The Green Green Grass Of Home

Green is the new gallery title and I'm glad I've been reminded of this after slugging through winter. It's been officially Spring for about 10 days give or take the shaking of a lambs tail.

The Basket Company Review

Pants.

You might have seen me mentioning my husbands pants in the context of him running out of them , well part of the problem was we have 2 laundry bins one for my son and myself and one for my husband. My husbands laundry basket or black hole as I called it didn't even have a laundry bag liner in it , it was very much an after thought in the laundry duties.

Phenomenal is what I call my new laundry basket from The Basket Company  and is priced at £35 when my husband saw it he said its smaller but I held my tongue and didn't quite Yoda at him "Judge me by my size do not" or something like that. The old adage is quite correct great things do come in small packages and this laundry basket is do pretty , you might think me bonkers for going all faint at the knees over a laundry basket but I love it. 

The old laundry hamper of doom

All now need and tidy , which is how we like it.

After the weekend I decided I'd had enough of domestic bliss ( think they were being sarcastic when they coined this phrase I'm sure if it) and I thought I needed to picnic . It's March true but you can picnic anytime you might need to wear a bobble hat but hey ho.

Let them eat cake

You can have your cake and eat it too , I must remember to take a flask of tea with me next time. Though a flask of tea doesn't quite taste the same as freshly made , perhaps I'll drag the butler with me next time to make me a cup of tea in a fine bone china cup.

OOOh look what I found.

Have a picnic basket , let us picnic in March

Have a small picnic basket then you can picnic any where ( good weather not included , if chance of showers bring your own brolly) The picnic basket for this size is £12 and I think it is good value of course you can use it for storage at home.





Disclosure : I was sent the Items from The Basket Company they however didn't send me cake and I do like cake.

St Patrick's Day Delight With Ocado

I am very honoured to be part of the St Patricks day menu again with Ocado, I had such fun last year pushing my culinary skills I was more than up for it this year. The  object was to create a three course meal that is easily achievable for any one , so i had to rack my brains as I really wanted to surpass last years and what you  are dealing with such a wide range of fine Irish ingredients then you have got your work cut out. I finally narrow my choices down after much deliberation and I decide upon 


Starter

Fine Irish breakfast on soda bread toast

Ingredients
Mushrooms of your choosing , though Porcini will require 15 minutes of soaking beforehand. cut into quarters
Scrambled eggs
Irish Black pudding
Guinness stout

Method

You can make the scrambled egg before hand and keep it warm whilst you cook the mushroom and sausage.

Heat some oil in a pan over a medium flame.

Put in your mushrooms and cook for 10 -15 minutes .

About half way through adding the slices of Irish Black pudding.

Splash in a small amount of Guinness Stout.

Serve over light fried Irish Soda bread


Irish Soda bread is the back bone of many a great Irish recipe and it is truly both a thoroughbred and the work horse of Irish foods.

Main Course

Rack of lamb with a whiskey and marmalade jus.

Ingredients

Rack of lamb enough for 4 people
Old time Irish Coarse Cut Marmalade
2 tablespoons of whiskey
springs of thyme
Organic Herb Co. Irish Garden Herb Oil. to drizzle
Broccoli
4 average Potatoes wash and dried.


Method

Preheat the oven to 200 C adjust if a fan oven 

Prepare your potatoes ( this was my first time for hassle back potatoes. Cut into the potatoes as is you going to slice them up but don't let the knife go all the way through.

Place the potatoes in an oven proof dish.

Tease the potatoes out a little to insure that the oil and butter gets into the crevices.

Brush the potatoes with the oil and some melted butter.

After 30 minutes of baking brush the potatoes again with the fat.

Then cook for another 30 minutes  adjusting according to the size of your potatoes.

The lamb takes around 25 minutes or less is you want it medium.

Drizzle with the same oil and dress with sprigs of them and place in the oven after your potatoes have been cooking for the last 25 minutes or less.

Dessert 

Irish Apple cake with double cream

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 5 teaspoons caster sugar
• 375g self raising flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs beaten
• 400g caster sugar
• 400 ml Buttermilk 
• 
  

• Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C/ Gas mark 4. Grease and flour a suitable bundt tin. Combine
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, cinnamon ,baking powder and  sugar. , beaten eggs, 
3. Then add the buttermilk add about 400 ml ( add more if needs be)but pour slowly and stir make sure the mixture doesn't get to wet.
4.  at this stage you can add any additional flavouring ( be careful not to over power)
5.  Line the bundt tin with apple Pour 1/2 of the cake mixture into the prepared tin. Then pour the other half in the other side of the tin 
6. Bake at 180 C / Gas 4 for 70 to 90 minutes.

After it has cooled you could pour some Ameretto over the cake and let it soak in.

Disclosure I was provided with a voucher to obtain the ingredients the recipes are my own.

Parent's Evening The Last Hurrah

Parent's evening the last hurrah.

Tired teachers waiting upon the eager parents and the no so eager children perhaps, you shuffle into a gall to see what I can only describe as a speed dating scene where you hot seat your way through the various subjects.

Subject after subject it was an A or an A* with a shocking C in French but we had be pre warned of that. I suppose there is a tinge of sadness as life rolls on but what really got me was I am more and more conscious of what I am saying a lot.

I am very big on handwriting where my son is concerned and this wasn't a problem it seems where my son is concerned as one teacher said "my handwriting is worse" then came the other questions "what could he be doing more, what revision books does he need, what websites could he be looking at " and at the end my son thought I had looked for the negative. And you know what I think he is right I have had a hellish 2 days lack of sleep, been ill, then my husband has developed a Dickensian cough , the cat doesn't like whiskers any more.


Wait there I go.

SO

STOP

Positive time.

I need to be mindful of my outlook in how I speak as children are perceptive to how you speak at any age.

So tomorrow is a new day a new bright outlook pay it forward with a simple kindness as pay it forward doesn't have to be a tangible gift.

How To Play Bin Jenga

How to play Bin Jenga .

It is the latest craze sweeping the nation and it is very simple to play., You don't require a lot to play it , but oh the fun you will have.


You will need

1. A Bin that is slowly building up with rubbish.

2. Be the last one to go to place rubbish in the bin and if it doesn't balance you win / though I reality you've lost.

See I told you the rules were so simple and you can be an instant winner!


Also in the same serious of games is put the toilet roll on the holder 

and out next year is the game put the toilet paper the right way.


If you need me I'll be emptying the bin.

Disclosure no family members were harmed in this blog post but there was a stiff talking to and no fracas was involved.