Friday treats

OK, so you might not get the same feeling on a Friday evening now that you are a mum (every day is a Friday!! Haha), but there is nothing stopping you from making it special! Why? Why not?!!

This is our Friday:

Today we bought this little beauty for Little Miss S



The White Company



And I bought this for the House



John Lewis Pioneer Tableware


Once Little Miss S is tucked up in bed, I'll be having a bath in this



Laura Mercier


Whilst sipping this ( brings back the memories of our wine tasting tour around France)



Pouilly Fumé AC Chatelain


Whilst The Hubby is preparing this




Moules Marinieres with pommes frites and mayo


And then I'll attempt to make these




Buttermilk Panna Cotta

Happy Friday x

Moroccan Prawns to die for!

Well, if you are thinking what to eat tonight (it's going to be a very cold night here in London), then look no further and have Moroccan Prawns. It's mine and Hubby's one of the favourite dishes. Super delicious and actually easy to prepare, and you can eat it straight from the pan (less washing up)!

So you will need

3 chopped garlic cloves
20 g of fresh grated ginger
1 red and 1 green chili, deseeded and chopped (can add more or less depending on tour love of spiciness)
3 tbs of olive oil
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
500 g of raw kings prawns (shelled but leave the tails on)
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
A bunch of finely chopped fresh coriander or parsley
1 lemon (to serve)
Ciabatta (to serve)






Heat the oil in a pan. Stir in ginger, garlic, chili and cumin seeds. Once the most amazing smell fills in your kitchen, add paprika and prawns. You will need to fry quickly over medium heat until the prawns are just cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with either coriander or parsley.

Squeeze some lemon juice over the prawns.

Serve in a pan with some warm ciabatta. And crisp, cold, light white wine (of course!)











Heavenly delicious!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Some of life's little pleasures now that I am a mum

Watching my Little Miss S play




Chocolate Truffles for lunch




Heels. Especially wearing them




Cute little shops that sell cute little things especially for cute little girls




Dinner time with my Hubby (with lots of tasty food)




Bath with a glass of red




Nice warm slippers;)




Candles. Lots of them!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Chilli and a bit on the side

My hubby suggested a chilli con carne for tonight which is a popular and simple dish. However, in our household we like it hot hot hot! Especially me! I can basically eat the whole chilli and not wince. I LOVE spicy food. With a nice glass of wine! My Hubby and I both agreed that Cuvee Fleurs Beaujolais Villages (bought in Waitrose) goes perfectly with this dish.

Anyway for the con carne you will need:

One chopped onion, one red pepper, two cloves of garlic (we love garlic but you might not so entirely up to you how much you use) 250g of lean mince, tea spoon of cumin, tea spoon of paprika, tea spoon of curry powder, two Oxo cubes of beef, two table spoons of balsamic (try using a good quality as it does improve the taste), table spoon of brown sugar, tin of chopped tomatoes and a good squirt of tomato puree, a good pinch of salt and pepper, 3 green chillies chopped (as I said I love spice and this might be too much for 'normal' people:)) a sprinkle of chilli flakes. Remember to add a cup of water at the end (otherwise it will be too dry, if it evaporates add some more, you need to cook it for 45min, so you get the end result of toffee like thickness)!

Chop onion, chop pepper, add crushed garlic. Heat up some oil in the pan. Add onion first and then follow with pepper, garlic, chilli powder, paprika, curry powder and green chillies. Add mince. Fry until meat is brown.
For the sauce add stock cubes to boiling water, add sugar, chopped tomatoes and puree. Mix everything together. Add all of this to your mince mixture and simmer. As I said keep an eye on it as you might need to add some water so it's not too dry.
Now drain a can of beans and add them to the mixture. Add salt and pepper. Leave simmering for another 15-20mins.
All done. We served it with baked potatoes (with skins on) AND My Hubby's special side salad:

For the dressing you will need Balsamic (try using a very good quality one that has a sweetness to it rather than too much acidity as it makes a huge difference). Good olive oil, chopped garlic sliced very finely, chopped onion sliced very finely, squeeze of lime or lemon at the end and some pepper.
Mix leaves, finely sliced tomatoes (again good quality tomatoes do make a difference), cucumber- optional (I do like finely cut cucumber). Toss everything with your hands.
Trust me it tastes fantastic. Not suitable for toddlers as it is rather spicy!!

Baby it's cold outside!

So it started snowing in London! We pretty much spent the whole weekend outside in the snow and then inside a nice and warm pub eating! I love snow! Winter without snow is not a winter for me. Being Lithuanian I spent my childhood winters sledging, ice skating and rolling around in the snow. It used to get much much colder than here. -15 is a normal winter temperature in Lithuania. We actually just got back from there. Relaxed, happy and a little bit heavier:) Basically, every time we visit my family everyone tries to feed us. And it's great! Both my hubby and I enjoy food and now our Little Miss S has been introduced to a wonders of Lithuanian cuisine:) Each country adapts its food to its climate. As winters are very cold in Lithuania the food tends to be very heart-warming. When you eat it after a long walk in the snow it's like having someone big and cuddly wrapping their arms around you! Or even better (because I don't think I ever had someone big and cuddly hugging me!!haha) it is like sinking into a very warm bath after a long day (with a glass of red wine;)) Anyway, here is one of my favourite Lithuanian dishes for the whole family to enjoy (have been tested on my hubby and my Little Miss S - love it, although I try to cook this separately for my daughter with no added salt, paprika and peppercorns as she is still small after all).

'Balandeliai' translates as Little Doves... Don't ask why (cabbage parcels stuffed with meat and rice). 
You will need:
Cabbage. Try using Savoy Cabbage as it nutritionally (my favourite word these day) better for you  and it does tend to taste better than 'normal cabbage'
500g of minced pork mixed with minced beef
Half a glass of rice
Some dried or fresh thyme (or any other herbs that rock your boat) 
1 egg
Some dried sweet paprika 
250ml of tomato puree
2 apples (make sure they are sour and not sweet)
2-3 carrots
Couple of bay leaves
Salt
Freshly grounded peppercorns 
Garlic
Red pepper

Place cabbage in a boiling water and let it boil for a few minutes so it is easier to separate the leaves. Cut off any chunky bits of the leaves. 
Put egg, peppercorns, paprika, salt, thyme and unboiled rice into the mince. Squeeze some garlic. Mix everything and put two table spoons of this mixture into a cabbage leaves (make parcels). 
In the pan where you will be cooking your parcels, place some cabbage leaves at the bottom and then layer them with some finely chopped carrots and pepper. 
Put your parcels in the pan, add bay leaves, peppercorns, salt. Add water. Lay some chopped apples on top. Cover and leave to stew on a low heat for about 30mins. 
Once cooked, majority of water will evaporate. Add some tomato puree - it will make a tasty sauce! Done:) 
I love serving this dish with boiled potatoes and sour cream (sprinkle some fresh dill over potatoes!).
Enjoy with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc (if you are over 18 of course).