..and delicious. My new favourite biscuits..
Youtr Best Year Yet Question Nine - What are my Top Ten goals for the next year?
..and delicious. My new favourite biscuits.. Youtr Best Year Yet Question Nine - What are my Top Ten goals for the next year?
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..looking like a Dutch old master oil painting. I have just cooked them. Lightly poached in water and some dark brown soft sugar - not too much - a shake of ground cinnnamon, a pinch of grated orange rind, they are best served hot with some good vanilla icecream. ..that I wouldn't dream of scoffing a whole packet of amaretti biscuits in one go? It's not just that they are far more expensive. No, something else is at play here. Maybe you never would binge, but are there some things you could binge on and some you just couldn't ever scoff all at once? I found myself pondering this ridiculous question several times today! :-) What could be nicer than a digestive biscuit? Two digestive biscuits? Or hlf a packet of digestive biscuits! Shame on me I had the whole packet one evening. I suppose there are worse sins.. ..with cake. I am glad I took the photos of the meadow when I did because it has rained all night and all day today and much of the garden has been flattened! The flowers of a five foot tall campanula are almost touching the ground. Ah well, summer may return. You never know. I will return too, after a bit of a blog bteak. Wishing you fine weather and nice cakes wherever you are. We seem to be getting summer in fifteen minute intervals - one or two a day if we are lucky, thus my delght to get a couple of hours sunshine at our family lunch. But we are back to drizzle, mist, cloud and wind, and very low temperatures. I have lit the woodburner a couple of evenings. Summer herbs looking a bit bedraggled! Until recent visitors came I have been sugar free for quite a while now, and it has benn surprisingly easy. The best thing is I find everything else tastes much better, and when the home baking is finished I don't think it will be hard to go back to no sugar. How is it going with you Susan? Yay! Sunshine fot our family mid summer lunch yesterday, The forecast was poor so I set up a table inise, then I set up a tableoutside - jus in case. It wasn't raining and there was enough wind to dry my tee shirt. By the time everyone arrived it was getting warm so we set out the food buffet style inside and took our drinks and plates out intto the sunshine. It was absolutely delightful with laughter, good conversation and delicious food!
I have such a lovely family. I hope you had some sunsine. Coffee will make you jittery Alcohol will impair your judgement Drink water Lots of it X Setting a pretty table is a small creative act - it's about respect for and gratitude for the food, a little ritual . Perhaps it's a bit like saying grace.
..by the delicious food in Copenhagen, I made myself an open sandwich. Mackerel fillets, apple, parsley, lemon mayonnaise, lemon juice and some oil from the tinned fish. On buttered rye bread. Eating it outside added to the pleasure.
The chocolate eggs are still haning on their branches, silently. That is they are not calling out 'Eat me eat me' as chocolate annywhere in the house usually does! When I came back from the retreat having had three juices and one soup a day for almost a week, I found I could take it or leave it when it came to cakes and sweets - which is the way I have always wanted it to be. And I have finally lost those few pandemic pounds. SO pleased! ..blue skies, new lambs, Easter eggs, hot cross buns, blossom, bees and a birthday cake for my sister. I hope you have aslo had a lovely day. I know some people have a Dry January, avoiding alcohol for the month, but I am going to have a Wet February - not with alcohol but with water! I am lining up six glasses of water each morning and will drink them throughout the day. I know it benefits my health and I know I rarely feel thirsty and so forget to drink enough water, so....
There is some truth in the saying what you focus on is what you get. My decision to change my word, despite my reservatios, was a good one. See this post. February posts in 2023 were mostly about romance. This one lists romantic things and your suggestions were a wonderful addition. (To access the archive on your phone click on comments and scroll down,) When someone gives you a panettone on New Year's Day all your good intentions about returning to healthy eating get shunted back a few days.. I cannot resist buying fruit with the leaves still on. I was thrilled to have an orange tree in my garden once when I lived in Cyprus. I love the packaging too and try to use these containers as dividers in drawers and cupboards. The wooden cheese boxes are lovely too - has anyone come up with a use for these?
I got this recipe from my Mum, who got it I think from the BeRo cookbook, which is why the measurements are imperial. 3 oz marg or butter 1 oz lard 4 oz sugar 1 beaten egg (I add a few drops of almond or vanilla essence) pinch salt 6 oz self raising flour oats or coconut Cream the fats and sugar, then with damp hands roll into balls and dip in the oats or coconut. Bake at 180C for 10 - 15 minutes till golden brown. Makes about 24 They do look nicer with cherries on top but I didn't have any left.. ..in a lovely old building with thick walls, wooden floors, beautiful views excellent food and friendly staff. A birthday treat for my friend. If you are ever in the vicinity I can recommend Locj Fyne Oyster Bar and The Tree Shop plant nursery cafe and gift shop and a good local information centre. Great place to spend half a day and lots of money! ..and the seventh essential for this himan to thrve is non energy nutrients - important things from food lke fibre, vitamins and minerals. I hope to get all I need from a good mixed healthy diet but I do take a supplement called Macushield (made from marigolds) which contains lutein and zeaxanthin thought to slow the development of macular degeneration. My daily juices of mostly apples, carrots and spinach are also good for eye health I am told. Another day of glorious weather with meals outside, a little gentle gardening and a nap in the hammock. Bliss. ..can be a real pleasure, althugh the first time I sat down at my table for a proper meal after my husband died I all but choked on it and couldn't eat it for crying. (Barry loved to cook and I absolutely loved being cooked for!)
Eating alone during Covid lockdowns was an awful experience I hope mever to repeat. I sit down to my meals, and set an attractive table no matter how simple the food.. That's a big part of the pleasure for me. Napkins, flowers, candles - I really enjoy all that and it's only a minute of extra effort. I am perfectly comfortable eating in restaurants on my own. Again there is that pleasure of someone cooking for me and I like to discreetly people-watch. I had two favourite restaurants in Glasgow which have both closed sadly. Betty's in York treat the solo diner particularly well, offering a good table and a newspaper. So nice. But eating with family and friends is extra special now that it is not an everyday thing. Perhaps if your life is busier than mine you will enjoy eating alone and having time to think? And really taste the food! I am so grateful for the luxury of beautiful food. |
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February 2025
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