Celebrating a 60th

As someone who's always had her birthday on a Bank Holiday (thankfully the date we celebrate Christmas doesn't vary year on year!), I've never really known what it is to spend a birthday in the flow of day to day routine. I've only ever had to work once on the 25th in my whole, entire life (unfortunately the big 21) but I know I've always thought myself lucky to be with friends and family and mark it as a day different from any other. 

And so it was a great deal of both relief and excitement that we brought in a very special birthday this Easter Weekend (no, not mine, I'm not that old yet), with plenty of time, food and fortunately sunshine to celebrate it with. As birthdays go in our family, we're all about chilled out rather than charged up, pyjama parties over ostentatious affairs - here's how we indulged Papa Bear on his special day.

1. Presents + balloons (you're never too old for balloons).

2. Birthday Brunch (also Easter Brunch No 3) - Spicy Red Pepper Frittata.

3. ...a very brief cessation before sitting down to a home-cooked full Indian thali.

4. There's got to be birthday cake. I know what you're thinking... how on EARTH did we have room? We can always accommodate ;) White chocolate & Peach Gateaux - recipe to follow.

5. Following a sloth fuelled seven star snooze, some games and a round of bowling (proud to admit I lost just one game).

6. And finally, early evening drinks at The Grove Mansion Lounges.

Ahhh, why do birthdays go by quickly? 

I'll be back with recipes and some reviews so stay tuned - 'til then, good luck beating those Tuesday Blues.

x

Easter Brunches, Part 2: A Mexican Scramble

...and here it is, Easter Monday already, finale to the four days of feasting, transition from "Long weekend soon!" to "Ah well, at least we have a short week this week," complete. So how has everyone spent it - a) eating, b) lounging c) working d) holidaying, e) socialising? All bar 'd)' apply over here but if the fact that it's now 5pm and I've eaten two huge meals in my pyjamas is anything to go by (I had to starfish on my bed for an hour after meal 2), it seems eating has definitely been the essence of this Easter. We've got enough leftover to feed a hundred for the entire week (no, I'm not kidding) and a fridge so full that trying to retrieve milk for a simple cup of coffee results in eggs and the ketchup bottle catapulting into your face (again, not kidding, I just finished cleaning up). 
Alas, I'm sad it has to end because it's the most relaxed I've been in a long time - no moving date looming on the horizon and no nerves about starting a new job. So I'm off to make the most of what's left but here's recipe 2 of the Easter brunches. I know yesterday's recipe was a slightly fiddly one (worth it though, trust me) and sometimes you want a quick fix, one pan in, one plate out for two to share - if you're all about the duvet picnic, this one's definitely for you. Here it is - Mexican Scrambled Eggs a la Nigella, tweaked to suit my spicy streak. It's not only one of the tastiest ways to start the day but also one mighty cure for a hangover. Let me know how you get on.
What you need:
- Vegetable Oil - 2 soft tortillas - 8 cherry tomatoes, quartered - 1 red or yellow bell pepper, diced - 1 spring onion, roughly chopped - 1-2 small green chillies, finely diced (+ red chilli flakes, depending on taste) - 4 eggs, beaten & seasoned with a splash of milk
- Waffles, to serve.  
What to Do: 
1. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Roll the tortillas into tight cylinders & snip them into long strips with a pair of kitchen scissors straight into the hot oil. 
2. Fry until crisp + golden & then decant onto a plate. 
3. Add the tomato, spring onion, pepper & chopped chilli to the frying pan, cooking until they begins to turn a luscious golden brown. 
4. Put your waffles on to toast!
5. Turn down the heat, put the fried tortilla strips back into the pan & add in the beaten eggs, continuously moving everything around in the pan, as you would for scramble. 
6. When the eggs begin to set, turn off the heat and stir through until they are at a consistency of your liking. 
7. Pile onto a nice spacious dish along side a stack of nicely browned waffles & dive in! 

Enjoy!
xx