Poodling in the kitchen

 We've been in the kitchen today making and creating. DD and I tried our first pack of raspberry cupcakes (5 for £1 Approved Foods). They are so easy to make which means DD could do most of it herself with only minimal guidance, and they are utterly delicious. By changing the muffin cases provided with the kit to cupcake case we managed to make 12 small cakes rather than 6 large ones. 12 cakes for 20p plus an egg is bargain.
 Its not all good news though because the fab baking boy muffins were awful. They remind me of babybath sponges that have been dipped in cheap cocoa powder. YUCK

 OH has been distracting himself during this difficult time by trying some homebrewing. The first experiment is blackberry fizz, at the moment it is all infusing on the fermenting bucket and should be bottled up shortly. Fingers crossed it tastes as yummy as it smells.

And finally I whipped up some sweetcorn relish for the fridge after picking up some more cheap sweetcorn and a pack of reduced peppers at the supermarket. This is just perfect for jazzing up some cheese and crackers.
 Things feel like they are slowly returning to normal. Thank you for all the emails and comments of support. I love you guys.

X x X

And it continued!

 Short post from me today. After all our hassle yesterday with the shop we felt it had been an awful day, then we got a phone call from SIL concerned about a relative of OH's who had missed a family do. OH zoomed over in the car to check on him but sadly it was to late.
  This chap was something of a father figure for OH and his sisters so there is a major feeling of loss here at the moment.
 I will resume blogging when I can but need to concentrate on my helping my husband and family through their loss first.

 Prayers would be very welcome for them all.

Regards

Sarah
x

What a day!

 Our poor shop no longer has the majority of it's ceiling thanks to someone in the flats above it. Apparently he started the water running for the washing up and fell asleep. So not only was it raining in our shop, it was red hot boiling rain.

The scariest thing was OH dropped some stock off earlier this morning and commented that he thought he heard dripping, I said we'd park the car and then investigate. By the time we parked the car and walked back to it (about 4-5 minutes) we'd started loosing ceiling tiles. Just 10 minutes later and OH would have been watching the kids in the shop while I was at knitting. Luckily though no one is hurt.
 We just need to wait till Monday for the electrician to check if the circuits are dry yet. Then we can start to see what is and isn't damaged.

 On the positive side though, OH now has a long weekend off with us. Might even get him out berry picking with us tomorrow and get some Blackberry Fizz started for the winter. I will tell you more tomorrow.

x x x

Help me ID

 Fruit and leaf

 I have found some berries in the copse that I am pretty certain are sloes.  Using google and a few books I have at home I am fairly confident I've got it right, but I want a second opinion. What do you think guys?

The prepping season has begun

 Yesterday I made 3 jars of Blackberry Jam (one with whiskey) to start our winter stores this year. I'm hoping to fill my double cupboard with preserved goodies for the winter. I've been picking the blackberries every few days with the kiddiwinks. It's a lovely excuse to walk through the little copse by our home together and look for, among other things, Gruffalos.
 I like a bit of variety in my jam so this is it for Blackberry jam this year, but I will still be picking them for mixed jams, pies, ketchup, syrups, and blackberry fizz which is a new experiment this year.

 We popped by to see Uncle D on Sunday and had a little wander around his garden. We have been promised full access to all his fruit again this year in exchange for one jar of everything we make. It's a wonderland for a prepper in his garden.
 He has 2 huge Apple trees.

 2 huge plum trees, I think they are Victoria plums but don't hold me to it. I do know they are really sweet and tasty when ripe.

A tall Damson tree, the fruit is just beginning to turn so it won't be long till I'm back picking.
 In addition there are blackcurrants, gooseberries, raspberries, pears and rhubarb. I can't believe how lucky I am to have free access to it all. :)

x x x

It be Pirate Day....Yarrrrr!

 Today be Pirate Day according to Pirate Princess DD so there you arrrrrr! (Sorry!)
  We start off with reading a book all about Pirates called Pirateology.

 While out exploring the seven seas (or popping to the shops) we spotted this Pirate ring cake and just new it was a sign from Davy Jones himself that this was indeed Pirate Day.

Once home we made Pirate hats from our scrap paper pile and decorated it with silver skulls and cross bones.

We are now watching a pirate film together while Baby D naps, soon to be followed with walking the plank (having a bath). And finally I have just downloaded this for are afternoon/night time story. 
 Sometimes it's just so much fun having a theme day.
What theme would you choose for your day?
X X X

Back in the swing

 Gosh it's been a while since I did a post like this isn't it? I've been steering myself away from Waitrose as we were trying to use up everything we could before the move.  But hurrah, now I can fill my boots with red sticker bargains.
 Today's goodies were;
 Falafels - 45p  from 2.00
 Peach Punnet - 85p from £1 (My favourite fruit!)
Spring Onions - 32p from 1.10
Quorn Chicken slice - 49p from 1.60
3X corn on the cob - 79p from 2.00 and on 2for3 so a teeny tiny 37p

 Most of this will be used up in lunches, possibly a pasta bake for the Quorn.

And after I got home from work (my day in the shop today) I found a stressed Daddy trying to battle two tired sleepy grumps. So I popped Baby D in her buggy and took a quick walk down to the copse to check out how the foraging fruit was coming on. I recon I've picked about 1/3 of a tub of blackberries. These are the very first ones on the bush and some are a little hard still but I'm going to freeze them down and use them later in crumbles and pies so it won't matter. It looks like it's going to be a bumper year for Blackberries this year so I am ready to fill my boots. Expect us all to be an odd shade of purple by Christmas.

x x x