Wednesday 20 November 2013

Pumpkin Pie Recipe

So as usual I grw pumpkins this year and I though I would have a go at making pumpkin pie this year.

It's not anything I have ever made before and I didn't have a recipe for it myself but saw one on Catherine s blog at 'Living The Gourmet' here.

I just put a link in for the recipe and feel no need to write it out myself. If you have never been over to Catherine s blog before it is well worth a look, She submits some wonderful recipes and I have tried many from her and her daughter Tammy who often puts recipes on too.

Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Pie
So above is my finished pumpkin pie. As I had nver made this before I stuck exactly to the recipe knowing that I may make some changes once I had tried it, I usually do!!

The pie cooked well and looked lovely in presentation and it was a nice taste and texture but personally for me I found it a little bland. It is all down to personal taste I know so if you decide to give it a try I urge you to stick with the original recipe first as everyone's tastes are different. My Dad thought it was great!!

I think when I may it again I will try adding some ginger to it and probably do a straight pastry base as I found the one used a little sweet for my tastes.

Enjoy your day!!
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Monday 18 November 2013

Tiramisu Recipe

So my Nephew has been cooking again and he really is quite good. This took a couple of attempts to get right but the first got eaten just the same!!

He is even learning to make less dishes and mess as he cooks...probably due to the fact that I make him clean up...lol


Tiramisu Recipe
Tiramisu Recipe   
 Please click on the photo above to enlarge the text.

home made Tiramisu
Tiramisu
Not quite sure why but blogger insists on turning the above photo round, so either enjoy it this one or just tilt your head 180 degrees clockwise. Either way it looks pretty much the same and tasted great!!!
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Sunday 17 November 2013

The race is on......On a cold and frosty morning!!

So as we have reached the middle of November the days are getting incredibly short and very cold and damp. The beautiful colour of autumn are quickly disappearing as the trees go to sleep ready for the upcoming winter and the race is on to get the plot looking something like ready for winter!!!

Some cucumbers found whilst clearing up.
Cucumbers

Looking a little less like a field.
Looking a little less like a field.


The cuttings from the autumn raspberries.
The cuttings from the autumn raspberries.

This one resembled a paddock.
This one resembled a paddock.

Will the cauli's ever get a flower??
Will the cauli's ever get a flower??

Sprouting purple and white broccoli.
Sprouting purple and white broccoli.


Carrots, beetroot, turnips, swede
Carrots, beetroot, turnips, swede.

A sunny but frosty morning!!
A sunny but frosty morning!!

White Grapes?? What to do with the??
Grapes?? What to do with them??

A few red grapes.
A few red grapes.
Red cabbage with some good heads.
Red cabbage with some good heads.




























































So as you can see from the photos above there is still quite a bit to be done. I have yet to start winter digging and will hopefully be getting stuck into that over the next week or so. I have wayward raspberry canes to dig up and transfer to the bee plot and still quite a lot of root veg to come out which I will be doing something with again over the next few weeks.

I have no idea what to do with the grapes so please feel free to give suggestions but at the same time bare in mind that the family don't like wine....so why did I plant grapes?? Well the vines do look pretty!!

I am leaving the cauliflower in for now...there is always hope...and if nothing happens I will just eat the greens off them!! I still have curly Klae in which I will pick over the winter.

I never did get my garlic and broad beans in...Do you think it's too late to put them now or will they be OK?? Grateful for advice and worldly knowledge!!

Oh and sorry about the toatl randomness of the page set up, blogger didn't want to play nice this morning and I just can't be bothered to argue with it today!!!

Have a good weekend!!!!!
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Tuesday 12 November 2013

A little bit done........

Well I did manage to get down the allotment Sunday afternoon and start clearing up. I was only there an hour before I had filled the green wheelie bin which should give you some hints as to how bad it is....no photo's....still far too ashamed!!

Yesterday the weather was far too gross to go out in but today is brighter and I will be popping down later to put in a couple of gooseberry bushes that have been given to me for the bee plot by Krys and Andy so thank you both!!

But none of the is the real reason I am posting today....here is the real reason....

german shepherd/collie cross. Trojan. R.S.P.C.A. rescue dog.
Trojan!!!     
Yes he is the star again...and not just at home every single minute...but tonight on the T.V. Trojan's  rescue will be shown so he will be seen with all his brothers and sisters. The show will be on at 7:30pm, 12/11/13 on channel 5. I know many of my readers aren't from the U.K. so I don't know whether you will be able to view it but I wanted to share this with you as you have all shown great interest in Trojan since I first mentioned him and I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you all for letting me waffle on about him on my blog even though it is nothing garden related!!!

Maybe I will see you all tomorrow with something that is garden related...or maybe a few recipes. We'll see!!
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Sunday 10 November 2013

Bee plot progress in pictures.....

Well we all remember how the bee plot looked and then repeatedly looked but I thought I would give you a little reminder....

The bee plot before
The bee plot before....


But now work has started in earnest and next year we are hoping things will emerge into a different picture....here is what we have accomplished so far over the last two weekends.....

The hives
The hives can be seen.



So here you can see the hives are fully visible and just to the front of them are planted blackcurrant bushes. The fence to the left will have more varieties of currant bushes and to the right will be the bug hotel, brambles, rhubarb patch and various types of mint.
Juliette, my partner in crime.
Juliette, my partner in crime.









 This is Juliette who has been helping me get sorted out, most of the fruit will be hers for the picking when it comes so we all win. Also carrying out a project with someone is so much less daunting!! (Not really sure what happened to this pick, pretty funky hey?!?!)
Plenty of lavender
Plenty of lavender in between the ornaments.














Garden ornaments have been brought up to add some colour and character to the plot, also we figured these ones would stop us strimming down the lavender whilst it gets established!
Blackcurrants and farm animals.
Blackcurrants and farm animals.














More ornaments to add colour and character between the currant bushes...as things take off and get bigger they may get moved around but here they will stay for now!!
Bug hotel, rhubarb, brambles.
Bug hotel, rhubarb, brambles.
















Not sure why this one is blurry...maybe shivering with cold!

New fruit trees planted.
New fruit trees planted.




Here you may be able to make out the twigs of the new fruit trees.  We have planted, apples (cookers and eaters), pear, plum, sherry and walnut.








Bush debris after cutting back to find a fruit tree.
Lots of debris from a mammoth pruning.

We also had to tackle a tree, this wasn't actually on my plot but on the boundary and there was what appeared to be a HUGE thorny bush going way out of control. On closer inspection in the centre of the mess I could see what might resemble a tree so further investigation was needed.
A damson/plum tree??
A damson/plum tree??










Juliette had to leave but Krys was down the allotment and she offered to give me a hand and by the end of it this is what we had uncovered. Hopefully next year it will have the chance to flourish and we will really be able to find out what fruit it bears.








So that is where we are at so far. There is still much to be done and there are still some things that we intend to introduce to the bee plot but I will tell you more about them as we get them done.There is still a lot of clearing to be done on my allotment plot too but I suppose the only good thing about this time of year is that even the weeds sloe down a little. The weather has turned cold now and we are having frosts so early mornings aren't the best any more. Might try for an early morning next weekend though...after all there is plenty of debris to be burnt so a warm fire may be just beside me!!
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Sunday 3 November 2013

Coffee cakes, cookies and what's been occuring....

So in my last post I told you all about the kids cooking and I thought I would share with you there finished products.

James made coffee cupcakes with a coffee cream and banana icing...

Coffee cakes in the oven
Coffee cakes in the oven
Coffee cupckes with a coffee cream and banana icing centre.
The finished product.


The finished cakes were very nice. James is a lover of coffee so put a lot in the the flavouring but it worked really well. Also as is the usual James cooking style he didn't read the recipe correctly so we had A LOT of banana icing left over...but I guess we all learn by our mistakes!!

Sian made cookies...a lot less mess and a lot less pots!!

Cookies expanding nicely in the oven.
Cookies expanding nicely in the oven.
Lovely home-made cookies
Lovely home-made cookies
The finished cookies were wonderful, just the right amount of 'gooeyness' which for me takes it from being a biscuit and turn it into a cookies. Sian thought that for her mixture there wasn't enough egg so added an extra one and also used both milk and white chocolate chips.

I would share the recipes with you but both of the kids have these fancy phones and got there recipes off the internet so I don't even know what they were!!

As fo other things...the horrific storm we were to get last weekend seemed to have bypassed my little neck of the woods for which I ma very grateful but I still haven't got much done on the plot as although we didn't get the winds boy did we get some rain.

I did get down the allotment yesterday though for about 5 hours but the focus was on the bee plot with my friend Juliette, her daughter also came and helped out. (Jez, if you're reading this you would be amazed with the transformation and very proud of me!!!!) I don't have an after photo at the moment but I will get one up before the end of the week. Planning for the bee plot has started in earnest now. Six trees went in, six black-currant bushes, 10 lavender plants, a gooseberry and another berry bush though I can't remember what it is. We also strimmed the whole area down , did some tidying up and have started to put together a bug hotel in the top corner...more about that and a few pics later in the week!!

Last night the winds howled fiercely round the house and fireworks were going off at the back of us which seriously spooked Trojan and so it was about 2am when we managed to get him settled...tired?? Me??? maybe just a little!!!

Winds have eased today so I plan on getting some much needed tidying done in the garden....how did the seasons change so quick?!?!?!

Just before I go I want to say a HUGE 'Thanks' to Juliette...it's amazing how less overwhelming something seems when there is someone doing things with you!!
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