Giveaway: win a holiday in Walt Disney World Florida with park tickets! (COMPETITION ENDED)

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Disney's Art of Animation Resort: ÒBig BlueÓ Pool

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort: ‘Big Blue’ Pool

If you follow me on Facebook (if not, why not? We’re a lovely gang and have all sorts of waffly conversations), you’ll know that a while back, my chums at Disney offered me the most FABULOUS prize for you, my lovely readers: a 7 night holiday in a Walt Disney World Resort, Florida, complete with park tickets. I, of course, bit their arms off (not literally - you don’t bite Mickey, it’s just not done), but then, disappointingly, we couldn’t persuade anyone to offer flights (it’s the end of the financial year, times are tough, blah blah) so I faltered. I wondered if people would be disgruntled with a competition that wasn’t a WHOLE holiday as it didn’t include the flights. But people commented, in their droves, to say that it didn’t matter, that they’d definitely enter a competition. And hey, it’s a fabulous holiday, worth a ton of money. So here it is, in all its glory.

The prize (squee!)

Disney will provide one winner with a vacation package for four people for seven nights and eight days at Disney’s wonderful Art of Animation resort consisting of accommodation (one standard room for four people for seven nights), PLUS four 8-day Magic Your Way tickets with Park Hopper® option (EXCLUDING flights).

How do I enter? I hear you cry!

My favourite attraction at Walt Disney World is Pirates of the Caribbean. I’ve always loved it. So just leave a comment and tell me: what’s the attraction you’ll be heading to first if you win this amazing prize?

(New commenters please note yours won’t show up until it’s been approved.)

For an extra chance to win, just comment and let me know that you’ve tweeted the phrase:

I’ve entered @EnglishMum’s Walt Disney World Florida holiday giveaway #visitMickeywithEnglishMum

Disney's Art of Animation Resort Entrance

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort entrance

The small print

There’s quite a lot of small print, I’ll admit, but hey, giving away a holiday is quite complicated, so I’d be really grateful if you have a read through and make sure you agree before entering. Ta muchly

  • Usual English Mum competition rules apply. This competition is open to the residents of UK and Ireland. You must be over 18 years of age. The prizes offered are not transferable (and may not be sold, traded, transferred or refunded) or exchangeable for cash. The winner will be chosen at random.
  • Items that are not included as part of the winning vacation package are: meals, hotel room service, laundry service, alcoholic beverages, merchandise/souvenirs etc, local and long distance telephone calls, tips, gratuities, service charges or taxes, all other charges and items not offered as the main prize, and the big one: FLIGHTS. Entrants must arrange their own air travel.
  • The winners are responsible for arranging visas, travel insurance, transfers, etc.
  • The competition ends at midnight on Saturday 6th April 2013. No entries received after this time will be considered.
  • Winners will be asked to provide 3 dates when they can travel, but departure date and accommodations are subject to availability; certain restrictions and block-out dates may apply. Prize to be taken within a year, subject to availability.
  • Disney, its parent, related, affiliated and subsidiary companies and their respective officers, directors, agents, employees and assigns shall be released and discharged from any and all legal claims, losses, injuries, demands, damages, actions, and/or causes of actions that arise out of and/or in any way related to the prize, the receipt, use and/or enjoyment of the prize and/or the promotion.
  • Oh and lastly - don’t cheat! One entry plus one bonus Twitter entry per person The system picks up on duplicate entries ;)

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED. THE WINNER, CHOSEN BY AN ONLINE RANDOMISER, IS CAROLINE CAVANAGH - CONGRATULATIONS! THANKS FOR ALL YOUR ENTRIES - MORE COMPETITIONS VERY SOON XX

Step by step spiced chocolate Hot Cross Buns

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Spiced chocolate hot cross buns

Spiced chocolate hot cross buns

We love a hot cross bun. Well, some of us do. The Death Wish Dude thinks all things dried fruit are a bit bleurgh. So if you’ve got a dried fruit hater in your family, or if you just fancy something a bit different this Easter, here’s a recipe for some lovely chocolatey hot cross buns.

You’ll need:

  • 150ml milk
  • 150ml water
  • Zest of 1 orange
  • 50g butter
  • 425g strong white bread flour
  • 25g good quality cocoa
  • 1 tbsp mixed spice
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 75g sugar
  • 1 x 7g sachet dried yeast
  • 100g good quality chopped dark chocolate (keep the chunks quite large)

For the cross:

  • 1 tbsp flour
  • 1 tbsp cocoa
  • 1 tsp caster sugar

For the glaze:

  • 1 tbsp orange marmalade, rindless or sieved
Chopping chocolate with my new birthday mezzaluna

Chopping chocolate with my new birthday mezzaluna

Step one:

Before you start, assemble and weigh out your ingredients. This will save you time and prevent things being forgotten.

So in a small saucepan (or jug if you’re doing it in the microwave) warm the milk, water, orange zest (use the finest grater you have) and butter until the butter is just melted, then turn off the heat. Let it cool so that when you stick your finger in, it feels like blood temperature.

Step two:

While the liquid is cooling, sift the flour, cocoa and ground mixed spice together into a large bowl. Next, stir in the salt, sugar and dried yeast.

Step three:

If you’ve got a mixer, pop in all the dry ingredients, then set it on low and slowly pour in the milky mixture until the dough comes together (you might not need all of it so go steady), then plug in the dough hook and set it to knead for a good five minutes.

If you’re old-fashionedy or are still waiting to meet the mixer of your dreams (they do actually come out nicer and lighter if you knead them by hand), you’ll have to get to it for at least ten minutes adding the chocolate about half way through.

Because the chocolate is quite escapey, I found that it was best to knead it in the mixer for five minutes, then add the chocolate and knead by hand for a further few minutes. The chocolate just keeps escaping, but poke it back in.

Keep going until the dough is nice and springy and firm (as usual, think the texture of a boob, or possibly a bottom cheek - poke your finger in - if the dough springs back, then it’s done - if not, knead a bit more). Disclaimer: possibly best if you don’t actually do this with people’s boobs.

Step four:

When your dough is sufficiently springy, leave it covered with a clean tea towel in a warm place until it’s doubled in size. Then, just knock it back with your fist (be careful - I found the chocolate quite jabby!) and cut it in half, then half again and half again. Form each of your 8 pieces into a ball and place them on a floured baking tray. Cover and rise again until they’re puffed up.

Step five:

If you want to add the cross, then mix about 1 tbsp flour, 1 tbsp cocoa, a tsp of caster sugar and enough water to make into a thick paste and either just dribble it with a teaspoon, or pipe it onto your buns (ooer Missus) with a disposable piping bag. Or, you can cut a cross in the top of the buns and pipe the cross into the little lines. Totally up to you.

Piping on the chocolate cross

Piping on the chocolate cross

Step six:

Bake for about 15-20 minutes at 180/gas 6 until they sound hollow when patted on the bottom. Finally, when they’re just out of the oven, warm up the marmalade (or apricot jam) with a splash of water and brush it on for extra glossy stickiness (use rindless here - you don’t want bits of peel sticking to your buns). If you’re going to freeze them, slice them in half first so they can go straight in the toaster.

And that’s it. Hide them from your offspring until you’ve scarfed at least two. You deserve it. Oh, and here’s the reason you need to keep the chocolate chunks large. Nomnomnom:

Oozy chocolate

Oozy chocolate

If you’d rather make spiced orange hot cross buns instead, click here.

The Easter egg roundup: I’ve tested them so you don’t have to!

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Ocado egg selectionOcado have a lovely selection of eggs out this year with all budgets catered for. While I was on my cruise, my very helpful family opened and ‘reviewed’ the selection for me (for reviewed please read scoffed), but very kindly took a picture of them. They tried (from L to R)

Divine milk chocolate Easter egg with milk chocolate praline mini eggs

Montezumas milk chocolate with salted peanut butter mini eggs (declared by English Dad to be ‘The Best Thing I Have Ever Eaten. Ever’)

Ferrero hazelnut eggs

Montezumas organic dark chocolate chunky egg - this dark chocolate was a bit too intense for the teenagers. Might be worth choosing for a proper dark chocolate connoisseur though.

MontezumasTalking of Montezumas - they’ve also brought out a rather quirky half dark chocolate half milk chocolate egg, for those of us who are undecided (or, indeed, who like to share).

Sadly it’s sold out online, so you’ll have to seek it out instore. I’ve also got rather a soft spot for their white chocolate bunnies too. Their white chocolate is lush - not sickly like some can be and with a very nice texture.

Click here for stockists.

Egg N Spoon Choc Mousse CTN E13_0002Cadbury’s have gone a bit mad this year and brought out Egg ‘n’ Spoon. Sold in a purple egg box, there are four individual eggs inside filled with either chocolate mousse or milky mousse. The pack contains a spoon so you can crack open the eggs and scoop out the mousse. Yummers.

Giant Milk Chocolate Easter egg

And lastly, but not leastly: when we were at Asda House recently, we spotted their giant Extra Special Easter eggs. Sadly they are far too large to slip into one’s handbag (not that I would, obviously, if anyone from Asda is watching), but seek them out for your somebody special. There’s an Extra Special Belgian milk and white chocolate egg, and an Extra Special Belgian milk chocolate egg, both weighing in at a whopping 1kg and both at the very reasonable price of £10.

So that’s my testing done. I’m so helpful aren’t I? Saving you all that annoying and, frankly, fattening chocolate eating?

Happy Easter!

The birthday with NO CAKE!

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Aw I had such a fab day yesterday. Despite their Dad’s absence the brevren rallied well - no cards (‘what, you have to buy presents AND cards?’) but they did get me a voucher for a lovely Clarins facial - will look forward to that. Mahoosive brownie points go to Mr English for the gift of THIS little beauty:

My birthday pressie

My birthday pressie

Isn’t it beautiful? After pressies it was off to The Akeman in Tring, Hertfordshire which is really lovely: all squishy leather, dark wood and roaring fires. The kitchen area is open so you can see the chefs at work, and the staff were so friendly. I had lunch with my gorgeous friend Glam C . We had Prosecco to celebrate, plus a delicious Mediterranean salad with Halloumi, roasted vegetables, couscous and chickpeas. Nomnomnom. The grin on my face says it all, I feel (and look, there’s The Claw - well, I couldn’t leave it at home on my birthday now, could I?):

Birthday Prosecco

Birthday Prosecco

The reason for the salad (I know, right? Not like me at all) was our evening trip to a local pizza place. We were accompanied by The Prof’s new girlfriend, who I’m proud to say is utterly lovely - very sweet and enormously good fun - we cackled like loons and, after we’d dropped her off, The Dude was heard to utter ‘wow, there is NOTHING wrong with her’. High praise indeed. However, it was only as we were getting out of the car that I realised I’d forgotten the cake. Ah well. We’ll scoff it today: think of it as unbirthday cake.

Thank you for all your birthday wishes on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. What a perfect day.

Days out for Easter with Lands’ End

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I’m almost loathe to type this, as some of the country is still swathed in snow. I do wonder if people will throw things if I suggest getting out and about with the kids?!

Still, Lands’ End have challenged me to seek out a few days out for Easter, so let’s be positive and hope that this wintry weather will soon be behind us and we can finally get to experience a bit of spring! If not, I can recommend their range of warm kids’ jackets to keep the little ones toasty.

First on my list will suit those still not ready for the great outdoors. The Warner Bros. Studio Tour: The Making of Harry Potter is an absolute must-see, with a huge collection of props, costumes and even entire sets from the Harry Potter movies. They’re currently celebrating their first anniversary too – sign up for their newsletter to be the first to hear about special events and competitions too. Visit www.wbstudiotour.co.uk for details.

Heading further north, Warwick Castle is a perfect day out if you’re after adventure, especially of the knights and dragons variety. The castle itself is beautiful and there are always different things to see and do: live shows, battle re-enactments and even a chance for the little lady in your life to become a princess for a day at the Princess Tower.

Merlin: The Dragon Tower is well worth a visit if you’re heading to the castle - it’s a brilliant interactive journey which will take you into the depths of the castle – you might even come face to face with a fire breathing dragon! Check their website for more information.

Finally, for a more relaxed day out, why not visit the beautiful organic gardens at Yeo Valley’s Holt Farm in Blagdon, North Somerset. There are six and a half acres of gorgeous gardens to explore as well as a delightfully quirky tea room (after extensive testing, I can recommend all the cakes). Sarah Mead and her small staff are friendly and knowledgeable and often stop to chat with visitors. Throughout the year there are garden courses and lectures, plus a plant fair in early May. Do check opening times before you set off. More details at www.theorganicgardens.co.uk.

So what are you waiting for? Wrap up warm and get out there!

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Thorpe Park: The Crash Pad, banana theft, frozen pipes and ridin’ with Kat and Alfie

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Exploring the empty park in the dark

Exploring the empty park in the dark

It’s my birthday shortly (not a hint, I promise) and although I can remember sunny days, cloudy days and rainy days, I’m pretty sure it’s never snowed before at this time of year.

Yesterday we drove down to Surrey to visit Thorpe Park for the opening party for their new hotel, The Crash Pad, and to experience the new backward twist to The Swarm, their amazing winged roller coaster. The Death Wish Dude is a coaster nut, so we took him with us as our coaster-tester, along with his friend, James. The snow was really coming down by 6pm and as we crawled along the M25 at about 20 mph I had visions of us being snowed in and spending the night in the car.

Anyhoo, we made it, and the incredibly friendly Thorpe Park staff made us very welcome. We checked in to our Crash Pad room and were impressed with what we saw. Don’t, under any circumstances, expect a hotel room. The Crash Pad is more like the Yotel in that it really is just a place to lay your head: a double bed, two single bunks, and a small en-suite wet room. That’s it. No floor space, no wandering around room, just a place to crash and go. Oh, and a word of warning? The top bunk has no rail. Do not allow a restless sleeper up there - the Dude came crashing down at around 3am - luckily unhurt!

We thought it would be fab if you have to travel a long way to spend time at Thorpe Park - you can book packages which include two days’ park tickets, one night in the Crash Pad and breakfast included. There’s also evening entertainment provided and the bar area is lovely. A fab idea and pretty good value too. We also thought it would be ace to book an overnight stay during one of the Fright Nights!

In the bar we bumped into Shane Richie, who we’d met at Disneyland Paris when we went for my 40th birthday (you may remember the ‘photograph of the ear‘ debacle). He’s so lovely and we all wandered around the park in a big gang. Kat (lovely Jessie Wallace) was there too I was a bit starstruck, to be honest, but they’re so down to earth and friendly. At one stage Shane took over the announcing on one of the rides (then ran away before getting on).

With Shane Richie

Me with lovely Shane Richie, James and the Dude.

We were lucky enough to have access to the park after closing time, and the fellas went on everything, at least twice:

The boys riding Nemesis

Riding Nemesis

There was also the small matter of a stolen banana. This was absolutely nothing to do with me, but these two shifty-looking characters were caught on CCTV:

Theft of giant banana

Theft of giant banana

 

SWARM is blimmin’ amazing. Hubby and I went on once but the boys rode about five times - both backwards and forwards!

After a fabulous party, with a DJ, entertainment, nibbles and a free mojito bar, we headed to the Crash Pad. It was really lovely and comfy (bit awkward when one of the kids isn’t yours, but then that’s our fault). The only problem was when we woke up - no hot water due to frozen pipes. The staff were amazing again, rushing around and getting us bottles of water, but we decided to head home and save our park tickets for another day.

This really is the perfect place for teenagers. To be honest, it’s such good value I think I’d probably book a separate room for the teens, then let them loose around the park while we chilled and pootled about a bit more. The food options are good at Thorpe Park and there are plenty of non-adrenaline-rush things to do too!

And yes, the banana was returned to its rightful place, unharmed. I promise.

About Crash Pad

Two day packages start from £64pp, including breakfast (based on 4 sharing). Click here for more info. The Crash Pad opens 28th March 2013.

 

Can’t work out what your teenager’s on about? Center Parcs rush to your rescue.

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Oh this did make me chuckle. I love Center Parcs and they’ve just gone up about a gazillion times in my estimation by publishing this: a Dictionary of the Teenage Slanguage. Next time your tame teenager describes something (or indeed someone) as ‘blates dench’, you won’t have to scratch your head or resort to Urban Dictionary (be REALLY careful on there, by the way), you can just refer to this handy guide.

You’re welcome.

Center Parcs UK teenage slang

Guest post: family cars - the must-have features

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Got a family? Gone are the days when you could choose a car for its style, engine power or even a particularly fetching shade of blue. Having a family to transport changes your outlook entirely when it comes to owning a vehicle and there are often so many requirements it sometimes seems impossible to find a car to meet all of them. However, by following these general guidelines and conducting your own research, the perfect family car can be that bit more achievable.

Safety is naturally going to be one of your first concerns. The Euro NCAP rating is the thing to look for here; if possible, go for something with 4 or 5 stars and look for results of things like crash tests. You might also want to review the safety features to ensure they’re appropriate for a child – being able to switch off the passenger seat airbag is a major factor when travelling with younger children in front.

Buying the right car for your family is all about reviewing your needs. For larger families an MPV or people carrier may well be essential to get the necessary car-seats in, and you might also want to examine the doors to check they open wide enough to do this easily.

Those with one or two children might prefer a hatchback, which still retains more storage in the boot than a salon for all their bags and equipment.

The 21st century car market thankfully has numerous gadgets and extras designed with kids in mind, from built-in DVD players to satellite radio and rear speakers to keep them entertained. On the more practical side, modern features like stadium seating can be a really handy both in terms of access and allowing your children a better view as they ride, which can help with travel sickness.

Car manufacturers are consistently out-performing one another in terms of reliable family models, which is good news for buyers, but it’s also something that makes the choice a little overwhelming. Nissan is one brand who has brought out both the Leaf, for the environmentally-minded family, and the hatchback-come-SUV crossover Nissan Qashqai, popular for its comfortable interiors and storage.

Smaller families are well-served by Skoda’s Octavia and as far as value for money goes this car beats even the Volkswagen Golf in the hatchback stakes. Those pulling a bigger load might want to check out the SEAT Alhambra which combines its considerable space with a sporty drive, or the Ford C-Max range which offers a standard 5-seat option as well as the family-inspired 7-seater.

If in doubt, take the kids with you to the showroom, or even just their seats and equipment as the best way to ascertain what will work on a practical level. Family car journeys can be stressful in their own right, so it makes sense to minimise the fuss and ensure the vehicle caters for everyone’s needs, including your own.


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A chocolate cake of epic proportions for the Prof’s 18th birthday

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Sam

Firstly, can I just point out that GOD, I’M REALLY OLD. My firstborn baby boy - my blue eyed, blonde haired, chatty little charmer - is 18 next month.

I won’t gush on too much, but I’m immensely proud of him. He’s grown into a bloody lovely, slightly enormous and very gangly fella - funny, kind and still capable of squeezing the life out of his Mum with a single hug. He has a beautiful and very sweet girlfriend and is working really hard in the sixth form. For his birthday, we’re taking his whole gang of friends for a big go-karting tournament at Rogue Racing in Aylesbury, then it’s back to our house for drinkies and food.

If you’re a regular reader you’ll know that generally the birthday person gets to choose what kind of cake they have. Over the last few years this has manifested itself into a ‘pick the most difficult cake that you possible can to really piss Mum off’ challenge. There have been requests for Black Forest Gateaux, double chocolate cheesecakes and all sorts of weirdness. This time, though, I know exactly what kind of cake I want to make him: an enormous, chocolate extravaganza the like of which you’ve never seen before. It started when my Twitter friend Bee, who lives in Belgium and is a fabulous baker, gave me an amazingly rich and chocolatey bundt cake recipe. I started thinking how nice it would be layered up - maybe with ganache and possibly some of Nigella’s salted caramel sauce (if you made it thick enough). And then I saw this picture on Pinterest:

Chocolate cake from Pinterest

 

… and we all got chatting about it on Facebook and then another friend, lovely Caitriona from Wholesome Ireland (incidentally a very good read on eating well on a budget) said ‘ooh, you could use Caramel KitKats’, and our imaginations all got the better of us and soon we were all imagining chocolate cakes of ridiculous proportions covered in all manner of confectionary…

So that’s my germ of an idea - basically, as another friend noted, a tooth-aching stack of sugar requiring a mid-scoff insulin injection. But hey, you’re only 18 once, right? What do you think?

Review: the new Vax Air Mini Pet compact cylinder cleaner

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Vax Air Mini PetSo if you’re a regular reader, you’ll know that I’m part of the Vax Voice team. Basically I get to try out Vax products and give honest feedback about them. This time it’s the teeny tiny Vax Air Mini. When Vax contacted me with this one, I noticed that there was a pet version and asked if I could try it. The Ninja Cat of Death has fluffy white fur which sticks TO EVERYTHING and I thought this might help.

First impressions were favourable: it’s light, compact and pretty small as well as being quite funky looking with the aqua coloured tubey things in the top of the clear cylinder. I took it upstairs for a test drive.

My carpets are quite pale in colour and I worry about the edges looking darker. I love my big upright Vax but it doesn’t clean right to the edges, so every so often I use the nozzle to clean all around the skirting boards. This little beast really impressed me. The suction is amazing and the nozzle got into every little nook and cranny, leaving the edges noticeably cleaner and paler. The little brush attachment and nozzle both fit on the hose handle so you can pop those on and off easily. I used the brush for dusting all the electrical stuff in the boys’ rooms: Xboxes, TVs, guitars, you name it. SO easy.

It’s really handy as you can be vacuuming away with the main floor cleaning head, then if you need to use a bit more suction you can whip the hose out of the handle to quickly use the end of the tube, or pop on one of the attachments, then just as quickly re-attach the main cleaning head. I whipped around the whole upstairs (using a single plug - the cord is very long) and really felt that it had had a deep clean.

I like the fact that it’s really easy to download a PDF user guide too. I didn’t realise that the floor head and tubing can be clipped to the back of the cleaner for compact storage, but read about it in the PDF. Helpful stuff. You can also search the support centre if you’ve got a problem.

As for downsides, I don’t have many. I don’t think the tubing is of the usual Vax standard, as it’s easily crushed if you accidentally stand on it or bend it and it doesn’t spring back into shape. Also, don’t think you can get away with vacuuming around things with the nozzle. It’s very powerful and receipts, a pen lid and a little brush used to clean someone’s electric razor were whizzed up inside the machine before I could stop them!

As I get quite a lot of Vax machines to test, I sometimes give them away after I’ve tested them. Not this one: it’ll be staying with me as my upstairs buddy. I really do love it.

For more information on the Vax Air Mini Pet click here.

Big thanks for Vax for providing the machine for review.

For more information, check out www.vax.co.uk.

The meat masterclass with Asda’s Head of Meat Quality, Jim Viggars

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So this week I was lucky enough to be invited up to Asda House in Leeds for a meat masterclass just in time for Easter, with the amazing (and rather Sean Bean-like) Jim Viggars, 30 year Asda veteran and the supermarket’s Head of Meat Quality.

We started with drinks and nibbles (well, Laura and I actually started by trying to check in to the wrong hotel - turns out there are two Hiltons in Leeds city centre - but that’s another story). I was impressed by the red wines on offer, both from Asda’s Wine Selection: a rather delicious Argentinian Malbec and a beautiful, deep purple Marques del Norte Rioja, both full of fruit and perfect with roasted meat. Next, it was in to Asda House’s very impressive new demonstration kitchens for a full-on masterclass on lamb:

Jim demonstrating the French cut rack of lamb

Jim talked us through Asda’s buying process - what they look for in lambs, how old they should be, their quality standards and how they support farmers, etc, before going on to demonstrate a fabulous recipe for a leg of lamb: criss crossed, spiked with shards of garlic, and - preferably - slow roasted with loads of rosemary. You can buy this leg of lamb in store this Easter for a tenner, which we thought was really good value. We had a little prep competition - here’s my (ahem) prize-winning leg:

Leg of lamb

Jim also taught us how to prepare a French cut rack of lamb. Asda trim the bones of these slightly as they add weight but nothing else of benefit, which I thought was a nice touch to keep costs down. Here’s Laura demonstrating how to cut between the bones, complete with her chainmail glove and EVIL boning knife (I managed to cut myself twice, even with the chainmail):

Laura boning the lamb

Jim also hefted a lump of beef the size of which you’ve never seen before in your life onto the demonstration area, and showed us how you would divide it into different cuts. I didn’t take any notes, being somewhat hindered by chainmail, a slab of lamb, and a very sharp knife, but you’ll have to take my word for the fact that Asda are thinking creatively and providing meat cut in different ways that prove better value AND quality. They’ve also removed a lot of their products which they thought weren’t giving good value and/or quality for whatever reason. We were impressed.

Next it was into the demo kitchen to visit Head Inspiration Chef, Mark Richmond, who talked us through cooking the ultimate Easter roast. Mark had some really clever ideas, including pre-prepping shallots and garlic in oil to make for a easy base for loads of different sauces. Mark used this base with chopped fresh green herbs and - interestingly - a sprinkle of lavender, which was surprisingly delicious. He also showed us some easy vegetable dishes to complement the roast lamb, including a luscious carrot and squash mash made with fresh carrot juice instead of water, really bringing out the sweet carrot flavour of the dish. He also showed us a delicious dauphinoise potato dish and a delicious roast cauliflower with a tomato sauce. After all this concentration, we were well ready to sit down and feast upon all the scrummy stuff that Mark had shown us.

Indeed, instead of hitting the town as planned, we ended up waddling back to the hotel and conking out. The sign of a good evening, I’d say.

Massive thanks to Asda for looking after us and for the ENORMOUS delivery of meat I received the next day! Click here for more information on Asda’s butcher’s selection.

Click here for my recipe for slow roasted garlicky leg of lamb with rosemary potatoes. Perfect for Easter!

 

Review: The Croods 3D

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pic: www.thecroodsmovie.com

This weekend, we were lucky enough to be invited to a preview screening of Dreamworks’ new animation feature, The Croods, by Odeon UK. Testing the boundaries of ‘family film’ somewhat, I was joined by de brevren: a touch off 18, and a smidgeon shy of 15. Testing, it would certainly be.

Happily though, this movie really does appeal to all ages. The Croods are a family of cavemen, living mostly in their cave, in fear of being eaten, like most of their neighbours, by various wild animals.

All this changes when the cave is destroyed and the family: Dad Grug (played by Nicholas Cage), Mum Ugga (played by the awesome Catherine Keener from The 40 Year Old Virgin) and kids Eep (Emma Stone), Thunk (Clark Duke) and the brilliantly wild baby Sandy (‘release the baby!!!’) along with Gran have to move out into the sun, meeting slightly more evolved Guy (Ryan Reynolds) along the way. Their journey is filled with loads of laughs and the most amazing creatures you could possibly imagine. There is more than a hint of Avatar about some of the scenes, with beautiful animation in incredible colours.

Along the way, the Croods lose a few of their caveman traits and even learn to appreciate each other a little more. The animal characters are in danger of stealing the show, especially ‘Chunky’ (above) who spends a large proportion of the film trying to eat the family, and ‘Douglas’, a dog-like prehistoric creature.

We giggled, smiled and (okay, just me…) even shed a tear. Verdict: uplifting, beautiful to look at and with incredible 3D technology.

Blog tour: 5 ingredients 10 minutes by Jules Clancy

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5 ingredients 10 minutes

I love cooking. If I have a spare half hour you’ll usually find me in the kitchen, baking a cake or preparing something for dinner. BUT I do find choosing something to cook a bit of a chore. Aside from the usual family gripes of who doesn’t like what, there’s the temptation to stick to the few dishes that suit everyone. It’s the recipe for a massive food rut, something I think Jules Clancy addresses really nicely in her new book, ’5 ingredients 10 minutes’.

I’ll often take a long time to prepare dinner (one of the bonuses of working from home), but sometimes, if everyone’s rushing off, or different people need feeding at different times, it’s nice to have some quick, healthy recipes to fall back on.

One of the refreshing things about this book is that it gets you thinking outside the meat/carb/veg box that a lot of us stick to (myself included). My teenagers are already strapping lads: very active, and still growing fast, so protein-rich dinners are a must. Jules provides these in a creative way, using lots of pulses, beans and lentils and, a new one for me, quinoa.

That’s not to say that meat gets thrown by the wayside, with plenty of fast, fresh ways with meat too. The ‘beef with buttery courgettes’ is delicious, with minced beef cooked so well that it’s crispy in places - a wonderful mix of textures.

I was also delighted when Jules said that she’d happily give me some ideas for cooking chicken (our go-to dinner - especially wrapped in bacon, with veg and mash, which we have at least once a week as it’s a favourite of both my boys) - I LOVE the hummus idea:

So without further ado, it’s over to Jules:

”One of the downsides of chicken is that it can get a bit boring so I was glad when Becky asked for some ideas to make chicken more interesting rather than her old standby of wrapping it in bacon.

The first thing I like to do to make chicken more exciting is to serve it with a tasty sauce. We’re looking for things that can be made in the same time it takes for the chicken to cook.

Pesto from a jar works brilliantly with chicken. I’m also a big fan of dolloping on a commercial hummus as soon as the chicken comes out of the pan so the juices from the chicken can mix in with the hummus and make it even more delicious. I also love adding finely chopped herbs to lift the flavour of good quality commercial mayonnaise. Think chive mayo or even dill or thyme.

My other go-to sauce is to season a creamy Greek-style yoghurt with lashings of pepper. And I almost forgot another great trick is to cut a lemon in half and pan fry it cut side down with the chicken and squeeze over the hot lemon before serving with a good drizzle of olive oil.

If I’m not in the mood for making a sauce, I also love making a super quick ‘marinade’ to rub onto the chicken before cooking. In my book ’5 Ingredients 10 Minutes’ I mix smoked paprika with a little olive oil and rub this onto chicken thighs for an instant Spanish vibe. Don’t be afraid to play around with other spices. Ground coriander adds a lovely lemony freshness. Sometimes I’ll just keep it simple with some dried chilli flakes for a bit of heat.

The other tip I have for cooking chicken breasts or thigh fillets is to bash them out first with a saucepan or your fist. This tenderises the chicken but also reduces the thickness so it cooks more quickly and evenly - very handy for getting dinner ready in ten minutes or less!”

If you’d like to follow the blog tour for 5 ingredients 10 minutes and find out what other food bloggers have to say about the book, check out the image for details of the blogs on the tour.

Three quirky hotels perfect for a weekend in Paris

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It’s lovely to get away for a weekend, and Paris, especially at this time of year, is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. So why visit this ravishing place, then stay in a bland hotel? I’m always tearing out bits and bobs from travel magazines and scribbling details about hotels I’m dying to stay in. Here are three of my favourites:
Le Dokhan's (Photo: Radisson Blu)Radisson Blue Le Dokhan’s Hotel
It may well be a chain hotel, but there’s absolutely nothing bland about Le Dokhan’s. Quite apart from the fabulous location (it’s a short walk from the Eiffel Tower, L’Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysées, and right by the Trocadéro metro stop) this hotel is beautifully decorated, with sumptuous soft furnishings and marble bathrooms. There is even one suite with a balcony overlooking the Eiffel Tower: perfect for a romantic weekend away.

 

Hotel du CollectionneurL’Hotel du Collectionneur Arc de Triomphe
This seven storey Art Deco monster boasts a fabulous location on rue de Courcelles, just (as the name suggests) minutes from L’Arc de Triomphe. Not your budget option, admittedly, but one look at the incredible tropical garden at the centre of the building, and your credit card bill will be forgotten. The lobby of this hotel is just incredible - there’s nothing like a ‘take your breath away’ reception area to start your holiday in the right frame of mind!

 

Seven Hotel

The Seven Hotel

This hotel has been on my wishlist since I tore an article about it out of a magazine when it first opened. The rooms are just incredible (and slightly barking), with space age details, amazing lighting, ‘floating’ beds… there’s even a 007 room.

Located on Rue Berthollet in Paris’ bohemian 5th arrondissement Latin Quarter, there’s all sorts to discover locally (take a wander along Boulevard St Michel - fab for people watching. In fact, keep going and visit the Pantheon, the Luxembourg Gardens and the gobsmacking Palais de Luxembourg).
You can find these hotels, and many more, on Holidaycheck, where you can also find more reviews if you need more insights into any of these amazing hotels.
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Travel roundup: what’s new in family travel?

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USH Despicable Me Minion MayhemI do love a Minion. And the cheeky Minions of Despicable Me are soon to have their own ride at Universal Studios in Hollywood.

Planned for 2014, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem will mix videos, special effects and digital animation and whizz guests around Gru’s house (and secret super-villain laboratory) , encountering loads of elements of the movie on their way - you even get a special pair of 3D Minion goggles!!

Lightning McQueen at Radiator Springs

If you’re lucky enough to be heading to Walt Disney World Resort, Florida before 19th May, check out the amazing floral art at the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival where you’ll find Disney and DisneyPixar characters recreated as topiary displays as well as other themed flower and garden displays.

Donald Duck exploring AlaskaStaying with Disney news, the fabulous Disney Wonder cruise ship will be visiting Alaska from May this year through until September, departing from Vancouver. This is next on my absolutely must-do list, stopping at capital city, Juneau, as well as ‘Salmon Capital of the World’ Ketchican, where you can, wait for it, go on a Bering Sea crab fishermen’s tour aboard the Aleutian Ballad, made famous on Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch! (Mr English will faint when he reads this). You can watch the fishermen haul crab pots and chat to them about their adventures. This cruise is worth it JUST FOR THAT!

Adventurer Ben Fogle has recently returned home from a trip to Sarawak, part of Malaysian Borneo where he met some of the local wildlife and made eight short films about the area. If you visit the Sarawak Tourism Board website you can find out more about this beautiful area. Here’s Ben visiting Gunung Gading National Park and visitng the world-famous giant “Rafflesia” flower up close:

Lastly, lovely Monarch are giving three lucky schools (pupils yrs 7- 9) the chance to win exclusive use of a Monarch aircraft on 24th April 2013, with a range of fun activities in the air and on the ground. Here’s Pixie to tell you more:

What did we do before tablets?

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I’d love to know how many families now have a tablet of some sort in their homes. Before we had our Xperia™ Tablet, well, I suppose we had a phone for talking to people (we don’t bother with a home phone any more), when I went on holiday I’d lug a big bag full of books and magazines with me to read on the plane and on my sunbed, I watched the news on the television, and took photos with a camera. Now this little square of loveliness has changed all that.

But the biggest change for me? The biggest reason that my Xperia™ Tablet has become indispensible? Teenagers. I spend half my life sat in a car somewhere waiting for someone to finish doing something. It used to be a case of mentally playing a game of ‘chase’ between two raindrops on the windscreen, or humming along to the radio, or, more usually, just staring out at nearby houses wishing I, too, was snuggled on the sofa, ice chinking in a tall gin and tonic. But now I sit and read a book, flick through a magazine, play Words with Friends, or even catch up on a TV show that I’ve missed. Life in Mum’s taxi will be forever richer and for that I’ll always be grateful. I still miss the gin, mind you…

The only problem is now that the others have discovered my secret. When I go to look for my tablet, it’s mysteriously disappeared and I find one of the boys chatting via Skype to one of their friends, or checking their Dragons on Dragonvale. It’s just not on.

This cool little infographic shows what tablet users get up to. I’m actually surprised it’s not more than 30% that use their tablets daily. I wouldn’t be without mine. Now if they could just invent one that dispenses G&Ts…

Tablet Sony - Infographic

Xperia™ Tablet

Sponsored post

Review: Disney’s Oz the Great and Powerful

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Image (c) disney.com

Image (c) disney.com

We’re huge Disney fans, and after missing the chance to go and see the premiere in London while I was away on the cruise, we made sure we booked this weekend to go and see Oz the Great and Powerful.

The film stars James Franco as Oz, Mila Kunis as Theodora , Michelle Williams as Glinda the Good Witch, Rachel Weisz as Evanora, and Zach Braff as the voice of Finley the winged monkey.

Without giving away too many spoilers, the storyline is, as you’d imagine, based around the original Wizard of Oz film, but very loosely - with the Land of Oz still central to the story. Oz is a two-bit travelling magician and conman in a Kansas travelling circus but gets caught in the same kind of tornado as the original Dorothy and is whisked away to Oz, where he ends up joining forces with Glinda the Good Witch to save Oz from the clutches of the evil witch, Evanora.

I’ll be honest, it’s a slow starter. There were times when I thought ‘oh dear, is this going to be a bit lame?’, but it just gets better and better, with real edge of your seat stuff right at the end.

Visually, it’s a stunning and creative film. The Land of Oz has all the colour and wow-factor of the original, with the same shift from black and white to technicolour highlighting the incredible scene setting (reminiscent of Disney’s 2010 Alice in Wonderland in its colour and imagination). I’d heard a lot about the costumes on the Disney Blog, and wasn’t at all disappointed. The witches have the most beautiful, sparkling Swarovki crystal-studded dresses, with Glinda’s final costume being my favourite of all, with creamy layers and loads of crystals. Rachel Weisz is amazingly evil (who’d have thought?) and her green and black gown is just fabulous, with a glittering train and feathered epaulettes.

In proper Disney style, there are a few giggles along the way, many provided by Zach Braff as cheeky flying monkey Finley. We had a couple of little girls sitting near us in the cinema and it was lovely hearing them giggle at him, and also at the feisty little China Girl who was another delightful character addition to what is, essentially, a prequel to the original, if you see what I mean.

We all wished that Zach Braff had been Oz, though - Franco was quite difficult to warm to and we all thought Braff would have been perfect to play the conman with an eye for the ladies who discovers that he has a heart after all. But hey, that’s just us.

I won’t give it away, but Sam Raimi very cleverly manages to intertwine the ending of the film with the original so it all makes sense. Verdict? A film that could well become a classic, I’d wager, but give it at least the first half an hour to grow on you.

Wining and dining aboard Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas

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If you’re a food lover, eating and drinking are naturally a huge part of deciding where to go on holiday. I, myself was persuaded into staying in a massive half board hotel in Gran Canaria (something I wouldn’t normally do) by my Dad’s stories of epic Torres wine and amazing seafood restaurants along the coast in Maspalomas. I wasn’t disappointed.

On a Royal Caribbean holiday, the food is all-inclusive, meaning that you can eat in quite a few restaurants, including the VERY posh main dining rooms, without forking out (see what I did there?) any extra cash. Obviously if you’re going to order wine you have to pay for it, but RCI provide various wine packages, so you can pre-order wines that are then delivered to you at your table. If you don’t drink all the wines you can have them corked and saved, (which means that you can have a white and a red open at the same time) or take them back to your cabin.

I was really impressed by the wines on board. At various parts of our journey, we tried the following (excuse some of the pics - it can be dark in restaurants):

Viognier

Cline Viognier 2011: peachy, fruity and yet crisp with an almost flowery scent. This was absolutely delicious.

Another Sonoma white, this Pinot Gris (Pinot Grigio in Italy) had similar peachy pear flavours with a hint of spice.

Another Sonoma white, this Mac Murray Pinot Gris (Pinot Grigio in Italy) had similar peachy pear flavours with a hint of spice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've had this Peter Lehmann Weighbridge before (love Shiraz) and this didn't disappoint: gorgeous, soft and fruity

I’ve had this Peter Lehmann Weighbridge before (love Shiraz) and this didn’t disappoint: gorgeous, soft and fruity

My absolute fave aboard the ship. This Belle Glos Pinot Noir (Clark and Telephone Vineyard) is almost purple with a distinctive waxed bottle. Smooth and full bodied. Yum.

My absolute fave aboard the ship. This Belle Glos Pinot Noir (Clark and Telephone Vineyard) is almost purple with a distinctive waxed bottle. Smooth and full bodied. Yum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are also several different dining options should you wish to pay a tiny bit extra. The lovely burger joint, Johnny Rockets where the waiters danced and sang, is definitely worth a trip - order the chocolate malt and burgers as big as your head! There’s no booking, so you might have a wait in the queue, but it’s only an extra $3.95 to eat here and it’s well worth it.

The Italian themed Portofino was our favourite restaurant by far. In fact, we loved it so much we went back again on the last night. The waiter was great fun and a real wine buff (although some of his recommendations were slightly out of our league!). We joked that we ate so much beef we were going to walk off the ship mooing, but it was just soooo good. The filet mignon was out of this world tender, and we also had massive fish skewers with salmon, prawns, lobster and scallops. Delicious ($20 extra charge per person).

Creme brulee

That forgotten creme brulee!

Chops Grille is another high end restaurant where you pay $25 per head to dine. The surroundings again are really sumptuous - on a par with a really nice London restaurant, and the food again was excellent. We went for the beef again (I know, I know), but there were all sorts of other options too, honestly. This is where we had the amazing Belle Glos (two bottles in fact) and where I couldn’t remember that I’d had a dessert until, thumbing through my pictures from the night before, I came across a flaming crème brûlée!

Piping meringue onto ice cream for a ‘baked Alaska’ type dessert.

We also had a chance to meet Executive Chef Garry Thomas and visit the ship’s galley (a rather insignificant term for the cavernous kitchen!). Garry and his chefs serve more than 18000 meals a day and we got the impression that Garry literally runs a tight ship. We loved that occasionally in the main dining room, the chefs were introduced by a Master of Ceremonies and came out into the dining room to rapturous applause. Well deserved, in my opinion.

I’ve also heard rumour that Royal Caribbean do wine cruises. That’ll be me next, then..

For a similar cruise aboard Liberty of the Seas (sailing out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA) prices start from £288 per person for a 4-night Western Caribbean cruise, calling at Cozumel, Mexico before returning to Fort Lauderdale. Departs 12 December 2024 and includes meals and entertainment on board and all relevant cruise taxes/fees. Obviously this doesn’t include flights. We flew British Airways to Miami.

 

 

 

 

 

The Mad Prof Reviews: Bassboomz Bluetooth Speaker

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There aren’t many parcels that get the whole family clustering round oohing and ahhing, but this little purple whatsit certainly did.

Can you guess what it is yet?:

bassboomz

Yup, it’s bluetooth speaker - unscrew it, wirelessly attach your phone/laptop/iPad/whatever (or it’s got an aux slot and comes with its own aux cable) and off it goes. Fully charged, it lasts a good few hours (depending on volume). It comes in a range of metallic colours and, when screwed down, is a tiny 5cm in size.

We unleashed the Mad Prof and soon, the shower was shaking with Pop Punk and his bedroom was booming with Grime. Here’s what he thought:

”This little aluminium tube packs a serious punch. The sound quality is really good for such a small speaker and it pumps out some serious bass and volume!

I have been using it for about two weeks now and I use it for everything, taking a shower, playing Xbox, going round a mate’s, it is honestly the best Bluetooth speaker i have listened to as well. A big thank you to the people at Bassbudz, for letting me review it and I hope everyone reading this gets one! Its worth it, trust me. ;)”

PS: in the car, it sits in the cupholder and makes an almighty racket. Trust me.

It’s a big 10/10 for us: mighty music in a teeny tube!

Bassboomz extended

The lovely chaps at Bassboomz are offering English Mum readers a £30 discount for the whole of March! Just log on to www.bassbuds.co.uk/bassboomz and use the code BBZ304611

Lemon cream loveheart biscuits - perfect for Mothers’ Day

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Lemon cream loveheart biscuits

My lovely friend, Sarah, who has a blog called My Mummy Sings, not only has the voice of an angel, but impressive emergency baking skillz too. I loved her post about making her hubby some last-minute heart shaped custard creams for Valentine’s Day.

I’d forgotten how long it had been since I’d baked and spent a happy hour in the kitchen, radio on, with a big mug of tea. Anyhoo, this recipe is loosely based on Sarah’s and she’d kindly allowed me to recreate it here for you.

Lemon Cream Loveheart Biscuits

115g butter

175g caster sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

225g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

This amount makes enough for two batches. I kept the other half and made more the next day.

To make the biscuits, cream the butter and sugar together, add the egg and vanilla, then stir in the flour and baking powder. It will come together into a dough quite easily.

Roll out on a floured work surface using a floured rolling pin and cut out with a heart-shaped cutter, placing the little hearts onto a baking sheet lined with non-stick parchment paper. They don’t spread that much so they can go quite close together:

Lovely lovehearts

Bake at about 190/gas 5 for a scant 7 minutes (this depends on the thickness of your biscuits but they only need to be just-golden).

Remove and leave to cool on a rack.

Meanwhile, make the buttercream:

50g butter, softened

100g icing sugar

1 tsp lemon extract (I used Steenbergs)

Lovely lemony buttercream

Just mush the butter and icing sugar together until creamy then stir in the lemon extract. Make sure the biscuits are completely cooled before sandwiching together with the buttercream.

Go on, get busy in the kitchen and surprise your mum tomorrow!

The holiday roundup: what I used on my holidays

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Beach factory hatWhen I mentioned that I was off to Gran Canaria at the end of last year, the lovely chaps at Beachfactory.com offered to send me one of their fabulous sun hats to protect my poor bonce, which always gets burned - especially my parting.
I have to say, I was really impressed, and it did just as well on the cruise too. The hat has a lovely wide brim and withstood being wedged into a suitcase and stuffed into a beachbag with no damage whatsoever - a quick shake and it regained its shape instantly I even got caught in the rain and it dried out really well and without sustaining any damage. It’s an absolute must, especially if, like me, you really need to keep your head and face out of the sun.
If you get a chance, do visit The Beach Factory. Lovely Anne has been running the company for 9 years and tells me that her suppliers call her The Queen of Lycra such is her amazing knowledge of specialist sun protection swimwear! They have some fab brands, like O’Neill, Quiksilver and RipCurl as well as Platypus, Seafolly Girls and Tiger Joe from Australia, Sunbusters and Snapper Rock from the USA and Mitty James - check them out if you’re off on your hols.

Caxton FXI also tried out a Caxton FX prepaid currency card (and when I received it I found they’d added £50 to it for me, which was a really lovely surprise!). I’ve never used one before but found it quite easy. I was slightly concerned that in order to top it up you have to register your debit card with them online but they assure me it’s 100% safe. Once you’ve topped up your card, you can use it as a Visa card or at ATMs without being charged. Once you’ve registered your card, you can top up the currency card by phone or even by text, leaving your own cards safe at home, which I think is quite a good idea. I used it at an ATM in Miami with no problems at all. Impressive and I’d definitely use it again.

Targus rotating iPad caseLastly, I gave the Targus rotating iPad case a whirl. I blooming love this case as it rotates, allowing you to stand the iPad up (particularly useful when you’re reading online magazines and want to see the whole page portrait rather than landscape. It also has a couple of different positions so you can adjust the pitch of the screen. Very impressed. You can find Mobile Fun’s range of iPad cases here. Many thanks to them for sending me the case.

Buttermilk jerk chicken

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Jerk chicken

So when I was in Jamaica on our Royal Caribbean cruise (I’m never going to tire of saying that), we spent a fabulous day riding horses around old plantation land and - amazingly - into the sea. After we’d dismounted (walking, it must be said, a bit like we’d soiled ourselves), we were served amazing spicy Jamaican jerk chicken, with rice and beans. Delicious.

The real thing: proper Jamaican jerk chicken

The real thing: proper Jamaican jerk chicken

Keen to recreate it at home, we popped into the little Jamaican food shop at Falmouth port to score some jerk seasoning. I came away with this little beauty:

Jerk seasoning

Of course this recipe is really going to come into its own once it’s barbecue season again (I’ve got my eye on a new gas bbq from John Lewis for the summer). Jerk chicken gets a lot of its smoky flavour and deliciously crusty exterior from being grilled over the barby.

I’ve used breast here as I was slicing it into wraps with salad (and mayo mixed with the jerk sauce that I also brought home - too darned hot to use it on its own), but feel free to use the dark meat or, indeed a whole chicken either spatchcocked or cut into portions.

I often marinate chicken before cooking in buttermilk or yoghurt - left for half an hour or so before cooking, it tenderises the chicken and leaves it deliciously moist. Oh, and if you don’t have buttermilk, don’t despair. Use milk and squeeze in the juice of half a lemon. A quick stir, et voila, buttermilk.

You’ll need:

250ml buttermilk (or milk + lemon juice)

Pinch salt

4 pieces of chicken (breast, leg, whatever)

Jerk seasoning

So firstly, if you’re using chicken legs, it’s best to get rid of the skin as you lose half the flavour if you don’t eat it. With chicken breasts, just drop them straight in to the buttermilk with a pinch of salt. Leave the chicken marinating for about half an hour. Preheat the oven to 180/gas 4.

Fish the chicken out and place on a baking tray. Sprinkle liberally with the spice, remembering to do both sides. If some of the chicken breasts are very thick, it’s worth slashing them a couple of times with a knife so that they all cook at the same time.

Cook for about 25 minutes (make sure you cut into them to make sure they’re cooked through before you serve). If barbecuing, I’d probably give them 40 minutes.

Of course if you don’t have jerk seasoning, this recipe works really well with other spices too: look out for different rubs and coatings (Cajun, curry… whatever), or make your own - there are loads of recipes for spice rubs online. I have cupboards stuffed with all sorts of herbs, spices and flavourings at the moment but will soon be investing in the convenience of a spice rack to sort myself out.

Oh, and while I’m here, I’d just like to say that if you ever get any leftover Parmesan going a bit hard or whatever, whizz it in the processor, or grate it and stash it in the freezer. Do the same with bread, and stash in the same bag. Then, instead of spices after the buttermilk marinade, you can push your chicken into the cheesy breadcrumbs, bake, and parmesan chicken can be yours.

You’re welcome.

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Guest post: ‘Our half term holiday in Scotland’

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Half-term is always a funny time when deciding what to do with the kids – not long enough to warrant a flight and a holiday miles away, but too long for a couple of days out to sustain their interest and your sanity!

Determined to get away from London, after much planning and plotting, we eventually looked towards Scotland, our beautiful northern neighbour – a perfect choice as, although it was nearer than our usual holiday destinations, it was also far enough away that the whole family would benefit from some time together, removed from the day-to-day grind of England’s capital.

City breaks were always going to be the best option for us and after trawling through brochure upon brochure we decided upon an Inverness and an Aberdeen Hotel both run by our new favourite hotel chain, Best Western, which would give us ample scope in which to explore Scotland.

While the idea of city breaks is glamorous in theory we decided that in practice a hotel based slightly out of bustling Inverness might be our best option and the Lochardil House Hotel proved to be perfect. Situated close to the rolling highlands, yet just a couple of miles from the city centre, the hotel was the perfect base from which to begin our Scottish Adventure.

First up, naturally, was a day of Nessie spotting at the beautiful Loch Ness. Just six miles from our Best Western Hotel in Inverness, we were able to scan the water for hours, but sadly Nessie remained elusive (although our five-year-old daughter was pretty sure she spotted something in the water that she assured us looked just like the dragon from Shrek!).

Next up was a quick trip to Cawdor Castle (for me this one I’m afraid. Years of studying Macbeth had left me more than a little curious and despite their protestations the children loved it too – again the scenery is breathtaking and the majesty of the castle is amplified by its stunning setting).

Anyone who hasn’t been to the wonderful northern city should certainly pencil it in as a ‘destination desired for future visitation.’ Its open, clean streets have a wonderful continental feel, lined by the iconic, old, stone facades. As well as its proximity to the infamous Loch Ness, it is within easy distance of two of the nation’s most historic battlefields (the Battle of Blar nam Feinne and the Battle of Culloden) and its position overlooking the northern wilderness has earned it the nickname the capital of the Highlands of Scotland.’

The bustling and interesting city of Aberdeen is also a wonderful destination for a family friendly hotel break. We hugely enjoyed the city with its plain, granite buildings, strikingly contrasted by the long, sandy coastline, a juxtaposition that earned the city its nickname: ‘the Silver City with Golden Sands.’

Our choice of Aberdeen Hotel was again positioned just outside the city centre, but the stunning design of the Summerhill Hotel and Suites was about as cosmopolitan and glamorous as it gets! Aberdeen itself is glorious. Known throughout Scotland as the Granite City it is a shopping Mecca and kept a usually surly teenager smiling for the whole two days we were there. We also stopped off at the excellent maritime museum and were lucky enough to hit the city’s Jazz Festival (usually held on dates throughout March), which left the restaurants and bars buzzing with music and performances.

Scotland, for us was an undiscovered delight and the perfect choice for a short family holiday that managed to keep everyone occupied and happy – no mean feat! We shall definitely return and I urge anyone who hasn’t to pay the nation a visit.

Mandy Waters is a freelance travel writer and mother of two.

Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas: a little guided tour

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The ladies chillin' on deck with a cocktail

The ladies chillin’ on deck with a cocktail

As we got near Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale (in a massive coach which was laid on for all - wait for it - seven of us), we caught our first glimpses of the ship, rising up between cranes and tall buildings. It’s MASSIVE. We couldn’t quite believe we were going to be on there. And there were all sorts of worries too: will we be seasick… will we get enough peace and quiet.. will it be all old men in dinner jackets and old ladies smelling of mothballs…? You know the sort of thing. (Disclaimer: not that I’m saying that all old ladies smell of mothballs. I’m sure some of them smell of gin, or parma violets, or whatever).

The Nerdy Bit

The Liberty of the Seas is a ‘Freedom class’ vessel, registered in Nassau, Bahamas, built in Finland in 2007 and renovated in 2011. She (all ships are ‘she’ - apparently because a Portugese Prince once said that ”like a woman, they take much powder and paint to keep them looking good”) has 15 decks, is 185′ wide (that’s wider than the White House is long) and is taller (if upended, duh) than the Eiffel Tower. The ship carries 3634 guests, plus 1360 crew and there can be as many as 58 different nationalities on board.

The climbing wallThe Exciting Bit

The ship is packed to the gunnels (see what I did there?) with amazingly cool stuff. If you have kids there are amazing (indeed, award winning) kids’ clubs called Adventure Ocean (more of this later) from babies right up to teenagers. It also has (wait for it):

  • a rock-climbing wall (look at the man in the purple shirt to get some perspective as to how tall it is)
  • a nine hole miniature golf course
  • a jogging path running around the whole of one deck
  • a karaoke room
  • a video games room
  • an ice skating rink

The Wet Bit

If you fancy a bit of water action, there are loads of places to swim, bob, laze or whoosh. Check out me whooshing on the FlowRider Surf Simulator right here (thanks to Erica, our Videographer in Chief for this vid). I’ll have you know that it’s very hard to stand upright and both Karin, my FlowRider buddy, and I did very well. Although yes, it does rather look like I face planted after four seconds (that water is whooshing at 34 gallons per minute, by the way):

If you fancy getting wet in different ways, there are also:

  • three pools
  • six whirlpools
  • a pool bar
  • an adults only pool
  • adults only jacuzzis
Our cupcake burgers

Our cupcake burgers

The Leisurely Bit

Don’t fancy lazing by the pool? No problem. The Liberty of the Seas boasts a wonderful spa and fitness centre (where I had an amazing Elemis anti-aging facial and Laura was blow-dried to look like Crystal Carrington, but that’s another story). There is a fabulous promenade boasting boutiques, shops, a pub and a cupcake shop (where we had a cupcake decorating lesson and made cupcake burgers), there’s also a library, an internet centre, an art and photo gallery (which has regular art auctions and seminars), a 1320 seat theatre (complete with circle) where we saw a fabulous performance of Saturday Night Fever and a wonderful modern dance/aerial ballet show, a florist, a massive casino, an ice rink (the shows are spectacular), a conference centre, and even a wedding chapel (yes, you can get married on board).

The Greedy/boozy Bit

The ship boasts a main dining room which seats over 2000 people and is utterly beautiful. It reminded me a bit of the Titanic (oh. Can I say that?): the menu was very ‘fine dining’ with immaculate, service and a pretty incredible wine list.

The spectacular main dining room (shh, don't mention The Titanic)

The spectacular main dining room (shh, don’t mention The Titanic)

There are also other, smaller, dining rooms, but if you didn’t fancy that, there was also Sorrento’s - a pizza place, a proper American burger joint called Johnny Rockets (where the waiters suddenly break out into a song and dance routine to 60s music), a self-service buffet called the Windjammer Café, and two amazing fine dining restaurants, Portofino and Chops Grille (you need to pay a small extra charge for these - I think it’s about $30 a head). More of all of this later. There are also loads of other bars, cafés, a Starbucks, a wine bar called Vintages, a champagne bar, a cigar bar… a piano bar… a nightclub… I stopped counting in the end.

So that’s it, you’re fully acquainted with the beautiful Liberty of the Seas. I’ve probably missed loads of bits out, but I think it’s a good indication of what’s available (basically EVERYTHING except pavement). Oh, you do get lost a lot in the first day or so and find yourself at totally the wrong end of the ship occasionally (ahem), but the staff are amazingly friendly (we never saw one grumpy face. Not one. The entire week), and it’s amazing how quickly you find your way around.

Next: dining, things to do for teens, shore leave (oh yes, there is horse riding in the sea) and much more, including when I fell over climbing Dunns River Falls and tried unsuccessfully to style it out.

All this, and not a whiff of mothballs.

If you want to see blog posts, tweets and photos from the rest of the Royal Mums, check out our hashtag, #royalmums on Twitter.

 

Orange and honey granola: a step by step fruity breakfast granola

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Orange juice really is a thing of beauty. From a zingy glass of fresh orange juice first thing in the morning to a punchy tropical cocktail, it has so many uses in the kitchen. It’s great as a substitute for alcohol (if you don’t like it - can’t think why you wouldn’t but there you go) in things like Christmas mincemeat and - a sneaky tip here - if your Chinese recipe calls for sherry, orange juice makes an excellent replacement - and is fabulous in cakes, biscuits and savoury dishes too.

I really like muesli, but I’m aware they’re not always that healthy, so this one uses the orange juice for extra flavour and freshness and the honey for sweetness. As long as you stick to the basic quantities, it’s quite adaptable. If you don’t like nuts, for example, just add more of something else - bran or coconut, maybe? It’s your breakfast!

150g oats (organic jumbo are best)

250g mixed nuts and seeds. I bought packs of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, linseeds, brazil nuts and macademia nuts and mixed them together.

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

4 tbsp runny honey

4 tablespoons orange juice

50-100g dried fruit (DON’T add until after the rest is baked - chopped dried apricot goes really well with the orange, but you can use sultanas, raisins, cranberries… whatever you like.

Preheat the oven to 180/gas 4 and mix together the oats and the nuts and seeds - remember, don’t add the dried fruit - it goes rock hard and horrible in the oven.

Mix together the rapeseed oil, honey and orange juice and drizzle over the oats, nuts and seeds. Give it a mix but don’t worry that it won’t be all combined at this stage - it gets mixed a lot more.

Tip the mixture out onto a non-stick tray (or use some Bake-0-glide) and pop into the oven. After 10 minutes, take it out and give it a really good stir around.

Pop it back in for a further 10 minutes, but keep an eye that it doesn’t catch - I stir again after 5 minutes just to make sure - you want it golden brown, but not burned:

Now leave it to cool, stirring a couple of times until it’s completely cold (if you don’t stir you’ll have a big slab of granola - don’t say I didn’t warn you). Add in the dried fruit and save in a jar or airtight box.

This granola is really lovely served with yoghurt and fresh fruit - a really hearty start to the day, with the advantage of knowing that it’s home made!