Haybox tests

Sarah & I have found some suitable pots & I have been running a few tests to see if it is going to work.

Test 1
The pots are thermally lined so we needed to see how long they kept things hot on their own.
After 3 hours boiled water in the largest pot had dropped to 63deg C.

Test 2

Chrispy had some spare insulation board which I cut to size & then cut holes in two layers so that the big pot would fit snuggly.


With a pillow on top boiling water dropped to 76deg in the 3 hours I left it another 3hrs & we were at 63degees - so better but still some improvement possible.




Test 3
I left it over night & the boiling water had fallen to 56deg after 10hrs.

Test 4
I decide to give it a go with some food to see how we got on. It turned out that the smallest pan was the perfect size for two portions of curry. This did mean the hole in my insulation was the wrong size so I opted to nest the small one inside the other two...thinking about it now probably not the best way of doing it...but anyway I got the curry going on the hob & put it in the haybox at about 10:30am. Starting temp in the saucepan was 99deg.

By 6:30pm it had cooled to 51deg but as we wanted to tip ít back in a saucepan, add some cream & bring it back to the boil that wasn't a big issue. The curry was quite yummy & well cooked, & served up with rice cooked in the yogurt maker was a very low energy meal.



Still a bit more working out to do but not bad as a trial version!

Haybox

I recently have had too much time to sit around & think (while feeding Jessica, you understand - I'm not just lazing about doing nothing...) This led to a mad cap idea of making a haybox cooker like this.

I had seen a 'Stay hot pot' advertised for which a reviewer had said it was really a thermal cooker. I looked these up (turns out they are rather pricey) & found forum discussions saying - they're great but why not make your own haybox instead.

I talked it through with the Richardsons & they were up for giving it a go too.

I thought that our easiyo is basically the same idea...if a little on the small side for cooking a meal. So with the ideas of the haybox buzzing around in my head I decided to try cooking rice in it. Bringing the rice to the boil for a couple of minutes I then transferred it to the yogurt container & popped it in the flask.

A couple of hours later - we had fab fluffy rice. A little damper than if we had pan cooked it but I'd call it a success!


Second time around & with a little less water it was pretty prefect.

Visitors & a Trip to the Zoo

Mamo & Gran Gran (Fi's Mum & Gran) came to visit for a couple of days. Gran Gran stayed with her sister but they did come over for dinner & cuddles.

We took advantage of having the extra help by going to the zoo for a morning.


It was Jessica's first trip to the zoo - obviously she was highly excited by it!

Check out the rest of the photos here.

Story time with Lucy

Lucy is doing her best to pass on her love of books to Jessica. We often find her showing her little sister some book or other. It is very sweet.

Bathtime Fun

We've started to bath the girls together - they seem to be enjoying it which is great.

Big smiles

Big sister Lucy helping wash Jessica

What a cutie!

Dan & Sarah's Wedding

We travelled over to Kelvedon in Essex to celebrate the wedding of Tim's cousin Dan & his lovely bride Sarah.

It was great to catch up with the wider Brooks family - many of whom were meeting Lucy for the first time.

She had great fun with her swishy dress, dancing & generally being the centre of quiet a few peoples attention...especially her Granny.

Here are a few photos of the day.

Lucy loves to dance

We were at a family wedding this weekend (photos to follow) & I caught this really cute footage of Lucy enjoying the string quartet. Notice at the end what happens when she spots Daddy crouching down taking photos of her.

Cycling again

As it was such a lovely Sunday we went out on the bikes again. Went a bit further this time as speed increased with pumped tyres & a bit more confidence.

Hello Patio :)

Well, having rid our garden of dodgy deck we had to do something to sort it out.

Here are a few photos of a busy day which saw the arrival of the Patio. There may be a few aching muscles tomorrow.



The fact that Lucy decided not to sleep means I forgot to take a photo at the end, so that & our time lapse video are to follow.