Penny

Quick and Easy Beef Stir Fry with #MeatMatters

March 30, 2019 by Penny Leave a Comment

When challenged to come up with a beef or lamb recipe that can be cooked in less than 30 minutes for the #MeatMatters campaign my brain went into overdrive. I have to admit that we eat quite a bit of meat in this household. The idea of going vegetarian would be met with looks of horror from the kids and my husband! I’m therefore used to coming up with quite a lot of different ways to serve them. I regularly throw them into the slow cooker so that we can have something ready when we get home from work or school. They may take less than 30 minutes of my involvement, but I can’t really class them as meals that are ready in less then thirty minutes.

I put my thinking cap on and was simultaneously trying to think of something for dinner that night which would be very quick to cook as we needed to squeeze a meal in between picking kids from school, my husband getting in from work and then driving to the neighbouring county to drop Little Miss C off at Cub Camp for the weekend. Life in this family runs at 100mph and during the week meals need to be either ready in advance, or speedy enough that the kids don’t raid the snack cupboard whilst I’m getting ready.

A quick stir-fry is often the answer. Incredibly quick to cook, rich in protein from the meat, colourful from the vegetables and yummy to eat too!

That’s why I decided to do a simple stir fry for the #MeatMatters challenge. You really only need a handful of ingredients, and supermarkets make it so easy that even if you’re not a regular cook you can’t muck this one up.

Beef stir fry ingredients

Beef cut into strips (often helpfully labelled in the supermarket as “stir fry beef”)
Vegetables (again helpfully labelled as “stir-fry veg” in many supermarkets, but generally consisting of carrot, peppers, cabbage, red cabbage, beansprouts, onion and water chestnuts)
Egg noodles – straight to wok ones
Stir fry sauce – many different types that you can choose. We went for a teriyaki one when we made this dish, but black bean sauce is also a favourite when we stir fry beef)

How to make your stir fry

It really couldn’t be simpler!

To start, put a splash of oil in your wok and put it on a high heat. Once heated up add the beef to the wok and keep moving it around the pan until it is browned all over.

Add the vegetables and again stir fry in the wok until cooked to your liking.

Add the sauce that you are using and make sure that everything in the pan in covered.

Finally, add the straight to wok noodles. Follow the packet instructions, but these often only take about three to five minutes to cook, depending on the exact ones you are using.

Ta-dah! One bright and colourful, healthy dinner that has only taken minutes to make.

Benefits of meat

There’s so much in the press about the benefits of eating vegetables, but there’s a reason that a balance of meat has been part of our the human diet. Beef and lamb are naturally rich in protein. Beef is also a source of iron, which helps to reduce tiredness and fatigue. I’ve been iron deficient before, during and after pregnancy, and it’s no fun at all.

Beef also provides seven other essential vitamins and minerals that support good health and well-being in addition to the iron – niacin, vitamins B6 and B1, riboflavin, zinc, potassium and phosphorus.

It makes sense to have beef and lamb as part of a healthy balanced diet and it helps when there are so many delicious recipes to create with them too.

This post is an entry for the #MeatMatters Challenge, sponsored by Simply Beef and Lamb. Learn about the benefits of cooking and eating beef and lamb along with recipe ideas and inspiration here: https://www.simplybeefandlamb.co.uk

Life as a baby adventurer with #BepanthenProtects

March 24, 2019 by Penny Leave a Comment

AD. This post is brought to you in association with Bepanthen. Please see the end of the post for a full disclaimer.

It’ll come as no surprise if you read my last post to know that Tube Stop Baby’s life goes at about 100 mph too! I think that’s the way it goes though if you’re a third child. You basically get dragged along to everything that you older brother and sister are doing. She’s getting very used to spending rather a lot of time on the move, and also falling asleep in one place and waking up somewhere entirely different.

Third children just have to slot into busy family life and I think that must be why they can end up being so much more laid back than first born children. They have no choice but to go with the flow of things. It does mean that as a parent you need to have ninja like organisation skills and a lot of pre-planning.

When you’re out and about so much with a little one there are a couple of things that you soon realise you will have to do in all manner of places. The first being feed your baby. And the second being changing your baby’s nappy. With eight years of parenting under my belt I can guarantee that both of these will be required when you least expect it. And probably in the most inconvenient locations.

When it comes to nappy changes you develop speed with experience. Those annoying poppers on baby grows can be done in seconds and you can whip off one nappy, clean up baby and pop on another clean nappy with lightening speed. There’s one bit of the process though that I make sure I don’t skip. Making sure I care for her skin. The last thing I want is for a bout of nappy rash. That’s just painful for her, and horrible to have to deal with as a parent. I was thrilled therefore to be asked to take part on the Bepanthen Protects Challenge, especially when they sent TSB a lovely little goodie box. She’s just at the stage of wanting to interact with books and toys so this was perfect timing.

For the last couple of weeks we’ve been using Bepanthen Nappy Care Ointment when we change her nappy as a way of caring for her delicate skin, and also protecting it from the causes of nappy rash. 1 in 3 babies is affected by nappy rash at some point in their lives. It’s far better to be proactive in trying to protect their bottoms from the causes if it than waiting until they actually have it. Nappy rash can cause them to be in pain, meaning that even just the act of cleaning them when you change their nappy can cause them to cry. It also might mean that they wake more during the night. Surely every parent wants to try to protect against that! After all, there’s only so much caffeine in the world.

One happy baby during a nappy change. A happy baby who just learnt to role over and so won’t pose for any photos lying there looking cute next to a tube of Bepanthen in a staged product shot. Who was it that said never to work with children eh?

The most common cause of nappy rash is a combination of soiled nappies and friction. It’s also more likely to occurs if your baby is unwell in some way, weaning (the different diet can change their nappy contents massively!) or if they are prone to hereditary eczema.

The good thing about Bepanthen is that it is gentle enough to be used straight from birth, including with premature babies, and you can use it at every nappy change. It’s also a good idea to put it on after their bath, or, as we did with Tube Stop Baby this week for the first time, after swimming. It forms a transparent, breathable layer, helping to protect baby’s skin from irritants and the rubbing that can cause nappy rash.

In the two weeks that we have been using Bepanthen I’m pleased to say that we’ve not had a red and sore bottom to deal with at all. Despite her best efforts at offering up some particularly “interesting” looking nappy contents on a very regular basis. When you’re out and about as much as we are, the last thing you want is a quick nappy change taking an age and for a poor baby to be screaming in pain whilst you do it due to nappy rash. It’s no fun for anyone.

We’re a family who love to travel and Tube Stop Baby has already been making her way along the length and breadth of England as well as all over London and the tube network. She’s turning into a right little adventurer. With a small handy tube of Bepanthen in our changing wrap when out and about, and a larger tube next to her changing mat at home, we know that we’re ready to protect her fro the causes of nappy rash wherever possible. It also means that I can develop my ninja like changing skills further. This baby is set to be an explorer!

This post is an entry for the #Bepanthen Protects Challenge, sponsored by Bepanthen. Learn more about how to protect baby’s sensitive skin on https://www.bepanthen.co.uk

What’s keeping me busy right now

March 19, 2019 by Penny Leave a Comment

If you only read about what I’m up to here on Penny Blogs then it may well seem like I’ve not been up to much lately. But if that’s your thought then you couldn’t be further from the truth!

Life, as it always seems to be, is manic!

Having three kids, plus a part-time step-daughter, is pretty much a full time job in itself. Keeping on top of all their social arrangements, plus Brownies, Beavers and Cubs meetings (yep, two children but one of each!), after school clubs, swimming lessons and the various Brownie, Cub and Beavers trips and sleep-overs that seem to be going on at the moment, means I need some ninja logistic planning skills. Then there’s all the things that they seem to need. Dressing up outfits for World Books Day. Cakes for cake sales in aid of Red Nose Day, World Downs Syndrome Day and Autism Awareness Day. Remembering which day one kid needs to wear odd socks and on which the other needs to take a superhero toy with them. Ticking things off on camp packing lists. Sewing badges on to uniforms, paying for school trips and collecting plastic bottles for Arts week. No wonder I feel tired at the end of the day.

Add into the mix a four month old baby, who luckily is happy to be dragged all over the place, but one who still needs feeding at least once every night and that there is your reason I get through so much tea in a day!

There are a few other things that are keeping me out of mischief though.

Firstly, this week we are celebrating a whole year in our “new” house. In a way it looks like we’ve done very little since moving in, and there are still plenty of reminders of retro decor that need sorting. We have though managed to replace nearly every window in the house so far this year as well as getting the garage roof repaired. As I sit here now I’m waiting for a man to come back to finalise a quote for fixing the gutters and some problems with the main roof too. It can be hard sometimes to remember that things don’t just happen overnight. There’s plenty more that I need to crack on and do though. The decor in Master C’s room probably being top of the list. He’s trying to push tings on a bit by peeling wallpaper off himself whilst he lies in bed at night listening to audio books!

On the work front I’m being kept busy with various bits of writing work and some social media stuff too. Having created a whole new online presence does mean that some work has slowed down (which is sadly to be expected) but there are a few leads that I’m chasing at the moment so please cross your fingers.

I’m working away at both Penny Plays and Penny Travels on an almost daily basis. Bonn and I are slowly working our way through a huge pile of vintage board games that we are wanting to feature on Penny Plays as well as some new games and toys that I have been sent to review. We’ve also set up a Facebook Group for people to talk about vintage board games here in the UK. I’d found a couple of American groups, but no British ones, so decided to set one up myself.

On the travel front we’re slowly (see a theme here?) working our way through the 270 London Underground stations that we’re hoping to visit with Tube Stop Baby. We’re up to 28 so far. That’s over 10%! Last weekend saw us cover off the top bit of the Metropolitan Line and I’ve totally fall in love with how unlike London it feels there. Chorleywood (where we parked our car) felt like driving into a small village in the Yorkshire Moors rather than approaching a tube station. I’m a bit behind in writing up all our trips, but I’m hoping to have a bit of time over Easter to catch up. Her Instagram account is a bit more up to date though.

I’ve also realised just how much I need a daily dose of fresh air in my life. The days that I don’t get outside for a walk I find myself struggling with motivation to get anything done. I’ve recently discovered geocaching (and have written a little introduction to it over on Penny Travels if you don’t know what it is) and I’m finding that a great excuse to get outside and explore with Tube Stop Baby. It can sometimes be a bit of a challenge finding some of the caches when you’ve got a pushchair with you, but even if I don’t manage to retrieve every cache that I go after, I’m getting the fresh air and exercise which is making me feel better.

In between all this I’ve discovered just how addictive Netflix box sets are. Especially whilst you’re pinned to the sofa under a feeding baby. I’d honestly forgotten just how much I love a good crime drama on the telly. I’m desperately trying to make time for crochet, as I know that crafting is another thing that I really need in my life to keep a bit of balance. There aren’t enough hours in the day to do as much as I’d like, but small progress is being made.

Inspired by the Sewing Bee I’m also hoping to get my sewing machine out again soon. There’s a cot bed quilt that really needs finishing, but I’ve also got a load of clothes patterns that I’d like to have a go at. A recently trip to a local haberdashery shop had me finding some Harry Potter fabric that I know Little Miss C would love a quilt made from so I’m wondering if I can do something “mummy made” for her birthday in June…

Maybe I should just give up on sleeping as being too time consuming?

7 things you might not know about me

March 13, 2019 by Penny Leave a Comment

As a step towards getting back to the old school blogging world that I spoke about in my recent post it was perfect timing that the lovely Becky from Thrifty Home tagged me in a post where bloggers are challenged to tell their readers seven things that they might not know about them. As I start writing this I’m not yet sure what those seven things are going to be, but here goes!

1. When I was a child I wanted to be either a detective or a spy. I had little books on both and kept switching my allegiance as to which I actually wanted. Interestingly if you look at my recent watch history on Netflix I still have the same interests! The most recent things I’ve been watching are The Bletchley Circle and Line of Duty.

2. I have been somewhat obsessed with the London Underground since I moved to central London as a student in 1999. It has always fascinated me and I’m always wanting to see as much of it as possible. To make my dreams into a reality my husband Bonn and I have taken on the challenge of trying to visit every one of the 270 stations on the Underground with our daughter – hence her online name of Tube Stop Baby!

3. When I was about 14 years old I was at a school that had an Amateur Radio station that was attracting rather a lot of interest as our Physics master had come up with the idea of the school having an Amateur Radio link with Helen Sharman (the first British astronaut) whilst she was on the MIR space station. Lured in by all the media attention that our school had at the time I decided to study towards my City and Guilds Amateur Radio examination and I was delighted to pass. This meant that I was able to hold what was then a Class B Amateur Radio licence which allowed me to broadcast to other radio Hams around the world. Incredibly geeky, and not something I use any more, but great experience before I studies electronic engineering at university and got a job working for a telecommunications company.

4. I read rather a lot, but one of my favourite books remains Sue Townsend’s The Queen and I. It’s the only book that I’ve reread several times. It’s hard to explain exactly what it is I love about it, but each time I read it it makes me laugh out loud.

5. Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to meet quite a few celebrities through my blogging work. The one brush with fame that I’m most proud of though is the fact that I once sold a train ticket to BBC 6Music’s Stuart Maconie. At the time I had a part time job working at London’s Euston station and I was rather thrilled when he handed over his credit card to get a ticket back up to the north west. I’ve been a fan of his radio work for as long as I can remember and this was back before 6Music had even started and he was still doing The Treatment on Radio 5 Live. I’m gutted that he’s no longer on the radio every afternoon as it was a highlight of the long school run for me.

6. There’s not been as much visibility of it here as there was on my old blog, but I am an avid Ladybird book collector. There are over 400 books in my collection at the last count and I am still desperately trying to reorganise them after we moved house last year. As soon as I get that done I’ll be re-starting the weekly sharing of them over on Penny Reads.

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7. The last thing on my list isn’t much of a surprise, but it’s such an important part of me that it’s worth mentioning again. I’m a tea addict! A decent cuppa (and it normally has to be Yorkshire Tea) is the first thing to pass my lips in a morning and throughout the course of the day there’s usually a cup to hand. Even when I’m on the school run. Luckily I’ve managed to lure Bonn away from just drinking coffee and our outdoors adventures are often accompanied by a flask of tea these days. Pure bliss!

Recycled Sewing

March 13, 2019 by Penny Leave a Comment

A very rare event took place in our house last night. I got to watch the Great British Sewing Bee live. So unheard of that I struggled to know what time it was actually on. Let alone what channel it was. (9pm, BBC2 in case you’re as ignorant as I am about live TV these days!) Normally I manage to pick it up on iPlayer the following day whilst feeding Tube Stop Baby.

Last night’s episode is worthy of further discussion though.

The theme was recycling with it being tagged as Reduce, Reuse and Recycle week. Normally there is a weekly transformation challenge when something is plucked from a “charity shop” for them to repurpose into something else. This took it to a whole new level though. It also brought out a couple of key statistics from Patrick that made me gasp.

Firstly, the average person in the UK throws away 15kg of clothes every year. Let’s just think about that for a second. Has our disposable attitude to clothes really got to the stage when so much is being ditched? And is it all really clothes that have worn out, or is it just things that are no longer “in fashion”? And where are all these clothes going?

When talking about the history of more “disposable fashion” they talked about Biba and how in the 1960s people were ready for something different after the war years and rationing. I can understand how those that had lived through such austerity would celebrate no longer having to, but have we just gone too far now?

I really struggle with the idea of shopping (especially for clothes) as a hobby. I honestly can think of nothing worse. If I need new clothes I pop to the shops, go for exactly what I want, buy it and get out of there as quickly as possible. The idea of spending hours just browsing rails of clothes not looking for anything in particular brings me out in a cold sweat!

The fact that so many clothes now are priced so that people can buy them as an impulse purchase may well be part of the problem. If they can buy clothes on a whim, them do they just get rid of them on a whim too?

The second statistic that made me gasp was that 30% of the fabric that home sewers buy, ends up not being used. OK, I understand that depending on what you making and patterns on the fabric you are using, it might be the case that cutting out isn’t always as efficient as it should be. I suppose the question is, what happens to all that fabric?

I’m pretty sure that most sewers that I know would never dream of putting off cuts in the bin if they can be used for something else. A dear WI friend of mine Emma, runs her own dress-making business, specialising in fantastic reproduction dresses (Oh Sew Vintage – look her up, her dresses are amazing!) and as a result has a lot of off cuts. There is no way that they are all destined for landfill though. Instead Emma makes the most of every last bit. Some she passes on to other people, or into our WI crafting supplies, but many are reused into smaller projects. I’ve seen some used to make small purses or make-up bags. Some used to make things like rag rugs or even rag fairy light garlands (like I did at Wine and Wigwams a couple of years ago) which look gorgeous. There is absolutely no reason for them just to go in the bin.

Last night’s Sewing Bee was excellent at highlighting just how much waste there can be – both in terms of unwanted garments and also when sewing at home. It showed how home furnishing items can be reused to make clothes, but I still think it can go further. Not all of us are yet at the stage of being able to make a dress from an old duvet cover (as much as I want to learn to) but something like a rag garland or wreath or even a simple patchwork blanket is achievable.

What we now need to do is show people who aren’t at the Sewing Bee level of sewing skills what is possible. Give them ideas and instructions as to what they can make from scraps of fabric that might otherwise go in the bin. Make them think more about those items of clothing that they no longer want to wear, and try to see them in a new light.

At the end of the day the idea of 15kg of clothes and 30% of sewing fabric being wasted is just criminal!

My own first steps towards all this is going to be trying to actually finish the million and one sewing (and crochet and knitting!) projects that I have in an unfinished state. They include the cot bed quilt that I originally started for Little Miss C all those years ago. I’ve found all the fabric and even the old blog posts from 2010 that I was following to help me and I’m determined to get it finished before Tube Stop Baby moves into a full size cot. Watch this space!

Photo by Dinh Pham on Unsplash.

Taking it back to the (blogging) old school

March 7, 2019 by Penny Leave a Comment

This is one of those blog posts that I might end up regretting. So, please stop reading now if you’re an influencer and easily offended. The thing is I’m in a bit of a rut and suffering from what can only be described as “blogger fatigue”. And maybe part of the problem is that title and how I still describe myself. A blogger.

I first started blogging over ten years ago now. I had a full time job (that I hated as they treated me like dirt) and after being inspired reading loads of craft blogs (especially US ones) I realised that I needed to stop just reading about other people doing things. I was getting really annoyed that I didn’t ever achieve anything crafty and half of the problem was that I wasted all my time reading rather than doing. So I actually starting doing stuff myself. By writing down something like “I am going to make this” it meant that I felt a responsibility to actually do what I was telling people I was going to do. My productivity went through the roof and it was also wonderful to look back at what I had achieved in terms of knitting, sewing and later crochet.

Back ten years ago people blogged for themselves and their readers. There was no talk about SEO or Domain Authority. There was Facebook, but people didn’t really link their blogs to it. Instagram wasn’t even a thing on my radar. I’d never heard of a blogger working with a brand or a PR company. I blogged because it was what I wanted to do. I wanted to create content about the things going on in my life and I really enjoyed doing it.

Oh how things have changed!

Bloggers have now all become “influencers”. Mainstream media is full of stories about them and one (YouTuber Joe Sugg) even made the Strictly Come Dancing final. It’s not all favourable media coverage though. There are also plenty of stories about influencers demanding things from brands, and in some cases pretending that they are working with a brand as a way of seeming more important than they are. There are fresh rules about how we have to declare if we’re working with a brand, or if we feature something somewhere that comes from a brand that we have worked with in the past. It’s all a bit tedious, but I suppose necessary. Yet strangely there seem to be a load of “influencers” that don’t seem to think the rules apply to them. Interestingly they refer to themselves as influencers rather than bloggers…

And then there’s Instagram.

Don’t get me wrong, I spend plenty of time on Instagram looking at people’s feeds and admiring some of their pictures. To me though Instagram will always remain a way of people sharing pictures of what they’re up to. I like to think of it as instant snapshots of what is going on in their lives. A sneak peak. I use it as a way of telling people what I’m up to between blog posts.

The bit that does absolutely nothing for me though is curated feeds. You’re never going to find me carefully selecting pictures that have a certain colour palate so that they fit in with my Instagram mood board. I’m never going to be trying to dress my kids in specific outfits so they can fit in with a theme. It’s just not me. I can’t be bothered. Hell, some days I even wear jeans, t-shirt and a jumper that don’t really go together colour-wise. I probably do so because a) those clothes are clean, or nearly clean b) those clothes were warm and c) those clothes were to hand when I got dressed that morning.

The thing is I’m not cut out to be an influencer. I can’t even influence my children to eat vegetables on a regular basis, let alone take arty photographs to convince someone to buy something that I might not buy myself. My house is not instagram worthy. But over the years, partly through necessity, I’ve become someone who makes a living from blogging. I’ve been able to give my kids some amazing experiences through blogging and it also gave me enough of an income to pay for my divorce last year. It’s helped keep the roof over our heads and food on the table. So, why do I appear to be shooting the hand that feeds us?

I suppose what I’m doing is taking a bit of a stand about keeping things real. The other thing that I’ve done in the last ten years is have three kids. Now aged 8, 6 and just 16 weeks old I know that the main things they need in life are a loving home and good role models. Oh and plenty of chocolate in the case of the older two. Something they’ve definitely got from me.

What they don’t need in life is pressure to look perfect or behave in a certain way. They need to know that they can be themselves and that they should be proud to be individuals. I’m worried that things like perfectly curated instagram feeds puts pressure on them. I’m worried that it can also do the same to new mums. And dads. Being a parent can be a lonely business. Especially when it’s your first child. You feel under such pressure to do everything right. To be smiling, out of the house at various baby groups, buying all the right kit and living a Pinterest lifestyle where you’re constantly making healthy meals and organising educational craft activities for your little ones. Life isn’t picture perfect though. Pretty pictures are fine, and can be lovely to look at, but please don’t think that everyone lives their life like that.

My daughter loves books (especially Jaqueline Wilson and Michael Morpurgo ones), crafty activities, being in Brownies and Cubs, watching TV and Hatchimal Collectables. My son is obsessed with trains, croissants, anything space related (this week at least), watching Horrid Henry, audio books at bedtime and playing Crossy Road on his tablet. And winding his big sister up. Both of them enjoy riding their bikes and going and finding geocaches with me. Little Tube Stop Baby likes milk, cuddles and people who smile at her.

I love books, knitting and crochet, radio and podcasts, collecting Ladybird books and Blue Peter annuals, getting out in to the fresh air as much as possible, and of course my family. I’m also proud to be a WI member and a school governor. I’ve a geeky fascination with the London Underground and things more generally train related. I’m a sucker for a social history program on TV and I’ve normally got a cup of tea in my hand. As a family we love board games (especially vintage ones) and exploring the countryside.

These are the things I should be sharing here on my blog. These are the subjects I should be influencing people on. I want to stop focussing on material possessions.

I guess this waffling blog post has become my resignation letter from being an influencer. Or trying to be one as I’m not sure I really succeeded. I’m going back to being a blogger instead. Writing about the things I, and my family, love, and not worrying so much about what other people think. Yes I’m happy to keep reviewing things that my family use and enjoy. I’m happy to write about places that we visit as a family. I’m looking forward to having more time crafting and sharing my creations online. If a brand wants to work with me as a blogger then fine, but my days of reaching out are over. I’m not self-confident enough to do so. I can’t make promises to influence my readers about something. I’m off to find a different day job.

I just don’t have what it takes to be an influencer. And to prove it I’m not even going to bother finding an arty photo to accompany this blog post!