A Dessert for the 4th of July!

Photograph from www.dc.about.com

No posts for an age then two in a row? What's going on? Well I was strong-armed by promised Barrie Summie (she of the marvellous The Class of 2K8 group of writers whose first novels are being published this year) that I would help her out with a project.


See in the US of A Friday is July 4th, Independence Day, a day off work (most importantly), to visit with family and friends, to have barbeques and share food and raising glasses to celebrate the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain in 1776. There will be fireworks and flag-waving and singing of stirring patriotic songs and did I mention, it's a holiday!

So what do you do when you've been invited to a party to a big house on a hill which is going to have a perfect view of the two best, most dazzling fireworks displays in San Diego or wherever? What dish do you bring? That's a dilemma faced by families all over the US. So Barrie had the fantastic idea of asking all her blogging buddies to post a recipe of their favourite salad or dessert and she'd link to them from her blog et violá a magnificent resource for all in such a dilemma to use. Good thinking Barrie!

I'm going for a Jamie Oliver rip-off. At least I think it's one of his. I was served this at a lunch get together, a few years back, of new Mums. The hostess Rachel, told me the recipe but as it's so simple I didn't write it down. The result was I made a terrible mess of it and henceforward it became known as Blueberry Mess. Actually you can use any berries or summer fruit and I worked out how to do it properly now so really it should be called Fruity Fix. However it turns out for you I hope you enjoy it.


Blueberry Mess / Fruity Fix

you will need:

2 X 500g (1lb) bags of Frozen Summer Fruits (or blueberries if preferred)
1 X 500g (approx 1lb) Carton of Greek Yogurt
1 X 500ml (approx 1 pint Double Cream - the think stuff that still pours)
Sugar - I prefer unrefined granulated sugar - the quantity is a matter of taste.


Empty bags of frozen fruit into a large pot and put a few tablespoons of water in the end to prevent sticking and add sugar to stew fruit. Now I just shake the sugar bag over the pot till all the fruit I see has been covered lightly. Berries tend to be sweet (especially blueberries) so don't overdo it. You can always add some later if it's too tart. Turn the heat on to medium (I'm cooking on the stove top/ hob/burner in case I didn't make that clear) and let the fruit gently stew. The water in the frozen fruit will melt (obviously) and the cooking fruit will get quite liquidy, so it's important to reduce the liquor right down so that the fruit is quite thick. If you've been cooking a while and it's not reducing enough then just pour off the excess liquor. Keep it though! It makes a great milkshake flavouring or you can just freeze it to make a popsicle. When it's nice and thick pour the fruit into the bottom of a dish - I use a ceramic lasagne dish for this - and allow to cool, refrigerate if necessary.

In a mixing bowl pour in the double cream and whip it but be careful! Don't get it too thick. As it's just starting to turn gently add in the greek yogurt. The mixture thickens very quickly and you DON'T want it to end up looking like churned butter. It should be thick and smooth.

Then spread it thickly over the chilled fruit and smooth the top. Then sprinkle a layer of unrefined sugar over the top so that it's covered but only thinly.

If you've got a blow torch this is the fun bit because you set your flame to the top and caramalise the sugar. It's fast and fun. However if you, like me, don't possess one of these fun fire tools you have to use what we, on this side of the pond, call The Grill but I believe you in the US call The Broiler. And that's a bit tricky!!

Set it to it's highest setting and let it heat up. When hot hot hot place the dish underneath for as short a time as possible until the sugar starts to bubble and brown. The thing is you don't want your fruit and cream mixture to cook. As soon as you can remove it from the grill/broiler and put it straight into the fridge to cool down. The heat leaves the dish and the sugar very quickly so there's no need to worry about it heating up your fridge.

It's best made well in advance of eating - the night before is good - and keep it refrigerated. The longer it's kept in the fridge, the better it gets!

And there you have it. Easy-peasey-lemony-squeezy! And it is delicious! And fattening - but yummy!

Good Eating!

And Happy Independence Day!

Why Sick Children Should Stay at Home

It's beautiful here in the sunny South East of England. The sky is a clear blue, the temperature is in the high 70's and there's a refreshing breeze blowing. You could be forgiven for thinking it was finally summer.

So why is it that my two younger children have all the appearances of little people who've had Slimer from Ghostbusters crawl up their noses and explode into an ectoplasm nightmare? All I can hear is sniff sniff and uurh. Neither of them want any food and are as miserable as a depressed clown with a drinking problem. The Daughter wasn't so bad this morning. In fact (I will guiltily admit) I thought she was faking it because Small Son got to stay at home yesterday. The great thing about being a stay at home Mum is that you don't have to wrestle with whether to keep your kid at home when they're unwell. I'm a firm believer in not spreading germs around. And also, if you rest up -you'll get better quicker. That said with a cold - it's more a case of keeping yourself hydrated and not doing too much. There's no need to confine yourself to barracks. Just take it easy, is all. T (who's convalescing after a minor operation) and I had planned for a picnic today. We thought a bit of sun and fresh air would do our little snot monsters the world of good so we decided we'd go ahead with it.. After all it's only a runny nose.

So I did a bit of study this morning while Small Son and Daughter filled the living room floor with tissues and by 1pm I'd downed books and pen, T had packed the picnic and we were off. We went to a viewpoint about 20 minutes away where you can see a river snake its way to sea at Cuckmere Haven.
It is stunning. We found a sunny spot, spread out out picnic blanket, T and I unfolded our camping chairs and we set to work spreading out the food.

They weren't having any of it. Small Son ate a tube of fromage frais and had some apple juice. Daughter picked at a piece of bread and wouldn't drink anything. Both her father and I were getting a bit irritated and we pointed out that even if she didn't feel like eating she really must drink some juice. She made that whiny nasal noise that makes me crazy and pushed her bottom lip out. But I was firm

"You need to drink something."

She crawled off in a huff and hid behind my chair saying she was too hot. By the time that T and I had finished our sandwiches and tea (perfect picnic tea - tastes like plastic, out of a thermos flask) it was clear that we had to pack up and go. She'd now developed a headache and needed to go lie down in a cool room. I was now beginning to feel guilty as I watched the colour drain from her face and I packed everything up again.

Small Son, The Pooch and I took the lead. Small Son, too, was fading by this point and said he was very tired. We'd walked up the path toward the car a ways when we met another couple with a dog. They'd arrived at the same time as us and we exchanged a few pleasantries and asked why we were leaving so soon.

"The children are a bit unwell" I explained, "Colds! I thought some fresh air would perk them up, but it's too hot for them."

T and Daughter hadn't caught up and after a few minutes I decided to drop what I was carrying and go back and see what was keeping them. Just as I'd set off I saw them come up the path, Daughter looking like a ghost.

"She's been a bit unwell," said T.

Poor Daughter. We got her back to the car and whanged up the air con to make her more comfy and I drove straight home. Whatever horrid lurgi she has - it's not just a cold!

I was still worried about her being dehydrated when we got home and I suggested she try an fruit-juice ice-lolly (popsicle). The house was nice and cool and I thought she'd feel better. And she did - right after she threw up the blackcurrant flavoured (and therefore deep purple) ice lolly all over the cream living room carpet. Stupid carpet - obviously we didn't lay it (we are not the type of family for whom cream anything is a practical option) - I spend my time warning the kids not to spill things on it.

Poor thing was so worried I'd be cross. I'm talking about drinks and messy food kids - you can't help being sick! It's only a stupid carpet. She's curled up with her duvet and pillow on said carpet now (although far away from messy bit). It's all clean again anyhow. She says she's comfy down there on the floor. The Mr Bump cool pad is going warm on her forehead. She's not even keeping water down.

I wonder what demonic little bug, crept into her system seeing her a bit weakened by the sniffles, and knocked the stuffing out of her. This is why sick kids should stay at home and not try to tough it out at school. One bug leads to another.

I hope it's not too contagious!

Brief Intermission

Just wanted to let you guys know that I'm not dead. Just life stuff getting in the way of blogging. I'll try to get back to normal by the end of the week. I aced my Course Assessment BTW! YES!

So to keep you all happy I'll show you the following which I watched on Telly last night. It's from a BBC sketch show called Armstrong And Miller!

Reunions and Resolve!

Great weekend! The Hubby came back from China at long last and boy were we pleased to see him. Two weeks is too long! As usual he amazed me by being able to readjust to local time within a day. I don't know how he does it. Going to Ireland puts me out of whack and that's in the same time zone - it just gets dark there an hour later! But T has been globetrotting all his working life and that's nigh on 30 years now - so he's learned a thing or two I guess.

Me, I just love having him around. It makes me all smiley inside. And the fact that I didn't have to get up at the crack of sparrows to walk the Pooch on Sunday and the back garden somehow doesn't resemble a jungle anymore, is pretty nice too.

So what's on the agenda this week? Well I have to catch up on the course I'm doing. (Now there's a surprise)! Apparently they actually didn't build in a week off after submitting assignments - you're supposed to just crack on to the next Block of work. That's a bit much don't you think??? So when I checked in on Friday I realised I have a bit of work to do to catch up. Not to worry! I do my best thinking under pressure. This particular Block looks like it's going to be very interesting and useful. It covers Plot, Narrative and Time. I need help with all of these things if I'm ever going to get The Project back on the rails again. The next block (4) looks even more useful - it concerns Narrative Point of View. I started The Project in third person POV but wasn't all that happy with it so I re-wrote it in first person but I haven't been able to find the right 'voice' and my MC is coming off as really annoying. I think that I'll switch back to third person again but I need help. I'm hoping this next Block will shed some light.

Anyhoo - this isn't getting my coursework done. I'm off to put the kettle on.

Horses

Living in the English countryside as I do, meeting horses as I drive around the lanes is a daily event. I have learned to drive at a speed that is suspicious of what's around the corner. In Ireland it could be a flock of sheep or cows going off to be milked but here, nine times out of ten, it'll be a 16-hand-high frisky mare walking at a snail's pace. Possibly two. Or three. Sussex is a very horsey county. They are very proud of their equestrian traditions and it's quite pleasing to see that they even have pony and traps on the road regularly. Yesterday I even saw a proper high-sprung racing carriage that wouldn't have been out of place in a Georgette Heyer regency novel. As I said - very horsey.

Thing is - I don't get it. I don't get the attraction. This could be because I was once on the back of a very bad tempered pony that took off down a lane and would not stop for anyone. How I didn't get thrown off is a testament to the enormous levels of skill I'd acquired on my one and only riding lesson the week before. That and somebody far bigger than the little bastard I was "riding", jumping out and grabbing the reins and pulling him to a stop, whacking him between the eyes as I jumped off in terror! So I have always been a little afraid of them. They're very strong, quite big and I'm convinced - as thick as shit. I hated coming to this conclusion as I'd spent quite a considerable portion of my early childhood thinking that Black Beauty was the cleverest animal in the world when in fact he was just a very pretty horse that was good at nodding. And don't even get me started on Mr. Ed! He lip-synced the whole thing. Apparently he couldn't speak a word of English.

The thing is - in England it's all a bit refined! I understand wanting to ride horses if they're galloping at break-neck speeds but where's the fun in a leisurely trot along a lane or working up to a canter on a bridle path? Nope - I don't get that at all. Last week while driving along the back lanes I happened upon a woman on a huge horse who was talking on a mobile phone. The woman - not the horse. Seriously you can lose your driver's license for holding a phone while sitting in the driver's seat of a car (quite right too) but you can talk to your heart's content, apparently, while riding a monster of a horse you seem to have very little control over. I had to stop the car because she couldn't hold the damn thing in a straight line. Still, she smiled very nicely at me and waved with her non-phone-onlyholdingthereins- hand. "Bloody hell," I thought as I turned the corner to find a similarly gigantic beast being ridden by a teenager who was texting! What jolly japes!

Now riding like a cowboy - that I understand! I grew up watching The High Chapparal, Bonaza, The Big Valley and my absolute favourite - The Virginian!

As scared as I am of them, if I have the chance to get on a horse an ride like the wind across a big plain toward some red sandstone monolith in the distance, I bloody will. As long as I have the outfit - complete with plaid shirt, neckerchief, faded denims, chaps and cowboy boots. And I want to go so fast that my hat blows off my head (but I won't lose it because of that leather cord loosely hanging from it around my neck). I will wear a dirty light coloured hat. That would be very cool.

I can't help feeling that I'd be more like this though. But I can dream...
I'm humming a theme - can you guess what it is?
Dah! Dah-da-dah! Dah-duh-da-da-dah! Dah! Dah-da-dah! Dah-duh-da-da-dah!
Doo-doo! Doo-doo-do-doooo!
Doo-doo! Doo-doo-do-doooo!
Doo Doo Do-dooo-doo-doo-doo-doo
Dooo doo doo doo doo doo do-dooo!
Dah! Dah-da-dah! Dah-duh-da-da-dah!

That took way to much time to dodo!

Last photo from www.wikihow.com How To Avoid Injury When Falling Off A Horse

How To Get Focussed - JaneyV Stylee.

Thanks to everyone who wished me good health after my, frankly. terribly self-indulgent post on Monday. Whatever virus had struck was murdered by a high temperature and severe sweating on Monday night and I woke up human again on Tuesday. Don't you just love the immune system? Of course it's also my immune system that's causing all the allergy symptoms but hey - I'd still rather have it than not and I'm very aware that one month of sneezy-misery is very little to put up with in the grand scheme of things so I'm shutting up now (although I'm reserving the right to moan occasionally when I feel like a bag of shite!)

I spent Tuesday reading a book instead of writing my assignments. This is me all over. Call it what you will - procrastination, displacement activities, laziness .... but if there's a job that needs doing and a deadline looming I have to push that envelope to ripping point before I can get my head in the game. I had three pieces to write. The deadline was today. It was recommended that we submitted on Thursday because we have to do it online and they wanted any incompatibility issues to be flagged before the deadline. Sensible enough. I had a schedule planned out.

Monday. Finish reading the Block 2 and do activities designed to focus mind for writing Assessment pieces.
Tuesday. Write part 1
Wednesday. Write part 2
Thursday. Write part 3. Check over all three parts. Submit.

I think as schedules go that worked well. Everything's covered, I have paced myself well and left lots of time for other activities like parenting, dog walking, cleaning, eating and sneezing.

What actually happened was closer to this......

Monday. Wake up at 4 am to pack daughter off to France. Start feeling a bit rough. By actual getting up time I feel like death on sticks. Blog about it (because that's what normal people do). Try sitting at computer to work but give up. Print off the entire Block 2 and take it up to bed - using pen and paper instead of electronic media. Do as much as I can whilst alternatively shivering and sweating. Drink a lot of tea.

Tuesday. Wake up feeling great. Promise myself that I will definitely get all my reading done today. The postman comes and delivers the third book in the Twilight saga, Eclipse. Try hard to ignore it. Only 3 days and I can read it. Try to finish block 2. Make cup of tea then go to my room and submerge myself in Edward, Bella and Jacob and all the goings on in the land of teenage vampire/human/werewolf relationships. (Well I did promise myself I'd get my reading done today). Blissfully ignore my course.

Wednesday. Finish Eclipse. Mourn finishing Eclipse. Have Small Son's friend and his Mum around for a visit till 4.15 pm. Totally forget to pick up Big Son from Eco Club till reminded by Hubby on Skype that he should've been home by now. Mad dash to school. (In my defence with daughter away I didn't even know what day of the week it was and he does normally get the bus home). Only 20 minutes late - he was cool. Finally sit down to finish Block 2 after dinner. Fall asleep writing.

Thursday. Write Parts 1, 2 and 3 and submit. Go to bed with headache.

Were they any good? - No idea whatsoever! I did amaze myself by how focussed I was though.

A Healthy(?) Dose of Self-Pity

Apologies if this is all over the place but my brain's a bit addled and I'm not sure if I'm capable of proper "joined-up" thinking right now. My nose is running like a leaky tap (that's what we call a faucet) at the moment. It is the time of year for my hayfever to hit me like an itchy sledgehammer but I seem to be missing the irritation factor. No streaming eyes, no impulse to gouge them out with my nails - I haven't even felt the need to scratch my face till it's raw. I'm fast coming to the conclusion I might have a cold. I didn't even get a cold this winter. WTF??? I find myself hoping for that tingling feeling around my mouth and nose because then I could just take an antihistamine and get some relief. Instead I'm just sneezing and sniffing. Poor me!

On top of that my Hubby is in China for two weeks working on an international event that's taking place there this summer about which I know absolutely NOTHING - because that's what confidentiality agreements mean. Don't tell your wife anything about what we're doing because she'll put it in her blog and spoil the surprise. Keeping secrets is not something I enjoy. Mostly because when I hear them I'm at a loss to understand why they are, in fact, secrets at all. And the big doozy ones that have to be kept secret because they're - like, awful - bring about a soul-sickness in me so, unless I can actually help the situation, I'd rather not know those at all. So T went off to Beijing to do something very secret, technical and eventy. And that's all I know.

I miss him.

Then this morning at 4.55am I hugged my daughter as she left on a school trip to France. Aside from the odd sleepover this is the first time she's stayed away from home. She's not even 11 yet. I admit it - I cried. Then I went back to bed, slept trough my alarm which meant Child #1 (who could sleep through a bombing campaign) wasn't woken till 7.40 and he gets his bus at 8. He made it though! At least he didn't come home looking for a lift so I assume he did!! I was all sweaty when I woke up which further lends evidence to the cold theory. Either that or I was just too hot!

But with Big Son gone I had no one to watch Small Son so he had to walk to dog with me. He kept chasing the balls I threw for the doggie!

"No!No! Small Son! The object is to wear the doggie out - not you!"

By the time I got him to Preschool, I realised that his shoes and socks were soaked through. Fortunately, under the advice of the new Leader I had brought in some slippers for him. Unfortunately, this is when I realised that his feet had grown a LOT since he last wore them. I still forced them on him though. They're soft! And I'm sure that the little flashing lights on Thomas The Tank Engine will distract from the discomfort. Possibly.

************************************************************************
I took a break there - I bet you didn't even notice - to take the doggie out for her big walk and to collect Small Son from Preschool. I brought him some dry socks to put on. His poor feet were so horribly sweaty when I took his slippers off he turned to me and said,

"Oh fankoo Mama! These socks feel lovely!" Poor. Poor. Baby!

The walk was good although I do feel like going to bed now. After all the rain last night, the evaporation that was taking place did make it feel a bit like walking the Pooch in a sauna. It also caused a bit of itching in the facial region and a slight increase in the sneezing. I have come to an ugly conclusion.

I have a cold .... and hayfever.

Shit.



Because it's sneezing, Chinese, short and funny!