Yoga Bear

 Ploughman's

 I woke up this morning like a bear with a sore head; the reason for this, quite frankly, out of character behaviour guffaw, I hear you cry was sleeping in.   I slept in for the first time in a long while and it did me no good at all.   "Sleeping in is overrated!" I cried from the side of the bed, quickly followed by "It's someone else's fault!" and "Where is my TEA?!?".

I grumped down the stairs and was greeted with the essential cuppa and no breakfast to speak off.   "Sleeping in is definitely overrated" I grumbled from underneath my hot cup.   When coffee was offered, the family ever hopeful that the caffeine would enter my system quickly, a brownie was proffered as an apology to the mum god for the lack of sustenance earlier.   The brownie was accepted and, combined with the coffee, a new dawn broke and a wavering smile began at the corner of my mouth.   All was well with the world once again.

But still: brownie for breakfast? YUM!

No sleeping in for me this week, even if I wanted to; this morning, I head off to a yoga course which continues throughout the week.   I'm a wee bit nervous but really looking forward to it.   It has me focusing on what I eat yes, Helen, because you certainly don't focus enough on what you eat........ and portion sizes as my main goal is to have enough energy without being too full, to retain momentum throughout the day without being floored by early morning yoga i.e. having to retire to my bed mid-afternoon... I have been known or without the horrendous possibility of sleeping in...we know where that takes me see above.   My yoga week lunch although there may be a few eaten in Peckhams and dinner menu, using ingredients in the pantry and leftovers from the past week's shopping and cooking  is as follows:

Farfalle with Spinach & Watercress Pesto

Lentil Soup with Ham

Shredded Ham & Potato Cakes with Risotto

Pea & Ham Soup (from a chicken...?   Now that's clever!...aye, the old adverts were the best 'uns) 

Stirfry 

Spinach & Watercress Pesto Muffins

Ham, Mustard & Homemade Chutney Sandwich with Potato & Leek Soup

Red Onion & Cheddar Omelette with Crispy Salad and Toasted Linseeds 

Pesto & Goat's Cheese Tart Slice with Roasted Tomatoes

 
 The kids and husband will have a few wee additions to this.  This week's shopping won't be until Friday which will mean last weeks shop has lasted at least 10 days.   Woohoo!

We had Ploughman's for dinner on Saturday which consisted of Ham cooked in Coke, Homemade Bread & Chutney made with ginger, apples and raisins, Cheddar Cheese, Pickled Onions and Cucumber Slices.   It was delicious!

 Coked Ham...bet you thought it was a spelling mistake!

Quick and Easy Homemade Spicy Chutney (recipe to follow)

The Fish Pie last week was a hit:

Fish Pie with Mashed Potato Topping

Ingredients:

2 x lightly smoked salmon fillets (or non-smoked fillets)

1 x coley/cod or haddock fillet

Dash of olive oil or knob of butter

2 hard boiled eggs

Cooked petit pois or garden peas of choice

Half chopped onion

Half lemon

White sauce or light cheese sauce (follow the recipe but put in only a small handful of the cheese with some Parmesan or with no cheese at all)

Mashed potatoes

* Wrap fish in foil with a squeeze of lemon juice and the remains of the lemon and a sprinkling of pepper.   Bake in a medium heat for 8-10 minutes.   When cooked, leave to one side.

 * Boil eggs.

* Make white or cheese sauce

* Heat oil or butter and saute chopped onion for a few minutes until softened but not browned.

*Cook peas in salted boiling water until just tender

* Boil potatoes and mash with butter, cream or milk and mash again with fork

Flake fish, removing any skin or bones and add to sauce.   Add any liquid.   Stir and check for seasoning.  You may want to add some nutmeg.   Roughly chop up boiled eggs and add to pan with sauce and fish.   Stir in cooked, drained peas and sauted onions.   Pour into dish of choice, making sure the fish and sauce do not come up past half way; if it does,  the sauce will leak out when you place the potato on top.

Top with mashed potatoes; use a spoon and place the potato at the edge of the dish, working round until there is only a hole left in the middle.  Top this with more potatoes and smooth over with the back of the spoon.   Using a teaspoon, mark the potato topping to resemble fish scales.

Place in a medium oven for 20-30 minutes.

The cod was delicious:

Cod topped with spicy couscous served with rice and salad

Making Whoopee!

It's been a month?   Wow.   June IS a busy time but still.

I have been cooking a lot.

Asparagus and Artichoke Salad with Poached Egg

This salad was just delightful; I roasted the asparagus in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil, lemon juice, black pepper and sea salt for 6-8 minutes; it comes out perfectly cooked and so tasty.   I tossed the artichokes in there half way through with some dried mint and added both to the salad of olive oil, honey and balsamic dressed leaves, Iberico ham, goat's cheese and cucumber topped with a poached egg.   A salad fit for a queen.

 Cupcakes for Jo
 

 

 Pan-fried Salmon with sesame oil, linseeds and salad

Artichoke and Iberico Ham Salad with Parmesan

I have also been running around like the proverbial blue-bum fly trying to pack it all in in time for school finishing which was last week.   When the last day came, it was a blessed relief!   The kids played in the park with their friends; the park throbbed with mums, dads and kids having picnics, riding their bikes, playing on the swings.....the sun shone and we all exhaled, knowing we had 7 weeks of holiday time with the kids to look forward to.  I say we all exhaled; some will hold their breath for the entire 7 weeks, some will be ok for the first 4 until they find they want to run away screaming to the hills and some will just grin and bear it...e.ach to their own; right now I'm happy.........!

 I want my holiday to begin NOW!

We went on holiday to Crieff Hydro and then Alton Towers, the biggest theme park in the UK; again, the sun shone and the kids had a ball.  

Crieff Hydro with sis and niece

Beautiful view over Crieff 

Lunch shenanigans

Beautiful horses

 

Feeding them grass

Hydro Reception...happy to be there!

Entering Alton Towers

One of the tamer rides!

On holiday we had salads, haggis, fajitas, creme brulee, hotdogs, hotpots, steak sandwiches and lots of fruit and wine!   Pretty tasty fayre, all in all.   

On our return journey, we stopped off at Morecambe Beach;

Jumping for Joy!

It's always good to be home.

.

Roast chicken with lemon and thyme 

On coming home, we cooked up a roast chicken, stuffed with lemon and thyme, Jersey Royal potatoes drizzled with olive oil, butter and sea salt, roasted potatoes, steamed broccoli and baby sweetcorn, peas and green beans coated in pesto...a new discovery and really delicious.... rice, gremolata breadcrumbs (toasted breadcrumbs with parsely, lemon rind and garlic), gravy made with the juices from the pan with a glass of champagne added and reduced.   A lovely home cooked meal.

.

Crepes stuffed with Nutella and banana, topped with icing sugar and ice cream from the local Italian cafe.    Mmmmmmm.

 ...

And now I try and redeem myself for the rest of the week; roasted tomatoes drizzled with pesto on Ryvita.

 Today, I make Whoopees for the first time; they're just out of the oven, the first batch going to Val's house today...watch this space for results.   They have been cooked in the USA for some time now and have come to these shores, looking to dethrone the cupcakes crown.   A cross between a cake and a cookie, sandwiched between a layer of vanilla buttercream, they may just do that very thing.

Merry Christmas!

Jedi Santa

Well, my lovely bloggy friends, that time is almost upon us; the time when we let the big red fella down our chimneys to eat the cookies we left him. To look out at the snow covered roofs and watch the kids laugh and giggle as they open and enjoy the gifts they received; we'll stuff our faces with beautiful birds and tasty treats, roasted ham and Brussel sprouts; we'll nap on the sofa and play board games, maybe do a jigsaw and listen to Christmas tunes.

View from our window

Grandpa has settled in, mum, sis, brother in law and baby came to visit, we ate cake, opened gifts and toasted Christmas with a wee gin and tonic. The Christmas movies are playing, the braising steak is in the oven, all the gifts are wrapped and new pyjamas are donned by little 'uns, who snuggle under blankets as we speak, happy and excited about tomorrow.

Kelly fell in love with the turkey foil, stuck eyes and a mouth onto it and let it sleep in her bed last night. Her confused brother took a picture, trying to make sense of what was going on. We gave up a long time ago.

Our Christmas feast usually consists of Christmas morning muffins with cinnamon and jam followed by bacon rolls but this year, we'll who is this 'we'll'; me, I mean...who else.... be having schnecken. Oh, and the bacon rolls of course. My twin sis and her lovely offspring will be coming to join us for this, much to the kids delight and for the first time in 12 years, I will be hosting Christmas dinner with no extra guests. We usually have all my family and Brian's dad at least but we decided that this year, we'd keep it small. I'll miss them though.

The dinner itself will be:

Scotch Broth

Honey Roasted Side of Salmon with Prawn Salad
with
Parmesan Bread or Blinis

Roast Turkey, Gingerbread Stuffing,
Ham joint,
lemon and wine flavoured gravy
and
pigs in blankets,
baby boiled potatoes, roast potatoes,
mashed potatoes

Accompanied by
Brussel Sprouts with pancetta and toasted flaked almonds,
Honey and maple syrup glazed parsnips and carrots,
Broccoli, peas and onion confit
with
Redcurrant and Cranberry sauce.

The kids will have some chocolate cake and we'll just about manage a mince pie but later...much later! We're all excited about watching Dr. Who as the master returns, much to the excitement of the kids...ok, me...Brian.... and having a lovely, relaxed time.

Lunch; lentil and vegetable soup with freshly baked bread

Merry Christmas to you all, wherever you may be.