I fall for it everytime

Would you like to go out? asked the bearded one on Saturday.  Perhaps we could drive somewhere and have lunch?  Now alarm bells should have rung at this stage, but in my defence I was in the process of reluctantly dragging the vacuum around the house so clutched at anything that would get me out of housework.  How about Padstow he asked? well the bearded one hates anywhere that may be full of other people, may be seen as a 'touristy' and will be full of overpriced shops. Padstow ticks all of those boxes. Yes I know, at this stage the penny should have dropped, but naive little old me was so delighted to be going out any doubts were kept firmly in check.


I have to say it was a lovely trip out.  Whereas we had clouds over our garden, Padstow had lovely sunshine.   Cornwall is like that, travel a couple of miles and you can have totally different weather,  the coast is often very different than inland.  It was busy, the tourist season has started, but we found a restaurant where I could eat something (always a problem being vegetarian and gluten intolerant), wasn't busy and not owned by Rick Stein so was reasonably priced.   I had an interesting conversation with the waitress, she told me she used to be gluten intolerant, but now she is pregnant she can eat a little with no side effects.  I have a theory that gluten intolerance can be caused by hormone changes, as gluten became a problem for me after my hormones went crazy.  I know its not an exact science, but have any of you had a similar experience? She also told me about a cafe on the harbour front that offered gluten free cream teas, well how could I resist, I haven't had a cream tea in a cafe for years.  Even though we were both stuffed from lunch, we waddled around to the cafe, I was so excited by the thought of having something I used to take for granted.  I could only manage one scone, jam first, cream on top in the Cornish way of course, they helpfully wrapped the other up for me to take home.  Eyes bigger than my belly comes to mind, but it is very rarely I get beaten.  I was brought up in the age of eating everything on my plate before I would be allowed out to play.

Although there were plenty of very expensive boats moored in the harbour, there were also working boats.  It is a town where millionaires rub shoulders with ordinary working folk.  Boat trips were noisily advertised by men who may well have been fishermen in the past, and the crowded ferry plied its trade between Padstow and Rock, the playground of Royals.

When we got home the t.v. went on.  Yes of course the football was on, followed by cricket, a catch up on the Grand Prix.  Sunday was a repeat, with the Grand Prix and football.  Well at least it gave me a chance to do a little bit of crafting.  Talk about being buttered up before being ignored for the rest of the weekend.

Meanwhile in the garden, Robin wars seems to have broken out, the garden appears to be a favourite for them and they don't like sharing.   In fact all the birds seem to be fighting and chasing each other off at the moment.  Of course by the time I grab the camera their ariel acrobatics have ended, with the defeated bird flying off to wait for its next chance.  Anyone know why they are so argumentative at the moment?


I hope you all had a good weekend,  and your week will be a good one,

Chickpea xx

Five on Friday - Beginnings and Endings

Quilting


I have at long last finished our new grandsons quilt.  I have no excuses as to why it took so long.  I just have to be in the right mood for projects.  Creativity is temperamental thing.

A while ago I posted a tutorial on making this pinwheel quilt.  You can find it here.

Knitting

I have just discovered a knitting cafe close by, I really don't know why I've not spotted it before! I popped in to have a look, and of course bought some wool, well it would have been rude not to.  I have not come across this make of wool before, if you go on their site there of lots of free patterns.  They are written slightly different than I'm used to but I can pop into the cafe anytime for some help. I thought I would start with something easy, so am making this  shawl in the Drops wool. It is beautifully soft.  Has anyone used this wool or their patterns?




Planting

I have planted the peppers I received from the giveaway, so new life will be bursting through the soil soon.....I hope!  Cross fingers, arms, legs, eyes and anything else that might help.  My family call me Charley 'grim reaper' Dimmock!






Harvesting

I picked the first spinach from my veg plot this week.  I just LOVE picking my own produce.  I added some peppers this time to make mini omelettes.  The recipe is here.   I still get excited when something that started as a tiny little seed ends up on my plate.

Voting

Today is the beginning of a new term in government, new M.P.s starting, others ending their careers in politics.  I hope they all respect the position they have been trusted with and do the best they can for their constituents.  On a personal note, I am very pleased to see Caroline Lucas of the Green Party retain her seat, I think I may have to move to Brighton.

Linking up with lovely Amy on love made my home



Welcome to my new followers on Bloglovin :)

Chickpea xx

One step forward, two steps back

Oh dear, my blog is starting to sound like a list of my ailments, I am usually fit and healthy.....honest. My sprained knee felt so much better over the weekend that I decided to go for a walk in Tehidy woods.  I have been hobbling around ever since.  It was worth it though, as it is bluebell time.  One of my first posts contained photos of these same woods at bluebell time.  Aren't they just so beautiful, I look forward to seeing them every year.

l

We came across some dens in the woods.  I loved building dens when I was little, perhaps I should start building them again.  I could sit in them and read.

There is a little woodland garden in the woods, I would like a garden like this.  It even had baubles in the tree so I'm part way there.

..... and a resident squirrel.  He was not shy at all.

I hope you had a good weekend.  Back to work today boo!!!

Chickpea xx

Bread, Books and Scabby Nose Day

It has been absolutely ages since I made gluten free bread so I thought I would treat myself on this lovely long weekend.  It's not as if I can go out or anything.....but more about that later.

I found the recipe somewhere,  adapted it and it's the one I always use now.  It is so much nicer than the bought gf bread, which quite frankly is pretty disgusting.  Here's the recipe:

Seedy Gluten Free Bread

5 oz/150g/1 cup rice flour
4 1/4oz/120g/2/3 cup potato flour
2 oz/50g/scant 1/2 cup gram flour
2 oz/50g/scant 1/2 cup ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tablespoon easy-blend dried yeast
2 oz/50g chilled dairy-free margarine (or butter)
2 1/4oz/60g/1/2 cup  combined weight, of mixed seeds and sun dried tomatoes (the ones that come in oil, I cut them into small pieces) 

Sieve the rice, potato and gram flours together in a large bowl, then stir in the ground almonds.

Add the baking powder, xanthan gum, sugar, salt and yeast.

Cut up the margarine and rub into the flour until it looks like breadcrumbs.

Mix in the seeds and tomatoes.

Add 14 fl. oz/400ml/scant 1 2/3 cup of warm water and mix to make a smooth batter.

Cover the bowl with cling film and place somewhere warm for 1 1/4 hours

Pre heat the oven to 200/400/gas 6.

Lightly grease a 1 lb/450g loaf tin and pour mixture into it smoothing the top.

Bake for 45 - 50 mins until it sounds hollow when you tap the bottom and the top is nicely browned.

Leave to cool on a wire rack, do not be tempted to try cutting it while warm, it will end in disaster!

Home made bread, free range eggs and seasonal asparagus, what could be better.


I am loving listening to audio books, of course it is not the same as sitting down with a good book, which I don't seem to have much time for lately.  Having someone reading it to me as I am getting on with other things is a joy!  Of course it has to be the right person reading, someone who will do justice to the book, but so far so good.  You can download a little taster which is useful as you can decide if you like the readers voice, you can also have a 'kindle' version with added audio so you can move between the two options. Isn't technology wonderful - well some of it.  The book I have just started is The Bees by Laline Paull, it is the story of Flora 717 an unusual bee and her life in the hive.  It sounds fascinating,  has been shortlisted for the Baileys Women's Award for Fiction, has had high praise from Margaret Atwood one of my favourite authors so promises to be good.  I'm also hoping to read some of the other books on the Short List

I am also about to start on a 'proper' book, it is very short so hopefully I will have time to read it over the weekend.  I am determined to find some time for 'me' this Bank Holiday.   It is written by Jane Darke, a painter and film maker,  the widow of a local playwright Nick Darke.  She writes about the loss of her husband and how her love of the Cornish coast and her daily walks along the beach helped her with her grief and to discover who she is after so many years as part of a couple.  On the subject of Cornish theatre, I have just read that Emma Rice, the artistic director of Cornwall Kneehigh theatre has been named as the new artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe. Lucky Globe, she was wonderful at the Kneehigh and I'm sure will be much missed.  I had been meaning to go to The Globe for ages, I think I will wait until she makes her mark.

You are probably wondering about the scabby nose.  I have Actinic keratoses on my face.  I've never been one to sunbathe but years of living by the sea, leading to my face catching the sun (all that salty sea air) have left their damage.  Getting fed up with a couple of areas on my nose and one on my cheek that kept scabbing over, I asked my G.P. to 'freeze"  them on Friday.  I now have a very red nose and one huge scab that looks like an alien has taken up residence on my nose,  I'm hiding at home so I don't frighten the horses!

I haven't linked up with 'The Year in Books for ages, so in an attempt to read more I am joining in this month.

Thank you for all your lovely comments on my Five on Friday.  If you missed out on the pepper giveaway, more will be offered by Dawn on her blog Doing it for Ourselves.

Chickpea xx

Five on Friday - Colour

Green

I love eating seasonally, the anticipation while you wait for the food to come into season makes it taste even better than you imagined.  The Cornish asparagus are now available and taste delicious, I look forward to them every year along with the new potatoes which hopefully are growing away in the bags.  What are your favourite seasonal treat?

Red 

 Xmas decorations have become a permanent feature in the garden, they hang like shiny apples from the branches. I'm not sure what the neighbours think of my unusual ornaments, but my garden will never be the manicured soul less suburban plot that many aspire to.



 

White

The vibrant yellow of the dandelions give way to the beautiful white clocks waiting to be blown away and wishes made.  They cover my garden like little ghost flowers.

Blue

Tiny little flowers of blue hide in our overgrown, weed rich lawn.  We will have to cut it soon before we lose our cat in the long grass, but for now I love to see the wild flowers that have found their own way here and are allowed to stay.

Pink

The delicate pink flowers provide a feast for the wildlife. Busy little creatures making the most of every minute to feed, as they almost disappear inside each flower.  They need us to provide bee friendly plants to survive.  If you only have room for one plant in your garden, make it one that the bees can benefit from.



The hedges along the roads are littered with blue, red and yellow signs urging us to vote for political parties.  Do they think we don't realise there is an election going on and need this visual onslaught to remind us? Do they think we will vote for their party because they have littered the beautiful countryside?  The sticker on my door saying 'No Junk Mail' is ignored as day after day more political leaflets are pushed through my letterbox.   How many trees has it taken for them to print their propaganda which in many houses will be thrown straight into the bin?  The politicians bicker about who said what, while across the world peoples lives have been taken and destroyed by an earthquake. They are not winning my vote by their tactics, I can make my decision without the hype.  Why not take all the money they are spending on the election and send it to Nepal, now that might impress me enough to vote for them.

Life is exhausting and hectic at the moment, the insomnia has returned and I feel overwhelmed by my ever growing 'to do list'. Another week has flown by, another month gone, nearly a year since I started blogging,  I can't believe it is May already, where has the year gone?  This is not what I want for myself, this is not the simple life I dream of but I have to get through this to reach my goal. I want more time to create, to read, to listen, to walk, to cook and to grow.  I want life to slow down, to be able to enjoy every minute.  I feel like that busy little bee.   I haven't even had the time for writing blog posts and catching up with my blog friends.  Bare with me, I will try harder.  Have a good weekend everyone.

Giveaway - I have put the names in a bag for the pepper giveaway and drawn out Dawn from Doing it for Ourselves  Congratulations :)  If you go on to Danis' page (the link is in my last post) you can see what you have to do.  

Chickpea xx

Linking up with Amy for Five on Friday