Wendy from Inside the Wendy House tagged me in this potentially life-saving meme. It took a while for me to write this post, as it's one that means a lot to me, but here goes...
Maggy at Red Ted Art and Josie at Sleep Is For The Week are currently promoting the Save The Children “No Child Born to Die” Campaign, which was launched earlier this year. Since reading about the campaign, I've found out that 3 amazing fellow bloggers/vloggers (Lindsay Atkin, Chris Mosler and Tracey Cheetham) are all travelling to Mozambique next week, to follow the journey of a vaccine to a rural community. They will be reporting back about their experiences as they meet children and families on their journey.
I'm supporting this campaign partly as it's such a worthy cause, and partly as my younger daughter, Miss Kahonie contracted meningitis when she was a baby.
I personally find it hard to comprehend why measles and other preventable diseases are on the increase in the UK again. Parents are well aware of the free vaccines available, but they are CHOOSING not to immunise their children.
If only we could have chosen to immunise our daughter against the strain of meningitis she contracted when she was a baby. She would not have had to fight for for her life in hospital. She would not have been studied and discussed by every doctor, nurse and medical student on the ward - whispering to each other and looking concerned, shooting sympathetic glances in our direction. Her tiny veins almost invisible as needles were poked into her for blood test after blood test; Veins nearly too narrow to take a cannula as the life-saving anti-biotics were pumped into her frail body. We wouldn't have had to ask the question every parent dreads and we wouldn't have had to consider how we would cope without her. Thankfully the necessary drugs and medical expertise were available to save her life...but many children around the world are not as lucky as she was.
Miss Ony, aged 12
Now, I know some parents may think the risks of immunisation are too great to consider (due to some pretty dodgy research IMHO), but I'm sure millions of parents around the world, especially those in developing countries, envy the position these people are in. What a luxury to be able to choose whether to immunise and to decide whether vaccination is a risk worth taking or not.
I find it shocking that every year 8 million children under five (around the world), still die from illnesses we know how to treat or prevent, such as diarrhoea and pneumonia. That's like the entire population of New York being wiped out every year.
Look at the self-portraits of my 2 beautiful and talented daughters. Would I still have them both if we lived in the developing world?
It's National Vegetarian Week next week - the annual awareness-raising campaign promoting inspirational vegetarian food and the benefits of a meat-free lifestyle; I'm doing my bit to promote the event, by setting you all a foodie challenge (whether you're veggie already, or not!)
If you're not vegetarian, I'm challenging you to adapt a meat/fish based recipe to make it vegetarian, by swapping the meat/fish for a meat substitute, pulses, dairy products or just leaving it out and adding extra vegetables.
If you're already vegetarian, I'm challenging you to adapt a vegetarian recipe and make it vegan.
If you don't want to join in with these challenges, but you're featuring Vegetarian Week on your blog, or you have a vegetarian/vegan recipe you would like to share, then please link up too.
Thinking about going veggie? Then the first thing to do is to get your hands on a copy of the Vegetarian Society’s very aptly named – Going Veggie guide, it’s free and brand spanking new. Call 0161 925 2000 or visit www.nationalvegetarianweek.org for a free copy.
This is a medium, Indian-style vegetable curry, which all the family can enjoy. You might prefer to add the chilli at the end of the cooking time (after you have removed the kids' portions).
Serve with rice, chapatti or naan.
1 tbsp vegetable oil
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp black mustard seeds
½ tsp turmeric
2 tsp garam masala
2 heaped tsp fresh grated ginger plus 1 crushed clove of garlic (or 2-3 tsp garlic and ginger paste)
½ green chilli, deseeded and chopped finely (optional)
1-2 green cardamom pods (whole)
1 onion, diced
1-2 green bell peppers, chopped into chunks
1-2 carrots, peeled and sliced thinly
100g/4oz mushrooms, sliced
100g fresh spinach, chopped
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree/paste
25g/1oz creamed coconut
Heat the oil and add the cumin and mustard seeds. Cook for 1 minute. Add the onion and cook gently for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli and other spices and cook for another minute or so. Stir in the tomato puree. Add the remaining vegetables (except the spinach), and the tinned tomatoes and simmer gently (with the lid on the pan) for around 30 minutes. Throw in the spinach and creamed coconut and stir well. Cook for a further 5-10 minutes. Remember to fish out the cardamom pods before serving! Suitable for freezing. Alternatives: Use any combination of seasonal vegetables - frozen veg work fine too. Use 2 tbsp of medium curry paste if you don't have the dried spices available.
This is my vegetarian version of keema matar pilau, made using Quorn or veggie mince. It's a really quick, cheap and simple dish to make, and as it's very mild, it's ideal for all the family, even toddlers.
1½ cups Quorn/veggie mince
1 large onion, diced
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 heaped tsp garam masala
1½ cups of frozen peas or frozen mixed vegetables
Basmati rice
½ tsp turmeric
Rinse the rice and cook for around 12 minutes (add the turmeric to the water, to colour and flavour the rice). Drain and place the lid on the pan to keep warm. Meanwhile, heat 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil in a large frying pan. Fry the cumin seeds for a minute and then add the onion. Cook until until golden. Add the veggie mince and peas (and/or other vegetables) and cook on a gentle heat for 5 minutes. Add the rice and garam masalato the frying pan and stir well to combine the ingredients.
Alternatives: Add some drained, tinned chickpeas along with the vegetables for extra protein. The mince and vegetable mixture (before the rice is added), also makes a nice wrap or pitta filling.
My whole family love curry. Not one of those poor excuses for a curry that you can get out of a jar, but a real, spicy, aromatic curry, made with fresh ginger, garlic and spices.
I've tried to cut corners before and have tried all sorts of curry powders and pastes, but none have come close to the dishes I can cook at home using individual spices, or that I can eat in the Indian restaurants in my neighbourhood.
I was intrigued when I first heard about a new range of fresh curry pastes called Bipin's Masala. They come in various Gujarati blends: Surti Masala, Jeera Masala, Methi Masala, Machi Masala, Garam Masala and a milder Royal Korma range.
"Bipin’s Masala fresh curry paste is natural, pure, fresh and contains no additives, no flavouring, no colourings and no preservatives... All natural, all fresh, 100% vegetarian, gluten free, diary free."
I was lucky enough to be sent a sample of the Surti Masala paste and couldn't wait to try it out and see if it lived up to the claim that it would enable me to cook "...the best authentic curry you've ever tasted." Well, it certainly smelt pretty good when I opened the package. It looked good too, but what would it taste like? I couldn't wait to get cooking.
I improvised a bit with my curry, as I had various vegetables which needed using up, but if you're stuck for ideas, Bipin's website has a dedicated vegetarian section with some delicious-sounding recipes.
I added a chopped onion, a diced bell pepper, some mushrooms, 2 tbsp tomato puree, half a packet of paneer and a tin of chickpeas to a pan, and stirred in the curry paste (no need for extra oil or to pre-cook any of the vegetables). I let this simmer for 20 minutes and then stirred in 100g of chopped spinach and about 100ml of coconut milk. I simmered this for a further 5 minutes and then served with fresh naan bread. While it was cooking, Miss Kahonie commented that it smelt really good "Like a take away."
So to the taste test. My whole family had positive comments about the curry, and mentioned that it tasted better than my normal home cooked curries! The kids thought it was a bit too spicy, but they polished off every morsel on their plates. Both myself and Mr O, thought it was delicious, and agreed that it was up to restaurant standard. The only criticism we had, was that it was a little on the hot side for the average British palate. However, Bipin has created a milder Royal Korma range, which would cater for those who don't like their curries too hot.
I will definitely be recommending Bipin's Masala pastes to my friends and family, and to anyone who wants to create an authentic curry at home. They are so quick and easy to use, that you could make a meal at home in the time it would take to get to the take away and back!
At the moment, Bipin's Masala can only be bought online at a cost of £10 for 3 pastes (plus p&p). Each curry paste pot serves 4+ people and is suitable for freezing.
Integrity Statement I received 1 sample of Bipin's Surti Masala to review. I did not receive payment, and the views expressed are genuinely those of myself and my family.
I've just come back from a lovely, sunny weekend camping in Wales with the family. One of the first blog posts I read when I got back, was from Kate Takes 5 on the subject of simple pleasures.
To me, simple pleasures must, by definition, either be free or cheap, so here are my top 5 (inspired by our weekend away).
Family laughter - Not just a giggle, but when the whole family are nearly crying in laughter about something that any other person would not find remotely funny. For us this weekend, it was the word foxy; First mentioned by Miss Kahonie, and then repeated randomly in conversation by the rest of us, to raise a laugh. I'm not sure that makes sense if you're reading this, but it raises a smile for me, just typing it out!
Going to the seaside - Which must involve eating chips on the beach, or eating an ice cream (or both, but not together!) plus paddling in the sea whatever the weather (wearing wellies and raincoats if necessary).
Hide and seek (or sardines) - My children are now at an age when walks in the countryside or visiting National Trust properties just aren't cool. Mention hide and seek, and we can still win them over.
Singing - I might not be the world's best singer, but I love singing. I've always sung to the children and they've grown up with a love of singing too. Mr Ony also likes a bit of a croon, but really can't hold a tune. Nevertheless, it cheers me up just to hear him attempting to sing!
Reading NOW magazine - My guilty pleasure, as I do like a bit of celeb gossip.
Well, my eyes (or should that be ears?) have been opened, thanks to a random youtube link I was sent on twitter (@facelessfood, just in case you want to sent me a tweet!) Of course, I had to click on the link, and soon found myself listening to the Vegan Song. The lyrics and images were pretty thought-provoking, and certainly caught my attention, but some of the pictures were a tad controversial, so not suitable to show to children.
I then thought I'd search for vegetarian songs, and found quite a few. Now, I don't think that any of them will ever get any awards for singing or song writing, but here are a few that I particularly liked: Don't Eat Like a Barbarian, What Do You Eat?,No Meat On Monday.
