A simple supper for a girl with a cold…

A simple supper for a girl with a cold…

Nothing elaborate today, my Bubs have shared their cold with me, and to be honest I am struggling to taste anything and am looking forward to my bed.

A quick scout of the fridge and freezer unearthed some leftover chorizo, a few wilting spring onions, some lovely peppery rocket and a few tiny tender scallops.

It’s a long time since I last ate fried bread, but when done well it is a true joy. A splash of garlic oil and a slightly stale slice of white resulted in a tasty treat, a salad of rocket and parsley would not normally spring to mind, but was a success, and I could taste it. Topped with good oil and balsamic I felt like a good girl for getting some much needed vitamins.

A flash in a hot pan for some sliced chorizo, a tiny bit of chilli and the sliced spring onions, gave a punchy hit, topped with juicy scallops for texture…a squeeze of lemon and my tasty treat was complete…..it took all of 5 minutes, they 5 minutes well spent.

Sweet Dreams

Sky @ http://www.thesideplate.com

Give me some mussel…

Give me some mussel…

What a day, the sunshine brought hope. My beautiful, but fierce daughter brought force a storm; a torrent of lava and upset…. it has passed now but drained a lot of energy. My enigma boy was happy enough, especially when we almost produced real lava with bicarb, vinegar and a model volcano. Then something happened, he forgot to save a computer programme and his world of Aspergers collapsed beyond measure. A favourite pizza refused, not even a crème egg could tempt him…Chloe happily devoured a freddo and cheese and ham toasties…fine until the next saga. (She had grapes and carrot too; I’m not a totally terrible Mother lol)

I have dished out love and hugs, I have tried my best to explain the world, I have coloured pictures, I sadly ended up shouting…’My Bad’ as the kids say…but how far are we pushed as a parent before the Temper frays? I can honestly say I shall never understand how someone can physically harm a child no matter how wrong the day goes.

I bundled them into the car and we had a little quiet time, I stopped for Mussels, French bread, parsley…I have chorizo, garlic and wine in the fridge. It will be a quiet reward for my testing day. My easy, but soul restoring supper.

Nearly bath time and bed..YAY

Love from a very Knackered Sky @ http://www.thesideplate.com

Gather every chair you have..and then some…

The best meals involve gathering every chair you have and then some….

Life has been a little rocky, for lots of reasons. And surely the best antidote to this is a feast?

It wasn’t grand. Hard-boiled eggs, bowls of crisps, cheese, salad, a fresh baked loaf, hot sausages, cold roast chicken, olives and dips…. a little wine, some fizzy pop..Scones and jam and cream….and most importantly…5 people I love.

A meal is not just about the food, the company is just as important. It seems the surrounding don matter either.

Being squashed around a noisy table with friends and family..Surely that is the best recipe you are ever going to get?

The chairs might not match. The napkins were kitchen roll….there was a bit of competitive pickled onion eating with the boys’ lol. It was wonderful….

If you are ever passing, pull up a chair…there is always room for one more.

Kindest regards

Sky and family @ http://www.thesideplate.com

Chips anyone??

So …its National Chip week.

The Chip, a simple food that reminds me of the old rhyme, There was a little girl, who had a little curl…What I’m getting at, is well…Chips when they are good, they are very, very good..And when they are bad they are horrid.

We seem to have stopped eating chips; bad press and a new taste for rice and pasta seem to have taken the humble spud out of favour. How long ago is it since you had Ham, egg and chips??

A fresh laid egg, decent ham and good chips can be a feast for any man, woman or child.

I personally find oven chips pretty below par. We do have an Actifry, which does cook a good chip. But its sheer size dictates that it spends most of its time at my boyfriends’ house (I lack cupboard and workspace at my home J).
So my chip of choice (when I’m making them anyway) involves…wait for it….actual potatoes.

Hot from an oven with a sprinkle of salt, maybe a splash of ketchup or even a blob of mayonnaise, sometimes gravy or even curry…really what’s not to love about chips? Guess what I’m Making for tea?

Homemade oven chips

Peel potatoes and chop into chip shapes.

Par boiled for 15 mins until you can insert a fork into them.

Place on a baking tray drizzle with oil and cook in a hot oven until crispy and delightful.

Enjoy

Love Sky @ http://www.thesideplate.com

Actifry

I love you…Do you love you??

Show a little love…..

To you. Yes Its Valentines Day. It doesn’t matter if you are single, loved up or in a dead end relationship. 14th of Feb will probably make you feel something.

Personally I struggle with it; I simply don’t like being told what to do and when to do it. I’m 40, I’m told old for that stuff now. I nearly bought into…But then its Friday night so when its one of the weekends when the kids spend the weekend away, I always try to make something special. Hey I spend all week cooking tasty stuff, so I feel I should at least try lol.

I had great images of making elaborate pasta sauces, steaming mussels, maybe griddling a steak. But then I realised something….I love me too.

So, no fancy menu…I have bought seafood, salad and good bread. I have bought tiramisu. I have bought a bottle of my favourite Yellow Tail bubbles…(mm..Should I have got two??). I am going to take a bath, put on a dress, and wear my new heels. What the hell, I may even try those stupid false eyelashes I randomly bought at Christmas.

Today is the day of sharing the love…so I will tell you….
I love my partner.
I love my kids.
I love life.
Goddamn it I love you….

And I love me too………share the love

Happiness and hugs

Happy Valentines Day, thanks for reading

Sky @ http://www.thesideplate.com

Would you put it in your mouth??

Would you put it in your mouth??

You would think we would be more careful what we put in our mouths. I would not dream of putting diesel instead of unleaded petrol in my car. I wouldn’t (intentionally) drop my ipod in the bath. I generally don’t swallow non-food items. So why do I often eat food that to be quite honest, does me no favours??

I consume too much caffeine, too much wine, quite a lot of butter and I should not be left alone in a room with a family packet of crisps. I make sure my kids eat a balanced diet, we have treats, but they are treats. They drink a little squash or water; I am lucky they show no interest in cola and such sugar filled liquids. (Apart from those ones in the brightly coloured bottles, that have fruit in their title. Which, if you have ever tried to strap a hyper child in a car seat after they have drunk one, you will realise why I have banned them.)

And then I realise why I do this…its just habit, a lack of thought on my part. A big dollop of laziness. And I am trying to be more mindful, more present in life. So I am going to put this to the test.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not going stop having the stuff I like, especially wine, I am one of those people, that the minute someone tells me I cant do something or eating something is bad for me, well I do it anyway …because I can (childish yes. I never rebelled as a child..I am doing it now). However I am also sensible enough to realise that when I eat well I feel great…and when I am too damn idle to take care of myself I feel tired, grumpy, and need to carefully apply makeup to make me look alive.

So here it is. I’ve made a list for my wall. It’s not much. It’s not even that interesting. Just a small challenge to see if I really am what I eat. To find out if food is fuel. To see if I have any focus whatsoever. Wish me luck. I might need it 🙂

Happy eating

Sky @ http://www.thesideplate.com

How did we get so far removed from our food and life??

Working on my book as made me realise lots of things…

1, We are so very far removed from our food, and I guess we are to blame.
When I was a child we grew stuff..It had dirt on it, we occasionally ate salad with greenflies in it…no one died, well I don’t think they did, apart from the odd greenfly.

2, All vegetables were not equal, carrots came in different sizes, some big, some small, some with knobbly bits, and some had not so good bits. THAT WE CHOPPED OFF, we didn’t throw the whole carrot away. We also bought them loose, so just spent our cash on stuff we would eat, rather than let them fester in a plastic bag at the bottom of the fridge.

3, Potatoes were dug from the garden or bought in a sack.They were muddy. I know, it was my job to wash them. Potato peelers had little knives attached so you could cut off the bad bits. Potatoes actually keep fresh for longer when they have a little mud on them. I hold my hands up here. because I buy clean potatoes in plastic bags…I need to stop.

4, Fizzy pop was bought once a week from “the pop man” we got 2 glass bottles. It was a treat, as it should be. Crisps didn’t come in multi packs. Or sharing bags.they came in little packets…we have to walk to the shop to buy them, one pack at a time.

5, Meat wasn’t sold in vacuum-sealed packets, it came in paper wrapping from the butchers, chickens had giblets… which at some good butchers they still do and they make amazing gravy. Meat may have had blood on it. That’s because it is meat. From an animal. We also ate less of it, and bulked it out with veg and dumplings…mmm meat and potato pie.

What has happened to us?? What has happened to me?? I think its time we changed, Its not too late, lets get hands on and fall back in love with cooking and living, and ditch this sterile world we are drifting into. Lets get our hands dirty. It might be fun 😀

Thanks for reading

Sky @ http://www.thesideplate.com

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potato peelers and stuff..if you buy from this link I get a few pennies towards my bills 🙂 thanks

It has been a productive day

It’s been a productive day 🙂 I am trying to get myself all sorted, to make life easier….mmm easier said than done. However on the cooking side it is going well so far. I have dedicated Monday make ahead day, in the hope that as we rush through the week I have chance to catch up with everything else. Especially the ironing. I never set out with the intention of setting up a blog…or trying to publish a book. I just got tired of spending a fortune and a lot of mental energy figuring out how best to feed usall, and feed us well. You have probably noticed by now my style of cooking isn’t calorie counted or obsessed with containing the popular 5 a day. I just do my best and try to educate my children about eating well. Everything in moderation. including moderation! I don’t know who originally said that. but I like it 🙂 Today I have cooked a turkey joint in the slow cooker, which will be turned into pies, curry and future sandwich fillings when it’s cooled. I have made my kids no chilli chilli and frozen 4 containers for the next month, we will eat it with jacket potatoes one week, cheese and chips the next. There are now mini cheese pies in the freezer which will be reheated and served with salad, and I’ve just put a pork in cider on to bubble away, so one night I will just have to cook rice and veggies in the steamer. It might be tomorrow before I get round to it, but I just need to make a chocolate brownie cake and shortbread whirls and that will be this weeks treats sorted. Dinner tonight will simply be hotdogs, with homemade wedges and carrot sticks……Wow. I think I might deserve a glass of wine after all that. I have been trying to upload some recipes onto my blog but haven’t yet figured it out….cooking I can do…computers I cannot, but I will keep trying. or feel free to email me at thesideplate@mail.com to register an interest for the book when it comes out. It won’t be glam, but it will be cheap and full of tasty recipes. Happy cooking and thanks for reading Sky @ thesideplate.com

 
// If you fancy buying a slow cooker and use this link…well I earn a few pence..many thanks

How many cookbooks??

How many cookbooks??

Its national library day, I have to admit I don’t use ours enough. We live in a very rural area, so have a mobile library that visits us once a week. Obviously it has a limited range. I need to get my children into borrowing books…we already own far too many. They are loathe to part with any to make room for more. I wonder where they get that from?? Lol.

I adore books. I did buy a kindle in the hope that would put an end to my physical book addition, alas it didn’t work. You can’t beat the smell of a new book. If I ever get to heaven I am pretty sure it will be book lined. As for cookbooks, well I definitely like them in the physical version. You can tell my favourite ones, they have a splodge on the corner of the page…or a greasy mark on the cover, (normally I am so very careful with books…but cook books are my work tools).

I own far, far too many cookbooks. And in reality I cook very little from them, but I do like to use ideas and concepts to create new meals. I think over the last decade cookbooks have gone from simply being a collection of recipes into glossy indulgences. I must admit I have bought several where the recipes just don’t work or are not that great. More a book of celebrity cover shots. I have bought ones that are such epic tomes, that I could cook a new recipe a day and they would outlast me into old age…I even have books with recipes for slow stewed teal…. which to be honest will probably never be tested.

How many books are too many?? I guess if you are like myself, that still has unpacked boxes of books, simply because I have nowhere to put them, that may be too many. Maybe I should support my library more, and just buy the ones I feel I cannot live without (dangerous concept, I fall in love with books easily). Maybe I should read the ones I have from cover to cover, there must have been a reason I felt I must bring them home. One thing about borrowing books is that it focuses the mind to at least give it a good looking over before it’s returned. I will try to be good. I promise….but surely there is no such thing as too many books??

Happy cooking and reading

Sky @ http://www.thesideplate.com

cookbooks..I havent read them all..but if you buy from this link I get a few pence..it all helps

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Ready meals??

So I’ve been a busy girl this week. I’ve decided to make my own ready meals…just for me, well and the family. I am not branching out lol. But it does save a small fortune and you know what is exactly in them. I am not just talking about the meat content either. I am fast becoming aware that many foods that are prepared, canned or frozen have lots of salt, sugar, and stuff that to be quite honest, well I don’t know what it is.

So this week I am testing out new ideas, and then freezing half so I can be really lazy next month.

Pizza dough is a doddle to make and freezes beautifully; Beef Bourguignonne is another fab one, as are fish pie, shepherds pie, even homemade chicken nuggets. Soup is another great make that freezes well and a great way to up your veg intake. And It’s a lot cheaper too..In the long run.

I don’t expect the world to change overnight…we have got sucked into the easy food market…but just an idea. Can we pull ourselves out…one meal at a time??

Will add some recipe ideas on http://www.thesideplate.com over the next few days.
Would you be interested in a cookbook??

Go on give it a go..You know you want to.

Happy cooking

Love Sky @ thesideplate.com

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Ready Meals??