Christine's Chatter

I've had my Christmas dinner!

2011-12-19T15:44:00.000Z

My lovely daughter rang a few days ago and invited herself and my son-in-law up for a long weekend. I'm so glad that she did:)

I hadn't been feeling particularly full of festive spirit, indeed, the Christmas shopping isn't done, but the cards are written and posted.

So, yesterday, I made some small veggie loafs with a central layer of cranberries for our Christmas dinner, along with jacket baked potatoes (I don't do roast potatoes), button sprouts and carrots. They all ate small Yorkshire puddings, too, but since I've never really been a devotee of the things, despite coming from the right side of the Pennines, I didn't feel deprived!

We finished with mince pies and Christmas pudding with custard - we're not white sauce fans!

We all agreed that we felt much more Christmassy after that:)

Christmas is coming!

2011-12-03T22:17:00.001Z

No, I'm not going to ask you if you've done your Christmas shopping, or boast that I've done mine - I haven't!

I mentioned that I had an interview the other day, and I'm delighted to say that I've been accepted to work for an MPhil/PhD commencing in January, and my subject is essentially woman's role in Christmas over the last two centuries in texts.

So, rejoice with me, Christmas is coming - and it's going to stay for three whole years! It's going to be really hard work, and I'm planning on enjoying the journey.

Waiting never gets easier!

2011-12-01T15:33:00.001Z

I've just returned home from my interview to be admitted on to the MPhil/PhD research programme at UCLAN.

I feel like I've been put through an old fashioned mangle, and must now "wait and see".

All the positive thoughts you send in the direction of UCLAN will not be wasted - send away!!!!

Just as a by the by - bizarrely, despite having graduated from there 18 months ago, I was obliged to take in my physical copy of my BA degree certificate and my transcripts for them to photocopy; the admin office clearly doesn't appreciate that this is the C21 and that their own computers have all the documentation relating to my BA. Not only that, but on the bottom of the documents it clearly states that on request, the university will verify my grades - all they had to do was ask themselves the question!

I did it!

2011-11-29T11:55:00.001Z

I did it :)

Back on the first of November I foolishly embarked on my second NANOWRIMO attempt, with a plot in mind about mob violence.

And that's what I started to write about - honest! But then I noticed that the writing was drifting away to a village setting, not quite the London riots I was envisaging. Not only was it becoming a rural tale, there was a death - and no murderer caught.

So, Mob Mentality became Forgive Me Father over the course of the month - that's just the way it goes, and I believe it's best to go with the flow.

Now comes the really hard work, that of pruning and shaping, because I certainly wouldn't want anyone to read her as she is at the moment - she's an incoherent babble currently, and needs taking in hand.

But hey, be pleased with me - I wrote over 50,000 words in the last twenty nine days - whoo hoo!

Nanowrimo

2011-11-04T17:35:00.000Z

I've managed to pick up some bug or other, and have a sore throat and hacking cough. Undeterred, I have made three pints of lemon barley water to soothe my throat, and having a cough doesn't stop the creative juices from flowing - fortunately.

So, now my fingers are tired. I've been slaving away over a hot laptop for what seems like hours, and have clocked up just over 8000 words. Actually, it doesn't seem like hours at all, it never does when you're into a plot, but my back is ready for a different chair, and my characters are very patient, and will wait for me to rejoin them either later this evening, or tomorrow.

Here's a tiny chunk, just to prove I really am writing, not just pretending!

“Nothing new on the menu, is there? I think I’ll have a burger and some chips.”

“Ashley Brown you’ll look like a burger before you leavethis school! I don’t know how you stayso slim.” Hannah looked enviously at herfriend’s slender figure.

“It’s in the genes, my girl, you know that, we did it inbiology.”

“I’m going to have the carrot and coriander soup, and abread roll. I like the way they putcoriander in the rolls, too. I wish Mumwould bake more bread at home, but she says she doesn’t have time any more.”

“Did your mum get that Christmas job, then?”

Jen nodded, “Yup, Father Christmas will visit the Jenningshousehold this year, after all. Tom andme, we were getting a bit worried about it – you know, not asking for too muchon our Christmas lists, but not making it look as if we were cutting back onwhat we wanted, so Mum wouldn’t feel bad.”

“Yeh, must have been hard. I’m glad she’s got a job; I bet she’s happier now, even if she doesn’thave time to bake any more. Where’s sheworking? Does she get a good staffdiscount?” Sara liked to save moneywherever she could.

“There’s a table over there, I’ll go and bag it forus.” Hannah left the others chatting,and made her way over to an empty table and put her lunch box down. The dining hall was very noisy; theclattering of plastic trays, the rattle of cutlery, not to mention the non-stopbabble of hundreds of girls who’d had to be relatively quiet for the last hourin their classrooms.

Soon the friends were tucking into their variouslunches. Hannah tasted Jen’s soup, andpronounced it almost as good as her mother’s – praise indeed. But peanut butter and marmite sandwiches –well, that’s just an unbeatable combination of saltiness and sweetness andsavouriness! She was soon crunching onher Egremont Russet apple to finish off her lunch.

“I’ve got to go to the library – anyone fancy coming withme?” Jen asked.

Callous youth

2011-10-29T15:41:00.000+01:00

As we were walking to the shop a couple of days ago, we passed an elderly car at the side of the road, with the door open, which was what caught our attention, and then we noticed glass on the pavement.

We assumed that someone had broken into the car to steal something from the inside. Since it was parked outside some houses, we assumed that it would have been noticed, and was being dealt with.

We walked on. Ahead of us a couple of young men were wheeling a motor bike into the garden of a house across the road. A few yards further along we came to a road junction, and were approached by an old lady who asked if we had a mobile phone. She had just been in a motor accident and wanted to phone the police.

It was her car we had just passed, and the motor bike we watched being wheeled into a garden was the one that had overtaken her and smashed into the side of her car, shattering the windows and denting the door. The young driver told her that he wasn't hurt, so there was nothing more to do, and walked off!

I dialled 999 and explained what had happened. As we waited, the young men walked past us who had parked up their motor bike. A police car was soon on the scene. Since we hadn't witnessed the accident we left once the policeman was talking to the poor lady, after pointing out the house where we'd seen the bike being left.

It's hard to believe that those youths could be so callous as to simply walk away from an old lady, who was clearly somewhat shaken by her ordeal at their hands. Thankfully the police arrived promptly, and would be able to track them down with the registration number of the bike. I hope they are suitably punished for their terrible attitude.

Nanowrimo looms large

2011-10-25T16:04:00.001+01:00

It's nearly November, therefore it's nearly time to write a novel in a month - yes, you read it right - a novel in a month!

Not the finished product, but the basic, un-tweaked embrionic novel that might, one day, become a finished masterpiece.

I managed to achieve my target of 50,000 words last year - but will I be able to do the same this year? Who knows - that's the exciting thing - there's no knowing who'll plod along to the end, and who'll fall by the wayside.

Wish me luck:)

Crocheted flowers

2011-10-20T21:09:00.000+01:00

My friend has been making crochet flower brooches ready for the church sale. Hers are big and blousey affairs, very dramatic and lovely. I was inspired by her efforts, so I decided to make some a little smaller and more delicate, and came up with the following four after a little playing around.

I could only find a couple of balls of yarn, having given most of mine away to the charity shops when I moved house - I shall have to buy some more, because, whilst winter white is fine for practising and creating designs, it's just a little boring for selling!

Now I need to do a little more thinking and practising, it's a long time since I did any crocheting, but now I remember what fun it is:)

Rocket - easy to grow, delicious to eat

2011-10-17T22:57:00.000+01:00

The warm, slightly peppery taste of rocket, or arugula, enhances salads. It doesn't add crunch, like a crisp cos lettuce leaf, nor bright colour, like tomatoes or radishes, but it makes its presence felt in that subtle flavour and delightful heat that is quite unique.

The good news is that it's very easy to grow - it doesn't need especially good soil, nor even full sun. And once you've grown it once, you should never need to buy seeds again, because it's so easy to save your own:)

Allow one plant to flower, the white, star like flowers aren't particularly stunning, but they aren't unpleasing either. As the flowers die back, you'll see tiny green pods developing. By all means snip a few off and add to your salad plate - they also have that delicious warmth of the rocket leaves.

The pods will grow to about an inch or so in length, and as the summer progresses, they will turn brown and dry. This is when you go out with your paper bag, and harvest the crisp seed pods.

Bring them indoors and carefully split the pods. I say carefully because if you're rough with them the seeds will catapault all over the floor - such a waste! I put a sheet of paper down and collect them on that, then pour them into an envelope to store them.

You'll see that some of the pods develop speckly black marks, this doesn't affect the seeds, don't worry. You'll get more than enough seeds from one plant to see you through next year - unless you've a large family, in which case, allow a couple of plants, or even more, to set seed - keep picking the leaves on the others so that they'll continue to grow.

Successional sowing, every few weeks, will ensure that you have young, vigorous plants to enjoy.

Great Expectations

2011-10-15T13:04:00.003+01:00

I got married over three decades ago; in those days you saved up to buy most things - credit wasn't handed out like sweeties, and you didn't undertake it lightly. In common with most newly-weds, the only debt we had was the mortgage - and even that was restricted to a proportion of the couple's income.

We were given a second-hand fridge with a dodgy seal, and were grateful for it. It worked. A second-hand twin tub washing machine served us well for quite some time. We bought the contents of the house, so we sat on second-hand chairs, at a second-hand table, with a second-hand dresser housing our china, such as it was!

We did, however, splash out a new mattress, but couldn't afford a base as well, so it laid on the floor for a couple of years until we could. We were comfortable, and certainly didn't consider it a hardship to sleep on the floor - it was our floor, in our house.

The only heating in the house was a gas fire in the living room, on the lower ground floor, it was a three storey terrace house. We couldn't afford central heating for about four years! I remember making us both a dressing gown from a thick, lightweight blankets, and we would scurry downstairs in those, put the fire on, then dress later, when the room had lost its chill.

To the younger generations, this would seem like truly Spartan conditions - and perhaps it was. But we were just starting out on our lives together, the house needed renovating from top to bottom, rewiring etc, and we knew it would cost quite a bit of money, even though we did 95% of the work ourselves.

We couldn't afford fripperies, but enjoyed the odd meal out, and a drink with friends. We had no TV, and played board games or cards in the evenings, or read books. Friends came round to visit, and we visited them. We were happy.

Nowadays the aspirations of youngsters starting out in their first homes seems to be to start at the level at which they lived at home with their parents. Why? How? Their parents have doubtless worked hard for years to achieve the standard of living they now enjoy, how can children expect to start out at that same level?

But so many of them do. Consequently they furnish their homes with new furniture bought on credit, watch a rented TV - plasma screen, of course, and enjoy all the channels their monthly subscriptions provide. The car on the drive is probably bought on credit, too, and the holiday paid for on the credit card.

I had friends, years ago, who lived like this - and the spectre that haunted them was that one of them might lose their job, and the repayments would be too much. Not quite the happy carefree life that they presented to the world.

... and the reason that I've thought of this? I belong to one of those local sites that tries to avoid landfill, by offering a place where the members can offer their unwanted items free to others, or can request items. Somebody asked for a 3' divan bed frame for their daughter, as she is currently sleeping on a mattress on the floor of their new home. Poor child.

Grow your own garlic - it's easy:)

2011-10-11T16:22:00.000+01:00

I love garlic. Those lovely bulbs of fantastic flavour which enhance so many dishes. I eat garlic raw in dips, chew a whole raw clove if I'm getting a cold (and not planning to visit anyone!), I love to roast a whole head of garlic, then squidge out the soft, rich clove centres, and, of course, it adds so much to curries, casseroles, soups, scones (biscuits) etc.

So ... last year I planted some cloves which had started to sprout, and this autumn I harvested the results.

They're drying off in the greenhouse, but I'm really pleased with the result.

Apparently I did it all wrong, though! I'd assumed that the bulbs should be planted their own depth down, sort of like flowering bulbs often are. However, I've just been looking into it, ready to plant some more this year, and apparently they only need to be just below the surface of the soil, like onion sets. Which makes sense, I suppose. It will certainly make them easier to dig up, these were quite reluctant to leave the soil!!!!!

However, I got a harvest, and they taste good, so it was a worthwhile experiment. And, as a bonus, I had lovely globe flowers during the summer, too.

So, if you fancy growing your own garlic, now is the time to plant out your cloves, just a few inches apart, and just below the soil's surface. Then forget about them until they've flowered next summer, and the stems have started to go brown. Then dig them up, dry them off and store them ready for use.

Seeing Red

2011-10-08T17:08:00.002+01:00

I had a friend, years ago, who hated Autumn - it made him feel depressed. All he could see was everything dying, and the promise of colder weather ahead.

I have always loved Autumn - the crispness in the air, the smell of woodsmoke, the settling down to sleep before the re-awakening in Spring, and the glorious warmth of the colours.

So I thought I'd graciously share some of the red around in my garden this October, so that you can enjoy it too:)

The berries on the hollies are spectacular.

The berberis is its usual mass of red and greenness.

The buds on the skimmia look lovely

I don’t know the name of this small tree! But it’s lovelyJ

The peony leaves have turned a lovely red.

Probably my final strawberry of the yearL

The rub chard just glows!

The slugs and snails also enjoy the red cabbage!

The apples on my neighbour's tree still hang like Christmas decorations.

The acer palmatum is still beautiful.

How is autumn cold and boring? How????

2011-10-01T11:12:00.000+01:00

did you know that October is the Vegan Month of Food 2011? No, neither did I, but apparently it is, in the US at any rate. So, why not be adventurous and eat a few vegan meals? There are plenty of excellent recipes out there in blog land, not to mention cookery books, both real and virtual, nowadays!

Take a look at http://www.VeganMoFo.com to see what's going on!

Apple lemon mincemeat update

2011-09-28T22:59:00.000+01:00

Hurray! I was right, the raisins did absorb the juice from the apples, and now it's a lovely moist mincemeat with a refreshing lemony, cinnamon flavour which I love raw. I'll have to get baking some mince pies soon, just for your sakes, of course, not because I'll enjoy them, oh no, not me.

Here's what it looks like now. I wish you could smell it, too:)

Mushroom, pepper and broccoli stir fry

2011-09-27T22:56:00.000+01:00

I made this quick, tasty stir fry for lunch - the recipe is over on
http://christineeatsglutenfreevegan.blogspot.com.

I hope you'll enjoy trying it:)

Size Matters!

2011-09-27T22:30:00.001+01:00

It's true what "they" say - size does matter!

It especially matters when it comes to yummy, tasty, fresh young vegetables - which is why I was so cross when I found these hanging on the runner bean plants!

Just over 14" long - maybe that would be good if I was entering a competition for the longest runner bean, but seriously not good for eating:(

It's my own fault - the rain kept me indoors for a couple of days, and the beans loved the extra moisture and kept on growing.

I simply took the beans out of the pods and ate those, the pods would have been too stringy for my taste. Must try harder to harvest every day, rain or shine!!

Make a lightbulb from a plastic soda bottle!

2011-09-25T12:59:00.000+01:00

I happened across this video clip and felt I had to share it - no more dark, gloomy sheds or outhouses during daylight hours - the sun will provide an average of 50watts light per bottle - take a look, be amazed!

when I make my new garden shed, I shall incorporate these if it's possible:)

The light of life.

www.youtube.com

Free Fireworks Display in Blackpool

2011-09-23T11:49:00.002+01:00

I love fireworks. I used to go around collecting up old rockets when I was a child, and people simply bought fireworks and let them off in their gardens, or around a large, communal bonfire.

My mother would make Yorkshire Parkin, a delicious, moist ginger cake, and toffee apples for Plot Night, which is what we, in Yorkshire, called November 5th. Sometimes we got "plot toffee" too, very dark and rich, made with molasses, or black treacle. I'll try and remember to post the recipes in November.

I remember wandering along one evening, collecting up used fireworks in one hand, and holding on to my toffee apple with the other. I absent mindedly took a bite out of my toffee apple only to be horrified at the taste in my mouth - I'd forgotten that I'd swapped the hands I was using to hold my goodies, and taken a bite out of a spent rocket - yuck! The point is, is didn't put me off fireworks:)

So, if you enjoy fireworks displays set to music, you might like to visit Blackpool on Friday nights, when the international fireworks competitions are taking place at 8.30. The Illuminations are also currently on. The event is free - and rain doesn't stop play.

See you there!

Birthday card

2011-09-15T11:25:00.000+01:00

I was flicking through a magazine the other day, I think it was one of those advertising efforts that appear from time to time through the letter box, when I came across a full page advertisement. I can't remember what the advert was for, so it clearly wasn't an effective one in my case, but ... the page was largely filled with words describing various types of drink, in shades of yellows and oranges.

Very striking, I thought, and cut it out.

Don't you find that men can be very difficult to make birthday cards for? I do, so this week I took it to the local craft and chat with a view to making a birthday card for my partner from it. I also took plain white card, some brown ribbon, and some toning yellow card.

This is what I made:

I made a simple tri-fold card from the white card. A strip of brown ribbon down the left hand side neatens that edge. I cut a strip of yellow card to run alongside it, and wrote "Have a Drink on Me!" vertically in black ink (the printer is kaput, or I would have printed it!) I chose the yellow card to highlight the name of one of his favourite drinks:)

I mounted the trimmed advertisement onto brown, then onto a dull, autumnal orange card to complement the shades in the advertisement, and matted the completed topper on to the main section of the card.

Here's a better shot of the ad and the colour scheme:

I stuck a simple velum greeting inside, and it's surprisingly effective.

And there's enough of the ad left for three more cards:)

Christmas is coming ... time to make the mincemeat!

2011-09-11T13:37:00.001+01:00

This is a copy of my blog for Apple Lemon Mincemeat at http://christineeatsglutenfreevegan.blogspot.com which I thought you might enjoy:)

It will soon be time to start baking for Christmas - indeed the local supermarkets have just stocked the shelves with the first of this year's mince pies - so I thought that making the mincemeat to fill the mince pies should perhaps be my first priority.

I shall make my usual batch later, but wanted to be slightly adventurous first, so dredged up my Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management and came across her Lemon Apple Mincemeat, and thought I'd give that a whirl.

The original recipe requires 2 large lemons, 6 large apples, half a pound each of suet and sugar and 1lb of currants, 2 oz candied lemon peel, 1oz citron, plus mixed spice to taste.

I've metricated that to 250g sugar and suet, and 500g raisins, plus 75g candied lemon peel. Here's what I used:

As you can see, I've made use of apples which are damaged in some way, and therefore won't store over winter, I've used one large and 2 medium sized lemons, I had some root ginger in the fridge, so decided to use some of that for flavouring, and I've used raisins, not currants. My suet is vegan, naturally, not the beef suet she would have used.

First, I zested the lemons and grated the ginger.

I put the zest and ginger into a microwaveable bowl with 1 table spoon of water and cooked on high for 3 minutes until soft. Whilst it was cooking I peeled and cored the apples.

This is the cooked zest and ginger mix.

This is the worm's share of the apples. I decided to add an extra apple to the mix as I'd had to cut out quite a lot, as you can see! So I've ended up with about 6 large apples, as required.

The recipe states to mince the apples, but I don't possess a mincer, so grated them coarsely, then added the other ingredients and blitzed everything with my Bamix. I used 75g of candied lemon peel as I don't have citron. I stirred in 3 tsps each of ground coriander (lovely orangey flavour) and 3 tsps of ground cinnamon to go alongside the ginger. I stirred in the juice of the 3 lemons.

I put the finished golden hued mixture into a couple of plastic storage containers with good seals, and popped them in the fridge. Now the wait begins - the original says it should be ready in a week or ten days - how exciting:) I just need to remember to stir it "occasionally".

The mixture looks a little wet, but I expect the raisins will absorb much of the juice from the apples and lemons. Watch this space, and we'll see what happens to it!

My camera's "un-birthday" present

2011-09-10T10:50:00.002+01:00

I don't know how old my camera is. It's not very exciting or spectacular. It doesn't make me a cup of tea if I whistle, for instance. Nor does it do the housework. But it reliably takes photographs which suit me - they serve as an aid to memory, and that's what they're for.

I made a simple quilted cotton slip cover for it to protect it when it was new, nothing special, just simple protection. But it was a bit of a nuisance taking it out and replacing it.

Whilst we were away last week, we popped into a camera shop to try to find a card adapter to save me having to connect cables between camera and laptop - my shiny new laptop has a little adaptor slot, which seems like such a good idea.

The camera shop didn't have what I was looking for, but I did spot this:

it doesn't look much, does it? It's a camera protector made of neoprene like fabric, called "Always on", because you attach it to your camera by means of a small screw which fits in where a tripod would go, and this holds it in place so that it's always on your camera. So, although not prone to impulse buying in general, I instantly splashed out £4.99 for an un-birthday present for my camera.

When you're ready to take a photo, you unfasten the hook and loop fastener, and it simply hangs down from your camera, you take your photo, and fold it back around again when you've finished. Simple - and very effective.

Today I harvested tomatoes and aubergines

2011-09-08T21:03:00.000+01:00

Check out this plate of beautiful fruits!

There are eight, yes, eight varieties of tomato on that there plate, all from my greenhouse - yay:)

The aubergines are on the slim side, but never mind, they taste great. I've harvested all of them today because with this chilly weather, I really don't think they're going to make any further progress in the greenhouse. The ones I grew in the conservatory last year were larger, but they were in individual pots, rather than growbags, maybe that's the vital difference?

If you're growing fruit and veg this year, I hope you've done well, too.

Rani - a Vegetarian Indian restaurant in London

2011-09-06T12:07:00.000+01:00

We're back home, having spent a week away. The weather was kind to us, we even enjoyed some sunshine. And we ate well:)

We stumbled upon this vegetarian Indian Restaurant purely by chance - I'd searched for restaurants on-line before we left, but didn't see this one there for some reason. However, the website is www.raniuk.com, and I think the fact that we ate there twice in three days says much for it. The address is 7 Long Lane, Finchley N3 2PR.

It was clean, and not cramped as so many restaurants can be. The manager was incredibly helpful, going to the kitchen to check on the suitability of the dishes on the buffet that evening for me, once I'd explained that I was both vegan and wheat intolerant.

The buffet was organised into cold starters

of which there were four, Aloo Dhai Poori, Bjel Poori, cold sliced Idli, and some "Semolina sandwiches", plus some delicious mini poppudoms.

A huge array of chutneys was available, with useful recommendations as to which chutney would best suit a main dish.

then there were four hot starters, the usual Onion Bhajias, Fried Mogo, Potato Bhajias, and some tapioca patties.

then there were a couple of rice dishes, one plain plus a cashew and vegetable pilau, and four curry dishes. There was a Paneer curry, though not for me, obviously, Chola (black beans, very gingery and warming), Aubergine and Potato, and a carrot and cabbage dish.

There were also slice dosa, and a Gujerati Dal soup. Puris were available for those who could eat wheat.

I was brought a specially made bread made from millet and cornmeal, which was substantial and tasty. I was also brought my own small plate of cold starters without dairy. So well cared for.

As a matter of course the restaurant has codes on the title cards of the foods indicating the content of such things as wheat, nuts, dairy, onions etc, so they really care about their customers' health and well being, which is so good to see:)

I was even allowed into the kitchen to take photos - how many restaurants would permit that?

On our second visit, there was one different cold starter, deep fried aubergines replaced the tapioca patties on the hot starters, and a Banana Methi replaced the cabbage and carrot, and a delicious Lilotri Sak (aubergines and broad beans) was on offer. When I expressed the fact that I was unable to eat bananas, the manager arranged for a portion of Chana to be delivered to me. He also brought over to me a portion of Akhaa Murcha, a vegetable stuffed chilli - one of the most delicious foods I've ever eaten!

So, if you're around London and fancy a great meal, I can heartily recommend Rani. Our meal cost around £22 as we were "early birds", eating before 9.30pm, so qualifying for the discount on the £15 a head buffet. Wonderful.

My friend makes candles ...

2011-08-23T14:29:00.000+01:00

My friend makes candles - not as you or I might make them, in the kitchen, as a craft or hobby, but professionally. Whenever we meet up she is always besprinkled with glitter. Her face, hands, hair, clothes - you name it, it's glittery.

She invited me down to her lair some time ago, and the other day I finally got down to see her workshop, having dressed in old clothing just to be on the safe side.

Behind the striking red door, reminiscent of a fire station, lies a muddle of machinery, wax, paper and other paraphenalia.

The wax is melted in this vat, about two feet in diameter and waist height. Quite a lot of wax!

Melted wax is poured into moulds of various shapes and sizes and allowed to set.

No, not a modern sculpture - this is a pile of wax encrusted pencils used to secure the wicks in the moulds - just like you would if you were making candles in your kitchen!

you can see the rough edges on these floating candles - and here's the high tech tool used to make them smooth enough to sell ...

Yep - a craft knife just like you'd use at home! You can see where the glitter comes from, can't you? I arrived back home glinting in a subtle fashion, very glad I'd worn old clothes:)

She's a clever lady, and I had no idea how hands on it was. I had imagined machines doing all the work, not an upscaled version of when I'd made candles from a craft kit years ago. Fascinating.

Grow your own sweets! Psallis

2011-08-15T18:04:00.000+01:00

I've just posted on the foodie blog about these wonderful, sweet, tasty fruits - you might want to check it out:)

http://christineeatsglutenfreevegan.blogspot.com

Long time no see!

2011-08-12T12:21:00.000+01:00

I'm sorry, I've been neglecting you, and I don't even have a good excuse:( I've been reading rather a large quantity of books about Christmas, or centred around Christmas trying to sort out my primary texts for my upcoming PhD and somehow the days just fly past!

Oh, and I'm also having some work done in the garden, just look at what I've survived!!!!

The footings are in place between my neighbour's garden and mine.

The wall begins, adjacent to an existing piece of wall at the top of the garden - the ugly pillar you see will be concealed later.

Scaffolding grows, like an ill-tended plant, straddling gardens.

The glorious British summer accounts for the heavy tarpaulins atop the scaffolding so that the poor guys could work despite the rain!

I survived, but, as you can see, my potatoes suffered, as builders dumped heavy buckets of mortar on them, or simply trampled them underfoot. I screamed, but silently, of course.

If you're good, I'll show you the completed wall soon:)

Enjoy the summer

Pasta with pink pesto

2011-05-31T20:57:00.002+01:00

I've just posted a recipe for pasta with a pink pesto style sauce on my food blog, which you might find interesting.

When I say pink, I mean pink!!!

It's really tasty, and so very, very easy to make. Pop over to http://christineeatsglutenfreevegan.blogspot.com and see for yourself.

Chocolate Muffins, gluten-free and vegan

2011-05-12T12:08:00.000+01:00

I've just posted a recipe for chocolate vegan, gluten free muffins on my other blog at http://christineeatsglutenfreevegan.blogspot.com/ , so if you fancy a little indugence, then why not pop over and have a look?

They're moist and have a lovely soft texture - not a cardboard like feature in site - trust me:)

World Premiers of "The Cycle Symphony"

2011-05-11T16:58:00.000+01:00

It's not often we ordinary mortals get to be present at a "World Premiere", is it? And, if I'm honest, I didn't know that I was present at one until after it was finished. Well, that's life, isn't it? And, since I enjoyed it, without knowing how priveleged I was, that's all to the good:)

It happened that David and I were walking through Old SPitalfields Market, on the 2nd May in the afternoon. We heard strains of music, and shortly appeared before a stage on which assorted instruments were being played proficiently by a group of musicians, some of whom were wearing helmets on their heads.

Initially, I wondered if , perhaps, they were prone to epileptic fits, and needed them for protection in case they had a seizure. A more careful appraisal showed that they were, in fact, cycling helmets. Several cycles were evident near the staging.

One of the green jacketed members of the seated ensemble stood and waved his arms. I jumped as a cacaphony of bells pealed out! Several of the audience had been provided with cycle bells, or whistles to accompany the music when conducted by this Jack-in-the-box. Very effective it was too!

A television screen near the stage played a continuous loop of footage, but I couldn't really see much apart from a white van travelling along, but clearly this was integral to the performance.

If you see Amelia Robinson's work is to be produced near where you are, I urge you to go and participate. It was a lovely performance to happen upon.

Green Burgers

2011-05-10T16:34:00.002+01:00

I wanted something tasty and quick to make for lunch, so I wandered out into the garden to see what was there. At this time of year there's not a lot, but I returned with some kale, a leek, some red spinach leaves and plenty of marjoram.

From the cupboard I took:

1 tin a borlotti beans,
1 carton of silken tofu,
2 tblspoons flax seeds,
2 tsps harissa powder,
2 tsps sesame oil,
2 tblspoons soy sauce and
2tsps sunflower oil.

I also grabbed 4 cloves of garlic.
You'll need gluten-free breadcrumbs to thicken your mixture at the end.

To make the burgers, whizz the washed kale and leek together with the tofu, marjoram and oils to give a green soft mixture. Add this to a bowl containing the soy sauce, harissa powder, flax seeds (linseeds), drained, rinsed borlotti beans and crushed garlic.

Blitz roughly so that you still have some whole beans visible. Caorsely chop the red spinach by hand and stir into the mixture. I like to see the flecks of colour in the burgers, which is why I don't just blitz the red spinach in with the greens.

Season to taste with freshly ground pepper and salt if you feel it needs it, then stir in enough of the breadcrumbs to give a thickish mix.

Drop dollops into a hot, lightly greased fry pan, or, if you'd rather, you could form really neat burger shapes, or sausages, even. But I was eating alone, and I'm lazy!!! Turn after about 4 minutes, when golden brown underneath. Cook the second side, then serve with a salad, or a jacket baked potato for a speedy, nutritious, and tasty lunch.

You could stir in some sweetcorn kernels for additional colour if you like, or some nuts for texture. You could use different herbs, and obviously use dried if you don't have fresh ones to hand.

When cold these burgers retain their shape, and are firm enough to take in a lunch box with a salad. They also make ideal sandwich fillings. If I was making them specifically for sandwiches, I'd make them a little flatter, and form them into approximately the shape and size of my rolls, or bread slices, to fill the sandwich nicely.

Trust me, they smelled divine as I was cooking them, and they tasted just as good. They're a great way to get anyone to eat their greens that normally has a problem with them, as they're all whizzed up and amalgamated into the mixture. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss :)

Eat vegan in London

2011-05-05T13:01:00.001+01:00

We've just returned from London, where we spent three days ~~exhausting ourselves~~ ambling around taking in the sights, smells and sounds of our busy capital city.

Wherever I go, food is never far from my mind! Sad? I don't think so - we all need to eat, so I reckon it might as well be a pleasure:) So, as we walked, we looked out for placed to eat.

I'd downloaded the names and addresses of a few Indian veggie restaurants before we left home, but that didn't stop us looking out for other places too!

This one was on my list, and we ate there one evening. I've never seen dosas as large as those that appeared on the table adjacent to us - they must have been three feet in diameter - they were wider than the tables!!!! They looked delicious, and I enjoyed watching crisp, golden sections being broken off and dipped in the accompanying sauce.

Our food was slightly less exotic! We started with a Potato Bonda and an onion Bhajia. The potato balls were soft inside, and crispy on the outside, with just enough chilli. The bhajia was less oniony than the traditional northern Indian food we usually eat, but still tasty. We then shared a Brinjal Bhajee and a Suki Bhajee, which were both tasty. The single portion of boiled rice defeated both of us, and about a quarter of it we had to leave untouched!

It cost around £20 for the pair of us, which for a central London venue I consider good value. Sadly, I'd forgotten that we'd gone in with the intention of trying the pre-theatre dinner at £5.95 a head, so it should have been more of a bargain!!!!

I couldn't resist filling a take away box at the Buffet Take Out, on New Oxford Street. David doesn't eat Thai or Chinese, but I enjoy them, so to see a VEGAN Thai/Chinese buffet just made my day!

Here's the view through the window.

I could choose virtually anything, as long as I avoided noodles, so I did:) For £3.50 I tasted heaven in a box. So many ways of preparing tofu, and delicious salads, too. I'd love to visit there to eat in some day.

Where did you find your best meal on holiday?

GM Cows bred to produce 'human milk'!!

2011-04-16T18:41:00.001+01:00

It's not often that a headline terrifies me, but this one, on page 11 of The Daily Mail on Monday April 4th 2011, did.

As a vegan, I obviously don't think we should drink cow's milk. The cow produces milk to feed her baby, a calf. Female humans produce milk to feed their own babies, passing on antibodies to their offspring.

It's a good system. No bottles to sterilise and carry around. No worries in the summer heat of keeping the bottles of milk cool. No running out of bottles when we get stuck in traffic jams or at airports etc.

Breasts cleverly just keep on replenishing the milk supply. No need to think about increasing the quantity of milk to give the baby, the breast produces as much as is needed, guided by the sucking of the baby. It's a pretty good system, when you think of it.

Sadly, some mothers experience problems with breastfeeding and give up. I had to use nipple shields for a month before I could manage to feed my daughter unaided. But it was worth the inconvenience as she fed from me until she was a year old.

Now, they're genetically engineering cows to produce what they call "human milk". 300 Holstein dairy cows have been "modified" by the addition of human genes to "make their milk contain the same nutrients and fat content as breast milk".

Of course, it's not breast milk. It's cow's milk that's been altered by man. It will still need to be pasteurised, so it will never be the fresh product that babies deserve.

Not to mention that cow's deserve to be allowed to be themselves, not given human genes in order to "benefit" babies!

Patti Rundall, of Baby Milk Action pointed out that there could be "incredible risks with these products that we don't know about. Cow's milk is never going to be like breast milk. It's never going to be a living product like breast milk. Breast milk is species specific - there is no element of risk."

The voice of reason. I hope she's listened to.

Mother's Day made me think

2011-04-04T19:32:00.000+01:00

I drove for an hour and a half across the Pennines to visit my mum to say happy Mother's Day yesterday, as you do, and spent a happy few hours there before returning home again. I'd made her an embossed card, decorated with some hand made paper with flowers and leaves in it.

I received a lovely hand made card from my daughter, who lives "down South". She has carefully cut out the letters to spell "MUM", and it looks really neat:)

It got me thinking ... well, something has to, doesn't it?

When we're young, we call our mothers "Mummy", or "Mommy" in the US. I called my mother Mummy, and my daughter called me Mummy.

What occurred to me was this - at some point "Mummy" or "Mommy" becomes "My Mum" or "My Mom". But it's the same five letters, isn't it? I thought that was quite sweet, really, and I'm amazed that I haven't noticed it until today!

I hope, if you're a mother, that you enjoyed a happy day:)

2011-03-31T09:15:00.000+01:00

This morning's smoothie was somewhat more exotic, as the local market had strawberries on very special offer!!!

I've used half a dozen large strawberries, an apple, a kiwi fruit, an orange, a couple of Brazil nuts and some Oatily milk substitute. Can't you just feel the goodness?

As always, just blitz it all together, admire the colour and enjoy the fruity deliciousness.

Is summer over? Sprouting kale - yummy:)

2011-03-29T11:36:00.000+01:00

For the last couple of weeks we've had some wonderful, sunny days. So much so, I've been searching out things to wash and hang out on the line - I know, it's sad, please don't tell anyone!

I've also been sowing seeds like it's going out of fashion. So far, the only ones to germinate are the kale seeds, but hey, that's a start, and kale is one of my very favourite vegetables. I suppose that's quite tautological really, I wouldn't be growing it if I didn't like it, would I? Doh!

However, it's turned cold again now, and I'm very glad I laid some horticultural fleece over my peas, runner and broad bean seeds - their very own little duvets :)

By the way, did you know that if you leave kale in the ground over winter, it then acts like sprouting broccoli? No, neither did I, but it does!

The flower heads are absolutely delicious and tender when steamed or boiled briefly, so I have green sprouts along with my purple sprouting broccoli - aren't I lucky?

Beautiful Planet Internet Cafe

2011-03-28T22:26:00.001+01:00

A new cafe opened in January in Preston. It's called Beautiful Planet, and is on Friargate, one of Preston's main shopping streets, quite near to the university.

Why am I telling you this? So that if you're free on Monday mornings, you can call in and say hello, as I'm one of the volunteers who ~~are crazy enough~~ kindly help to run it!

There are a couple of computers, and we offer 30 minutes of free internet access with each hot drink. There's also Wi-fi if you need it for your laptop.

The tea and coffee are fairtrade, some varieties are organic. All are reasonably priced, and, of course, lovingly made and served:) You can buy absolute essentials, like vegan chocolate, for instance, or organic biscuits and flapjacks to go with your drink. Some gluten-free products are also available.

Cold fruit juices and soft drinks are also on sale.
So, if you're in the area, call in and say hello ... please!

When parents become too old to care for themselves ...

2011-03-24T10:49:00.000Z

My neighbour was taken into hospital in January. She's ninety-nine years old, and has been looking forward to her 100th birthday party in August.

She underwent an operation, then succumbed to one of the really nasty super-bugs which can be fatal. She survived. When I visited her she was alert and perky. Physios were exercising her legs daily.

However, following a stint of enforced bed rest, she now complains that it hurts too much to get out of bed, and so her legs are not exercised at all.

When she was at home, she could move, allbeit very slowly, with her wheeled zimmer frame. But she would fall periodically, and be taken in to hospital for a day for observation and x-rays. So, she spent most of her life in her riser chair, looking out of the window, reading, watching tv and sleeping. She cannot cook, make a cup of tea, clean, or dress herself unaided, but is mentally alert most of the time.

Her daughter, a lovely lady who has her home and family across the globe, is here to help her mother. She is concerned for her mother's safety if she returns home, and was relieved when she agreed to go to a convalescent home for a few weeks.

Sadly, her mother has decided, now, against the home, as she is convinced that as soon as she returns home, she will be able to walk again. We all know that isn't going to happen. Yes, she could, with a huge effort, stand, then move her feet. However, her pace was so slow that a tortoise could have out walked her, effortlessly. And she was unsteady - hence the falls.

Mentally, though, she still lives in an era when she could move easily. And the carers who attend her daily, take care of her basic needs, so she's happy at home. That's important.

The mental health of her daughter is also important. Living half way across the world from your very elderly, infirm mother must be a terrible burden to carry. She phones daily, but worries constantly about her mother's wellbeing.

So, what's the best thing in this situation? Should the medical team at the hospital insist upon time in a convalescant home? Indeed, can they do so? If they allow her to return home and she falls and injures herself because of the lack of muscle tone in her legs, would they be in some way liable for any accident, as they had sent her home knowing her condition? Do they keep her in hospital? Well, she's not sick, and bed's are in short supply, so that's unlikely to be an option.

Is a live-in companion the answer? For a fiercely proud, and private lady, to share her home would be a terrible imposition. Is it right to even consider it?

Additional carers in attendance? Possibly, she does enjoy their visits, as a rule. She blossoms when someone is there with her - it breaks up her day.

Or, is a residential home the solution? Round the clock care when needed. Her own room, so that she can enjoy solitude whenever she feels like it, but the option of a lounge or two where she could chat with other residents if the fancy took her. Meals made freshly for her, not left on a plate with a flask of coffee.

I know what I would want for my parents, but what if, like my neighbour, they fought against it? I wonder what I'd do then. What do you think? How would you resolve such a painful situation if it was your parent(s)? I really don't know the answer - in fact, there may not be any "right" answer. So sad.

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet....

2011-03-15T14:24:00.002Z

I'm sure that Shakespeare was correct when he wrote this remark. After all, a child who doesn't know the name of plants will stand still in a garden to sniff them appreciatively, won't they?

But, as a vegan, when it comes to naming colours, I sometimes want to rebel.

Take the orangey-pink colour, for instance. I was brought up, in a meat eating family, to know it as salmon pink. But look at photos of a salmon on the internett ... is it pink? No, of course it's not.

It only becomes that pinky-orange colour once it's been killed and cooked. So, I have a problem with using the term "salmon pink", because it's defined by the cooking of a dead creature.

The same goes for "lobster pink" - before it's boiled, the lobster is a grey blue colour. Just like prawns and crayfish, and scampi.

And howabout reds? How do you name "ox blood", pretty disgusting, or carmine? I just don't want to call a colour by the name of a dyestuff made from crushed insects.

Flesh is another colour I have trouble with. If I move on from the connotations of flesh reminding me of meat, whose flesh are we describing? Mine, as the person who's speaking? In which case pretty pinkish. Or my friend from China, whose skin tone is lightly tanned. Or another friend from India, whose skintone is decidedly brown. Or a girl I went to school with? Her mother was from the Caribbean, and her skin was a burnished black.

You see the problem, I'm sure.

So ... how do you describe colours, or doesn't it worry you?

Christine eats gluten-free and vegan: Spaghetti with green beans, pepper and ginko beans...

2011-03-08T18:34:00.000Z

Christine eats gluten-free and vegan: Spaghetti with green beans, pepper and ginko beans...: "This quick supper for one is tasty and colourful. Spaghetti is cokked with green beans, pepper and ginko beans, then dressed with..."

Spaghetti with green beans, pepper and ginko beans

2011-03-08T18:28:00.001Z

Need something quick and tasty for supper? Hoe does pasta with green beans, pepper and nutty ginko beans, tossed with toasted sesame oil and soy sauce sound? I've posted the recipe on my foodie blog, if you care to take a look:)

Ercol renovation update

2011-03-08T17:46:00.001Z

Well, it's not perfect, but then I'm not a furniture restorer, just a keen carer for older furniture that's been "pre-loved", or, abused.

So, after bleaching bicarbing, and a light sanding down, I was left with a pale area on the top of the sideboard. So, I took my pencil crayons and feathered in some of the grain lines which were there, to distract the eye from the circular mark. I used five different shades of brown, matching them as closely as I could to the colours present in the wood.

Like I said, it's not perfect, but, comparing the two photos, which would you rather live with? I don't think it's turned out too badly for a first attempt, do you?

The final coat is Danish oil, which I use a lot. I love the golden finish it's given here.

More Malta buses!

2011-03-07T22:22:00.000Z

How could I refuse a request for more on Malta buses? You're right, of course, I couldn't.

Let's look at some of the grilles today. No, we're not talking barbecues, we're talking those metal things on the fronts of the buses.

Look at a modern day bus, and generally speaking you see a pretty featureless chrome set of bars. Not on Malta, though!

Here we have a Leyland, with three stepped, almost pyramidic effect, neatly decorated with the galloping horse on the top grille (no indication of the speed at which the vehicle went, mind you, pure optimism there!), and the two horses heads facing each other inside horseshoes on the middle one.

I hope you also notice the delicate white tracery around the panels, lights and signage. These are things of beauty, maybe just a little OTT, but all the more interesting for it :)

Here we have an older specimen, a Perkins - so many different widths, and all very sort of rectangular, reflecting the shape of the headlamps, the indicators, and even the bumper seems less rounded.

Have you ever looked at a bus so closely before? No, neither had I!!! There is still some of the white decorative painting in evidence, but less flamboyance, somehow. A more masculine bus.

Now this Leyland AEG is altogether more feminine, don't you think? The eye makeup carefully applied, the jewellery, and it's almost as if she's been to the grilledressers to have herself styled just for the photograph with those angled stripes intersecting the flat ones at the base so neatly. The bumper is self coloured, and the body more rounded, softer somehow.

It's always good to leave you wanting more, so we'll leave it at three shots for today.

Except for this last one - ok I lied, just forgive me and move on.

We were struck by the various bells used to ask the driver to stop the bus. The switches sometimes were door bell pushers, screwed into the ceiling. Sometimes the full length rubber strip that you simply depress. But the one I captured here, well, see for yourself

A length of tatty cord ran from the rear of the bus through metal eyelets, down to the front, where it was attached by a thin twine to a bicycle bell affixed to the roof, before returning up the other side of the bus. Very Heath Robinson, but it worked, what more did he need?

And there, I really am going to leave it for now, but there'll be more, I promise, there will be more :)

A bus(sy) day

2011-03-06T10:47:00.001Z

One of the favourite topics of conversation on Malta, amongst the tourists, is buses. I know, not your normal opening gambit, "have you travelled on the 47 to Valletta with no doors?", but, believe it or not, it happens!

The buses on Malta vary tremendously in age and character. I have never taken so many photographs of any type of vehicle as I did those wonderful buses.

This is the bus station in Valletta, the capital city. Well, just a tiny shot of a few buses, actually, but you can see there aren't two buses alike here! Not like your average bus station here in the UK where the majority are clones of each other. In Malta, the colours unify them into a family, and they all have wheels and a driver, but after that ... well, like a large, extended family, each member is unique.

Look at the difference in the sizes of these two! And, like a family, there are siblings of different ages. The older brother on the left is shorter in stature than his younger brother, maybe nutrition improved for buses after he'd grown up!

Another pair of contrasts. The flamboyant decorative grille on the right hand, older bus, has become subdued, streamlined, on the left hand model. You could almost believe that the left hand one is modern, but take a ride on it, and you'll discover that it doesn't have much of what you'd expect from a public transport vehicle. Decent suspension to give a comfortable ride? Not that we noticed. Windows that open and close? Mmm, some did, others the windows were permanently one or the other. Doors that closed? Well, that's an interesting one! Some buses, which are allowed to carry 12 standing passengers, had no doors at all!!! They weren't just kept open, they were removed. Comfortable padded seats? Not really, in fact the seat covers may well be patched up with duct tape, if they're patched at all, that is. Many are left slashed or worn, scarred by the hard life they've lived.

I'm not saying that the Maltese have necessarily done the damage, either. These buses have been imported over the years from England, mostly, judging by the advertisement still in place on the interior walls, from London. Maybe late night revellers in our capital caused the damage, who knows?

This was the most modern looking of all the buses, but inside, well, let's say it was as interesting as the others.

But, generally speaking, they were clean. This guy is washing down his bus at the bus station in Valletta.

And this one is using a sweeping brush to clean his windscreen at the local bus station.

Apparently, some buses are owned by the drivers, and others are owned by the bus company. I assume that those who assiduously clean their vehicles are those who proudly own them, but I could be wrong.

I'll post more photos another day, you ain't seen nothing yet, as they say!

Update on the Ercol sideboard

2011-03-01T12:51:00.000Z

I attacked the dark ring stain with lemon juice, then with a paste of bicarbonate of soda and a little water. It's fading, slowly!

Still a bit more elbow grease involved, I think, but I'm getting there :)

I also attacked some scuffed areas to reduce their impact, visually. I remember cutting open a Brazil nut with my mother when I was a child, and being shown how to rub it across scuffs and scratches to blend them in. I decided that this was the method I would try with the sideboard.

I started with a lightly scuffed area on a door. You can see the Brazil nut cut in half - it doesn't matter if the nut is old and rancid even, it's the oil that's going to do the work for you!

About one minute later, what scuffs?
Here's an area that was quite badly scuffed at the bottom left hand corner.

This is after a minute of rubbing with the cut side of the Brazil nut.

And after another minute, it's looking pretty good.

So, this is what it looks like from a normal viewing perspective :-)

I'm quite pleased with myself - what do you think?

Restoration project

2011-02-28T18:29:00.001Z

I bought an Ercol sideboard on Ebay the other day. I knew, from the photographs, that it needed a little TLC, and today was the day I embarked upon loving it.

The wood is a lovely warm tone, but, as you can see, it has water damage and a circular dark stain which will present me with a challenge. But we all thrive on challenge, don't we?

So I got together my tools, well, not much, really, a can of Nitomors, some rubber gloves, an old washing up brush, an old plastic card and a tub to put the used gunk in.

I obeyed the instructions, and opened the windows for ventilation. Then I dabbed on the Nitromors with the brush, waited 5 miutes, then applied more and worked it in.

After about 20 minutes, I took my plastic card and carefully scraped the now brown gunk away.

Pretty revolting, I think you'll agree! But the sideboard top was looking paler, so I applied a second coat.

Then it was time to repeat the rubbing in and waiting. After I stripped off the next layer, the result was far more dramatic!

I wiped it down carefully with white spirit, and stood back and felt as warm a glow as the sideboard was giving me.

This gives an indication of what it would look like if I varnished it now. BUT, I need to try to erase the dark circular mark before I do that. I shall try lemon juice, then perhaps hydrogen peroxide, rather than going in with domestic bleach.

Watch this space, I'll show you the results, good or bad! If you've undertaken something like this, what did you use?

Avocado and chickpea pate

2011-02-25T20:15:00.001Z

I fancied something tasty for lunch. Nothing too fussy, just a simple pate to accompany a salad.

I considered hummous, but that didn't quite hit the spot. Nor did guacamole. But how about a combination of the two? Well, why not? So here's what I came up with!

I took a can of chick peas and drained them, reserving about a tablespoon of the liquor. Two avocados, a few cloves of garlic and the zest and juice of an organic, unwaxed lemon.

The chick peas and liquor and crushed garlic cloves are whizzed in a storage container.

I then added the zest and juice of the lemon and whizzed again.

Then I added the avocado chunks to the container

and blitzed it again. Isn't it a lovely pale green?

I served it with assorted salad leaves and halved cherry tomatoes, with a few chives to top it off. Delicious, quick and easy :)

As a bonus, it was also delicious later atop a jacket potato, popped under the grill. I'm very pleased with it, and will make it again.

How did you decide upon your child's names?

2011-02-24T19:31:00.000Z

I've just read my daughter's blog on names and naming children. She says she'd definitely check to see if the domain name was available for any child she might have, as she was disappointed not to be able to have the .com site for her maiden name.

Her father started me on the fun names for your child trail when he vetoed Vanessa as a name for a girl. I couldn't understand why, it's a lovely name. Until he told me to think of her initials. Then I agreed with him, Vanessa Dugdale, mmmm, not so good.

That's when the fun began. I became quite inventive. I thought it would be quite nice if the initial letters spelt out a word, this would be quite unique.

So, if I had a boy I thought of David Alan Vincent Ian Dugdale - brilliant, David is a family name, and the initials spell out the first name. A stroke of genius, I thought. Graham Oliver Dugdale seemed to have some power, too.

Barbara Anne Dugdale might have been a bit of a handful, not to mention reminding me of the old Barbara Anne song from way back. We settled on Rachel Emma for a daughter, and so she was, my little RED girl. Now she's REC, not quite the same, but I love her just as much.

How much thought did you give to naming your child?

A Smooth(ie) start to the day

2011-02-22T11:55:00.000Z

I'm often asked what I eat for breakfast, and since it varies daily, it's difficult to be precise! I thought I show you why.

Most mornings I make myself a fruit smoothie. I vary the fruits according to what's in the fruit basket, and what takes my fancy each morning. So there's no standard breakfast, really.

This morning, for example, I chose the following:

Mango, apples, satsumas, linseeds, brazil nuts and crystalised ginger. I add soya milk or yogurt to make it as thick or thin as I want it to be, as well.

I take a pint glass and add the washed and/or peeled fruit in sizeable chunks. I leave the nuts and crystalised ginger whole.

I then add some milk substitute and whizz with my Bamix.

The Bamix cuts through whole Brazil nuts and crystalised ginger without any problems, if you use a less powerful stick blender, you may need to chop them first. Or use a food processor. I'm lazy, and prefer to make my smoothie in the glass I'm going to eat it from to save washing up!!!

As you can see, it shrinks down somewhat after it's been blitzed, so if you were apalled at the thought of a pint glass, relax :) Don't you just love those tiny flecks of colour from the apple skin, and the mango flesh and satsumas?

BTW some kind souls informed that I can't call my smoothies "fruit smoothies" because they don't contain banana. Well, I'm allergic to bananas, so I don't eat them. I believe that my concoctions are just as much a fruit smoothie as anyone else's - they're full of fruit, and whizzed until smooth. Maybe I should call them smooth fruities, instead? What do you think?

Maye not the best time to meet an ex-boss's son!

2011-02-20T18:04:00.002Z

So there I lay, on my tummy, wearing a very fetching hospital gown opened at the back, pants rolled down to expose my spine and sacro iliac area, with the doctor's lovely hieroglyphics marked in felt tip so that he knew where to insert the needles. The young lady radiographer took snaps when instructed, the male nurse at my head tried to keep my attention from the imminent "discomfort".

I was undergoing a nerve ablation in the sacro iliac to try to ease the years of pain I've struggled through. A cortisone injection into the area last autumn was successful, so the ablation was the next step.

A slightly curved needle, about six inches long, rather like a mattress needle, absolutely not a small, discreet, dainty needle, is inserted along the bones, then microwave energy is fired down the needle to burn away the nerve endings. Fortunately the lovely doctor did load me up with local anaesthetic first, so that, although I could feel the pushing and turning of the needle, which didn't want to sit in the correct area, it wasn't really painful most of the time.

The female radiographer was called away and a young man replaced her. I continued chatting to the nurse with his distraction questions, you know the sort of thing,
"What do you do for a living?"
"I'm a retired school bursar."
"Where did you work?"
"A local junior school."
"What made you take early retirement?"
"I went to study for my BA."
"Oh, what subject did you take?"
etc

The radiographer's voice cuts in:

"Which school did you work for?"
"XYZ"
"I think you might have worked with my mummy, I thought I recognised your name."
Some quick thinking as to the names of older females I'd worked with.
"So, would that have been A or B, then?"
"A."
My first headmistress, a friend who retired a few years ago now.
"Goodness, how is she. I haven't seen her for a couple of years ..."

It sort of reminds you of the old chestnut when you meet someone from the gym or swimming club when you're out in the street and one of you says "Oh, I didn't recognise you with your clothes on!" only this was exactly the opposite, sadly for me!!!!!

Vegan, wheat free tourist in Malta

2011-02-08T10:43:00.004Z

Naturally, I requested that the hotel be notified of my vegan, wheat-free diet when I booked the holiday. Of course, they assured me that it wouldn't be a problem. I've heard it all before, and tend to assume the worst.

I always take a packet of pumpernickel bread with me, and some packets of miso soup so that I know I will be able to eat something whilst I sort out what's available. This time we also took along some avocados and fruit from the kitchen, as we were going to be away for three weeks and it would have been a waste not to have taken it.

On our first morning we ventured forth to investigate the local food shops. We discovered many "supermarkets", many smaller than your local greengrocer probably is! In some we were delighted to find beautiful fresh fruit and vegetables, in many more, we were disappointed by the sad, withered displays.

I was pleasantly surprised to see soya milk on the shelves of nearly all of the food shops. Some brands I knew, others I didn't. So, that was breakfast sorted out.

We discovered a large supermarket, called Scotts, nearby.

A sign proudly boasted that they stock Redwood meatfree products. I was so surprised that I found myself taking photos of products on a supermarket shelf!!! Not something I am normally likely to do!

Cheezly is one of the cheese substitutes that I actually buy here in the UK. Not often, because it's full of fat, and doesn't really taste the same as cheese, now does it? However, there are times when I really fancy a toasted cheese sandwich, with onion and olives and tomatoes. When the craving strikes, I feed it! I tell myself it's pretty much like a pizza. Self delusion is a wonderful thing, at times :-)

Although I can't eat most of their products, due to the wheat content, it was still good to see that vegetarian and vegans are provided for in some shops. And you can see that the prices aren't too bad, either. Since we were booked in for half-board, I didn't need to buy anything. I always look at what's available though, in case I plan to return on a self-catering basis.

Gluten-free bread wasn't quite as easy to find as the soya milk and other milk substitutes. I was lucky, in that a reasonable sized supermarket nearby boasted a whole rack down one aisle full of gluten free products. There were five different sliced loaves, plus several varieties of rolls and crackers. The prices were higher than here, but you'd expect that, given that Malta is a small island and everything has to be freighted in.

So, it's possible to buy your essentials if you should travel to Malta or Gozo. It's always good to know that you can buy basic provisions, isn't it?

In a Maltese garden

2011-02-06T10:40:00.001Z

To me, as to many of you, I suspect, a poinsettia plant is one that we buy for the Christmas season. Indeed, they often appear on Christmas cards nowadays, don't they?

I have, in the past, managed to keep one alive for a couple of years, but not much longer than that. How about you?

You can imagine my delight, then, when I spotted poinsettia trees in even the smallest gardens whilst on holiday in Malta this January :-)

This is one in the front garden of a small block of flats. This leads me to assume that they are very easy to look after, as I never saw anyone tending their gardens in the three weeks I was there.

I think this is a hibiscus, which has been trained over an arched trellis. You can see ripe, luscious lemons, ready to drop from the tree behind the blue netting. Amazingly, we saw so many oranges, lemons and grapefruit rotting on the ground. Clearly the owners of those trees neither drink gin and tonic, nor make fresh salad dressings or fruit smoothies!!

This was a small, courtyard garden, largely given over to fruit trees. I was pleased to see that the soil here was not littered with fallen fruit.

Some time ago I asked if any of you could identify some leaves that I had acquired as part of a bouquet of flowers. I was intrigued by the fact that the flowers appeared both underneath, and on top of, the leaves themselves. You can imagine my surprise to see these plants growing in swathes. Not only are the flowers there, to enable me to identify it, but such glorious, ruby berries too! I still don't know what they are, but, again, they must be easy to grow, and probably worth bearing in mind if we are set to have longer, drier summers - after all, Malta has really hot summers!

Starbucks new, elegant coffee mugs

2011-02-05T12:25:00.001Z

I was concerned to receive an e-mail recently which informed me that Starbucks, who have soya milk in their coffee bars to accommodate vegans, were literally binning all their old, earthenware mugs, to replace them with "bone china" mugs.

Now, I don't know about you, but I don't buy "bone china" products. The name says it all, doesn't it? Many years ago, a trip around a pottery factory, where trolleys of bones stood awaiting use in the manufacturing process, confirmed my fears.

So when I read about the "improvements" that Starbucks were planning, I wrote to them to ask them to reconsider. Of course, I knew that my lone voice wouldn't carry any weight, but there are a lot of vegetarians and vegans out there, and who knew how many of them might also complain?

I received a reply from Starbucks informing me: "Please be assured that we have checked with our supplier who has confirmed that our new mugs do not contain animal bone ash and that a synthetic material is used in its place."

It sort of begs the question how they can be described as "bone china" if they don't contain bone, doesn't it? Do they retain the name "bone china" to keep the cachet of the lighter, "premium" product? Even though it's inaccurate? Is that legal?

Maybe honesty is the best policy. After all, if a product purports to be made from something containing bones, vegans and vegetarian will shun it. There's a whole new customer base out there for manufacturers who devise a new name for their lighter, stronger china which doesn't contain animal remains.

We're back

2011-02-01T15:49:00.000Z

We left the sun behind us in Malta yesterday, and flew home. The pilot was so eager for us to enjoy the bracing British air that he landed ten minutes early - what a dear man! The car sparkled gently in the lamplight. Frost!!! Such a rude reminder that we were back to winter weather.

Fortunately, it didn't take long to scrape the windows clear, and the roads were safe. There was no sign of frost when we arrived home, my car didn't have a pretty, sparkly dress.

We've been away for three weeks. I had packed for autumn-like weather, and didn't complain at all that we were obliged to buy a pair of shorts each to wear. What a lovely surprise:-) I had to buy sunglasses, too.

We experienced one day of on/off rain, with little let up in the cloud cover, and dramatic thunder and lightning at bedtime. A couple of mornings were drizzly, but by mid-morning or lunchtime were sunny again. Malta certainly provided us with welcome heat and sunshine in the midst of winter, recharging our batteries nicely.

Now, the first two loads of washing are blowing on the line, the sun is shining for us here, too, and in the conservatory, it is actually warm. Maybe spring is just around the corner. I hope.

the love of reading

2011-01-20T09:31:00.002Z

Do you have fond memories of spending hours with your nose between the pages of a book? Were you fortunate enough to lose yourself in a time/place/land that wasn't the one you could see from your bedroom window? Did you make friends there? Laugh and cry with them, share their sorrows, joy and adventures?

Know what? You were lucky, as was I. I don't remember learning to read, but I know I loved reading from an early age. I used to get off the bus at the library every day from the ages of eleven to thirteen, and take out two new novels every day. I would read one of them as I walked the remaining mile or so home, then do my homework, and start to read for pleasure again.

When my daughter was very small I enrolled her in our local library. She couldn't walk, but she could stand at the large boxes of "baby" books and pull out the ones she liked the look of. I used to buy her Ladybird books, cheap and cheerful, from the age of about three months. She loved the nursery rhymes, the repetition and the rhythmic qualities.

Only the very richest families can afford to buy all the books a child needs to lay their hands on. Libraries fill the gap - new books to enjoy every day if they wish, or every week. They can change their favourite authors as often as they change their favourite food - it doesn't cost anything.

And now our government is considering closing some of these wonderful resource centres. What are they thinking of? Oh, yes, saving money - of course! In an era when so many children leave school unable to read and write competently, wouldn't it be better to spend more money to make libraries vibrant, interesting spaces where children want to visit?

If you hook a child's attention early enough, you have them for life. I life of literacy is infinitely more appealing than one bereft of the pleasures of reading. If you can read, you can learn just about anything, whether for pleasure or out of necessity. The increase in book clubs must surely be an indication that reading is still a valued pleasure.

So, if anyone asks you what you think about the idea of closing libraries, what will be your reaction?

out of communication

2011-01-15T20:41:00.002Z

Over the past few weeks I've noticed that the phone doesn't hold its charge very long, and friends have commented on the occasional "beep" that they could hear, which I couldn't, I got temporary silence instead.

It seemed clear that the phone was poorly, and I decided to buy a new one, a simple corded one, not another portable one on a docking station. I don't like the infra red all the time, and I'm certain that corded phones are more reliable. Now that mobile phones are the norm, the convenience of portability is less important.

Whilst we were suffering from flu, we weren't interested in using the phone. A couple of times it rang, but the reception wasn't good. We didn't have the energy to do anything about it. It could wait.

One day we picked it up to use it and it was very crackly. Then it was worse ... it was silent! We forced ourselves to go out an buy a phone. We came home, unpacked it and plugged it in. It, too, was silent.

Drat, it was the phone line, not the phone! I filled in a report form on-line, the broadband was fine. I carried my mobile around with me. nothing.

Next day we drove into town and called in at the showroom, where the young man allowed me to use one of their phones to call the service centre. After hanging on the phone for about twenty minutes, I finally arranged for an engineer to call round. The next evening.

I was given a three hour time slot, and the engineer arrived early on in the slot. He established that the line was viable where it entered the house, then asked to come inside. He offered to put on plastic overshoes so as not to make the house muddy! Ten out of ten for consideration, Virgin:-)

There was no dialling tone inside the house. In next to no time, he'd removed the socket from the wall, found some of the contacts to be rusting, replaced the socket, tested the line and was on his way.

Brilliant. I'm now back in phone contact with the world.

New Washing Machine

2011-01-10T20:13:00.001Z

It has to be one of those laws, too numerous for us all to remember the names of, that says that any piece of household equipment will choose one of the most inconvenient times to die.

Here, in sunny Lancashire (!) the week before Christmas saw me removing laundry from the washing machine which was dripping. When I recovered from the shock, I wrang the clothes out over the sink, then walked up the icy roads with my trusty shopping trolley heavy with still very wet washing, to the local launderette, where I invested two twenty pence pieces in using their spin drier.

The trolley weighed considerably less on the way home!

We decided that we might find a pre-January sale bargain if we held on until after Christmas before we bought a new machine, so I repeated the journey to the launderette with a couple of loads of washing - I'm sure some unkind folk must have thought I was the new "bag lady" of the area!! Fortunately, the charity book shop is just one minute's stroll from the launderette, so there was no problem as to what to do with my time whilst I waited for the giant machines to work their magic. Lucky that, eh?

Did we see any pre-sale bargains? Well, let's say there were as many of those as there were effective chocolate tea pots. However, I did decide that this time I was going to buy a top-loader, rather than the more common front-loader. They take up a smaller footprint on the floor, and can be very energy efficient.

What I found surprising, as I wandered round the shops, was that every machine was cold-fill only. Whether I planned on spending a couple of hundred, or a thousand pounds, I would only be using one hose inlet, not the usual two.

I finally opted for a Hoover, with an A+ AA rating, and it's been busy handling the backlog of washing very well. It's cold-fill, as I said, but I can't see the point in using electricity to heat the water, when my hot water in the home is heated by gas, which is still cheaper than electricity, even though it's creeping up.

So, when I've filled the drum and added the washing liquid, I run the hot tap at the sink, then carry six kettles full of hot water across the room and pour the steaming contents over the washing, before starting the machine. That way, I use far less electricity than I would otherwise, and it speeds up the wash time, too.

Hello, and goodbye!

2011-01-07T20:13:00.000Z

Well, I have to finally concede that the bad cold was, in fact, flu - although I don't "do" flu. We're both still recovering, and will be fit to travel on Monday. Or fit to drop.

I actually managed to walk down to the supermarket on the docks yesterday, the first time for ages. I was shattered when I got back. At least all we have now is the residual cough. I've been coughing since Novemeber, so I'll miss it when it finally leaves me!!!

This morning, I actually felt well enough to go through my wardrobe and pull out some clothes to pack:-) Until then I really wouldn't have worried if the holiday had been cancelled, I had absolutely no interest in it whatsoever.

The good thing about having flu? I got some reading done as I tossed and turned in bed. I've read several short stories, to suit my short attention span! I've read Ursula le Guin's Tales from Earthsea, Anne Fine's Frozen Billy, some of Charles Dicken's Christmas Stories, some Murder for Love short stories, most of The Twelve Days of Christmas assorted short stories, My Best Friend by Laura Wilson, Terry Pratchett's Maskerade, and Alan Titchmarsh's Knave of Spades.

I'm taking Philip Pullman's Northern Lights away with me to re-read ready for my friend Claire's book club. I'll have to find something else to slip in my bag, too, but I'm not sure what as yet.

Be good whilst I'm gone, and stay healthy.

Happy New Year

2011-01-03T11:07:00.000Z

Happy New Year to you all. I hope that 2011 will be kind to you and yours, giving you everything you need, plus just that little bit extra!

I've spent the last couple of days in bed, so my greetings are a little late, but just as heartfelt. I've got the really bad cold that's flourishing around here. It has to go, and soon, as we fly out to Malta in a few days, and I will not allow it to spoil my holiday!!!

The pretty white snow has disappeared here, but the contents of my water butts would still make excellent ice cubes for a giant's g & t :-) It's amazing how long a solid block of ice can take to melt, isn't it?

The birds are back to scrabbling in the soil, rather than relying on the apples and fat balls we've been putting out for them. A greater spotted woodpecker sat on top of a fat ball, pecking away at it from the top. The first time I've seen one in my garden. A redwing came to pay a first visit, too, enjoying the berries on the holly tree out front.

Sorry, no photos of them, you'll just have to take my word for it. Maybe one day I'll buy a camera that can take good photos through windows, if such a thing exists! Opening a window to take a photo seems to be a farewell to whatever bird I'm watching:-(

If you made a new year resolution, I hope it hasn't yet been broken. I gave them up years ago. I'd rather just try and live a reasonably good life, causing as little damage as I can to other people and things. I'm not sure how well I do, it's difficult to quantify, don't you find?

Whatever your intentions, I really hope that the coming year will be good for you and yours x

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T23:58:00.000Z

I had thought of travelling across country to see my parents for Christmas lunch, but the inclement weather has called a halt to that notion. I'll speak to them on the phone instead. Fortunately I took their presents over last month - I must have known it was going to snow!! Or been super organised? ... Yes, you're right, I time-travelled ahead to see what the weather was going to be like, saw the snow and wrapped the pressies up quickly - well done you:-)

So, the snow is still with us, and we're getting used to it. I'm lucky, I bought a house within walking distance of most things I need. I can even walk in to the city centre in an hour if I need to. I sympathise with those in isolated villages who are cut off. I have to admit that when I lived in a village, I had a very large freezer, and plenty of tinned and packet standby basics!!

We went to the Christingle service this evening, which made a pleasant change. All the congregation was given a Christingle, not just the children. We carried ours home through the cold, and the candle burnt steadily all the way , even though we didn't protect it at all. I wonder how many others did the same.

Whatever you do this festive season, I hope that you enjoy it and give some pleasure to others. Best wishes for a happy and peaceful 2011.

snow, snow, quick, quick, snow!

2010-12-20T10:34:00.001Z

We seldom see large amounts of snow here in Lancashire. On Wednesday, as we walked up to the church for the Christmas sing-a-long, it was snowing gently. When we emerged later in the evening, after singing several seasonal songs, and consuming the odd mince pie and glass of mulled fruit juice, the world was shrouded in a white blanket, and white flakes danced thickly before our eyes.

This was the scene next morning across the road from me. A winter wonderland had appeared, fresh from the song, and everything looked magical, clean and fresh.

Fortunately, the snow plough appeared as we were walking to post an item to an eBay customer, so, as you can see, the roads became passable. Stay safe and warm wherever you are!

chocolate dipped stuffed dates

2010-12-15T12:25:00.001Z

When I was a girl, we had dates at Christmas. They came in long, oval boxes, and were very exotic. They were also very delicious, a chewy then melt in the mouth sweetness that was something we didn’t have, as a rule – there wasn’t much money for such things as sweets when I was young. However, for years Dad worked at a wholesale greengrocers, so we had plenty of fruit and vegetablesJ.

So, dates are an important part of my Christmas memories. Mum loved them, I loved them, and my daughter loved them in her turn. Mum never stuffed them, but I've done it for years. Not just for Christmas, but for dinner parties, or just for indulgence. I can even kid myself that they're relatively healthy (are you skilled at self-deception, too?) - after all, they are fruits, the marzipan is essentially almonds (ok, with a lot of sugar, if we must be honest), and chocolate produces endorphins that make us happy.

For a change, this year, I've given my stuffed dates an extra twist. I've rolled the marzipan around candied peel and walnuts. Still healthy, well, the walnuts are, anyway!

They are ridiculously easy to make, yet scrummy. I hope you'll have a go at making them. Just think, if you have a vegan coming to dinner, this is an ideal treat that you can all enjoyJ.

You'll need some dates, marzipan, chocolate and candied peel and walnuts.

Stone your dates, if necessary. Cut your candied peel into pieces slightly smaller than your dates, to allow for the marzipan to wrap around and seal it. Trim your walnuts into slim slivers, too. Mould the marzipan around the fruits and nuts so that it's date-stone shaped and will fit into the cavity left when the stone was removed. The picture is a cross section of the two that I've done, the walnut is on the left and the candied peel is on the right.

Melt the chocolate in a microwave or over boiling water on the hob, then dip one end of the stuffed dates in and set aside to cool and firm up. You can see one cut open along with some completed examples. I don't spend hours making the chocolate level, I like my home made treats to look just that, home made and rustic. But you can smooth away to your heart's content. You might find it easier if you add some vegetable shortening to the chocolate when you melt it, if that's what you plan to do.

Be inventive - you can use other fruits and nuts to stuff them with. Look in the store cupboard and see what's around. Glace cherries would be lovely, but I used all mine in my Christmas cake and haven't got round to replacing them yet! Or green angelica would look stunning. Dried apricots cut into slivers would be good, cranberries would be a festive touch, slivered almonds would echo the marzipan, you get the idea.

Enjoy - but not too many at once!

triple chocoate flapjack - pure indulgence for the WI party!

2010-12-14T22:52:00.001Z

Although I love Christmas cake, Christmas pudding, mince pies, Stollen and all the other delicious goodies packed with dried fruits of all descriptions (well, except bananas, of course, I wouldn't want to be ill, now, would I?) I know that there are others who dislike dried fruit products for whatever reason. In fact, the top tier of our wedding cake was Victoria sponge as my ex-husband was just such a person!

So ... this is an indulgent treat for those who choose not to participate in the fruity side of Christmas fare - it's only fair that they should get a treat too, and there's nothing to say that you can't share it, now is there?

You've all heard of flapjack, and probably made it. Usually it's a golden brown, sweet chewy bar, but not very exciting. I hear you saying, but it's not indulgent. However, this is triple chocolate flapjack. Yes, that's right, three forms of chocolate going on in here, if that's not indulgent, I don't know what is! No, it's not healthy - it's not supposed to be, it's a treat, and treats are allowed to be unhealthy - in fact they probably should be.

It was my local WI Christmas party this afternoon, and I wanted to take along something that was vegan, gluten free, but wouldn't make everyone run away in horror at the thought of it - you know how some people can be "Oh, it's vegan, I don't eat vegan food!", or "Oh, well, I won't have any because I can eat normal foods." I decided to make these to take along as most people eat chocolate, and they look "normal"!

Alas, my cupboard had run out of golden syrup, so I had to make an emergency dash down the road to buy some before I could continue with the baking. Still, the excercise must have burned off at least half a slice worth of calories, mustn't it? :-)

Triple Chocolate Flapjack

100g margarine
75 g golden syrup
75g soft brown sugar
75g plain chocolate
290g rolled oats
40g cocoa
plus
50g plain chocolate for topping - you could go mad here, and use one of the lovely spiced bars - well, it is Christmas!

Put the oven on to heat at 180C, gas 4, 350F. Grease a shallow baking tin approx 11" by 7", or line with silicone, or non-stick sheet if you prefer.

Melt the syrup, margarine, sugar and 75g chocolate in a large glass bowl in the microwave, or in a saucepan if you prefer.
Sieve the cocoa and mix with the oats. Stir into the melted ingredients.

Spoon into the prepared tin and bake for about half an hour until firming nicely. Allow to cool in the tin for about five minutes, then mark into fingers or squares and allow to go cold. I was told that only 'finger food' should be taken for the party, so I cut mine into small squares so that they looked dainty, rather than the more usual finger shapes.

When cold, remove from the tin and break into the shapes you marked.

Melt the 50g of plain chocolate and spread over the fingers or squares.

I placed each square in a paper case as they were going to be on the buffet table.

Enjoy. Or, give to someone else to enjoy!

A new fantasy novel by my daughter - a shameless advert!

2010-12-13T12:44:00.001Z

Do you enjoy reading fantasy novels? If so, you might like to check out my daughter's new novel, Rebellion, the first in a trilogy entitled the Chronicles of Charanthe. This link will take you to the home page, where you can read the first three chapters to whet your appetite :-)

http://charanthe.com/rebellion.php

The novel is available in paperback or electronically, so if you prefer to read on Kindle, or an I-pad, you don't need to miss out!

I enjoyed reading it as it was written, and I like to think that it's not just that I'm her mother, although I accept that I would always be predisposed to favour what she writes.

This isn't a wizards and witches fantasy land, no magic spells to help out our heroine; just good old determination, blood, sweat and tears. Eleanor is tenacious, and determined to seek for what she wants. Why not take a look and see if you can empathise with a young girl, brave enough to refuse the safe, steady job she is offered, electing instead for a life of hardship and danger as she chases what might only be a dream?

A great stocking filler!

Why don't I feel "Christmassy"?

2010-12-12T16:46:00.000Z

I enjoy Christmas. Really, I do! When my daughter was at home we decorated the house on the 1st of December, and she was in charge of all the cards that subsequently arrived, either decorating the bannisters, or the hessian hangers we made to display them on.

When I worked at school I also decorated the house, and wore Christmassy ear-rings and a brooch, and even glittery nail varnish. Nowadays, though, I don't seem to have enough enthusiasm for it.

I strongly suspect that I've answered my own question. I'm no longer surrounded by children, and without them, the magic just isn't there any more.

I've written my cards, store bought for most folk, but hand-made for the special friends and family. I've wrapped presents. I've even delivered some of them, and received some in return. I've attended a Christmas Fair and listened to a French horn ensemble play carols, but it hasn't done the trick.

Maybe tomorrow will make it seem nearer; I have two Christmas parties in one day, wouldn't you know it? And, by some strange coincidence, both are book group events. At one we will be discussing The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper. If you haven't read this series of books, I heartily recommend it to you. Although this is the book we're reading as a group, I've read the whole set of five, such was my enthusiasm.

Enjoy your Christmas preparations:-)

Nanowrimo update

2010-11-27T11:25:00.000Z

This, my friends, is what it's all been about! The last three and a half weeks of almost daily ~~scribbling~~ tapping at my keyboard, sitting, for the most part, in the sunshine in the conservatory, bringing characters to life.

And now they have all made their appearences in black and white, what to do with them? The simple answer is, I really don't know! Some of them I don't like, so they'll be filed away in the "out-takes" file. Others have more to say than I have had time to write, so I can expand upon them at leisure.

Now it's time to prune out the dead wood, perhaps allowing new growth to spurt through. Maybe, just maybe, I'll be brave enough, one day, to send it out into the world to seek a publisher. Maybe.

Here's another brief extract of one of the latest characters for you:

Suri indicated right, and pulled her Mercedes in to the side of the road outside her parent’s house. It was a neat house, newly double glazed with gold rimmed diamond shapes inset into to the tops of the upper windows, just as her mother had requested. Her mother didn’t get her own way in many things, what married Asian woman did? So it was the least Suri could do to give her this small amount of power.

Suri let herself in, hung her coat on the hall peg, dropped her bag on the floor and went into the living room. Her mother stood up, smiled at her, and went into the kitchen to put on the pan of chai. It didn’t matter who arrived at the door, the pan of chai was set upon the heat. Her mother was a welcoming soul.

Suri followed her mother into the kitchen. She bent down and gave her a brief hug.

‘How has your day been, Mammaji?’

‘The usual. Auntie Miriam came round with the baby this morning, I’ve been cooking all afternoon. How was your day, Suribibi?’

‘Hard, but good. I’ve got a new client, so the partners are pleased with me. There should be a decent bonus at the end of the year.’

‘Your father will be so proud of you.’

‘I know. Can I help you with anything?’

‘Yes, you can roll out the millet breads for me. I will fry them. But first, sit down and drink your chai. Go through, I will fetch it for you.’

Suri walked back into the living room and perched on the large, blue and gold settee. Another of her mother’s choices. She kicked off her high heeled shoes, and wriggled her toes to restore the life to them. Why did she bother? Nobody there appreciated her long legs. Suri unpinned her long, black hair, allowing it to fall in a curtain down her back. She rubbed at her scalp where the pins had tugged.

Her mother came in with two steaming mugs of milky chai, and sat herself down beside her. She rubbed at Suri’s neck with her firm fingers, and Suri relaxed.

‘That feels so good, Mamma. Your fingers are very soothing.’

‘In India, all we girls learned to give a massage to relax stressed muscles.’
‘Well, I’m glad you did. Thank you.’
They sipped at their scalding tea, chattering about nothing in particular. The sound of a key turning in the lock had them both rushing for the kitchen. Suri quickly tied her hair into a pony tail, and began to take small pieces of the millet flour dough that her mother had made earlier in the day, forming them into balls, and rolling them deftly with a small wooden roller. Her mother had the gas jet on high under the two frying pans; she took the flat breads as Suri rolled them, slapping them down briskly on to the hot pans, turning them as they blistered, then cooking the undersides for a minute.

Time for a cuppa, now, I think I deserve it:-)

Nanowrimo update - extract

2010-11-10T10:50:00.001Z

The sun is beating down outside (which reminds me, the washing machine must have finished by now, excuse me a minute!) yes, it had finished, so I've hung out the washing, and made a cup of barley to warm my fingers up again - the sun might be out, but it's still pretty chilly from the frost early this morning!

I'm currently exceeding my target of a couple of thousand words a day, which is just as well because I'm off to see my parents for a long weekend, and doubt I'll get very much writing done then, so I need some words in the bank, so to speak.

Anyway, I've several characters fighting for their stories to be told, so here's the beginning of one chapter in my new novel WLTM - I hope you enjoy meeting Jim:-) Keep warm!

Jim

***

“Snail WLTM similar, or lugger. Male, 62, seeks fellow traveller for friendship and holidays.”

***

Duvet – check. Pillow – check. Wash bag – check. Towels – check. Grocery box – check. Fridge stocked: sausages, bacon, butter, cheese, ham, lettuce, tomatoes, beer, soda water, bread – check. Jim ran down his list out of habit, not because he thought he’d ever forget anything, after all, he’d been doing this for thirty odd years, he ought to be well versed by now.

He whistled gently as he methodically worked through, loading the car carefully, following the plan he and Anna had worked out years ago. That way the car was properly balanced for weight against the caravan, and there was no chance he’d omit anything vital.
Jim walked back into the house and looked around. He caught sight of the small green compost bin at the side of the sink – oops, nearly forgot to empty it, that would have been a nasty surprised to return to after a couple of weeks away! He took it down to the bottom of the garden, warned the worms that he was about to lift the lid of the large, black, compost bin, then gave them their breakfast, and bid them goodbye. If Prince Charles could talk to plants, he saw no reason not to talk to his worms, they worked jolly hard for him, but then, he looked after them well.

He rinsed out the green bin and left it to drain. What else might he have forgotten? Oh, yes, the fridge. Jim removed the half bottle of milk, and the potatoes left over from his dinner last night. He took them out to the Lunar waiting patiently on the drive, and added them to the fridge. Surely now that was everything? He’d arranged with a neighbour to empty the post box, stopped the newspaper delivery, yes, he was certain that he was ready for the off.

Two hours later Jim indicated and pulled over into the lay by he always used on his way down to Norfolk. He lit the gas under the kettle, took down the tea pot, put a spoonful of leaves in, and sat down to read the paper for a few minutes. This was one of the good things about caravanning, a fresh cuppa whenever the fancy took you, with no exorbitant prices to pay. When the kettle whistled, he made his brew, then returned to the paper. He took out a pen from the top drawer, and began to do the crossword. He found it kept his brain agile to do the puzzles in the paper every day, he tried to complete the crossword, word wheel and sudoku, feeling very disappointed if he failed.

He’d made good inroads into the crossword by the time he’d finished his tea and a couple of chocolate digestives, and was ready to continue on his way.

Nanowrimo update

2010-11-07T10:13:00.001Z

The worldwide insanity that is nanowrimo continues unabated. All over the world, ordinary-seeming individuals are pandering to their secret, or not-so secret, desire to write a novel. Any novel, not necessarily a best-seller, in fact, almost certainly not a best-seller. Probably not even something they'd allow their very best friend to read.

Only another member of the ~~crazed~~ ~~brotherhood sisterhood~~ nanowrimo family would understand that it doesn't matter if there are holes in the plot-line, that the main character seems to have changed his or her name in parts of the book, or that you ran out of steam after 55,000 words and the ending hasn't really happened.

All that really matters is getting down a minimum of 50,000 words of your potential novel. That's my understanding, and I'm sticking to it.

I can't believe that I've kept up the momentum, and am achievimg my 2000 word a day target, but I am:-) not all my chapters are finished, but that doesn't matter, I've plenty of time to go back and complete them. What I'm concentrating on is setting the characters up, and that's working.

MAybe I'll give you a taster next week, maybe.

double rainbow! wow!!

2010-11-07T10:04:00.000Z

I've never seen one before, and now I have:-)

I wasn't best pleased at the tap on the window - who really wants to go outside when it's teeming down with rain and they're busy writing? Oh, you would, would you? Well, I can't say I was all that eager to go out there, but when he motioned to bring my camera, I realised that I'd better get a move on!

I believe that all the gods in the heavens had left their showers on full and gone out for the day, it was torrential rain pouring down on my poor street! I grabbed my most waterproof cagoule and camera, no, not a waterproof camera, just the cagoule, and slipped my feet into boots and ventured out. He was waiting at the top of the drive, beckoning me. I went to meet him.

He pointed, I stared, open-mouthed, then switched on the camera and clicked. Two rainbows, one above the other, embraced the end of the road. What a spectacular sight! I've heard of them, but never seen an example of nature's gift displayed for us like this. Almost close enough to touch.

My photos don't do it justice, and I'd suggest that you enlarge them to get the benefit of them, but they give you a flavour of the majesty that the sky presented that day, I hope you enjoy them.

Nanowrimmo - I've started!

2010-11-02T16:48:00.001Z

Well, what do you know, I've actually started my novel. Not only that, I exceeded my self imposed target of 2000 words yesterday - not by a huge margin, I admit, but I got to 2093 before I decided that enough was enough.

Today I've already written 1000, and the night, as they say, is yet young, so, who knows, another successful day? We'll see.

If you're on this crazy journey, good luck, and I hope you're enjoying it. It's great to be part of a worldwide family of ~~slightly insane~~ dedicated, hard-working devotees of novel writing.

For the rest of you, have a relaxing day:-)

Nanowrimo - write a novel in November

2010-10-31T10:20:00.000Z

Insanity obviously runs in my family! Or so people think - but they're wrong!

For the last few years my daughter has participated in Nanowrimo, which stands for National Novel Writing Month - you do what it says ~~on the tin~~ in the title, write a novel of a minimum of 50,000 words in the month of November. 30 days of dedicated novel writing, strictly no more than 30, entries submitted after the 30th November won't count.

I've longed to join in, but was afraid to complicate my aging brain by writing a long novel whilst concentrating on my degree work. However, since I'm taking a year out before I start my PhD, I'm going to give it a go this year, so, beginning tomorrow, I shall be striving to write going on for 2000 words a day so that by the end of the month I shall have achieved my 50,000 wordcount.

It'll be different, they suggest no revising and editing, which is contrary to the way I usually write, but hey, it's going to be fun and different. Cross your fingers and toes for me and wish me luck!

Halloween, Wheat-free Pumpkin and carrot cake

2010-10-31T09:58:00.001Z

I was determined not to waste the pumpkin flesh from my Halloween lantern, and a sweet cake appealed to me for a change. I found a recipe for a simple to make pumpkin cake which I tweaked and converted to gluten-free and vegan.

375g grated pumpkin

225g gluten free flour

1tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

2 tsp Ener g egg replacer
4 tblps cold water
1 tblsp silken tofu
250 ml sunflower oil

200g sugar

1tsp vanilla extract

2 tblsp raw porridge oats

Place the flour, baking powder, spices and grated pumpkin into a large bowl and stir together. The keen eyed amongst you will have spotted that I've used pumpkin and carrot because I didn't bother to weigh the pumpkin flesh I'd grated and simply assumed a bowlful would be sufficient. It wasn't. So, I figured that since carrot cake tastes good, I'd make up the weight with grated carrot. Mea culpa:(

When you've stirred it all together it looks pretty boring, but I'm optimistic, so persevered!

In another bowl combine the sugar and oil. Whip the egg replacer and water until it's starting to thicken, then stir the silken tofu in and combine well (or, if you're not vegan, you simply use 2 eggs!).

Stir the wet mix into the dry and combine until evenly mixed.I looked at it and decided it looked far too oily, so added the oats to absorb it, this wasn't part of the original recipe.

I thought the mixture looked quite unpleasant, like raw sausage meat, but, as I said, I'm an optimist.

Spoon the mixture into lined patty tins, I had enough for this tray of 6 plus a small rectangular cake tin, too. Bake in an oven preheated to 180C, gas 4, 350F, for about 20-25 mins until golden brown, as you can see below.

They looked lovely, and tasted delicious, but, for my taste they were still too oily. I shall make them again but substitute margarine for the oil, which should solve the problem.

If you try them, let me know what you think:)

Halloween! Pumpkin four ways - yes, four!!

2010-10-31T09:03:00.000Z

It's that time of year again when the streets are full of children wearing skeletons or witch's garb, and I go out and buy sweets so that when they knock on the door I have something to offer them:-)

I bought my pumpkin to ~~hack amateurishly~~ carve into a face to sit in the window so that the children know they won't be ignored. I planned to make soup and cake with the pumpkin flesh, and roast the delicious, nutritious seeds. I'm going to split this into three blog pages so that you don't have one humongous blog to wade through - see how I care about you all? Here's what I did:

Cut a lid from the pumpkin, scooped out all the seeds and pulp. Set the seeds aside, soaking in some water so they'd be easy to clean.

I found the easiest way to take the flesh from the inside of the pumpkin was to use my apple corer. I put the flesh into a pan as I went along ready for the soup.

When I'd removed most of the inside, leaving a firm shell, I took a large, sharp knife and cut out a couple of triangles for eyes, used the apple corer to give a "button nose", then a simple crescent for a smile - I'm not into spooky faces, just a simple, happy pumpkin for my callers:-)

Christmas card from "freebies" number three

2010-10-19T10:00:00.003+01:00

For the third mouse card I decided to make a square design. I took my basic A5 piece of white card, but folded it a third of the way in, to give me a square card with only half a front. You’ll see why at the end, it’s really not madness, honest! I trimmed a quarter of an inch from the base of the card and it now fits into some square envelopes which I bought ages ago in a sale.

So here we are again with our mouse decoupage

and the matching backing paper, which I decided I really had to use at least once!

I covered the inside of the card, and the half front with the backing paper, ensuring that both sheets were the same way up. It took one and a half sheets of the backing paper.

I matted the main mouse image on to the pale green to make the topper as before, predictably I suppose, but I really do think it sits well on the green. I used foam pads to fix the star and candy canes, but opted not to use the spare apples and gifts.

Nor did I use the matching greeting. Instead I took a simple gold "confetti" phrase of "Merry Xmas", which I placed at an angle across the top left. I took three tiny gold "confetti" stars and placed them on the tree with tiny dabs of PVA glue. I didn't use any glitter glue this time - with all that busy background I wanted to keep the topper relatively simple and understated. I was surprised at how much I actually liked the backing paper once I was using it!

I've propped open the card so that you can see the way the topper is fixed only at the left so that the other half overhangs the main body of the card for a totally different look - do be careful to place your foam pads or glue on the RIGHT hand side of the reverse of the topper - I admit I've applied them to the "wrong" side before now!!! It's not the end of the world if you do, simply put foam pads on the remaining side and use that topper on a full card later, and make a new topper for your original card, but it is mega frustrating!!!

So, there you are, three quite different cards from one "freebie" decoupage design. Do you have a preference? amd why that one?

Christmas card from "freebies" number two

2010-10-18T09:59:00.001+01:00

This card is similar to the first, well, it would be, using the same decoupage sheet, I suppose!! Here it is again, to remind you of the raw material, so to speak.

I’ve matted the pink design on to green again as I think this really works well, and repeated the use of an A6 white card blank. The dark green is the envelope.

I've placed the presents in more or less the same place as it seems logical, same with the greeting.

the candy canes I've applied with sticky fixers to add some depth, and one overhangs the base of the tree as that's what happens in "real life" isn't it? I've also used a foam pad to elevate the star this time, which I think is an improvement. I've repeated the use of the glitter glue on apples, garland and star - just a hint though, not too much as these are subtle, chalky colours and I don't want to overpower them.

The spare apples for the tree I have cut out as a block, and matted this on to the same pale green backing. I've mounted this new topper at the top left which gives a very different feel to yesterday's card, in my opinion - what do you think?

Making Christmas Cards from "freebies"

2010-10-17T09:58:00.000+01:00

I bought issue 84 of Cardmaking and Papercraft because I quite liked the look of the “freebie” on the front – a square wad of Chritmassy papers with cute designs. I’m quite a traditionalist, really, loving the rich red, gold and deep greens of the season, but I realise that not everyone has the same tastes, and these looked quite subtle, so I thought “Why not?” and bought it.

There are three papers of each design comprising three decoupage topper sheets followed by three co-ordinating backing papers. I thought you might find it interesting to see what I made with just four of the papers, so I'll show you design one a day and you can tell me which you prefer, if any, and why.

I decided to give this cute little mouse an airing first of all - she reminds me that it's almost time to start decorating. I don't put up a tree any longer, but when Rachel was small we always erected the tree on December 1st so that we had 24 days as a run up to Christmas, then after Christmas day we began the countdown to her birthday which is quite soon afterwards.

This is the backing paper which accompanies her page, the apples echo those she'd decorating the tree with, but the orange seems a little harsh in tone to me, so I decided simply to stick to the decoupage sheet. I decided to matt her onto a pale green paper to compliment the tree, and this went on to a plain white A6 card blank. I cut out the greeting and matted that in the same way.

I cut out each of the accompanying pieces and arranged them as you can see, the gifts look good on the floor beside the tree, and you can see I've deliberately overlapped the frame; I used deep foam pads for this. I used foam pads to stick one of the apples on the tree, one ready for her to pick up at her feet, and the other has rolled away, as round things often do! The star and candy canes I stuck down with paper glue.

I placed the greeting centrally, overlapping the base of the main matting to break up the design a little more.

I thought the top left looked a little bare, so found some pearly pink "gems" and stuck them down with some red glitter glue for some extra 'oomph'. I used a little of the same glue to highlight the apples. I took some gold glitter glue and traced over the garland on the tree and the star.

So there you are, my first card using some of the "freebie" stash. I'll show you another tomorrow.

Wheat-free apple cake with no added sugar- use those windfall apples!

2010-10-07T11:32:00.000+01:00

So, back to the apples! Occasionally I enjoy a slice of cake; I don't mean an airy-fairy gateau, which is fine to end a meal, but a slice of good, wholesome cake to enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee. It has to be a slice of something which will be simple to eat, no cake forks necessary, and satisfying - there must be some substance to it - something to get my teeth into and enjoy.

This apple cake ticks all the boxes, and, importantly at the moment, it utilises some of those apples. Windfalls, or those mis-shapen ones are ideal as they're going to be grated.

You'll need:
200g flour, I used barley, but to make it gluten free choose your own favourite flour(s) - maybe rice and potato, or gram and soya
half a teaspoon each of cinnamon and mixed spice - to taste
half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
100g margarine
275g mixed dried fruit, I used raisins, sultanas and chopped dates
230g coarsely grated cooking apples (eating apples will give a sweeter cake, and the texture will be slightly different)
2 tsps of egg replacer made up with 4 tblsps of water or fruit juice

Rub the fat into the sifted flour, spices and bicarb until it's like breadcrumbs.

Coarsely grate the apple; I leave the skins on mine as they're organic, but you can peel yours if you like. The weight given is of the grated apple, which, in my case, equated to two large and two medium windfall apples once I'd cut off the bruised and battered sections!

Mix the fruits into the dry mixture, then bind with the egg replacer liquid. Turn into an 8" lined cake tin and bake in a moderate oven, 175C in my fan oven, 180C, 350F or gas mark 4 otherwise.

Bake for about an hour and a quarter, more or less depending on your oven, the flour used etc. Test with a warmed skewer inserted in the centre - it it comes out clean, it's done:-) If not, give it a further quarter of an hour and test again. It should be a lovely golden brown - rather like the splendid one below, which has been allowed to cool completely before slicing.

Many fruit cake recipes tell you to shake your dried fruit with flour to avoid the problem of all the fruit sinking to the bottom of the cake, but, as you can see, it's certainly not necessary in this recipe.

Now, time to put the kettle on, I think:-)

Apples, again! Make your own mincemeat for Christmas mince pies :-)

2010-10-06T12:50:00.052+01:00

We love Christmas cake, mince pies, Christmas pudings and anything full of fruits, so tasty:-)

Another good use for the windfall apples, and less than pretty ones, is to make your own mincemeat - ready for baking those mince pies that will permeate the whole house with heady scents of fruit and spices.

This is another really simple recipe, so you have no excuse not to try it.

I took:

400g grated cooking apples
100g margarine
300g raisins

300g sultanas

300g chopped dates

200g unrefined sugar
half a teaspoon each of cinnamon, mixed spice, nutmeg and cumin
2 lemons, zest and juice
4 tblsps fresh orange juice

60ml brandy

Toss everything, except the brandy, into a large ovenproof dish and stir thoroughly. I use a dessert spoon to measure out the margarine, and you don't need try to break it down into tiny pieces, it's going to melt to make your life easier!

grated zest

dried fruit

I grated the apple straight onto the lemon zest and juice

I used a spoon to measure out the margarine

roughly stir everything together

Place in the centre of an oven pre-heated to 115C for a fan oven, 120C, 250F or gas mark 1/2 for half an hour. Remove from the oven and give it a really good stir to mix everything. The margarine should be very soft and creamy now, and stirring well helps to coat everything with a fine coating of fat which helps it to keep.

place back in the oven

Replace in the oven for a further half an hour, then remove, stir again and allow to cool before adding in the brandy. Stir again then decant into containers and store in the fridge.

after an hour it will look like this

when it's cool, stir in the brandy

I admit to enjoying a spoonful in with my fruit smoothies at breakfast sometimes, on those grey, rainy days when I feel the need for more "comfort" food :-)

DIY project, renovating a huge old school cupboard

2010-10-06T11:58:00.000+01:00

Over the years I have bought a few items of old school furniture from the 1950s. Solid, wooden cupboards designed to withstand the heavy use in a school environment, disposed of by the schools as being out-dated, to be replaced with MDF or chipboard furniture which just doesn't stand the test of time.

This large specimen has been used as an overflow larder in the guest room, in fact my daughter used to refer to sleeping in the pantry when she came to stay! It stands 7' tall, is 5' wide and 18" deep - like I said, it's large! It was covered in several coats of paint, which all needed to be removed to reveal the wood beneath in order to transform it into an object of beauty, rather than simply a functional item.

The renovation project is now underway. It's taking a long time to do, burning off paint, then using chemicals to remove that paint stuck in the fiddly places. David has removed the cornices and other trim where necessary to clean away paint that had built up in the joints, hence the apparent crenellations on the top!

The bright blue is particularly fetching, don't you think? this is at the base of the unit.

I took the doors outside on a sunny day to burn off the vibrant yellow - isn't the wood a glorious sight, unseen for decades!

This is part of the side of the unit having been sanded, by hand. Still more work to do though - watch this space!

Apples everywere!!

2010-10-06T10:51:00.001+01:00

Well, ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but for my small garden, I have harvested many pounds of organic apples.

It's a perennial problem, isn't it, what to do with them all? I was impressed that a couple of schools have joined together in an attempt to avoid the inevitable waste of fruit, by encouraging parents, neighbours etc to donate their unwanted apples to the schools, who will press the fruit to produce fresh juice for the children. A great idea - I hope lots of people take them up on it.

One of my favourite ways of using my apples is stuffing them and baking them. You'll need an apple per person and a jar of mincemeat for the simple version.

Wash the apples well, I use a soft vegetable brush to ensure they're really clean. Take out the cores; I use an apple corer - you can see how neatly it does it above. Take a sharp knife and score around the centre of each apple - this enables the apples to rise and avoids the mess of exploding apples!

Arrange the apples in an ovenproof baking dish, and fill each cavity with mincemeat.

Bake the apples in a moderate oven until they have softened, this will take about half an hour or so, depending on your oven and the size of the apples. Can you see how the skins have parted where I scored them, allowing the apples to sort of souffle up? The apples will produce a little sauce as they give up some juice which mixes with the mincemeat. Delicious:-)

If you don't have mincemeat in the cupboard, you can stuff them with any dried fruit to hand. If you have a really sweet tooth, you might feel the need to drizzle a little maple syrup into the cavity, or some unrefined sugar. You could also add some chopped nuts for a little "bite".

I serve mine naked, or simply with a dollop of yoghurt, David enjoys his with custard. You might like your with ice cream - but whatever topping you choose, I hope you enjoy them.

Time to bake the Christmas cake!

2010-10-03T12:57:00.000+01:00

I don't know about you, but I like to bake my Christmas cake at this time of year so that it has time to mature; I find the flavours mellow and blend together. I also "feed" it by pricking the surface and pouring over a tablespoon or so of brandy every few weeks.

So, line a 9" cake tin ( I use pre-shaped paper cases that I bought in a catering shop that was closing down!), and bake my wheat free, vegan Christmas cake:

500g mixed dried fruit, I used sultanas, raisins, candied peel

125g chopped dates
25g glace cherries, chopped
4 fruit tea bags, I used mandarin and ginger
500ml boiling water
125g margarine
80g unrefined sugar
1½ tblsp molasses (45ml)
250g barley flour (or any other you choose)
125ml fruit soaking liquid
3 tblsp mixed spice

Put the dried fruit, except the cherries, into a container with the tea bags, pour over the boiling water. Stir and leave overnight to soak. This will ensure your cake is moist as the fruit won't be leaching up the liquid in the cake mix.

Drain off the liquid and put to one side, above you can see the plumped up fruit - compare that to what your looks like in the packet, and you'll see why it's worthwhile soaking the fruit!
Beat the margarine and sugar together, then add the molasses, soaking liquid and spice. Sieve the flour on top.

Stir the flour in carefully until it's well blended.

Add the soaked fruit and the chopped glace cherries, they are usually so moist that they don't need soaking.

Mix the fruit in so that it's evenly distributed.

Spoon into the lined tin and level off. This cake has no raising agents, you will have noticed, so it's not going to rise. Bake for about 3 hours at 145C in a fan oven, about 150C, 300F or gas mark 2 if you don't have a fan oven. Test with a skewer, and if it comes out clean, it's done, if some mixture is sticking to the skewer, give it another fifteen minutes then try again. At this temperature it's unlikely to burn, so don't worry!

It should look something like this when it's baked:-) I didn't cover my cake, although many people do - I don't find it's necessary.

It's simple to make, tastes great, so what are you waiting for?

Burglary - reflections

2010-09-28T10:21:00.001+01:00

I've just remembered that whilst living in my last house, I unlocked the front door when I arrived home from work, and went to turn off the burglar alarm. There was a red light on which indicated that something was wrong.

I don't know about you, but I tend to assume that there's a fault in the system when that happens, I'm not so paranoid as to think that someone's broken in, despite having been burgled years ago.

So, I turned off the system and went to check the doors. They were all intact, and so were the windows. I tried to turn the alarm back on, but it wouldn't activate. Clearly there was a problem. Finally I remembered about the zones - I'm not very technical!! The lightbulb went on in my head - the garage!!!

The garage door had been kicked in, shattering the lock. There was a lovely footprint visible on the cream painted door. I phoned the police, but told them there was no rush, the intruder had obviously run at the sound of the alarm, and nothing had been touched.

I contacted the insurance company, with whom I had both house and contents insured, and said I would be claiming for a padlock to keep the garage secure until the door could be replaced.

The girl on the other end said that a padlock wouldn't be covered, only a replacement door!

It took a great deal of persistence to persuade her that the paltry cost of the padlock, about £4.50, was considerably less than the potential loss of all the contents of the garage if it was left unlocked, since the intruder knew that it was now possible to enter it. There were several valuable woodworking tools my husband kept in there, plus cycles etc, so it would have been a tidy sum we would have claimed if it had remained unprotected, and the alarm couldn't be set due to the damage.

She did, reluctantly, agree to re-imburse us for the cost, but it was so short-sighted of her to have argued.

The police never found out who did it, despite the lovely footprint, sadly, it's only in CSI that such a thing is a vital clue!

House insurance and burlgary - a confusing, contradictory affair!

2010-09-27T09:42:00.000+01:00

I was burgled twice in ten days when my baby was ten months old. My husband was living "up north", whilst I remained in the south where we were selling our lovely nineteenth century lodge cottage: the Lodge was long gone - the Scots pines, oak, sycamore, beech etc flourished where once it had proudly stood. It's attraction, detached and surrounded by mature woodland on all except the road side, was, of course, its weakness. There was a council estate further up the busy main road, and private housing across the road. We experienced no problems in the years we lived there until the "sold" sign went up. The police informed us that this was a common problem, for some reason "sold" signs act as an invitation to thieves.

So, when I spotted an article entitled How keys could invalidate your home insurance policy by "Confused.com", and the way that the companies often try to wriggle out of paying out on claims, making use of the infamous "small print" which many people ignore, I naturally read it. BTW, I admit to being a keen small print reader, and always read it before signing anything, much to the frustration of sales people!

I don't have a claim to make, thankfully, and my windows and doors all have locks; the door locks are supposed to be amongst the best available. Insuranace companies always ask about this, and premiums can be lower if you have this protection. The article begins:

'Homeowners may think that locking the doors and windows of their property is enough to keep it safe from burglars but is it?

Most homes usually have several keys covering front doors, back doors, side doors, and windows as well as garages, sheds and outbuildings. But with so many keys to keep track of, it could be easy for one to end up in the wrong hands. And if this does happen, and someone breaks into your home using a key, will your home insurance cover you?

The answer is no, according to insurer Churchill, which confirms that for burglary claims to be paid out, forced entry must be proven so a homeowner would not be covered if a key is used.'

Essentially, you may encounter problems with your claim if a key has been used to enter your property to effect the burglary, which is why it's very important to replace your locks if you lose your keys. A good insurance company will cover this cost for you, but even if it doesn't, the cost of replacing a few locks is small compared to the mental anguish of having your home invaded. I found this intrusive aspect of the burglaries worse than the theft of the items.

A point raised in the article was that if you're away from home for a protracted periosd, usually more than 30 days, you need to inform your insurance company, and they may impose terms/conditions which you'll need to comply with to maintain cover. A common condition is that someone visits the house on a weekly basis to ensure that all is well. The likelihood is that you'll give this person a key so that they can enter the house to check for leaks etc. or you might hand over a key to a neighbour so that they can draw the curtains each evening for you and water your plants.

However, the fact that there are keys around, and there is no sign of a forced entry, can lead to the claim being dismissed - even though the company may have insisted that the house be checked. SO, read your small print, and if you don't like what you read, strike it through before you sign - or try a diffrent company.

But, be aware - they'll take your money, but they're not "on your side", companies exist to make a profit, and paying out on a claim eats into those profits.

rag rugs, a new craft

2010-09-18T23:47:00.000+01:00

I try to get along to my local "craft and chat" every Wednesday, and we got back together again after the summer break a couple of weeks ago.

I set off with my longstitch embroidery in hand, but it didn't get taken out of its bag! No, it was thrust aside because one of the girls had taken along some squares of hessian and some rags. Yes, you heard it right, some rags.

Specifically, she had boiled, yes, boiled, up some old woollen jumpers that she'd picked up at a charity shop to shrink and matt the fibres, then cut them up into strips about 1" x 4". She'd done the same with old cotton t-shirts.

Some of the hessian was stretched on frames, but I remember making these rag rugs with my mother when I was very small, and we didn't use frames. I'd been thinking about these rag rugs recently, which is why my embroidery stayed in my bag, and I was happy to join in the experimenting with the rug-making.

Here you can see on the left some of the rags, then the scissors with which to poke the rags through the hessian, and on the right is the reverse of some of the rags already prodded through.

This is the "right" side, the pile of the rug, lovely and thick, and colourful in a muted way - most of the sweaters she'd been able to obtain were mens, so the colours reflect that!

To make the rug, you poke one end of a rag strip into a hole in the hessian with either a pencil, crochet hook, or, in my case, the blunt ends of the scissors. The other end of the strip is poked up just two or three threads away. The next rag strip is pushed into the same hole as the first one emerged from, so that for the whole of the rug, except the edge rows, each hole is shared by two strips of rag, as I hope you can see with the red and green in the close up above, and of the reverse, below.

It's not a fantastically neat piece of work, but you get the idea.

If you try it for yourself, I'd suggest washing the hessian before you begin, otherwise you'll end up like me, covered in coarse beige scratchy fibres!!!! Whe I was young I seem to remember the hessian originally being old potato sacks, which I'm sure my mother washed before we used it.

It certainly brought back memories for me. Apparently, way back in the mists of time, when peg rugs were first around, they started out as bed coverings. They would have been very heavy and warm. When a new one was completed, the original moved down to the floor at the side of the bed. It moved from there to the kitchen, and from thence to become a fireside rug at the end of its day, fit only to catch the embers from the fires as they tumbled out.

Fascinating stuff, history:-)

Recreating history - roundhouses and battles

2010-09-13T16:25:00.000+01:00

We're a funny lot in England; we love to re-enact historical periods, whether it's a famous battle or simply domestic arrangements. I've always love history, though dropped it at school because I've a lousy memory for dates - pretty important when it comes to exams!

I'm very interested in nature and wildlife, too, and am a member of the WWT, World Wetland Trust. You can imagine how pleased I was to see that my local WWT site, Martin Mere, was holding a historical weekend, can't you?

We drove over on a typical British summer day, armed with waterproof clothing and sunglasses, along with binoculars and camera. We optimistically took a picnic lunch, too - we do so enjoy tempting fate!

There was a camp, complete with fire. Large logs formed the seating. Roundhouses had been constructed to demonstrate the homes.

The sides of the roundhouses were created from willow branches coated with mud "daub". This came from a hole dug at the site.

Sadly, health and safety regulations interfered, yet again, with simple enjoyment: although the hardy people re-creating the past were quite prepared to sleep in the dwellings they had built, this was not permitted as the thatch roofs constituted a fire hazard.

A nearby area was cleared for use as a workshop, with logs being sawn here, but no activity took place whilst we were there.

This is the house used by the camp's battle director, you can see his shield propped outside, and he allows a small boy to wear his headpiece.

There were supposed to be various activites taking place, such as flat bread making and mock battles, but, although we were there for a few hours, nothing appeared to take place when it should, so it was quite disappointing. There were a few things for children to make, at a price, with enough people to man those sections. How cynical of me not to be surprised at that.

Still, we were glad we went; the weather stayed fine, we ate our picnic amid lush greenery, and it was interesting to see the houses. Plus we saw the wildlife which is why we joined the organisation in the first place:-)

Organic Fortnight - Simple Mushroom Paté

2010-09-13T15:46:00.001+01:00

It’s Organic Fortnight, apparently. To celebrate, I made this simple, yet delicious, Mushroom Paté to celebrate. Here's the recipe:-

300g mushrooms, wiped and chopped
2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
1 tin pinto beans, drained
3 cloves garlic , peeled and crushed
1tblsp olive oil

Nutmeg
Salt and pepper

Sprigs of marjoram and thyme

Simply heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan, and sauté the onion for five minutes. Add the garlic and chopped mushrooms and cook until just tender.

Stir in the beans and heat through.

Add freshly chopped herbs, ground nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.

Blitz in a food processor. Put into ramekin dishes and chill.

Serve with toast or crackers and wedge of lemon.

I love it when food is simple to prepare, tastes great and is good for me, don’t you?

It's Zero (food)waste week, did you know?

2010-09-06T17:46:00.002+01:00

Logging onto the Oofo site I discovered that it's Zero Waste Week! This is what they have to say:

"Monday 6th September will see the start of the third national "Zero Waste Week". This year's theme is 'Cooking for Victory' in response to WRAPS "household Food and Drink Waste in the UK" report. The report shows we throw away 8.3 million tonnes of food and drink every year. Most of this is avoidable and could have been eaten if we had planned, stored and managed it better. In support of the campaign VegBox Recipes have created a handy guide to eating left-overs."

I try not to waste food, but I have to admit that occasionally, some food does get binned; not a lot, and not often, honestly, hand on heart etc. I'm a dab hand at turning left over veggie into curries or soups, and found it interesting that Oofo has compiled a helpful guide to using left-overs

Paste this very long code into your browser to access the page - I'm hoping they'll tell me how to paste a simple link here to replace it, but at the moment, this is all I've managed to copy, sorry!!!

http://go2.wordpress.com/?id=725X1342&site=adurgreens.wordpress.com&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsut3.co.uk%2Fclickthrough.php%3FiD%3D4%26iItem%3D107301%26iLink%3D29281611%26strUnique_ID%3D11883656754ea3fa6f40738570b47f%26strUrl%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fblog.ooffoo.com%2Fblogs%2F2010%2F08%2F29%2Fhandy-guide-to-eating-left-overs%2F&sref=http%3A%2F%2Fadurgreens.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F09%2F02%2Fzero-waste-week%2F

If you do find you throw food away, you might just discover some useful ideas to recycle your left-overs into something tasty - and imagine how virtuous you'll feel:-)

Denim jeans bag - I made it!

2010-08-24T13:03:00.003+01:00

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I planned to make a “jeans bag”, and, after hunting in several charity (thrift) shops and at car boot sales, I finally found a pair of children’s jeans that I bought for the healthy sum of 30p – talk about frugality – I was really pleased. Recycling and creating an individual, useful “designer” product, how much better can it get?

I decided on a child’s pair of jeans because I wanted a middling size bag that I can take out shopping with me. It will hold my handbag initially, then, assuming I buy anything, the bag will come out and the shopping will go in.

I like the decorative pockets on these shorts, and cute tie through the belt loops. The pockets themselves are useful additions to any bag, and the tie becomes the bag's strap. I’m not going to give detailed instructions for creating the bag – others have already produced lovely video clips – but I will point out some aspects of my creation.

Above you can see that I've used a seam ripper to remove the stitching down the centre front and back seams and opened the fabric out.

The new centre seam sewn down. There were existing "jewel" studs, so, to hold down the loose pocket linings, I used my "BedazzleIt" machine to insert a few studs, which do the job nicely.

This shot shows what a mess they look when you turn them inside out!!! See how uneven the hem edges are? don't worry, they get chopped and straightened out.

Once I'd levelled the edges, I sewed a French seam, which means all the rough edges are enclosed, so no messy threads to catch and pull when the bag's in use - cunning, I thought:-)

As you can see above, I used the age old trick of simply sewing across the corners to create some depth to the sides of the bag - much easier than inserting a panel in the base - I don't need a massive bag, so this is quick and ideal for me. I caught the points of the corners down inside the bag so that they are flush with the base. I sewed the French seam down along the base to add a touch of extra strength and make it neater, too.

Remember the cute tie? Here is it next to some upholsterer's webbing which I sewed on to one side to give it some body - I hate shoulder straps which are insubstantial, don't you? they tend to end up digging into my shoulder and are uncomfortable.

I sewed in a D ring at each end of the strap, as I thought it would be quite effective, and, I admit it, lazy of me, to use the existing belt loops to suspend the straps from.

I simply ran a few rows of stitches at the top of the belt loop to stope the strap from being to loose and free.

The bag, slung over my shoulder - neat eh?

Vegan tofu "cheesecake". low cholesterol but just as tasty:-)

2010-08-21T18:08:00.000+01:00

When I became vegan I was determined not to give up the foods I enjoyed - I love my food, including desserts, and cheescakes were always amongst my favourites.

This very easy mock cheesecake, based on one served at On The Eighth Day in Manchester, hits the spot each time, and is the one I make most often. The top can be decorated in any way you choose, I like to use poached frruit, particularly blackcurrants, as the contrast in colours is so dramatic, but you go for whatever you like - chocolate curls? strawberries? raspberries? mandarin segments? Indulge yourself safe in the knowledge that your cholesterol intake is fine, despite the indulgent taste - yay:-)

Base:
300g of either sweet biscuit (cookie) crumbs, or, as I prefer, plain rye crackers
175g melted margarine, I use soya

Crush the biscuits and mix with the melted margarine. Told you it was easy!

Filling:
1 x 297g pack of soft, firm tofu - drain off the excess liquid
2 x lemons - you need to zest them, then juice them
50g cornflour
3tblsps golden syrup, or other sweetener
450ml water
You may want to add a little sugar to taste, depending on your tastebuds, this is not a super-sweet dessert.

Pack the crumb base into a well-greased 8" diameter flan dish. I use one with a loose base so that it's easy to de-mould, but then, I'm lazy:-)

In a pan, heat the water, golden syrup and cornflour until boiling, make sure you stir constantly to avoid lumps forming - you do want a smooth cheesecake, don't you? Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened.

Remove from the heat and add the strained tofu and lemon zest and juice. Blend well, I use a stick blender in the pan, then pour onto the base and place in the fridge to chill and set.

It's as simple as that. It tastes lovely and fresh as it is, but, as I say, you can tart it up with fresh or poached fruit, in which case, serve a little of the fruit's liquor with it as a sauce.

Why do I feel hungry now???????? Enjoy:-)