Author: Scottish Mum
Review: Tea, Powercuts and 1940’s Musicals
I was brought up on cups of tea from my grandmother while the snow trickled down outside and power cuts ruled, or on other days we watched 1940 movies on the TV. I can imagine that those occasions happened very much less often than I remember them, but as in the way of memories, we cherry pick the ones that mean the most to us for whatever reason.
I’ve never really understood putting in milk before the hot water in either tea or coffee and I can’t see the fascination for the American version of Iced Tea.
To me, tea should be hot and with plenty of flavour. Fond memories of dunking digestives and adding the milk in breakfast tea AFTER the tea is masked in a giant teapot was the preference in our house.
Tea India offered some lovely teas to try and although I’ve not been much of a tea Jeannie recently, I did used to really enjoy a cuppa. I thought it would be a good idea to get some in for summer as tea always sounds and feels much lighter than coffee on hot days.
Although Tea India is a new tea, they have three authentic Chais and a black tea blend, created with more than 70 years of blending experience to get to this point.
Tea connoisseurs will certainly enjoy these and Chai blends tend to be exotic and aromatic for an unusual alternative to the teas we usually have in our cupboards.
There is a Facebook promotion, You & I and a Cup of Chai, which gives you the chance to try a selection of the Tea India blends for free. You will receive the award-winning Black Tea, Masala Chai, Cardamom Chai and Vanilla Chai. If you want to try it for yourself, go to Facebook to enter your details.
My big box is black tea which goes down well on all occasions.
The one I really wanted to try was the Masala Chai, which describes itself as spicy, warming and reviving. Containing black tea, ginger root, cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom, cloves and star anise, it seems a great tea for a cold dreich day up here in Aberdeen.
I could really taste the cinnamon and as a cinnamon fan, that went down a treat. I could actually imagine the Masala Chai getting a little addictive around here.
There are also:
Vanilla Chai
Comforting, light blend of the finest teas with sweet spices of cinnamon, cardamom and natural vanilla flavouring offers the perfect balance of sweetness and spice, ideal as a delicious evening treat or afternoon pick-me-up.
Cardamom Chai
For a truly distinctive tea experience, Tea India’s Cardamom Chai blends premium tea leaves with exotic, aromatic cardamom. An authentic Indian ingredient, used in many traditional sweet and savoury dishes and to flavour hot drinks, cardamom seeds are often seen as a symbol of hospitality. In true Indian tradition, this invigorating blend is a real treat for the senses and will put a spring in any tea lover’s step!
Black Tea
This 100 per cent black tea has a high Assam content for a robust, golden flavour. Tea India’s signature blend, it has been sourced by the master blender, who grew up in Assam, north-east India. His innate knowledge of creating the perfect blend, using only the top two leaves and the bud of the Assam tea bush when the tea is at its freshest, ensures a superior cup of reviving tea every time.
All Tea India blends are ethically sourced based on the Ethical Trade Initiative.
How to Cook Quails Eggs: Hard and Soft Boiled
Quails eggs are easier to cook than we think, and because they are so small, the cook very fast. They make the perfect sized eggs to go with salads and side dishes and taste creamy and light.
Ingredients
Method
- For Hard Boiled Quails Eggs: Place Quails Eggs in boiling water for 4 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold tap and peel off shells to serve.
- For Soft Boiled Quails Eggs: Place Quails Eggs in boiling water for 2.5 - 3 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold tap, and peel off shells to serve.
Notes
Don't overcrowd the pan, though 12 quail eggs will happily sit on a medium sized pan with enough water to cover all the eggs. Make sure your eggs go into boiling water and a slotted spoon is best for putting them in and taking them out with the least damage to the eggs. Cool the eggs down under water to be able to peel the shells off. The shells can be tricky to remove, so take your time with them.
Silent Sunday – 02 June 2013
Fresh Home Made Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe
When I walked into Lidl and spotted their ice-cream maker, I did think about it. I’ve had ones before that people have given me as presents, but usually such a faff to use that I end up just passing them off to other people. This one was electric and after the huge success I had with their slow cooker, it wasn’t such a thought to buy another machine from them.
The bowl should go into the freezer for 24 hours before, but I got away with putting mine in the freezer and putting on the super freeze function. It says to put the mix when made up into the fridge for 4 hours too, but if all the ingredients come straight from the fridge, I don’t see the need to do that apart from keeping it to have the ice cream completely freshly made for an evening meal.
If you do buy one, don’t do what I did and put your ice cream back in the freezer while it’s still in the machine bowl, or if you do, use a soft scraper for the sides as I put mine in our freezer and scraped the side of mine with the ice cream scoop. I used a three yolk mix but it was too much. The 2 yolk mix is definitely enough for the 1 litre tub the maker comes with.
It was delicious and absolutely zero nasties or unpronouncable ingredients in it.
Fresh Home Made Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe
This recipe is adapted from the Silvercrest Ice Cream Maker Recipe Handbook.
Ingredients
Method
- The egg yolk and icing sugar needs to be mixed together. Don't be temped to use a balloon whisk as the egg yolk will stick to it. The mixture will be bright yellow when it is properly beaten together.
- Add the cold milk to the egg and icing sugar and mix it together. It will look like a buttermilk mix when it's done.
- Whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks and add it to the egg yolk and icing sugar mix. It took so long to mix to smooth for me, that I put it through a sieve to finish it off.
- Puree the strawberries and stir it in until it looks evenly mixed.
- Save the mix until about 45 minutes before you want to serve it, or use the ice cream maker to pre-make it and then freeze for later. It will take approximately 40 minutes for the ice cream to be ready and then it is simply serve, or freeze for later.
Scottish Raspberry Cranachan (Cream Crowdie)
Raspberry Cranachan is the traditional Scottish dish. It’s one that I do like, but not too often with the calorie count in it.
It’s traditional, it’s Scottish and with raspberries it can be quite tart. You can reduce the sweetness of the added sugar by using more fruit and leaving out the honey. Some people prefer much less oatmeal in their cranachan. Add it slowly until you have enough for you.
Ingredients
Method
- Toast the oatmeal in a frying pan until it reaches a nutty consistency. Leave to cool.
- Whip cream until it reaches soft peaks, but it still pliable.
- Fold the oatmeal, half the raspberries, honey and whisky into the cream. If you whip it in, the consistency will not be light and fluffy.
- Fill serving dishes and finish with some fruit on top. Serve immediately. If it is left too long, the oats will go soft.
Guest Post: Dealing with Link Requests / Sponsored Posts as a Blogger
This guest post comes from Hannah who blogs at Mummy Macaroni and is also an online marketer who knows what she’s talking about.
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Most bloggers will be familiar with receiving link requests from other websites. Usually link requests are emails from PRs or SEOs who represent their client in that they are trying to gain exposure for their clients business, or more specifically, their clients website. If you’re not sure whether you’ve come across an SEO, they usually send an email along the lines of:
“Dear blogger,
I am contacting you on behalf of my client, “www.clientwebsite.com” who specialises in children’s products. I’d like to provide you with a guest blog post about the benefits of children’s products, which would be completely unique and add value to your readers. I’m happy to make a payment for this post being published, all that I would ask in exchange is for you to include a link from the words “children’s products” from the post to my client’s site www.clientwebsite.com which is how my client will benefit.”
Now I think it only fair to explain who I am and why I am writing this post for Scottish Mum. I am, what is known as “an SEO”.
I prefer to be known as an online marketer as SEOs often get a bad name, particularly SEOs who send emails like the one above.
Why am I writing this post for Scottish Mum?
The reason I’ve got an interest in writing for this blog is because I have recently become a “mummy blogger” in my spare time as I’m currently 7 months pregnant and when I came across this blog, I was pleased to come across someone who is keen to provide blogging advice to other mummy bloggers and help educate the community about things like PageRank and other SEO related topics because I feel it important for both bloggers and SEOs to understand each other if they’re going to work together.
Whether you started blogging because you love writing, are passionate about your subject or are keen to make money from advertising, I’m sure that most of you who care about the quality of your blog and what your readers think won’t even entertain an email like the example above, and why would you?
Purely for cash?
If that’s your sole aim then great – you’re attracting requests from people willing to pay. Ideal right?
On the other hand, what if you are keen to make a bit of money from your blog but feel a bit uncomfortable about posting an article that is poorly written, too promotional or written in a style completely different to your own writing style that has gained you a good following of readers whose respect you don’t want to lose by publishing such as piece?
Well for one, if the content sent to you is of this poor quality, this is more likely to come from an SEO who sends an email like the above, the ones that give SEO a bad name within the blogging community. Not all SEOs are “bad” though, and there’s lots that bloggers can gain from working with them, whether that be money, more traffic to your site or more followers.
The good news is, that these things can still be gained without simply publishing a poor post they’ve sent you.
Here’s my tips on ensuring you benefit from working with SEOs without having to jeopardise the quality of your blog.
1. Be picky about the companies you collaborate with.
You might be approached by some SEOs representing random companies who have no relation to the topic of your blog or who you don’t feel comfortable mentioning on your blog due to their reputation or products they sell. For example, as a mummy blogger, I probably wouldn’t want to collaborate with an estate agent, as I don’t think they could offer me something that would benefit my readers. Keep the content on your blog relevant to your readers and only work with companies that are related.
2. Establish what the brand really wants to gain from you.
Sometimes an email approaching you for a guest post, or a sponsored link or product review can be unclear in stating exactly what the brand want to achieve through your blog. If you’re approached by a PR, they may be looking to build brand awareness through getting in front of your readership and followers, or they may want to promote the benefits of a new product with the help of your influence and opinion.
SEOs are more likely to want a “follow link” to their brand’s site to help that website rank higher in Google. The best thing to do is ask them what they want – they’ll realise that you’re not just a naive blogger and will more likely respect the fact that you care about the quality of your site which in turn makes you more valuable to them.
3. Understand your options.
Once you’ve established what the PR or SEO wants from you, you need to think about how you’re going to give them that. If you’re going to accept payment for publishing an article that links to the company, or you’re accepting a product in exchange for reviewing it then you should state that the post is sponsored to make it clear that you have been paid or asked to do so. You also need to make sure any links in such posts are “no follow” if you don’t want to risk breaking Google’s guidelines.
Brands who are looking for increased exposure or brand awareness through your readers should be happy with this and you’ll be happier being honest with your readers and complying with disclosure laws. SEOs however, are after follow links, so they won’t want you to add the no follow tag or label the article as ‘sponsored’. It’s up to you whether you publish the post as sponsored without adding the no follow link – you won’t be breaking any disclosure laws but you will risk losing PageRank on your site. Losing PageRank shouldn’t affect your site’s rankings in Google but it will likely make your site less attractive to other SEOs who are willing to pay you for a link as this is one of the factors they look at when looking for potential sites to get links from.
You don’t always have to go with their suggestions so if you don’t want to publish a guest post without labeling it sponsored then don’t do it, but don’t just turn away the opportunity either. Try asking yourself what you can gain from the collaboration and be creative in suggesting something different.
Ask yourself why you would naturally write about that brand, or naturally link to them. Build a relationship with them, research their products or services and find out if they have something worth linking to. Perhaps the company has experts in child safety for example, and you could provide your readers with some great insight into child safety by interviewing an expert.
Final Thoughts
Working with SEOs and PRs can be rewarding so don’t always be so quick to dismiss their requests. The most important thing to remember is that you only do what you’re comfortable with. If someone asks you to publish something and you’re not sure whether you’re allowed or will get into trouble with Google, then run it past someone (like Lesley aka Scottish Mum) who can help keep you right.
Review: The Nutribox
Nutribox offered to send a wee box of delicious nutritious snacks to try. The snacks come boxed and straight to our doors. They have a healthy eating approach to living and they only want to have snacks that are both nutritious and tasty to send out to their customers.
All the snacks are gluten free and suitable for vegetarians which means they are suitable for most of us. There are two options when ordering, ie to have a full box or a mini box to try some of the snacks, or to give as a gift.
We tried the mini nutri box but not the vegan one.
There were mixed reactions from the kids as to the taste of some of the snacks, but the red chilli cashews and the brownie were very popular indeed.
I like a piece of chocolate, but I’d have to say I’d give the chocolate bar a miss as it just wasn’t to my taste.
All boxes come with a mix of energy boosting dried fruit and nut mixes, energy bars and raw ingredients. At first when I looked at the price of the boxes, my thoughts went to how expensive they seemed to be, but when I priced some similar items in supermarkets and online stores, the price seemed to make much much more sense as the retail price of raw ingredients and snacks like these seems to be very high.
We all enjoyed some of the snacks, but I’d have to seriously think twice about signing up for an online monthly box. The easy cancellation option makes it a good option for a gift and I may send one to a friend later in the year as I think this would be perfect as a present.
Disclaimer: I was provided with a Nutribox Mini for Review
Fillet Steak, Bag Roasted in Red Wine
Using roasting bags is a relatively new find to me. I’ve usually roasted in tin foil, but have found that roasting in a bag actually gives me a much better texture and taste.
It actually doesn’t look like much on a plate, but it tasted absolutely heavenly. I’m not quite sure how else I would ever cook a fillet again, as this has spoiled me rotten. Our fillet steak came from Andrew Gordon Butchery and Fine Foods as does most of the meat on this blog nowadays. It’s always easier to have a successful meal when we start with great ingredients.
The addition of red wine made me a little nervous when I was making it, but I needn’t have worried. I’d love to try it in stout another day. The piece of fillet was gorgeous, and I think that’s what made me nervous about cooking such a great piece of meat this way, but for us, it was amazing.
Ingredients
Method
- This is so easy to do. Simply rub the pepper and salt evenly into the fillet steak.
- Put the passata and wine into the roasting bag first, and then add the other ingredients one by one. Gently hold the neck of the bag and allow the contents to mix and coat the vegetables.
- Add the fillet steak to the bag and gently move the ingredients around until the fillet steak is fully covered by the ingredients.
- Pop in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees c for approximately an hour. If you like your meat well done, leave it for 1.5 hours and check on it. If you wish to thicken your gravy, pop it in a pan and reduce or thicken it for a few minutes until it reaches the texture you prefer.
- Serve with mash, bread, rice or salad.
Silent Sunday – 26 May 2013
The Tweeny Teen Effect with Social Media
Teens are infuriating, and tweens and teens who don’t follow house rules are even more infuriating.
There are times when I wonder if I was hit with a forgetting stick the day that I decided having kids would be a good idea. In among all the good and the not so good comes the infinitely worse growing up stage where they assert their growing limbs with the determination of a dog with a bone.
Arriving home late every night doesn’t stop them deciding that parents came from outer space with ten heads, geeky glasses and the uncool stick strapped to their heads as babies. They never remember that we were once kids ourselves, and know EXACTLY what it’s like to have peer pressure, little crushes and huge anxieties.
Watching eldests Facebook is how I keep tabs on what he is doing. Yes, I allowed Facebook because the alternative was to say no, and have him set one up at a friend’s house that I had no knowledge of at all.
I’ve mentioned this before, and have been pilloried for allowing my child to be on Facebook at all, yet, I look at his friends list and see very few kids who don’t have an account. Even children whose parents have told me their kids aren’t allowed Facebook are there in all their self taken seductively photographed glory.
What worries me most is watching how some scenarios play out. I delete inappropriate things and I can talk him through some of the things that happen, and I think we’re doing quite well with it. Kids seem to be going online earlier and earlier and I’ve seen some very young children online.
I’ve spoken to parents recently who think their kids don’t have any social media accounts, but the reality is that if we don’t allow them, the parents of other kids will make those decisions for us and allow them to use it there.
I’ve heard too many parents say they don’t understand it all, or totally blast social media without the slightest idea of what it’s all about. By law of averages, anyone reading my blog is likely to be reasonably technically aware and responsible, but how sad that so many don’t take an interest in their kids online activities.
Do you allow your children to use social media? If you don’t, how do you know they don’t have accounts that you don’t know about? Do you approve of social media for kids? These are questions that all parents who are able to need to tackle.
I think our schools should be teaching our kids about the Internet from a much earlier age than they do. We can’t stop our kids accessing inappropriate content, but we can help them to deal with it when they come across it. The Internet and it’s good and bad points is not going to go away. We all have a responsibility to all our kids to help them cope with it. We tell them not to talk to strangers on one hand, but many of us let them talk to anyone they want to online.
From an early age our kids can negotiate parental controls, history deletion and sneaking on with smartphones on friends wi-fi systems.
Isn’t it time that parents who don’t use social media, or don’t approve of the Internet got with the programme and actually learned what it’s all about so they can help their kids with it instead of burying their heads in the sand and thinking it will all go away.
A Trip Down Memory Lane. It’s Messy.
My boys are fine for pictures of the early days of their adoption going online. I don’t mind as they are completely unrecognisable now and they love to look through some of them. I will always regret not having a decent camera when they were little and always being so busy that I rarely found time to take any pictures.
The kids arrived and we just got on with it. They were foster children as a last minute favour placement while we looked for our own family children and we thought they would be moving on. They settled in really quickly and just took over. When social services and the courts decided they were to go up for adoption, it just didn’t seem right to ask them to move on.
It took the dog a while to adjust and I love the picture of her sizing up the noisy thing in front of her. They used to cuddle up with the little one fast asleep in her stomach and I so wish I had managed to get some pictures of that.
There’s not much difference here is there? How much effort does it take to use the spare room for a cat before the kids arrived, and then sleep anywhere you drop once the kids arrive.
Those were the days that the animals were young, fit and healthy.
And the last time that mum was a fit healthy gym bunny with plenty time on her hands that evaporated with the arrival of the boys. I have no photos of me at the moment and I hate meeting people who knew me a few years ago. I look nothing like this now, but you won’t see a pic of me online 🙂
The early days when we had a party with sweet treats, before the days we knew they were laden with bad stuff that send you bananas. Yes, I know that colour is well out of date, those walls are almost white now and the wrecked table and chairs saw the skip long ago.
What that sugar rush led to.
Can I put cooked garlic mushrooms in the fridge for a couple of days
Neeps is just short for turnips.
Made this last night and it as perfect , i never made bread before and its the first time i…