Thursday 26 May 2011

Happy dribbling (aden + anais Mod About Baby Muslin Burpy Bib review)


Can one get excited about the bib? Yes, if it is from Aden + Anais.
A perfect size to cover Mum's shoulder which is regularly used by a baby for wiping his mucky face. It also provides a maximum coverage for the messy baby. Very practical, super absorbent, this dual burping cloth and bib is versatile. It's made of 100% pure cotton muslin and comes in different colours and with stylish prints. I washed our bibs a few times, and they wash very well and dry quickly. At £15.95 for a pack of two bibs, it is a bit on the pricey side, but as these bibs are so versatile and easy to clean, they are worth every penny.
To buy go to www.adenandanais.co.uk

Cooking with Bonne Maman

I recently treated myself to Bonne Maman The Seasonal Cookbook. I rarely follow the recipes in books or magazines, using them more as an inspiration. However, this book has so many wonderful recipes and photos that make you salivate that I just had to try some.
I often serve melon with prosciutto, but loved this variation of ham with peaches.

Fresh Peach and Parma Ham Salad
serves 6
ingredients:
6 just ripe peaches, halved, stoned and thickly sliced
12 thin slices Parma ham
about 125 g wild rocket or baby leaf watercress
for the dressing:
2 tbsp white wine or sherry vinegar
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp Bonne Maman Peach conserve
1 tsp finely chopped red chilli
First make the dressing by putting all the ingredients in a jar and giving them a good shake until well blended.
Put the peach slices in a non-metallic bowl and pour over the dressing. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for 2-3 hours.
When ready to serve, simply curl 2 slices of ham per person on individual serving plates. Toss the leaves with the peaches and dressing in a large bowl, then divide between the serving plates. Serve immediately.
The dressing could be made up to 1 week ahead and kept in the fridge (not sure what's the advantage of making a dressing a week in advance, as it takes literally seconds to prepare a fresh one).
The dressing is equally good with slices of mixed melon or pieces of fresh mango or papaya.

My take on the recipe: as there were only 4 of us, I used 4 peaches. Instead of chopping a chilli pepper, I used a teaspoon of Schwartz chilli that comes in a tube.
Score 9/10 for the recipe

Roast Chicken with Cherry Couscous stuffing
serves 4
ingredients
150g Bonne Maman Cherry Compote
50g couscous
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
4 spring onions, roughly chopped
2 tbsp each of chopped fresh thyme and parsley
grated zest and juice of 1 small orange
1 free range chicken, weighing about 1.4 kg
300 ml chicken or vegetable stock
1 tbsp butter, softened
2 tbsp plain flour
salt and black pepper
Spoon the compote into a mesh sieve over a small bowl and spread out the fruit. Leave to drain for about 1 hour.
Put the couscous in a small bowl and pour enough cold water to come 2.5 cm above the level of the grains. Set aside for 15 mins. (Personally I always add boiling water to couscous rather than cold, and less than 2.5cm above).
Meanwhile, fry the red onion in half the oil for 5-7 minutes or until soft and golden. Add the spring onions, then remove from the heat, stir in the herbs and orange zest and cool.
Preheat the oven to 190C (fan ovens 170C), gas mark 5.
Fork the drained cherries, reserving the juice, and cold onion mixture into the couscous and season well. Spoon the stuffing into the neck end of chicken, fold over the flap of skin and secure with a wooden cocktail stick. (There was too much couscous to add it just to the neck, I also added some to the back cavity - not sure how to call the bum entrance, lol- but not too tightly packed, and still had some stuffing left, not enough to cook in a separate dish)
Sit the chicken in a roasting tin just large enough to hold it comfortably and pour the stock around the base. Brush the chicken with the remaining oil and spread the breast with the butter. Season well.
Cook in the preheated oven, basting every 20 mins, for about 1 1/4 hours. To test if it's cooked, pierce the thigh meat with a skewer and the juices should run clear.
Lift the chicken onto a serving dish, cover loosely with foil and keep warm. Pour all but 2 tbsps of the cooking liquid into a jug and add the reserved cherry compote liquid.
Put the roasting tin over the hob and whisk the flour. Cook over a medium heat until pale golden, then gradually whisk in the contents of the jug. Bring to the boil and bubble until reduced and lightly thickened. Add orange juice to taste and serve with the chicken and stuffing.

Allow the cherries plenty of time to drain. The fruit should be quite "dry" when it is stirred into the couscous.
Try serving the chicken with steamed new potatoes that have been tossed with a little butter and a handful of chopped watercress.

My take on the recipe: I added a dash of port to the jus, as it tasted a bit on the bland side. Perhaps a bit more of cherry juice from the compote would benefit the flavour. I didn't use the tin, but a deep ceramic dish for cooking the chicken, and served it with roast potatoes and baby carrots. Also the stuffing was rather falling apart, as there is no egg to bind it.
Score: 8/10 for the recipe

Wednesday 25 May 2011

Gelato al limone (Lemon gelato)


What could be more refreshing after a rich meal than a lemon gelato?
This recipe appears in the current issue of Taste Italia (June 2011).
serves 6
prep 15 mins, plus freezing
cooking 15 mins
If your lemons are very sour, you may wish to reduce the lemon juice by a quarter or half.
350 ml milk
180g sugar
150 ml heavy cream
juice of 5 lemons
mint sprigs, to garnish
In a saucepan, heat the milk over a medium heat to just under a boil. Add sugar and immediately remove from the heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Slowly stir in the cream, then the lemon juice.
Plunge the pan into a bowl of ice cubes and stir until the mixture is cold. Transfer to an ice cream maker and churn according to instructions.
Alternatively place in the freezer, stirring every so often with a fork to break up the ice crystals. Serve with mint sprigs.
Recipe created by Aurora Baccheschi Berti.

My take on the recipe: first of all I would like to know what milk is better for the recipe. Does it have to be full fat milk, will it then take less time to set? I used semi skimmed milk, and it took a long time for the gelato to set. Again, would have been helpful if the time of the freezer setting version was printed in the magazine.
I used 4 lemons for my gelato. I was worried that the gelato will be too sour, but it turned out to have a very delicate lemon flavour. It is a brilliant gelato, and I will definitely make it again.

Tuesday 3 May 2011

A boy on a Teeter Gym Ball

I'm bouncing in the air,
I'm Tigger, not a boy!
Mum grumbles, I don't care,
For me it's a pure joy!

I'm jumping in the air,
Wanna join me, little brother?
I'm perfectly aware,
You will be stopped by mother.

I'm leaping in the air,
My world's a somersault,
And I don't know where
And how I will halt.



Sasha is always bouncing, if anything, he is a human Tigger. He has so much energy and he is always on the move. When the occupational therapist first brought a bouncing ball for Sasha to try, he immediately got on it, and since then this ball has become a familiar feature in our house. We had to return the ball to the therapist and the one we use now is bought from amazon.
A Teeter Gym Ball is 65cm in diameter and comes with a pump (the pump was a devil to use, we had to use a bicycle pump instead)
Sasha has a very good balance, as mentioned many times by his horse-riding teacher.
He is very graceful, and whenever he is bouncing on his favourite ball, he reminds me of Picasso's painting "Girl on a ball".