It's a glorious morning here in Stoke and even though it's still a bit breezy, I'm warmed by the prospect of warmer days. My tulips have started to grow, quite rapidly really considering I only planted them last weekend. To me this is yet another sign that mother nature herself is ready to put Spring in motion.
Have you got any plans for the weekend?
Ours will be spent with family and friends. Elena loves seeing her grandparents, her aunties and uncles. They entertain her in ways that we, as parents, can't. In fact, when we are with relatives, "Mummy" & "Daddy" are quite boring in comparison. The different surroundings, the lack of stair guards, vases, plant pots and picture frames everywhere, she's in her own little utopia... And to be honest having other people chase her around is wonderful as it means Paul and I can sit down for 5 minutes and take a deep breath.
I know I promised a non-food related post but I cooked stew last night and although we are moving out of stew season, it's always nice to be able to shove a load of ingredients in a pan and forget about it for a few hours. I bought a slow cooker for that very reason. The best buy in the world. Having said that, last nights stew was made in a pot.
I used a bag of new potatoes, carrots (chopped into batons), cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and mushrooms. I'm never one to measure out ingredients as I'm too lazy, so I just throw everything in and hope for the best. I used 3 beef casserole steaks and cut them into large chunks, coated them in flour before browning them in a pan with onions, garlic and chilli. Once browned I popped into the pan with the other veggies, added some hot water, gravy, gravy browning, 2 beef stock cubes and a glass of port. I then popped it into the oven on gas mark 4 for about 3 hours. I thickened the sauce after about an hour with some cornflour.
Once Elena was bathed and asleep, we sat down and ate. The remnants of which were mopped up with warmed french bread. Not a bad attempt..! My best stew so far. There is still half the pot left this morning as I always make enough for the entire neighbourhood, so I'll be freezing it and using as and when we fancy it.
I've had a lot of people letting me know that my blog has inspired them to write one too. It's lovely that my babbling has inspired. I look forward to read these blogs, please share them on here.
*I have to ask you to pray for those poor poor souls in Japan who have been the victims of another awful natural disaster. I pray that faith and courage help everyone through this horrendous ordeal. My thoughts to those who have lost loved ones. I can't imagine the pain and pray that there is no more to come.*
Well, as always, it's time for a cuppa, you're more than welcome to stay. Shall we pop on our coats and sit in the garden?
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for spending the week with me. I have enjoyed having you here.
I hope that you have the best weekend you've ever had & I shall see you on Monday.
Love
Bex
x
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