myrealfairy Archives - Page 9 of 9

Getting Choppy with Red Candy

I am very pleased with my new chopping boards and am delighted to be able to show them to you today. Finally I’ve got something very classy that makes me look like a pro cook. I don’t know about you but I love to be in my kitchen trying out new recipes and more and more I like to have good quality but also funky accessories around me. I was nearly jumping for joy when my Joseph Joseph Chopping Board set arrived. At last I could finally throw away my old wooden one that was warped and leaving little bits of wood on the knife every time I cut anything up, surely not a good sign! My other old plastic one that I had hanging around had managed to get bent out of shape and had seen better days.

This set is great because they are easily identifiable in what they are to be used for. The set comes from Red Candy which sells wonderfully stylish bright homewear.

Red Candy was launched in 2009, as the world’s first red-only website. Back then every product they stocked, from clocks & colanders, to mugs & magazine racks, was red! I spent so long having a look on the site I’m sure that I could have redesigned my house about 5 times over – I loved it.

‘Shut up, beige!’ is their battle cry against everything bland. You will definitely see that is true if you visit their website. At the moment there is a really good sale of up to 70% off so you can get loads of pressies and gifts for yourself.

I’m going to take every opportunity to show off my lovely boards. Below you can even see them with one of my home-grown cucumbers. You’ll see more of my gardening escapades in future posts. Remember the runner beans vlog from last year? It still makes me smile to see Little G doing his presenting.

These boards all have a little extra to them depending on what their function is; the veg one has a little lip all the way round to collect juices for either putting into your dish or it stops it running over onto your work surface. the fish one had a little gripper which stops a slippery fish moving around and helping to cut safer.

Have a little look and see, I’m going to stock up and get a bit of early christmas shopping done, ever the thrifty mum!

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Disclaimer: I was given a set of chopping boards to review for this post. All thoughts are my own and I must say once again that they are great:)

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Plantain and Mango Curry – Easy and Delicious

When I was travelling I enjoyed the taste and versatility of Plantain. If you have not come across or cooked with it before it looks like a large banana which it is but this type needs to be cooked before being eaten.

In this recipe I have paired it with mango and onion for a fruity light curry. I prefer a mild curry and my other half likes something with a bit more kick to it. This dish is perfect if you want to turn up the heat, just add more crushed chillies sprinkled on top as a garnish and then everyone is happy!

Plantain and Mango Curry

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

32 mins

Total Time

42 mins

A Fruity Curry which can be made to suit all levels of heat. A great source of energy and vitamins.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Worldwide

Servings: 4 people

Author: Mainy - myrealfairy.com

Ingredients

2 Plantains
1 Tin of Mango in syrup
1 medium Onion
1 teaspoon Turmeric
1 teaspoon Cumin
2 cloves of Garlic
0.5 teaspoon Dried crushed Chillies
2 cups of water
2 tablespoons Rapeseed Oil

Instructions

Place the oil in a large frying pan with the spices and garlic
Cook for 2 minutes
Add the onions and cook on a low heat for 5 minutes
Add the Plantain and fry for 5 minutes
Add the water and cook for a further 15 minutes on a low heat
Add the mango and cook for 5 minutes

The plantain takes longer than you would think to cook, it’s generally treated like a vegetable more than a fruit. You can cut it lengthways thinly and gently fry for a tasty snack.

The dish looks really vibrant when it is cooking. When the onions and plantain are just softening then it’s the time to add the mango with its syrup.

When serving, try it with a garlic yogurt dip. Place a small tub of unsweetened yoghurt in a bowl. Add 10 mint leaves – finely chopped. Then add 2 cloves of garlic that have been minced through a garlic press.

Sit back and enjoy! Let me know how you either like the idea – or – if you have tried it please send me a picture.

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Fun and Fabulous Food in Alcudia

We have just come back from one of our best holidays yet! I went to Alcudia in Mallorca with my mum and the boys. It’s great because our local airport in Bournemouth is about 10 minutes away which makes travelling a breeze because we don’t have that long trek to the airport. We’ve been picking flights from here and sticking to the resorts which they fly to. In previous years we have loved going to Benalmadina which I have written about in the post 5 Fairy Facts on our hols . This year we really pushed the boat out and went all inclusive which was a first for us.

The flight was fab and I am not the best flyer. I’m OK on the outside but on the inside I am a bag of nerves and can’t wait until its over. I’ve done long hauls and it doesn’t make a jot of difference how long it is, I cant settle and certainly can’t sleep. It makes me so jealous when I see others just get on and snuggle down to have a nap. How does that happen! I wrote a poem out of shere nerves when I came back from Germany entitled My Ode to Him – My Other Half I think it’s easy to see that I was petrified and got all soppy!

Back to this holiday or I’ll fixate on the flying! We got there…perfectly safe and sound of course. We had about an hour on the transfer coach from the airport while we did various drop offs for people at different hotels. I don’t know about you but I often do the ooohhs and aaahhs at others hotels. I either hope that mine is alot better as you emerge out of the bin filled alley that it’s located in – knowing that the picture in the brochure or online probably looked amazing – or think WOW as it stands majestic overlooking the best spot on the strip.

Luckily we were in for a treat and our hotel was every bit as beautiful as I had hoped. We had two apartments next to each other and the balconies were huge. However the actual view from our balcony was even better. Have a look…

Alcudia Mallorca Holiday — The view from our balcony.

When it came to unpacking I was in for a little surprise when I saw that my suncream had decided to leak everywhere. It was a real pain to get off everything and was the worst consistency I could of dreamt of. I wiped off everything that was inside but the bag was ruined.

The food was so good in our hotel. Look at this chocolate fountain, every child and most adults dream! Each night there was a different theme and along with staple favourites there were regional dishes on offer. The boys made the most of everything and ate and drank to their hearts content.

Alcudia Mallorca Holiday

I took so many pictures that my phone was crammed with dishes from each meal. It was all great quality and with the amount of on show cooking that was done you could see that nothing was left hanging around. I must of eaten more in the week than I normally eat in a month.

Alcudia Mallorca Holiday

My youngest came into me at 5 in the morning and said ‘mum mum, you have to see the sunrise outside!’ I got up a bit bleary eyed and this sight greeted me. I was taken back by how beautiful it was and by how it caught the attention of him. With a happy heart I went back to bed for a couple of hours and woke up when the sun was much higher up.

Alcudia Mallorca Holiday

The shows in the evening were very good and ranged from live bands to big productions of well know favourites such a Frozen. Something for everyone and a real family evening.

Alcudia Mallorca Holiday

For me, after a hard day sitting, walking and swimming in the sun, it was time to relax with a cocktail….well I was on holiday after all.

Alcudia Mallorca Holiday

Have you been over to the Alcudia region of Mallorca for a holiday? Where are you heading to this year? I’d love to know any holiday related stories.

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Nominate Me! Now that’s a call to action!

OK what I actually meant was could you Please nominate me, I didn’t want to come across as pushy:)

The Brilliance in Blogging Awards – BiB’s are open for nominations – Yippie! This year I have decided to take a deep breath and go for it! I am being brave and asking you to nominate me please if you like my blog and the type of things I cover. I love this crazy world of blogging and it would mean so much to receive some feedback in the way of nominations. So here is my unashamed post asking you to nominate.

All of the links here will take you to the page you can nominate from and there are details at the end of the post that you will need to nominate me. It’s real easy and takes about 2 minutes

BritMums highlights the best of parent lifestyle blogging in our Brilliance in Blogging Awards – the BiBs. It recognises the most creative, inventive and compelling blogging of the year!

If you love my blog I would be so so happy if you would nominate me for the………

Fresh Voice

which is an award celebrates the newbies in the blogging world. The blogger’s actual age doesn’t figure; rather it’s their fresh approach to blogging and social media – with content, pictures, video and voice that makes the rest of us take notice. Blog should be less than 18 months old, or recently relaunched.

Family & Lifestyle

These blogs might share the laughter and tears of bringing up kids, inspire us to live better, or expose the (ahem) challenges of being a parent. They are frank, often beautiful to look at it, and celebrate family life and the parenting lifestyle.

Nominations close on the 7th June so if you fancy nominating then pop over before then:)

Details you will need are…….

Blog Name: myrealfairy.com

Blog URL: http://www.myrealfairy.com

Email: fairyqueen@myrealfairy.com

Twitter: @myrealfairy

You can choose your favourite post from the blog, some of mine are:

Is social media and technology affecting your family?

Lets kick ‘passive aggressive’ into touch….

How we got involved with the Great British Spring Clean #GBSpringclean

Thank you so much if you do nominate me or if you vote for other bloggers as it’s so great to be part of these awards.

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Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe

This vegan chocolate cake recipe is one to keep. I came across the idea when I realised there were many more people that I know who are either vegan or who are removing some areas of food from their diet. There are so many ways in which we can tweak our favourite recipes to meet our own requirements.

With my vegan chocolate cake it does not contain any eggs or butter. The standard sugar has been replaced with Natvia sweetener – Natvia is made from the stevia plant and is completely natural – and the oil is vegetable oil.

This is a cake that is so versatile. It’s perfect with a hot coffee, if you fancy a summer party then adding fresh fruit will put the sunshine feeling into the day, or if it’s luxury you are after then vegan hazelnut frosting is something that will top this off a treat!

See how easy it is to make….

5 from 1 vote

Vegan Chocolate Cake

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

45 mins

Total Time

1 hr

This No Egg, No Butter, Vegan Chocolate Cake is delicious! Try it out with fresh fruit or a hot steaming coffee. You can upgrade this to the best wedding cake with vegan frosting, it's so versatile.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Worldwide

Servings: 12

Author: mainy - myrealfairy

Ingredients

1 lb Plain Flour
12 oz Natvia Natural Sweetener
3 oz Cocoa Powder
3 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
8 fl oz fl oz Vegetable Oil
1 pint Water
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Cider vinegar

Instructions

Measure out your dry ingredients and mix these together in a large bowl.
Add your wet ingredients and blend these in making a smooth paste.
Line an 8 inch (22cm) loose bottomed cake tin with parchment.
Carefully pour into the tin.
Bake in a pre-heated oven for 45 minutes.

Recipe Notes

Insert a clean toothpick into the centre of the cake to see if it is baked. If the toothpick comes out clean then it’s done!

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I’d love to hear your thoughts and please rate the recipe if you like the look of it or if you have tried it.

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I was given one pack of Natvia Sweetener to try. It works and tastes great in this cake!

Paleo Cassava Banana Pancakes

Today I have a lovely treat in store for you all, who can resist a healthy, filling and nutritious breakfast? Not me! Here you will see with the help of my lovely guest blogger how you can make super easy Paleo Cassava Banana Pancakes and pick up a few tips on the Paleo way of cooking too.

Rachel Peterson is a Paleo blogger and self-professed Twitter fanatic from the US. She enjoys cooking, Zumba, and giving out nutrition advice to friends, family, and pretty much anyone who will listen! Her blog can be found at: www.austinpaleogrrl.blogspot.com

It’s over to you Rachel…

These pancakes are the perfect breakfast (or dinner!) food, and their light and fluffy texture can easily be achieved using what may be considered somewhat unconventional ingredients.

I am a Paleo blogger from Austin, Texas USA. This banana pancake recipe was born through trial and error. It took me three tries to get it just right! You don’t have to follow a Paleo diet to enjoy them, and the type of flour used (cassava – also known as yuca root) works just as well (if not better) than conventional wheat or white flour and is much healthier. Plus, cassava flour has some calcium and potassium in it.

Being Paleo, I don’t eat any grains (especially gluten), so I had to find an alternative flour so that I could still enjoy my favorite breakfast! I personally use Otto’s Cassava Flour, as I think it has the best texture and taste. It can be purchased on Amazon or in some health food stores. These pancakes are delicious served up with sliced bananas and pure maple syrup or with any other ingredients you can dream up. The possibilities are endless!

This recipe yields 6 small pancakes

Ingredients

5 US Tablespoons cassava flour

1 US Tablespoon organic honey

½ US Teaspoon baking soda

1 pureed banana

2 free range or pastured eggs

Coconut oil for cooking

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, honey, baking soda and eggs.

In a blender, combine one whole ripe banana with a small bit of water and blend until smooth

Add blended banana into your batter mixture and whisk until smooth

Next, heat a small skillet on stove top to medium heat and add in a small amount of coconut oil. I recommend coconut oil, because it melts quickly and has a medium smoke point (350° F or 171º C).

When your skillet is warmed up enough, scoop ¼ US cup of pancake batter and pour it onto the skillet, tilting the pan up and down just a bit so that the batter spreads out into an even circle.

Some bubbles will begin to form in the batter, and these pancakes will brown quite quickly, so be sure to check them often with your spatula. When browned to your liking, flip the pancake onto its other side and cook for another 30-45 seconds

Repeat with the rest of the batter, and serve warm with your favorite toppings!

Tip: to keep the pancakes warm, put them on a plate and keep them covered in the microwave until you are finished using up all of the batter

Thank you Rachel for this yummy recipe. You can see more of what Rachel is up to on her Twitter and Facebook pages.

This is so good I’ve put it in a printable format below. Enjoy!

5 from 1 vote

Paleo Cassava Banana Pancakes

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

6 mins

Total Time

11 mins

Paleo Cassava Banana Pancakes. They’re the perfect breakfast (or dinner!) food, and their light and fluffy texture can easily be achieved using what may be considered somewhat unconventional ingredients.

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Worldwide

Servings: 6

Ingredients

5 US Tablespoons cassava flour
1 US Tablespoon organic honey
½ US Teaspoon baking soda
1 pureed banana
2 free range or pastured eggs
Coconut oil for cooking

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, honey, baking soda and eggs.
In a blender, combine one whole ripe banana with a small bit of water and blend until smooth
Add blended banana into your batter mixture and whisk until smooth
Next, heat a small skillet on stove top to medium heat and add in a small amount of coconut oil. I recommend coconut oil, because it melts quickly and has a medium smoke point (350° F or 171º C).
When your skillet is warmed up enough, scoop ¼ US cup of pancake batter and pour it onto the skillet, tilting the pan up and down just a bit so that the batter spreads out into an even circle.
Some bubbles will begin to form in the batter, and these pancakes will brown quite quickly, so be sure to check them often with your spatula. When browned to your liking, flip the pancake onto its other side and cook for another 30-45 seconds
Repeat with the rest of the batter, and serve warm with your favorite toppings!

Recipe Notes

Tip: to keep the pancakes warm, put them on a plate and keep them covered in the microwave until you are finished using up all of the batter.

Share this great Paleo Cassava Banana Pancakes recipe and let others enjoy too! xClick To Tweet

If you like the look of this then see what you think of my Easy Pickled Green Chillies

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Blogger Recognition Award …Let’s Party!

Wow, there are whoops of joy coming from the myrealfairy household this week. I am chuffed to bits to be nominated for the blogger recognition award by the lovely Jaki over at jakijellz.com The wonderful thing about this award is that it’s by a fellow blogger. To be rewarded by people who know what it’s like to be hunkered over a laptop trying to make sense out of the words we want to write is a real honour.

This award is also going to let you know a little more about me if you haven’t come across my blog before. Or, if you have then lovely to see you again and enjoy the post:)

So… here are the rules:

Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
Write a post to show your award.
Give a brief story of how your blog started.
Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers.
Select 15 other bloggers you want to give this award to. (if 15 is pushing it a bit for you then do 10;)
Comment on each blog and let them know you have nominated them and provide the link to the post you created.

HOW MY BLOG STARTED……

It stated at the beginning of 2016. I wanted to have a creative outlet that was something completely different from my full-time day job and that wasn’t totally focused on the children. Something I could be in control of and didn’t answer me back!

My idea was to have a blog which incorporated a fairy, folklore, mystical, practical, lifestyle, parenting and reviews theme! Seems a bit much and really because I had never done anything like this before it was all far too jumbled at the start. I was trying too hard. Nevertheless it was an idea and little by little I made it happen and started creating my blog.

I even did two posts during those first few months called Tales of a newbie blogger 1 and Tales of a newbie blogger 2 – the logo trials to chart my progress a little. I love looking back at those posts now and seeing what I was facing at that time and relate it to how far I have moved forward. The blog is very different now and I have found my feet and the areas that I enjoy writing about. It’s far more in the lifestyle/parenting bracket.

ADVICE TO NEW BLOGGERS……

Buy the biggest notebook you can and keep it safe! I have never taken so many notes in my life. Especially when you are first starting your blog and thinking about hosting, web domains, themes and all the bloggy techi stuff that you suddenly have in front of you. It can all become a bit overwhelming and I found it easiest to make brief little notes on different subject headings so that I didn’t forget. Then, when I had a moment I would flick through them and it helps all of this new information to settle in.
Don’t break the bank starting your blog. There are a few expenses that you have to pay out for like your hosting package and buying your domain name. However, there are loads and loads of freebies going forward. Lots of free plug-ins and themes, scheduling apps and all sorts. It can be done very cheaply and for me that is important because I then don’t have to worry about money, I can enjoy it for the really exciting and creative outlet that it is for me.

My overall comment to make would be to have fun with it and enjoy how it makes you feel.

I’ve looked at the idea of adding nominations a bit differently and included blogs and twitter folks who are a mixture of people who are new to me, people who I have seen – loved their work but not made contact with and those that I regularly visit online. Please pop over to their twitter site and onto their blogs too to say hi.

MY BLOGGER NOMINATIONS ARE:

@cupoftoastblog ‏

@barbsbooks ‏

@musingstiredmum ‏

@JaclynBree_ ‏

@four_acorns ‏

@bringinguptheb ‏

I have put twitter handles here and will tweet you all in as it may take me into the early hours commenting on each blog. Hope you enjoy it:)

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If you have enjoyed this post and my blog, please vote for me in the BiBs 2017 Bloggers Awards in the categories:

Fresh Voice

Family & Lifestyle

Click here to vote

Details you will need are…….

Blog Name: myrealfairy.com

Blog URL: http://www.myrealfairy.com

Email: fairyqueen@myrealfairy.com

Twitter: @myrealfairy

Easy Granola Recipe

This Easy Granola Recipe can be made with or without the seeds and berries depending on your preference.

What you will need is:

3 cups of Porridge Oats

1 Tablespoon of honey or fruit syrup

A sprinkle of:

Dried Goji berries

Pumpkin seeds

Sunflower seeds

Jumbo flame raisins

Here’s what you need to do using the photos and some very easy steps…

Mix the honey or syrup into the oats in a large bowl so that they are covered.

Line a baking tray with parchment. Spread the oats in a thin layer. Bake on a medium heat for 10 minutes stirring once after 5 minutes. Make sure you keep an eye on them as they can go from bronze to burnt very quickly.

Mix in your choice of dried fruits and nuts and place back in the oven for 2 minutes. Take out of the oven and mix well.

Leave to cool before placing in an airtight container.

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5 from 1 vote

Easy Granola Recipe

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

12 mins

Total Time

17 mins

Course: Breakfast

Servings: 7

Author: www.myrealfairy.com

Ingredients

3 Cups Porridge Oats
1 Tbsp Honey or Fruit Syrup
Sprinkle Dried Goji Berries
Sprinkle Pumpkin Seeds
Sprinkle Jumbo Flame Raisins

Instructions

Mix the honey or syrup into the oats so that they are covered.
Line a baking tray with parchment.
Spread the oats in a thin layer. Bake on a medium heat for 10 minutes stirring once after 5 minutes. Make sure you keep an eye on them as they can go from bronze to burnt very quickly.
Mix in your choice of dried fruits and nuts and place back in the oven for 2 minutes.
Take out of the oven and mix well.
Leave to cool before placing in an airtight container.