Farmers market munchies

Hello Everyone!

How are you doing? Hope you are all well, yes? good!

Well I'm feeling better now was feeling a bit poorly ("Aww", thank you for the concern lol). So I went to the only cure for sickness - Honestly I think Doctors should recommend it - Heinz Cream of Chicken Soup. I have been having this when I'm sick ever since I was a kid makes me feel all warm and toasty inside.

This week I would like to dedicate my blog to my local Farmers Market in the little Town of West Malling.

So for those of you who don't know or didn't read my Bio (Fores-shame) I currently live in Kent which is known as the garden of England - and why yes it is very green a pretty and there are a lot of farms and fresh produce producers around.

So once a Month, the last Sunday of every month, the close down the High Street and we have a market.

It was a bit grey and rain but as a family we ventured out. 

For a small market they do sell a lot of stuff of different varieties. I do normally love McCarthy's bread but by the time I got there they had already sold out of the roasted pepper focaccias bread (Super sad faces in our household I can tell you)

And my favourite cookie stall "Thomas Cookies" was there, I even have a loyalty card saving up to get a free cookie which will probably be on my next trip!

And stall selling meat, fish, cakes, Indian food, drink and even a knife sharping dude - But as I don't normally carry my kitchen Knifes out with me I couldn't really use the service lol :)

Total side bar issue, as my blog wouldn't be my blog without me go off on a tangent! But the West Malling Tesco have totally upped their America Food Game - Reminds me of holidays and fun Although it is mostly verging on the sweet side could really do with a couple of savories like Mac-n-Cheese that orange kind you only get state side yummy.

Back to the market, we had a great time looking at all the stalls and having a chit chat with the producers think I might have to periscope it next time.

I got some lovely treats to enjoy at home.

the first was an onion bhaji - I was so useless and didn't get the name of the stall I promise if they are there next time I will get a snap and the name and they where doing curry also, so will need to try that.

Oh and of course got cookies - 3 to be exact, 2 chocolate chip ones for the Hubby and I had the oat and raisian one, I pretend as there's oat and Fruit technically it a health food lol - Well all I know is they are so tasty, very moist and chewy - Glad I only see him once a month as the diet is already awful so the last thing I need is ready access to more cookies. 

Sorry for the gratuitous shot of my bitten into cookie, but my god it was scrummy!!! mmmm cookies

We picked up some precious porkers sausages, they had some out for people to try. I thought they were great, the Husband thought they were great, but the total seal of approval came from the little one we gave him a try and he wolfed it down, he even wanted a second bite.

So with that resounding success of a tasting we had to get a pack, also the good thing is the pig are hand raised and really looked after which is good and is reflected in the taste.

We even got some Scotch Pies form Sussex Pies

Now I've never had a Scotch Pie that wasn't in Scotland, but I'm alway up to try new things.

So we have it the way the Hubby family who are Scottish have them with beans on top. 

And I can say it taste exactly the same (might even be a bit better) as the pies I have had north of the boarder. 

The Hubby gave his scottish side seal of approval too :) 

Picked up some fab meringues too, didn't get the name of this stall either but in my defence I was going to but at that point the heavens opened so need to get to cover to get the little one out of the hail - yep the spring weather in the UK has been utter crap. 

have to say it was a nice meringue crunch on the outside and a bit chewy on the inside the only issue I had was it was supposed to be chocolate but didn't taste chocolaty at all.

And the last item on my list was some lovely Rasberry Gin (Had to get the small one as they sold out of the bigger) although the lovely suppliers Wild Spirits of Kent will definitely have some more in at the next market yay.

had it with some soda water and it was lovely Although glad I got the small one as it went down far to easily lol 

So a great trip to a great little market, and its always good to buy local and you're helping a small business and your also helping the environment,  as you not getting the food miles you get from some products you pick up in the supermarket.

so if you have a farmers market near you please go have a great time exploring and you might even end up with a few lovely little treats like me :) 

Running far-away and a takeaway

Hello my foodie friends, how the devil are you doing?


So I've done something a bit Crazy I've signed up for the Wine and Dine Disney Half Marathon.. What no.. that's mental, I hear you cry... Definitely I don't know what came over me I think I got confused by the word wine and went on from there.

Lol but in all seriousness I am very excited about it and means that I will definitely be out at Disney World in November for some Sun, Run and now a big run 13.1 miles. As as the run will take in a couple of the theme parks before they open it will give me a unique perspective of the parks I've never seen before.

 I am feeling good and so positive that I'm doing something that will not only encompass one of my Favorite things,Disney, it will also benefit me in so many other ways,

So in prep I've been doing the Park Run, An amazing 5k run that is free to all and get you out and get you fit. I did the first 5k in 40 Minutes 30 seconds and the next one in 38 minutes 34 seconds so getting better. 

Although bit of a political rant one totally misguided council want people to start paying to use their public park to run. So I don't do this often but if you read this could you please sign the petition  to keep it free.Thanks! 

So been a bit of a mad week my Mother in Law has been staying with us to help look after the little one when I'm at work, normally my mum does it but while she's recovering, MIL came to the rescue as have you seen the cost of child care (eep).

It also enable me to have a night out as my boss was leaving, was fun but got a bit mess, which was great as we all had a big meeting the next day. But I got up got myself together and did my work while quietly dying. Darn you aging as in my 20's would have even made and impact (although that was probably a bad thing lol).

The downside is this did necessitate me needing a burger on the train home after the meeting, mmm greasy bad stuff is the best hangover cure bar non.. (I know I profess the benefit of Avocado on toast, which is great for a hangover) but sometimes only a burger or chips will do. 

As the MIL been down and I've had to work we have had a couple of take aways, As my Hubby was away I finally got to try my local Thai place Thai Moom, As Hubby is allergic to nuts we normally avoid that sort of food. 

But I managed to get some Pad Thai in with dumplings and chicken Satay. It was really nice but don't know if it was extra yummy as it was forbidden fruit. I always remember Eddie Murphy Cracker Sketch lol (It a bit rude) and the fact dinner came with Cracker make it funnier (Well to me) 

Also as it's my birthday soon I was drawn to the cake aisle in Asda and came across this, I am not sure what the Cat is angry about but now that's the sort of cake I want on my birthday to reflect the disappointment that is always come with getting another year old lol - Actually the older I get the more fun I seem to have so bring it on!!  

The crazy thing about moving is I spend a load of time in Ikea, then followed by arguments as swearing lots when trying to assemble flat pack furniture.

But what the best thing about Ikea - The meatballs I hear you all cry- If you don't like the meatball there is something slightly wrong with you lol :) 

So I bought all the ingredient and tried to make my own

It went pretty well (chips from the local chippy (UK name for Fish & Chip Shops)) I found the key is to make the gravy with double cream then thin it out if needed with a bit of milk. I was just like being in the store only less chaotic and I didn't walk away with an assortment of cushions.

Last bit of the week as it has been pretty slow, working, commuting, running and have a guest doesn't leave a lot of time for anything else.

We did however manage a cheeky trip to Bluewater, they had a  Leeds Castle display, I know I've blogged about Leeds Castle before, it's amazing and if your are ever in Kent (It not in Leeds I know confusing) you have to give it a visit.

The even had some prop chain mail which the other half had to try on. Actually it fit him perfectly. Which looked good but now he has some crazy idea about wanting to buy a set. We were only lucky they didn't sell them in the store you have to go to the castle to get them (Hopefully his desire to own a set will wear off in the coming weeks before we go back). 

As it was a nice day out we stopped in Giraffe for some lunch. I managed to get in one of my favorite drinks their Melon Margarita... oohhh so fresh... ooohhh so tasty... oooh I want another one right now.

The food is pretty good there too, Hubby had their Duck Salad.

I had their rice dish it was really tasty it reminded me of the rice dishes I got in Malaysia so with that and the Melon Margarita it made me think of holidays, nice food, nice drink shame about the British weather lol.

Lamb-ie and Stuffed

So yay I'm back.

The trials and tribulation that have happened over the last few weeks seem to have calmed down and life is back to normal (Well normal for me lol).

I've had a busy, busy, busy week. First big event went to the Hippodrome in Leicester Square for my friends 40th Birthday! She'd hire out the Heliot lounge for fun an frolics.

It was a really nice venue, staff was lovely and it was great to get out into town (Hubby had the little one)

As I was having a night off  I had a cheeky glass of Fizz:

Which was noms, I then tried their Margaritas, and regular readers will know I do like my Margaritas. Not to toot my own horn (toot toot) but I do make a mean Margarita (V. Strong)but  have to say it wasn't the best which was a shame.

So I went back to the fizz for the rest of the night my poor head lol.

As due to the Easter holiday we had some family time we decided to have a  meal out at the Farmhouse in West Malling

I had their lovely Steak Panini which was very tasty and the steak was cooked really well and no chewy at all. You can tell it was good a the little one wolfed it down.

My Husband had the burger which looked lovely,

But we decided couldn't have been as nice as the steak as the little one didn't like the bite, he was given, and went back to the steak.

We even had some amazing Crisps "Corkers" yummy really need them to start doing them in big bags in my local supermarket as these would go great with dips and a cheeky glass of wine while having a comfy night in, in front of the TV.

I did some of my own cooking too, well I though I might as it is supposed to be a cooking blog lol.

I did a Roast Dinner for my mum as she's well on her road to recovery. Also Asda had super duper bargains the lamb was £4 per KG and the bags of veg were £0.29p each OMG whole dinner didn't cost that much over a £10 and that was with dessert.

For such a good price it was a huge leg of lamb as my glamorous assistant demonstrated, and remember he's 6"4"

Roast dinners are really simple to do but appear complicated so you get lots of praise which is nice. The only thing you really need a handle on, to have a great roast, is timing. If you get that right everything else fits into place.

So for the meat I heated up some olive oil in a roasting dish (in a pre-heated 180 Degrees) for about 5 minutes

I then gave it a baste and quickly scored the top before liberally adding Rosemary.

I then covered it in foil and put in the oven for half the cooking time 25min per 500g (17 oz) with an extra 25min on top

So after half way I whipped off the foil basted again and then I added some par boiled new potatoes and Parsnips to the roasting dish then back in the oven for the rest of the time.

What you end up with is golden lamb-ie goodness which is so so so flavorful.

Add some veg and a couple of Yorkshire puddings (I know they are supposed to go with beef but I love them with all roasts and it my blog so there).

What you are left with is a fantastic roast dinner for all the family (The little one ate all of his and he is my gold seal of approval for all my cooking now lol).

Also in the week we went out for a lovely brunch at Bills I opted for the Vegetarian option which was toast one topped with hummus and the other with guacamole. It also came with two poached eggs, mushroom and tomatoes.

Great combination of flavors especially with the sweet chilli sauce applied all over the dish. There was nothing left just one satisfied me.

I have had a lot of food this week but I have been burning it off too we been doing so DIY to the new house have a lovely new spare room.

and a beautiful new floor, oh well I can't really take any credit for the floor as we got that from the wonderful people at Carpet4less I like to give credit when it's due and these guys were great.

Really good prices and really professional fitting, couldn't be more impressed with the service.

Last cooking dish I want to share with you is a lower fat one than the roast dinner.

I baked a potato

Once it was a bit cooler I scooped out the inside.

and place the that into a bowl.

I filled the bottom of the empty potato skins with low fat cream cheese

I then grilled some bacon (with the fat trimmed off) and some Mushrooms

chopped them up and added them to the potato mix.

I then put this mix back into the potato shells and grilled for about 6 minutes.

Then add some low fat cheese and place back under the grill till it melted and serve with a lovely salad and Voila a lovely and not overly fattening snack.

So glad to be back and glad to be cooking and hopefully over the coming week we can have some fab food and some fab times.