Daisy Chains and Picnics

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftan o the puddin'-race! Aboon them a' ye tak your place, Painch, tripe, or thairm: Weel are ye worthy o' a grace As lang's my arm The groaning trencher there ye fill, Your hurdies like a distant hill, Your pin wad help to mend a mill In time o need, While thro your poems the dews distil Like amber bead. His knife see rustic Labour dight, An' cut you up wi ready slight, Trenching your gushing entrails bright, Like onie ditch; And then, O what a glorious sight, Warm-reekin, rich! Then horn for horn, they stretch and strive: Deil tak the hindmost, on they drive, Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve Are bent like drums; The auld Guidman, maist like to rive, 'Bethankit' hums. Is there that owre his French ragout, Or olio that wad staw a sow, Or fricassee wad mak her spew Wi perfect scunner, Looks down wi sneering, scornfu view On sic...

  The age of envy: how to be happy when everyone else's life looks perfect Social media has created a world in which everyone seems ecstatic – apart from us. Is there any way for people to curb their resentment? I came across this article in  https://www.theguardian.com/  and found it very interesting and informative so I thought I would share it, you can read the original article  here One night about five years ago, just before bed, I saw a tweet from a friend announcing how delighted he was to have been shortlisted for a journalism award. I felt my stomach lurch and my head spin, my teeth clench and my chest tighten. I did not sleep until the morning. Another five years or so before that, when I was at university, I was scrolling through the Facebook photos of someone on my course whom I vaguely knew. As I clicked on the pictures of her out clubbing with friends, drunkenly laughing, I felt my mood sink so fast I had to sit back in my chair. I seemed to ...

With Australia day fast approaching, I had to share this Aussie icon. The pie floater is a meat pie submerged in thick pea soup, the pies are traditionally turned upside down sitting or sometimes submerged in the pea soup. The first time I had ever heard of this was while watching an episode of Billy Connolly's Australian tour. He was doing a show in Adelaide and indulged in one of these south Aussie icons. We tried a similar thing called a tiger pie from Harry's Cafe de Wheels on the Sydney harbour, the Tiger is a meat pie served with scoop of mash a scoop of mushy peas and a scoop of gravy, it was really delicious.  A pie floater put simply is a meat pie on top of or covered in green pea soup with a choice of sauce squirted on top, the usual being ketchup, brown sauce, mint sauce, gravy or bbq sauce, some people also enjoy vinegar over their floater, I suppose the options can be endless, whatever 'floats' your pie!!. I searched a few variou...

These burgers will be a bit softer than beef burgers because the texture of lamb mince is not as firm as beef, plus there are wet ingredients added so make sure your grill is well oiled to save sticking, don't move them around too much or they may start to break apart. Ingredients 500 g lamb mince 1/2 onion, finely chopped 1/4 cup breadcrumbs 2 1/2 tbsp thick mint sauce 1 egg, slightly beaten 1 large mushroom, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp black pepper Method 1.  In a large bowl, combine above ingredients. Mix gently with hands until well combined. 2.  Shape into 4 equal-sized burgers and place onto a baking tray lined with baking paper, make a small indentation in the centre of each burger, this helps the burgers to cook more evenly. 3.  Heat barbecue grill to a medium-high heat. Carefully, using paper towels and bbq tongs, oil the grill well. 4.  Place burgers onto...

I am always looking for ways to jazz up side dishes and find myself scouring the internet for ideas. The amount of great ways to make the humble vegetable into a mouthwatering salad is plentiful. I love frozen peas, they are cheap, versatile and nutritious and by adding various ingredients from the larder or fridge makes them very appealing to those who are not so keen on them. I added some tasty cheese, red onion, Parmesan and lime juice to give this dish a delicious tang. You can also add some crispy bacon pieces for extra crunch. Ingredients 3 cups frozen peas 30 g tasty cheese, grated 20 g Parmesan, grated 1/3 cup red onion, diced 1/3 cup mayonnaise 1/4 tsp paprika 2 tsp lime juice salt and pepper Method 1.  Cook peas according to packet directions. Drain and allow to cool. 2.  Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until well combined. Serve. Enjoy

I bought this gingerbread Christmas cookie mix to bake over the festive period, but we had received so many boxes of biscuits that we were all kinda over them, so I decided to try making a cake from the cookie mix as cake is usually always a favourite. I tend to find cakes more versatile than cookies. Cake can be eaten heated with custard or cream, any leftover cake can be made into another dessert such as trifle. It is important to add the liquids slowly so you can judge the consistency of the batter, there may not be as much dry cookie mix as you would get in a cake mix. It should be the same consistency as regular cake batter, not to runny, not too thick. If it is a little on the dry side, add a little more oil. Ingredients 1 packet dry cookie mix 1/3 cup vegetable oil 3 eggs 1/4-1/2 cup milk Method 1.  Preheat oven to 140°C Fan forced. Grease and line a 20 cm round cake tin. 2.  In a mixer bowl, add cookie mix and oil, beat on l...

We received this gorgeous card for Christmas from Margaret, I absolutely love the champagne theme,( it is so me 😉) and thought it would make a great picture for our kitchen gallery wall as it matches in with some of our other pictures. I started by choosing a frame to as near the size as I could get. I then cut the card in half and removed the top portion. Placed it into the frame with some white backing paper as the card was a little short vertically and "Voila!' some new artwork for my wall!

I have been trying to get a daily swim in while the weather is good but obviously with one thing or another that can be impossible. I really enjoy swimming, especially on a hot day, it is great way for cooling off as well as getting in some good all-round exercise. Swimming has some great health benefits such as cardiovascular workout, tones muscles and builds strength, builds up energy and stamina and keeps your heart rate up. It is also relaxing and peaceful and great for alleviating stress and improving mental health. I like to listen to some music while I am in the pool, depending on what type of music is playing I can have a relaxing swim or float around the pool or if the music is more up beat then I do various dancing exercises. It is important to be sun wise and make sure you wear sunscreen, a UV sun safe protection swim top, a hat, sunglasses and have plenty fresh cold water with you.

I love brie and cranberries, makes such a great taste combination. These mini tarts are the perfect finger food, quick and easy to make, they can be on the table in minutes, great for parties, appetisers, picnics or lunch boxes. Easy and quick to make, they are perfect for when unexpected guests turn up.  I think I may make these for New Year's eve!, just the perfect snack while watching the fireworks on TV. Ingredients 1 packet ready made mini tart cases triple cream brie ready made cranberry sauce Method 1.  Preheat oven to 180°C. Arrange tart cases on a baking sheet. Put 1 tsp cranberry sauce in each tart case, top with a cubed slice of brie. Bake for 10 minutes or until brie is melted. Once cooked add a small dollop of cranberry sauce on top of brie. I served these with a side of wasabi avocado, see below for recipe. Wasabi avocado dip Ingredients 1 avocado 1 tsp wasabi paste 1 tsp lemon juice salt & ...