Chickens..

Are red with feathers; they make a noise that rhymes with duck; ducks live on water and fish swim around them.. which is the perfect link to what I had for dinner tonight! Well, there was an abundance of wonderfully meaty-looking sea bass eyeing me up on the Sainsbury's fish counter this evening. It took me less than a second to decide that the biggest one was coming home with me. Sainsbury's does bug me because everything is priced 3 for 2, buy one get one half price and all that malarky. What use is that to me?! So I hesitated for one milli-second at spending £4:50, which is a little more pricey than Morrisons but decided to buy one, even though they were promoting two for £7.. why would I need two sea bass? Freezing on defeats the purpose of me buying fresh fish and eating sea bass two nights in a row is a bit excessive, even for me. So back to my gorgeous fish.. which I lightly baked in the oven and served with a delicate veggie mash. I boiled chunks of potato, butternut squash and celeriac, drained and mashed them adding some shaved parmesan on the top. A teaspoon of tasty tartare sauce, some light seasoning and hey presto, a delicious, healthy supper.

Better not talk about the three amazingly, yummy Thorntons millionares shortbread chunks that I've munched for pud ;)) with coffee

Look what I've got...

Every now and then I see something I 'need' and have to buy it. Today was one of those days. I always think you know when you 'need' to buy something when you forgot the first time around and when you went back to the shop, it's the first thing you remember. I just love this mini mouse. It's fun, quirky and it's so practical, I just had to have it. The little mini swoshes around in the liquid when I use it and yes, I know it's frivolous but hey.. if I can't be frivolous I'd be terribly dull and none of my family and friends would like me then :)

Tuesday is fish night.. !

And tonight, the lucky fish happened to be a lovely piece of salmon. I really wanted to buy a whole fish, it just seems healthier that way, but they looked less meaty so I plumped for the salmon - fillet! I looked for a long time at the whole sea bream, mackeral and sardines but I'm not a fishy guru, though I wish I was. I need to spend more time looking for recipes so I can delve into the fishy, scaly world of unknown varieties. So my recipe for tonight consisted of a piece of salmon, some red pesto, white wine and the most gigantic prawns I could find. The beauty of buying ready cooked prawns is that you can nibble on them whilst you're waiting for everything else to cook :) As it looks more like a disaster than a triumph, I've just given you a flavour of what I experienced.. believe me, it tasted better than it looks.. honest! Though, I think I'm a white fish meat lover. Pink meat is just so last year :)

A Fishy Frampton evening..

I'm currently having fish supper moments. Tonight's was at the Crown at Frampton Mansell. It was lovely and light so we managed to catch a quick drink outside before our meal and as you can see, it was very peaceful. Aswell as being a locals pub, the Crown also has guests which makes for a nice buzzy atmosphere for a Monday night. The goats cheese and beetroot salad was lovely to start. My brill was very meaty and delicious though they obviously don't season their veg, which I think is a mistake. Given that I'd had little or no lunch today, I decided to go for the hat trick and ordered the berry crumble with ice-cream. All I can add is.. yum.. yum.. yUm ;)

Over the rainbow.. ;)

Today has been another fun packed day with a delicious lunch at the Village Inn in Barnsley. The service wasn't too hot but the food was lovely. Ginger had scallops with lentils and I had chicken livers, chickory, leaves, small sautéed potatoes and the tastiest black pudding I've ever had in my life. The pub was busy with lots of fascinators vying for space, it was like a peacocks parade at one stage at the bar. There was obviously a wedding in the village!
The closest and prettiest place near Barnsley is Bibury. Very touristy but reasonable quiet today apart from a coach load of Japanese and a few special people who must come every Sunday afternoon to sit and eat ice-creams in their cars whilst they watch the locals - us - take silly photos! No trip with Ginger is complete without a few daft pics, a mile hike to who knows where and all in my 'Dorothy' shoes! Today's route march consisted of a climb up the hill through the woods, through a field as we ended up at the back of Bibury Court Hotel. No Ginger, you don't live there.. !


No photograph is complete without it being "Hamerized!" Who is this person who keeps popping up in my pics...?!

"Look Mom" my red patent "Dorothy" shoes have come out on yet another Ginger adventure!

"There's nothing nicer than being close to nature" - he he.. I don't think anyone would ever mistake me for a tree-hugger.. but, somehow it felt right at the time. The world is a wonderful, crazy place with Ginger in it!

Lovely lentil and fennel bake with a side salad of beetroot, cooked but cold broccoli, chopped cucumber and long stemmed leaves which looked like sprouting - much more interesting and wholesome than boring lettuce leaves ;) me and Ginger had a fab time.. see here for more of what we've been up to.. !

Adventures with Ginger.. !!

Today we've been scrapping, card making and visiting Ruskin Mill to talk to the animals ;) Lunch was yummy - lentil and fennel bake for me and tomato and feta cheese and onion pizza for Ginger. You know when you're eating additive-free food because it gives you that wholesome feeling in your tummy. Following lunch we went on a route march up the valley until we ended up in a field. At this point we decided it might be wise to turn around and walk back, so we did. We've been home since 3pm, cooked trout for supper, watched Britain's Got Talent and I've completed my commission to make 5 cards for the cardmaking mag. It's now after 1am and we're listening to Shania Twain, eating minty chocolate sticks and Ginger is cutting out Bambi!

Swan song

The question is... is this a single, solitary swan? Is it the same swan or two different swans?

My unofficial birthday party...

If the queen can have one then so can I! My real birthday celebrations were cancelled when I got the noro virus, so on Sunday 18th April I held my unofficial birthday lunch and it was fab! Lots of friends and family, lots of chat and laughter and lots of washing up too!
We are family ;) Just a few of us who decided to have a little walk by the lake after lunch.
Lunch was even tastier than it looks. Homemade steak and ale pie and chicken in white wine casserole, new potatoes, peas and carrots... yum ;)
As my father would say... why does everyone always congregate in the kitchen?! No matter whose party it is, everyone always seems to end up in the kitchen.. :)
"Caught in the act?" whose got their hands on the strawberry pavlova then..?

Ginger's here...

And, we have so much catching up to do! We're sitting listening to Paloma Faith.. fab album. Ginger is playing with stamps and I am doing what you might call.. phaffing!! I'm not in the creative groove yet so I'm surfing, thinking, listening, reading and warming up. Talking about warming up, it's hot up here. It must have been the hottest day yet this year. I drove back from Lisa's with the top down and it was like a beautiful Summer's Day. We've had frittata, no less, for supper along with the usual dose of fizz and prawns. Ginger has done her 2,500 steps, I'd done some hoola hoopin and all is right with the world ;) back with more very soon.. x

Rocking Riverdance...

Girlfriends Matter.. that's the stamp Ginger is using right now but it's also my thoughts about last night. Lisa bought her mum and me tickets for Riverdance for our Christmas box. Last night we drove to Oxford to see the performance. I remember seeing something similar quite a few years ago in Birmingham. It was mesmerizing. Tonight there were moments of magic and a few moments of lack lustre. Riverdance is on it's farewell tour, whatever that means, and has moments when it's looking tired. At other times it's truly brilliant. The russian dancers were spectacular. The Riverdance Tappers in their tap-off with the Irish men were incredible. Both leads, Maria Buffini and Alan Kenefick were outstanding, particularly Kenefick. He has moves to die for! The Riverdance Tappers were the most entertaining of all the dancers. I could have spent an entire evening watching their seemingly impromptu tap-off and American funky rhythmic moves. They added a contemporary dance twist to the old Riverdance format which the audience absolutely loved. I'd certainly go and see anything with them in again.

Bolton Abbey

Nature often has a surprise up it's sleeve. Catching a first glimpse of Bolton Abbey really does take your breath away, it's a most beautiful place. It's a place for contemplation. I guess I was doing just that. There's nothing more lonely than being with someone, yet feeling alone. Nothing I could put my finger on, other than the fact that my instincts are exactly that.. mine.. and they're not usually wrong. As family would say 'Don't worry,, it will all come out in the wash"... ;)

Yorkshire Dilly Dallying!

If you've never been to Haworth, pronounced Howath, you really should. It's a typical, Yorkshire small town with bags of charm & perfect for a long weekend. Were staying at the Old Registry, a wholesome place with around 8 to 10 very comfortable rooms & breakfasts better than most 5* hotels. Everything is cooked fresh with local Yorkshire ingredients. There's enough choice so you can try something different every day depending on what you might have eaten the night before.

Yesterday we took the bus into Keighley, met Becka & the kids & went on the old Keighley steam railway. It's definitely the sunniest & warmest weekend of the year so far. The train journey was great fun. We stopped for an hour at the end of the line & found the local pub! Lilia tried eating the ash tray - she is just 7 months & cute as a button - whilst Noah, 2 & 1/4, amused himself with his new book.

They got their train around 4:30 giving us enough time to chill out for a couple of hours in Leeds before meeting up with Laura & Foz. Little Tokyo was a completely new experience for all of us! I'm not familiar with a Japanese menu so we needed a bit of help to decipher the different courses. I think the boys chose more wisely because the sushi, tempura veg & duck with mango was infinitely better than my soup! Notable moments were the delicious sushi, the weird radios in the toilets & Laura setting her hair alight on the candle!! There was a distinct smell of burning hair as we left the restaurant to get our trains. I'm sure other diners would be left wondering who was onfire!

Cheese, ham and olive loaf

There's something satisfying about choosing a new recipe and finding out that it turns out just perfect. I've always been a fan of Good Food so it's not surprising that I found this extremely tasty savoury loaf recipe in one of my favourite magazines.

Cheese, Ham and Olive Loaf
150ml/1/4pt dry white wine
4 eggs
150ml/1/4pt olive oil
250g/9oz self-raising flour
140g/5oz Gruyere, grated
200g/8oz thick sliced ham, cubed
140g/5oz pitted green olives
140g/5oz pitted black olives

1. Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Butter a 900g/2lb loaf tin and line with baking parchment. If you're pan is non-stick you won't need the baking parchment.
2. Beat or use a whisk to mix the white wine and eggs lightly until mixed and slightly frothy. Add the oil and sift in the flour, mixing or whisking until smooth. Stir in the remaining ingredients to combine, then season with salt and pepper.
3. Pour the mix into the prepared loaf tin, smoothing the surface with the back of the spoon. Bake in the oven for 55-60 minutes until golden brown and firm to the touch. Cool on a wire rack before cutting into slices, and serving with onion chutney or a bowl of soup.

You can keep, store or freeze this wonderful loaf - if you aren't tempted to eat it all up!

Motto for the day...

"Don't eat when you're surfing!"

How many times have you made a meal, sat down and the next time you looked, the plate was empty? It's a common problem in a world where we're so used to multi-tasking we do it when we eat. My mind is whirring ten to the dozen, my body is trying to catch up after my early start and flights yesterday and my stomach is telling me to eat. I have so much I want to do this weekend. I want to catch up with friends and family, do some crafting, do some sewing, shopping, eat chocolate and blog of course!

I am having a lazy morning and I am sure I cut enough fruit to have half today and half tomorrow. Somewhere between picking up the bowl and surfing the net, the entire contents of the bowl has disappeared! Unless I wish to be the size of a small island by the end of the Easter weekend, I need to heed my own warning :) particularly when it comes to chocolate. Perhaps the motto should be...

"Enjoy one thing at a time" :))))))))

Adventure Thursday

Today's adventure was a trip to Newcastle to visit the lovely people at Crafter's Companion. I had a lovely guided tour of the premises and a trip next door to meet Sara's lovely mum who runs a brilliant wallpaper and paint shop. Meg and Sara even managed a big smile during our 5 hour brainstorm ;)

Today's must-haves...

Some things are worth waiting for! I've been putting off buying my favourite perfume convincing myself that I should use the perfume I have instead. I know it's nice, I know it's different but it's not my favourite. I love variety and it's great to have different perfumes to wear for different reasons but I have an all time favourite and I've really missed it. Perhaps it's good sometimes to miss something? It can make you realise just how much you want it back in your life... :) Today, I found the hour that I lost last weekend so I spent it in duty free. I had a very early start. 4:30am to be precise tho I was awake at 4, which always happens when you know you have a flight to catch! My plane was leaving just after 7am and I've never been so happy to have paid the extra £3 something to get fly-thru past security. I had an inkling it would be a useful thing to do on Maundy Thursday - I must be psychic! I must say that Bristol airport is more often than not a pleasant experience. I rock up, park my car and it's a hop, skip and a jump up 3 flights of steps to the main concourse. Easy peasy...
Today I arrived to find the queue was not only extending outside the security area but all the way down the stairs and across the main concourse. "Any more passengers for Alicante?" Of course, fly-thru gave me the option to jump the entire queue, hurrah, how smug did I feel?! That of course meant that I found myself lounging around in the brilliant new bumper sized duty free area I was feeling very proud of my new purchases until I remembered that I was flying in and out the same day with only hand luggage.. doh! It dawned on me that the new liquid regs meant I wouldn't be able to bring my duty free home.. grrr! I mused, pondered and had a brainwave whilst I was at CC's. I removed all the packaging and hey presto, it all fit into my little plastic bag so I could bring it home...phew!

The rest of my Thursday adventure was reasonably uneventful. My meeting went brilliantly - 5 hours of wall to wall inspiration in a room packed with cards and crafting ideas. Sara is an absolute star! To create the entire contents of a magazine in a day is no mean feat. But we managed it and even found time to fit in a moderately sized Chinese banquet before I left to go back to the airport. The flight back was quiet and goodness only knows how I managed to sit right in the centre of the plane by one of the emergency exit doors! I guess everyone else was avoiding them and I just forgot they were there and just sat right down beside one. It was a relief to me and no doubt to all the other passengers that my services weren't required!

A Royal connection...

Frequented by Wills and Kate, The Potting Shed in the village of Crudwell is a real gem. Sunday lunch was delicious, the style is easy-cool, ever so slightly rustic potting shed-like with a very relaxed atmosphere. The mixture of random furniture, simple table decorations and the quirky gardening implement door handles and beer pulls make this a very unique place to eat and drink. We'll be back.. !