I'm Ready

Almost.


Having a whizzy non-stop day to day.
We'll be heaving Mother into her chair for a saunter around Hockley's Charity Shops this a.m.
And I must not forget Monty's Chicken And Cheese Biscuits. So much going on yesterday I plum forgot. He is my Love.

Cooking? A little. Probably a Banana Cake and Farmhouse Loaf.

Wearing? For daytime? Whatever doesn't need ironing. For tonight? Probably arrestable outfit.


~Today's Supplication~

Remind Me To Take A Breath O Lord.
Ok?

Rocked and Ready To Roll...UPDATED

Just poured Mother into her smalls and now, with a sturdy heart and flat shoes, I, along with the ever patient Mr H will lift the spirits of a quiet Mother by taking her out on a shopping expedition...

Oh Lord rub my knees.

Twists and turns in life make for a happy one.

No sooner had Mr H, mother and I arrived home when Mr Hairy was on me doorstep offering things.

So after a quick cuppa Hairy and my smooth self rattled orf in his Herald to a nearby Art shop wherein we discussed frames with the owners.

After a short while it was sorted. We had ordered a new frame for one of Mr H's pieces of artwork, which I'm proud to say is an amazing testament to his skill.. Even the proprietors, one of whom was an artist himself, said John's kaleidoscopic 1973 colourful felt tip pen work was outstanding.

So with smiles all round Hairy and myself dawdled home slowing down to some degree when passing antiquey type shops, we both love, you see, old stuff. And after cooing and aaahing over curved back chairs and mirrors Mr Hairy sped orf along all roads till we arrived excited, buzzing, knowing what we knew...

Mr H, bless him was speechless when presented with the plaudits and plans, he really is a humble man but a man who should, just for once, come out from under his bushel blazing his amazing creative light for all the world and Essex to see.

I spent the next few hours engaged in brilliant conversation with the ever smooth Hairy Suit and comical Mr H. What a trio we make.

Not expecting Hairy to gnaw meat with the rest of us, I had very little to go round, but we did ok, the Orlando Beef casserole was warm with spices and red with tomatoes and the Baked Apple sweet with syrup. And all washed down with peachy beer.

Now I'm ending my day feeling well pleased. Unexpected twists, deliriously happy turns making for one of the most exhilarating and happy days on record.

Goodnight All.

.....Have been looking deep into the heart of my new slow cooker, a perky white little thing (1.5ltr) wondering about all the food I'll cook in it.
First orf will be a dainty beef casserole then later in the week some some leek soup. My sweet tooth hasn't been forgotten so a Rhubarb and Almond pudding will be made, Sunday probably.
I've always liked slo-cookers and the one I've been using for nearly twenty years has proved invaluable to a busy hands-on woman like me. I've roasted half legs of lamb in it, made creme caramels fit for kings, cooked bolognaises for vicars, bean stews for when I went veggie and chicken curries when I reverted to meat eating. It's been a real chum.
But...... it is HUGE.
And I'm so fed up with huge unnecessary things so that's why I bought this Argos Value Range slo-cooker.

It comes with the smallest most basic of recipe pamphlets, a few decent ones I suppose, pretty run of the mill, but that's alright, can't expect a tome of haute cuisine recipes for less than a tenner. I'll need to adjust amounts and so on but I don't foresee any problems.
Just lots of warm meals simmering gently for hours on end resulting in a stress free environment and cool as a cucumber Gloria! I like it.

Being cooked today a Shepherd's Pie..... with layers of cooked carrot and home grown tomato topped with a cheesy mash. Pudding will be a Lemon Puddle.

You know what?
If I lost my love of cooking I'd go bananas.
I don't profess to be the world's greatest chef or even a very good cook but my wares have been sampled and applauded by many sorts and all have left my rooms happier.

Perfection to me is a well risen loaf, a rich brown stew and loving faces.


Now I must fly............ I have menus to create:)

All About Gardening Really

...and the extortionate amount asked for by the gardening men to remove tree cuttings (a lot thereof)
£250.

We, that's Mr H, Mr Hairy Suit and my good self decided they were being a little cheeky so, this afternoon, it was all hands on and what a grand job we've done.
Looking at it just now, I'd say we are half way though and it's all down to Hairy, my incredibly generous friend, co-cook and gardening labourer/god.

But now you'll be pleased and relieved to hear that I've ditched my gardening gloves in favour of oven gloves, a much more ladylike accessory;)

As we all had a fairly decent lunch I feel I don't need to blow our gaskets by serving up big platefuls of grub, so snorker sandwiches with a handful of chips, tomatoes and possibly peas, on the side.
Pudding is out of the question unless of course the lads really do fancy summat sweet so if that's the case then I suppose I could scoop and dollop some ice cream.

I love being busy so what with dodging around this a.m. and gardening this p.m. and dealing with mum's sad state of mind and other mother related terrors I'm just about zonked, ready in fact, to chill out/collapse in front of the tv watching The Great British Bake Off!


Now I must fly....................

Sally Lunn number 1

A light soft bun filled with raspberry jam and Elmlea, which although dairy free and good for one's hearteries didn't whip up stiffly enough. Hence the splurging outwards. Next time will use proper cow cream.
However it didn't detract from the seriously wonderful taste of the Sally Lunn bunn,
As I told Mr H and Mr HS this could easily become my favourite sweet baked good of all time. It was perfect. So I'm so pleased to say that Sally 2 is wrapped unfilled and ready for tomorrow's insertion of real dairy cream.

Sweet Update. With thanks to Wiki.

........Just took Sally Lunns out of the oven. They look beautiful. Domed, hot perfectly browned egg enriched bread dough sitting proud in their baking tins.
After an initial inspection and poke with a skewer I see no problems. And so after I've recovered from the staggering loveliness of my Solange Luyons I'll split and fill them with jam and whipped cream.

Locals would have you believe that the bakery now known as Sally Lunn's House is where Ms Lunn baked her original buns and that perhaps her real name was Solange Luyon. This legend has been in common use for almost a century. Some suggest that the legend about Sally Lunn's association with 'Sally Lunn's House' 4 North Parade Passage [formerly Lilliput Alley] was invented between 1934 and 1937 by an artist called Marie Byng-Johnson. The truth is nobody knows.

Ms Johnson had arrived in Bath a few years earlier with her daughter, a violin teacher, and for a while they traded from premises in the Abbey Court Yard. At that time 4 North Parade Passage was a grocer's, having previously been a lodging house and cab hire office. The grocer's closed in about 1934 and the building fell into a derelict state. This claim can be contested though by the finding of the various ovens / ranges used to bake buns found in the basement of the house which also acts as a museum now.

Two or three years later Ms Byng-Johnson published a little pamphlet in which she describes finding, in a hidden void naturally, the story of Sally Lunn and the secret of the bun. Despite chancing upon this absolute treasure of historical record, she contrived to lose it, so there is no proof that it ever existed.

The recipe for this bun is said (by the Byng-Johnsons) to have originated in Bath with the arrival in 1680 of a Huguenot immigrant called Solange (Sollie) Luyon who (according to the Byng-Johnsons) brought her native skill and worked at a Bath bakery. A fictional account, Sweet Sally Lunn, tells this story and makes pleasant reading.

A photo will be appearing later........

It's a bit early to talking about later but later I'm making some Sally Lunns.

Other domestic trivia:
Braising a piece of unsmoked bacon with leeks and carrots and to pep up the old family favourite, bringing it into the 21st century, I'll roast in their skins, a couple of Sweet Potatoes. This sweet foreign inclusion should pep up the Brit bacon.
Pudding as yet is unknown but I'm leaning towards chocolate.

The aformentioned shimmering Sally Lunns are made using a milk enriched bread dough then, when cool, split and filled with jam and or cream. They are famous for being shiny and the shine is brought about by brushing the cooked delight with a sweet Milk Glaze.

Last night's dinner was chicken provencale, a real standby, a real happy food to give to passers-by on their way to work. My friends know they will be fed and nothing satisfies me more than the knowledge that I'm keeping my mates fit.


Have to dash orf now. Have a zillion homely things to do. And The Bridge on The River Kwai has just started so Colonel Saitu and his slave the ever so unslave like Colonel Nicholson will watch over me as I complete my tasks......

Cheerio:)