Good news: Jalopy is home for another year
Last night I had a message from Mrs Button on my mobile. “Your Volvo will be ready to collect after 9 am tomorrow.” I rang her straight back. “Did she pass the M.O.T.?” “Yes. But don’t come before nine as they have a few small things to tweak. They had to do some welding.” The relief swept over me with a great wave of joy. One more year with my old friend. The cost of the service and repairs was very competitive too. Ian Button had done me proud. He was highly recommended as a great mechanic. It turns out that his garage is on...
read moreBraised celery and broccoli (calabrese) recipe
The benefits of celery are enormous. Celery is thought to possibly reduce blood pressure, help combat cholesterol and even cancer. Leving these aside, braised celery can be a superb and delicious vegetable. This recipe makes it easy to include in any well balanced diet. I’m always attracted to the heads of celery in the supermarket and often eat celery and carrot sticks with hummus for a lunch time snack. In the past D would welcome a bowl of winter celery soup and that was it. He woud never, ever ask for celery as a veggie with his...
read moreJalopy’s annual service and M.O.T.*
Jalopy is now sixteen years old. She still goes like a bomb and is my oldest friend. Unlike a human, she hasn’t exhibited the usual teenage moodiness. Rather, as the years progressed, she has become slightly more sedate. The wheel spin starts are just a distant memory. Now we progress at a steady rate. I’m careful to save her brakes so I coast to a stop. She is not quite as fast from the starting stalls these days so I wait for a clear road at major junctions. This can cause extreme agitation from the slick roadsters waiting...
read moreDelicious cheese, potato and parsley frittata recipe
We left the Pickled Walnuts Challenge evening with a box of beautiful blue and greeny blue eggs laid by Magic Cochin’s Spice Girls. “I think that those eggs are destined for a frittata.” Smiled Danny as we drove away. Our hens have not yet started laying again. I check the nesting box every morning. Our Senior Girls are now into their fifth year, so it will be a slow start. Peace and Hope should be laying by Easter. So a present of fresh, free range eggs is treasured. We haven’t had a frittata for ages. My favourite is the simple...
read moreChocolate treats
When I was very small my mum used to give us a sweetie bar on a Sunday morning. It was a well defined bribe. If we kept very quiet and let her have a lie-in we were investing in the reward of a treat for next week. We’d wake to a bar laid on our pillows. We savoured the sweets and always tried to keep silent. Even the wrappers were opened with care. Nowadays there’s nothing like luxuriating in bed on a Sunday morning with the Sunday paper and nibbling chocolate very slowly to make it last. I once went to stay the night with the Italian...
read moreMillie
I‘m drawn to cats. Mysterious and aloof, even the most affectionate cats seem to have a secret life. They’re true explorers. Their agility is as breathtaking as their silent steps surprise. Millie is special. She belongs to my friend Christine who co-runs the Cataholics cat rescue charity in Newmarket. When I was painting Christine’s conservatory I was introduced to Millie and her brother Barney. Within seconds I was besotted with this dainty black cat. Millie was found abandoned. The runt of the litter, she had four legs but just three...
read moreThe Grand Pickled Walnuts Challenge 2009. Hosted by Magic Cochin of Purple Podded Peas
Yesterday evening we motored over to Purple Podded Peas country to take part in The Grand Pickled Walnuts Challenge. There were two teams for the inaugural contest. The experienced PPP team with beautifully labelled jars and several years of PW culinary experience. And the rank outsiders from Cottage Smallholder, who had picked their walnuts a bit too late in the season and hoped that they might soften substancially by Christmas. I had tested our nuts a few days before the challenge. The first walnut was too hard to spear in the...
read moreBest great budget recipes for 50% or less: Plaice with a creamy prawn sauce recipe
We stopped eating fish for a while a few years ago as it was just so expensive. I made a fish pie one Christmas and the ingredients cost over £15.00. Then I realised that there are often amazing bargains on a late Sunday afternoon from the Waitrose fish counter. With these and the regular offerings from the Tesco condemned food section we now have access to quite a lot of great fish and sea food for at least 50% of their normal value. A lot of fish is tossed into the freezer to be turned into fish pies but if we find plaice or sole these...
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