Attic24

Winter/Spring

It is still unbelievably wintry here in my patch. It remains very cold, only just above freezing, and jeez there is still snow sitting on the hills. I keep looking out at the view and willing it to start greening up a little, to look at least a smidge as if Spring is round the corner.

On Sunday the air was all of a sudden very slightly warmer. Still grey and wintry looking, but just about possible to shed an outer layer and stride out without shivering. After some tremendous effort, all five of us made it out the door on Sunday morning, all at the same time, to go and do the same thing together. Increasingly hard to make this happen these days, as the Little People have their own social agenda and tend to dig their heels in re Family Outings. I was glad I dug my own heels in on Sunday and forced The Walk, for it was a good one. We walked up a steep grassy field to take in the view. Always a good thing to get up high and remember where you live. There's the Attic Window look....fourth one down! You see it? That's home!

After the steep, grassy up hill climb, there is a steep, grassy downhill run, then a stile, then a track into the woods.

It's a lovely, simple circular walk (well technically it is lollipop shaped), providing greenery, gentle exercise and fresh air. The greenery was a bit thin where the trees are concerned, but look.......

...the banks of wild garlic have started to sprout fresh, vibrant greenery! Yippeeee!! That surely must mean that we have entered early spring!

I think we walked for about two hours. It was slow going due to Little B only having Little Legs, but he walked the whole way round with enthusiasm and happiness radiating out of him. He is such a sweet outdoor boy.

The relative warmth of Sunday was short lived, and the past couple of days have seen us back to shivery cold. The heating is permanently on and we are wishing we hadn't run out of coal and logs. The blankets are still in full swing, hot water bottles still warming the beds at night. Hasn't this been the longest winter?

I am glad for my colourful, cosy home, as despite the current messiness it is a warm, happy place to be when the weather is cold. I'm still going with the Spring bulbs indoors, I love having them on the mantel. My lovely mother-in-law bought me this latest pot of hyacinths on Saturday and I'm looking forward to the pink flowers and heady scent.

I have been adopting my usual slapdash method of parenting this week with the Little People being home from school, particularly with foodie stuff. We tend to graze in the holidays, although after all the indulgence of Easter last week, I am making a conscious effort to provide healthy grazing fodder for us all. No more chocolate, crisps or sugar laden bakery products for a while....I've replaced them with a large selection of fruit, wholemeal bagels for toasting, and hummus with crudités and breadsticks.

I've been having a bit of en egg fest of the healthier variety this week too and treated myself to these pale blue beauties. They are an extravagance really (£1.99 for six eggs), but oh they are wonderful. They are made by very clever chickens called Old Cotswold Legbars, and I adore the soft colours of the shells.

Inside, the yolks are a magnificent orange colour and taste divine. The past few days I've been up early with Little B for tea and toast, then making myself a brunch around 11.30. Poached eggs on toasted wholemeal bagel. Deeeeelish. If this has picture has made you long for a poached egg, you can read more about my poaching exploits here.

I've had plenty of hooky time these past few days as the Little Peeps have been very good playing amongst themselves. As is usual for us in school holidays, we've had small hoards of visiting children in and out all day, and I just count the pairs of shoes in the hallway to see how many are in (total of 8 yesterday, although not all at the same time). I'm finishing up a new project which I started whilst on holiday, and it's giving me a huge amount of pleasure and satisfaction. I managed to work out the mathematics for the design yesterday by drawing it all out on paper, so there will be a new pattern to offer you very soon....I hope you're going to like it. Yellow tulips too this week, they look lovely in my button jug.

Haha....I had to include this picture, kind of a visual confession! I found half a bottle of sloe gin in the cupboard left over from Christmas, and for some obscure reason yesterday (around 4pm) I just fancied myself a wee tipple. It felt incredibly naughty.....drinking gin in the afternoon with a house full of children, what irresponsible behaviour?!!! But oh my, it was absolutely wonderful. I only had that one weeny glass and I sipped it slowly over the space of about 45mins while I did a bit of crochet before cooking dinner. I had this blissful warm glow afterwards, I felt like I was radiating warmth. Which was pretty good considering how cold it is at the moment. Never mind layering up with clothing, just crack open the gin bottle! Eh-hem. Well, it was just a one-off spontaneous thingy, so don't be worried.

Right then....on that naughty note I will love you and leave you for now, and go make a stack of buttery toast for my hungry children. Back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

Friday Blurble

Ahhhh Friday again, how whizzy and wonderful this week has been!

I love my Friday morning potterings around town when I visit local shops and the market to stock up on produce for the weekend. I'll try and photograph the fruit/veg stall one day to show you, it's really quite visually lovely with all the beautiful, colourful fresh produce on display. Today I bought a couple punnets of English strawberries, I love how they come in a variety of shapes and sizes (unlike the supermarket ones) and are deliciously ripe and sweet. They really do need to be eaten pretty much straight away whilst still a little warm from the sun. Little B and I shared a whole punnet on our way home from playgroup today, sat in the shade of a weeping willow beside the canal. The strawberries hardly touched the sides, they tasted incredible.

Also in my bag today was a bundle of English Asparagus which I am really looking forward to smooshing up tomorrow. My love affair with this seasonal vegetable has not let up over the years (I laugh to myself when I recall this post), and I continue to think rather passionate thoughts about devouring these gorgeous spears.

When I came home from the market this morning, I unloaded my bags, put a fresh coffee on to brew, then ran up to the attic eaves to rootle around in my rather large box of Home Textiles. I was after a table cloth, a dash of summer colour to throw over the brown wooden outdoor table. A big improvement, but the table was missing a little floral something. I pondered over it a while, then decided on a sudden impulse to walk up to the park and gather some cow parsley. I remembered that a few of you suggested enjoying it outside instead of bringing it inside, so that's exactly what I did. The sight of it on my table has made me so happy today, I've loved being able to sit and gaze at it as I've sat eating, drinking and hooking.

I had a little play with hook and yarn this afternoon, trying out a few ideas from my new book.

The above sample is a variation of the "terraces" pattern on page 79, although I had to do it my own way. Sorry Jan Eaton but your pattern was really difficult to read and I just couldn't do it your way. My way worked out pretty good though, and I've got an idea for using it to make a small square cushion cover. It's a fabulous colour-play pattern, I'm quite excited by the idea of playing with it on a larger scale.

4.30pm now, and we are in that sweet lull that comes after the school run and before meal-making time. A friend called by to enjoy a little bit of Friday Afternoon Yummies. This tends to happen most Friday's, a spontaneous gathering of friends and neighbours, lots of children coming and going, a few nibbles and a glass of something delicious and chilled. My current Friday Afternoon tipple of choice is Demi Sec Cava. Oh it really does hit the spot rather nicely. Those bubbles! That fruitiness! Divine. So funny, I just had a look on the supermarket website for more information on this drink, and discovered the "tasting notes" for it.....Fruity nose due to the varietal blend and the short bottle ageing. Harmonious on the palate with apple and hints of toast. Very well balanced, good freshness and pleasant acidity level. Who knew all this could be applied to my drink????? Apples and TOAST??? Hahahaha, gosh I laughed out loud when I read that. I so wish my memory was good enough to recall those sentences, I would really love to be able to say all that just to hear the uppity words tumble out of my mouth.

Ahh, this is my back yard wall. Little B, bored with chasing woodlice, practicing a spot of photography. That kid, how very much I love his company. We've had a sweet, happy, toddling kind of a day together, he is quite wonderful to hang out with.

Now then.....before I toddle off and snuggle up with J on the sofa, I would like to mention three things.....

Thing Number 1 :: Janet Bell. Do you know of this lovely lady?? She is an artist with incredible talent, and moreover she is a super-nice lady you know. That's a print of hers up there on my bathroom wall, I absolutely love love love Janet's work, it makes my heart flip over and wibble with excitement. Janet's blog was the very first blog I ever encountered, so you can thank her for opening the door into Blogland for me. Did I say she was a super-lovely lady? I did? Go see for yourself, bob on over to her blog and say hello...she is peeking back through her own door after taking a baby-break and I'm sure she'd be thrilled to welcome you in.

Thing number 2 :: a wacky crochet tie, isn't it marvellous? Not my creation though, no, this was made by a good friend of mine. You may remember me chatting about this particular friend when I showed you her inspirational blanket?? Well this tie was made for her son to wear at school as part of a fund raising effort for the amazing charity Oxfam. Tomorrow some  of my lovely hooky friends will be taking part in an extraordinary walk to raise money for Oxfam. It'll be an incredible achievement and I am so in awe of them for taking up this challenge. They'll be walking a mind blowing 100km over 30 hours (yikes!), I can hardly get my head around it actually. I promised I would pass on their details in case any of you would like to donate to Oxfam via the Hooky Ladies of Yorkshire. The link to their team page is here.

And finally, Thing Number 3 :: the Sun Is Still Shining here and the sky is a most gorgeous shade of cloudless blue!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yipppeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a fabulous weekend, enjoy every precious little minute of it ♥

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On the Menu :: Sweet and Easy Curry

I've been meaning to write this recipe up for a while, you may remember I mentioned it in a post a month or so ago? I have this recipe written down on a piece of paper in my precious Recipe File, it was given to me some time ago by J's Mum and is known in our house as "Mothers Curry". I love it because it is so quick and simple to pull together, and the list of ingredients is refreshingly small for a homemade curry. It really is a super recipe and is very family friendly, ie it has a gentle heat with an underlying sweetness so children of all ages seem to love it.

You begin by making up a very simple curry paste. All you do is mix up the above six ingredients in a bowl. Clockwise from the centre we have ::

2 tbs Greek yoghurt

3 tbs tomato purée

2 tbs mango chutney

1.5 tsp garam masala spice (see note below)

1 tsp chilli powder

2 crushed cloves garlic

Now about the garam masala spice....I'm not sure if this is a world wide, universal spice or not? Here in the UK it is readily available to buy in supermarkets etc, and you can see what it contains in the list of ingredients above. If you can't find this spice mix where you live, it is possible to make your own by combining individual spices. I found this easy recipe on the internet, and although I've not tried it, it gets good reviews.

When all six ingredients are mixed, you should end up with a rather unappealing looking orangey brown paste, as above. Don't be alarmed by the way it looks as I promise you it's going to be wonderful.

Aside from whatever your main curry ingredient is going to be (chicken, prawns, chickpeas, lentils, vegetables), you will also need corn oil and fresh coriander leaves (think this herb is know as "cilantro" in some countries?)

Once you've made the paste, it's super-simple and super-speedy to bring it all together.

Heat 2tbs corn oil in a pan, sloop in the paste, bring to the boil and cook for 2 mins, stirring frequently.

Now add in whatever your main ingredient is. I most often used left over roast chicken which is already cooked, but you can use raw diced chicken breast so long as you make sure it cooks through thoroughly. I've also very successfully made this curry with prawns, green lentils, chickpeas and veggies (but not all at once!)...and I notice from the above picture that I also added in chopped red pepper and onion with my cooked chicken. It's all very flexible. If you're using lentils or chickpeas, they should be already cooked. And if you use cooked prawns, wait and add them into the sauce right at the very end so that they just have time to heat through and don't over cook.

Right, so you add in your chicken or cooked pulses or veggies, stir well to coat in the sauce then add 150ml water. Simmer gently for 20mins or so until the sauce thickens and everything is cooked through.

Lastly, stir in 2tbs of greek yoghurt and a good handful of chopped fresh coriander leaves and cook for 2 more mins. Serve as you like.....we have ours with basmati rice and mini naan breads or homemade flatbreads to dip in the lovely sauce.

What I like most about this meal is watching the Little Ones devour it. Little B makes a heart melting "mmmmMMMMMMmmmmm" noise when he is really enjoying the taste of something. It makes my day when he does that.

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Edit to add :: I just remembered that when my mother in law makes her curry she adds in a couple of chopped fresh green chillies along with the coriander/yoghurt towards the end of the cooking. This gives the curry a more adult-appropriate heat. Actually it usually makes my eyes water and my nose run.

 

 

 

Stay-home Day (again)

We're experiencing the most dreadful weather this week, it's very wet, cold and stormy. Gusty, icy rain showers, freezing hail storms, furious winds whipping through the streets. It's made the school run really horrid, even with jazzy wellies to wear. The house has taken a real battering today, the rain has lashed against the windows and doors, the wind has whistled relentlessly down the chimneys, and water has dripped mournfully through the bay window roof. Drip, drip, drip.

Little Man continues to do battle with the lurgy and spent another mostly horizontal day home from school.

Which has meant that we've had a second enforced Stay-home Day. But given the state of the weather, it's not been a bad thing by any means. We've had a wee bit of cabin fever, with Little B being a tad on the naughty side due to boredom I suspect, but well, it's been OK. There's been lots of time for me to hang out with my boys. Chatting, singing, snuggling, reading, watching recorded episodes of Postman Pat (Little B's favourite), and generally just hanging out.

We baked this morning Little B and I, yesterday too, it's what I do when one of my Littlies is poorly. Any whiff of a high temperature or achy limbs and I go straight to the kitchen to bake. It's my stress relief mechanism. I made buns yesterday, iced and decorated with glitter and sugar snowflakes. Today it was fruity flapjack. Little B stands on a chair to help, and he's surprisingly good for an under two. He wears a sweet little apron that belonged to Little Man when he was small.

The heat from the oven steams up the kitchen window, I just love it when this happens. Love to stand in a warm kitchen inhaling the scent of something sweet baking and see my little window all steamed up.

Right in front of the steamy window is my beloved coffee machine, which I absolutely cannot do without. I've had it for many years now and I've come to wholeheartedly look forward to my morning coffee at home each day. Always in the same stripy cup. Always with a dusting of chocolate powder on the top, and always with my sweet little melamine spoon for all important froth-scooping. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Mid morning and it's snack time, so I hand out warm-from-the-oven flapjacks and various bits of fruit. I smile to myself as I watch Little B making short work of his satsuma, that Little Boy really does love his fruit. The word Scoff springs to mind. Just as his chequered apron belonged to Little Man, so did his bowl. More smiles from Mummy, and more memories layering new upon old.

Late morning and I suddenly realise with a jolt that we are a whole week into Advent and my Advent Garland is missing. Holy-moly!!! What a slip-up!!! The box of Advent/pre Christmas bits and bobs came down from the Attic eaves weeks ago when I brought out the Christmas House tin, I just forgot to get out the garland. Ahhhhhhhh I'm SO happy to see it hanging once again, it made my heart squeeze a little with so many memories already attached to it. Do you remember me making it?? This'll be it's third advent.

After lunch (cheese and ham sandwiches for the boys, a bowl of left over chicken and barley casserole for me), Little Man retreats to his bedroom for a while and I take over the sofa with Little B. Little B loves sofa-snuggling. He loves to surround himself with cushions (the round one made from Kool Kotton is his fave, he's very sweetly possessive about it) and get his little legs tucked under a blankie. He often gets himself in place, shouts loudly to get my attention and then pats the spot of spare sofa directly to his left. In other words, Mummeeeeee-come-sit. Mummeeeee-come-snuggle. Ahhhh ok then, I'll be right there in a jiffy. Let me just bring my magazine (January issue of Country Homes and Interiors, my-my, it's pages are making my heart leap about!)

Later in the afternoon and Little B sleeps. I make tea and decide to sit at my desk in front of my laptop to work a little pattern through. Small, neat rounds of amigurumi involving some furious counting. I'll show you tomorrow when/if I manage to actually get out the house, get to the shops and find/purchase some suitable beady eyes.

Early evening and thank goodness, back home after a freezing cold and windy walk to school and back. Poor Little Man, with his weak and wibbly legs, I did feel sorry for him, it was awful weather to battle against when one's body is Not Well. I made a gently spiced, super tasty curry for dinner, a fanTAStic recipe passed to me by my mother-in-law. I love to make a sauce from scratch, to use whole, honest ingredients, fresh herbs and spices. I'll do one of my On-The-Menu posts soon and pass you the recipe, it's a good'n'.

It's gone 9pm here now, and I am feeling weary. It's been a funny old day. A mix of mild stress and cosy comfort. Of shut-in irritation and home-loving content. I'm off to the land of fluffed up feathers very soon, to snuggle down between crisp cotton sheets and my warm woolly blanket, a hot water bottle at my feet. I've got a date with page 37 of my magazine, where I am seriously lusting after this.

Sweet dreams one and all ♥

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Tripping to Town

One of the things that I really appreciate about living where I do is the fact that it's less than a ten minute walk from the Attic to the centre of town. I can be sitting at home, dreaming of cream cakes and strawberries, or having run out of toothpaste, and within ten minutes I can be right there in the middle of Main Street fulfilling my dreams and needs. Ok, so it takes a little longer than ten minutes in the school holidays cos the Little People still require a considerable amount of work to get them ready and out the front door, plus they seem to make detours for themselves en route. You know, walls that need to be balanced along, cats that need to be stroked, bits of broken metal that need to be picked up off the pavement and examined, that sort of thing. But it's still a relatively quick walk and quite a pleasant activity to do with the LP in the holidays.

So yesterday, in the late morning, when the rain had stopped raining, I decided on a little Trip to Town.

First stop the chemist, for toothpaste and Miffy tissues.

Second stop the library, to finally take back The Overdue Book. Dear oh dear, has it really been sssoooooo long? Do I really owe That Much??? Crikey.

Third stop the fruit and veg stall on the market. And I have to say it was really interesting visiting the fruit and veg stall with the Little People.

I needed to buy some sort of green vegetable to have with dinner, and a small selection of fruit. So into my bag goes a head of fresh broccoli, 4 big juicy morrocan oranges (J's favourite), and a punet of sweet strawberries. If I had been on my own, then that probably would have been the extent of my purchases, but the Little People have other ideas...

....they are really eyeing up all the fruit, and it does look very tempting and delicious.

Little Lady begs for plums, that she says are her "absolute favourite-ist fruits". Oh, Ok then. So we buy a bag of deep purpley black plums just for Her.

Little Man pleads for fresh apricots. Are you sure? Are you sure you like them? I seem to have memories of him trying a fresh apricot before and spitting it straight back out again. But he insists, and so we buy a bag of plump, soft apricots just for Him.

I start to get a taste for this more spontaneous method of selecting produce, so I too begin to eye up what's on offer, begin to consider various other fruity possibilities. Melon? Too heavy to carry. Dragon fruit? hmm perhaps a little too exotic. Red currants? My eye suddenly catches Little Ladies fingers poking into a punet of red currants and squishing them one by one. Arrggghhh!!!! Quickly whisk her had away and decided against red currants.

oooohh I can't decide, I am parralised by all the choice. My eyes move across the fruit and into the salady bit. Huge pinky red bunches of radishes, ripe tomatoes, and then.....

 

....Peas. Ahhh how about some peas? Seasonal and fresh and possibly local? Yes, why not, I suddenly have a real need for fresh, sweet peas popped out of their green pods and straight into my mouth. So we buy a bag of fresh green peas just for Me.

 

We are done at the fruit and veg stall now as my bag is suddenly very heavy. And the Little People are suddenly declaring themselves to be staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarving hungry. So we make a fourth stop and call in to a local baker to buy some freshly baked hot sausage rolls for an early lunch. I suggest we take them home to eat, but no no no, they are staaaaaaarving and cannot possibly wait, need to eat Right There and Then.

So we cross over the road to the Town Hall where there is a little cobbled square with wooden benches and big tubs planted with bright flowers. All the benches are full so we end up sitting on the Town Hall Steps and enjoying a quick picnic lunch of sausage roll, fresh peas, apricots, plums and strawberries. Quite delicious.

We do happen to have made other purchases from the bakers, eh-hem, it's not all healthy fruit and veg with us you know, where's the fun in that???! But I do manage to persuade the LP to bring the Naughty's home to eat, cos I am quite desperate for a cup of tea with my purchase.....

 

There are gingerbread men for the Little People (essential to pick out their smartie eyes first don't you know)....

 

....and a Sicillian Lemon muffin for Mummy.

 

mmmmmmmmmmmmm, the muffin is delicious. As is the book I borrowed from the library.

 

The book is "Creating Vintage Style" by Lucinda Ganderton. High Grade eye candy indeed. I personally don't really do whole-hearted Vintage Style in my own home, but I know a great many of you in Blogland do love this style. I like small elements of it. For example, I do love old enamelware.

 

And you can never go far wrong with a pretty jug stuffed full of beautiful fresh flowers.

 

Oh and blankety things, yes yes, I do really love the blankety things.

I mean, whats not to love? A Granny Square blanket draped over a bed, why it's the stuff of my dreams!!

Talking of which, what has happened to the Story of BB I hear you ask? When is the Ta-dah post gonna be happening? Did I get more yarn? Is BB finished?

Well no, I have not yet been able to get more yarn :: trips to buy yarn seem altogether more complicated with Little People in tow. But I shall try very hard to go today. BB is currently sitting in a neatly folded pile on the arm of the sofa, waiting patiently for the End-of-The-Edge-of-The-Edge to happen.

Soon my friends, it'll be soon.

And thats a promise.

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On The Menu :: Satay Noodles

Food, glorious food today. Been a while since I posted my last recipe on here, and an aaaaaaaage since I posted my first one. Today I'm in the mood for talking food, I think partly because I feel hungry, but also because I have really been enjoying cooking for my family these past few weeks. Sitting down around the table to eat our evening meal all together is one of the most enjoyable bits of my day. Both Little People have been coming through something of  a growth spurt this past month and have developped great appetites :: it's been wonderful cooking for them and watching them clean their plates and ask for seconds.

So today, a recipe which I've cooked regularly for my family recently, and which has gone down the hatch extremely successfully with the Little People, especially given the amount of vegetable matter it includes. Its a recipe from my file, written down for me by a good friend many, many years ago (12 years perhaps?). Her then boyfriend/now husband was/is pretty terrific in the kitchen and this is a recipe of his devising, affectionately known in our house as "Stu's Peanut Noodles". But for you I am calling it Satay Noodles, because that sounds altogether more grown up and more Menu-ish.

OK, ingredients then ::

The noodley bit :: 2 layers of egg noodles, medium or fine, it doesn' t matter.

Vegetable matter :: onion, garlic, and a selection of crisp, colourful vegetables of your choice. I go for full on colour (of course), and choose multi coloured peppers, crisp green sugar snap peas, broccoli florets and those lovely little baby corn cobs.

The saucy bit :: make sure you have peanut butter, soy sauce, tomato ketchup, fresh ginger (about an inch piece) and fresh coriander leaves (US cilantro is it?).

The protein bit :: my choice here is salmon or prawns, but you could use shredded chicken, or tofu perhaps if you are vegetarian.

Firstly, think about your protein and if it needs cooking. Prawns will be ready cooked and will be thrown in right at the end just to heat through. Chicken will need to be cooked and shredded/cubed. For the salmon, I put thin strips of fillet salmon in a shallow dish with a drop of water and a squeeze of lemon juice then poached it in the microwave for about 2 mins until cooked through and flaky.

Next, prepare your veggies. Chop the veg (peppers, corn, sugar snaps, broccoli) into chunky pieces and sling them into a pan of boiling water for 1-2mins to soften. Then drain and run under cold water to halt the cooking process and set aside.

In a large frying pan, heat about 2 tbs oil (sesame oil is v good for this recipe) and gently fry a chopped onion and a crushed clove of garlic for about 5 mins until softened. Add the blanched veg and fry gently for a minute or two.

Add in the saucey ingredients ::

1/2 tsp chopped fresh ginger

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tbs peanut butter

1 tbs tomato ketchup

1/2 small glass water (about 150-200ml??)

Stir very well until all the ingredients are well combined and the peanut butter melts, and simmer gently for around 10 mins or so.

 

Put your noodles on to cook, they should only take about 4-5 mins or so.

Add your prawns/salmon/chicken to the veggies and stir through. Continue to simmer gently for a further 5 mins or so until everything is piping hot.

Drain the noodles, and stir them in with everything else.

Then finally add a good handful of fresh chopped coriander leaves.

Serve straight away, fresh and hot.

Oooooooodles of Noooooodles, we love 'em.

Fridayness

Ahh Friday today and I am glad. Don't know about you, but for me it's been something of a loooong, tiring week. Thank you so much for all your get-well wishes of late, I really appreciate your lovely comments more than you may ever realise. I am still not quite right within myself, but I am beginning at least to feel the end might be in sight. My energy levels are still way below par though, and for someone like me who likes to bounce and skip through the days, I am finding this lack of energy very frustrating. But hey-ho, life could be so very much worse and I am pretty darn good at finding ways of cheering myself up.

Lemons is one of those cheering-up things :: nothing like the sight of a bowl of bright yellow citrus in the kitchen to lift the spirits. This afternoon I'm going to be making some homemade lemon drink, which I am hoping will be just the thing to refresh and revitalise.

I did manage to stop by the market today on my way home from school, and as well as the lemons I couldn't resist another little bundle of yellow goodness.

Fresh flowers always feature very highly on my list of get-well-soon remedies (along with chocolate and magazines), and oh these little daffs are just perfect picker-uppers, don't you think?

I remembered I had this yellow vase to put them in too. I found this vase in a corner of the cellar when we moved in to the house, it was covered in so much dirt and cobwebs that I did not know what colour it was until I gave it a wash. It seems the perfect vessel for a bunch of cheery daffs.

And talking of Perfect Vessels, I've recently taken to drinking my morning cup of coffee from this giant colourful mug. It's so impossibly happy this mug, so bright and cheerfully stripy that I cannot help but smile when I sit a while with my hands wrapped around it.

Yes, hot, frothy, chocolate-dusted coffee tastes reeeeeeeeeeallllllly good in this mug. 

You can see I have been sat stroking the cover of my latest issue of Country Living magazine this morning. You know the score, you know my ritual with this magazine, you know I can't possibly open the cover until tomorrow. I am enjoying the delicious, slightly agonising wait for this pleasure, because I think the Spring issues are my favourite ones of the whole year. I am very, very much looking forward to going in to these pages.

What else? You see a little crochet something?

What's that then, that stripy crochety thing on the table?

Why, that will be my current project, started on Wednesday.

A closer look?

Want to see what it is do you?

Want to know what my wirly-gig brain has come up with now?

Yes, stripy isn't it?

Delicious colours aren't they?

A Closer look?

Oh ok then..........

There you go, a closer look.

And nope, I'm sorry I'm not going to tell you any more about it just yet because I am not sure if it's going to work out yet or not. This is already the second attempt I've made at working this idea of mine, the first attempt went quite hideously wrong.

But maybe I might get time over the weekend to hook a little so I can show you more next week.

Have a great weekend one and all, stay warm and cosy and happy.

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My Weekend

Early Saturday mornings often contain one of life's most perfect moments for me. First off I get that stomach churning feeling when I open my eyes and think for a brief moment that I've over slept and am late for the morning preparations for work/school. Then right afterwards there it is :: The Perfect Moment :: that slow, blissful realisation that the weekend is here and all is well and the clock can be ignored. Ahhhhhhhhhhh, what a feeling that is!

And on Saturday morning, I experienced that exact Perfect Moment, yes I did, and it was bloomin' marvelous! There's something wonderfully luxurious about waking up and digesting the knowledge that the next 48 hours of ones life is totally unplanned, unstructured and can be filled with whatever pleasures and activities tickles ones fancy. Within reason of course.

Now if one starts the weekend experiencing a Perfect Moment such as this, one has to go about making the right sort of Perfect Breakfast to follow. Them's the rules in our house. And in the absence of pain au chocolat (Perfect Breakfast of choice), I opt to make scotch pancakes. Such a lovely thing to be involved with at 8:45am on a Saturday morning. J is in the kitchen with me making coffee and I say to him :: there's something so Homely and Comforting about making these pancakes, something kind of simply wonderful about standing at the cooker, quietly dropping blobs of thick batter onto a hot frying pan and creating these golden, bubbly circles for my family to eat. The Little People adore these pancakes, they are quick and easy to make (recipe can be found here), and I think they would score a pleasure factor of 9/10, for both production and consumption.

The morning continues, leisurely and relaxed :: 10am and I decide I need to bake.

I go through various baking possibilities and opt for lemon cake.

I am dressed accordingly, in pj's, dressing gown and pink fluffy slippers, with apron slung over the top for good measure.

I measure and whisk and zest and squeeze and the house slowly fills with the delicious scent of Saturday lemony baking.

J and I have morning coffee together and chat about how we would like to fill our afternoon. It's decided that we would like to walk to town and Shop a little, which is quite unusual for us. So on the spur of the moment, he rings his parents and asks if they would like to come have lunch and spend an hour or two looking after our offspring whilst we go Shopping. Of course they agree (oh my in-laws are the most lovely wonderful people), and so on Saturday afternoon we find ourselves at the top of the high street with two child-free hours of shopping stretching ahead. But before hitting the shops we decide to call into the town church. For no reason, other than the mood took us. It was beautiful, peaceful, serene. Unlike the shops, which were busy, chaotic and er, well un-serene, whatever that word is.

I am trying to find my festive spirit, it continues to hide. The shops were so unmistakably shouting out the C word to me, yet I could not quite get into the swing of it. We bought clothes, food, logs. Nothing festive at all, although I was quite tempted by this chocolate army.

When we got home, I made mulled wine and even put on some Christmas tunes. Yet I am still not quite there with it yet. But it will come to me soon enough, I know it will. Maybe next weekend when we go through the Purchasing of The Tree. Maybe then I will be full of C-spirit.

Early evening, 6pm or thereabouts. We have a picnic dinner in front of the fire, then ,J and Little Man play dominoes and Little Lady and I snuggle on the sofa together.

She is telling me a story about something or the other (it was very long winded and involved various Barbie Dolls doing various things, I confess I switched off a little). We play some hand games :: round and round the garden, one potato two potato. There is quite a lot of tickling and giggling involved, and I am in the happiest place.

Saturday was a Great Day.

Sunday morning comes around, and all is well. Various children come and go throughout the morning. In and out, they alternate between playing outside in the remaining snow and coming inside to run and shout and invent games or sit quietly making Hama bead creations and watching films.

I choose to sit here and alternate my time between crocheting and losing myself inside the pages of my latest magazine.

I love the feature on Winter Roses...

...and these knitted cakes (a Christmas present suggestion).

I continue to really enjoy my weekly magazine-fest, enjoy immersing myself in the pages, drooling and swooning my way through the styling ideas, the shopping suggestions, the recipes, the seasonal inspirations, not to mention other peoples houses and lifestyles and creations.

Sunday afternoon, 3pm, and we wrap up warm in coats and hats and scarves and gloves and head out into the darkening day. It's our town's annual Christmas Festival. The high street has been closed to cars and filled with festivities. A brass band plays Christmas carols, and there are stalls selling Christmas wreaths, hot roasted chestnuts, mince pies, mulled wine. And lo and behold bits of a fairground have magically appeared...

...the Little People are so stunned to see all this where there is normally a road, they are lost for words. They can't quite believe what they are seeing. A carousel...

 

..and fairground games! They beg us to let them try their little hands at hook-a-duck and triumphantly  come away with a giant inflatable hammer and a cuddly toy dog.
 

4pm and we watch a procession of children walk up the street carrying hand made paper lanterns lit inside with candles. The brass band is walking too, and we all go up to the churchyard to sing Christmas carols. Little Man is busily chasing Little Lady around the gravestones with his giant inflatable hammer. They are shrieking with laughter, which clashes embarrassingly with O Little Town of Bethlehem.

 

So we leave the church and the town and head back in the dark to number 24, to hearth and home. We are loving our fire this winter, it's giving us endless, cosy, fireside pleasure.  It's hard to photograph though :: I wanted to try and show you the coloured flames produced by these but the colours didn't come out very well. Ah well, you can imagine me can't you though, curled up on the sofa in front of the fire doing my thing...

...yup, crocheting of course. I got myself into a little bit of a hooking frenzy this weekend as the end of the hexagon blanket came into sight. I don't think I've ever managed to crochet so fast and for so long. I  turned out hex after hex after hex until finally, finally, when my fingers were almost too stiff to do any more, the last one was completed at 10.30pm last night, just as the fire was dying down to embers,. I am now working a bit of an edging to it, and can't wait to show you when it's all completely finished.

Yes, Sunday was a Great Day too.

In fact, the whole weekend remains locked in my memory as one big long extended Perfect Moment. Hope yours was too?

xxxxx

November

Cor, it really is Autumn now, isn't it? October turned out to be lovely, we had some fabulous weather up here in North Yorkshire, and now it's November already and less than eight weeks till Christmas. Can hardly believe it. We had our first frost last week and there has been such an unmistakable chill in the air, all very Autumnal indeed.

I am desperate for a new winter coat, I went out on Saturday wearing what I thought was an adequately warm fleece and was bloody freezing, you know the teeth-chattering type cold that goes right to the bones and turns extremities purple. Made me realise that yes, the season of wrapping up warm against the elements is definitely upon us. I've been wearing my flower scarf this past few weeks or so and I really fancy a nice new bright coat to replace my old faded shabby black one (maybe this? Extravagant? Yeah, 'tis rather, but oh I do love the look of it!)

New pages on my three calendars this week, I do like these November images. Yummy baking, falling leaves, frosty walks and cosy candlelight. Makes me feel all snuggly.

Incidentally, some lovely calendars coming free with magazines this month :: Ideal Home and Country Homes both generously giving us freebies. The Ideal Home one in particular has some stunning photography which really captures the changing English seasons. Looking forward to the beginning of 2009 already, I shall have at least 3 calendars ready to go!

Its been a while since I shared my Attic view :: this was taken on Saturday afternoon, the first day of November, and you can see what a glorious day we had here.

Bright and crisp and sunny and oh-so-cold.

The frost of last week has cruelly taken most of my remaining garden flowers, the majority of my nasturtiums are looking very dead indeed, the cosmos not far behind. Sweet peas are finished, a few brave geraniums hanging on in there, but really I don't think I'll get any more little bright jamjar garden posies. Boohoo! I am incredibly sad actually, I loved going out into the garden this summer to snip-snip some colourful little blooms to bring into the house.

So this weekend, for the first time in ages, I purchased some shop-bought flowers, a bunch of bright pink roses. As I had guests staying, I thought it'd be nice to put a few beside the bed in the Attic as well as having a large jug of them downstairs.

The buds were quite tight when I first brought them home, but are gradually easing their petals open and look fabulous. The colour is stunning. It almost makes up for frost-ridden dead nasturtiums (sob).

Talking of flowers, I noticed when I was at the market this morning that the flower/plant stall was selling big bunches of pussy willow and bunches of narcissi...whats going on? I wanted to shout at the man, tell him it wasn't spring yet and his display was making me feel all muddled and totally discombobulated. I had to walk on by shaking my head and muttering under my breath like some loopy mad mother. I refuse point blank to have daffodils/narcissi in the house before January, it's one of my rules. 

Ooo I got all hot and bothered just then! Do excuse me, I almost went off on a rant there.

I had the most wonderful weekend by the way. It was a great mix of partying, socialising, catching up with dear friends, and quiet, predictable weekendy me-stuff. I don't think my weekends feel quite right unless they contain tea, cake, a magazine or two and some crochet.

I made some carrot cake mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm oh it was even better than I had remembered it from last time. And I immersed myself in some pretty damn good magazines (Country Homes December issue, oH! Beautiful..more about that later in the week). And I made twenty seven hexagons, which was quite some crocheting marathon as it happens.

And just whilst I'm thinking of crochet, can I say to all of you who've been patiently awaiting patterns/info on the bag, I shall be posting that later in the week. Also I've been taking pictures of my hexagon-making in progress and will be sharing my pattern for them too. Its going to be a bit of a crochet week this one, hope you don't mind?

And just before I leave you in peace, can I tell you how much I love and adore roasted chestnuts? Aren't they just so very Novemberish?

The sight of them in a bowl by the fireside fills me with content.

We had our fire lit for much of the weekend, and I managed to do some fair toasting activities with very makeshift equipment (a flimsy shovel does not a good chestnut-toasting implement make). We managed to make a raging hot coal fire and the flimsy shovel blistered and almost melted, I kid you not. Yes, what I need is this. An essential bit of fireside kit (along with my two old toasting forks), whats the point of having a real fire if you can't play with food on it hmm? Still, despite the shovel disaster, it was a success of sorts and I did end up with the desired blackened roasted nuts and burnt fingers trying to peel them, I never ever learn on that one.

mmmmm hot roasted chestnuts and crunchy Maldon Sea salt, ooh I really know how to live life to the full, don't I just?

xx

Edited to add :: re the calendars, all three of them...

:: I only ever write on one, the others are pure seasonal eye candy, so no confusion.

:: And as a rule calendars only make one super-organised if one actually remembers to write relevant info on them and then check daily. Needless to say, it doesn't always happen in the Attic24 house.

On The Menu :: Lentil and Peanut Bake

I love to make various Bakes at this time of year, I like the warmth and comfort of them very much and prefer them to stews or casseroles. The thing that bakes have over casseroles is melted cheese :: for me, the sight and smell of golden, bubbling, melted cheese provides one big huge dollop of comfort.

And I love lentils too, in particular red/orange lentils. I think they are such an underated ingredient :: they are extremely nutritious, versatile, tasty and economical, which are four supremely good foody adjectives if you ask me. I am always on the lookout for lentilly recipes, and this one is an absolute star. It's a combination of several different recipes I've accumulated, a sort of hybrid-recipe, and I've been making variations of this for a great many years - since my early twenties when I left home and first began to cook for myself. When the Little People were Little Babies, I weaned them on a pureed version of this (minus the peanuts), much to the delight of my Health Visitor who was more used to new Mums using jars of baby food.

Some of the ingredients are interchangeable, some essential.

Make sure you have the following essentials ::

175g red lentils

1 onion, 2 carrots, 2 sticks celery (all chopped)

2 large or 6 new potatoes (cooked and thickly sliced)

100g salted peanuts (roughly chopped/blitzed)

2tbs olive oil, 600ml good stock,1 tsp mixed herbs, 2 tbs tomato puree, 50g cheddar cheese

Optional/interchangeable items are the veg :: courgette, mushrooms, peppers (chopped)

Heat oil in a large pan and fry the onions for 5 minutes or so until soft.

Add the celery and carrots and cook for a few minutes more until softened.

Stir in the lentils, herbs, tomato puree and stock and bring to the boil.

It smells wholesome, looks wholesome, a bit like soup at this stage.

Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring every so often.

Add in the other vegetables (chopped courgette, mushrooms, peppers), give a good stir and continue to simmer for a further 10 minutes or so.

By now it should be thickening nicely ::  keep an eye on it in these last stages, stirring a bit so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. You need to be aiming for a thick, soft consistency, it can't be too runny or it'll end up like slop, yet it shouldn't go too dry and overcooked either.

When you think it's almost there, add in the peanuts (roughly blitzed/chopped) and stir a few mins more. Taste at this point and add seasoning, but go steady on the salt cos the peanuts are quite salty. Incidentally, you can make this recipe without the peanuts, but they do add a delicious texture to the bake that I find irresistible.

While all this is happening, you should boil your potatoes, skins on, and thickly slice. And here's something to consider :: trying to slice hot boiled potatoes is foolhardy and painful. Ouch. Make sure they have cooled somewhat before attempting to slice, or you might end up having a tizz. I have been here many, many times.

Pour the lentil mixture into a shallow oven proof dish, and arrange your potato slices over the top. Sprinkle with grated cheese and pop under a hot grill until  the cheese has melted and the potatoes are golden brown.

This is real Autumn comfort food, wholesome and hearty. In our house this week it scored about  8/10 with the Little People (there was some griping about the "green bits" aka courgettes). So not bad for an ultra healthy offering of homecooking.

But wait up folks, theres more to tell. This recipe is so very versatile you see.

Another variation you can try is to alter the liquid content. So instead of 600ml of stock, try halving it to 300ml and adding a tin of chopped plum tomatoes. Cook in the same way, but for not quite as long (and perhaps without the peanuts?) and you end up with a gorgeous lentil bolognese mixture, perfect as a pasta sauce, or dolloped onto crispy jacket potatoes.

And there is even more :: if there happens to be any leftovers, throw them into a blender with a little water and blitz it to make a really delicious soup.

Little Lady and I had this soup for lunch yesterday and it was fabulous. Really fabulous.

Hope you give this one a try, I do get enormous pleasure sharing the Attic24 recipes with you and hearing about how it turned out in your household.

Enjoy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ps I'm back in MY Attic yayyyyyy!!