A bit of fun ....

I would love this for the kids play area - hint, hint

Image from http://ties2thepast.blogspot.co.uk

Flapjacks

For the printable version

 

I made the mistake of leaving these out on the kitchen top and the kids ate the lot!!

Passion Fruit Curd

I pinned this lovely recipe on Pinterest http://drizzleanddip.com/2012/03/09/easy-passion-fruit-curd and was lucky enough to find some Passion Fruit at my local grocery store. I have always been a fan of lemon curd and have tried many other flavours but have always been disappointed with the lack of flavour.  This recipe does not disappoint in any way!!  I usually eat my curd on a slice of warmly buttered toast in the morning but it can also be  used in cake fillings.  I chose to strain the pips out and am so glad I did - so lovely and creamy. 

A must make if you like passion fruit!! 

Fabulous Fudge

McCall's M5446 Pirate costume review

Last Friday (has taken me a while to publish this post!!) the kids enjoyed a fun day at school dressed up as their favourite book character for World Book Day. Sean (5) chose to go as Captain Hook so we set off to my local fabric store to see what we could come up with. He chose a red, heavy weight cotton fabric for the jacket and a fun black and red pirate print for the jacket trim. I had plenty of white fabric at home for the shirt. We chose the McCall's pattern because it had the jacket which every pirate captain has to have. The pattern itself is not cheap - costing just over £8.00. The jacket needs 1.05m plus an extra 1.15m for the trim. The shirt is another 1.15m. Altogether this is not a cheap option but it is different to the mass produced versions out there.

It is probably over 10 years since I last used a pattern to sew from so it felt a bit strange and probably took me a bit longer than someone a bit more experienced. I would also say that this pattern is not for the feint hearted. If you are not an experienced seamstress you may find the collars tricky on both the jacket and the shirt. There is a lot of detail but if you persevere it does look great when you have finished. On the jacket I added some elastic at the back waist line to pull it in a bit and give a bit more shape and also a hook and eye at the front fastening just to keep it together. Instead of eyelets on the shirt I just did some small buttonholes and used a cord with metal ends (from a used paper bag) for the shirt tie.

Positives - looks great and is different to anything in the shops

Negatives - expensive, time consuming

For the black hair I sewed strands of thick black wool/yarn into the rim of the hat and for the boots I painted an old pair of wellies with some black matt emulsion paint.

Raspberry breakfast bars

Woke up this morning to more rain ..... that lovely soft rain that makes you feel like getting under a nice cosy blanket with a good book, steaming hot chocolate and something a little bit naughty to dunk in the hot chocolate.  The reality is a little bit different - ending up slightly damp and dishevelled after walking the kids to school does not a happy lady make.  Anyway I decided to come home and bake something which I had pinned on Pinterest http://pinterest.com/saksandco/ last night and I have to say that the smell of these raspberry bars baking in the oven was just heavenly.  The recipe can be found on http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/raspberry-breakfast-bars/  Having tasted them I think I would probably add a bit more sugar to the raspberry filling mixture.  For those not in the USA - the quantity of butter is 175g.

All wrapped and ready for the school lunch boxes