Hey Time, Slow Down Please

Yesterday I dropped my son off at school and as my daughter and I walked back to the car, she asked me to sing a song, so I dutifully did, but as I sang Dingle Dangle Scarecrow it suddenly occurred to me that this won't happen for much longer.

Come September, I will be walking back to the car empty handed, no one to go off and spend the day with, at that moment my heart broke a little as i realised that my time with my baby is slowly rushing away from me.

Me and my daughter have a bucket list of things we want to do before she goes to school, we have painted a pot together, we have been to see Cinderella with her dressed in her Cinderella dress, we are going to build a bear and lots of other things.

You forget how precious those minutes, hours, days are and fill them with cleaning, shopping and moaning, when instead you should embrace every second, singing, dancing like a could of daft people in the kitchen (it's a regular thing in my house) and enjoying the moment.

So from now until my son breaks up, our three days together are going to be just that, no time constraints, just doing things that make us happy and making so many memories together.

Whats that saying...

"Cleaning and scrubbing can wait ‘til tomorrow For babies grow up we’ve learnt to our sorrow So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep" 

Slow Cooking - It's the Future, for us anyway

I was reading an article today about how less and less people are having a roast dinner because of the cost.

But for us this is a staple of the week, a meal to look forward too. It isn't something that has to cost a fortune, you just have to be a little inventive.

We tend to use cheap cuts of meat now days and if anything the meat is better and pretty much anything slow roasted tastes good.

Yesterdays dinner was Beef Pot Roast Ribs, roasted in some red wine and water for several hours gives a beautiful tasting meat that falls off the bone and can be pulled apart with a fork, a huge rib that feeds a family of four cost £3.40.

Brisket is also a fab cut of meat, slow cooked in a BBQ sauce makes a great dinner with pittas and salad or as a spicy roast.


The same can be done with Belly Pork, another really cheap cut of meat. Just slow cook with some apples and apple juice and you will have a sweet tender meat that melts in the mouth at a fraction of the price.

Tough cuts of meat can be transformed into tasty meals by simply cooking slowly, not limited too but some of our favourite recipes include:

Beef Bourginon (using braising steak or skirt)
Lamb Tagine (Using shoulder or replace with mutton if you can find it)
Beef Stew
Beef Daube
Beef Curry with Plum Jam

And if you come across a cut you haven't heard of before don't be afraid to ask the butcher how to cook it, we have come across our best finds this way, just choose flavours that work with the meat you are cooking and you can't go wrong.

If you are willing to try new cuts, then don't be afraid to try a butchers. We go to Gonalston Farm Shop once a month and buy meat on offer and stock up. 

Beef Pot Roast Ribs from Gonalston Farm Shop

I am always trying to find new recipes so if you have a slow cooker one, meat or veggie please do leave a comment :)