Small Cakes for a Big Boy

Yesterday we had a little party for Fin's eighth birthday. The weather was undecided so we took the party to the pool where it was absolutely wet. Six boys ambled behind us like something from Stand By Me, kicking stones and chatting with their hands. Occasionally a little exuberance would escape with an uncontrollable spring lamb gambol. Nick and I held hands and pretended to be walking alone, just ahead, but keeping an eye and ear peeled for the sound of twelve sandals. On one sneaky backward glance Fin caught my eye and grinned hugely, throwing a double thumbs up.

I thought about how often I had walked with Fin's small hand in my own and wondered at the swift passage of time.

Mini Banoffee Cupcakes, made from this recipe.

At the pool we let the boys go in by themselves, all eight or over now, they didn't need chaperones. It was Fin's first time in the pool without an adult and he emerged from the locker room with a swagger in his step. The boys leapt straight in after him and they swam to the deep end to practice diving - leaving the 'fun' session at the other end where girls and their mums splashed about childishly.

It was like witnessing Fin downing his first pint. A seminal moment, the first of many in his forays into adulthood. 

Later, when the swim stuff was all hung out to dry and candles extinguished, we sat together on the sofa whilst balloons bobbed around the room in the evening breeze.

Then he climbed onto my lap and sucked his thumb a bit before bed. Back in the safety of being a little boy again.

Happy Birthday Fin!

Broad Bean Salad

Last weekend some dear friends came to supper. Iris arrived at the door first - in her hot fingers a gorgeous wild flower posy all bound with pink wool. Natalie and Paul struggled in behind her, laden down with a basket full of home grown produce, a bag of herb salad, huge bunch of beetroot greens that took over the fridge and  an armful of new broad beans in their pods. All too soon we were gobbling strawberries for dessert and waving goodbye, as they strolled home with Iris tucked under a felt blanket.

The next day I planned to do justice to those lovely beans and find out whether my tummy was ready for them or not. It's been well over a year since I've eaten broad beans as they are too starchy for SCD. However, I figured that these peachy specimens were so new that they were more like peas and definitely worth the risk.

As I worked my way through the bag of pods I began to doubt that the pale beans which popped out, would feed my family unaided. When I had steamed and slipped them out of their skins, my suspicions were confirmed. The compost was going to do well out of this as the mound of pods far exceeded the small quantity of beans that peeped out expectantly from the large bowl I had set them in.

Liberated from their pods and skins, those tiny emerald green beans shone with life. Beans this new are like the fleeting appearance of elderflower or the first rhubarb - like the short asparagus season which is over and gone before you have had a chance to cram in enough of the stuff, and you wish you had ignored that voice telling you it was not okay to eat it at every meal - dripping in hot butter. 

I ran to the garden to gather some mint and peered into the fridge for inspiration. Hmmm...

Not much later, I was stirring up a minty, creamy salad and scattering chives happily over it. A whole bowlful of salad - enough for three at least.

Try making this if you too find that you have just a few of the newest broad beans (or even just a few bigger ones) - but not enough for supper. Nobody will know that you didn't start out intending to make it that way.

And how did my tummy react? It was just fine. I wouldn't recommend eating baby broad beans unless you are symptom free, but if you are then a handful probably won't hurt you. French beans or young runner beans, (steamed whole and then refreshed with cold water and sliced into pieces) would be a good SCD substitution for broad beans.

Baby Broad Bean Salad (serves 4-6 as a side)

8oz broad beans (podded weight)

8 oz frozen peas or petit pois

1 cucumber peeled and de-seeded

a very large handful of mint

a grating of lemon zest

a heaped dessert spoon of creamy yogurt

a heaped dessert spoon of home made mayonnaise (or good quality bought)

a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Bunch of chives, washed and chopped

Steam the broad beans until just done - the skins should just start to split. Plunge into cold water and slip the skins off when cold. Put into the salad bowl.

Steam the peas and refresh in cold water, drain well and add to the bowl

Chop the peeled and de-seeded cucumber into small dice and add to the bowl.

Finely chop the mint and add to the bowl along with all the other ingredients except half the chives.

Taste for mintiness, lemoniness and yogurtiness and add more of anything if needed. I don't add salt to this, but if you like it then add some now.

Put in a pretty bowl and sprinkle over the chives - if you have some chive or nasturtium flowers they would look gorgeous too.

Hosts Needed for 'Go Ahead Honey its Gluten Free'

I'm booking up the calendar for our second year of the gluten free online blogging event, Go Ahead Honey its Gluten Free and looking for bloggers who would like to host a month.

To see how it's done with panache and a delicious sprinkling of wit, have a look at this month's round up of Manly Food at Simply Gluten Free.

To host a month, just comment here or email me on naomidevlin @ f2s.com with your preferred month (starting September 09). Chose your theme (I will help as much or little as you like) let me know and I'll give you the details of the hosts before and after you.

All you need to do is post your theme at the beginning of your month and post the round up at the end - of course you might want to take part and contribute something too.....

Hosting can be a great way to get traffic to your blog, meet other gluten free bloggers and cook something you might otherwise not have done. Sometimes we even get non gluten free bloggers participating - now ain't that all inclusive?

There are no rules to this event, beyond the theme and the deadline. It's just a lovely way for us gluten and grain free bloggers to celebrate all that we have and show off a little.

So what are you waiting for?

x x x

Another Stolen Evening

The day started as grey and unpromising as february. Rubbish bags sat forlornly along the curb, waiting for the surly refuse collectors to scoop them with weathered hands from under the gulls greedy eyes. Birds shuffled noisily on the roof tiles as I brushed my teeth, their plaintive cries aching across the slick street.

Fortified with ginger tea, I got on with the business of the day until three o'clock rolled round and it was time to head out and collect Fin. 

Somewhere between brushing my teeth and easing digits on my bike lock, the day had blossomed into a shiny thing with a fresh, lightly mist laden breeze, agreeably playing across my cheeks as I sped towards school.

We agreed on a beach picnic, so while Nick and Fin went to a swimming lesson at the local pool, I picked up a few bits and pieces and threw together a watercress and chicken stock soup; feta, mint and romaine lettuce salad, coleslaw, crudités and some cold sliced meat. Of course, anything eaten on the beach with warm pebbles between your toes, tastes fabulous!

After our meal we squinted into the setting sun and ran about after a fluffy ball with velcro pads on our hands. We giggled heartily each time the ball stuck on the pads and glanced over at the group of old ladies drinking tea around a tartan clothed table (as though they had been transported unknowingly from a WI meeting to the beach) in case we were enjoying ourselves too enthusiastically. 

They merely saluted us with another buttery shortbread until it was time to pack up and head home to tuck a weary Finley into bed.

'How lucky we are!' said I to Nick, who just shrugged and nodded his head. Because what more can you say when such richness is laid before you?

x x x