Hooray hooray for holidays!! Abbie and I decided to have a pyjama day today and laze around at home.. believe me a rest was needed after the half-term we have both had. Abbie said there was only one way to start a lazy day (after we had stayed in bed, reading books and chatting for an hour!) and that was to have pancakes. I found some Bisquick at the back of the cupboard and decided that these would be about the laziest pancakes I could make… besides buying them ready-made!
Just add egg, milk and water
Abbie was keen to make the mix herself, so I can honestly say these were so easy to make a child could have done it! They were actually very decent pancakes – more English style than American and they definitely fanfared that we were on holiday.
Abbie making her way through the first of many!
I wrap the rest in greaseproof paper and pop them in the freezer for impromtu snacks
Then it was out to the garden to see how our pumpkins were doing…. Abbie picked the best of 9 and we carried it back inside like the prized possession that it was.
This one!
When will this fashion catch on??
She remembered just what we had to do to prepare the pumpkin for carving and set to deseeding by scraping, turning and banging the seeds out… although making her own pumpkin hat was probably her favourite part! Then it was up to me to hollow the pumpkin out, placing all the flesh into a deep baking tray, a little water over the top and into the oven for 40mins at 160C. This roasts/steams it – I then make pumpkin puree to use in scones, muffins and pumpkin soup – see later…
Friendly, not spooky was my brief...
We started making bread (sponge stage), did some jobs around the house and then started getting ourself ready for our Movie lunch. I decided to make ‘Beanie Nachos’ as they are a favourite, and easy to eat in front of the TV. All I do is fry a little garlic in a pan, add a can of ‘Taco Beans’ which are mixed beans in a chilli/tomato sauce and a couple of handfuls of frozen sweetcorn and a little grating of dark chocolate (1/2 square). I put a couple of handfuls of lightly salted tortilla chips in the bottom of a pie dish, top with the beans and a couple of handfuls of grated light cheddar. Pop under a hot grill until the cheese melts and then serve with a dollop of sour cream for dipping (and pickled jalapenos for me). Delicious…. feels trashy but convince myself that the beans make it healthy!
Movie lunch - all polished off!
We made bread in the afternoon – I gave Abbie her own handful of dough to knead, rise and bake; using the rest to bake our loaf. She was delighted with her finished bread (baked for 10 mins at 220) and also loved our Autumn pumpkin soup, made with the innards that I roasted earlier.
- Dry fry a packet of cubed pancetta (don’t add oil) and when crisy, add 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped clove garlic and 3 chopped carrots – cook until onion is soft
- Add stem of fresh sage, 3 tsp Marigold veg bouillion and cover with boiling water, stirring to dissolve the stock. Simmer for 20 mins
- Add roasted pumkin and simmer for another 20 mins. Remove sage and blitz in a blender.
- Add back to the pan and reheat when needed. Serve with homemade bread.
Jon described this as the best soup I have ever made…. and asked how many more pumpkins we had. Think I know what I’m going to be doing with the remaining 8!
kidandkitchen 