Happy Hallowe'en!

Some of the Hallowe'en crew. Sarah and a couple of friends went out separately, but I didn't manage to take a photo of them. Sarah went as a mime - it was a good look. You can't really see the full costumes here, but you get the general idea!

Oct 30th: Salmon Fishcakes, salad, coleslaw, rolls

Good Food Magazine, Feb 2012.  Not quite as firm as I'd ideally like, but a nice taste. Made more than the recipe said.

Clandon Park

A trip to Clandon Park, a Palladian House near Guildford. We went partly because we are aiming to get the most out of our National Trust membership this year, partly because there was an exhibition of masks on display there and my mother has a keen interest in masks, and partly because we needed to get out of the house and go somewhere, what with it being half-term and all. 

It was a bit chilly, though we did stroll in the grounds a bit - as long as the sun was on you, it wasn't too bad.

Took some photos in the grounds - no photography allowed in the house except for the main hall...

Pumpkins 2012

Mine  - design from ZombiePumpkins.

Olivia's - design from our old design book (we are running out - we need another book!)

Alex's - original design.

Grandma's - split personality pumpkin. Original design.

Sarah's (design from the book).

Here they are, happily waiting for a few nights to really shine...

Oct 29th: Green Lentil Soup with Spiced Butter

Source: The Bean Book, Hamlyn Publishing

notes: This was lovely. We really liked the soup itself, but also, the spiced butter was great as you could add your own spiciness to it, useful in a family situation.

Birthday Cheesecake

As it was Olivia's birthday in the week (on a busy night) we had the cake aspect of the birthday on the weekend. She chose a baked cheesecake. This recipe is slightly different from my mother's traditional recipe (though not drastically different) but we like the lemon in it, and having the sour cream in the baked part does keep it a bit moister.  Recipe source: Good Food magazine.

Oct 28th: Fennel Risotto

source; Vital Vegetables, Good Food cookbook

notes: not much to say, tasted like Risotto with fennel in it!

All a girl needs in her shopping?

We went mainly for the pumpkins, but discovered that wine was on sale 25 per cent off - on top of existing promotions! -  if you bought 6 or more bottles. So I did my usual (find all the wine on half price sale down to a fiver from ten quid) and ended up with 18 bottles of wine for £78. Including two bottles of port. Go me. Ran into several friends also with trolleys full of wine!

Special Hallowe'en Oreos

Oct 24th: Pasta with a creamy sausage sauce

Source: not sure. 

notes: We've had this before, but apparently not recently. I added more pasta to the same amount of sauce - it made plenty to support it.

Happy Birthday, Baby O

Yes, it's official, we are a two-teen house from today... Where does the time go?  Happy 13th to Olivia!

Oct 23rd: Vegetable Biryani

A family favourite. Blogged with recipe here.

Oct 22nd: Courgette and Rocket Soup, Cornbread

nearly forgot the photo!  

source: Asda magazine, August 2001

notes: we've had this lots of times before. It's a nice, easy soup.

Oct 21st: Rice Pudding

With a dollop of jam. Some people prefer Golden Syrup. Whatever.

Oct 21st: Steak and Mushroom Pie

From the Hairy Bikers Perfect Pies - just as lovely as it was last time...

Autumnal windowsill

Time to change the candles to something a little more autumnal (they were all green before). Now it looks like Hallowe'en!

Grease is the word...

Here are Olivia and some of her mates off to see Grease at Wimbledon Theatre. They were dressed even more Grease-like earlier - but I guess they decided it was a little over the top. It was a fun show - the dancers especially were fantastic.

Oct 18th: Sausages, Mash, Spring Greens

Sarah cooked tonight, and as it's Geoff's birthday, she did something he particularly likes. No recipe, per se, but it was tasty.

Birthday Card

Happy birthday to Geoff - Olivia painted this card for him - isn't it great? 

Oct 17th: Creamy lemon & cabbage pasta with garlic crumbs

source: Good Food magazine

notes: we liked this, especially the breadcrumb topping. It was a nice, easy meal for a busy evening.

Oct 16th: Rosti Topped Fish Pie

source: Good Food magazine. 

notes: surprisingly quick for a fish pie. not that fiddly. I added some veg (peas, broad beans), which I liked, though I would add less total quantity of veg next time. And see if I could get the crust a little more brown.  I used pollack fillets, as that's what was readily available.

Oct 15th: Bacon & Cheddar Soup

source: New Covent Garden Soup Company: A Soup for Everyday

notes: really warm and rich and soothing - a great winter soup. The contrast of the rich, creamy potato and cheese soup and the crispy bacon was great.

Oct 14th: Veal Chops, Baked Potato, Carrots

Not something we have a lot, but it was yummy, especially with the salsa verde.  There were more carrots, but as they are Olivia's favourite thing, she'd eaten most of them by the time I remembered to snap the photo!

Brunch

Olivia's been planning French Toast for ages, but things keep happening which prevent us from having it. Mostly to do with children sleeping for half the day... Finally made it!

Oct 13th: Potato, Spinach and Taleggio Tart

source:  Good Food magazine

notes: great. Not bad cold either, but better hot. very filling. Served with a cucumber and celery salad.

Oct 12th: Summer spaghetti

recipe source: not sure. Not Good Food, based on the font and style. 

notes: We liked this ok, but would make a few changes - there were too many tomatoes, for one thing, and it was a bit saucy. We'd also use a firmer goat cheese than the one we used and perhaps only add it on top at the end.  The chorizo was nice, though it did smoke the house up a bit!