Wednesday 11 November 2009

Remembering..


I do not know anyone who has suffered loss in any kind of conflict, but today our thoughts go out to all the family's who have lost and all the people who have had to fight to protect our freedom.

We must never forget. Yesterday, today and unfortunately for all our tomorrows. I thought this song was appropriate for today.

Friday 30 October 2009

UP AND AWAY....

Finally got top see "UP in 3D". It was excellent! There was enough in the film to keep children and adults entertained. The adults will, in my opinion get more from this film that the kids. It's extremely touching and too cute beyond words, but not in the typical Disney way. Essentially it's a story about missed dreams, loss, and finding something to live for. I was really surprised how sad it was in parts, but in others it's really funny.

Go see if you haven't already!

Sunday 25 October 2009

yum yum...

This recipe from Aldi caught my eye. Making it tomorrow, Pumpkin is roasted and carved (not in the least bit scary BTW) Will let you know what it's like.

Halloween Pumpkin Tart

For the pastry
300g plain flour
150g unsalted butter, cubed
1 whole free range egg beaten and
extra for brushing
3 tsp cold water

For the filling
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small leek, shredded and really
washed well

1kg raw pumpkin, roasted with a little oil
and salt and pepper until well coloured
and cooked, this will yield about 450g
cooked flesh
3 medium free range eggs
1 pint semi-skimmed milk
Salt
Coarse ground black pepper
2 pots fresh parsley, roughly chopped
115g grated cheddar cheese

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes in total

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C, gas mark 5.

2. Place the flour and butter together into a food processor and blend until you have a fine mixture.

3. Add the egg and pulse together, then add the water, until the pastry just starts coming together, do not overwork.

4. Turn out and gently knead into a ball, then using a little flour, roll out to about ¼ to ½cm thick.

5. Line the pastry in a 25 x 4cm deep flan tin and line with greaseproof paper.

6. Fill with baking beans and bake in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes, then remove the paper and beans and cook for a further 15 minutes to cook the case, and then brush with beaten egg.

7. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil, then add the well drained leeks and cook for 3-4 minutes to soften slightly.

8. Place the leeks into a bowl.

9. Chop the cooked pumpkin or squash and add to the leeks.

10. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together, then season well with salt and pepper, add the chopped parsley and the cheese.

11. Pour over the leeks and mix really well.

12. Spoon into the cooked flan base and place onto a baking sheet.

13. Carefully place into the pre-heated oven and cook for 40-45 minutes or until just set.

14. Remove from the oven and cool.

15. Serve at room temperature with a nice green salad.





back not so much with a bang, more like an explosion....

Well my first full week has ended and the second week which includes a Farmers is just about to start.

I got back into the swing of things quite easy, Thurs-Sat seemed OK, busy but not bad. Then Monday just gone the you know what hit the fan. Judy was away for a few days. I always seem to be busier when she is off. I don't mind she totally deserves all the breaks she can get. Well Mondays are always busier as I'm starting from scratch. My start time is usually around 5-5.30am. You can imagine what I said when I awoke Monday morning at 7.30!! Well a mad dash and panic followed and I finally made it into work 2 minutes before Nettie, nearly 3 hours later....It's horrible when that happens, even though you know it's impossible you still try and make up the hours you have missed at the start of the day. I felt like I'd done 4 shifts when I clocked off about 2.30.

So Tuesday I was determined that I was going ton be early...after all I couldn't possibly late again....could I?? The alarms went off and I was still late! OK not as dramatic, but it was after 6 when I left the house. There was an accident at the M6 junction, so I was stuck in traffic for 25 mins. The rest of the week I did make it into work at reasonable times.

I really enjoyed my holiday, and hopefully (as I'm soooo bad at blogging) I'll be posting some pics and stories from sunny Florida and windy Chicago.

Wednesday 7 October 2009

Where the wind blows...






Arrived safe and sound in Chicago, and it's not called the windy city for nothing! It's very windy here It's called that because of the politicians....strange huh?

We did think it was going to be a bit of a dump when we arrived lots of parts were run down. Once we were in the centre it's actually very pretty.

The hotel we are staying in is STUNNING! The closet is actually bigger than my downstairs toilet! We have two bathrooms, a walk in shower that lights up, two TVs, one of which had a built in DVD and video player. Plus we are overlooking Lincoln Park which is a very nice area. A bit of a walk into downtown though. Although everyone says that crime is really bad in Chicago, so we may be getting a taxi back after the show later. Speaking of which it's been moved to another venue! Good job I've taken the notebook! Looks like it's in a better area and easier to get to, although instead of a 3000ish capacity, it's now in a 10.000 venue....hope we get a good view!

Sunday 4 October 2009

Snapshots from America...





On holiday and we are loving the Florida sunshine! A bit humid at times, but I swear it's getting hotter!

Went to a Halloween Horror night a few nights ago, very good the actors were very good. Not exactly terrifying for a hardened horror fan like me, but there were some good scares and the way it was all set up was extremely good.

Seaworld was excellent. Hoping to feed the Dolphins next time we go.

Sunday 13 September 2009

Wild Horses...

zSHARE - Susan Boyle - Wild Horses.mp3

Heard this today. Thought it was stunning! Her voice really lives up to the hype.