Sunburned and happy (+ a quick recipe for kids' tea!)

So, nominate me for the anti-mum of the year awards, both of my children have rosy cheeks now.  As do I.  We spent the entire bank holiday weekend in the sun.  We soaked up every iota, in the lido, in the sandpit in the garden, and at Knole Park.  Unless we had to be inside (sleeping - the kids aren't quite old enough to camp in the back garden), we weren't.

It was a seriously magical long weekend.

C had today off too, but the weather, sensing the end of the weekend for the general public, shifted back to the standard English, and it rained all day.  Luckily after all that outside time, the kids were really pleased with a trip to the library.

Cooking can be a challenge when it's hot and you're busy doing fun things like finding slugs (so mum can kill them - don't tell the kids).  I whipped out one of my old favourites, that has been in development since I was at university and ate a lot of rice.  This is my cheat's fried rice - a great quick tea for kids that's good enough to serve to grownups too.  I made it this weekend with peppers, mushrooms and prawns, but really, this is a great way to use up things that are hanging around in the kitchen.  Grated carrots and courgettes also work particularly well, as does ham - though with ham, I normally leave the soy sauce out, as ham is salty enough on its own.

Ingredients:

Tbs vegetable oil
2 eggs
soy sauce
4 spring onions, sliced
1/2 red pepper, sliced
garlic, sliced
handful of mushrooms, sliced
packet of raw prawns (try to make sure they're sustainably sourced!)
250g packet pre-cooked rice (I used Tilda basmati)
handful of frozen peas
handful of coriander, chopped

Instructions:
Heat a tsp of vegetable oil over a medium heat in a non-stick frying pan while you beat the eggs with a dash of soy sauce (you can omit the soy sauce for very small children, but it gives a nice flavour to the omelette).  Pour into a thin layer in the bottom of the pan and cook until set.  Flip to brown on the top and then set aside.

Heat 2 more tsp vegetable oil and toss in the spring onions, the peppers and the mushrooms.  Stir fry until the peppers are starting to soften (5 - 10 mins).  While they are cooking, roll up the omelette and cut into strips around 2cm wide.  Throw in garlic and stir for another couple of minutes until fragrant.  Add the prawns and stir fry until the prawns are pink and opaque - just a couple of minutes again.

Once the prawns are cooked, add in the rice, peas, and omelette strips and heat through.  Serve with coriander as a garnish.

From Paris to Berlin

If we're friends on Facebook (and if you're reading this, we likely are), you probably noticed that Eurovision was this past weekend.  I struggle slightly to explain my deep affection for the song competition.

A friend (Jenny!) once described Eurovision as "like the smell of skunk", impossible to describe unless you've experienced it.  Another friend (Kat!) described it as "if the Olympics and [American] Idol had a baby, and that baby was raised by noted Russian lady band Tatu."  I would add that, although the song "From Paris to Berlin" was not a Eurovision song, it should have been.

My heart is pumping for love...

I watched Eurovision for the first time as an adult, and I delighted in watching acts where I mostly wondered why on Earth they were doing that on stage.

Past Eurovision winners Lordi

 

Some friends (Lorcan...) take the music seriously - I just love the staging.  This year was disappointing that way, as the setups were generally pretty anodyne.  With a notable exception.

 





How can you fail to be charmed by Dracula singing falsetto?

Greece was also a favourite.  Tiny instruments and kilts FTW.

Alcohol is Free!



So I hope that 2014 will mark a return to the Lordi days (though I really did like the 2012 winner and this year's winner isn't bad).  In that case, I will be euphoric.