Random thoughts

Brynn is now wearing t-shirts and shorts, he looks very sweet. He's still sleeping loads though, so I have to be quick to get a picture of him awake! The girls love experimenting and making each other laugh, here's them with their afternoon snack today. Never a dull moment here.

I haven't made bread in a while, and I've been mildly dissatisfied with the texture of our house bread recipe, so I thought I'd try a new one. I looked around on the internet and took inspiration from a few sites, most notably www.thewellflouredkitchen.com. Here  is the recipe I used. Crusty wholewheat loaf Ready in under 3 hours. I made it after school drop off to be ready for lunch to eat with the yummy bacon, lentil and tomato soup from yesterday. 3 cups wholewheat flour 3 cups bread flour 1 T himalayan rock salt (or whichever salt you prefer) 1 packet dry yeast 1 T sugar or honey 2 cups water Mix the yeast with 1 t of the sugar and 1/4 cup of the water Mix all the ingredients together Knead (5 mins in a stand mixer, 10 mins by hand) Rise for 1 hour in a warm spot Punch down, shape, score the tops with a sharp knife, allow to rise for another hour Cook at 200 degrees Celsius for 30 mins It turned out a little heavy, think I should have baked it for longer...

I've been meaning to try something other than plain fresh pasta for ages. So here goes attempt number one. Beetroot pasta. 2 eggs 1 beetroot boiled for 20min and pureed 100g plain flour 100g wholewheat flour Mix ingredients together, knead in stand mixer for 10 mins. Rest in fridge for 10 mins. Pass through pasta maker to make tagliatelle. Cook for 2-3 mins. I'm serving it with roast veg and pizza sauce, but anything works. Ended up looking a bit like strips of ham when cooked. I'll try and make it darker next time. Tasted good.

One of the most fun things with having a new baby in the house is seeing just how much the big sisters love him. They both rush through in the morning the moment he's awake and demand cuddles. Pippa in particular wants to hold Brynn for as long as she can. Tasha's cuddles are shorter but no less tender. He's woken up quite a lot and seems fairly sensitive to what I eat... Broccoli and spicy food seen like a no no if I want a good night's sleep. Shame...

I think I'm currently sitting in the most unpleasant place in Singapore. A crowded waiting room with around 200 others waiting to get social visit visas extended. I'm with Brynn, and I he gets out if here without picking up a cold, he's doing really well. Everyone seems to be coughing... We have to be here. Singapore only gives babies born here a 42 day visa, which then has to be renewed if you can't get a passport in time.  The British passport office for this part if the world is in Hong Kong and takes six weeks to process. So needless to say we need to renew. I think it's a ridiculous system.

Watching the ships go by. Waiting for croissants and jam at Coastes.

Brynn is finally staying awake long enough to be put down for a kick and play. Here he is on the Playmat that Nana Jan made for him.

Tried a new Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe today. Absolutely delicious, definitely slotting this one into the monthly meal plan. Recipe Pumpkin stuffed with butter, garlic, walnuts and blue cheese. Simple and fabulous.  Cut and roast pumpkin wedges/slabs (halves if using butternut) for an hour with chopped garlic and butter in the cavity. Scoop out flesh, mix with cheese (blue/Cheddar/feta) and walnuts.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme, then roast for another 15 minutes. I served it with a simple green salad, happy days!

Here's what the girls drew when they woke up this morning. They didn't even wake us up.

What a lovely movie, quite a tear jerker We Bought a Zoo (2011) http://uk.imdb.com/rg/an_share/title/title/tt1389137/

Brynn is now a month old, he seems to have grown so much!

Tasha and I made chicken fingers coated in coconut and cornflour. Delicious. The green stuff is ricotta, basil and rocket pureed. It made a great dip for the chicken fingers.