I hate to throw food away.  I carefully plan meals to ensure that I use up things that lurk in the bottom the vegetable drawer before they droop.  I even keep the dusty remains of bags of dried food, just in case! 

I have only lived in my new house for a few months but already I have things lurking in the back of the cupboard that are a result of my failure to throw tendencies! 

I found the very dusty remains of a bag of roasted pitta chips.  There were a few bigger bits but mainly the broken up bits you always get at the bottom on any cripsy bag. 

This is then a challenge, I must find a way to use them up!

So the picture you see here is what I rescued the leftovers with.

Fattoush Salad

• Cucumber, Cherry Tomatoes, Red Onion, Red Pepper- sliced into similar sized pieces
• Chopped Corriander
• Juice of a 1/2 Lemon
• 1/2 tsp Sumac
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Roasted pitta chips leftovers

Chop, Squeeze and toss together.  Add some of the pitta chips now and then save a few crispy bits to scatter over just before eating.

The sumac is a fabulous red addition that adds a lemony hit and alongside the actual lemon gives this salad such a bright taste. 

I would eat this on its own or with some roatsed chicken thighs generously covered in Zahtar spice blend. 

I would also like to champion a fabulous company where I buy my spice blends and sumac.  The Seasoned Pioneers deliver fresh, fabulous spices in silver pouches and their many blends are a constant addition to my cooking.  I suggest you check them out, they really are fab!

My hubby is growing a moustache for Movember.  Its a very good cause and I support him, even though he looks a bit strange at the moment.  It's like somebody stole my husband and replaced him with a slightly different model!

The other day in the car, hubby and me in the front, boys in the back:

H: "Daddy, why are you wearing that moustache?  It makes you look old!"

I laughed, out loud, for many minutes!

I love that kids see the World as it is.  No complications, no judgments, just as it is right now.  I am sure as the moustache grows H will have many more things to say about the facial hair- I will keep you posted!

Do you have proud parent moments?  These moments can be your child's achievements; learning to tie shoelaces, decorating their first batch of biscuits from the oven or saying their first word.  They can also be your own achievement's as a parent.  It's a damn tough job and I think you have to take pride in your own achievements too. 










It started with my first child and continued to the second and is still used today with both.  Its easy, a child falls down and is in that "OH MY GOD MY LEG IS GOING TO FALL OFF NOW" stage of crying, sometime accompanied by the inability to breath in crying, where no noise comes out of them!  They stagger to you seeking repair and you simply find the area affected and apply the magic raspberry.  I must add that a second application of the magic raspberry may be needed and this second application always works best on the stomach of said child for the instant laughing effect required for effective repair of the injury. 

It's simply a distraction.  Children can be so focused on imagining how much it hurts that they forget to actually feel if it does hurt.  Distract them and as long as no bones are broken it can be an instant fix!  I love how such a simple thing can change a cry for help into a laugh for more.  Children are not generally complicated beings, things are black and white, they are either OK or not and can slip from one to the other like switching on a light or blowing a raspberry! 

Magic raspberries are not going to fix the World's problems but wouldn't it be great if they could?  They certainly do in my house! 

• Hair Pain
• Bad Hair: Evidence Photo 2
• Bad Hair: Evidence Photo 3