Day 45 - Lockdown

Day 45 of Lockdown.

So here we are in the middle of the week and one more day before the Bank Holiday weekend.  Had another very busy day in the office.  I also managed to make a small video for our website, not sure what the 'Boss' will think! 

We went on our daily walk tonight and look what we found under the bridge.  Very pretty - saw lots of others also - will share them another day.  As you can see below Teddy is on his training lead.  We are trying to get him to come back.  Typical there was no reason to get him back as he behaved himself and didn't go after people when he saw them.

I feel much better today, not so grumpy, although I did have a problem falling asleep and didn't want to wake up this morning.  Can't have it all hey!

I have been doing some planning with the boys  - what we are making for our afternoon tea celebrations on Friday.  Hopefully mini Victoria sponges, chocolate cake, scones and ginger cake.  We may need to make some bread for our sarnies as I think we may run out before then.  I forgot to tell you I have started another Sour Dough Starter and all is well so far...only time will tell, we are only on day 3.

I haven't really got a lot to report, but I am hoping to have more time this weekend and I want to share some photos and stories about some of our family.  I am hoping I can find a particular photo or two to share with you.

Todays recipe is Chocolate Torte from Fay Ripley's Cookbook.  This is a no flour recipe and it works really well. It is really light believe it or not and great with cream or ice cream.  I have a friend that can't eat flour so this tends to be my go-to recipe.

So until tomorrow...keep your distance!

Day 44 - Lockdown

Day 44 of Lockdown.

I hadn't got a picture for you tonight so my lovely model posed for me.  In actual fact he got right stroppy and wouldn't stop moving so I struggled to get any sort of picture.  He is being a little monkey 🐵 at the moment.  I think this lockdown thing is getting right on his nerves even though he probably gets more attention and walks than before.

I have felt really grumpy today.  Not sure why, but I just struggled to concentrate again and just wasn't really full of the joys. Hopefully be better tomorrow, but I said that yesterday.  All the uncertainty is getting to me and just want to get back to some sort of normality.  Went for a little walk tonight which did make me feel a bit better.

As you can tell I haven't really got a lot to report.  Simon has purchased himself a mini fridge for his bedroom.  That child is hilarious.  Who needs a mini fridge in their bedroom.  He wants it to store his drinks and Ben and Jerrys Ice Cream apparently.  We hardly see him now, so I wonder how much we will see him when he gets into it.

So todays recipe is Oat & Raisin Cookies from Hummingbird Bakery Recipe Book.  They are our most favourite cookie that we make.  You do have to take them out of the oven when the edges are just cooked so that they are soft in the middle.  I am unable to find the recipe online so I have added it to my blog list for you.

I will have to make up for todays short version another day.... sorry just been one of those days, I'm sure you all have them too.




So until tomorrow.... keep your distance!

Oat & Raisin Cookies Recipe

Hummingbird Bakery - Oat & Raisin Cookies

Ingredients

270g unsalted butter, at room temperature

160g caster sugar

160g soft dark brown sugar

2 eggs

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

380g plain flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

110g rolled oats

220g raisins 

Method

Preheat the oven to 170C. Put the butter and sugars in a bowl and cream until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula after each addition. Turn the mixer down to slow speed and beat in the vanilla extract. 

Sift together the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon in a separate bowl, add the oats and mix well. Add to the butter mixture and beat until well mixed. Stir in the raisins with a wooden spoon until evenly dispersed. 

Arrange equal amounts of cookie dough on the prepared baking trays. Make sure that the cookies are spaced apart to allow for spreading while cooking. 

Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes, or until golden brown and firm.Check them regularly to make sure they are not burning. 

When you are happy that they are cooked through, remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly on the trays before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely. 

Makes 20 cookies.

Day 43 - Lockdown

Day 43 of Lockdown and it's another Monday over with.

Had a bit of a mixed day today.  Just didn't seem to be able to focus for some unknown reason and hope tomorrow is much better.  I think maybe this lockdown is beginning to get to me, who knows.

Its the VE Day bank holiday on Friday - has anybody got any 'home' plans?  I am wondering about doing us afternoon tea.  Some scones, sandwiches and cake.  I did have some bunting but I got rid of it and I don't have a sewing machine anymore, so we shall just have to get the cake stands out to celebrate!

So recipe is back today.  Another family favourite is Chicken & Chorizo Potato Pots.  They are really quite easy to make and great for sticking in the oven on a timer when we are out with the boys for football training.  At the moment I am trying not to use two meats in any food dishes so we have enough food in the cupboards, so we haven't had this for quite some time now.  As you can tell we like Chorizo.  

For some time Matthew seems to get indigestion after eating his tea and we have been trying to work out what has been causing it.  We think we have pinned it down to Potato.  It can be anything potato. We have now tried him eating sweet potato and he seems fine.  Potato is part of the Nightshade family like tomatoes, but he seems ok with tomato, so its a little odd.  We now make him sweet potato where possible.

I haven't really got much else to report today, but hopefully something exciting might happen tomorrow.

So until tomorrow....keep your distance!!

Day 42 - Lockdown

Day 42 of Lockdown and what a quiet Sunday it has been.

Zoom Quiz last night was brilliant.  We had such a laugh and I think we came joint 4th, so not too bad.  Rather a lot of drink was consumed and a lot of dancing and laughing.  We lost the picture during one round and just couldn't get it back until we restarted the laptop.  Teddy was a pain in the butt - we think it was the different voices and he didn't understand what was happening. Let him out rather late on and he found a hedgehog so we had to catch him so he couldn't keep sniffing it.  All in all a great evening - thank you!!

Matthew and Simon as you can see has been extremely busy making Millionaire Shortbread.  We didn't have any condensed milk, so they made their own with evaporated milk by looking online.  What good little bakers we have!  Look forward to trying them later on.

Matthew started doing some of the mowing down our driveway and I continued and then did some more of the meadow grass outside the front of our bungalow.  We love our neighbours and here is one of them, obviously socially distancing in his referee's kit!  He joked the other week about Matthew and his mowing and about putting a football pitch on the grass and here he is doing a pitch inspection.  I was just merrily mowing and all of a sudden he comes around the corner waving his flags in his full kit.  It was absolutely hilarious - you guys made my day, you really did.  I still keep laughing about it now!!  They are wonderful neighbours and as you can see they they make us laugh even in lockdown!  Thank you xx

I see that this Thursday they are going to make another decision on lockdown - we await their next steps.  I can't see us being let out for some time.  Costa decided that they were going to open their drive throughs and we have one locally.  Its apparently for key workers, which I can understand but it sounds like the one that opened in Ipswich had to have the Police attend as there was a large queue blocking the roads.  I can't imagine they were all key workers.  We have a coffee machine here and are making our own 'special' coffee.  We don't only like going to have a particular brand of coffee, its more the social aspect we enjoy, but that is hardly possible at the moment, so I just don't get it.

Had a lovely roast tea tonight - yummy!  As we have usually
got something to do at the weekend we got out of the habit of having a roast on a Sunday, but this situation has given us the opportunity to get back into it and hope we can work it somehow when things eventually get back to the 'new normal'.

I have finished a mountain of ironing off tonight as I just couldn't face it for over a week and had all the bedding to iron.  Again Matthew said he doesn't know why I bother, but I have to do it as what if lockdown gets lifted and we only have creased clothes to wear - what a thought!

I have got Matthew on a project as he doesn't have anything to do at the moment.  I want some furniture for the garden and what I would love is really expensive, so I have decided we should make our own.  He is going to make some pallet furniture as Chris has quite a few pallets up the yard he doesn't need. To start he needs to paint the pallets and hopes to make a corner seat and table.  I have also seen we could make a bar and lots of other things - can't wait to get started.  Matthew has been doing product design at school so I am hoping this will give him get some more practical experience whilst actually giving him something to do.  He reminded us today that in just over a week he would have been doing his exams.

We watched 'The Mule' film this afternoon, whilst I was ironing and it was a lovely film.  Your poor garden Charlie and Debra.   For those of you who don't know, the Daylilys garden used in this film was our friends who live in the US and obviously met Clint Eastwood when it was filmed.  They were also invited to the Premier of the film - very lucky.

Hope you have all had a good weekend and until tomorrow.... keep your distance!!

Day 41 - Lockdown

Day 41 of Lockdown.

Here we are on Saturday 2nd May and still safely in our own homes obeying the rules set our by the Government.  If we all obey hopefully I won't get to 100 days!!

The willow tree here was on my walk with Teddy first thing this morning.  Its not often I stand back and look at nature to appreciate it, but this morning I really looked at it and realised how lovely it really is and the way it bends over.  The trunk is all twisted and looks just so interesting.  I am getting a bit worried about myself as its not like me to talk about a tree for so long.  This lockdown really must be going to my head or I am just trying to find things to talk about - probably both!

The next picture down is the pudding we had tonight.  We got it from Cook Shop - Raspberry and White Chocolate Cheesecake again another delicious dish from them.  Our main was Beef Bourguignon from the same place and the Beef was melt in the mouth and the sauce was extremely rich - yum!!

I haven't really done a lot today.   Like I said took Teddy for his little walk first thing.  Then had some crumpets for breakfast and got on with cleaning the house.  I had my helper who does the hoovering and dusting, while I clean the bathrooms. Changed the beds and got the washing up to date.  Then walked down the end of our drive to clean the 'Reeve Farms' sign which has never been cleaned and was looking a bit ropey.  

As you can also see from below I have baked some Oat & Raisin Cookies.  Made soup for our lunch - carrot, sweet potato, leek and sweet chilli sauce.

We also took Teddy for another walk this evening, let him of his lead and he went running across the fields after something we couldn't see.  It took ages to get him back - naughty little boy.  He didn't get any treats for coming back eventually as he should have come back after the first whistle.  He does seem a bit shattered now.

We have our Zoom Quiz at 8pm, so I am going to have to go now... so until tomorrow...keep your distance!

Day 40 - Lockdown

Day 40 of Lockdown and its Friday!!

As you can tell we had our usual Chicken Korma for tea.  I worry we are a little boring having the same sort of dishes each week, but I suppose its what we like and I now know how to make it without the recipe!

Had a busy morning collecting and delivery goodies to family of which they were very grateful.  It was nice to see them and have a quick chat at the door.  It must be hard as they don't see anyone else all week.

I keep getting distracted tonight whilst trying to write this as been watching The Great British Menu which we have watched since Wednesday.  Have you been watching it? 

Work was really busy again doing this and that when I eventually got to my desk and now looking forward to a bit of a rest this weekend.  And a bit of rest I think it may be as we don't have a massive list of jobs to do thank goodness.  

We have a Zoom quiz tomorrow night, which we are all really looking forward and apparently the only rule of play is having 2 bottles of wine first!

Went on our family walk tonight with 'Ant Boy' who managed to come back thick with mud as he decided to drink out of puddles after chasing lots of birds!

Todays recipe is Fruity Flapjacks from Jo Wheatley recipe book, but are also featured on her website.  I have mentioned before that I struggle to make Flapjacks, but I can make these and Matthew has also made them.  If you don't have particular ingredients they are easy to change for alternatives

I think we may have another one of our 'Cook Shop' meals tomorrow night, which I am looking forward to.  We also managed to get a pudding so that will be a real treat.



So I best finish now as 'The Chase' is on in a few minutes and we have really enjoyed watching it this week.  Sad hey!!

So until tomorrow....keep your distance!