Hungry

Posted on August 10, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Couples, Evening meal, Food, Hungry, Life, Sad, UpsetLeave a comment

I’m hungry, only had breakfast today, my hubby isn’t interested. He had a big meal and doesn’t want anything, but I’m hungry. Went to the fridge, he’s already eaten something I had bought for both of us. He’s eaten both portions. I told him he’s a black hole, engulfing everything edible in sight.

I have some fresh beetroot and I’m thinking of making hummus with it, with some brown bread. But I have to cook it. He doesn’t really cook, he can do boiled egg on toast. The trouble is I have been so disappointed by his cooking that I take over. Its worrying because if anything happens to me will he cope? So anyway, I’m fed up (not fed). I feel like going on strike!

Yesterday was Oatcake day.

Posted on August 10, 2019August 10, 2019 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Arthur Berry, Artist, Author, Breakfast, Food, Lunch, Oatcakes, Oats, Poem, Poetry, Tasty, TeaLeave a comment

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And I forgot! I don’t know if it’s the same day every year. Anyway I’ve written a little poem in its honour. The best Oatcake poem I ever read was by the artist Arthur Berry. Look it up if you can.

Oatcakes are a pancakes cousin,

designed for savoury

not sweet.

Try with cheese and tomato,

can be eaten cold,

but I prefer heat.

Chilli sauce would add a tickle,

beetroot would be neat.

Oatcakes are a breakfast tipple,

with a good strong cup of tea.

Lunch you find with salad topping

grated cheese and pickle too.

Tea for two an Oatcake feasting,

Maybe sweet with cream or jam.

Versatile the little Oatcake,

Made with simple love you see,

Stoke-on-Trents tortilla, tasty.

Makes a meal for you and me

Art lunch.

Posted on August 8, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Art lunch, Colourful, Cooking, Food, Party, Tasty, VegetablesLeave a comment

I still feel ill but I was pleased to go to the Art Lunch held at the Etruria Warehouse today.

A lovely lunch was organised by my friend Chris, with mostly vegetarian options. One thing that was really unusual was beetroot hummus. This was made with boiled beetroot and potato with walnuts, all whizzed together with garlic and a bit of vinegar. You could use lemon juice instead.

Sitting in the sun listening to musicians, with a beautiful lunch. Lots of cups of tea. Birthday cake because a friend is due to celebrate his birthday. Plus drawing some of the people who came. It was great fun. Both of us have come home exhausted but I’m glad we went.

Being mugged by a cat.

Posted on August 6, 2019 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Cat, Cheeky cat, Food, Life, Mugging, Owners, Rescue cats, Stray?6 Comments

In all my years of cat ownership I’ve never been mugged so much by a cat. He’s not ours, he can’t come in as I have two rescue cats that are very happy. They won’t like having another one.

The cat who keeps visiting is getting fed every day. He comes to our back door and miaows. My hubby feeds him and so he’s getting big and fat!

Now I’m happy to look after him outside. But he’s too healthy and friendly to be feral. Perhaps he’s a stray, but if he is he must be being fed by other people to get so big! I’m thinking of putting a paper collar on him to try and see who his owners are? I could do with some advice please.

One tiny, curly, cucumber

Posted on August 6, 2019August 6, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged A small offering, Cucumber, Cucumber plant, Food, Gardening, Life, Plant, Taste4 Comments

We planted lots of cucumber and squash plants this year. But this was all I managed to grow.

It’s about 7 or 8 centimetres long and curled round with a thin stalk end and a bulbous end where the initial flower grew.

What to do? It’s come loose from the stem so it’s now in the fridge. I’m going to peel off the rough bits and chop it up finely. I might add it to some spicy tomato chutney I’ve got in. Then I will add that as an accompaniment to some cheese sandwiches on fresh brown bread. I hope that is a suitable use of my little friend.

PS… It was very tasty!

Blueberries

Posted on July 21, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Blue, Blueberries, Environment, Flowers, Food, Garden, Hanging baskets, Plant, Ripening4 Comments

We have two small blueberry bushes on loan from a friend. They sit either side of the back door. One bush is sad and half died off. The other is healthy.

But it’s the blueberries on the tatty bush that are starting to ripen. As you can see they start out green, gradually swell and then the blue works it’s way over the fruit from the top to the base where it is attached to a stalk. I think they will get darker blue than this.

I haven’t been on line much today because I’ve been tidying up the jungle if a garden we have. Deadheading my hanging baskets. Watering the plants and tidying up the shed. I’m pooped!

Here are a couple of the baskets I’ve been working on. I like the multilayer look. There is ivy growing up the wall so it looks quite nice.

Gooseberries

Posted on July 21, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Crop, Environment, Food, Fruit, Garden, Gooseberry, Gooseberry Bush, Growing, Life, Plant5 Comments

The crop! These are off one scraggy bush in the garden that was surrounded by stinging nettles. There is one red one somewhere in the jug from another bush but that one didn’t fruit well and we only found the one. I’m thinking if making a gooseberry and apple pie or cake. I think I’ve got the ingredients in to make one.

Gooseberries are not that popular and have a distinct taste. I can’t explain it, sour, green and fresh? I don’t know if you can buy them from a shop or supermarket, because they are a bit unusual. If I make something I might post a photo.

Chemicals

Posted on July 19, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Additives, Atoms, Chemicals, Chemistry, Compounds, Elements, Food, Molecules9 Comments

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One thing I hear a lot of nowadays is, I can’t eat that it’s got chemicals in it.

I agree that some things are not good for you. But that’s not because of ‘chemicals’. Why? Because unless you try and live on sunshine (some people do, believe it or not ) everything is made of chemicals, that’s because it’s made of atoms and molecules that make up the basic building blocks of the world.

Atoms and molecules? Single chemicals are elements, and if you have more than one sort, joined together they make compounds.

Oxygen is an element, hydrogen and oxygen is water, H2O. The air we breathe is made of chemicals… Nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, argon and other trace elements.

Food is made of chemicals, mixtures and aggregations of elements and compounds, from meat to yoghurt, lettuce to lemon merangue to coffee or tea. It’s only when things are added that food can become bad for you. Like if you treat vegetable oil (made if chemicals) to make it harder you get hydrogenated vegetable oil, which is bad for you as it can clog arteries.

We have to be aware of what is good and bad for you, but using a generic term about chemicals does not help clarify the issue.

Dinner time

Posted on July 13, 2019July 13, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Cooking, Evening meal, Food, Glass noodles, Jasmine rice, Lettuce, Sawadee Thai taste, Scallops, Sea bass, Staffordshire, Stoke, Stoke-on trent, Thai restaurant2 Comments

Scallops on lettuce with glass noodles.

Queen scallops on lettuce with glass noodles, and Seabass in a rich sauce.

We also had pork and pak choi with noodles and spicy sauce. When you are too tired to cook after a long day this is heaven. My hubby was so tired he almost fell asleep after the food, but we had a brisk walk home as there was quite a chilly breeze. For once it was great to sit down and watch some TV.

Now its three hours later and I’m off to bed for a rest. Goodnight.

Babka rose

Posted on July 12, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Babka, Bread, Bread in common, Cooking, Folded, Food, Hartshill, Poppy seed cake, Risen cake, Stoke-on trent, Tasty, YeastLeave a comment

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There is a place in Hartshill in Stoke-on-Trent that opens on a Friday and they sell Babka’s.

It’s called Bread in Common and they bake delicious bread but also babka buns, tea cakes and other delights.

I’d never tasted a babka before, they are apparently made in many places, as far apart as Poland and Israel. They are folded in layers and rise because they have yeast in them. The ones we bought have a sweet mixture including poppy seeds folded into them. They are cooked in little tin trays and when they come out of the oven they have swollen and spread out so that they are a spongy, bready consistency. They are delicious.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Food