Fried Prawn Patties

I had a lovely lunch with Maureen today; well, when I say lovely, it was grand to see her but the Burnbrae has been bought over by some cost cutting, penny pinching morons who provided us with half the portion of food we were used to and decided on a 'half hot half cold' theme when providing grub. When asking for a latte, they informed us that it was instant coffee for now. Bill please. We headed to Costa for a proper cup of the black stuff.

So, hunger set in rather quickly on my return and on searching the freezer for some sustenance I uncovered frozen, raw prawns (shrimps) hidden at the back. What to do, what to do? I could stir fry, breadcrumb, curry or chop. Saute, flambe, souffle or plop. Hmmm. Skewered? Fried? Fried! I had a brainwave.

Fried Prawn blobs Patties! Just the thing.

First job was to defrost the prawns. Obviously, fresh prawns would be better but hey, when hungry and frugal, frozen will do.

I shelled the prawns, shoved them in a blender alongside a finely chopped clove of garlic and 2 finely chopped spring onions. I added half a teaspoon salt, a good grinding black pepper, a little cayenne and 60g plain flour. If using Nigella's recipe, you'd add 4 teaspoons of sherry as well but I prefer wine to the mix. I then added water and mixed to make a thick batter, covered with clingfilm and waited 1 hour.

During this hour, I continued painting; I have been decorating. I have one room half completed, five more to go. Why do I start these things? Kelly is moving into the big room so she was first; after some deliberation, she decided on lilac for one wall, magnolia for the rest. She then decided she wanted painted onto the wall, a girl holding a baby dove, looking over at a mummy dove on a branch........yes, this is what she decided. HUH?? Was my first response. What the freakin'......?? my second. "Ooooookay, Kelly" I said "I shall do my best". Well, it's finished, for better or worse....

So, the hour has passed and I heat some olive oil in a pan. I take teaspoons of the mix and fry in the oil, turning after a minute and cooking on the other side. When brown on both sides, place onto plate covered with paper towels.

I like to make homemade mayo for this but Hellmans will do the job just as well! Add some lime and fresh coriander though. If not partial to mayo, squeeze some lime juice over the tasty little blobs and eat immediately. Bleedin' luverly.

Tomorrow is the big silver wedding anniversary party. My friend Sam did the cake:

Isn't it wonderful? I know you can't see the whole thing, I was not averse to pulling it out and setting it up for your perusal but you just know what would happen, don't you? Especially with three wee acrobats around. I shall take some more pics at the event and report back on the deliciousness of this tasty baked lovely.

Have a freakin AWESOME weekend!

Girl, uninterrupted and cakes in pants

I can hardly contain my excitement; I'm travelling to Canada on Thursday and will meet up with old friends. It will be lovely to feel the sun on my face, something that has been lacking in Scotland this summer, and get the chance to actually read a book, have a lie in and drink wine uninterrupted.

I shall get the chance to miss my children and my husband and to stroll through shops without fear of reprisal. There will be no cries for the toilet or the sound of breaking glass. I will sit at cafes for however long I please with huge mugs of steaming coffee, watching the world go by. I know how lucky I am and that I shall miss them but sometimes....sometimes it's nice to get away for a while.

I have been baking up a storm, convinced that the world is a better place when surrounded by loaves, cakes and cookies. My bread is going from strength to strength and I baked two loaves of wholemeal and linseeds. I used half olive oil and half butter for the fat and used brown sugar instead of white. Brown bread requires sugar to activate the yeast (I think) but only a little...about a tablespoon for the whole batch.

I was so pleased with how it turned out that every mouthful was followed by an ooh or an aah or an invisible pat on the back. I'm not a modest cook (incase you hadn't noticed); if it's good it's good but I also know when it's not!
An old friend of mine, Craig...a pretty excellent baker himself, knows how I like all things food; talking about it, looking at pictures about it and of course, the eating of it. He sent me a few pics of his food p.o.r.n baked goods in pants for my amusement...and amuse me it did...I must share with you the cakes in all their glory; those of a sensitive disposition, look away now.