Quiet again.

So the boys went back to school yesterday,only 2 half days this week but I'd forgotten how quiet the house was with them not in it.

I haven't run all week,I feel guilty about it but in my defence I wasn't well at the beginning of the week.Anyway no excuses, I shall start fresh next week,as soon as the kids are on the bus Dave and I shall go since the mornings are getting cooler the extra hour and a half later should help with that.

Well it's already Labour day weekend,I really don't know where summer went? all I do know is it went too fast.

I really don't like to post without a photo to go with it so I'll post this one that my early rising husband took the last time we were at our friends cottage.I always aim to get up and take shots like this but really to be honest I think I'm content to leave this job to him !

Pages

3 pages to be exact.The one below is based on this weeks sketch,I couldn't believe both my boys had yellow and black uniforms this year..........I am not a fan of yellow.Anyway I did this one and then.............

I made this one using the same sketch,I've been doing that a lot recently,doing 2 pages from one,speeds things up.

This one is based on last weeks sketch,it's pretty simple and it isn't one of my favourites but the fact I actually did it at a Friday night crop is an achievement in it's self !

Potato & Goats Cheese Quiche

Last night I made this quiche it's so yummy,it's one of my favourites !
I cheat for the pastry.My grandma used to make the best pastry(she also made the best trifle and roast potatoes too) I used to help her make jam tarts and lemon curd tarts whenever I went to stay.She always said I would never make good pastry as my hands are too warm and she was right,I can't make pastry to save my life.So I buy the Tenderflake frozen deep pie cases and since there's 2 in the pack I make 2 quiches and freeze one.

Makes 1 quiche.

400g of new potatoes (cooked and cut into chunks)
250g sliced pancetta( cut into strips.Dry fry until crisp half and save the other half)
2tbsp chopped chives
125g goats cheese(crumbled into good size chunks)
3 eggs
200ml cooking cream.

1. Pre heat oven to 375 f.

2. Scatter the potatoes,cooked pancetta and chives into the pie case.Sprinkle over the cheese.

3. Beat the eggs and cheese together and season with salt and pepper.Pour over the the filling and arrange the remaining pancetta on the top.

4. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until just set in the centre and the pancetta is crisp.Leave to cool slightly before serving.

Original recipe: Good Food magazine,August 2001.

Header woes !

Argghhhhhhhh !

I get round to making the header and I must of tried 6 different sizes,using pixels,dpi etc,I've tried bigger and shrinking it when it's time to load but it just doesn't sit right.................it's either massive and across the page or it's this,what you see above.I don't mind if it sits in that box properly,which it isn't right now or really I'd like it completely over that box but I'm not happy with what it's doing right now and no idea why it's doing it ?

Any help would be greatly appreciated :)

Edited......Thanks Mel !

August Sketch #5

Here's my sketch for this week over at Scrapbook Centrale. I've actually used this for 2 pages which I'll load later this week.I still have last weeks to load !

Creamy mushroom and prosciutto pasta.

This is what I cooked for dinner last night.Sorry no photo to accompany this post as as much as the sauce was yummy,my mushrooms were not at the freshest and the sauce was a grey rather than mushroomy in colour.

I'll credit where this recipe originally came from but I have altered it considerably, of course it's much better and I would say it serves 3 not the 4 it quotes.

To make it veggie I would add a pinch of salt and a good dollop of mustard.

Ingredients:

6 prosciutto slices (ripped into shreds)
2 tbsp Olive oil
1 medium onion (finely chopped)
2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
350g assorted mushrooms (cut into good size chunks) I normally use chestnut/portabello and shiake or some dried if I have them.
good pinch of chili flakes
200ml of vegetable stock
100ml cooking cream
1 tbsp chopped parsley
fresh parmesan to serve

1. In a non stick pan dry fry the prosciutto until crispy,set to one side.

2. In a heavy bottomed pan,heat the oil over a medium heat and cook the onions until softened slightly,add the mushrooms,garlic and chili and cook until the juices are out of the mushrooms.

3. Turn the heat to high and add the stock,bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce is reduced by half.

4. Add the prosciutto and cream and stir,warm through and then add the parsley.

5. Pour over pasta,I tend to use pappardelle for this one and top with the parmesan.


original recipe: Delicious magazine,November 2006

9 years ago

On this day 9 years ago we arrived in Canada.Sometimes it seems as if we have lived here a lot longer than that and other times it seems like only yesterday.I've survived 9 winters,I knew it would be cold but not that cold ! I will never forget feeling for the first time my nose being frozen on the inside.Still I'll take the cold and the snow over dull damp rainy English days anytime.


I made this layout at the NSD back in May,used the photo's from our estate agents brochure.We moved in and out of that house 3 years later on roughly the same day and then we bought our house here in Canada 5 years ago at about the same time too..................must be something about mid August!

The Weekend.

It looked like finally being a good weather weekend so we went to our friends cottage.The sun shone all weekend and we had a great time.Water was a little on the cool side but didn't stop us swimming both days.We took our usual walk to find frogs,turtles and snakes,all those things boys like to catch !!

Someone was happy with his frog finds and is more than happy to catch and release.I'm more than happy to let them do that while I take more pictures of flowers and weeds,one can never have too many floral photo's.

August Sketch #4

Here's my sketch for this week over at Scrapbook Centrale.I'll post my page later this week,it's one I created at a Friday night crop a week ago.

Spicy Bean Salad.

So while I was preparing dinner I had a thought.............why don't I put my favourite recipes on the blog and that way I'll either be able to get them from here or at least know where they came from because I waste valuable time trying to remember just where my recipes are :) I even have a photo !


So :

1 tin of sweetcorn(drained)
1/2 tsp chili flakes
3 large tomatoes(seeded and diced)
2 cloves garlic(finely chopped)
1 medium red onion
1 tin black beans(rinsed and drained)
3 tbsp coriander(chopped)


DRESSING:

2 tbsp Olive oil
2 tsp Honey
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp chipotle paste(or 2 tsps of tabasco chipotle)
salt and pepper.


1. Dry fry corn and chili in a non stick frying pan until looking charred ! Cool.

2. Once cool add to a large bowl with the tomatoes,garlic,onion,black beans and coriander.

3. Mix the all the dressing ingredients together and pour over the vegetables.Stir well.

Best left to stand for an hour.It's good the next day too.

I would like to point out this is not the original recipe but my (better !!) variation on it.

Original recipe: Food & Drink,Autumn 2005.

Run Forrest Run !

No not a post about movies or Tom Hanks ! It's about running and it's a long post for me !
Last week I decided to start running again.I dabbled in it last summer but just couldn't get into it on a regular basis.I am not a natural runner,in fact I don't really have any athletic ability if truth be known but running is something I can do early enough in the morning that it's out the way and what's more it's FREE ! So I've been getting up with the other half and I'm home just as he leaves for work,the kids are still asleep and I get some quiet me time.I'm aiming for 4 times a week and already I've added and extra 1/2 a km...............I want to get to 5km before it's too cold to run outside anymore.
What's making the running easier......................



That little device above :) No longer do I have to hear the thud thud of my feet on the road.Do I listen to something with a nice rhythm..........do I heck,the louder and grungier the better ! The only down side,seeing the lovely early morning mist rising above the fields and not being able to take pictures.

Far away Cousins

Here's my page based on the sketch #3 below.Photo's I had from last summer that I hadn't got round to scrapping !

I am making an effort to post everyday this week and I'm working on that header because that plain old one up there has got to go :)

Sketch August #3

Here's my sketch for this week at Scrapbook Centrale.I'll be back later in the week to post my page based on it.I am actually well ahead of the sketches,I spent last week drawing a whole batch up and doing pages for them as I've a busy couple of months ahead of me and I like to be on top of things :)

White Magic

Here's my page based on the sketch in the post below.Yep,another flower page.....I love my garden,even though it is a huge amount of work .It needs a serious overhaul but that will have to wait until next Spring,I have done my 2 jobs for the yard this summer :)

August Sketches #1 and #2.

Above is this weeks sketch (August #2)I created for the sketches challenge at Scrapbook Centrale and below is last weeks (#1) which I didn't have time to post :) I'll post my page for #2 later this week.

I'm back ........

.....with a few photo's.Well about 400 actually !!

Phew,well I thought I'd have time to pop in but I didn't............what a busy 2 weeks,the weather could have been a little better but that didn't stop us having fun,we went to our friends cottage,walked,swam,fished,ate and drank too much :) took in a Blue Jays game,came home,got projects done in our garden and then returned to our friends cottage to spend a few days with them.I've a few things to post but I'll leave you with just a couple of photo's because I'm still working this blogger thing out !!

See the world really is round !