Clean Sheets

Recipe of the month: Sicilian Chicken

Download February Recipe of the Month: Download Febuary 2010 Tralee

Getting on the vegetable growing bandwagon...

It's impossible to open or turn on any medium these days without someone extolling the virtues of "growing your own" There are workshops, courses, book, articles and  reality TV programmes all dedicated to the topic. A colourful display in a bookshop attracted me to this book " Grow it Eat it" Published by Dorling Kindersley. We won't be self sufficient by harvest time but I am going to try some small scale vegetable gardening. There was compost in the shed, and some miscellaneous pots and window boxes already in the house. The seeds were bought on a recent trip to town so our first planting took place on Wednesday.

Having learnt a little from previous gardening attempts with the children, they wore wellies and waterproofs, went to to the loo before we started and I gathered everything we needed first!

We mixed some soil and compost and filled two window boxes and planted a row of spinach in each, as suggested in the book. I love baby spinach leaves in salads, sandwiches and omelettes. They will spend some time on the kitchen window sill until the frosts disappear. As will a tray of tomatoes we planted. These are tumbling cherry tomato plants which are suitable for tubs and baskets, to grow outside so they will be transplanted in time.

I intend to plant some rocket and red lettuce too. I am looking forward to using wooden vegetable boxes lined with a black bin liner as a container for the lettuce as suggested by the book. Yogurt containers, egg cartons, and even newspaper are all suggested as growing vessels in the book, it doesn't advocate spending a fortune on equipment, rulers, lollipop sticks and other household items are pressed into action as tools.

Even if there are no kids in your house, I think this book is worth a look it's very accessible and I'll let you know if it works, our tomato seeds should germinate in the next 14 days. The Princess checks daily for progress and tells me she can see them growing, but she said this 24 hours after they were planted!

 

Less waste/waist Rice Krispie Buns

It would be unthinkable to me to have a children's birthday party without Rice Krispie Buns, these don't differ from the classic in anyway. Milk Chocolate melted, rice krispies stirred in and then put in paper cases with some coloured sprinkles over the top, except in one tiny way - they are tiny! I used mini paper cases and the result was adorable but even better I didn't find any half eaten ones after the party - anywhere!

The other thing I liked about these is that they are so cute you could easily serve them up for a girl's night in (A hen party with old friends would be brought right back to childhood birthday parties with a plate of these - even the cynical would get nostalgic!)

I also made tiny cup cakes and although some of the "icing only girls" (inlcuding The Princess) were up to their usual tricks at least there wasn't so much bun wasted!

 

Sandal Fit Feet

Noone except my nearest and dearest have seen my feet for months. If neglected at this time of year  - calloused and dry they will emerge, shocked, in a couple of months time, expected to look their best in the new seasons open foot wear. Don't let them be exposed in this state take action now!

In a previous life I worked in a skin care factory, we produced lots of creams including a lavender foot cream, a great staff discount and the odd tube that didn't pass stringent quality control (nothing wrong with the cream, the label might have been off centre) convinced me to try it. This was the start of a daily habit which I am amazed to count is ten years old this year! I would consider myself low maintenance (lazy) but I apply foot cream every morning after my shower. This really adds to their comfort, keeps tough hard bits at bay and keeps my toenail cuticles soft.

I no longer use the Lavender foot cream as the nearest supplier is in Cork and I usually used the Body Shop Peppermint Foot Lotion until I picked up a tube of the Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Creme you see pictured above in my local Horan's Health Food Store (€13.95). It's no secret I am a fan of Burts Bees Lip Balm and this product is similarly incredibly effective. Despite the years of foot cream use I still had a stubborn hard bit at the base of my heels which I had learned to accept but this creme has really softened this. I apply it very sparingly each morning, but if you are making up for some foot negelct here's what the Burt's Bees website recommmends:

"Take a walk on the wild side! This pampering natural foot cream combines coconut oil, lanolin and vegetable glycerin to revive and rejuvenate even the driest, most neglected feet. There's also a hint of rosemary and peppermint oils to refresh tired feet. Go nuts for incredibly soft feet, naturally. Your feet will never be the same.

Apply liberally and allow the cream to fully absorb. For a luxurious way to treat your feet, soak feet in warm water for 10-15 minutes and rub gently with a pumice stone. Massage Coconut Foot Creme into feet, paying close attention to heels and calloused skin. Then cover your feet with cotton socks overnight to soothe and seal in moisture."

Put it on your shopping list today, it really does live up to its description and look forward to showing your feet off.

 

 

Hello Kitty Cake

 
Using the PC I made invitations complete with Hello Kitty picture inviting 8 or so of The Princess's buddies to her 4th Birthday party. So the theme was set and the cake had to fit!

I baked the cake, and iced it with regular buttercream icing, with a little pink colouring... of course.

Kitty was made from white fondant icing (from the supermarket) rolled out. I rested a picture of Kitty on the top and using a clean pin. Pricked lost of holes in the icing through the paper to leave the outline on the icing in a series of tiny holes. I cut out  the shape with a sharp knife and laid it on the cake.

I coloured some of the fondant icing with extra black colouring paste (available in Utensils and www.utensils.ie but I got some from a friend - thanks Jill!) This colour needs to be kneaded into the icing and when it's even throughout, I rolled it into long sausages to form the outline, whiskers and bow. Using a paint brush I painted the bow with regular red food colouring and then little ovals of black fondant icing made the eyes and nose.

It was fun, and The Princess and her buddies were delighted!

I'm back....

I think it's what they call writer's block, or perhaps a seasonal lack of energy, my get up and go, got up and went. I am trying to give myself a kick and it seems to be working so Cleansheets is back with new publications and lots more ideas. Thanks for your patience and to those of you who let me know you missed my posts.

Countdown to lunch party for 15

We celebrated The Princess's 4th birthday early in February. She was born on a Sunday after Italy played Ireland in Croke Park 4 years ago and the Rugby Player and I still have 2 unused tickets from that game!

I had a party for Great grandparents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins on Saturday. There was 11 adults and 4 children.

The key was plenty of advance preperation and keeping things simple.

Warning: Quantity does not equal value.

My brother came with me to the supermarket yesterday evening, he is much more helpful than my usual assistants.

Like me, he likes to get value for money and we were discussing our preferences as we strolled the aisles. I had on a previous occasion noticed that large 3 kg bags of pasta were not better value than the regular size and was surprised but simply avoided them.

This time it was Weetabix that surprised me with pricing that doesn't seem fair. Larger packets need less handling, less packaging and often have messages such as "family value!" emblazoned across them, but they do not, as the following example shows always save you money.

pack of 12 Weetabix €1.69 = .1408c each

pack of 24 Weetabix €1.99 = .0829c each

pack of 48 Weetabix €4.19 = 0.0872c each

pack of 72 Weetabix €6.59 = 0.0915c each

(correct to 4 decimal places, prices confirmed on tesco.ie 4/2/2010, i am also surprised to discover that a 24 pack of Weetabix is 10c cheaper instore (€1.89) than online.)

Unit pricing is now a legal requirement and this makes it easy to see whether a smaller or bigger pack offers a better per kilo price, but in another twist to this tale there are no unit prices for Weetabix on the shelf in my local Tesco. I think this is in breach of the law and I would even question the misleading banner boasting value across the largest box of Weetabix.

I know it's not possible to check every single price or item with a calculator but for larger items you buy regularly it's worth checking it out.

Don't ASSUME anything.

Original personal gift for kids (that you can DIY)

Crafts have taken off in recent times and the pretty blank cards you can easily find now with matching envelopes are testament to this.

If you (or someone you know) is handy with Microsoft Publisher (or similar) and has a colour printer a pack of these cards can be turned into a creative, personal and money saving (yours and the recipents!) gift.

Simply using A4 sheets of address labels you can add a label to back of each envelope saying "Special Delivery from Sally" and a label to the back each card saying "This card was made especially for you by Sally" add a picture of the childs favourite character to each label for some interest. Use a font that is fun, in a colour that coordinates with the picture and you'l be amazed how smart it looks.

Finally slide them carefully back in their packaging or tie a ribbon around the pile and wrap with some markers or colouring pencils and you'll have an original gift.

If you're lucky you'll get a homemade card on your next birthday.

I've done these for girls and boys, and they are currently what The Princess brings to birthday parties, so if you're inviting her - you know what's coming!

The Twinner Party was a great success.

So 8 of us tucked into:

Goats Cheese, Rocket and Beetroot Salad with Pinenuts

Herby roast chichen with parsnips and red onions

and

Crunchie Banoffee Pie.

I am afraid I took no photos, but there is beautiful photos and the recipes over on the Good Mood Food Blog. (My dishes looked almost as good as Donal's)

Hope you are having a Happy Monday!