Chocolate chip cookies

Again ! We're now stuck in house moving hell - it was all going fine. A completion date agreed and we were ready to roll. Hurrah we thought. No. Suddenly our buyers solicitor started dragging his feet and not returning calls to our solicitor. Our first exchange date came and went and then suddenly we were looking at it being very tight to make our second exchange date and thus completion. After a few frantic phonecalls it would seem that the idiot solicitor can't tell the difference between the 5th and the 15th *imagine me banging my head against a wall here*. SO, the upshot of it all is that we are having to shunt everything on 2 weeks. I am beyond cross and very frustrated about the whole thing. I'd quite like to take out my frustration on said solicitor but I'll just have to imagine that in my head !!

Anyway, this has meant that I've been seriously running down the fridge, freezer and cupboards in preparation for moving, only to find I've got another 2 weeks to feed my family before I can do a good restock. This is the explanation of the lack of blog posts. It's hard to blog when you're eating increasingly bizarre freezer teas.

Today in desperation the boy and I made chocolate chip cookies and God they were GOOOOD ! It made everything slightly more bearable. These cookies have the right amount of squidgy and crunch and a batch really isn't going to last the day. I originally got this recipe from a fellow blogger a long time ago. It's so long ago though I've forgotten where and when so I can't even name check them - so sorry to whoever you are and thanks for the greatest cookies !

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
makes approx 18

100g butter - I have also used Stork and it was fine
75g soft light brown sugar
2 T golden syrup
175g self-raising flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g chocolate chips - you can sub nuts, fruit or anything really here, all yummy.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy
Then add the syrup, vanilla and flour - it will get really tough to mix now ! Finally add the choc chips.
Spoon onto baking trays in little balls and spaced well apart
Bake at 180C for 8-10 minutes. They will be very soft when they come out of the oven but that's fine.
Cool on a wire tray and try not to scoff all at once.

Pikelets

I wanted to make pikelets as I'd just discovered a recipe on a forum I use. When I was a kid my Aunt who had lived in New Zealand, used to make these with me and we'd eat them warm from the griddle or cold with butter and jam for tea.

PIKELETS (with thanks to Jann !)

Make loads but be prepared for them all to be eaten on the same day !

2 cups of plain flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup milk

1 tsp baking soda

1.5 tsp cream of tartar

2 eggs

1 tbsp butter

1 tsp golden syrup

Mix all the ingredients apart from the butter and syrup in a large bowl

Melt the butter and syrup over a low heat and add to the other ingredients

Lightly butter a large frying pan or griddle

Cook the mixture in tablespoonfuls for a couple of minutes each side until brown

Serve warm or cold as they are or with butter and jam or even whipped cream !

Meal planning Monday - July 18th

Goodness me, another Monday. I am ashamed I've managed the princely sum of no new blog posts since last week - apologies !

So, this week...

Monday : Roasted chicken breast & vegetables with sundried tomato dressing and herbed wholemeal couscous
Tuesday : Meatball and pea pilaff
Wednesday : Salmon tikka naan
Thursday : Bacon & mushroom pasta
Friday : Homemade burgers
Saturday : Toad in the hole
Sunday : Roast chicken and salads - having a little lunch gathering

Meal planning Monday - July 11th

Another Monday rolls around and strangely despite everything being hectic I'm managing to blog more than normal !

So this week is as below :

Monday : It was meant to be herby salmon with couscous but due to traffic it was a rather deconstructed and nowhere near as exciting variation !
Tuesday : Homemade burgers and wedges
Wednesday : Jacket potatoes with smoked mackerel and salad
Thursday : Pizza & salad
Friday : Dinner out somewhere
Saturday : At a really good friends wedding
Sunday : Toad in the hole at the request of son no2

Greek lamb tray bake

Given our impending house move I really should be running the freezer down so I don't have to beg my friends to borrow a freezer drawer on the big day ! My freezer really is a mine of, well randomness. It's got the usual frozen chips, pizza, fish fingers and frozen peas & sweetcorn plus other veg. It's got an emergency loaf of bread and several packets of Waitrose fresh frozen herbs. All pretty normal stuff I think. Then comes the randomness. Lurking in the depths are 3 egg whites, some tomato innards - left over from salsa making, some breadcrumbs, a parmesan rind and something that looks possibly like red wine ? There are a couple of unidentified bags of something waiting for a "freezer surprise" tea, my poor kids a few weeks ago ended up with boeuf bourguinon with pasta because I could have sworn it was spag bol !!

So, I'm now trying to use up the odds and ends which also include the results of my obsessive buying of reduced meat. I have 3 packs of chicken mini fillets which cost £1.25 each, a pack of veal mince which was the princely sum of 95p and a pack of organic lamb mince which was reduced to £1.50. It was the lamb mince that got used tonight in this really tasty effort from the Good Food website although I had to tweak the portion sizes a little so that the Husband and the kids didn't think I was trying to starve them.

GREEK LAMB TRAY BAKE
serves 4

450g lamb mince
50g fresh white breadcrumbs
1 small white onion grated
1 clove garlic crushed
egg yolk
small bunch mint chopped
4 courgettes cut into batons
2 red onions cut into wedges
2 large baking potatoes cut into thickish chips
small punnet cherry tomatoes
olive oil to drizzle
100g feta crumbled

Heat the oven to 200C
To make the meatballs mix the first 5 ingredients and half the mint in a large bowl with some salt and pepper. Shape into about 16 patties and set aside
In a large roasting tin put the courgettes, potatoes and onions, drizzle with olive oil plus s&p and mix well.
Nestle in the lamb meatballs and put in the oven for 20 mins on a high shelf
Remove from oven and turn everything over. Add the tomatoes and put back in the oven for another 20 mins.
When cooking time is up, sprinkle over the feta and remaining mint.

I served this with toasted pittas and a large pot of tzatziki, utterly gorgeous even if I do say so myself !!

Onion tart

In the never ending quest to expand my children's tastes and to challenge the Husband's "a meal needs meat" belief I'm always on the lookout for new veggie recipes. 

This was recommended to me from the BBC Good Food website via the Weight Watchers forum ages ago - when I was being good on the diet - but lets move swiftly on !! This is a kind of quiche but uses almost a scone type base which I was a bit skeptical about if I'm being honest, but it worked. The best bit was that the kids ate it all and there were leftovers for lunch the next day. I have in true style done a little bit of tweaking !

ONION TART

serves 6-8

For the filling

4 red onions

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

2 large eggs

200ml half fat creme fraiche

1 tsp thyme leaves

1-2 tsp grainy mustard

40g gruyere cheese

For the base

175g self-raising flour

25g cold butter cut into small pieces

100ml natural yoghurt

4 tbsp semi skimmed milk

Slice the onions into small wedges and heat the oil in a nonstick pan. Cook over a low heat for about 20 mins until caramelised

Preheat the oven to 190C or gas 5

Rub the butter into the flour and then mix the yoghurt and milk before adding to the flour and mix

Roll out on a floured surface and press into a 23cm loose bottomed fluted tart dish

Beat the eggs and add the other ingredients plus some seasoning, mix well

Put 1/2 the onions into the base of the tin and pour over 1/2 the egg mixture, repeat the layers again and top with cheese

Put on a pre-heated baking sheet and cook for 25-30 minutes, leave to stand for 10 mins before serving

Meal planning Monday - July 4th

Another week, another Monday and my life continues it's great big screeching "anyone know where the brakes are" rollercoaster. Son no2's favourite phrase at the moment when he wants something he knows you're not going to agree too is "It could be fine" - this phrase has been repeated ad infinitum over the last few days.

So, on with meal planning. This week is the first week of my new job so I'm hoping this meal plan is going to hang it all together without reaching for the takeaway menu by the end of the week.

Monday : Salmon tikka naan (again I know but it is one of our favourites)

Tuesday : Roast chicken, jackets and salad courtesy of M&S Dine in

Wednesday : Curried chicken & cashew rice, I've not done this in AGES and I'm looking forward to it !

Thursday : Omelette and salad 

Friday : Birthday BBQ for my nephew

Saturday : The Husband has promised to cook !!

Sunday : Nigella's Spanish chicken & potatoes

Giraffe Norwich review

Once upon a time Norwich had a serious lack of lunchtime venues apart from the odd sandwich shop, pub and chain fast food restaurants. More recently there has been an explosion of places to eat which means, on the whole that you don't have to queue for ages at a weekend to get something decent for lunch.

Giraffe is a nationwide chain which promotes food from around the globe. I've eaten at a few Giraffe restaurants before in London and Cambridge and so when Tootsies folded I was quite excited when I heard that it was to become a Giraffe. It's not in a dissimilar vein I suppose !

Thursday was an INSET day for Norfolk schools so I had son no1 with me and with some birthday money burning a hole in his pocket we decided on some shopping in the morning with a treat of lunch out before picking up son no2 from nursery. Son no1 for an 8 year old doesn't have a bad taste in places to eat. It's not all McDonald's and KFC so maybe I am doing something right. His initial choice was Carluccio's but we settled on Giraffe because he likes the plastic giraffes you get in the drinks there !!

We were there early at about 11.50 as we had to get back for son no2. We were shown straight away to a table and son no1 furnished with an activity sheet and crayons. He quickly decided on his meal (sausage, chips and beans) but the kids menu is quite broad with pizza, pasta, chicken and beef burgers, chicken strips and cottage pie plus fish and chips and BBQ chicken wraps. They quite willingly interchange chips and mash and there are veggies too ! Because we were eating midweek we got a drink and main from the kids menu for £4.75 which I thought was excellent value.

I went for the Huevos Rancheros which I utterly adore, yes I know it's more Mexican fare and yes I am possibly a tiny bit obsessed ! I could have chosen from the brunch menu or the lunchtime menu and there was offers again on the adult menu which seemed nice. I can't possibly go into details on the menu here as I'd be here all day but here is a link.

The food arrived quickly and was steaming hot, my only criticism being that son no1's food arrived 5 minutes before mine and no one made any effort to see where my food had got to. Son no1 got two huge juicy sausages, a smallish portion of chips which he supplemented from my side dish and some baked beans. My huevos is pictured above. The salsa was different this time to before and I wasn't quite as keen but it was still a delicious combination of crunchy tortilla, chorizo, cheese, black beans, eggs and salsa - what is there not to like ?? In my opinion though it could be a little spicier with a little more chilli heat but now I'm being picky.

All in all a good experience, fast and friendly service and some yummy food. We were in and out in 35 minutes which given we were in a hurry wasn't bad. The bill arrived super promptly when I said we were pushed for time and came to a not bad £20.85.

I'd recommend for a quick bite of lunch and it gets the kids seal of approval too. Just one thing, if anyone from Giraffe reads this PLEASE bring back your yummy cajun chicken burger, I was distraught when that was taken off the menu !