Spicy Salmon Pilaf

This has become a bit of a favourite in our house recently - its very delicious but also feels extremely healthy.  Of course it also has the added bonus of being easy to make ;)

Serves 2

Ingredients
2 salmon fillets
100ml natural yoghurt
1tsp curry paste
Half a green chilli
1 small onion, peeled & chopped
2/3 cardamom pods
2 tsp mustard seeds
200g brown rice
400ml hot vegetable stock
2 cupfuls of frozen peas
2 "blocks" of frozen spinach (or a few handfuls of fresh)

Method
Mix the yoghurt, curry paste and chilli together and pour over the salmon in a shallow dish - set aside and allow to marinate.  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Heat some oil in a pan and add the onion, cardamom seeds and mustard seeds.  Cook gently for 5 mins until the onion softens.  Turn up the heat and add the rice, stirring for a few mins.  Pour in the stock, the peas and the frozen spinach (if you are using fresh spinach, add it at the very end) and bring to the boil.  Cover and simmer for around 25 mins, keeping a close eye so it doesn't dry out - in which case, add a little more boiled water.

While the rice is cooking, put the salmon as it is into the oven and cook for around 20 mins.  

Serve the rice with the salmon on top or on the side, sprinkled with some fresh coriander if you have it.

I'm back!

Not in a weird Arnold Schwarzenegger way but boy, it's been a while!  Almost 4 weeks since I posted here, & that's the longest I've been away from the blog since I started it.  

In my defence, the past two months has been crazy, filled with sports days, end of term assemblies, new teacher meetings, end of term socials, and school trips not to mention picnics, paddling pools and trips to London outside of school hours!  This is the first time I've experienced the End of Term Madness and it took me by surprise...hopefully next year I can plan ahead a little better.  

So to the new Likers that have recently joined us over here at TCM HQ: a great big WELCOME!  I'm hopeful that a relaxing summer at home will mean more time to blog - and I've got so many fun posts to share with you so watch this space!

In the meantime, enjoy this wonderful sunshine and don't forget your suncream ;)

Early morning walk at the Devil's Punchbowl

Father's Day Ideas

Are you ready?  It's very nearly Father's Day!  If you need a quick last minute idea, here are a few good ones.

This year, we have made Motorbike Man this cute Shirt & Tie card that I recently blogged about.  

For local readers, we've also ordered some delicious cookies from The Custom Cookie Co which has a great range to choose from, there is sure to be something to suit the man in your life - biscuits shaped like power tools, golf clubs and ties to name a few.  

I've also devised a questionnaire for the kids to fill in but Motorbike Man - I got the idea from Meet The Dubiens but I wanted a slightly more personal version (although they have a free printable if you're strapped for time!)  Obviously I helped Doodles to write down her answers down but Spiderboy will fill in his own, and this makes for very funny reading.  I had to try very hard to stop myself from laughing when I was writing down the answers Doodles gave me...  You can tailor the questions to suit the age of the child, I did a simplified version for my 2 year old and included more questions for my 4 year old, and added photos of them with Daddy over the years.  I really hope there will be some laughs on Sunday when we hand these over.

There are some really fun edible ideas rounded up by Kitchen Fun With My Three Sons to be found here.

Craftionary has some great ideas for photographic presents here... what daddy doesn't love photos of their gorgeous offspring?!

If you're short on time, Small & Friendly has a cute printable for a wallet sized picture here, which wouldn't take long to make.

Whatever your gifts, I hope you have a lovely family day spending time with the man that helped you bring your precious children into this world.

Mamatography - Week 22

We had such a busy half term week, jam packed with days out and plenty of fun.

Day 146 - Sunday 26 May
Up early for a boot sale, which was a big success - I managed to sell lots of the baby items we no longer have a use for...*sniff*.  I was clearly too busy counting my takings to remember to photograph anything!

Day 147 - Monday 27 May
It was a sunny Bank Holiday so there was only thing to do...head to a fete!  Spiderboy loved the chair-o-plane.

Day 148 - Tuesday 28 May
It was raining when we woke up so I made some bath paints and let the kids loose in the bathroom!  

Day 149 - Wednesday 29 May
Grandad was up to his tricks again and had given Spiderboy a packet of flies and spiders, which he forgot to remove from his trouser pocket before putting them in the wash.  I got quite a fright when I pulled the washing out of the machine!

Day 150 - Thursday 30 May
A busy day for us!  We went on a bug hunt in the woods and found lots of creatures...

Later that day, we did a canal cruise dressed as Pirates & Princesses!  

Day 151 - Friday 31 May
A day out on the Watercress Line with lots of fun...is there a child that *doesn't* like getting their face painted?!

 

My kids actually think it's a treat to wash the car...shhh, don't tell them :)

Day 152 - Saturday 1 June
A friend was celebrating her recent wedding with a cruise along the Thames so Motorbike Man and I had a lovely evening on board, watching the sunset and enjoying the BBQ.

This post is part of the Mamatography 2013 Project hosted by Momma Jorje and Diary Of A First Child.  We are taking (at least) a photo a day to keep a record of our year.  Join us at any point during the year and start sharing your own daily photos!


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Without further ado, here are the Mama/Papatography2013 participants!

• Diary of a First Child
• Earth Mamas World
• Baking Momma of Two
• Emma's Little World
• Quacks and Waddles
• Three Counties Mum
• Seaside Chelle
• gentlemum
• The Cutie and The Beauty
• Charming Gardener
• Pineapples & Artichokes
• Jessica's Casserole
• Dad of The Monkeys

• Momma Jorje
• A Nature Mom
• Mommy and Little I
• too tired to blog
• The Family Patch
• The Princess Poet's Life Adventures
• harley famdamily
• Mama Unfurling
• the mommy metamorphosis
• Mothers Know Best
• Quest For Life's Passion
• Frugal Brit Witch
• Me, Mothering, and Making it All Work

Child-Friendly Paella

Last year my sister bought me a paella dish.  It is wonderful, and I have created some deliciously authentic paellas in it.  However, I am pretty sure Spiderboy and Doodles wouldn't be too enthusiastic about chowing down on an octopus leg so I made this child-friendly version recently and am delighted to report it went down a storm.

Ingredients
1 onion
Clove of garlic
2 small chicken breasts, diced
1 red pepper
300g rice
1tsp turmeric
750ml chicken stock
2 chipolatas, cooked & sliced
100g small prawns
Method
Heat some oil in a frying pan and add the onion & garlic, cooking for a few mins.  Add the chicken & seal for around 5 mins.  Add the red pepper and cook for a further minute.

Rinse the rice in cold water and add it to the pan, stirring thoroughly along with the turmeric.  Keep stirring for around a minute or so until everything is coated and mixed.

Pour in the stock and leave to simmer for around 15 mins, or until all the stock has been absorbed by the rice.  

Add the sausages & prawns for the pan and simmer for a further 5 mins before serving immediately.