Lulu-Bird

Valentine garland

Jam jar vase with lace detail.

It has been pretty dark this week and I have felt pretty similar - so I bought some £3 tulips along with my weekly shop to brighten the mood, they have brought me such joy for something so simple. As a lover of all things upcycled/recycled/vintage I didn’t want to just display them in a vase. I took one of my taller jars from my yearly collection and tied a bit of lacey/embroidery-anglaise esque material around it, that I had cut from a charity shop blouse which didn’t fit. And voila!

Thai prawn noodle delight!

There is a lunch time take out place that does amazing thai chicken noodle salad, and after I have some I try and recreate something similar to varying degrees of success. This attempt at a healthy, delicious lunch was actually not bad - definite room for improvement but still taking it as a win. The dressing is a pretty good alternative if you don’t have the time/ingredients to be messing about with chili, garlic, ginger, nam pla fish sauce, palm sugar, fresh corriander, rice wine vinegar and a partridge in a pear tree!

Rice noodles - cooked according to packet instructions, rinsed in cold water and well drained and dried .

Cooked prawns/chicken (or both!)

Sliced veg - I went for red pepper, scallions and carrot done with a speed peeler

1tbsp sweet chili sauce mixed with 2tbsp of lime juice.

Bung everything into a tupperwear box and shake. Enjoy hot or cold - I went for hot as it is January.

Honeycomb

Well technically it is ‘cinder toffee’ as my honeycomb doesn’t work out very well - but this is still yummy.

225g caster sugar

60ml water

1tbsp golden syrup

Add to a heavy based pan - heat until it reaches ‘hard crack’ stage 154 degrees.

Plunge into ice bath for 1 second to stop heat increasing.

Add 1/4 tsp of bicarbonate of soda (can mix it with 1tsp hot water first - but I felt it bubbled less) Stir well but carefully and mixture will bubble up. Pour onto greased baking sheet and leave to harden (30ins) then break up with a hammer. Try and not eat too muuch of it as you bag it up to give away! Sprinkle very tiny bits (that would be too small to give away) onto icecream :)

So far so good. I have lost 5 pounds, just by trying to cut out most of the snacking during the week! Eating normally the rest of the time and still allowing myself a bag of crisps and a milky way at the weekends. And I made it to swimming on Friday – let’s see if I go this week – if I do it’s practically a hobby!

I learnt this at a cookery course I did last year. Couldn’t believe how easy it is. You could literally stir it with an old boot and it would turn out – a very forgiving dough. A real crowd pleaser too! It is like focaccia but lighter in my opinion.

500g SR soda bread flour

6 sundried tomatoes

100g grated parmesan (I use 50g as that is the size of the ready grated stuff from tesco – it seems enough!)

½ tsp salt

4 cloves of garlic (I use 5!)

500ml buttermilk

2 tbsp olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 200. Sieve flour and mix with salt, parmesan and chopped sundried tomatoes. Crush garlic and whisk with Buttermilk and oil.

Add slowly to the dry mix and stir until combined.

Place into a lined and lightly oiled tin - I pour mine into a swiss roll esque tin as I feel you get more out of it that way. Bake for 30mins - I cover mine with a piece of baking paper that has been soaked in water and squeezed out, for the last 10mins, so that the top doesn’t over colour. Cool on cooling tray.  I cut it into cubes.

How awesome is this idea - will have to try this. Thanks Crafty Becky!

craftybeckyiscrafty:

extractofllama:

Sharpie mugs

Draw on mugs and bake for 30 minutes at 350 F, or until golden brown.

Just kidding. If they turn brown something has gone terribly, terribly wrong.

These would make awesome gifts!

So I’m pretty sure I am the heaviest recorded I have been to my knowledge, give or take a few pounds. I have pics from a few years ago, before I weighed myself and realised things weren’t great, were I feel I look bigger than I am now – but still – it’s not good. Had one of those life changing rubbish incidents back in August and have pretty much just eaten what I want since then, and it has taken its toal. Ready to take control again. New year, new me…and all that jazz. I need to lose a good stone. I want to lose a stone and a half/two. But I don’t want to do anything too drastic to do it, just start exercising a bit and cut out most of my junk. I did slimming world the last time I wanted to lose weight, but don’t like the idea anymore of spray oil, low fat/sugar free stuff with weird chemicals. I would like to be more natural about the whole thing. It is Wed and so far I haven’t eaten crisps or chocolate – which I would do every night. I would like to go swimming on Friday mornings. Lets see if I go!

I thought this was funny. I like that the White House have a sense of hummour.

Click here for the full story.

Tomato and lentil soup.

6oz red lentils

2 onions

2 sticks celery/carrot

2 cloves garlic

2 cans chopped tomato

2 pints stock chicken/veg

Dash Worcestershire sauce

Dash hot sauce

Salt pepper

Lightly fry veg, add everything else stir, bring to boil, reduce to low heat and simmer for 1 hour

Can also add bacon.

Yum and filling -  no need for bread :)