Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Salad and Schnecken

Something happened in the borough of Scotland this weekend...something so strange that people gathered in large open spaces, stood or sat open mouthed and stared at the big orange ball in the sky.   What caused such mass hysterical behaviour?   What were the Scots looking at with such awe and wonder?   Was that......sunshine??   Yes!   Twas indeed!   Oh, happy days, the boroughfolk cried....happy, happy days and they stripped to their underwear immediately and promptly got burnt to a crisp.   The End.

And such is the scene all over the country every time the sun dares to rear it's gorgeous head from the sky.   It makes us happy though.

I was supposed to be in France last weekend but alas, it wasn't meant to be.   The reason appears to be the numpty gene I've inherited from a well dodgy gene pool.   But at least the sun shone.  But wait, I hear you cry....weren't you supposed to go to London tomorrow?   Surely that will make up for missing France.   Yes, dear reader, I was.   I was supposed to go to London tomorrow with my daughter.   Happy days again!   Ah but alas, once again, that numpty gene...the one that lay dormant for many years, switched on with the passing of the years has suddenly come up trumps again and it looks like we won't be going to London after all as daughter's passport is out of date.   Yes, we need a passport these days to travel within the country.   Can I get a new one?   Sure, they have a fast one day service for the price of a small cottage.   Why don't I do that then and stop moaning?   Because the passport office won't let you book for a same day appointment, even if you call them at 8am.   Stupid?   Oh yes.   Ways round it?   No.   But hey, the sun still shines.............

Lots of salads have been consumed lately; pasta salads, artichoke salads, meaty, fruity salads...you know how I love me an artichoke...and salads with chicken, cheese, vegetables, fruit and anything else I care to fling in there on a particular day.   Here are some of my favourites:
Artichoke and mint salad with feta, crispy Parma ham, roasted chorizo and Parmesan cheese.

Chicken and Lemon Pasta Salad....doesn't look like much but well tasty, hot or cold.

Chargrilled Chicken Salad

When not eating salads the past few weeks, we've indulged in mini Toad in the Hole...
Mini Toad in the Hole.....delicious with gravy and mash!

....and a bizarre looking concoction of puff pastry, saute potatoes, grated cheese and hard boiled eggs.   Delicious, according to the kids!

I made Brian a Key Lime Pie for his birthday....yum!

Skinny Lemon Muffins with lemon drizzle icing for us all.....Fraser was particularly smitten.

A team of hardy laddies what I know, will be taking part in the Caledonian Challenge to raise money for charity; I'll be baking Schnecken, my favourtie bun ever, to help provide some tasty fuel during this gruelling two day challenge.   Check out their page and maybe sponsor them a quid or two, if you think they're worthy...I do!

Back to receipts, menus and recipes next week as well as that darn giveaway that never happened.

13 comments:

e said...

Hasn't this weather been glorious! Maybe this is God's way of making up to us for the election results. ;)I hope the sun shines bright for you all week, Helen. Your salads look scrumptious! Like your chicken and pasta, i do a cold tuna and pasta salad...with bits of veggies chopped in for colour and zip. All these dishes look fabulous. As for Key Lime Pie, mmmmmmmmm. Enjoyed my first slice in Key West, Florida over 40 years ago...and still remember it. ;)

Catherine said...

Wow so much delicious foods and salads! The pie look delish!
Yummy!

obladi oblada said...

Making me hungry for salads! I checked out the Caledonian challenge link...and I have been to many of those beautiful places...makes me want to go back. Maybe someday....off to get a salad!

christine said...

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stuffs. You see, we have this food site Foodista.com

(http://www.foodista.com) that is a food and cooking

encyclopaedia that everyone and anyone can edit. Maybe

you are interested in sharing some of recipes to us or

share your knowledge about food stuffs and techniques,

Or maybe you just like to write reviews about food,

restaurant and recipes...why don't you visit us

sometimes, if it's food related you're interested in,

then we are interested in you. Don't hesitate to check

us out. I hope to see you there.

Cheers!

Laura said...

Oh Helen how do i love thee (and thy blog)?

I would like to place an order for your artichoke salad, and your lemon pasta salad and your lemon drizzle muffins..well, I may as well take on of everything!
I wish we were neighours so that I could convince you to take me under your wing and teach me your delicious, magical ways.

I can't believe that you need your passport to come down south?! What the heck is with that?

Mhel said...

Glad you have a lovely weather. The weather here in the Philippines has been dreadfully hot, and thank God after 3 months of grueling heat, rainy season is starting to come. Pinoys love rainy days more than the sun, but I guess, because the sun is different here, or we are a tropical country, and we are dying to have a cold season. Love the artichoke salad... I always love your salad and pasta dishes!

aladdinsane12 said...

what? sunshine? i'm fairly certain that when i lived over there, i didn't see a single ray for 4 years.

that key lime pie looks SOOOOOOOO good. lucky brian!

Claudya Martinez said...

Key lime pie makes me swoon! I love it. The muffins might be skinny, but will they make me skinny?

Pavithra said...

Hi Helen ! I stumbled upon your blog today and being the foodie that I am, I am simply blown away! Your blog looks so delicious :) I enjoy cooking and love exploring various cuisines. Being an Indian, my cooking is mainly Indian too and I look forward to trying out recipes from your blog! :)

Feel free to catch up with me at http://pavithrapensitdown.blogspot.com though my blog has nothing to do with cooking ;)

LisaDay said...

Sorry to hear about your cancelled trips. But yippee about the sun.

LisaDay

Helen McGinn said...

ER, it was great last weekend and we managed to catch it in the East this weekend too! Woohoo...chasing sunshine!

Catherine, thanks! x

obladi oblada, hope that salad was scrumptious!

Christine, thanks, I'll check it out. x

Laura, thank you hon, how lovely! xx

Mhel, ah, now I would find that hard; we may complain but the truth is, most of us Scots can't handle the heat or humidity!

aladdinsane....aww, what a shame you missed it! Come back and I'll save ye some! ;O)

Unknown Mami, now wouldn't that be wonderful?? ;O)

Pavithra, thank you so much for coming over, I'm looking forward to checking out your blog, food or otherwise! ;O)

LisaDay, thanks hon, it was all made up for this weekend....more on that later! x

Virginia Mom said...

I'll send you some sun from over here on the east coast of America.... we had a beautiful holiday weekend and it looks and feels like summer... yay! Is the recipe for those Lemon Muffins around here anywhere? Yum!

Little Ms Blogger said...

I never heard of the numpty gene - is that a Scottish expression?

I have to make the Toad in a Hole one day (I know you posted the recipe way back when or I think you did).

Enjoy the sunshine and I got to enjoy lettuce from my garden last night.