101 Things in 1001 Days

Day 751 – #9 Another book completed

whitty79 — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:53:25 +0000

I have just finished David Copperfield. What a great book. I do like Charles Dickens. He’s very funny. Some of his descriptions make me laugh fully out loud. Particularly when describing HEEP!

I think there are quite a few more Dickens novels on the list so I look forward to reading them also

Day 750 – #55 Two more recipes tried out

whitty79 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:35:10 +0000

Two more new recipes tried out. The first was an adapted version of a weight watchers recipe. The Baked Leeks & Ham was actually really tasty. I put a bit more cheese and more breadcrumbs on that recommended, but not by much. It was lovely and we’ve had it a couple of times now. It’s definitely one that I will use again.

The second is quite clearly Hot Cross Buns! It’s a Delia Smith recipe and was really easy. They rose really well and smelled gorgeous when in the oven. I haven’t tasted one yet as they are still hot! But I can’t wait

Day 750 – #9 Another book off the list

whitty79 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:30:45 +0000

I bought this book from ebay at the same time as all the Jacqueline Wilson stuff and I have to admit, I was loathe to read it after that tripe. But I’m actually really glad I did! It was quite an entertaining read, if somewhat unlikely and predictable. But it was dead easy to get into. I’m actually quite tempted to read some of the others in the series too [blush]

Day 750 – #56 Bake Bread

whitty79 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:28:13 +0000

I’ve never really made bread. That’s really quite sad at the ripe old age of 32. I vaguely remember making a cottage loaf and a plaited loaf at Primary School in Melksham. But that might have been dough. And I certainly don’t remember the making process.

So I added it to my list and god, it’s easy! I mean really, really easy. I can’t believe I’ve never done it before. Ok, so the rising takes a bit of time. But it’s not like you have to *watch* it whilst the yeast is doing its thing.

So there we have it. My mis-shapen loaf of bread. It smells divine. Well, at least it did until I realised that the hob was still lit underneath it. It now has a black bottom But I’ll cut that off. Nobody will ever know…. oh, wait… [doh!]

Day 731 – #9 BBC Big Read – another one down

whitty79 — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 14:14:26 +0000

God – even worse than Double Act. Tracy Beaker is horrible.

Still it’s done, ticked off, last Jacqueline Wilson on the list. Good.

Day 730 – #9 BBC Big Read – another book read

whitty79 — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:44:57 +0000

Having finally succombed to the lure of the kindle, I purchased my first book. It was this one. I have a load of the Top 100 on the kindle lined up ready to read but I wanted something quick to try out the purchase method.

What a load of old tosh. I fully appreciate that I am not the target audience but honestly, if children behave like Ruby then I’m glad I don’t have children. Hideous creature.

On the plust side it was quick to read (I read it in my lunchbreak) so it’s another one off the list

Day 730 – #55 Two more new recipes

whitty79 — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:41:35 +0000

This week we’ve had two new dishes for dinner. I’d like to say it was part of a healthy eating regime. But it isn’t really. I just got out a few old recipe books for inspiration and they just happened to be weight watcher books.

Ok, so firstly we had Lemon Chicken with Leeks & Rice, which was from the Pure Points cook book. It was like a risotto with grilled chicken on top. It was very nice. The portion was quite small, but then it was from WW so not really surprising! I would cook it again, but probably pan-fry the chicken instead of grilling it as it was quite dry.

The second dish we had this evening and it was Sweetcorn & Tuna Rosti Cake from the WW Fabulous & Filling cookbook. It took ages to make and was a bit of a faff. I think there was too much sweetcorn which meant that the “cake” didn’t really stick properly together and fell apart a bit. I took a picture of Mark’s plate as mine was just a pile of rosti! It was quite nice, but definitely not worth the effort. But I’d happily eat it if someone else made it…..

Day 725 – #9 Complete the BBC Big Read Top 100 list

whitty79 — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 14:34:21 +0000

I’ve just finished reading this book and I just couldn’t put it down. It’s one of the most touching books I’ve ever read. I don’t normally read books or watch films about the war as I tend to find them pretty dull. I don’t mind the ones about what life was like at home for people, but I’ve always steered clear about stories from the front. This book could well have changed that for me.

What a compelling story. I don’t want to say too much about it as I don’t want to ruin it for anyone who hasn’t read the book, but I was willing Jack & Stephen on with all my being! Just fantastic. And heart-breaking. And moving. And educational. Wonderful, wonderful book – if you haven’t read it. Do. Soon.

Day 722 – #57 Make Turkish Delight

whitty79 — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:51:33 +0000

My other christmas cooking experiment was that of turkish delight. Now, I tried making this *last* christmas using the recipe in my Hope and Greenwood cook book. However, it didn’t set, smelt foul and made a horrible mess. So I needed to look elsewhere for a recipe. I found one in Rachel Allen’s book which looked promising. Not least because it used 3 sachets of gelatin! It couldn’t fail to set with that in it…..

I don’t think I’ll be making a habit of making this as it takes sooooo long. Boiling sugar for 3o minutes and then for another hour with regular stirring is pretty tedious. However, this time it didn’t smell horrid and it thickened nicely. As you can see from the photo, it set properly and got divvied up and given out as gifts to my lovely mum and my girly friends. Mum liked hers so I hope the others did too.

Day 722 – #55 Try 50 new recipes and #76 Host a party

whitty79 — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:45:24 +0000

Click to view slideshow.In my ever-diminishing wisdom I decided it would be a good idea to have a party over Christmas for our skittles team. I sent out the invitations, gathered bits and bobs for decoration, bought a pretty frock, booked the hairdresser etc etc. But then came the task of feeding my friends. I decided I needed a centerpiece, both savoury & sweet. So I consulted my array of cookbooks and decided upon Nigella’s Ham in Coke for the savoury element. I’ve heard this raved about but was still somewhat sceptical. I shouldn’t have been. It was a doddle to cook and delicious to eat. I didn’t take an individual photo but it’s to the left on the table picture.

For the sweet element I knew exactly what I wanted to try; Delia’s Fresh Coconut Cake. It looks so pretty and I thought it was appropriately Christmassy. Particularly with my added extra of a snowman topper!! The instructions for getting into the coconut were successful so all was going well. It’s basically a sponge cake with added grated coconut. And thus I hit my first hurdle. Coconut is a bugger to grate manually. I need to buy myself a microplane grater if I’m ever to make this again. There was grated coconut in the cake, grated coconut in the frosting and then the whole thing was covered in yet more bloody grated coconut. My poor hands were cramped to bits. But it was worth it. It looked fab and tasted gorgeous

The party went well too!