icklebabe.com, it’s in the blog

Anyone who’s has visited my ickle blog or has ever caught me on twitter will know I have had my own web shop selling painted and sewn pretty things  for over a year now.

But since Christmas Icklebabe has been under wraps and in construction, I have so many new ideas and a certain little mini person learning to walk  keeping me extra busy so the whole process has taken months rather than weeks! (something that does keep me awake at night, like tonight! )

But I promise it will be worth the wait!

I have a great new team of people helping me with some very different products and I am finally getting there with all my own creative stuff so it wont be long!  Hopefully by the end of the month (did I just really say that out loud!..eek…) we will be back iiinnn business!

Anyway I wanted to show you some of the things I have finished and that can be pre-ordered now, I have handpicked stuff that will be perfect for mothers day, so if you would like anything,  just email me at support@icklebabe.com, catch me on twitter or leave me a comment here below, as long as you order before 10am on Tuesday the 9th  I will get your creation to you for Mothers Day…YAY!!!

The Red Riding Hood Tea towel… More than just a tea towel this little cutie is a design statement and a little bit of whimsical fun, love that! A great little mothers day gift to raise a smile ;D  It’s £ 6.95, with free P+P!

The Alice tea towel…. I am fascinated with the whole craziness of Alice in wonderland and feel in love with this material about a year ago. I only have a small amount and as far as I know its no longer in prodution so this really is a unique gift for mum (or you!) £6.95  free P+P!

The I love … Plate….. I have hand painted this plate with either mummy or grandma in mind, personalised with your childs details, up to 3 names can be included. £12.95 with free P+P!

Extra Large tea towels … Made up with Kath Kidson material and retro fabrics, £5.95 free P+P!  All the tea towels are made using my very eclectic  lovely fabric collection, alot of which is either vintage ( like the 1950’s slate Gray fabric squares with plates on ) or I can just never get again ( like the red riding hood and alice in wonderland pattern from Japan) So each one is unique, there is only one of each so when they are gone they are gone forever!

The I love Mummy Plate….. A pretty bunch of painted flowers that will last alot longer than a real bunch! Personalised with your childs details on the little painted gift tag, up to 3 names can be included. £12.95 with free P+P!

Union Jack Patchwork cushion... A real labour of love as each piece of fabric is different and was sewn together seperatly to make the pattern, with genuine retro british rail buttons, a real peice of English loveliness!£35.00 free P+P!

The Cute Tea Cup Candle…. This is a pretty vintage tea cup candle scented with subtle rose essence , I only managed to find 6 cups with this gorgeous rose bud pattern and so would really make a totally unique gift! If you’d like it it costs £14.95 with free P+P

And coming soon! ….. patchwork quilts and fairy tale artwork.

So that’s it! hope you don’t mind me showing you them here on my blog, and your feed back on everything would be fab!

Normal foody family stuff to follow! ;D xxxx

Today’s post is cake!

OK….. at first glance not terribly diet concious but after nearly 2 weeks of cake wilderness I had to make some.

The kids helped and we all had a great time.

Warning though, these cakes are only diet if you limit yourself to 1, but when they are hot out of the oven smothered with warm honey its tough…I stopped at 2! quite commendable I think  ;D x

Carrot and Poppy Seed Cakes with Honey Glaze

4oz of self raising flour

40z of soft butter or marg

40z caster sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp of vanilla essence

handful of raisins

a small handful of poppy seeds

2 tablespoons of honey

1 large 0r 2 small carrots (grated)

The small facts :

cals per serving 120, about 10p a cake

Makes 12 cakes approx.

Method-

Pre-heat the oven at 190 0c.

Beat together the butter and the sugar, add the eggs and vanilla essence , then flour, poppy seeds, raisins and grated carrot.

Mix it up.

Spoon into cake cases and cook for around 20 mins.

When they are out of the oven put them on a cooling rack and put the honey in a pan to warm, poke small holes in the cakes with a skewer or cocktail stick and spoon  in the warm honey as a glaze…. oh now try not to eat all 12 at once!

So this week is going to be frugal with a twist, as I am on a diet…cough… healthy eating plan.

Spring has just about sprung and although its hard to imagine now, there is a small glimmer of hope that in a couple of months I won’t be wearing my trusty “covers all me fat bits and flatters me  a bit on the good bits, winter coat”.

So time to stop eating all the pies, and the butter and the cream and the wine and the chocolate!…and get down to some serious muffin top shrinking!

I’d love it if you join me, all the recipes as before are under a fiver for 5 people,  all will be under 500 cals and have to taste really good!

So this is the first, I found the inspiration in a old copy of good house keeping ( circa 2007 ! ) at the dentists, but I have changed it quite a bit for our frugal diet needs. I was a bit worried about the strong flavour of the Marmite and ale for  Milly (1) and Jack (9) at first ( don’t worry the alcohol cooks away ;D) but the flavours mellowed out to a lovely rich gravy and everyone really liked it.

Pan Fried Sticky Sausages and lentils

( 420 cals per person, approx )

10 low fat sausages ( £1.60 from rainbow )

half a pack of mushrooms ( 50p )

250 ml of dark ale ( 50p, about 1.20 for a bottle)

250g ready cooked puy lentils (65p from Sainsbury’s )

a good handful (half a bag) of chantenay carrots, quartered lengthways  (50p, £1.00 for a whole bag at Tesco’s)

2 parsnips, quartered lengthways ( 60p going off isle at rainbow )

1 red onion (10p)

French bread, optional, see notes.

From Store Cupboard

2 tsp Marmite

2 tbsp of runny honey

1 red onion

Heat a little oil in a big pan and fry the sausages on all sides until nicely brown. Set aside for a sec.

Add onion, carrots and parsnips to the pan and fry for about 10 mins until golden and softenened.

Then add the mushrooms and cook for a further 2 mins.

Ellie doing the stirring....

Return the sausages to the pan and add the marmite and honey. Then pour over the ale bring to a simmer and add the lentils.

Add a good pinch of salt and pepper.

Cook  for about 20 mins or until the whole thing becomes reduced and sticky.

Cooks notes: The 2 men ( Jack and Big J ) and the baby (Milly) who have no muffin tops to worry themselves about had lots of crusty bread and butter with this. Me and Ellie, who do have aforementioned muffin tops abet small ones, had lots of extra veg from the freezer.

YUM!!!!

Last night I couldn’t sleep and ended up watching the first two episodes of girls of the playboy mansion (ok, don’t sniff…its my guilty pleasure ;D)

Anyway I totted up to bed afterwards in my fluffy slippers with pom poms (sexy!)  and settled down into a deep…deep..sleep….

And then I started to dream, at first it was brilliant! I was the hottest girl in the playboy mansion, shaking my little tush and generally being totally fabulous, it was quite brilliant to be honest.

Then suddenly it all changed, I was still in my little bikini but I’d got really, really old and haggard and droopy and everyone around me was recoiling in disgust, and I couldn’t leave! I was stuck in Mr Hefner’s mock Tudor mansion being gawked at and ridiculed…FOREVER!!!!!

I naturally woke up in a cold sweat, it was one of those dreams where you still kind of don’t know whether its real when you wake up. I literally felt on the verge of a panic attack. After tea and no sympathy from big J (who wasn’t that impressed being woken with news of my dream about the girls of the playboy mansion, especially once he realised it wasn’t that kind of dream! ) I came to the conclusion that this dream might have been  about getting old …. just call me Einstein! .

I think its really starting to bother me, on some subconscious level.

And I think I have proof. I discovered I needed glasses while I was pregnant (over a year ago) and have a really nice designer pair of specs, but despite everyone telling me I look…. intelligent… cute…. and even foxy in these specs I have never worm them!

They always seem to be under the bed, left in the car, on the moon?, basically anywhere I can’t find them.  And now my eye sight has got so bad that I think I need to be fitted for the next size up, or whatever the technical optician term is.

Its got to the point that Ellie (teen daughter)  and Big J discretely check me for over blusher usage before I leave the house, I simply can not see my rosy cheeks for the trees!

Going shopping for clothes is no better, I have always really loved clothes and think I had my on little style thing happening, but now I am confused… am I dressing to young or do I look like a frump? is it OK to be borrowing your teenage daughters jumpers or is that just plain wrong! ?

I know I am not alone in the whole mutton/lamb scenario as the lovely Yummy Mummy wrote a brilliant  blog about the same problem.

All in all, I think it was better in my  grandmas time. In those days once you’d got married and had a couple of kids there was no expectation for you to still look  hot, it was all house coats and curlers!

Not that I want to completely give up and grow hair on my chin or anything, its just that I feel the heat of the competition to be younger, more shiny, less tired some how?

Is that just me?  Would love to know how you guys feel. Do you think we are stuck in a world of young kids and plastic grown-ups? or are you glad we can all get surgery to look 15 till we’re 90! Its over to you guys what do you think?……

Back story…..If you’ve read the start of the week you’ll know that I have just £5 a day for 5 people. This is day 5.

So guys I think tonight I hit the wall. I was mooching around the going off isle feeling pretty uninspired…. I feel like a giant steak or yummy take out or just a big ass box of roses (I am hormonal, can u tell?) . NOT what is on offer here… a lank bag of lettuce, a piece of day-glow  yellow fish, two strawberry trifles (they are ALWAYS here) and….. two large piece’s of turkey.

I am not a turkey fan, it always goes dry and it has no flavour. I have to say if it wasn’t  for you guys and your fantastic comments so far and the fact that I keep looking at bigger houses on rightmove as frugal inspiration I would have  given up, but no….that turkey was whispering to me….. take me, take me….I can be delicious.

And then inspiration hit, I saw the barefoot contesa do something simular (but with chicken, and more posh) on the cooking chanel the other day. So here it is, turkey escallops Parmesan with tomato pesto pasta ! Or if your explaining it to the under 10’s its like a giant cheesy chicken nugget and tomato pasta twirls…that should keep everyone happy! Oh and by the way it was actually amazingly good, I think my fav of the week in fact, I am a reformed turkey hater….yay me!!! ;D And if your still with me…yay YOU!

Turkey Escallops Parmesan with Tomato Pesto Pasta -

400g of turkey breast, 2 breasts (£1.89 in the going off soon section)

1/2 a packet of pre-grated Parmesan cheese around 25g’s (50p)

Cooks notes… feel I should tell you, until now I would not ever have used this stuff, only the proper wedges you grate yourself, (food snobbery)  but its fine for this and also really convenient if you have a cute little baby type person yanking at your leg while your cooking.

1/2 a bag of pasta shapes (25p) they are on offer at rainbow at the mo.

1/2 a jar of salca red pesto (50p) also on offer at the mo.

1/2 a bag of lettuce (50p)

3 tomatoes (50p)

Store cupboard-

1 egg

1 piece of white bread

salt and pepper

pinch of paprika or chilli powder

First take the two large turkey steaks and hammer them flat with either a meet tenderiser or if you don’t have one of them, you can bash away (gently though ;D ) with a rolling pin, we are aiming for two thin steaks that we can cut lengthwise into 4 large strips.

Then prepare the coating. In one bowl beat an egg. In another bowl add most of the Parmesan cheese (keep a little bit by for the pasta) bread crumbs ( I do this by whizzing up the bread in my trusty cheap hand blender, you could also use a food mixer but they are a bit annoying and bulky to wash afterwards;D) with the salt, pepper and a pinch of paprika.

Put a large frying pan on to heat, on a medium flame while you do the next bit……

Once you have the 2 bowls and the giant turkey strips, you get to the fun part! You quickly dip the turkey in the wet egg mixture and then into the dry breadcrumb mix and then straight into the sizzling pan, do the same with all 4 pieces of  escallops .

Note-  You must make sure the pan is hot enough to sizzle other wise it won’t brown nicely, in the same respect we are going to cook these puppies for 15 mins so if they are browning to quickly turn the heat down just a touch. Turn them 2 or 3 times throughout cooking for a really lovely even crispy texture.

While that’s happening put  boiling water in a pan and start the  pasta (usually takes around 12 - 15 mins)

Once the pasta is cooked, drain and stir in the pesto, sprinkling the rest of the Parmesan cheese for extra flavor.

Then take out the yummy Parmesan escallops and serve  on a bed of lettuce and tomatoes with a side dish of yummy pasta… Really good!

Just a quick post today, this bloging daily lark is hard. And Milly keeps trying to climb up my leg and onto my back, could be dangerous!

If you’ve read the start of the week  you’ll know that I have just £5 a day for 5 people.

Anyway, I really wanted to share this one with you because it was a such a Big Success! Jack the curry hater, and Milly the food thrower both sat quietly with a few mmmm’s and ate the lot! Result!!!

Creamy lemon Coriander Chicken Curry with Red peppers (cheaper and healthier than a take away, and just as yummy!)

2 Onions ( 50p )

200ml of Creme Fraiche (I used reduced fat one) ( 89p)

1 Red Pepper ( 89p ) (bit of a rip off, that?!)

1/2 the Medium cooked chicken from yesterdays Roast lemon chicken post ( 2.00 )

OR about 450 g of cooked chicken breast

2 tomatoes ( 30p )

1 lemon ( 20p )

From store cupboard-

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

3 cardamom pods

1 teaspoon of ground turmeric

1 teaspoon of chilli powder

1 tablespoon of concentrated stock (I use the knor one in the bottle)

large handful of fresh coriander or 2 teaspoons of dried

salt and pepper

Rice

First fry garlic and onions in olive oil in large frying pan until translucent. Add the cumin, cardamom pods, turmeric and chili powder, add water if it starts to stick.

cook for 2mins.

Add the red pepper, the toms (quartered)  coriander and stock with enough water to cover and cook until the pepper is soft .

Stir in chicken, cut into large chunks add juice of whole lemon add a little more water if necessary and cook gently covered for about 20mins, then add the creme fraiche and cook for further 10 mins and serve with rice..YUMMY!!!

Okay! day 3 of the frugal challenge and I am cheating a bit, but not really.  If you’ve read the start of the week  you’ll know that I have just £5 a day for 5 people.

Let me explain, I really really fancied a roast tonight but didn’t want to blow the budget so I have only used 1/2 a medium sized chicken for this recipe. I will use the other half for tomorrows creation. If your not trying to save cash the leftovers make the best midnight snack sarnies! ;D

The Best Lemon and Garlic Chicken in the world EVER! - (hope I haven’t bigged it up too much)

1 Medium sized whole chicken (we will only be using half) -£2.00

5 chippolata sausages- £1.20

1/2 a bag of potatoes -50p

bulb of garlic -70p

1/2 a bag of Chantilly carrots going off isle 3 lol! -25p

1 cabbage….. same isle, -25p

From store cupboard-

1 teaspoon of dried thyme

1 teaspoon of dried rosemary

1 teaspoon of dried parsley

about 4 oz of butter

Ok , all’s you do is peel the potatoes and cut into pieces ( I cut small ones in half, bugger ones into 3) and place on large baking tray.

Then mix together the butter and all the herbs into a bowl and smear under chicken skin and on top, cut the lemon into slices and shove gently under the skin (if your squeamish, you can place on top) .

Sit Mr Chicken nicely right on top of the potatoes and garlic (broke into segments, but not pealed) and cook for around 2 hours for medium birdy.

When its around an hour before the end of cooking time, shake the potatoes a bit (they should be basting nicely in all the chicken juices) and check on chicken, if its going to brown at this stage cover in a little foil.

Then 1/2 an hour before end, add chippolata’s and cook veg.

When cooked take chicken out, turn the heat up as high as it will go and blast the roasty’s for another 5 mins, this will make them seriously good!

Then to make the gravy drain the pan of most of the fat, squeeze out the yummy roasted garlic and then add about 300 ml of gravy (I use good old bisto) .

Oh I also had a little bit of yesterdays bacony mash left so served that too.

E’ Viola! …. P.S… Don’t forget to save half Mr Chicken for tomorrow’s creation. Its gonna be Creamy Lemon-Coriander Chicken Curry with Red Pepper, so worth the sacrifice ;D

Right so, day2 of the frugal food week, if you’ve read the start of the week blog you’ll know that I have just £5 a day for 5 people.

So I start my quest at the lovely rainbow “going out of date tomorrow” shelf but to my dismay the only thing on offer this evening is individual trifles and garlic bread, well that would be carbs and at a push one of their 5 a day ?,but no…oh poop….

Will just have to get inventive….so I have a quick memory scan through my fridge (i could almost hear the whirling, this whole save money lark takes allot of brain power you know!)

And then it hits me, something from my childhood, a bit of updating for this century ;D and,….. Captain dinner has landed!

So here we are ta daa, not exactly cordon blue cookery! But very warming on a winters evening ….

Yummy Cheese and Potato Pie Italian Stylie!!

1 pack of value smoked bacon (£1.50)

1/2 a bag of potato’s ( 50p)

1/2 a pack of value mushrooms (35p)

1 onion (10p)

1 garlic clove (5p)

1/2 a packet of grated mozzarella cheese (75p)

1/2 a packet of grated cheddar cheese (75p) ( was on offer, 2 bags for £3.00)

4 Tomartoes

From store cupboard-

Good pinch of dried parsley

Good pinch of thyme

3 sun dried tomatoes (in oil from jar)

Firstly chop up the onion, garlic and sun dried toms and fry gently in a little oil for a couple of mins, then cut the bacon into small pieces and do the same with the mushrooms and add to the pan, fry gently.

While thats cooking peel the potatoes, cut into cubes and put into a big pan of salted water for about 20 mins or until soft.

When the bacon is crispy and the onions soft and yummy, take off heat. Mash the potatoes with a really good couple of knobs of butter (can’t beat buttery mash) and then add nearly half of the 2 cheeses (saving a little for the top) and finally the onioney bacon mixture. Along with a good grind of pepper and a pinch of salt.

Give it a good stir, place in a oven prof dish , top with sliced tomatoes  (saving some for the salad) and grill until the top is golden brown.

While its under the grill fry off 4 more bits of bacon until crispy and place it onto of pie, yum!

Day 2 done, yay me! and anyone else joining in, Yay YOU!  can we save money? yes we can! sorry I know, I’m getting a bit carried away ;D xxx