Helen, Author at Actually Mummy

10 WeightWatchers points: Mushroom & smoked haddock gratin

April 3, 2012April 3, 2012

This recipe is calculated using WeightWatchers ProPoints. 10 This hearty and satisfying main course is full of flavour and doesn’t feel like diet food! Even me and the Bug will eat it! Serve with some green veg such as broccoli spears. Serves 4 You will need: 800g waxy potatoes, sliced 250g smoked haddock 20g dried mushrooms low calorie cooking spray 2 large flat mushrooms, chopped 2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced 1 leek, sliced 120g gruyere cheese, grated 150ml skimmed milk 150g low fat creme fraiche dried thyme Preheat the oven to gas mark 5/190°C/170°C fan oven. Steam the potatoes, …

2 WeightWatchers points: Leek & Broccoli Soup with blue cheese

April 3, 2012

This recipe is calculated using WeightWatchers ProPoints. 2 Mummy eats this stuff, and declares it rich enough in flavour to hold it’s own at a dinner party. Personally I have refused to let it pass my lips, but I am informed I will love blue cheese eventually. I can wait… 😉 Serves 4 You will need: 2 leeks 2 medium heads of broccoli low-calorie cooking spray 500ml vegetable stock 80g gorgonzola cheese Chop the leeks and add to a large saucepan with the cooking spray. Fry on a low heat until softened. Add the stock and broccoli florets, then cover …

If you give a girl 5 minutes…. Wot So Funee?

April 3, 2012April 3, 2012

If you give a girl 5 minutes she could: Make a new potion for her “potion club” …… using bubble bath, soap, toothpaste, lipgloss, body glitter …. and nail polish Clean up the sink with toilet paper….. and try to wash the evidence down the plug hole Create a swimming pool for her Barbies….. and forget to switch the tap off Have a paddle… Try to mop up an inch deep of water on the bathroom floor….. with toilet paper Admit to her mistake….. and not be able to keep a straight face Today is Wot So Funee? but last …

Rock Choir at Wembley Stadium supporting McFly!

May 1, 2014April 1, 2012

Well. I thought I had seen it all when I joined 7,500 members of Rock Choir at Wembley Arena last April, but today surpassed all expectations. Mummy and 1500 of her mates from Rock Choir performed at Wembley Stadium, right there on the very pristine grass, right before my idol Harry. What do you mean, Harry who? The Harry, of course, the one from Strictly Come Dancing; oh and he’s in McFly too, by the way. It was, by all accounts, a very emotional day. The excitement, as lots of ladies (one of them the Bug’s teacher, don’t you know!), …

7 WeightWatchers Points: Easy Chickpea Balti

April 2, 2012March 30, 2012

This recipe is calculated using WeightWatchers ProPoints. 7 We get an organic vegetable box every week. Over the winter the selection is fairly unvaried, meaning that we get a lot of chard. It goes very well in an omelette with cheese, but let’s face it, you can’t eat an omelette every day, and we WeightWatchers miss our curries. So here is a really simple vegetarian Balti, complete with protein, serving 3 people adequately, or 2 hearty appetites for 11 points: You will need: Low cal cooking spray 1 onion, diced 2 cloves of garlic, minced One head of chard (or …

Extreme Close-Up

October 6, 2016March 28, 2012

My Silent Sunday this week was an awesome shot (and I don’t normally like to big myself up, but it was awesome). I had lots of great responses about how amazing my iPhone was for getting such an incredible shot. And I had this comment from MyMumdom: Oh bugger! How did that slip me by? Thinking cap on, Mummy took another look at that photo and remembered what she had actually been trying to capture when she accidentally got a great close-up of a bumblebee. We were noticing how many different varieties of daffodil there are on our walk to …

12 Weightwatchers points: Sweet and spicy vegetable noodle stir-fry

March 26, 2012March 26, 2012

This is yummy, cheap, and can be made with any vegetables you have hanging around. It serves 2 adults and contains 12 Weightwatchers points per person: You will need: 2 tbsps sesame oil 1 tbsp lime juice 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp honey 2 cloves garlic, crushed 2-inch piece of ginger, grated Few dried chilli flakes Green leafy vegetable, such as spring greens, cabbage or pak choi, shredded 1 carrot, cut into strips about 2 inches long 1 small courgette, cut like the carrot 100g dried noodles, cooked and drained Whisk together 1 tbsp sesame oil with the lime …

Cakes for book-lovers

May 8, 2021March 26, 2012

Have you ever heard of an Edible Book Festival? No, neither had we, but when Zoe, at Playing by the book announced she was hosting one on her blog, we headed straight over. Up for grabs was an original drawing by Emma Chichester Clark, of Blue Kangaroo fame, and all we had to do was make an edible representation of a favourite book. Well, we didn’t have to be asked twice, and immediately set about baking a cake representation of the Sword in the Stone, having recently enjoyed King Arthur and the Mighty Contest from the Crazy Camelot series by …

Rock Choir Flash Mob at St Pancras International

May 1, 2014March 25, 2012

Mummy has written previously about performing with Rock Choir, at Wembley Arena. She’s off to support McFly at Wembley stadium next weekend, but first there was the small matter of a Flash Mob to join today at St Pancras International station. Attempting to look nonchalent, then joining in with the show – a flash mob. Today, Rock Choir performed flash mobs across the country to help raise money for Sport Relief. Mummy was privileged to be a part of it all. And I wasn’t as embarrassed as I expected to be 😉

Are Linky’s a thing of the past?

May 8, 2021March 25, 2012

Friends, I have bad news. Sunfun is not well. It started off quite hale and hearty, then succumbed to the affliction that is Silent Sunday. It spluttered its way through for a while, laughter being the best medicine and all that, but in the end the virus took a hold, the Silent bacteria grew, and this linky could no longer resist the onslaught of flashlights and zoom lenses. Today the #sunfun linky will breathe its last breath and become a thing of the past. Don’t worry, we’re not bitter; the Lady of Silent Sunday is still our great friend, and …

366 Photography Project

February 6, 2017March 25, 2012

It has been a week of fun and games. Some of them welcome, others not so much. First off, we trashed the house with Daddy whilst Mummy celebrated the birthday of her great friend Annie, with the help of some double chocolate brownie after-eight mint cupcakes (yes you read that right) made by @cheetahsinshoes. They were a huuuuuuuge success! The rest of the week has been spent appreciating the sunlight, sneaking into our hallway in the early mornings to catch the mirrors on Mummy’s mobile, drying the laundry in the breeze outside (simple pleasures), and coaxing the flowers out of …

Silent Sunday

November 2, 2012March 25, 2012

Saturday is caption day

March 24, 2012

And by way of an explanation for this travesty:

It’s SunFun!

October 5, 2016March 18, 2012

Friend, whilst having torch shone into her eyes by annoying little brother:Stop shining that light in my eyes Brother: But I’m torchering you! And here’s something else to make you laugh – on Monday Mummy is going to be on 3 Counties Radio, wittering to Nick Coffer, who sounds very lovey and professional. That’s bound to be funny. Tune in between 1pm and 2pm on 95.5fm to hear what stuff and nonsense she talks about, and then you’ll know what I have to put up with 24:7 😉 Now, did you write something funny this week? Stick a link in …

76/366 A strange piano lesson

March 18, 2012March 16, 2012

I had a banging headache tonight. I didn’t mention it until we were on our way to piano lessons, and I didn’t play it up. It was a headache. Stuff happens. The Bug was off for 24 hours with a 40 deg temperature, but was fine afterwards. I did the classic sit down on a chair that wasn’t there any more thing at school and hurt my back. Either one could have been the cause of my headache. Who knows. My piano teacher had a headache too; wisdom toot troubles apparently. We practiced my Chante Arabe – trickier than it …

How to tie dye with natural colours

June 17, 2020March 14, 2012

Our school is twinned with a school in the African town of Kano. Often during learning we talk about Kano, and the things that children learn there. Sometimes we look at photos of life there and the things which are typical of people in the town. Our teacher is quite spontaneous and loves to craft (once she filled an entire table with school glue and got us all to throw glitter at it to see if we could make a clear collage!) so when we got talking about photos we had of the people in Kano sitting around pits in …

72/366 Photos: A fashion show

June 2, 2012March 12, 2012

Every year at school there is a fashion show, at which children get to model lots of different items, and parents get to lighten their cheque books after a rocking show and a glass of wine. This year I was selected for the year 2 end of show dance routine. We all wore the blue and white Mary Quant-style dress and delivered our hastily-rehearsed moves to the screams, yells and cheers of family and friends. I was so proud darling. You looked absolutely stunning, you got your moves all sorted, and you modelled with a gorgeous smile on your face. …

Listography: Mummy’s Top 5 Cookbooks

March 11, 2012

Listography this week at Kate Takes 5 is Top 5 Cookbooks, and Mummy couldn’t resist. Here are the cookbooks in our house: We have lots. But funnily enough there are actually only 5 that she really uses. Good Housekeeping: it holds all the classic recipes from Sherry Trifle to Boeuf Bourgignon, from a Victoria Sponge to jointing and roasting a turkey. And the best ever orange and almond cake, containing a whole, boiled, puréed orange. It sounds odd, but it is lush! Full of rich casseroles, stodgy puds, and cosy soups – the best of which is Roasted Pumpkin with …

70/366 Photos: The Good Samaritan

February 6, 2017March 11, 2012

Yesterday we went to Grandma’s; only we never got there. Grandma lives 2 hours away, and halfway there, as Mummy pulled into a fuel station, she hit a kerb, and burst a tyre. Can you imagine how many people came to her rescue? How the good people of Essex rallied round to help her in her panic, occupying a filling point while queues of impatient drivers honked their horns angrily? That’s right, not a single one. Luckily there was a Macdonald’s drive-through nearby so Mummy locked us in the car, with strict instructions not to move and set the alarm …

Helen