French Children Don’t Throw Food…

… but English children steal your Pallet Breton. I was taking a photo of the book when a grubby little hand attached to a very English three-year old snatched the biscuit and stuffed it in his face. A French child would never do that. Probably. Or possibly it’s all just a load of merde.

I’ve heard a lot about French Children Don’t Throw Food by Pamela Druckerman and was pleasantly surprised to find the book readable. It’s the first parenting book I’ve both read beyond the first chapter and ultimately finished.

It’s too late for me and my heathen child but there were a few things I have been pondering. The over-parenting and micromanaging of children is something French parents don’t do. They advocate Le Pause which is essentially waiting a few minutes before picking up a crying baby to ensure you understand what the baby needs and whether or not he should be picked up. The French generally have their babies sleeping through the night by six months at the very latest and often much sooner and bottle or breast fed makes no difference. French parenting also focuses on teaching a child to be sage (wise and calm) and there is an emphasis on teaching them to wait and to learn to play by themselves. As for meal times, I am in awe, as with the exception of olives, my son refuses to eat anything green. I also learnt how important the greeting Bonjour is in France – it acknowledges the other person’s humanity and is a central part of being French. I’ve started to insist my son says a proper hello and goodbye to people now. One final thing I really liked was the French attitude to giving birth. It’s not a question of how you’re going to give birth, but simply where. And there’s no such thing as a natural birth (who’d want one?), it’s called giving birth without an epidural. My kind of thinking.

I do however find it hard to believe that French children don’t whinge.

All French children learn to make Gateau au yaourt and I love cake and can’t wait to make it with George (the French would just let the child make it). Vive la difference!

Bluebells @ Nellington Woods

Cosy cushions

I finally got round to finishing off these fantastic cushions. They have turned out to be a bit of a legacy as the front covers were crocheted by Great Auntie Win who passed away last year and the green Francis Rose Screen Print “Adlington” fabric was once my nan and granddads, both now greatly missed, front room curtains, where there hung for many years. The patchwork backs on two of them were inspired by Jane Brocket’s Gentle Art of Quiltmaking.

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Lunartastic cheese biscuits

My friend Les recently made these cheese biscuits and they are seriously good. I positioned myself next to them at her party and crammed them in, one after another.
Very easy to make but the dough is a bit crumbly and fiddly. Just bung everything in a bowl and knead until dough-like. Cook on gas mark 4 for about ten minutes.

• 200g  grated cheese(s) – odds and ends are fine
• 100g plain flour
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 50g softened butter

Cut into any shape you like. We chose stars because Lunar Jim helped me make them and he likes stars because they are lovely. Let’s get LUNAR!

A stroll on the Common

We took advantage of the temporary lull in the rainy weather to take Pinky Poo out for a stroll on Rusthall Common. There were lots of muddy puddles to splash in and we spotted a few bluebells and admired the trees. Pinky had a great time.

My name is Tallulah…

For me and Bugsy Malone it was love at first sight, and 30 or so years later it’s still very much a love affair. Anyone who has watched the film and has not wanted to appear in it should seek help now. Reading about Future Cinema’s Bugsy screening in The Guardian the other week was a real Jim’ll Fix It moment for me and so we put on our glad rags and headed on down to Fat Sam’s. And what a fabulous time we had.

Day tripper

The Gardner’s do Eastbourne…

George’s blue biscuits

George and I made some lovely biscuits today. We’ve made them before but this was the first time he helped beyond licking the spoon/ bowl/ biscuit (I usually keep quiet about the latter when serving them).

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The recipe, Afternoon Tea Biscuits, is taken from The Women’s Institute Vintage Teatime and is very simple to make:

• 80 g (3oz) butter, softened
• 60 g (2oz) caster sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 175 g (6oz) plain flour
• (I also added a splash of vanilla essence)

Preheat the oven to 180 c. / Gas Mark 4. Lightly grease a baking tray. Cream the butter and sugar together, add the beaten egg and then the flour. Mix to a stiff paste and roll out on a lightly floured surface to about 5mm (1/2 inch) thick. Cut into whichever shape your heart so desires (the recipe says circles). Place on the prepared baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. The recipe says to sandwich the biscuits with jam and to add lemon icing on top.

We added a blue lemon icing (an executive decision on my part as I’m fed up with pink), mini smarties, dazzles, hundreds and thousands and whatever protein was lurking under George’s nails as he rolled, poked and prodded the dough into submission. As an afterthought, don’t hundreds and thousands get absolutely everywhere.

Escape from the ‘burbs

Feeding the swans @ Harrow Lodge Park