Introducing Beatrice

Firstly hello again, and apologies for a nearly 8-month silence.

I've been rather busy welcoming our second baby daughter; Beatrice, into the fold and adjusting to life as a family of four, rather than three. Life has been more hectic than ever before but also wonderful. Beatrice is six months old this week.

Beatrice

Sisters

We've packed in two family holidays, a parents-only weekend in Glasgow for a wedding and several days out together, not to mention, handling some pretty intense terrible twos situations with Bridget, our eldest, and tackling her 'fussy food' stage, which thankfully seems to be passing now.

Weaning fun has begun again too with Beatrice following in her sister's footsteps and enjoying the homemade purees I've made for her. We're just introducing finger foods now at six months and as well as revisiting some classic recipes I shared first time around, such as Cauliflower Broccoli and Cod Cheese and Nourishing Veggie Soup I'll be posting some new recipes and puree ideas too.

Whilst this blog will always remain true to its' original foodie heart, it seems right now that I'm a Mummy of two, that the focus shifts slightly to reflect that, so expect to see more family food at home and eating out ideas, family activities and days out and of course travel that is practical and fun with little ones. Food and recipe creation continues to be a huge passion point - I just have two small additional passions to consider now too.

Old MacDonald's Farm, Padstow

During our recent stay in Padstow, Cornwall we enjoyed a lovely family day out including Glen, Bridget and I,plus Glen's sister Claire, her husband Matt and their two girls, Lola (almost 9) and Pearl (2 and a half) for a Sunday morning at Old MacDonald's Farm on the outskirts of the town.

Set over a large enough area for the children to run loose, but small enough for us to keep an eye on them and be hot on their heels, Old MacDonald's Farm was winding down for the winter months, however it has to be one of the best value days out I've had with Bridget anywhere. The ticket price for both children over the age of two and adults is £7.00 but as they claim, there really are no hidden extras, everything within the farm is included, and there is plenty to keep the family entertained for hours.

Firstly and foremost, it is a farm with plenty of animals to see, feed and pet. From chickens, goat's, birds of prey, horses and even a Shetland pony or two, there’s plenty of wildlife to keep the children entertained and bags of feed were reasonably priced at just £1.00, which meant the children got the chance to feed them and really build up their confidence with animal handling.

The goats were particularly keen and the girls happily got involved in feeding them, which is lovely.

Goat feeding at Old MacDonald's Farm, Padstow

Feeding the goats, Old MacDonald's Farm

The chickens had their own little coops and there was the chance to see where they laid their eggs too, which is great and really educational.

The egg laying section

Feeding the chickens at Old MacDonald's Farm

The girls were encouraged to brush and pet the pony and horses, which Bridget and Pearl loved doing, and Pearl was brave enough to go for a ride on the Shetland Pony for a quick trot around the farm, which was lovely. 

Pony grooming at Old MacDonald's Farm

Bridget and Pearl enjoying petting the Shetland Pony

Pearl taking a trot on a Shetland Pony

Lola was enticed later to have a canter around on a larger pony too but we didn’t manage to persuade Bridget – next time hopefully.

Lola about to go for a canter

Also at Old MacDonald’s Farm were a couple of different adventure playground sections - it was a little wet, but the girls had their wellington boots on so got straight into playing. There was a trampoline section too which went down well and an area with Little Tykes cars and other mini vehicles. 

Bridget enjoying the trampoline

Pearl on the slide

Bridget on the swings with Daddy

In the centre of the farm was a pedal go-kart track which we all had a go at and was lots of fun, and there was also a mechanical train which took us round the whole farm and was lovely. There was even a crazy golf section, which again was all included in the price, but we didn’t have time on this particular day to indulge. 

Go Karts at Old MacDonald's Farm

We just stayed for the morning, but you could have easily broken the day up with a snack at the cafe or taken your own picnic and then gone back for more fun. We were also told there are lots more animals in the summer months such as sheep, cows and pigs and in the lambing season you can get the children involved in feeding the lambs, which they would absolutely adore.

I would thoroughly recommend Old MacDonald's Farm for anyone staying in the Cornwall area for a fun, educational and excellent value day out with the family.

Family Day Out in Spain: Aquopolis, Torrevieja

Back in June this year, Glen, Bridget and I spent a week in Spain on the La Marina Urbanisation, not far from Alicante. A lovely, laid back family get away, which coincided with us finding out I was expecting again – perfect timing.

Most of our days were spent enjoying our own private pool for the week, we also spent a leisurely day on the beach at Guardamar del Segura well as a visit to Santa Pola and the buzzing marina there, but one of our favourite days there was spent at the waterpark in nearby Torrevieja – Aquopolis.

Bridget was, at the time, 21 months, and I had researched potential family days out for during our stay and we were worried she might have been too young to enjoy a waterpark – we thought wrong.

Aquopolis is a great family attraction with something for all the age groups and all preferences of activity levels. In previous years, I would have likely been found on the lazy river floating around in a giant donut inflatable, whilst Glen would have taken his time on the more daring of slides. However with an active toddler on our hands our day was slightly different.

Aimed specifically at toddlers and young children under eight, the Charmed Lake area is a shallow area adorned with a fun little house, castle, trees and dragons – all with small, but perfectly formed and fabulously fun little slides for little ones to enjoy. We literally spent hours here with Bridget enjoying the repetition of time spent coming down the various slides and under waterfalls. Great fun. 

Water park fun

The Charmed Lake, Aquopolis

Aquopolis, Torrevieja

A slightly faster paced area was the Mini Park – aimed at children under 1.4 metres, it was again in shallow waters but contained a huge water castle complete with slides, water pistols, showers and jets of water, a spinning high tub of water for children to excitedly run underneath – uncertain of whether it would get them or not plus mini flume slides, to gear up the younger children for some of the more adventurous slides around Aquopolis. Again, Bridget really enjoyed experimenting with the water and playing with some of the older children here. She was less confident in this section, but with her Daddy (Glen) by her side, she really did have tons of fun. 

The Mini Zig Zag slides, proved incredibly popular – Bridget had to be accompanied by Daddy, and we visited on a day when it was over 90 degrees and there was a huge hill to climb each time, but each time she came off she called ‘more, more’ with lots of laughter, and Glen wasn’t able to refuse. It was adorable to watch – wonderful memories for us too. 

The Mini Zig Zag at Aqopolis, Torrevieja

If you are visiting with older children who want something a little more action-packed, Aquopolis has all the trappings of the classic waterpark, the Kamikaze style slides, speed slides, a black hole flume, a boomerang and water rapids plus loads more that we didn’t get to explore with our little toddler.

The park is priced at around 25.00 per adult and under 3’s were free so this was a good value day out for us. Sun beds are positioned all around the park and in view of the attractions if you want to relax while the children run wild, and there are a few fast food outlets on site. We only indulged in the ice cream as we visited for an afternoon, after Bridget had had her daily nap.

Aquopolis is a great family water park that has something for everything and we would definitely return if we were in that part of Spain. As well as encouraging safe water-play and promoting swimming as a fun activity - it's a great place to spend much needed family quality time together.

Steak and Ale Pot Pie

There is nothing more warming or comforting than a meal of homemade pie served with smooth mashed potato and vegetables - it just cannot be beaten in the comfort food stakes.

This one is a favourite and I vary it between different ales, sometimes a stout or a Guinness, it always yields fantastic flavour and is a real family favourite.

I only add a puff pastry lid so it isn’t quite as naughty as it could be, and I am unashamed to admit I use shop-bought puff pastry (this time from Lidl) that is ready rolled as a slight shortcut. The meat takes a good three hours of slow braising in the broth before putting into the pie dish though, so I still feel rather virtuous.

Steak and Ale Pot Pie

Here's how:

• 500ml ale (I used Shepherd's Neame Bishop's Finger)
• 500g braising steak
• 100g mushrooms
• 1 onion
• 500ml beef stock or gravy
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp white Pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 3 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 1 pack ready rolled puff pastry
• 1 egg

Firstly add the rapeseed oil (olive or vegetable oil is fine too) into a non-stick pan on a medium heat and place the oven onto 180.

Now cut the beef with a sharp knife, into generous bite sized pieces.

In a bowl place the plain flour and season, generously then give a quick stir. Now place the meat into the flour and toss to coat it in the seasoned flour all over. This will help to not only flavour the meat, but to thicken the cooking liquor into a thick gravy.

Add the meat to the pan and sear on all sides to gently brown, then remove the meat and add to a casserole dish.

Now slice a large white onion and add to the dish. Wash and slice the mushrooms and add to the dish and give a good stir.

Pour over the ale you are using and the beef stock, place the lid on top and put the dish into the oven for 3 hours of cooking.

After the first half hour turn the oven down to 160 and try to stir the dish every half hour or so.

Remove from the oven once cooked and test the meat, it should be tender and soft enough to break with ease when pushing a fork through. If the meat is still a little tough, return to the oven for 30 minutes.

Now leave to stand for 30 minutes or more as this will help the sauce to thicken further. Place the meat and juices into a pie dish.

Now place the pastry lid over the top so it hangs over the side and use your thumb to press down all round the edges to seal it. As this is a pot pie it needn't be super neat and certainly isn't at my house.

You can decorate the top with any adornment or leave it plain, as my daughter loves to help me cook we use cookie cutters to make different shapes each time.

Now beat an egg and use a pastry brush to coat the pastry and help it have a lovely shine and colour when cooked.

Finally use a sharp knife to make 2-3 incisions straight into the pastry, this is to allow the steam to rise out and avoid soggy pastry.

Place into the oven for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and serve with your choice of accompaniments. Enjoy!

Here's a few more savoury pie suggestions from me:

1. Cheese and Vegetable Pie
2. Squash and Goat's Cheese Pie
3. Creamy Leftover Chicken and Mushroom Pie

And if you prefer a potato topping here are some lovely variations:

1. Family Fish Pie
2. Steak and Lentil Cottage Pie
3. Chicken and Mushroom Potato Pie
4. Mediterranean Makeover Potato Pie

Family Fun at The Park

Sometimes it's the simple things, and on Sunday afternoon, Glen, Bridget and I spent a couple of hours at the local park which was super fun.

With only water for Bridget, who's now 19 months, and bread for the ducks to carry; it was a really relaxed, enjoyable afternoon and cost us absolutely nothing.

Bridget has a swing and a slide in our garden so you'd think the novelty of these on the playground might have run thin - not so. She was delighted to run between the various slides and climbing frames and insisted on either me or Glen joining her for a few of them, which had us laughing all the more - Mummy and Daddy bottoms are not made for infant playgrounds!

Slide fun

Just loves to climb

Too much fun on the swings

Again and again, Bridget climbed the frame
and came down the slide giggling the whole time. A joy for her and a joy for us to watch.

A few other children were enjoying the playground and one happened to be sporting a Peppa Pig t-shirt, which instantly made her a firm friend for Bridget.

After an hour at the playground we went in search of the ducks, with Bridget doing her hand motion and saying 'quack quack'. After recently visiting Old MacDonald's Farm and London Zoo in the petting area, Bridget was holding her hand out with the bread on it, hoping they might peck it off of her hand, which they obviously didn't - cue more laughs for me and Glen. 

Loving the daisies

We had a good old run around in the park too and pointed at different things along the way. The toddler age is an important one for learning and we try to teach her as much as we can whilst out and about - she knows what the likes of the sky, grass, trees and flowers are from our garden and books but it was nice for her to recognise them and show us. She picked a couple of daisies and was oohing away in awe.

She also absolutely loves all animals and excitedly chased birds all round the park and we tried to point out the different ones. We saw a few dogs too and a couple of squirrels so she was in her element.

We have a cherry blossom in our garden, but a very mature one at the park had some low hanging branches, which absolutely fascinated Bridget, and she loved shaking them and seeing the blossom scatter over herself and the ground. 

On Daddy's shoulder's

Loving the cherry blossom

Family fun

We love to get out and do things at the weekend, but I often hear people lamenting they 'can't afford' to have fun with their family. I disagree as there are thousands of free parks around the country and an off-the-cuff afternoon like ours just proves what fun can be had without spending a penny. You could pack a picnic in the summer and make a day of it and some parks even have lidos or splash pools to add more to the adventure.

Some of my favourite parks in Essex and East London:

1. Victoria Park - fond childhood memories of the huge slides, zip wire and splash pools
2. Bedford's Park - sprawling woods to explore close to our home, at a high vantage point offering views right across London, plus the added bonus of seeing some reindeer and other wildlife
3. Valentine's Park - fairly local to us and with a huge adventure playground and a boating lake

A London Lunch: New Loon Fung, China Town

On Saturday, Bridget and I joined my parents for a dim sum lunch at New Loon Fung, Gerrard Street in London's Chinatown.

It's the first time we've eaten there, and we were impressed. 

We had a combination if dishes, starting with Seafood Crispy Noodles, which were the perfect mix of crispy round the edges, and soft in the centre where the saucy seafood had sat atop. The seafood in question was a generous portion of scallops, prawns and squid plus a combination of vegetables - all cooked to perfection, delicious. 

Seafood Crispy Noodles

We also had roast duck on rice, usually a favourite, but this was the one, slightly disappointing dish, as the duck was overdone and had taken on that liver-esque taste and texture. A shame.

Roast Duck on rice

Dim sum dishes at New Loon Fung were all pleasing though, sui mai and har gau plus prawn cheung fun, as the cornerstones of every dim sum meal we have, were all good. 

Other dishes though that impressed included a scallop and spring onion dumpling, sesame paper wrapped prawns which were deep-friend and delicious, Shanghai style dumplings - Xia Long Bao, with pork and a soupy broth inside - two beautiful mouthfuls, and some gorgeous crispy vegetable spring rolls. The squid cakes were also good despite being devoid of my favourite coriander. 

Paper Wrapped Prawns

Spring Rolls

Squid Cakes

Shanghai Dumplings

Char Sui Bao, the soft doughy steamed bun filled with barbecue pork, were on top form, which is just as well as my little toddler foodie, Bridget, loves them. She has recently become much more adept at using a spoon and fork and it was lovely to see her feeding herself noodles, rice and the like all on her own. 

Char Sui Bao

Bridget enjoying her dim sum

As a sweet treat, we had egg custard tarts to complete the meal which were excellent; sweet, flaky pastry containing a light, bright yellow-hued baked custard, just delicious. Bridget had her first try too and, as usual loved them. 

Custard Tarts

The meal for the four of us (three adults plus a toddler) came in at £70 including service which was good considering we over-ordered and took away a couple of boxes of leftovers. Service at New Loon Fung was excellent and the staff here were extra attentive to Bridget, which really makes a difference when eating out with a toddler. I'll definitely return to New Loon Fung for more.

We rounded off the day by visiting Trafalgar Square to join into the St George’s Day festivities, which included a bit of a street party atmosphere, lots of food and drink stalls, a few fairground attractions, people in medieval dress and a Chef’s area where I watched a short demo from Masterchef winner, Natalie Coleman – so plenty going on. A great family day.

The Cheung Family

Bridget having fun in Leicester Square