The Mother of All Days





Sunday 10/3/2013

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Diary and Notes


Mother's Day today - or if you are a wanky old bastard (ie the BBC) Mothering Sunday. I don't give a hoot about the history of the day or what it is really about, if I don't get my Mum a card and make sure the kids do something for Toni, I will have failed in my son/dad duties.

Luckily I got a good night's sleep and was feeling chipper. The kids were up at about 6.00 and managed to drag Toni out of bed before me - ha! No breakfast in bed for you today.

Sunday morning Isis goes to gym and I usually take Eve and Olias to buy a milky bar and a paper - but it is bloody freezing. Winter has come back and it's worse than ever. Eve, being somewhat averse to going out in the cold, managed to convince me to stay in and play tents instead.

After lunch (a really tasty king prawn fried rice dish, rustled up in a hurry using some left over cajun rice) we all went to the Pottery Corner in Chorlton to make a hand print plate and to blow a month's fun budget in ten minutes. After this, I played with the kids for a bit. Then it was time to cook dinner. Olias was a bit gripey and I had to carry him while I did most of this, also Isis and Eve were making a small tent in the kitchen out of assorted furniture, providing a dangerous obstacle, while I carried around boiling hot fat and bubbling pans - and the baby.

Possibly not recommended by social services, but I get the job done.

After dinner I took Olias upstairs for a bath and the two other children followed. Joy, unalloyed joy.

Mother's day: It's traditional for men to help out a bit with the kids, maybe cook dinner and give the ladies a rest from their hard labours.

Draw your own conclusions.



Today's video. Somebody sent Toni this on Facebook. It's not the original by Anita Renfroe, but this lady has a better voice for this sort of thing.

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There have been some problems with my Dad lately as well. I had to call an ambulance to take him to hospital yesterday. He lives in Swansea, some 200 miles from me. Apparently he collapsed in an opticians and they sent him home in a cab. When I found out, I called to see if he was ok and he collapsed again. He was taken into hospital overnight. When they took him home the next day, the ambulance drove off, leaving him outside his house, but his door was jammed. He phoned me to let me know he was standing in the freezing cold and was really scared. I phoned the police who went to help, then needed to get a locksmith to get him back into his house.

When it rains...


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Menu

  • Raised Venison pie
  • Roast Potatoes
  • Cumberland Sausage and Bacon Rolls
  • Roast Shallots
  • Carrots and Green Beans
  • Gravy




    Ingredients*

    Raised Venison Pie
    300g Diced Venison
    2 Glasses Red Wine
    200ml Chicken Stock
    1 TSBP Sunflower Oil
    200g Flour
    100g Butter
    50g Olive Oil
    100ml Water
    2 tsp Salt

    Note: We bought a little pack of venison in Morrisons for about £3.00 - but upon opening realised there wasn't enough inside to do much apart from make a little pie. Sadly my pastry making is really bad, possibly due to me having very hot hands (good for bread making though) As such my plan was to make a raised pie with hot water crust pastry but I didn't have any lard. I improvised a bit and used a mixtue of butter and olive oil instead. This worked fine but the pastry was a little less crumbly than normal. This pastry is really easy to make and doesn't even need a rolling pin or make any mess rolling it out.
    Preparation

  • Pie Filling: Brown the venison in a pan then add the wine. Simmer for a minute or two then sprinkle over 1 TBSP of flour. Stir well then add the chicken stock, some salt and pepper. Cook very gently for an hour - until the meat is really tender. If it starts to thikcne too much add a little more water or stock.
  • Hot Water Crust Pastry: Sift the flour into a bowl and add some salt. Put the butter into a jug and pour over boiling water. Add some olive oil and put into a microwave until it begins to bubble. Pour the liquid over the flour and mix really well. Knead to make a dough.
  • Pie: Mould most of the dough into a dish (saving a little for the top). Put the venison in and put a lid on the pie. Bake for 1 hour at about 150c.

    Today’s Ratings:

    Isis: Yum.
    Eve: Yum.
    Olias: Yum.

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    *All quantities are very approximate and for a family of 5 (2 adults, 3 kids aged 5 years, 3 years & 9 months)
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