Wednesday 29 February 2012

February Photo Scavenger Hunt

Well here are my photos for this month's Scavenger Hunt


Music




Food
My favourite Spaghetti Bolognaise


Love
on my daughter's mantlepiece


Cupid
on my mantlepiece


In the sky
overlooking the Thames - this was the sun not the moon on a freezing morning



black and white



5
Along Thorpe Bay seafront just above the beach huts


Leap year


Train
Taken last year at The Old Railway Station, nr Petworth in Surrey
where we stayed for a weekend in one of the restored Pullman carriages - beautiful


Crowded
An annual  summer's visit to Leeds Castle in Kent for their open air Classical Concert - brilliant



Empty!




Heritage
found in the National Trust shop at Anglesey Abbey



I've really enjoyed this month's challenge and look forward to seeing everyone's photos. Thankyou to Kathy at Postcards from the P.P  for organising this great challenge.


Tuesday 28 February 2012

Catching my breath

Welcome to my new follower Joy and apologies for not saying hi before now.
This is just a quickie to put you in the picture.



This picture says it all and - yes it is and - no I'm not!


It's that time of the month, when all my month's reading and studying comes to fruition and I have to get the dreaded essay out by Thursday. Hence all has been quiet for the last week. The diet's gone out of the window, the exercise has stopped, shopping abandoned and my blogging has slowed down. I kid you not - my desk says it all.




At the weekend, after the essay has winged its way through the clouds to the OU and I've cleared the desk, sorted the house and caught up with family and friends as well as my breath, it's back to the drawing board and I make a start on the next one on Monday morning - due in five weeks. Don't get me wrong I love it and it's my choice to do this, but sometimes would just like a tiny break before it all begins again.

Wednesday 22 February 2012

Mum's chocolate crunch

Firstly a warm welcome to my new followers - Aunt Janes Attic, Morning AJ and Lisa. Also thank you everyone for all the lovely comments you have left recently, they really are appreciated.

I was asked last week if I could post the recipe of my mum's chocolate crunch which I mentioned on my Foodie memory post, so here it is.



Firstly put 6 ozs (170g) margarine plus a few drops of vanilla essence into a saucepan and heat gently until the fat melts.

Blend with 8ozs (227g) self raising flour, sieved with 1oz (30g) cocoa power; add 6ozs (170g) granulated sugar and one egg.




Once mixed, press into a 9" square greased or lined tin, giving a thin layer. Brush with any egg white left in the egg shells or a few drops of water and sprinkle with sugar.



Bake in centre of moderate oven (160 degrees or gas mark 3) until firm to the touch which takes about 35 minutes. Mark into fingers and if you can, wait until cool.

Just in time for tea!



Enjoy!

Sunday 19 February 2012

Anglesey Abbey Gardens and Lode Mill

Spent a lovely day with friends yesterday walking the spectacular gardens at the National Trust's Anglesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire. The house was closed but it didn't detract us from the visit.


The woodland trail was a delight to see and full of weird and wonderful wildlife and so peaceful. Trees were abundant with hanging bird feeders, even the hedgehogs had their own little houses. What was so beautiful were the banks of snowdrops lining the paths and under trees. I've never seen so many and were told that over 200 varieties span the gardens. Close on their tails are the tiny shoots of bluebells just popping out of the ground.




This time of year you would not expect to see much colour but this was not the case. Many of the hundreds of colourful evergreen shrubs included the Tibetan Cherry and Scarlet Willow.



I've no idea what this is but it was so pretty. If anyone has any ideas I'd love to know.



A walk to the working old Lode Mill was quite a treat. Along the way we found a copse of very eerie looking Himalayan Silver Birches which the man at the mill told us they are jet washed annually to keep up their appearance!


Records show that a watermill was on this site dating back to around 1086 and recorded in the Domesday Book. The present structure dates from the eighteenth century and although the structure and use of the mill has undergone a few changes it has been restored with the help of the Cambridgeshire Wind and Watermill Society to the picturesque Mill it is today.


On the way back to the main garden areas we were surprised to see this Redwood Tree that had twice been struck by lightning, hence its odd shape.


There are gardens for all seasons and another couple of visits are a must, especially in the Spring when the house will be open too and where the scent of over 4,000 hyacinths can be found in the more formal gardens. Summer too is supposed to be wonderful with displays of irises, lupins, delphiniums and salvias in the Herbaceous Border.

A lovely day out and a cheerful thought that Spring is definitely on its way.

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Some foodie memories

Looking at some of my cookbooks over the weekend I came across my folder with recipes I've collected over the years - you know the kind, bits cut out of magazines, hastily written recipes from the tv, recipes passed on by others, and it occurred to me after yesterday's post that a lot of what I have saved have memories of their own, and I'd like to share them with you.



First of all there's a card index version of a quiche lorraine that I wrote down in 1969 just before my wedding. A colleague Jean whom I worked with passed it on to me. Being a very naive soon-to-be housewife I was trying to gather recipes together to impress my new husband. Jean and I became good friends and have kept in touch over the years. We had a reunion in London last year with another friend Grace where we re-lived our own workplace memories of the 60s.

Next there's a recipe hand-written for me by my late Mum. She used to work as a dinner lady at my primary school during the 1950s and one of our favourite 'afters' was chocolate crunch. After she left her job she spent many years trying to track down this recipe and the result is as close as you could get to the original. We girls loved it that our mum worked at our school and served our dinners. What memories this recipe evokes!

Then there's some recipes for chocolate chip cookes and peanut butter cookies given to me by a lovely friend Eileen. I was a young mum living in a new neighbourhood and didn't know anyone. An American couple with two children moved in temporarily a few doors away. Both being lonely we soon got to know each other and spent most mornings having a gossip and a coffee. We both enjoyed baking and hence she gave me these recipes written on her yellow scribble pad. We became such good friends as did our children but she had to return to her home in New Jersey.What a sad day that was. We kept in touch with letters for a time but sadly have now lost touch. That was in 1979, before the internet, e-mails and good phone connections.But who knows one day we might catch up again.

A recipe for an All Bran loaf was hastily written down from the tv on the back of a receipt for a pair of Clark's shoes bought for my 4 year old daughter in 1977 for the princely sum of £4.49, a lot of money then.

This BeRo book dates back to 1979 and was introduced to me by my friend Eileen. I have newer versions but somehow cannot throw this one out. Although the pages are splattered with fat, covered in flour, have ripped corners, stained and smudged print, it is has treasured memories of various cooking moments for occasions over the years.


A fruit cake recipe was given to me by my friend Ellen many years ago. We used to holiday in Eastbourne when the children were young as Mr M's parents lived that way. One holiday we met up with a lovely couple Ellen and Norman and their two children and spent every day on the beach with them as well as meeting up at the pub in the evening. On the final day we said our goodbyes and never thought we'd see them again. The following year, same two weeks, same spot on the beach by the pier we were both absolutely surprised and gobsmacked to be sitting next to them again! We have been firm friends ever since and still meet up on occasions. That was in 1983.

There are still many snippets to revisit but too many for now. Who'd have thought that my little recipe binder would have evoked so many memories.

Monday 13 February 2012

Valentine's dinner and memories

First of all welcome to my new follower at Blueberry Heart.

This weekend I hosted a Valentine's dinner for my two sisters and their hubbies. We had a really lovely evening. The menu comprised of -

Grilled halloumi with basil dressing
and roasted vine tomatoes

Homemade Focaccia bread

Aubergine Parmigiana with mini roasted lamb joints

Panna Cotta  (individual heart shapes) with raspberry coulis

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The Aubergine dish is a great favourite of ours and taken from Jamie Oliver's Italy book

So that I could dish up six plates of food and get them onto the table before they got cold, I daren't take any photos!

It really did look like this



I made table gifts for my sisters which were the fabric hearts I told you about a while ago. They were delighted, as I was with the result.


I also hung a collection of hearts gathered from around the house, on my willow twig arrangement, an idea I got from Heidi at allmyscatteringmoments - thank you Heidi.

My sister surprised the two of us with a gift that she had put together in the form of a memory box with items and snippets about our parents and their wedding. She and I have been tracing our family history for years and this was a lovely idea especially as our other sister has not taken part in our research and this enabled her to see the results.



This prompted me to realise how I have neglected some of my own research. I really must get back to it - when I have the time....

I have always kept my own memory box since I was first married - forty one years ago. I opened it this morning to take a peek.  Needless to say I have sat here in my study for several hours, pouring over some of the bits and pieces inside.


The contents include Orders of Wedding Services - mine, daughter's, son's; daughter's first ballet shoes from three years old; all manner of 'special' birthday cards, anniversaries etc.; old autograph books from my school days; a menu from my day on the Orient Express, which happened to be the day after Princess Diana died (isn't it strange how we always remember what we were doing when something shocking happens in the news); tickets to Ladies Day at Royal Ascot; letters from special people; children's old school reports; medals and certificates for ballet and football; press cuttings; telegrams; locks of hair; champagne corks. I even have a small box with a few of the children's first milk teeth (how sad is that, but couldn't bear to throw them away!)

The list goes on, but I wouldn't be without my treasured possessions for all the tea in China and it would be one of the first things I would save in an emergency. Well I have now spent ALL morning on this - but what pleasure it has given me, revisiting past times and remembering lovely people, events and places!

Wednesday 8 February 2012

A good old standby soup recipe

Welcome to my new followers Data Creata, A tale from Toadstool House and Sarah

It's been such a cold day today and in need of warming up I decided to put one of my favourite soups on for tea. Although I've been making this recipe for years it never tastes the same twice as I normally end up throwing in anything that's laying around in the fridge.

The basic recipe is:

3 large carrots - chopped
1 large courgette - chopped
1 large onion - sliced
Stick of celery - chopped
Tin of tomatoes
Vegetable stock cube
3/4 pint water
Dash of Worcester sauce
Seasoning
Oregano or Marjoram or Basil (depends what I have around, sometimes all three)





Place all ingredients in large pot and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until all ingredients are cooked.

I leave this to cool before blitzing with my stick blender. I blitz it all down to a puree and if necessary add some water if too thick.


Today I added a few cauliflower florets and some butternut squash and half a carton of tomato Passata from the fridge. The result was the best so far and will yield about six good portions. It freezes well and is always a standby.

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Thankyou for all your comments and best wishes for my Book Reading group - it was a great success and everyone enjoyed the session. We don't intend reading the whole book in a month and plan to discuss the various themes relating to social issues and history of that time before continuing with our read.

Tuesday 7 February 2012

Celebrating Charles Dickens' birthday


This painting was originally called 'A Souvenir of Dickens' was painted by Robert W Buss (1804-75)  copied from a photograph by Herbert Watkins, and shows Dickens in his study at Gad's Hill, dreaming of some of the many characters he has created. It was left unfinished and presented to the Charles Dickens Museum in 1928 by his grandson.

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It will not have gone unnoticed that today is Charles Dickens' 200th birthday and to celebrate this I am launching my Dickens Reading Group at our local library. Our first read will be Oliver Twist a story about the orphaned Oliver who was born into a life of poverty and misfortune. As an ardent social reformer Dickens uses this character to criticise public policy towards the poor in the 1830s  highlighting the social and moral evils of the workhouse and the criminal world.



He was orphaned at birth when his mother died and his father fled, leaving Oliver to be taken to the workhouse where he was brought up with little food and few comforts. At nine years old his overseer Mr Bumble moves him into the main workhouse where food is also very short. Fed up with their hunger, the boys drew lots to decide who was going to complain. The task falls to Oliver, who at the next meal tremblingly comes forward with his bowl in his hand and makes his famous plea:

 "Please sir I want some more".

This caused an uproar and Oliver was immediately sent out on apprenticeship for the sum of £5 where he eventually worked at an undertakers. Things didn't go well for him there and he decided to run away to London. The story sees him meeting up with many scurrilous but likeable characters such as the Artful Dodger who introduced him to the infamous pickpocket Fagin with whom Oliver lives with his gang of juvenile pickpockets.


Later he is to meet up with the brutal robber Bill Sikes


Although treated with cruelty and surrounded by coarseness for most of his life, Oliver is a pious and innocent child and his true identity is the central mystery of the novel.

Pictures by courtesy of Wikipedia

Sunday 5 February 2012

Snowy Sunday

Welcome to my new followers - Tracy, Marina, Mrs Tightwad, Anne and Never too old - it's lovely having you on board and hope you enjoy my ramblings.

It wasn't such a surprise but oh the joy of seeing the garden covered in snow this morning was a delight to see. I love it and it brings back such lovely memories of childhood. This is what I woke up to from my bedroom window.






We managed to clear the paths and make space for putting out food on the tables and ground for the birds and squirrels, all of whom  had darted away as I snapped them.





We took a leisurely walk and met my daughter and family round the local pub, carefully dodging the round of snowballs coming our way from the grandchildren. I love the crunchy sound when walking on freshly fallen snow and still delight in being the first to leave my footprints in the snow.



Children don't seem to feel the wet or cold do they?

On the way back we spotted this purple flowering Hebe, that was determined not to be put off by the snow!



A nice breath of fresh air and a curl up on the sofa for the afternoon before getting our supper ready. So now I've had my day of snow, I suppose I'd better prepare for the slippery, sliding school run in the morning, if of course they haven't closed the school! in which case it's a day at home with youngest grandson and possibly some baking of cakes.