Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Meal Planning Monday 2017 Week 26

So the weather has turned and it doesn't look like we will be having barbecues this week! Never mind - not long til we go on holiday to sunny Malta. Monday Lunch: chicken salad with watermelon Dinner: taking my husband to the optician after work to help me choose a new pair of glasses so we might get some dinner while we are out Tuesday Lunch: working from home - maybe a toasted sandwich Dinner: home late after a circuits class; will probably have a microwave risotto when I get home Wednesday; Lunch: salad or sandwich as I don't have long to...

Sunday, June 25, 2017

Baked (Jacket) Potato Soup - for Leftover Baked Potatoes

I love eating jacket potatoes, especially in winter, but even in summer they can be a particularly nice lunch with sour cream and chives (or something similar), cooling tuna mayo or homemade coronation chicken. Baked potatoes are also a great barbecue staple, cooked either on the coals or in the oven, as everyone can have their own and top it with whatever they like; they are great even just with butter. But it's easy to cook too many and have some...

Saturday, June 24, 2017

Restaurant review: Cote Brasserie, St Christophers Place, London

I had a late dinner at Cote one evening with my mother-in-law after I had been to a KitchenAid cooking demonstration with chef Michael Moore. The demo didn't finish until 9 and even though I'd had a couple of bites to eat, trying some of the food that Michael cooked, it didn't really count as dinner. We were near St Christopher's Place and my mother-in-law knew of Cote and wanted to go there - we passed some much more interesting restaurants as...

Friday, June 23, 2017

Monochrome Fashion Mannequin Greeting Card

On a recent visit to a Hobbycraft I treated myself to a card making magazine which came with a whole sheet of unmounted rubber stamps relating to both DIY and tools and sewing equipment - a sewing machine, bobbins, knitting needles and wool and a wire mannequin. I have a lovely turquoise wire mannequin I bought when I moved to my last house as I had a huge bedroom and was living on my own for the first time in years so could have a more feminine...

Thursday, June 22, 2017

Slimming World Linguine with Crab and Chilli

This dish reminds me of something I would order in an Italian restaurant or better still, eat while on holiday somewhere sunny, ideally with a view of the ocean. It's actually based on a Slimming World recipe for the rather more prosaically named 'crab noodles' and is really quick to throw together. Cook some linguine or spaghetti according to pack instructions; when is cooked, drain, and add some tinned crab (a small tin will do 1-2 people depending...

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Restaurant Review: Wasabi, Borough High Street, London

Commuting is never fun though in the past I’ve quite enjoyed sitting on a train with a good book or a newspaper – these days however it’s a deeply unpleasant experience. My trains are frequently cancelled or delayed, and I’ve lost count of the number of times Southern has been on strike in the past 12 months.   It was one of those days where I had finished late at work, got to London Bridge station to find the train was cancelled and I had a...

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Dr. Oetker Popcorn Fudge Brownies

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Monday, June 19, 2017

Meal Planning Monday 2017 - Week 25

We've just had the most amazing weekend away for our first wedding anniversary; just got home on Monday lunchtime with the rest of the day off with gorgeous weather to enjoy - why can't life always be like this?! Monday Lunch  back home in time for a late lunch from our anniversary weekend away so we will want something quick; beans on toast or similar will do. Dinner – barbecue: whole roast chicken from the Weber course we did plus grilled broccoli with garlic and chilli   Tuesday Lunch – wfh – salad with rest of chicken from Monday Dinner...

Saturday, June 17, 2017

Father's Day Shirt and Tie card

This card would be really nice alongside this cake...  but if you don't have time for baking this is a quick and easy make. It's not my neatest - I made it rather on the hoof standing up in my craft room which I had tidied in anticipation of new double glazing being done that week, and didn't want to get out all my craft supplies again and mess everything up! You can use any pattern for the background - plain, striped, checked - anything...

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Get Well Soon Card for a True Hero

I finally found a use for that 'hero' sticker..... Usually when I share the cards I've made, it's so that people might be able to take the ideas and create something similar for the same occasion, should they so wish. But this get well card is a bit unique and I doubt many people have the occasion to send a card wishing a friend a speedy recovery after getting injured while defending innocent people in a terrorist attack. (Though it would also make...

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Weber BBQ Cookery Class at the Abinger Cookery School

Our Weber gas barbecue is my husband's pride and joy. We bought it for our first summer in our new house - I can't remember how much it cost, but I know it was a lot compared to other barbecues, but it's so easy to use and cooks food perfectly - a far cry from the barbecues I remember as a child, where you had to wait hours (or so it seemed) for the coals to burn and then there was a risk that food would be burnt on the outside and raw on the inside......

Monday, June 12, 2017

Meal Planning Monday 2017 - week 24

Not many meals to plan this week as my husband is unusually out a lot and then we are away at the weekend, leaving the cat in the company of the cat sitter. I'm really looking forward to the weekend as it's our first wedding anniversary and we are going back to our wedding venue and where we spent our wedding night. The weather is forecast to be great so it should be a good weekend! Monday Lunch - I'm working from home as we are having double glazing and new doors being put in. For lunch I will have grilled prawns with passion fruit. Dinner...

Thursday, June 8, 2017

Old Bay Fried Chicken

I've written about Old Bay seasoning before - if you're American you are probably familiar with it but if you're British or from another country, probably not. Old Bay is a seasoning made in Baltimore for more than 75 years; it was paired originally with seafood but is popular particularly in the state of Maryland with all sorts of dishes. Read more about Old Bay's cult following. This is a very simple and not particularly healthy recipe but probably...

Monday, June 5, 2017

Meal Planning Monday 2017 Week 23

The weather has reverted to not being so warm again so I don’t think we will barbecue this week – unless we can’t use the kitchen as our windows and patio doors are being replaced at some point! As I write on Monday evening it's chucking it down with rain which is good for the garden I suppose - very different from the blazing sunshine we had on the London to Brighton classic and sports car rally yesterday       Monday Lunch - chicken salad Dinner - Lasagne with veg   Tuesday  - working from home Lunch - baked...

Saturday, June 3, 2017

Just For You Birthday Cupcake Card

This is a quick and easy card that is quite girly; I made it when I was in the middle of actually tidying up after a card making session and putting everything away! As I did so, I spotted a piece of patterned backing paper with a cute cupcake design and decided it didn't need much adding  - and at the same time remembered I had a few puffy cupcake stickers left from a pack I bought in Paperchase years ago. I also had a circle sticker saying...

Friday, June 2, 2017

Bright Colours Festive Bauble Christmas Card

One of the card making magazines I subscribed to just before Christmas came with a selection of freebies to make your own Christmas cards. As well as the free gift on the front cover, there were the usual printed papers in the middle of the magazine. These are thin pages printed on both sides - which seems a bit pointless as you can usually only use one side - and related images that you can cut out. What was unusual was the colour scheme - pinks,...

Thursday, June 1, 2017

Nutella and Frangelico Pancake Bake

This Shrove Tuesday we invited my husband's mum over to dinner, and while I considered making savoury pancakes as the main course I knew I really wanted to do them as dessert. It would have involved me making several pancakes one at a time and keeping them warm and I wondered if there was an easier option - something where I could layer the pancakes together as a dessert. This recipe for Nutella pancakes from Nigella was just the...