Silent Lane

We are all Striving

We are all striving to be the best we can be , to live our lives for ourselves and for our children. Life is somewhat a cliche, sometimes it is a blink of a eye and your children are grown up and have flown the nest.

Recent events have jiggered me off the road of life , eyes of the ball ... there I am again cliching.

I can.

Either keep apologising for my mistakes or buckle down and concentrate on what is around me.

Depression is very self absorbing, yet if you don't understand me , then you might understand other folk with it.

I'm not going have any more damage.

And while you are thinking it's hard to let your little one go to school , thinking on that all they can achieve.

I'm now at the stage where my son is at the twilight of his school years but whilst there is a twang of sadness as he 's my only one.

Without my 'life' mistakes he wouldn't  be the wonderful caring human being he is today ,and if you have a problem then 'he' might just be the one that helps YOU.

Under A Harvest Sky

Under a harvest Sky.


Under a harvest sky I wander.

Waiting for a farmers harvest,

From dawn till dusk,

Summer brings a fraught drought,

My soul leaps thereabouts,

While I amble,

The farmers toil,

Back upon Autumn to till the soil,

The sun peeks through upon the village quiet,

My work photographing is never done,

Like the farmers tends his earth forever more ,

Working against the disparity of mother nature.

We are the caretakers, the movers and the wakers.

Finger Food Cucumber Tomato Cheese Ham Pizza

I got to thinking about pizza and finger foods, I adore pizza but at the same time I don't want to constantly overload on carbs. I also think what you will see in a minute will be an ideal picnic  food or even a dinner party canapé you can posh it up.


Ingredients

Cucumber
Cherry tomatoes
grated cheese
Ham


Method

Cut the cumber in such a way to make the canapé base for the pizza

then add the grated cheese.

Out on the cherry tomatoes

The finally add the ham


Put in the oven at 160c for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.


You can eat warm or wait till it has cooled.

One-pan Bake with Italian Style Lemony Pork Meatballs, Tenderstem® Broccoli & Carrots ,Sweetcorn

I am part of the Tenderstem around the world challenge , I am blogging as I normally would about what I and mt family get up to , and what I am cooking. My son is a tad fussy so when I told him what I was going to cook which was one pa-ban bake with italian style lemony pork meatballs tender stem & Roast squash.


"OH not again , I hate that squash stuff it's bleurgh" said J 

So I had to switched some of the recipe up read on and see what I did.

Ingredients

750g pork mince
100g fresh breadcrumbs

( I switched this up by adding the juice of the lemon to the breadcrumbs and adding cracked black pepper also )

1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
zest of 1 large lemon (reserve juice for squeezing over at the end of cooking)
A pinch of dried thyme
A pinch of dried oregano
1 large egg
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

1 butternut squash (about a kilo) but I switched this up for 200 g of carrots cut into batons as my teen doesn't like butter nut squash)

1 bulb garlic, broken into cloves but left unpeeled
4 tbsp olive oil
500g cherry tomatoes
400g (or 2 packs) Tenderstem®, each stem cut into 2
I also added 4 corn on the cobs as well.

To serve:
Juice of 1 lemon
a small bunch of flatleaf parsley, chopped
warm ciabatta bread
Parmesan cheese, finely grated (optional)

1. For the meatballs...
Mix the pork with the breadcrumbs ( I squeeze lemon an dmixdd with blackpepepr( , onion, garlic, lemon zest, herbs and egg. Reserve the lemon juice for squeezing over once cooking has finished. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roll the mixture into walnut sized balls, setting aside on a large plate as you go. Slightly damp hands will make this a less messy task, although if you have time, this is a job children love to get involved in. Just try to help them get all the meatballs similar in size so they cook evenly.

2. Preheat the oven to 220°C / 200°C fan / gas 6.

3. Cut the squash up into 3-4cm chunks - leaving the skin on for easier preparation and a great chewy texture - and spread it out into a large roasting tray. Tuck in the cloves of garlic and drizzle over most of the oil, and season with a little salt and pepper. Roast in the hot oven for 15 minutes.

4. Remove the pan from the oven, add the tomatoes and give them a good mix with the squash( carrots )then spread out the meatballs over the top. Return to the oven for 15 minutes. Also remember to add the corn on the cob.

5. Blanch the Tenderstem® in boiling water for 2 minutes before draining well. Add to the roasting pan, stirring to mix and return to the oven for 10 minutes. Squeeze over the lemon juice and scatter with the parsley and parmesan (if using) before taking to the table in the tray. Serve with plenty of crusty ciabatta to mop up the juices.

So I asked J what he thought of it

" I liked it , but you know I don't like lemon " said J squeezing tomato ketchup all over it.



Why not also try...

A beef meatball alternative, flavoured with a pinch each of smoked paprika, coriander & cinnamon for a hint of Moroccon spice

(This is a Tenderstem Broccoli recipe I was sent a shopping gift card in order to purchase the ingredients.)

You can find more Tenderstem recipes over on their website.