Children » The Coastguard

Post Pancakes

Children, Chocolate, Event, Photos No Responses »

Feb 222012

We certainly spanned the ages yesterday at the pancake day tea – youngest (I think) was 6 months and the eldest, whilst still looking extremely spritely and lots younger than me, were somewhat more mature. Suffice to say, they weren’t too interested in the unlimited squash but the Rioja went down very nicely, thank you very much.

So for those that missed it here are the naked pancakes…

The glues, aka warm golden syrup, lemon juice and sugar (there was ice-cream as well but it melted before I could take a snap)

And the decorating materials

All in all it was a great afternoon, fun was had, pancakes consumed, squash imbibed, prizes awarded and most of all, no-one was sick. Which was, considering the amount of pancakes eaten, quite surprising.

Obviously, the next pancake day will be Feb 2013, but if you can’t wait that long we’ve an Ice Cream Structural Engineering event on Wednesday April 18th between 3pm – 6pm. Booking is essential on this one as we’re going to need a fair amount of room…. £5.00 per child of any age 0 – 160 including unlimited squash (but sorry, not Rioja)

Pancakes and Ice Cream Engineering (Structural)

Children, Chocolate, Event No Responses »

Feb 202012

Half term is over, they’re all back in school/nursery/baby gym so this seems the ideal opportunity to mention up-coming children’s events! Firstly, we do have a couple or three spaces left for tomorrow’s pancake day tea (Tuesday 21st February, 3pm – 6pm).

Everyone that makes a vague attempt at eating a savoury pancake and salad, will get swift delivery of pancakes and assorted decorating materials to make their own edible artwork. Syrup, sweeties, sprinkles, jam, chocolate…. and we get to wash up the mess. £5 per head including unlimited squash, milk, water, no upper age limit and that’s pancake day sorted for another year.

The second event has a little more notice and a bit more space. On Wednesday April 18th we will be having an ice-cream structural engineering afternoon tea. Homemade fish finger sandwiches with or without ketchup (vegi/non fishy alternative available – just ask!) and some of your 5 a day, followed by ice cream. A lot of ice-cream, plus wafers, biscuits, fruit, sprinkles, chocolate and other fine building materials to make the biggest, quirkiest Knickerbocker Glory of all time. Prizes for the most decorative and/or stable construction. Again, £5.00 per head, unlimited squash and no upper age limit. All in all, a great fun afterschool treat with the added bonus of no washing up.

We do of course have more adult events, some of which I’m sure I’ll get round to blogging. Admittedly, my track record is normally to write about it after the event so if telepathy isn’t your strongest point or you’d like a little more notice, please do join our email list through the ‘contact us’ bit of the main website.

More adventures in snow

Bread, Children, Food, Photos, Snow, Weather No Responses »

Feb 102012

It’s possible we did this in the wrong order. Perhaps we should have made these little snow cakes prior to pigging out on snow toffee (see below) but I was on a roll and it was the only other recipe I could find that involved snow and ingredients readily available without driving anywhere!

In fact, I didn’t actually have the correct ingredients entirely, which, considering that there are only three items in the recipe was a bit of a problem. The instructions, which I’d nicked from Denis Cotter’s ‘For the love of Food’ book (possibly my most favourite vegetarian cookery writer and also chef/patron of ‘Cafe Paradiso’, the only strictly vegi restaurant on my ‘must try before I die’ list) called for fine maize flour, salt and snow. The latter two I had in abundance. The maize flour was a tricky one; however, I did have a box of polenta and a Thermomix (the only other member of kitchen staff that made it in). The Thermo is basically a very useful bit of kit that can whizz stuff up very fast, very finely.

A flick of a switch later and I had maize flour in a lovely misty-buff coloured bowl with a couple of pinches of salt.

Braving the elements yet again, daughter no1 and I gathered enough snow to fold into the flour to just bind itFrom there it was ever so gently plonked into a greased muffin tin, brought back in from the cold and baked in a hot oven for 15 minutes.

Out came these little yellow cakes, light as a feather and three times as delicate. Most of all, they were indeed edible. Possibly a bit on the crunchy side (I blamed the snow), but topped with a little melted butter and some jam, definitely edible.

So you now know what to do if you ever find yourself starving, stuck in the snow and within easy reach of an Italian deli, hot oven and high speed mixer…..

Sugar on Snow

Children, Food, Photos, Rain, Snow, Sun, Thoughts, Weather, wind No Responses »

Feb 092012

It may have escaped your notice but it snowed overnight on Saturday. It was however, impossible not to notice the snowy stillness being rudely interrupted by our 4 children screaming in delight at the sight of a thick white blanket of snow where once there had been a beer garden, car park and beach.

Even so, come lunchtime, excitement was beginning to wane and new things needed to be invented. Long, long ago, I remembered reading Little House on the Prairie or some such, where the children made sugar snow. This sort of thing appeals to me, not only as a big kid myself, but also in the glossy magazine image of motherhood kind of way.

A wee trawl of the Internet came up with recipes using maple syrup which sadly, wasn’t part of my ‘in case of snow’ emergency ingredient kit. Harboring the thought that Laura, Mary, Ma and Pa (or whoever it was) were possibly a bit hard up for maple syrup, decided to substitute golden syrup and guess what dear reader, it jolly well works….. Here is the recipe. Well, list really. Actually, it’s best done in photographic form All you need is golden syrup (or maple), butter and a table full of freshly fallen snow (the fluffy stuff)

Weigh out 100g of golden syrup into a pan with 25g of butter. Melt it down over a medium heat, stiring from time to time making sure it doesn’t catch and start to burn. After about 5 minutes check the mix by dropping a little off a teaspoon onto a cold plate. If it stiffens, it’s ready. If it’s still a touch runny cook it on abit and try again. If it turns black and breaks your teeth, start again…

Once you have your runny toffee, venture outside.

Let the molten mixture fall from your spoon onto the snow, allow to cool for a second and then devour, snow and all.

I’d like to add, this is the one and only time you should encourage your children to eat the yellow snow…..