50 Shades of White!

The colour I went when I heard!

Who has read the book yet, what am I missing, am I not missing anything at all?

 The whole world seems to be reading it, yet imagine my shade when I realised my daughter has been lent the trilogy to read.

Now she is 17, she is reasonably worldly wise and we have lots of 'open' conversations about relationships, right down to 2 the 'sthex' stuff as Les Dawson use to whisper the words.

But I have heard that 50 shades is down right dirty and very explicit. Mills and Boons but the bedroom door does not get closed at the kissing scene!! I have listened to people talk about the birth rate going up just because of the books!! 

I have no worries about this with Paige, she is as I have said before immensely intelligent and not easily led by emotions and heat of the moment, she like I, tends to reason  things out.

 I have a really great liberal approach to life, I was a bit prudish about when they could see certain films. I stuck to the age ratings on all films and console games, often to the disgust of Conor particularly, but I stood my ground and have maybe sheltered them a little but its been worth it. 

They are well rounded, are reasonably street wise, not people I am ashamed of. they are good people.

I have been hovering around as she has read chapters, this child of mine who has to be coaxed into reading, she is hooked and I am waiting for 'those questions' I know they are coming, we always talk about everything. I know I will answer with my usual frank beliefs, but all the same its slightly scary!!

French Wines with Style

I am taking part in a blogger challenge organised with French Wines with Style who want me give my ideas of the perfect summer recipes paired with Summer French wines, bearing in mind the notion of style.

Its part of a series of events to launch  a new  French Wines campaign, running across six countries: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Russia and the UK.

The three-year campaign aims to demonstrate the diversity and accessibility of French Wines, and uses 

the strap line "Wines with Style". 

Now I have tried many wines both through my own choice and purchase, also  through trying them for review.

I still am a complete beginner and have oodles to learn.

So to pair with summer food and do so with style is actually a big challenge.

The two wines I was sent were VDF Gabriel Meffre Chardonnay Gros Manseng 2011 and Provence - Château de Brigue Prestige Rosé 2011.

Totally new to me, the full info on these wines is at the end of my challenge.

I drink Chardonnay already, I know its a great wine to accompany white meat and seafood and I will happily go with that in a restaurant but always the rebel, I love pork with it, a lovely pan fried chop in a creamy mushroom sauce. 

I also love it with bacon, so my choice for a light summery dish would be either Spaghetti Carbonara 

Maybe a dish my lovely French blogging friend gave me years ago, Tartiflette.

But what I actually teamed it with was a favourite pasta dish.Chicken with pesto, spinach and olives oil

My next pairing was for the Chateau de Brigue

 I know that rosé  a great wine to accompany desserts, but this is quite a dry wine, so can I think, handle savoury dishes. I also think  it can handle a little spice too.

So over to my  beloved chilli  spice and wonderful pink partnering of  King Prawns barbecued then served with a barbecue and tomato dressing on top of salad. 

For my  palate and I am not claiming its a good one, this is perfect, just a kick of spice and the Chateau de Brigue dry rose with salad notes teaming with the cucumber and leaves.

VDF Gabriel Meffre Chardonnay Gros Manseng 2011

A brilliant pale yellow colour with green tints. Powerful and complex citrus aromas are complimented by a slight peach and ginger spice touch coming from the Gros Manseng in the blend. The Chardonnay brings honey and floral notes. Full and flavour in the mouth, reflecting the same fruits as on the nose. A delightfully long finish.

Enjoy chilled to 13 C with white meats and seafood. It will be drinking well for up to 2 years.

Provence - Château de Brigue Prestige Rosé 2011

The 2011 Prestige Rose is a blend of 70% Cinsaut and 30% Syrah from two

seperate terroirs. It is harvested by machine in the very early monrning to

preserve the freshness of the fruit.

The colour is light orange with pink reflections.

Citrus fruits dominate the nose and in the mouth the wine is complex with fruit

salad notes and white flowers. The finish is long and fresh.

Disclosure, I was sent the two wines with a small selection of herbs, mustard and bbq sauce. I was not paid for my post and these are my own views.

French Toast Recipe Warburtons

As you know, this week  I have been taking part in Warburtons Hi-Taste, Lo-Fat healthy eating plan,

I got messy with Crispy Tomato Chicken, recipe here' had a sweet treat with the  Fruit Compote with Honey Muffins 'recipe here', made a healthy Salmon and Dill tart using bread instead of pastry. My third recipe is just really worth making.

This is my favourite recipe to date, and yet on paper I was not looking forward to eating it, I have since bought more Warburtons Fruit Loaf with Orange to make for Sunday brunch. It is that good, seriously!!

I left the bread in the egg for a good while to really soak in and it also puffs up much more when frying. Again if you want to go even lower fat, use Fry Light or a similar low fat cooking spray!

 I love mine with raspberries, I also omitted the cinnamon for my portion, are you guessing I'm a bit fussy yet? Everyone else loved the spice on theirs.

What is so good about this is the Orange flavour really shines through, we all eat French toast in the house, but normally as a savoury dish. This tastes like pancakes soaked in orange, the fruit in the bread becomes very juicy and certainly different to how I would normally eat it, that is toasted or with butter.

Its yum and a good two portions of my five a day with the Orange fruit loaf and raspberries too!

French Toast Recipe

Ingredients

1. 2 free range eggs
2. 2 tbsp semi skimmed milk
3. About 1-2 tsp vegetable oil
4. About 5g small piece low fat butter
5. 8 slices Warburtons Fruit Loaf with Orange
6. A pinch of ground cinnamon
7. About 3 tsp small sprinkling of sugar
8. 4 handfuls fresh cherries or berries or other fruit, to serve

Method

1. Directions
2. 1. Crack the eggs into a bowl, add the milk and mix with a fork
3. 2. Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan
4. 3. Dip a slice of the Warburtons fruit loaf with orange into the egg mixture and put it straight into the pan, depending on the size of the pan you should fit 3 or 4 slices in the pan at one time. Cook for 2 -3 minutes on each side or until cooked and golden
5. 4. Repeat with the rest of the bread and egg mixture. 
6. 5. Cut each slice of French Toast in half, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and serve with fresh cherries or other fruit

You can see how the recipe is made by Amanda Grant who has teamed up with Warburtons to bring these low fat and very tasty dishes!

www.facebook.com/warburtons (

Fruit Compote with Honey Crumpets

The two-week Hi-Taste, Lo-Fat eating plan contains five brand new recipes and Warbutons asked me to make them,  I received a box full of the Warburtons goodies and a supermarket gift card to buy the other ingredients.

I have been loving the experimenting, the dishes were not familiar apart from the Crispy Tomato Chicken recipe here I was not sure I was going to like a few of them, but have been pleasantly surprised.

 All of  are nutritious and low in fat. The eating plan can be downloaded from www.facebook.com/warburtons (check out the two week eating plan tab).

The sweet dishes were the ones I was not sure of and I found they were easier to eat for a lunch! Just personal preference, I am not sweet in the morning, either by taste or temperament!!

This was such a simple meal to assemble,  fast to make too. 

Simmering the fruit, orange and sugar, I was struck by the fact that this could be made even healthier with the use of a sugar substitute, if like me you haven't a sweet tooth, I would omit sugar all together! Again I was glad I did not make in the morning as it gave quite a bit of washing up, you need to puree half of the fruit mix, however this could be left if you like. The recipe amount is for two meals.

So here is my  finished dish, its very tasty, I rarely eat sweet toppings on crumpets, but the fruit was still quite tart and the yogurt helped.

Fruit Compote with Honey Muffins

Ingredients

1. 500 g fresh or frozen berries e.g. blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants
2. 3 tbsp fresh orange juice
3. 1 tbsp golden or white caster sugar
4. 4 Warburtons Crumpets
5. About 4 tsp honey, enough to drizzle a little on to each crumpet
6. 4 tbsp low fat natural yogurt

Method

1. 1. Put the fruit into a saucepan, add the orange juice and sugar and cook gently for 5 minutes to dissolve the sugar
2. 2. Put half into a blender or into a small bowl and use a hand blender and whizz until smooth
3. 3. Put the puree back into the pan and mix with the other fruit and heat through
4. 4. Toast the crumpets in a toaster or under the grill. 
5. 5. Once cooked, drizzle the honey over the crumpets and serve with half of the warm fruit compote and a dollop of yogurt

Chef's tip

To freeze: put into a freezer bag. Thaw at room temperature or in the fridge. Serve at room temperature or warm through in a small saucepan.    

Crispy Tomato Chicken Warburtons

I have been trying out the new healthy eating plan from Warburtons. Its called the H i-Taste, Lo-Fat plan and Warburtons sent me the ingredients to make some of the recipes.

My first was the crispy chicken with potato wedges it was great fun to make too. 




Dipping chicken pieces in flour, egg then breadcrumbs is quite therapeutic well for an overgrown kid who likes to play! I added some paprika to the flour to give a kick. 




As we like our food spicy, I also sprinkled it over the potatoes.

As a Slimming World success I would make this a free meal by using Warburtons wholemeal and Fry light  for the potatoes, it then is all fat free!

I found I did not use all of the breadcrumbs so would reduce the amount to 6 slices and then add more if needed.

The chicken was really moist, more so than normal, using the fresh breadcrumbs really benefited the texture. The taste was lovely and light, all of us loved the chicken and normally would not have eaten green beans with this dish, but it complemented the meal well.

I will be making this again and playing around with the spices as well to give different tastes.

Ingredients

1. 6 potatoes
2. 2 ½ tbsp olive oil
3. 8 slices Warburtons Wholemeal Bread or Warburtons White Plus Wholegrain (about 200g)
4. 3 large chicken breasts
5. 3 tbsp tomato puree, (about 100g)
6. 3 heaped tbsp plain flour
7. 2 free range eggs
8. Steamed green veg e.g. green beans, to serve

Method

1. Directions
2. 1. Cut each potato into about 5-6 wedges. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil in a roasting dish. Add the potato wedges to the hot dish and roast for 35 minutes until golden and cooked.
3. 2. Meanwhile brush 2 baking trays with the remaining oil. Put the Warburtons bread into a blender and whizz into breadcrumbs
4. 3.Cut each chicken breast into 5-6 strips. Dip the strips in tomato puree, then flour, then egg and then breadcrumbs.
5. 4. Put the chicken strips on to the trays and cook for 15-18 minutes until golden and cooked. 
6. 5. Serve with the potatoes and steamed green beans
7. 
   

Warburtons has teamed up with Amanda Grant, celebrity chef and mum of three Amanda Grant, also one of the country's leading food educators, to create a delicious, low fat eating plan full of simple recipes and quick and tasty snacks. 

Many people cut out carbs (such as bread) in order to lose weight, which can lead people to wrongly believe that bread is high in fat, when the opposite is true. Most bread is low in fat – it’s the toppings that people choose that can add fat to bread and bakery. For example, a slice of Warburtons Farmhouse White contains just 1.1g fat.

The Hi-Taste, Lo-Fat eating plan has been designed to provide a fortnight of nutritious, low in fat meals that won't leave you feeling like you're missing out.

Read about the plan here 

http://given-to-distracting-others.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/warburtons-hi-taste-lo-fat.html

M&S launch the ‘Virtual Manicure’

What do you think of the colour choice for my nails, I quite like it. Its Autograph Ultimate Wear Nail Colour in Crystal!
I have just been playing on the Virtual manicure. Its quite good as you get to choose an image of a hand close to the look of yours, then apply the shades of  polish, until one suits your hand colour and preference!, There is a huge range to choose from too.
Have a play and tell me which colour  you prefer?

http://www.marksandspencer.com/Virtual-Makeover-Counter-Beauty/b/1719903031

Already love Your Beauty’s ‘Virtual Makeover’? Try the ‘Virtual Manicure’. Launching today online via www.marksandspencer.com and soon to be in selected stores, you can now virtually try on M&S entire collection of nail polish to see how they appear on your own hands! Upload an image of your hand or select a hand with a skin tone to match your own, get adventurous with colour selection and then apply with a simple click. Your favourites can then be purchased for home or store delivery, and don’t forget you can also share all your creations with friends on Facebook, Twitter, Google+. 

As with the ‘Virtual Make over’ which launched in May 2012, Your Beauty’s ‘Virtual Manicure’ uses ground breaking declassified American army technology to transform the beauty shopping experience both in store and online.

Disclosure. I was offered a complimentary nail colour for trying out the new Virtual Manicure and posting my colour!

Are they Twins?

I have just seen a really good side badge on Here Come The Girls its the answers to questions about twins, it made me want to write about my experience of the grilling that sometimes comes. I am sure mums of one, or even families get asked silly questions, but I find twin queries, at best amusing, at worst daft and sometimes really personal!

A glance from a stranger, will see a husband, wife, two teenage twins, (Gone are the days of the questions that used to make me bite my tongue about twins. Now we get, "Don't they make a lovely couple, they even look alike." Answers, they are not a couple they are brother and sister.

"Do they get on?" I always wonder at this question, do all parents get asked this? They actually were very close, incredibly so for siblings, still are for teenagers, there are many reasons for this, maybe they have personalities that suit, hopefully some of my parenting skills were quite passable. ( I believe there is a fundamental reason,  that is another story, I want to cover for a blog carnival I have seen! )

"Oh are they twins then?" Answers, yes they are, then come the range of questions probably common to all mums of multiple birth!!

 I have more time for this assault on my family, but when Paige and Conor are sitting there, the twin factor means they become something to be talked about as if they cannot answer for themselves! Stared at and they always look so uncomfortable and end up giggling. Are they used to it, I'm not sure, I will ask Paige to post the reply later! When they were little and could not reply,  it was down to Chris and I,even then, it sometimes got a bit much!

As a harried Mum of baby twins I was occasionally sharp and rude. I can be if stressed or defending a loved one, but on the whole, I like to chat to people out and about!

However, I have never gone up to a Mum who has a screaming child, let alone two to start digging about in the family history. I have held a, buggy, baby, anything to help if a woman looked  like she needed a pair of hands, a friendly smile. I have never seen fit to give an interrogation on someones fertility, how do I manage and thrown pitying looks, some from Mums who have three children even!

So back to my children when they were babies, I breastfed, no mean feat, I can tell you, it was tricky.  I had no extended or even immediate family at any point, to help, even just chat to (again this is for another post), which made Chris's help even more vital. He would come in from work on many days to find me weeping, once accusing him of abandoning me,  that he was 7 minutes later than normal. He would say sorry, the traffic lights were on red, scoop up the babies, make me tea, hug me and say we would get through it. It was never a case of day to day, it was a life lived and only managed moment to moment!

Which leads me on to being constantly trying to get through little tasks like shopping, going to get a prescription. I did not drive, buses were totally out for me, a twin buggy, two babies made the local transport a distant memory. I walked places, the upside was great legs, after a few years of street pounding and rocking baby bouncy chairs, I never needed a gym!!

So when I got stopped and asked these questions and I mean by lots of people all in one trip, it began to make me very aloof!  Head down, no eye contact and still they came!

Are they identical?...Answers "No a boy and a girl cannot be identical" Inside head " Are you a little dim, there are obvious physical differences!

Do twins run in the family? I wanted to always say "Mind your own business!  But I used to just say No. Like a flowchart this lead to more.I actually  had IVF, if I said this, that would end in a whole interrogation on this subject. It was still a subject then that people only knew from the news stories and tags of test tube babies! I always have been happy to discuss it, obviously as here I am, but the questions can get really personal, a total stranger asking, "Was it you or your husband that was faulty?" has to be the most ignorant!

Possibly the twin one that made me laugh a lot on a good day, but  growl the most on one particular day was this. On the way to Boots to breastfeed, after some errand, with two hungry cries of "Feed me now!" I was hurtling through the shopping centre, obviously on a mission, clearly with two babies, I imagine one is a challenge, I know in fact it is from friends!  Suddenly a woman planted her whole body firmly in my path and I nearly knocked her over.

She said "I just want to look at them, they are adorable!", I said thank you, I really need to go they need feeding, but thank you! 

I went to go around her and she actually put her hand on the buggy, to stop me, and said

Are they twins?

I looked her in the eye, I scowled and replied through gritted teeth.

No they are triplets, but one is invisible!!!!

So if you see Mums with one baby, twins, triplets, just several children and she has a far away, distant look, let her move on. If she is sitting happily smiling, then that is the time to go over!