The Anti Dairy Fairy

After quite a wrangle with the Parish Council we have got an allotment, only half a plot at present but as that was waist high in weeds, grass, nettles etc., so it took a concerted effort to actually get the thing dug over.    We found the delights of yards of black plastic that had, one assumes, been put over the plot for a reason but as the plot hadn’t been tended for years had started to degrade and therefore took ages to pull out.    It is amazing what a sense of achievement is felt when we look at the plot now, all nicely dug over and with a crop of courgettes/squashes going great guns, a row of Sweat Peas which  are growing, albeit slowly and various salad veggies that Andy has planted.     We had two courgettes the other day and they tasted so good, nothing like the usual supermarket rubbish that we have been putting up with.    We were also given some new potatoes and carrots from two very nice chaps who have allotments and the difference in taste is amazing.     It took me back to my childhood when all the veg we ate was provided by my grandfather, a landscape gardener by trade, who had a huge allotment and also to my first years of married life.   Andy and I had a cottage with a 120 ft garden. Neither of us had any idea about growing veggies really but Andy set to and all the time we lived at the cottage he provided all the veggies we needed.   Of course we then had to move when the cottage was no longer big enough to house our expanding family and the next two houses did not have gardens big enough to grow anything. So, here we are back to just me and my lovely husband and a plot of ground.    It’s funny how things go in circles and for once this has come round in a good way and I can’t wait to harvest our goodies.    ADF  

If you want to sample the delights of the Solstice 2007 google Solstice 2007 bbc wiltshire photos.

Well, we are now back from our hols and even though it was only a short break, it was worthwhile.

We started off on Wednesday evening (20th), packed the car and off we went to Stonehenge to see in the Solstice – along with 20,000 other nutters – and it was soooo good. If you love people watching this is the place to be, there was such a cross section of people there, you had your normal bods, foreign tourists, families, students, ageing hippies, new hippies and of course the Druids, mustn’t forget them. I have to say one of my favourite sights was the bloke who had pointy ears like Mr. Spock. It was also really nice being ‘high fived’ by a stranger who just wanted to be friendly, why can’t people always get on like this, it’s not that hard if we all try!

We managed to get right inside the inner circle of the rings and waited and watched for the sun to rise. It was a real crush and one lady was shouting tributes to “Willy Hall’ or Wally Holt or someone whilst blowing a horn. The bongo drums played and everyone waited expectantly. All of a sudden the drums beat faster and there was shouting and cheering as the sun eventually appeared, it was a bit half hearted and only peeped out for about 2 minutes but nobody seemed to mind, everyone was having a good time, there was no agro and it was just so nice to be there. It sounds really corny but there is definitely something mystical about that place and you really get caught up in it.

If you get a chance to do this go for it, it is such a nice experience, even more so because it was so good natured and it is free. The parking is extremely well organised and everyone is happy so just go for it.

I can now tick that off the list of things to do before I die – that’s not to say I won’t do it again – and move on to the next thing.

We then went to Bath and W.Wales for the rest of our break and luckily we found some sunshine most days. We walked the coastal path between Abaraeron and New Quay which seemed like a good idea at the time, 7 miles later I was so glad to have arrived and had to tell Andy that there was no way I was walking the same way back, it was going to have to be a bus or taxi. It was a fabulous walk but not an easy one, up hill and down dale, across streams etc., but hard work and not for the faint hearted.

Anyway, home again now and work beckons so we now have to plan for our trip to the S. France/N. Spain in September when we want to go and watch some of the Rugby World Cup, can’t wait.

ADF

Hurrah, I am off on my hols for a week.

 My husband and I – oooh how grand -  are commencing our holiday with a visit to Stonehenge to welcome in the Summer Solstice and then we are off to Bath for the day and then onwards for a few days at Aberaeron to sample the delights of the Harbour Master Hotel.   Hopefully it will be lovely even though the forecast is glum.   Do we care, no not a bit, it beats work any day.

Ta ra for now.

ADF

Well it’s Ella’s birthday today so I thought I would give her a treat and make her some dairy free fudge.

I had recently spoken to a chap selling dairy free fudge and picked his brains about how he did it and his words were “I just use dairy free ingredients and make it exactly the same” so I thought hah, I can do that.

The thing is that I CAN’T, I used dairy free ingredients and followed the recipe out of my ‘Dairy Book of Family Cookery’! I did everything by the book but will the fudge set, no it won’t and so instead of a lovely bag of fudge, Ella now has a jar of fudge sauce that she can put on her diary free ice cream.

So if anyone out there can shed light on why this wouldn’t set I would be very grateful.

This dairy free cooking is a minefield.

ADF

My husband tells me that someone is suing a large company over a smoothy that gave him an erection that he could not get rid of.

For anyone trying the smoothie recipe below which I got from the Daily Mail, please note I have not tried this recipe yet, have no idea if it tastes nice or if it has any unwanted “side effects” and therefore take no responsibility for any unwanted erections or other side effects whatsoever. If you try this recipe then you do so at your own volition.

I just passed on what I read in the paper as my son suffers with arthitis in his hands and I thought it may help.

ADF

I love smoothies and thought this one sounded like it would be really nice and it also is supposed to be good for arthitis so as age is creeping on thought I would give it a try.   Also passed this to Pub as he has problems with arthitis in his hands due to all his rugby injuries and the metal he now has in them keeping them together :-

Blend together 1/4 grapefruit (pink or white), 1/4 pineapple, 1 apple, 1 small handful of blackberries, 1 inch slice cucumber and 1/2 inch of fresh ginger.     Apparently this juice is high in B vitamins and folic acid.

Studies have shown that this can relieve stiffness in the joints of the hand.

This was courtesy of The Daily Mail.    Am going to give it a go.

ADF

Just in case anyone is interested THE ALLERGY SHOW is on from Friday 15 June – Sunday 17 June at London’s Olympia. You can see all about it on www.allergyshow.co.uk.

I think a visit to that is in order.
ADF

Well true to my word I did attempt to make some cranberry muffins and sort of followed a recipe I had downloaded from the web, let’s just say a success it wasn’t, my husband was so disgusted with the results that he actually spat it out! All he saw when he went into the kitchen was a tray of large muffins that had just come out of the oven, I didn’t even know he had tried one until he came into the lounge with a look of horrow on his face muttering – through the mouthful of food – ugh what’s this, before he scarpered up to the bathroom and deposited it in the loo.

So all in all it’s back to the drawing board. The recipe did say they would be dense, that is the understatement of the year, it was like ploughing through a mouthful of sawdust, most unpleasant. I can only liken it to some pasties Andy and I had years and years ago in Cornwall, we had so little money and they looked like a bargain WRONG they were absolutely disgusting but we had to eat them as we had no money left to buy anything else. We didn’t make that mistake again.

Oh well you have to laugh as if you didn’t you would cry, it’s not easy trying to make dairy free/gluten free stuff that tastes normal and it’s a bonus if it tastes nice!
ADF

I have just realised that this coming week will mark a month of my not working Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays as I had been doing, time has flown by and I am amazed at how fast it is going. I haven’t been bored at all and have loved being able to do all those little jobs, which fast become huge once you start on them, that have been sitting waiting until “I had time”. The list of these “little jobs” seems endless but I am slowly working my way down them and it is so satisfying to strike them off.

I still don’t appear to have time to cook though and so must make a concerted effort in the coming weeks to try out some of the recipes I have recently seen, converting them to a dairy free version. Sometimes they work and sometimes they are complete disasters, but one has to try.

I have to say I am thoroughly disgruntled with The Ritz though, I wrote to the Patisserie Chef applauding their ‘afternoon tea’ and enquiring whether they could offer a dairy free alternative i.e. little dairy free cakes and sandwiches and not a plate of fruit as is the norm when asking for a dairy free alternative. To date I have not received a reply which is just rude. I wouldn’t have minded if they just wrote back and said no but to ignore a request, well….

Just in case any of you think I am now a lady wot lunches, I am but I do still do freelance work at home so it is not all jam.

ADF