Alan Turing & LOLCats: strange bedfellows indeed!

Good morning Lovely Peeps! And - at the moment - it is a good morning, although it will soon be getting a little too hot for me! Yesterday the temperature mid-afternoon, had reached 33°: admittedly that was when I'd parked the car for a while, in the supermarket car park, but the temperature didn't decrease as I drove away. The cyclists have gone out this morning instead of for their usual afternoon sortie and the cats are seeking out the cool spots.

Yesterday morning I spent quite some time bodging up a netting cover to protect my bean plants - one, some or all of the cats discovered that they liked bean leaves so my lovely seedlings which were growing so well suddenly found themselves as nothing but a stem. Grr. So with some bamboo, a lot of netting and a reel of sticky insulating tape I created something similar to a set of goalposts. Hah! Get into that one George!(For t'is he we suspect) Taking advantage of the netting I planted a few more bean seeds, and a courgette plant. We'll have quite a little market garden going on the balcony at this rate!
This isn't our balcony - but it might be one day soon!  

Last week's planned menus weren't adhered to - on Wednesday we went to Cathy's to watch two films on her big screen. We saw "The Imitation Game" and "Pride".


It was a second viewing of "Pride" for us, but "TIG" was a new purchase. I really enjoyed it - I thought Benedict Cumberbatch was splendid (well, it's Benedict Cumberbatch, isn't it?!) and the story was compelling, and interesting and intensely anger-inducing too, as one watched how Turing was prosecuted and treated as a homosexual. Turing has been given a royal pardon, but there are an estimated 49,000 men who were treated in a similar way, 15,000 of whom are still alive today, and who have not been pardoned. Cumberbatch supports a petition calling for the pardon of all these men: so do I. Here is link should you also wish to do so


Anyway, the planned Chilli beef tacos weren't eaten - instead I took up some guacamole and some spicy marinaded sausages, and Cathy made a quiche and salad, so we had that instead. Then on Thursday evening we were invited to Louis and Odette's house. These are friends who are going to be going to the UK with Mr FD in the summer for Ride London
 I will meet them the week after - when I've finished teaching - and we'll tour Britain: Cotswolds, Liverpool, Yorkshire, Cambridge and Kent. they are all very excited and enjoy talking about the finest details!
Yesterday it was, as I said, hot. The planned Pan Haggerty really didn't appeal, so I bought some prepared brochettes  and we had them with a huge pile of salad. Much nicer on a hot evening!

This week's menus are rather salad-based too, and may require some flexibility, as we may have another film night but we may not..!

TODAY: Chilli beef tacos, as planned for last Thursday.

SUNDAY: Pierre (a colleague of Mr FD) & his wife are coming for lunch, so I'm making:
b) Summer roast chicken with tabbouleh: marinade the chicken in a mixture of harissa, Greek yoghurt, & spices overnight & then roast. Serve with tabbouleh.

c) Mary Berry's Ginger & Lemon cheesecake

We hope to be able to eat in the courtyard if it's not too hot/cold/wet. I need to get on with the preparation soon, but I'll finish the blog post first.

MONDAY: Salmon - leeks - noodles - chilli sauce

TUESDAY:fasting: Hairy Dieter's Pork Souvlaki with various salads (I'm hoping for some left over tabbouleh!)

WEDNESDAY: Hairy Dieter's Spicy Bacon pasta - basically pasta, some lean bacon, broccoli, yellow pepper, tomato sauce & chilli. Easy enough for Mr FD to prepare as I'm dancing.
THURSDAY: Film night? I'll make a quiche which we can then eat here or there! I'll make it with whatever I've got lying round - probably including ham, tomatoes and sweetcorn.

FRIDAY:Sort-of fasting Sausages & salad. Easy peasy for a hot day. With baked potatoes if it's cooler.


to everyone for their comments. I love reading what you write & knowing what you think about the recipes etc. Please do continue to say hello when you come to visit!
FRUGAL QUEEN - hello! Thank you for your kind comment - and I apologise to everyone else. I called  Froogs "Blogging royalty" but, in truth, you are ALL "blogging royalty" not just Frugal Queen. It's just that she calls herself "Queen"!!!  


MICHELLE: Did you try the cauliflower? I enjoyed it more than I thought I would...the curry wasn't bad either, but I think it was too much faff for the pleasure! I'm not sure I'll be making it again. But what is seitan?

GILL: I see you didn't make pan haggerty when you'd planned to...is it on the menu for next week?

KEZZIE: Pan Haggerty is a mix of potatoes, carrots and bacon, basically. I suppose you copuld make a Pan Haggerty "blind" (that is, without meat - like in "blind scouse") but it might be a bit meh.

MAGGIE: I look forward to reading more Brambling in Brittany when you're back! I'm sure Chris could fitr a bit of cooking around his DIY!

FISHCAKE RANDOM: belated congrats on your newest arrival, by the way! And I hope you might try some of the recipes....How fussy are your babes about food?


POMPOM: Yes I did get your email - I'm glad you liked the tea! And it would be great to be your neighbour. I would enjoy feeding you at regular intervals and you could cheer me up with your sunny disposition! Never mind, we shall have to be friends over t'internet instead.

A tea-themed LOLcat for PomPom

JAN: Was the white chocolate & ginger cheesecake a success? I do like it, but it was made so many times in such a short amount of time I got bored of it! Which reminds me I promised one to a friend for a birthday present (in February!!!) - I'd better make it!

I hope everyone has a lovely week, full of love, laughter and good food. If you try any recipes I'd love to know. Have fun, dear Peeps!


Comments

  1. It's great to read that you are enjoying some proper heat... Here in the UK there was a hint of summer on Thursday and Friday and now it's completely disappeared again. Grr! (or should that be 'BRRRRR!) Jx

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  2. Alas, I haven't made the cauliflower yet; haven't had time for much of anything. Seitan is "wheat meat," or the gluten contained in wheat that can be isolated from flour by washing (or you can buy gluten flour; much easier).

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