Author: Scottish Mum

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Project 366, 1/365 for me. My Old Lady Enjoying the Smells

My girl is 11.  She is blind with cancer and arthritis, but still she enjoys walking, cuddles and food.  She’s spending more and more time outside, so I suspect this year I will be taking lots of pictures of her as we really don’t have that many.  This is a new start for me joining the project, so adding more pictures of here will a common thing I suspect.  If I’ve done it wrong as I’m joining really late, someone please give me a shove to get it right.

 

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Strawberry Cheesecake with Fresh Scotty Brand Strawberries

Our delivery of strawberries arrived, and two boxes were eaten almost immediately by children who ate them like sweeties.  They were so sweet and juicy that I was reminded of the strawberries we used to get as kids.

Our challenge came via this adorable recipe from Scotty Brand for cheesecake pots.  You can download the Scotty Brand recipe from the link, and my version is below.  I didn’t have all the ingredients to hand, so I have changed the recipe to suit my kitchen cupboard.

The kids wolfed down some glasses of cheesecake as soon as they were made and they didn’t have the chance to set.   We only have 3 glasses left for after their evening meal tonight.  I suspect they will disappear sharply.

Strawberry Cheesecake  Makes up to 8 glasses.

Ingredients

Filling

  •  600 g Scotty Brand strawberries, blended
  •  500 g cream cheese
  • 200 ml whipping cream, whipped
  • 30 g gelatine
  • 6 tbsp hot water
  • 3 tbsp icing sugar

Base

  • 400 g digestive biscuits, crushed
  • 100 g butter, melted

Method

1. Melt butter and mix with crushed biscuit crumb.  Press into individual glasses.

2. Beat soft cheese (mascapone here) and mix with 3 tablespoons of icing sugar.  Fold in whipped cream.

3. Blend the strawberries until it’s a pulpy mush.

4. Dissolve 30 g gelatine using hot water.  Add half to the cheese mix and half to the blended strawberries.

5. Pour a layer of the blended strawberries into the glasses.  I put mine in the freezer for 10 minutes to set the strawberries a little.

6. Smooth the cheesecake mix as the next layer.

7. Pour the last of the blended strawberries on the top and leave overnight to set.

8.  Add strawberries, cream or topping before serving.

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Funky Foodies June – Month 1

Funky Foodies

Funky Foodies is here on the Scottish Mum Blog:

  • It is a monthly linkie, which will be opened on the first day of the month and will close on the last day.
  • A medal will be awarded for the Star Recipe every month, and the fabulous trophy in the blog badge will be awarded at the end of a whole year of the Funky Foodies.   If you want to find out more about it, read here.
  • All you have to do is share a recipe from your own blog and link it up to qualify.
  • Try to pop around and share the comment love with other funky foodies.  We all like a little love and might come across some fabulous recipes.
If you want to host the linkie on your own blog as a blog hop, get the code here :     get the InLinkz code

Simply add the link to your recipe on your own blog, and share your latest recipe with everyone taking part.  If you don’t want to miss the linkie being opened, subscribe to RSS or by email in the blog header.  I’m looking forward to sending off the first medal.  The code is below if you want to add the badge to your post or your blog.  I’ll add recipes of mine to share, although I don’t count in the recipe challenge.

Funky Foodies

Feel free to copy the text in bold into a text widget or the html of your post if you’d like to add the small blog badge to your own blog / post.  It makes finding you easier for other funky foodies.

<img src=”  http://scottishmum.com/wp-content/uploads/100-funky-foodies.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”Funky Foodies” />


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Restaurant Review – Frankie & Bennys in Aberdeen

When the PR offered us a voucher to go and try out the new menu at Frankie and Benny’s, I just couldn’t turn that down.  It did take us a while to get to using our voucher, so ours is probably one of the last reviews in.

We visited on a week night when middler was on respite, so there were only four of us to sample the menu and no jumpy, moody and excited special needs tornado to work around.  Lots of bribery and behaviour points were cashed in and off we went down to Frankie & Bennys at the beach.

Initial Impressions

When we arrived, the place was quite empty.  Strangely, they tried to seat us right next to the serving / cooking area where it’s noisy and hot with servers walking past all the time.  It was in the middle of the tables so  had servers walking behind and up both sides constantly.

We said nothing, but got up and moved to the back of the restaurant where it was quieter and with more comfortable seats.  It seemed as if they were keeping the quieter booth type seats for later diners, and putting the kids where the noise was.

Excitedly, the kids ran up to the entry desk to get their crayons and paper, only to be told they had run out.   The restaurant is right next to a poundshop, so I’d have guessed it would be easy enough to go out and get some crayons and put them in some cups to share around the kids who are used to getting them.  Disappointing start, but not the end of the world.

Menu wise, there were loads of options to choose from.  I suspect everyone could find something to eat.

Ordering

Ordering was simple and easy enough, and I’d say that the menu for kids is reasonable and well priced on the whole.  I’d expected to see items marked as “new” on the menu, but it looked the same as it was the last time we were in, and that was a few years ago now.  The waitress was pleasant and helpful, but wasn’t sure of what was new either.

Serving Time

It took a while.   We got our food about 20 – 30 minutes after ordering, and people who arrived after us were served their meals first.   We weren’t in a hurry so it wasn’t a problem although the hungry kids were a bit peeved.

The Food

Mains

The kids had their favourites and the man had a burger.  I wanted a pizza and the rest of them wanted a bit too, so I ordered a 15″ for us all to share.  The chicken and sweetcorn on top was a little sparse on the pizza, but other than that, it was lovely.  The junior burger was as big as his dad’s.  He was very happy with that.

Dad Burger

Kids Junior Burger

Kids Junior Wraps

Sharing Pizza

Dessert

Dessert for the kids was a letdown.  The menu says brownie pieces with ice cream so when a teensy sundae glass arrived with one tiny bit of brownie and one scoop of ice-cream, their faces fell.  With the spectacular dishes for mains, they expected a spectacular sundae.

Brownie Pieces?  There was one.

The grown ups had ordered a sharing sundae so the kids ended up having most of that.

Room for Improvement

Most definitely in the seating and kids arenas.  Kids want to be impressed.  If the parents don’t feel kids have had what they have been promised, they are unlikely to go back and spend more money on it.  For us it was fine as the bill was almost all covered by our voucher, but if I was paying over £60 to have kids disappointed with dessert, I’d have been a tad unhappy about it.

I didn’t complain as we had a large part of the bill paid for us.  For the kids sundae glass, I’d have expected two scoops of ice cream with a couple of brownie pieces to fill the teensy glass and look impressive.

Overall

The waitress got a little stressed out when I handed over the voucher and she immediately whisked away the bill without letting me see the original, and I had to ask for it.  She came back for the remaining £10 or so to be paid and when I asked her a few questions about the menu, she scuttled off and left the card machine and salver on our table.  I had to go after her before we left and give it back to her.

We enjoyed our meal and it was a nice break from the usual school night routine, so yes, it was an enjoyable meal for us, but could have been better if the kids had been catered for more.

Would I pay that price for us as a family, given that we were one person short, and it would end up with a bill over £70 without any starters?  I don’t really know to be honest.  I thought the soft drinks prices were quite high, and the lack of kiddie friendliness spoiled it.

We were provided with a £50 voucher in exchange for an honest review as a family.

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Coconut and Lime Soup – New Scottish Mum Recipe

I know, I know, you probably all think I have gone absolutely bonkers to make soup and create a recipe with coconut and lime, but it was lovely.

So lovely that my kids loved it too.  I was completely prepared for them to say they hated it so it was a nice surprise.  The littlest one is my sticking point as he tends to only want the best of everything and new foods are a hit or a miss as to whether he will eat them or not.

I’m also adding this into Jacqueline’s No Croutons Required for August 2012 as this is an original recipe that I am very happy with.

Carrot and Lime Soup Recipe

  • 10 – 12 servings.
  • Preparation, 15 – 20 minutes + cooking time.
  • Nutritional, rich source of vegetables.

Ingredients

  • 1 litre stock.  fruit, vegetable, chicken or beef.  I used chicken to give the soup a good strong base, as I prefer the taste of soups with poultry stock.
  • 2 litres water.
  • 1 chicken stock cube.
  • 3 large carrots.
  • 5 medium to large potatoes.
  • 1 large onion, or 2 small ones.
  • 3 x limes, squeezed for juice, rind removed.   You could use lime juice for cooking.
  • 2 largish leeks.
  • 400g good quality coconut milk.
  • half litre of milk.
  • salt.
  • pepper.
  • ginger.
  • basil.

Method

  •  Simmer stock and add 2 litres of water.
  • Peel, scrape and chop all vegetables and add to pot.
  • Add 2 teaspoons of salt, pepper and ginger.  I used ground rainbow peppercorns and ground ginger.
  • Add lime juice and flesh of lime, with pith removed if you are using fresh.
  • Simmer for 15 minutes, then add half a litre of milk, 400g coconut milk and the stock cube.
  • Simmer until carrots and potatoes are cooked, then blend.
  • Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Serve with basil on the top.
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Traditional Scottish Oakcakes

Oat cakes, normally known as oatcakes in Scotland, are a traditional Scottish food.  I’ve heard there is a version in England that is more like thick pancakes, and I’ll have to look for those to try in the future.   The Scottish oatcakes recipe is simple and quick.

Oatcakes are a great accompaniment to stovies, corned beef hash, or any slow cooked meal, stew or stroganoff.

A Scottish breakfast could also be found using the humble oatcake with butter, cheese, or jam added to the top.

Most Scottish food is relatively easy to make, and to smash the assumption that it is all deep fried mars bars up the Aberdeenshire neck of the woods, I suspect that adding more traditional Scottish recipes to my blog could be a good idea.  Sorry to disappoint the deep fried mars bar brigade, but I’ve yet to meet a Scot whose eaten one.

To make oatcakes, make sure you buy proper oatmeal, preferrably pinhead as more rough versions can be harder to work with.

Please don’t be tempted to try porridge oats, buy oatmeal – every time.

Oatcake Recipe

  • 8 – 10 large oatcakes.
  • Preparation, 15 minutes
  • Nutritional, oatmeal is a good source of dietary fibre.

Ingredients

  •  200g pinhead oatmeal
  • 35g butter
  • half teaspoon of baking powder
  • half teaspoon of salt
  • 6 – 8 tablespoons of water

Method

  • Heat the butter and water in a saucepan or the microwave.  I blast mine in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time until the butter is melted. Mix the oatmeal, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
  • Add the melted butter and water to the oatmeal mix in your bowl.  Mix together until it forms a stiff dough.  You may need to add a little extra water to make the dough form.  If you need more water, add half a teaspoon at a time,  and don’t be afraid to get your fingers in the bowl to make the dough work.

  • Dust a clean surface with some oatmeal to roll out the dough.
  • Use a cutter to cut oatcakes into circles, or whatever shape you have available.  If you don’t have a cutter, just cut them into triangle or square shapes.  I used a sandwich cutter for larger sized oatcakes.
  • Grease a heavy bottomed frying pan or griddle.  I have a cast iron pan that I use for things like this.  The oatcakes should be cooked on a low heat for approximately 5-6 minutes each side until they begin to go brown.
Being new to the foodie community, I’m making my oatcakes my first entry into best of british – Scottish Challenge
Rules:
 The full rules are posted on The Face of New World Appliances. However, here is a summary of what you have to do to enter:
  • Post your recipe on your blog with a link back to The Face of New World Appliances AND to the hosting post.  Visit the host post to find out how to enter fully.
  • The round-up of entries will be posted on or before the 20th July.

 

 

 

 

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Gold Medallists Stamps to be issued for our London winners in 2012

How’s this for something unusual and possibly collectable to commemorate our Team GB Gold Medal wins during London 2012?

When big events come our way, it’s nice to have a little momento to remember them by.  I’m not one for collecting trinkets or ornaments, so the stamp initiative appeals to my sense of being appropriate, affordable and realistic.

Next day stamps are going to be issued, featuring our Gold Medallists from the Olympic Games, by the Royal Mail.  They will recognise the achievements of each win at the 2012 Olympic Games that will run from the 27th July to 12th August.

Sally Gunnell, OBE launched the official announcement and revealed the design.  As an Olympic gold medalist herself, who won the 1992 games in Barcelona’s 400m hurdles event, Sally is a good choice to champion the stamps.

The main image of the stamp will, wherever possible, be a photograph of the Team GB athlete or team in action from their gold medal winning final. Where this can’t be achieved, the image will be of the athlete’s gold medal winning journey taken from a heat or from their gold medal award moment on the podium

This is likely to be the only time in my life that the Olympics are going to grace these shores, so I am very likely to squirrel a copy of these stamps away with my Queens 25th Jubilee coin, and hopefully also one from the 50th.

Royal Mail’s team of picture editors and graphic designers will be on standby and ready to swing into action when Team GB strikes gold.

This will be the first time any host country has used action shots for Gold Medal stamps and issued them the next day, during the Games. This will also be a first for next day stamps from Royal Mail.  Be The First in line to get your own stamps, although I suspect I will be tempted to get the Official 2012 Compendium at £20 each so that my boys can have one each.

Royal Mail will also be the first postal service of a host country to issue stamps which will celebrate the start of the Paralympic Games on 29th August.

The stamps seem to be a nice touch and give the winners families an affordable and memorable reminder of great sportmanship.

Gold Medal stamps will be on sale at 500 selected UK Post Offices by lunchtime the next day, and on the Royal Mail website after each gold medal win by Team GB. They will then be distributed three times during the Games to a further 4,500 Post Offices nationwide.  As a first for Royal Mail, many of the 500 Post Offices will open on a Sunday for the first time during the games.

In 2008, at the Beijing games, Team GB won 19 gold medals, so it would be nice if we could have several stamps to remember our Olympic event.

Moya Greene, Royal Mail Chief Executive, said:

“Royal Mail is proud to be involved in this once in a lifetime event and to recognise the success of Team GB.

“Our Gold Medal stamps will be unique souvenirs of the Games, marking the great achievements of our talented athletes. They will be a special way for people across the country to celebrate Team GB’s gold medal wins and help mark their amazing achievement.

Royal Mail and the Olympics

Royal Mail has a proud history of commemorating the London Olympic Games.  For the 1948 Games, Royal Mail issued stamps bearing the five Olympic Rings.  Olympic stamps were not issued to mark the 1908 London Games as Royal Mail stamps could only carry images of the reigning monarch.

The Olympic Collection can be bought from Royal Mail.  Register your interest now to be one of the first in line.

Sponsored Post

Viral video by ebuzzing

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Cauliflower & Cheese Soup

I often have pots of soup on the go, and this one was an experiment as the kids all love cauliflower cheese.  I wanted to make it into a meal in a bowl, so with some extra mature cheddar from Andrew Gordon, our local butcher and fine food store, we were ready to go.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Little Black Bomber Cheese from Snowdonia UK.  It was quite soft and crumbly and was perfect for making soup.  I even tried some on charcoal biscuits and it was quite a mild taste with a lovely creamy texture.  It’s a new find that will now be regularly on our shopping list as the kids really loved it.

Ingredients

  • 1 extra large cauliflower, or 2 small cauliflowers
  • 200g smooth and creamy extra mature cheddar, I used the little black bomber.
  • 2 small onions, or 1 large onion
  • 4 large potatoes
  • 1 fennel
  • 1 litre of stock.  I used chicken as it’s what I had in the fridge.  You could use beef or vegetable.
  • 2 litres of water & half litre of milk.
  • salt and pepper to taste.
  • ciabatta to serve.

 

Method

  1. Set your stock on to cook.  For this recipe, I used ready made stock from my fridge.
  2. Add stock to 2 litres of water and 0.5 litre of milk and bring to the boil.  Turn down to a simmer and add a few pinches of salt.
  3. Chop vegetables into reasonably small sized chunks and just add them all to the pan.  You’ll need enough liquid to cover your chopped vegetables to start off with, so just add a little more water if you need to.
  4. Simmer for 25 minutes, or until all vegetables are soft. You may have to add a little extra water depending on how long you simmer for.
  5. Liquidise, or blend in the pot.
  6. Take the soup off the heat and add the cheese cut into small pieces.
  7. Stir the soup until all the cheese is melted and blend again if needed.
  8. Add salt and pepper to taste, and you’re done.