Wishing my readers and those who come by now and again, a kinder New Year.
It's my blog anniversary tomorrow, 11 years and I often celebrate by sharing cookbooks, but this year I haven't been inspired very much to cook because of the pandemic, hence the lack of blogging last year and flicking through cookbooks, old or new. I don't know how inclined I will be this year either, but I do have a new blog header to celebrate my Blogiversary as it has become a bit of an tradition to do so.
I am already whimpering at the thought that tomorrow morning when the alarm goes off, I have to return to work (albeit I am still working from home).
The weeks annual leave does not feel enough, that I am contemplating taking another week off in not too long.
I feel like I have hardly done anything worthwhile. Then D gently reminded me that I did a lot of learning. And this is true, I did a lot of reading, I even attended a on-line Cyber School. We went for a walk and discovered for ourselves the most magnificent tree. I've done some gardening. I have overslept without feeling guilty. I have stayed up late and watched some films and documentaries and mostly and more importantly. I switched off from thinking about work and got to rest and I guess that is what matters.
My Kitchen like many people around the country is very quiet in relation to new ingredients and shiny new things, so I am going to share some things purchased a little while back, early last month, as well as what I have been cooking whilst in quarantine.
I have had this Bumble Bee Beeswax Sandwich Wraps this in my kitchen cupboards since September, I have plans to have a go at making some of my own at home and hope to share it with you next month. Its been something that I have been wanting to do for a long while.
Easy bake bread yeast is so hard to come by now, so I was glad that my niece found some at a supermarket in her town and sent me some.
I was grateful as we have been able to make bread at home, please don't be that impressed - the Bread maker machine is doing most of the work. We didn't have to purchase any bread flour as we had a sack load still from last year. I think I have said before we have always been in the habit of doing a big bulk shop (tinned tomatoes, dried beans, lentils, grains, as well as flours) in the long-run its often works out much cheaper for us, but also the fact that we don't really like supermarket shopping. So Iam both thankful and feel privileged to be in a position to do that.
D picked up these oranges early March before quarantine, but in true D style its me that ends up having to find ways of using them. I have made Orange Ginger Apple Loaf Cakeand have plans to make a Orange and Caraway Madeira Loaf tomorrow. We also have a load of sweet potatoes and I have been making lots of dishes with them such as Double Potato and Pepper Curry with Chickpeas and this Sweet Potato, Sweetcorn and Red Pepper Soup - I will share the recipe tomorrow.
I also have a stash of dried beans, such as blackeye peas and have made Sweet Potato and Blackeye Bean Soup, as well as this Creole Hoppin' Rice dish (below).
Pasta is hard to get at the moment, not that I am desperate for it at home, but the last time I went to the supermarket with D which was mid March, this was the only pasta left on the shelf.
Other than the unrecyclable packaging, I am not complaining at the spinach farfalle at all, but obviously it did not appeal to other people. I picked up two.
This Sage Derby Cheese which now seems like a luxury cheese under the circumstances was finished off last month in aSage Green and Lettuce Quiche.
One of the neighbours gave us some freshly laid chicken eggs, so I have made Cheese Quiche more than once in the last three weeks. If you look closer, it looks like there is meat in this - but it's actually leftover Quorn Roast. This Golden Cheese and Mock Ham Quiche was really nice to eat on the first day, but I must admit, I wasn't keen on the mock ham filling the following day.
The first is Turmeric Pilau with Yellow (aka Split Pea) Lentils and Curly Kale. It was nice, but not very well photographed as I just hurriedly plonked the food in the bowl.
The second yellow dish was Cauliflower, Fenugreek and Yellow (Split Pea) Dal. It came about when my darling husband wanted me to make Cauliflower Curry and I had a hankering for the most delicious of pauper dishes - Dal, so I decided to combine the both. Combing dal with a vegetable is not that unusual, many families of South Asian heritage or diaspora do this, to add either add more flavour or texture or to bulk it up to feed a family. It was really delicious and quite comforting to eat, but as it was served late in the evening - the lighting was poor and my kitchen table top is not the best either.
The third yellowish Lemon cheesecake was made over Christmas in place of my traditional Christmas Cranberry Cake. It did not turn out well. For a start, look at the scary googly eyes on that angel figure. The cake itself, although edible was a bit of a flop - the biscuit base to hard, the whipped cream too fluffy (and not set) and then I went and smothered it and made it look even messy and clumpy with Prosecco Apricot Jam with edible glitter.
The fourth Yellow recipe is for Coconut and Lemon Cake. We liked it. Its simple and has no airs or graces about it, and its own golden topping is glistening with nature bling, but it was too simple to share - even the lemon sweet slice on top could not make it fancy.
Yesterday and much of today we have spent in our allotment garden plot. I am not going to complain about the weather. It's been hot, very hot but I was thankful for it as we have got loads of done between the two of us. The ground is ready for planting. We have some seedlings in the greenhouse, but not many - as I mentioned before, our greenhouse was badly damaged and although fixed now, we have not been able to grow much from seed and D wants to get tomatoes in before we go away on holiday. So next weekend, the plan is to go to a garden centre or nursery and pick up some vegetable plants and put them straight into the ground. Food today is easy fare. Jacket potato, paprika nut cheese, salad and home-made coleslaw, but I share with you something I made a few days back - Baked Tandoori Cauliflower Wings.
Regular blog readers will know that D and myself will nip over the Welsh border into England and visit some places we like. So its no surprise that we ended up in Bristol again. We rarely ever go into the city centre as we like visiting and supporting independent places, so this time we decided to take a wander in a part of the city that we have wanted to see for a long while - St Paul's.
St Paul's in Bristol has history. Here's a link to UK Port Cities: District of St Paul'sand an article in The Guardian (2016) about St Paul's from 2016 to give you some insight. St Paul's was one of Bristol's first ever suburbs.
Last year I read my fist serious non fiction book in years The Good Immigrant. I re-read it again early this year and it was a link shared by the writer Nikesh Shukla, to an on-line documentary called Neighbourhoods For Sale that finally reminded me that St Paul's was a part of Bristol I had yet to see.
In the past I have seen fellow bloggers share blog post of their fails in the kitchen, I thought I would share some food related photographs that did not make a blog post in their own right.
Here is a vegetarian roast dinner with mock 'meat' slices. I loved the colours but the presentation let me down.
Gusts of 80 mph winds last night and the early hours of the morn kept us on edge as we slipped between sleep and being awake. We heard smashing glass and imagined that our greenhouse was gone. We heard the slamming and pounding of rain on the window panes and feared dislodged slates from the roof. We heard the wind howling in rage; and feared that the big tree behind our house may fall and cause our home some damage and there was nothing we could do. It all sounded a lot worse than it actually was. Yes there were smashed glass panes and it will be frustrating for D, as it is every year he has to patch it together, but thankful it was not worse. The tree behind our house is strong and home to many birds. I hope it withstands the battering of climate change. as for the greenhouse, - I always wonder will we ever live in a place where the greenhouse withstands mother natures torment. I say this as every year, no matter where we have lived our greenhouse has been damaged by the natural elements.
One of my nephews has been calling me my little courgette because of my moss green rain coat, its term of endearment and affection, but its also a cheeky little request to make him a CourgetteCake, I promised to when courgettes were in season and indeed they are now.
Courgette brownies are not new and nor are courgette cakes, they have been around a while - in fact throwing vegetables in sweet recipes including cakes, biscuits and rice pudding is not a new idea at all, even if some people think and convince themselves and those around them that they were the first to introduce the social media generation to this idea. Sadly I think its the same people who fall for fake news, which also is not new. The world is indeed shrinking and everything according to them can be answered by google. One of my lecturers at Glasgow University, now a Professor Greg Philo teachings impacted and completely changed the way I viewed the mass media a. I still have a copy of his original publication Seeing is Believing: The Influence of Television, which was gifted to me as a student. In the book, Greg Philo focuses on how the media has the power to influence and instil in the viewer negative and bias viewpoints. One example of this was the way Arthur Scargill, a prominent British Trade Unionist during the British Miners Strike in 1984 - 85 was vilified by the British media. I remember as a child growing up in Wales also being duped by the popular media publications demonising this man and the protesting miners being portrayed in extreme negative light, after all the media could never lie (I am being sarcastic here). A decade ago it was bogus asylum seekers and refugees, today its around other migrants veiled under BREXIT and then we must not forget the Other as we see a rise in hate incidents towards the visible muslim community. Since having both my eyes and mind opened to the power of the media to propagate misinformation and bias, I have always been sceptical of media portrayal around most things and this has extended nowadays to social media, therefore I am very selective in what I read these days even so called high ranking food blogs, as people put financial gain and popularity before ethics these days. I could go on, but I will stop as it will become a rant, and this is a food blog after all.
The National Eisteddfod officially starts today, so I thought I'd share a blog post about 5 Things that I personally love about Wales. Actually there are lots of things that I love about Wales but...today I will start with 5.
First and foremost, I love our Welsh flag, the Red Welsh Dragon standing proud on green lush land. It is a flag that does not intimidate but boasts pride, strength and stance.
We love our Red Dragon so much we stamp him on everything to remind you where you are just in case you forget your in Wales; and if your not - its to remind you of Wales.
I have Welsh flag bunting in my garden, in the kitchen on my apron, pint glasses and mugs I drink out of and even a cookie cutter.
Second the fantastic and magical Castles, whether it's raining or shining, Welsh castles light up naturally against the beautiful glorious Green lush backdrop of spectacular scenery found all over Wales. In the past I have shared 5 Welsh Castles: Harlech Castle, Caerphilly and Chepstow. There are so many castles and ruins to explore in Wales. Did you know that Wales has more castles per square than any other county in the world.
Now onto number three: Welsh Dragons. Welsh Dragons come in many magnificent shapes and sizes and guess what?! Some of our dragons do actually breath fire - for real!
A little while ago, I stumbled upon the fantastical Ebbw Vale Dragon in Blaenau Gwent. This steely dragon was part funded by the European Union. He is made from thousands of individual stainless steel scales. He certainly does have a presence in the town centre, just look at those claws. Recently Caerphilly Castle welcomed a new reptile like red and black scaled dragon which measures four metres long , he has an outreached claw and smoke flaring nostrils. This dragon was sadly only temporary making an appearance for the Welsh v England Six Nations game, so I have not met him yet, but I haven't given up yet.
Now I introduce you to more gentler dragons that have come and gone are these Super Dragons spotted in Newport Gwent a few years back.
This is a Canary Dragon inspired by Tweety Pie a Loony Tunes character.
I am sharing this particular photograph of a Punk Welsh Dragon with My Sunday Photo hosted by One Dad 3 Girls. The Welsh are happy to even laugh at themselves, check out these not particularly good graffiti art sprayed dragons, but humorous nonetheless.
Even our first money saving boxes are shaped like dragons (not piggy banks). So you can see why I marvel at Welsh dragons.
Now onto number 4 and one of my reasons for loving Wales: The Warm Welsh Welcome! As I said at the beginning its the start of the National Eisteddfod. The Eisteddford is a celebration of Wales and Welshness, of our culture, priding ourselves on our countrys achievements and of the notion of belonging to a community. The Welsh are the best when it comes to showing 'A Warm Welsh Welcome' and a poignant moment in history of this Warm Welcome was the way Welsh Miners in south Wales embraced Paul Robeson. Paul Robeson was a black American actor, singer, civil rights campaigner and lawyer who moved to Britain in the 1920s and his love affair with Wales began. Robeson met with south Wales miners and realised that the struggle and oppression in Wales was just the same as that being endured by Black people in America. The Welsh, especially the miners embraced Paul Robeson's version of Land of My Fathers which he was invited to sing at the Eisteddfod in Ebbw Vale, 1958. Just listening to Paul Robesons rendition of Land of My Fathers takes my breath away.
My interest in Hidden Black history was peaked and I was well on the way to my chosen vocation in life: Welsh ethnic and cultural diversity. I never got to write my own book on hidden black history in Wales and the contributions of people of colour in Wales as I moved to Scotland, but am proud that one was finally published: Cymru Ddu: Black Wales: A History.
Cymru Ddu: Black Wales: shares the hidden history of of black presence in Wales since the 16th century, the Welsh involvement in the slave trade and the emergence of minority ethnic communities at Wales many ports. Although the majority of Wales voted out of the European Union: BREXIT, I would still like to think that most of is welcoming, if not tolerant. And finally - number five, a good Welsh Cakes - how can you not love a proper bakestone Welshcake!
First the roses in the garden are blooming and giving off their most magnificent scent. Its the first year we have so many roses, but its not dramatic enough yet, I think they will be even fantastic come next year, but they are such natural mood enhancers that they make me smile and warm my soul. I am hoping the weekend weather remains kind with its sunshine and dryness, as I am hoping to go to the garden centre and pick up some vegetables to put into the ground that I have weeded and dug over.
Some of you may know that a couple of weeks back I went to Cornwall for a weeks holiday. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and hope to go back again and visit those places we missed. I've shared so many pictures of Cornwall on my blog already, but today for Five on Fridays I wanted to share Five things that made me smile, made me think positively and I am not the most positive person you'll ever meet, I am too grounded in reality and it makes my heart sink, but here are some things that warmed my heart.
Some people call the zillions or thousands of followers on their Facebook page their friends, I can only count my close friends on one hand and I do cherish them, even though many of them live far away. This particular sign was on a shop window in Mousehole reminded me of how grateful I am having them in my life.
We went to Padstow and opposite the famous British seafood chef Rick Stein's Eatery there was a little place raising funds for cats. Outside the door was some secondhand book, mugs and some painted slates. I went through them slowly and took a fancy to this one. I loved the simplicity and quirkyness of this donkey and robin and donated £2.50 to the honest box. I miss my Moggy still, so it has a warm place on our windowsill in the living room.
On one of the days, we went to The Eden Project. This cheeky robin in the Meditteranean Biome Dome in the Citrus Grove reminded me of our own cheeky robins and other birds back at home. Also if you are able to read the writing on the lemon it gave me a chuckle 'Scientist have discovered that scents stimulate our nervous system to create a positive effect on our behaviour, increasing feelings of generosity and potentially even the desire to do housework! Yes right!
I totally loved the fact that all the coffee shops were local and Independent. It really was so refreshing not so see the High Street Coffee Cahan Shops dominating the villages and small towns. There other thing about them, they were all just so original, not copy cat. Everywhere we went, we stopped at various independent coffee shops and drank loads of tea, lattes and herbals.
Finally, my favourite piece of reminder from Cornwall. A beautiful handcrafted seahorse wind- chime. This photograph does not does not showcase the craft women-ship that has gone into creating this spectacular piece. This gold twined seahorse is made from recycled seashore materials. I got it from a little craft stallholder called Serial Beachcomber in Megavissey Jubilee Hall near the church. As an occasional vegetarian and vegan pop up food stall at crafts markets, I don't ever underestimate the time, energy, love and skills that go into making such intricate pieces. I adore frequenting Craft fairs and admiring the marvels created by each stall holder and often try to come away with something as a way to remind me of my visit to that place. I was also tempted by The Serial Beachcombers seahorse ear-rings, but with this Seahorse windchime both myself and my husband can enjoy. So I want this talented craftster to know, this will be truly treasured. It is hanging in our front door to welcome visitors with its shimmer and shine - that is of course when the sunshine hits it, we are in the Welsh valleys after all - where it rains most of the time - it really does.
I am sharing this blog post is being shared with Amy who is hosting Five on Fridaysover at Love Made My Home. If your interested in seeing more of my Cornwall photographs, then please click here.
