only one said 'love you' followed by one that said 'all mine' and apart from 'nice girl' and 'my boy' they were the only ones not disappointingly platonic.
I am well aware that valentines day is a commercial expensive way that people feel pressurised in to showing someone they care when they should do it all year round etc etc etc. Trust me I have heard every excuse going from various boyfriends over the last 20 years as to why its a waste of time and although I agree in part that showing someone you love them all year round is a must, that little gifts dotted throughout the months are lovely, is there really anything wrong with a special day each year being set aside when you get a card that tells you in no uncertain terms that you are loved/fancied/cared for? maybe a nice meal cooked and a time where in our very busy hectic lives we take a few hours to show someone special that despite everything we do really still feel that way. Why is it naff? why is it a waste of money or time or effort? is it perhaps just laziness? a case i love you, you know that so why bother making a special show of it on the 14th of February? Who knows but i love it and while i am battling against the tide of misery i have still made valentines cupcakes- yes red iced love heart adorning tacky sentimental cakes that can be used as a demonstration to say perhaps what you struggle to say yourself.
Mini marshmallows (how not to lose weight)
So it snowed here during the weekend and not just a sprinkling, enough to actually go and have some fun in.
This turn in the weather unfortunately has an affect on the food I crave both to eat and make. I want comfort food, food that makes me feel better, happier, warmer....comfortable. I try not to I know healthy home made soups are warm and comforting but I just don't like them much, I want sweets and rocky road and chocolate goodies to satisfy the sweet part and good old fashioned 1970 style lasagne non of which go well with my wanting to lose weight so I battle my self and as always the bit of me that wants to make vanilla fudge wins!
So this time I made chocolate mallow fudge, normal mallow fudge... and as i still had plenty of mini marshmallows left I made rocky road.
The fudge worked perfectly and looks and tastes fantastic (recipe on recipe page) the rocky road which I've made a hundred times worked too all be it with the minor problem that while patting it down in to the tin I noticed it didn't look quite the same as usual..... I'd forgotten to actually put the mini marshmallows in it!!
So quickly melting some more chocolate I poured the mini marshmallows in stirred it all around and poured over the already setting rocky road in the tin. I think I pulled it off-no one has mentioned in and it tastes exactly the same.
Mallow fudge
Chocolate mallow fudge
Rocky road
After these I found the chocolate moulds I had and decided to try out a few little chocolate shapes with a view to making valentines day treats.
Now when you see the first picture you'll see I was thinking of more adults than kiddies but like I say I was seeing how easy the moulds were to use not making them for any particular reason. They worked a treat and now I can work on making them some what flavoursome as I just used plain chocolate for this trial.
This turn in the weather unfortunately has an affect on the food I crave both to eat and make. I want comfort food, food that makes me feel better, happier, warmer....comfortable. I try not to I know healthy home made soups are warm and comforting but I just don't like them much, I want sweets and rocky road and chocolate goodies to satisfy the sweet part and good old fashioned 1970 style lasagne non of which go well with my wanting to lose weight so I battle my self and as always the bit of me that wants to make vanilla fudge wins!
So this time I made chocolate mallow fudge, normal mallow fudge... and as i still had plenty of mini marshmallows left I made rocky road.
The fudge worked perfectly and looks and tastes fantastic (recipe on recipe page) the rocky road which I've made a hundred times worked too all be it with the minor problem that while patting it down in to the tin I noticed it didn't look quite the same as usual..... I'd forgotten to actually put the mini marshmallows in it!!
So quickly melting some more chocolate I poured the mini marshmallows in stirred it all around and poured over the already setting rocky road in the tin. I think I pulled it off-no one has mentioned in and it tastes exactly the same.
After these I found the chocolate moulds I had and decided to try out a few little chocolate shapes with a view to making valentines day treats.
Now when you see the first picture you'll see I was thinking of more adults than kiddies but like I say I was seeing how easy the moulds were to use not making them for any particular reason. They worked a treat and now I can work on making them some what flavoursome as I just used plain chocolate for this trial.
After these I set about making some valentines cupcakes, these too came out of the oven perfectly cooked and have been stored over night so that I decorate them today so will upload pictures of them once they have been finished.
Thursday, 2 February 2012
Treacle sponge, Banoffee cupcakes and The school bake sale
Yesterday in a fit of frugalness (not overly sure that's a word) I decided that I would use the over ripe bananas in the fruit bowl to make banoffee cupcakes I followed the recipe and on taking them out of the oven was extreamly pleased that my first venture in to banana cupcakes was a success and setting them on the side to cool I went about other tasks.
Returning to them I found to my horror that they had sunk! and not just a little bit either but a lot.
So that was a whole batch in the bin. I remembered reading somewhere that a sunk cake can sometimes be the result of adding to much baking powder i am going to tweet several TV chefs and see if any of them get back to me with a reason as to why my attempt failed miserably and hopefully avoid making the same mistake again today when I try to make another.
I continued with my day making dinner for the children a lovely perfectly baked jacket potato with beans and pizza, this may not seem like an achievement as the pizza was a shop bought frozen one (although I have made my own before and it was lovely) but the fact that i cooked a baked potato and didn't burn it to a crisp or have it come out still semi raw is a first for me! I was asked by the children to make a pudding that was hot and would warm them up so I set about making a treacle sponge.
It was a huge success, being devoured almost straight away and almost to quickly for me to take a photo of.
Tonight I need to finish making the school bake sale cupcakes so I had better get on with it.
Returning to them I found to my horror that they had sunk! and not just a little bit either but a lot.
It was a huge success, being devoured almost straight away and almost to quickly for me to take a photo of.
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
Secret loves
O.k I am going to admit something .....I have a secret love... of cake stands, I feel the need to have as many as I can in various shapes and sizes and its a long standing addiction that I have managed to keep under control (hence the secret bit) since I was a child and first had afternoon tea in a cafe with my father (Serendipity in Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland- I think in about 1990ish) it was bought to our table on a pretty cake stand and as I marvelled at how pretty and elegant it was and how special it made me feel I decided that when I was grown up I would have as many of those gorgeous stands filled with an array of treats as I could possibly get. I love the pretty ones, the shabby chic ones, the ever so slightly chintzy ones, Tiered ones, flat ones, pre loved ones, I love vintage bit and bobs ,any make, expensive, cheep I'm not fussy and most of all I love them if they don't match anything.
While trailing around antiec shops, second hand stores, kitchen shops, car boot sales I fight the urge to buy them.
I was given one in 1998 by Grandma everyone laughed at giving such an old fashioned present to someone who was only 20 years old but I loved it and still have it, but it remained my only one for years as no one understood why a cake stand was necessary let alone several of the things and then last summer for my birthday my boyfriends mother bought me one it was such an unexpected present and so gratefully received that something changed... and slowly I bought myself a simple two tiered stand that I found in a Robert Dyas sale, a few weeks later I found another one and then another. This seemed to quench my thirst at first and then I found myself searching the internet for more (I've just today won a 1930's cake plate with a silver handle on eBay) I needed more in different sizes! then while trying sedate my longing for more (and reading my emails/checking facebook) I looked at Bombayduck.com and saw the wondrous treats that they stock and it led me to a blog by Torie Jane who not only shares my love of all things pretty etc. but has an array of pretty bits and bobs and where to buy them! and a picture tutorial on how to make your own cake stands!!
The revelation that I am not alone was to much and I felt the need to share it with you so I hope there is a link with this post.
In order to make use of these cake stands it means I need to make cakes which as you can see from the photos on this blog I do quite often. Today is no different I am attempting for the first time to make Banoffee cupcakes (I personally hate bananas but I am not the only one who eats cake in this house so felt the sacrifice to make a cake I wouldn't eat myself was justified) I will get back to you with how I get on. If they are good they (and several other flavoured cupcakes) will be donated to my youngest sons school bake sale on Friday this week.
While trailing around antiec shops, second hand stores, kitchen shops, car boot sales I fight the urge to buy them.
I was given one in 1998 by Grandma everyone laughed at giving such an old fashioned present to someone who was only 20 years old but I loved it and still have it, but it remained my only one for years as no one understood why a cake stand was necessary let alone several of the things and then last summer for my birthday my boyfriends mother bought me one it was such an unexpected present and so gratefully received that something changed... and slowly I bought myself a simple two tiered stand that I found in a Robert Dyas sale, a few weeks later I found another one and then another. This seemed to quench my thirst at first and then I found myself searching the internet for more (I've just today won a 1930's cake plate with a silver handle on eBay) I needed more in different sizes! then while trying sedate my longing for more (and reading my emails/checking facebook) I looked at Bombayduck.com and saw the wondrous treats that they stock and it led me to a blog by Torie Jane who not only shares my love of all things pretty etc. but has an array of pretty bits and bobs and where to buy them! and a picture tutorial on how to make your own cake stands!!
The revelation that I am not alone was to much and I felt the need to share it with you so I hope there is a link with this post.
In order to make use of these cake stands it means I need to make cakes which as you can see from the photos on this blog I do quite often. Today is no different I am attempting for the first time to make Banoffee cupcakes (I personally hate bananas but I am not the only one who eats cake in this house so felt the sacrifice to make a cake I wouldn't eat myself was justified) I will get back to you with how I get on. If they are good they (and several other flavoured cupcakes) will be donated to my youngest sons school bake sale on Friday this week.
Monday, 30 January 2012
The lonely cupcake weekend
This weekend after the children had gone to stay with their father and the boyfriend had gone back to his own flat for some quality 'alone' time, I found I was all by myself with no one to cook for.
Not wanting to cook something that would probably have gone off by the time they all returned I thought that as I enjoy making cupcakes and they can be stored easily and used for packed lunches, friends popping round for teas etc. etc. I would do this,... but use recipes I had never previously made and decorate them in ways I hadn't in the past.
So after a trip into town to stock up on icing sugar (and a slight detour via New look, the Dior counter at Debenhams, lunch in a cafe and a general window shop) I embarked on a mass cupcake make.
With music blaring (a nice collaboration of 90's hits which remind me of my late teens/early 20's) I made 6 batches of cupcakes, half vanilla sponge and half what the recipe called chocolate whoopie muffins.
I then set about decorating them in various ways.
First and my ultimate favourite were the Lemon Sherbet cupcakes.
Made with your basic vanilla sponge recipe and the icing was 500g icing sugar, 110g butter, 2 tsp lemon essence, several tbsp of double cream until you get the consistency and 3 packets of lemon sherbet dib-dabs (an extra one for decoration after is good too)
Next I tried the chocoholic whoopie muffins and the Oreo whoopie muffins which I thought are a little dense, but this could be because on reflection I didn't quite stick to the recipe I forgot to add a few of the ingredients
35g cocoa powder,
300g plain flour
1tsp baking powder
1tsp bicarb of soda
1 pinch of salt
100g unsalted butter
175g dark brown soft sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
125 ml milk
25g white choc chips
25g dark choc chips
Sieve together the cocoa, flour, bicarb, baking powder and salt,
cream the butter and sugar,
beat in the egg to the butter mix,
stir together the milk and vanilla,
add the cocoa mix to the butter mix alternating with the milk mixture until smooth
fold in the chocolate chips,
add to cases and bake for approx 20 mins.
All were decorated with a basic chocolate butter icing 500g icing sugar, 110g butter, 100g cocoa powder 2 tsp of vanilla essence and several tbsp of double cream until you get the consistency you want.
Finally I used vanilla flavoured butter icing with pink food colouring in to ice the remaining vanilla sponge cakes, and white vanilla butter cream and a packet of mini party ring biscuits to make the party ring cakes.
Feeling creative and having time on my hands I then decorated a few with some ribbon (I saw this idea in a cook book and thought they looked pretty.)
So I had filled my weekend and didn't get lonely at all but having made all these cakes i had no one to test them on...... but then on Sunday evening everyone came back home.
Did they like my cakes? Judging the number of empty cases left on the table yes they did, only the boyfriend offered constructive criticism saying that as I had thought the whoopie muffins were a bit dense and a tad dry and you know what? I can live with that.
Not wanting to cook something that would probably have gone off by the time they all returned I thought that as I enjoy making cupcakes and they can be stored easily and used for packed lunches, friends popping round for teas etc. etc. I would do this,... but use recipes I had never previously made and decorate them in ways I hadn't in the past.
So after a trip into town to stock up on icing sugar (and a slight detour via New look, the Dior counter at Debenhams, lunch in a cafe and a general window shop) I embarked on a mass cupcake make.
With music blaring (a nice collaboration of 90's hits which remind me of my late teens/early 20's) I made 6 batches of cupcakes, half vanilla sponge and half what the recipe called chocolate whoopie muffins.
I then set about decorating them in various ways.
First and my ultimate favourite were the Lemon Sherbet cupcakes.
Made with your basic vanilla sponge recipe and the icing was 500g icing sugar, 110g butter, 2 tsp lemon essence, several tbsp of double cream until you get the consistency and 3 packets of lemon sherbet dib-dabs (an extra one for decoration after is good too)
Next I tried the chocoholic whoopie muffins and the Oreo whoopie muffins which I thought are a little dense, but this could be because on reflection I didn't quite stick to the recipe I forgot to add a few of the ingredients
35g cocoa powder,
300g plain flour
1tsp baking powder
1tsp bicarb of soda
1 pinch of salt
100g unsalted butter
175g dark brown soft sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
125 ml milk
25g white choc chips
25g dark choc chips
Sieve together the cocoa, flour, bicarb, baking powder and salt,
cream the butter and sugar,
beat in the egg to the butter mix,
stir together the milk and vanilla,
add the cocoa mix to the butter mix alternating with the milk mixture until smooth
fold in the chocolate chips,
add to cases and bake for approx 20 mins.
All were decorated with a basic chocolate butter icing 500g icing sugar, 110g butter, 100g cocoa powder 2 tsp of vanilla essence and several tbsp of double cream until you get the consistency you want.
Finally I used vanilla flavoured butter icing with pink food colouring in to ice the remaining vanilla sponge cakes, and white vanilla butter cream and a packet of mini party ring biscuits to make the party ring cakes.
Feeling creative and having time on my hands I then decorated a few with some ribbon (I saw this idea in a cook book and thought they looked pretty.)
Did they like my cakes? Judging the number of empty cases left on the table yes they did, only the boyfriend offered constructive criticism saying that as I had thought the whoopie muffins were a bit dense and a tad dry and you know what? I can live with that.
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