Chocolate oat cookies

The smell of freshly baked cookies is rather special. You can't top that. As Eddie has been unwell in the last couple of days, I thought I'd bake some cookies to cheer us all up. I often bake chocolate chip oat cookies, but wanted to try using a chocolate hazelnut spread this time.

Chocolate oat cookies (makes 2 dozen)

Ingredients:

60g margarine (I used Flora Light)

60g caster sugar

100g chocolate hazelnut spread (I used Jim Jams)

160g plain flour

65g oats

1 medium egg

Cream the margarine with sugar and chocolate hazelnut spread in a mixing bowl. Add the flour, oats and the beaten egg, mix well, forming the dough. Knead lightly on a slightly floured surface, roll out to 6mm thickness, cut out the biscuits with cookie cutters, place them on the trays lined with parchment paper and bake for about 15 minutes until golden at 180C. Don't overcook, they are still very soft when you take them out.

In this recipe I used a chocolate hazelnut spread from JimJams. It is made without sugar so it is lower in calories than the standard chocolate spread. It tastes delicious, for example, spread inside a hot freshly baked croissant.
If you cannot find it, use a standard Nutella-type spread, but it will be higher in calories.

These cookies are lovely with a cup of tea or coffee.

Photo diary: week 20, 366

Looking at the photos taken in the last week, it's mainly of our garden and food. This thyme grows just by the path in the garden, and smells lovely.

Yellow poppies are scattered around the garden, looking cheerful and jolly.

It was a rainy day, we ran to school as fast as we could.

Wednesday was a mix of rainy and sunny weather. This busy bee was diligently moving from flower to flower, collecting pollen.

A few months ago our lovely neighbours across the road moved to their new house. They downsized and didn't have enough room for all their plants, thus I have become an owner of several orchids. None of them were in bloom at that time, and I didn't know which colour they were supposed to be. One of them later produced pink blooms, and a few days ago I was delighted to see this pale beauty. It looks like a watercolour painting, so pretty.

On Thursday I tried to tackle some garden jobs. Now the big green wheelie bin is completely full.

On Friday Eddie arrived home with bright red cheeks. When I checked his body, he's also got a rash. I know that the scarlet fever has been doing rounds in his school. On Saturday he wasn't paler or better feeling, so I called 111 to ask advice, as I wasn't sure if it was indeed the scarlet fever or slapped cheek. I was advised to take him to be seen by the doctor at Minor injuries unit. The doctor said it was a viral infection, and to do nothing unless he's got high temperature or was feeling worse.
As of today (Sunday) he's still very red in the face, so I think tomorrow we might go to the GP.
Here he is, looking sorry for himself, watching Ben and Holly on Netflix.

A day and a half in Brighton

At Sealife, Brighton

Earlier this month our Sash went on a residential trip to Bristol with his class. Days before his trip I have suffered with a bad sleep and anxiety of the kind which keeps your stomach tied up in knots.
We decided rather than staying at home and me getting more agitated and anxious, to have a mini-break in Brighton, especially that the child psychiatrists' team who work with Sasha's special needs school, thought it might be a good idea to give Eddie our full uninterrupted attention.
We asked Eddie whether he would prefer to go to London or Brighton, and he picked Brighton because of the sea. We looked up a few hotels by the seaside online, and have chosen to stay in Jurys Inn Waterfront. We wanted to be as close to the sea as possible, and Federico has stayed there before. Outside it is a bit on the ugly side, a modern building that you might see anywhere in the world, i.e. practical but not beautiful.

Jurys Inn Waterfront (in the middle)

But you can't beat the location - the Brighton Pier is just minutes away, and it is at a walking distance from the railway station.

As it was Eddie's first stay in a hotel, he was super excited. He loved everything about it, and couldn't contain his excitement, jumping around in the foyer. He was beaming so happily when we were registering, that they kindly offered him an activity pack as a gift. The fact that they had bowls of rock sweets for guests and visitors has totally conquered his heart.
It was already pretty late when we went out for dinner.
And again, it was Eddie's decision. He liked the sound of Donatello's, thinking it is named after his favourite ninja turtle.

Perhaps because it was a Tuesday night, Donatello's wasn't packed full, if anything, half of the tables were unoccupied. I sipped a glass of Bellini, my tipple of choice whenever I happen to go out.

At Donatello's

While my Italian men opted for a pizza, I've set my mind on a seafood risotto dish. It was not bad, but nothing exceptional, and it gave me a terrible heartburn later in the night. The guys enjoyed their pizza though.

At Donatello's

Someone was too excited to go to bed that night, doing the somersaults on our bed. There were two double beds in the family room, plenty of space, and they were pretty comfy too.

Our first morning in Brighton was cheerful and sunny. The sea was calling. We had a room with a view after all, and Eddie loved it.

We arranged to meet with a friend who came along with his younger daughter, and we had breakfast together at Cafe Coho in Ship St. Their pastries and cakes' selection was pretty impressive.

Just in case you missed those gorgeous cakes in the back, here is the close-up. We actually didn't have any cakes for brekkie. I fancied a bagel with smoked salmon, Eddie had a babyccino with marshmallows.

We wanted to do all the simple touristy things, and after breakfast walked to the Royal Pavilion. It is colourful and exotic, but extremely kitsch as well. We didn't do a guided tour, and whizzed through maybe in twenty minutes. It is a true icon of Brighton, which gives an interesting glimpse of the extravagant and debauched life of playboy Prince George.
The pleasure costs over £30 for three of us, which I think is overpriced. I loved the Great Kitchen the best, but alas, you are not allowed to take photos inside.

Eddie was eager to go to the sea, so off we went.

We had a long walk on the Brighton Pier, and of course, he wanted to pose in all the photo frames. I'm not a spoil-sport, and joined him, so we had a giggle together.

Lunch was the classic fish and chips. You must have fish and chips on the Pier, right?! I was all for eating them straight from the paper, but my "aristocrat" of a husband took us to the cafe Palm Court on the pier.
It was sunny but fresh, we found a shady corner, and placed an order.

Fishcakes, fish and chips in Palm Court, Brighton Pier

Children's meal included an ice cream, and someone tucked in with such enthusiasm, that the ice cream ended on his nose.

Though it was a sunny afternoon, it was still pretty fresh. Eddie braved the waves barefoot and had great fun, running and jumping on the beach.
The Sealife Brigthon is much smaller than the London Aquarium. I used a voucher found on the cereal bars for a free entry for a grown-up. We walked slowly, admiring the colourful fish and sea creatures.

Spending an arm and a leg on all the eating out and attractions, I convinced my guys to get some sandwiches and sushi in the supermarket for dinner. We did wander around the centre, looking at all the little shops.

The next morning we came across the Edgar's Water van, and Eddie happily posed next to it.

We couldn't decide where to have breakfast, as Eddie wanted pancakes. We came across The Pancake Place, but the prices for a pancake started at £9, and sorry, but that's just a daytime robbery. How much does it really cost to cook pancakes? Having checked the menu at Bella Italia, we were pleased to find out they do children's Happy Face pancake at a much more reasonable price.

In Bella Italia

Having packed our bags, we left them with a friendly porter at the hotel who gave a ride to Eddie on a luggage trolley. And off we went to say Good bye to the sea.

We were lucky with the weather on our mini-break. It was all about Eddie and giving him our full undivided attention, and he basked in it.

Lemon, garlic and chorizo jam roasted cabbage

Cabbage is like a Marmite. My guys don't like it, so I rarely have a chance to cook it. As my husband is away for a few days, I decided that I'll cook a roast cabbage just for myself, and it should last me a few days.

1 medium sized cabbage, about 800g, sliced
4+ tbsp olive oil
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cloves of garlic
fennel seeds
chorizo jam (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180C. Slice the cabbage into round pieces about 1.5-2cm thick (actually thinner would be better, so that it would cook faster).
Pour about 2tbsp olive oil in a deep roasting tray, place the wedges on top.
Mix the lemon zest 2 tbsp olive oil, juice of half a lemon and two crushed garlic cloves. Spread the mix over the cabbage slices and season well with sea salt. Roast for half an hour, then sprinkle with the fennel seeds and roast for another hour. Add the chorizo jam in the last 20 minutes of cooking (about half a teaspoon per slice).
If the cabbage gets too brown but not cooked through yet, cover the tray with the foil and keep cooking until the cabbage is tender.
If you're cooking for vegetarians, skip the chorizo jam.

I have found Eat17 chorizo jam in Waitrose (currently on offer). I've seen the eat17 range in the shops but haven' had a chance to try any of their bacon jams before. Chorizo jam is made with red onion, diced chorizo (40%), herbs, apple juice, garlic, tomato puree, soy sauce and more. If you love bacon, chorizo and all things pork, then this is a perfect little spread. The aroma is simply mouth-watering, it is so good.
I think I might get another jam from the range, just to try for the purposes of research, you know.

Have you tried a chorizo or bacon jam?

Whole roasted curry chicken

We don't often do a roast dinner on Sunday, but when we do, it is usually a roast chicken. I vary the ingredients and spices, depending on what I have in the pantry. This time I wanted to cook a whole curried chicken with Sri Lankan masala spice mix, and it was a tasty roast.

Whole roasted curry chicken
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
2 cloves of garlic
1tsp dried ginger
1/2 big red chilli
1tsp coriander
1tbsp Sri Lankan masala
2tbsp lemon juice
3tbsp coconut cream
1tbsp sea salt

Mix all of the above ingredients (except the chicken) into a thick paste and smother the chicken all over with it.

Let it marinade for half an hour before roasting at 180C for about an hour and a half (obviously adjust the time, depending on the size of your chicken. Pour the remaining coconut cream from the little tin, and baste the chicken a couple of times during the roasting, also turning it over at least once. I usually first cook the chicken breast-up until the skin got well browned, then turn it over and cook breast-down, so all the breast is all juicy. Then in the last five minutes or so of roasting, I turn it breast up again to make the skin crispier.
It's a delicious chicken dish. The smells wafting around the house just made us all hungry.
Serve with basmati rice and some quality mango chutney.
It's the first time I used a Sri Lankan Masala from Steenbergs, which is part of the curry mix set I received a while ago. I'm slowly working through it, testing and tasting all the spices.
Organic Sri Lankan Masala Curry powder is not too hot and very aromatic. It is a mix of cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and fennel.
An excellent spice mix, which I also used to cook a curried chicken soup the next day. I often cook a curry soup the day after I roasted a chicken, always a good way to use the leftovers.

And if you have roast leftovers, make this tasty curried chicken soup the next day.

Curried chicken soup
Ingredients:
1 chicken breast (and carcass for stock)
1 carrot
1/2 red onion
1/2 leek, green part
clove of garlic
3tbsp olive oil
1tsp Sri Lankan Masala spice
400ml reduced fat coconut milk
1.5ml water
a few combava leaves (optional)
3tbsp basmati and wild rice
salt

Put the chicken carcass and chopped leftovers in a medium sized pan, pour hot water over them and start simmering on low.
Peel and chop a carrot, and finely slice a leek, half an onion and a clove of garlic. Fry them in the olive oil for 5-7 minutes, add the Sri Lankan masala spice, keep stirring. Remove the carcass from the stock and discard. Add the vegetables to the cooking stock. Add  the rice and combava leaves (optional) to the soup, cook for 10-15. Add a jar of coconut milk, season with salt.
This is a light and very tasty soup. If you don't have Sri Lankan masala, any curry powder will be as good.

Adding this recipe post to #KitchenClearout linky hosted by Cheryl from Madhouse Family Reviews.