Category Archives: Savoury

Happy New Year

By Alice | Published: January 5, 2011

Happy New Year! I had a very relaxing Christmas and new year holiday. As it’s 12th Night, the last day of Christmas, I thought it time I end my holiday hiatus, sort through my Christmas photos, and resume my regular posting.

Looking back, I had a good 2010. A little bit of travel, I went to Rome, Berlin (twice), Copenhagen, Malm√∂, Sligo, London, Birmingham, Shropshire, Exmoor, Bristol, and Bath, as well as the usual little adventures. We didn’t go anywhere too far as we are saving for a big trip that we want to go on this year (more on that another day). We decided to build a house. I gave myself a bit of a break at the end of the year and postponed a few big projects that I want to do. So now it’s 2011 and I am looking forward to throwing myself into all sorts of things.

As for resolutions I have quite a few small general ones but my main feeling is that in 2011 I want to throw myself with enthusiasm into the various projects I have, no procrastination, 2011 is a year of action.

So to finish off an other year of posting here are the final pictures of the last week and a bit of 2010….


Simon’s birthday.


Amazing igloo on the green outside my father’s house. Like something from Where The Wild Things Are. There were three snow chairs inside.


The Christmas dinner that I cooked for that family on Christmas day. That’s only some cuts from the turkey in the middle of the table, the whole turkey was big. I might do the main cooking but the Christmas meal event is really a collaboration with everyone chipping in e.g. my mother made the ham, my dad shopping for the ingredients, my aunt made the Christmas cake, my other aunt brought the Christmas pudding, my sister helping me serve and stir, my sister and aunt doing the decorations and laying the table. It’s good that way.


Best part of the Christmas meal – Christmas pudding! I make zabaglione to go with it which is a family tradition.


After Christmas meal.


My mother has real candles on her tree, it’s very pretty.


Visiting friends. Playing Street Fighter II after watching Scott Pilgrim.


Bedside table in chaos but my birthday flowers lasted for ages, the tulips puffed out.


North Leigh Roman Villa remains, on one of our many small explores over the holidays. I was imagining Romans from Rome shivering and ill from the damp in togas in this marshy place by the river but apparently they might have been Romanised Britons. No one knows.


Everyone had many naps.


Anne Hathaway’s cottage (Shakespeare’s wife’s family’s house). We didn’t go in. Just passing.


We also poked our noses into The Swan part of the RSC in Stratford-Upon-Avon and had a look at the renovations.


My dad’s tree.


New year’s eve.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Also posted in Cake & Dessert, Cats, Cooking, Out and about, Oxfordshire, Travel & Places | Comments closed

stuffed roast butternut squash

By Alice | Published: October 18, 2010

It was my aunt’s birthday celebration this weekend over at my dad’s house and roast butternut squash was my contribution. It was quite easy to put together, I used this recipe, the only thing I’d say is it only took about 30-40 minutes to roast rather than the hour said there. That could well be because the oven is hotter, I didn’t have a oven thermometer to check. I like that it’s a ‘proper’ vegetarian main. With it we had salad and a really great curried rice with raisins and peanuts that my sister made, however I was too busy eating it to take a picture ;)

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a day at home

By Alice | Published: May 6, 2010

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The cold I have been feeling coming on for some days really hit me today so I took a sick day and stayed home from work. I needed something nourishing so I tried something new for breakfast – quinoa flakes. They were really tasty, I had added a tiny splash of maple syrup but really I think you could have them plain. It is not like porridge which could be a bit dreary on its own. I cooked the flakes by adding two parts water to one part quinoa flakes and then stirring them over a medium heat for about 1 minute. Next time I think I will add slightly less water.

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is apparently a good food for vegetarians as it is high in protein and contains balanced amino acids. The usual form of it is getting more common, I use it in place of rice sometimes, but I hadn’t heard of these flakes until me aunt mentioned them at the weekend, they look like the usual quinoa but bashed flat. It is not cheap; ¬£4.89 for 500g but only a small handful seemed quite filling.

This is still an experiment in progress for me but as it started so promisingly I thought I would mention it now :)

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My desk, I moved aside the half-made wallet to do some work.

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Lunchtime. I had fully intended to go into work until I actually left the house and had to come right back after voting in the elections, so I had already made my packed lunch. This little two tier tiffin box is made by a company called ‘Seagull’, I got it in Japan. I am generally moving away from using plastic to store food.

athome_may10_003This is what was in the box :)

athome_may10_008Beep squishes her way in behind me on my desk chair (the ironing board was out because of ironing the wallet).

athome_may10_006Ira on my chair later. I think the kitties were glad I was home! We are now on tenderhooks waiting to hear about the election.

Also posted in Cats, Cooking | Comments closed

recent experiments in bread

By Alice | Published: March 16, 2010

Preferably I would eat porridge for breakfast each day but sometimes there just isn’t time and so a piece of toast is what is needed. I have been making a small loaf a week for the past few months. My requirements in a morning bread is for a dense chewy loaf preferably containing seeds and nuts.

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Pulla Cardamom Bread. This was nice and fragrant but a bit too frivolous for our daily needs. I think it would be brilliant in bread and butter pudding. (Recipe here)

nutbread
Brown loaf with walnuts and sultanas mixed in. I took an ordinary brown loaf recipe and added the nuts and fruits, nice but not the most practical idea as the slices break in half where the layer is. Next time I must mix it in more.

sodabread
Brown soda bread with walnuts, seeds, and sultanas mixed in. Nice! I will be making this again.

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A normal brown loaf.

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Another brown loaf.

The bread experiments continue. This week I made a nice Olive Fougasse but that was for our lunch rather than breakfast. I try to avoid buying bread as it is easy enough to make plus it’s nice to be able to make your own choices about flour and avoid the preservatives that are in supermarket bread. To keep homemade bread ‘fresh’ I slice the loaf once it has cooled and store the sliced loaf in the freezer, then I can take out a slice or two as needed.

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nice packaging

By Alice | Published: February 25, 2010

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I thought I would try a different local-ish brand that our local wholefoods stocks. It’s nice when everyday things come in pretty packets :)

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