Silent Sunday – 26 January 2014
Author: Mum Scottish
Chicken and Mushroom Stir Fry
We eat a lot of stir fries in this house.
They’re easy and quick to make and fill the kids bellies up well with little effort.
Buy your own veggies, or buy some pre-cut and washed vegetables to just throw in the pot.
For this stir fry, I’d bought a bowl of stir fry veges from the Co-op and just added what there was in the fridge to make it up. I had some chicken, some more beansprouts and a couple of onions.
To serve, I simply throw it all in a big dish, plonk it on the table and everyone just helps themselves.
Ingredients
Method
- Pan Fry the chicken with the onions in a thick bottomed pan or wok until fully cooked. I use butter, but just a little at a time to cook the chicken.
- Add the pre-prepared vegetables with 2 - 3 tbsp of vegetable oil and stir for up to 5 minutes until all the vegetables are fully cooked.
- Add the Hoi Sin Sauce and cook for a further few minutes until the food is hot throughout.
Burns Night is the 25th January – What is it?
Ye’ve a heard o Rabbie Burns, the bard o Auld Lang Syne fame haven’t ye?
I thought we all did. His best known song gets pulled out every Burns Night and New Years Eve as we all link arms and sing the popular year-end anthem.
We’ve visited the birthplace of Robert Burns but sadly we forgot our camera and have nothing to show for it. We’re not allowed to take photographs inside anyway, so all you are missing are some outside ones.
Every year, on the 25th January, we celebrate his birthday, all around the world. People get dressed up in tartan kilts, often birl to the tunes of ceilidh music and sit through an ode to the haggis before it’s served. It’s celebrated in massive style in some places, and in others, it’s simply a boozy knees up or a quiet meal for the family. The traditional way to celebrate is the eating of haggis, neeps and tatties, washed down with Scotch Whisky and works of the Bard being read out to the attendees.
Having watched an ode to the haggis at my sons special school, I found the after effects to be a traumatic event as he spent a week trying to get his hands on the big kitchen knives, similar to those the storyteller swathed above her head and across the front of her body. It was a bad choice of celebration and rather strange to see a woman brandishing knives in front of kids we try to keep away from sharp implements.
My kids tend to celebrate in school, so we do little more than have haggis, neeps and tatties of some kind for tea. It’s customary to recite some of the words of the bard, so a wee bit of poetry with that dram of whisky (or irn bru for kids and non drinkers) to wash down that easily eaten food.
Burns night is all about cameraderie, friendship, fun, and laughter. Burns suppers are very popular, and up here, they seem to be everywhere. There is little chance of avoiding hearing about, taking part, or even just smiling at the songs, poetry and reverence that Robert Burns name coaxes from people. Burns night is meant to be all about “taking part.” It’s Scotland, and we don’t expect guests to sit back and wait to be entertained. Everyone is responsible for making it a good, nay great experience for everyone else. Even if it means you borrow a poetry book from your host, get involved. You’ll be glad you did.
Robert Burns is often spoken about as Scotland’s favourite son and the format changes little. After the general welcome and address, the Selkirk Grace is usually said. From there, the ode to the haggis with the cutting and serving and then people can start to eat. For the Selkirk Grace, the story goes that on a visit to St. Mary’s Isle, he was asked to say grace at dinner. The quick lines he came up with are now known as the Selkirk Grace and are as follows:
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 thanket.
Source (Wikipedia)
After the meal come the literary readings, and at the end of it all – everyone usually sings “Auld Lang Syne.”
If you’ve never been to a Burns Supper and you get an invite, make sure you go. You will enjoy it if you get involved. Everyone should go to at least one.
Silent Sunday – 19 January 2014
How To Cook A Haggis
Being Scottish through and through, I’m often asked how to cook a haggis. If you can stomach this popular dish, then you may find you really do like it. Haggis is usually a little spicy with a mealy texture.
Traditionally, a haggis was made up of the heart, liver and lungs of a sheep or lamb, with oats, suet, herbs and spices added to it. Originally, haggis would have been cooked in the sheep or lamb stomach, but these days, the casings are usually artificial and quite like the skin of a sausage. There are also vegetarian options for those who cannot stomach the meaty variety.
Most of us will buy our haggis pre-cooked and we are essentially just reheating, but you can also make your own.
1 Heating up a Pre-Cooked Haggis
There is no real right or wrong way to reheat an already cooked haggis, which is what you will usually get from a shop.
Slow Cooking
I slow cooked haggis last year with a baked potato to go with ours, and they can also be boiled or roasted. The beauty of a haggis is that it’s already cooked before it gets to you, so you really do just need to heat it up thoroughly.
On The Hob
In a pan on the hob, all you need to do is wrap the haggis in tin foil and put it in a big pan with plenty cold water. The water needs heated to simmering point and left for approximately 100 minutes per kilo. You really don’t want your haggis to be in water that is boiling and severely bubbling away, or the skin is very likely to burst on you.
Baking
In the oven, simply wrap the haggis in tin foil with a little water. Put it in an oven dish with a heat of around 180 – 190 C for around an hour. Most haggis will come with instructions on the pack for how to get the best out of your wee rubgy shaped ball of haggis.
To Serve
Just drain the water off, open the haggis skin and fluff up the haggis with a fork while you serve it up.
2 Cooking a Haggis From Scratch
Choose your meat, chop it into small pieces or mince it, add spices like cayenne pepper, allspice, nutmeg and ginger. You add the spices that you like. If you make your own, you can also add extra ingredients like onions for more flavour.
- Sheeps stomach.
- Heart liver and lungs of a lamb or sheep. Some people use pig products.
- 2 finely chopped onions.
- 10 ounces of oatmeal.
- Tablespoon of salt.
- Water
- Your chosen spices. Approximately a teaspoon of each.
What To Do
- Pre clean a sheep stomach, turn it inside out and soak it overnight in cold salted water.
- Boil the heart, liver and lungs until fully cooked. Keep the water the meat has been cooked in.
- Mince or very finely chop and mash the www.direct.gov.uk/passportsmeat.
- Mix the meat with the oatmeal, onions and spices.
- Spoon the mixture into the stomach pouch and seal it up. I’ve heard of people using needle and thread to do this, but any way of sealing it will be fine. Pierce the pouch a few times to let steam escape. I’ve heard of people using muslin squares instead of a stomach pouch or artificial casing, but I’ve not seen the results of that and have no idea how well it would work.
- Put the haggis in the stomach pouch into a big pan with cold water and add the water the meat was cooked in. Bring it to a low boil and simmer for 2 – 3 hours to allow the spices to flavour the meat.
The Sausage Softie Is Sooo Under Rated – Online Shopping At It’s Best
Getting meat through the post seems second nature to me nowadays. Look backwards a few years and I’d never have done it as I liked to see what comes home in my shopping basket.
As much as I like Tesco and Asda home shopping, I’m never comfortable with the fresh produce that can arrive as it is usually not the ones I’d have picked for myself. All us picky shoppers will know exactly what I mean. I tend to scour the backs of the shelves for the longest dated items etc.
I’ve been getting my meat from Andrew Gordon for a fair while now, and recently, he decided to help those of us who either don’t like to go shopping, or just haven’t the time to do it for ourselves. He has a new website that delivers across the whole of the UK and I’m now used to a delivery of meat arriving on my doorstep.
I really like the chicken and mince packs as he often has deals on offer that keep the prices down and allow for bulk buying and freezing for another day.
The biggest draw for me is that I know when the box is packed, that I am always going to get the best produce and never have to worry about whether it’s short dated or poor quality. I know it’s the best and I know that he can trace the meat back to the source which helps me to persuade my youngest child that he isn’t eating horse (some news items just never go away).
Sausages are usually good value and are a good size. I split two sausages in half per child. My kids like them and really get stuck in. As it’s my kids, there is loads of ketchup – so much so, it’s oozed out the side of eldests sausage butty in the picture!!!! There’s no sides, tatties, chips or anything else needed and simply a bun and some veg for a full meal. That’s my kind of cooking.
We had a fresh delivery today and I really do need to post a fair few more recipes very soon.
Featured Guest Post: Clothes for the Great Outdoors: My new season wish list
Featured Guest Post by Katie Belle
Before I became a mum, I pretty much used to go into hibernation once temperatures started falling, rushing from home to work and back home again, where I’d put the fire on and remain put, unless of course I managed to find a restaurant or bar with a cosy fire.
But, once my little ones arrived, staying indoors for any length of time became a big no no – they need fresh air and space to run, otherwise we all go a little crazy and they can’t get to sleep in the evening.
So, that famous quote by adventurer Ranulph Fiennes that there is no bad weather, only inappropriate clothing, has certainly been taken to heart in our household. I always make sure the kids have everything they need to enjoy themselves whatever the weather, whether that’s snow boots or wellies, rain coats or mittens. It’s usually me who is wearing something not warm enough for the season. So, as we enter a new year, I’ve decided to invest in a few pieces to take me from winter through to spring.
For rainy days
I used to think wellies for just for little ones. But I’ve become slightly addicted to my glossy green Hunters. They sit by the door, so they’re the first thing I pull on, I have to admit whether it’s raining or not. They are, a bit like me, starting to look their age. So I’m going to treat myself, and my feet, to a new pair. The tartan detailing on this pair from Barbour is patriotic and on-trend all at the same time.
Cross body bag
Now that my two are getting older, there’s no need to carry all the paraphernalia needed for babies. But mums still need some essentials, money when the ice-cream van inevitably arrives outside the park entrance, sticking plasters for grazed knees and water for sunny days. I’m determined not to carry around a huge tote anymore so I’ll be buying a cross body bag that will keep my hands free for pushing my children on the swings while keeping everything safe and to hand. This one from Voodoo is in a cute shape, with skull-print lining and it will add a pop of colour to any outfit.
The must-have knit
A chunky-knit cardigan is probably one of the most hard working items in your wardrobe. You can wear it under your winter coat when the mercury levels plummet, with a gilet when it starts to warm up and as a cover up over your floral dress or shorts when summer arrives. I love this plum cable knit by Soft Grey for La Redoute, which ticks the double-breasted trend for spring and summer, while keeping me cosy for winter.
A new coat
I’m still snuggled up in my woolly winter coat at the moment. But give it a couple of months and spring might start to spring and a lighter-weight cover-up will be needed, so I don’t get too hot keeping up with my two, but which protects me from showers. Trench coats never go out of style so I know I’ll get seasons upon seasons out of this one from Nasty Gal. Its slouchy shape and khaki colour give it a bit of an edge so it’s perfect dressed down for a didn’t-try-too-hard weekend look.
Boyfriend jeans
My wardrobe has been full of skinnies – in all different hues – over the past few seasons. But silhouettes are becoming much more relaxed for spring and summer. So, I’m going to be investing in a pair of boyfriend jeans that I can wear with trainers for daytime or turned up a little and worn with heels and a blazer for a casual night out with the girls. This pair by Spice Girl-turned-designer Victoria Beckham are a bit pricey, but they’re the perfect shape. I like the fact they’re mid, rather than low-rise, to keep any residual baby tummy firmly in its place.
They’re all pieces that are stylish but casual enough to wear out and about with my little ones, so we make the most of the great outdoors together, whatever the weather.
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Some great items. I’m not sure I’ll ever wear a pair of Victoria Beckham jeans, but I do like the cross body bag from Voodoo.
Prize Draw: Win an iPad Air. Closes 6th February 2014
Two years ago, I decided that I wanted to do up a few rooms in my house on a budget and not dip into the savings at Christmas.
The only stipulation was that the blog had to pay for it. I managed to do up my lounge in 2012 and I’ve finally got enough to do mini makeovers for the kids rooms this year.
I set up a separate account that the blog money goes into, which also makes it easy for me at the end of the year to know how much to declare to the ever present tax man. It’s not a huge amount, but it does help out with some lovely little extras that I’d not buy otherwise.
Lloyds Bank have launched a new Facebook app called “Year I Make It Happen.”
The app is available for people to choose a goal for 2014, which you can share with all of your Facebook friends. There are 3 sections to choose from Home, Life and Money and cover many goals such as “Do up the house”, “Buy a new car” or “Save for a rainy day.” After choosing your goal, you will be given some handy online tools to help you make your goals come true.
It’s quite simple to enter. Just leave a comment here so that I know you have entered and head on over to the App “Year I Make It Happen.” to pledge your own goal. These two options are mandatory to enter.
The entry will be by Rafflecopter as entries are logged for a random generation of the winner.
You may also Tweet about the giveaway every day, but you will need to log it in the Rafflecopter Widget for it to count as an additional entry.
The prize will be a fabulous iPad air 16gb (Wifi only) and will be sent out by first class recorded. If the widget doesn’t show up in this post, simply click the link to enter.
Summary of The Rules
- Open to UK Mainland Entrants only.
- 1 Winners will win 1 iPad air 16gb (Wifi only) .
- The prize will be sent to you.
- The winner will be notified within 7 days of the giveaway end. If the winner does not respond within 7 days, a new winner will be drawn.
- The winner will be chosen by Rafflecopter random generator.
- The Scottish Mum Blog and Lloyds Bank reserves the right to amend, add or withdraw this giveaway at any time.
- Each entry method entitles you to the corresponding number of entries in the draw.
- You may tweet daily. Each tweet counts as a rafflecopter entry, only if you enter it into the rafflecopter widget daily.
- The prize will be for one person to receive one iPad air 16gb (Wifi only).
- The prize draw ends at midnight on the 6th Feb 2014.
Simple Home Made Roast Potatoes Recipe
I like lots of recipes to be quite simple and for my roast potatoes, I usually use this basic method to make mine and sometimes just throw some extra spices or citrussy flavours into it. Everyone has their own roast potatoes recipes so this is just a guide to making the basic potatoes without any fanfare or fancy cooking.
Anyone can make roast potatoes without a deep fat fryer and I prefer mine done in the oven to how my mum used to make them. I made roasties for new years day and to be honest, if I’d known when I was younger, how easy they were to make, I’d probably never have bought pre-made ones back then.
Ingredients
Method
- Par boil potatoes for 5 - 10 minutes with a little salt in boiling water.
- Line a tray with foil and put the goosefat into the oven to melt.
- When the potatoes are ready, pop them into the tray of melted goosefat and pop them in the oven at around 200 - 220C for 10 minutes. Don't turn them over at this point or they may smush up.
- Take them out of the oven, turn the potatoes over to coat the goosefat over all the potatoes and put them back in the oven for a further 30 minutes.
- Take them out again, give them a shake and then return them to the oven for another 10 minutes. If you like them as crispy as we do, then just keep them in for a little longer.
Scots Independence – Who Cares!!
Well, if David Cameron is anything to go by, he does.
Somehow, I can’t quite believe that.
I’m a heathen, or is that an atheist? I’m never quite sure what to call myself, but I believe in very little in the way of religion, nor of politics.
At the moment, independence and religion are on a fairly even keel for me. I can neither see the point, nor follow the arguments and reasons for either, yet, I am headed to the yes group.
It’s quite simple really.
- My vote matters absolutely not in the decisions of which party rule the UK. Scotland’s vote rarely seems to make any more than ripples in a very big pond.
- We’re already pretty much devolved to such an extent that I see little “joining of the nations” as it is. Our heath, education and legal systems are very different. From my point of view, we’re paying for everything twice as it is, so why not cut out one share of the pie in Westminster.
- It “looks” very like a group of people who were born wealthy are making all the decisions for a public, whose lives they cannot hope to actually comprehend.
But, this is not about political parties is it? It’s about independence from the rest of our wee UK.
Only, it is about political parties and always will be. With a government I believed in, I might have been more inclined to support the “better together” campaign. Alex Salmond reminds me of Neil Kinnock somehow. I can’t explain why, but the imperfection of the Scottish First Minister and his ruling style draws me into a highly irrational comfort zone.
I don’t care about history, and the shock scare tactics increasingly make me dislike the no campaign, so to be honest, it’s Cameron and Clegg and their cronies who actually pushed me to see the yes side favourably. I’ve heard people say that we’ll get invaded, be undefended, have higher prices, may have to leave the EU, there might need to be a border set up to keep us out of England and more…….
I care about how much money they take from me and how much it leaves our family to live on. I care about the support for our elderly, infirm and disabled – and how they are treated. I care about how education and health works. If our systems were all aligned, I might see it differently and most of us are going to have our own private reasons for why we choose the yes or the no campaigns.
I just wish I had a clear-cut vision and understanding of it all. Making a guess based on others guesses just doesn’t fit my logical brain.
I think it’s a mistake for Cameron to turn down the invitation to debate with Salmond. It comes across as if he has something to hide.
Whatever happens in the referendum on independence on the 18th September this year is just something we’ll have to live with. In the meantime, I’ll keep my totally selfish and narrow-minded reasons for which side of the fence I’ll eventually fall on limited to my social networks, as I really have no idea what I am talking about.
I suspect few people do.
Soup Maker Recipe: Cream of Potato and Leek Soup 1.6 Litres
Potato and leek soup is so simple to make that it’s in the pot and cooking in just a few minutes in the soup maker. I rarely bother with exotic spices and herbs for basic vegetable soups and as this one has cream in it, it isn’t suitable for freezing. Leave out the cream and add water as a substitute if you plan to freeze.
Ingredients
Method
- Pop all the ingredients into the kettle. Set to smooth setting.
- Simmer for 21 minutes in the kettle. If you make the soup manually, you will have to blend it after cooking.
- Serve with fresh bread and parsley.
A Lovely Big Thank You & A Happy New Year
I think it’s about time I thanked my readers. I know a lot of you read on your phones or by e-mail as I send out the full post by mail and don’t make you come to my blog to read.
I’m into my 5th year of blogging and I never expected to still be blogging after all this time.
I see a lot of you coming from Twitter, and I love the fact that Google seems to enjoy our blogs and sends plenty of visitors.
I also have to thank the PR’s and SEO’s and business owners who get in touch, send us some lovely products to review, or sponsor some posts.
I’ve been a lucky mum with my blog and I have had some lovely writing assignments which came from simply blogging.
I wish you all the best New Year that you can possibly all have, and I look forward to another year of blogging from the Scottish Mum home.
An Old Doric Poem to wish you the best for New Year
Delicious! I have made this recipe many, many times. Always perfect.
Yep it works perfectly. Get a good crumbly stilton though.
My old machine said hot or cold water. No way cold water cooks the veggies in my old machine. Actually…