Waves is winning.....Here comes the Acrobat!

[wavesandsmiles]

Links to previous threads:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/relationships/a1670597-So-DH-said

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/relationships/1745551-DH-said-DH-left-waves-is-still-being-sick-but-into-the-third-timester

Will this become the live birth thread? Will Lodger 1 leave? Will waves be smiling throughout this thread?

Doula is on call, bags are packed, acrobat was a teeny 14 weeks foetus when I started posting - he is about to become DC3, I'll stop being sick and a whole new chapter will begin.

Acrobats arrival is far, far, more important than the royal heir!

de-lurking to wish you well (and also much more excited about Acrobat's arrival than the (lovely I am sure), new Royal baby)

She'll be 4! I'm going to tell her all the bunting & cheering is in fact for her!

Happy 4th birthday to her for tomorrow the 21 gun salute might make her jump though.

Delurking to cheer on the Royal Acrobat!

Happy 4th birthday for tomorrow minimidwife

Well, we have baked some chocolate and cherry brownies, and now I am ready to collapse back into bed!

Before I do so, here are some of the recipes we used yesterday and today:

Chocolate and cherry brownies:

3 medium eggs
200g brown sugar
150g self raising flour
50g cocoa powder
100ml oil
25g chopped up milk chocolate
about 8 glace cherries, quartered.

oven preheated to around 180

So, whisk up the eggs and sugar together, then sieve together the flour and cocoa powder, before whisking into that the eggs and sugar, once that is all mixed in, add the oil.

Pour into a square cake tin lined with baking paper, then over the top sprinkle the chopped up chocolate and cherries. Cook for around 25 minutes before cooling and then cutting up into about 12 pieces.

Seeded cheese scones:
225g self raising flour
1tsp baking powder
50g mixed seeds (we used sunflower and pumpkin)
75g grated cheddar cheese
50ml oil
125ml semi-skimmed milk.

oven preheated to about 220

Mix everything together to make a dough, then divide into 8 balls. Put one in the middle of a greased baking tray, then stick the others around so that they are all touching. Brush with milk and add a few extra seeds over the top. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes til golden on top.

Smoked salmon and oat baked cheesecake

150g oats
6 medium eggs
25 g grated parmesan or similar
500g extra light soft cheese
25g plain flour
100g chopped smoked salmon
2tbsp chopped chives
salt and pepper to season

Oven preheated to 180

Mix together the oats, grated hard cheese and one beaten egg and press into the base of a lined 21cm round cake tin (one with a loose bottom)

Whisk the remaining 5 eggs til thick. Separately mix the soft cheese and flour, then whisk in the eggs. Add the salt and pepper before stirring in the salmon and chives. Pour over the top of the oat base then bake for about 50 minutes.

This is very scrummy served warm out of the oven (we had it just with some lettuce, a home made vinaigrette and some greek yoghurt) but also delicious cold.

Right, I am off for a lie down and to meditate on my uterus, see if I can't get some action going.

These are ridiculously easy to make. I have made them with white chocolate but they weren't the colour I expected with the prunes turning the chocolate brown. Ones I just made were with a mixture of milk and plain chocolate as I didn't have enough milk chocolate.

Chocolate and Prune Refrigerator Bars.

250g/9oz good quality milk chocolate
115g/4oz digestive biscuits
115g/4oz ready to eat prunes (I use Waitrose tinned in fruit juice.)
50g/2oz unsalted butters

• Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a heatproof bowl. Add the butter and melt in the microwave on high for 1-2 minutes. Stir to mix and set aside. You could also melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.

• Put the biscuits in a plastic bag and seal, then bash into small pieces with a rolling pin. (I broke them by hand today. You can have the biscuits as big as you like, you don't want crumbs.) Roughly chop the prunes and stir into the melted chocolate with the biscuits. (If you use the Waitrose prunes they are so soft you don't need to chop them. You just squeeze gently to get the stone out and away you go.)

• Spoon the chocolate and prune the mixture into a 20cm/8inch square cake pan and chill for 1-2 hours until set. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and cut into bars.

I found it wasn't as firm as I would expect but that could be the heat from the weather or my fridge is rubbish.

Those recipes look delicious! I may make the scones this afternoon, they sound lovely. And easy!

Enjoy your lie down Waves.

Come ON Acrobat!

Good luck Waves - remember the opening lotus flower!

Come on Acrobat - beat the new Royal baby out!

Mmmmm! Might have to pop into waitrose for ingredients!!

Oh lovely. They all sound delicious Supper tonight is already decided (tarragon chicken to use up the rest of the cream used in gooseberry fool, yesterday), but I reckon if I just make the cheesecake, dh and dd won't complain. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm

Good luck, waves. Thanks for taking the time to post those. Hope you're getting/got a good rest.

I want to try the chocolate and prune bars. My task for tomorrow, should acrobat not appear with the full moon, will be to pop to the shop for prunes and digestive biscuits.....

Also may try some savoury flapjacks, if they turn out ok I will post the recipe

I'm sure you can google the recipe for flapjacks that uses crunchy peanut butter and 'raw' peanuts which you could make less sweet and more savoury

Waves, I've followed your story from your first thread, can't believe the wee babe is nearly here! Never mind the Cambridge baby, I'm waiting for Acrobat

Go waves! Surf home Acrobat!

I keep forgetting to get the recipe from my drive at work, promise I'll get it and put it on here - it's short and easy.

Come on Acrobat! If you want to share your birthday with a king you've got to hurry up...

Acrobat may prefer his own birthday . Put your feet up waves que sera, sera.

Mmm, brownies & scones! savoury oat and salmon thingy! Well I won't publish my baking results but the recipes do look smashing.

I think Acrobat is favouring his own birthday. Back to regular BH this evening, and no sense of anything much happening. Forced down some fresh pineapple, but I am sure I read somewhere that you need to eat 6 entire ones in a sitting to actually make any difference.

DD is ill. Again. So I quite hope that Acrobat stays put a few more days now, so I can get her recovered (and my gigs scheduled for this week out of the way) I have now learned all the requested pieces for Saturday's gig, so what is the betting Acrobat decides to arrive on Friday night?!

Apparently the royal baby is a boy, weighing 8lb 6. My first baby was also a boy, also weighing 8lb 6, so that's enough of a royal link for our family I think.

That's a relief all round. Acrobat & MiniMidwife can have their own special birthdays!

waves a website I was on some years ago it was agreed that 8 was the optimum number of pineapples! One member managed almost 7 before throwing up massively, I wouldnt recommend it :o

Was following the recipe for the fridge cake when I forgot about the chocolate melting and burnt it. £3.50 worth of Dairy milk down the pan :(

Will try again tomorrow!

Thanks for the delicious recipes, will be making the scones and the prune bars ASAP, I have even got the seed mix already as bought it in error last time!!

Hope you have a calm and peaceful night waves, sweet dreams.

morning all, I will scroll back and read properly when I have more time later. Just dropping off then off to get the day going.

Oh no Bogeyface .

Honestly, buy baking chocolate or even the cheap normal chocolate if you want. My kids are fussy and didn't notice the difference when I made it with Aero the first time and baking chocolate the second. Someone I used to know used to buy the Basics chocolate from Sainsbury's and said it was fine for baking.