Happy Mother's Day

"All that I am  or hope to be I owe to my Mother"

Abraham Lincoln

Mother's Day is a special day. I know we should cherish our Mother's every single day. I do, I couldn't be without her but people do put a little more effort in on Mother's Day. We get so caught up in life it's nice to take a day to truly celebrate our Mum's.

Here is my amazing Mum Andrea (with my Dad Dave)

Me and Mum haven't always had the best relationship. When I was a teenager, I was well... a teenager and my Mum had her own demons to confront. But now we have come so far. She is my rock and she is a fantastic Mum. We are going through some very tough things as a family at the moment and my Mum is holding it all together. When ever we are in pain or scared we always ask for our mum. I love you Mum.

A mother’s arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them.

- Victor Hugo

So for this Mother's Day me, my Mum, Nan, Auntie Sam and Brother Tom are of out for a lovely Thai meal. The restaurant we go to is great as has lots of great veggie options for me. Can't wait to go there.  Just wish my sister could be with us. She is in hospital at the moment but she made mum a lovely card. 

Firstly I made my Mum's card. Forgot to take a pic before I sealed it but it is based on this idea

(Source)

Gift wise I bought a charm bracelet with a few charms on. I love charm bracelets- this way I can buy her more charms as gifts.

I also made this great little 'Reasons why I Love you' book. Here is the link to the printable and below are a couple of pictures of the one I made.

And lastly the cake. Just a simple vegan coconut cake with homemade bunting.

For the bunting I simply cut out several small triangles out of fabric scraps and threaded a needle through.

Happy Mother's Day Mum

xxxxx

Valentine's Day and Spicy Butternut Squash Soup and Happy Birthday Tom!

I love Valentine's Day. I know we don't need an excuse to tell someone we love them but for me it's an excuse to get balloons out!!! Yay.

We spent our Valentine's eating in as having to watch the pennies.  I made the table look a bit cheesy :)

And Phil left me a little note before he went to work :) This little board we always update with little messages. 

And for dinner we had Sweetcorn fritters with Mango & Avocado salsa (I made it vegan and will post he recipe soon). For main we had butternut squash, sage and pine nut pasta and for dessert strawberries dipped in dairy free dark chocolate- yummy. Oh and lots of wine.

Butternut squash is one of my favourite things to use in soup so here is a nice warming soup that's so easy and doesn't have loads of ingredients.

Spicy Butternut Squash Soup (Vegan)

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 butternut squash peeled, seeds removed and cut into chunks

1/2 large onion chopped

1 pint vegetable stock

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1.2 tsp paprika

3 tbsp dairy free cream ( I use alpro soya cream and it's great)

salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. In a large pan heat the olive oil and place the onion and butternut squash in. Cook for about 5 minutes making sure to stir. Add the cayenne and paprika and coat the onion and squash.

2. Add the vegetable stock and simmer for 20 minutes until the squash is tender. Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Mean while heat another small pan with oil and fry the sage leaves until crispy- about 2-3 minutes. Then transfer to some kitchen paper to soak up the oil. Set aside.

3. Add back to the pan and add in the cream and salt and pepper to taste. Serve into bowls and sprinkle with the crispy sage.

One last thing before I go. Just want to wish my baby brother a Happy Birthday. 

Here is his birthday cake I made

Here he is a few years back...

And here he is now, not so much a baby anymore.....

Happy Birthday Tom xx

Easter Fun & Peanut Butter 'Ice Cream'

Happy Easter everyone. Hope you all had a great weekend.

I had the family round yesterday for a BBQ. And put on a little Easter Egg hunt for Connor. Cute.

Today me and Phil went on a walk along the canal. It was a lush day and we took some sandwiches with us for lunch.

Now who wants a super easy delicious dessert that is much healthier than normal ice cream and  is also suitable for vegans?

Peanut Butter 'Ice Cream'


Ingredients

1 banana frozen (I always freeze a few banana is 2 inch pieces each week)
1 tablespoon of peanut butter
1 teaspoon of agave nectar or honey (optional)

Method

Ok here it is- put it all in the blender for about 3 mins and serve!!!!! That is it.

You can do all sorts of combinations. Just try a few things. Just use banana if you want banana flavour. Or banana and strawberry. Add some nuts, or after blending add some raisins and a small amount of rum!