tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14321040031671409692024-02-19T15:17:12.703+00:00Random Ramblings and RecipesKatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.comBlogger263125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-70075821408708510692016-11-03T16:43:00.002+00:002016-11-03T16:43:37.136+00:00Time to make your Christmas Cake!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I like to make my Christmas cake ahead of time, so I can liberally feed it with brandy until the big day! The recipe I use is a slight adaptation of <a href="http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/284497/Mary-Berry-s-classic-Christmas-cake" target="_blank">Mary Berry's Christmas cake</a>, substituting brandy for the sherry, and dried apricots instead of cherries. It's delicious, and really easy to make.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lSQamBQo0FvWjnoJbtXoDCb2ptejAfujpCQk5cVO5pAcKqL5Wtz4PPMcRSablIj6o621ivMHjrWWq_RTutyXxqriK2ddIVsvU63eQDD0Y8As87i-7ktAKoGyN2y5RQK1_iGtHN7fvEyB/s1600/153+Christmas+Cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lSQamBQo0FvWjnoJbtXoDCb2ptejAfujpCQk5cVO5pAcKqL5Wtz4PPMcRSablIj6o621ivMHjrWWq_RTutyXxqriK2ddIVsvU63eQDD0Y8As87i-7ktAKoGyN2y5RQK1_iGtHN7fvEyB/s640/153+Christmas+Cake.jpg" width="452" /></a></div>
KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-10768477446751899942016-11-03T16:13:00.001+00:002016-11-03T16:13:07.799+00:00Gingerbread Biscuits<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's getting to that time of year again, when yumminess is all around us. I find it extremely difficult to diet during the winter, as I love all the Christmassy type foods. At the moment, I have my dried fruit steeping in brandy for the Christmas cake, and cooking is going to be really hard to do without any snaffling of the exceedingly boozy cake mix!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These Gingerbread Biscuits work really well - be careful not to overcook them though. They are still nice, but the overcooking diminishes the ginger flavour, and I like that to be really strong. And don't eat too much raw dough, as you won't have anything left for the biscuits :-)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdsZVpMJ41Njyz0Xkcg2S7WFFaNlSjv2D6wNcBeiEGONj67rj26G33tqZfVOe1AjRWFiHoXJ7VUn3TH3rT6lShi3snfhYKnopkw9m3kvVkz-ymRXozlkvJz76rWcFUwKh23uhFv9llxA60/s1600/152+Gingerbread+Biscuits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdsZVpMJ41Njyz0Xkcg2S7WFFaNlSjv2D6wNcBeiEGONj67rj26G33tqZfVOe1AjRWFiHoXJ7VUn3TH3rT6lShi3snfhYKnopkw9m3kvVkz-ymRXozlkvJz76rWcFUwKh23uhFv9llxA60/s640/152+Gingerbread+Biscuits.jpg" width="452" /></a></div>
<br />KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-31181471088211530162016-07-29T11:24:00.001+01:002016-07-29T11:24:06.786+01:00Slimmer of the MonthAnd a stone lost. So encouraging! I will be wearing that bikini in France next year!<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNepFoNZcQU7K-41vZlGzqKxwoMgvBwFBdAQN4dErb7No4Y4EpnABGErwySRTbbNu_U7ZynjfpzYt-1FrZDqHMgf7iW4t-ATwLLgVeRHxPcWSLCtXaRZh_lyiENPbt9P7EpgHcetJAxP4/s288/iphone_photo.jpg'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNepFoNZcQU7K-41vZlGzqKxwoMgvBwFBdAQN4dErb7No4Y4EpnABGErwySRTbbNu_U7ZynjfpzYt-1FrZDqHMgf7iW4t-ATwLLgVeRHxPcWSLCtXaRZh_lyiENPbt9P7EpgHcetJAxP4/s288/iphone_photo.jpg' border='0' width='252' height='280' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Biggar&z=10'>Biggar</a></p>KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-74522841405158881942016-07-26T20:15:00.001+01:002016-07-26T20:24:39.637+01:00Chicken Pizza and Chips - but healthy!Well this was bloody delicious! It started off as a Slimming World recipe but I changed it a smidgen to suit us better. I had the higest praise possible for it from Frazer and Isla. They told me I can make it again! It was a definite hit. <br /><br />In other news, my lovely iPhone has died. I am so pissed off. The screen just stopped working. I have an appointment at the Apple store on Saturday, but until then I'm phoneless. I feel like my right arm has been cut off! And I have no fitness tracker now either. <br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-SV_3nkUmnCFqaUbt7b0V-aor0uEkgqyiBY-bkALaZSvrxEdvCwCumVN4RpeFRyYN01P8odJflsn9GUW0rvpkZkHcDwza8mHbonC5BGGvYDlNTcdPfLmdPTybZHB4CU_rwtw2PMJeX1s/s288/iphone_photo.jpg'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-SV_3nkUmnCFqaUbt7b0V-aor0uEkgqyiBY-bkALaZSvrxEdvCwCumVN4RpeFRyYN01P8odJflsn9GUW0rvpkZkHcDwza8mHbonC5BGGvYDlNTcdPfLmdPTybZHB4CU_rwtw2PMJeX1s/s288/iphone_photo.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='280' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br /><br /><br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Biggar&z=10'>Biggar</a></p>KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-73698181659155596162016-07-22T00:16:00.001+01:002016-07-22T00:22:52.094+01:00Korean Beef MinceWe had this for dinner tonight. Isla and I really enjoyed it - Frazer was late home and declined the kind offer of our leftovers as he had a very sneaky McDonalds on the way home!<br /><br />It's a pretty healthy meal - if you want to make it healthier you can substitute the brown sugar for sweetener, and the soy sauce with low sodium soy sauce.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyphenhyphenPuIOoJs-NEI-STrZMK4G5lIsww6rPnnQGxGJtWA1ZBmmE98_A2i1kmPh75xijII23T6LH83VASgZ4_2GRyG9xdseCmQIf_yJZZhAqbZQu2ZRnQkM0qTn_sAD2FKb3FtDG4ERmdTQQc/s288/iphone_photo.jpg'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyphenhyphenPuIOoJs-NEI-STrZMK4G5lIsww6rPnnQGxGJtWA1ZBmmE98_A2i1kmPh75xijII23T6LH83VASgZ4_2GRyG9xdseCmQIf_yJZZhAqbZQu2ZRnQkM0qTn_sAD2FKb3FtDG4ERmdTQQc/s288/iphone_photo.jpg' border='0' width='280' height='179' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Symington,%20Biggar&z=10'>Symington, Biggar</a></p>KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-15260303988432977662016-07-17T19:09:00.001+01:002016-07-17T19:17:01.190+01:00Practically Perfect ParentingSo today I am officially old. I just gave my daughter her first driving lesson. I can't believe that I am actually old enough to have a child of 17! I remember learning to drive. It really wasn't 22 years ago was it?<br /><br />Unfortunately, in order for Isla to learn to drive, we have had to get rid of my lovely old, massive Vectra estate. Just as well really, as I have no idea how I would teach her to parallel park it when I couldn't do it as it was too long! We now have a cute little Fiat Punto Evo, complete with L plates, that will do the job very nicely. And once I have accessorised it to my exacting (possibly less that tasteful) standards, it will look very smart. <br /><br />I picked Isla up from work this afternoon, and took her to an empty car park to begin the basics. She picked it up quite quickly, and she got the car moving, and drove it around in a big loop 2 or 3 times, although she didn't move out of 1st gear. Then a car came towards her and she panicked! I took over, and we went home. We had about half an hour, which I think was probably plenty for a first go. She did very well though. <br /><br />I couldn't be more proud of her today. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIHZS6Fov0omgM9MBtMMlA0EMbVe7Ftns0GRFXaaJHZ95UUIiznU4L1fo8HSXU680alZkgasHT0e62u01QkfDU1HEjJJ5WGG123Mw53EjVfjaxgoGumYQdFToVZBxlvLPpgHj-aZhi8oE/s288/iphone_photo.jpg'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIHZS6Fov0omgM9MBtMMlA0EMbVe7Ftns0GRFXaaJHZ95UUIiznU4L1fo8HSXU680alZkgasHT0e62u01QkfDU1HEjJJ5WGG123Mw53EjVfjaxgoGumYQdFToVZBxlvLPpgHj-aZhi8oE/s288/iphone_photo.jpg' border='0' width='259' height='280' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfeQ2aNkfMs4F15pf2MoHgRHVC2_X9uNx1HYW5mGL5FXyXr0WFdmAXZoT9mnScnvkIhISgkJoMm3IDGuFXBBjnvmSnNTSQ7KliJyrcfShzLu6hifnbYd2BrKq5KU5isir0YRPPZB_A8p0/s288/iphone_photo.jpg'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfeQ2aNkfMs4F15pf2MoHgRHVC2_X9uNx1HYW5mGL5FXyXr0WFdmAXZoT9mnScnvkIhISgkJoMm3IDGuFXBBjnvmSnNTSQ7KliJyrcfShzLu6hifnbYd2BrKq5KU5isir0YRPPZB_A8p0/s288/iphone_photo.jpg' border='0' width='259' height='280' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br /><br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Biggar&z=10'>Biggar</a></p>KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-26121591763692842622016-07-16T16:01:00.001+01:002016-07-16T20:12:49.995+01:00Oh where oh where has the summer gone?<br /><br /><center><a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYwI78RUDy1evhac3yMtKjTq5punuLPlpT00TalYRz5mo_q2CzVRylU_xFsMDFeSrcg_j6tokwLvpmIVvt8-qMl0mrCWjSId-rtOFlmq7kYnsj_T1S5Q_0sl8DMyVEzqugO3JND1WtNZU/s288/iphone_photo.jpg'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYwI78RUDy1evhac3yMtKjTq5punuLPlpT00TalYRz5mo_q2CzVRylU_xFsMDFeSrcg_j6tokwLvpmIVvt8-qMl0mrCWjSId-rtOFlmq7kYnsj_T1S5Q_0sl8DMyVEzqugO3JND1WtNZU/s288/iphone_photo.jpg' border='0' width='280' height='212' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Why is it that when the kids are at school we have amazingly hot and beautiful weather, but as soon as they finish the weather becomes shit? We had 3 or 4 weeks in May and June that were scorching (I even got a suntan!), and rain ever since. It's pissing me off, because we now have a lovely garden I can sit in, we're not having the weather to sit in it. <br /><br />It's all ready for us to sit in. I have bunted the fencing to within an inch of its life, and removed a nasty patch of gravel and chucked down some grass seed which is taking nicely. This week the good weather is due to come back, so I'm looking forward to getting the grass cut, my friend coming over with her kids, getting the paddling pool out and having a garden picnic!<br /><br /><center><a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBDRNT8nzPK8EkDnqY8dMKggQW1-qw_BL0dZIi940SFFbu3PBkjLXyM3S2UqQDTOxnzNd-BpSXwX9W-Etc1hr7ifCNID4jZue_QxJB_rEk7lLsG2XwUJJy71oPAs1_u4nN45DJnQhBPAk/s288/iphone_photo.jpg'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBDRNT8nzPK8EkDnqY8dMKggQW1-qw_BL0dZIi940SFFbu3PBkjLXyM3S2UqQDTOxnzNd-BpSXwX9W-Etc1hr7ifCNID4jZue_QxJB_rEk7lLsG2XwUJJy71oPAs1_u4nN45DJnQhBPAk/s288/iphone_photo.jpg' border='0' width='280' height='210' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijvKFPpBB4iwVAiijSJLXwHHyYbRzCAAjJytf8VM1hNgMDkp75DWQasrqcdyknWgAtzqaVig55T1-N9IHnAXjoYKAGbkYdrOwtD0ezWV9xt1P09bwd0rhUFKhvyza1zJelpw3Oa2ObMm4/s288/iphone_photo.jpg'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijvKFPpBB4iwVAiijSJLXwHHyYbRzCAAjJytf8VM1hNgMDkp75DWQasrqcdyknWgAtzqaVig55T1-N9IHnAXjoYKAGbkYdrOwtD0ezWV9xt1P09bwd0rhUFKhvyza1zJelpw3Oa2ObMm4/s288/iphone_photo.jpg' border='0' width='198' height='280' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5K14in0AP3UgDL5dw8009X1R6Bz-_LaSA4AQqDIbvkXKlBBHA54fiQgo2pQ8Tc-PJDIi5ohoromF8BCx6rBdHpLB4GI4EiPFustnXfelClbmLJRawpcF04J4ZplFGO3xuqdFdVOQDtsA/s288/iphone_photo.jpg'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5K14in0AP3UgDL5dw8009X1R6Bz-_LaSA4AQqDIbvkXKlBBHA54fiQgo2pQ8Tc-PJDIi5ohoromF8BCx6rBdHpLB4GI4EiPFustnXfelClbmLJRawpcF04J4ZplFGO3xuqdFdVOQDtsA/s288/iphone_photo.jpg' border='0' width='190' height='280' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center><a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNkbnU7T3anR1JZzGL_q1wsZff4GpZ5jMYwIgOXAQ0kLr4rQorPRZuCixT56PSftRi7g6BgiGUTIkQhW9W6bmSEnjGs1G3S-iune2mSdxQDsDblWBiH9CJ5fDq3Bc6Oq-X4HogeOdYixU/s288/iphone_photo.jpg'><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNkbnU7T3anR1JZzGL_q1wsZff4GpZ5jMYwIgOXAQ0kLr4rQorPRZuCixT56PSftRi7g6BgiGUTIkQhW9W6bmSEnjGs1G3S-iune2mSdxQDsDblWBiH9CJ5fDq3Bc6Oq-X4HogeOdYixU/s288/iphone_photo.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='280' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br /><br />KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-33217468265524953562016-07-16T14:48:00.000+01:002016-07-16T14:51:17.726+01:00Vietnamese Spring RollsSo, my first healthy recipe is for Vietnamese Spring Rolls. These are made with <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rice-Paper-Spring-Wrappers-Trang/dp/B00B78HANY/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1468677030&sr=8-1&keywords=rice+paper+wraps" target="_blank">rice paper wraps</a> and not deep fried, so they are pretty much fat free. I have worked out that if you do the recipe without honey/golden syrup/maple syrup then you can make each spring roll for around 65 calories and 1.5 syns. The taste is fresh and lovely, and makes a great guilt free snack.<br />
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Edited to add:<br />
I can't seem to get this damn blog to show the recipe large enough to read, so I'll give you the recipe in text until I can figure the bloody thing out!<br />
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Vietnamese Spring Rolls<br />
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Ingredients<br />
<br />
2 Chicken Breasts<br />
Rice Paper Wraps<br />
Fine Rice Noodles<br />
1 Carrot, grated<br />
1/3 Cucumber, grated<br />
1 large stick celery, grated if possible<br />
Finely chopped spring onion (scallion)<br />
Whole leaves mint or basil<br />
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Marinade<br />
2 tbsp honey/golden syrup/maple syrup<br />
2 tbsp dark soy sauce<br />
1 clove garlic, crushed<br />
1 tsp ground ginger<br />
<br />
Marinade the chicken for at least half an hour in a casserole dish, then place into an over with the lid on, and poach the chicken still in the marinade.<br />
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While the chicken is cooking, prepare the vegetables. The ones above are what I use, but you can use others. <br />
Soak the rice noodles in boiling water until soft, then drain and mix in with the grated vegetables. <br />
Once the chicken is cooked, chop it finely, and add it into the mixture.<br />
Put some luke warm water on a large plate to soak the rice paper wraps. <br />
Soak each wrap individually, fill with the mixture, and roll*. Then wrap each one in cling film, and refrigerate.<br />
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*To see how to roll the spring rolls, click <a href="http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2009/06/how-to-wrap-rice-paper-rolls-summer-rolls.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<br />KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-11983494154365821322016-07-15T21:46:00.003+01:002016-07-15T22:42:10.173+01:00Losing It. Well, I seem to have been a little bit crap and keeping up with this blog thing. In my defence, life has got in the way a bit. The blog was not high on my list of priorities compared with looking after a baby, moving house, and looking after a husband and teenager as well!<br /><br /><br /><br />This is about to change though - at least that's the plan! I have recently started <a href="http://www.slimmingworld.co.uk/">Slimming World</a>, to try to shift some of the baby weight. I've been using that excuse for a long time though, it's baby weight from the first time round 17 years ago! Anyway, I'm trying to change the way I eat, and the way I look at food, taking into account Food Optimising and syns etc. So as I try new recipes, I will upload them here. It will encourage me as well. I have been going for 4 weeks, and in that time I've lost 10lbs, so I can see it's working. The group sessions really help as well - everyone supports and encourages each other, and going along for weigh in every week really does help to keep you on the straight and narrow.<br />KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-48602429143081976602015-01-13T16:00:00.001+00:002015-01-14T17:19:45.609+00:00Ginger Bread / Parkin<br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidrz4L0bI0zoml9inG7g5VUN31FRwMsxVC2B7uqpAljC-sQleNR9r5OYti0iPStFa4nhaZ6N3q2XgHjcXnNacftun_IjMjm5dT0lWWusCXUBWvdJTY7BWTDR0d-RQR1l1LPEWJDpQU8fsH/s640/blogger-image-1012634563.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidrz4L0bI0zoml9inG7g5VUN31FRwMsxVC2B7uqpAljC-sQleNR9r5OYti0iPStFa4nhaZ6N3q2XgHjcXnNacftun_IjMjm5dT0lWWusCXUBWvdJTY7BWTDR0d-RQR1l1LPEWJDpQU8fsH/s640/blogger-image-1012634563.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">My favourite thing at the moment is Ginger bread, otherwise known as Parkin. There is something deliciously comforting about a warm slab of it with a cup of tea. I’m not a big tea drinker, but it does go with this well! It’s also nice heated in the microwave for about 20 seconds, drizzle a little golden syrup over and serve with ice cream.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I like it very gingery, so I use about 2.5 teaspoons of ground ginger, and sometimes add a teaspoon of cinnamon as well. When you tip the mixture into the loaf tin, sprinkle some sugar over the top before it goes into the oven. When you take the tin out of the oven, you need to leave it to cool for ten to fifteen minutes before trying to tip it out.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Edited to add - if you run out of bicarbonate of soda, baking powder will NOT work instead! Lesson learnt this morning!</div><div><br></div></div>KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-60002856139531732962015-01-13T15:54:00.001+00:002015-01-13T15:55:12.193+00:00Curried Parsnip Soup<br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlRS4kG4GMaxrtry7JSZWdaTO0tuTbNeK8C7CuKBsisR6JSOr9i-Y9Lcyf8bTtmkRSEHIgV0a9MAbqwNa6OppYenfQTf-72ZBm7L0wQ0gAzDxYslQfkHcdRbf1zf7_s9JV-BI53iy8-7t/s640/blogger-image--286934487.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlRS4kG4GMaxrtry7JSZWdaTO0tuTbNeK8C7CuKBsisR6JSOr9i-Y9Lcyf8bTtmkRSEHIgV0a9MAbqwNa6OppYenfQTf-72ZBm7L0wQ0gAzDxYslQfkHcdRbf1zf7_s9JV-BI53iy8-7t/s640/blogger-image--286934487.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">At my cousin’s wedding back in December, the hotel served us all bacon butties and delicious curried parsnip soup half way through the evening. Since then I have been trying to perfect the recipe myself and I think I have – well, to my taste buds anyway !</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The recipe above is a pretty easy way to do it – it does rely on your own taste for the amount of spiciness though, so make sure you taste as you go. I used fresh chicken stock that I made after a roast dinner, and kept back the leftover meat, diced it finely, and then added it to the soup once it was ready. Gives a nice chickeny chewiness to each mouthful.</div><div><br></div></div>KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-34885380999924221772015-01-13T15:47:00.001+00:002015-01-13T16:19:31.913+00:00Happy New Year!<div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Happy New Year!</span></div><div><br></div><div>I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and New Year. We had a good one. Opened presents at home in the morning, and then down to the in laws in the afternoon, and home the next day. Hogmanay was spent with friends – just a quiet one as we’ve all got kids, but it was nice.</div><div><br></div><div>It’s taken me until now to get the house sorted out after Frazer and Isla went back to work and school. They are so messy! It took me 4 hours to do the ironing last week, and I had to do a thorough house clean as well. This week should be easier thank goodness. It’s certainly a lot easier to get everything done.</div><div><br></div><div>We’ve had a few good outings together over the holidays – we’ve been out exploring areas to move to later this year, and have been out for lunch a couple of times. We’ve just had a really nice, family orientated holiday. </div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesanMjSSC7cUeJv1ZPBZvNKOFtXnCAjqFlMM1NUfY1PQwb9HeSnZNdP0xEuSkfpmiIZPHQBwiXlaXmeLjRhRjTtcU0Va-o2zNT75s743gqsDtkjMOHwW4K6O4_73oJP3thWU83GsoukYt/s640/blogger-image-664199398.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesanMjSSC7cUeJv1ZPBZvNKOFtXnCAjqFlMM1NUfY1PQwb9HeSnZNdP0xEuSkfpmiIZPHQBwiXlaXmeLjRhRjTtcU0Va-o2zNT75s743gqsDtkjMOHwW4K6O4_73oJP3thWU83GsoukYt/s640/blogger-image-664199398.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcogHD5lNK22sSsrXvQf1slc2x-khsTRvCNpWLUotBfE03VmsggVIhFK1Td63Z1MAixyLBM2VDcHmOMlK37kmOPjnpleCzEryo9HCA_PRVjnMVsJMBcSePsJ8XOPUDCjY9NeAgVbTqIqsL/s640/blogger-image-612838370.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcogHD5lNK22sSsrXvQf1slc2x-khsTRvCNpWLUotBfE03VmsggVIhFK1Td63Z1MAixyLBM2VDcHmOMlK37kmOPjnpleCzEryo9HCA_PRVjnMVsJMBcSePsJ8XOPUDCjY9NeAgVbTqIqsL/s640/blogger-image-612838370.jpg"></a></div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBZlOQjweIV75owlJQk8KD3Lft8TGJ5ux2lx0UIztaV5d6rObyw23sMSI4LjINfloarqNkVawE0nUB_zncan9ofSlH5QnvxMLPlWsSlVWq1r7FYlvuzjldfhMwPyMp1jaHQoI2HK47ACzS/s640/blogger-image--908751300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBZlOQjweIV75owlJQk8KD3Lft8TGJ5ux2lx0UIztaV5d6rObyw23sMSI4LjINfloarqNkVawE0nUB_zncan9ofSlH5QnvxMLPlWsSlVWq1r7FYlvuzjldfhMwPyMp1jaHQoI2HK47ACzS/s640/blogger-image--908751300.jpg"></a></div>KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-53868122173232113032014-12-20T17:40:00.001+00:002014-12-20T17:44:21.460+00:00Family Wedding<div>
We had a wonderful weekend last week. My cousin got married down in Dumfries and Galloway – at the <a href="http://www.mcmillanhotels.co.uk/cally-palace-hotel/">Cally Palace Hotel</a> near Gatehouse Of Fleet. We arrived on the Saturday lunchtime, and met up with my parents and my cousin’s family. It was really lovely to see my parents for a couple of days before Christmas. At least we got to exchange presents without the postage, and I saved on all my Christmas card postage to France!</div>
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The hotel was beautiful. They had a massive Christmas tree put up in the main function room, and my cousin and his wife were married in front of it. It was a lovely service, and the Christmas decorations made it really romantic.</div>
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There was a Champagne reception straight after the wedding, with sparkling rosé wine from a vineyard close to where my parents and my aunt and uncle live in France – it was the Tuilé from <a href="http://www.monluc.fr/genie_lieu/genie_histoire_article-8-en.php">Chateau Monluc</a> – the same as we had at our wedding. The meal was excellent, although we were all starving by the time the speeches were finished. I’m really glad we didn’t have any – it made it a lot less formal and more relaxed. </div>
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I caught up with people I hadn’t seen for 20 years or more, and my mum and dad got to spend a little bit of time with Isla and Jamie. They hadn’t seen Jamie since he was 4 weeks old – he’s now 6 months and a monster baby! He’s huge! They had lots of cuddles, and got to see him doing all his newly learnt tricks. It was just a shame we didn’t get to spend more time together. Roll on next summer, when hopefully we’ll be able to get to France for a fortnight.</div>
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<br />KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-41233346820392273292014-12-20T14:47:00.001+00:002014-12-20T14:48:02.323+00:00Family Pre Christmas Dinner<div>As we’re not going to be at home on Christmas Day I thought I would do a nice Christmas meal for us all tomorrow as it’s the last Sunday of Advent. So, I’ve got a nice beef joint to roast, with all the trimmings including home made Yorkshires.</div><div><br></div><div>The beef is in the fridge at the moment, marinading in some red wine with a little pesto and garlic. When I cook roast potatoes, I always par boil them, and then rattle them around in the pan so that the outsides are nice and fluffy. If you have sausages for your Sunday breakfast keep the fat, as roast potatoes cooked in sausage fat are absolutely delicious. Cook them until they are golden and crispy on the outside – normally 35-45 minutes.</div><div><br></div><div>I have another crumble cooked for dessert – we seem to eat crumbles all the time at Christmas time!</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4x2rvZiXfUeZ6knsTHwHTHbrrAMeMaA9uWQ6c77htyJDRS270U2lN0HiusZcmU8xysoZv2NIGuYqFEVkS5aTQewIVYTnFp5k7tTEOqsZJaybBuqkfeWoD_dQup1UImkAndp7jE7XYunce/s640/blogger-image--1109577128.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4x2rvZiXfUeZ6knsTHwHTHbrrAMeMaA9uWQ6c77htyJDRS270U2lN0HiusZcmU8xysoZv2NIGuYqFEVkS5aTQewIVYTnFp5k7tTEOqsZJaybBuqkfeWoD_dQup1UImkAndp7jE7XYunce/s640/blogger-image--1109577128.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb2WNpMVa-s3R6IjQ9QbSbrzSPFUkQhyKg5e0ODD5hTAeXtIig438VSd-uEt_zdHFgAiEMScxjU3ZdvsG0_fo7VAeDPCOUJ-2aPs4wSAEmFlN3th7qLDK8QM_135LGn6edN4l_kRLI8jzh/s640/blogger-image--1064998378.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb2WNpMVa-s3R6IjQ9QbSbrzSPFUkQhyKg5e0ODD5hTAeXtIig438VSd-uEt_zdHFgAiEMScxjU3ZdvsG0_fo7VAeDPCOUJ-2aPs4wSAEmFlN3th7qLDK8QM_135LGn6edN4l_kRLI8jzh/s640/blogger-image--1064998378.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div>KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-72003109472194457382014-12-18T17:39:00.001+00:002014-12-20T14:19:33.551+00:00It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas<div>Well, we’re all just about ready for Christmas here. Cards are made, written and posted, presents are bought and wrapped, and I’ve made the Christmas Crumbles. I don’t have anything else to prepare for the big day, as we are going down to the in-laws’ after breakfast and present opening. I’ve done the last 4 Christmases, so it will be nice to take a back seat this year and let someone else do the hard work of Christmas dinner. Plus, I also have a baby to take care of this year.</div><div><br></div><div>The Christmas tree went up at the beginning of December – Jamie loves it, and can spend ages just gazing at the lights. We have a mini fibre optic tree as well in the bedroom near his cot, and he’s fascinated by the lights changing colour. He’s only just 6 months old, so not exactly aware of Christmas yet, but he’s loving all the lights and bright colours. I also made him some Christmas purée – stewed apple and mincemeat blitzed. He loves it! I figured he had to have something Christmassy to eat. I’m going to take the little blender with us on Christmas day, and blitz the Christmas dinner so that eat can eat the same as us. Will be interesting to see what he makes of sprouts!</div><div><br></div><div> It’s actually been a real treat this year to have had the time to prepare for Christmas, as I’m still on maternity leave. I’m really looking forward to Frazer and Isla finishing work and school. Every other year, I have had to work while they have been off – it will be lovely this year to have the time to spend all together as a family.</div><div><br></div><div>Next week we’re going to go to the German Christmas market in Edinburgh for a wander. Mulled wine and suspiciously large sausages feature prominently in the plans for the day! It will also be the first time we are taking Jamie into the middle of town, so could be interesting. At least he’s in a buggy now, and not the big bulky pram. Looking forward to it :-)</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-88549838024924138132014-12-18T17:23:00.001+00:002014-12-18T17:23:04.503+00:00Christmas Crumble<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7dGARuh0bvw5En6ArLVvsir_4Gpc1tRpxVTeyD16roEnqqHIYC3Af_oudFcJ7HWDd8jvxYayOpd4PImwSJvuxqRuDAb6ZXiBAgnwupsxwD8dAbH99DYN6V0ug26Dml6hl7_A79FSuBZOZ/s640/blogger-image-63238674.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7dGARuh0bvw5En6ArLVvsir_4Gpc1tRpxVTeyD16roEnqqHIYC3Af_oudFcJ7HWDd8jvxYayOpd4PImwSJvuxqRuDAb6ZXiBAgnwupsxwD8dAbH99DYN6V0ug26Dml6hl7_A79FSuBZOZ/s640/blogger-image-63238674.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div><div>I know I’ve posted my crumble recipe before, but it’s worth posting again.</div><div><br></div><div>I make a variation of this recipe every year for Christmas. None of the family are fans of Christmas cake or Christmas pudding, so I make a Christmas Crumble instead. Stew some apples, Granny Smiths for preference, and add mincemeat to the mix. Cook it through and leave to cool. Add a pinch of ginger and a pinch of cinnamon to the crumble mix. In fact, this year I had a small amount of oatmeal left over from making oatcakes, and added some of this to the crumble mix as well, giving it a slightly crunchy texture.</div><div><br></div><div>It’s delicious served with either vanilla ice cream or custard.</div><div><br></div>KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-23420491686105435132014-09-23T16:33:00.001+01:002014-09-23T17:55:41.140+01:00Jamie<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The last time I wrote about my pregnancy, we were on our disastrous weekend away up North in the caravan. Since then, at the beginning of June, our little boy Jamie was born 3 days after mine and Isla's birthday. He was born by caesarean section, and we were only in hospital for 2.5 days before they let us home!</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSXlaujTeP4jBI44f18xtoO1ohh7OV87yhUa0Xj8BSGzyDewJhFxNhk6jKVD_BLsJbHYqIUsKYlaCB-Q-D7N7mFIwCiilhMz8SwOkP9zzfPFLkrYsO-biXLhpYEbeAc74sG2-Cue8_PNrK/s640/blogger-image-1841908944.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLsh7iTzlox8Dmm9yABGamwa3tjhsRRhQZ-tk6_bg-3P2Aqv09A4-ozHQ_gPVwht8crSTyvGQ9exQEgLHTOWz44SmIUjZq4Aztbt8a3eUDA1JP41u47HUi4xD0QTlfTjKvZ0oeivCUPQ7A/s640/blogger-image-715732109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLsh7iTzlox8Dmm9yABGamwa3tjhsRRhQZ-tk6_bg-3P2Aqv09A4-ozHQ_gPVwht8crSTyvGQ9exQEgLHTOWz44SmIUjZq4Aztbt8a3eUDA1JP41u47HUi4xD0QTlfTjKvZ0oeivCUPQ7A/s640/blogger-image-715732109.jpg" /></a></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>It was lovely to be home with him, and he settled in very quickly. The dog and the cat have accepted him brilliantly - the cat simply ignores his existence, and the dog just wants to love him! It's very cute.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Frazer had almost 3 weeks off - 2 weeks paternity leave an an extra week from annual leave. It was lovely to spend all that time together. He is totally bowled over by fatherhood, and Isla is a doting big sister.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>My mum and dad came over once Frazer went back to work and stayed for a week. They arrived on my dad's birthday (the second time in 2 years he's spent it here), and we had a really nice week. We didn't go out and about much, for obvious reasons, just stayed close to Peebles. When they went home, they took Isla with them for the holidays.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>I did write a post about twice the length of this one, but the app crashed on the ipad and I lost the lot!</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Anyway, Jamie's 16wks old now, and cute and cheeky. He's been sleeping through for just over a week now, which makes life a lot more pleasant! He's into 6-9 month clothes already, and costing us a fortune in sleepsuits! I wouldn't change a thing. </i></span></div>
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KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-86414406739025041242014-09-23T14:26:00.001+01:002014-09-23T14:26:04.535+01:00Homemade Pizza<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxD60qYnZlMB7jaf7qtA_QTYi9UM3lmjYbnGW_cvwKOH3vMVSursmWAqJsk58_kW7V4gsPCcVtnHauTkVmREaCGaOdtYbpZGny8A4t07es6ozSD55qfdXwK5v4z7ROgS1-acJRVVs6Er6/s640/blogger-image-383216886.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxD60qYnZlMB7jaf7qtA_QTYi9UM3lmjYbnGW_cvwKOH3vMVSursmWAqJsk58_kW7V4gsPCcVtnHauTkVmREaCGaOdtYbpZGny8A4t07es6ozSD55qfdXwK5v4z7ROgS1-acJRVVs6Er6/s640/blogger-image-383216886.jpg"></a></div>KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-66686248666640891242014-09-17T18:19:00.001+01:002014-09-17T19:03:07.247+01:00Domestic Goddess Strikes Again<div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">With all this being off work, I'm bored. I had a bit of a cooking day yesterday - I made some more oatcakes (I seem to be addicted to them at the moment - try adding some marmite to the recipe for marmitey oatcakes mmm) and a big pot of chicken soup to put in the freezer for my daily lunches. Nice and healthy!</span></div><div><br></div><div>Tonight's dinner is Punjabi Butter Chicken, which i haven't made for ages, so looking forward to that :-)<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibBb42zy_ZqN8h_vzLGJ5EuYTuzHe5YsOUnhshVPczKRhb4s4p8iGIzhKml_6BbE_dT53uAIx13bAkllY_cUkPj6J6VXWx4dZPUsO08kaVbMoZ0v3Tc4a5ThVvIefBQOVA_WbMz_tMmHiZ/s640/blogger-image-632103908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibBb42zy_ZqN8h_vzLGJ5EuYTuzHe5YsOUnhshVPczKRhb4s4p8iGIzhKml_6BbE_dT53uAIx13bAkllY_cUkPj6J6VXWx4dZPUsO08kaVbMoZ0v3Tc4a5ThVvIefBQOVA_WbMz_tMmHiZ/s640/blogger-image-632103908.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg59w_unbBRH7-jD4Afee90e7387zGdDxu0p3Bh9nQT54r_OX-C0OLTTklZeuqPMb1xjv2XhguCtk6YxjkQrjV4noDaV01orNIi-gZoGhj7C-VEU6qas_cizUipzzb3Pvi_O3cGSjTPWQ45/s640/blogger-image-478856282.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg59w_unbBRH7-jD4Afee90e7387zGdDxu0p3Bh9nQT54r_OX-C0OLTTklZeuqPMb1xjv2XhguCtk6YxjkQrjV4noDaV01orNIi-gZoGhj7C-VEU6qas_cizUipzzb3Pvi_O3cGSjTPWQ45/s640/blogger-image-478856282.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLrGZCMIqlVSdVAYEGReQ1EJNQ3EtdpmLZ3EWv7LBbrFwHQk6qmLgoAdITZ_VF2DJignig9bazophtKp_ZsmxO5AkQaXdjZsUVXRqPl8Bt1FH1O-88iI8O7Cf7c-HbVYhZsvLVBW4qAPmh/s640/blogger-image--1697514576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLrGZCMIqlVSdVAYEGReQ1EJNQ3EtdpmLZ3EWv7LBbrFwHQk6qmLgoAdITZ_VF2DJignig9bazophtKp_ZsmxO5AkQaXdjZsUVXRqPl8Bt1FH1O-88iI8O7Cf7c-HbVYhZsvLVBW4qAPmh/s640/blogger-image--1697514576.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div></div>KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-20924060683492158962014-08-29T12:01:00.001+01:002014-08-29T12:01:17.448+01:00Kat's Traditional Scottish Oatcakes<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I've been dreadful at blogging recently, and I do mean to get better at it, as I have so much to tell you!</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></i>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In the meantime though, I have a new recipe for you for delicious oatcakes. If you want to jazz them up a little, you could add cracked black peppercorns or grated cheese, but they are excellent just as they are.</span></span></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidCfK-A5ovHxmyhsfcRckVtB89_ME6xww73YY8gQCA7oCbsMKD7LnIoI7YnCCSdCOdgbWaImF7WKNruj8LZi_ltZmlT4bYU6AJMfvQm4t0inu2EpWlSFOABP6kVoZQO0i7UMHtja-9Y58V/s1600/148+Scottish+Oatcakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidCfK-A5ovHxmyhsfcRckVtB89_ME6xww73YY8gQCA7oCbsMKD7LnIoI7YnCCSdCOdgbWaImF7WKNruj8LZi_ltZmlT4bYU6AJMfvQm4t0inu2EpWlSFOABP6kVoZQO0i7UMHtja-9Y58V/s1600/148+Scottish+Oatcakes.jpg" height="320" width="226" /></a></div>
<br />KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-82550726506744831872014-05-30T12:31:00.001+01:002014-05-30T12:31:07.544+01:00Lemon Cheesecake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQul2bu_GuwBaDxmXklGz_33eibX0uhd6WR3kjNRBYm0FhV6B3oG-aT2VScel-pfWfWFASiRxylP_ncrCTcu3g10EkhsClp3RWO27WTBRnHJmwit5nNZI_fxZigjrLUQD4iLBZm7g4oKJ8/s1600/147+Lemon+Cheesecake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQul2bu_GuwBaDxmXklGz_33eibX0uhd6WR3kjNRBYm0FhV6B3oG-aT2VScel-pfWfWFASiRxylP_ncrCTcu3g10EkhsClp3RWO27WTBRnHJmwit5nNZI_fxZigjrLUQD4iLBZm7g4oKJ8/s1600/147+Lemon+Cheesecake.jpg" height="320" width="226" /></a></div>
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Really delicious, fresh lemony cheesecake - obviously recipe can be modified to whatever flavour you fancy. Last year, for Burns Night, I did a Drambuie Cheesecake (be generous with the alcohol!), tops with raspberries and grated chocolate - delicious!</span></span></i>KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-64736666195800266392014-05-01T13:47:00.001+01:002014-05-01T15:43:14.927+01:001st May - Home Again<div>
Ok, well we had a slight change of plan on Sunday. Frazer got
up and oh so casually suggested that we pack up and go home. This
suggestion was met with unanimous approval, and we were packed up and in
the car within half an hour! <br />
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It
was still misty and foggy when we left, but by the time we reached
Inverness the sun was shining, so we decided to drive down the other
side of Loch Ness as neither of the girls had seen it before. We didn't
spot the monster, but we did pop into the Loch Ness centre to buy a
cuddly Nessie for Scooty Puff Junior!</div>
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It
took a little loinger to get home, as my calculations were slightly
wrong, but we got there eventually, having picked up dinner from the
Chinese on the way. We all agreed that we had made the right decision!
We had a lovely relaxing day on Monday, and then on Tuesday Frazer was
back to work, and Isla was back to school.</div>
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I
went up to Edinburgh to meet my friend Ailsa for lunch, which was
lovely - we had a good catch up - and then did a little bit of shopping,
and went home to wait for my Tesco order to arrive. In the meantime I
made Frazer some mini quiches for his lunch, and Isla some mini pizzas.
I'm a domestic goddess me! </div>
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KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-89248595126676019122014-05-01T13:42:00.001+01:002014-05-01T15:47:07.401+01:0027th April - North Sea Haar<div>
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It finally stopped raining yesterday, but remained misty for
most of the day - to the point where visibility was afffected. This is
apparently called a North Sea Haar and is pretty common along the east
coast.<br />
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We explored Dornoch a wee
bit, although it was still misty there. We had a nice lunch at Luigi's
in Dornoch, and then we let the girls go off by themselves and we had a
wander too. We went to the jail, which is just a big shop now. There
ar some gorgeous clothes and boots in there, but the prices were
ridiculously extortionate! The castle is a hotel, and the cathedral is a
small church. Apparently it has the title of cathedral because a
bishop moved his administration to Dornoch centuries ago and this
entitled it to be called a cathedral. Eventually we got a text from the
girls saying they had exhauste all the delights of Dornoch and were
bored! We met them back at the car, and headed into Tain to find me
some new walking boots as my trainers had fallen apart that morning
after my walk on the beach. We found Mr Shafi's shop, which was a bit
like a market stall with masses of shoes, and loads of old people
clothes. Got some boots though, for a reasonable price.</div>
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We
came back to the campsite and made use of the wifi at reception for a
bit. We booked a table in the restaurant for dinner, and then went to
sit in the bar for a couple of drinks. The girls went back to the
caravan to give the dog a walk, and then they went out to amuse
themselves for a while, complete with some money to get a takeaway for
dinner and money to spend in the wee amusement arcade. We came back to
the caravan for an hour or so, as i needed a snoozy. One of the
frustrating things about pregnancy is that i have no stamina at the
moment, and if I do too much my stomach muscles start to ache and I need
to lie down! It's very annoying. Anyway, I had my snoozy, and then we
went back out for dinner. </div>
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The
menu was pretty good in the wee restaurant - sort of Wetherspoony. I
wasn't starving after quite a big lunch, so I decided I only wanted some
prawn cocktail and maybe a bit of garlic bread. After a lot of umming
and aaahing we decided against main courses completely, and shared 6
starters between us, kind of like tapas, Scottish style. We had prawn
cocktail, cheesy garlic bread, chicken goujons with Jack Daniels bbq
sauce, scallops, french onion soup and breaded mushroom with garlic
sauce. Frazer got a dessert too - he thought he'd ordered a chocolate
fondant, as that's what the menu said, but it turned out to be a
chocolate fondue, so naturally I had to have some with stawberries!</div>
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We came back to the caravan, where we met back up with the girls, talked about baby names, and went to bed!</div>
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This
morning has started off better than yesterday - it's not raining for a
start. It's not sunny though - hoping for a bit of sun later. The dog
woke me up at about 7.30, so I took him for a quite a long walk (well,
long for me these days) down to the beach. He had a lovely time
paddling and chasing seagulls. We're off for a swim in a little while,
and then possibly up to Golspie for an explore.<br />
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KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-41205310976878499162014-05-01T13:40:00.001+01:002014-05-01T15:49:39.424+01:0026th April 2014 - Grannie's Hielan' Hame<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Hello blog readers, if I still have any left, which i highly doubt! The first big news is that I am pregnant, the second is that I'm over 7.5 months along, and the third is that I'm already on Maternity Leave. This means I now have time to resurrect my old blog!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The wedding and honeymoon seem a long time ago now, and we started trying pretty much as soon as we got married. We found out in October, just before we went to France for my mum's birthday - perfect timing for telling them face to face. They're really excited, as are Frazer's parents, who will be grandparents for the first time.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So, to start my Maternity Leave, and because we won't be able to go away easily once Scooty Puff Junior (the baby's nickname) arrives, I suggested a nice weekend away. A work colleague had been to a caravan site in the North of Scotland last year and raved about it and the surrounding countryside. I suggested it to Frazer, he duly booked it, and off we set yesterday complete with Isla and best friend Aimee, and the dog. In the mist and drizzle. We arrived last night, in gale force winds and the rain lashing down.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So, in typical Scottish fashion we are away for holidays in weather that would be best suited to a freezing November. We are in the North East, almost as far as you can get, in Embo, near Dornoch, on the North Sea. We are staying in Grannie's Hieland Hame, a Parkview Caravan site, right by the beach. If the weather was good this would be great. Unfortunately it's shit! We arrived last night in lashing rain, booked in, got our key, let ourselves into the caravan and realised that we has signed ourselves up to a long weekend in a large tin can on the North Sea coast. It would be funny if it wasn't so fucking cold!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Luckily, the gas fire in the caravan works very well, so it heated up quite quickly. The water was off, but a quick call to the maintenance team sorted that out. We ventured out at about 8.30 to see what was available in the form of food and entertainment. The restaurant was closed, and the entertainment...well we were expecting something along the lines of the entertainment in the comedy Benidorm - nope, nothing that good! Think Rod, Jane & Freddie from Rainbow - but shitter! We left pretty sharpish! We got the girls a takeaway - we had already eaten some niblles and weren't particularly hungry - went back to the caravan, watche some crappy tv, nicked some of their chips, and went to bed pretty early.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Frazer and I are used to a super king sized bed - we like our own space for sleeping. We're in a double bed here, which normally probably wouldn't be a disaster, but I have this large stomach containing a baby, and rolling over involves a good minute or so of careful manoeuvreing - neither of us got much sleep, which explains why I was walking the dog on the beach at 6.45 this morning! I think the dog probably slept better than the rest of us, as he was up on the caravan sofa within about 5 minutes of us going to bed - I know this because I forgot to take my phone charger through, and he was already up there when I came back through for it!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It looks as though the weather is going to cheer up later - fingers crossed. We're going into Dornoch for a wee explore as it has a castle, a cathedral and a jail! Should be interesting!</span></span><br />
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KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432104003167140969.post-8342439963061554912013-03-03T21:44:00.001+00:002013-03-03T21:47:11.480+00:00MovingSo, what's the one thing you really need when you're trying to organise a wedding? Why, your landlords telling you they'd like to sell your house of course!<br />To be fair, we've always known that the landlords wanted to sell the house at some point, it's just bad timing. They have said that they want to put it on the market in May, and we're getting married in June.<br />We had a week of looking at houses until we found the perfect one, so we've struck a deal and we're moving at the end of the month. Joy. Actually, I'm looking forward to living in the new house, and actually being able to park right outside my house, but I cannot face packing up the house again, just to unpack it again five minutes later! Moving is a hassle.<br />They say that the three most stressful things in life are moving house, getting married and getting divorced - two out of three will do us just fine!<br />We've done quite well in the last week with the wedding organisation, despite looking for houses at the same time. We have the registry office booked, we now have a venue booked for the reception and have agreed the menu, I've bought Isla's bridesmaid dress, and my maid of honour has bought her dress too. I also have my wedding shoes, but no dress as yet! Still trying to decide on the one that I want. The invitations are all made and ready to be sent out. We're getting there, we just have to finalise the guest list, as only some people can come to the ceremony as only 35 people can fit in the registry office! It's difficult!<br />Only a few things left to get sorted, in amongst packing the house, oh and going to work every day too. Nothing's easy!<br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br /><br />KatduGershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06816861304068271138noreply@blogger.com0