#BFF becomes #BFW

#BFF is sadly no more. Amazing son number 1 is now out every Friday evening at a "yoof group". So #BFF has had to move to a Wednesday. Making it #BFW obviously.

Today we had pulled pork with spicy carrot salad, and BBQ sauce which was a combination of 2 different recipes (this one and this one) because I couldn't decide which one I preferred. Oh, and homemade hummus which I made up as I went along. Basically, chick peas, tahini, olive oil, yoghurt, garlic, salt and pepper. And I also made tortilla wraps to eat everything in. Because I felt like it and was obviously avoiding the housework or ironing. And we had cake - my version of St Clement's cupcakes as I have decided I really don't like buttercream icing. Definitely housework avoidance issues.

Everything was guzzled before I had time to remember to take a photograph. But it was tasty and the boys are all happy. Good job because we will be eating leftovers tomorrow.

I've also just finished putting together the outfit amazing son number 2 will be wearing to school tomorrow as part of Book Week. We compromised agreed on him going as Wally from the Where's Wally books as I thought it would be fairly straight forward to do. Who would have thought that finding a red and white striped top or hat would prove so problematic. Admittedly I only started looking today, and he is meant to be wearing it tomorrow. Will I ever learn? So the top is red and grey, and the hat definitely not red and white. I think I am better at cakes than costumes.

Feed A Cold

I've been feeling somewhat under the weather with a nasty cold for a few days. A good excuse then to follow the old advice of 'Feed a cold, starve a fever'. I'm so glad I haven't got a temperature. I started with something sweet and made some Breakfast Muffins, basically combining a couple of recipes according to the ingredients I had in the cupboards. Nice, but they didn't quite hit the spot. So I started to flick through my recipe books for something savoury and stumbled across Dan Lepard's Lentil Stuffed Flatbreads. Easy. Tasty. Spot on. Definitely one to make again. The amazing sons declared them 'delicious' and 'amazing', so I think they might make their way into lunch boxes for tomorrow. Which saves me having to make sandwiches. Always a good thing.

Lentil Stuffed Flatbreads

Big Trip

Please excuse the lack of posts recently. I've had the most fantastic August away with the amazing sons and the gorgeous husband. The headlines of the big trip (now that the jet lag is dealt with) have been:

Aunty CC and Jack-Jon
First off, the amazing sons and I flew to Eugene to see my twin sister and her family. What a great week we had seeing Toria, Mr Dave and Lady P. We ate a lot of ice cream, frequenting most of the various establishments nearby. The boys bought some baseball caps that go oh so nicely with their new trainers. I don't think sarcasm comes across in the written word as well as the spoken one does it. We went to a theme park and a Scandinavian food festival. And I got lost several times out running.

We got a bit damp on the log flume!

The Girls

Missing Flights and Missing Luggage in Vancouver

After a week in Eugene, the amazing sons and I flew to Vancouver to meet the gorgeous husband at the airport. Except we didn't. We did fly to Vancouver (albeit after some delay). But we didn't manage to meet the gorgeous husband there. Or retrieve my bag which went missing. So we flew on to Prince George to see the gorgeous husband's brother and his family without said husband or bag. We laughed a lot the next day once we were all reunited and after some sleep.

Prince George and More Chuis
It was good to see the gorgeous husband's brother and family for 6 days. We visited Barkerville, a former gold rush town and the cousins enjoyed panning for gold together. There were also trips to lakes, fishing, kayaking, swimming, tennis and much discussion as to why I had to pay for a glass of wine on my long haul flights despite the fact that I was the one travelling with the children. Apparently the gorgeous husband was offered copious amounts of different alcohol on his flight, seemingly from take-off to landing.

The cousins hunting for frogs.

The gorgeous husband took some amazing wildlife shots!

Lots of Chuis

Road Trip Through The Rockies
Then began our road trip though some of Canada. We drove to Jasper, then Banff before flying to Vancouver for a few days. Amazing. Breathtaking. Stunning. Awe-inspiring. Those are (I think) the 4 words we chose to describe all that we saw. Highlights would be the grizzly bears, the earl grey tea, the chocolate buffet, the oysters and all the scenery. And Tim Horton's, who we have probably kept in business for another year after all the coffee and doughnuts we ate there.

Me and my boys at Lake Louise.

More wildlife photos and my pedicured toes.

Doughnuts again!

Back to Eugene to Finish
The amazing sons and I then went back to Eugene for a few days while the gorgeous husband flew back to the UK. Undoubtedly with plenty of alcohol offered to him throughout the flight. We wanted to stay longer but were unable to change our flights. We made the most of the final part of our holiday by eating ice cream again. And I fell over on a run, which did mean I didn't get lost as I had to stop and go back. We also stocked up on Biscoff, which is the most amazing invention. I say we, but I fully intend to eat all of it single handedly.

It was simply a once in a lifetime family holiday, that has given us many wonderful memories. Shame it had to end.

Lake Louise

Bakewell Tart Macarons

Following my coffee eclairs the mince pie maker set me another challenge. This time the ante was well and truly upped with Bakewell Tart Macarons being suggested. Macarons have proved to be a bit of a nemesis of mine. My last batch were pretty good but it's been a while. I started with the easy bit and made the almond/frangipane creme patisserie filling a few days ago. I also cheated by buying a jar of cherry conserve to use alongside this. I am happy to report that not only did I manage to resist eating all the aforementioned filling beforehand but that the macarons themselves are my best attempt so far. The gorgeous husband and the amazing sons told me so, so it must be true.

Coffee Eclairs Challenge.....Apologies to Ruth

I love a challenge. So when my friend the mince pie maker set me the task of chocolate eclairs with a coffee creme patisserie there was no way I was going to refuse. I've never made choux pastry before, although I vividly recall my Mum making amazing profiteroles and chocolate sauce throughout my childhood. We had a different name for them, but it's probably not appropriate to share that in this forum.

I have to admit that it was Dan Lepard to the rescue again. He covers sweet choux pastry, water icing AND creme patisserie in his amazing book. We all agree that they taste pretty good. The gorgeous husband (who is obviously now fulfilling a new role as my creative director of baking) said they were a "little on the large side". How can cakes be too big I ask? I will make them smaller next time, but only so that I can eat two without appearing greedy.

These are all that are now left. Despite the cat's obvious indifference I don't think they are going to last very long.......

Cuppa Tea and A Biscuit

I really must stop trying out all the recipes in Dan Lepard's book Short and Sweet sometime very soon. This afternoon I found myself inexplicably (and indeed inextricably) drawn to his Tollhouse Yo-Yos.

It may be that after all the cakes I have consumed made I felt the need for a something a little crunchy. I should have opted for a carrot stick, or an apple, or possibly a stick of celery. But no, once spotted, I had to make this recipe. Apparently the recipe makes more than the 13 or 14 biscuits I made. But then I feel my yo-yos are slightly on the large size, and I did nibble on a large fair teeny tiny bit of dough. Just for quality control you understand. It was more than acceptable, but I will obviously be sampling the finished product just to make sure.

Cake Cake Cake

I love cake. That is a known fact. I love chocolate too. And chocolate cake. And especially chocolate brownies. But sometimes you need to think a little healthier, especially when you eat make as much cake as me. So I've been testing some slightly healthier recipes. Admittedly they are still cake, and not altogether meant for every meal but they do contain a little less sugar and fat. I think. They taste pretty good regardless. Another slice?

The first recipe I tried was Dan Lepard's Alchemist's Chocolate Cake from his book Short and Sweet which is simply amazing. You need tinned pears in juice. I had tinned pears in syrup, but it still worked well. I sliced this cake in half and sandwiched it with a dark chocolate and creme fraiche filling. Basically I melted 100g dark chocolate and stirred in 100g creme fraiche. OK, that and the syrup from the pears, made it not so healthy but it was delicious in my humble opinion.

Next up was the need to deal with some very manky over-ripe bananas. Out came my Hummingbird Bakery cookbook for their Banana Loaf. Except that I added cocoa powder and dark chocolate chips. Because I felt like it really. I also had some buttercream frosting left over from making a cake with amazing son number 2 (more on that in a bit), so I mixed more cocoa powder into this and iced the top of the loaf. I am clearly incapable of keeping my recipes as healthy as they are intended to be. No complaints from the gorgeous husband or the amazing sons though.

And finally, a not so healthy variety of cake. Amazing son number 2 had to make a cake for a Jubilee Cake Competition at his school. We were a little ambitious but having seen this recipe how could we not give it a go? Yes it was fiddly and time consuming. Yes there is quite a bit of blue food colouring/buttercream/icing thrown in. But it was fun to make, and even tasted pretty nice. Although I did find the colour a little off-putting to eat. Maybe blue cake is the way to stop me eating so much of it?

Incidentally, amazing son number 2 won the competition for his year group. Award-winning cake seemed to taste even better when he brought it home. Blue or not.