Daisy Chains and Picnics

We recently went back to the UK for Caroline and Graeme's wedding as well as a holiday, visiting family and places during our time there. Cerys thought that once our time up in Scotland had arrived we were to go on our way back home to Australia!!, but in true mum and dad fashion we decided to surprise the girls (with a bit of disappointment Jodie had to be told of this surprise before due to University) with another adventure before returning home.  For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to go to New York, that was a dream of my dad's too which had now passed down to Cerys, so we decided as we were going on a long journey back to Scotland we would come home via New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles as this would probably be the last big holiday we would take as a family of four, (Jodie turning 20 this year) we decided to splurge and make it a dream trip. Jodie came up with a great idea as to how we were going to give Cerys the exciting news, something in th...

There is nothing more warming and comforting than coming home to a slow cooked meal during the winter months. I love pork and this slow cooked shoulder in beer is just full of melt in the mouth comfort food deliciousness. Serve with mash, noodles or rice or even pilled high on a steaming hot jacket potato. Sooo yummy, tender and flavourful, open wide!! Ingredients 1 1/2 -2 kg pork shoulder 1 tbsp soft brown sugar 1 tsp smoked paprika 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1 tbsp soy sauce 2 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper 2 onions, peeled, cut into chunks 3 carrots, peeled, cut into chunks 3 cloves garlic, crushed 350 ml beer Method 1.  Remove the string casing around the pork if there is one. Trim any excess fat from meat. 2.  In a bowl, combine brown sugar, smoked paprika, cumin, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Rub spice mixture all over pork. Leave to sit for 30-60 minutes. 3.  Using the slow cooker or a large pan, heat some oil,...

The weekend after her 14th birthday, Cerys had 3 of her best friends over for a sleepover, where they played games, watched movies and ate! Typical party food was the request for tea. I made a Llama cake for the actual day, you can find it  here They had a great time, noisy and messy but they enjoyed it, next year she may not want to celebrate at home so these times are to be cherished.