Comfort food

Posted on August 5, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Banana, Blogging, Comfort food, Cooking, Custard, Eat, Heat, Milk, Recipe, Sugar, Table spoons, TastyLeave a comment

What’s your favourite comfort food.

Mine is simple, banana and custard…

Recipe, to make two portions.

1 large or 2 small bananas per person.

2 heaped table spoonfuls of custard powder.

2 flat tablespoons of sugar (but I use 1 flat table spoonful of sucralose based granulated sweetener)

1 pint of milk.

Method,

Chop the bananas to bite size pieces and put aside in two bowls.

Put two heaped table spoons of custard powder in a mixing bowl. Add sugar (or sweetener). Use less for thinner custard and less sugar for less sweetness.

Add a small amount of milk to the powder to make a thinnish paste.

Put the rest of the milk in a pan and bring to the boil.

Pour the boiling milk onto the custard paste and mix till the custard has dissolved into it.

Pour the mix back into the pan, bring to the boil and continue to boil for a minute or till the custard has thickened. Once it is ready pour over the bananas.

Eat! Don’t forget to wash up.

Staying up too late

Posted on July 26, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Heat, Life, Night, Poem, Poetry, Short poem, Sleep, Sleepy, TiredLeave a comment

It’s late again

It’s hot again,

The pubs busy over the road

People walk by, shouting

Enjoying the heat

Banging car doors

Revving engines

Shut up, shut up, shut up!

I can’t sleep,

The heat holds me in its hand,

Stifling my body,

The noises throb in my ears

I need sleep!

Sunset, Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent

Posted on July 25, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Etruria, Heat, Life, Red sky at night, Shelton, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, Sunset, WeatherLeave a comment

As we left Etruria tonight a red glow was spreading at the bottom of the grey clouds. As we got up to the top of the hill it had spread across the sky with the sun peeping through. This was a reminder of ‘red sky at night, shepherd’s delight, red sky in the morning shepherd’s take warning’. I’m hoping this means things will cool down tomorrow. I’ve got a lot of things to do. The temperature reached 38.6°C and we are not used to it here. Global warming seems to be getting worse. I do wonder if we can get the temperature under control. The anthropocene era seems likely to be one of mass extinctions sadly.

Heat

Posted on July 24, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Flowers, Garden, Gnats, Heat, Photos, Storm, ThunderLeave a comment

Some of the plants got bashed by last night’s storm. The temperatures are very hot although there was a bit of cloud cover for about 5 minutes and with a gentle breeze it felt quite pleasant in the garden. Now though the sun’s come out again and I feel like I’m being bitten by gnats or midges. I also realise I should have used some sunscreen. I think it’s around 32°C?

Last night I made gooseberry fool for dessert using the gooseberries we had picked from the garden a few days ago. You have to top and tail then first, which took a while as we had loads of small fruits. I boiled the goosegogs with some sweetener, let it cool then added the mashed fruit to mixed yoghurt and whipped double cream. Delusions cool and green.

Oh good, sun’s gone back in for a bit.

Resting bee

Posted on July 22, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Bee, Close up, Colour photo, Environment, Garden, Heat, Insect, Life, Photo, Pollenator, Weather2 Comments

My husband almost sat on this bee. I tried to give it some water but it flew off.

As the paper said in the seventies “phew what a scorcher”.

I managed to get quite close then used the zoom on my phone. The metal look plastic weave on the chair make it interesting and I like the detail on the bee and the folded wings. You can just see the antenna on the left side so that’s the head end x

Hello July

Posted on July 1, 2019July 1, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Bees, Heat, July, Micro poem, New month, Poem, Poetry, Summer, SunshineLeave a comment

FB_IMG_1560902248268

As June turns into July

I see a bird rise up to fly

I see a cloud floating past

and a flag upon a mast.

I see buttered scones

and currant buns,

Ice cream cones

and happy mums,

dozing cats all curled, asleep

The carp from its pond does peek

People rest and take their ease.

Buzzy are the drones of bees.

Now that summers at its height

Feel the Sun in its might.

Cats keeping cool

Posted on June 30, 2019 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Bathroom, Black and white, Black and White cats, Cat, Cats, Cool, Environment, Heat, Temperature1 Comment

The cats are inhabiting the bathroom while the weather is hot. I’ve got a board to sit on because I struggle to get into the bath. Although I’ve started to do yoga to try and build up my core strength. It’s easy to leave the board there and put a cat mat on it. My boy cat likes to lie there at night as there is less insulation in our extension so it cools down quicker (not so good in the winter). The other smaller cat likes it too but she gets pushed off by the bigger cat so she ends up on the corner of the bath.

Yesterday was really hot and they slept on the floor on the cool tiles for some of the time. Today it’s cooler though still hot and they have resumed their places. Not for long though. I want a nice cool shower.

Sitting in the summerhouse

Posted on June 29, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Bad poem, Hay-fever, Heat, Micro poem, Micro poetry, Poem, Poetry, Summerhouse, TiredLeave a comment

1561831733078548673259659139220 — In the summerhouse

Writing the summerhouse,

In the baking heat,

Trying to relax and stretch,

On a hot seat.

No double glazed windows

No insulation to keep us cool.

Only the doors to open

See the little pool.

The steam is rising from my head,

My feet feel like lead.

Hot and humid

Wringing wet

Skin is dripping

With sweat.

Then the radio blared out

34 degrees at Heathrow

Cold, cool, frozen, water, shivering, teeth chattering….none of these are here right now.

If I had got ice or ice cream I would eat it like snow.

Thats what I want, you know.

Darkening sky and rising breeze,

Thunder rumbles overhead

Drops of water trickle down

Now heat and wind have fled.

A streak of lightening,

A whip of lightening Streaks the air

Then the pub returns a blare

Of House, rap, and garage music.

It’s not the heat that drives me in.

But the beat that does my head in!

Sunlight

Posted on June 27, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Brightness, Environment, Heat, Joy, Light, Poem, Poetry, Sunlight, WarmthLeave a comment

6am, sunlight creeps in

and bathes the dusty books

with a golden glow

chases away the cobwebs

sings loudly by the door

breaks vases with a sparkle

finds dust motes in the air.

Sunlight cleans and bleaches

exposes over and over

till red book covers are faded

now salmon pink

Sunlight tinged with heat

warms your head

tickles your feet

raises a smile

makes you feel alive

a photosynthetic dash

of vitamin D

Sunlight is Life.

My new washing up sponge.

Posted on May 21, 2019May 21, 2019 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Cat, Fun, Heat, Humour, Life, Purr, Sleep, Sunbathing, Sunshine, Washing upLeave a comment

Cats are heat seeking, so when I put some of the washing up away, well he jumped up and sat in the warm patch of sunlight!

I’m considering using him as a dish mop or tea towel. I’m surprised he hasn’t jumped into my frying pan.

At one stage he had his head down and started purring loudly. Don’t worry I washed it all again afterwards. The space is now full of draining crockery and I’ve cleared a space for him away from here.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Heat