Off he goes...

It's fair to say Ive been neglecting this blog the past month, but that's because it suddenly occurred to me that I was down to my last days with Pablo before he entered the school system and was no longer *mine*. Once school began he would see them more than me, which breaks my heart a little. So we've been making the most of the blissfully hot last summer days and traipsing to parks and museums and farms, trying to fill these final days with adventures together, generally leaving me too exhausted to string a sentence together. But it looks like I'm back in the blogging saddle, because yesterday this happened...

Sure, there will be nobody here nagging me to stop checking Instagram on my phone and play cars instead for the trillionth time, or whining that they absolutely must watch TV immediately or they won't be my friend anymore. But what about all the nonchalant "love you, mum!"s he throws my way, the cheeky remarks and chuckles and heart-melting dance routines to Singing in the Rain? I'm not sure I can handle the sudden cutback from seven full days a week of that to two. And thanks to slightly terrifying new laws I no longer have jurisdiction over his schedule, really, as the school expects him there every single day on pain of financial penalty. So no sneaky long weekends or extra days together. Well, I'll see what I can do... 

crush of the week

I've been feeling pretty smug of late about not really wanting to buy anything. This is what an excess of sunshine can do for a girl - not that there is any such thing as an excess of sunshine. But then this happened, and it coincided with the sudden season change to rainy cold, and here I am again after things. Prepare yourself. These are so awesome. Having just invested in vile practical school boots for Pablo, instead of the lovely suede ones that Konch deemed completely impractical (ok, he was right, but I haven't recovered), I am keeping all eyes out for the "off-duty" shoes I now have an excuse to buy. French label Feiyue have come to the rescue with these badass tiger sneaks, in collaboration with Milk On The Rocks. £60 (eek!) from the divine Scandinavian Minimall. A must for any rad 4 year old boy...right?

mini hols

London in the hot hot hot is infinitely preferable to London in a drizzle, but the seaside is even better. We took a spontaneous trip to Nanna & Quinto's for some impressive Sussex seaside time - too much ice cream, traditional funfair and giant fish & chips galore. Lots of fun and lots of sun. Nothing makes a kid (well, my kids) happier than an excuse for some public nudity, so the beach is always a winner, but we really hit the jackpot with the little old funfair - cheap and full of rides they loved, with not a single queue to kill our vibe. Shame on Legoland. Indy went on her first real funfair ride, and then insisted on going again...and again...and again. I've never seen her grin for so long, and watching her turn the corner and wave like royalty (again...and again...) strangely never got boring. What a difference a long, sunny summer makes! We are all brown as berries and feeling good, and haven't hopped on a plane once...

with nanna & quinto

indygrows

running... playing "the screaming game" with Pablo any chance she gets (lots of chasing, hiding, and excited squeals)... saying "I want that!" and obsessed with cats (lots of adorable "meow"s) ...also very naughty and headstrong and affectionate! We are so lucky.

sunday sunday

Magical Epping Forest. The smalls were on another planet of joy just exploring, running through the undergrowth, picking blackberries and discovering dens. Pablo threw himself into tree climbing and scaling, and Indy pottered across logs and tottered down hills grinning. So amazing what a bit of freedom in the wild can do, even the not-so-wilds of Essex...so lucky to have this on our doorstep.

crush of the week...

Peace pants! How can you not love these? Who DOESN'T need a peace sign on their bum?? Guys...? By Go Gently Baby (who have an annoying amount of almost-as-desirable stuff, click on that link at your peril). I couldn't find a UK retailer but you can snap them up for $50 from the marvellous cave of wonders that is Darling Clementine.  

the slate ones, please, fairy godmother...?

The nuggets make nuggets

We have settled into the school holidays now, but for a while there I was going a tiny bit bananas trying to come up with *things to do*. Possibly because there was a rainy week or so, which is always a killer, but beyond plodding from park to picnic to garden London isn't heaving with FUN! for me + two smallies and a wallet on the thinner side. So to the kitchen... we made gnocchi! It was extremely messy but simple, fun, and great for kids to get involved in. Even Indiana got stuck in. Literally.

Sweet Potato Spelt Gnocchi

600g sweet potatoes
200g white spelt flour + more for dusting
1 egg
 

Chop the potatoes in half and then boil in their skins for 20 mins. Drain and leave to cool, then peel the skins off and mash. This was Pablo's mashing outfit...  

he insisted on slippers, in the middle of summer... but god forbid he wear trousers

Mix the mashed potato with the egg and flour. Ours was incredibly sticky, and we just kept adding a little more flour until it became doughy. Make sure your work surface is very floury, split the dough into three and roll out into sausage shapes.  Cut into pieces approximately 3cm long and roll them in your hand to make a little gnocchi nugget. Pablo was in charge of all this so ours were....varied in shape and size a bit. He especially enjoyed squishing them with a fork, which is supposed to make them look even more gnocchi-esque, but in our case made them look completely bonkers.

Drop the gnocchi into boiling, salted water in batches and boil until they float to the surface - a few minutes. Drain and then dust flour (we went for a flour/semolina mix for that bit). We then pan fried the gnocchi in a little oil until it was golden, and served it with some pan fried cabbage, cream, lemon and a bit of white wine. It was scrumdiddliumptious. Worth having to clean up gnocchi-dough monster hands for an afternoon....

indygrows

16 months

more teeth...almost jumping...desperate to talk, chattering babble nonstop...playing properly with Pablo...climbing up everything...saying "no!" to most requests

crush of the week...

What. Are. These....? Little girl dream shoes from Stella McCartney. There are no words. They are both hilarious and awesome.

yours for £125...

buns!

Mmm SUMMER. It has actually finished now, apparently, but there is still the odd hero sending bbq smoke out into the late afternoon air to help you remember a time when the weather was reliably not going to flash-hailstorm (in July) and lying in the grass drinking beer seemed like a reasonable plan for an evening out. Anyway, just in case it decides to pay us another visit between now and next June, here's a rad recipe for burger buns. Or hot dog buns. Or whatever kind of bun you need. It is mindbendingly easy, and so delicious that you will never (seriously, never) buy buns again. Ever. The recipe below is a cheat's version of this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, so if you're not in a mad hurry all the time like me, or don't have a Kitchenaid/stand mixer, it's worth checking the original recipe out.

Brioche burger buns

3 tbsp warm milk
2 tsp dry active yeast
2.5 tbsp sugar (have made this with both caster and soft brown, both awesome)
2 large eggs
330g strong bread flour (plus more for dusting)
40g plain flour
1.5 tsp salt
36g butter, cool and in cubes (not room temp, but not straight from the fridge)
 

In a large jug, mix 235ml warm water with the warm milk, sugar and yeast. Leave it to stand for 5-10 mins. Beat ONE of the eggs in a cup. (I totally added both eggs the first time I made this, and actually it was fine, but adding just ONE is a much better idea...) In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the flours and salt on low speed. Add tiny cubes or shavings of butter about 10 seconds apart until it is all incorporated and the flour mixture has a texture like breadcrumbs. Switch to a dough hook and add in the yeast/milk mix and the beaten egg. Knead with the dough hook for approximately 8 minutes medium speed, until a dough forms. It is extremely sticky so add a bit more bread flour as you go - as little as you can comfortably get away with, maybe another 100g max - as you would do if you were kneading by hand. Once you have a ball of dough, pop it in a large floured bowl and cover with cling film or a damp tea towel for about an hour (if it's summer - probably closer to two in winter) or until doubled in size. 

Once the dough has risen, tip it out onto a very floured work surface, give it a bit of a punch, and use a big ol' knife (or a dough scraper, if you have one) to chop it into as many pieces as you'd like buns. This recipe makes about 8 very large buns, or 15 small buns, but you can also make long hot dog buns - really, it's up to you, just be aware that obviously the smaller the bun the shorter the cooking time. For burger buns roll and fold the dough into small rounds, then pop onto a baking tray lined with parchment. Cover again with oiled cling film or a damp tea towel for another hour whilst they rise to about double in size. They really do rise a lot - I made hot dog buns that ended up the size of small baguettes. 

Heat the oven to 200C. Beat the remaining egg with one tbsp water and brush your buns with this wash. Pablo did this bit and loved it. You can sprinkle with sesame seeds too at this point (please do, it's ultra delicious). Pop a large tray of shallow water in the bottom of the oven and then put the bun tray in the middle (I did middle and top, and they came out just fine). Bake for approx 10-15 mins depending on bun size (don't open the oven too early or you will cry, but you should be able to see they are done when they are a beautiful golden colour.) Allow to cool on a rack and then devour with home made burgers YUM!

We had a few left over and they kept really well, very moist, for sandwiches the next day, which is another reason they are better than store bought buns. Store in an airtight container.