Urgh - lurgy

I hate the lurgy. The kind which sneaks up on you and just leaves you very tired even though you have had lots of sleep. Pah! Hopefully the weekend will prove restorative.

New Forest - October 2009

The Husband and I had a lovely weekend (this weekend just gone) near Sway in the New Forest.
Peace, quiet, 12 hours sleep a night, learning new card games, sitting in the pub quietly. Bliss.
Here's a photo.

It took just over two hours to get there from London on Friday evening, which was pretty good, I thought. A lovely night's sleep (we stayed at Tower Hall) refreshed us, and so we set off to explore the New Forest. Up to Lyndhurst (slightly baffled by a convoy of yellow cars which had gathered for an unknown purpose...) to visit the New Forest Information Centre. A brief visit to the Book Fair taking place in the Community Hall saw us walking away with an original souvenir guide from the Coronation and a couple of books on military history for under £10. Then a drive down to the coastal towns and around (Christchurch looked lovely, but we eventually settled on Barton-on-Sea for lunch at The Cliff House overlooking the sea). Lunch was good (nice fresh fish) with good opportunity for a little people-watching / eavesdropping. Then a stroll along the clifftop meant we got to see a border collie taking its elderly lady owner for a walk (she had a nifty contraption which helped her to pick up the tennis ball and throw it without having to bend over). In true collie style, the dog picked up the ball, ran further away, dropped it, ran further away still and then crouched to the ground, watching and waiting. It did make me smile.
Finally, back to the Hare and Hounds near Sway, where we learned to play California Jack (not a bad two-person card game), and had yet more food. Yum.
Another good night's sleep, church @ St. Lukes, Sway, another pub lunch near Lyndhurst, and then we were home by 4pm. You can't say fairer than that...!

Shepherd's Pie

An unexpectedly good shepherd's pie was produced this evening, the method hereby recorded for future reference and to assist in repetition.

It all started when I picked up a reduced pack of lamb mince when scouring the shelves in Associated Dairies. For a while, I was thinking along the lines of lamb kofta, but went along the pie route after realising that it had been a little while.

1. Glug of oil and dried rosemary into a stockpot/deep saucepan (I used my IKEA 'fake Le Creuset' stockpot) on a medium heat (3-4/6 on the hob dial)
2. Add two onions, roughly sliced
3. Add lamb
4. Add two tins of tomatoes (one chopped, one plum)
5. 3 leeks, roughly chopped
6. Stir and cover.
7. Pop back in a while, and check how it is getting on - add a lamb stock cube (just crumble it over the contents, don't add water)
8. Stir and cover.
9. Pop back in a while, add a lamb stock cube and some frozen veg (e.g. sweetcorn) and some more rosemary.

At this point, my lovely husband took over, made mash with more rosemary, and made the pie up. Topped off with left over mozzarella and a little parmesan.

Nice.

Carrot Cake (Light Fruit Cake?)

It has been rather a while since I blogged, I see...., well... I'll blame 'busy season' for that one.

So - the carrot cake. As I am currently being willingly coerced out of my long-standing objections to a number of different vegetables (Reader, I willingly ate cabbage and chard last week), I thought that it was time to revisit my objection to vegetables being mixed with cake.

This recipe (from the BBC Good Food site originally) tastes quite like a light fruitcake. It was better the day after making (although not objectionable then, certainly).

Ingredients
175g light muscovado sugar (I used up some demerera and a little light golden sugar)
175ml sunflower oil (I used extra virgin olive oil, as that's all I had)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
140g grated carrots (I chopped them in the food processor)
100g raisins (again, I didn't have these in, so had half and half sultanas and currants)
grated zest of 1 large orange
175g self-raising flour
1tsp bicarb of soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp grated nuetmeg

Icing:
175g icing sugar
1.5-2 tbsp orange juice

Instructions:
1. Oven on to 180c (160c if fan). Prepare the cake tin (I used a loaf tin).
2. Mix sugar, oil and eggs with a wooden spoon.
3. Stir in carrots, raisins and orange rind
4. Mix the flour, bicarb and spices and then sift into the bowl (I didn't do this - just popped it into the mixing bowl and let the Magimix do its work)
5. Pour into the tin and bake for 40-45 minutes.
6. When firm and springy, remove from oven, cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out and cool on a wire rack.
7. Beat the icing sugar and OJ together until smooth. The consistency should be approximately as runny as single cream.

Acts 13:13-52

Acts 13:13-52
Sunday Morning
4 October 2009 (posted 6 October 2009)

Introduction: Certainty

1. God's message of salvation in Jesus is for all people.
a) God has sent his saviour to Israel, vv16-25

Paul's summary of early OT history
v17 - Genesis 12 - Exodus 15
v18 - Exodus 16 - Deuteronomy
v19 - Joshua
v20 - Judges and 1 Samuel 1-7
v21-22 1 Samuel 8 - 2 Samuel

b) God has sent his message of salvation to us, vv26-37
c) God offers complete forgiveness to all people, vv38-41

2. God's bearer of salvation to all people is the Apostle Paul
- his conversion: Acts 9:15-16
- his commission: Acts 13:2
- his conquest over magic: Acts 13:9-11
- his command: Acts 13:47

Conclusion: Unashamed