Magpie Monday The Cake edition

Today was an inset today and I needed to  relax, rest and unwind still after an arduous week emotions can take you prisoner if you let them and people can and will take what you say out of context  . THE ANSWER ( sorry bit shouty  there ) the answer is cake . I took the bus into town where I went to Costa to use a gift card I had won and had a healthy sandwich and a latte and watched the world go by.

I had tried earlier in the week to use my Costa gift card at the local cinema where obviously there is a Costa only to be told it was a franchise Costa and not a real Costa Coffee. SO  they had Costa uniforms, sold Costa Coffee and had humongous signs that said "Costa Coffee" ... Oh well.

I mooched around town dipping into the charity shops as I do I was just beaten to some antique type scales by a Norwegian lady ... darn. But I managed to pick up an old style mincer the type that "Grandma" used to have and reminiscent of the times I remember when she was making Cornish pasties though if you wanted her to make you some ( you had to buy your own mince ) she was a mad as a box of frogs mind .

I then after buying some glass chopping boards(cupcake designs) which were half price at £4.99 from the local posh store Bennett's think Grace Brothers from "Are you being served?" and you are not half wrong. I then went for a cup of tea and cake at the Cathedral tea room that serve their tea is real bone china and again a slice of cake and pot of tea will set you back around £4.30.

Thinking I hadn't got anything in for tea I headed for good old M & S or as my mum used to call it Marks and Sparkles. The £10 meal deal was on and I picked chicken breast , potato croquettes and some millionaire desserts, also a Strawberry cake that had 25 % off just happen to leapt into my basket!

With the meal deal comes a choice of wine either alcoholic or non alcoholic but there was only a angry looking red on the rack ( one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse of bad  wines) I spotted another customer stalking an M & S employee who was after a better bottle of plonk ( for the want of a better phrase) So I joined in the stalking the M & S employee who was called John 20 minutes later after John had gone through the good wine selection I came away with a nice peachy number by that I mean a bottle of wine and not the M & S employee. I said that a cakes had happen to fall into my basket to which he said" There is always a need for cake"

I agree .. don't you

The cake was £3.74

Disclosure ( I am not to blame for any calories you intake after reading this blog post )

My Field of Dreams

Its a tenuous link at best but I love the iconic film the "Field of Dreams" if you haven't seen it then you must , feeling somewhat blue this week and by Thursday /Friday I was ready to implode . What pulls me back from the brink is family, friends and views like this .

Its the first time in ages I have joined in with project 365 ( i was feeling guilty for not doing so , and I realised that in taking part it gives me a focus in my week ) I take pictures naturally anyway . I don't always have a plan of what I doing it is often a flight of fantasy.

For these pictures I hijacked my husband Nikon DS3100 and the second picture down is using the camera on manual. I have ordered a camera for Fathers day for myself  husband funny that isn't its just what he I wanted.

Panic on the streets of London I 'm Going To Britmums Live

Next week I shall be heading to Britmums :

Name:

Claire with an I and e and I have a funny surname that makes me sound like a whispers (pawn star)

Blog:

Well that's a bit of a daft question but you won't forget my blog name of Life, Ninja Killer Cat and Everything Else

Twitter ID:

@needaphone

Height:

5'7' I don't wear heels and if I try go get into heigh heels I go all wibbly wobbly.

Hair:

Brown ish, reddish,greyish what ever the colour of that dye bottle in the bin is......

Eyes:

Normally tired as I don't sleep as I panic , I panic about panicking so I look like a crazed zombie. But if I have had my beauty sleep they are brown pools you could drown in.....

Is this your first blogging conference?

No I came last year as I win tickets to Britmums 2012 ..

Are you attending both days?

Of course last year I was later because I had to work but this year I have the day off so I will be there for the start unless I get lost again , that is very likely.

What are you most looking forward to at BritMums Live 2013?

I am looking to catching up with twitter and blogging friends old and new , I mean old only in the sense of length of time no reference to a ladies or gentleman s age.

What are you wearing?

Nothing .. 

No don't panic I have a special top in wait for Friday .

Perhaps this ring...

What do you hope to gain from BritMums Live 2013?

Meeting up with my friends , discovering new skills and gaining some confidance , I'll still get shy and cry at myself and at the speeches , especially when there is  dedication to Kerry from Multiple Mummy.

Tell us one thing about you that not everyone knows:

I have a fear of sliced cheese in sandwiches . No fears in this one as this cheese is melted ..phew 

I'm linking up to with the Britmums linky.

Stuffed Peppers

This is an easy way to cooked stuffed peppers packed with beef or is this case Richmond meat balls , roasted veggies, passata and melted cheese , quite simply delicious.

Ingredients

2 red ,orange or green peppers

375g/12 oz lean beef mince/ 1 packet of Richmond meatballs.

15ml/1tbsp olive oil

1/2 small onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 garlic loves, peeled and finely chopped

1 celery stick, finely chopped 

250g/9 oz antipasti prepared roasted

200ml/7floz tomato passata

15ml/1tsp dried oregano

Salt and freshly milled black pepper, to taste

50g/2oz grated reduced -fat cheese

Fresh thyme springs, to garnish

Adjust recipe to suit taste

Method

Preheat the oven to 200c/400F/gas mark 6

Cut the peppers in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds and membrane.place in a baking tray, drizzle with the oil and roast for 15 -20 mins.

Meanwhile, heat a large non -stick frying pan and dry fry the mince with the onion and garlic for 3-4 mins, until the mince is brown, breaking up any lumps with the back of a spoon.

(Though I at this point crushed up 10 Richmond meatballs)

If cooking with the beef mince drain any excess meat juices from the pan and transfer to a large bowl.

At this pointed add the roasted prepared vegetables, passata, celery, oregano and seasoning to either the beef mince or in my case the crushed Richmond meatballs.

Remove the peppers from the oven using oven gloves, add the filing , cover with foil and continue to cook in the oven for a further 10 mins.

Sprinkle over the cheese and return to the oven fir a further 5mins or until the cheese melts. Garnish with the thyme leaves and serve immediately.

And as my son doesn't like peppers I made him spaghetti and meatballs with the remaining passata mixture and just added some cooked spaghetti.

 This enabled me to adapt one product into 2 meals making this dinner time a real family occasion.

Disclosure (I was sent a voucher for the Richmond meatballs the recipe is my own which I have adapted for the meatballs. I have not been told what to write and all thoughts, words and opinions are my own)

This post is an entry for Britmums’ Hungry to Happy Challenge sponsored by Richmond Mini Meatballs.

Women on Banknotes

They say as a blogger to never never work with animals, children or banknotes that of course if a complete lie. What defines us as human beings are many things , no one thing or aspect of our personality can really define us. One thing that does help shape our character is our school days, the halcyon days of our lives for the most part.

The first school I went to was Livingstone named I presume after the Victorian explorer Dr Livingstone  , I was then moved onto another school which was called Edith Cavell a name which at 5 or 6 meant nothing to me at the time. The history was drilled into as is obligatory in the education of the 1980s, along side my memories of having to wear a school tie and wash the recorders in Milton fluid.

Are you aware that  Edith Cavell was in fact a very brave and courageous lady who as well as being a nurse helped smuggle allied soldiers out of Belgium and was executed by the Germans for doing so. And this ladies name became the name of the school where I attended we were saturated with the history , well it worked didn't it as I am telling you now!

Edith Cavell Image credit Wikipedia

 I became aware of that women were not going to be on banknotes at a bloggers conference 'Cybher' who to put on a banknote that is of a notable character and has made an impact on society mmm a tough choice. 

Then there those ladies who worked with my Grandad in a secret capcity be it from the cabinet war room to Bletchley park meaning they there are the unsung lady heroines of whom you don't see a face.

Politics and femist issues is something I usually stir away from but today I dip my little toe in the water and then politely run away.