Hot chocolate

Posted on January 22, 2025 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Browsing, Capabilitea cafe, Cold, Drink, Food, Hot chocolate, Life, Low sun, Time, Virus2 Comments

My sister and I went to have a cup of hot chocolate and some cake at the Capabilitea Cafe at Trentham Gardens, in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, this afternoon. It was lovely to get out after spending at least two weeks in the house with this dreadful virus. We were going to have a savory meal but I was tempted by this “the works” hot chocolate.

The sun was low on the horizon when I finally got out. It’s bad this time of year and it was hard to drive the couple of miles there. I’m glad I had my sister with me, she helped me blow up my car tyres and had to point out where the disabled parking spaces were on the Trentham village car park. We had a little wander so I could try and stretch my legs. I managed 1657 steps today, which is more than I’ve done in weeks (that’s in fits and starts, I have to stop and browse (take a rest), every so often). But I escaped from the house at last !

Purple rice

Posted on January 19, 2025 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Courgette, Evening meal, Food, Onion, Purple, red cabbage, Rice, sausage, Tasty, TeaLeave a comment

Tea tonight

Some mixed veg and rice with sausages.

I had some courgette, onion and red cabbage to cook so I added in a handful of rice into a pan of boiling water. I let that simmer while the sausages cooked in my air fryer. I knew that red cabbage releases colour into the water but I wasn’t quite expecting purple/blue to dye the rice.

It was a little bland but I added some brown sauce to liven things up a bit! Tasty

I see you

Posted on January 18, 2025 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Black and white cat, Cat, cats eyes, Collage, Food, Humour, Poem, Poetry, Staring, Tuxedo catLeave a comment

She gave me ‘that look’

It was questioning me,

Looking into my soul

An unblinking stare

From inches away

Looking into me

It seemed to say….

Where’s my tea?

Four years ago

Posted on January 17, 2025 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged Bacon, brown sauce, Cheese, delicious, Food, Memories, Oatcake, Ode to the Oatcake, TastyLeave a comment

According to Facebook memories four years ago I was feeling rough so my dear hubby went out and got me a cheese and bacon oatcake. It doest look appetising but with cooked bacon and mature cheddar with a hint of brown sauce, the Oatcake was folded in half, hot and tasty.

We used to have the occasional oatcake over the months, it’s a local delicacy. As the artist, author and poet Arthur Berry wrote :

Ode to the Oatcake: 1980

Let us pay homage to the Oatcake.
Or Otcake or woodcake as the old men called them.
The Oatcake is not a cake at all really.
Not like the fairy cake or the Eccles cake.
Not a cake in that way.
More of a Potteries Popadum [sic]
A sort of Tunstall Tortilla.
A Clay Suzzette.

Ginger cat comes in…

Posted on January 8, 2025 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Black and white cat, Black cat, Cat, Cat Food, Food, ginger cat, Owners, sneaking in, Tuxedo cat2 Comments

A beautiful ginger cat came in today and was eating my cats food. I had wondered why the bowls are being locked clean. This is an addition to an almost totally black cat that keeps coming in. That one doesn’t eat food but I have caught it sleeping in the spare bedroom. I’ve used flea spray and keep washing the cats bowls.

I don’t want to be horrible to them as its freezing at the moment. My own cats stand nonchalantly by, they were rescue cats and seem quite tolerant. If I can find their owners I’ll ask them what’s happening?

I must feed the birds

Posted on January 4, 2025 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged Birds, birdseed, Care, envi, Food, Garden, Help, Life, Nature, uneven steps, unsteady, WinterLeave a comment

My hubby always fed the birds at this time of year. I just realised that I need to take over. But I rarely get out in the garden because of being so unsteady and the fact that there are uneven steps,and the pathways are covered in leaf mould. I must make a plan to try and get out and feed them, other than that I think I will ask a friend.

Christmas eve

Posted on December 24, 2024 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Annoying, banana butty, cake bar, Food, hammering, Neighbour, Noisy neighbours, TeaLeave a comment

I wish I could do something about my new neighbour but I don’t want to speak to him. He’s there now, I think he does a bit of hammering to let me know he’s in. I thought my house was on fire when I came home from visiting a friend, but no he was just burning stuff in the back yard again. The smoke was drifting over the top of my kitchen. Anyway his front door just slammed and he drove off. Happy Christmas eve! I’m going to finish my banana butty and cake bar tea.

Eggs, flour, milk, lemon juice, sugar…

Posted on December 19, 2024 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged Cooking, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2157, Eating, five items, Food, Life, Pancake, Poem, PoetryLeave a comment

List your top 5 grocery store items.

I would choose to make a coherent recipe….

Thin wide pancakes

Not thick small ones

Get the pan hot

With oil in a thin layer

Swirl your pancake mix

Round the base

Cook till it starts to brown

Then flip!

Not my style of stack

I prefer a crepe.

Soup?

Posted on December 10, 2024 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blue, Bowl, Flowers, Food, Lentils, Orange, Photo, soup, table mat, White, YellowLeave a comment

Someone sent me this photo of lentil soup and suggested I try it but I wasn’t up to following the recipe. But I did like their photo. Apologies if it is copyright but I don’t think so? The table was visible in the original and the dinner mat was twisted but I straightened it up a bit and cropped it to lose the table. I just like the orange bowl and the thin blue line round the edge. It just seperates the bowl from the white and yellow of the mat.

Esther Chiltons weekly prompt is “Christmas”

Posted on November 28, 2024 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged alternative., Christmas, Esther Chiltons weekly prompt, Food, Memory, possible, Thinking, WordsLeave a comment

Christmas, alone for another year. Make Merry they say. Bah Humbug! Do I reply? No, I’m not so lost that I turn my cheek to the world. But a quiet Christmas? Maybe. One chicken leg. A small bottle of beer. Three sprouts if I’m lucky? Any sparkle and cheer? I might make handmade crackers and tie one end to the door handle to pull them. Meanwhile, I bought myself a new garden bench to sit alone on, so happy new year, dear.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Food