Globecooking recipe : Kadai Chicken or Tofu (Sri Lanka)

Sri Lanka is obviously a great country for vegetarian dishes. After trying out the Crispy Medu Vada-style Lentil Fritters last week, today I turned to another vegetarian recipe from my Kitchen Trotter box for Kadai Tofu. However, as nobody in The Madhouse is keen on tofu, I decided to substitute it for chicken - kadai chicken is another genuine recipe (I checked on google !) so you can choose if you want a veggie option or not.

The fried egg pancake is a hopper and you can find out how to make those here.

Kadai Chicken or Tofu

ingredients :

250g chicken breast or tofu

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

4 tomatoes

3 onions

a large knob of butter

10g dried tamarind

a pinch of saffron

10 curry leaves

5 cardamom pods

1tsp paprika

1tsp ginger

2 tbsp black curry (or just use normal mild curry powder)

a pinch of salt

Split the cardamom pods to release the flavour.

This is dried tamarind - weird stuff. It looks like monkey poo with undigested whole nuts in it !

Put 10g of tamarind in a bowl, cover with 50ml of boiling water and leave to infuse for 15 minutes while you chop the veg and chicken/tofu into large chunks.

Strain the tamarind through a sieve, pressing down on the pulp to squeeze through as much as possible. Discard the remainder.

Melt the butter over a low heat and throw in the herbs and spices (saffron, cardamom, black curry powder, paprika, ginger, curry leaves). 

Cook for 1 minute to release all the wonderful flavours and aromas. Make sure the butter doesn't burn.

Add the chicken (or tofu), onions and peppers to the pan and cook for 10 minutes, stirring, until the chicken is throughly cooked through. Add a pinch of salt.

Add the tamarind and tomatoes and cook for a further five minutes.

This could be served on its own, with rice or, for a more exotic accompaniment, with egg hoppers which are like coconut pancakes, garnished with a fried egg.

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

#BathroomBlitz #1 : Time to declutter the bathroom

A few weeks ago, I spotted a post on one of my favourite blogs showing all the empties of beauty products that the blogger had got through during the month. (I've tried to find it again but failed miserably so if it's you, give me a shout so I can link through to you !) I commented to say that I needed to do this too  ... then decided that I would. After the #KitchenClearout, the #BathroomBlitz is born !

I've set myself a challenge of using up ten products per month from the bathroom - that might sound like a tall order but I'm including samples and also the cleaning/laundry products in the cupboard just outside of the bathroom. I should also point out that I have a large collection of half used (or even almost empty) bottles and tubes that never get finished off before the next lot of products arrive to review ! This first round-up has been really easy (and gratifying) because I've been hunting out all the almost-empties then finishing them off. It's amazing the amount of clutter that has got rid of already so I'm looking forward to getting on to my free samples drawer and really blitzing the bathroom !

So here's what I've managed to finish off and throw away this month :

1. Artistry by Amway Advanced Skin Refinisher - I've been using this at night and/or in the morning and it leaves my skin feeling lovely and soft but not greasy. It's great if my skin is feeling tight or tingly due to being dried out or irritated by the cold weather. Would I buy it again? Not sure I could justify the price tag, even if it is lovely (£53.35 for 30ml) (see my review here)

2. Colgate Total Pro-Gum Health Toothpaste - A great all-round multi-purpose toothpaste. Love the flavour, my teeth feel nice and smooth on my tongue and it keeps my mouth feeling fresh as a daisy ! Would I buy it again? I already have !

3. Mystery Floor Cleaning Product - No idea what it was as it was for a product test but it did the job and had a nice lemon fragrance. Would I buy it again? No because I don't know what it was !

I managed to use up two ends-of-bottles in one shower - go me !

4. Herbal Essences  Smooth & Soft Shampoo - It's OK but nothing particularly special. I was hoping for a big, brash Herbal Essences fragrance so I found it a bit bland.  Would I buy it again? Maybe, maybe not.

5. Palmer's Coconut Oil Formula Repairing Conditioner - Nice enough but I'd have preferred a stronger coconut fragrance and I found it hard to get out of the tube because it was very thick. Would I buy it again? Possibly if it was on offer.

6. Surf Flirty Shades of Surf with Scentsual Oil - The Fifty Shades inspired bottle made me smile every time I saw it and it got the washing clean but the fragrance could have been stronger. Would I buy it again? Probably, if it was on offer.

7. Sure Maximum Protection Sport Strength - This comes out as a cream which I wasn't sure I'd like but it doesn't feel wet or greasy. I like the fact that you put it on at night before bed rather than in the morning and that it still gives great protection. Would I buy it again? Definitely.

8. Radox Mango Mayhem Shower Gel - Love the sunshiney orange colour and the zingy fruity fragrance that is guaranteed to get me in a good mood after a long day at work. Would I buy it again? Definitely.

9. Tesco Squid Soap - A fabulous idea. When you press on the soap dispenser, you get an ink spot (squid ink, get it ?!) on your hand which means you have to wash your hands thoroughly for 30 seconds to get it off. The only trouble was, our ink spotter didn't work which was a shame. Would I buy it again? I would if the ink spot works next time.

Well, I didn't quite make it to ten but nine's still pretty good going ! I'm already peering in drawers and cupboards to see what else can be decluttered this month ...

Madhouse Diaries : Who's afraid of the Big Bad CLOWNS ?!

Photo credit : Ian Aberle (Flickr)

Yesterday, Juliette mentioned that she was scared of walking home from school on her own (just around the corner and she only does it once a week) because she was worried about killer clowns following people home with a chainsaw. It's not as crazy as it sounds because last year, there was a spate of people dressing up as evil clowns and attacking people in the street with knives, not in our town but not that far away. I checked online and couldn't see ANY new stories so I told her not to worry, it's old news and it's just people sharing horror stories. Sophie showed me a Facebok page where "Come Back Clowns" say that "they're on the way to the north - watch your backs!" but I told her it's probably written by ten year olds getting their kicks by scaring people older than them.

As Pierre was off sick today, I did the morning school run and there was a gang of primary school kids screaming "there's a clown around the corner" and then running off to look, then saying there was blood all over the lampposts and generally having great fun scaring themselves silly. I told Juliette that they were making it all up and if there WAS anything on the lamppost, it would be ketchup or fake blood, as the shops are starting to stock Halloween goodies.

What worried me more was the fact that they were running along in the middle of the road minutes before the school run when cars would be arriving left, right and centre. I had a word with them to say they were more likely to get run over than attacked by a clown, then had a word with the teachers who'd started arriving so they could mention it in class. Pierre was a bit worried too so I told him it's like Scooby Doo, it's just people who dress up, not real evil clowns. Juliette came home for lunch and said that her teacher had said that the next person to mention clowns would be punished. End of story.

But then there was a story on the news tonight (you can see it here but it's in French) - on Tuesday, three 11-year-old girls in Boulogne (about an hour away) were followed home from school by a bunch of people dressed up as evil clowns, armed with kitchen knives, insulting and threatening them. They were picked up, in tears, by a passer-by who took them to a nearby chemist's to safety. The clowns (in reality three 18-22 year old boys) have made a statement on their Facebook page to say that they don't intend to create mass panic, they just want to "do like in America" and scare people on film "for a laugh". They've said that they'll be back for Halloween - but as they target school home times and that's during the holidays, I'm not sure how that will work. 

How do you convince your kids that the bogey man doesn't exist when some sick individuals think that scaring children half to death is funny ? They may be laughing on the other side of their faces (or graves) if they carry on though because lots of people are now threatening them on Facebook. 

#KitchenClearout recipe : Old Mother Hubbard's Pasta Bake

We do our weekly shop on a Saturday morning so by Friday, the fridge is looking pretty empty. That's not usually a problem because Juliette and Pierre eat at the school canteen, Madhouse Daddy eats with some friends in a little restaurant in town, I eat at my school canteen or with Madhouse Daddy and Sophie is happy with a ready meal for one or whatever leftovers she can scavenge in the fridge ! Today, however, Pierre was poorly so I took a sick child day off and needed to rustle up something for everyone to eat at lunchtime from the (minimal) contents of the fridge and cupboards. I made a poor man's version of a pasta bake, using up odds and ends, which I thought was quite bland but the kids loved it.

Old Mother Hubbard's Pasta Bake

ingredients :

a few handfuls of macaroni

knob of butter

1 leek

2 mushrooms

can of sweetcorn

a pack of hot dog sausages

1 pack cheese sauce mix

1/2 pint milk

end of a bag of grated cheese

crème fraîche/milk

Gently fry the leek and mushrooms in a little butter. Toss in the chopped hot dog sausages for the last couple of minutes. Put the dry pasta in an ovenproof dish and toss in the mushrooms/leeks/hot dog sausages and the tin of sweetcorn.

I usually tend to make cheese sauce from scratch but there was hardly any cheese left so I used a packet mix that was in the cupboard. Follow the instructions then pour the cheese sauce into the dish with the pasta and stir. Top up with crème fraîche and/or milk until the pasta is nicely covered.

Put in the oven at 180° while you go on the school run - probably about 40 minutes. Scatter some grated cheese over the top 15 minutes before the end.

Linking up to this month's #KitchenClearout linky

What's Cooking at The Madhouse? menu plan 2/10/15

How are we into October already ? Definitely time to dig out some more winter warmer recipes !

Saturday 

lunch - I think a trip to McDonald's and their soft play might be in order

dinner - Kadai Chicken with hoppers (as it didn't get made last week) or homemade soup

Sunday

lunch - roast dinner - maybe chicken, maybe pork - with roast potatoes, carrots, peas, gravy ...

dinner - sandwich or soup

Monday 

dinner - sausage and lentil cassoulet

Tuesday 

dinner - cottage pie

Wednesday 

lunch - crispy chicken & veg sticks with beans & mash

dinner - I think there will be a fridge full of leftovers, if not pasta bake

Thursday 

dinner - Zharkoye (beef stew)

Friday

dinner -  Chinese orange chicken with noodles

***Click on my Menu Plans tag to see all my other weekly menu plan blogposts.***

Want to see what everyone else is eating ? Head over to Meal Planning Monday at Mrs M's blog !

#KitchenClearout September roundup and October linky

It's the end of the month (how did that happen? I swear the kids only went back to school a week ago !) so it's time to see what we've been decluttering out of our kitchen cupboards this month.

I love the way that having a #KitchenClearout involves getting a bit inventive so this East Meets West BBQ Rice was a cross between Oriental Fried Rice and a Tex Mex dish.

Galina's Coconut Orange Cupcakes look delightful and saved the day when she had to rustle up some sweet treats quickly with what was in the kitchen !

I branched out into Overnight Oats - something I've been meaning to try for ages, and a great way to use up some of the sachets of porridge that were lurking in the cupboard. First I tried Coconut Water Overnight Oats with blackberry and apple compote.

The cooking juice from the compote made up a second batch - Very Berry Overnight Oats, which were very purple too !

A bag of microwavable popcorn was transformed into these gorgeous Toffee Popcorn Cookies

These Cheese, Bacon & Mushroom Muffins provided a savoury option.

My Moroccan Chicken with Apricots & Almonds started off as a #readcookeat challenge and ended up as a #KitchenClearout too !

Jane's Tomato & Crispbread Salad looks so simple and tasty and also uses up things that are cluttering up my cupboards, so I'll definitely have to try this one out.

I'm still loving how inventive we all are with our odds and ends. A few months in, I've cleared quite a lot of kitchen clutter so I think I'll have to move on to my spice rack soon - that's an even bigger job !

I can't wait to see what we all come up with this month. Feel free to link up as many posts as you like and if you could add my badge and link people back to this post, that would be fine and dandy ! :)

.

Little Live Pets Cleverkeet review

You may remember that a few months ago, we welcomed a Little Live Pets Mouse called Smooch to The Madhouse, so Juliette was over the moon when we were sent another product from the range to review - the Cleverkeet.

We received a fabulous playset containing all sorts of accessories for our new feathered friend (and us !) to play with, including a perch, mirror and cart. The Cleverkeet is described on the box as an "amazing singing and talking real bird". I'm actually surprised they can get away with that because even if, as we discovered, it is a lot of fun and really interactive, saying it's a real bird is just not true! It does act just like a parakeet though - if you think of any actions that a real live parakeet would do, the Little Live Pet Cleverkeet does them too.

It dances and swings, sings songs and talks, even copying what you say. Sometimes it mixes up your words so it seems like it has a mind of its own, and the results can be quite hilarious. It flaps its wings, shakes its head and even answers your yes/no questions. The only thing it doesn't do is poo, as the Madhouse kids pointed out !

Arguably the most impressive feat that it is capable of is driving along in its own little cart under its own steam, much to Pierre's delight. The technology is really impressive - don't ask me how it works but you can give it a name which it will recognise when you play with it. (It even has an adoption certificate in the box.) It also recognises itself in the mirror and you can carry him around on his detachable perch.

The instruction booklet in the box explains all the different ways you can interact with and train your Cleverkeet. We couldn't get everything to work to begin with, then we realised that the batteries that are already installed will only allow you to use a reduced range of demo activities. Replacing them with 2 x AAA batteries will really bring it to life and unleash all its potential.

The Cleverkeet is a real little chatterbox, interacting with you and reacting to your voice but also guiding you, telling you what it wants to do and where it wants to go. It even asks for music and bops along to the tunes that you put on for it ! It's really realistic, particularly when it gets momentum going to act seemingly independently, on its perch or in its cart for example.

Rather like a Furby or a Tamagotchi, it evolves and learns new things the more you play with it, talk to it and pet it. It goes to sleep when you stop playing with it but will remember what it has learnt when it wakes up again. (If only my pupils were the same !). There is a reset button if you want to start afresh with a new name and a clear memory with none of the recorded words and sayings.

I must admit, when I saw the price, I did do a doubletake - at about £60, it's not cheap (although this is a brand new product so I've no doubt the prices will come down). Having seen how much fun all three of the Madhouse kids and also the adults have been having with it, plus the fact that it is a toy with long-term appeal because of the way it evolves the more you play with it, I would actually say that it's worth it though. I've never really seen the appeal of having a real live bird but the Cleverkeet has shown me that they can actually be great fun - I'd rather have the poop-free Little Live Pet version than a real one though !

star rating : 5/5

RRP : £59.99

for more information : http://www.character-online.com/products/Little-Live-Pets/Birds/Cleverkeet/

Disclosure : We received the product in order to write an honest review.

The September Degustabox (review)

September's Degustabox was exactly the kind I like - some things to make us go hmm that we already know and love, a few things that appealed to us from brands we already knew and a few wildcards that were brands and products we'd never heard of.

There was a lot more sweet stuff than savoury in this box, with mainly snacky things rather than ingredients for meals. This appealed to the kids but isn't so good if you're trying to get dinner on the table using things from the box !

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (2 x 85p) - made with Hershey's chocolate - you couldn't get any more American if you tried ! They're sweet but salty, very rich so one is enough (they're quite big and yo get three in a pack). Juliette loves these, especially as her fave kiddie youtubers Bratayley eat them !

 Mallow & Marsh (£2) - 3 Rasberry Marshmallows that are very gooey with a lovely tangy raspberry flavour. Poor Juliette has just had braces fitted so she was gutted that she couldn't eat these ! They're 100% natural which is a great bonus. They apparently taste delicious with a squeeze of lime too, which needs investigating !

 Maynards Red & Blacks Wine Gums (£1.50) - The blurb says: "They´re back! The two “favourite flavours” of the infamous Maynards Wine Gums are now available all year around! " Well, I'm not sure who decided that because, although I love the red strawberry ones, I'm not overly keen on the black blackcurrant ones.

 Bassetts Jelly Babies (£1.50) - A bag containing just the Berry flavours - Blackcurrant, Raspberry and Strawberry. All very nice but I have to admit, I do prefer the mixed variety bags with all the different colours, especially the green ones !

 The Good Cider of San Sebastian (2 x £1.50) - Craft cider that is full of flavour but low on alcohol, making it a refreshing drink that won't give you a headache. I love cider and these were both lovely.

 Up & Go Breakfast Drink (2 x £1.39) - "The nutritious breakfast drink from Down Under, designed for people who live life on the go. Packed with all the fibre, protein and calcium of a bowl of cereal and milk and perfect for mornings on the move, Up&Go is the most awesome way to start you day." Well, it's not as filling or satisfying as a bowl of cereal but it is a good option for those mornings when you're in a huge rush and need to grab something to eat at the bus stop, or when the kids don't fancy eating anything.

 Compete Energy (£4.49) - "COMPETE Energy Bites are delicious, low calorie chocolates infused with caffeine (1 bite = 1 large premium coffee). COMPETE® Energy Bites provide an instant boost to help improve your alertness, endurance and physical energy. Recommended to take five minutes before physical exercise, driving, partying or studying. CAUTION: VERY HIGH in CAFFEINE. Available in mocha, chocolate and lemon flavours and in packs of 2 or 6 bites." It's basically an energy drink in chocolate form which is an interesting concept, but I don't like coffee (or high doses of caffeine) so I passed these over to Madhouse Daddy.

Sweet Sally Spiced Tea (£2.40) - Freshly brewed organic Ceylon black tea, with Spanish oranges, Sicilian lemons, a touch of organic sugar and a blend of cinnamon and cloves. I don't like the taste of tea so this was never going to appeal to me, but Sophie thought it was quite nice, although she wasn't keen on one of the flavours (cloves, I think).

This month's DB's Discoveries The Olive Shop (£3) ("Extra Virgin Olive Oil with an intense fruity aroma. Greece in a bottle, by The Olive Shop") and Kent's Kitchen Szechuan Posh Noodles (£1.85) (Just add water and stir well to create an authentic Asian noodle dish. It's basically a high class pot noodle - perfect for lunch at the office.)

(Other people got Portlebay Popcorn, Miracle Noodle, TG Green Tea, Get More Vitamin Drinks as their DB's Discoveries.)

This month's recipes are for two winter warmer soups using the olive oil - Butternut Squash with Chilli & Crème Fraîche and Cream of Mushroom, both of which sound lovely.

Now, this is the bit where every month, I tell you that a subscription to Degustabox costs £12.99 including delivery per month, with each box having a value of much more than that (£24.22 this month), and that I have a discount coupon code for you which gives you a £3.00 discount when registering. Well, the great news is that from this month, the discount has doubled, getting you a whopping £6 off the price of your box - just enter code BLDEG15 at the checkout.

for more information :

http://bit.ly/DBhomepage - website

http://bit.ly/DBUKfacebook - Facebook

http://bit.ly/DBUKTwitter - twitter

Disclosure : We received the product in order to write an honest review.