Globe-cooking recipe : Bacalhau A Bras (Portugal)

We all know the traditional combination of fish and chips, but what about fish and potato chips? That's what you get in the iconic Portuguese dish of Bacalhau A Bras, along with scrambled eggs. It sounds very weird and I was dubious but it's actually rather nice.

This was my first experience of using the classic Portuguese ingredient of salt cod. It comes covered in a thick crust of coarse salt.

It needs soaking for 24 hours in cold water before being used. Make sure you change the water regularly to remove the excess salt.

Bacalhau A Bras 

ingredients :

600g salt cod

2 onions

2 cloves of garlic

2tbsp olive oil

1 pack of Batata Palha (very thin chipsticks)

a handful of black olives

In a pan, bring some water to a gentle boil. As soon as the first bubbles start to appear, put in the salt cod (after soaking it for 24 hours - see above), put on a lid and turn off the heat. After 5 minutes, drain and break up the fish with a fork. Reserve.

In the same pan, heat the oil and fry the onion and garlic.

Add the fish and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes until it is all nicely coloured.

Add the potato chips and cook for 5 minutes with a lid on the pan. Stir regularly because they will start to stick to the bottom of the pan.

Beat the eggs and add them to the dish. Cook for a couple of minutes until they are just firm and serve, studded with black olives.

It's a strange combination but it works. The salt cod remains very salty so don't skimp on the pre-soaking !

*** Don't miss my country-by-country globecooking recipe index ! *** 

Pierre tries out Tesco Chocolate Brownie Mix

My little superhero loves baking ... and eating whatever sweet treats he has created ! He's now a dab hand at mixing, pouring and even cracking eggs, but I still have to help him with measuring and weighing so if he wants to feel really independent, ready-to-use baking mixes are great. We decided to try out Tesco Chocolate Brownie Mix which only needs 4 tablespoons of water to be added.

After emptying the bag into a bowl and adding the water, Pierre got mixing.

It actually seemed very dry so I added an extra spoonful of water to be on the safe side. I was impressed to see real chocolate chips in there though.

I decided to use a silicon pie dish so it would be easy to get out at the end. Pierre greased it with a little olive oil on a piece of kitchen paper.

After pressing it into the dish, Pierre happily licked the bowl !

After about 20 minutes, it was ready - it smelt delicious. It broke into a few pieces as I took it out of the tin but that didn't matter as I was about to cut it up anyway. In the end, Pierre broke it up with his hands, to avoid using a sharp knife.

The brownies are lovely and gooey with a rich chocolatey taste but they were very flat so next time, I think I'd add a bit of baking powder to the mix.

The mix costs £1.10 so it's a cheap activity with the kids.

For more ideas of ways to keep the kids entertained, check out my kids' crafts and baking section.

Forget the birds and the bees, it's time to #talkballs !

I'm not really suggesting you give up on teaching your kids how babies are made, but to be honest, by the time you feel comfortable enough to give them a sensible answer that doesn't involve "daddy planting little seeds in mummy's tummy" or "tadpoles", they'll have probably looked it all up on google anyway ! One talk that fathers should be having with their sons though is telling them how to cop a feel of their crown jewels in the name of testicular cancer ! Read on for more information about a new charity campaign aiming to save lives by getting dads to #talkballs with their sons - I'll never look at a sausage and potatoes in the same way ever again !

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Vikings and Hunger Games star, Alexander Ludwig, has teamed up with Orchid Male Cancer Charity to launch a new viral campaign encouraging fathers to ‘talk balls’ with their sons. The new viral campaign is a humorous take on a serious message; showing a father making numerous attempts to bring up the awkward subject of testicular cancer with his sons. The video cleverly demonstrates that there shouldn’t be any awkwardness because the sons are more than willing to ‘talk balls’ with their Dad. Have a look here :

Over 2,200 young men aged 15-44 are diagnosed with testicular cancer each year. Orchid’s ‘Father and Sons’ campaign hopes to encourage men to feel confident talking to their sons about testicular cancer, and ensure they know how to check for signs and symptoms.

Orchid Chief Executive Rebecca Porta comments “Awareness of testicular cancer has significantly improved over the past few years, but recent research commissioned by the Orchid highlights a substantial gap in communication when it comes to discussing serious health conditions with children. Approximately a third of parents say that they did not feel confident discussing how to check for the signs and symptoms of serious and sensitive conditions like testicular cancer with their children, despite this being the most common cancer to affect young males. Talking to your son openly about the signs and symptoms of testicular cancer could be crucial in leading to early detection of a lump or an abnormality. If caught early, the disease can be 98% curable."

Alexander Ludwig, who is supporting the campaign says, “I know it’s not a comfortable subject to talk about, but we need to talk about it because testicular cancer affects thousands of men and their families each year.”

Help Orchid spread awareness by sharing this video using the hashtag #talkballs

Madhouse recipe : Spicy Bacon & Chickpea Soup #Knorr #ProductOfTheYear

As I told you yesterday when I shared my recipe for Monday Pie, Knorr challenged me to come up with a recipe (or several) using their Flavour Pots which have just won first prize in the Sauce & Seasoning category for this year’s Product of the Year awards. They're really versatile and are great for adding a bit of oomph to the simplest of dishes ... like this soup which is as quick as it is delicious because it uses a trio of Flavour Pots to deliver instant flavour, rather than having to slave over creating the perfect rich stock as a soup base.

 Spicy  Bacon & Chickpea Soup

ingredients:

1 pack bacon lardons

1 large onion

1 Knorr Garden Herbs Flavour Pot

1 Knorr Garlic Flavour Pot

1 Knorr Paprika Flavour Pot

2 carrots

2 leeks

1 large tin of chickpeas (or use dried, soaked overnight, if you have the time)

Put the bacon in a large pot and cook on a moderate heat. Peel and chop the onion and add to the pot.

Drain off the excess fat then add the three Knorr Flavour Pots.

Peel and chop the carrots and the leeks and add to the pot, along with some boiling water. Leave to simmer and reduce for 15 minutes then add the drained chickpeas for an extra 10 minutes. Add extra water is required.

Disclosure  : This is an entry for the #Knorr #ProductOfTheYear blogger challenge. I received a hamper of ingredients, including the entire range of Knorr Flavour Pots, as well as a shopping voucher for extra ingredients.

PhD woman - health and weightloss products tailored to women (review)

I am well aware that there is no such thing as a quick fix for weightloss. If you want a long-term solution, you need to overhaul your eating habits and get more active and, unfortunately, there is no shortcut. That said, I do think that meal replacement bars and shakes can be helpful at times, especially if you need a waistline-friendly option for lunch at work or if you know you have a couple of indulgent days coming up (Christmas, birthdays, Easter ...) and want to limit the damage. I was therefore intrigued to see what I'd think of the products sent through by PhD woman, described as a unique range of premium nutritional products designed to support the needs of the active woman.

They sent through two of their most popular products for me to try out, the first of which was the PhD Meal Replacement Shakes. Like similar products on the market, PhD woman recommend using up to two servings of their Meal Replacement shake daily, at any time during the day to replace a balanced meal. Unlike similar meal replacement shakes, you need to mix a 55g serving (1 scoop) with 250ml of cold water, not milk, which makes it easier to keep a sachet (or a pre-measured scoop in a little pot) along with a shaker in your desk drawer at work to knock up at a minute's notice.

The other plus point for PhD's Meal Replacement Shakes is that they are fortified with a special blend of vitamins and minerals, tailored just for women. I was going to copy out the entire list but it's just too long so have a look at the nutritional information on their website here. Each serving also contains 204 calories, 3g of fat (of which 0.7g saturates), 18g of carbs (of which 2.4g sugars), 2.5g of fibre and 25g of protein.

The shakes come in three flavours - strawberry delight, vanilla crème and chocolate cookie, which is the one I got to try. It does taste chocolatey (in a meal replacement kind of way, not a sitting-down-with-a-family-sized-bar-of-Galaxy kind of way, obviously !) but I didn't find it as creamy and filling as other meal replacement shakes I've tried, presumably because it is made with water rather than milk. From looking around online, it appears that some people prefer to ignore the instructions and make it with skimmed milk to get a richer, more satisfying texture. It does give you a sweet treat that will stop you reaching for naughty snacks and, as an alternative to the school canteen on non-diet friendly days, it's a convenient and fuss-free option. As well as helping with calorie control for weight-loss, the shakes also promise to reduce tiredness and fatigue and maintain muscle tone, but I only had three servings so I can't comment on the long term effects. A £25.99 tub contains 14 servings which works out at £1.85 per serving.

The other product I received was PhD Woman Greens and Berries, which is a new product (introduced last year). It is described as a wholesome combination of greens, fruit extracts and vegetable extracts, alongside a specific blend of vitamins and minerals tailored to help energise women throughout the day, which gives your body the nourishment and natural energy it needs in one simple, daily serving. You can add 1 scoop to 100ml of ice cold water to make a shake or you can also mix it with your favourite juice or add it to a smoothie or protein shake. I wasn't overly keen on the taste when mixed with water so I tried it with juice first thing in the morning, which was a bit better. Each serving only contains 31 calories and has no added sugars. It's labelled as having a summer fruits flavour, but it tasted more like vegetables to me (the summer fruits flavour comes from spirulina, wheat grass, goji and acai berries so don't expect it to taste of strawberries and raspberries because it won't!). As I've been trying out the Dukan 2 diet for the last couple of weeks, I like to take a dose of Greens & Berries on the Pure Protein days, to make up for the lack of fruit and veg.

The combination of 24 vitamins and minerals reportedly provides a variety of health benefits : Vitamin C helps maintain a healthy immune system; iron and folic acid help reduce tiredness and fatigue; Vitamin D and calcium help maintain healthy bones; Biotin helps maintain healthy skin and hair; Vitamin B6 helps support healthy hormonal balance. It costs £29.99 for a 31-serving tub.

star rating : 4/5

for more information : http://www.phd-woman.co.uk/

Disclosure : I received the products in order to write an honest review.

Madhouse diaries : A reflection of the past

As I told you yesterday, our first half term adventure was a walk along the far end of Dunkirk beach to see the old ruined World War 2 bunkers and blow away the cobwebs. In recent years, artists have been using them as blank canvases with some surprising artwork on display. I'd heard about the latest project which involved totally covering one of the bunkers in pieces of broken mirrors - kind of like the Dunkirk version of the The Shard ?!

From a distance, it looks like it's been covered in an extremely large roll of tinfoil but as you walk closer, you can see it reflecting the changing colours of the sky and sea, almost like a kaleidoscope.

The dramatic grey skies with occasional bursts of sunlight breaking through the clouds really showed it off, although I'm intrigued to see how it will look in the summer with bright blue skies to reflect.

It actually looks very pretty, which seems weird when you think that it's a reminder of a terrible war.

On closer inspection, some of the shards high up have lethal, jagged edges, which is possibly supposed to represent the danger and deadly nature of the buildings and their history.

When you get up close, it's a bit like a hall of mirrors, with the multitude of pieces reflecting distorted and fragmented images that constantly shift as you move.

We couldn't resist taking a few photos and playing with the effects.

You could spend hours snapping away !

Just as we were leaving, the artists turned up and started assembling more shards of glass to complete their design. As Sophie said, they must have amassed quite a lot of years of bad luck with all those broken mirrors !

I love the fragmented images of sea and sky.

It would be interesting to do a "photo a day" image from the same spot to see all the different reflections.

Madhouse recipe : Monday pie #Knorr #ProductOfTheYear

I always love blogger foodie challenges so I was very excited to be asked to join in with Knorr's #ProductOfTheYear recipe challenge, to celebrate Knorr Flavour Pots winning first prize in the Sauce & Seasoning category for this year’s Product of the Year awards. I love these little pots that act as flavour bombs for really bringing dishes to life, but I hadn't tried some of the more unusual ones so I was really pleased to get the whole range to play with. My kitchen cupboard is now bursting with nine different flavours of Knorr Flavour Pots -  Mixed Herbs, Three Peppercorn, Curry, Garlic, Mixed Chillies, Garden Herbs, Ginger & Lemongrass, Paprika, and Mexican.

For my first recipe, I used a Garden Herbs and a Garlic flavour pot. This is a tried and tested family fave and it's called Monday pie because it's a frugal but tasty way of using up all the leftovers from the Sunday roast.

Monday Pie

ingredients :

1 onion

3 mushrooms

leftover cooked meat (pork, chicken, turkey ...)

leftover roast or baked potatoes

leftover cooked veg (carrots, parsnips, broccoli, peas, ...)

leftover gravy (or a Knorr Gravy Pot)

1 Knorr Garden Herbs Flavour Pot

1 Knorr Garlic Flavour Pot

1 pack ready-made puff pastry or shortcrust pastry

Fry the onion and mushrooms in a drizzle of olive oil. Add the chopped meat and stir in the two Flavour Pots.

Add the cooked potatoes and veg and stir to make sure everything gets covered in the garlic and herb flavours. If you have any leftover gravy from the Sunday roast, throw this in too (or add a Knorr Gravy Pot and a little water to make a nice rich sauce).

Cover with the pastry sheet (brush with a little milk or egg wash if you want a nice golden colour) and bake in the oven at 180° for 20-30 minutes until the pastry is golden and crispy.

This could be served as an all-in-one meal or accompanied with mash and extra veg.

Disclosure  : This is an entry for the #Knorr #ProductOfTheYear blogger challenge. I received a hamper of ingredients, including the entire range of Knorr Flavour Pots, as well as a shopping voucher for extra ingredients.

Ideas for Pure Protein Meals #Dukan

I've just shared the results of my first week following the Dukan 2 (Nutritional Staircase) diet and, although I was hugely sceptical, I was delighted to see almost a 2kg loss this week, so I'll definitely be sticking to it for a while longer. The only tricky thing is finding things to eat on Mondays, which is a pure protein day - fish and meat, eggs, poultry and seafood are all on the menu, but no fruit or veg - hmmm.

Here are a few ideas I've come up but if you have any more, let me know ! I'm trying to make things that feel like real meals, not just a jumble of protein-rich ingredients that don't really go together !

Smoked salmon and scrambled eggs

Ham or chicken omelette

Bacon and eggs or ham and eggs

Chicken or beef with Konjac noodles

Scotch eggs

Poached eggs with kippers

Boiled eggs with ham or smoked haddock dippers

Surf and turf (steak and prawns)

liver and bacon (except I hate liver !)

crustless ham or bacon or smoked salmon and chive quiche

What am I missing ?!

Madhouse diaries : Blowing away the cobwebs at the beach

Life has been incredibly hectic at work for the past few weeks, so it seems ages since we've been on any adventures or even got out in the fresh air. The cold weather and rain hasn't helped. Our half term has just kicked off though so we started as we mean to go on and headed out to the far end of the beach for some fresh air.

It was freezing cold and quite breezy but, despite the grey skies that were threatening rain, I was surprised to see that there were quite a few people wandering about - glad to see we're not the only loonies !

With their usual enthusiasm, Juliette and Pierre were soon running up and down the dunes, and they giggled in delight when I joined in ! I only did it once though - I don't know where they get their energy from !

This is the far end of Dunkerque beach, where the World War 2 bunkers are. You may remember, I told you about them and the artwork on the bunkers last year.

To begin with, the big attraction for the kids was the sea though and they were squealing happily as they played chicken.

I couldn't help but laugh as they got bolder and bolder.

Ooh, that was a bit close for comfort Pierre !

Seeing how much fun they were having, Sophie proved that you're never too old by joining in.

But she didn't run fast enough ! Cue much hilarity !

Juliette, in particular, laughed her socks off.

But Sophie got the last laugh because a big wave came up behind her and covered her boots in disgusting foam. I always used to think this was pollution but apparently, according to the science teacher at my school, it's natural. It's still pretty yucky though !

We headed along to the ruins of the bunkers. It still surprises me to see old buildings from World War 2 just plonked on the beach.

Pierre always thinks they're great fun to play in and explore but I always get goosebumps thinking about what these sinister stone sentries have witnessed.

The universe seemed to want to lighten the mood though. We came across an incongruous piece of graffiti wishing us a nice day.

And the sky suddenly turned bright blue.

As the kids watched the waves, I wandered up to see if there were any new paintings on the bunkers.

And there were ! I don't know who the artists are but they are extremely talented. The detail on the beetle is amazing.

Some are quite jovial.

Other designs are less impressive and seem almost irreverent, given the historic importance of these buildings.

I was surprised to see that the sea comes right up to the base of the bunkers.

It's a credit to the architects to see that the buildings have withstood so many decades of waves crashing into them. I wonder how many more years they will survive.

Nature seems to be winning in some places, like these steps that lead to nowhere.

They actually blend into the scenery amongst the dunes.

It's always a strange juxtaposition to have a beautiful sandy beach and clear views out to sea, then to turn around and see the concrete monsters that have born witness to such horrors.

The carefully secreted pillboxes always seem extra chilling - you don't see them until you are right on top of them so I can always imagine soldiers running up to shelter in the dunes, thinking they're safe, only to meet their doom.

There was one new project going on that I'd heard about and wanted to see but I'll tell you about it in another blogpost.

Time for a few selfies, some more dune-climbing and playing chicken with the sea, then we headed for home.