Beautiful Days Festival 2012 - A review

The law of averages should have meant that our third festival of the year was a dry one, having been to two wet and muddy festvals earlier in the year, but no; when we arrived at the rural Devon campsite for our first Beautiful Days festival it was peeing down with precipitation.

We parked the car, loaded up the trolley and then headed on down the hill to the family camping areas. We settled on a spot away from the main paths (which turned out to be a good idea as the paths soon turned into muddy canals!), but fairly near a set of portaloos and a water tap. Once the tent was pitched, we cracked open a beer (and a couple of cans of Coke for the girls), sat in the tent and hoped it would stop raining; it did briefly, giving me just enough time to cook up some veggie burgers for tea, but then started again and continued for the rest of the night...

Friday was the first proper day of the festival and after waking up and finding the tent had leaked in the night (oh the joys of camping!), I cooked breakfast in the rain. We then headed off through the by now rather squelchy campsite, to see the Levellers kick off with an amazing acoustic set in the very packed Big Top. We explored the rest of the festival site in the afternoon and were impressed by the number of food and craft stalls. There were plenty of veggie and vegan options, although the food was a little pricey, as festival food always is. There was also a 'general store' which sold basic foods like bread, juice, milk, cheese and eggs at a reasonable price. 

We weren't quite as impressed with the number of portaloos available which often meant a good 15 minute or so wait, followed by a treacherous amble through the quagmire that surrounded each line of toilets...not so easy to navigate for those with young children (or after a couple of drinks!)

The kids' area ©

The festival won the best family festival award last year and I could see why; as well as family-friendly entertainment each morning in the theatre tent, the designated kids' areas looked great, with everything from fairground rides and craft activities to theatre and music workshops, but the girls felt too old for the kids' activities (accompanied by us) and too young for the teenagers' tent (where understandably, no parents were allowed!). Instead we all stayed together and watched various other acts that day, including a couple of lesser known bands at the small and intimate Bimble Inn and ending up with a fantastic set by Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls back on the Main Stage.

By Saturday the weather had started to pick up, but the ground underfoot was beyond redemption even inside the marquees (thank goodness I packed the wellies and waterproof picnic mat!). Luckily The Bar-Steward Sons Of Val Doonican were our first stop at the Band Stand and they soon made us forget about the mud with their humorous renditions of familiar songs with alternative lyrics...Waterloo Portaloo particularly made us laugh, especially when the portaloo cleaning crew turned up to empty the adjacent toilets halfway through the song!

Next stop was the Big Top to watch The Jam Tarts Choir (singing choral versions of indie/rock songs), which was a refreshing change from the usual festival acts and went down well with the crowd. Later on, we only caught a few Billy Bragg songs, despite me being a fan since the 80's, as by the time he came on the weather had picked up and the sun was shining. Unfortunately this had the effect of turning the Big Top into a sauna with the evaporating moisture from all the mud! Instead, we found a nice spot up on the bank in the main arena and settled down to watch the remaining acts on the Main Stage, which included Bellowhead, New Model Army and PIL.

Sunday started with another grey morning, but soon brightened up both weather-wise and visually with the colourful selection of festival goers' heart-themed attire (the dressing-up theme for Sunday was hearts, if you hadn't guessed); we felt slightly under dressed in our shop-bought, heart emblazoned T-Shirts, as some of the other outfits were real works of art.

After seeing a couple of acts at the Band Stand, we watched the hilarious Le Navet Bete's  - Napoleon A Defence in the theatre tent. We then headed to find our usual spot in the main arena, which was already getting pretty full. The girls and I hit the shops while Mr O soaked up the ambience and a pint of cider. We all watched the last acts on the Main Stage together, which included Alabama 3, Waterboys and of course the Levellers once again with a rousing firework finale.

So did we have a beautiful time at Beautiful Days? Yes!

Part of the family camping area ©

Overall, we were really impressed with the organisation and layout of the festival, the wide range of acts and the general family-friendly, laid-back atmosphere. My only criticisms were that there weren't enough toilets,the showers were a long way from the family camping area, and that a few more contingencies could have been made for the expected mud, especially around the portaloos and main pathways, such as boarding or extra bark chippings etc to soak up some of the moisture. I have since heard about instances of  'youths' up to nocturnal mischief and mayhem in some of the other camping areas, but luckily we didn't witness this first hand and were actually impressed with the behaviour of the vast majority of fellow festival-goers.

You can read my festival guide with meal ideas here.
Visit Festival Kidz for more family-friendly festival reviews, tips and info.

Integrity Statement
I paid for the tickets to Beautiful Days myself and was not asked to write a positive review. The views expressed are my own and those of my family.

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Black Forest Muffins (with a vegan option)

Baking Mad asked if I would like to test out another one of their recipes, this time using Silver Spoon Homegrown sugar, which is the ONLY sugar grown in Britain. As I already buy Silver Spoon products, I was happy to oblige.

"Silver Spoon sugars are made from sugar beet . The sugar beet that goes into Silver Spoon sugars travels a short distance to the factory (an average of only 28 miles) direct from the fields around Bury St Edmunds in East Anglia. Silver Spoon work with 1,200 local farmers to grown the beet, which is then made into their range of homegrown sugars for families all over the country."   The first 10,000 people to register with Baking Mad before 30th September 2012 will receive a free Silver Spoon mystery gift (UK only).  

I decided to go for the rather indulgent looking Black Forest Muffins, as cherries are cheap and plentiful in the UK at the moment. These are quite time consuming to make (compared to simple muffins), with the cherry pitting and soaking, but worth the effort for a special dessert. I cooked two batches - one non-vegan and one vegan - as I didn't want my lovely vegan readers to miss out on these (the vegan variations are in italics). Of course, that meant a lot of muffins to eat, but my family bravely stepped up to the mark and helped out!

For the muffins:

• 450 g fresh cherries pitted and halved
• 2-4 tbsp kirsch, white rum or cherry brandy
• 150 ml water
• 110 g dark chocolate chips (Silver Spoon Create) - v.o dairy free chocolate
• 225 g unsalted butter, softened v.o dairy free spread
• 175 g caster sugar (Silver Spoon Homegrown)
• 3 free range eggs - v.o option Orgran No Egg or similar egg replacer
• 400 g plain flour 
• 50 g cocoa powder
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• 1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 140 ml sour cream - v.o dairy free vanilla or plain yogurt

For the topping:

• 400 ml double cream
• 3 tbsp caster sugar (Silver Spoon Homegrown)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Vegan topping:

• 200g icing sugar (Silver Spoon Homegrown)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Boiled water to mix

Plus:

• 12 cherries to decorate
• Chocolate shavings or chocolate chips, to decorate - v.o dairy free chocolate

Method
Combine cherry halves with the kirsch, cover and set aside over night or for at least 2 hours. 

Heat the oven to 180°C/170 °C Fan Oven/350°F/gas 4.

Place paper cases in a 16 hole muffin tin.

In a small pan, over a low heat combine the water and chocolate chips. Heat, stirring frequently until the chocolate has melted. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

(For the vegan option, at this stage cream the sugar and dairy free spread, then add the remaining muffin ingredients including egg-replacer and mix until just combined. Then continue as for regular muffins.)

In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium speed, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the cooled chocolate, scraping the sides of the pan and mix thoroughly.

Mix together the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture in batches, alternating with the soured cream, mixing on low speed to incorporate.

Spoon half of the mixture into the paper cases, add a spoonful of cherries - about 6 halves - (reserving the liquid) and top with the remaining cake mixture, so that the paper cases are filled to the top. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until firm to the touch. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes; turn out and cool completely on a wire rack.

Using a skewer or cocktail stick, poke several holes in the top of the muffins. Drizzle or brush the reserved cherry liquid over the top of the muffins and allow to soak in.

Toppings
For the whipped cream: whisk the cream until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla and whisk until incorporated. Place a spoonful of whipped cream on top of each cupcake. 
For the vegan topping: Mix the icing sugar with the vanilla and just enough water to make a thick, but spreadable icing.
Decorate with fresh cherries and shaved chocolate. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

The Verdict
Not bad at all! The vegan muffins were a pretty good match for the non-vegan ones both in appearance and taste. In my photos above, you can see the slightly more bumpy-looking vegan muffins in the plain cake cakes and the non-vegan ones in the patterned cases.I found that both batches were a little drier than expected though, so I've reduced the amount of flour in the recipe above (compared to the original recipe from Baking Mad). I also felt that the original mixture didn't look dark/chocolaty enough, so I also added some cocoa powder. When I bake these again, I'll  mix the cherries and kirsch into the batter so they're distributed through the cakes rather than in one layer in the middle, as I think this will improve the taste and moistness of the cakes.

Integrity Statement
This is a sponsored post. I received free cooking ingredients (sugar, flour, chocolate chips and vanilla extract) in return for mentioning Silver Spoon Homegrown Sugar and Baking Mad. Original recipe courtesy of Baking Mad.

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Challah

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I make quite a lot of bread using my bread machine, but I haven't got round to blogging many of my recipes, mainly because home made bread tends to get eaten pretty well straight away in my house! Anyway, Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes got me inspired to do some baking blogging after reading about a bread making class she went to...

This recipe is for challah, which is a soft and slightly sweet bread and is great for breakfast. I remember that I used to love eating it as a child, although we used to call it poppy seed bread. I didn't learn its real name or know that it was a Jewish celebration bread, until I found a recipe for it after investing in a bread maker a few years ago. 

Challah is quite expensive to buy in the shops, so making your own is much cheaper and tastes just as good. My recipe is a simplified one, which I make using the dough setting on my bread machine.

• 4 cups strong white bread flour
• 1 cup cold water
• 2 medium eggs, beaten
• 2 tbsp honey or golden syrup
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil or melted butter
• 1 sachet fast action dried yeast
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds

Beat the eggs and then reserve about 1 tbsp for the glaze. Place the eggs in a measuring cup and top up to the 1 cup mark with cold water. Add to the bread pan and then add a further ⅓ cup of water (to make 1⅓ cups of liquid in total).

Add the remaining ingredients, except the poppy seeds, to the pan.
Set the bread maker on its 'dough' setting and allow to run. 
If the dough feels sticky at the end of the programme, add a little more flour and kneed it in.

Divide the dough into 3, 4 or 5 pieces (depending on how good your plaiting skills are!) and roll into long thin sausage shapes. Try not to use any extra flour at this stage as this will stop the braided dough sticking together.

Press one end of each piece of dough together and then start to plait them. Once you've finished plaiting, press all the other end pieces together.
Place onto a well greased baking tray and tuck both ends under the loaf slightly to stop them unravelling.

Cover loosely with a clean tea towel or some cling film and allow to rise in a warm place for around 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 190C/180C Fan/375F/Gas5.

Glaze the loaf with the remaining beaten egg and sprinkle with the poppy seeds.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until it's golden brown and sounds hollow if you tap on the base.

Suitable for freezing.

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Reggae Reggae Chickpeas (Vegan)

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This is a recipe for a kind of spicy version of baked beans, using the original Reggae Reggae Sauce (as I had an opened bottle which needed using up!). Although I used chickpeas, this would work well with other pulses too.

Serves 4

• 1 tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 red onion, diced finely 
• 4 tbsp tomato purée
• 4 tbsp Reggae Reggae Sauce
• 125ml/½ cup boiling water or hot vegetable stock
• ½ tsp dried or 1 tsp fresh thyme

• around 450g/1 lb chopped, or sliced seasonal vegetables (e.g. bell pepper, courgette, sweet corn, carrot, etc)
• 1-2 tsp mild chilli powder

Gently fry the onion in a little oil until softened.

Stir in the tomato purée, Reggae Reggae sauce and thyme and cook for a further minute.

Add the chickpeas and water and stir.

Simmer for 10-15 minutes until the sauce has thickened up. 

Meanwhile, roast or fry some chopped seasonal vegetables, with 1 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle with the mild chilli powder.

Serve the chickpeas and vegetables with rice or in wraps.

Alternatives: If you can't find Reggae Reggae sauce, use a spicy jerk or barbecue sauce instead.

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Peri Peri Vegetable and Halloumi Stacks

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This is a posh, dinner party version of my roasted vegetables with halloumi recipe. I think it looks much prettier sitting in a stack with a drizzle of home made peri-peri sauce encircling it, although both versions taste good!

Serves 4

For the stacks:

• 1 large aubergine, sliced thickly
• 1 large courgette, cut in half and then sliced into strips
• 2 large bell peppers, deseeded and cut into quarters
• 1 large sweet potato or baking potato, peeled and sliced thickly
• 4 large, flat mushrooms, de-stalked
• 200g halloumi cheese, sliced thickly 

For the peri-peri/piri-piri sauce:

• 1-2 large red chillis - grated* or finely chopped
• 1 large lemon or 2 limes, juiced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp sweet paprika powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano

Make up the peri-peri sauce, by mixing the ingredients together in a small bowl.

Brush the vegetables and halloumi cheese slices liberally with olive oil and either fry, grill or barbecue them in batches until soft and golden brown; Cook the sweet potato/potato and aubergine slices first as they take longer to cook.
Keep them warm in the oven (on a baking tray) until all the ingredients have been cooked.

Drizzle the vegetables and cheese with half of the peri-peri sauce and return to the oven for 5 minutes. 
Stack the vegetables and cheese slices on four plates.
Drizzle the remaining sauce around each stack.
Skewer with a cocktail stick and top with a sprig of parsley.
Serve with home made bread or mini roasted potatoes and salad.

Not suitable for freezing.

*Top tip: Freeze the chilli and then grate on a fine grater from the pointy end. Once you get to the seeds at the stalk end, discard the chilli.

Vegan Option: Either omit the halloumi cheese or swap for  vegan cheese or firm, drained and fried tofu (marinate tofu in some of the peri-peri sauce before frying). 

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Bulghar Wheat Salad with Halloumi and Vegetables

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This is a nice, summery dish, which goes well along-side barbecued foods or as part of a buffet or meze.

Serves 4-6 as a side-salad

• 1 aubergine/eggplant
• 1 red pointed pepper
• 1 small red onion
• A handful of Greek olives, sliced
• 100g halloumi cheese, cubed
• 1 cup bulghar wheat
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp lemon or lime juice
• black pepper, to taste

Place the bulghar wheat in a heat-proof bowl and pour 1½ cups of boiling water over. 
Stir and then cover the bowl with cling film.

Pierce the film and then microwave for 1 minute on high. 

Allow to stand for 20-30 minutes until all the water is absorbed.

Meanwhile, shallow fry the aubergine in 2 tbsp of the oil until golden brown and soft.

Remove from the pan, then gently fry the onion and peppers to soften, adding a further tbsp of oil.

Dry fry the cubes of halloumi until golden.

Remove the pan from the heat and return all of the cooked vegetables to the pan, along with the halloumi.

Add the oregano, olives, black pepper and lemon/lime juice and stir to coat the vegetables. 
Finally mix in the mint.

Serve the cheese and vegetable mix, either on top of the bulghar wheat or mixed in.

Serve warm or cold.

Not suitable for freezing.

Vegan alternative: Either omit the cheese or swap it for a dairy-free hard cheese, or some toasted pine nuts .

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Easy Vegan Cupcakes/Fairy Cakes

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I found Orgran No Egg on special offer recently, so I bought some to test it out and review it; One box of No Egg costs around £2.50 and replaces the equivalent of 66 eggs, so it's good value for money. It contains the following ingredients:Potato starch, tapioca flour, calcium carbonate, citric acid, vegetable gum (stabiliser): methylcellulose and is also gluten free.

Following the success of my vegan Victoria sandwich cake, I thought I'd try adapting my usual (non-vegan) sponge cake recipe by using the egg-replacer instead of eggs. I made some cupcakes to see how the two recipes compared. The results were very pleasing, and I actually preferred the resulting texture and flavour of these cakes compared to my vegan sponge cake. The cakes were very light and crumbly, and kept fresh for a few days in an airtight container.

Makes 12

• 150g/6oz dairy free spread/margarine
• 150g/6oz sugar
• 150g/6oz SR flour
• 3 heaped tsp Orgran No Egg mixed with 6 tbsp water (or use a similar egg-substitute)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream the spread and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix until combined.
Spoon the mixture between 12 paper cake cakes in a bun tin, filling quite generously.

Bake at 180C/170C Fan/350F/Gas Mark 4 for around 20 minutes, or until golden brown and firm to the touch.
Cool on a wire rack.

When cold, top with vanilla butter cream/frosting...

Vegan butter icing

• 50g/2oz dairy free spread/margarine
• 125g/5oz icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1-2 tsp boiled water

Soften the spread.
Mix in the vanilla.
Beat in the icing sugar gradually, adding a little boiled water as needed to make a soft, spreadable mixture.

Top tip: Warning - do not open the oven to check until at least 15 minutes have passed (unless you can smell them burning!), as the egg-replacer takes longer to set than eggs would. I found this out whilst cooking my first batch and they sunk in the middle!

Alternatives: Divide between two greased and lined sandwich cake tines and bake for 30-35 minutes. I haven't tried this yet, so please do let me know if it works!

Swap the vanilla for lemon zest to make a lemon cake, 1 tsp coffee granules mixed with 2 tsp boiling water for a coffee cake, or swap 25g/1oz of the flour for unsweetened cocoa powder to make a chocolate cake. Add the same flavourings to the butter cream icing.

Integrity Statement
I have not received any payment or free products in return for this review and the views expressed are genuinely those of myself and my family. 

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Sunshine Vegetable Soup

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This is my twist on a classic carrot and coriander soup, which I've called sunshine soup due to it's colour. I used various orange coloured, sweet tasting vegetables plus good old celery, onion and garlic to balance the sweetness. This soup is a great way to get several 5-a-day portions of vegetables down your kids at once!

• 4-6 carrots
• 1 small sweet potato
• 1 orange or yellow bell pepper
• 150g-200g/6-8oz butternut squash
• 2 sticks of celery
• 1 onion
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• 1litre/1¾ pt hot vegetable stock (made with a stock cube)
• 25g/1oz dried red lentils
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• black pepper to taste
• fresh chopped coriander/cilantro to serve

Peel and chop the vegetables into chunks.
Fry the onion in 1 tbsp olive oil, until soft.
Add all of the other veg and the spices to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes.
Pour in the stock and bring up to the boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer for around 20-30 minutes, or until all the vegetables are soft.
Liquidise in a blender until smooth.

Suitable for freezing.

Alternative: Make a smaller quantity of soup, using water instead of stock and omitting the pepper, for a tasty baby-food. Leave the vegetables in chunks, mash or purée depending on the age of your baby.

This post is part of the #FaveFamilyRecipes Competition with BritMums and Tilda Rice. Every pack sold will provide a meal to an expectant mum in need in support of the World Food Programme’s Mothers Helping Mothers initiative in Bangladesh.
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What bugs a bunny? Hay fever!

When the RSPCA asked me if I'd be interested in helping to raise awareness of their new Hay Fever campaign, I jumped at the chance (get it?!) as I realised that I've not blogged about many animal welfare issues. As a vegetarian, I've often been accused of eating rabbit food, so hopefully this post will disprove the common misconception that both vegetarian people and rabbits eat a similar diet!

Although I've never had a pet rabbit, I was concerned to read that a recent poll (commissioned by the RSPCA)* showed that only 8% of rabbit owners knew that hay and grass should make up the most significant part of a rabbit’s diet, as that's what they would eat naturally. Commercially produced pellets or cereal mix should only be fed as a supplement to this, along with washed, leafy greens and the occasion treat of root vegetables or fruit. 

A poor diet is only one of the issues affecting pet rabbits. Unfortunately, the RSPCA takes in thousands of neglected or unwanted bunnies every year and they see thousands more kept in small hutches all day with no company and no opportunities to play, exercise or graze on grass.

Whether you have a rabbit or not, it would be great if you could watch and share this fun video on Twitter or Facebook, to help the RSPCA spread the word:

The RSPCA have also put together the following tips, to help you look after your furry friends...

Dos:
A healthy rabbit diet should consist of:
● Mainly good quality hay which should be available at all times (a bundle of hay that’s as big as a rabbit  every day) and ideally also access to grass for grazing.
● Fresh clean grass (growing or picked by hand).
● An adult rabbit-sized handful of washed dark leafy greens such as cabbage, broccoli, kale and herbs such as parsley.
● A small amount of good quality commercial rabbit pellets, nuggets or cereal mix (no more than 25g per kg of body weight)
● Constant access to fresh, clean water.

Don'ts:
● Despite popular belief, a rabbit’s diet shouldn’t include too much lettuce. Iceberg lettuce is not suitable.
● Carrots and apples are high in sugar and should only be fed as an occasional treat.
● Fresh clean grass is great, but not lawnmower clippings! They can upset a rabbit’s digestive system and make them ill.

For more information on caring for your pet bunny, or to find out how to adopt a rabbit, visit the RSPCA's rabbit welfare page.

*Study commissioned by the RSPCA: ‘Assessment of the state of rabbit welfare in the UK and prioritisation of issues’, an investigation of husbandry, housing and health (and other key issues) by a team of welfare scientists, behaviourists and vets at Bristol University in a 16-month study.

Image and video courtesy of the RSPCA.

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Pasta Shells Stuffed with Mushrooms and Squash

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This dish came into being as I had a whole punnet of chestnut mushrooms that needed using up and couldn't think what to make. I initially though I'd make a lasagne or cannelloni, but then spotted the conchiglioni pasta I'd bought and not known what to do with, at the back of the larder. Be warned, this recipe uses a lot of pans, and is a bit faffy to make, but I think it tastes good enough to serve up as a vegetarian dinner party dish, so it's worth the effort (and the washing up!). If you want to impress your guests, call the dish: Conchiglioni ripieni al forno (baked, stuffed pasta shells).

The main dish is vegan, and can be topped with either dairy or non-dairy cheese.

Serves 4

The pasta and stuffing

• Conchiglioni (large pasta shalls) - allow around 2-4 shells per child and 4-6 shells per adult
• 200g/8oz chestnut mushrooms, diced finely
• 200g/8oz butternut squash, peeled and diced into 1cm/½" cubes
• 1 large onion, diced finely
• 8-10 sage leaves, chopped (add more if you love the taste of sage)
• black pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste

The sauce

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
• 500ml/1pt pasata
• 1 tin chopped plum tomatoes
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp sugar

To top

• 125g/5oz soft goats cheese plus 50g/2oz grated mozzarella OR
• 150g/6oz melting vegan cheese plus 2 tbsp vegan Parmesan

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a deep baking dish at 180C/170C Fan/ Gas 4/350F.
Add the diced butternut squash and sage and roast for 15-20 minutes, turning once.
Take the dish out of the oven.

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Meanwhile, heat another tbsp of olive oil in a large pan.

Add the onion and cook on a gentle heat until soft.
Add the mushrooms and cook for 3-5 minutes.
Add the squash, sage  and sun-dried tomato paste and cook for a further 5 minutes. Increase the heat and cook until you have a fairly dry mixture.
Season to taste.

Boil the pasta shells for 10 minutes. Drain and refresh in cold water.

Stuff the pasta with the mushroom and squash mixture, using a teaspoon, and place them in the bottom of the baking dish you cooked the squash in.

Make the tomato sauce in another pan.

Heat a further tbsp of olive oil and gently cook the onion and garlic.
Add the passata, sugar, tinned tomatoes, and oregano.
Simmer for 10 minutes (the sauce should be quite thin at this stage). 

Pour the tomato sauce over the stuffed pasta shells (they need to be covered).

Top with the dairy or non-dairy cheese and return to the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the tomato sauce has thickened and the cheese is golden brown.
Remove from the oven, cover dish with foil and allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with garlic bread and/or salad.

Suitable for freezing before baking. Add the cheese topping after defrosting.

Alternatives: You could use pretty much any combination of diced vegetables to stuff the pasta.

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The Big Session Festival 2012 - a review

OK, I'll admit it, I'm a bit of a folky. Now, I know that isn't cool or awesome or sick or whatever the correct term is these days, but I don't care; My name is Lisa and I like folk music! 

I like to think that folk is about to have a bit of a revival, due to the rising popularity of acts such as Ed Sheeran and Frank Turner (or maybe not!), but anyway, since I've come out as a folk music fan, I can now tell you about the Big Session Festival...

We've been going to the Big Session for several years now. It used to be held in Leicester city centre, but has now moved to a new rural site in South Derbyshire. We were a little worried about the change in venue, as we weren't sure how it would change the whole festival atmosphere, but despite the deluge of rain and copious quantities of mud, the Big Session remained true to its former identity.

We arrived at the flat, spacious and very scenic camp site on Friday evening. One major luxury with this festival was that we could drive around the camp site, find a pitch and unload everything before having to drive back to the car park (there was also a toilet block, shower block, stand pipe and elsan point).This was particularly advantageous as it was pouring with rain when we arrived. We pitched the tent in record time, before parking the car and then heading off into the arena. 

There were 3 stages (all under cover), which was just right for the amount of people attending. There was a smattering of the usual festival stalls and food outlets too, but not as many as in previous years (maybe due to the inclement weather which has been ongoing since the hose-pipe ban was announced!). There was one totally vegetarian/vegan food stall, plus plenty of other options such as veggie burgers and crepes at the other stalls; these weren't as varied or adventurous as the food at some larger festivals but more than adequate. 

The festival site had plenty of bins/recycling points, a real ale tent and even flushing toilets with running water in the sinks (as opposed to portaloos and anti-bac foam). There was a large, undercover kids area with art, craft and musical activities, circus skills and more besides. There should have been a climbing wall too, but I guess the rain made it too dangerous to use.

Old favourites Chumbawamba and the Oysterband played on Friday night and were as entertaining and tuneful as usual. We also discovered some new acts over the weekend, who we hadn't heard of before, including Abandoman (Irish hip hop comedy!), Jesca Hoop (the slightly loopy former nanny of Tom Waits' children), Dizraeli and the Small Gods (hip hop/folk fusion) and The Leisure Society folk/pop/rock). 

The only down side to the festival was the weather and the resulting muddiness of the site, but that certainly wouldn't put us off going again. 

I would definitely recommend the Big Session to anyone who wants to try out a small, friendly festival with their kids, before venturing on to a larger one...who knows, if you go, you might even get to like folk music too!

The Big Session Festival takes place at Catton Hall, South Derbyshire. For more information, visit Big Session.

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Why?

Wendy from Inside the Wendy House has tagged me in this meme about the eternal question "Why?"

When my children were little and going through their inquisitive, cute toddler phase, the question "Why?" was generally met with a nice little explanation. I remember Miss Ony asking me "Why did dinosaurs become extinct?" so I explained how there were different theories, but it was probably because the climate changed in some way, maybe due to a meteorite hitting earth. 
You can see how patient I was back in those days!

Now, the question "Why?" is often met with  a terse "Because I said so!" and generally follows a question about bed time, money, clothes, tidying bedrooms, dying hair or piercing ears! 

There are many why questions I have myself though and here are just a few of them...

• Why do my kids find Disney channel repeats so entertaining?
• Why can't anyone else in my family change a toilet roll?
• Why is there so much sport on TV and why does Mr O have to watch it all?
• Why do my kids text and Facebook their friends instead of talking to them on the phone?
• Why are so many mums obsessed about the size of their ironing pile?
• Why does it rain every time we go camping?
• Why do people buy ready meals/processed foods and then complain how expensive their shopping bills are?
• Why do tall people always sit/stand directly in front of me at the cinema, gigs etc?
• Why do I talk back to the self-serve checkouts at the supermarket?
• Why do people always ask me if I eat fish after I've told them I'm vegetarian?

I could keep going for some time, but why don't you tell me your whys instead?

• What are your whys? Post as few or as many as you like.
• Link up your post to Mummy Central, and it would be great if you could leave a comment too.
• Tag 5 bloggers to keep this going.
• If you’re not a blogger, leave your whys as a comment below. I'd love to read them.
• Show your support by reading a few others and commenting on them.

I'm tagging Aly from Plus 2.4, Clare from The Vegetarian Experience, Mandy from Mummy on the Edge Mrs M from At Home with Mrs M and Mrs Average from Observations of Mrs Average...if you haven't been tagged, please feel free to join in anyway.

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Nachos with Vegetable Salsa

Now this might not sound like much of a recipe, but it's a good way of making a quick snack or light meal out of left-over vegetables and store cupboard ingredients. For a healthier version, use the refried beans and salsa mixture to fill tortilla wraps.

Serves 4 as a main course or 8 as a starter/snack

• 1 bag of lightly salted or unsalted tortilla chips
• 1 can of mild refried beans
• 1 carton/jar of mild tomato salsa (around 1 cup)
• 1 small onion , finely diced
• 1-2 bell peppers, finely diced
• A few mushrooms, finely diced
• 1 tsp mild chilli powder
• 100g mozzarella or cheddar cheese, grated (or vegan melting cheese)

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/170C Fan/Gas 3
Tip the bag of tortilla chips onto a baking tray.

Using a spoon, dollop the refried beans over the chips - spread out a little if you can without breaking too many of the chips! 

Fry the onion in a drop of olive oil until softened, then add the chilli powder, bell peppers and mushrooms and cook for a further couple of minutes.

Add around 1 cup of salsa to the pan and stir in.
Simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat. Taste and add more chilli powder if needed.

Pour the salsa mixture over the tortilla chips and sprinkle the grated cheese over the top.

Cook for 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling.

Serve with salad.

Alternatives: If you don't have any refried beans, use a drained tin of baked beans instead and add these to the salsa mixture.

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Time to share - an update

You may remember that almost a month ago, I blogged about Charity called Deki. Well, the great news is that Leontine (the woman who I featured and chose to loan to), has now had her loan fully funded. This will mean that she can start to expand her business, and hopefully make more money to support her family.

If you weren't able to loan any money to Leontine, but feel you would like to contribute to another entrepreneur, you might like to consider Afi, who  makes and sells cakes on a street stall in Togo. Afi is 35 and is married, with two children. With the help of a loan from Deki, she hopes to be able to buy larger quantities of ingredients and eventually expand her business and employ others. 

© Image courtesy of Deki

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Red Pepper & Courgette Salad (vegan)

©

This simple pepper and courgette salad is packed full of fresh basil, which gives it a really summery taste. It works well served with barbecued foods and can even be used as a panini filling or served over pasta.

• 1 large courgette (zucchini), thinly sliced 
• 2 red bell or pointed peppers
• 1 tbsp fresh, chopped basil
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp pine nuts, lightly toasted

Heat the grill (broiler) on it's highest setting. 

When hot, place the peppers under the grill and cook for around 10 minutes, turning occasionally, until charred all over. 

Once blackened, remove peppers from the heat and place in a bowl. Cover the bowl with cling film and set aside. 

Meanwhile heat a large frying pan.

Cut the courgette in half widthways, then slice each half thinly - I used a mandoline slicer.

Fry the courgettes in a little of the olive oil, until softened and lightly browned (you might need to do this in 2 or 3 batches). Once cooked place in a bowl.

Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, peel away the charred skin; Then cut open the peppers and pull out the core and the seeds.

Slice each pepper into about 8 pieces and place in the bowl with the courgettes.

To make the dressing, finely chop the basil, add the remaining olive oil and the vinegar, mix well and season with black pepper.

Pour over the courgettes and peppers and mix gently to coat.

Toast the pine nuts either under the grill or in a hot, dry pan, until lightly browned and then sprinkle them on top of the salad.

Serve warm or cold.

Alternatives: Use ready-skinned red peppers in brine to save time.
Make into a lasagne filling or pasta sauce by adding a tin of chopped tomatoes and a crushed clove of garlic to the cooked vegetables.

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