I've been tagged - Fantastic Four!

I have been tagged! My first ever - how exciting. Nick at the tracing paper popped it over to me and I have to say I feel very excited. Not only because it's a tag for a meme and I have seen many of these in the blogging world and have always wondered about them, but because a fellow blogger actually knows that I exist! Now that is exciting - people, I live and love in the blogging world.


This one is apparently floating free in the blogospere with no apparent owner (forgive me if I am wrong). A list of other blogs can be seen at Nick's site with a break down of other people's answers.

Anyway, now that I am over the shock, let's rattle on with the meme.

4 jobs I’ve had

Youth Arts Development Manager - Current

Events Manager - ahhh , the celebrity lifestyle, how I love you but I did have to dress as a giant fish sometimes

Waitress - Goodwood was fun in the Cartier tent - pity I spilt red wine....a bottle over one of the revered guests and her posh outfit - also a hard partying life style - loved it when I was younger!

Odd foodie type jobs - oh ok, one was at Rank Hovis where I got to cook fab poached eggs, done properly. Tried it at home and exploded a pyrex dish on the hob adding a crunchy texture.... the other was a snack cook for a golf club,fab wolfing down bacon sarnies and banter with the golfers.

4 places I’ve lived
Ok, I haven't lived many places geographically but have travelled continents in personal experience with my various habitations:

Southampton - Student life and then a few years stint just living there

Filby in Norfolk - peaceful village with gentle rolling fields and leafy bridleways, and I worked in my local, fantastic!

With my boyfriend in Norwich - the first time I lived with someone, obsessed about food and he didn't always appreciate my cookbooks....

In Norwich - with a chica now and we are having fun as the girly housemates - she's German and nuts! It's all just fun and silliness like slagging off Big Brother and men! But, I am wanting to move to the tropics.....


4 places I’ve holidayed
Devon - I was 6 and got my brother in trouble for buying cider underage


Finland on a Scout Exchange - discovered fantastic bread and had to cook fish over an open fire

Thailand - twice and two totally different experiences, but consistently fantastic nosh. Discovered Kanom Krok and always look at Chez Pim to savour all the things I miss.

Benidorm - a place I was quite snobby about but was a gift from an ex. I was determined to sample fine tapas and recall being horrified at the plate of miserable and shocked fish on my boyfriends plate. Sidling a serviette dispenser between us, I ordered pizza......

4 favourite foods
Ohh lots of things, I'll plump for some of my faves from the last few days:

Home made pizza

Fresh fruit and deepest, darkest chocolate

Thai Food - especially Kanom Krok and a curry!

A Carvery

4 places I’d rather be

Somewhere sunny (hmmpff, where is the UK summer? Soggy strawberries are NOT nice)

Somewhere tropical - please, anywhere will do minust tropical spiders of course

In an events job

With any of my friends who make me laugh and shop at farmers markets!

4 bloggers to tag

Gosh, I feel a bit overawed by doing this. Sweaty palms and a bit of cheek are in place as I send this tag to some people who are blog gurus and known across the land - hope they don't mind but can I just say, I like your blogs! Leighbob won't care, he's my cookbook fiend! Now, as I have never done this before...how do I let people know?


leighbob

I think I may have a recipe for that

A slice of Cherry Pie

Vicious Ange

Foodie Heaven - In words, pictures and food!

Like the picture? It's about the only sun we had and light was perfect for showcasing this fudge.

Summers here and its rain, rain, rain - a real joy! There is a vegetable shortage as nothing is being nurtured by a happy sun come to that, neither am I.

So here I am watching too much TV in the evenings, surfing the web on my lovely new laptop (hurrah! Vista - Bah!) So what should I do? Oh I know, how about a blog update and finally put in the pictures I keep rattling on about?

They are uploading as I type and soon, you will be treated to a myriad of colours, textures and faces as you explore my world of very amateur snaps (but lovingly shot mind you). In the meantime, did I tell you about nibbles on Saturday just past? Don’t read nibbles, read feast for thousands, well, ten. Had all the girlies with boyfriends and babies in tow for an impromptu drinkies party. I laid on casseroles, roasted meets, veg and fruits from the Farmers Market in Wymondham and we all consumed far too much wine - I love it when we all get together as we are all bats. Poor Em had me panicking around her as she was so animated when she spoke, the giant mirror in my front room started to tip and her life was in peril... I was very tired afterwards.

Saturday was pretty great actually(see the pictures above). I was at the farmers market picking up supplies and I saw a woman standing behind the meat stall and thought 'I know her'. Lo’ and behold! It was celebrity chef and food writer Sophie Grigson making a promotional film for the Guardian promoting British Beef. The best thing was that she spoke to me, converted me to pan fried skirt steak (I usually casserole it along with thousands of other Brits [I don't casserole Brits], the French are way ahead) and then the filming person asked me to be in the film checking the provenance of my meat - fantastic foodie heaven!!!

Foodie Days

Sometimes there is nothing better than escaping the rat race and having a day off to enjoy baking; which is exactly what I did yesterday. I am already on a mission with my Christmas cakes (really) and only have about another three jars of pre-macerated fruit to go, which I started (huge amount of fruit glut) preparing last year (macerate when it's sweet, marinate when it's not).

My tip? When making a cake, stick in whatever dried fruit you like and then just make sure you have enough fruit to add to the cake mix. Do note, as I found out yesterday, that fig seeds appear to rise to the top providing a slightly grainy texture. I just used the reipe in Leiths Baking Bible and I have to say - it looks superb and the texture of the cake looks lovely and moist.

I also made a self saucing Raspberry dessert yesterday which on reheating. I did appear to very cook - but it was still tasty. The recipe comes from an old M and S desert cook book which my friedn A bought me to cheer me up, lawd bless him. I'm at work at the moment so haven't got it to hand but will post again later.

I had to use eggs in this and it was rather gory as there appeared to be a blood clot in it, which went everywhere. I felt quite ill.

I have to say that on the whole, I really enjoyed my day - just pootling along and adding the radio and the chance to peruse my books into the mix, was bliss - however, Idid have to wash up a lot.....

Embroidery in the Bower

Being a tart in the arts (see my very early postings way back when), I joined an Arts Agency that delivers project across the rural county to all sorts of people. Some of us are inspired, some of us not, and the rest, well they can be inspiring. My lovely friend, who wears fab shoes, has fab bags and now writes fab books, is a tour de force of energy and laughs so ,is one such person. I love books - she is Mrs Book! Everything you need to know in one brain. Fantastic. Her name is Sarah Bower.

Sarah has written a book - a historical novel all about, well, history, battles, blood and sex with a bit of needlepoint popped in. This book is called The Needle in the Blood and it is fab. I don't normally write stuff about other people but S listens to me witter on and anyway, the book is a romping good read (I'm on chapter two - if I review it later and it's not such a good read, I'll have to change my blog address). As is always the case, when you hear a voice that connects to a book you usually start reading in that voice - I was worried that I would hear my workplace zooming through the pages in which I imgained S talking to me and the clatter of computers in the background. This would detract from my overall enjoyment. I didn't hear a thing.

The book opens on a very bloody battle where Harold, the defender, loses an eye. Well that's what I was told in school but the book is far more graphic. Whilst the characters of Odo and his brother, the invaders develop on the page, I must admit I struggled. It was late, I was tired and there was history involved. Next night, I dove into the story of Gytha who was on the battlefield that day and has a job to do for her lady. I was captivated. Whilst I could occaisonally see Sarah shining through in the language, I fell into the story of what this woman has to do to survive and now I am hooked. Always the sign of a good read. Other people at work are reading it and they agree, and anyway, where else do I get to talk to the author and say 'Oh hang on, you know that bit.....did you mean...?'.

If anything else, the cover of the book is so beautiful, you just have to own it.It looks like embridery and has that lovely glossy finish that makes you want to touch it, like when you want to touch an embroidered sheet or pillow. I think the crew at Snow Books designed it and I have to say, it appeals to my girlie side.I have a little note in mine about me standing S up whilst I went to a cookery class - unavoidable but I ended up moving house. Which reminds me, I owe S a cake!

Sarah energetic and this shines through in the energy of the book (every page so far). She knows all these lovely people at Snow Books too who have lovely beginnings to their books, such as ..'proudly presents'.... which I enjoy finding. The devil is in the detail.

I am biased, I admit it, but Sarah's great, the book is great, and the cover is great. You can judge a book by it's cover after all (I am cliche girl today) Give it a go....Sarah is available fro chats at book groups etc.....

ps. did you notice how I managed to squeeze a food reference in? Till next time...

Good Cause, Good Books

It's been a while since I blogged, mainly due to the fact that D and I have finally gone our seperate ways and I have moved home. It was all sad up to the leaving but a big adventure getting a new place! I don't feel that I have quite lost D as we are still good friends and are eating together and stuff a coupla times a week (Notice the food pattern?) I have settled into my new home sort of (trying to get used to new noises), lived on take aways and uncovered a lot (I mean a lot, Dad counted at least 700 books) of my books. Luckily the new house has lot's of shelves and now all my luscious cookbooks are on display to the world (well, me , my housemate and any guests). It is very exciting as I can now peruse to my hearts content. Although I have too-many-books-guilt.

However, as a I was getting excited about my books I rememebered my fab little book fair I went to last year and picked up a number of books. It was great and the details are thus:

10:00am Saturday 7 July, St Andrew's, Redwell St
Book Fair to Feed Minds
The popular annual Norwich Feed the Minds book fair is being held from Wednesday July 4th to Saturday July 7th at St Andrew's Church, Redwell Street. / Thousands of books will be for sale and admission is free. The fair is open from 10-5pm each day except for Saturday when it opens from 9-1pm finishing with a silent auction from 11am. For more details ring Waltraud on 01603 454799. www.feedtheminds.org

This was a great day out and I loved it, purchased all sorts of books for me and D to loiter through (mine being a cookery influenced bunch) and now I will be adding even more to the collection this year. I love my books (sigh) and can just gaze lovingly at them - I know, very sad and I should be cooking more! But at least when I buy them from the sale above, the proceeds go to a good cause! Oh, talking about good causes, Greenmetropolis is good too.

Till next time....

Ich mochte einen gemischtes eis bitte.

Well what a hoot. Success has been ours and my future housemate N and I have managed to find ourselves a nice little place in Norwich to rent. To celebrate I had a few of the ladies over for food and trial by food, sherry and lots of squealing for N. She joined in like a trooper and I am looking forward to having her as a housemate.

Now N is German and proclaims that she cannot cook but has a thing for fashion. Which is useful as I like to cook, have an expanding waistline and could do with some fashion advice.

Friday night kicked off at 7.30pm and to start we had pan fried asparagus sprinkled with salt, home made bruschetta, and pan fried king parwns in butter and garlic. Then I cooked a veggie arrabiata with the worls amount of pasta. The sauce was a mixture of courgettes, aubergine, onion, chilli, 2 cans of chopped toms and chilli (love it). Pop in a dash of anchovy sauce, some lovely herbs (Fortnum and Mason, dahlink), bring to boil, simmer and don't burn on the bottom (ahem). Next get a grill pan heated up. Rub garlic over some nice sliceed ciabatta, pop in oven.Take out when toasted and get that basil bush chpped up and on the fresh bruschetta. Yum.

Take the room temp toms and add olive oil. Season slightly. Chuck in the asparagus, swish it around for a couple of minutes and it is done when it has that gorgeous vibrant green colour. Serve at table where hordes of cackling ladies will descend upon it. Keep the pan on. Add butter and a dash of oil. Pop in two cloves of garlic, add prawns - let them get really pink-turn prawns-let them get really pink. As before, table, ladies, descend, tear bodies and legs of the prawn like he is the best man/worst man you have ever met. Reckless abandon abounds.

Sauce and pasta will be finished by now. Dish it up and let the aforementioned ladies tuck in. By now you will have finished one bottle of cava, at least three bottles of wine and lord knows what else. Any burnt bits will be more than acceptable.

Then it's on to dessert and coffee. Nobody will really care at this point so don't go to any specail effort but buy a pretty cake and get a mate to bring you some tasty creme brulee and a hooting story about a broken ceramic dish (thanks L). Fab conversation will have been going on for a while, you will have had loads of lovely compliments, the ex will have come home(and doesn't he look a dish - something yum)and you will be rabbiting on about how you can sprechen sie deutsch. Your new housemat N will be amazed and ask for a little nugget. You will say - 'Ich mochte einen gemischtes eis bitte.' New housemate will curl up with laughter and the others will all go 'What does that mean' It is so true of a sunny day that yes, the transalation is 'I would like a mixed ice-cream please'. Happy days.

I LOVE - UK Food Blogging

I am always, always tring to find UK Food Blogs that are interesting and that I can snaffle recipes from, to try out in my own kitchen. Thanks to Google launching a CO-OP where you can create customised searches and a keen blogger, the joy of not having to trawl through thousands of pages has arrived! UK Food Blog Search allows you to take a peek at other peoples blogs and search for recipes. I love it and thanks to Nick at Tracing Paper (a new site I have only just discovered) for creating it.

In actual fact, thanks to Food Porn Watch and the Yorkshire Deli (which I just discovered too), I would never had found all these great new gizmo's! This site is also quite cool - or 'hot' depending on how you like your food (poor sense of humour!)

I will post a recipe soon.....

Sunny Day

Hmmm, things are looking up. The last two days have been sunny and springy - a combination I rather like. D and I are getting on better than ever - as friends and I am looking in to the fast-track racy world of.......drum roll please......Mortgages!!!

I still love m'boy and I am sure he still loves me, just all a bit random. We'll get there.

No recipe this time, but BBC Good Food have a rather delicious looking cake on the front. As for me, I have yet to face the weekend and am currently eating junk. I guess reality will hit home soon - ouch!

Broken Heart Curry

The last few weeks between me and the OH half not been easy. We have had trials and triblulations, sharp words, burnt food and heart to hearts.

Today, we fell apart.

The fab birthday party I had resulted in a bill and after a rather fantastic cookery day (bought by the OH for the big3-0) at Morston Hall, a Michelin starred restaurant here in sunny Norfolk, the bill arrived. After misunderstandings, fraught phonecalls and just horrid feelings at what appeared to be overcharging, with my olds, the OH looked rather cheesed off. He seemed distant, and my sleep was interrupted with nightmares and waking.

The Bran flakes this morning were only half eaten as we broke up over breakfast. Both really upset and a lot of self blame. I cried (read sobbed) and had a bad day. I phoned lots of people and generally felt crap.

My friend A arrived to the rescue and took me to the river to feed the killer swans (not throw self in) and after what appeared to be a planned attack and some rather intimidating stares from the swans, I went home. OH had arrived home early and so we had silence and then 'TALKS'. Both of us are really sad and feeling all glum. There is excited talk about things to do as friends, how I can house hunt but tears at not working out - we both wanted to be the one.

After all the high emotion had run its course, the numbness set in and we set too, trying to cook. We actually really enjoyed it, the first time in ages and made this little thing below - it's gentle and soothing rather than hot and fiery. Just good. It's our special curry now.

Kat and Dean's Home-Made Sri- Lankan Curry
or
Broken Heart Curry

Make the Sri Lankan spice from The World Cook Book.

Fry two chopped onions and add two breasts of cubed chicken. Add coriander towards end.

Open two tins of tomatoes and pour into another pan. Add some water and a small tin of coconut cream. Pop in a teaspoon of tomatoe puree. Stir to mix. Add the chicken mixture, pop a lid on and put in oven a about 160 degrees for approx 45 mins (ours is a fan oven so adjust accordingly) Serve with plain rice and know that through all the hurt, you cooked this with someone you love very much, no matter how bad things are.

Now I'm off for some solace and sleep. I'll post on Morston later.

Who Shot JR?

I have no idea I was quite drunk - Dallas style.

It was my big birthday party at the weekend and I dressed up as 1980'S Dallas power dresser - looking more like a rather naff R&B star. I think the most shocking thing was that people though my outrageous wig (well I thought so0 was actually my real hair...AND thought I really suited it. I give up. There was copious amounts of food, some murdering action, and a lot of booze. Food was great (Loads of salad things, Chicken sweet and sour, Chilli and Veg Stroganoff) courtesy of the hotel and then I stayed up till 3am with two great friends after drinking champagne. I could get used to this life.


Everybody was very glam at the party and all the men looked rather swish. D looked particularly yum. My best mate looked like Pam Ewing (Dad thinks she makes a great red head) but I suspect there was definately a slant towards the Beverley Hills Hillbillies!
Now there are a squillion lovely cards and presents, a half completed pile of thank you notes and a boyfriend to schmooze all at my place. Great! Pictures to be posted soon.....

I'm 30

Oh god. I'm 30 and still a random 16 year old with lord know what plans but definately, uncertain ones.

I feel old. When I was a kid I used to cry on my birthday - usually because somebody had lobbed a large pass-the-parcel at me which happened to be a book, and dented my teeth.

I cried yesterday too - not because of a parcel this time. Just cried, due to me and Dean. Must be getting soft and rheumy in my new old age.

If it starts with a 3 does that mean it's a 3rd age?

To celebrate, I am looking at cookery courses. Yum.

Apples of Lurve - Valentines Day Part 2

Has it really been a year? Is that where all the love is? In that last year?

I get so excited about the big red day. Sod the trashy, cheesey and crass cards, I like effort. The OH and I try not to get caught up in it all - he doesn't like the mass commercialism and I pretend not to....

This year I have a cunning plan. It's still all horrid and drizzly here with puddles rippling as people splish splosh through and we have no fire (the flue part is in the shed!), so we are making gestures in other ways to keep the fires in our hearts stoked(yeah right)

The OH is cooking me dinner! We are having his speciality dish of Mustard Chicken (he is very talented) with lyonnaise potatoes and baby sweetcorn. Admittedly, we have a heap of food we have to eat up in the fridge as we had a lot of family round at ours last week (gorgeous baby William who I actually wanted - he was so pugulistic in looks!!) I, on the other hand, will be presenting coffee and walnut muffins dressed temptingly in a red flowerpot, with red icing hearts, lots of lovely hearts and fluffy things on sticks as well as a big red heart balloon. He may think it's cheesey but I hope he likes it. They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and Coffee and Walnut (well nut in this case) is definately a honey-boy favourite!

Recipe today is for Apple and Calvados Brandy Pate (hence the apples in the title of this post):

Core and peel one apple into quarters. Take each quarter and chop into neat segments. Pan fry with butter and a glug of Calvados until golden, and remove from heat.
Take 500g of chicken livers trimmed and pan fry in more butter with one clove of garlic and two finely chopped shallots. Add more Calvados (careful, no need to flambe!)and return three quarters of the apple to the pan. When the chicken livers are browned with a tinge of pink, blend all the ingredients until fine. Fold in remainder of the apple.

This actually a really quick recipe and luckily, can be served warm so if you need a nice little dish for your loved one tonight, maybe this is worth a shot.

I tend not to stick to strick weights and volume in this recipe as I find it really depends of the texture of pate that you prefer. This gives you a slightly drier and coarser (but not chunky) pate. This was adapted from Glyn Christians Sainsbury's cookbook of Pies, Pates and Terrines. A jolly handy little book. Enjoy.

Making me melt......

I did say, didn't I, that this blog was suposed to be about food and all the excitement and adventure that goes with it?

The OH and I have always cooked this Nigella recipe when we have felt meltingly tender with each other - a symbol of us together - strong, dark and yummy. The fact that my love wants to make me delicious yummy things makes me melt. I love making him this cake too (Guiness is a favourite treat drink in Summer) and this cake has always proved successful for any celebration - my best friends 30th not withstanding.

I love this cake and I love my OH - it's a bit unclear as to where the future lies for us both at the moment - we are in summit and UN negotiations about it all. It's my 30th birthday soon and I can't help but feel that we are both holding our breath until it's all over to make that decision.

I should make this cake, don't you think? Try and melt his heart once more? Funny how food entwines with the rest of our emotions. This recipe is from Nigella Lawsons book Feast. It is a celebration cake, (maybe of your love) and can provide solace for the brokenhearted. I am melting now but not in a joyful way.

Chocolate and Guiness Cake

250ml Guinness
250g butter (1 cup)
75g cocoa (a rounded 1/2 cup)
400g caster sugar (2 cups)
140ml sour cream (I used plain yoghurt)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
275g plain flour (2 1/4 cups)
2 1/2 teaspoons bicarb soda

for the icing:
300g cream cheese (I used 250g which was plenty)
150g icing sugar (1 cup)
125ml cream

Preheat the oven to 180C, and grease and line (yes! lining is essential) a 23 centimetre springform tin.

Pour the Guinness into a large saucepan, and add the sliced butter. Heat until the butter is melted, and remove the saucepan from the heat. Whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla, then pour into the saucepan. Finally, beat in the flour and bicarb.

Pour the batter into the greased and lined tin, and bake for 45 mins to an hour. Leave to get completely cool in the tin, as it's quite a damp cake.

For the icing, beat the icing sugar and cream cheese together. Add the cream, and beat again until it's a spreadable consistency. Ice the top of the black cake until it resembles the frothy top of the famous pint.

First Snow

The first snow of the year has fallen. I awoke this norning to silent flurries of snow muffling the sound of the traffic on the road. As the cars were sooshing by I was looking out of my bedroom window nervously anticipating the journey to work. I am sure if I had not had those few misfortunate events early in my driving career, that I would be approaching the journey less with trepidation and more with gustso and joi de vivre!

....interlude whilst I take a call......oh no. Just been offered the opportunity (dubiously) to go to Diss for a meeting at short notice - travelling is horrid in snow at the best of times;luckily the lady is now coming to me...phew. I couldn't bear another car fiasco (did I mention the wrong fuel escapade last week? 200 quid I tell you - 200 quid!! to pump my tank - that was all my birthday money that Mum gave me)

Anyway, back to tye snow - I have new boots too and the scenes in the area look amazing. Silent drifts of snow are perching on tree boughs and old buildings remind me of Victorian Christmas cards; it really is beautiful. I love snow - absolutely love it. The joy of curling up in front of a fire and snuggling in for winyer with my Deanie (wish we had a fire at the moment - waiting for flue to be put in; freezing feet and the feeling of warmth tingle on through them; the little flutter as you get to wear your favourite scarf and know that this time it will be put to real use as it fends of the blustery cold; like I said, I love snow. Just not when I drive in it wwhen all the tight knots in my stomach feel like they will explode and I worry about not stopping and hitting cars and finally losing my freedom as I am relegated to lifts with friends and public transport; dictating to me what I can do and when.

I love watching the snow flurry in earnest to settle on the ground so I can run through it and make the first footprints, like the times I used to share with my old dog Mickey, when the snow would settle on his whiskers and he would look like a wisened old man. I love the snow then, as I rememeber all the times I had my escapades as a child, including running out and getting tonsillitus as I picked up the snow with such joy and then felt ill for days.

Snow is a double edged sword - beautiful and a real pleasure but painful and, can be deadly. It can cause fear and joy all at once which is always brought back to our minds with the fisrt snowfall of the year.

Do I still love the snow? Maybe, I just love snow most of the time just not when I have to travel very far. Yes, that's it, I love snow, nearly all the time.....

Happy New Year

Wow! Happy New Year. Dean and I are back from out travels to warmer climates and aside from some general peskiness (friends, bugs, bombs, a crashed bus and general jetlag) all went really well!

Since I last wrote, the garden bloomed, the neighbours cat's poo'd in it, the veg were nice (minus the cat's gifts) and all was jolly well. I am still a cookbook-aholic with large volumes cluttering large spaces in rooms that want to be large and can rememeber a time when they were (poor lambs. Dean and I are going from strenghth to strength - I tell him off and he tells me off and then we both sulk, grimace, stomp feet and generallly act childish 9he says I do, I say he does - get the picture?) but he is so terribly lovely. Then we have the impenindg 30th's f my clan - Jane kicked of the festivities in October with hers at the Holiday Inn 9I am still reeling from the bar tab of £9.30 for two single drinks - shocking) and then as usual, Kathryn, myself, Nat and Lyn's all close ranks in that order throughout until August - crumbs! What an expensive but partying year.....

Where as I? Oh yes - Dean and I went on holiday with the rest of the clan t Thailand to visit hi brither Neil who lives there. I learn't some more Thai, went on a cookery course, shopped till Bangkok dropped (serious bargainer here - 1250 baht in Patpong for a tshirt? No, love, I said 100 baht..... the lady took it after saying'Tell Mummy how much you pay?' My Mummy normally gives me stuff I replied....)Jolly good tome and Dean and share New Year with a small party at Fishermas Cottage in Koh Lanta, my friend Nicky, woodlouse infestation, cockroaches and a remarkably friendly frog. He kept popping into our outside bathroom for a chat at night - didn't talk much but that's ok as I talked for both of us....

We arrived home safe and sound minus some booze which we had bought at BKK AIRPORT - it appears that the sealing bags of liquids standard is not universal. The man at Schipol who confiscated it was a bit of a jobsworth and I would like him to answer a few questions such as - how did I get two litres of drink halfway around the world? If it is suc as risk, why did he not destroy it immediately or a least pop it in a container with bombproof elements? Surely a threat is worse at an airport/ Needless to say that the airports will be getting a stiff letter. Dean's Mum has already sent one.

So what next/ Well, the garden is starting to look in need of some love so I aim to get that all started a bit earlier tis year and grow some new lavendar (hooray- bee's and butterfliies, I also need to use my new Kenwood Chef (gained through a devious plan involving my mum and getting her to wrap it for me - long story), as well as trying not to buy copious amounts of books this year and blogging more regularly to help with that addiction 9hey, I could be buying nasty stuff) On top of that, preparig for my 30th birthday and finally, but certainly not at the bottom, losing all these punds - I have got fitter but still far to plump. Oh, and anothet thing......making space at home..... Well, here goes, I'll trya nd write soon but am off to read a book and shake the rest of my jetlag off (don't go on the roads kids, it's not great driving with jetlag..)

....and autumn falls

Today was a warm, lovely day reminiscent of the summer that we strated to have that degraded into rain in mid-August. During that month instead of feeling sun kissed, golden and in love with the earth, I felt anxious about my tomatoes (since gone mouldy) and a bit harrassed and windswept (mainly due to work). However, I am currently roaring down the A47 with the windows open each morning and enjoying the last fragments of freedom before Winter gobbles me up and pops me into hibernation.

Since last writing, the garden has come on in leaps and bounds with things actually growing and looking planty, except the mouldy tomatoes. Due to a rather large spider threatening to pull me into his web, I cannot reach the runner beans at the moment, but they look nice from a distance and I am sure all the insects are having a jolly nice feed.

Really, the summer has been successful and the OH and I are busier than ever. We are keen to finsih the house and save some dosh as we are off on our hols in December to sunny (hurray) Thailand for three weeks. In celebration, I have signed up to a mini photography course so I can take decent pictures amnd maybe one day, wow you dear reader with pictures of my my gardening and food attemps.

As winter falls, the nights are drawing in and as I write the dark has crept up and swallowed the room. Good night.

It's a bugs life

Well the courgette plant slowly crept up behind it's neighbouring bed fellows and grew over night. In the last few weeks it has overtaken most of the veg bed (now a courgette bed) and is producing flowere left right and centre. Great - so what is the ideal length to pick them? My book says 10 - 13cm, but that seems very small - should they not be a bit bigger? Is it just fashion speaking?

A keen gardener I know said they should be picked asap but that means they will be quite small - hardly enough to scoff in a ratatouille- but apparently they grow into marrow's overnight - hmmm reminds me of Wallace and Gromit and the Wererabbit. All I know is, I have pleanty of bugs and no rabbits, and courgettes have a prickly underside.

Now, the bugs in my garden seem to be very happy with my gardening efforts, when I see fly and so forth, I pop them outside and try to get all the bugs to die and get eaten by birds (my Mum's suggestion0, but birds don't seem to like landing in our garden - damn neighbours cats I think. Anyway, why are there so many different coloured micro bugs when one will do/ Why are they eating all the basil, the host and anything else they can scuttle to/ Slugs and snails aren't an issue - squash em, salt them, throw em; as long as they aren't near a plant fine. But these ones have little legs (I have good eyesight), and they have friends. I wish they would go and munch somewhere else, I can see gardening being a game of two halves- me planting and them munching. I didn't say fair halves.

First Blush

Wow. My first tomato popped of the vine last night. It was a mottled red with an orange tinge, and where it had been on the vine, a slight green knobble. It was small and perfectly round. It wasn't the deep, luscious red of tomatoes in supermarkets (no doubt fiddled with) but, it was just right. Deeply satisfied and excited that no doubt there will be a glut (please, please don't let the sun and heat burn them to a cinder!) I have decided to use that little, first tomato as a isgn to spur me on. I am now investigating wormeries so I can create my own feed to keep the sweet little things as happy as they make me....before I devour and wolf them all down as part of a summer feast!

Summer Days

Ah absolute bliss. I'd had a rather stressful day at the office on Friday and had called the OH requesting a much needed visit to the pub for that night - I needed a lot of beer, sun and the hum of sunny days conversation.

However, what a surprise! The boyfriend calls me back and says, let's go for a picnic by thr river - we know a great little spot.

So, when we were home from work that evening we packed some nibbles such as crisps and a muffin or two as well as salami, feta, oat biscuits, Prosecco, olives from Portugal and then off we set. We wandered down the shady, leafy lanes and oevr the train tracks and towards the river. About half way we towards the river, we crossed over a stile and ambled across the eadow, with it's huge singular trees amongst all the cut reeds. There is a little footpast that winds across twards the new Broad and en route, it crosses over a little bride lined with old telegraph poles. It is the perfect place to sit and look acros the waterway spotting bees humming in the clover, ladybirds and butterflies and watch the stunning (yellow)summer iris'sway in the breeze. As the evening cooled, we chatted, ate, enjoyed a perfect summer evening and then slowly walked home. Perfect.

England Wins!

.....well I did in the kitchen; and England won against Trinidad and Tobago in the World Cup tonight - very boring so I rummaged up a meal for my mate Andrew and I.

Fab chicken with cherry sauce - non too tart, I was a bit worried. Basically it goes like this:

Pan fry two chicken breast (I did 4) they should be dipped in seasoned flour first.

Then remove from the pan and add Dijon mustard or wholegrain, a generous splosh of white wine, balsamic vinegar, veg stock and seasoning. I also added onion and garlic. Pop the cherries in, as many as you prefer and then reduce. Add the chicken back to the pan or keep warm in the oven. Then serve with a selection of veg. We had pan fried asparagus, peas, and roasted potatoes done in Olive oil. All was great and followed by Ben and Jerry's ice cream, Porter Ale from St Peters Brewery and my Nan's homemade sloe gin - fantastic!

We have been sitting here playing about with design on the blog, set up a counter (like the worm?) and then A told me why Radio Norfolk keep playing a certain Queen song, he advised it was because of the world cup - typical.

Oh well, enjoy....