HAPPY NEW YEAR

Good Afternoon to you,

Firstly, Happy New Year to you and your family.

It is wonderful to be back with you, as I have really missed your company.  

I am so sorry, that during the past couple of months, I could not find the time to sit down and share my recipes with you. I had so many Christmas recipes planned, yes your eyes did not deceive you, I did write planned, not my usual style I know, but for Christmas to run smoothly, as you know, there has to be a bit of planning involved, but  due to family commitments, I could not find the time to share the recipes.

So just for the moment, I will need to reduce the amount of time I write to you each week, so for now, instead of writing twice a week I will be reducing my posts to just once a week.  I have changed the date as well.... I will now be catching up with you each and every Thursday.  

So as today, is my first time of writing to you in 2015, I thought it would be fun to review the past year, which I always enjoy doing, because I don't know about you, but I am always pleased to see how much cooking I have done throughout the year..... and what I share with you is only two meals a week. Imagine if we catalogued all the meals we created, seven days a week, throughout the year...... our files would be bulging.

Do you remember in January we made,

beans in tomato sauce.

I realise a little

more effort

is required

as it is so much easier to

 open a tin of beans,

but,

if you have the time,

the extra effort is really worthwhile

as these beans are so 

much tastier.

Then of course,

 I really had to add one

of my

potato recipes,

because

as

you know 

 I love, love, love,

potatoes.

My

Potatoes Lyonnaise

were made in an unconventional

way,

but which work well for me.

Sorry to all my French friends if I

made you gasp in horror.

.... and

I just had to include

one of George's favourites,

steak pie with a rich gravy.

He so enjoyed this pie whilst watching 

the rugby on television.

I have to say,

one of 

the highlights of the year for me,

was when I was one of

the bloggers interviewed

and featured 

in the

Woman's Weekly Magazine.

What a thrill that was.

I still smile to myself every time I think

about the experience.

..... and really,

it would not be right

if I did not share

my love of chocolate.

These chocolate brownies were divine.

You might think the shape is a little odd,

well, I have to tell you,

 I baked these brownies

 with Phyllis

and I asked her if she would like to cut the

brownies into slices..... and this was the result,

a little off piste, but lovely

all the same.

If you have been reading my blog for a while

you will know about my love

 of Cypriot food, 

this is

my favourite Tzatziki recipe

using 

Greek Yoghurt.

Oh, I love Falafel,

oops

I did not notice at the time that I had

added an extra 's'.

I love aubergines 

especially

when used in

 Baba Ghanoush. 

Along with Tzatziki

and Falafel

these recipes

make me dream of warmer summer days.

Spaghetti Puttanesca

is a very quick and easy recipe,

perfect for when I need to whip

up a meal quickly.

My equivalent of fast food.

My Pear and Ginger 

Upside Down Cake

was lovely

and it is a recipe

I use over and over again

as it never fails to please.

The season for figs is 

very short,

so when they are available 

we eat them with gusto, just as they are,

but sometimes it is nice to do

something a little different

so 

another way to enjoy figs

 is to

wrap figs in prosciutto,

add a little cheese

and

bake..... delicious.

Another fruit I love

is peaches

and

baked peaches

with

crushed Amaretti biscuits

are delightful.

 I love the flavour of Amaretti biscuits.

Don't you just love the 

teacup and saucer.

It is so pretty.

Oh my word,
when I baked this pie

the kitchen was filled

with the gorgeous aroma of

 apples and blackberries
and

George lingered in the kitchen for

quite a while until this pie was ready to eat.

I love fish, and

this mackerel dip certainly 

hit the spot, especially

with my homemade

crisp breads.

As the weather turned

colder,

this 

turkey soup 

with 

pearl barley was a perfect

winter warmer.

 These are just a few of the many recipes we made during 2014.... and what do I have in store for 2015.

..... well one of the Christmas gifts I received was this odd looking contraption,

do you know what it is?

If you don't know, all will be revealed next week..... and no, just in case it had crossed your mind,  it is not an instrument of torture!

Just one more thing before I leave you, I want to say thank you to my friends who have been emailing me privately, I am sorry I have left it so long, but I promise, I will be catching up with you this week.

So take care of yourself and I will see you on Thursday.

REMEMBRANCE DAY ~ 9TH NOVEMBER 2014

Good Morning to you,

source

'Do not stand at my grave and weep.

I am not there.

I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle Autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush.

I am the swift uplifting rush

of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry.

I am not there.

I did not die.

Mary Elizabeth Fry

1932

There really are not enough words, to say thank you, to all the brave men and women, from across the world, who lost their lives, so that we can enjoy the freedom we have today.

..... but we can remember and we must always remember their sacrifice.

George and I will never, ever, forget friends and family, who lost their lives in conflicts across the world.

They will always have our gratitude, 

and

they will always live on, 

in our hearts.

to you and your family,

TURKEY SOUP WITH PEARL BARLEY

Good Afternoon to you,

As you know, I have lived in Cyprus at various times in my life and I have a very strong affinity with the island.

The time I am going to be talking about is when I was about 6 years old and we lived in a place called Famagusta.  In those days, we, as children, were always able to play outdoors safely because everyone in the street, knew each other, so there was never a problem.

Now I had a friend, who lived along the road from us, and to reach my friends house, I had to walk past a bungalow whose owners had chickens running freely around  the garden.... chickens.... they were no problem, but they also kept a turkey, which also roamed freely around the garden.

Now, as you know, turkeys are much larger than chickens, but I never worried about the turkey, that is until one day, as I walked past the bungalow, the turkey noticed me.  The turkey raised it's head, stared at me and then made a gobbling sound, and with that, started walking and then ended up running towards me..... I think my 'flight or fight' intuition kicked in, because on seeing the turkey running towards me, I ran as fast as I could towards my friends house, and when I arrived, I  looked behind me, to see the turkey was still chasing  me. Luckily my friend had a garden gate and so I was able to run into the garden and close the gate.

So you can imagine, the next time I walked by the bungalow, I was very cautious, I thought I was practically tiptoeing past the bungalow, but no, on that occasion and every subsequent occasion, each time I reached the bungalow, the turkey would see me, and off we would go..... turkey seeing me..... me running....and the turkey chasing me. This went on for quite a while, until one day, suddenly the turkey was not there, it had disappeared. At the time I was so pleased, but being a little girl I only felt relief, I did not realise why the turkey had disappeared...... probably just as well, because even though the turkey frightened the life out of me, I would have been sad to know it had probably been added to a pot for the family meal. 

So every time I roast a turkey, which is usually only at Christmas time, I think about the turkey who terrorised me for so many months, all those years ago.

Now, as I say, I usually only cook turkey at Christmas time, but recently the butcher had some joints of turkey, at a very reasonable price, so I bought one, and made,

this turkey soup with pearl barley and chunky vegetables.  A really hearty, winter's soup..... perfect for Bonfire Night.  

So it's on with the pinnie and the music I am listening to is,

the wonderful soothing voice of Norah Jones.  This is such a lovely album, listen to and enjoy, 

'Sunrise'

'What Am I To You'

and

'Don't Miss You At All'

So whilst I am listening to, 'In the Morning' I will organise my ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

TO 

MAKE

TURKEY SOUP

WITH

PEARL BARLEY

The evening before you are ready to make the

soup.
Place the broth mix in a large bowl
and
cover with water.
Allow the broth mix to

soak overnight.

The following day,
drain the water from the broth mix
and set aside until ready to use.

200g broth mix

250g  turkey joint

8 small waxy potatoes

1 large onion

4 large carrots

2 large parsnips

1 240g tin of tomatoes

2 litres of turkey stock

2 tablespoons of olive oil

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

HOW TO MAKE
TURKEY SOUP 
WITH 
PEARL BARLEY

Cook the turkey joint
in plenty of stock

and

when cooked, place the turkey meat 
on a plate
and
reserve the turkey stock.

Whilst the turkey is cooking,

wash and drain the soaked

broth mix

and

set aside for the moment.

Slice the onions.

Place the olive oil

into

a

large pan

and 

add the onions.

Cook until golden brown.

While the onions are cooking,

peel and chop

 the 

carrots

into chunks.

Peel and chop

the

parsnips 

into chunks.

Peel and chop

the 

potatoes

into chunks.

When the onions are golden in colour,

add the

chopped carrots,

the

chopped parsnips,

and

the

chopped potatoes.

Add
 the 

tomatoes,

the

turkey stock

and

the

broth mix.

Add

half a teaspoon of 

sea salt

and

half a teaspoon of

freshly ground black pepper.

Stir the ingredients.

Place a lid on the pan

and

Bring the soup to the boil

then

reduce to a simmer 

and 

cook for

45 minutes

or 

until the broth mix is thoroughly cooked.

Before serving

check for seasoning

and add a little more

if necessary.

When the turkey joint is cooked,
dice into bite sized pieces.

Decide on the dish

you wish to use,

and

ladle the chunky soup

into the

soup dish.

Add

as much, or as little turkey meat

as you want
and
Enjoy.

I guarantee, that this soup is so filling you will not need any bread to mop up the soup.

If you are not sure what a broth mix is, here in England, it is a mixture of pearl barley (which is delicious), lentils, yellow split peas, green split peas and marrowfat peas, but if these are not available to you, this soup works very well with just pearl barley.

Also the potatoes I used are waxy potatoes, because I did not want the potatoes falling apart in the soup, I wanted them to retain their shape.

You will also notice, that the vegetables are cut much larger than I normally do, because adding chunky vegetables adds a certain 'something' to the soup and as George says, he likes a soup he can 'get his teeth into'.

This is such a healthy soup and each year, at this time of year, we always try to eat healthily, before  the indulgence of Christmas arrives.  This way, we find we really look forward to, and enjoy the richer Christmas foods.

How about you, do you have any healthy pre-Christmas food traditions?

Take care and I will see you on Sunday.

This week I will be joining,

Miz Helen's Country Cottage

and

Natasha in Oz for Say G'Day Saturday
and
21 Rosemary Lane for Share Your Style

CHRISTMAS GIFTS ~ A GIFT OF TEA

Good Afternoon to you,

On Friday, I was shopping in Newcastle, when quite by accident, I came across the perfect pair of slippers.

The funny thing is, you can guarantee, if I was looking for a pair of slippers to buy, I would not find the right slippers, so to find a pair, without really looking, was a treat.

As I said, I did not go shopping for a pair of slippers, even though my old slippers were looking a little sorry for themselves.... comfy, but a little past their sell by date. I came across my lovely new slippers when I was looking for some Molton Brown hand wash, which, incidentally, I forgot to buy, as I was so pleased with my purchase,  I simply walked out of the shop.

The first thing I did when I arrived home, was, unwrap the slippers, take off my shoes and pop the slippers on my feet..... oh the joy of putting my tired feet inside my brand new pair of slippers, it was sheer pleasure.

.... they are so soft and fluffy inside and my feet are as warm as toast.

The second thing I did was, put the kettle on, to make a cup of tea.

..... and as I was making my cup of tea, my thoughts drifted towards a friend of mine who adores, good strong tea and in that moment, I knew just what  I was going to do.

I am going to give my friend a Christmas gift of a good quality black tea,  along with a gorgeous cup and saucer, which I know will make her so very happy.

So it's on with the pinnie and the music I am listening to is,

the album, Mercury Falling by Sting.  When I listen to Sting's words, he reminds me of  a medieval minstrel, as his songs always tell a story.

Listen to,

I Hung My Head,

and

I Was Brought To My Senses

and

I'm So Happy, I Can't Stop Crying

and you will see what I mean.

So whilst I am listening to 'All Four Seasons' I will organise the items I will  need..... bit of a cheek really to say organise, as there is very little to organise.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

TO 

MAKE A 

CHRISTMAS GIFT 

OF TEA

Choose a good quality

tea.

I chose a

black Indian tea, 

with
hints of,

root ginger,

cloves,

and

cardamom.

You will need a small

cellophane bag

and

a funnel.

Place the funnel

inside the

cellophane bag

and 

carefully pour the black tea

into the bag.

The aroma is wonderful.

Gather the top of the bag together

and secure the bag

with a small rubber band.

Choose a colourful

ribbon.

I just love this ribbon,

'Everything Stops For Tea'

and tie a bow

to cover the rubber band.

Now whilst I was doing this,

I thought,

about another close friend

who enjoys tea.

For this friend, I am going to add

a tea strainer
to her gift

or

maybe

I will give both of my friends

and beautiful cup and saucer,

some black tea

and

a 

tea strainer.

Yes, 
I feel sure,
this will be the perfect gift,
for both of my friends.

I just need to look

for  two lovely

cups and saucers,
like my Italian Spode,
which is not a difficulty for me
as it is

always fun to see what I can find.

Do you have a friend  who would love a Christmas gift of tea?

As for me, I decided to put my feet up and enjoy a cup of tea. I was very happy as I was wearing my new slippers. Would you like to take a peek?

aahh..... the simple pleasures are the best.

Take care and I will see you on Wednesday.

This week I will be joining,

Joy from Yesterfood for Treasure Box Tuesday

and

Robin from Flusterbuster