sticky fingers

today i decided that we would make fudge! chocolate fudge! of all things, this recipe could not be more messy and sticky and delicious... even if it tried! oh so delicious!

and, if you have a slow cooker... oh so simple...

pour one can of condensed milk into your crock pot, add two big bars of chocolate {the cheaper the better, believe it or not!} a tbsp of vanilla essence and a tbsp of butter. set the oven to high for an hour and check on it every ten mins or so to give it a stir and make sure everthing is melting together.
pour into a tray and leave to set... we added some mini smarties to the top... you know, because it clearly needs more sugar!

this makes some really tasty washing up {licking the bowl and spoon of course} which was obviously a high point for the two small helpers i had... but the waiting for it to set was almost too much to bear! for all of us!

this cuts well, it's soft, it's sweet and it tastes just like the kind you would buy in a shop. this is going to be a staple in this house!

two ingredient pizza

i found a great recipe online the other day... two ingredient pizza. i have to say i was dubious... but thought i would give it a whirl.

pinnies on, hands washed, table covered. all set.

the kids love baking and so do i but it can get messy... a recipe which only needs two things is just perfect for small helpers!

one cup of natural yoghurt and one cup of flour. that is all. and look... delicious and yummy and easy and healthy... ish.

we used a bit more flour than the one cup as the dough seemed a little wet still and gave it a good kneed for about ten minutes, rolled it out and then added our toppings... red pesto, cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms, olives and chicken. i had pre chopped all the toppings and had them out so the kids could help themselves. they had a lot of fun and they ate every last bite!

monkeys, lions and a surprise rainbow

back in march it was my little girls 4th birthday. four. i have no idea where the time has gone! to mark the occasion we decided a trip to the zoo was in order... ten years of living in edinburgh and not one visit to the zoo (except as a photographer)!

i baked a cake. this cake. and i made a hole in the middle which i filled with m&ms before icing it.

i decided that there was a lot of colouring involved in the making of this cake and that i would make the layers using natural colours found in food... so i used grated carrot, juiced spinach, juiced beetroot, egg yolk and blueberry puree. making the colours was a lot of fun and poppy really enjoyed helping me with this bit! she was off to bed for the actual cake making though...

the zoo is a great place to visit with children, plenty to keep them occupied, lots of space to run wild, toilets dotted around and best of all it's fun for adults too :)

it was a really fun day and the sun even came out for a wee bit so we could enjoy our birthday picnic, cake and bubbles! we all knew it was time to go home when poppy dropped her beloved pink rabbit into the penguin enclosure and cried like she had lost the love of her life. a very lovely young man leaned over and saved him for her and thus saved the day!

easy peasy bread

well, my little munchkin and i decided to make a loaf of bread this morning and i came across this super duper recipe that was so easy and quick that we had it proving within the hour! so not as much time killed as i had hoped but good messy fun all the same!

this is it, served up with poppys soup (also home made!) for lunch.

so here it is... i will also outline it on here to make it even easier -

mix 500g strong white flour in a bowl with 2 tsp of salt and 7gs of fast acting yeast in a sachet. then make a well and add 3 tbsp olive oil and 300ml water and combine to make the dough... then kneed for as long as your little ones arms can manage - preferably until it is satin smooth!

leave it in a warm place for an hour in a lightly oiled bowl to rise (or overnight in the fridge is good as it makes it taste nicer!)

give it a bit of a knock about then shape it and put it on some baking paper and leave to prove for an hour to rise again.

cross the top with a sharp knife and bake for 25-30 mins in a preheated oven at 220C...

voila! delicious!

this is one that is going to appear on the breakfast table a lot in future! 

spots, spots and more spots.

we are on our way out of the spotty itchy hell that is chicken pox... it took just over a week but we are finally able to get out and about and do stuff again! now, as anyone who reads my blog will know - i like to get out and about! so for the last ten days we have been walking the dog, planting in the garden, baking and nipping to tescos in hats and scarves to disguise the pox!

i was getting very close to staring out of the window and rocking... but i survived it! and most important of all - poppy survived it.

she has amazed me this week with her bravery and her patience. don't get me wrong - it wasn't all sweetness and light in quarantine... it got a bit hairy at points - i think we saw more tantrums in two days than i have seen in her little life time!?! but, with only one sleepless night and one nap-less day we made it to scabs-ville.
and we have pretty much nailed the old potty training too - wont speak too soon on that though as i am pretty sure i am about to destroy it all with my out and about day of fun planned for tomorrow...

birthday girl

well, poppy turned two last week and to celebrate we had a few friends over to play... 20 to be exact! yikes!
I made a delicious carrot cake with pink sprinkles and some blueberry muffins, rocky road (for the grown ups!) star shaped sandwiches and other snacks and tasty treats. a stressful day or two to organise but well worth it to see her playing with her buddies... albeit primarily playing side by side with them instead of 'together'.

lots of food was eaten, plenty of toys unwrapped and tea drunk (again... the grown ups!)

needless to say it was a lot of fun and poppy treated us to a two hour nap that afternoon to recover!

yummy snack

i thought i would share with you one of my absolute favourite things i like to do as a mummy... bake for my little girl!

she was baby led weaned and so i started with finger food straight away and these banana biscuits were life savers... and still are!

take one very ripe banana and mash it with some fine oats and a bit of milk if you need to make it softer, add a handful of raisins (optional) and mix together.  let it all soak in together till it makes a bit of a thick gloop. then form it into round biscuits, or use cookie cutters, and bake in the oven for 8-10mins at 180ish... yum.

healthy. tasty. wholesome.

don't be fooled - these will not be tasty enough for grannies, aunties, friends or older kids... so make some rocky road... also incredibly easy!


melt some good quality chocolate and mix with bashed up biscuit like digestive then stir in some raisins (we go through a lot of raisins in our household!) and marshmallows - you can also add maltesers and cherries too. then put into a shallow baking dish and leave to set.








enjoy...