Patty cake, patty cake . . .

This afternoon Mr Seb woke up from his nap early. Not good. But it gave us time to do some baking together. Good!

We made this recipe for the Canadian classic, banana chocolate chip muffins (a double batch with an extra splash of milk at the mixing stage because my spidey sense told me the batter was a bit thick.) As a longtime fan of My Daddy Cooks and pretty much everything related to Baby Led Weaning, I am delighted that Seb is now old enough to stand in his Fun Pod and cook with me! This afternoon he was really enjoying pouring in all the ingredients and stirring them together . . . AND as a bonus we didn't end up with a bag of flour dumped all over the floor! (I am thinking this is a very real possibility when baking with a toddler.) After a while admittedly my apprentice's attention wandered and he just began eating the chocolate stars I had measured out for the muffins but we got there in the end. And the muffins tasted good too!

Come to think of it, I am a fan of bananas when it comes to baking. There's banana chocolate chip bread, banana pudding and banana pancakes a la Rachel Allen and let's not forget my bro-in-law Matt's best banana cake ever (not an overstatement!) So yes, a bit of a recurring theme?? Anyhow, bananas or otherwise I am determined to do more baking this year and have even contemplated trying to bake my way through The Great British Book of Baking (kindof in the fashion of Julie and Julia) but so far I haven't really moved beyond leafing through the cookbook at bedtime . . .

Beef Stew and Other Stories

Howdy peeps! It has been (gasp!) well over a year since I last posted and longer still since I was a true regular here at Always Paddle. Now that the dust has settled after having a baby (ahem, almost two years ago!) and Mr Seb (pictured above) is well and truly a toddler I feel like I am regaining time and space in my life for other bits and pieces. Important things . . . link t'internet! Truth be told, I have been thinking about returning to blogging for a good while but ideas for a re-design etc that I am going to get to sometime have kept me from posting and in the end I have done nada. So nevermind all that, the new plan over the coming weeks is to just start sharing some odds and ends, from our world to yours.

And tonight I bring you . . . beef stew! I made a big pot yesterday afternoon with Woman's Hour and a cup of tea as my cooking companions. The freezer is topped up (this brings me immeasurable joy) and we had some tonight with mashed potatoes and peas for dinner. It was a great winter warmer for a Sunday night in January. This recipe is from Stuart's Auntie Helen from Fermanagh who is a very talented cook and a lovely lady too.

Auntie Helen's Beef Stew
1 1/2 lb stewing steak
4 tbsp flour
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 large onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, pressed
4 carrots, sliced
handful of button mushrooms
about 250 ml beef stock (I used Marigold veggie boullion)
about 250 ml red wine (more or less depending on how you like it)
a good squeeze of tomato puree
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp dijon mustard

Toss the beef in flour and some salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in heavy bottomed pot and brown beef. Remove beef from pot and set aside. Heat a bit more oil and saute onions and garlic over medium heat. Add carrots and saute for a few more minutes. Repeat with button mushrooms. Tip in beef and stir together. Add stock, wine and remaining ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a bubble and then turn heat down low and simmer slowly for as long as possible . . . All measurements are very approximate! With the latest pot I used sundried tomato puree and grainy mustard because they were what we had and it was vay nice indeed.

Vavavoom

I am fully in love with this One Day Beret Recipe! Finished last night, just in time for some frosty-ish weather here in London. You can use any yarn which is so handy (because, let's face it, we knitters do tend unleash our inner packrats when it comes to wool.) All in all, very easy, quick and rather stylin' if I do say so myself . . .

Think there's some kind of important game on this weekend?

Booky Wooky

Was thinking back over the past several months and happily realised that I have managed to do enough reading to do a little round-up post for book lovers. In my sleep deprived state (on which I conveniently blame everything these days) I make no promises about the incisiveness of my reviews, but here you go . . .

BB who can always be counted on for great recommendations (book and otherwise) gave me The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney. Historical fiction set in colonial Canada? Yes please! An engaging story so good I read it by the glow of Seb's nightlight in the wee small hours.

Along with stacks of baby gear, I packed a few novels for our trip to Sasky in August. Luckily I included Heartburn (thanks Dwd!) by Nora Ephron, the darkly comedic story of a cookbook author whose husband cheats on her when she's pregnant with her second child (interestingly based on Ephron's real life - poor thing!) Sounds a bit tragic, but it was just the right amount of funny and fluffy for the summer hols. While in Saskatoon I enjoyed seeing Julie & Julia also by Ephron which combined two of my favs - rom coms and cooking! Can't go wrong.

Shortly after moving to the big(ger) smoke, I indulged my yearning for all things Belfast by finally reading Number 5 by Glenn Patterson, local Norn Iron author who we used to spot frequently on our beloved Belmont Road. I really enjoyed this story (ready Selfy's review here) of one house in Belfast spanning five decades and five families. I was particularly impressed how the story spans and touches on the Troubles without being exclusively about them.

Later in the fall I turned to a little bit of crime fiction by devouring Kate Atkinson's mini series of Case Histories and One Good Turn. I must confess here to developing a little crush on super sleuth and all round cool guy with hard luck, Jackson Brodie. Excited to have read something that Stu might actually enjoy, I excitedly passed them on but I think he found them kindof blah.

Not sure what this reveals(!), but lately I seem to have read a few angst ridden, slightly depressing books about marriage including The Senator's Wife by Sue Miller (yes, DwD the ending was weird), The Private Lives of Pippa Lee by Rebecca Miller (do you think she gets tired of being described as daughter or Arthur and wife of Daniel D-L?) and The Family Tree by Carole Cadwaladr. I think I would describe all three as good but definitely not great.

And that brings me to now, where I am unusually in the midst of reading some non-fiction. Stu enjoyed A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller so much that I had to give it a try. Perhaps best described as a kind of 'spiritual memoir' this book makes you think about the kind of story you're living. Deep stuff man.

Of course, an Always Paddle blog post wouldn't be complete without a food reference (or two!) and so I bring you our cookbook of the autumn, China Modern by Ching-He Huang. I have had it on repeat loan from our local library for several weeks now and have enjoyed several good dishes.

So that's the run down! Now on the hunt for titles for the Christmas season and 2010 - leave me a comment with your top tips . . .

Cool Dude

Big news - I've rediscovered my knitting mojo! I know it's obvious, but my new revelation is that teeny tiny baby knitting is speedy speedy - fun to see a project come together quickly, especially when I only have a bit of time each night to put my feet up with a cuppa and do some stitching (I know, queue new mom sympathy violins here).

So anyway, I now present to you the oh so handsome Sebbie modeling his new Kiddie Cadet! Cool pattern and very easy, save perhaps the wrap and turn which took my sleep deprived brain a while to cotton on to. Now on the needles is the One Day Beret Recipe (ahem, taking me more than one day) which can be done with any yarn so seems like a great way to use up those wayward extra skeins.

We interrupt this programme . . .

As I was drifting off to sleep last night, I suddenly realised that it has been the guts of half a year since I've blogged! Crikey . . . I hadn't intended to take a maternity leave from blogging (I guess you could call it that) but somehow computer time has dwindled between giving birth, moving countries, traveling to Canada and just generally learning to be a parent. Oh, and did I mention the several hundred diapers and night feeds?

But anyway, the lull in posts was always meant to be temporary and I'm feeling ready to re-enter the blogosphere, this time accompanied by the amazing Seb who is now just over five months! We'll make more of an effort to find some time to post in between enjoying our days together in London while Stu's out earning our keep. And just in case you haven't seen the gazillion pictures of him on Facebook (I use having grandparents in two countries as an excuse to take ludicrous amounts of photos), here's one of him from this morning, modelling his Child's Placket Sweater which I just finished last night. Toodle pip!

Sir Noblee has arrived!!

Seb and Mommy a few hours after his arrival

Family photo before leaving the hospital

Seb just after birth - love the hair!

Seb - 4 days old

Introducing to the blogosphere the gorgeous Sebastian John Noble!! Our Seb was born at 3:42 am on Saturday, 13th June 2009, weighing 6lbs 15oz! We had a water birth which was an amazing experience (will spare you the details!) and I can hardly say enough positive things about our time at the Ulster Hospital's 'Home from Home Suite' and the wonderful mid-wives and other staff who looked after us.

The days have gone by so quickly since Seb's arrival - it is hard to believe that he is already a week old! We have had a couple of sleepless nights (I turned to Stu at 5am the first night home and said, 'So people really weren't joking about the no sleep thing!') but overall the breast feeding, sleeping and diaper changing routine is going really well. Stu's mum and dad are experienced grandparents who have been total angels in providing support - feeding us and ensuring we've gotten extra naps during the day as we are adhering to the 'sleep when Seb sleeps' philosophy at this point! Grandma and Grandpa B land this afternoon in Belfast and the introduction to their grandson is an event that we have all been anticipating for a long time! A friend described their arrival as 'the icing on the happy family cake' which I thought was rather nice :)

We think Seb's a wee star and about a billion times cuter than we ever imagined so we are spending any downtime just having fun gazing at him (I think 'besotted' is a good descriptor of us at this point)! Snap happy Daddy Stu has been giving his camera and our new Flip a good workout and Stalkerbook has been working overtime with all our pics. Should also mention that already in just one short week the main man has acquired some quality nicknames including Seb, Sebbie, Baby Seba (a Spanish feel compliments of his Auntie Ninny), The Sebinator, Sebastiano, Sir Noblee and Baby Seabass (as suggested by rugby fans BB and Rickshaw!)

I am guessing my already neglected blog might become a bit more neglected in the weeks ahead, but will do my best to post again soon (realistically more baby pics!)

Drama drama drama

Who knew parliamentary politics would ever get so exciting!?! My (somewhat fuzzy) poli sci brain has been enjoying ongoing analysis of week upon week of shocking expenses stories. Now in the latest twist the Labour Party is fixing to devour itself with a beleaguered Gordon Brown as the main course. Commentators like the BBC's bespectacled Nick Robinson are busy, busy, busy (and thanks to Stu since being off I have also discovered Simon Mayo's afternoon show which features great political interviews and analysis.)

As if that weren't enough, politics junkies will have more fun tomorrow with local and European elections across the UK - here in NI it's just the EU elections (which don't seem to be about Europe at all) and after managing only just to control my blood pressure while watching the Northern Ireland Politics Show earlier this week, let's just say I know who I won't be supporting!

Hello Sunshine

How awesome is this weather? In a shocking turn of events, we have been having a run of gorgeous sunny days in Belfast, with each day improving upon the next! I have to say, after many months of Irish rain and darkness, it's really delightful to see blue sky and feel warmth in the sun's rays.

People get positively giddy when the sun shines here. Was contemplating this earlier, and I think the Northern Ireland reaction to the arrival of warmer weather is slightly different from the reaction of Saskatchewanians emerging from the long months of snow and ice. While Canadians are so filled with relief and joy to come out of the deep freeze, in Northern Ireland there is a special phenomenon where people go absolutely 'buck mad' indulging in summer-ness, knowing (fearing!!) that these meager handful of hot days might actually be the only ones we get. I shouldn't even type that thought, but after two consecutive wet wet wet summers, I consider myself a realist.

Should also mention (at the risk of sounding mocking - all said in love of course!) how fantastically British people do summer - women do well with the rays bringing out lots of lovely summery dresses and skirts that usually only get their airing on hols in Spain or France - but have to say the men take the cake! Around Belfast yesterday we spotted lots of examples of unfortunate tattoos on show (mad props to Stu for the cracking shot!) and also the eternal sin of the dreaded black socks with shorts. Wrong on so many levels!

So anyway, keen to make the most of the balmy climes, we headed to Stu's parents' back garden for a lovely lunch and requisite lounging with the Sunday newspapers.