We cannot wait for next weekend as we are off to the very first food blogging conference in Birmingham courtesy of our very generous sponsors Steenbergs.
There are just 87 days until Christmas but normally we don't get much into the spirit of things ooh ... until at least a week before. Bah humbug!
At Dormouse and The Teapot we love music. In fact we have very eclectic tastes so when Jayne at Mums the Word invited us to share our week in music, well how could we refuse.
We hope you enjoy it, as much as we did compiling it.
New Order - Blue Monday
John Lee Hooker - Wednesday Evening Blues
We hope you enjoy it, as much as we did compiling it.
New Order - Blue Monday
Rolling Stones - Ruby Tuesday
John Lee Hooker - Wednesday Evening Blues
We had a delightful day at Southport Flower Show today. It really is the best garden show in the North by a country mile. We got their early before the crowds and had an hour or so to wander the marquees without the hoards (which appeared a little later on). The stars of the show in our book has to be HM Prison Service both Kirkham and the Young Offenders Institute Thorn Cross produced the most amazing show gardens I think I have ever seen.
Some of the lads from Thorn Cross were there at the show and were so proud of the work they had done (and rightly so) that they positively beamed with pride.
Here are some images of the exhibit by HMP Kirkham Railway Cottage (look at the path made out of potatoes)
And some from the wartime display by HMP YOI Thorn Cross (they even had a Spitfire plane)
They really had the WOW factor!
Many of the other stall holders had really gone to town with the vintage theme.
Highlights for us were an old fashioned shop made out of tomatoes,
a Kelly bag made out of bay leaves
and a beautiful flower display in honour of the Women's Land Army, which was just stunning as well as moving.
A fantastic day was had by all.
Ps. We unfortunately missed David Bellamy but we did share a smile when we bumped into each other walking around. I can honestly say he doesn't look a day over 60 (he's 78!).
P.ps. The show continues until the 21 August and you can buy tickets at the gate. It really is worth a visit and if you do go please let us know what your favorite bits were.
We received tickets free of charge courtesy of Southport Flower Show to review the show
Some of the lads from Thorn Cross were there at the show and were so proud of the work they had done (and rightly so) that they positively beamed with pride.
Here are some images of the exhibit by HMP Kirkham Railway Cottage (look at the path made out of potatoes)
And some from the wartime display by HMP YOI Thorn Cross (they even had a Spitfire plane)
They really had the WOW factor!
Many of the other stall holders had really gone to town with the vintage theme.
Highlights for us were an old fashioned shop made out of tomatoes,
a Kelly bag made out of bay leaves
and a beautiful flower display in honour of the Women's Land Army, which was just stunning as well as moving.
A fantastic day was had by all.
Ps. We unfortunately missed David Bellamy but we did share a smile when we bumped into each other walking around. I can honestly say he doesn't look a day over 60 (he's 78!).
P.ps. The show continues until the 21 August and you can buy tickets at the gate. It really is worth a visit and if you do go please let us know what your favorite bits were.
We received tickets free of charge courtesy of Southport Flower Show to review the show
And still it continues. The renovations of the kitchen are carrying on at a pace. We have been most recently clearing the floor to make way for new riven slate tiles and chipping off the age old lime plaster off the walls. It is somewhat of a shell but it is possible to see potential in there, somewhere anyway. In the meantime Little D camps out in his air-raid shelter (aka his playpen) and gorges himself on digestive biscuits.
© Planit Products 2011
Whilst all this is going on it is getting harder to get in there to make more than one real meal a day. The cooker although covered has to be cleaned free of dust before the most basic use of it can begin and one gets a bit fed up of cold sandwiches day in day out.
We needed to find a solution and we were scheduling in reviews when we came across a product that we realised might just be that. The lovely people at Plan it Products had sent us some goodies... ooh a while back... but we had not had an opportunity to try them out (sorry Plan It Products). But anyway in desperation for something resembling a decent lunch we pulled them out, dusted them down (yes it gets everywhere) and decided to give them ago.
Wave bye bye Pannini maker, we were impressed, really impressed with the Toastabags they sent. Just put your sandwich together, we like ham and cheese and mustard, slot them in the bag and bung them in the toaster. Three minutes and they are done. They taste wonderful and just like the ones out of a sandwich maker but with half the cleaning up. There's also a helpful recipe leaflet in the pack we fancy the Italian Job mozzarella, olives, tomato and basil and how about Apple pie and custard toastie to finish? Yummy! You can also use Toastabags to cook fish fingers, chicken nuggets and oven chips or even cook fresh salmon but we haven't got round to trying that yet.
The bags come in four grades a 30 use, 50 use, 100 use and 300 use. They start at just £1.00 plus delivery from Plan It Products.
Prize competition
We have a set of Toastabags (30 use) and some other goodies from Plan It Products including a cookasheet, a pizzamesh, baking mesh and non stick cake liners (which we sadly cannot use in our new wood fired oven) to give away
Simply tell the team at Dormouse and The Teapot your favorite toasted sandwich combination. Post your answer in the comments section by clicking on comments below, make sure you leave a contact email or twitter name otherwise if you win we won't be able to contact you to arrange to send you your prize!
Sorry UK entrants only
Dormouse and The Teapot use a randomiser programme to select the winner.
This competition will close at midnight on 18 August 2011.
We have been given products from Plan It Products to review free of charge
One of our favorite things at Pig Row is books, not just any books cookery books. Since a teen I have read cookery books like novels, for me they are the ultimate escape.
Photo credit: hotblack from morguefile.com
Before we moved to Pig Row we owned a house known to us as Drovers. A three storey weavers cottage one of the oldest in the area close by to the local canal with friendly ducks and although not as rural as we are now close to countryside for walks and picnics.
It was a lovely house with a fabulous bathroom including a roll top bath, period features and lots of glorious bookcases. We had lovely neighbours, a small but perfectly formed garden and a private space for our old jalopy.
We loved everything about it, but it became too much for Mr Dormouse's poor old back and we longed to keep chickens which we didn't quite have room for.
If you are looking for a home in easy reach of Manchester that's economic to run and ready to move into, Drovers could be for you.
Drovers is on the market with Stamp Duty paid at £134,950 with Jones Partnership . Viewings by appointment only.
Strawberry and raspberry season is in full swing. Strawberries of several varieties from Marshmello, Marshmarvel, Flamenco and so on fresh from the garden. Raspberries from the fruit shop, gobbled up by Little D for breakfast, lunch and din dins as fast as his little hands can move. Followed by raspberries blown by his lips showering him, us and the front room carpet in a shower of red.
Photo credit: clarita from morguefile.com
The rain has abated and we have emerged outside blinking into the sunshine like three small animals coming out of hibernation. The garden is fresh and lush and the water butts are full to bursting, the rains have stopped for a time, at least. Now begins the fight with our garden friends. Just in time for Wimbledon our nightly treat has become a delicious strawberry or two plucked from our new plants, it seems we are not the only ones. Every creature from miles around comes to sample these fabled fruits. We are not sure exactly who it is that is having it's dinner, c/o Dormouse and The Teapot but we are considering opening up a PYO, we could make a packet such is their desire for our berries. To combat this we have taken action, our beds are now protected from the birds, rabbits and Little D by freshly purchased, elaborately erected nets and we are keeping our fingers crossed. Only problem is we can't actually get to the strawberries ourselves now.
Our life is full of such struggles at the moment as Little D is becoming more independent and forceful by the day. He bounces from lamps to wires to plugs and back again like a game of dreadfully of hazardous pinball. Don't do that, put that down, let that go, no, no, no! and he laughs and laughs and laughs. He has also started to jabber in what my niece has termed Simish, it makes sense to someone, just not to us. Jabbber, jabber, jabber, doggie, jabber, jabber, jabber, din dins, jabber jabber joo. It is a fight for all of us to be understood, as Little D tuts once again sits down, sighs and shakes his head (jabber, they are so stuuuuupid, jabber). Each one of us thinks we are perfectly clear, when really we are just Englishmen abroad shouting EGG AND CHIPS, EGG AND CHIPS, C.H.I.P.S...
Photo credit: xpistwv from morguefile.com
It's been an interesting week.
First of all we have all been ill like an amazing sneezing Mexican wave, one by one we have fallen coughing and spluttering. Not a pretty sight. We have discovered that a. Little D does not like coughing this makes him cry b. Little D loves sneezing this is the funniest thing ever and deserves applause. Therefore he has spent the last days in floods of tears brought on by fear or laughter we are never quite sure which. We have also discovered he is not much cop at ferrying boxes of tissues but has developed the unlikely skill of clearing things away (if only it was in his own home, not just at the library).
We visited the library at the end of last week when one cold had finished and before another had started. We are really lucky to have a fantastic library and gallery in our nearest town. It includes a huge children's library and Little D loves going there. Well who can blame him when there's ten tonnes of lego to examine and discard under unwitting librarians feet? This time D set about clearing up and we selected some books for him to take home. They were brand new but already had been scribbled in (why do parents let their kids do that?) Then he decided to make chums with some fellow by the stickle bricks. All I can say was what resulted was an all out stand off where the the little chap growled and gave D 'the claw' and in retaliation D sneezed on him and laughed. Needless to say tears ensued and we made a sharp exit. Funnily enough his mother had done the same some 30 minutes earlier, perhaps we should have taken that as a warning.
To complete our cultural day. We took Little D to the opera. The Baby O was performed by touring company the Scottish National Opera. We were serenaded in a magical secret garden full of busy bees, ducks and splashing fish Little D was enthralled. He watched fascinated as sploshing wellies danced and feathers fell from the sky.
No sneezing, no coughing, no crying, just laughter.
Photo credit: click from morguefile.com
What awful weather!
The foundations for the garden hideaway came to a screeching halt a couple of weeks ago and ever since we have had nothing but rain. As we sail by in our little boat it feels more like April that May turning to June. As my grandmother would have rightly put it Flaming June (to be taken however as appropriate). If there is an upside to this perennial wetness it's that we have been making the most of it and been sampling and reviewing some wonderful treats as we sit shivering by the fireside.
We are planning already for the Winter. A new Eco friendly wood fired heating system is to be installed. This will not only handle all the heating it will also provide us with lashings of hot water and means to cook. This system is to replace our dinosaur system of immersion and storage heaters which eat us out of house and home electric wise and none of which works properly. We are told that the new system is NASA technology, not cheap but we think worth it, you really cannot put a price on being warm and dry for a lifetime, especially when the rain seems ever present.
Little D now fully shod is walking like a pro in his new shoes and you would never have guessed that they had caused so much consternation in the first place. We have also recently discovered he is an expert climber, tackling the steepest stairs at the speed of light and with a sense of ease usually reserved for Sherpas. We think he may have been a mountain goat in a past life. We have been out but a couple of times rain hood firmly up. The main reason why Little D has taken such a shine to the shoes is that they make a cool thud kicking against the rain hood and are much more efficient for getting the right amount of water off to soak Mummy and Daddy.
The garden is looking very lush however the strawberry's earmarked for a lazy afternoon tea are bearing fruit already. swelling nicely from all the extra water, we have been promised a heatwave next month to ripen them up. The weather has some benefits I suppose - we just have to stop them blowing away in the meantime.
We have had three important and exciting events this week.
To kick the week off we had the Royal Wedding. To be truthful we didn't expect to get as carried away with the celebrations as much as we did. We loved Catherine's vintage style and her 50's inspired dress very Grace Kelly. We simply fell in love with the romance of it all and found our selves still googling at midnight for a glimpse of that all important cake. We wish them both all the very best, they seem very much in love and a strong match.
To kick the week off we had the Royal Wedding. To be truthful we didn't expect to get as carried away with the celebrations as much as we did. We loved Catherine's vintage style and her 50's inspired dress very Grace Kelly. We simply fell in love with the romance of it all and found our selves still googling at midnight for a glimpse of that all important cake. We wish them both all the very best, they seem very much in love and a strong match.
Secondly work has begun on the foundations for our garden hideaway. Fortunately we managed to persuade the man delivering the cement and ballast for the base to travel down the very narrow path to the back of the garden. It was a bit touch and go but we got there in the end. It was less fun moving the ballast by wheelbarrow down to the hideaway and even less fun for the men lumbered with building the footings in 60mph winds.
To conclude Little D is on the move and so we hot footed it, quick smart, down to the local town to have him shod in his very first shoes. Boxes and boxes were presented but unfortunately we came out of the shop without purchasing but a single pair as he point blank refused to walk in them or have them on his feet.