HAPPY SPRING.......

Sending you all Happy Spring Wishes......

I know it is not Easter yet but I couldn't resist this Happy Bunny.....

But it is the Spring Equinox today so it is officially SPRING......

Warmest Wishes for a Wonderful Week,

Cookery Course Completed......

Well I did it......

And here's the proof......

 I got a certificate!!!.....

It was MUCH harder than I thought it was going to be, being on your feet in a kitchen from 9.30am until 5/6pm  for a week is a different kind of hard work from digging,planting,potting on etc....though the staff were there from 8 most mornings doing all the prep,so I shouldn't comment!

I cannot praise ASHBURTON COOKERY SCHOOL enough and I feel incredibly lucky to have been part of one of their courses- ( it was funded by a government initiative)- I have learned so much.....

If you or anyone you know ever needs to know anything about cooking this is definitely the place to go.....

Wonderful premises,exceptional chefs,tutors and staff and the most incredible ingredients...

These people really follow through on delivering the BEST quality products made with the BEST and LOCAL  top quality ingredients....

As you know if you read my blog,I am a real foodie and I love to cook and bake but I learned SO much from these WONDERFUL chefs this week.....

Here are a few of the things we made......

Bread Rolls......

Risotto.....

Then we took these ingredients to make....

Pesto!!!.....delicious and an all time favourite here...

Of course we had to make our own pasta to go with the pesto.....

 Tortellini too,which was a bit fiddly but I soon got the hang of it and brought some home for supper......

And puddings too of course!...........Creme Brulee- my all time favourite....

Chocolate Pots.....

As well as, lamb cutlets- .chicken and pork- (all cut by us in the kitchen) the most wonderful steak, sauces, stocks, dauphinoise potatoes, vegetable prep and cooking, poached eggs,- we learned SO much- I was happy to go to work today and be potting on plants and be peaceful!!

The only thing that I struggled with was the fish dishes,I grew up in France and remember well the smell of bouillabaisse (fish stew) bubbling away on the stove for hours - that I think it has put me off the smell of fish for life! So I did struggle,I couldn't handle gutting a mackerel  as it smells quite strong but I managed a plaice and some scallops- but completely fell at the smoked haddock hurdle- eeugh!!

So Thank you to everyone that I met this week - It was a WONDERFUL experience.....

They do a one day Patisserie course....brownies, pastries, etc.......mmmmm....

Warm Wishes for a Wonderful Week ,

Lucky Me..Part Two.

Well, after a weekend of watching the most appalling pictures of Japan I thought that I would share Part Two of 'Lucky Me' with you all ....I know that it may seem trivial in view of recent events, but apart from anything else I thought a blog on a happier note may cheer me up!

So as you know from Part One I am lucky to have a loving home etc, but also last year I found my perfect job!!!

 After closing the shop and needing more of an income than craft markets can provide and having tried various jobs out in the work place with terrible and hilarious consequences....

(Those stories  would need a whole other post - I can tell you!)

I was lucky to find a job here...

The Dartmoor Chilli Farm

 The Main 'Barn'...with one of the polytunnels in view....

 The newly planted orchard....

 Strawberry Fields.....

The kitchen room, where all the products are made....

The Chocolate room.....yes,Chilli Chocolate!

Spring making its presence felt....

 One of my lovely 'helpers'....

Two more 'helpers' - they really don't!...but we love them anyway...

So I spend my time up there in the company of plants, animals and birds with the occasional humans ie; the two wonderful people I work for, who are truly living 'The Good Life'....

Power is generated via solar energy and a turbine, there is a bore hole for water and  rain water is collected in tanks.  Farming is done Biodynamically, NOTHING is killed, not even slugs and snails!

We have recently put in gooseberries, tayberries, rhubarb, strawberries, raspberry canes and an orchard - so that the wonderful products they make and sell can contain more and more homegrown produce - with no food miles! The products are WONDERFUL and my Husband is a complete devotee to 'The Beast' chilli sauce as well as chutneys and  jams and not a week goes by without him asking me to bring home a bar of chocolate!

And of course the polytunnels are currently filling up with CHILLIS!

All sown by us, I spent the day yesterday potting on varieties such as: Apricot, Banana, Cayenne, Cheeky, Fairy Lights and Satan's Kiss - to name just a few!! 

So if that wasn't 'good luck' enough, due to my working within Dartmoor I have been awarded a place on a cookery course.....

HERE!!

The famous Ashburton Cookery School!

So for the next week I will be learning, among other things, how to make:

Stocks, Sauces and Soups

Risotto and Pasta

Breads and Pastry

Hot and Cold Puddings

Ice Cream

Oh dear - I can see my Weight Watchers regime going out the window this week...

Wish Me Luck!!!

Warm Wishes for a Wonderful Week ......

And my continued love and thoughts are with the people of Japan.....

Lucky Me.....Part Two...Postponed.....

I had a Part Two all ready but in view of what is taking place in Japan today I don't feel it would be appropriate to do a post on luck.....

 I cannot imagine the devastation that is taking place...

losing homes and loved ones....

The pictures I have seen today are truly heartbreaking...

My heart goes out to everyone affected...

I am not a religious person, I do not pray - but I do send my deepest sympathy and most loving thoughts to all those people who never saw the wave coming- may they rest in peace.

x x x 

Lucky Me....Part One...

As the HUGE clear out is now pretty much completed it has given me some time to contemplate on all the good that I have in my life.....as some of you know I had a health scare late last year and while biopsies and tests are done it gives you cause for contemplation...

I am happy to say that my tests and biopsies came back clear of the dreaded cancer but  it certainly set about a chain of events in my life that has been for the better...

So I thought that it would be good to do a post on all that I am grateful for....

Firstly I am blessed with a wonderful Husband, that's not to say that during our 16 years together (and ten married) there haven't been difficult times!! - but we have talked our way through and I find myself loving , respecting and appreciating  him more each day...

Secondly I have my health! NEVER underestimate that!.....

Next I am grateful for my home....it may not be big  and it may not be perfect but I LOVE it!!!

Kitchen....

 A treasured possession...

 The Bedroom.....

Part of the tiny back garden...

Another View....

I could go on with photos of Home and Garden as I love both...

I am also a complete ' Cat Woman'...

You may adore me....

I don't pose for anyone....

.

I would pose but I am just too comfortable....


The joy that these three gorgeous girls have brought us over the years is priceless...

Then of course there are good friends, good food and good wine that should also never be under estimated!

So whatever you are grateful for, family, friends, health or love let's raise a glass together for all the good that we are blessed with...

Warm Wishes for a Wonderful Week

Cake Inspiration...

The Lovely Blog LissyLou and the 2 little boys has been talking a lot about cake recently!!

And it's not that I am easily led in this department but I decided yesterday to make her winning one;

Carrot Cake....

Here's the ingredients....

Mmmm and here's the cake....

Once that was done I decided that , as the weather has turned a bit wintry again here,I would make some warming soup....

So took some of these.....

And made some squash and sweet pepper soup- delicious!.....

And with what was left, cubed it,coated it in honey (only thinly-I am still on Weight Watchers!)

then roasted it in the oven for a salad of spinach,chicken and squash- again delicious and ok points wise for Weight Watching!

Which CANNOT be said for the cake- I was HORRIFIED when I saw the points in it...Oh well a treat every now and again won't do too much harm and I was working outside all day today netting up the strawberry beds where I work, but I did take the rest of the cake up there and we had it at teatime....ooops!

Warm Wishes for a Wonderful Week,