"She's a bit of crumpet, that one."

“You’ve got great penetration of the drizzle”

“You’ve got two hours to achieve ultimate moistness”

“Can you grab my jugs?”

Mary: “I’ve had many sausage rolls in my time”
Sue: “I bet you have”

The early crumpets were hard pancakes cooked on a griddle, rather than the soft and spongy crumpets of the Victorian era, which were made with yeast.  The term itself may refer to a crumpled or curled-up cake.  English crumpets are generally circular, roughly 8 cm in diameter and 2 cm thick. Their shape comes from being restrained in the pan/griddle by a shallow ring. They have a characteristic flat top with many small pores and a chewy and spongy texture. They may be cooked until ready to eat warm from the pan but are frequently left slightly under cooked so that they may be cooled and stored before being eaten freshly toasted. They are often eaten with a thick spread of butter.  If you make your crumpet thinner by not using a ring these are referred to as pikelets.

"One should not attend even the end of the world without a good breakfast"

"My friend drowned in a bowl of muesli. A strong currant pulled him in."  

Red Fife Wheat is thought to have originated in Turkey, after which it moved across the Black Sea to Ukraine where Mennonite farmers grew it. Red Fife seeds were later shipped to Glasgow, where a friend of David Fife sent a sample to Canada. Fife then grew the variety in Ontario and shared it with other farmers, calling the wheat Red Fife after its distinctive colour. The Red Fife seed adapted to a great diversity of growing conditions across Canada and became the baking and milling industry standard for forty years, from the 1860s to the turn of the twentieth century.

GOLD FORREST GRAINS

The grains we grow, and then mill, are steeped in heritage and tradition. The wheat is antique; Red Fife, Park, Spelt and Einkorn. They taste different, feel different and nurture your body differently. Baking with our flour products takes you back in time to the age of whole, healthful foods. Your baking will have the wonderful, indescribable taste that only your grandparents would recognise.

Can we say fancy breakfast!
This is fancy breakfast food with the added bonus of being healthy and on trend!  I am a late bloomer on the chia seed bandwagon but on it I now am.  I used a mix of chia, buckwheat and hemp but you can use any combination you like.


I made the coolie by blending together frozen raspberries and strawberries with a little sugar.  A generous serving of yoghurt and topped with some super food seeds.  The perfect morning kick start.

I am a little behind with this challenge! I blame a fabulous trip to the UK and a killer case of jet lag family- can someone please remind my children that waking before 5am is not cool, not cool at all! 

Today's Weetabix fix is rather a sophisticated number!  Just make sure you brush your teeth before you leave for work in the morning- those poppy seeds have a nasty habit of hanging around in your teeth!

This is a sharp and tangy twist on Weetabix.  I actually chop the apple up into thin slivers and enjoy with ice cold milk, but in the interests of being a person who likes taking photos of food, a whole apple seemed prettier!

This would work well with yoghurt and warm milk too.

I was sent a Weetabix goodie box for this challenge but recipes, terrible use of bad jokes and images are as always, my own.  

#MYBIXMIX Challenge

I love the combination of fresh fruit and crunchy seeds.  This could be finished with warm milk, cold milk or yoghurt.

I am taking part in the #MYBIXMIX Challenge for Weetabix.  The challenge was to mix it up and try out some new ways of jazzing up this delicious breakfast cereal.

I have always loved Weetabix and I start my challenge with one of my favourite ways to eat it.  I will admit that as a grown up,  I have recently added the sea salt component to this version, but the classic warm milk and chopped dates is how I have eaten my bix for many years.

Weetabix is made with four simple Non-GMO ingredients. Each two biscuit serving contains just 2g of sugar and is packed with whole grains. Weetabix is also low in fat and is packed with whole grains. 









I was sent some a Weetabix goodie box for this challenge but recipes, terrible use of grammar and images are as always, my own.  

Let’s talk balls shall we? The internet is awash with talk of balls. I had to know what it was all about. Turns out it's nothing that needs to be discussed after 10.30 pm but in fact a little no bake, energy snack that is also the perfect lunchbox buddy. Who knew! 

I love my children more than anything but I do hope that one day they grow up and move out.  Once they move out I am pretty sure I won't be cooking all of their meals (they better come back for some or there will be trouble!), so it will be up to them to decide what they put on their plate.


If I can't make them love vegetables now what chance do I have that they will choose to eat them when they have control over their own shopping list?  So lets get them loving the green stuff now.  Let them choose, let them decide, let them experiment and hopefully one day they will choose spinach!  OK, so maybe thats a little optimistic but I see it as my duty to show them that actually these green things are pretty cool and actually quite tasty.

This green, yet sweet and minty smoothie is a good starting point for getting your green on.  Let your kids fill the blender (I suggest you make sure the lid is on though!),  let them rev it up and blend away.
 This smoothie uses frozen mango.  In a perfect World we would always have fresh fruit at its prime ready to go but, kids get hungry and Mum's need solutions!  I keep a stash of frozen fruit ready for starving child emergencies.  It also makes great smoothies as there is no need to add ice to chill and thicken them up.

Don't forget to tell them that the green stuff is natures food colouring and it will give them muscles like Popeye.

THE MIGHTY GREEN MANGO MINT SMOOTHIE

• 200g frozen mango
• 250ml water or coconut water
• a few mint leaves
• 50g spinach
• 25g oats
• fresh lime to taste (I find 1/4 works perfectly)

Happy blending.  Green smoothies rock.

Lets talk smoothies and using up leftovers all at the same time shall we?  It will be fun, trust me...

Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on a cooked mixture of milk or cream and egg yolk.  Depending on how much egg or thickener is used, custard may vary in consistency from a thin pouring sauce (crème anglaise) to a thick pastry cream (crème pâtissière) used to fill éclairs. Most common custards are used as desserts or dessert sauces and typically include sugar and vanilla. 
The Bird’s brand is best known for its original homemade custard powder, invented by Alfred Bird in 1837 and still loved by generations today. Yet the range of instant desserts stretches wider, with semolina, Dream Topping and a seasonal range of trifles and Christmas sauces too.
The Peach Melba is a dessert of peaches and raspberry sauce with vanilla ice cream. The dish was invented in 1892 or 1893 by the French chef Auguste Escoffier at the Savoy Hotel, London, to honour the Australian soprano, Nellie Melba.

THE PEACH MELBA SMOOTHIE

INGREDIENTS