Trying something new in the kitchen. #MySundayPhoto

Yesterday we had an afternoon of baking. Partly for a blog review and partly to so something different from school work. We made a few different things but what I was most surprised with was the Polenta bread. It's something I've heard of but have never eaten and I had certainly not tried making it before. It was so good.

Week 2 of #Project365. 9th - 15th January. A photo every day for a year!

The novelty of home learning has worn off. It was fun to start with but now not so much when the majority of Ellie's time is sat looking at a screen. Nothing can be done about it as at the moment it's the only way teachers can teach. Becky on the other hand loves it she prefers sitting at home instead of travelling to college especially when the weather has been as cold as it is. As of writing this we still haven't had any snow laying. We've had hailstones and sleet and yesterday was so foggy but no snow. Hmmf.

Now for a photo every day!

9/365 - 9th January

My youngest made a wrap the TikTok way. We'd seen the videos on TikTok where you cut the wrap from the top to the middle and then fold it. It is genius. If you haven't seen it before Google it. It has totally changed the way we make wraps now. Our breakfast one's are pretty good. Bacon, mushrooms, baked beans and either egg or sausage!

10/365 - 10th January

Another Windows update. Grr!

11/365 - 11th January

Both the girls had home learning to and spent plenty of time on their laptops on Monday. 

12/365 - 12th January

On Tuesday Ellie had a history lesson and was learning about the strikes in 1926.

13/365 - 13th January

Ellie was cracking on with her design and technology project and doing some of the art work. She can draw way better than I can.

14/365 - 14th January

Fortnite. I am so into playing it now. I will play it by myself and sometimes team up with the girls and play. I never thought a computer would bring us together so much as a family.

15/365 - 15th January

Yesterday was such a foggy day.

I hope you have all had a good week?

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This week my Word of the Week is: Learning! #WotW

This week my Word of the Week is:

I am worn out. Home learning is hard work not just for the kids but for me too. I am so glad it's Friday and almost the weekend. We are ready for a break. Our week has revolved around home learning and not much else.

I wrote earlier in the week how we are getting on with the home learning and was right in thinking that last week they were just easing us in gently. This week has been full on with Ellie doing Zoom calls, most days having 4 hour long lessons. We are both learning fast about how to use Zoom.

We did have a little bit of stress yesterday when the teachers decided they need to see everyone on camera. I think it's just to prove they are there but Ellie was having none of it. She was all set to put the laptop down and walk away. Ellie has grown in confidence over the last year or so but she is nowhere near as confident as some of the kids in her class. It's times like this when her social anxiety rears it's head. I emailed a teacher saying I would rather she didn't have the camera on and her engage in the lessons than be forced to have the camera on and go nowhere near the laptop. She knows Ellie and understood. A message is being sent to all of her teachers. Phew!

Ellie has been working hard and extra hard on her design and technology project. I finally learned how to use our scanner. lol Ellie had some art work to do on paper and scan so she could hand it in. My old laptop would never connect wirelessly to the printer/scanner so I never used to bother with it. Now that I can I think I will be scanning everything. hehehe

Ellie has also got the hang of using teams. We only started using it last Friday so there was some learning to do and it took us until Tuesday to realise that if you attach your work you still have to click on hand in. Oops. Thankfully Ellie is on top of all of her work and wasn't late in handing her work in. It is a nifty little thing. I understand now why Becky likes it so much for her college work.

Becky has been learning sign language. Basic sign language is part of her college course and she had to learn how to sign her name. She thought she would be clever and sign Becca thinking she'd only have to use 4 letters to spell it out. The teacher clocked on to this and made her spell her full name Rebecca. hahaha She also took part in a debate early on in the week which went towards her final mark for the course. Eek! She said her teacher said they all did great so we're not worried.

With both the girls home learning it means I have been learning to use the programmes they have to use. Word and PowerPoint. I can't believe I have gone so long without using them. Listening to the girls online lessons I have also learned lots. I now know what onomatopoeia means, I know all about the strikes in 1926 and that the sun creates wind. When the teacher said that I said "what, no it doesn't" but it actually does in a round about way. I did listen to Ellie's French lesson and learned nothing. I don't know much French but what Ellie was taught just went way over my head. Oops.

I can't think anything else we have done this week which doesn't involve home learning. lol I did finish watching all the Marvel films in chronological order and that's about it. Well apart from the Hulk & Spiderman films because they're not on Disney Plus. Hmmf.

Vegan Tomato and Pesto Croissants - Recipe!

 January is typically the time of year for diets, fitness and healthy eating and every year, Veganuary becomes more popular, when people try to give up meat and animal products for the whole month. We're halfway through January now with veganuary in full swing I have decided to share a recipe which was sent to me.

The Tomato and Pesto Croissants - A classic marriage of flavours from the pesto and fresh tomato all wrapped up in crisp, flaky pastry, made from strong white bread flour for a healthy dose of fibre.

Vegan Tomato and Pesto Croissants.
Makes 6 croissants.

Tip: This can be personalised with any topping you like or swap the strong bread flour for wholemeal flour for extra fibre.

Ingredients
110ml warm water
1 packet (7g) dried yeast
200g strong bread flour
Half a tablespoon of sugar
A quarter teaspoon of salt
150g vegan spread (soft enough to spread)
6 tsp vegan pesto
1 tomato (sliced)

Equipment.
Measuring jug
Mixing bowl
Rolling pin
Baking tray lined with baking paper
Measuring spoons

Method.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

In the measuring jug, combine the warm water and yeast.

In the mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt then add the yeast and water mix. Bring together with your hands to form a dough, then on a lightly floured surface, knead for a few minutes before returning to the mixing bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave to prove for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, lightly flour your surface again. Once the dough has proved, turn it out and roll it out into a 40cm x 30cm rectangle, then spread 100g of the vegan spread on top in an even layer before rolling it up like a swiss roll.

Dust your surface with a little more flour. Cut the dough roll in half to make two smaller swiss roll shapes, spread a little more vegan spread on the top of one and place the other on top. 

Flatten both halves together with the palm of your hand and dust with a little more flour on each side before using the rolling pin to roll into a 40cm x 30cm rectangle.

Slice the dough into 3 even rectangles, then each rectangle into 2 triangles. Place a tsp of pesto at the wide end of each triangle and roll toward the thin end to create the croissant shape.

Place the croissants onto a baking tray, melt the remaining vegan spread and use your finger to spread a little across each croissant, before placing a slice of tomato on top of each one. Bake for 15 minutes until golden. Allow them to cool on the tray before serving.

These recipes are from the Easy Peasy Baking campaign, launched by nabim. You can find more Easy Peasy Baking recipes and information on the campaign over on the Fab Flour website.

Ways to banish plastic from your bathroom!

We are all trying to be a bit greener and help out planet out, well I hope we are. One way you can do it is to cut down on single use plastic and buy more sustainably sourced products. 

 Three quarters of us claim we are making more eco-friendly choices than ever before Using less plastic in our beauty routines, switching to reusable face wipes and pads and seeking out eco-friendly alternatives for our personal care routines are just some of the green lifestyle swaps that people are making.

Banish your plastic brushes!
Plastic hairbrushes, make up brushes and toothbrushes are all contributing to the plastics crisis we are facing, 111 million plastic toothbrushes are thrown into landfill sites every year releasing chemicals into the air adding to their environmental impact. But there is a sustainable alternative, bamboo!

Switching to a bamboo hairbrush is not only kinder to the environment, it can also help your hair and scalp health too.

Bamboo toothbrushes are toxin free, vegan, eco-friendly, sustainable and come with soft bristles. The bamboo is 100% sustainable and can be thrown straight on a compost heap, just snip the soft nylon bristles off first and they can also be recycled in a normal recycling bin. Even brands like Colgate are selling them now. 

Ditch the disposable razors!
The Environmental Protection Agency estimate that there are at least two billion disposable razors thrown into landfill every year making a huge impact on the health of our planet. Bamboo safety razors offer a plastic free alternative and if looked after properly can last a lifetime.

Make your own wipes!

If you’re guilty of reaching for the makeup removing wipes every night then now is the time to save your skin and the planet! Reusable face pads are an ideal and cost effective alternative. Made from sustainable material like bamboo fibre or cotton they are kinder to your skin and won’t contribute to the world’s mounting plastic problem. You can even make reusable make up remover pads yourself!

Switch to bars!
Switching to shampoo bars and conditioner bars will not only significantly reduce your household’s plastic waste but also bars are often kinder to your hair and scalp with natural ingredients that don’t release toxins into your body.

Now is the perfect time to change some old habits. Maybe 2021 will go down as the year that we all started being a little bit kinder to the planet and ourselves.