Attic24

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.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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.

xxxxxxxx

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!!

Fruitful shopping

I've been to the local market this morning to buy fruit. I was on a mission to redeem myself because I have sadly neglected the market of late. I've been tempted by the convenience of the supermarket, which is located right opposite the school. I know I shouldn't really use the supermarket so much, know that it's sheer laziness that prevents me from going up into town to use local shops and the market. Yet I find it so hard to resist the lure of The Big Shop That Sells Everything. Because it's Right There.
 
Yesterday I had this sort of conversation with J, AKA my Jiminy Cricket. He has this sweet, direct way of questioning me and telling me what to do which I find hard to ignore. He doesn't boss me around, rather persuades me to See Reason and then do the Right Thing ::

J: Where did you buy these oranges from?
Me: Tesco
J: I don't think you should shop at Tesco.
Me : Why not?
J: Because you can buy better fruit from the market, help support the local traders (he goes on to rant about how much he hates the big money-grabbing supermarkets etc etc, I switch off a bit here)
Me: True.
J: Why don't you go to the market any more?
Me: Wellllll, Tesco is right opposite the school and the market is up in town and .....
J: But you've got the time to go to the market, you're just being lazy.
Me: True.
J: You would soon complain if the market wasn't there.
Me: True again.
J: I would LOVE to go to the market to buy all our food each week.
Me: Yes I know.
J: Please would you stop using Tesco and go back to using the market?
Me: OK

So this morning, instead of nipping across the zebra crossing opposite the school to the convenient, but naughty-not-to-be-used supermarket, I walk the extra half mile up into town with my CK bags and hit the market.

Feel very virtuous, because market produce is handed to me in brown recyclable paper bags. No naughty-not-to-be-used plastic supermarket packaging. Cheery market traders, very good produce.
I select a punnet of small, sweet looking strawberries for £1.50.
Six beautiful looking purply red plums for £1.
And four of the biggest oranges you've ever seen, four for £1.

I also buy local cheese from a nearby stall.
Plants from another.
Call in to local shops to buy free range eggs and sweet cured bacon sliced there and then off the joint to my requirements.
A fresh loaf of local bakery bread.

My bags are heavy and I trudge home. I think of this conversation I had with my Jiminy Cricket shortly after the Tesco v Market debate ::

Me: its hard work carrying bags of produce home from town.
J: Why don't you buy a shopping trolley?
Me: (stunned silence, I am imagining tartan ugliness, ridicule)
J: Well? It would make sense. Its eco-friendly. Practical.
Me: True.

So today I have been researching the idea a-la-internet. And woah! I've found some beauties!
What do you think of these? A bit pricey? How about this little lot then?
I might possibly have to purchase this one.
Please let me have your honest opinion. Do you think it's OK for a thirty-something girl about town (ok, after Sunday I will be a four-oh, damn-it), to own a shopping trolley?
Honest Opinions welcome.

Edited to add :: oooo have come across several articles on shopping trolley dilemmas, just read this, and this and this. I am sitting on the fence till I hear what you all think! 

On the Menu :: Sweet and Sour

Good morning! Its Foody-Tuesday again today, don't know why but whenever I find myself wanting to share a meal with you, it always seems to be a Tuesday. Not even going to try and work that one out.

This is a recipe from my childhood :: Sweet and Sour Sausages. When I was growing up, we were very short of money. Of course I didn't realise at the time, but looking back I see it clearly :: I see the struggle my Mum had running a household with very little money, and I recognise the huge talent she had for providing for us. I remember many handmade toys and clothes, remember appreciating the joys of other peoples cast offs and hand-me-downs, remember home-grown vegetables from the allotment, and nutritious, tasty meals made with very cheap ingredients and a lot of skill and love. We very rarely ate meat, with the exception of liver (eugh), minced beef and sausages. Chicken was a major luxury, in fact I can't recall a single meal from my childhood made with chicken except for Christmas dinner.

This is a recipe I remember fondly, and the meat of choice was always sausages for this dish. I've had the recipe in my file for a long, long time, written down for me by  Mum. However when I've tried to give it to the Little People in the past, we always stumbled over the peppers and they would complain bitterly about them, declare they hated sweet and sour sauce because the Peppers were HORriD (said with feeling). But isn't it funny how the Little People's tastes change so rapidly? They will now eat peppers quite happily, enjoy them even, so I thought it would be good to give this delightful recipe another go.

So :: three components for this meal :: sausages, vegetables and the sweet and sour sauce.

Sausages :: any that tickle your fancy, cooked in whichever way suits you best. I used thin organic pork ones from Marks and Spencer, grilled and then chopped up.

Veg :: definitely 1 chopped onion and 1 large sweet pepper/capsicum (I used half and half red and orange peppers because I like the colours together), then add what you think will go well, perhaps sweet corn, carrot sticks, green beans?

Sauce :: you need to make sure you have the following store cupboard ingredients ::

half a small tin pineapple chunks, drained
1 tbs soft brown sugar
2 tbs white wine vinegar
2 tbs soy sauce
175ml chicken stock
2 tbs tomato puree
2 tbs cornflour mixed with 2 tbs cold water.

The sauce itself is a revelation. Its so very simple, you wonder why anyone ever buys jars of sweet and sour sauce when it's so easy and so much nicer to make your own?

So. This is Fast cooking folks, make sure you have everything prepared before you start or you'll come unstuck.

Make up the sweet and sour sauce in a jug by mixing the above saucy ingredients.
Chop your veg into bite size pieces.
Cook your sausages and chop them up ready for adding to the pan.

Begin by heating some oil in a large pan and fry the onion, peppers and any other chopped veggies for 5 minutes or so.
Chuck in the cooked sausages and mix well.
You should think about putting your rice or noodles on to cook now as there is about 10-12 mins left to go...

...add the sauce to the pan and bring to the boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. The sauce will thicken and the taste of the cornflour will "cook out".

Serve with basmati rice or noodles.
Now wasn't that easy? And quick?!
This meal was truly appreciated in our house last week, it was a pleasure to see it devoured and enjoyed with such gusto.
Peppers and all.

Breakfast

I always eat breakfast, it's a part of the day which for me absolutely has to happen. I cannot leave the house without it, cannot for the life of me understand friends who don't do breakfast.

I go through phases with breakfasts. Some days I have to have museli and nothing else will do. Other days it might be Weetabix, or maybe toast/marmite and fresh fruit. But right now, this is my current favourite :: a bowl of piping hot Ready brek (made with all milk) and topped with a generous swirl of golden syrup and a scattering of chopped fruit (strawberries for the Little People, banana for me). Fresh orange juice to drink. I have eaten this every morning this week and may well continue into next week, although I might possibly be entering an Alpen phase next week.

We (me and the Little People) sit down to eat breakfast at 7.30am or thereabouts. By then, I have generally been up and about for 75mins or so, and have usually already done the following ::

drunk one (sometimes two) cups of tea
Made three packed lunches
Emptied the dishwasher
Kissed goodbye to husband
Checked calendar/diary for the days events
Put one load of washing into the machine
Cuddled sleepy children as they awake
Sniffed them as much as I dare (I adore the smell of warm, fresh-out-of-bed kids)
Kissed sleepy children, as much as I can get away with
Provided emergency pre-breakfast snack material for sleepy children
Solved "what shall I do?" issues for now not-so-sleepy children
A small amount of reading/spelling practice with Little Man (his choice not mine)
Made all the beds
Rounded up school uniform items flung to far corners of bedrooms
Located Bookbags
Polished scuffs off school shoes
Escaped up to the Attic to check the view and the weather
Put computer on, read/written emails for approximately 17minutes
Cleared the inevitable shite off the dining table.

For the record, this morning's table-shite was mainly left-overs from the early morning card-making session (why do my children love to glue things as soon as they get up??)

Phewwwwwww, finally ready for breakfast at last, suddenly ravenous. But I was also suddenly struck by the lovely colours of yesterdays breakfast on the table and photographed it for you. Yes, aren't I thoughtful?!

Now if you want to see some seriously gorgeous breakfasts that put mine in the shade, go forthwith here and feast your eyes.
Drooling optional.

Our Summer :: Lemony Goodness

I just adore lemons. I think the first recipe I posted on my blog back in March was for Lemon Drizzle Cake, which remains one of my all time favourite cakes to bake (and scoff). But this time I'm not using lemons for baking, but for drinking :: for creating a bit of zesty refreshment,  ideal for quenching thirsts at picnics, trips to the park, or just idling around at home.  Its a great summer drink, this one. Just thinking about it makes me want to glug a big chunky glass of it down, right now.

I've been making this lemon drink since I was about 17 years old. The recipe was given to me by my school friend's Mum Jane, because she always used to make it and I loved it so much when I visited their house (which was often). And now more than 20 years later I am still making it and it's always an instant reminder of long, warm summer days, of picnics in the countryside, of afternoon tea in Jane's orchard under the apple trees.
I made several lots throughout this summer as I do every year and kept meaning to share the recipe with you but kept forgetting. Until now of course.

The ingredients are refreshingly simple :: lemons, sugar, water.

Into a large bowl put 1.5lb (680g) granulated sugar, and the rind and juice from 5 ripe, unwaxed lemons.
The zesty smell is divine.

 Add 1 pint (568ml) boiling water and stir well until sugar has dissolved.

Feast your eyes on the zingy yellowness of it.
Cover with a tea towel of your choice (decisions, decisions), and leave to stand for 24 hours.
Sniff it every time you walk past :: at least 14 times in 24 hours.

 

Strain and bottle :: I used 2 x half-litre bottles, the old fashioned glass kind I found in an old fashioned type of kitchenware shop in my town (don't you just love those types of places?)

 

This makes a concentrated juice that needs to be diluted with water as you would do with shop-bought squash. Still water is good, sparkling water is even better.

Of course you could make this drink at any time of year, but somehow it is so essentially summery to me that I only tend to make it during June, July and August.
A taste of Summer in a glass.