Growth spurts, unexistent umbrellas, late dinners and chorizo buns - how not to find yourself as overwhelmed as I have lately been!

These past weekends have been beyond chaotic. They're usually the time when we end up cooking and trying out, experimenting with things, allowing me to photograph quite a few dishes that I can use later on for recipe posts, or just lifestyle posts. These last weekends we have been far from that bliss. Food has been mainly on the run, stuff we are used to cooking and can gather up in a jiffy, as we have been so busy with other things. Dinner has been something we have been eating later than we are used to, later than during weekdays.

Because there's been so much to do, and what with the kid deciding he is to have monthly growth spurts, it's all I can do to get him dressed. I honestly cannot remember a weekend, after having returned from holiday, where we have not been forced to hop from store to store in search either of underwear, gymn apparel, shoes, jeans, pants, sweaters, you name it. It's like he grows every week, and every week something we though would last for a little longer, doesn't fit anymore, forcing us to spend as much of our free time every weekend browsing around department stores for clothing item for said kid!

The last instalment of these adventures was with shoes. Last Sunday, heavy rains and a drop in temperature were announced and expected. We had already realized we needed to go and get him another pair of jeans - he had three pairs that fit him well during September, all of a sudden, come October, two of them are like so small on his legs!! - and as we saw the grey skies outside we told him to go get his new boots and put them on. These boots, we had bought them when we came back from holiday, a size too big to allow for his feet to grow, and as he is so particular about his boots, only liking these - aside from horrid Star Wars sneakers, why can't they make cool Star Wars sneakers so I could buy the kid a pair? - particular type of boots, we bought them in advance in fear of not finding them anymore come October. As he tried to put them on, he complained the boots were too small. I tried to fit them into his feet, and noticed they were too small inded. Then Hugo decided he had to see for himself, only to come to the same conclusion. Too small. How could that be?

So after adding new boots - with a an unused pair stting in his bedroom, man, this is soooo frustrating!! - to the seemingly neverending list of new stuff to get for the boy, off we went in search of a much needed new umbrella and a new pair of jeans, on a day that was election day, and that meant we both still had to vote - and we do not vote in the same place, sadly. - and with still so much stuff to get done around the house. Suffice it say, nothing got done, there's a big pot of soup still in need to be made, there's fruit to be turned into compotes for my husband's desserts over on weekdays, and after I managed to get a sprained ankle and a bust up knee by falling down on my face, we came home late and with minus an umbrella - I don't understand what this is about children's brollys, they're either too small or non existant all together!! Dinner was late in the making, yet once more. As I chided myself for not having left something ready that we could just have heated up, these chorizo breads came to mind. Because on days like our last SUnday, it is handy to have a batch of bread that is savoury and filling to pair up with a bowl of warm soup and a some fruit. Convenient, tasty and quick!

This bread can be frozen and then you just take it off when you feel you will need it, as it will be perfect for a lighter meal, a lunch or a dinner that has found you too busy to be able to cook something from scratch. So to make it, you'll need:

• 350 gr flour
• 200 ml luke warm water
• 9 gr fresh yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1-2 tbsp oil
• 1-2 good quality chorizo

Place the flour in a bowl, and dig a hole in the middle. Around the edges of that hole, scatter the yeast. Inside the hole place the salt, the oil and add the water. With the help of a fork start mixing flour and water together. When it's all mixed in, take the dough off the bowl and start kneading by hand over a surface scattered with flour. You must knead until you obtain a silky, smooth dough, that has some elasticity to it. Roll into a sort of ball, scatter some flour by hand over all the dough, and let it proof inside the bowl four a few hours - 1 to 2 if you're pressed for time should be the minimum required, but it does make for a much better bread if you leave it for at least 6 to 8 hours. Once it has proofed, get the dough off the bowl with the aid of a spatula onto a floured surface and extend it into a rough square shape, scattering the chorizo into this square. Fold it on itself until the chorizo is covered by dough, hidden inside it and then cut the dough into smaller pieces and mold it into the shape you want - we went for buns, as they will grow well around the chorizo. Place the buns on an oven tray, that has been covered with baking paper and let it rest for at leats 15 minutes, but 30 minutes would be the best. Then take it to a previously heated oven at 200º, for 20 to 30 minutes, untill it looks golden and crusty. Let cool on a cooling rack and enjoy either still warm from the baking, as an entrée or as a side dish to a bowl of soup, or else allow to cool completely and freeze, taking out the quantity you need, when you need it! Simple, as pie, huh? Well, not all pies are simple, but you get my meaning!