Scotland Run and a Run

So went to Scotland to visit the in laws

Now for any of you who have read my blog before you know they live right near Loch Lomond the gateway to the fabulous countryside.

So we always do a lot of the same thing but his time we ventured out a bit more, get me, changing my routine - I shall alert the media lol.

So we went to the Falls of Falloch - such a beautiful waterfall and it's also a short walk from the car park which is great with a little one.

It all seems very mystical I'm surprised I didn't see an fairies or sprites :) 

Also on the way back home got to visit a great pub call The Drovers Inn it's over 300 years old and Rob Roy drank there. 

It's also supposed to be haunted. 

Don't know about the Haunting but it did have some nice spirits, to drink (See what I did there lol).

The bar staff are really knowledgeable and help me pick a lovely Whiskey that was nice and smooth.

It also a beautiful trip trip back through some stunning scenery 

We then headed to the pub Oak Tree Inn in Balmaha for some food. I had a lovely Scottish Smoked Salad and a cheeky wine.

It was so lovely, fresh and tasty and was very nice paired with a Pinot,

They also Dumpling which is kinda like Christmas pudding. Not 100% sure what it was all I know it was yummy and would definitely have it again..

Or the sticky toffee pudding my other half had, honestly I only tasted it so I could report back to you lot - well that's what it told him :) 

As with any trip to Scotland we visited the Loch Lomond Sealife Centre. It's so near to where we were staying and the little one loves it.

Now it's not the biggest sealife centre about, but it does have a great array of sea-life :)

We made the most of staying with the inlaws and got a couple of dining out chances without the little one.

We went lunch at The Balloch House they have a nice selection of wine and also my current favourite tipple Black Cow Vodka but as we were having Italian I paired it with a lovely Rose

We order off their Pizza menu - really reaonably priced around £10 each and they were huge.

Just look at the size of them, I pretended I was healthy and had a salad as a side order, Paul went for Chips

You could tell they were hand made and they tasted divine especially for the price. I left feeling very full.

I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is visiting that area.

The next day to burn off the pizza calories we visited Loch Katrine where as it was such a nice day we hired bikes - the bike rental for all three of us for the hour was on £21 

It was the first time the little one had ever been on a bike, well in a wagon on a back of a bike (it was really hilly so glad the hubby was pulling him along instead of me lol).

It is such beautiful countryside and the little one just loved it.

Honestly if I could get paid to write I would seriously consider moving up there as he thought it was great as he could just run and run and run.

Unfortunately the demand for dyslexic travel and food writers aren't that plentiful. I have no idea why :) oh well guess I have to stick to the 9-5.

But back to how beautiful it was amazing sky, wonderful mountains and fantastic Loch that make you want to dive in - well that is if it wasn't so cold and you remembered to bring your swim suit 

I could have stayed looking at the water for hours. But the bikes needed to be back.

It was a bit of a flying visit, but no trip to Scotland would be complete without a cheeky night out at Cameron House- it where we got married so has a special place in our hearts.

It also a stunning hotel and it everything you would expect from a Scottish Hotel. tartan on the walls, big roaring fires and a great selection of whisky. Although I had a couple of wines.

We also paired the wine with a couple of snack, a fantastic baked Camembert.

and a ham, Cheese and Bread-stick board (with a couple of cheeky olives.

The perfect accompaniment to a nice cold glass of wine.

The staff and the service is totally amazing as well, they really take care of you.

Also when I say they have a great selection of whiskey's I really mean it.

But I had to head back as I was taking part in a 5k run for Race for Life Cancer Research with a few of my friends.

But it wasn't just a normal 5k it was a Pretty Muddy 5k meaning the course was punctuated with fun obstacles full of mud.

Well apart from the space hopper challenge bit, I haven't been on a space hopper in years but glad I still remember how to do it and didn't totally embarrass myself

So it was lots of fun and I made it through till the end still smiling.

To prove how muddy it actually was here is a before and after picture.

Unfortunetly the white top could not be saved and had to go in the bin.

But the good news is we raised around £1500 which will go to help fund research to help find a cure for this awful disease.

It was also good prep for my Run Disney Half Marathon that is coming up in November super excited and super scared all at the same time, fingers crossed I can get round - will keep you posted. 

Winner, winner Sunday Dinner

Sorry bit late in posting but in the final stages of moving so try (and failing) to get the final bits done before we have to actually move.

But to cheer myself up we too a trip to the Disney Store my little chap got an Olaf  who join us for Lunch and I got this amazingly gorgeous cute little Tsum Tsum Jabba the Hut.. 

I also added to my happy by getting this uber sparkly office shoes  They have sandals too so I think I might be force to shop again to add to my sparkly collection. lol

We went out for an Amazing Sunday dinner  at the North Pole Pub  I've reviewed that pub before when we went in the summer but I haven't been for the Sunday Dinner yet so this was a treat.

Now being from the UK it's a good bet that I love a sunday dinner.  It's like a ritual well it was every Sunday when I was growing up. No so much now as it's a lot of work so unless my Mother offers to do it (and to be fair hers are much better than mine) I only do it on rare occasion. Also as they are super yummy but lots of calories.

Now the one at the North Pole is a Carvery so you can pick your own meats and veg I went for beef and turkey, with roast potateos, cabbage, cauliflower cheese (love it) carrots, parsnip, stuffing and a yorkshire pudding topped up with gravy. It was A-Maz-ing delicous and you can tell it was all freshly cooked. it was only £10 so a bargin for all that you got. have to say definitely try this place if you are looking for a good Sunday lunch.

They do a kids plate too save process just a smaller plate but as you can choose he had the beef and I filled it up with all the little ones favourite veg and he enjoyed it just as much as the rest of us. We sent back all the plates empty :) 

For dessert (so yes the diet is going well), they do have an fantastic dessert menu with loads of classic puddings, I had bread and butter pudding with custard.. I did share it with my little pudding pop so felt less guilty about getting it. 

I do like a classic English dessert but this had a twist and came with chocolate chips (traditional raisins) which I though was really neat idea and will definitely be pinching it when I make this in the future.

The hubby had the apple pie and ice cream.

That was great too, the only down side and this is totally just my weirdness but in winter I want hot desserts so the fact he had it with Ice cream put me off a bit. If it was custard or just warm on its own it would have been perfect (Okay I know that crazy but hey it's my blog and I can be crazy if I want too).

Oh and on the bar they had this lovely working mini carousel 

In was so detailed and really beautiful although I did worry about it being on the bar as I don't think delicate ornaments and alcohol mix lol :) 

So all in all a great lunch a great venue and a group of very full people :P

What with everything going on very little cooking took place this week. The only thing I did manage to cook up was a yummy vegetable risotto topped off with salmon (see pervious post for the recipe).

Hopefully this will go some way to compensate for the not so healthy but super yummy Sunday Lunch 

Well ta-tar for now and hopefully next week if things have calmed down, I highly doubt they would have I'll have a yummy recipe for you all :) 

A Tale of Two Buns

Or Scone (as in Cone) Vs Scone (as in Gone)

Personally I prefer scone as in gone.. As when you put them in front of me they tend to be gone lol.. 

So not much going on in the dyslexic cooking household this week. Well considering the madness of last weekend it's nice to take it a bit easy.

I'm glad for the quiet weeks as it help me keep up, as even though I write this blog weekly, being Dyslexic and a mum I find sometimes hard to keep up. Other Dyslexic will know what I mean, organisation and writing are two thing we find difficult so to combine the 2 in a blog is no mean feat. So feeling proud that I managed 46 post so far. When I hit a year I'm going to be super proud so let hope I keep it up.

Any way so the weekend was filled with baby cold, I had a slight sniffle and the husband was knocked down by the dreaded man flu dun dun dar.. Aw bless as he did have to do a couple of late night with the little lad. As I've said before the struggle of having a young child is not being able to get to rest when you want or in case of being ill need. When they're up you are up and you need to be on it you can't just plop them in an corner and ignore.

Although we did manage to have some fun, as the folks were away at the Country Landowners Association (CLA) Game Fair  we used there house for a impromptu BBQ. Just the usual fare of burgers and Sausages nothing earth shattering. Although I did manage to break out my new Drinks Holder.

It held my Gordon Gin and Schweppes tonic very well :)

Not sure if I've mention this before but I am a huge fan of Flamingos they remind me of the sun and holidays a bit like my favorite flower the Bird of Paradise.  I sure the main reason I like them is that they are not Native to the UK so have always had a air of the exotic.

When my folk did arrive back my mum brought back a tasty treat a Yorkshire Fat Rascal from Bettys a famous Tea Room in Harrogate.

I loved the little face it had on the front and as the Husband is allergic to nuts it was left to me and my mum tucked in.

It was so yum, filled to bursting with currants and mixed peel. It traveled really well considering it been in the car for the 3 hour trip back. So now Bettys is definitely on my list of places I need to visit.

so that was the first Scone of the week.

The second one came again courtesy of my folks. As for their 40th Wedding anniversary my brother and I bought them a Fortnum and Mason Picnic at the top of The Shard. They gushed about having an amazing time which was great. Also from the photos it did look lovely.

They were lucky in having it on a really clear day which helped; as London is such a beautiful city a perfect eclectic mix of the Really Old and the Really new and all the other building in between.

Not to prattle on too much, but London is a fantastic city and if you've never been you should visit. Yes it is expensive I won't lie, although you can have a fab time and see so much just having a walk about discovering all the treats this sprawling city has to offer.

So after their great day I picked them up from the station to hear about their good time. They brought me back a mini treat a couple of Fortnum and Mason scones with jar of Strawberry Jam.

This was nommy too, it was so light and fluffy and in the same bite rich and creamy.


Not sure which one I liked best though??!?!? hmm I've decided as one was a fruit Scone and was was a plain scone it was unfair to rate one above the other. I have come to a conclusion they were both the best scone I've had in a long time.

Only problem is the diet has gone right out the window as I also managed to slip in a Starbucks Chocolate Cream Frappuccino so I think my trip to Slimming World will be a disaster this week.

Oh well it just means I will be spending the weekend cooking lots of healthy recipes so my post will be filled with lots of nice home cooked things next week...

Piggies, Shooting and the North Pole

Another very busy week... No wonder the doctor says I'm run down.

So last Friday it was my Nephew's birthday so we spent the day in Peppa Pig land part of Paulton Park theme park.

After 2+ hour drive from where we are it started off as a bit of a grey old day but we persevered and headed to see the Pig.

Have to say it was a great day out. So good for young children. There was lots of rides to amuse them. Had fun running on all the kiddie rides.

 Peppa's big balloon Ride.

Windy Castle Ride and a big hit  Daddy Pigs Car Ride.

Also the Soft play area which was helpfully split into section so the little one could play without the fear of being mowed down by the bigger kids.

plus loads more rides attractions and parks.

Have to say was very good value my ticket was around £25 and I bought a couple of souvenirs and some lunch and was pleasantly surprise at the cost of it all.

Would give it a big thumbs up and recommend it to young families as a relatively (remember I go to Disney a lot so that the bench mark) inexpensive brilliant day out.

Saturday we went to farm where my dad does his pheasant shooting for their clay day.

I personally am probably a hindrance with a fire arm so left that up to the Hubby.

Also having dyspraxia I do worry about handling loaded weapons as I'm not the most co-ordinated of people which was apparent as I fell walking across the field. It was compounded by the fact I was carrying the little one. I managed to fall to my knees before I eventually lost my grip on him. Luckily the ground was soft. But it was pretty scary and after I made sure he was okay a few tears but hugs soon made him better. Started to feel frustrated and stupid at the whole thing.

I know it just an accident and these things happen to everyone even people without dyspraxia, but then I have "what if it was worse" though running through my head for most of the rest of the day. Making me feel even more guilty than I did in the first place.

Having dyspraxia has effect my choices as a parent as I refused to use the baby sling/carrier when he was young as I was afraid of falling over when he was attached and he probably spent more time in the pram. As when we where going anywhere new I didn't really like carrying him if I was on my own and when we went shopping it was the Husband responsibility to transport the car seat to the trolley then back again.

The older his got and the more active and mobile hes got as made me less worried although with days like this don't think I'll go again unless I better prepared and have more help when he's running about the place.

Apart from the fall the rest of the day went without a hitch and we from a lovely range type cooker, (So jelly one day I would really love one of these)

event was rounded of with Boar Sausages.

They were super duper local as they farm we were shooting on was where the boar are raised. Super delicious and I can buy them from the local farmers market.

On Sunday in between going to the park to let the little one run off some steam in the nice weather I got some cooking done.

I made a lovely spicy chicken dish. Basically getting some skinless, boneless chicken thighs throwing them in a cooking dish, breaking an Oxo cube over them and sprinkling chilli power (a little or a lot depending on how spicy you want it) then just throwing in Red Onion, button Mushrooms and baby tomatoes before putting it into a high over (200 degrees) for around 25 minutes.

Monday Morning as the Hubby had work in the afternoon we decided to trek all the way to The North Pole, well the Wateringbury one :).

It a really lovely pub very kid friendly as they have a fab garden out the back. The also have a section off Dog Garden as well which is good if you have a boisterous pet you want to keep away from the play area.

Their food is great have eaten there on a few occasion and I've never had a bad meal. It was the first time eating for the little one. I got him a kids meal which he enjoyed some of. But he's still not eating loads so his father and I got to enjoy the rest along with our fab sandwiches. (Would have had order from their main menu but we were a little pushed for time, just another excuse to go back). Although saying that considering how big the sandwiches are and how lovely the homemade chips are accompanying felt so full after eating.

That afternoon I also made some dessert bars. I found a wonderful recipe on Google+ from the Mrs with the Dishes  blog of  Blue Berry Pie bars.

I have converted the recipe into UK measurements if anyone in the UK would like to give it a go as it was simple but effective as they look great and taste fantastic.

Crumble Mix
125g of Butter
100g Sugar
50g Brown Sugar
250g Flour

Yogurt Mix
1 egg
190g Plain Yogurt
65g Sugar
3tps Vanilla Extra
2tbsp Flour

Fruit
350g Blueberries
65g Sugar
2tps Lemon Juice
2tps Corn Flour

Mrs with the dishes has a great step by step guide to making these. But in essence Mix all the Crumble mix ingredients together in a bowl then get your hands in and rub them together till you get a nice crumble consistencies. in your foil lined tray put 3/4 of the mixture to form the base of the dish. Then mix all the yogurt ingredients together and pour on top of the base (jiggle the mix to get an even spread).

Mix the fruit with the sugar, lemon juice and corn flour together stick with it as it becomes a bit gloopy add the fruit on top of the yogurt mix.

Then with the 1/4 of the crumble mix distribute evenly on top of everything and bake in a 180 degree oven for 55 minutes.

Blueberry Pie Bars

I also put a twist on the recipe and made Chocolate Cherry Pie Bars. I used 25g less flour in the crumble mix to add 25g of coco powder. I added crumble Twirl chocolate to the yogurt mix and on top of the cherries which were used in of the Blueberries.

I took both in to work and they were both a big hit, but I think the Blueberry ones where the favorite as the were the first to go.