Top 100 for Foodies100

I was over the moon last month when my blog got into the top hundred of tots100, but I am even more proud of my blog today as I am also in the top 100 of Foodies100, sitting at No30.

So a big thank you to all of you for reading my blog, commenting and interacting, I could not have done it without each and every one of you.

Countdown to the move has begun.

Well on Saturday Daughter No2 went off to her new life in Oban. She met a lovely man from there a few years back and decided to apply for a job up there so she can move in with him, we wish them all the luck in the world and hope the two of them are very very happy. So as we are taking over her mortgage we now have work to do,  the countdown to the move has begun.

it might be little but saves plenty of mess 

Before she went she took up all the carpets and took them off to the dump. She cleaned and hoovered what she had time to do. Saturday evening we met up with the young couple who were taking furniture and accessories that my daughter did not need and had put on freecycle. That was like something out of a Laurel and Hardy film. We unplumbed the washing machine, and promptly  flooded the cupboard as it had been plumbed in wrong and we needed to go buy a blanking end to seal it off, so when we left be left a note in the sink saying do not use in case Daughter No1 came round with the kids and used it.
 Not sure how the delivery men got her couch in the living room but we needed to remove the door to get it out.

she was told to use the ladder

Our first priority in there is getting the living room ready for the decorator who is coming to put up the wall paper next Thursday. So daughter No3 and I went along and stripped the wallpaper off and painted the ceiling and coving.

I have cleaned out the kitchen cupboards with a steamer I borrowed from a friend and we have cleared out  and painted the big cupboard under the stairs. OH has been strimming the grass and trying to work out where his shed will go, as well as painting, taking down curtain tracks and other stuff.








The removal van has been booked for 9am on June 18th, so once the decorating is finished we will need to buy new carpets and arrange for them to be fitted. Meanwhile the packing is going on at this end ready. I have ten days after I move out before I need to hand my keys over so will worry about this end later





Got a huge mental list of other things I need to remember, changing over likes of power, phone, sky and bills/statements transfer insurances to the new house, get mail redirected, inform insurances, DVLA, bank etc.





Wish me luck!!

Why we love new Eneloop rechargeable batteries.

I have used rechargeable batteries for years and years, when the children were young toys usually required batteries and for although the initial outlay may seem expensive in the long run they are very very economical.  
My daughters favourite product was a tape recorder she got for her Christmas along with a set of Story Teller books and tapes when she was four. I was not keen on a four yr old plugging into the mains when she wanted to use it and so we bought her rechargeable's to go with it.

Our car after a fence slowed us down and a tree stopped us. 

Now there is a new breed of rechargeable batteries out, the Sanyo Eneloop battery. We have been using these for a while now. Their main use for us is in digital cameras, especially the emergency camera that stays in the car all the time for emergencies.
These  battery may remain up to 70% charged if not used for up to 5 years (or 90% charged after 1 year)
always in the car, handy if you are ever involved in a bump to take photographs of both your damage and the other persons. But the camera is not much use if when you go to use it the batteries have run down.
I really am impressed with these batteries, in use they dont take quite as many pictures as a good high quality set of name brand would, but run a very very close second.

I find they run for longer than my current rechargeables when used in my personal digital radio that I use for maybe eight hours a day during the week, it masks the tinnitus!!



 So what are the benefits of eneloops? 



They are very planet friendly,

1 eneloop saves the garbage of 1799 disposable batteries

In Europe 90.000 tons of batteries end up in the household waste stream. eneloop helps to reduce this amount significantly as it can be recharged up to 1800 times. This means that one eneloop saves the garbage of 1799 disposable batteries. The easiest way to avoid any damage to the environment is to avoid any garbage. A product, which is not produced, packaged and transported, cannot damage the environment.

x

Solar energy is used for factory pre-charging

The eneloop batteries are pre-charged in Japan by “green power” from photovoltaic generation. This means that a part of the electric power used for manufacturing (the amount equivalent used for factory pre-charging) is generated using clean, renewable solar energy.
x

Used materials in the eneloop produce less pollution when disposed

With our eneloop rechargeable batteries we replaced the heavy metal cadmium of the Ni-MH cell with more environmentally friendly metal hydride and refrained entirely from mercury used in alkaline batteries. This means if your eneloop goes after using it 1800 times in the recycling bin it will even at this stage be less polluting than a disposable battery.

x

Rechargablebatteries tells you on their site why people should be using rechargeable batteries;

	The impact on the environment is considerably less than disposable batteries and this is the number one reason for using the rechargeable ones. It's a simple and easy way to "go green" in your everyday life without making major changes.
	They're less expensive than the disposable ones because they can normally be charged several hundred times before they'll no longer hold a charge. This means that you get more for your money!
	They're more convenient because you don't have to worry about your batteries dying when you need them the most ,sending you to the shop to buy more at an inopportune time. All you need to do is place them in the charger for awhile and you're ready to go.
	They're just as efficient as disposable batteries and will last as long when fully charged. Therefore, you can enjoy using these quality products while reducing your carbon footprint on the planet.
	Eventually the rechargeable batteries will need to be replaced and when this happens, you can have them recycled instead of sending them to the landfill.

Choosing rechargeable over disposable may seem like a simple thing but it does make a difference. Each person that makes the switch saves energy and reduces the effects they have on the planet. Alone, it may be a small impact but when you have thousands of people switching, it can add up to be a huge difference. Isn't it time you made the switch?

x

This is a review post and I was supplied with a battery charger and a selection of batteries, but this post is an honest reflection of my findings.

Oops it was rather muddy.

We went down to the cottage before tea to see our friend. To say the least it has rained here in the last 24 hrs, it was running down the pavement like a river yesterday afternoon, and maybe our decision to take a walk along the river was a bit silly, because gosh it was rather muddy.

I guess the cattle must be back out in the fields, and talk about churned to mud. I am just glad we did not have the children with us as we would have had to turn back as it was rather dodgy for us let alone them. At one point I thought my welly was staying stuck in the mud, but thankfully it decided to come unstuck.


We squelched through the gateway which was bone dry last week.

It was rather deep and squelchy.

The grandchildren were playing  here last week, this was the river bank. under inches of water. 

 But there was a lot of nice nature to see while we were out. 

The blossom on the trees was beautiful.

Fungi growing on a tree at the side of the river, it was the size of a very large dinner plate.

The moss on the walk back up is a beautiful shade of green.

This was the state of my wellies time we got back to the cottage.

But it was a lovely afternoon and it got OH and the cottage resident out for a walk. 

Project 365 12th - 18th May

Sunday was another 11 hr shift at work, and so the photography gets as exciting as a cup of spearmint tea. The spearmint coming out of the garden now it has started growing again.

a refreshing cup of spearmint tea

Monday

Had the children over for a while as their mum had to go and do a favour for a friend. Very little toys left here at the moment, but they managed to play nicely with the train set for quite a while. After that granddad amused and educated them with old episodes of the likes of Andy Pandy, Rainbow, Captain Pugwash and even watched Paul McCartney's The Frog song.

playing nicely with the train track, mayhem broke out later. 

Tuesday

As we are due to move we have people viewing our house, and so hubby decided we needed some fresh flowers in the living room, and I quite liked the colours of these.

starting to loose some of the colour.

Wednesday

Cant say as I have noticed these at the cottage before now, this is a picture of the inside of a yellow tulip. Was hoping to find a bee inside one but no luck.

Thursday

As I have had to send back my faulty food processor and I have not decided which one I want to replace it with yet my friend Sam recommended one of these just for creaming and beating. Not quite a food processor but works great to make meringues with, and for a fiver you cant complain. Also trued it out to cream butter and sugar with, works great there as well.

Friday

Daughter No 2 is off to a new life in Oban this weekend, more about this in another post later in the week,  and so her and her boyfriend came over for a meal before they went. Here is the dog after his walk.

Saturday

A book from daughter No2 to help with the current cooking regime. Not had chance to read it yet but should be very useful. Thanks Tweeze.

Rhubarb Syllabub

As the rhubarb keeps growing, I keep picking it and am joining in again with  May's Recipe for life challenge.   The ingredients for this month are rhubarb, a lemon and a spice, and so I have made a nice refreshing rhubarb syllabub.   This is my second entry into May's Recipe for life challenge.


Ingredients
 for the fruit base

6 sticks rhubarb sliced
2 apples peeled and chopped 
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 oz fruit sugar

for the syllabub

1/2 pt  "syrup" from the cooked fruit
1/2 pt alpro soya cream
1 pack gelatine
1 oz fruit sugar.

For the meringue

2 egg whites
1 oz fruit sugar
grated rind of a lemon.

method

add the cinnamon and fruit sugar to the rhubarb and apples and cook for 10 mins in some water. Leave to cool. Once cool pour the mix into a sieve to drain the juice from the fruit.

Split the fruit into 6 sundae glasses.

Make the syrup that you drained from the fruit up to 1/2 pint, add to a pan and bring to the boil.
Remove from the heat and quickly stir through a pack of gelatine, stirring well util all dissolved. Leave mix to cool. 

Once tepid beat alpro soya cream until  light and airy, and then beat in the fruit syrup. 

Pour on top of the fruit in the glasses.

Meringue

whisk the 2 egg whites until light and fluffy
stir in the lemon rind and
add the fruit sugar and re-beat until light and fluffy.

Place on baking parchment and cook for approx 1 hr at 100 oc.
turn off the oven and leave for another 2 hrs without opening the door. 

Once cool crush and place on top of syllabub. Or place a whole meringue on top. 

My meringues browned more than they should have done, probably because of the fruit sugar I used.  There fore they were a bit softer than they should have been, so I used mine whole instead of crushed. 


The syllabub was light and airy, made for a nice sweet and the cinnamon enhanced the flavours without being over powering. 

Baking snacks for a diabetic - scones

I have done a lot of reading in the last few weeks, learning about low GI products, what a diabetic can safely eat and what is best avoided. Been looking at adding more fibre into the diet as well as fibre is usually has a low GI  and maintains more regular blood sugar levels for longer.

Spent a lot of time looking at food labels on packets in supermarkets as well. My normal is looking for Bob friendly allergy free foods and I have never really taken much notice of fibre and sugar levels cos if we were to do that the poor boy would probably starve to death.

 Been looking for healthy snacks to encourage OH to eat regularly as he is terrible for eating an unhealthy breakfast and then going six or eight hours eating nothing, Spent time looking at some of these breakfast biscuits, and so called healthy snack bars most of them are high in fibre designed to sustain for four hours, but the amount of sugar in them is horrifying.

So with that in mind I made two different varieties of scones and a prune  loaf.

Cheese scones

2 oz stork margarine ( virtually dairy free so low cholesterol)
6 oz light brown self raising flour ( note when sieving this for lightness in scones the healthy fibrous bits dont sieve, so I just stir them back through)
2oz  oatbran and oatgerm
pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
1 oz cheese grated
5 fl oz semi skimmed milk ( I used lacto free so I could eat them with the cheese in)

Method

• Sieve flour into a large bowl, add oatbran and oatgerm and rub in margarine.
• add pinch salt, mustard and cheese and mix gently
• stir in milk to achieve a soft dough
• roll out on a lightly floured board and cut out using pastry cutter. 
• place on a greased baking sheet, brush the top with milk and
• cook for approx 12 mins at 200 oC

Cherry Scones 

4 oz stork margarine

dried fruit and the cherry milk

12 oz light brown self raising flour ( note when sieving this for lightness in scones the healthy fibrous bits dont sieve, so I just stir them back through)
4oz  oatbran and oatgerm
3 oz coconut sugar
1 oz freeze dried cherry powder
12 oz semi skimmed milk
1 oz dried cherries chopped

1 oz mixed vine fruits
6 apple rings cut into pieces 

Method

• stir cherry powder into milk
• Sieve flour into a large bowl, add oatbran and oatgerm and rub in margarine.
• add sugar, and dried fruit and stir through
• add cherry milk to achieve a soft dough
• roll out on a lightly floured board and cut out using pastry cutter. 
• place on a greased baking sheet, brush the top with milk and
• cook for approx 12 mins at 200 oC

cherry on the left and cheese on the right