Our Easter eggs were dyed with saffron, onion peels, karkade (flor de jamaica) and frozen blueberries.
Aren't they pretty?
Happy Easter!
Our Easter eggs were dyed with saffron, onion peels, karkade (flor de jamaica) and frozen blueberries.
Aren't they pretty?
Happy 7th Birthday Callum!
On Sunday we celebrated Callum's birthday, it doesn't seem two minutes since I was at the hospital being induced. It really is scary how quickly time flies
We had a busy day from the minute Callum came into our bedroom to wake us up to the boys going to bed.
Callum had a great day and got lots of presents that he had asked for. We bought him a Kinect for his Xbox so I spent half the day laughing at him and Matthew trying to play on it. He was bought some lovely clothes from his grandparents and got the Skylanders starter kit from his Uncle Chris. He still has presents to come too when my mum comes to visit us on Easter Sunday.
One of the highlights of Callum's day was when his Auntie Kimberley arrived and came to stay with us, She is taking Callum back to Lincoln with her so that he can take part in an Arsenal training day. He is going to take his new Arsenal kit, football boots and shin pads with him.
We asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday and he asked to go bowling and for something to eat. Bowling was a huge success and I for once won (this was a sheer fluke and is never likely to happen again as I really am that rubbish). We took the boys to Frankie and Benny's once we had finished. You can read our review of the new menu soon.
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We had a busy day from the minute Callum came into our bedroom to wake us up to the boys going to bed.
Callum had a great day and got lots of presents that he had asked for. We bought him a Kinect for his Xbox so I spent half the day laughing at him and Matthew trying to play on it. He was bought some lovely clothes from his grandparents and got the Skylanders starter kit from his Uncle Chris. He still has presents to come too when my mum comes to visit us on Easter Sunday.
One of the highlights of Callum's day was when his Auntie Kimberley arrived and came to stay with us, She is taking Callum back to Lincoln with her so that he can take part in an Arsenal training day. He is going to take his new Arsenal kit, football boots and shin pads with him.
We asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday and he asked to go bowling and for something to eat. Bowling was a huge success and I for once won (this was a sheer fluke and is never likely to happen again as I really am that rubbish). We took the boys to Frankie and Benny's once we had finished. You can read our review of the new menu soon.
The Puppies Update...
For the first week and a half the puppies really didn't do much, like any newborn baby they just ate, slept and pooped! They are almost 3 weeks old now. They have begun their worming treatment and will be registered with The Kennel Club (KC) at the end of this week too.
We have finally decided on names for them too, so please say a big hello to Penny and Sheldon - if you can't tell we are massive big bang theory fans (if you've never seen it you really must its great). We need to think of KC names for them and I'm struggling at the minute with this.
This last week though they have really started to change into little dogs, they are so cute. They are putting on lots of weight and look like little barrels on legs - mummies milk must be good, but because there is only two of them they can pretty much take all the milk that they need.
Both Penny and Sheldon's eyes have opened and they are finally starting to try and walk.
Here is a little clip of Penny taking her first wobbly steps.
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We have finally decided on names for them too, so please say a big hello to Penny and Sheldon - if you can't tell we are massive big bang theory fans (if you've never seen it you really must its great). We need to think of KC names for them and I'm struggling at the minute with this.
This last week though they have really started to change into little dogs, they are so cute. They are putting on lots of weight and look like little barrels on legs - mummies milk must be good, but because there is only two of them they can pretty much take all the milk that they need.
Both Penny and Sheldon's eyes have opened and they are finally starting to try and walk.
Here is a little clip of Penny taking her first wobbly steps.
Our Chicken, spring 2012
Photo-shoot from earlier today, when we let our for chicks out from their winter hideaway. We first got the chicken in April 2010. Carol (the black Araucana hybrid) and Evita (the lavender Araucana) are with us from that period, the Orpingtons Buffy (black) and Fluffy ("blue") joined us in December 2011. All are still strong egg-layers :)
Buffy, Evita, Carol, Fluffy (and their Eglu in the background):
Fluffy:
Carol:
Buffy, Fluffy, Evita:
Evita:
Buffy & Fluffy:
More posts about chicken on this blog:
2010 overview (scroll down to April)
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Buffy, Evita, Carol, Fluffy (and their Eglu in the background):
Fluffy:
Carol:
Buffy, Fluffy, Evita:
Evita:
Buffy & Fluffy:
More posts about chicken on this blog:
2010 overview (scroll down to April)
Recipe for honey-soy glazed oven-baked quails
Every now and then I come across some young fresh quails, and cannot resist buying them. They're sold oven-ready here, so it's just the matter of seasoning the birds and popping into the oven for half an hour. A weekend night dinner that looks pretty elegant and is a little bit more exciting than your average roast chicken - is ready in less than an hour (and that includes the marinating time). Here's a lovely recipe I discovered a while ago from Jill Dupleix's excellent Simple Food. Jill uses honey to sweeten the glaze. Although it's lovely with honey, it's even lovelier with a good maple syrup, and that's what I've been using recently.
PS Our kids - both the one-year old and the three-year old - love this dish, especially the drumsticks!
NB For other Chinese recipes here on Nami-Nami, click here.
Honey-Soy Quails
(Mesine ja sojane vutt)
Serves 4
4 quails about 200-250 g each
2 Tbsp runny honey or 4 Tbsp maple syrup
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
Flavouring salt:
1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
1 Tbsp sea salt flakes
To serve:
2 Tbsp sweet Thai chilli sauce
Rinse the birds, pat dry with a kitchen paper. Tuck the wing tips behind the back, tie the legs with a cotton string.
Combine honey/maple syrup and soy sauce in a large bowl. Add the quails and turn them in the marinade. Leave to marinade for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 C/400 F.
Remove the quails from the marinade and place into an oven dish where they fit snugly. Drizzle with sesame oil.
Bake in the middle of the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, turning them once or twice, until the meat is cooked and the skin is crispy and golden.
Sprinkle some five-spice salt on top and serve with sweet chilli sauce.
For a side dish, Jill suggests some stir-fried spinach and mangetout/sugar snap peas and spring onions. Something green and quick and simple.
Thomas and Friends Bath Toys
We were recently sent an assortment of Thomas and Friends bath toys to review. James is a massive train fan and loves watching Thomas on TV with his brothers. We were sent 3 toys to review.
Thomas the Tank Engine Magic Facecloth and Fizzer Set - The set includes a compressed facecloth in a friendly Thomas the Tank Engine face design that magically expands when placed in water for fun cleansing.
The ‘Thomas’ bath fizzer can be dropped into the bath to create blue, fruity fragranced bath water which is kind for young skin. The set has an RRP £3.00 and is available from Boots, it is suitable for children aged three to five years old.
Thomas the Tank Engine Bath Buddy - The bath buddy designed for fun play and cleansing in the bath. Made from water friendly soft fabrics, this product is suitable for all ages. It has an RRP £5.00 and is available to buy in Boots. James loves the bath buddy he makes it move along the bath and makes train noises ( I love their imagination at his ages) he likes to put it under the water to so that it "fills" with water and then squeezes it all back out.
We highly recommend all 3 of these bath toys, they certainly have made James' bath time fun. We give them a fabulous 4/5 rating.
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Thomas the Tank Bath Soap Crayons - The crayons are 3D moulded, they are made from Bath Soap and are shaped in children's favourite characters Thomas, James, Percy & "all aboard" designs. The soapy crayons can be used to draw on the bath, the tiles or all over a child's body. They have an RRP £3.00 and are now available to buy in Boots. They are suitable for children aged three to five years old.
Here is James and Nathan using the bath crayons.
Nathan thought it was lots of fun to colour in his hand and James loved drawing all over the side of the bath. My only complaint about the crayons and this is really minor is that once they get really wet they are slippy and can be quite messy. Having said that they do dry out quickly and are reusable for the next bath time. It is simple to clean up after use to as any crayon just washes off with water.
The ‘Thomas’ bath fizzer can be dropped into the bath to create blue, fruity fragranced bath water which is kind for young skin. The set has an RRP £3.00 and is available from Boots, it is suitable for children aged three to five years old.
Thomas the Tank Engine Bath Buddy - The bath buddy designed for fun play and cleansing in the bath. Made from water friendly soft fabrics, this product is suitable for all ages. It has an RRP £5.00 and is available to buy in Boots. James loves the bath buddy he makes it move along the bath and makes train noises ( I love their imagination at his ages) he likes to put it under the water to so that it "fills" with water and then squeezes it all back out.
We highly recommend all 3 of these bath toys, they certainly have made James' bath time fun. We give them a fabulous 4/5 rating.
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Four In A Box Jigsaw Puzzle
The boys were recently sent their third puzzle from Ravensburger to review. When Nathan saw the box he was over the moon. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is one of his favourite TV programmes, it is on just before he leaves for nursery so always watches it before he goes. As he is such a big fan Nathan declared that this puzzle was his. He said that both Callum and James couldn't help him as he wanted to do the puzzles all by himself.
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Nathan found these puzzles a little more difficult to complete than other puzzles we've been sent before. This was because unlike previous puzzles the Mickey Mouse puzzles didn't have the coloured edges to show which pieces belonged to which puzzle. This meant that Nathan had to actually think about which pieces were needed for the four individual puzzles. He did remember though that he needed the edge pieces first in order to complete the pictures.
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| James trying to help Nathan with a puzzle |
The puzzles are 12, 16, 20 and 24 pieces, meaning they are ideal for use within a family with different aged children (such as my own), or for schools and nurseries where there are different aged children or children with mixed abilities within the same class. The finished puzzles are 19 x 14cm when complete.
The puzzles are suitable for children aged 3+ and priced at £5.99, they can be purchased from all good toy shops and retailers. We highly recommend Ravensburger puzzles, they are made from good quality materials and the pieces fit well together even when played with over and over. The reason for this is that each puzzle is hand made and cut using special tools to ensure no two pieces are alike. These are definitely puzzles made to last.
We cant wait to see which puzzle we will be reviewing next month as part of the Ravensburger Puzzle Club.