Sponsored video - Clean Like a Mother?

This article has been sponsored by Method but all thoughts are mine!

When you are a mother, your whole life is against dirty. Fighting a losing battle, I’d say. As always, you have to strike a balance – too clean and no-one gets to relax plus there’s the school of thought that a little bit of dirt here and there helps build everyone’s immunity (the children rarely get ill, enough said) but you don’t want to have your house condemned as a health risk either.

The problem is if you make a vague attempt to be clean AND green. The two appear to be exclusive – whenever I’ve tried eco-friendly cleaning products, they’ve not been up to the job and I’ve ended up going back to the chemical filled nasties because, well, they work. Yet you want to keep the chemicals away from the children – there is a good reason for the childproof lock on the sink cupboard.

But now, there’s a brand called Method, who are the People Against Dirty. Their products are completely non-toxic, so they’re safe to use with kids around. The products are cruelty free, so even vegans can use them in the knowledge no animals have been harmed in the production or testing processes. And they are environmentally friendly – Method actively seek to reduce the carbon footprint of their products and their company.

It’s all very clever, but I should warn you, they are slightly bonkers. How do I know? Well, I’ve seen their latest campaign. Exhibit A - check out this video, appropriately named “Clean Like A Mother” about their multi-surface cleaners. Dig the dancing. And the beard. I love the beard.



I guarantee you’ll be singing “Give a little squirt, give a little squirt” for the rest of the day.

You don't have to be mad to be a MADs finalist...

but it helps. Here are some of my fellow MAD Blog Awards finalists making fools of themselves answering a few questions. Enjoy...



The final stage of voting closes at 5pm next Thursday. Get voting if you haven't already - by clicking the MADs finalist badge in the sidebar.

Gino says "Hello" and solves your lunchbox problems

Do you remember, back in the halcyon days of Spring, when I was invited to London to interview the one and only Gino D'Acampo? You don't? I'm going to have to point you at my interview with him here and here, aren't I? Tut.

Anyhoo, Gino made a little video for this very blog to introduce his Good Food Fight which he launched with Cheestrings back in May. It's supposed to be attached to another video but I've been so swamped with things since our holiday, there's not been time for that. So, here's Gino saying hello to you all. Say hello back.

Boot or Bust? Watch this!

This is a sponsored post

I don't often do these things but I thought this was worth a look. Lenovo threw one of their ThinkPad laptops out of a plane at 12,500 feet. Crazy? Quite possibly. But it shows how quickly they can boot up - something we could all do with at times. Mine takes a few minutes to get going, so most often I just put it to sleep at night so it can wake up in seconds. I'd much rather get working in seconds and being the kind of IT girl that I am, I'd rather start each day booting my laptop up.

Not sure I'd throw a brand spanking new laptop out of a plane though. The one I'm typing on right now might go out of a plane one day, but without parachute assistance. Suitable punishment for the grief it has given me from time to time. I'll show it who's really the boss. Bwahahaha. Anyway, enjoy.

Viral video by ebuzzing

In case you haven't seen it, here it is...

My children's starring role in the Sainsbury's ad that was on ITV last week.



They are the two children sat at the table near the end, sitting down to eat. Earlier in the ad, you can see my hands (and the children's!) rolling sausages into meatballs and you can clearly hear Missy Woo say "It's a bit gooey".

Bless.

Whose idea was it to have Pancake Day so late?

This is a sponsored post. 

I mean, how very dare they? Pancake Day normally falls happily into half term, providing a welcome activity for one of the days where the school run doesn't rule our lives. But this year, Easter is so late, it's not going to be until the day before Monkey's birthday in March for goodness sake. For various reasons, not just the 6th birthday celebrations, that week is going to be slightly manic.

Some of the good ladies were lamenting this late arrival of Pancake Day (and yes, I realise its official name is Shrove Tuesday - I'm just keeping things secular) so had their own unofficial Pancake Day last week. I think this is going to be the plan for us one day this week, with everyone home for half term so I'm going to  dust off my pancake recipe. I think I'll tell the children it's Early Pancake Day.

I prefer to make my own batter. There are tons of recipes out there and I never realised how much they varied. I always mix mine in a jug - so that I can easily pour the batter into a pan rather than having to ladle it. What I do is sift 110g/4oz plain flour into the jug and make a well in the middle, add a pinch of salt (if I remember - ahem), crack in an egg and a splash of milk from 280ml/half a pint of milk. Then I whisk it together to form a smooth cream. After that, I gradually whisk in the rest of the milk. If I'm making thicker pancakes - kind of American style for little hands to hold - I add less milk to get a thicker batter. People say you need to leave the batter to stand but you don't - but sometimes it's easier to get the batter made and put aside so feel free to do so, just rewhisk it before you use it. Other recipes add in a bit of sugar or some melted butter. I don't, but go right ahead if you want to.

Cooking pancakes never totally works first time for me. I have to make a "sacrificial pancake" at first and accept it might be a minor disaster - at least it gives me one spare to eat whilst I am making the rest. Apparently, it's because my pan is not hot enough according to something I read recently, but as my kitchen is almost full of smoke when I make them, I'm a bit dubious about that.

I put my pan on a high heat and put some butter on with some kitchen paper. Once the pan is really hot, I turn it back down to medium or the pancakes burn. I pour in about 2tbsp of batter and swirl it around quickly to cover the surface of the pan. You might need more if your pan is bigger. It only takes half a minute or so to cook to golden. It's generally cooked when you can see bubbles forming. Then I flip it - either with a fish slice, or you can flip the pan if you're feeling brave. It only needs a few more seconds before you slide it out of the pan. If you're making a pile of pancakes first before eating them, rather than eating them all there and then (or is that just me?), store them between sheets of greaseproof paper. Delia recommends keeping the stack on a plate over some simmering water to keep warm and who am I to argue with that?

If you really don't want to make your own batter, you can buy batter mix. Some of them require egg and milk adding (er, that will be flour and salt then?) but Betty Crocker do one called Shake to Make Pancakes where you just add water to the bottle, shake and pour straight into the pan. You can also find tips for making and flipping your pancakes here.

I don't know how good your flipping skills are - mine are rubbish - but I'm betting you're not as good as this. It's flipping amazing (geddit?)



If you are, then tell me and prove it. That's a vlog I'd love to see!

When it comes to toppings, we normally just have lemon and sugar on our pancakes in this house but jam also goes down well with Monkey and Missy Woo. What do you have on yours? Leave me a comment below with your filling or topping ideas - sweet or savoury. I'd like some new ones to try.

Happy Early Pancake Day!

(This is a sponsored post. I have been paid a fee to write a post about pancakes and include the links to the Betty Crocker website and video. I have not been told what to write, all words, opinions and the recipe are my own.)