Purple swirl meringues recipe.

Hey readers, 

Check out this twist to the classic meringues with these fun and colourful swirl meringues.

Ingredients. 

★ Blue and purple colouring. 

★ 4 eggs. 

★ Caster sugar (we have golden as it is what we bake sponges with but use any you have).

**The sugar should be the same weight as what the eggs (with the shell on) are**. 

Method.  

1. Heat oven 150°c fan or equivalent. 

2. Make sure that everything is washed with a load of detergent even if you think it is clean as a tiny bit of oil/grease will stop the egg white from whisking. Wiping the bowls with lemon juice works a treat as a degreaser and speeds up the whisking later.

3. Measure out the same weight of caster sugar as your whole unbroken eggs. 

being stuck with golden castor doesn't matter because it only slightly dulls the white colour of the meringues. 

4. Separate the eggs and keep hold of the whites. Separate one egg at a time then put that white in the main bowl, this way if one yolk breaks you only lose one egg, not all the ones already separated (doing it this way with our children resulted in two individual eggs lost but thankfully not the whole batch each time) 

5. Put the sugar in a bowl with the eggs white. 

6. Whisk the mixture - a couple of minutes slow speed, couple of minutes medium speed and then medium or high speed until you get 'stiff' peaks. 

When you pull the whisk out the peaks should pull up and fold down on themselves gently. This is when you should be able to tip the bowl upside down. 

7. For the colour, take out a spoonful of the mix and put in one bowl and the same again in another bowl. 

8. In each colour bowl and a good squidge of colour and mix in a little. 

9. Put the blue mixture down one side of the piping bag. This was messy but we just did the best then laid the bag flat and squashed to the side with a silicone spatula on the outside of the bag. 

10. Repeat on the other side with the purple mixture - much messier.



11. Add all the white mixture in the centre of the bag the best you can, we used a tall jug to stand the bag in but a pint glass or vase works well too.

12. Pipe the mixture on the baking tray. Make sure that there is space between each meringue as they expand a little when baking in the oven. A little tip- put a tiny bit of meringue mixture on all the corners of the baking tray to help stick the greaseproof paper down.

13. Put the meringues into the oven on a low shelf and turn the oven down to 140°c - bake like this for 50 minutes. 

14. After 50 minutes, turn the oven off but leave the meringues in there and the door closed for a few hours until they are dried out and cold.
  

15. Put the meringues on a rack and melt some chocolate whichever way you find best - we use supermarket own milk 30%  cocoa and dark 70% cocoa mixed together- very nice. The easiest way for us is to break the chocolate up and place it in a bowl in the oven at either 40°c or 50°c for a few minutes.

16. Finally, the children dipped their bottoms into the chocolate then into either sprinkles or chopped hazelnuts. (the meringue bottoms, not their own!)

17. This produced a lovely light crisp meringue, if you want chewy or soft on the inside then you can experiment with a softer whisk consistency for chewy or couple of drops of vinegar and a small amount of cornflour for softer innards. Another method of bake we used to use was 120°c for 2 hours then turn the oven off, this seems to leave the meringue less 'hollow'.

Cheers for reading X 

My Sunday Photo 19/05/2019

Happy

Hey readers, 

This week I have felt HAPPY!

This is because I just have got loads done and having the energy to do something has put me in a good mood. 

I had a lovely weekend with the boys and my eldest was much calmer compared to some weekends where is very anxious (loads of different reasons why). 

We enjoyed a spot of baking, went to the local park and just had a nice time without too many squabbles. Makes a big difference where there is more of a chilled vibe. 

I have also enjoyed the return of the sunshine of course and it has helped lift my mood. I found watching the new Louis Theroux documentary moving like someone who suffers from mental health issues along with parenting knows how tough it is. 

So, yeah I am rather happy and just enjoying the moment which often doesn't always come easy to me. 

Cheers for reading X 

5 things to remember when you feeling anxious.

Hey readers,

When in the depths of anxiety it can feel like aq turmoil in your brain. It can be hard to get past the feelings of anxiety. So here are five things to remember when you are feeling anxious.

1. It will pass. 

I know this probably obvious to people however when you are experiencing anxiety it is hard to see anything else. But remember it will pass as time goes on and they feels will end. Hold on to this thought and if you can reflect back to previous feelings of anxiety and remember that they passed.

2. Facts. 

Remember that anxiety thoughts are not facts but feelings. You don't have to believe them as they are just thoughts. There are millions of thoughts going through your mind and you have the choice to listen to them or not put any value on them, It is amazing when you let go the anxiety thoughts will disperse, however, it holds work so stick with it be worth it in the end. 

3. Change.

Sometimes it is easy to opt to stay in one place and feeding them anxious thoughts. A good way to help think about something else is to change the scenery, it does not have to be complicated it could simply be a walk down the road or around your local park. Changing the scenery is great for the mind especially getting fresh air makes a big difference. 

4. You are not alone. 

When going through an anxious time it can help so lonely and like you are the only one person suffering from anxiety, however, that is not true and there are many people who suffer from anxiety and from all walks of life. It doesn't matter what your age, wealth or background anyone could experience in anxiety. It is a known fact that people in the UK 1 in 4 people experience mental health problems each year. 

5. It is ok. 

It is ok not to be ok. It is ok to have anxiety and sometimes just accepting the anxiety can help reduce the stress and pressure that builds up from the stress of worrying about it all.  

Cheers for reading X

Reasons to love lego

Hey readers, 

I assume most people have heard of Lego which is a toy for children and adults. The idea is to follow the instructions and build an item made of Lego bricks such as say a car or a hospital. Lego is brilliant and I have listed the reasons below why you should check it out.

Fine motor skills.

Lego can be fiddly and tricky but with the time you can strength your fine motor skills. It is a skill to hold one brick and using the other hand to place the brick into its slot.  

It's ageless. 

The brilliant thing with Lego is that there is so much variety. There are different blocks and skills fro different ages. Lego is available for toddlers right up to adults. Therefore doesn't matter what age you can still get that buzz from building something spectacular. 

Patience and organisation skills.

With Lego, you need a lot of patience because it takes time to organise the pieces in colour because in my opinion the easiest way to follow Lego. Then the process of building the model takes time but you will be rewarded with latent satisfaction. 

Planning ahead.

This key with Lego is to be organised with planning ahead and getting the bricks in order. It is important to read the instructions and then have a go at putting the bricks in place. 

Teamwork and communication. 

Now with teamwork and communication, this only applies if your working with someone else. Each person needs to know what they are doing and what the plan is. Say one person gets the brick, whilst the person reads the instructions and builts. Communication is important when it comes to Lego. You have to talk to one another as you need to know what each person is doing so there is no confusion or arguments. 

Facing challenges. 

With Lego at times, it can be challenging you may not have the strength or struggle to identify the colour brick in the instruction manual or working out the diagram to which way the brick is facing. Sometimes, you get it wrong and only later that it isn't going right and you have to go back and redo. This is rewarding as it helps you learn I think via your mistakes and accepting that you know things go wrong. 

problem-solving. 

Lego can be tricky where you have to work out how to solve a problem. Sometimes you have to do trial and error and this teaches you how to come up with a solution through trying different scenarios. 

Spatial awareness.

Using Lego can help with improving spatial awareness by working out how mentally rotating objects and planning how bricks will be placed before building can help understand where to place the bricks. 

Rewarding. 

Finally, the best part of Lego is the reward you get for all the effort and time you put into building into making the Lego item to then be able to tangibly see it at the end and know you have created that design through the Lego instructions. 

Do you like Lego? Love to hear your thoughts in the comment section. 

Cheers for reading X 

My Sunday photo 12/05/2019

16 thoughts whilst on my period

Hey readers,

Today I am going to talk about periods and that thought that occurs when I am going through the dreading menstruation. Some people may think this is a bit too much information but at the end of the day, it is so important to talk about periods to help period taboos.

So, what kind of thoughts do I have when I am on my period.....

1. Everything is annoying me, even the bloody kettle that leaks are getting right on my nerves right now. 

2. I hate my husband, absolutely 100% because he doesn't have the pleasure of having to deal with a period every sodding month.

3. I am hungry, from the moment I wake till I sleep I can not stop thinking about food and eating. 

4. I feel like someone is stabbing me in the stomach or kicking me as the cramps are taking over and I hate life. 

5. Why do they say periods last 5 days, this is a joke because mine don't and maybe Mother Nature hares so much she tortures me with a prolonged period time. 

6. Right now I am so full of emotions, one minute I am happy and then the next I am having a full-on breakdown because of the anxiety and fear that comes with having a period. 

7. I am definitely not wearing white because that is too dame risky.

8. Got to reach in the bottom of the draw for my 'period pants', all black, big and comfy around the waist.

9. I am out and randomly my period has arrived is it alright too makeshift and use toilet tissue for a pad? 

10. I think I am dying because there is no other way to explain this pain right now. 

11. If I sneeze whilst on my period that is a risk attached and probably best not to do in public unless you want it to look like a murder scene. 

12. I have eaten this tub of ice cream which is acceptable since I am on my period. I now have dealt and think I may become ever fattier and my life is destroyed by one single action. 

13. I wish I could live my bed for the next few days with my heated blanket on to deal with cramp pains and killing two birds with one stone by hiding away from the world because everyone annoys the hell out of me. 

14. Chocolate should be mandatory with sanitary wear just because it is helpful for when you are on your period, fact. 

15.  Why do men think they understand periods? you don't know the half of it so does all a favour with your advice f*ck off with it. 

16. When I start my period it comes to the realisation of why things happened recently and has enlightened me since being on my period. 

Have you experienced any of these period related thoughts? Love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below. 

Cheers for reading X