Hi there its ME.......omg I'm out of Olive Oil and......Tuesday, 28th January 2014.

I love my Kale Pesto!

As I say - omg........I've just used up the last tablespoon of olive oil, rape seed oil and the remaining small amount of Walnut oil...and I simply can't believe there's not a drop of oil left in my store cupboard.

Of course, I have used it well, today, all of it.  I added a tablespoon of olive oil to my batch of Pippa Kendrick Flatbreads made for breakfast, and they were really good.  Crisply griddled for three minutes on each side, each piece so meltingly crunchy and delicious, I ate both flatbreads for breakfast, with my hot coffee.

Flatbread griddling

The perfectly griddled Flatbread

OMG...two flatbreads for the same meal ...ouch!  And with my favourite jam of the moment, my Very Berry Merry Jam but well, I didn't add butter and they are cooked without oil so, I guess, it wasn't too awful and....I didn't eat anything again until about 3pm.  Also, thank goodness, I had a fairly good session at my Rosemary Conley exercise class this morning and, yes, we did have coffee afterwards but I only had a small Latte so, possibly not too damaging after all.  And, Alice took me for a walk this afternoon and I'm still standing.












OK - so for lunch I prepared a medium-sized jacket potato, sliced it in two adding a dollop of my new Kale pesto, a spoonful of fresh soured cream from Sainsbury's plus a dusting of Parmesan cheese and ground black pepper.  For a splash of colour, two small dollops of Haywards Red Cabbage, completed my delicious dish of food.
 See for yourself -

Simply lunch with no added olive oil!



And for supper, one of our favourite meals and, my default, fail-safe gluten-free meal, good and straightforwardly delicious, and, as for the carbs-loaded potato wedges, I can honestly say such food is not too regularly part of my diet, really, truly, so there!

My small-plate supper!


Whilst cooking supper, I whipped up two batches of my own recipe Kale Pesto, with just a little added enlivening garlic and my remaining supplies of olive, rape seed and walnut oil.  I'd no idea my store cupboard was so depleted!

Now I've made quite a lot of pesto these last six months but I'm always open to new ideas so, when I read Red Magazine's February issue and their article "Green Energy" on Pages 156 - 162 I was most intrigued to test their idea of blanching kale before using it, in their recipe for "kale and walnut pesto" on Page 162.  Now, I mean, I'm perfectly au fait with the notion of blanching veggies before cooking ie to cleanse, reduce or remove certain impurities but I was pleased to discover on Page 119 of  my copy of "The Concise Larousse Gastronomique" their thoughts on blanching "such  vegetables as spinach, green beans and fresh peas is equivalent to complete cooking".
 OK, so I was dealing with kale and not spinach which, let's face it, is slightly more substantial than spinach but, my kale certainly looked completely cooked and, what's more, the finished pesto's colour was of a hue slightly greener, so I was very pleased to trial Red Magazine's recipe idea for kale blanching.  Thank you, Red Magazine, for a good idea!

Well, my kale's been turned into pesto,  my "home-style" ham, eggs and "chips" satisfied two hungry people and Alice has been walked.  I made flatbreads for breakfast and devoured my delicious hot jacket potato with pesto for lunch.....plus my Rosemary Conley exercise class was good, really good and I'm still not suffering after-class aches and pains - wowwee!


Did you see my Kale Pesto photo-shot -



Daisy

IMG 4531 Hi there its ME.........It's so good to go out! - Wednesday, 2...

Hi there its ME.....on Exercising and classes Tuesday, 21st January 2014

Hi there, my second exercise class today was good.  We were presented with a new routine, with music from the '60's playing, which was great, and we were given new weights to hold to help us perform.

I did my absolute best not to be too enthusiastic - it was difficult - and made it thru' to the end of the session all in one piece...phew!

So, with a but of luck tomorrow won't be a difficult day, with me wondering why I've done another class! The thing is, if I now don't carry on, the situation will just worsen and then I'll never get fit again and that would be too awful for words.

It is great fun exercising and when I watch my class-mates, all sleek and toned, and looking damned good, I just want to be like them.  Embarrassingly - oh dear - I actually blurted out my appreciation of one particular lady today who, very sweetly, took it all in good part; what a very nice lady!

And this afternoon, we've been puppy-sitting a lovely little 12-week Dachshund puppy for one of the dear SO's sons.  And here's my photo-shot - she's sleeping after tearing around for the last thirty minutes!  Isn't she cute - just waking up for my photo-shot!

So the house has been very excited today with the puppy bouncing around, frolicking about Alice, who's been keeping a very wary eye on this little ball of brown fur.

She flies off the sofa, doing a belly-flop onto the carpet and running here and there, like a small mad rocket.

We've all had a lovely day!!!

Daisy

IMG 4514 Hi there its ME...Vlogging for the Weekend, Monday 20th January...

Hi there its Me........on aches and pains - Thursday, 16th January 2014.

Well.........I did love my Tuesday morning exercise session with that Rosemary Conley class - but - too much for my own good, I'm afraid!!!

My body didn't and - since then - I've been feeling the effects, for too much for my comfort.

I really will have to be much less enthusiastic with my movements next week, curtail the arm-swinging and shorten the leg stretch.

My body's crying out to me to rest but, of course, having lots to do, one blithely fails to recognise the symptoms and I carry on, regardlessly.

The temptation to miss next week is really strong but that would just compound the problem, making it harder to even think of doing a class and, as for actually taking part - that could make it a real no-no for following up with next week or following weeks!

Oh dear, it's going to have to be a gentle approach towards next weeks class and I will really have to be strong with myself, not to throw me into the whole music-lead-exercise-movement glory....!

Achingly yours....

Daisy

IMG 4440 Hi this is ME......on matters of the day - Wednesday, 15th Janu...

Hi there its ME.....on the view from here, Tuesday, 14th January 2014

A patchwork of pale grey, cream and a few grill black squares, inter-mingling with rectangles and long ribbon strips, connecting the whole area over head of me as I lay supine and slightly hot, smiling, recognising the view before me.

I'd seen it all before, elsewhere places, of a similar nature and construction, for the same situations, usage and demands.

And here I am, in a resting position, thankful for previous occasions when I'd found myself flat on my back, lifting and lowering the limbs, twisting the body, vainly endeavouring to catch her voice, against the musical thump assailing our senses.

It's almost relaxing, almost, until the voice of our tutor, gains our attention by telling us to gently roll over, curl into a crouching position and rise to stand upright, with our arms raised above our heads.  Complying with her instructions, we swing our arms down and up, down and up, bringing them together in a resting stance, palms together to applause our efforts today.

"Well done, Ladies!  Does anyone need to give me their email address......?"

We roll up our exercise mats and stash them in the corner, then muffling up in coats and wraps in anticipation of the cold awaiting us outside.  Some of us are going for coffee but I'm hurrying home.......things to do, words to write.

The view from here was, of course, the ceiling area of the Community Centre at Hanwell Fields in Banbury, where I'm taking part in my first session with the Rosemary Conley exercise and nutrition class.

Yippee!  I love moving to music and, whenever I'm not, I'm wondering why on earth not!

We give up on exercise far too easily - when, let's face it, it should be the very last thing to go from an active life!!!

Daisy

IMG 4427 Hi there its ME........on the view from here, Tuesday, 14th Jan...

Hi there it’s ME……on easy weekend eating 11th & 12th January 2014.

Scones and

My Victoria Sponge Cake...!

 It's early on Saturday morning and we’re off with Alice to collect the dear SO's  youngest granddaughter, for we’re on baby-sitting duties today.  We are also heading over to see friends with a new DeLonghi coffee machine, ‘cos they’re longing to display their Barista skills for us.

We’re presented with our choice of latte and cappuccino and chocolate biscuits to munch, while the children, there are now three, are happily playing.   We chatter away, all perfectly happy to be together, skipping our hot coffees and watching the little ones learn to communicate and get along with each other.

We’re planning to go our separate ways, when its decided we’ll all go out to lunch together at Limes Farm Restaurant, a favourite venue with everyone.  On the way, we’ll call in at Hinton airfield, to let Alice have a good run-about, and we’re hoping that parachutists may already be jumping out of aeroplanes, or that a glider will be taking off.

Well, yes to both and, despite the freezing wind whipping about our heads, we stand and take in all the activity for some while, before the cold becomes just too cold.

At Limes we plump for hot coffee and their Farmers Fried Breakfast and we begin to thaw out.  The children are happily tucking into chicken nuggets and chips and the littlest one is happy in his high chair throwing his mug around.

No Black Pudding by request!!!

We only had small snack food in the evening.  He had cheese on toast and used up all the cheese so I toasted two slices of my Marks and Spencer Made Without Wheat Brown Seeded bread, Hellmann’s mayo and my own home-made creamed Cavolo Nero spread on top.

my super toasted supper!

On Sunday morning, it's frosty cold and Alice is taking us for a walk to Daeda Wood, which is brilliant if cold, so we head off to another friendly family gathering and have buttered muffins and mugs of tea for brekky - brilliant!!!

Buttered muffins



I bake gluten-rich scones and a Victoria Sponge Cake for tea time -  see above!!!

For supper, snack food again - bacon and egg toasted sandwiches - mine is gluten-free, of course!

And he ate his up far too quickly...!!!

Daisy

IMG 4413 Hi it's ME.....for the Weekend - 11th and 12th January 2014

Hi th is is ME.....on Friday, 10th January, 2014.

He was a bit aghast when I trotted out that he'd had eggs and bacon for lunch today.  In fact, he'd eaten his very favourite lunch at that particular place in Oxfordshire today and, yes there was bacon together with eggs but, there were two other items as well!


One was an English muffin!  And, do you know what the fourth item was?  Have you guessed what he ate for lunch today?

No, not really?

Well, let me tell you all about his favourite lunch.  Along with the poached eggs, the buttered muffins and, sometimes, a slice of bacon, the other absolutely essential ingredient is....Hollandaise Sauce...that beautifully rich, gloriously sophisticated sauce.  Served warm on two halves of  buttered muffin, topped with two perfectly poached eggs.  Then, on to these warm mounds of food, you pour over this delicious buttery, golden sauce, add a tiny sprig of fresh, green parsley, and place this highly sophisticated plate of food before a excited, expectant foodie or loved one, and they just devour your wonderful food, almost salivating with pleasure.


And this is what the dear SO utterly loves to eat for lunch.  Sometimes, a few sautéed buttery button mushrooms are added, just for good measure, and this is what I love too, those lovely mushrooms!


I've made my own gluten-free version of this dish and, well, it wasn't bad, even he had to admit that!
Of course, it wasn't the same, really.  For a start, I made gluten-free scones.  Now I'm pretty good at scones but, without gluten, they are just not quite right.  So I was off to a poor start from the beginning  However, I'm good at Hollandaise and my poached eggs are pretty OK so it was good, in the end and I certainly enjoyed my version of Eggs Benedict.   His response was - Hmm! not bad!

This is my Eggs Benedict.....And served with cold pork for he's a keen meat-eater, too!

And this, of course, is what he was presented with today!!!!

No comparison, of course, but I always have to try my hand at favourite dishes, or anything really which I take a fancy too.  It's just in my nature to keep trying.  I love to cook and to feed my kith and kin with scrumptious food....and it's what I've been doing for a long time now.

Cooking is my passion - and I rather enjoy talking about it too!

Happy munching...

Daisy

IMG 4348 Hi this is ME....my Vlog of the Day! Friday, 10th January 2014.

Hi this is ME.....on Food of the Day - Wednesday, 8th January 2014.

We were up late this morning, at 7.30 am just for a change - it was nice.  Alice wanted a walk so off he went, trailing the dear SO behind him, and they were back indoors before I finished my second cup of tea!

For breakfast, it was lovely hot Made Without Wheat bread toast with Manuka Honey from Rowse - just lovely.

Mmm...Made Without Wheat Bread into lovely hot toast with Rowse Manuka Supahoney

Housework, chores and writing filled the hours 'til 1.40 pm when I realised it was feed-me-hunger time. Just as I was about to make more toast - no time for anything else - He came home, starving, and would I please make him toast as well, to go with the bacon I was cooking for myself - and would I also cook him a few rashers too!

Which I did, while he made a mug of tea, and then I made my toast, more of the Marks and Spencer Made Without Wheat Brown Seeded bread, which I spread with my creamed black kale, from Cavolo Nero, Parmesan Cheese, bacon + more grated Parmesan scattered over as a cheese sprinkle.  It was very good indeed, very filling and utterly more-ish. for another day, of course,  Really, truly could not eat another morsel.

Here's a photo-shot of my loverly lunch

Hot toast, creamed Cavolo Nero, Parmesan cheese and Bacon and more Parmesan cheese - yummy!!!

We dined on my gluten-free Pastries, filled with mashed root veggies and tiny chunks on the Sokolow Polish Copernicus Best Sausage from Morrisons, which He brought home last night with the Polish Classic Roast Bacon.  

He's very good at interesting food finds !

Here's a photo-shot of my pastries -

Just one pastry for me....!

I also made up the frozen puff pastry bought from Sainsbury's before Christmas, for recipe idea, using it to make a dozen small mince pies, most of which were tinned-up as soon as cold and able-to-be put-out-of-sight.  Emergency rations for the weekend for reading of  the Weekend Telegraph and The Times...!

Happy days!

Daisy

Hi there its ME......on food and books Tuesday, 7th January 2014

It was His turn to cook supper tonight....so off to Morrisons to buy something different....coming back with a packet of their Polish Bacon.  It was a piece of bacon which he sliced into four pieces, cooking very easily and having a very good sweet taste to the meat, which he cooked in our griddle pan.  We had potatoes and mixed vegetables + an onion gravy to complement the bacon.

For pudding we finished off my chocolate chinchilla from Monday evening.  I've made a videoblog demonstration of the making of this pudding for You Tube, but if you watch it, do turn the sound down on your machine, for my presentation includes the egg whipping, and it's rather loud!!!

For lunch today, I made myself a jacket potato with Heinz Baked Beans + Morrisons soured cream flavoured with chilli powder, sea salt and ground black peppercorns - it was good and nicely warming -

Yesterday's quick lunch was Sainsbury's Highland Oatcakes, Morrisons soured cream, with Sainsbury's tikka Chicken breast meat + Gourmet Quince Paste -

For supper I prep'd my sausage casserole with chunks of hot potato for himself and for me, Marks and Spencer Made Without Wheat Penne -

Pudding was my rendition of Elizabeth David's Chocolate Chinchilla served with soured cream.  The pudding's recipe is included in ED's book - "Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen" ISBN - O 14 046.163.9

Daisy
PS happy cooking and eating!

IMG 4270 Hi there it's ME.......on food and matters arising - Monday, 6t...

Hi there its ME....on weekend activities - Monday, 6th January 2014.

Despite the rain lashing down and the dark clouds overhead, I'm off to add kitchen waste to my composter.  The pile is growing steadily, with a good mixture of kitchen trimmings, paper, egg shells and tea bags - oh and Alice's hair-brushing's.  I'm trying to keep the mix well-turned to ensure it "cooks" well but, the dear SO was quite right, its quite hard to stir it up with just a large garden fork.
However, needs must, so I get to grips with the problem and, with a lot of huffing and puffing, I do eventually manage to get my mix well-turned-over.

I shall get a box of Garotta very soon - it's an additive to help break up the food waste particles, thus hastening the whole process of decomposition-into-compost project. I've also added a plastic cover to help with warmth;  like all good recipes, a little warmth certainly helps the process!

With a mug of welcomingly hot tea to hand, I joyfully sink my teeth into a slice of Polly's Ma's home-made rose and beetroot cake, made with rosewater from Sainsbury's, to give a delightful "smokey" flavour to the moist crumb.  The cake was dressed with a lovely cream cheese icing, too.

Alice and I walked home  thru' the rain, she splashing in and out of the puddles with me trailing after her!!!

At home for lunch, of toasted Marks and Spencer Made Without Wheat bread, houmous, rocket, topped with Sainsbury's tikka chicken breast and toasted seeds and coffee, while both of us dried off after our wet walk home!

A spot of baking and making my own gluten-free recipe pastry for sausage rolls and mince pies, which we heartily enjoyed over the weekend.  And now, they've all gone, oh dear!

Shall I make more, mmmm!???  We'll see.

Shall I make a gluten-free rose and beetroot cake too - well, we'll see about that too, hey?  I also have an idea to make a beetroot, carrot and date cake, with a Philadelphia Cream Cheese icing.

Oh goodness me, those sausage rolls were good and, on Sunday, I sliced one up and served it with hard boiled eggs, with a creamy stuffing of egg yolk, houmous and soured cream, flavoured with chilly powder, black pepper and sea salt, all topped off with red cabbage, for a quick Sunday lunch snack - see here -

A good weekend all round, for comfort and good eating, but I was somewhat bothered by the BBC news reportage of Ministerial comments about "ancient woodlands", "environmental damage" and "biodiversity offsetting".  Thank goodness, for Campaigners the Woodland Trust and Friends of the Earth.

You do have to keep an eye on what's going on elsewhere too?

Daisy

IMG 4200 Hi there its ME.......on Elizabeth Jane Howard, Mrs. Gaskell an...

Hi there its ME......with sad news of the death of author, Elizabeth Jane Howard

The writer, Elizabeth Jane Howard, loved and followed for all of her books, and particularly by me for her tetrology of novels concerning the Cazalet family, died yesterday, 2nd January, 2014,  at the age of 90, at her home in Bungay, Suffolk.

The Cazalet Chronicles follow the lives and fortunes of an upper-class English family before and during WW2, and ends with her fifth and final book - "All Change"  published in the autumn of 2013.

I read all four books last summer and remember watching the BBC TV series of her first two books - "The Light Years" (1990) and "Marking Time" (1991).

Now, I'm just about to get into her fifth and last book, and very sorry that this must be the final chapter on the life of The Cazalets.

Her books are wonderfully descriptive, emotionally rewarding, amusing and very readable.

I don't know any of her other works but shall make sure to research them as soon as possible this year.

I must record my thanks to "LibertyLondonGirl's Daily Email" for news of Elizabeth Jane Howard's death in her "Appreciation of Elizabeth Jane Howard" of 2nd January 2014.

Daisy

Hi this is ME...on Thursday, 2nd January, 2014 - on Cookery Books...

I've just been given two cookery books, to add to my collection, which is excellent.  They're not new books, as such, but new to me and, in between brisk bouts of tidying up yesterday, with a cup of coffee to hand, I trawled through the pages of both books, becoming delighted with the recipes, the presentation and the glorious photographs.

Photographs are totally not to be under-estimated for the weight of conviction the bring to publications of all kinds, families of foods, types, national and international, historic, modernistic, contemporary. They stimulate interest, inspire research and experimentation and colour our imagination with feasts for all occasions.

They're instant, confirmatory and hard copy we can physically hold on to; keep in our wallets, handbags or even use as book markers.  Kept in a scrap book, they're a wonderful reminder of past feasts and feasts yet to be imagined and enjoyed.

Just think of all those glorious cookery books, absolutely stuffed to bursting, with beautiful colour photo's of various kinds and types of foods; indeed the whole range of food stuff is there for you to enjoy and remember, you eat with your eyes before ever a morsel touches your lips.

I've owned books by this cook-author before and loved the presentation, sophistication and unique blend of food, fun and fulsome glamour.  I can't wait to try her recipe for cabbage and Nigella seeds, although I might substitute cumin seeds, as suggested, as my kitchen, currently, does not possess these.  How shocking you might well say, however, Amazon is very able to supple such things, so all is not lost!

Yes, of course, I'm talking about two of Nigella Lawson's books - "Nigella Express" and "Nigella Bites".   One of her books previously kept on my book shelves, was her Christmas book, containing a gingerbread recipe which, I must admit, did not come up to expectation but, such things do happen from time to time, and the lack of success could have come about thru' a variety of reasons.  Actually, it was quite funny, when we tried to slice up the gingerbread, and it wouldn't!  It just happens.

I could tell you about a cheesecake, whose creamy top, slid off as I tried to carry it to the table, of wholesome food, the flavour of which sent my family running from the table and of a Christmas cake's royal icing which had to be chipped away, all because somebody had not added any glycerine to the mix.

It just happens, little food mishaps, which bring a touch of humour to the proceedings.

I'm looking forward to trying out the recipes contained within.....

I will let you know how I get on.........

Daisy

IMG 4150 Hi there its ME...on Buckwheat "pancakes" on New Year's Eve, Tu...

Hi there its ME.....late on New Year's Day, Wednesday, 1st January 2014.

And this was lunch today....see below!

What a busy day it's been, trying to tidy up after Christmas and the New Year celebrations, putting things away, making lists of cards received, presents received, to go with my given list.  My card book has lists going back for years, so I know who's been sent cards, and from whom I've received cards.

I love sending cards, keeping in touch with friends, even if it is only once a year, it's still a link and that's good.

And presents well, as they say, "absence makes the heart grow fond, presents make it fonder still!" and we all love both giving and receiving presents.

So today I made my presence felt at home, making it neat and tidy again, dusting down and emptying the washing machine, getting the dishwasher on.

Easy food to keep us going and for supper, our favourite sausages, bubble and squeak, peas and fried eggs and all naturally gluten-free -

Yummy easy peasy food!!!

And for my lunch snack, easy pork and veggie left-overs, only needing a quick microwave warm-up, to make it hot, tasty and good to eat!


We've just watched Sherlock Holmes, his first re-appearance since falling off that high building, ending up dead.....when of course, he didn't die, and now he's back again. It's a must-watch, top-favourite programme with us.  The next viewing date for him is Sunday, 5th January, which has been programmed in ...its unmissable!

As I type this, Harry Potter is defeating you-know-who - great TV again and utterly unmissable and well, I have done a great deal of ironing today, as well as everything else!!!

Daisy