Nomadic Adventuring

A nomad is a wanderer.

I 've had a week with no wifi which was good , I didn't come back to a flurry of notifications. I suppose I should have aghast but it's a time to sort the wheat from the chaff.

A time to look up and see....

A time to step back from the cliqueness of social media which pulses through , rearing it's head every so often. It's not you ,it's more about me I can't be a friend to all. If you have my friendship then well done if you don't then so be it.

It's a time to focus....

A time to breathe....

A time to explore....

A time to look through the window...

Cooking and not a luvvy air kiss in sight.

I'm grateful for all the friends I have online and otherwise.

But if you can pick up the thread of what I'm about then I've succeeded in being a moment within your time being.

If you don't like how I mash things up then I quite frankly don't give a duck.

* no egos were harmed in this blog post but assertiveness was given in payment for this post.

Summer Menu Pizza Express Restaurant Review

Before we got to Pizza Express we took advantage of the time to do a little shopping and brought some perfume and after shave due to the fact we had £10 voucher off each. Now I spent £15 with voucher total my perfume cost £5 but Mr T spent £29.99 again with the voucher his cost £19.99. Perhaps this was due to the fact he is off on the town as I write this !



On Thursday Myself Mr T and Josh were invited to go and review the new Pizza Express Menu at the Derby branch of Pizza Express in the into centre .We are never one to turn down a free meal. We kindly accepted the offer and made our way to Derby.  We love Pizza Express it takes the pizza express to a whole new level we have been on nervous occasions. This time we were interested to try out the summer specials as we tend to always order the same sort of thing, so thought the change might do us good.

I know you can just enjoy a pizza at home but to share a pizza meal with family or friends and have a good chat means the world to me relaxing my soul and mind !

The summer menu is light enough for you to enjoy 3 course if you so desire and I promise you , won't feel stuffed. And the Hugo "Pizza Express cocktail is an absolute must.

And Pizza Express has bunting ! I have a silly giddy weakness for bunting as I believe that everywhere should have bunting, we feel so much jollier with bunting wouldn't you agree!? 

The whole ambiance of Pizza Express is bright,airy spacious and vibrant , the level of noise is just right so you can hear your companions talking and more importantly your waiter/waitress can hear your order.

Even if you don't like pizza there are plenty of alternatives ! We were seated in the middle of the restaurant and for once I didn't have to change my seat , I am guilty of being like Goldilocks ensuring I get the seat that is just right. The first seat however this time was just right for me so this night was going to be a sure fire winner.

Menus were issued with due diligence and drinks orders were taken , we weren't rushed begin asked if we wanted a few more minutes after which our orders were take. Myself and my son had Mozzarella garlic bread for starters and my husband had   Brushetta Con Funghi.

Brushetta Con Funghi Pizza Express

 The main course myself whilst Mr T choose off the new menu , he had Risotto Fresco whilst I had the Leggera Sloppy Giuseppe ( a pizza with a small section of the middle missing and filled with salad thus allowing you to lower your calorie intake if you so wish.) J had a Toscana pizza which he happily poised on all on his own , he didn't share * bah.

Risotto Fresco 

Leggera Sloppy Giuseppe

Toscana pizza

With our arms twisted behind our backs we were forced to have dessert ( we weren't really ) the new menu has such mouth watering deserts. I had summer fruit pudding served with real cream and Mr T  had the  Vanilla Panna Cotta. They were small in size and really left a refreshing edge to your palate, my son had Chocolate Fudge Cake for dessert which he loved.

Pizza Express is such a child friendly place and all the kids around were engaged and happily tucking into their food from the Picolo menu. Top notch food and service and the staff were exemplary  and Pizza Express has become a firm favourite and delivers individual service despite begin a chain establishment. Also there is choice if you are coeliac or need to avoid gluten as Pizza Express now have a gluten free menu from Pizza to beer.


Disclosure : We were provided with the meal for free , All thoughts words and opinions are my own and I have not be told what to write. And this is a place as a family that we go back to and I honestly mean that.

White Pudding Savoury Rice

Thank you to the lovely Jane Willis for this recipe , ps it is her birthday today so if you like pop over and say Happy Birthday to her , suitable gifts would be tea, wine and bracelets but other than that just a kind word or 2 will suffice. You will find Jane blogging comps over at Compersgrapevine and as her talents know no bounds she also blogs recipes also she is awfully crafty as well displaying this in her craft blog Onions and Paper.

When I was dreaming up this dish, I called it a pilaff, but when we tasted it, it was so deeply rich and savoury that it was crying out to have the simpler name of savoury rice! We ate it with a green salad, but you could add some colour and make it into a one pot meal by stirring in about 125g fresh or frozen peas about 5  minutes before the end of the cooking time.

Ingredients  to serve 4

1 large onion, chopped

1 tbs oil

15 g butter

60 g diced pancetta or streaky bacon

200 g white pudding, diced into pieces about 1 cm cubed

one mugful of long grain or basmati rice

two mugfuls of water or light chicken stock

black pepper and a little salt

a few grates of nutmeg

Method

Heat the oil and butter in a flameproof casserole and gently fry the onion until soft. Add the bacon or pancetta and cook for 3-4 minutes then add the white pudding and cook for 5 minutes more, stirring constantly.

Stir in the rice and cook for a minute until it starts to look translucent, then pour in all the liquid and season lightly (the bacon and white pudding are pretty salty) with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Bring to the boil then cover and reduce the heat to very low. Cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is tender and all the liquid absorbed. This will take 15-20 minutes depending on your rice. If it is very tender and there is still some liquid left, turn up the heat to drive off the moisture. The texture should be soft but dryish.

Annoying Fringe Syndrome

Annoying fringe syndrome ?

Do you suffer from it ?

Are you constantly blowing said fringe out of your hair ?

Are you resisting taking the scissors to it ?


Annoying fringe syndrome ?

Do you suffer from it ?

Are you constantly blowing said fringe out of your hair ?

Are you resisting taking the scissors to it ?








Also my first attempt at vlogging bear with me.

A Time To Remember

I got to thinking.

At 6.08 am precisely.

About the lights out for the First World War, I was all for the light as a way of respect , but you see respect for one event doesn't mean you are thinking of any other situation less.

Yesterday I had tweeted:

"War is always going on sadly ,there is always a quest for peace . Just because I RT world war 1 stuff doesn't mean I think less of Gaza"

And in fact some of my friends tweeted back there are 32 wars going on ~ shocking.

For me the First World War brought family secrets/ sacrifice back to the forefront , so lighting a candle was a small but significant mark of respect.

And that's the key lesson respect for when you have respect of one situation then very often it will help you develop empathy for others.