16/30: Come Dine With Me preparation

I knew what kind of food I wanted to serve very soon after we set the dates for our second round of Come Dine With Me. The trouble was that as I was to be the last evening, months and months in the future, there wasn’t much point in using all that time to prepare, [...]

3 Comments Posted in: 30 for 30, CDWM, food, nablopomo, photos

12/30: Happy birthday to me

What a long day. It started early in Salzburg, with my boy and a surprise cake, sparkling candle and singing and ended in England with my girls and more surprise cake, celebratory fire and singing. In between came a lot of talking in German, a flight home, my traditional failure to unpack properly, if at [...]

3 Comments Posted in: 30 for 30, celebrate, food, friends, nablopomo, photos, salzburg, travels

3/30: CDWM II: Helen’s dessert

One thing we talked about on this Come Dine With Me evening was holidays and our need for them. While Helen was preparing food in the kitchen Suzy and I told Lauren about how we’d been talking about a desire to have a relaxing holiday for once – no running for trains, or getting rained [...]

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CDWM II: Helen’s main course

See that beautiful sunset on the wall? That’s a photo taken on one of the cruises that Helen and Steve have taken. There are such wonderful sunsets at sea, with no buildings getting in the way. We’ve had some fabulous evening skies recently that keep making me think it would be a good idea to [...]

1 Comment Posted in: CDWM, food, friends, photos, video

Feeding time at the zoo

Anya and Lily are moving onto solids – well, mushy solids – now, eating a variety of mushed up things and baby rice. When we visited them a week and a half ago, they chowed down on pureed carrots with great gusto. The kind of gusto that spreads said puree across their fat cheeks and [...]

1 Comment Posted in: family, food, photos, twins

CDWM II: Helen’s starter

Greek salad, fried courgettes and tzatziki

Any meal that starts like this has to be a winner. Am I right? I’m right. Helen’s Come Dine With Me evening had a Greek theme, with little blue and white menus laid out at each table setting. While we demolished the olives and feta, Helen was busy putting the finishing touches to the starter [...]

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NYC: Lower East Side

A little email back and forth with Richard led to us having lunch (unfortunately not with him) at a place of his recommendation: Spring Street Natural. It was a busy restaurant, but we were soon seated and I ordered some lovely scrambled eggs mixed up with salmon, broccoli and peppers with a side of fries. [...]

6 Comments Posted in: food, friends, new york, photos, travels

CDWM II: Lauren’s dessert

When I go to a restaurant I’m most likely to pick whatever is made of chocolate when it comes to the dessert menu. I occasionally pass this off to myself as research into finding the best chocolate cake, but really it’s just down to the fact that I like chocolate, I don’t like fruit desserts [...]

No Comments Posted in: CDWM, food, friends, photos, video