Is it possible to travel light?

So I'm trying to pack for Croatia, which we leave for in two days and I'm trying to travel light, however this is easier said than done! Once you've got in a few changes of outfit, swimwear, undies, shoes (and i only mean a pair of flip flops and a pair of going out shoes) not to mention all the toiletries you need, even though they are all in miniature form you are no longer travelling light!

Any advice would be welcomed here!

Awesome slaw!

When we were on holiday a couple of years ago in LA i had this tasty island slaw as a side dish to some burritos and today felt like recreating it. Needless to say finding the recipe was pointless as a restaurant is never going to give away its secrets but i made a version of it that was awesome! This does make loads but great for a barbeque.

Mix together the following ingrediants:
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
2tbsp of vegetable oil
2tbsp sugar
salt and pepper

Into the mix add shredded carrot, cabbage and red onion, mix together and add more seasoning if necessary, leave for 20 minutes then enjoy! So easy and delicious!

Fine dining

Since Daniel got his new camera he is documenting everything we do/eat! This isn't a bad thing as it makes our tea's look very professional indeed - what am i saying our dinner is always to an excellent standard! As it is now the summer holiday i have been planning some tasty treats. We have had home made tapas that consists of garlic paprika prawns, crushed chickpeas, lentils and chorizo, mini spicy meatballs, patatas bravas, a frittata and pitta breads - this was amazing, though a little tricky to cook as you need every pan in the kitchen and quite a few hands to get it out hot altogether! I also cooked again the meal i had at Bahama Breeze in Vegas, jerk chicken with cinnamon sweet potato mash, pineapple mango salsa and seasonal veg.










Hmmmm any suggestions for what we can have next?

2012...will we make it?

Today i was lucky enough to go on our trip to the 2012 olympic site. It was a very long day having met at school at 6.45, meaning i had to leave home before 6 just in case there was a problem on the motorway, and not returning to school til 7.30. We visited Stratford, the Excel centre and then got a guided tour of the site and visted the view tube just by the main stadium. It was a good day, the kids were fab but we did leave wondering if we'll ever get it all finished by the opening ceremony. Yes we are ahead of schedule accoring to the guide but there still seems so much left to do.











The viewing platform they are building in the middle of the site doesn't look brilliant, bright red industrial looking thing - i understand its meant to be kind of like the Eiffel Tower but that looks a lot better than this will! What they are doing is great and the legacy will benefit a lot of people but i don't think it has as much of an impact architecturally than Beijing did. Wehn we visited there you were in awe of its style and our stadium just feels like an other we have here. Wembley is so much better. I don't know, maybe i'm just bitter as we didn't get any tickets but you have to ask the question...will we make it?

Wannabe F1 star

Today we went to Daniel's Silverstone driving experience. It was really good, don't think i could do it myself but he was great. After driving around the F1 track - not actually on it but on the road that goes around it - we arrived at the track days building which is located inside of the main track. Daniel had a driver's briefing so i went to the shop to buy him a souvenir of his day and then we all went over to the garage. It was a nice day weather wise and the last session of the day which was good as there was no rush. After getting a helmet and posing for some pictures on the 'grid' they were off, at first behind a safety car then when that went in and they could overtake. It was so hard trying to recognise the car he was in and then trying to photograph it as they are whizzing past you! It was a great afternoon and Daniel had a fab time, he was rewarded with a certificate of completion...Lewis watch out!

Tasty pigeon

As it's half term i thought I'd visit the Welbeck farm shop to look for something inspirational for tea - and came back with wood pigeon. Tiny little birds which you would think were fiddly to prepare but actually it was quite easy. The finished meal was delicious, sweet potato rosti, sauteed savoy cabbage with pan fried wood pigeon and a red wine jus. A delicious fully organic meal!

Fruit friends

Secret Santa can be a nightmare but i got lucky this year and got Simon who loves Miranda so i made some fruit friends! They were awesome and well received, in fact everyone wanted some!