icklebabe.com, it's in the blog

  So Summer is in full swing, Big J read recently that its the hottest on record, and I can so believe it. I have been on the verge of boiling point!

What I love about this time of year is the lazy days. Its way too hot to do anything over exciting so the best days are spent  in the garden with a good book, toes dangling in a ice cold paddling pool. Followed by some yummy light, sunshiny food and a tall glass of pimms. Which despite our little fall out at the beginning of summer  ( Where I discovered that yes, you can have to much of a good thing! ) we are now firm friends again.

The books I have been reading this month whilst feet dangling and pool soaking have been fab ones!

The first one I read was Playing with the Grown-ups By Sophie Dahl. I got it by accident really, one of those “you may also like” purchases at Amazon (they get me every time) . I was just picking up a copy of her cookery book and I thought I’d give this one a go too,  being as I have always been completely in LOVE with her grandaddies work, maybe its hereditary? …

And it really is! Not since I read The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold a couple of years ago,  have I been so drawn into a book.

Its a coming of age tale about Kitty. Her life with her totally beautiful and equally tragic Artist Mother takes her from rural England to London and then off to New York. Its set in the early nineties and it conjures up the mood and time of teenage years in such a knowing, honest and poignant way.

But the real beauty in this book is the relationship between Kitty and her very flawed Mum.

Its not a your classic chick lit, as  its full of an ample peppering of sex, swearing and drug taking. But its also sweet and innocent somehow, packed to the rafters with bumbling aristocrats, boarding school romances and a large helping of the New york high life!   

I can not tell you how much I loved this book, but  when I had read the last page I was sad, the way you get at the end of  all good books…. like saying goodbye to an old, much loved friend.

So if  you can find time this summer between all the business of crazy toddlers , stinky boys who don’t like to wash  and heart broken teens (no?, sorry that’s just my life ;0) Give it a read, I deify anyone not to love it!

The second book I will save for another post  as Milly is getting a little over excited with handing me the books she wants me to read… Why do they make board books so heavy anyway? …..Toddler weapons of mass head injury destruction, that’s what they are! ! ! … OWCH!!

Okaaaay…  *ties Milly to a chair with skipping rope, sits her in front of telly and an episode of peppa pig* ……Anyway…..the other book I read was literally life changing. If you have problems getting your little one to sleep I have a cure, HONESTLY I swear! but I will save that book review for next time

Now for the yummy food part, its a recipe I made up after a holiday in San Francisco where I had THE BEST crab cakes on the planet.

These ones are as close to them as I can get, and I think they are pretty damn good, hopefully you’ll give them a go too and let me know ;D.  The addition of the prawns gives them a light, almost fluffy feel.

1 tin of crab meat

1 packet of fresh prawns

1 red chilli (or dried chilli flakes)

1 and a half slices of white bread

(made into bread crumbs, I use hand mixer to do this. But you can just buy bread crumbs.)

1-1 /2  tablespoon’s of good mayonnaise

A little squeeze of lime

A little bit of fresh parsley (optional)

firstly set the oven onto warm up at about 200.

Then drain the prawns and crab meat well and put  into a bowl  adding a good 1/2 teaspoon  of fresh red chili, thinly sliced ( just a pinch if using dried, but really its to taste, if you like it spicy add more ) the mayonnaise, little squeeze of lime, the parsley (if using)  and a good pinch of salt and pepper.

Then with a hand mixer whizz it all up until you have a lovely pink looking mixture, at this point you can use this for dips or sandwich fillings, which is simply delicious.

But we are going to form it into little crab cakes, just form with your hands until you have little patties that fit in your palm.

Get a large pan of  medium  hot olive oil and fry the cakes in 2 batches, until golden brown on both sides.

Drain on kitchen paper and place on a baking tray in the oven for about 15-20 mins.

Serve with rocket salad and sweet chili sauce…yum!

Oh ps…. I sometimes serve this will a little lentil salad. Its really easy you just need a cup  of cooked  lentils vertes (these are teeny tiny yummy dried green lentils, you can pick up from most supermarkets. I cook up a batch and keep in the fridge as they are great for bulking up meat dishes like bolognese and shepherds pie as well as adding to salads) , a tablespoon of good olive oil, a garlic clove crushed, a good pinch of fresh finely chopped chili to taste (or dried flakes) and some fresh parsley. Just fry the garlic and chili on a low heat then add the lentils and cook for a few min’s till warmed through. Then add a pinch of  sea salt and the parsley ,an  extra drizzle of good olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. 

Serve with the crab cakes, or any other meat dish, so good ( milly loves em) , and healthy too!

Quick update….. Since writing this post several lovely twitter folk have expressed an interest in starting a Bloggy  Book Club. 

 The idea is, each one of us chooses a book each month and hosts it on our blog (none blog writers can just guest host ) and then we review and chat about it through the comments box !

 It would be  great reading with other folks I think. Big J  is not a big reader, so it would be fab to have someone to oh and arr with..what you think, anyone fancy it?

leave me a comment below or email me at support@icklebabe.com, if we get enough peps interested we will go for it…. might be fun! ;D XXXX

 

This entry was posted on Friday, July 30th, 2010 at 12:27 pm and is filed under The Bloggy Book Club. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.