Breakfast special: American pancakes

Baby-led weaning is more like baby-led mess a lot of the time. Here's Sophie demolishing some Oatibix, which she loves, and some banana:

Most days, we eat cereal, toast, fruit, or porridge for breakfast, but some days I like to make something special. One of our favourites is pancakes, or drop scones as they're often called this side of the Atlantic.

American pancakes

Takes 15 minutes

Makes about 8-10 pancakes (easily doubled)

125g flour

150ml milk

1 egg

Oil or butter for frying

Whisk the egg and milk together. Make a well in the flour and gradually add the milk mixture, whisking all the time until it forms a thick, smooth paste. 

Heat some oil or butter in a large non-stick frying pan. Lower the heat to medium. Drop tablespoons of the batter into the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. Flip, and cook 1-2 minutes on the other side. 

We eat ours with maple or golden syrup, fruit, or yoghurt. Sophie absolutely loves them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner! 

They freeze really well between sheets of greaseproof paper. 

Variations: add fruit (blueberries, banana, raspberries...), cooked vegetables or grated cheese to the batter.

Saturday ice-cream: Vanilla yoghurt

Hello everyone!

We've been enjoying warm, fine weather here for the past two weeks. It's been wonderful! 

A couple of years ago we purchased a Magimix Le Glacier 1.5l ice-cream maker. It was a hot summer! Last year, it was barely used. So, to celebrate this summer, I came up with a plan: Saturday ice-cream. This idea has proved very popular with my lovely husband!

So, each week (give or take a few) for the duration of the summer, you'll find here a post about our weekend treat! 

Home-made ice-cream is great: even though it's never exactly healthy, you can enjoy it knowing exactly what has gone into it.

This week's ice-cream was vanilla yoghurt. It was really easy to make and came up light and flavoursome. The yoghurt cuts through the sweetness really nicely.

Enjoy!

Laura x

PS. Another upside of making ice-cream? Lots of leftover egg whites, a perfect excuse for me to continue my mission to master the macaron...


Vanilla yoghurt icecream
Takes 1.5 hours (15 minutes hands on, 45 minutes cooling time, 30 minutes churning)
Serves 4-6

150ml milk
1 tsp cornflour
1 egg yolk
50g caster sugar
150ml good-quality plain yoghurt
150ml whipping cream
1 tsp good-quality vanilla essence (not vanilla extract)

Mix the cornflour with a little of the milk. Heat the rest of the milk in a saucepan.

Whisk together the egg yolk and sugar, then pour on the hot milk very slowly, whisking all the time. (Pouring it too fast will curdle the eggs.) Stir in the cornflour mixture.

Return the mixture to the saucepan and gently heat, stirring continuously, until it thickens (around boiling point). Leave to cool.

Mix in the yoghurt, cream and vanilla essence, then pour into the ice-cream machine and churn.

What's cooking this week #3

Hi everyone!

The plan is ready, the ingredients have been delivered. Let the week begin!

Monday - Roasted herbed veg with fried halloumi
Tuesday - Chicken and leek fricassee
Wednesday - Bolognese
Thursday - Leftover chicken
Friday - Mexican chicken bake
Saturday - Lasagne (with leftover bolognese sauce)
Sunday - Roast chicken with roast butternut squash, sweet potato, and parsnips

I'll post some recipes at some point.

We're having a curry night with friends on Wednesday. They're bringing the curry, my contribution is a flourless chocolate cake and a fruit salad. Looking forward to making that!

And the shopping list:

Veg for roasting: sweet potatoes, butternut squash, courgettes, peppers, parsnips
Halloumi
Chicken thighs 1kg (for the fricassee and the Mexican bake)
2 large leeks
White wine
Single cream 400ml
Chestnut mushrooms 300g
2 lemons
Minced beef 500g
3 tins chopped tomatoes (for the bolognese and the Mexican bake)
White mushrooms (handful)
3 carrots
1 onion
1 tin kidney beans
Fresh coriander
Cheddar cheese
Soured cream

From my storecupboard:

Olive oil
Dried mixed herbs
Butter
Spaghetti
Balsamic vinegar
Low-salt vegetable stock
Taco spices (paprika, garlic, cumin, chilli)
Rice

Have a great week!

Laura x

What's cooking this week #2

Here's what we've been eating this week:

Chilli con carne

Salmon fishcakes

Vegetable balti

Fishfingers and chips - Nick's choice!

Quick and easy tortelloni
Lemon roast chicken with new potatoes and salad

The salmon fishcakes a la Jamie Oliver were a disaster. Note to self: don't be lazy, make your own mash for fishcakes, supermarket stuff is too watery. 

And my shopping list:

3 chicken breasts

Ratatouille veg: courgette, peppers, aubergine, sweet potatoes

Minced beef 500g

3 tins chopped tomatoes

Kidney beans

Chickpeas

Red peppers

2 salmon fillets

Mashed potatoes

1 cauliflower

1 butternut squash

2 sweet potatoes

1 eating apple

2 carrots

Balti curry paste

Natural yoghurt

Fishfingers

Chips

Corn-fed free-range chicken (on special offer!)
Lemons
New potatoes
Salad

From my storecupboard:

Dried mixed herbs

Olive oil

Spices

Parsley

Penne pasta

Rice
Garlic

What's cooking this week #1

Last week went well. I'm a bit late posting my cooking list, but that's just how it goes.

Here's what was cooking:

Beef and noodle stir-fry
Salmon tikka with raita and naan bread
Cauliflower macaroni cheese
Chicken tagine with steamed veg and couscous
Pad Thai
Roast turkey with pork and apricot stuffing and roast veg

I only post six meals, because we almost always eat either leftovers or something very very quick (ravioli, pizza, egg on toast) for one meal a week. I'm not superwoman.

It was a good week. The salmon tikka was so delicious, I can't wait to have it again. Mmmm.

Here's my shopping list:

Beef frying steak 200g
Fresh egg noodles
Mixed stir-fry veg
2 salmon steaks
Tandoori curry paste
1 lime
1 red chilli
Cucumber
Natural yoghurt
2 naan breads
1 cauliflower
Macaroni pasta 400g
Chicken thighs 300g
1 tin chickpeas
1 tin chopped tomatoes
2 carrots
1 large onion
Pad Thai straight-to-wok noodles
250g frozen king prawns
100g bean sprouts (why don't they sell these in smaller packets, we always have so much left over!)
Turkey thigh
Pork and herb sausages
Parsnips, sweet potatoes, carrots for roasting
Broccoli

From my storecupboard/fridge:

Stir-fry spices
Oil
Cheddar cheese
Parmesan
Eggs
Couscous
Dried apricots