A Day Trip to the New Forest

Since we're not going out of town anywhere this summer, we've been trying to make the most of day trips with the kids.  It's actually been a lot of fun and requires a lot less packing.

We're lucky to live near the beautiful New Forest,  so I recently enjoyed a day out there with the kids.  We packed a picnic, put Indigo Girls on, and set off.  I let Miriam navigate (no, she can't read maps yet or read fast enough for road signs as we drive past...she just picked whichever direction took her fancy).  It turned out to be a good choice as we discovered the New Forest Reptile Centre.  I had no idea that such a place existed, but it turned out to be good fun as we tried to spot the various frogs, lizards, and other animals.

There was also a RSPB centre there.  We went in and learned about wildlife in the New Forest and the different types of birds that live in the area.  Miriam made friends with all of the volunteers by telling them about the bird boxes at her school and our bird feeders at home.  Soon she had them stroking her invisible unicorn ponies (her version of an imaginary friend) and letting them play with the wooden display birds.

We decided to try out the "reptile trail" as well.  No, there weren't any reptiles (that we could see anyway).  It was a nice hike to do with young children, though, as there was a flat, easy-to-follow trail.  We found some little houses made out of sticks that the girls were thrilled about, and enjoyed spotting different plants and birds.  Anya was good at finding logs to rest on and sticks to use as pretend phones.  Even though it wasn't far from home, it really felt like we were enjoying nature and somewhere different.  As Miriam summed up, "It's pretty in the New Forest, and sometimes it's important to be alone and just see the trees and things.  It makes me feel happy."

Rainy Summer Days

 When I think of summer time, I usually think of sunny days, barbecues, and swimming pools.  I think of the childhood summer feeling when you're free from school and feel like the warm weather can never end.  Not all summer days are sunny though.  In fact, I love a good thunderstorm, and even in the summer (especially here) you can get cooler rainy days.  After a good day of rain the air just smells cleaner and everything looks a bit brighter and greener again.

Shopping on a recent rainy day, I found some celeriac (also known as celery root) reduced down to just a few pence.  Not sure what I was going to do with it, I bought it and brought it home.  Watching the rain trickle down the windows, it felt like a soup kind of a day.  So here's my celeriac soup for a rainy summer day.

Celeriac Soup Recipe

1. Put a knob of butter and dash of olive oil in a large saucepan on medium heat.

2. Chop and add a shallot (you can substitute any variety of onion if you don't have shallot, or omit completely).  Let it start to sweat.

3. Chop and add one celeriac (I peeled it first).  Add any other root vegetables you want to include as well (I added several peeled and chopped potatoes and a couple carrots).

4. Stirring regularly, let the vegetables cook and soften.  If they get dry, start adding a little stock (I used vegetable stock, but you could use chicken stock).

5. When the vegetables are getting soft, puree them (I used a hand blender and did it with them in the pan).  Then add the rest of the stock (about 2 pints, but you can add more or less depending on how thick you want your soup). 

6. Season to taste with salt and pepper (best with roughly ground black pepper and sea salt).

7. Serve and enjoy.  If desired, finish off by adding a little creme fraiche or yogurt (or cream if you feel indulgent).

We ate the soup with home-made croutons.  They are delicious and so easy to make.

Rosemary Croutons

1. Preheat oven to about 400F/200C. 

2. Roughly chop up a loaf (not pre-sliced) of bread into cubes.  I used a home-made loaf of bread (it was a mixture of white and wholemeal flour with added poppy seeds).

3. Put the bread and some sprigs of rosemary in a large pan.  Coat lightly with olive oil.

4. Sprinkle with a little sea salt and black pepper.

5. Bake for about 20 minutes.  They should be crispy and light.

6. Serve with soup or salad.  Or just eat them.  These turned out to be so delicious that my daughter Anya stole the bag of leftover croutons from the kitchen.  She carried them around with her as her new favorite snack, and absolutely refused to let anyone else taste one.  It took all of our parenting skills to convince her that she could not bring the bag of croutons to bed with her.

Recently I discovered two new blogs thanks to Secret Post Club.  I love taking part in this gift swap.  First off, it's always nice to get a surprise present.  It's also kind of fun to be exposed to new blogs, make cyber friends, and snoop around people's blogs to try to figure out what the perfect gift would be for them that month.

Thank you to Living Abroad for the cute baby clothes.  Preston's already gotten lots of wear out of them and they are a perfect fit.  I like the mix of book reviews, pictures, and family tidbits in your blog. 

I got to play elf for 'Cross the Pond.  As you can see, I sent off a chocolate recipe book and some chocolate molds (because who doesn't like chocolate).  I also included a cd mix.  I'd put the mix together when in the kitchen, and called it Baking on a Rainy Day.  If you want to know my rainy day playlist (and hopefully hers now too), here it is:

1. Fixing Her Hair, Ani DiFranco
2. Lady on the Water, Blitzen Trapper
3. You Still Hurt Me, William Fitzsimmons
4. Broken Telephone, The Be Good Tanyas
5. Bracket WI, Bon Iver
6. What Are We Gonna Do, Brenda Weiler
7. Such Great Heights, Iron & Wine
8. The Luckiest, Ben Folds
9. Beach Baby, Bon Iver
10. Original Sinsuality, Tori Amos
11. Judas, Antje Duvekot
12. Just Not Each Other, William Fitzsimmons
13. The Awakening, Jennifer Nettles Band
14. Dilate, Ani DiFranco
15. Pearls, Antje Duvekot
16. Human Thing, The Be Good Tanyas
17. Decide, April Messervy
18. Wish for the Sun, Brenda Weiler
19. Come Away With Me, Norah Jones
20. Lit Elephants, Madeline

PS- Don't forget to check out Hidden Domestic's Etsy page.

A long overdue post on brownies...

Everyone has a stand-by recipe.  You know the kind that I mean.  A recipe that you know will turn out every time.  The kind of recipe that you don't need any special ingredients for and that can be made at any time.  If you need to bring a potluck item, this is the recipe you automatically turn to.  For me, my most dependable stand-by is brownies.  They are easy to make and turn out perfectly every time.  Brownies are always popular and you can make a lot of variations on them (like cookie dough brownies). Somehow I've never gotten around to blogging my brownies recipe, so here it is.  I hope your family loves it as much as mine does.

Brownies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter (soft but not melted)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 180 C/350 F.  Butter and flour the pan (about 6 x 6 is good, but be flexible--it just means thicker or thinner brownies if you use a different size).
2. Put all ingredients in a medium sized bowl.  Mix by hand until blended (don't over mix).
3. Bake for about 30 minutes.  I like mine still gooey in the middle.

We last made brownies for a school fundraiser.  My daughter's school has an annual summer fair as a fund raiser, and they have donated treats for a cake stand and prizes.  We go to support her school, but it's actually a great community event.  There's a different theme each year (this year was pirates), but there are always a wide variety of activities including pony rides, hot air balloon rides, bouncy castles, live music, barbecue, and much more.  Even if you don't have kids, find out if your local schools have similar fundraising events (most primary schools do).  They're a lot of fun and all of the proceeds go to a good cause.

Catching Up & Moving On

First of all, Happy 100!  This is my 100th post on Hidden Domestic!  I started blogging two years ago (give or take a few weeks).  A lot of recipes, craft projects, and rambling later, here we are.  Post #100.  Thanks to everybody for your visits to the site, feedback & comments, etc.

In 100 posts, the one thing that I've never had very good luck with is holding a contest.  This last contest was no exception.  I'm really excited about our new Etsy shop, and the prize was any of the baby items in the shop.  Unfortunately nobody entered the competition, so there's no prize to announce.

Looking ahead to the future, that's one thing that I really want to accomplish: a popular contest on Hidden Domestic.  I also look forward to trying out a lot more delicious recipes, making more crafts/art projects/sewing, more field trips, etc.  Maybe I'll even try having a few guest bloggers...what do y'all think?  I really am excited about the possibilities of Etsy, so more of the things we make and blog about might end up on there.

Even though I've made it up to 100 posts now (wow!), there are so many things that I mean to blog about and forget to photograph or just don't get around to actually posting.  One of the things I've been meaning to blog about all month is the 4th of July.  So here are a few thoughts on our 4th.

To me, the 4th of July calls for a picnic or --even better--a barbecue.  There's nothing like a nice sunny Independence Day with spicy bbq smoke in the air, kids running around with watermelon slices and the red juice running down their arms, and sparklers.  No matter where you live, you can find a great picnic or bbq spot.  We bbq'd in the back yard and had all the great picnic food standards: cole-slaw, potato salad, green salad, watermelon, burgers & veggie burgers, hot dogs (Quorn), etc.  The weather was perfect for it and the girls kept jumping in the paddling pool and then running back to the table for more food.

For dessert we made smores.  We make smores every summer, and try out variations from the very simple to sophisticated desserts based on smores.  This year we bought the cookies/crackers (we tried out a few different types) and chocolate, but used homemade marshmallow.  In honor of the 4th of July, we made red, white, and blue marshmallow cream.  We "browned" it with the kitchen blow torch (fabulous gadget similar to this one BonJour Creme Brulee Chef's Culinary Torch with Fuel Gauge, Brushed Aluminum).

The marshmallow cream is actually pretty easy to make and tastes way better than the store bought stuff. We used the recipe from Wren's Cottage and it turned out beautifully.  I really love what a glossy finish the marshmallow cream gets.  We just made plain vanilla marshmallows and then added food coloring for the patriotic effect, but you could experiment with different flavors too.  Just don't add too much extra liquid as it will change the consistency.

I have to admit that the smores were pretty addictive.  For several days after the 4th I didn't seem to make it through the kitchen without stopping for a little smore (or maybe just a spoonful of the marshmallow cream).

Baby Clothes Competition

Don't forget about the Hidden Domestic competition going on now.

Here are the lovely prizes:

You can pick any one of the items in the Etsy shop, or I can make a new item especially for the winner (featuring your child's name, for example).

Here are the competition details:

To enter:
1) Look at Etsy and then comment on this post saying what you think of our new Etsy shop.
2) Place an order with us on Etsy.
3) Follow The Hidden Domestic.
4) Follow me on Twitter (@KeriWithington)
5) Tweet about the competition or shop (must include a link).
6) Like the Hidden Domestic on Facebook (click here)

You can do just one of these or all of them; I'll give you an entry each. Just leave a comment here and let me know which ones you've done so that I make sure to count all of your entries. Just to be fair, if you're already a follower you get an entry for that too as long as you let me know.

Good luck everybody!

Also, Thank You Thank You Thank You to Lisa for being my secret elf and sending me cooking magazines!  I'm enjoying flipping through them and look forward to trying out some ideas I'm getting.  Lisa's blog is Lisa's Adventures.

ETSY!!!!

If you've been reading the Hidden Domestic for awhile, you know that we really like making things.  When I was pregnant with our newborn son, Preston, I started sewing and customizing baby things for him.  I enjoyed having a few minutes of quiet time every evening to sew.  In fact, now I find myself often picking up a little sewing project after his big sisters have gone to bed and Preston's having his evening nap.  Now that his wardrobe is overflowing with clothes, I've decided to branch out and make clothes for other kids too.

Enter Etsy.  The Hidden Domestic has set up an Etsy shop!  It's still small and only has baby clothes on it, but may branch out eventually into other things.  Please visit and let us know what you think.  I LOVE Etsy and all of the amazing home-made and vintage items on there, so make sure to have a browse around some other shops there too.

Click here to go to the Hidden Domestic on Etsy.

Also, I'm running a competition to celebrate the new Etsy shop.  The winner will get a free baby item (decorated vest or sleepsuit similar to the ones in the shop).

To enter:
1) Look at Etsy and then comment on this post saying what you think of our new Etsy shop.
2) Place an order with us on Etsy.
3) Follow The Hidden Domestic.
4) Follow me on Twitter (@KeriWithington)
5) Tweet about the competition or shop (must include a link).
6) Like the Hidden Domestic on Facebook (click here)

You can do just one of these or all of them; I'll give you an entry each.  Just leave a comment here and let me know which ones you've done so that I make sure to count all of your entries.  Jus tto be fair, if you're already a follower you get an entry for that too as long as you let me know.

The deadline is Friday the 22nd of July.

Good luck everybody!

Happy June & Secret Post Club

If you want to make any month happy, the first thing you should do is sign up for The Secret Post Club.  Basically a group of bloggers (including me) gets paired up each month.  I'm not sure which I like more: getting a surprise present each month or discovering new blogs and cyber friends and sending them presents.

For June I drew Pants With Names to send a gift to.  I had looked at her blog before, so I was excited to send her a little package.  I didn't have the time or budget this month to do anything big, but I sent her the book "Random Acts of Heroic Love" by Danny Scheinmann.  I'd read it and enjoyed it, and it seemed like something she would enjoy as well.

Inspired by this blog post of hers, I decided to make her a CD as well.  I made sure to include "Jerusalem", and then worked from there.  (Dont' worry--the music is all legal.)  I ended up with a CD that I called "A Little Patriotic".

Here's the cover I made for it:

If you're interested, here's the playlist for it:

1. "Penny Lane", The Beatles

2. "Dublin Boys", Antje Duvekot

3. "Pastures New", Nickel Creek

4. "From the New World", Dvorak

5. "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing", Sufjan Stevens

6. "Landslide", Glee

7. "Life is Wonderful", Jason Mraz

8. "Dance Tonight", Paul McCartney

9. "Rule Britannia", the Rangers

10. "Pomp & Circumstance", Elgar

11. "Is This the World We Created?", Queen

12. "Mad World", Tears for Fears

13. "Independence Day", Ani DiFranco

14. "Nimrod", Elgar

15. "Morning Has Broken", Cat Stevens

16. "Made in England", Elton John

17. "Sleepytime in the Western World", Blitzen Trapper

18. "Come on Home", Indigo Girls

19. "Muddy Hymnal", Iron & Wine

20. "Homeward Bound", Simon & Garfunkel

21. "Jerusalem", Elgar

I'm looking forward to getting my Secret Post Club gift for the month...