Fried Portuguese Green Beans

First time cooking Peixinhos da horta (fried Green beans ) in my own kamikaze style , yes I know the beans should be whole etc etc but I was cooking on a wing and a prayer.

Ingredients 

100 grams of plain flour ( though you could reduced the amount , it’s totally up to you)

3  eggs ( I only had 2 so added some milk )

Some salt and pepper 

Some herbs dried or fresh 

Salt

Seasonings

Method

Wash and remove the Green beans strings and cut the ends, then place them in a saucepan full of water and season with salt.

Cook for around 10 -15 minutes 


Drain and set aside

Mx the flour eggs and a little salt in a bowl and any other flavouring I threw in some chicken seasonings

Dip around 3 -4 green beans at a time ( My Green beans were a bit more chopped up but it doesn't matter )  keep going till all the beans are coated

Heat a frying pan or skillet up and gently fry the beans on both sides 

Set aside on a plate that has kitchen towel on

I served mine on a bed of chopped chicken but it pretty much goes with anything I think and it’s a quick and easy lunch or supper perfect for humid hot days . You could add some diced shallot to the batter just to make a bit of a change , it is I think a really adaptable recipe.

Fried Portuguese Green beans 

Lamb Meatballs With Braised Savoy Cabbage With Lentils And Lardons

Ingredients 

Red Lentils now you can either follow the instructions on the packet of lentils or use canned ones

Premade lamb meatballs or make your own 

Lardons if you want 

Vegetable stock enough to braise the cabbage in 

Savoy cabbage cored and shredded 

Method 

First cook the meatballs they’ll probably take about 30 minutes depending on the size and cook at 180 c or higher through and keep warm .Though you can aim to cook the cabbage about halfway through .

Melt the butter in a pan add the landons and cook for 3-4 minutes 

Add the cabbage and mix well 

Then add the stock and cook for 10 minutes till tender

Add the pre cooked lentils and warm through 

Plate up with the meatballs add mozzarella and bung in the oven for a minute or 2 just to let the mozzarella melt 

Turning A StayCation Into A Yaycation

Yaycation that is a phrase I thought I would write let alone say much less irritating than the new normal .


I never thought this would be the year of the Staycation as In April Myself and my husband should have been winging our way to Corfu, we had heard so much about Corfu and we had managed to get a holiday for the bargain price of £595 half board and I was so happy.I though sunshine , wine and ruins and much much needed wandering as that as what I love doing on holiday. I am not much of a pool person or a beach person and I find it very hard to keep still until my gaze is captured by wonder.

More and more of us are going to be taking Staycations and the first Staycation you take in this current climate is always going to be filled with slight anticipation.I do have s Staycation planned at some point in Kent and yes I’m understandably slightly nervous but as long as I adhere to all the current guidelines then I’m sure all will be well (I hope )


I have seen people going on there breaks and it does seem normal out there but changed as we now have to wear masks on buses and shops and this is what I haven't experienced yet.I am avoiding buses and of course I will be wearing them in shops as from Thursday when I do go in a shop.


The shielding for me comes to an end on the 31st July and while I have popped out to the countryside in the form of National Trust and English Heritage properties .


One thing to do is to make sure you have a clean mask in a bag in the car just incase when you do go out you find that you have forgotten to put one in your shopping bag. Of course hand gel as well ( but never keep handle in your car just in case it catches fire because the high alcohol volume in the hand gel  as well as a back of tissues and some paracetamol , most people do have a First aid kit in their car.

I do recommend getting English Heritage and National Trust memberships as there social distancing at their properties is superb.Last weekend we went to Packwood  house which is only one of a few properties you can actually go inside at the moment.

Does Disability Inclusion Come Easy ?

Does disability Inclusion come easy ?

When I first joined my local ladies choir I was made very welcome but it took me a very long time to slot in and that, in part, was down to me being autistic. When a disability is invisible it can be very hard for you to been seen as anything other than normal but you are normal and being accepted is part of that. Being autistic I don't light up a room always socially and people find it hard to understand me and putting myself across takes a shed load of work and leaves me exhausted. I can write these words now and even now I wonder and worry how my words will be perceived!

Choirs are not always sunshine and roses - the real turning point for me was a rainy Sunday in May last year – my first performance with the choir, it was outdoors, raining hard and hardly any audience. It wasn’t our finest hour and I felt ill-prepared. Things have been much easier since although sometimes I still do find it hard to make myself heard but that is the rhythm of life just like the song! So like a phoenix out the fire I have grown in confidence and faith of heart. Throughout the last year and especially these last few months the choir have been there for one another and I am very honoured to be part of it. And that is the point of belonging to a choir it is a social anchor point and it more important that I ever realised especially during a pandemic such as we find ourselves in and I am so grateful that I have lovely members to reach out to even though we are not singing together.The power of music and friendships should never been underestimated as it is pure magic

Hot Dog Topping Grated Carrot and Black Bean

A few days I had hot dogs ( no it wasn't hot pets ) it was the food ! and I decided I really didn't want chips or fries or anything that was really heavy in carbs with them other than the hot dog buns. So I decided to instead grated some carrot and throw in some black beans and the result was I do have to say rather tasty.


Ingredients

Grated Carrot

Can of Black Bean ( drained )

Dash of Soy Sauce


Method

Grate the carrot I used the big grating part of the grater

Next put a wok or frying pan on a medium heat with some oil in


Stir fry the carrot and black beans together till cooked and warmed through add a dash soy soy sauce and again mix.

serve on top of hot dogs or as a side accompaniment