A Foodie Weekend

Yes, I know it's sunny outside but last weekend I got burnt so this time I'm mixing up the sunbathing with some kitchen pottering.


I found some quinces in the local greengrocer's (soon to be poached),


I unnveiled the results of my chive vinegar experiment (yes, it's definitely pink),



and I made some black bean burgers.

Lovely Harriet

Someone was feeling very cuddly this weekend.


Daddy gets a hug too,


and there's another cuddle for me.


then it's off to paddle with Mummy.

Filey Fun

Had a lovely day on the beach at Filey with Alice, Neil, Harriet & Wilma on Sunday. It brought back happy memories of family holidays at Butlins & Primrose Valley & had all the elements of a great British seaside experience:


wet dogs...


fish...


paddling...


and donkeys.

There was also a little bit of sunburn but you I'll spare you photos of that.

Home for the Weekend

We went to visit family & friends in Yorkshire this weekend. Here's Dad hoovering up the leftovers & showing off his chopstick skills in The Queen's Head in Amotherby.

Lemon & Coconut Tofu Cheesecake

Only very narrowly averted disaster by trying to unmold this when it hadn't had enough time to set. I've been eating a similar cheesecake every time I've been to London veggie institution, Mildred's for years but this is my first attempt at making it. My tip? Ignore any recipe that tells you it will set in a few hours. Maybe with eggs it will. With tofu it'll need overnight, but it'll be worth the wait.

Sausage & Avocado Salad

A couple of weeks ago I had a fantastic vegan salad in Wai Kika Moo Kau, a lovely vegetarian cafe in Brighton. This is my attempt to recreate it. The salad included rocket, spinach, veggie sausage slices, avocado, red onion, carrot, cucumber & strips of sun-dried tomato all topped with some toasted sesame seeds. The best thing about the salad though was the smoked paprika dressing. Recreating this was a bit tricky because I couldn't really tell what was in it but I experimented & mixed some water, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, garlic, vegan mayonaise & smoked paprika in a blender & it turned out pretty good.

Sage Focaccia

I wanted to use some fresh yeast so thought I'd try a focaccia recipe. The yeast was lovely to work with, like playdoh.


After the first, short rise it's time to roll out the dough. It's flavoured with fresh sage & sea salt & a little white wine helps the fermentation process.


Ready for the oven...


All done.

Pink Chive Vinegar

These gorgeous things are chive blossoms. Not only are they beautiful, they were also free and are going to make me something delicious.


I indulged in a spot of freeganism this weekend. This windowbox was planted by a long-departed tenant in our block. Some of the herbs have died off but happily the lovage and the chives keep coming back year after year. No one uses them except me. I've been waiting for the chive flowers to be fully in bloom before I took my scissors to them.


A bit of a rinse to get rid of any dirt & insects makes them ready to use.


I stuffed as many as I could fit into a preserving jar & filled it up with white wine vinegar. The jar goes into a dark cupboard for a week. When it comes out I should have a bright pink, subtley chive scented vinegar to use in salad dressings.

The Lindy Bug

Yes, I've definitely caught it! I stopped denying it when I realised that last week I did six hours of Lindy Hop classes... and frankly I could've done more. Three of those six hours were at the Saturday Night Swing Club with Anne and Cara. It was really good to see some familiar faces from both of my regular classes too & of course to dress up : ) We tried some Lindy Hop some Balboa and some Shim Sham.

Foodie Mornings

Working the late shift at the library is not so bad when it means I can nip over to my favourite health food shop for their vegan lunchtime treats like this delicious spinach, tofu & tomato slice. Yum!


This is my favourite sandwich loaf dough at the moment: half white, half spelt flour with lots of flax, sesame & poppyseeds, some oats & a spoonful of honey.


Just gotta wait for it to cool...

Chickpea & Curried Veg Pie

I came back from Lindy Hop class the other day to find that Paul had made this lovely, rustic veggie pie. The secret ingredient? Peanut butter! Yes, really!

Good Things

Rotten wooden window boxes scuppered our garden centre plans today so we filled the day with other good things instead.


A new owl cushion...


a tasty (if slightly wonky) loaf...


and some lemon & poppyseed cake... with pink sprinkles.

Oh I do like to be beside...

...the seaside, of course. Had a trip to beautiful, bracing Brighton today. It was a bit chilly for paddling but still lots of fun.


Found these little beauties in a shop in North Laine. They may be making an appearance on a cake near you soon.

Lucky, lucky me!

I've got my very own, real-life, resident cocktail maker.


Currently specialising in margaritas.

Ooo Wee

Life is good! It's 'le weekend'. There's an extra day of fun to be had. The sun is shining. I've just been paid. I've had an early morning trip to Vivien's. I may get to practice my Lindy Hop & Shim Sham at The Mermaid's Purse tonight. Plus, there are enchilidas to be made for tea & maybe even a trip to my favourite seaside town tomorrow. Oh yes! I like this weekend. Hope you're having a fun one too.