A Snowy Flashback

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Settling down to peruse the delights in my Instagram feed, I knew full well that 95% of the photographs would be of the snow that has settled on the entirety of Great Britain. All of it bar this little pocket of south Wales nestled on the coast of the Bristol Channel.

We rarely get snow, and when we do it's not very much and it barely settles. It seems like the entire town is coated in salt preventing its inhabitants of having fun with the elusive white powder. We've had snow, I know we have! I distinctly remember a time back in the early 1980s when the snowfall was passed the tops of my wellies, which is incredibly high when you're six. That was probably the biggest snowfall in my lifetime, anything since has been no deeper than three-four inches.

It's got me thinking of the snow that The Boy has experienced.

a snowy flashback 1

This was The Boy's first experience of snow, the Winter of 2009-2010, and he was incredibly curious about the fluffy white stuff that was very cold on his baby hands. Mr. TBaM made an excellent snowman in both the front and back gardens, the snow stayed around for about a week to ten days.

Later on that year in the Winter of 2010-2011 we awoke one day to a glorious sight!

a snowy flashback 2

Unfortunately all we could do was sit and stare out the window at it; the snow was literally like powder and didn't stick together to make a snowman or snowballs, it just dissolved quickly leaving us wet and disappointed. It also prevented a repairman getting to me until two days before Christmas.

And that's it. We haven't had any snow since 18th December 2010.

In the porch a bright red toboggan sits waiting and has done since November 2011 when it was eagerly purchased before the shops ran out…

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flashbackbadge1 laurensflashbackbadge1

Country Kids: New Year's Day On The Beach

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The weather has been foul for the best part of the past fortnight. It managed to not pour down on Christmas Day (which was kind of it), but by and large it's either been pouring down as if Armageddon was about to occur, or it's been devoid of all colour. I'm not sure which I dislike least; I think the incessant rain was preferable as at least then the wellies get used!

It was beginning to feel like we'd never see the sky with any form of vibrancy in it again, until we woke up on New Year's Day to a world of blue skies and brilliant sunshine! As Mr. TBaM said, "It's almost like the weather's trying to make a New Year's Resolution!"

We donned our wellies, coats, scarves, hats and gloves and headed down to Barry Island.

Along with every other person in south Wales!

I seriously cannot remember the last time I saw the island so chockablock with traffic; not even on the hottest day in the Summer was it that bad (and I'd know because I was there then as well!). However we persevered and did actually manage to park on double yellow lines find a parking space quite close to the beach!

The Boy and I set to building a sandcastle, only the little monkey soon demolished it repeatedly at which point we decided to dig a hole instead. It was to be of epic proportions!

new years day 1

We were quite a way up to the top of the beach but as you can see, after a while we hit the water table. Did this stop us? Nope, we kept on digging and in the end The Boy took his bucket down to the water's edge to increase our supply.

new years day 2

It was at this point that I went to get some chips for us. Again, I wasn't the only person with that idea: six chippies on Barry Island and three had run out of chips, with a thirty minute wait in all the others. In the end, thanks to 'Big Dave', we did get our supply and we sat in the car with rosey cheeks and drippy noses munching on big, fat, chips!

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coombe mill

Also linked up to No Such Thing As Bad Weather's Outdoor Play Party

Learning for Life

Keeping Warm With SIGG

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A couple of months ago, I was pleasantly surprised one day to receive a parcel from one of my favourite companies: SIGG. They make stunningly beautiful, resuable and practical water bottles, and in this parcel were a few essentials for the Winter.

They were to prove to come in very useful during one of our favourite excursions in October: our first football match!

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Winter Warmers

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I like love Winter when it's cold and frosty, the sun is shining and the sky is blue, the grass crunches with frost underfoot and the birds are tweeting in the skeletal trees. And, despite the past week where it's been grim and grey, today it was just like that! We went to Roath Park in Cardiff for The Boy to practise some more on his balance bike, we fed the swans and the ducks, we froze our little noses and ears off, and then we went to soft-play.

Then we came home, had a little rest and I made a dinner ready for Nana and Grandad to join us. I decided on some serious warming food for a seriously Wintery day! Vegetable stew and dumplings, followed by this little beauty:

Plum, Pear & Apple Cobbler

Ingredients:
Serves 4-6

  • 500g plums, stoned & quartered
  • 300g Bramley apples, peeled, cored & sliced
  • 160g caster sugar
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 300g self raising flour, sifted
  • 85g unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 3 tbsp milk
  • 150g Rachel’s Low Fat Natural Bio Live Yogurt

Method:

  1. In a saucepan take the plums, apple slices, 100g of the caster sugar and add the water, cook until the plums and apples soften. Tip: leave the fruit to cool before adding the cobbler pieces this will stop some of the fruit bubbling out over the dish.
  2. To make the cobbler, add the sifted flour, butter, baking powder and the remainder of the sugar (60g) and using a food processor or mixer whiz together for a few seconds on pulse speed until fine crumbs form.
  3. Add the milk and yogurt and whiz again until a soft dough forms . You can either spoon the mixture in scattered clumps over the fruit or add a little more flour and roll out the dough using a cutter. Leave some gaps for the cobble effect.
  4. Bake the cobbler for 30-35 minutes until the topping is golden and the fruit is visibly bubbling beneath.

It was seriously gorgeous. As discussed with @Jessies_online, I am not a fan of fruit crumble but this was gorgeous! The pear made the fruit much more mild, and the yoghurt in the dough topping made it rise beautifully which meant it was light and fluffy. I thoroughly recommend trying some of the gorgeous Rachel's Organics  yoghurts, but in a cake or dough mixture.

I was supplied with some samples of Rachel's Organics products to try this recipe.

Snowflake Cookies

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I've made a fair few cakes with The Boy now, and we've turned our hand to pizza, but we haven't tried cookies yet, and we haven't tried gingerbread. When I saw a recipe for polish spiced Christmas cookies (basically gingerbread) on The Crazy Kitchen, I decided to give it a whirl: everyone is always making it, it can't be hard surely?

Wrong! Well, that is if you're not using an electric mixer which it turns out, everyone else did. I only have a handheld mixer, which I am wary of using with The Boy, and so we mix everything we make with a good old-fashioned wooden spoon! Gingerbread ingredients are quite tough to mix together.

Anyway, here we go!

Ingredients
110g unsalted butter
110g soft, dark brown sugar
6 heaped tablespoons runny honey
1 egg
450g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
2 tablespoons mixed spice
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
100g icing sugar

  • Melt the butter, sugar and honey in a small pan until the butter has just melted
  • Sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl, stir together
  • Add the egg and mix well
  • Add the melted butter/sugar to the dry ingredients and mix until a dough forms
  • If the mixture is too dry add water 1 tablespoon at a time until it comes together
  • Roll out on a floured surface to an inch thick
  • Use cutters to cut out the shapes and place on greased baking trays
  • Bake in 200 degree (C) oven for 7-8 minutes
  • Cool on a wire rack

Then we decorated our snowflake and jigsaw piece cookies with drizzly white chocolate and sweeties!

We used these fab cookie cutters from Cox & Cox, excellent quality and durable.

I was sent the cookie cutters to review. I pinched Helen's recipe. Both are great and my opinion is honest and unbiased.

Competition: FAB Ultra Repair Lip Therapy

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Every morning when I get up and get ready for the day, there are two things that always go into my pocket; my phone and my lipsalve. I can't get through the day without moisturising my lips every hour or so, I hate the feeling of dehyrated chapped lips, and of course they are ever so attractive to look at!

I was recently sent a lipsalve with a difference from one of my favourite FABulous companies: First Aid Beauty. The Ultra Repair Lip Therapy is amazing and has left my lips feeling soft, supple and rehydrated. It's allergy-tested and fragrance free, making it perfect for sensitive skin.

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Apple Preserves

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Several months ago, my mum put a condiment on the dinner table which was gorgeous. It was an apple and mint jelly. Was it for pork, was it for lamb? Did it matter? I'm vegetarian so whatever it was originally meant for was never going to be something that I would consume. Nonetheless it was delicious with salads and baby boiled new potatoes smothered in butter and black pepper.

I've tried to find it, to no avail. Then when the 'chutney chums' (i.e. The Crazy Kitchen, me and Mummy Mishaps) started talking about all things preserving a few weeks ago, I thought I'd give it a go.

Apple and Mint Jelly

Makes: 2 jam jars

Ingredients:

  • 1kg apples, peeled and cored
  • 1 litre water
  • 30g fresh mint, chopped
  • 500g caster sugar
  1. Add the apples and 2 tablespoons of water to a large saucepan, cook for twenty minutes over low to medium heat. Spoon the mixture into a large sieve with a sterilised muslin (I used one of The Boy's unused muslins sterilised with a steaming hot iron) and let the juice drain into a bowl. (Try to leave for 3 hours, I didn't have that amount of time so I left it for 2 hours).
  2. Add the mint and 1 litre of water to a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and set aside for 10 minutes.
  3. Pour in the strained apple juice and add sugar. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and and simmer gently for 1 hour+, stirring constantly. (The original recipe said 40 minutes, I ended up simmering it away for an hour and a half before it reached setting point).
  4. Pour into sterilized jars, cover with damp cellophane covers (which will tighten as they dry, creating an air-tight seal) and leave to cool. Store in a dark, cool cupboard. They should have a best before of a year from sealing.

My recipe has been adapted from one on AllRecipes.co.uk. I also found this site most helpful when I was trying to work out if it had reached setting point.

The big question of what to do with all that left over apple arose. So I made some Spiced Apple Chutney!

Ingredients:

Makes 2 jam jars

  • 225g onions (chopped)
  • 900g apples (cored & chopped)
  • 110g sultanas or raisins
  • 15g ground coriander
  • 15g paprika
  • 15g salt
  • 15g each of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger
  • 340 granulated sugar
  • 425ml white wine vinegar
  1. Put all the ingredients into a heavy pan.
  2. Slowly bring to the boil until all the sugar has dissolved.
  3. Simmer for 1½-2 hours, stirring from time-time to stop the chutney from sticking.
  4. Take the lid off to reduce down for further thirty minutes or so.
  5. When it is very thick and a spoon drawn across it leaves a channel which doesn't immediately fill with liquid, the chutney is ready to transfer to the jars.
  6. While still hot, turn into sterilised jars, use wax discs and damp cellophane to seal. Allow to cool.
  7. Store in a cool, dark cupboard for two-three months before eating. Can be kept for up to twelve months sealed.
 
 

I adapted this recipe from one on the BBC Good Food Guide.

Tips:

  • Sterilise jars and utensils in the dishwasher.
  • Use wax discs and cellophane film lids as lids from jars can corrode effecting the chutney. Also it has to be put in piping hot for the dimple on the lid to suction down or it's not sterile.
  • Sterilise the muslin with a hot iron.
  • When fastening the fabric cover, hold it in place with an elastic band first. If you are one of those genetically-modified humans who have four hands, and can therefore hold the fabric in place and wrap the raffia around, don't bother, you'll be fine. Once the raffia is wrapped around, remove the elastic band.
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