2nd Jan. 

We have friends to stay. Jayme & Emily, Lucy & Becca. After a delicious lunch of roast chicken, salad, ciabatta,     chutneys, pickled onions (Daisy’s fav) & cornichons, we went on a brisk walk through Catton Park. It was beautiful with the sun going down over the park but it was cold! Fortunately Tom came well prepared with a blanket, biscuits & a flask of hot chocolate: 

After a stop at a playground & a dodgy pub on the way home, the kids were pretty hungry & in need of some quick comfort food at tea-time. I rustled up some pasta with the leftover roast chicken, plus some peas & sweetcorn from the freezer, then I made a cheese sauce, put it altogether in an oven dish & popped it under the grill with some grated cheese on top. Ready in 20 minutes! 

We finished off the evening with the kids by having a fire outside in the dark. It was great fun & we burnt the rest of the Christmas cardboard & the extra door architraves(!) All in the name of a good fire….. The kids, especially Ollie, helped feed the fire, then they sat on the veranda of the play house (quite a squash) drinking their warm milk. Happy kids! 

While the kids were in the bath I started on Singapore Noodles for us. Onion, garlic & ginger fried in Chinese Five Spice & curry powder, plus the rest of the roast chicken & lots of other veg stir-fried. I used mushrooms, red pepper & pak choi (it went a funny colour so wouldn’t use it in that way again). I added noodles, soy sauce, a squeeze of lime & crushed salted peanuts. A handful of coriander would’ve been perfect too. It was a version of Jamie Oliver’s Singapore Noodles from Save with Jamie but I was doing it from memory!