Sozzles

Although SOME people would say it's no excuse I have recently experienced a 22 hour work shift so that's why the posts are being squeezed out a bit slow this week.

Look, I'm so tired I'm living in squalor. Took my sheet off to use on the camp bed at work and can't be bothered to put it back on. I've practically regressed back to first year when I just used to febreeze and go. Luckily for Harrie, my date tonight, I have managed to drag myself to the shower. To keep you sweet I shall offer you the knowledge that we've got a very special guest post coming up courtesy of two of my very favourite readers! I don't know about you but I'm nearly off the boil with excitement!

Better dash as I'm off out to do some research for my forthcoming 'Alco POP' post. Bye for now pleasure boats xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lambing

Around Easter one of the sweetest sights is of lambs springing about so you can imagine how pleased I was when some gamboled onto my plate on Monday in the form of Pie. Pastry too. God is smiling on me.

It was a meeting of the minds at Monday's Psychos Reunion as well as a perfect union of crumbly homemade pastry, succulent lamb, new potatoes and green beans. You should probably look the recipe up online. I've had a few complaints recently about too much recipe content not enough hot twotty lifestyle so I won't go into it.

Went a bit parent for entertainment with a side of the game where you write the name of someone on a piece of paper and put it on people's foreheads for them to guess. It was lots of fun. Guess that's the first time Katherine of Aragon, Kel Krimble, David Hasslehoff and Michael Bubbles have sat down for dins together!

Much love WYDishers xxxxxxxxxxx

Macaroni Ease

Last Tuesday I had the pleasure of meeting Lizzy B for a coffee after work which swiftly turned into a drink. Shall we go for wine instead of latte? Okay! Oh i'm so easily swayed. Thank goodness I lived in Willey not Lutterworth when the crystal meth phase was in. I just drank fresh milk and played in hay stacks.

Once that was polished off I looked at my phone which had been inundated with my darling ones who were turning up for dinner. I whizzed home on Rhapsody just in time to meet Roasty walking up East Road. Gave him a worryingly wobbly croggeh back to the flat where we scooped Dave off the stairway and into the house. Once Alex and Sashy arrived I decided I'd whip up a large dish of quick macaroni cheese because four hungry mouths at my ankles was a frightening prospect.

Dave popped out and got us some garlic bread to soak it up and also turned us out a scenic side of green beans, mushrooms, butter, olive oil, chilli, and chunky garlic. And as you can imagine, no vampires bothered us that evening!

Have a nice afternoon dearhearts. I'm glad you're glad I'm back from Brussels xxxxxxxx

ooh I could BUBBLE over i'm so happy

Bob and I had a delightful day looking at the Natural History Museum Wildlife Photography exhibition and then shopping for Alex's birthday presents. Unfortunately we'd forgotten that Oxford Street is as WILD as the photos had been and quickly felt hot and tired. Kept getting a bit lost but luckily we had an app for that..

(ahwhoopsy, there was meant to be a funny photo here of bob holding up a tube map and looking panicked as our "app" but my phone has broken. The sellotape just isn't holding it together these days.)

We were still pulsing from our breakfast at 6.30pm but weren't against a top up of half a tangerine and half a penguin bar each on the bus home. 'What did the sea say to the penguin? Nothing it just waved'. Aah laughter is the best medicine for soothing bodies from standing up on the 55 for 30 minutes.

Got home and was greeted by the blissful sight of Roasty and Dave cooking up a storm of spaghetti bolognaise in the kitchen. I tumbled onto the floor in a tangle of aching limbs and Roast advised me to go for a nice hot bubble bath. Arr don't mind if I do.

Haven't got a photo of the bolognaise either but I can tell you Roast and Dave's method so you can follow it and see it with your own eyes. Fry onions and the meat (only the best or finest) until cooked. Add garlic, chopped tomatoes, purée, 2 oxo cubes , basil, herbs, gravy granules and of COURSE mushroom ketchup! Then leave to simmer for an hour until thick and dreamy.

Mm just like us after our bath. FYI that's why I look so rotund in my photo, as Roast and Alex keep pointing out. I'm like a sponge with water espec if i've simmered for too long. Almost double in size.

Bye for now peaches xxxxxxxxxxx

And i'll be as strong as a BARGE!!

I heard a rumour from Gaston that if you eat 4 dozen eggs everyday you get really strong so I thought I'd give it a good go with a hearty start of eggy pancakes topped with poached egg, oh and interspersed with bacon, sausage and maple syrup.

We had a dream team of chefs with me frying, bob poaching and roast manning the grill.
MM doesn't that look a perfect brunch. It all assembled with perfect timing.

Needed the extra strength for a day on the town with little Coppernob. More of which is coming next, WYD fans.

Bye for now pumpkins xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Room for one more?

Oh gosh I've been an absolute machine of blog posts today. I'm quite worn out. I'll churn this last one out then jet off to the supermarche for more material.

Day off today so I got up late, did my tv watching (brothers and sisters, 90210, glee, and vital catch up of larkrise to candleford moving steadily into repeats of ugly betty then downhill into the gilmore girls), and was just wrapping up cleaning the house before my bath when Dave rang to enquire if i'd like to meet him and Chris in Hoxton Sq ASAP. Why yes I would. My bath was already run and I was quite moist from hoovering so I hopped in and out of that and met them in 20 minutes. As quick getting ready as my lunch time cheese on toast with grilled tomatoes was to cook.

Had a dream of a time playing hand fed horsies (sorry Chris, do you want a tissue?) and kittens, then dave took me for a croggeh. Ah, I felt like I was flying without wings.

There! All caught up! These will keep you going until my next meal my sweet fans.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Little scampies!

Alex and Roast and Sashy popped round yesterday after work so we welcomed in the bounty of the sea with breaded fish, chips and an entourage of peas and spinach. Got to keep my strength up.

It was a delightful meal apart from when the boys hid my dinner when I went away for ten minutes to keep Sashy and her pizza factory company in the kitchen. They left one of their empty plates in my place and said they'd eaten my food because they thought i was finished. I started to get a bit anxious and upset as I believed them so they thankfully soon gave up that game. Phew! What scamps!!

After that I jumped ship to visit the cinema with Harrie. We went for a beverage first at the Tiffinbox next to the vue in Angel where she had a spiced Mocha and I plumped for a cool chocolate milkshake.

Now, if you want my advice, and even if you don't you have to hear it as this is MY blog, you can never go wrong with dairy. Poor Harrie found this out to her dismay when her drink was grainy and weird. Mine on the other hand was like a pudding and a drink. Mmm.

Thankfully she'd invested in a custard tart which was an absolute dream of flaky pastry and golden custard (see, everything that dairy touches turns to gold).

After that we saw Phillip Morris at the cinema which was funny and surreal. We did want to see Alice in Wonderland but our Vue vouchers didn't cover that and we only got to stage 1 or 3 in sneaking in to it before our courage crumbled and we slunk back to Screen 4 and Phillip awaiting us.

Had a very very nice time and was in bed before the clock struck midnight.

Cheerio lovehearts xxxxxxxxx

You did what?

Yes darling ones, the other day before work I went for breakfast at the Breakfast Club in Angel. And before you start sneering let me tell you that there was not a sniff of a queue at 8.00 a.m.

I enjoyed a mountain of french toast, bacon, bananas and maple syrup whilst el tackled the bun of egg and chorizo et al.

We'd heard a rumour that Giraffe were giving away free coffee before 10 a.m so we plundered that afterwards and sat on islington green in the sunshine before being snapped up by some people who wanted to film us for a tesco interview in return for £25.

I was so sugared up by the time I got to work the clients didn't know what had hit them!! But then what's new.

Bye for now lemon drops xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Come on in, the potato's lovely

Ah, with St Patrick's day looming it was a chance to remember that the Irish haven't only contributed early morning pre-urgent-train doctors trips in Prague to my life. I went to Dani Bristol's house for dinner on Mon with Becky Sunshine and she'd dug up some hearty jacket potatoes for us. She'd promoted them from their humble roots with a most civilised salade of lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cucumber, beetroot, walnuts and raisons. It was all a marriage of extreme convenience with the addition of cheese and beans. Ooh they'll be no famine here!

Unfortunately the potatoes had brought some sorrow to the table because poor Sparkle's one wasn't cooked. Was as hard inside as the Irish's hearts when they got Bob drunk and threw her only shoes in the Cesky Krumluv river.

Whoops. Well Dani and Becky and I thoroughly enjoyed dins before snuggling up on the sofa.

It was like previous tastes of the emerald isle had all been a bad dream.

STwhat now?

Bye for now lacies xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The ballad of the pig

Aaah. As I saw guests on Sunday eve off after an action packed weekend my thoughts turned to what I could do to ease my over partied soul. Reading my book? A bath surely? Listening to music? (sorry wrong person) Nope, I weakly waved all of those options away and laboriously punched the ring button to get Alex over. He's such a soother. Whether he's flashing his bike lights in my eyes (appaz that's what clubs are like these days) or testing if I like butter by flicking lighters under my chin, he always restores my strength. We decided a sausage stew would be perfection for a sleepy sunday night. And a creme egg obvs.

We "coloured" the sausages in a pan. Top tip for you WYWUAS fans: give your sausages some colour first or they'll look grey in your stew. And who wants grey meat? Well actually one of my clients eats it raw but we're not cooking for her here.

Then tipped it all together with a can of lentil and bacon soup, onions, chopped tomatoes, some spices and more lentils. I do find a certain poetry in using two pig parts in one meal. Makes me feel I'm not wasting anything. Especially when it lasts for two pack lunches and another dinner.

OOh better than a bath full of radox and nearly as cheap.

Bye for now eccles cakes xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

BALL the better for seeing you!

Well, hello boys and girls. This is me posting to you through cyber land. Last Wednesday I had a day off and came over to the Estate to spend some time with Franny. I decided to cook my favourite hard working boys (and girl) a wonderful dish of delish meatballs. They were very meaty. As you can see below, I am modelling a Cath Kidston apron with my sausagy fingers.

No, those are not chocolate truffles decadently dusted with icing sugar, they are, in fact reader, a plate of sausage meat balls dusted with flour. Fran and I decided that if we found out a boyfriend was cheating, we would play dumb to the affair and feed these to him, promising Thornton's best. We also thought it would be fun to put fish under someone's mattress if it was the summer time, and loved a story where our friend pissed on somebody's radiator during the winter. There are many more horror stories for bad flatmates/boyfriends, but this is a cooking blog, not a hating blog.

Franny had to feed me biscuits whilst I rolled the meat as my fingers were too sticky. She also burnt my tongue.

First, buy a packet of sausage meat (I find this works best, I do love a good sausage) and roll it up in to small balls. Then roll these in flour and fry them in oil (or butter, whichever lubricant you prefer) until they are brown. Then place them in to your sauce and leave them to cook for at least an hour so that everything can infuse.

For the sauce, I add a bottle of passatta, a bottle of tomato, garlic and herb sauce, a can of chopped tomatoes (don't worry tomato fiends, these will reduce to nothing), half a jar of sun dried tomato pesto, mushroom ketchup (only available in special stores), spinach, butter, black pepper, mixed herbs, a beef OXO cube and of course some red wine which is best to drink whilst you're cooking. Lovely.

Let it simmer away and be careful not to stir it too much otherwise the meatballs may fall apart. Cook some expensive pasta (steer clear of spaghetti reader, it's highly common) and serve with some grated cheese or parmasan. Of course dust it ALL with black pepper.

Mmm. A perfect dream.

Enjoy

Roast xx

A taster

p.s thought i'd leave you with little spoil of what is to come!

Looks delish doesn't it?

Our very own writer James is here soon to guestblog about some special meatballs. Sit tight!

xxxxx

What a girl wants

"What a girl needs

Whatever makes me happy sets you free

And I'm thanking you for knowing exactly

What I want for tea"

Ah what a lovely poem that captures my feeling about ladies tea time with Dave and little ted.

Last tues I was still feeling peaky so Nurse Dave popped round with a walnut cake (which we demolished entirely), and a fruit salade of strawbs (at special dave reduction prices), pear and banana.

We'd just finished that when Dani Bristol strolled in with a large packet of english muffins. It's like she could smell our worry at the empty plate. She's a vegetarian so unlike her to have such primal animal instincts but some have obviously seeped through somehow. Maybe from a wrong stock cube here or there..

We had a lovely time with her and copious amounts of tea then she departed and we curled up with a pizza and five episodes of Nighty Night.

Mmmm. Dave is SUCH a tonic.

Have to leave my blog blizzard at that (for now) I'm afraid as I have to rush to my Aunty Judith's photographic exhibition. It's South of the river so don't wait up.

Much love my magic carpets xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I'm O-Kale.

Phew! You can wipe that worry from your brow- i'm oh so much better. Was bullying Bob on the phone last night and she commented that I seemed to be back to my usual vibrancy. Oh yes. Now speak louder on the phone!

In my absence from WYDUAS I'm been particularly enjoying a certain seasonal vegetable that I feel I ought to update you on. Kale.

I've had kale lasagne (that's not actually a photo of sick- i wasn't that ill) and a roast dinner with a side of kale, and there should be a photo of spaghetti carbonara with curly kale but the photo op slipped from my whizziwhig mind at the time.

When I make carbonara I fry onion and bacon, cook spaghetti, pop the kale or peas or whatevs in with the boiling spaghetti for the last few mins to save on washing up, then swish through with a few eggs. If you can get your hands on some cheese it makes it extra nice.

For a while I've been compiling a list of surnames I would consider changing mine to if I ever came to that frame of mind and I'm particularly a fan of a man's name I see in the credits of Mad Men. Dave Carbonara. That would make me sound very tasty. I always think of him when I make this easy dish. I also heard of a Psychologist called Dr Pillow. Seeing as I want to be a Psychologist and I like pillows a lot that seems oh so apt. I think all the patients would pick me!

p.s Dear fans, I'm ever so sorry to have let you down with an absence of posts for so long. You must have been missing me something terrible. Let me reassure you that this is the first of an ONSLAUGHT! (but later)

I'm going to Dani Bristol's now for dinner. Adios peaches xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Roly-poly Fran

Yesterday, much to mine and the postman's surprise, when signing for a package I passed out. One moment I was pretending to laugh when he asked for my autograph, the next my head was cuddling up to the skirting board. Very traumatic. Especially when the ambulance people jumped out. Normally I'd love four men in red onesies (kept thinking how pleased Chazzy would be to see the situation) but they were not very helpful. Seemed more interested in admiring my frondy light shade than in stemming my pain. Luckily Nurse Dave came to attend to me and we had a nice day together. For lunch we had quiche and a bit of potato salade. I could only have soft things.

Potato salad:

Cook them, add mayonnaise and chopped parsley. You could probably do more but i can't use my right hand right now.

Then Alex cam round with an oh so soft jam roly poly and some creamy biscuits from M&S.

Then Bob came round with a melty chocolate cake.

Jim made us all steak pie and broccoli and bought me some soft petaled flowers.

And Marky stroked my poor head and put on a nice beach boys documentary.

What silver linings!