My First Mother's Day

Yesterday was my first Mother's Day (don't panic US readers, you haven't missed it - the UK has a different Mother's Day! Yet, curiously, Father's Day is the same date. I don't get it, but oh well). I woke up with a cold... well, I'd been waking up all night sneezing with said cold, so my wish for Mother's Day was a quiet day on the sofa, complete with lots of cuddles - but no smooches, and lots of hand sanitizer, so as not to give Chloe said cold (although we all have a slight case of the sniffles at the moment).

Look at that happy face. I melt. I'm one proud mama. 

Anywho, I love daffodils, and Waitrose was giving away free £1 bunches with your MyWaitrose card, so I couldn't resist having fresh flowers in the house. I've always loved flowers... sometimes on the way home from work, I'd hang around Waitrose having a coffee for 15 minutes so that they'd mark some down after 6pm, and then I could take a bunch home for like, 50p. I'm such a sucker for fresh flowers, but I can't afford to buy a new bunch every couple of days to support my habit. Hence the waiting for markdowns. 

Yep, that's a pint glass for a vase. They were too short for any of my real vases, I swear. Don't judge. 

This is my Midweek Mum Meal of the week: Bowtie Chicken & Kale Pasta. It can feed 4 from a bag of pasta and 2 chicken breasts, so it's economical, too. I had picked up a bag of Tuscan kale (Cavolo Nero, UK readers) and wanted to think of recipes to incorporate it this week, as well as use up the last bit of white wine that I had in the fridge. It's both dairy free and potentially vegetarian, so it would work for Meatless Monday if you nixed the chicken. Oh, and in the photo, it's not dairy free-  I added some chunks of Mozzarella onto Steve's bowl because I needed to use up what we had left in the fridge. Which, if you're not dairy free, is another great addition to the dish. But on its own, this meal is full of veg and fresh flavour, while still feeling like comfort food. 

PS- I've added the UK "translations" for this recipe in italics, because I know there can be a minor language barrier when it comes to supermarket items. Hope it helps!