Category: Family

Quick and easy desi style fried eggs
Alliyah Dawud
August 8, 2019

Eggs must be the original fast food. They cook quickly, are an affordable protein and eaten as part of a healthy diet will not cause too many problems in the fat department. Yet as a nation we notice periods of TV campaigns to get us enjoying eggs (remember the Mummmmmmm there’s nothing to eat in the Fridge adverts) and the Lion Eggs adverts. It seems we have a lot of negative press one year and good the next.

I love eggs. I enjoy them in salads, with Turkey Bacon (have you tried smoked Turkey Bacon), in crustless quiches and on and on.

But this recipe is more of a hommage to my heritage as a desi person.

These eggs are tangy, spicy and hit the spot for Breakfast, Brunch or even a late Supper. Enjoy on buttered toast or even as a Breakfast Burrito filling.

To serve one person here’s what you will need:

2 large eggs beaten
4 TBSP chopped tinned tomatoes
1 small onion diced finely
1 TSBP oil
Cooking salt-to your own requirement
1/2 TSP ground coriander powder
1/2 TSP ground cumin powder
Freshly ground black pepper (to your taste)
1 TBSP fresh coriander leaves chopped finely
1 fresh green chili finely chopped (optional if you want extra heat)

1) Heat the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat.
2) Add the onions and fry until the onions soften (not brown). Add the green chili if you are using it.
3) Add the salt and spices and fry for about 30 seconds (generally we do this to cook out the spices. Raw spices taste bitter and well harsh on the tongue).
4) Add the tomatoes and fry for one minute.
5) Add the coriander and stir well.
6) Now pour in the eggs. Do not start stirring straight away. Wait about 15 seconds and then gently stir it. The aim is to product ‘clumps’ of fluffy egg.
7) Keep an eye on the heat and stir the egg. It will soon be clumpy. Cook for 2/3 minutes.
8) And voila your eggs are ready. If you have some lemons or lime on hand (or in the fridge looking sorry for itself) give it a squeeze over the eggs. Lemon does something awesome to tomatoes which makes it taste even more amazing.

Enjoy!

Note: you could make this recipe with just egg whites too. Just in case anyone was wondering.

Cheap and Easy Pac Man Pinata
Alliyah Dawud
July 23, 2019

When the youngest wanted an 80s party I nearly fall off my chair. Child you are really an old soul. But let’s be honest the 80s were amazing.

Pinatas are big business. You see them all over the place and if you look on Etsy you can get some pretty amazing ones.

I tried to make on with a giant balloon and paper mache-EPIC fail! So I moved onto plan B.

A paper lantern Pac Man Pinata.

This really is an easy as pie type of crafting project. I actually had some leftover paper lanterns in the loft as well as yellow plastic table cloths we used last year for Hiffys Rapunzel party which I ‘fringed’ and used to decorate the Pac Man. I then made two eyes….and Pac Man was born.

To replicate our Pinata you will need:

One paper lantern (I used a medium sized one-20 cm). You can pick one up at a Pound store (cost: £1.00)
1 rectangualr plastic table cloth in yellow-£1.65 off eBay
Cellotape
Scissors
Fringing scissors-I bought a pair of ‘security scissors’ which are used to shred addresses etc on paperwork before throwing them in the recycling. You can pick up a pair for £2.99 including postage on eBay.
Piece of stern card (mine was A5 and I trimmed it down a bit)
Duct tape (if you have it; which I did).
Some strong string/rope to hang the Pinata
Stuff to place inside the Pinata.
A stick and mask to smack it with (we got ours from Tesco for £2.00)
Fillers: we used a large bag of party fillers from Wilkos and a large bag of sweets that cost £4.99 from Home Bargains. We actually had leftover sweets which I re-use for another Pinata.

The how to:

1) Set up your lantern. Cut HALF the table cloth into 8 cm strips. The length doesn’t matter as much as the width.
2) using the fringing scissors cut into the strips and create your lovely fringe.
3) Place the card carefully into the lantern. Using the duct tape secure into the bottom of the lantern. Ensure it’s completely secure. You can also stick some tape to the outside too to give it extra protection.
4) Now starting at the bottom and cellotape strips of the fringe to the lantern. I cellotaped them in ‘rows’ to ensure all the lantern was covered. This method worked for me.
5) Repeat until you cover the lantern.
6) Glue on the eyes.
7) Now add your goodies to the Pinata. I used a bag of party favours and a large bag of sweets that cost £4.99. This still made my Pinata cheaper than the ones on Etsy.
8) Attach the string or rope to the Pinata and tie it to something secure.
9) Your Pinata is ready to go.

Penne Arrabiata with Aubergines.
Alliyah Dawud
June 24, 2019

I love pasta…but when I do have it I try to make it a tad bit healthier. One of my favourite ways is by adding a vegetable to the sauce.

One of my favourite old skool pasta sauce is the simple but awesome Arrabiata which literally translated means angry. As someone who likes heat I love the spiciness of this.

This sauce in it’s simple classic form is really easy to knock up and there’s a high chance you’ve got everything at home. My aubergine version is a bit more work.

You can leave out the aubergines if you wish. I personally love it. If you wish to leave it out just skip the steps for the aubergine prep.

Ingredients (to serve 4):

  • 300 grams penne pasta (cooked till Al dente) drained. Keep about 6 TBSP of pasta water just in case (I’ll explain later)
  • 2 TBSP olive oil
  • 5 cloves of garlic-minced
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • Chili flakes-to your taste
  • Salt-to your taste
  • 1 X 350 ml carton passata (you can use one with garlic or herbs)
  • 200 ml water or vegetable stock
  • For the aubergines:
  • 1 whole aubergine sliced into slices (either way is fine). Sliced into a pounds (£) thickness.
  • Spray oil
  • Garlic Granules
  • To bake the aubergines:
  • Baking tray
  • Greaseproof paper
  • Spray oil (1 cal works)
  • To serve:
  • Italian style Hard cheese of your choice
  • Fresh basil (if you wish)

1) Pre-heat the oven to 170 (160 on fan assisted ovens). Place the aubergines on the tray and spray with oil. Sprinkle on garlic granules and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn over. Spray again and sprinkle on more garlic if you wish. Now spray on more oil. Place bake in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Once the aubergine is done set aside.
2) To make the actual sauce: heat the oil in a large pan on a medium heat. Add the garlic and fry until garlic is lightly brown. This won’t take long so don’t leave the pan. Burnt garlic is horrible.
3) Add the basil, salt, chili and stir well. Add the passata and water. Bring to the boil. Then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes.
4) Now add the aubergine if using. Stir well and simmer for another 4-5 minutes. If the mixture becomes too dry add 4 tablespoons of water. You don’t want a dry sauce as you want it to cling to the pasta.
5) Add the drained pasta to the sauce (I like doing it this way) and if the sauce is too dry add the pasta water you saved earlier to it. This should restore the sauce.
6) Divide the pasta into 4 pasta sauces and shave over the cheese and add the basil if using.
7) Stuff mouth and enjoy (I’m joking about the stuffing bit btw).

I find the sauce can be frozen WITHOUT aubergines. However it’s just a quick sauce you may not want to have it in your freezer taking up space.

PS: Tesco have recently started stocking chargrilled sliced Aubergine. This still needs to be cooked but it makes the recipe even more easier to knock up as you don’t need to worry about having a fresh Aubergine in the Fridge. Plus they taste nice (no, Tesco did not pay me to say that).

Creating new Family Traditions…Weekend Breakfast
Alliyah Dawud
April 22, 2019

I’ll be the first to admit that during the week my breakfast routine is ‘get in town your neck’. My breakfast is usually high in protein (boiled eggs with zataar for example). I also keep it low carb and low sugar.

The same applies to my children; except they have low sugar cereals, Porridge (made in the microwave) or wholemeal toast.

However we do like the idea of a longer, more lazy breakfast with more variety. So we have developed a bit of a family tradition on Saturdays.

We all get up around the same time as weekdays (an extra 30 minutes to an hour is a good way of catching up on some extra sleep) however we all have a cooked breakfast. It doesn’t have to be the full monty (eggs, bacon, sausages, mushrooms, hash browns, beans etc) but it’s usually cooked.

It doesn’t take me ages to cook breakfast because I do the following:

I use frozen hash browns that I air fry

I use frozen sausages that again I air fry

Fried eggs take no time at all; if the girls want omelettes we stick to omelettes and hash browns and beans.

I don’t make fresh juice; I leave my desire for fresh juice for when I am on holiday

I take items out of the freezer the night before and defrost them in the fridge overnight-then pop them in the air fryer in the morning.

We all like bit of bacon (which we do fry) and that takes a matter of minutes to cook. Any leftovers get added to mac and cheese.

If you do like mushrooms you can actually buy sliced mushrooms frozen.

The girls rarely like smoothies on Saturdays but if they do want one it’s simple to create as I have frozen fruit, frozen yogurt cubes etc at hand.

I have a menu that I have on display in the kitchen for Saturdays. We like to make things special. I keep all the ingredients on hand for all the menu options.

My menu includes:
The full monty
Mini monty
Omelettes
Cloud Eggs
Egg Muffin
Eggy bread
Fluffy pancakes (optional: serve with bacon & syrup)
Egg, cheese and bacon muffin
Spinach, egg and hash brown tortilla wraps (prepared, cooked and frozen. All I do is defrost, warm and go).
Sausage sandwich
Sausage muffin
Smoothies
Smoothie Bowls
Sugary cereals (frosties/cocopops etc).
Nutella Porridge (it’s a treat due to high sugar content).
Parathas and eggs (the best of desi breakfasts!)
Breakfast specials (on Eids etc such as Breakfast quesadillas, breakfast casseroles, sheer khurma).

Drink wise:
OJ
Tea
Green tea
Desi Chai

I make breakfast whilst the girls usually watch a bit of morning TV however they do try to help with certain options.

We then enjoy breakfast together. In Summer we usually have breakfast in the garden and make the most of the season. The girls then play in the garden whilst I clear up and do any washing required.

We all eat which makes this tradition of ours easy to keep up.

If we have to be somewhere early I narrow down the options for the girls the night before and prepare as much as possible in advance. Very rarely have we had to have cereal and run out of the door. I’m a planner; so try to keep on top of things.

And as someone that meal plans my freezer is always stocked with essentials; which makes life so much more easier.

My aim with lazy Saturday breakfasts is to create memories for the girls plus I hope they’ll find the time in their busy lives when they have their own families to sit down and eat together at the end of the week and reflect on things. It’s like date night, but at breakfast and all the family are invited. It also helps set the tone of our weekends (Which I try to focus on family friendly activities which both girls can take part in). I believe it’s important to lead by example and putting in an effort so we all sit together and eat together is setting an example of the importance of family and appreciation (gratitude) of what we do have.

I would love to keep this tradition going when the girls are teenagers; but who knows what the future will bring.

In the meantime though I’ll carrying on waiting for the girls to decide on what they want to eat (only to pick what they had the past 9 Saturdays on the row).

The Very Useful Friends and Family Railcard
Alliyah Dawud
March 18, 2019


I don’t wish to brag but I can get about the UK on the Train with the girls for a 1/3 off! And if we use the Train there’s no worry about whose driving and the girls can pretty much play, read, colour and do whatever (as long as we access to a table) and I can sit back and listen to an audio book-result!

Anyone that knows me well knows how I used to find it stressful travelling (and preparing to travel) with my children. It was an utter drag and well I disliked it a lot.

Soon after becoming a new me (e.g. not letting the little things in life bring me down) I discovered that some simple ‘systems’ and preparation (including my favourite LISTS) would help me feel calmer; much much much calmer.

Nowadays I don’t think twice about hopping on a Train with the girls to go visit friends, Museums, Parks etc etc. I just get up and go. Of course a bit of forward preparation never hurt anyone in my opinion so I do have a few organisational hacks that help for example:

1) I have a basket with ‘snacks’ in so that if we do go on a trip somewhere on the Train the girls simply get a few snacks out and pack them….

2)…in a designated backpack we use on our day trips. We keep this page for this purpose only. No other toys, snacks etc enter this bag. End of story.

3) I have a selection of colouring books and pencils we take on the train and these are kept separate to the girls other items. We grab them, pack them and we’re done.

4) On longer trips we pack 2 Barbies each to play with on the train.

5) We ALWAYS pre-book our tickets. I’d rather not have to look for seats on a crowded train and I have had to kick people off our seats before but in all honesty I don’t care; I paid for something. It’s mine.

On longer trips we pack a ‘picnic’ for the train and depending on what time the journey is we pack different things. So if we’re travelling early in the morning we’ll pack stuff like Turkey rashers, Breakfast Burritos etc. If it’s a lunch time trek then sandwiches. I generally try to avoid being on the trains at night because trains are usually more full than a cattle barn.

So a third off rail fare? How is it possible? We have what is known as a Friends and Family Rail Card. You need a child to get one of these bad boys (and the child must travel with you to get a third off fares). The card costs £30.00 a year and basically saves you on pretty much every journey you take (some terms and conditions apply but I’ve not had any issues in the 14 months we’ve had one).

We’ve been plenty of places and plan to continue to use the Trains for stress free travel. Our favourite places to visit include Blackpool (one train change and that’s it!), Liverpool (direct Train), Birmingham (home!) and of course my second home Manchester!

But the most important place we visit is….St Neots. With my girl gang member living in Cambridge (St Neots) it’s a fair trek by car….so we love the fact we can travel to see loved ones and the journey isn’t taxing or tiring.

One of the blessings of the card is you can elect two adults to be names on the card. I have my own name and my Mothers name on my card. You could nominate someone that spends time with the children (an uncle, grandparent etc etc). I know there are families where one spouse uses their family car for work so it’s useful to have an additional transportational method especially during summer holidays to keep the children occupied. Trains work well. I know Trains get a bad wrap because of costs, delays and improvements but in all honesty if you can see past that get yourself a Rail Card and go have some fun (and who knows you may get to listen to that audio book you’ve been meaning to listen to for ages!).