Tuesday, 30 August 2011

Tuesdays top ten

We took a stroll around Margate, Kent, home to the new Turner Art Gallery (which houses 1, yes only 1, of Turners paintings which I found a tad strange).

I decided to look at Margate through Turners eyes and appreciate the cloudy skies that currently seem to be following me around Britain.

I got a bit bored after a while and started to photograph thinks that took my fancy.

Here goes my top ten photos whilst in Margate......


Purple pumps I found for £8

4 foot letters that I want in my house (hey look Dia, there's your name)


A lovely piece of artwork that has given me my Year 9 project for September!!!!!

My beautiful son and his artwork in the gallery


Erin - a lampost at last, I knew i'd find one sooner or later but had to go to Margate to find one!


Even this dog was queueing up to get into the Turner gallery - I really, really want a dog like this

A Turneresque Margate sky


A colourful cafe


Why won't they let adults on the bouncy slides? I really want to slide like this


And finally, I had to have a go on the swings!


Well that's Margate folks

Hope you too have enjoyed your Tuesday

Sunday, 28 August 2011

roastie toastie veggies

A meal or two before I disappear down to Kent.

1. Roasted Veg Pasta

Throw into a roasting tray a selection of veg, 2 garlic cloves and sundried tomatoes.
Use whatever you have, as big a selection as will lie in your roasting tray



Into a pan throw your favourite pasta, mine is penne.
When done mix in the cheese and stock, stir well


Add the roasted veggies, mix and serve with chunky garlic bread to mop up that lovely sauce

Yum
This is a quick and easy meal that disappears from the plate far too fast for stomach comfort

This serves up two large portions or two adult portions with 2 children's portions.

1 medium courgette/zucchini 
1 large red pepper
1 large red onion
2 large garlic cloves or 3 if you add one to the soft cheese, finely chopped
50g sundried tomatoes in oil (and a good slug of the oil from the jar)
3/4 large sage leaves finely chopped
pasta of your choice - you know your portions (for four people roughly 300g)
120g soft cheese or Philadelpia cheese
50ml hot veg stock

Oven 190'C/gas mark 5
  • Chop and cook veggies with sundried tomatoes, garlic and sage for 30 - 40 mins (mix well)
  • With 15 minutes left to cook put your pasta on, cook for 15 mins (add your garlic bread to oven too)
  • Pasta done, add the cheese (garlic and herbs)  or Philedelpia cheese along with the stock and stir well
  • Add the roasted veggies to pasta, stir and serve with garlic bread

Oh and a nice bottle of crisp white wine goes down a treat with this!

Enjoy xx





2. Grilled red pepper and haloumi ciabbatta sandwhich

The tapenade for this meal is homemade and the recipe is in an earlier post




Grill the red peppers until black, the blacker the better (but not charcoal) and immediately put into a bowl with clingfilm to sweat for 1 hour. This will allow the skins to pull off nice and easy



Lay out your pepper when skinned and add a thin layer of tapenade to each


Add a slice of haloumi to half of the peppers


Add the lids, brush on some olive oil and grill for approx 4 mins on each side


Add those succulent slices to some warmed ciabbatta bread and a healthy portion of salad


My mouth is watering, i'll write down the recipe quickly so that I can go and get me some food!


1 red pepper per person will make 2 big sandwiches (quarter each pepper)
ciabatta bread
1 thick slice of Haloumi per sandwich
Salad of your choice - I had little gem lettuce, cherry tomatoes, kiwi, radish and spring onions
Tapenade - a slathering for each quarter of pepper (tapenade recipe in an earlier post)

Grill at top whack
  • Grill quartered peppers after brushing each with olive oil. Grill until blackened then put in bowl and cover with clingfilm for 1 hour.
  • Skin peppers and add a layer of tapenade to each quarter
  • add a slice of haloumi between two quarters, brush with olive oil and grill for 4/5 mins each side
  • add this to your warmed ciabatta bread, lay on your salad and eat!

I enjoy this meal with pear cider!

Saturday, 27 August 2011

Cloud extravaganza

Ain't no sunshine but plenty of dramatic clouds on my hols. Here then is a small collection of  my 'could it be any cloudier' photos.


Can anyone beat my cloudy holiday photos? 












And yes we most certainly did through it back in - no animals were hurt in the taking of these photos!

Just a few to show you we did in fact have a most fantastic time away with the folks....



Mum loves the carousel


And Dad (at 76) loves to beat his Grandchildren at anything!


Jacob loves slides


and spinny things...


anything that swings....


eating icecream with his cousins


and of course digging in the sand



We had a great holiday!

So, tell me, can you beat my cloudy holiday pictures?
Has anyone else had dark skies and rain for the whole of last week too?









Tuesday, 23 August 2011

surfing in Norfolk

A week without my laptop and the ability to upload photos is very, very frustrating.

I have my iPhone so am able to take peeks into all the blogs I follow and surf through but thus little phone won't let me upload photos so I'm sticking to surfing.

No surfing in the sea as it is rather chilly!

Have enjoyed simply chilling in a caravan, Jacob enjoying himself with his cousins in another caravan and sat listening to the rain pounding and the occasional pigeon running across the roof. Takes me back to holidaying as a child. We were very inventive with a pack of cards, felt tips and scraps of paper.

Any suggestions for indoor activities in a confined space welcome!

Hope everyone is enjoying their week!

Wednesday, 17 August 2011

left to chance

Today was left to chance, no decisions about what we had to do or should do. We simply just plodded on with our day and left everything to chance.

And why? Because the sun finally came out and we felt summery at last



 I caught him on camera swinging past the two posts


 a big cloud stuck out of his head like white candy floss


my two favourite colours appeared together

a shadow - yahoo the sun must be out!

a cloud with a silver lining

lush fresh fruit from a chance visit to the allotment

It's really nice when it's sunny isn't it!

And a big sunny hello to my lovely, lovely  little brother in Canada who has just had all 4 wisdom teeth taken out and is, apparently, looking a bit Marlon Brando 'ish 

"HOPE YOU FEEL OK STE, LOVE YOU LOADS, TAKE GOOD CARE"