Elfie is the epitome of a little darling these days. She’s sweet to adults, kind to her brother and friends, has wonderful manners and the loveliest sense of humour. If someone had asked me when I was pregnant to describe what sort of daughter I wished for I would have described 4 year old Elfie to a tee.
It’s no secret that we’ve struggled with our relationship in the past – we’re just too similar and end up butting heads sometimes – but since starting school we have become a lot closer. She tests boundaries a lot more, something I actually enjoy as I think it’s important my children discover where the line is and when they can cross it, but she also has learned a lot about respect. R-E-S-P-E-C-T!!
The upshot of this is that we now get on fabulously, so much so that Elfie’s favourite time of day (and one of mine!) is the ten minutes solo time we get to spend together after Huxley goes to bed at 7. We chat about the day, watch Frozen, do some online shopping and she whispers to me “Mummy, I love you all the way to the moon and back!” It is just AWESOME.
In certain situations Elfie seems to think the sun shines out of my bum. She told her Grannie that she needed a new car, and not to worry, Mummy would buy her one because she works very hard. And if you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up she will tell you ‘Mummy’s Helper’. As I’m going to wait until she’s at least ten to make her come into work with me and help by getting her to write KPI reports, for now she is ‘Mummy’s Helper’ when I’m cooking. So when OXO invited us to spend some time in the kitchen together recently to test their new Herbs & More range we were delighted to get to it! They sent us a goodie box full of Herbs & More pots as well as aprons for both E and I and a ‘Kitchen Magician’s Wand’ which I haven’t been allowed to touch since.
OXO Herbs & More pots are perfect for a busy cook like me, adding a hefty punch of flavour into your dishes quickly and easily. Small pots of flavourings and seasonings, you simply add them to your recipes as you go along. They come in five variants: lemon & thyme, roast garlic & parsley, rosemary & red wine, rosemary & thyme and tarragon & chive. For this challenge OXO sent us some recipe cards to utilise our Herbs & More pots and Elfie decided we should give the Cottage Pie a go, so the Rosemary & Thyme pot was for us.
We had a fantastic time cooking together – I did all chopping and hot duties and Elfie took care of the stirring and measuring. And mess making, obviously. Despite the flour-covered kitchen I think these little moments are so important and we both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves – me as the Kitchen Magician and she as the Kitchen Magician’s assistant!
I did feel a bit sorry for poor old Hux, though. He doesn’t really enjoy cooking and so went rogue on us and spent an hour drawing on himself. He had a ball.
I’ve included the recipe here as it really was a doddle to follow plus it tasted spectacular. Usually for a dish like this I’d fanny around with seasonings (rosemary from next door’s garden, garlic, red wine, blah blah) but I decided to follow the instructions and let the Herbs & More pots speak for themselves. Because we are rebels we not only added the Rosemary & Thyme pot to the sauce but we also chucked a Roast Garlic & Parsley one into the mash – and I was so glad I did. It was delicious. I’ve already used one of the Rosemary & Red Wine pots in a Shepherd’s Pie (we like pie) and I look forward to using the others in all sorts of dishes.
And the kids’ verdict on flavour? Hux ate his WHOLE dish of Cottage Pie which literally never happens, and Elfie asked for seconds. I took mine into work and had lots of compliments on the way it made the kitchen smell. JOB DONE.
- 400g lean mince beef
- 1 medium onion
- 2 medium carrots
- 2 sticks celery (we substituted a courgette)
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Rosemary & Thyme Herbs & More
- 100g grated cheese (I use Gruyere as I’m a posh bugger)
- Peel your onion, carrots and potatoes and pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C. Brown the mince in a non-stick pan.
- Dice the onion, carrots and celery and add to the pan. Fry for 2 minutes then add the tomato puree and flour and cook for a further minute.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce and 400ml of boiling water. Stir and simmer for 20 mins.
- Chop the potatoes and boil for 20 mins, then mash with a tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp milk (I use cream as I’m a greedy bugger)
- Add the Herbs & More pot into the saucy beef mixture and transfer to an ovenproof dish.
- Spread the mash over the mixture and sprinkle your cheese on top.
- Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Big thank-yous to Britmums and OXO Herbs & More for collaborating with us on this post. We had a great time!
My kind of recipe. Your assistant, Elfie, is adorable beyond words.
Love that Hux had a huge and healthy dinner too.
SSG xxx
Ahh thank you! She is adorable AND helpful :) x
Beautiful photos, what a gorgeous Kitchen magician you have there. I must try the cottage pie soon
That looks like such a good couple of hours of family fun. Cottage pie is always a big hit here, the OXO stuff looks perfect for it.
Really cute pictures of your littlies cooking – love the one of Elfie studying the recipe :)
Oh how cute is this – it’s always lovely getting the kids in the kitchen and involved with the cooking – we made a veggie lasagne this week and it was so much fun. Looks like your cottage pie turned out well :)
Laura x