A bit of this and that...

I spent most of yesterday scrap booking our 2008 trip to Bora Bora, Tahiti
~

I'm not very good at it but it is a good way to get pictures into an album that would otherwise just sit in their photo pouch.
~

~

The pictures aren't very clear as there is plastic on the pages
~

~

~

~

I still have quite a way to go...
~

Brianna (and her school mate, Maddie) have been contructing an
interactive wall hanging/activity mat for their Child Studies assignment. It is aimed at a child with learning disabilities, aged 5-8 years). The laminated cards can be stuck onto the hanging, with velcro dots. The chart comes with a CD which has sounds of all the things on the mat.
~

The child and teacher can play the CD and then when they hear the noise, choose the correct card and attach it to the mat.
~

The animal cards are really cute because they have a 'feel' to them as well.
~

The bird is covered in bright colourful feathers and...
~

... the sheep is woolly, the dog is fluffy and the pig has skin made out of a pink balloon. Very ingenious! I think they will get really good marks for it.
~

Wednesday night we had Crunchy Chicken pieces... all you need is chicken breasts, a small tub of natural (or greek) yoghurt, crushed corn flakes and salt and pepper for seasoning. Chop breasts into small chunks, coat with yoghurt then roll in the seasoned corn flake crumbs. Bake for about 30 minutes in a 180C oven.
~

Much better for you than chicken nuggets.
~

Last night, I did slow cooked Lamb Shanks.
~

Season lamb shanks with salt, pepper and fresh rosemary. Fry them off in a heavy based pan until just browned. Remove from pan.
Add olive oil and sautee off :
1 large onion
4 sticks celery
2 large carrots, cut into small chunks - for about 2 minutes
~
Deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup white wine (or red) then add the shanks back in, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of ground coriander seeds and a tblspn of fresh rosemary. Add in 2 cans of diced tomatoes, 1 tblspn sugar, 2 tblspns balsalmic vinegar, 6 anchovy fillets and 1 tspn beef stock powder and 1 tblspn of plain flour. Stir this amongst the shanks and cover them well. Place in a 180C oven an cook one hour then reduce heat to about 120C and cook a further hour or so. Shanks are done when the meat falls away from the bone.
~Serve on a bed of mashed potato with green beans and some crusty bread for sopping up the sauce.
~

Today I have had a lazy day so far. It's quite warm out so I am waiting for it to cool off a bit then I have some seedlings to plant in my patio pots. They have been sadly neglected so some fresh life will have them looking good again.
~
Cheers - Joolz