Author: Scottish Mum

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My Middle Child Finally Swims

Sorry, but I just had to share this one.  My middle child, who has learning difficulties, has taken lessons for over 10 years.  Yes, that’s right, lessons for 10 years, along with weekly swimming at his school, and swimming with us, his family on top.  It’s been a long and difficult road for him, but he’s finally done it.

For years, he screamed at the sight of water, or even at the thought of jumping into the shallow end.  We closed our ears and persevered, and eventually he made it in the water.

That was no small feat in itself, no matter how simple it might seem at first.

Determined to keep going, he was signed up for a whole summer holiday one year, every morning, in a group of 6.  When they all moved up to the next class, he struggled along with trying to get his feet off the bottom of the pool as he walked along, his hands doing swimming motions on the top.

Three years later, he was still in the bottom group and his lessons kept going.

Thankfully, his school began swimming, which meant he could go away from lessons with little ones when he was growing fast, and every week since, they’ve persevered and kept chugging along.

Three weeks ago, we all went swimming, and he sailed along the top of the water.  His feet didn’t touch the bottom once, but he was still frightened of going out of his depth.

It’s one thing being able to swim, and quite another being able to swim out of your depth.

To let you all know, he came home on Friday with a certificate from school, to say he’d jumped in at the deep end.  It might not seem much to most of you, but for him, it’s HUGE.

It just goes to show, that perseverance and patience can win in the long-term when the brain says no.  As a very active child, swimming was important to him, and for us too, knowing that if he fell into water, he’d at least have a fighting chance of possibly getting himself out again.

I can’t even begin to say how much this small thing means to us as a family.  Way to go middler, you’ve done yourself proud….

 

 

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The Mother of all Teaparties #fairtrade #happymothersday #twitterteaparty

Happy Mothers Day to all.

The Co-operative sent me a lovely surprise gift for Mother’s Day with no expectation that I would post about it, but I think Mother’s Day is one of the most important days of the year.  More so than a birthday really, as the day signifies all that someone thinks of their nearest and dearest.

I didn’t expect anything at all, so my lovely surprise parcel was a nice way to receive an unexpected gift.  I couldn’t make the Twitter Tea Party, so I had my own.

Coop Mother's Day

I think my biggest Mother’s Day tip, would be that mums are more concerned about what we do for them, than what they get.  I’m lucky if I get a bunch of £5 flowers from the local shop and possibly a card if my hub actually remembers mother’s day is coming up, as he would need to buy for the kids :-).

What I’d really like, would be for them to make breakfast for my mum and I, and keep bringing her cups of coffee all day long, to save me going up and down her stairs around 50 times a day.  Now that would be a fabulous Mother’s day break for me.

As it is, we’re lucky enough to have a carer for a few hours this Mother’s Day, so I will be able to take it easy, though I’m due for my next run session, trying to up my 5k time from the ridiculously slow to the almost acceptably slow……

In my parcel were some lovely little gifts.  Thank you Co-op.

Coop Red Devil Cake Coop Proscetto  Coop Fair Trade Tea Coop Fair Trade Earl Grey coop chocolate tulip

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Toasted Spelt with Dates and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Most of you wouldn’t like the toasted spelt in the way that I do.  The lovely nutty flavoured wheat is perfect for snacking.  I toast mine until it becomes almost a dry nutty consistency as that’s what I enjoy.  If you prefer yours softer, simply don’t roast/toast for long and check the cooking times on your spelt.  Some of you might just prefer the spelt straight from the packet if you buy the ready to eat kind, such as I did, or a quick heat up for a minute in the microwave.

I made this in the Actifry, but you could easily use your oven to toast the spelt, or not toast it at all if you prefer the slightly chewy consistency it can give us.

I cheated and used a pack of Merchant Gourmet Spelt, that is ready to eat.  Nobody said everything should be done from raw…   I don’t always have time for that sort of thing.

Toasted Spelt with Dates and Sun Dried Tomatoes 1000

Toasted Spelt with Dates and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Lesley Smith
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course Main

Ingredients
  

  • 250 g Spelt ready to eat.
  • 100 g Pitted Dates chopped.
  • 100 g Sun Dried Tomatoes in oil drained.
  • Salt and Pepper.
  • 1 Tablespoon Rapeseed Oil.

Instructions
 

  • I used my snacking basket to Actifry my sun dried tomatoes for 5 minutes.

  • After doing my tomatoes, I then put my spelt and chopped dates into my machine, along with a pinch of salt and pepper, and the oil.

  • I Actifried my spelt for 8 minutes, which will be far too long for most of you. Some might just like 1 or 2 minutes. Keep an eye on it and check every minute or so, to find out if it's the right consistency and taste for you.

  • Serve with the sun dried tomatoes on top, and I added some edible rose petals to enhance the look of the dish.

 

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What I’d Like For Mother’s Day

In collaboration with Tesco.

It’s that time of year again when I’m looking for something for my mum, and being who my husband is, with no idea of what I’d like for Mothers Day, I usually end up buying something for myself and he takes the kids to get a bunch of flowers since I can’t do chocolates as a diabetic.  I have horrific memories of some of the disastrous gifts he’s come up with over the years, and I’ve learned to get what I like myself, or drop enormous hints.

I do a lot of shopping with Tesco, so being asked to take a look at their Mothers Day presents range was something I would do anyway, and gave me a good chance to root through the online gift choices on Tesco Direct.

What I’d Choose for Myself

There is just so much to pick from.  We don’t do large gifts for adults in our house, so the range on offer was ideal for me.

Von Shef Snap and Stack Cupcake Storage CarrierTesco Vonshef Snap and Stack Cupcake Storage

I never know what to do with baked cupcakes.  They usually end up squished into a plastic tub, or end up going all over the place.  With a capacity of 24, for £13.99, this storage carrier would be perfect for me.

Quirky Gadget – App Controlled Smart Scale

At £39.99, it’s more expensive that I’d usually consider for Mother’s Day, but I can dream, and I’d absolutely LOVE one of these smart scales.  I’ve looked at them more times that I care to remember.

Tesco App Controlled Smart Scale

If my other half is reading, this is a big nudge, nudge, hint, wink, wink…..  Not only does it guide us through the baking process, it even gives us hints and timers for when to mix, bake or cook.  My gadget girl head can’t wait to try one of these.

Afternoon Tea – Katie Alice Cottage Afternoon Tea Set

How about this to sit down with afternoon tea and a slab of lovely cake?  I think most women appreciate nice crockery, and I’d like a set or two of these in my kitchen cupboards for when friends come round for the afternoon.  Getting myself lovely cups and saucers hasn’t been top of my buying list, so as a present, I’d be delighted with these for £9, which includes a tea-cup, saucer and side plate.

Tesco Katie Cottage Afternoon Tea Set

Flowers

I almost always have to buy my own.  If my husband bought them too often, I’d wonder what he’d done wrong….  For Mothers Day, he does sometimes let the kids buy me some, and although I don’t particularly like lilies, I like most other flowers, especially ones in either very muted pale colours or very vibrant reds and purples.

My choice would be this Mother’s Day Seasonal Posy at £25, which includes the milk churn, if I could persuade my man to get them.  I’d love something like this on permanent display, but it could get rather pricey, but for a special occasion, they’re gorgeous.

Tesco Flowers Mother's Day Seasonal Posy

Many thanks to Tesco for allowing me to reproduce these images.

 

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Beef Rostis using Leftovers

In collaboration with Love Food Hate Waste.

These are made from leftovers.  Who wouldn’t want to know how to make something so delicious, and economical, while keeping lots of food waste out of our bins?  You could even win a Slow Cooker with your own tips.  Read on to find out more.

Beef Rostis with Sweet Pepper and Onion 2 700

Ok, so what’s the issue?  Did you know that around £260 million pounds worth of beef products are wasted each year in our UK homes?  I know I didn’t.  We might be nation of beef lovers, but that’s a lot of wasted meat.

And that’s not all.  There’s also the half eaten sandwich, unfinished steak in a restaurant, or like some of my extended family members, anything that isn’t eaten on the day, is thrown out and never eaten.

I don’t subscribe to that way of cooking, and many of us are on a budget these days, so it makes sense to use our leftovers and put them to good use.  It’s something I do regularly for my own family.

MEATY ISSUES – WHAT’S THE BEEF?

Love Food Hate Waste is launching the Meaty Issues campaign, where they will share our favourite tips, tricks and left over recipes to help us reduce the amount of beef we throw away  at home saving us money and helping the environment along the way.  Farmer and television presenter Adam Henson will also be talking about how we can do our bit to help get the best from our beef.

RECIPE USING LEFTOVERS WITH SOME ADDED INGREDIENTS

My Tips

  • Freeze what you can’t use immediately for another day.  I have frozen banana, cucumber, meat, chicken, soups and much much more waiting to be used.  I especially dislike throwing away beef, as it’s so expensive, and if an animal is providing food for me, I like to use as much of it as I can.
  • Make stock from bones to use another day in gravy, soups, stews and casseroles.
  • Measure your ingredients and check portion sizes before grabbing things in the shopping aisle.  I find it easier to shop online for many things, as I tend to buy what I need, rather that just grabbing a big bag while the boys are moaning about being in the shop too long.
  • Meal planning.  It really does help.  This is one thing I really need to get smarter at, as I tend to over shop and have to freeze lots.
  • Recycle.  Having a separate scraps bin really made me take stock of the raw/fresh food that went by way of the bin.  In the days it went into the big bin, I didn’t have a good handle on how much we threw away.  Now I do…..
  • If you don’t have enough of one thing, add something else from your cupboard to pad it out.  This is exactly what I did for my Beef Rostis.  I had a pan full of mashed potatoes, when family cancelled supper at the weekend.  I wanted to use them up, along with a packet of beef slices that my mum had asked for, but hadn’t eaten more than one teensy slice from.

BEEF ROSTIS WITH ONION AND MINI SWEET PEPPERS

I had nowhere near enough of any one thing for this recipe, so I just threw a lot of different things together, and out came these lovely beef rostis.  Even my husband was well impressed, and he’s quite a picky eater.

I had a load of mashed potato, so I added enough for a large batch of rostis.  My boys ate two each with some mushy peas for supper, so they were very quickly demolished around here.  I’d make these again, in different varieties.

Beef Rostis with Sweet Pepper and Onion 12 700

Ingredients (Makes 10 Rostis)

800g Mashed Potato.
200g Beef, sliced thinly.
200g Onion, finely sliced.
3 Mini Sweet Peppers, sliced and with seeds removed. I used red, yellow and orange.
50g Carrots, sliced and cubed.
Ruskoline Crumb Dressing.
5 Eggs.
Plain Flour.
5ml Rapeseed Oil.

Beef Rostis with Sweet Pepper and Onion 700

Method

I used my Actifry with the Snacking basket to cook these, but you can easily use a frying pan or even oven cook them too, although I’ve never actually made rostis in the oven.

Step One

Cook your onions with the peppers and carrots in the rapeseed oil, until fully cooked.

Depending on how you cook, you might need a little more oil.  If yours are already cooked leftover vegetables, you can miss out this step.  I sauteed mine in the Actifry.  Try not to let them turn brown as it spoils the look of the Rosti when they’re cut open.  I took around 10 minutes to cook mine.

Beef Rostis with Sweet Pepper and Onion 4 700

Step Two

Put your potatoes and beef into a bowl, and add your vegetables and mix thoroughly.

Beef Rostis with Sweet Pepper and Onion 5 700

Beef Rostis with Sweet Pepper and Onion 3 700

Step Three

Get three dishes, and crack three eggs into one, and whisk them up briskly until mixed.  Put Ruskoline into your second bowl, and plain flour into the third.  You can add more of these as you go, if you need it.  I used 5 eggs in total.

Beef Rostis with Sweet Pepper and Onion 6 700

Step Four

Form your mix into slightly smaller than palm sized balls and flatten them, pressing together to firm them up.  They may be a little moist at this point, which is what the flour is for.  Dip each patty into the flour and make sure it is fully coated.  I flour all my rostis first.  When they are all covered in flour, I finish the next two steps for each rosti in turn, covering it with egg, then rolling each one around in the ruskoline until fully coated.  Be warned.  It’s a messy business.  Kids love making these.

Beef Rostis with Sweet Pepper and Onion 10 700

Beef Rostis with Sweet Pepper and Onion 9 700

Beef Rostis with Sweet Pepper and Onion 11 700

Step Five

In my Actifry Snacking Basket, these took around 5 minutes for mine to be thoroughly hot.  You could shallow fry yours or oven bake on a moderate heat for around 20 minutes, or until fully hot inside.

Beef Rostis with Sweet Pepper and Onion 8 700

Beef Rostis with Sweet Pepper and Onion 2 700

Now pop on over to Love Food Hate Waste and add your own tips…

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Actifry Recipe: Garlic Infused Mixed Potatoes

This was so simple, that I wish I’d done it long ago.  I do love sweet potatoes, and adding them to my Actifry was a no brainer.

Garlic Infused Mixed Potatoes 10002

Actifry Recipe: Garlic Infused Mixed Potatoes

Lesley Smith
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main
Cuisine Main
Servings 6 Small Portions

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g Baby Potatoes
  • 300 g Sweet Potatoes
  • 2 Actifry Spoons of Garlic Infused Rapeseed Oil.
  • Chopped Parsley
  • Salt
  • 3 g Bullion Powder

Instructions
 

  • Leave the skin on baby potatoes, and simply wash and chop them into small pieces. I didn't do this scientifically, or to any definite shape.

  • Peel the sweet potatoes, and chop them up in the same way as the baby potatoes.

  • Put them all into the Actifry, and drizzle on two spoons of the oil, and mix in the bullion powder. For this, I used what I had, which was a tub of red wine casserole powder. Just use what you have, and if you're out of something, crumble in a stock cube or two.

  • Select around 20 minutes on your machine, or until your baby potatoes are fully cooked.

  • Serve with a little parsley to garnish on top.

Garlic Infused Mixed Potatoes 10003

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I’ve a confession to make.

Yes, I have.  Through stress, and under active thyroid and diabetes, over the spell of a few years, I gained a bunch of weight, and I mean a whole bunch.

100lbs if I’m to be exact.

Last June, I was diagnosed and put on meds for my diabetes and for my underactive thyroid.  The thought of losing a limb or going blind terrified me, but the possibility of losing was daunting.  I’d reached as low a point as I could go.

Yet, I didn’t really share.  How could I?  I met many of my fellow bloggers in 2011, in London, but have not met any since.

My circle has shrunk and shrunk, and while my kids are part of the reason, they’re not the reason I turned down a lovely TV company on their offer of being part of something awesome.  My weight gain was also the reason there have been so few photos of me over the last few years.   I’ve avoided the camera like the proverbial plague.

So, last June 2015, I kick started my change.  To stay alive and keep my limbs, I needed to get in control of my life.  Having my thyroid balanced again made a huge difference, and instead of maintaining and often gaining at sometimes calorie levels of 800-1000 a day, suddenly, eating 1200 calories a day meant I was losing weight which helps with the diabetes.

Having a medical condition may have been responsible for me gaining weight, but I have still had to put the work in to lose it, and it’s been a long haul so far.

I’ve lost weight in the past, pre online diet websites, and I used to track using a spreadsheet.  This time round, I took My Fitness Pal seriously, and it’s free, so I had nothing to lose by starting to log my food.  I started off being majorly stupid.  Going down to 300-400 calories a day, and all low carb at the same time.  It was completely unsustainable, but it’s the way I’d lost weight, every time, since my first “diet,” at 15, when I lost a stone the sensible way, by calories in v calories out.  What my 15-year-old self knew, was that fad diets just don’t work – at all.  Somehow, along the way, I forgot how to be sensible.  And now you know why I make so many soups….

Me (1 of 1)As of now, I’m 83 pounds down, and with only 17 to go until my gain started, probably around 2009/2010, I’m eyeing up being back to the weight I was at 15, as I can see me getting there this time round.  I’m conscious that I will have to eat at this level for what is possibly the rest of my life, eating around the 1200 calorie mark, but I can live with that.  What I struggled with is gaining at 1000 and less, as people just didn’t believe me, so I’d hibernate away from the world more and more, until I became a virtual recluse, only going out the front door when it was absolutely necessary or for people who knew me through the gain.  For people I hadn’t seen for years, I made every excuse under the sun to avoid seeing them.  Ok, I know it’s a flattering picture from a night out, but hey, after all this weight loss, I deserve a little bit of flattery. 🙂

The one thing people don’t tell you when they’re really fat, is how much of a struggle it is to get through daily life.  Just tying shoelaces is a near impossibility, as is bending down to pick things up from the floor.  And the shame, when you’re the fattest person in a room is simply incredible, if you feel all sorts of negative emotions around being overweight, which I do.  My father in law died, and the only thing I could get on my expanded backside was a pair of dark coloured jeans, that were so tight that I felt they were cutting me in half.  I saw the half lopsided eye sliding people, even though I wore what looked like a suit jacket to cover up a bit, but I suspect many people thought my wearing jeans was disrespectful, but I’d no choice in it.  I’d convinced myself that “something” would fit, and on the day, when I tried to find something……there was nothing.  It was put on the jeans or not go, and that wasn’t an option for a family member.

I’ve declined to go to two funerals of people I should have gone to, simply because I couldn’t face people seeing how fat I’d got.  I always pulled childcare duty, going out of my way to do it, in an excuse to be busy, and have a reason not to go.

Then, we’d have someone like the TV personality who gained and lost weight to “prove,” how lazy us fatties were, and I’d feel even worse about myself, and possibly eat something that took me over my very low maintenance level, and that would make it even worse again.

It’s safe to say, that I’ve lost more years than I care to think of recently, due to the wobbly blubber that I laid down under my skin.

So – extreme weight loss…. Yep, that’s what it’s called.  I qualify for that now, but I’ve still got possibly a fair few to go, before I try to reach my age 15 weight…….  I think I’ll aim for the 100 mark, then see where I go from there.  At the 100lb mark, is where people used to tell me I was too thin, despite still being past the middle section of the BMI chart.  I’ve also started C25K, using the NHS running app, and have lost inches that don’t correspond to the numbers on the scale, so I’m getting slowly smaller, despite not losing so much recently.

The big ho ha, is people I’ve not seen for months, for whom, I’ve dropped almost 6 stone, and they say nothing………  I’m never sure whether to laugh or not.  Perhaps they’re scared to say anything in case I pile it back on again. 🙂

Anyway, that’s where I’m at, and why this blog is turning so foodie.  Food is becoming something I enjoy very much now that I can eat more than I used to, but making healthy choices has become a big part of my life, with some treats thrown in.

My youngest has joined me in doing Couch to 5K, and we’re muddling along nicely, despite my fibromyalgia that means my feet often suffer.  Hopefully they get better with time, and I did the first weeks wearing Fitflop trainers…  Nothing else would do, but I’ve now got myself proper ones, and I’m really pleased that one of my boys has joined me in doing it.

The last part of my weight seems to be taking an age to shift.  I only lost 1lb in the last three weeks, so it’s going to take a while.

There, I’ve done it.  So, now you all know…

Love and light,

Lesley

ps, ginger tea for weight loss tends to get mentioned a lot.  Make your own mind up about it.

 

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Happy Pancake Day 2016: Strawberry Pancakes

It’s that time again, the Shrove Tuesday, that every year, brings out the pancake maker in all of us.

This time round, I’ve opted for a fruity version, with some lovely strawberry pancakes, that get a little bit of goodness in our kids, while they enjoy some deliciousness at the same time.  Pancakes are easy to make, but somehow, I always manage to burn the first couple, until I get into my stride.  I rarely have that perfect circular shaped pancake.  I just throw mine in and hope for the best.  I’ll keep my pancake shape envy under wraps….as they taste awesome anyway.

This recipe can make up to 12 fairly largish traditional and quite fluffy pancakes, but you could get more if you make them smaller.  I think I make ours too big.

Strawberry Pancakes

Strawberry Pancakes Recipe

Lesley Smith
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Baking
Cuisine Sweet Treats
Servings 8 -12

Ingredients
  

  • 35 g Baking Powder
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 40 g Soft Butter
  • 35 g Caster Sugar
  • 300 ml Semi Skimmed Milk
  • 250 g Plain Flour
  • 150 g Sliced and Chopped Strawberries

Instructions
 

  • Start by simply putting all your ingredients into your mixer, or bowl. Mix for around three minutes. The mix is thick in this version of pancake batter, so don't let it scare you.

  • Heat a thick bottomed frying pan (or any pan) on the hob. I prefer not to use oil to cook my pancakes, but it means I do have to keep a close eye on them. I leave the heat almost at the lowest that it can go and cook them very slowly.

  • When you see the top of the dollop of pancake mix beginning to bubble up, then it is time to turn over your pancake to cook the other side, which won't take long at all. Don't leave pancakes alone on the hob as they will burn very quickly.

  • Spread with a little butter or strawberry jam to complement the added fruit, or a drizzle of maple syrup.

If you’re feeling more adventurous, why not try:

Maltesers Pancakes

Malteser Pancakes 1

American Fluffy Pancakes

American Pancakes Featured

Low Carb and Gluten Free Cream Cheese Pancakes

Cream Cheese Pancakes 3

 

 

 

 

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Home Made Burgers with Red & Orange Peppers

Making our own burgers is incredibly easy, and we then know what’s actually in them.  I don’t expect to have to mince slabs of meat, but I do like getting bags of mince, that I can use to make my own burgers, meatballs and more, as it’s just so easy to do, and saves me having to decide on different things when I’m shopping.

It takes very little time to actually throw some ingredients together, and it’s a bit of a no brainer to me.  Yes, the kids sometimes go to buy a sweetie and come back with a pack of sausages (yes, I know they’re strange) but I like to have choices when I’m using ingredients in my kitchen.  I used mince from The Lean Butcher, which is always fabulous, as it can come delivered straight to my door.

This is so simple and just thrown together with some mince and chopped veg.  It’s all fresh, it’s all ours, and I don’t have to worry what’s been added to it in the forming process.

I only had some peppers and onion left over from soup, so they were a perfect go together for these burgers.

Burger With Red and Orange Peppers

Burger With Red and Orange Peppers 5 Ora TowelsWe used our samples of the new Ora Stack to eat our burgers with, as they’re a perfect size.   They’re a super absorbent and ultra strong kitchen roll, that comes in a circular shape on a stack, which means it’s a one handed lift off, simply by using a thumb.

As they’re a one hand grab, I’ve found myself reaching for these before using my regular kitchen rolls, so mine disappeared pretty quickly.  I’ve not seen them in shops here yet, but I’ll be picking some up when I do.

There’s nothing worse than having to rip off a piece of kitchen roll with two hands, when one is covered in food while I’m cooking.  I found them very absorbent and one piece went a long way.

Burgers with Red and Orange Peppers Recipe

Burger With Red and Orange Peppers

Home Made Burgers with Red and Orange Peppers

Lesley Smith
4 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Mains / Burgers
Cuisine British
Servings 5 -10

Ingredients
  

  • 800 g Lean Minced Beef.
  • 60 g Red Pepper chopped.
  • 60 g Orange Pepper chopped.
  • 50 g Onion finely chopped.
  • Half Teaspoon Salt.
  • Half Teaspoon Pepper.

Instructions
 

  • Put your mince into a bowl, and then pour in the chopped vegetables.

  • Add in the salt and pepper.

  • I use my hands for best effect with this, as I find that a wooden spoon takes too long, and just doesn't allow the peppers and onion to be fully mixed with the mince. It takes a couple of minutes to thoroughly mix the food together until it is in a loosely bound state.

  • I use a cheap burger press I bought from Lakeland that makes burgers around 180g each, but before that, I used to make mine by hand, simply taking a dollop of the mixture and shaping it into a patty with my hands.

  • For smaller burgers, you could easily get around 10 from this mix, but I made 5 larger burgers.

  • Everyone had different requirements for how they like their burgers cooked, ie red in the middle, fully cooked, or almost burned black. I like mine well done, so gauge your own timings for cooking in a moderate oven for as long as you need to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Happy Burns Day

Do you call it Burns Day or Burns Night?  I’m not sure it makes a difference.

A huge thank you to Macsween Haggis for our little gift and Burns Night Supper Guide.

Macsween Haggis 3

Haggis doesn’t always have to be the full haggis, neeps and tatties.   There are other things we can do with it, and there’s even a vegetarian option, as well as a gourmet Venison Haggis, which is new to me.

For today, I was running out of time, so I grabbed a couple of bags of baby potatoes and some butternut squash and sweet potato prepared vegetables and plonked them into the steamer.  With our haggis in the microwave, our Burns Night supper has been quick, easy and no hassle whatsoever.

Haggis

I think I’m going to try the Macsween Haggis Venison Haggis Croquettes later this week, as they look fabulous in their recipe section.  For someone like me, who is from Scotland, it’s hard to think of anyone who hasn’t ever actually tried eating it, but I’m sure there are a fair few of my readers who are all new to it.

Haggis isn’t just for Burns night.  The 25th Jan is traditionally when we celebrate the life and work of the bard, Robert Burns, Scotland’s national poet, but haggis is nutritious and easy to use as an ingredient to fabulous dishes.

If you’ve never tried haggis, then perhaps it’s about time you gave it a wee try.  Other dishes I’ve made with haggis are below, and the soup was absolutely heavenly.

We recite the Selkirk Grace as a part of the celebration.

Selkirk Grace

Some hae meat and canna eat

And some wad eat that want it:

But we hae meat and we can eat,

And sae the Lord be thankit.

Robert Burns 1759-1796

Vegetarian Haggis Soup

Vegetarian Haggis Soup 3 700

Haggis in a Baked Potato

Haggis with Baked Potato

Also on my blog, find out more.

What is Burns Night?

10 Tips for burns night, any night, on a budget.

Burns Night Doric Poem

 

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Courgette Jam (with some cucumber)

Courgette and Cucumber Jam 3

I didn’t have quite enough courgette to use up the 1kg of sugar in my cupboard, so there was an added 150g cucumber to make up the numbers.  We were quite surprised by the result of this, as it’s a very marmalade style texture and taste, but without the tartness.

I will definitely make this again.

I didn’t do any of this picking out of the pips.  They all went into the jam.

Courgette Jam (with some cucumber)

Lesley Smith
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Preserves
Cuisine Scotland
Servings 3 x 1lb Jars

Ingredients
  

  • 1 kg Peeled and Chopped Courgette and Cucumber. Chop into small squares or slices.
  • 1 kg Granulated Sugar
  • 1 Sachet Tate and Lyle Pectin

Instructions
 

  • Remember to prepare your jars for use. Sterilising them while your jam cooks.

  • Either steam the vegetables, or add a little water and bubble the courgette and cucumber on the stove, until the vegetables break down, and boil off any excess water. I think I overdid this, but it hasn't made any difference to the jam. Mine is lovely, but a little thick.

  • Add the sugar and pectin to your jam, folding it into the courgette and cucumber.

  • I use a hand stick blender at this point to mulch down most of the seeds. In the end, I only had a few left, which wasn't a problem.

  • Then let the sugar dissolve over a low heat, then rapid boil for up to twenty minutes, or until your jam reaches setting point.

  • To find out if my jam is ready, I keep a couple of teaplates in the fridge for a few minutes, then let a few drops land. When the surface creases if you push it with the back of a spoon, your jam is ready.

  • Serve as usual, like any other sweet jam.

 

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Airfryer – Actifry Recipe – Scrambled Eggs with Cheese & Tomato

Actifry Scrambled Eggs 2 (1 of 1)

Actifry Scrambled Eggs with Cheese 1 (1 of 1)

Actifry Recipe - Scrambled Eggs with Cheese & Tomato

Lesley Smith
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Prep Time 2 minutes
Total Time 2 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine British

Ingredients
  

  • 4 Large Eggs.
  • 200 m Milk.
  • 50 g Grated Cheese.
  • 8 Cherry Tomatoes cut in half.
  • Salt and Pepper to Taste.
  • Oil Spray – I used the one cal buttery version.

Instructions
 

  • Ensure the air fryer, and especially the paddle, has a light covering of oil spray. Add a very small amount of Rapeseed oil to the bottom of the pan if you wish, for cooking the eggs.

  • Ensure the paddle is correctly placed in the machine.

  • Ensure the lid is firmly closed during all cooking times.

  • Mix 4 eggs with 200ml milk in a jug, and lightly season with salt and pepper.

  • Pop your mixture into the air fryer and set the timer for 6 minutes.

  • When the timer is finished, open the lid and use a wooden scraper to take any egg mix from the sides of the bowl and put it back to the bottom. Add the tomatoes.

  • Set the timer for a further 3 minutes, then check your eggs. Your machine might need a little longer. When the eggs are fully cooked, your meal is ready.

  • Serve in a pre-warmed bowl, and sprinkle the grated cheese on top. Wait 30 seconds, then eat.