Quick & Easy Meals: Tuna Mornay

With so many people looking for economical meals that can be made from pantry staples at the moment, I thought today would be a good day to share one of my go to meals for the family: Tuna Mornay. Now, if you're Australian, you're probably pretty familiar with tuna mornay. It's one of those meals that you rarely see on a menu, but every family has their own recipe.

Tuna mornay was a regular meal growing up and it is a regular meal for my family too. My kids love it and would happily eat it several times a week - which they usually end up doing as there are always left overs. If you're not Australian, there's a good chance that you have no idea what tuna mornay is. I just presumed it was a recipe known around the world until I moved to the US and discovered that my American friends had no idea what it was. I then figured it must be a commonwealth thing, but unlike most Australian foods that are actually really British, it turns out that my British friends aren't familiar with tuna mornay either. Nor are my German, Italian and Russian friends. Only my Australian friends seem to be familiar with it, and they all claim that their family's recipe is the best. But they're lying, because my Mum's recipe is the best!

You're in luck, because today I'm sharing my Mum's tuna mornay recipe with you. It's a recipe that I've thought about sharing here many times over the years, but never have for two reasons. First of all, it's one of those recipes that I've been making for so long that I actually don't have a recipe. The ingredients always stay the same, but I just wing it when it comes to the amounts. My Mum has always done the same, so when she gave me the recipe years ago, it was just a list of ingredients. Sharing my recipe here meant paying attention to the amounts I use, and I never think of that until after I've made it! The other reason I've never shared my tuna mornay recipe is that as delicious as it tastes, it's not a particularly photogenic food! You'll see! It's definitely one of those "tastes much better than it looks" meals!

Here's what you'll need:
1 onion, finely sliced
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons plain flour
1/4 - 1/2 cup milk
2 9oz tins chunk tuna in water (in brine is better if you can find it)
1 tin corn (drained) or 1 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup shredded cheese (cheddar works best but I used a Mexican blend here)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cups pasta (I like penne or spriali)

25 Kid Friendly San Francisco Bay Area Hikes

Ever since we moved from California to Colorado I've been dreaming of going back. I miss our life in the San Francisco Bay Area so much, but right now I'm grateful that here in Colorado we have a house and a yard, with plenty of space to spread out. In the Bay Area we'd be finding ourselves on lock down in a two bedroom apartment with no outdoor space of our own, which, as much as I want to move back, isn't particularly appealing right now.

For those of you who find yourself in that same position I'm sharing my favorite hikes in and around San Francisco. They're all kid friendly and area great way to get out and get a little exercise without traveling too far from home. As always, click the bold and underlined title for more information.

Please make sure to follow any and all Shelter in Place orders before heading out for a hike. Keep at least 6 feet away from other hikers and don't forget to pack the hand sanitzer. While parks are currently open this may change, so make sure to check online first.

Snow Cream

How's the social distancing going for you? We had a snow storm at the end of last week which made staying inside all day and away from other people much easier! 

It also meant that the kids got to have a little snow fun in the backyard. While Mathilde threw snowballs at Yetta, Lola and I made snow cream for the first time. I can't believe it's taken us this long to make snow cream before, but judging by how much the kids (and I) loved it, it won't be the last time.

Have you ever had snow cream before? Are you wondering what it is? If, like me, you grew up somewhere with no snow then it's probably something you're not familiar with, but trust me you'll want to try it!

As you can probably guess from the name, and the pictures below, snow cream is ice cream made from fresh snow. It tastes so good and its super easy to make.

Got snow and want to make snow cream for yourself? It's super easy and it only requires three ingredient - two of which you can find in your pantry and one in your backyard! 

Fun Crafts for Kids while Stuck Inside

Stuck at home with kids right now?

If your family is anything like mine then there's probably an awful lot of screen time happening at the moment. I know, I know... it's not the best, but sometimes you've got to do what you've got to do.

If you're looking for ways to keep the kids busy and away from their screens, then I have a ton of craft ideas for you here on the blog. Today I'm sharing some of my favorites in one post to make them easier to find. Many of these craft activities use materials that you probably already have at home - even in your recycling bin! Others may require you to do a little online shopping so I've included links.

For further instructions for each craft simply click on the bold and underlined title.

Irish Potato Candies

Yesterday was St Patrick's Day.

Unlike previous years, there was no celebrating with a big parade, there was no catching up with friends and there were no celebrations at school. The kids did wear green though and insisted on pinching me every chance they got - until I outsmarted them by changing into a green dress they didn't know I owned! Ha!

Mathilde got into the spirit by making lots of drawings of leprechauns, rainbows and four leaf clovers - which then became five, six, seven and even eleven leaf clovers. Extra luck, right?

Usually I'd make some sort of Irish inspired meal for dinner, but with supermarkets kind of crazy at the moment, getting the ingredients for shepherd's pie or corned beef was a little tricky. What I did have the ingredients for in my pantry, however, was Irish Potato Candy.

"What's Irish Potato Candy?" I hear you ask. Delicious, that's what!

Do you remember the potato themed birthday party that I threw for Lola back in October? A potato party? Yep, she's weird! Anyway, for her birthday party I made all sorts of potato themed foods, but the problem was that as much as she likes potatoes as an item, she doesn't like eating them. Not even as fries! Remember, I said she's weird! While trying to come up with non-potato potato themed foods I remembered a candy that my grandma used to make when I was a kid. Small misshapen balls of coconut fudge covered in cocoa that looked like mini potatoes. I hadn't eaten one of these Irish Potatoes, as we called them, since I was a kid, but I knew right away that they would be perfect. And they were!

They were also perfect for St Patrick's Day so yesterday I raided the pantry for all the ingredients and got to work making them. And this time I took photos so I could share the recipe here with you.

Tips for Staying Healthy While Travelling

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

With the news and social media filled with talk of the Coronavirus (COVID 19) at the moment, hygiene and staying healthy has been on pretty much everyone's minds. Just take a look at your local supermarket and you'll see the hand sanitizer, anti-bacterial wipes and hand wash flying off the shelves. And of course, the toilet paper, but let's not go there...

Anyway, all this talk of staying healthy and trying to avoid the Cornonavirus has got me thinking about how we stay healthy when we're travelling. In our day to day lives at home it can be a little easier. We have more control over how clean our immediate environment is, we have access to known doctors and medical care, we have brand familiarity when it comes to buying health and hygiene products, and most of us have more of a support network at home than we do on the road. There's also no language barrier at home. Trust me, I've been there. Trying to buy Sudafed through a series of hand gestures in an Italian pharmacy was an interesting experience!

So, today I'm sharing my top tips for staying healthy while travelling. Please keep in mind that I am not a medical professional and these tips should not be taken as medical advice. These are simply things that my family does to stay as healthy as possible when travelling. Most of these tips are commonsense, but when you're planning a trip there are so many things to think of that it's easy for the little things to be overlooked.

Moorten Botanical Garden in Palm Springs

This weekend I'll be travelling to Palm Springs to attend the blogging conference Alt Summit. This will be my third time attending Alt Summit in Palm Springs and I can't wait. While the conference itself is jam packed full of fun activities and workshops, and amazing keynotes and panels, there is always plenty of time available for a little exploring around Palm Springs.

In past years I've headed out with friends on a colorful door tour (Palm Springs has the BEST mid-century architecture and loads of colorful doors), a hike through a slot canyon, and most recently a visit to the Moorten Botanical Garden - which I'm sharing here today.

If you're a nature lover, gardener or even just intrigued by desert life, Moorten Botanical Garden is a must see in Palm Springs. This iconic garden may be tiny, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in the sheer number of stunning cacti and desert plants on display. I've never visited a spikier garden!