Nutty about this roast!

Okay, so 4pm on Christmas day is not the best time to cook a dish for the first time (ready to be served at 6pm!). However, this was the situation I found myself in. Unbeknown to them, my converging relatives were the guinea pigs for a nut roast recipe that I had my eye on. It was my way of giving the vegetarians a mainstay, while the meat-eaters feasted on their bird. The ingredients involved an onion, grated carrot, a clove of garlic, brown rice, cheese, 2 eggs, sliced mushrooms, breadcrumbs, chopped mixed nuts, sage, basil, parsley, salt and pepper. The whole concoction was then packed tightly into a loaf tin and cooked for an hour (if you really want to brown it, keep it in longer). I'm delighted to say that the gamble paid off and my humble nut roast received no end of compliments. It was tasty, meaty and filling and the real seal of approval was people taking slabs of it home in doggy bags. I'll definitely be going back to this next year!

Before it headed to the oven...

The finished article...

No soap and drama here...

    If you've read my earlier posts, you'll know I'm a fan of natural soap. I recently stocked up (I like to buy in bulk) and thought I'd blog about my latest purchases.

    The packaged bar on the left is the one that I use on my body (banana and honey). Typical soap dries my skin out and makes it itchy and flaky. This is 100% natural and contains other nourishing ingredients like Shea butter and coconut oil.   The one on the right is my hair soap. It's a Butter Bar that contains mango, Shea, cocoa butter, almond and Jojoba oil. The company says that it's ideal for dry and coloured hair. The ingredients sound so divine and nourishing - almost edible!

    If you're curious about what it's like to use a product like this, I can say that it takes a bit of getting used to (in a good way). Typical shampoo from a bottle lathers up a storm. However, this natural hair soap produces no lather whatsoever. That's because it's free from chemicals like sodium lauryl sulfate. This seems to serve no purpose, other than to create the foaminess that consumers wrongly equate with effectiveness. This is more about changing a mindset though. I also like to leave the product in my hair for a few minutes, to boost the positive impact. As well as this, your hair won't feel silky to the touch after it's been washed out. Typical bottled shampoo contains silicone that coats and lubricates your hair so there is still product left in after the rinse. When you have washed the natural shampoo from your hair, it feels clean. I mean really, really clean of product and gunk.

   The final points in favour of my Funky Soap purchases: less hair disappearing down the plughole and the value for money. One hair bar goes much further than a bottle. So I dare you - make the switch if you're brave enough!

(Un) stuck on you...

It can be a challenge to foster independence and resilience in students. How do you equip them with the tools to seek out solutions for themselves, rather than raising their hands at the first hurdle? In my school, we have a system where we encourage the learners to seek help from three other sources, before coming to the teacher. It's a fantastic way of making pupils more autonomous and they feel a real sense of achievement when they've worked things out for themselves. Here's an example of my 'I'm stuck' station. It is linked to a unit of work that I'm delivering on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream:

In order for it to be used successfully by students, the suggestions have to be pertinent and tangible. For that, you need to put yourselves in the students' place. In other words, if I were a student, what would be a useful source of help in this particular unit? I use the help stations more frequently with the younger students as they tend to be needier. By cultivating their ability to overcome their own blocks in learning, we're fostering important life skills. I'm not saying it will free you up to sit at your desk with a hot drink but it does allow you to target the lower ability learners in the class.

All wrapped up...

    Here's another lunch idea that I'm trying out and like all new recipes, it's been promoted to my current favourite! It's a very simple but filling wrap that can be eaten at the desk, on duty or on the move (or even in the communal staff area - there's a thought). The filling involves Quorn Chicken Tikka slices, sliced mushrooms, spinach and a condiment of your choice (I add a little Mayo but you can add Sweet Chilli, Chipotle, mustard or whatever your taste buds crave). It's an idea that is ripe for personalisation. The following ingredients would be right at home in a wrap: sliced peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, sliced hard boiled eggs, salmon, Chorizo, rocket, sliced avocado, chicken, thinly sliced carrot, grilled veg, hummus, turkey, tuna, tofu, white beans...

    The list is gloriously endless which means you can put together new and colourful combinations each week. It can also be made the night before, leaving you precious minutes in the morning to nurse a cup of coffee/tea. See? Chic Teacher thinks of everything.