FAO Amy : The Tudors

Have you seen any of The Tudors yet? I loved this serise! Its totally inaccurate and very glamorous, full of beautiful people but thats what we want to see on t.v Who wants fat, old Henry when you can have Jonathan Rhys Meyers?!!!! A lot of it is really daft but thats why its brilliant. What is really amazing though is how this is all turned on its head in the last two episodes of serise two. They are some of the best tv i have seen in a long while and blow Other Boleyn (film) out of the water. I actually found the bits about Anne Boleyn at the end quite upsetting. Cant wait for you to see it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elderberry Liqueur

This year after the jam success i decided to try some more hedgerow recipies! There were loads of elderberries where i walk george so decided to make elderberry liqueur this year. Just needed to pick the elderberries. Thought this would be easy but i was too late someone had got their first and picked all the ones within easy reash so i was left standing on gates and bashing my way through nettles! Was determind though! I picked as many as i could but still wasnt sure it was enough. Got them back to parents house and started de-stalking this was a chore so roped mum in to help. Finally got the 900g needed. The liqueur is dead easy to make its just the picking of berries that is tough! Get the 900g of berries in a bowl and mash them up a bit with a potato masher. Add 1 pint of brandy, half a cinamon stick and a big pinch of mixed spice. Stir it all up and pour into jars. Leave for at least 4 weeks somewhere warm. Then strain through muslin into bottles and ta daa!

Woolacombe 9-13 September

Finally getting round to updating by blog with news from Woolacombe! Had a fabulous holiday thanks to bro, becky and boys! Woolacombe is a lovely old fashioned seaside town on the north devon coast. Its all on the side of a very very steep hill leading down to the beach and the bay. It really is steep you wouldnt want to stay at the top of the hill and walk it would be a killer. We were lucky thanks to becky to be right at the bottom just a stones throw from the beach itself! Even that was hard work with a double pushchair! The beach is a good couple of miles of sand good for surfing though it didnt really get too high when we were there though still lots of surf dudes and lifeguards all year round so nice safe beach. I took the train down which was interesting the further into devon i got! Got there without hiccup and met the guys for lunch in Barnstaple then drove back to Woolacombe i had no idea what to expect but i loved Woolacombe the minute we got to the first view of it. Weather was OK not sunny but not raining which was the main thing and we went to the beach most days for a quick sandcatle and paddle. The beach tent was brilliant Harry had a lovely time asleep in the pram inside the tent and it was nice to get out of the wind a bit. Jamie seemed to enjoy the sandcastles though probably not as much and me simon and becky! Found some of the old paper flags to put on the sandcastles and the little windmills went down well too. Had some lovely food in Woolacombe fish n chips the first night was pretty good. There was a great coffee shop that we went to every morning and the pancake man was lovely too. Also had a fabuous though massive cream tea in a courtyard cafe 2 massive scones, jam and of course clotted cream was too much for all of us but tasted amazing. The Dinosaur and Wildlife park in Coombe Martin was brilliant too you could feel the wallabies (see photo) though it was 50p for about 4 grass nuts i took two bags for my 50p from the honesty box :-) as i know how much those grass nuts cost!! The wolves in particular were really something the man inside the enclosure with them basically lives as one of the pack and is totally accepted into the hirearchy of the pack - he has been on tv and there was a film crew with him. He looked filthy and probably smelled pretty ripe too. Was disappointed to see him later on in the zoo cafe - why wasnt he out huntung for rabbit or something? So that kind of killed the illusion. The animated dinosaurs were a disappointment for the adults who stupidly imagined them roaming around their enclosure. They are just models and the arms and head move a bit. My kite was also a success someone on the beach even asked where we got it from - everyone with their fancy stunt kites were envious as mine was the only kite flying ha! All in all brilliant and roll on next year!

Nigella's Pork with Cider and Cream

This is my attempt! The mustard I used was a little out of date and i think that made it stronger(?) or maybe i put too much in! I love this way with pork though as the sauce makes boring vegetables taste lovely. I am not a fan on gnocci every time i try it, its stodgy and tough so i just made baked potatoe and used up all the veg i had left. Perhaps Nigella flys to italy for her gnocci or shops at Harrods?! :-) I used pork fron tesco (tut tut as shoud have gone to the butchers), cider was tesco finest single varietal (V nice on its own:-P) and co-op Truely Irresistable wholegrain mustard with real ale. Oh actually maybe the real ale mustard made it a bit strong only just realised it had ale in it. Next time will def try it Croshaw Cream Cheese style

My New Sofa!

Thanks Lyn for my new sofa it fits in a treat and i really like it! So does George who hogged it all weekend :-) It fits in well with my other furniture and made me tidy up and re arrange the lounge which looks much better now

Curry Plant

This is my curry plant in my front 'garden' which is just a strip of earth under the front window really with some railings to separate it from the pavement. It seems to be doing OK there but hasnt really grown any bigger than when it was in the pot. Its surrounded by lavender which masks the smell a bit but as soon as you touch it, it releases the lovely curry smell!!

We're Jammin'!

This weekend there was a culinary first in my kitchen - I made Jam!! Blackberry and apple jam, the blackberries i picked myself on my walks with George and the apples were from the tree in my parents back garden. I got the recepie from the National Trust book : Jams, Preserves and Edible Gifts. The main problem I had was getting the jam jars I hadnt thought ahead enough to save old jam jars up - I had a peanut butter jar and an old chilli saice jar (I did wash them thoroughly!). Luckily mum to the rescue and she also lent me a heavy pased pan to boil it up in and a tin funnel thing to pour the hot jam into the jars. The Jam itself was easy enough to make the main faff is the jars - you have to sterelise them first (I had no idea about this but you just put some water in them and heat it in the microwave until the water boils) and then as you are making the jam you have to rinse the jars under the hot tap and dry them in the oven. They have to be hot when you pour the hot jam in incase they shatter. I used the blackberries, apples and silver spoon preserving jam. Cooked the blackberries and apples in water until they went pulpy then put the whole lot in the heavey based pan and stir in the sugar off the heat until dissolved. Then boiled rapidly for 6 mins before doing the set test (sauced kept in the freezer until chilled then put a blob of jam on and leave to cool before pushing it with you finger to make sure it has set). Wasnt quite done so couple more mins boiling and then another test this time it was ready. I thought this bit would be hard but its easy to tell when its ready! Used a jug to scoop it out then through th funnel into the jars. Wasted a lot on the first attempt as i spilt some. Made six jars in all and felt self righteous for making own jam :-) Had lots of idea on what use it for mainly cakes - version of bakewell and victoria sponge! With the left over blackberrys and apples made a crumble :-P

Man of War Jelly Fish

These have been washing up on the beaches of Devon and Sussex. Particularly in Woolacombe Bay, Devon which is where I am going on holiday next week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Black Country Living Museum #2

Sim says i forgot to mention that when we went to the trap shop (where they used to make iron animal traps for export) a man came in guiding a tour and started a talk. He (the guide) said we didnt have to leave so were then obliged to listen to the not very interesting talk. Well the content was interesting but the bloke droned on a bit. Anyway later on we went into this house made of iron (an experiment in cheap housing to replace the slums which turned out to be too expensive) and there was a bloke in costume in there who started talking at us telling us about the house. Sim says its the same man from the trap shop. I dont think it was but said i would take his word for it. Sim says this has never happened before (me taking his word for anything) and must be noted in the blog!!!

Black Country Living Museum Friday 29 August

On Friday we went to the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley. Was a good day out but you have to be prepared to queue. Had to queue to get in but that didnt take too long. Went through the entrance to the path down to the village. First thing that caught my eye was the helter skelter so we made straight for that and found and old fashioned fair ground! Had swing boats, a cake walk, one armed bandits, coconut shy, helter skelter and some side shows. Made sim go on the Helter Skelter with me first was brilliant! Then we went on the wing boats havent been on these since i was a kid really enjoyed it! They had a fortune telling machine like the one from Big so had a go on that too apparently everyone only had eyes for me that day!!

We then went on to the village part of the museum and stood in the queue for the fish and chip shop. Apparently the fish and chips are ''the best fish and chips in the West Midlands'' so we werent going to miss out on that! Overheard someone say you have to queue all day - they werent far wrong - we were about 30 people away from the entrance and it took 50 mins to get to the front. The shop was tiny only one in one out hence the queue. Was it worth the wait? It was! Maybe they tasted sooo good because we had waited so long but they were delicious! The batter round the fish was crispy the fish was lovely and the chips even better! The sign on the door said they were fried in the traditional way in beef dripping - perhaps this was the secret?

Whilst in the queue i went to the bakery to buy a couple of cakes to go with the fish n chips - well might as well go for it! The cakes in the window all looked lovely and home made i was going to have a cup cake but the person in front asked for one and the lady pulled out a cellophane wrapped cake from under the counter so i changed mine to an iced fancy (basically a french fancy) sim had a belgian bun both of which were ''home made'' tasted pretty good wherever they were made!

After the fish and chips we wandered about,watched a man making chain links, saw the canal boats, looked in the back to back houses. All the staff in costume were good but was a shame they didnt stay in character the woman outside one of the houses was talking about the cost of a taxi to sainsbury which spoilt the moment a bit :-)

Then it was time for our trip on the canal to the Dudley canal tunnel. This was brilliant and a highlight of the day. You had to wear a hard hart and sat along the sides of the boat. The boatman gave an interesting running comentary as we went off. Straight away into a tunnel the boat has lights on so you arent in pitch black but was still creepy and very very cold. The tunnels werent that big so you felt enclosed. The first tunnel was 200m long and then you came to what was a cavern but the roof had been blasted off for light and air. Then through another tunnel to the Singing Cavern which was a large man made cavern in the rock. The tunnels and boats were basically used to ship limestone from the mines and the tunnels go through Dudely hill to the lime stone deposits. The boat stopped and there was a short documentary projected onto the wall to explain all about the tunnels and the lime stone. Then there was a commentary in the cavern and a light and sound show apparently the victorians held concerts and firework displays in the caverns. Then some how we did a loop and made our way back and you could have a go at ''legging'' - lying on your back on a plank of wood with your feet touching the walls of the tunnels and push to boat along this is how it was done in the old days! Then back to the dock took about half hour/ 45 mins in total. Apparently Most Haunted wanted to to a show from the cavern but they radioed to be picked after half and hour it was so scary!?!

After that we went back to the fairground and had a go on the cake walk i was dismal and couldnt walk on it and got my camera strap caught on the handle and nearly chocked myself. Had a wander about some more. There was a trip down the mines but we missed this. Brought some liquorice from the fair as felt hadnt really eaten enough and some sweets from the sweet shop (bit disappointing all the sweets in the jars not for sale just bags on the counter). Decided to call it a day after about 6 hours of fun fun fun!!! Got a free return ticket would be well worth it for the fish and chips alone :-P