Walk in the Blean woods and Mike's peas

Hello everyone. How was your weekend? We had a hot one! Yesterday morning, I popped in the studio with Mike. He moved the second chicken sculpture into a kiln for me. After tweaking the back, I became a bit cautious. After that I had stayed at home, and kept myself cool, but Mike was busy doing errands.

In the afternoon, we took our dogs to Blean woods. I thought it would be cooler. It was in the shade. I was looking for the beach tree. We couldn't find it. Next time, I will re-trail the route we took last November.

a rotten tree

'Not only my ears are long, but my tongue, too!'

Our garden is full of wild birds. Amelanchier has lots of ripe berries. It attracts various birds, such as black birds, green finches and wood pigeons. Fruit trees attract blue tits, a flock of longtail tits and so on. There are of course, regulars, like sparrows, dunnocks and robins. We saw more birds in the garden than in Blean woods yesterday.

Young Black bird

Garden flowers are also in bloom. Silver flowers stand out under the apple trees. 

 Mike's veg are doing very well, too. We have harvested our first peas yesterday.

I popped peas out of the pods. Pearl stayed with me,  just in case I might drop some. Yes, I did! She loves peas. They are very sweet!

Mike's peas

 Mike cooked pasta with peas, spring onion and pancetta. The recipe is from the River cafe book. He only cooks this dish when our peas are in season. This year, we grew spring onions, too. So both are in this dish! Very delicious and quick to cook!  It goes well with Australian white wine.

Mike's pasta with pancetta, peas, and spring onion

Another dream and Udon, my favourite Japanese noodles

Hello everyone. Two nights ago, I had a vivid dream. The studio was all empty. There was no tables, desks, shelves, throwing machines or any clutters, which are always there. Whole floor was washed clean sparkling. There were three or four children, aged 5-7 were sitting on the floor and playing very quietly. The studio technician, Jane, was standing with a mop or some kind of a stick in her hand. When I woke up I felt some kind of strong feeling that I should go to the studio.

Yesterday I did my first outing since I got unwell. We went to a pet shop to get Pearl's food, and popped in to the studio to leave some of my work to be fired. When I opened the door to the studio building, the room in front of the door, metal workroom, was empty and all white. It was painted for the graduation show. When I went to the ceramic studio, three girls were working busily in silence.

Imagine my surprise! I am still wondering if I have become psychic. I have been interested in shamanism, sacrifice and other kinds of rituals. I have studied them for my MA. But I have never had any psychic power or have never dreamt of having one. But in recent years, I had once received a cow's thoughts (it was simple, 'get me out of here'), and then felt being pulled/called by a large entangled beech tree (once).  Or am I becoming more perceptive? When I told this dream to Jane via email, she asked if I had a dream of the all exhibition preparation had been done magically overnight. Nope, I haven't seen that one. Jane, unfortunately you have to use your muscle for that!

I am getting slowly better. My target is to feel better than the day before. I take about an hour rest each afternoon. I am a workaholic; it is difficult for me to rest. I try to take a nap in the bed, but end up reading a book. Still better than flogging myself at the desk!
     
So, our dinners have been light this week. Neither of us wants to make an effort. So tiring! I cooked chicken Udon this evening. It is Japanese noodles made from wheat. Udon in soup is a very good sick food. I served mine in the bowl that Mike threw and I recently reduction-fired. I love it. It looks so authentic. I was so pleased with the appearance of the bowl that I will make a couple of sushi dishes for next reduction firing in June.

Chicken breast, Chinese cabbage, broccoli and carrot Udon with ginger

In my own bowl! : )

 

An evening at Cafe du Soreil

Hi, everyone. We had two things to celabrate today. First, finally summer has come to Canterbury and UK. Second, today is the last day before my one month break. So we went out for a meal at Cafe du soleil after work.

We both ordered pizzas and beers. I forgot to take photos of them. But I suddenly remembered after I had eaten the first spoonful of desert. lol

Mike had an orange and lemon cheesecake with mango salsa.

I had a dark chocolate almond cake with vanila ice cream on top.

Serivice was great and friendly. We had a stroll along the River Stour after the meal. It doesn't get dark until nine right now. This is one thing I really like about the English summer. 


This morning, when I was hanging laundry, I found something in the pocket of Mike's white shirt. It was this! A cute stamp washed and spinned in the laundry machine was still one piece. It is definitely water proof! Do the Royal Mail accept this? Should I iron it? 

A surprise in the garden.

Hello, everyone! It has been sunny today, here at Canterbury. I took my dogs to longer walks, and found myself relaxed and refreshed. Isn't sunshine lovely? It definitely has a positive effect on me.

I was tidying up the garden, and found our Japanese acer pot has a lanky weed. I pulled it out. Ta-da! It was a hazelnut that was buried by a presumably squirrel. Mike planted it into a little pot. It looks so cute! Don't you think?

Hazel nut seedling appeared from the nut buried by a squirrel.

Our dinner was another asparagus dish. Mike went to a farm shop at lunch time yesterday. We ate them with Parma ham, Parmesan cheese, a boiled egg in an olive oil based sauce yesterday. Today we ran out Parma ham, so I made a sauce with mayonnaise, whole mustard, while wine vinegar and olive oil. Ummm, it was delicious!

Asparagus and boiled egg pasta

  

Our weekend-Lambs, asparagus, steak Iskandar and a large mushroom

Hello everyone. How was your weekend? We had a busy one as usual. Yesterday we went to see lambs in a field nearby. We took Topaz and Pearl with us. It was a mistake. Pearl seemed so excited to see sheep that we decided it would be wise not to go near them. I took a pair of binoculars, and took photographs. Two lambs were playing, jumping, running and rubbing their fat bodies on the grass. The were very adorable! Their fleece was short and tight. They looked as if they were wearing thick flannel pyjamas.

Two little lambs

A large mushroom -Dia.15cm

On the way to the field, we crossed the University campus. There was a large mushroom. It looked like a bun.
  

Our summer plants.

We also went to a garden centre. We bought three pots of flowers.

This morning, I worked on my new chameleon, and delivered one of my sculptures, 'A rabbit in a bunny suit' to a wonderful couple, Tracey and William. Their spaniel apparently liked me. I guess she could smell Pearl and Topaz on me. They loved my rabbit, so, of course, I felt great!

We had another asparagus dish at lunchtime. This time, a pasta dish. I tossed cooked pasta with asparagus spears, Parma ham, a boiled egg and Parmesan cheese. Sauce is olive oil, mustard and white wine vinegar. It was heavenly.

Our Japanese acer

We have been admiring the beautiful colour of the Japanese acer that is just outside of our kitchen window. So here is the picture to share with you!

In the afternoon, I have worked more on the chameleon. Mike did, of course, much more! 

After such a busy weekend, I had a power meal at a dinner time. I had sirloin steak Iskandar. When I was in Turkey a long time ago, I used to have this dish quite often. They eat steaks with yogurt on top. Iskandar is Turkish name for Alexander. Yes, it is named after Alexander the Great. Today, I put mushrooms on top, but yogurt at the side to dip. It is very easy to make, and quite refreshing. I found it nice in summer. 

 

 

Over the holiday

A Happy New Year! I hope you have had a good holiday. We did despite we both had cold one after another. Mike caught cold on the first day of his holiday and took one week to get rid of. On the first day he fully recovered, I caught cold, and I am still with it.

Happiness is relative though. Last year we have had swine flu. So, common cold seemed to us almost nothing albeit annoying.

In the past years, we would invite people around, and usually a couple of people including one of us, couldn't make it due to flu, or retired during meals. This year, we decided to celebrate by ourselves, instead.

After gruelling six hours of oven cleaning during summer, Mike, understandably,  refused to roast at home. We were thinking to go to Abode for a Christmas meal, but Mike's cold stopped this. So we thought we would go out for a New Year meal. My cold was the hurdle this time. So we spent whole time at home very relaxed with our dogs, parrots and little Mochachino, the last surviving finch.(and Pumpkin, the chicken, in the garden, of course)
 
Over the holiday, we opened a champagne bottle,

Mike decorated,

we baked,

we cooked and drank,

we baked and drank again,

The first galette was sooo delicious. Mike baked it again on the New Year eve.

Mike's colleague, Dave gave us this desert wine that he bought a half case by mistake (he doens't like desert wine), and left them in the garage for a while. Still it was nice with the galette. Thanks, Dave!

we opened another bottle of champagne,

Mike had Parma ham and I had smoked salmon (responsibly resourced wild Alaskan kind...description is getting longer and longer.)

These better shaped parmiers were made by our patisserie chef Mike.

Mike's panettone became so large!

Panettone inside

I found a tub of chicken stock I made two year ago in the freezer. lol About 1.5cm thick fat was on top, to preserve.

A leek from our garden and mushrooms added. It became delicious soup.I hope I could beat my cold with this!

I also cooked Japanese celebratory Azuki bean rice. Beans were about two years-old (too old), and special glutenous rice was one year old (a bit old). Still it turned out delicious. It was nice to clear cupboard too. lol

Priggy on bathing costume, wine, and today's Pearl

I am Priggy.

Monster have got a new name now. His name is Priggy. Mike is godfather, I am mother, and pearl is his sister. He now wears his bathing costume.

I wanted to underglaze his costume, but the clay has dried too much. The problem in winter; radiator dries clay too quickly and too much. I have to bisque fire him before decoration.

Priggy's lion's tail.

We had a busy day today. After all, it is the last weekend before Christmas. This year, we decided to spend Christmas alone and creatively. To do that, we went to Majestic Wine, and stocked our cellar first (Em, just a cupboard).

Today's shopping

Although I am much smaller than Mike (clothes for 11-13 years old, or size 8), I drink more than him. Oh, don't take me wrong. I usually drink only a glass of wine or cider a day, and maximum two glasses a day. But I drink everyday. Sometimes twice a day at both lunch and dinner, dependent on the food I have. If the definition of alcoholic is based on frequency, I might be one. But I really know I am not when I saw one of my friends took the wine bottle we couldn't finish into the hotel room, and held at the neck of the bottle (she had never let the bottle go!), and drank it all in a teacup by herself, while another friend and I drank tea. That's alcoholic! 

My advice to her was when she meets a man at the first date, she should never keep holding the bottle of the wine in front of him.

Mike pouring Dom Villargeau Giennois

Now, I will go back to our story. I initially wanted to buy a case of Sancere and Puilly-Fume, and some nice red which goes well with roast beef. When I was looking at Sancere, Mike eavesdropped a wine adviser was telling another customer, that Domaine de Villargeau, Coeaux du Giennois is located between Sancere and Puilly-Fume. It is very similar taste to Sancere, but cheaper. So I dropped Sancere, and picked what he heard. To check on that taste, Mike had it with coley, I with Alaskan wild salmon this evening. It was round taste with a depth. But the best Sancere I had had deeper taste. We will try with different dishes.
 

Ovened salmon, Pea butter rice, spinach and broccoli

Last but not least, today's Pearl corner. She embarrassed herself when she found a cat on the road during afternoon walk. She squealed so loud that I saw several lace curtains twitched. But after dinner, she was like pictures below.

There is a doggy in TV.

But I am sleepy. ZZZ

Once I fell into sleep, Dad went to spoon-feed our parrots.

But this is more comfortable than being on dad's lap.

He came back and claimed his chair. Oh well.

Night night everyone.
 

Delicious and healthy dinner for busy people

I am good at preparing healthy meals in a short time. The reason why we keep our weight unchanged for almost two decades must be our healthy diet. 

So here are things we made this evening. The meat was chicken breast without skin. They were marinaded in soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil and a bit of sun flower oil  for about 10 minutes, Then Dust them with flour, and shallow fry them in a frying pan. The batter becomes crispy and very delicious.

Healthy dinner

While marinading, I prepared a vegetable dish. Stir fry carrots and Chinese cabbages, add Shiitake when vegetables are almost cooked. Microwave broccoli. and add them at the end. I cooked rice beforehand to go with the dishes. Cider goes well with Japanese food. I have a bad habit of starting drinkd whilst cooking. So when the meal is ready I am usually on the second glass! 

Desert was fruits. I have a kaki, persimmon. Mike also had tangerines and a banana.

After dinner, we prepared Pannacotta for tomorrow. Mike bought Dutchy's whole milk. It is very creamy and good to make pannacotta.

Whole milk, gelatin in milk, and single cream

Soak gelatin in milk, and warm up milk in microwave until hot. Then add vanilla essence and gelatin into the hot milk. Stir well until gelatin melts. Then whip the cream, and mix it into the hot milk. That's all. It takes about 10 minutes.

We used single cream because we had leftover. But of course the double cream is proper ingredient. I basically prefer single cream only because double cream clogs me so much that I can't eat them two days continuously.     

Pannacotta