Reflections in, on and round about…with a lot of cooking on the side
The heart of it all: food is essential for life and the centre of many things. One of my favourite things is to cook and share food. Join me for a virtual breaking of bread…..
I enjoy preparing and eating food. I lost my sweet tooth a long time ago, although I do enjoy the odd dessert from time to time. My preference is for uncomplicated meals which, in old fashioned language, would have been known as "balanced". Although not vegetarian, I prefer not to eat meat every day, eating quite a … Continue reading Eating to live and living to eat?
....parsley! I love parsley. I’m not happy until my garden grows herbs, especially parsley. And the challenge of parsley is that it's a slow grower and it can be temperamental. My mum also always had parsley in her garden - some of my earliest culinary memories are of being sent to pick parsley – usually … Continue reading A lovely bunch of….
Both my parents grew up in the UK in the Second World War: Mum in Oxford, where her mother took in evacuees and then later also billeted soldiers. Dad grew up in Glasgow, and with his sister, Belle, evacuated to a poultry farm . Consequently, we grew up constantly hearing, "waste not, want not". Little was thrown … Continue reading Waste not, want not – I
A sandwich is a sandwich, is a sandwich - or is it? Since mid-January, I have forsworn bread and potatoes. I thought that it would be difficult, but it hasn't been. I think that the main reason for this is that I made a decision that this was a choice rather than a rule. It was … Continue reading Sensational sandwiches
We have always loved courgettes and eat them in a host of different ways. Tom will even eat them raw, like an apple. So, this year, we have successfully grown them, and when Sannie (pronounced "sunny - because she is) Boervrou, a farmer friend of ours dropped off a box of them, I had such fun making … Continue reading Crazy about Courgettes
We have a bumper beetroot crop at the moment and although it's easy to bottle, it's also great doing new things with it. Freshly pulled, beetroot cooks more quickly than when shop bought, and is beautifully tender and sweet - another reason not to just pickle it. Besides being delicious roasted or simply added to a leafy green salad, … Continue reading Beetroot: it’s beautiful – and delicious
We have had occasion, this month, to host two very different dinner parties. One was a birthday for a friend of ours and her teenage daughter, and the other for new-ish friends into whose home we have been warmly welcomed. The birthday celebration was mid-week and relatively impromptu, while the other was a little longer in … Continue reading Small dinner parties
I'm not a morning person. This is mostly why, over the years, Tom does the breakfast. There are, however, times when I get in on the act. Usually it's because I have a bee in my bonnet about something - and it's over a weekend or a holiday, so I'm a bit more capable of engaging … Continue reading Turn a simple breakfast into a stunning one
Although the grape harvest in our valley seems to be later this year, autumn seems to have arrived early. Along with this, we have had a wonderful experience: a pair of swallows building a nest in preparation for the spring. Jack and Jill are Greater Striped Swallows, indigenous to Africa, and they summer south of Namibia, … Continue reading Autumn – preparing for spring (and winter!)
Milestones tend to get one thinking and reflecting. When I posted There's a Mouse in the House, I was astounded when WordPress congratulated me on my 20th post! Today is a milestone: my 21st post. It also got me thinking about how I celebrated turning 21. I chose to have a garden party - at home. And thinking about … Continue reading 21 Today!