We took a trip to the Welbeck estate today, just for something to do really. This is where i went on the cooking course. It's really nice over there, a garden centre with the works, yeoman's and a couple of other shops in it. We thought they'd have their Christmas stuff up but not yet...seems to be the only place not to have any chritsmassy bits in it yet. The farm shop is fab, though as Daniel is working away there wasn't really anything we needed to get, we'll go back when he is back from London. We did stop at the cafe for a cuppa and a slice of cake, Guinness and chocolate, yummy. Daniel's pate also looked good.
Not to blow my own trumpet but when we got back i cooked an amazing roast dinner, chicken, potatoes, stuffing and a variety of vegetable. It was awesome. As winter draws in i think we'll have to start having more roasts!
Sunday, 18 September 2011
Saturday, 17 September 2011
The F Word...F=Food!
Tonight i cooked one of Gordon's recipe's from the F Word, spiced pork chops with crushed sweet potatoes and rocket salad. It was delicious. It was a little annoying that for some reason no where around here had any star anise (maybe they cater for the clientele and clearly those who live here don't use such an ingredient! I can't wait to move!) so the marinade was minus that, but it still tasted yummy. I am a big fan of sweet potatoes, much more so than regular potatoes.
Sarah visited Jamie's Italian restaurant this week and reported back that it was great there. I didn't even know it existed! As an owner of practically all of his books she's contacted me to try and find the recipe for what she ate! I think I've found a similar one so I'll have to post it to her and request that she makes it for my next visit!!
The plan tomorrow is to do some baking, in the spirit of the great british bake off! Maybe not macaroons but some biscuits or a cake i think!
Sarah visited Jamie's Italian restaurant this week and reported back that it was great there. I didn't even know it existed! As an owner of practically all of his books she's contacted me to try and find the recipe for what she ate! I think I've found a similar one so I'll have to post it to her and request that she makes it for my next visit!!
The plan tomorrow is to do some baking, in the spirit of the great british bake off! Maybe not macaroons but some biscuits or a cake i think!
Friday, 16 September 2011
Two weeks in...
So being back at school isn't too bad. I'm soooo tired day to day but i'm sure i'll get back into the swing of it soon. Classes aren't too bad and being the assistant head of year is so far going ok. I'm getting used to having a desk in an office - i know it sounds wierd but in a school only a few select people have that! What is not great is that we had the draw for the Iceland trip in the October half term, i didn't get picked out, boooooo, and the person who did also got asked to go on a two week trek to Morocco with the sixth form. Some say it's not fair but what can you do :( At least i get a full half term i guess.
On a positive i've almost moved all of my stuff into Daniel's house. All we need now is someone to buy it so we can move!!!
On a positive i've almost moved all of my stuff into Daniel's house. All we need now is someone to buy it so we can move!!!
Sunday, 4 September 2011
Here we go again...
Back to school tomorrow, booooooo. Though i hear so many people cry "you've had long enough off"! It will be good to go back and not be the newbie anymore though it will be interesting to see what it will be like being assistant head of year. The night before going back is always a bit bleugh, i don't really know why as you don't mind going back, 6 weeks is plenty really!
The last supper is going to be jambalaya which we love and is really easy to do. Then back to packed lunch making! Last night we had pasta with seared scallops and a Swahili sauce - it worked really well. Back to a little less interesting dinners for a bit while i get back into the routine - 6am get ups are not great :(
The last supper is going to be jambalaya which we love and is really easy to do. Then back to packed lunch making! Last night we had pasta with seared scallops and a Swahili sauce - it worked really well. Back to a little less interesting dinners for a bit while i get back into the routine - 6am get ups are not great :(
Wednesday, 31 August 2011
Enough of the riverdance!!
The bird is still alive! Doing a full rendition of the riverdance every morning at around 6am. It might be doing it throughout the day but we're not in the room so don't really know. Surely it must give up soon?
On a positive note the plumber is coming tomorrow to sort out the bathroom taps and hot water is now back on fully...fingers crossed it doesn't break again what with the weather turning to autumn.
The piccalilli has turned out awesome - though we can't eat it for a while as it needs to mature but it's going to be yummy. I now need to find a tasty recipe for scallops. I'm thinking risotto - any other suggestions?
On a positive note the plumber is coming tomorrow to sort out the bathroom taps and hot water is now back on fully...fingers crossed it doesn't break again what with the weather turning to autumn.
The piccalilli has turned out awesome - though we can't eat it for a while as it needs to mature but it's going to be yummy. I now need to find a tasty recipe for scallops. I'm thinking risotto - any other suggestions?
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
Problems problems
It's one of those days, or couple of days, where everything seems to break. The gas meter got replaced last night which meant yesterday we had no hot water to shower. Even though it was a new meter we still had no hot water which implied the boiler was broken, coincidence? At bed time the boiler seemed to be working again so we thought it just needed resetting and this morning all seemed fine, Daniel had a shower and all looked rosy. That was until i went to have a shower and lo and behold not working again! Then thought I'd go online whilst i waited for it to reset again and the Internet wasn't working either! Turns out, after a gas man spent ages trying to find out the problem, that the pump was broken - so yet another day of no hot water for me.
There also seems to be a bird in the chimney - we don't have a fire place! It will just have to flap in there until it gives up hope as we don't know what else to do!
I'm now going to be more productive and start making a batch of piccalilli ready for Christmas!!
There also seems to be a bird in the chimney - we don't have a fire place! It will just have to flap in there until it gives up hope as we don't know what else to do!
I'm now going to be more productive and start making a batch of piccalilli ready for Christmas!!
Wednesday, 17 August 2011
American Adventure 2007 - revisited!
I know it's a long time coming but i have finally got round to sorting out photos and other bits and bobs from holidays gone past. I found all the America bits from when i went with Vicki in 2007 - i know a long time ago! But in amongst leaflets and nick knacks i found two sheets of paper where i had written a mini travel diary for a couple of places we visited - this was long before i decided to blog it. So here are the accounts of my travels to Chicago and San Francisco of times gone by:
"Where do i begin? Obviously i look like a criminal as was on a list to be searched at Heathrow and after a long delay arrived at Chicago only to be questioned at passport control! Answered the questions sweating like a pig even though I'd done nothing wrong! Our journey was good, the view from the airplane of the snow capped mountains of Greenland was amazing. The hotel is great - The Hilton Chicago!! We have bell boys! They upgraded us so we've got a great view of the park and Lake Michigan, a double bed and bathroom each. The TV is way bigger than ours at home, and Clinton stay here when he visits Chicago!
Did a lot of sightseeing on our first day. Went up the Sears Tower which had amazing views of the city and the lake. Saw a number of other nice buildings, Chicago Board of Trade, Wrigley's chewing gum home and Tribune Tower. Also went down the pier, got a boat onto Lake Michigan which had excellent views of the skyline and went through one of their big parks - so manic day. Evening was completely random too as started by being chatted up by a bell boy, chased after a car who had left all their drinks on their roof and i was certain i saw a dead body hanging from the roof of a building!! Found out later it was a piece of art but how weird is that! Also accidentally strolled into a dodgy neighbourhood - when we saw a 'men's only hotel', we quick footed it out of there!!
Went shopping down the magnificent mile and went on a bus tour round the city too which was good. Turns out Oprah and Jerry Springer live opposite each other here! The guide also said i was morbid for trying to take a picture of the 'dead body', but it was too high up. We went up the John Hancock centre at night which is the second highest building here which also had great views and watched fireworks on a bridge over the Chicago river which were going off at the harbour - ahhhh.
So our last day here and we'd pretty much seen the entire city so we went to the beach! I'm determined to come back tanned! We stumbled upon a beach volleyball tournament - mmmm :)
So a little bit long winded from 'the windy city' but we have been up to a lot in a short amount of time and all that jazz! Next stop San Francisco!!!"
"After queuing for no reason at Chicago airport just because everyone else was we made it to San Francisco. Not really with it when we got there as let go of my suitcase and watched it roll down the escalator!!
My god how windy and hilly is it compared to Chicago? Thought we'd take a little walk round, knackered after 5 minutes because it's all up hill and down dale! I also announced to everyone that i didn't know what a ferry was in a ferry terminal!! We got the cable car back to the hotel only for it to break down on the top of a hill!
And the Sunday sun shines down on San Francisco bay...not while we were there! Took a long........walk to Golden Gate Bridge only to get there and find we couldn't see the top because of all the fog - apparently typical San Francisco weather! Walked a little way on the bridge then back the the Exploratorium, a hand on type science museum which was cool. While taking the walk through the national recreation area we also saw some kind of sailing competition round Alcatraz! We went on a small pier with all the fisherman which was cool.
The following day with the weather colder and windier we thought we'd see about getting a boat to Alcatraz only to find it was booked up for weeks...booo. So took a walk down Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 which was lovely and quaint with the sea lions in residence there - had a chat with them, arg arg!! We went to take a tour bus and walking to it a homeless person made us jump out of our skins by hiding behind a branch and shouting boo! I screamed and ran! We made it to the bus and went round all the sites - city hall china town, union square - shopping again!
We came back to Pier 39 for dinner at a cool restaurant overlooking the sea lions at one window and Alcatraz out the other. Got to draw on the table cloth which was fun, most interesting meal yet - left a message on the table cloth for the waiters! On the way home we watched some break dancers on the street - who was outdone by someone in the crowd!
So final day here and no improvement in the weather! We started the day going to Lombard Street, the crookedest street going but had to get up there first - mentally up hill - a wall had one brick on one side and 7 on the other, we were knackered - a concrete Everest! Decided to go on a boat trip down to the Golden Gate bridge and Alcatraz - very cold but could see the entire bridge today. Everyone else is taking pictures of the bridge all excited and there's me saying ooooo nice land taking a picture of the landscape - came out rubbish so it got deleted! Alcatraz looked really cool - hard to imagine it existed as a prison not that long ago. Took a final walk round - not scared by homeless people today. Went over to the Transamerican Pyramid but you are not allowed up it any more so went back down to the wharf.
So did we leave our heart in San Francisco - yes, but won't miss the weather!"
Re reading these i remember some things that i had completely forgotten happened! We had a great time - after San Francisco we went onto Las Vegas, Boston and New York so it was an epic holiday, we did so much even though we were only in each place for 3-4 days! Clearly amazing places so much so i went back to some of them a couple of years later which is all blogged here! Great times!!
"Where do i begin? Obviously i look like a criminal as was on a list to be searched at Heathrow and after a long delay arrived at Chicago only to be questioned at passport control! Answered the questions sweating like a pig even though I'd done nothing wrong! Our journey was good, the view from the airplane of the snow capped mountains of Greenland was amazing. The hotel is great - The Hilton Chicago!! We have bell boys! They upgraded us so we've got a great view of the park and Lake Michigan, a double bed and bathroom each. The TV is way bigger than ours at home, and Clinton stay here when he visits Chicago!
Did a lot of sightseeing on our first day. Went up the Sears Tower which had amazing views of the city and the lake. Saw a number of other nice buildings, Chicago Board of Trade, Wrigley's chewing gum home and Tribune Tower. Also went down the pier, got a boat onto Lake Michigan which had excellent views of the skyline and went through one of their big parks - so manic day. Evening was completely random too as started by being chatted up by a bell boy, chased after a car who had left all their drinks on their roof and i was certain i saw a dead body hanging from the roof of a building!! Found out later it was a piece of art but how weird is that! Also accidentally strolled into a dodgy neighbourhood - when we saw a 'men's only hotel', we quick footed it out of there!!
Went shopping down the magnificent mile and went on a bus tour round the city too which was good. Turns out Oprah and Jerry Springer live opposite each other here! The guide also said i was morbid for trying to take a picture of the 'dead body', but it was too high up. We went up the John Hancock centre at night which is the second highest building here which also had great views and watched fireworks on a bridge over the Chicago river which were going off at the harbour - ahhhh.
So our last day here and we'd pretty much seen the entire city so we went to the beach! I'm determined to come back tanned! We stumbled upon a beach volleyball tournament - mmmm :)
So a little bit long winded from 'the windy city' but we have been up to a lot in a short amount of time and all that jazz! Next stop San Francisco!!!"
"After queuing for no reason at Chicago airport just because everyone else was we made it to San Francisco. Not really with it when we got there as let go of my suitcase and watched it roll down the escalator!!
My god how windy and hilly is it compared to Chicago? Thought we'd take a little walk round, knackered after 5 minutes because it's all up hill and down dale! I also announced to everyone that i didn't know what a ferry was in a ferry terminal!! We got the cable car back to the hotel only for it to break down on the top of a hill!
And the Sunday sun shines down on San Francisco bay...not while we were there! Took a long........walk to Golden Gate Bridge only to get there and find we couldn't see the top because of all the fog - apparently typical San Francisco weather! Walked a little way on the bridge then back the the Exploratorium, a hand on type science museum which was cool. While taking the walk through the national recreation area we also saw some kind of sailing competition round Alcatraz! We went on a small pier with all the fisherman which was cool.
The following day with the weather colder and windier we thought we'd see about getting a boat to Alcatraz only to find it was booked up for weeks...booo. So took a walk down Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 which was lovely and quaint with the sea lions in residence there - had a chat with them, arg arg!! We went to take a tour bus and walking to it a homeless person made us jump out of our skins by hiding behind a branch and shouting boo! I screamed and ran! We made it to the bus and went round all the sites - city hall china town, union square - shopping again!
We came back to Pier 39 for dinner at a cool restaurant overlooking the sea lions at one window and Alcatraz out the other. Got to draw on the table cloth which was fun, most interesting meal yet - left a message on the table cloth for the waiters! On the way home we watched some break dancers on the street - who was outdone by someone in the crowd!
So final day here and no improvement in the weather! We started the day going to Lombard Street, the crookedest street going but had to get up there first - mentally up hill - a wall had one brick on one side and 7 on the other, we were knackered - a concrete Everest! Decided to go on a boat trip down to the Golden Gate bridge and Alcatraz - very cold but could see the entire bridge today. Everyone else is taking pictures of the bridge all excited and there's me saying ooooo nice land taking a picture of the landscape - came out rubbish so it got deleted! Alcatraz looked really cool - hard to imagine it existed as a prison not that long ago. Took a final walk round - not scared by homeless people today. Went over to the Transamerican Pyramid but you are not allowed up it any more so went back down to the wharf.
So did we leave our heart in San Francisco - yes, but won't miss the weather!"
Re reading these i remember some things that i had completely forgotten happened! We had a great time - after San Francisco we went onto Las Vegas, Boston and New York so it was an epic holiday, we did so much even though we were only in each place for 3-4 days! Clearly amazing places so much so i went back to some of them a couple of years later which is all blogged here! Great times!!
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