Spot the rude word

Playing a word hunt game at work and all my roomies found the rude word first lol
minds in the gutter all of them hehe

875 days left

I have 875 days left for me to complete my 101 in 1001 days
so far i have completed 17 things not really that impressive i know! Some days i just think fuck it lol there's far more things for me to be getting on with such as learning to drive. I also have the impending daunting task of still getting my stuff from the flat in Reading. I'm dreading it to be honest.

I keep trying to put it at the back of my mind and hoping it will go away. It of course will be better when everything is sorted and all loose ends tied up. I still have sad days when i think back on how i lost my best friend to his addiction and it breaks my heart everyday. I get overwhelming thoughts of this is not my life i never imagined we would ever part. Tomorrow will be the 2 month mark, since i have been single i don't really know why I'm counting it its not like this is going to blow over. Saying that i do have lots of  happy days and I'm always grateful in the fact I'm not going to be lied to or let down by him again i guess I'm just in a reflective mood.

Cheese Sables

I made some Parmesan and pistachio nut sables after i finished work, i got the recipe from my Delia Smiths Christmas recipe book

Here is the recipe

• 40g chilled butter cubed
• 40g  plain flour
• 40g freshly grated Parmesan
• 15g shelled pistachio nuts
  
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• pinch cayenne pepper

Start by chopping the pistachio nuts in a mini chopper quite small.
Then mix them with all the remaining ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Rub the ingredients together until the mixture starts to form fairly large clumps, then press the mixture against the side of the bowl to bring it together.

Now transfer the dough to a board and knead lightly, then roll into a sausage shape about 18cm long and wrap and chill in the freezer for 30 minutes

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. After that slice the chilled log into discs about 5mm wide and spread them out on the baking sheet

Then pop them in the oven on the centre shelf and bake for 13- 15 minutes, until they start to go golden around the edges. When they are cooked, transfer them to a wire rack to cool and store in an airtight tin.

Pancake Day

Pancake day almost crept up on me its one of my favorite days as i like to eat lots of them this morning i managed 5 pancakes covered in chocolate sauce i made enough batter for 6 so i might make one more after work. Feeling a bit full now though!

Valentines Day

So i thought i wouldn't have any plans for valentines day and then a guy asked me out for dinner, I'm really nervous as I've not met him before, but who knows tonight could be fun and i do like tapas!

Oh and happy valentines day to all my wonderful beautiful friends and people who happen to look at my blog hope you have a wonderful day whatever you are doing.

Saturday

Is there anything sadder than a Saturday off and no plans?
I'll make up for it next weekend but that doesn't help me now. I'm feeling lonely and Ive been going through old messages from my ex, worst idea ever. I miss cups of tea in bed, morning cuddles and watching Saturday kitchen with him whilst discussing what to cook for dinner ( i don't even have virgin media anymore so I'm stuck with freeview with intermittent signal) I'm sure this feeling will pass but its just a reminder I'm still grieving

Leek and Bacon Pasta Bake

I made this for lunch for 5 people i had a lot of leeks to use up so i used about 5 but i really like leeks i use a lot of garlic in my cooking but you don't have to if your not keen also the mushrooms had seen better days but i used those up too.

1 Pack of smoked bacon lardons
5 small leeks
3 red onions
3 cloves of garlic
half a box of mushrooms

500g pasta

2 tbsp of wholegrain mustard

400ml of milk

1 pack of cheese sauce mix (yes i cheated!)

lots of grated cheese to sprinkle on top

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper for seasoning 

preheat the oven to 200c

1. Chop and wash the veg. 
2. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan add the bacon and fry for a few minutes 
3. add the onions garlic and leeks fry for a further few minutes 
4. add the mushrooms let that cook while boiling the pasta
5. add the pasta to a pan of boiling water i usually cook mine for about 9 minutes or according to the packet
6. when the veg is cooked pour it into a greased dish and then add the cooked pasta give it a bit of a mix
7. make up the cheese sauce i add mustard to mine for extra flavour 
8. pour on the sauce and cover with grated cheese black pepper and herbs 
9. put in the oven for 20 minutes. I took mine out after 10 as i wanted to eat before my late shift.

 

Im on Flickr

Check out My Flickr Photostream
My photostream stopped working at the bottom of my blog so you can still view it by clicking on the above link, I'm going to be purchasing a new lens soon and hopefully adding better pictures if you are interested to view them :)

Spicy Parsnip and Carrot Soup

I brought a bag of cheap parsnips and i had never made parsnip soup before but this turned out really yummy not overly spicy but very sweet i was pleasantly surprised.You can add more veg but don't forget to add more stock as well

Ingredients

1 large onion diced
3 tablespoons of butter
2 carrots peeled and diced
3 or 4 parsnips peeled and diced
5 cups of vegetable stock
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp fresh minced garlic
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp of chili powder
 2 ounces of cream if you fancy it ( i didn't have any so i left it out)

1. Melt the butter in a large pan, and gently fry the onions, parsnips and carrots for about 3 minutes. Stir in the spices ginger and garlic and cook for one minute more.
2. Add the stock, season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes until the vegetables are cooked.
3. Puree in a blender or use an immersion blender to blend until smooth. Add the cream and heat gently on a low heat.

I couldn't find my lovely immersion blender as it still hasn't been unpacked and my brother took the blender with him back to London so i just used a potato masher instead as always it was too tasty to wait to try so i didn't take a picture but i will next time and pop it on there 
definitely a soup recipe I'll use often

 Let me know what your thoughts are please leave a comment just to prove to me there is someone out there that does read this lol

Its Snowing!

The snow has arrived I'm going to spend the day making a snow woman and taking photographs woohoo!

What a week!

I've had the best week in a very long time! despite working I've been so busy having fun, going out almost every evening. I even had a blind date with someone and it went really well, but on a contrast earlier today i got an email from the estate agents confirming termination of the contact on the flat my ex and i rented for the last 3 years and 8 months. He hasn't spoken to me since 23rd January its the longest we have ever gone without talking. I don't blame him for wanting to move out i guess its just another part of our life that's now in the past, the contact will end the day before my 29th birthday. I don't know whether its exhaustion or pmt but I'm feeling a bit down i have got Sunday off so I'm hoping i can do something nice and end my week on a high note

Am i slacking?!

I had a conversation with a friend about my list of challenges and he was laughing at how slow i have been to complete them.
I know i have been busy with moving and everything else that has gone on but i think he has a point, and i kind of feel i have neglected my list and lost focus so I'm going to do my upmost to crack on and complete them.