Of the Utmost Importance

Posted on November 23, 2021 by Gloria

‘Mother, where’s the thingamajig for opening jars?’

‘In the knife drawer.’

I open the knife drawer, which has no knives in it. I rummage through all sorts of instruments; peelers, weird scoop things, funny scissors, whizzers and all shapes of silicone. A slip-on spout? Gadgets with attachments, blades and prongs. A spork and a chork? What happened the chopsticks?

Ah… here it is. The yoke for opening jars!

I suppose mother needs all these accoutrements. How else would she peel fruit, slice avocados, zest her lemons, measure spaghetti, spiralize veggies, flip her lids, and beat her meat? I wonder!

Drawer full of cutlery — *Petra on Pixabay*

In response to Charli Mills’ 99 Word Flash Fiction Challenge. In 99 words (no more, no less), write about tools. Whose tools are they and how do they fit into the story? What kind of tools? Go where the prompt leads!

I Want a Medal for This

Posted on October 12, 2021 by Gloria

I swear I wouldn’t win any prizes for my baking skills. I can barely manage to make the simple Irish soda bread. My scones are flat and cake making takes hours (for me).

So, you can imagine my excitement when I made the perfect Yeast Artisan Bread this morning! “Straight out of Mary Berry’s oven” perfect!

Just 4 ingredients. Flour, yeast, salt and water! Now, I have no idea what Robin Hood Blending Flour is, so I used ordinary plain flour. It must have come from his merry men, because it did the job for me.

When I removed the cling film from my dough, which I made the night before, it looked very sticky, but as soon as I began to shape it into a ball it was very obedient and came together nicely.

I don’t own a Dutch oven—I didn’t know there was such a thing—so I used the dish from my slow cooker. Oven safe with high sides. There’s always a way!

The smell of my bread baking and my coffee brewing, wafted through every keyhole in the house. Even the dog was smiling!

The hardest part of this process was waiting for the bread to cool.

You should have seen the super smug smile spread across my sweet face, (say that fast) as I spooned some of my homemade greengage jam all over my warm bread!

I’m afraid I’ll have to hide it from myself!

Of course…you’re waiting for the link to the recipe, aren’t you!

Esme Salon has many fabulous tried and tested recipes on her blog. Do have a wander around when you’re there!

Here’s the link to the Yeast Artisan Bread! Enjoy! 5 Easy Amazing Bread Recipes for Beginners

Cook Like a Boss. Day 5.

Posted on April 9, 2021 by Gloria

The last day of Cook Like a Boss. We’ve been so spoilt all week, eating like kings.

Today is Fakeaway Friday and the menu is honey chilli chicken with fluffy rice, and chocolate fondant with ice cream for dessert.

A fakeaway is best enjoyed in the evening time, and because Little Miss Nine is at her best in the mornings, we decided that it would be better if she made her chocolate fondants early in the day, and prepare all her ingredients for the honey chilli chicken. That’s what she did and it all worked out perfectly. The preparation is more than half the work for this fakeaway meal.

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