Penelope's Pantry

New year! New... not so much...

2018-01-12T16:18:00.000+00:00

I'm going to go against the grain, and say I hate this New year new me gubbins. It just doesn't ring true for me. I'm the same person, if I want to make a change I've got 365 days in a year, and some of those days aren't grey and dismal and I don't have a houseful of chocolates and biscuits from my lovely Brownie parents, a wrist in plaster, and a general grump on because there's not enough daylight. So yes, no resolutions, no new me.

And I do try to live a good life, to think of others to be kind and thoughtful - and like everyone, there's plenty of times I fail. That I need to say sorry, to try harder. Because like all of us I'm human, and innately flawed. But the 1st January isn't going to make me change and be better. A date can't do that.

But look! A new blogpost... The first in months. Really as much as anything to say I'm still here, and still have things to say, recipes and pictures to share.

I think one of the things that stopped me in my tracks last year was attempting - and very consciously failing - at keeping up with other, bigger bloggers. I'd research photography backdrops, obsess over my inability to use Lightroom or Photoshop, worry about styling my photos. And you know what? To me, to my internet home, none of that matters. If you want to make one of my dairy free bakes, I hope you'll do so without needing a picture of it with a chalkboard or distressed floorboard as a backdrop. That you'll appreciate that sometimes a casserole is just, brown - and that if yours comes out brown, that's because mine wasn't filtered or edited. That if there's an orange dinosaur, chubby toddler fingers, or half a Brio set in the picture, that's because that's how we live our life as a family. That sometimes I just can't face running upstairs to get the DSLR which may or may not be charged, and on those days I'm going to snap a picture on the phone and post it on Instagram. Because, life with a toddler, as part of a family, doesn't lend itself to those things - and you know what? That's OK for me. And that's not to say anything at all against those lovely bloggers who manage to do those things, who are more organised than me, who's aesthetic is altogether more pulled together, who have a theme. That's right for them. For me, I think my blog, my space, is much like the world - largely chaotic, with moments of peace, organisation and control. But those moments - that whilst huge blessings, are fleeting.

So please - read on, enjoy the joyful blessings of a life full of love and chaos. Of crochet and cake. Of coffee and something else that alliterates. Of me. Of recipes I love, that are (usually) safe for Harry to eat. Of tales of family life, nursery life. And join in. Say Hi! Here, or on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Apple & carrot scones: a vegan, soya free recipe

2017-10-30T14:47:00.000+00:00

Vegan apple scones are a firm favourite here. A super quick bake, that requires no special equipment, it's boosted with some chopped apple and sneakily grated carrot. Harry loves them as a post-nursery snack, and I love them deveganised - slathered with butter and topped with some extra-mature cheese.

Our apple tree is just about finished for this year - a hefty bout of insomnia meant I dispatched most of my apples off to the inlaws as despite my love for Apple Butter, the thought of making it or much else felt entirely overwhelming. Somewhat randomly this left me with two cookers, and these scones were the perfect way to use one of them up.

Vegan apple and carrot scones

Dairy free, egg free, vegan
Serves 8

Ingredients

1 cooking apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and grated
8oz self raising flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2oz dairy free butter - I used Vitalite
2oz caster sugar
1/4 pint dairy free milk - I used blue Oatly
1oz demerera sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt
Rub in the dairy-free butter
Stir in the caster sugar, chopped apple and grated carrot
Add the milk slowly (you might not need it all) to make a soft dough
Line a baking sheet with some parchment paper and put the dough on it
Shape into a large round that's about half an inch thick. You don't need a rolling pin, just press the dough out gently.
Use a knife to gently score the circle of dough into eight sections. Don't cut completely through
Sprinkle the demerera sugar on top
Bake in the preheated oven for 22-25 minutes

Leave to cool a little, but these are just lovely served warm.

Veggie packed masala chickpea pilaff: Dairy free & vegan

2017-05-13T07:00:00.000+01:00

This veggie packed chickpea pilaff feels a little like the answer to the unachievable - a quick, healthy, easy, and non sandwich based lunch that will keep me going until supper without raiding the biscuit tin!

One thing I have learned though, is that the key to said lunch, be it a pilaff, soup, noodles or pasta is to make it the night before - much like I do with M's packed lunch. That way, as soon as Harry's settled to his nap I can get on with sustaining myself for the afternoon's activities - be it a play date at the choo choo park, swimming lesson, nursery visit or just our errands.

This recipe mainly came about because of a really horrid cough, cold and sinusy virus (that's a medical term) that we've been stuck with for the last few weeks. It's hit Harry hardest and the poor love has been sofa bound with a rocketing temperature - thank heavens for Calpol. I really felt the need to put a stop to it via a nourishing bowl of something with a good kick of chilli and garlic.

There is so little faff with this recipe - the cooking can happen in one pan, and even the chopping is minimal, although I don't apologise for double podding the broad beans. Nearly all the veggies are from my freezer (sweetcorn, peas and broad beans being entirely out of season right now!) and I always have tinned chickpeas in.

Veggie packed masala chickpea pilaff
Serves 3 - 4 depending on portion size

Good spray fry light, or 2 tablespoons flavourless oil
60g bulghur wheat
300ml freshly boiled water
60g mushrooms, roughly chopped
60g peas
60g sweetcorn
60g broad beans
60g brocolli - broken into florets
1 tin chickpeas 2 cloves of garlic, crushed or chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 red onion, diced

2 tablespoons curry paste - I used a tikka masala one that we had open in the fridge, but you could use any you like.
1/4 pint of water

Pop the bulghur wheat in a bowl and cover in freshly boiled water - I use 60g of bulghur wheat and 300ml of water - leave to stand for about 10 minutes until most of the water has been absorbed then drain in a seive (not a colander)

Put the peas, sweetcorn and broad beans into a microwaveable bowl, cover with boiling water and ping for a minute at a time until the broad beans are cooked (2 and half minutes in ours) then drain- I always take these out of their wrinkled white pods so that you just have the vibrant, soft green beans

Add the drained chickpeas, and veggies to the pan and stir the mushrooms and brocolli through. Put all of this into a large bowl and add the drained bulghur wheat

Put the pan back on the heat again (add more oil or fry light if necessary)and add the chilli, garlic and diced red onion. Cook these over a low heat for a good 10 minutes. Sorry, but this time you do want to keep stirring as the garlic and onion go horribly bitter if they catch and you want them to be sweetly softened.

To this add your curry paste and 1/4 pint of water. Bring this up to a simmer and let it cook for somewhere between 3 and five minutes(ish)

Pour this into the chickpea and veg bowl and stir so that everything is coated in the curry mix

If you're doing this the night before then split into 3 medium tupperware tubs and once cool put in the fridge. It keeps easily for the next three days and you can either warm it through or have it cold.

Life, love and little things - April 2017

2017-05-11T12:09:00.001+01:00

Yes, yes, I know. Nothing for weeks. I feel like I should apologise, and provide a fulsome and thorough explanation for my absence, but what does one say? Potty training? Toddlers? Decorating? Gardening? Coughs? Colds? Scratched eye? Does that cover it? Hopefully.

Anyway - the toddler is sleeping (for now, at least), a veg packed chilli is in the oven, a Vegan Peanut butter chocolate chip banana bread is cooling, my smoked mackerel salad is coming to room temperature and I have a litre of water. All of this points to sitting down and getting on with a blog post.

I've not done a 'Life, love and little things..' post for months, which is silly as they are far and away one of my favourite things to write. So here we are - April in photos:

The weather has meant we're far from BBQs and salads so I've been dong a fair bit of batch cooking, Chilli con carne (sometimes without the carne), Sweet potato and chickpea curry, Cottage or Shepherd's pie, Shepherdess pie have all featured. My veg packed chilli is one of Harry's favourites - he loves it in quesadillas, sprinkled with Violife.

I helped out at our Division's campsite (does anyone not know I'm a Brownie and Guide leader?) making tea and serving cake on our Bluebell days. I have to say they are the most beautiful I've ever seen them, carpeting the woods in a glorious wash of colour, their fragrance was amazing. Bluebells completely signify Spring to me and Bluebell woods are simply magical.

Harry and I have been doing a fair bit of baking lately - it's good for his counting and it's a great activity when my outdoorsy, full of energy toddler can't go outside for whatever reason. Like his mother he's a huge fan of glace cherries and marzipan so we've made our favourite dairy free Simnel cake twice since Easter.

I've got a new blanket on my crochet hook - it's going far slower than it should be so I need to really get on with it as it needs to be finished by July! The colour palette is a change for me, ice cream pastels from Attic 24's Cupcake blanket. Although I'm making a Granny stripe. I really want to make Lucy's Hydrangea blanket, but M has banned me from any more yarn buying until such time as I've finished all my ongoing works in progress!

As always, you can find these and many other snapshots of my days and weeks over on Instagram - why not hop on over and see what we're up to today?

Happy Easter

2017-04-16T07:00:00.000+01:00

Easter is a lovely celebration, for many, a family time that, like so many festivals centres around food: Hot cross buns, fish on Good Friday, roast lamb on Easter Sunday. For our family the centrepiece is always the Simnel cake - fruit soaked in a generous splosh of Amaretto, a low temperature and relatively brief bake making for a light, and beautifully almondy bake. I'm sure others would challenge this but I really don't miss the butter, and as the egg is baked it's perfect for us. As always we use Vitalite, Pure or Flora Freedom for baking.

I've not changed my recipe up at all from last year, I'm not reblogging the recipe, but here are some pictures of this year's effort.

Happy Easter everyone

Meal Planning Monday: 13th March

2017-03-13T07:00:00.000+00:00

It's FRIDAY and I'm Meal Planning. I know! Who knew I could ever be this organised? Blog wise anyway - if you know me in real life, you'll be familiar with my Planners, calendars, and lists: colour-coded, monochrome, stickered... all the lists.

This week's meal plan is another fairly standard week - M has been poorly this week (I confess, to my shame I'm not the world's most sympathetic nurse), so I'm hoping he feels better but aside from that it's business as usual.

Breakfasts have been a mixture of crumpets and shreddies (well Aldi's own brand which are lovely) with a banana. As an aside, is anyone actually managing 10 portions of fruit and veg a day? I am struggling.

Lunches - I'm feel a bit tired of sandwiches, so am planning on making a batch of carrot, chilli and lentil soup.

Suppers -

Saturday: Gammon, egg, Slimming World chips and peas

Sunday: Chicken & winter veg casserole, possibly with herby dumplings

Monday: Leftover casserole with baked potatoes

Tuesday: Vegan Shepherd's pie

Wednesday: Leftover Shepherd's pie

Thursday: Parsnip pasta

Friday: Emergency pizza night

No baking planned, although I'm thinking of a Dairy free hot cross bun pudding as that'd be lovely in packed lunch boxes next week - based on this recipe, but using Flora freedom spread and Oatly. So that's planned now, isn't it!

What're you up to this week? Anything exciting? Inspiring? Why not let me know in the comments below

Rosacea and me: Skincare

2017-03-09T07:00:00.000+00:00

Rosacea is a chronic skin condition that causes (amongst other symptoms) it's characteristic redness or flushing. For me, it appeared following pregnancy and rapidly spread from a patch the size of a two pound coin, until it covered most of both cheeks. Initially I just looked episodically rosy but as it's progressed I now look permanently flushed with very sensitised skin.

Today's post, whilst seemingly utterly out of place on a blog that primarily concerns itself with food, has come about in response to a couple of emails I received this week. I mentioned on my Self-care on Sunday post that I'm trying to remember to put on sunscreen before I go out each day as it's supposed to help prevent the rosacea get any worse.

I've actually bitten the bullet and gone to see the GP today about it as I've got to the stage when (to the shame of my vain self) I now feel like I need to wear makeup to face the day. The doctor was great, and after my grovelling apologies at being so vain, supportively helped me to find something to try. We're going to try Azelaic acid to start with as my other meds prevent me from taking oral antibiotics.

However, on to the theme of this post and skin care - over recent months I've pared back my skincare to a really soothing, calming routine. Previously a Caroline Hirons devotee, I've actually nixed most of her recommendations, recognising that they were, in fact agitating my redness. Here follows my favourite products that seem to be keeping my skin soft whilst treating it incredibly gently.

La Roche Posay Toleriane Dermo cleanser - this is so lovely to use, I very gently smooth it over my skin, taking care not to rub or agitate it and then with a soft, warm flannel, rinse it off. Having said I've moved away from much of Caroline's advice I do still double cleanse to remove the sunscreen I'm trying to remember to use each day.

La Roche Posay Seroznic - I have a slightly doubtful relationship with this zinc and thermal water spray, I find it soothing and like the feeling of it on my skin - and from what I've read, hylauronic acid serums and creams work better on damp skin so it should help my next step work better - but I'm never sure it's doing anything - could it be a case of the Emperor's New Clothes?

Superdrug Simply Pure hydrating serum - this thin lotion soaks immediately into my skin and feels really plumping. It was discontinued for a while, but has since reappeared, is a complete bargain and is regularly on offer which is when I take advantage and stock up.

Face Theory Relaxing night cream - I actually use this during the day. I have the unscented version (as much as I love products packed with soothingly scented essential oils, I just can't tolerate them) and it's a great occlusive sealing in that hylauronic acid and softening my skin.

La Roche Posay Cicaplast Baume B5 - this is my emergency cream - at the moment I'm using it nightly as it's thick, comforting texture is helping my angry red face no end. I'm hoping that when I get over this latest flare up, or when the prescription starts working, I'll be able to just use the Face Theory, but in the interim this is great.

Elta MD Broad Spectrum SPF 46 - My current self care challenge being to remember to apply this daily as sun damage does seem to make the red and soreness worse.

It's no accident that there are three La Roche Posay products as my much loved Boots frequently has them on 3 for 2 offers. The Face Theory and the Elta are probably my most expensive products.

If you have Rosacea or similarly sensitised skin what are your go-to products?

Meal Planning Monday on Tuesday: 7th March

2017-03-07T14:41:00.000+00:00

Yes, I know. I know! Oddly enough I wrote the meal plan on Friday, but completely blanked on actually blogging it until today.

Another busy week, with the sun making an appearance to brighten our days (if not yet warming us up).

In a shocking change to proceedings I actually don't have sausage hotpot on the meal plan this week - thanks to the lovely root veg selection of Aldi's Super 6 this week, it's been replaced by another comforting favourite: Super slow roast brisket.

Breakfasts - I keep sayng I'm going to have porridge and then having crumpets and marmite instead. So this week I'm beng upfront and planning to have crumpets in the hope that in a typically contrary fashion, I'll have porridge.

Lunches - it's been a ham sandwich kind of time these last few weeks, but I'm going to try to get around to defrosting a lovely carrot soup I made and froze recently.

Suppers -

Monday: My cheat's Pasta puttanesca

Tuesday: Leftover brisket cottage pie

Wednesday: Leftover leftovers

Thursday: Gammon, slimming world chips, peas and sweetcorn

Friday: Was gong to be Emergency pizza night, but I've just noticed that I picked up a pizza that's gone out of date already. I must remember to wear my glasses when I go shopping.

Saturday: I have a piece of Christmas gammon nestled in the freezer so I think I'll defrost that for a ham in coca cola.

Sunday: Leftover gammon. Hurrah!

As always that's our week, what does yours look like? If you're in need of some inspiration, why not pop on over to some of our meal planners?

An InLinkz Link-up

Self care on Sundays, my plan for the week ahead

2017-03-05T07:00:00.000+00:00

I can't remember when I first heard of the idea of self-care, I know I've been thinking about it for a few years now, and do my best to carve out small parts of my week where I can give myself a little breathing space in whatever way, space or form that might take.

I've spoken on the blog before about mental health, and love the fact that self-care focuses on improving or maintaining one's mental wellbeing. It's not going to be right for everyone, and 20 minutes of fresh air a day isn't going to help someone who's in crisis. But, caught at and thought of at the right time, it could help someone stay well, or even feel stronger.

Each week I'm going to try to think about 7 self care activities I can put in place over the week ahead. Some things might pop up every week, others from time to time and others again could be a one off.

Use my planner to plan my week as an overview, and my daily spread to do the detail.
Find some time to crochet each day, even if only 15 minutes.
Be grateful, whether that is expressed through prayer, or simply noting down what I'm grateful for in my journal I find that the intention behind being thankful and conscious of blessings both big and small is a really positive way of reminding myself of the good things.
Fresh air - even when the weather is foul, try to get outside for a walk with my partner in crime for 20 minutes.
Switch off - after 8pm get rid of the technology. It's so tempting to respond to every notification, but it's important that M and I get time together.
Sunscreen. I have wildly sensitive skin, and rosacea so remembering to apply this every day will do me the world of good.
Sing! I've recently discovered Encore radio - dedicated to musicals - and singing along to showtunes in the kitchen is pretty much guaranteed to make me smile.

That's my 7 for this week. Why not add yours in the comments below?

Meal Planning Monday: 27th February

2017-02-27T15:09:00.000+00:00

How on earth did that come around so soon? Last week's meal plan was a bit of a disaster, the meat we bought from Aldi was (despite being well in date)off, disgustingly so - as was, randomly a butternut squash. Necessity being the mother of invention; the Squash and Spring green curry ended up being Sweet potato and Spring green curry, and Shepherdess pie (a vegan Shepherd's pie) made it's first ever appearance. Both were warmly received and will definitely be reappearing on the meal plan and (if I can ever work out how to make a brown meal even vaguely attractive in a photo) on the blog.

My attention was caught last week by recommendations that you should aim for 10 portions of fruit and veg a day. Even I feel a bit daunted by that, but am going to make a real effort to see how many portions I can realistically - bearing in mind our budget - a day. Once more I shall bemoan the fact that the staff in our local Asda are convinced their wonky veg boxes don't exist and be grateful for Aldi's Super 6.

This week then... As normal a week as it ever gets here in the Pantry. Of course it's Shrove Tuesday this week so we'll be flipping our pancakes this week. However, Pancake day, as always, is a Guides night so I'll be pancaking with them. Harry is convinced he loves pancakes, asking for them often, but when made, rarely goes near them, so we'll see.

Breakfasts: Porridge for me, topped with banana

Lunches: Tomato soup

Suppers:

Monday - Sausage casserole, with steamed Spring Greens. I keep making this and find it impossple to photograph. I may just put the recipe up instead.

Tuesday - Leftovers with extra veggies agan.

Wednesday - Pasta and meatballs, using my hidden veg tomato sauce

Thursday - Leftovers baked with cheese on top

Friday - Freezer surprise

Saturday - Gammon, egg, chips and veggies

Sunday - All hail the fact that next week's Super 6 at Aldi means I can justify my Super slow roast brisket

I've got no baking planned for the first half of the week as we did bake some blueberry muffins and an Apricot and cherry banana bread over the weekend. Both decidedly light on blueberries and apricots due to my helper.

As always, do pop around our Meal Planning Monday blog hop in case you're in need of some inspiration!

An InLinkz Link-up

Still here, and still Meal Planning: Monday 20th February 2017

2017-02-20T07:00:00.000+00:00

I promise that meal plans have still been happening in the Pantry, It's just since Christmas, between coughs, colds, infections and now Hand, food & mouth I don't think we've had a week where all of us have been healthy at the same point in time. It's ghastly, I do feel like all we need is a holiday, some sunshine and some proper family time. Pipe dreams though.

Breakfasts: I made porridge over the weekend, of late I've been starting the day with crumpets and marmite, and really enjoyed something that felt a bit healthier, so will be attempting to continue with that. I say healthier, it was topped with a hefty spoon of dark, soft brown sugar

Lunches: I've completely fallen off the soup wagon, but have been enjoying pilaffs, noodles and other quick and easy lunches.

Suppers:

Monday - Leftover sausage casserole, with brocolli

Tuesday - Butternut squash and spring green curry with rice

Wednesday - Leftover curry with roti

Thursday -Emergency pizza

Friday - Breakfast for dinner

Saturday - Gammon, egg, Slimming world chips, peas and sweetcorn

Sunday - Tomato pasta bake

I was going to say no baking this week as I've fabulous birthday cake to eat up, but then I remembered that mean I need to bring cake to bible study on Friday, I suspect I'll make my Apricot and Cherry banana bread as it's dairy free so the children at creche can have some too.

Have a good week - it's back to our normal routine after half term for us, so toddler groups aplenty.

As always, I'm joining up with Meal Planning Monday - do be sure to have a look at what everyone else is up to:

An InLinkz Link-up

We went for a walk in a deep, dark wood... Gruffalo spotting with the Forestry Commission

2017-02-14T07:00:00.000+00:00

A few weeks ago we had an exciting day out with the Forestry Commission - Harry, one of his friends, M and I went Gruffalo spotting.

Like so many of our friends' children, Harry is a huge Gruffalo fan, we read both the Gruffalo and the Gruffalo's child pretty much daily, and I can now recite both stories (that's clearly a skill left by a long forgotten Drama degree). Our day out was to test the Grufallo spotter app, taking the lovely Gruffalo trails to a new level with the use of Augmented reality.

On a sunny but bitingly cold February day we donned snowsuits, puddlesuits, welly boots and thermals, ready for adventure to begin. The woods at Wendover are lovely and definitely somewhere you may find a Mouse going for a walk... Off we went, phones in hand (we downloaded the app beforehand), looking for clues that might help us find our Gruffalo. As we wandered through the woods we found markers telling us we were getting closer to each character, then footprint signposts - holding the app up to these brings up a wonderful image of the relevant character that blends into the woodland, and excitingly, which your child can be a part of. That said, Harry struggled a little with the concept and desperately wanting to see the character while he was in the picture so there was a lot of running back and forth! It didn't diminish our day in the slightest, but I suspect older preschoolers would understand that better.

Harry loved Gruffalo spotting - and we're going to be heading back to Wendover in March for a return expedition. I would say that the trail is fairly long for a toddler - Harry walks everywhere these days but even he wanted his buggy by the end. And the sturdier your buggy, the better - whilst it's not an incredibly challenging trail, there is one significant hill and a fair old amount of going through woodland paths. When we were on Brownsea Island a year or so back, we borrowed a fantastic all terrain pushchair which would have been perfect for Wendover.

The lighter side of being an allergy mum: 10 things I now know

2017-02-08T07:00:00.000+00:00

I've been an 'allergy mum' for a little over 2 years, and in that time we've dealt with what feels like so much. However - and no one prepares you for this - it just keeps coming. Things to learn, to teach Harry to manage himself (and that's a whole post in itself), new allergens, attitudes of others - be they people who mean well, or people who just don't get it. And I don't think at that appointment on the 25th November 2014 I really understood that. It was such a relief to have a diagnosis that didn't involve me being a rubbish mum that it didn't cross my mind that this was something that was going to continue growing far, far beyond excluding dairy and soya from my diet. That sounds terrible doesn't it? But aside from supporting Guides with food allergies (which I always took seriously - but, as we oh so often joke, I get to give them back at 8.30pm) I had really had no idea of the road we were heading down.

Anyway, I thought today I'd post a slightly tongue in cheek view of what we've encountered and learned thus far...

1. Cutlery, crockery, glassware, sippy cups - HOW many do you go through? I've always been hot on food hygiene, but me and potential cross contamination are not friends. Everything gets washed in the dishwasher on the hot setting. Chopping boards, knives, wooden spoons and spatulas all head that way if I'm in the least bit unsure. Whilst most of what we have in the house is safe - M and I do have dairy ourselves, more often than not, when Harry's not around. With the exception of milk in tea that is, no alternative milk has ever managed to make a proper cuppa.

2. There is nothing more likely to have me demonstrate my (non existent) athleticism, hurdling chairs and toys at playgroup in a bid to remove a stray biscuit from Harry's line of sight. Not a drop of grace is present in any of my limbs as I fling myself between Harry and the offending objects. And while we're talking about that...

3. Food in soft play, playgrounds etc. How often I want to be wildly unreasonable, and remove biscuits, chocolate, pretty much anything gripped in another toddler's sweaty paws before they're allowed to smear or spread said item around the play area. I know it's unreasonable, I do, I really do. But sometimes it would be nice to just be able to relax a bit.

4. It's not just nut allergies! From our standpoint - schools, nurseries, playgroups etc... all 'get' nut allergies. Which is awesome. If you have a nut allergy. We don't. Add to which a non-instant, reaction and I feel a bit like my explanations are falling on deaf ears.

5. People don't always have just one one food allergy. Lady in the cafe it's great that you can cater for someone who has either a dairy, egg, soya, strawberry or sesame allergy. But we have them all, and you can't do that. Which is fine, but then let me give my son his packed lunch.

6. And while we're at it a gluten free option is fabulous - it's not the same as a dairy free one! Which is also not the same as a lactose free one, although I'll let you have that as they're so similar.

7. There are some fabulous sources of calcium that aren't dairy based - but sardines and kale aren't up on Harry's favourite food lists - of course they aren't, why would they be?! So I spend hours on the internet, with recipe books, and pottering around in the kitchen trying to find palatable ways of hiding foods that will help him. It's not that he's a particularly fussy eater - he's just a toddler and if the day has a y in it, he'll find something different that's not being eaten today, despite being last week's food of choice. Peas, I'm looking at you.

8. The trials of allergy testing - in our PCT, until the age of 3, allergies are tested via so called 'Challenges' - you either try your child on something with a small amount of said allergen in, and build up to foods with greater quantities of that allergen. Basically, as a mother, I get to potentially give my child a food I spend most of the rest of my time avoiding for him, in order to challenge his allergy. There is little I enjoy less.

9. And I know I'm going to alienate a HUGE amount of people here, but some of those food writers- you know the ones, heavy on the use of buzzwords like wellness, clean eating, healthful and nourishing - who talk about intolerances because dairy makes them a bit bloated, or gluten is acidic, or sugar the devil... whatever the current default is. Those people make life SO hard for anyone with an actual food allergy by making them seem faddy and in turn making others take them less seriously. As soon as you see the heavenwards glance, the unsubtle eye roll, the sigh of despair when asking if there's soya in bread, it's time to leave. Because whilst you know it'll give your toddler eczema that bleeds through his pyjamas, projectile vomiting and nappies like something out of The Exorcist - that's not what people think of any more. And I know that some people have found a more balanced lifestyle following that kind of eating, but for us and so many families like us food allergies aren't about posting heavily edited photos of us doing headstands in the golden morning light. It's so that we don't see our child writhing in pain, we don't watch them come up in the hives that we're told can precede anaphylaxis, we don't want to have to prop their cot up so that the burning acid reflux stays in their tummy.

Well that one wasn't so lighthearted was it. Oops.

10. And the combination of pride, sadness and confidence when your toddler can say no to a biscuit because it might make him "poorly" or tells a friend he can't have "sova, mik, 'trawberries,egg" For me, that moment was at once heartbreaking and reassuring. And he can also now tell you that if Mummy gets bitten by a bee she needs her epi-pen.

And much like my post on 10 things I've learned in 21 months of breastfeeding, I couldn't just leave this at 10...

11. Having said all of the above - the utter joy at an evening on Pinterest discovering wonderful recipes (that you may or may not ever make) that are safe for your child is wonderful. The moments when you can tell that the allergen has finally left their system and finally breathe a sigh of relief. The weigh ins at the baby clinic when you're told that your tot has finally put on weight, or is finally tracking a centile line. The joy of finding a safe food or recipe that your child inhales. The relief when a mum from NCT or a playgroup leader goes out of their way to be inclusive and ensure there's a safe alternative to whatever food the other children are eating. There is a litany of small moments that as an allergy mum bring me joy, restore my faith in other people and make this whole journey we're on seem manageable, feel less isolating, and give me the confidence to keep on keeping on.

I'm adding this post to Free From Fridays this week, over at Le Coin de Mel

Meal Planning Tuesday: 2nd January 2016

2017-01-02T12:20:00.001+00:00

A new year. A new sense of vigour in the meal plans? Well, a bit. This week for us is a bit of a transition one - we had our Christmas on the 28th so are still clearing leftovers, but as you'll note at the end of the week, we're hitting our stride with some lighter food, punchier flavours and more than a nod to Vegan-uary.

I'll be talking more about self-care and food later this week, as I'm trying to change my relationship with something that is so fundamental in my life not just as a fuel, but in my writing too. So instead of joining the queue at Slimming World or Weight Watchers, I'm going to be trying to think myself slimmer. But as I say, more to come later this week.

We've had a few issues allergy wise over December - having eliminated suspect allergens beef and sesame, we had a much more settled time, until someone mugged another toddler for their biscuit. In the Wendy house at crèche. Great! That reaction seems to have passed, but as it does each time Harry goes through a big reaction, he's limited the foods he'll eat. It's a little like a food aversion - the vomitting, upset stomach and acid from the reflux make him so uncomfortable, in a way to control that he will pretty much only happily eat a very small selection of foods. As the reaction passes, he widens his choices again. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I'd doubt a toddler could do that. But he does.

Anyway, without further ado, on to the Meal Plan:

Breakfasts: Porridge. All the porridge! With lots of fruit added for me.

Lunches: Soup. All the soup. I've made some turkey soup, and have frozen all but what we need today - and then I'll make a batch of carrot and lentil soup this afternoon, but I'm procrastinating right now.

Suppers:

Monday: Leftover Turkey, mushroom and leek pie with braised red cabbage and baked potatoes

Tuesday: A dear friend has offered to babysit Harry so that M and I can have our first date night since July which is a huge blessing as we've really missed time together.

Wednesday: Spaghetti, tomato sauce and meatballs

Thursday: Chickpea and Sweet potato curry

Friday: Leftover curry

Saturday: Gammon, egg, potato wedges and peas

Sunday: Freezer surprise, I know there's some smoked haddock in there for Harry and I, but I suspect M will have some of the portioned off chilli that's languishing.

We've not even cut into the Christmas cake yet, so don't need any baking this week!

Happy New Year

2017-01-01T14:18:00.000+00:00

2017: A fresh page in the planner of life. Time to start anew, to throw back the curtains and holler "Here I am!" Or perhaps, like me, you take a peek, make a list of things to do, before cautiously and carefully welcoming the New Year in.

I know that lots of people will be writing the ubiquitous 'New Year. New you' posts, or those waxing lyrical about detoxes and diets. I'm afraid you won't find that here. Not least because isn't January the worst time to try to change anything and everything about yourself? It's cold, wet, dark and grim, the odd glorious winter morning overshadowed by the need for thermals, waterproofs and everything in between. I find myself more inclined to start changes in those early days of spring, punctuated by daffodils and brighter days.

Whatever mood you're in, however you're approaching 2017, or how life finds you today - here at Penelope's Pantry I wish you a Happy, Prosperous and joy filled New Year.

Personally, I favour New Year attired in purple penguin pjs with a glass of prosecco, and possibly a board game or two. However, and with whomsoever you celebrate, enjoy.

Spreading a little kindness

2016-12-21T13:24:00.000+00:00

Kindness elves and Penelope's Pantry don't necessary sound like a natural match. Although, if you've been reading the blog for a while, you'll remember the Random Bakes of Kindness that my Guides carried out one Autumn term - each girl baked something of her choice to give to a woman who inspired, cherished, loved or supported her. The girls loved spreading kindness and I must confess it warmed my heart a little week by week.

I've challenged my Guides to do a reverse advent this year. On Tuesday they were asked to bring (between them) at least 25 items we can pass on to our local food bank to share with those in need over the festive period. The girls did brilliantly and filled 2 calendars worth of goodies that we'll be dropping at the food bank tomorrow.

At home we're learning about kindness too - my focus with Harry has always been on his manners, kindness and thought for others. None of which are easy for a rampaging 2 and a half year old! But, day by day, week by week we're getting there.

One of the things I've spent the last couple of years being more aware of is the Elf on the Shelf tradition - whereby an Elf comes to visit for Advent. House to house, family to family his role differs, but it largely seems to be about encouraging good behaviour via the medium of reporting back to Father Christmas. Without wishing anyone else to feel judged, I just don't like it. The actual Elf on the shelf is scary. And I'm not sure how I feel at all about a child changing their behaviour purely because they're being watched or being given daily presents in Advent. I don't know. Genuinely I feel conflicted about how that sits alongside how we parent for the other 11 months of the year. And then I heard about the Kindness elves from Anna at The Imagination Tree, (which incidentally is one of my favourite blogs) who focus on developing positive behaviours - love, thankfulness and kindness - which for me felt more manageable, more in keeping with our value base. And I hoped would work for Harry during Advent - a time when so many of us get so much, and yet is a time we should be focussing on giving.

Our elves arrived on the 1st December (I know Advent had already begun) and each day we've had a little kindness challenge to complete. We've made kindness cookies for our Bin men, who without fail wave at Harry every week which is the high point of his Monday mornings. We've donated some of Harry's toys to the charity shop. We've smiled and said Hello to lots of people. We've remembered to say thank you. We phoned Uncle James up to sing Happy Birthday to him and about 9 other things I've forgotten. Much like the Elf on the shelf tradition, Gabriel and Beth(lehem) turn up in odd places, and on 2 days have even brought books with them! When we were poorly with the Winter vomitting virus, they spent the day on the sofa with Harry and I and were kind to us when we needed it.

I think whatever your value base, faith or anything else - it's important for us all to understand that Advent and Christmas aren't just about getting 'stuff'. The commercialisation of the festival does mean that some of the simple truths of Christmas do get lost, and by stripping some of that 'getting' back by focussing on kindness to others I hope we're starting Harry off on habits and behaviours that will last him well into adulthood. Of course he'll be materialistic, want the big toy that everyone else has got, and have a tantrum in the middle of Sainsbury's when I'm tired and rushing - he's a normal child. But if amongst that he can consciously take the time to be kind to others, to give back, to say thank you - then I think our Kindness Elves have done their job.

Pasta Puttanesca(ish) a storecupboard standby

2016-11-30T07:00:00.000+00:00

Pasta puttanesca is one of my favourite pasta dishes, the punchy flavours really sing to me, and as it's something M isn't a fan of, it gets relegated to being cooked when he's away or late home. However, this Puttanesca(ish) pasta is a firm favourite of mine, as it gives more than a nod to the original, without requiring a trip to the shops as all the ingredients are things I typically have in our store cupboard.

I originally blogged this a fair few years back, with a woeful picture, and in the same post as some eccles cakes. I was eating leftovers for lunch today, and thought I'd rewrite it here and give it the benefit of some new photos too.

It's perfect for an entirely unseasonal supper (which so often at this time of year is just the thing you need) - the kick of chilli is warming, and the saltiness of the anchovies provides a lovely savouriness. I find it's best eaten from a bowl on one's knees, snuggled under a crochet blanket. But that may just be me.

Pasta Puttanesca(ish)
Serves 2

2 cloves garlic
1/2 red chilli - I use a nice big one, this is not the place for something that blows your socks off
1 tin anchovies in olive oil, chopped up
200g cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon tomato pesto
Pepper
Basil to serve

Cook your pasta in a pan, as you would usually - this sauce takes about 10 minutes to cook, so the two should finish almost together.

Drain 1 tablespoon of oil from the anchovies into a small frying pan (the rest can be discarded) and warm through over a medium heat
Add the chilli, garlic, and anchovies to the oil and cook down for 3-4 minutes. The anchovies will start to melt down
Add the halved cherry tomatoes, and allow to cook down for about 5 minutes more, use the back of a wooden spoon (or a potato masher) to break them down towards the end of cooking.
Stir in the tomato pesto and season with just pepper (you have enough salt from the anchovies).
Once you've drained the pasta, put it back into the pan and stir the sauce over, making sure it's thoroughly coated
Sprinkle with basil leaves for a lovely freshness, and serve as suggested above. Crochet blanket optional.

Dressing your kitchen for Healthy Living

2016-11-29T16:02:00.002+00:00

Have I shown you my yellow migraine-inducing kitchen recently? You know the one, 50's Hygena cupboards, painted in yellow gloss, permanently sticky lino on the floor, with next to no worktop space. Yep, that's the one.

Since participating in the Live Lagom project with Ikea last year, I decided that it was time to do something about my kitchen. What that was, I wasn't sure, but something needed to be done. And so, over the past couple of months, I've sanded and painted the cupboards, painted the walls and we stripped the lino back to reveal a tiled floor. Some of our Lagom purchases, including a sturdy runner for the (freezing) floor, and a lovely blind have perked the space up. I've cleared all but essentials away from the worktops, and have curtained off the microwave and recycling bins. Unlike the kitchen I had my eye on from Ikea, nothing has cost a fortune, and despite not functioning any differently, despite not being completely finished, the kitchen looks so much better. There's still work to do, the doors need new handles, I need some storage boxes for on top of the cupboards where I keep all my baking equipment and tupperware and I want to do something about the tiles. which are still ghastly.

I was asked to have a look at the following video which is about how your kitchen can help you to make better choices in your diet. Sadly, we just don't have space in the kitchen for a fruit bowl, much less a table, but we do have both on view and used heavily in our lounge. Since having Harry, sitting up to the table for meals has become much more important to both M and I.

I love the idea of your fridge sending you a selfie, but that technology hasn't reached the wilds of North London yet. Instead I have a very low-tech magnetic notepad on our fridge which you write on, every time you finish anything in the fridge, be that milk, bacon or wine!

This is a sponsored post, all opinions are my own.

Meal planning Tuesday: 29th November

2016-11-29T12:14:00.003+00:00

As you can probably tell, things around here have been a little quiet of late, sadly due to nothing more exciting than teeth. Since August I've had a grand total of about three weeks without antibiotics or dental treatment, culminating recently in an abscess - which is as grim as it sounds. However, I've since been referred to the hospital, so aside from looking somewhat like a demented hamster, I'm hoping things are on the up.

We've just had Advent Sunday, so I think I'm safe to use the C word around here now. Like so many people, Christmas is a family time for us - we'll be seeing all parentals, and spending time with both my brother and my sister and her family. This does mean I need to get a wriggle on, so my Bullet journal and planner(post to come) are working overtime with lists, lists of lists, colour coded lists of lists of lists etc... I made the Christmas puddings last weekend, and Harry and I are going to bake the Christmas cake this week some time. Then it's going to be time for my Get-Ahead Christmas.

Despite my blog absence, I've managed to maintain more of a presence on Instagram and will have lots of posts coming up there in the days and weeks to come. Do make sure you're following, if for nothing else than my impressive mug and tea collection.

Meal plans have been a bit more flexible here of late, as life on antibiotics does seem to render me exhausted by about 6pm and feeling wildly sick much of the rest of the time. Much pizza has been eaten.

Breakfasts - Harry and I are both enjoying shreddies with warm milk (oat for him, almond for me) Cereal with warm milk is a real throwback to growing up for me and is incredibly cheering
on these frosty mornings.

Lunches - I've actually taken a leaf out of M's book and am trying to remember to have leftovers for lunch. Normally at this time of year I eat a lot of soup, but I just don't feel inspired by it at the moment, so in order to save me from the dullness of sandwiches, leftovers it is.

Suppers

Monday: Pantry pasta with garlic bread

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Gammon, sweet potato chips, peas, carrots and sweetcorn

Thursday: Bolognaise pasta bake

Friday: Leftover bolognaise with baked potatoes

Saturday: Breakfast for dinner

Sunday: Butternut squash, chicken and barley casserole

Baking wise it's just the Christmas cake on the agenda.

As always, here are our other meal planners - don't forget to pop on over and have a read.

An InLinkz Link-up

Meal Planning Monday: 7th November 2016

2016-11-06T22:48:00.000+00:00

I caved this weekend, the heating's on and I'm not sorry. We've had a lovely time with family but are looking forward to a nice quiet week - I say this, secure in the knowledge that between Yoga, Brownies, Guides, a DBS I need to do and the food shop - there's about 20 minutes on Wednesday currently unaccounted for.

Breakfasts - I'm going to have a bash at Jamie Oliver's Chocolate porridge that was on the Superfoods programme on Friday. It looked lovely and I suspect the toddler would adore it!

Lunches - I'm using up the last of our pumpkin with a batch of pumpkin soup this week. I'm deliberately veering away from my usual Root vegetable soup Last week Harry and I made a couple of batches of an invented Spelt, rye and oat soda bread - obviously a dairy free recipe, but it was wonderful slathered in some butter (leftover from the Guide's baking) and eaten hidden from view with one's head in the fridge.

Suppers

Monday: Heck sausages, baked potatoes and lots of veggies

Tuesday: Butternut squash and kale curry with rice

Wednesday: Gammon and egg, with Slimming World chips and veggies

Thursday: Shepherd's pie with swede, carrot and parsnip top and extra veggies on the side

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Parsnip pasta

Sunday: Breakfast for tea

I've got no plans baking wise this week - although I do have the ingredients for Apricot and Cherry banana bread so all is not lost. And next weekend I finally need to make the Christmas pudding and cake. I'm so disorganised this year!

As always, the Meal Planning Monday linky is below, so do pop around and see what all the other planners are up to.

An InLinkz Link-up

The reality of life with allergies: when, yes, a little does hurt

2016-10-30T21:11:00.001+00:00

Sometimes I think that my online bright & breezy persona where it seems that Harry's allergies are entirely managed is somewhat disingenious. For the most part they are, we have safe foods - which can be as specific as one brand of one product that doesn't cause a reaction, yet another will. We have safe places to eat if we're out and about. We have safe activities to do, and groups to go to. Yet, over the last couple of weeks I have fallen foul of my confidence (over confidence perhaps) in our lives.

Over the last month - 6 weeks or so, I've noticed the return of Harry's reflux; his sleep has been interrupted, he wakes early, and during the day you can hear it. Initially I put it down to the end of a virus, then a rotten cold, but the last few weeks have seen it getting worse. Then last Saturday we had a massive gastro-intestinal reaction and part of me broke. None of my carefully planned meals, recipes, dairy free spreads, cooking nearly everything from scratch and helicopter-like supervision had been enough and my baby was suffering from that.

Like any and all mums would, I blamed myself. I still do. I could have done better, kept him safer, been more vigilant. Only you know what? I don't think I could and this has been a massive learning experience for me. Harry is nearly 2 and a half, he's into EVERYTHING, as he should be. I don't wrap him in cotton wool or bubble wrap, I let him run, jump, explore, play and learn. And I strongly believe that's right, that I should, that he needs those experiences. I just wish, hope and pray that I can keep him safe.

We think we've identified one source of the reactions, the first being that our lovely volunteer at creche totally understood my explanation of "no milk, none whatsoever" but hadn't grasped, or I hadn't explained clearly that there is milk in biscuits, so my son had been gleefully inhaling a malted milk on a Friday morning. Of course he would - he's two and not allowed biscuits very often. It must have felt like Christmas! I'm not cross, it's just one of those things where people do misinterpret the severity of an allergy that doesn't cause anaphalyxis. Whilst not the problem for us here, there is of course the perception that as the reaction is neither immediate, nor visual it's less serious and therefore a little won't hurt. It does. It really does.

The second reaction is proving harder to identify, I initially thought it was also biscuit related and that a product I'd thought to be dairy, egg and soya free was actually a may contain. But I checked with the brand and the recipe's not changed. So we've either been caught out by one of our 'safe' may contains - foods that themselves don't contain the allergen you're looking for, until they do. Until there's an incident of cross-contamination. Until their production line is changed. And my misplaced confidence that they were safe then becomes just that. Misplaced. But, as we don't eat a great deal in the way of processed food, I can't actually identify what it might be. Which is leading us to the conclusion that it may, in fact be a new allergen. And at that point my heart fell. Is this what life is going to be? Every few years finding new allergens, while those around me tell me that 'he'll grow out of them by the time...' he starts nursery/ school/ university?

It's also raised for me the issue of nursery - it's less than a year until Harry gets his free hours, and I'd like to send him to nursery as a preparation for Reception. He's already a lovely, social boy, but I think the structure of a day or two in a nursery environment would be useful. My years working in social care have meant that I sat down this morning and put together an Allergy focused One Page Profile. I've attached it as a Google document so you're welcome to download and use it yourself or share it with other friends or family that might find it useful. I'll certainly be sharing it with Guiding groups, as for volunteers who often don't get Allergy awareness training I suspect it'll be a useful resource.

And now the reaction has reduced with 'just' the reflux remaining, it's time for me to stand up, dust myself down and carry on. I can't keep Harry at home with me all the time, and realistically I won't always be able to monitor everything he eats or drinks. Certainly if he doesn't grow out of his allergies I'm expecting a time when he'll challenge me on what he can and can't eat. But for now, with our recent experience fresh in my mind, I'm moving forwards with a renewed fervour that yes, a little does hurt. Be it one malted milk, one gingerbread man... it does, as we know only too well.

I'm adding this to #FreeFromFridays hosted this week by The Free From Farmhouse

Meal Planning Monday: 25th October 2016

2016-10-24T14:31:00.001+01:00

Another week - another meal plan, and this time I'm feeling a bit on the ball for once!

Half term means the opposite for those of us with babies and toddlers to those of you with school age children. All our activities stop and we find ourselves drumming our fingers before capitulating to another trip to the choo-choo park. That said, it will only be a little while before half-term is a wonderful respite from the rigours of school so I can't and shan't complain too much.

The trees here are already dropping these leaves that a mere week or two ago were glorious reds and burnished orange. The air has a distinct chill, and we bought Harry a bobble hat at the weekend - and I'm working on bribes to get him to keep it on his head.

Breakfasts: Baked porridge this week - using this favourite recipe with the apple and cinnamon variation.

Lunches: I've just made a massive pan of Butternut squash and kale curry, which I'll blog as soon as I can get some pictures. I'll be having it with brown basmati rice and steamed broccoli.

Suppers:

Monday: Butternut squash and Kale curry for me. M's at yoga so he's got freezer surprise chilli and rice.

Tuesday: Stuffed pumpkin - normally I'd do it with butternut squash, but picked up some mini pumpkins for 89p each in Aldi and thought this would be al lovely idea

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Tomato pasta bake with dairy free garlic flatbread

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: I'm out at a Guides event till late so M will be having a pizza night. This means it'll feature pizza with pineapple as I find pineapple on pizza more than a bit peculiar.

Sunday: Chorizo and butternut squash chilli But I'll pop it in the slow cooker before church as we're turfing the back garden and have bouncy church (best invention EVER) in the afternoon.

As always, don't forget the link up:

An InLinkz Link-up

Sweet and sour sauce: dairy & soya free

2016-10-21T14:04:00.002+01:00

I don't know about anyone else with a toddler with CMPA or food allergies themselves, but when I started excluding dairy and soya - I almost immediately really craved Chinese food. I used to make a lot of stir fries with a simple Soy and honey sauce, and have an incredibly soft spot for restaurant style Crispy chilli beef. However, soya in all it's forms was completely out of the window. I started experimenting with combinations of flavours and it took a while to get a combination that I was happy with, but this is it.

Sticky enough to resemble that gloopy takeaway sauce, but with a fiery kick of chilli and ginger it's perfect for a Friday night fakeaway. Harry and I love it with rice noodles - his favourite additions are baby corn, peas and carrots, I like to completely wipe out my veg trays and make a proper fridge-bottom dish. When I made it for the inlaws however, I did tone things down a bit and just used onions, peppers, carrot and beansprouts - and I was surprised that everyone loved it!

Obviously you can add whatever you like to this sauce, meat, veggies, noodles; be they egg, rice or vegetable - and go as heavy or light on the spices as you like. Which I think is the great thing about a fakeaway - you really get to personalise it to your tastes.

Sweet and sour sauce, takeaway style
Dairy, and soya free
Serves 4 (plus a toddler)

Thumb sized piece of ginger, grated
3 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped
1 red chilli, chopped/ or 1 tsp chilli flakes
4-5 tbsp tomato sauce
4 tablespoons Date syrup
3 tablespoons malt vinegar
225g tin of pineapple chunks in juice (chop the pineapple up if you get rings and keep on one side for the stir fry, you just need the juice here)
1 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder

Mix the ginger, garlic and chilli together in a medium sized bowl
Add the ketchup, date syrup, and malt vinegar - have a quick taste to check that your flavours are balanced and add extras of anything you feel it needs
Add the 5 spice powder - I normally add half the teaspoon first and then a bit more as necessary
Add the pineapple juice - give it a good stir and taste again

I marinate my chicken if I'm using it in half the sauce, then add the rest while cooking once I've added the veggies. It really is delicious, and I make a little bowl, with only a tiny bit of garlic, and ginger for Harry who inhales it too!

I'm linking this up to Le Coin de Mel's Free From Friday's linky - if you're an allergy parent, or have food allergies yourself, be sure to pop over and see what everyone else has linked up (there's a gorgeous looking chocolate cake up already)

Why not Pin this recipe for later, using the image below:

I'm also adding this to A Mummy Too's Recipe of the week link up:

Meal Planning Monday: 17th October 2016

2016-10-17T21:14:00.002+01:00

Again? So soon? How? Just how? It really does feel like I was tapping away at this just yesterday. And nobody mention Christmas. Just don't.

Autumn has most definitely made itself known around these parts - M even checked the heating was working the other day. It's not on yet, but we're primed and ready. The meal plan has swiftly responded those changes with soup already featuring.

Breakfasts generally feature nothing special at the moment. Some significant med changes mean I'm finding it takes much longer to get going in the mornings and so unless I'm organised enough to make overnight oats, Aldi's own take on shreddies is as fancy as it gets.

Lunches are unsurprisingly, given the turn in the weather, quite frequently soup based. I've got the second half of a batch roast tomato and garlic in the freezer. It was a wonderful way to use up the end of our lovely homegrown tomato harvest. I've just been sent a really super recipe book entitled I Love Soup which looks like it'll be keeping my Ikea 365 soup pan in business and doubtlessly featuring on here in the months to come.

Suppers:

Monday - Breakfast for dinner: Bacon medallions, scrambled eggs, baked beans, mushrooms and hash browns

Tuesday - Vegetable dhal and brown rice

Wednesday - Leftover dhal with homemade flatbreads

Thursday - Chicken kiev, chips and veggies

Friday - Courgetti Spaghetti

Saturday - Pizza night

Sunday - Parsnip pasta

No baking is planned - well, aside from a potential batch of Cherry and almond buns anyway!

Have a lovely week, and as always don't forget to have a look at what the other meal planners are up to.

An InLinkz Link-up

Life, love and little things - September

2016-10-05T07:00:00.000+01:00

I mentioned in my Meal Planning Monday post this week that I can't believe it's Autumn already, yet there's a distinct chill in the air, my trusty Saltwaters have been swapped for Converse and soup has been made for lunches. Add to this a batch of coughs and colds all around and it's undeniably time to dive in to scarves, sweaters and stews.

Last month on the other hand was glorious - sunny days drifting into warm evenings, apples starting to tumble from our trees, sunhats, sandals and salads all around.

These pictures all come from my Instagram where I regularly pop up little insights into our days, be they messy play, baking or simply coffee and lego...

I've spent a fair amount of time in the kitchen this month, apple butter, variations on banana bread and some egg free oaty bars as well as preserving tomatoes and green beans from our garden.

Harry and I have spent a lot of time in the garden, playing in his teepee, splashing in the paddling pool and thoroughly watering the veg patch - well, the bits he can reach!

I've also started trying to pretty the house up a bit - we're on an inevitable road towards having to renovate and decorate our spare room. It's only a matter of time before we need to move Harry into a big boy bed, and we're facing a mammoth task involving replacing carpets, a window, building a cupboard, painting louvre doors (I loathe this with a passion) and stripping the paper before repainting. I think mammoth may be an understatement. To get me in the mood for home improvements I reorganised our much hated fireplace to try to disguise the loathed crazy paved facade.

My crochet blanket I talked about here is proceeding, albeit slowly. The glorious sunshine did not encourage sitting with a blanket on your knees! I'm hoping to have it finished for Christmas - my target of a stripe a day may be halted by my plans for *whispers* Christmas crafting which I need to get started on fairly promptly. I'm about a third of the way through my blanket though so getting there.