Boss Mum @ Sugar and Sponge

The Lockdown: Week 9 – Mini Heatwave A Coming

Friday 22nd May 2020

Hi all … firstly, I just want to thank you for continuing to follow my blog and showing love. It means so much.

I hope you are all well and are still staying safe (and alert!).

How hot has it been this week? I mean come on … 27 degrees centigrade on Wednesday was crazy. Have you noticed that since we’ve been on lockdown, the weather has actually been amazing? The irony of it is laughable!

This week I received a letter from my children’s school. The letter contained information about the possible re-opening of the school on June 1st. I know that some of my daughter’s friends are planning on returning to school on the 1st June. It is highly unlikely that my daughter Skye will be returning. I don’t feel comfortable and believe that it is too soon. They specified in the letter that children will be in groups of no larger than 15 and they will try to keep the groups apart – but they cannot guarantee that they will be able to implement social distancing. Staggering break times and increased cleaning are some of the key points that they wanted to make clear to the parents.

They also emphasise that there will be no penalties for non- attendance of pupils. It is entirely up to the parents. We know what is best for our children and they will continue to provide home learning work for those at home.

This news has provided some relief for me and my family. I was so worried that they were going to enforce this. I’m glad they let this be the decision of the parents.

The safest place for my children is at home with me.

Actually, the whole lockdown pandemic madness has made my children afraid to even go out. My daughter went on a little bike ride in the park the other day with the hubby … she came back and told me the park was busy and there was too many people in the park. She started having a little cough (she has mild asthma which triggers spontaneous coughing) and she was convinced she had the coronavirus. She annoyed her dad so much he was like “if you keep saying you have coronavirus you’re gonna get the coronavirus!!!“. He wasn’t a happy bunny. Skye had a glass of water and her cough went away. She is a little hypochondriac.

The weather has been amazing this week. Super hot and sunny. But with this great weather comes ignorance. The parks were full of people not social distancing and don’t get me started on the beaches. The virus will peak again in a couple of weeks because people just had to go sun bathing. It disgusts me that people are doing this … prolonging the lockdown and putting people’s lives at risk. I’m not saying you can’t leave the house, but use your common sense. Parks and beaches full of people… get a grip! Stay alert does not mean swarm recreational spaces! So much for being able to meet with one family member … and to think that Boris Johnson says he has put faith in the common sense of the people. Again … sense the irony?

So anyhow … I have been working on some recipe posts lately. I haven’t posted for a while, but I am trying to get these posts written up and posted. There is so much I want to share with you, and so many ideas that I would love some feedback on. So bare with me whilst I iron out the creases. The kids keep me so busy during the day so I try to write up my posts in the night … but I usually fall asleep mid-write up!

This week I have been busy in the kitchen as usual. My new addiction right now is sourdough bread. I love love love sourdough bread. There is something so satisfying about that hard yet fragrant crust, then when you bite into it, the bread dough is slightly chewy, slighty sour but oh so delicious. I will be doing a sourdough journey blog post soon to show you my journey into sourdough bread making. Look out for that one!

Top Left: Sourdough bread
Top Right: Bun Rieu – my favourite noodle soup consists of a tomato based soup with pork, prawn and crab dumplings, fried tofu, beansprouts and fresh herbs. I always make a big batch of this soup so that we can eat it the next day. It actually tastes better the next day.
Bottom Left: Mango Sticky Rice with Coconut Sauce – this snack is just divine. Lovely sticky rice topped with sweet mango, a thick coconut sauce and topped with crushed roasted peanuts. It really does taste as good as it looks.
Bottom Right: One Pan Healthy Breakfast – I actually had this for lunch. It’s super light and healthy and obviously I had to add a slice of sourdough bread. Oven baked eggs, bacon with baby spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms with a side of beans.

These are some of the fabulous dishes I cooked this week. Lots more to come so don’t forget to follow me on Instagram at @sugar.and.sponge to see what shenanigans I am getting up to in my kitchen. Click on the like button and leave me a message. Introduce yourself, say hello! Would love to hear from you.

~ Boss Mum (and family) xxx

The Lockdown: Week 8 – Two Months and Counting

15th May 2020 – Friday

Hey hey hey … how are you all doing? Welcome to my Friday rant. I am rolling into two months now and how am I feeling? I’m not sure …

Following on from Boris Johnson’s confusing speech a few days ago, I’m not too sure how I should be feeling.

On the one hand I totally understand the need for Bojo wanting the country to start getting back to normal … but the country will never be normal again. This pandemic has changed us all, not for the short term, but forever.

Were you confused about his speech the other day? The whole country was confused … stay home, go to work, meet family but only one member of the family … blah blah. The funny thing is that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not bowing down to Bojo’s nonsense and have told their people to JUST STAY HOME.

The added confusion is also regarding the possibility of primary school children having to back to school on the 1st of June. Well that is a big mistake. Children are the super-spreaders. I know from personal experience that children of primary school age have the worst hygiene ever. Both my children are in primary school and my son in particular has some questionable hygiene habits.

I was speaking to my neighbour this morning. She works in my children’s primary school as a teaching assistant. She was in a flood of tears because she is forced to work with no PPE. She is really feeling the strain. She said that they are planning on having the nursery school children back in school on the 1st of June too. How ridiculous does that sound? I feel so sorry for the teachers. They are thrown into an impossible task.

Me and the hubby have made the conscious decision to not allow our children to go back to school even if they do re-open the school on the 1st of June. I have underlying health issues and cannot risk it. I do not think it is safe for the children to go back. Bojo’s decision was in haste and is not feasible in these circumstances. I am not going to put my children’s health at risk to fuel Bojo’s need to be prematurely kick start society again.

As usual I have been busy in the kitchen. Working up a treat for the family. Below are a few of the wonderful foods that I have been feeding my family with this week.

Top left: a batch of char siu buns – bbq pork in soft milk rolls.
Top right: some (huge) ring doughnuts, glazed and looking might fabulous. These were super soft, light and fluffy.
Bottom left: banh bot loc are Vietnamese clear dumplings filled with pork and shrimps. These were super sticky and not my favourite thing to eat. My daughter Skye loved them though!
Bottom right: traditional eclairs filled with fresh cream and topped with milk chocolate. These were awesome!

As always, make sure you follow me and drop into @sugar.and.sponge on Instagram to see what I have been upto in my kitchen.

Lots of love you all.

~ Boss Mum (and family) xxx

The Lockdown: Week 7 – Believe That Better Times Are Coming

8th May 2020 – Friday

Hey all … how are you all? Hope you are all well, smiling and continuing to stay positive through all this.

We are now into our 7th week in lockdown. This week I have been feeling better. As you know, last week was a little bit of a struggle for me but this week I have been feeling a bit more positive and feeling more myself. It happens.

The kids are continuing with their homeschooling – it’s been particularly difficult this week though. Skye is in year 6 of primary school and this term she is learning about possessive apostrophes. I like to think that my English is pretty good, but I never really got to grips with possessive apostrophes myself – so when Skye asked me for help on this, I was more of a hinderance. Skye’s teacher called this week and I explained to her the situation with home schooling and how Skye is struggling … her teacher was sympathetic and said she understands that the work set may be a little difficult for her abilities but as long as she tries and does as much as she can then that is enough.

I think I am being a bit harsh … maybe? Expecting too much. I guess I am trying to make up for the lack of proper schooling so I am trying to cram so much into the homeschooling as I can. It takes alot of my time and effort making the weekly timetables, and ensuring they get the work done. I got an email from the school and they said that they are moving towards more online schooling so they will be encouraging the use of Google Classroom. It allows more online schooling and the teachers can keep track more of what the children are learning or have learnt I guess. It takes away a lot of the stress from the parents … so that is a bonus. Thank goodness for that!

The government are planning on re-opening schools as early as the 1st of June. It’s not definite yet. Skye’s teacher confirmed this plan and said if the re-opening does take place, it would be year 6 to return back to school first before gradually allowing other year groups to follow. Bearing in mind that if they did return to school on the 1st of June.

It is only 6 weeks until the summer holidays.

One of our lockdown dinners this week is inspired by our local Turkish restaurant. We frequently order takeaway from Tad in Hackney. A popular Turkish restaurant which serves the most amazing kebabs. One of our favourite things to order is lahmacun … a Turkish pizza. A flatbreab topped with a tomato and lamb topping, grilled to perfection. I was craving this so attempted to make my own. They came out wonderful! I served these with some grilled chicken wings, tomato bulgar wheat and a mediterranean style salad. Hubby was so impressed and thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Rest assured I gave myself a great pack on the back!

It’s Bank Holiday Friday today (Bank Holidays are usually on a Monday). It took place today rather than Monday 4th of May because today is VE day. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the end of WW2 in Europe. Under different circumstances we would have seen celebrations, street parties, events and parades … but with the lockdown in place and the ban on public gatherings, celebrations will be more of a sombre affair. I guess we can all remember it in our hearts and be thankful to all the servicemen and women who served in the war, those that lost their lives and those that endured great hardship so that we can live in a land of freedom. We all need to be humbled by them all.

I hope you all have a great weekend whatever you do. It’s going to be super warm and the sun is going to make a welcomed appearance. Stay safe and well as always … keep smiling and stay positive.

Make sure you check me out on Instagram to see what me and the family have been up to lately. Don’t forget to leave a comment below and let me know how you are.

~ Boss Mum (and family) xxx

The Lockdown: Week 6 – Personal Struggles

1st May 2020 – Friday

Can you believe it’s May already. These last 6 weeks have been a blur. Every day blending into one … with no end in sight. This week has been one of the hardest weeks so far during the lockdown. I have struggled with my own personal issues this week … a lot of tears and alot of re-assurances from myself that things will be ok. My children have been amazing. They know how to make me feel better when I am struggling with anxiety and my mental health.

I had a disagreement with the hubby this week because I feel he is not taking the pandemic seriously. His argument is … “it’s just the flu and the government are blowing it all out of proportion“. I have chronic asthma so I am really not looking to catch this coronavirus. Then the Hubby says … “well if one of us gets it we’ll all get it won’t we?” But he said it in such a non-chalant kind of way, like just a matter of fact. Then he starts rolling his eyes and that really annoys the hell out of me. Maybe this is why I am feeling low mood this week. I feel that sometimes my concerns are not taken seriously by him and I am thinking of kicking him out of the house just to prove a point?

Maybe I should … it will get him off the sofa. The dent in the sofa is turning into a black hole.

When I do have low mood this happens: I retreat into my own bubble and shut out everything and everyone and spend a couple of days in bed. I use to do this alot during my period of deep depression. Why did I do this? I use to force myself to sleep because it would make the day pass quicker. And when you are asleep … you don’t feel the pain.

Today (Friday) and am feeling alot better. Having those couple of days to just accept that I am feeling low and just embrace that feeling. It is something I have learnt to do. Instead of fighting the feeling of mental struggles, I embrace it and just go with it. I have learnt that the more I fight, the more it hurts.

The rest of the week was chilled out – home school is still in session and the kids are now getting use to it. It is now part of their daily routine. There have been days when at least one of them have struggled … and tears have rolled. Most children are adaptable to change and are resilient in the face of hardship – but they are allowed to have “off days“. They are allowed to cry and resist what is put in front of them. After all, they are just “little humans“.

Devon had a great birthday last Saturday. We had a little bbq in our little garden. I got some balloons and made him a little football cake which he loved. He really enjoyed himself and was happy. He said it was the best birthday ever … because he got all the presents he wanted. I splashed out a little more than usual, I felt sorry for him because he didn’t get his football party. One of the main things he wanted was a FitBit. We got him the FitBit Ace 2 which is aimed at children. He loves it and is constantly checking his steps and setting random alarms just for the sake of it.

Despite Devon’s birthday weekend weather being great, the rest of the week was miserable. The sky clouded over in a blanket of grey and the heavens opened up. At least the few plants in my garden got a well needed drink of water.

Please check out my latest recipe blog … the queen of comfort foods: Ultimate Mac and Cheese. This is a quick and easy recipe that can be whipped up in no time and the family will love it!

The Ultimate Mac and Cheese was accompanied by some honey glazed chicken wings and our favourite sugar snap peas. Delicious!

Don’t forget to visit me on Instagram @sugar.and.sponge to see what me and the family have been getting up to. And don’t forget to like this post and leave a comment below to let me know how your week has been.

I hope you all have a great weekend … stay home and stay safe.

~ Boss Mum (and family) xxx

Ultimate Mac and Cheese

Ultimate Mac and Cheese

I love macaroni cheese aka mac & cheese. Anything with cheese actually. But macaroni cheese is my comfort food. For days when I don’t feel like cooking anything fancy … macaroni cheese is always something I can rustle up from humble ingredients.

Who doesn’t have pasta, cheese and milk in their kitchen?

This mac & cheese however is made with a little twist. A little grown up maybe. If you are making this for the kids, you can just omit the lardons and shallots and even breadcrumbs if your kids are fussy. Just serve the macaroni with plenty of cheese and grill the top for a few minutes. My kids love it with the extra ingredients – they say it tastes more flavourful which is mega bonus points for me!

Here’s how I made my super easy Ultimate Mac and Cheese.

Ingredients — Get your ingredients ready

Firstly cook the macaroni until it is al dente (or cook it according to packet instructions – whichever is easiest for you). Once cooked, rinse with cold water and set aside.

Next, make the super cheesy sauce. To start, make a roux. A roux is a thickening paste made from flour and butter. In a large pan melt the butter then add the flour to the pan. Mix well for a minute or two – it should resemble a thick brown paste.

Now add the milk. Add a little at a time, stir well each time you add the milk. Use a balloon whisk as it helps to get out the lumps. Don’t be tempted to add all the milk in one go … this will cause the sauce to split. Once all the milk has been added, cook the sauce on a high heat for a few minutes – stirring constantly. The sauce will thicken slightly.

Add the grated cheddar cheese to the milky sauce – a big handful at a time. Mix well after each handful. Once all the cheese has been added, stir well and allow the cheese to melt thoroughly and thicken. Season with a pinch of salt and white pepper and a generous pinch of nutmeg. Set aside on a low heat for a few minutes.

Add the cheese and some nutmeg … mix well

In a frying pan, cook the shallots and lardons. Fry until softened and cooked through then add this to the sauce, also add the the cooked macaroni. Mix well and transfer to an oven proof dish.

Cook lardons and add to the cheesy sauce

For the crunchy topping, mix together the breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and a pinch of fresh thyme. Mix well and sprinkle on top of the macaroni cheese.

Pop the macaroni cheese under the grill (on a low heat) for about 5 to 10 minutes – you want the breadcrumbs to become lightly browned – keep an eye on it as it can brown quite quickly. Serve straight away.

Cook under the grill until nicely browned

Check out the printable recipe below for the Ultimate Mac and Cheese.

Ultimate Macaroni Cheese

Difficulty: easy
Print

INGREDIENTS:
– 400g macaroni
– 50g butter
– 50g plain flour
– 650ml whole milk
– Pinch of ground nutmeg
– 180g cheddar cheese (grated)
– 100g lardons
– 1 large shallot (finely chopped)
– 1 tsp thyme (fresh or dried)
– 25g breadcrumbs
– 20g parmesan cheese (finely grated)
– Salt and white pepper (to taste)

METHOD:
1. Cook macaroni until it is al dente (or according to packet instructions). Set aside.
2. Add butter and flour to a small pan, mix well and cook on a medium heat until it forms a paste – about 2 minutes.
3. Reduce heat and slowly add the milk a little at a time, stir between each addition. Don’t be tempted to add all the milk at once because the sauce may split.
4. Add the grated cheddar cheese, a handful at a time to the milk sauce – stir well allowing the cheese to melt. Once all the cheese has been added – cook on a high heat for a couple of minutes. Add the nutmeg and season with salt and white pepper to taste. Keep the sauce warm on a low heat for a couple of minutes.
5. In a frying pan, fry the shallots and lardons until they are softened and cooked through – add this to the cheese sauce. Also add the macaroni to the cheese sauce and mix well.
6. Transfer the macaroni to a baking dish – spread out evenly.
7. In a small bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and the thyme. Mix well and sprinkle this on top of the macaroni.
8. Finally, grill the macaroni for 5 to 10 minutes on a low heat until the top is browned and nicely toasted.

Enjoy!

You can experiment with this recipe and use different cheeses and protein such as diced chicken. This recipe is adapatable so don’t be afraid to change it up!

I hope you get a chance to try this. It’s super quick and easy and the whole family will love it!

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram to see what I have been up to in my kitchen lately and don’t forget to drop me a comment below, I would love to hear from you.

Until next time.

~ Boss Mum xx

The Lockdown – Week 5: Birthday Week

24th April 2020 – Friday

It’s my son’s birthday tomorrow … He’s going to be 9! He calls it his birthday week as he wants to celebrate it for the whole week. Talk about milk it … but it sucks having a birthday during lockdown, it really does – so he is forgiven. Every year I always oganise some kind of birthday party for Skye and Devon. Some years we have huge garden parties with the bbq on full steam, plenty of food and drinks, bouncy castle and party games … some years we will go trampolining with friends, we’ve done ice-skating and even hired a private cinema. So you see … having a birthday during lockdown is such an inconvenience.

This year I had booked a football themed party for Devon at Powerleague. He wanted it to be just a boy thing with all of his closest friends from school and friends that he has grown up with outside of school. It was suppose to be a 5 aside football match with party food afterwards. Devon was so looking forward to that … he is football mad (he supports Manchester United).

I have postponed it until the summer holidays at least … we’ll see how long this coronavirus lingers on for.

So tomorrow it will just be a quiet little party – just us four and our little bbq set. He requested burgers and hotdogs for his birthday dinner. I am trying to make it as special as possible … lots of balloons and I’m going to make a little football cake and I bought him lots of presents. He understands that this is the way it has got to be this year … he understands, which I am grateful for.

This week has been good. Home schooling has been alot more structured now that I know what is going on and I’ve been super organised. The school has finally uploaded a proper weekly learning schedule – the topic guidance to what the kids should be learning this week. It’s made home schooling so much easier … I don’t have to sit there and try to work out what they should do that day. I was basically making it up as I went along. Now that they have set tasks, they just get on with it … when they are done they have the rest of the day to play and hang out. It puts less stress on me I can tell you.

It was also my nephew’s birthday earlier in the week. He turned 5 and my cousin requested a little cake for him. I have made every single one of his cakes and I was delighted to make this little lockdown birthday cake for him. He loves Pac-man so I made a little simple one for him.

How cute is this cake though! I just kept it simple and to the point. I prefer to make simple cakes because they look nicer … I don’t like chaotic cakes with too much on top. I feel there is no flair and the cake just looks rushed like no care was put into it.

This week I have cooked some lovely dishes for dinner which were all well received by the family. My husband popped by his parents house yesterday to pick up some food … his dad commented on my husband’s slight weight gain! My husband told his parents that he has been eating really well during the lockdown and I have been busy in the kitchen trying out new recipes and such. They were super impressed!

These are some of the dishes I have made this week. Right: this was a beef and potato coconut curry – this was really warming and wasn’t too spicy. I made it with a side of rice and chapatis. Top left: jerk chicken with rice and peas. I once asked a friend what their recipe was for jerk chicken (she is from West Indian heritage) and surprisingly she said she doesn’t make it from scratch, she just buys the powdered jerk marinade. She also said that alot of people don’t make it from scratch – a good jerk marinade in a packet was just as good. I will reserve judgement on that one. I always make mine from scratch. The picture on the bottom left is another first timer – I made banh beo which is a Vietnamese dish. It is savoury steamed rice cakes topped with minced pork and prawns with a drizzle of scallion oil. It was super light and delicate but it tastes so good. The family were super impressed!

My husband got news today that he has been furloughed from work. I’m not sure what to make of it – but he says it is just a routine and most of his colleagues have beeen furloughed too. Hubby works for Transport for London as a control and information engineer. He’s been working from home since March and getting really bored. He’s left a big dent in the sofa from where his daytime tv marathon was being held! This furlough has now thrown a lot of uncertainty during this unpredictable time. I am currently still off work due to my underlying health issues … I am on special leave at the moment – they may furlough me in the future … who knows!

I hope you are all safe and well. The weather this week has been really good. The sun is shining and you can feel the air getting warmer and the days are getting longer. Please do drop me a line to let me know how you are getting on. We are all in this together so let’s stay connected.

See you next week!

~ Boss Mum (and family) xxx

The Lockdown – Day 30: What A Month It Has Been

19th April 2020 – Monday

Today marks a month of lockdown. A month where me and the family have been at home. A month of tension and anxiety … not knowing when this is going to end. I know it has to end sometime, but the uncertainty is causing me distress.

Today I made some Vietnamese baguettes … also known as “banh mi“. I always thought Vietnamese baguettes were the same as French baguettes … but they’re not. French baguettes have more of a hard, crunchy exterior with a soft inside. Vietnamese are not as crunchy … the outside has some crunchiness to it but the overall baguette is soft with a slightly chewy texture.

Anyhow, I did good – I must say! The baguettes had a good rise to them, they were soft as well as having a slightly flaky crust. It was perfect filled with marinaded pork belly, pickled carrots and plenty of coriander. The family was super impressed! A pat on my back was well deserved.

I also spent some of the day making a birthday cake for my little nephew who turns 5 tomorrow. He is super obsessed with Pac-Man so I made him a little cake to celebrate. It’s a shame that he won’t be able to have a party like he does every year … but I’m sure my cousin – his mum will make sure it’s filled with lots of love and presents. He’s so cute!

I have been blogging everyday for the last month … when I first decided to do a daily lockdown blog, I wasn’t really sure how long I was going to do it for. To be honest, I am starting to find it hard to write daily. The only reason I’m saying this is because being in lockdown, having a routine … everyday ends up being the same. For that reason, I am going to blog once a week … it will take less pressure of me trying to find something to write about when your day was exactly like yesterday and the day before. So, I’m thinking, every Friday I am going to do a lockdown post … just highlights of the week and such. Sound like a good idea?

This will give me more time to work on recipe blogs which are my main focus right now.

My current recipe posts have no specific days of the week in which I post. This is because I experiment with recipes during the week at random times in amongst home schooling and household chores. But I aim to post at least one recipe per week. Follow me on Instagram to see what I have been cooking in the kitchen lately and for blog post updates.

So until Friday … I will see you then. Keep safe and stay home as always.

~ Boss Mum (and family) xxx

The Lockdown – Day 29: Sat … ur … day!

18th April 2020 – Saturday

I woke up at 6:15am this morning. I’ve haven’t woken up that early on a weekend for such a long time. The only reason why I woke up that early was because I was expecting my Ocado grocery delivery. My hubby thought it was a good idea to pick an early slot 6:30am – 7:30am … but this morning I was not so sure. It was a struggle to say the least. My groceries didn’t come until 7:45am … so that was a long wait this morning.

Today was a bit of a dreary day … wet and chilly. It’s days like these that I don’t mind staying in lockdown. A classic movie and a cup of tea is just right up my street. In the afternoon I put my feet up with a cup of tea and biscuit and settled down to one of my favourite classic movies … “Gone With The Wind“. Yes, it’s over three hours long but it such an endearing film. And I love love love the beautiful dresses and immaculate outfits … and spoilt Scarlett O’Hara and her hissy fits just makes me giggle. My favourite character has to be the housekeeper Mammy … her rambles (often to herself is so funny!). The film is just perfection!

We had Vietnamese chicken noodle soup (pho) for dinner today. We normally have it with fresh rice noodles which I buy from our local noodle making factory. But because of the lockdown, they have had to close … my husband was going to pop out and buy the dried packet ones, but me and the kids are not too keen on the dry versions. So I was sitting there thinking about the rice noodles and thinking about how they were made. It can’t be that hard to make right? Or do I need a special noodle making machine?

I was curious … and ever since I have been on lockdown I have been actively trying out recipes and experimenting.

So I had a little nose on the internet and found out that it is not that hard to make. Literally two ingredients and some water: rice flour and tapioca flour. I always have these flours in my cupboard. So I gave it a go … and I must say I was so impressed. For my first attempt they were amazing!

How amazing do they look. They were a little on the thin side … my hubby would have liked them a bit thicker but he was super impressed!

So for dinner we had it with some chicken soup. It was actually really good and the kids loved it!

We call this dish “pho” and is probably one of the most well known dishes from Vietnam. I’m not the biggest fan of the chicken noodle soup, I prefer the beef flavoured soup with pieces of sliced beef and brisket. But chicken “pho” will do for today.

I hope you all had a great day … stay safe and stay home.

~ Boss Mum (and family) xxx

The Lockdown – Day 28: Fri-Yay Takeaway!!!

17th April 2020 – Friday

It’s Fri-Yay!! Oh wait, that doesn’t actually mean anything to me right now.

How are we all today? I had a restless night … I kept waking up coughing up phlegm. The thing I’ve noticed with my asthma is that it changes depending on the weather. The last week or so has been fine and my asthma had been behaving itself. Yesterday, the weather changed and it was raining a little in the afternoon. I could feel a chill in the air, a sort of dampness. Rest assured that that is one of my triggers … cold damp air.

Ahhhh, the life of an asthmatic. It should have a separate blog for this.

I received an order of Doves Farm flours and a packet of elusive yeast today. It’s been so hard getting flour and yeast these days. I had to bite the bullet and bought this organic Doves Farm baking package which (including P&P) costs a little bit more than what you would buy in the supermarket. But you know what? I love Doves Farm products so I don’t mind spending that little more on quality.

Once I got my package, I treated myself to a homemade malt loaf. It smelt wonderful and looked amazing.

For dinner today I couldn’t be bothered to cook so we ordered takeaway. I wanted to eat fish and chips from our local (posh) chip shop (Fish House) but it was impossible. They are currently only serving call & collect orders on Fridays and Saturday from 4pm to 8pm. I tried calling but the phone was engaged for ages. I have a feeling they were inundated with orders so they took their phone of the hook. So we ordered UberEats instead … we ended up getting a German Doner Kebab which was really tasty. This is our first takeaway for so long … it felt good not to cook and just relax for the evening.

I hope you all had a lovely day and kept busy. Stay safe, stay home!

~ Boss Mum (and family) xxx

The Lockdown – Day 27: BBQ Ready

16^th April 2020 – Thursday

I woke up this morning forgetting that I had a work telephone meeting via the tele-kit. Eeeek … so I quickly dialled in and listen to people I don’t know asking questions about the current issue of people not working due to isolation. It was actually very interesting, although I was trying to listen to it whilst I was home schooling my children.

It was particularly warm today so the hubby decided to dust off our little bbq . So we cooked up some burgers and chicken wings. I was secretly glad of it because then I didn’t have to cook dinner. BBQ for lunch and dinner … lazy cooking at its best.

Devon’s teacher called today … I was wondering when she was going to call and check in on my boy. Skye’s teacher called about two weeks ago to check in on her. To be honest, I’m not a big fan of Devon’s current teacher. She lacks enthusiasm and it just feels like she is going through the motions. Even her tone of voice is very mundane. Luckily, they change teachers every school year so Devon won’t be with her in September.

The government announced that the UK lockdown will continue for at least another 3 weeks … but some food places are starting to re-open for deliveries and UberEats. This is more for keyworkers so that they can buy food during their workshifts.

Hope you all CLAPPED FOR THE NHS this evening. We certainly did!

Lots of love to you all!

~ Boss Mum (and family) xxx

Friday 22nd May 2020

15th May 2020 – Friday

8th May 2020 – Friday

1st May 2020 – Friday

Ultimate Mac and Cheese

Ultimate Macaroni Cheese

24th April 2020 – Friday

19th April 2020 – Monday

18th April 2020 – Saturday

17th April 2020 – Friday

16th April 2020 – Thursday

16^th April 2020 – Thursday