How to Make S’mores in the UK

Camping at the Bull - Borehamstreet

I love nothing better than sitting around a camp fire drinking beer.  This probably stems from all the camping that I did as a child in Canada, minus the beer of course, I waited till I was a teen for that.

Who needs Graham Crackers anyway?

We used to make S’mores while sitting around the campfire, which is a toasted marshmallow sandwiched between two graham crackers with a piece of chocolate.  You always want ‘some more’ hence the name.  We’ve recently taken up camping in the UK and have purchased all the necessary gear.

Essential Gear for Cooking While Camping

I wanted to carry on the tradition of Smores with my daughter but became a bit unstuck when it came to sourcing Graham Crackers.  I can get them on pricey American online food shops, but couldn’t justify the delivery charge and price,  so was looking for an alternative and think I’ve done just that.

How to make Smores in the UK
Photo Courtesy of ‘Where in the World is Rebecca Today?’

For each Smore you will need:

  • 1 Marshmallow
  • 2 Digestive Chocolate Biscuits
  • Wooden Skewer or a stick (you may have to use a knife to get a point on it)

Method

Place a marshmallow on the end of a stick.  The hold it gently over the flames, not in them, rotate slowly to evenly roast the marshmallow.  They should be golden brown on the outside and gooey on the inside.  If you put it too close to the fire they will most likely catch on fire, unless you like the taste of charcoal.

Do not try this at home!

But if I’m honest, this is what we tended to do as kids as it was great fun, albeit dangerous, waving a flaming marshmallow around at night and resembles shooting meteors if they come flying off the stick and could seriously burn someone, but I did grow up in the 70’s where Health and Safety was pretty much  non-existent.

Once your marshmallow is nicely toasted, simply sandwich it between two digestive biscuits with the chocolate facing inward and Voila!  I’d be surprised if they didn’t want ‘S’more’.

Starting a Fire can be Tricky

We recently went camping at Town Farm near Tring in Herts.  It was very last minute so we hadn’t brought a lot of stuff with us, so we purchased firewood, firelighters and a fire pit on site.  This is the first time I’ve come across ‘Flamers’ an all Natural Firelighter,  which are untreated, wax dipped fine wood shavings.

All Natural Firelighters - Certainly Wood

As a true veteran of building fires I wasn’t convinced, as it just looked like a small bit of wood shavings and I thought it would go ‘puff’ and disappear, but I was wrong.  It was probably one of the easiest fires I’ve ever lit, which was a godsend as it was only April in the UK.  Flamers are now on our essential camping items and will also stock up for our wood-burner at home.

How to Light a Fire

Persil’s ‘Cook with the Kids’ Workshop and Food Fight!

Persil Cook with Kids Promise

Peril Cooking with Kids Promise

I ,along with 88% of parents surveyed by the LMRMC, avoid baking with my daughter as it makes a mess.  I find myself stressing out as flour is flicked out of the bowl, eggs shells follow the egg in the bowl and vegetable oil being vicariously poured into the measuring jug!

I’ve been to quite a few events in my time as a blogger but have to say this one with Persil UK was one of the best.  When I read ‘Giant Food Fight’ in the email, I was all over it.  It looked like great fun and not something I would ever do in my own house.

Persil is trying to encourage more parent to chill out, stop worrying about the mess and get cooking with their kids.

Persil Cooking with Kids

The kids had an opportunity to make their own pizzas, decorate a cupcake and then the fun began.  They kitted them out in little OompaLoompa suits, goggles and then armed them with food ammunition, everything from custard to flour to bottles of squeezy ketchup.  I think these photos say it all.

‘Every Kids’ Dream!’

Before the Food Fight
Before the Food Fight
Food Fight Fun - Spaghetti
Food Fight Fun – Spaghetti
The Photographer wasn't safe
The Photographer wasn’t safe

 

Everyone joined in!
Everyone joined in!
Persil Food Fight
OMG!

I was picking mushrooms and spaghetti out of her hair for ages and she smelled like ketchup for days, but she had such an amazing time I didn’t mind.

I promise to let the kids enjoy baking and making a mess in the kitchen

As a result of this I have pledged to stop worrying about the mess and start baking with her more.  Last night we attempted to bake some Cranberry Chocolate Muffins.  All we had to do was add egg, water and oil.  Unfortunately, the numbers have been scrubbed off my cooker so I had to guess the temperature, unfortunately, they ended up being a bit burnt but still edible.  At least I tried.

Chocolate Cranberry Muffins

You up for the promise?

You can sign up to make the promise yourself by visiting Persil Cook with Kids.  After signing up you can download a handy PDF with everything you need to get baking and making a mess with your kids.  There is also a chance to win a kid-friendly-baking kit in a weekly prize draw and a kids party worth £500.

 

 

9 Fun Things to do with Strawberries

Did you know that there are 35 varieties of British Strawberries and that the average strawberry has 200 seeds on them?  Fascinating stuff.  My daughter likes nothing better than eating strawberries straight out of the punnet.  Now that they are coming into season here in the UK, I found myself this afternoon, instead of catching up on work, searching for ‘Fun Things to do with Strawberries’.  I’m the world’s worst procrastinator.

There are some very talented and creative folks out there!  So, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite ideas that I came across.  If you want more information or instructions do click on the image and it will take you to the original site.

It’s okay to play with your food, right???

 

Strawberry Butterflies Strawberry Pops Strawberry Ladybirds Strawberry Mice Strawberry and Banana Snake Strawberry Flowers Strawberry and Yogurt Lollies Yogurt Covered Strawberries Strawberry Elves Image Map

 Disclosure: This post was inspired by a recent visit to Tesco, to try a selection of their new seasonal fruits.  A tasty selection of Strawberry Recipes can be found on their Real Food Site.

If you happen to try any of the above ideas do come back and let me know how you get on.

Quick Creamy Prawn and Spinach Pasta Recipe

creamyspinachandprawnpastaWe were out all day on Sunday and I wasn’t organised enough to put anything in the slow cooker in the morning so when we got home it was a bit of a scramble for dinner as we were low on groceries as well.

I raided the freezer and found a couple of bags of frozen prawns and some frozen spinach and this is what I came up with.

The added bonus of this recipes is that my 5 year old could help out and everyone devoured it.

Do you have any quick emergency meals using stuff around the house?  Please do leave them in the comments below.

 

Quick Creamy Prawn and Spinach Pasta Recipe
Recipe Type: Main
Cuisine: Pasta
Author: Mediocre Mum
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 3-4
Ingredients
  • 400g pasta (I used Farfalle, but rigatoni, linguine, spaghetti or penne would work as well)
  • 400g cooked frozen prawns (I used a combination of large and small ones)
  • 90g frozen spinach (partially defrosted)
  • 3 TBSP
  • Crème fraîche
  • 25g grated parmesan
  • Salt and Pepper to Season
Instructions
  1. Bring a large pan of water to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions.  5 minutes before it’s finished add the prawns to the pan with the pasta and boiling water. Ensure they are cooked through.
  2. Strain using a colander and return to the pot. Add the spinach, cream, cheese and season with salt and pepper.  Mix well, until the spinach has fully defrosted.

 

How not to bake with kids….

Baking is not my thing!  However, my daughter enjoys it, so on occasion I don an apron and we have a go at making cakes or biscuits. 

It’s all about the gear!

A few weeks ago, I bought a cake mix, preheated the oven, mixed it up and then realised I don’t own any cake tins!  Luckily, my neighbour across the road was kind enough to lend me a couple and she also lined them as well!

Last week I was sent a Fairy Cup Cake Set from Candy Stripe Party.  So again, I donned my apron and we proceeded to make the cupcakes.  There were eggs and flour everywhere.  Apparently, there is a difference between cupcakes and fairy cakes.  The recipe I was using said it would make 24 fairy cakes.  As there are only 3 of us I decided to halve the recipe, and for the life of me I couldn’t work out how I only ended up with six. Now I know that fairy cakes are much smaller than cupcakes.

What to do if you don't have a piping bag for icing

So we ended up with a ‘Fairies Cake’ instead of ‘Fairy Cakes’.  I still think they’re beautiful though.

Not Again!

And again, I discovered that I was missing a crucial kitchen tool, when it came time to decorate them, a piping bag.  But again thanks to YouTube I found this fabulous video for using a plastic sandwich bag.  Not as environmentally friendly but it saved me cleaning the piping bag and I think the effect was excellent.

So I don’t get caught out again, what ‘must have’ baking utensils/equipment should I have in the kitchen?