Seaside Shenanigans

I'm Draft So this weekend I attend the wonderful Whitstable Oyster Festival with the train gang.

Actually not all of the gang as you know from previous post there are the four of us but one of the gang due to other things could attend which was really a shame as I know a weekend away drinking and mayhem would do her the world of good.

But Hey Ho cant have everything :)

So me and my partner in Crime traveled down on the Train from central London Late afternoon of course we had supplies on the way.

Don't worry this was strictly a girl trip for the first 2 days the little man was safe at home with his dad and was kept well away from anything that could result in years worth of therapy lol

As we were staying at our other friends folks lovely house we had hoped the weather would be nice and we could spend the evening sitting out in their fab Garden no such luck it was tipping it down. The heavens opened so after an hour and a half of nice warm dryness of the train we were out at the station. Then I had the bright idea as it's not far to her house to Walk.  I blame the booze as it was hideous. We got to the house like drowned rats didn't help that Hannah then took forever to open the door.

so we dripped our way in my suitcase was so wet it had seeped into my clothes luckily I had wine in my bag so discovered this as it gave me a great opportunity to hang them out for then next day.

Our hostess made up for her lack of door opening by having a lovely spread laid on.. mmm Bread and Cheese with some nice bottles of wine what could be better for drying out.

It wasn't a too late night, I'd been up since 5am with the little one he does like to wake up with the dawn..

but it was so much fun sitting around chatting and catching up on everything and hearing everyone's news. Definitely if you've got a small child you need just the odd night like this to re-charge and replenish (oh and get a tiny bit tipsy lol).

We finally made it to bed at a reasonable time.

Work up the next day not feeling totally my best I grant you but after an amazing service of Orange Juice and Toast followed by  a nice shower I felt human enough to get dressed.

So glad I hung everything out as poor Sue clothes were still damp (even the undergarments lol :) )

But once we were all up and dressed we ventured out to see what the day had to offer. Thankfully the weather had done a complete u turn and was actually shaping up to be a really pleasant day.

We headed up the wonderful quaint High Street looking for adventure. First stop was this great little sweet come Nic-Nac Shop Sundae Sundae where I needed to pick up a diet coke to get some caffeine into me to even me out.

So cool not only did they serve it in a glass bottle they did an amazing twisty thing with the straw which added to the coolness of it all. I was uber impressed over such a simple thing. It true what they say the little touches do count.

so with a drink clasped in my hands we headed on visiting a lot of the boutique niche shops that makes Whitstable High Street such a rare gem.

We ended up in the Community Center and where like last time they were having a Art fair. All of it was lovely. I really like the TotalPap who made scene out of papier-rmache.

It also included scenes that move.

As well They do prints on card and had someone on hand demonstrating the process. It nice to see local artist at their work.

Oompah and Illness

Well it's been a bit of a full week in the Dyslexic Cooking household.

On the weekend it was time to say goodbye to our good friends N&B they are taking their little dog Luigi and moving all the way to Greece.

I respect them so much for that, they are both round my age and have just decided to leave the rat race behind. B quit his very lucrative job in the city, N is keeping his job and his boss is being fabulous about remote working. (I think in the future we will all be able to work in any job from anywhere in the world, if it was me I'd probably move to Florida and do my work from Disney World in between rides lol.)

They're going to the gorgeous island of Paros and have promised that we could come an visit whenever we want. Although where as years ago I would already sorting out the airfare with the little one it make things like this a little bit more logistical. Oh I am so going, but might need to work a few things out first.

So we had their farewell do at Katzenjammers  a Bavarian Beer house located near Borough Market in London.

What a lovely venue, the other half drove so I had a couple of the local brew.

I'm not a huge fan of beer in England one of those things I drink when I'm Holiday as a cold beer in the Sun just hits the spot. Although I did enjoy the Paulaner (well a few of the Paulaner) luckily the Grandparents had the little man over night so we could kick back and relax. We did plan to eat at the venue too, as there was an array of German Sausage dishes. But as the night drew on and lots more people turned up we all got a bit distracted from our goal, I ended up chatting rather than eating. Which I know is awful especially when I write a food Blog. Although it's one hell of an excuse to go back which I will.

Apart from catching up with old friends and making new friends and given out lots of Hugs to an upset N. One of the main highlights of the night was the Oompah band "Hosen Brass" a five piece band that played an array of modern hits in the traditional Bavarian Style.

What a fantastic band, as it was just music you had the whole bar contributing the words even if it wasn't in the right key.  The trombone player kept it very interactive by standing on tables and if you didn't watch out you have the Slide in your face.

The played tunes by Meatloaf, The Killers and the Beatles just to name a few.

Honestly if you're about in that area of London on a Saturday night I strongly suggest booking a table and going down.

The next morning work up and actually didn't feel too bad and I got a few hours before my folks brought the whirlwind back around 11am. Within a few minutes of bringing him back and lifting him in an awkward way I threw my shoulder out. Painful!!! Also didn't help that I was home alone with him till my husband got back from work later on in the afternoon.

That's a really difficult situation if you're a parent as you can't really explain to a little one that you need them to give you space to lie down till the pain goes away. I'm just happy he's mobile as I could give him a few toys and if I needed to change him I could get him to walk to the mat rather than carry him.

Added to that I developed a mouth full of ulcers. I got to the doctors on Monday to discuss both problems and she said I was run down. That's an understatement what with everything going being a mum to a child that hasn't master sleeping through the night and a ball of energy during the day, having a busy job with a long commute and my currently busy social life, I'm not surprised.

She suggested that I take some time to rest. I love it when doctors give advise like that and when exactly with a 19 month old at home do you have time to rest. Although with a bit of family help and an understanding boss I manged to get a day where I had some rest and some baby free time. I did feel better think as I hadn't had that in such a long time in the few hours I did made the world of difference.

As my back was giving me jip, I was unable to do a lot of cooking boo. There's a bank holiday this weekend so I'm hoping to fit a lot in yay.

I did manage to throw together a Salmon and Green Tagliatelle - a simple low fat dish.

Put some Salmon in the oven to cook, while starting a pan of water for the Tagliatelle and a separate smaller pan for the Greens. The Salmon will take about 20 mins to cook in a 190 degree oven.

Once you had 10 mins of cooking time the water should be boiling in both pan add the Tagliatelle to the pan with a pinch of salt. Then add the green beans that you've already sliced in what every way you like to the other then a few minutes later add some peas to the green bean pan (as why dirty another pan).

After everything is cooked drain the Tagliatelle and the greens add them all back into one pan, flake the cooked salmon and then add some 75% less fat cream cheese. I was debating whether to add some chilli to give it a bit of a zing but with my sore mouth I left it as is.

A recipe that is low in fat but very high in taste and if you used Quark instead of the cream cheese it would be syn free on Slimming World.

Amok in Amsterdam - Part One

I spent this weekend (7/8/9 Nov 14) in Amsterdam with some girly friends. It was my first trip away from the little man. I’ve had the odd night away from him but never in a different country. Actually I was okay thought I’d be a blubbering wreck. I did miss him but as I kept myself busy I only felt the pangs when I saw other family with their little ones around the town.

Left around 3pm Friday and met up with my friends  (AKA S & J) on the Gatwick expressed (actually we all became friends on our commute from London to Kent so it only was fitting we started our trip to meet another member of the “Train Gang” on a train). Treated ourselves to some Moet before departure, then we were off. Can’t believe how quick and easy the flight is we were up and down before we knew it.

The main reason for the trip was to visit a friend (aka H) who had just moved over. She picked us up and whisked us to her lovely new home in the Hilversum area of the Netherland about 30 mins outside Amsterdam.

We got there around 10pm and she’d put out a lovely spread of bread, meats and cheese. I really love this tapas-y finger food type stuff.  Goes great with good conversation and a nice bottle of fizz (or 3)

 

The next morning after waking up slightly dry mouthed. We had some lovely Danish Bacon sandwiches before starting to head out. So 2+ hours later after it took 4 women to get ready using 2 bathrooms (I know, I know, but in my defence I was the quickest and spent most of the morning watching Saturday Kitchen, my friend gets the satellite feed).  We headed out. Our first stop was Hilversum town centre I was very keen to get into Amsterdam itself but the rest of the group wanted a mooch.

I’m so glad we did J as they have a market in the town on Saturday and it’s amazing. I love fresh food markets. Unfortunately in England I can’t see to find ones as good, I love Borough Market but compared to its European counterpart it’s a bit too expensive and more trendy than functional (but you can get pink Fizz on Tap so I’ll forgive it). It was so full of colour and life, just normal people doing their weekly shop getting fresh ingredients to take home and make something fantastic and healthy. I have to say that apart from being shocked at the number of people smoking, I found it really hard to spot an obese person on my trip, (whereas the sad thing in the UK is it a bit too common) and with all the healthy cheap fresh food you can see why. All the colours and the smells along with the range availble was just amazing.

 

Right there and then I could have blown off the rest of the day done some serious shopping and then some serious cooking. Gave me so many ideas of what to make, which will probably disappear when I go to the supermarket and see the tired old stuff I always see. (If anyone knows of any hidden market Gems in Kent I would love to know).

But the day was a-wasting so we moved on. After one of the group bought Salted Liquorish, which hands down is the most awful thing ever, although I didn’t know that at the time that treat came later over a nice glass of beer.

We headed back to the station, waylaid by a Kamikaze wasp that attacked J only one in the group who was allergic. So a trip to the Hilversum Pharmacist, who was so lovely and helpful, we were back on track.

Got the train from Hilversum to Amsterdam there’s usually a direct train but we picked the weekend with engineering works (fitting for an English commuting Group) so we had to change at Utrecht where we picked up an Germany “ICE” train. OMG it was immaculate I was so impress.

For the trip, as it was nearly 2pm and we’d last eaten at 9am I got some Fries with Curry Sauce from a little outlet. It was nice and definitely filled a hole.

 

So at last we got off at Amsterdam Central and started heading down the narrow street crossing the canals of this fair city. Our first stop like all good tourists was the China town then into the Red light district area. 

Having been the only one that was fortified with the fries I had we started looking for a place to eat.  The friend we were visiting recommended “In De Waag” www.indewaag.nl the cities old gate house, built in 1428, which had lovingly been converted into a nice little if somewhat squashed (which is, as I found out, the norm) restaurant.  They had hanging chandeliers of candles which they lower twice a day to change and relight.

 

We started out at the bar, found this lovely beer called “Gulpener”, the rest of the gang on white wine, before being taken to our table. We all ordered the Hotdogs and some fries to share.  It was amazing. A German sausage with tiny onions and I wasn’t 100% what was in the sauce on top was but it tasted lovely; went especially well with the beer. 

 

S &H opted for some mulled wine after the meal, after spotting the people at the next table drinking it. I, myself, am not a big fan of hot drinks and especially hot alcohol. So after another beer when they finished supping on their warms grapes our thoughts turned to dessert. 

S has spent most of the day before and the morning talking about “Poffertjes” as H who lives there didn’t seem to know what she was talking about. I thought it must have been from a fevered dream of a mad person. But low and behold they did exist and they were selling them in a shop a stone’s throw from the Gate House Restaurant. It was a very popular shop serving Waffles and Crepes along with the Poff we were planning to feast on.

We waited patiently for the hordes of people to get served all manner of gooey goodness in front of us.  Deciding on what topping, of which there was a few, we would have on top. We all opted for Ferrero Roche yum. When it was my turn I strode purposefully to the counter and ordered 4 lots. The assistant said they were no longer serving them. I must have had a look like thunder as the person doing the cooking of the tasty treats said he would prepare us some.

He hot buttered the cooking apparatus and poured in 24 little bits of pancake mix and got to work. They took about 4 mins to cook and in the meantime crushed up 4 Ferreros for the topping once they were done he put them in little serving trays, put the chocolate on and dusted them with icing sugar. As for the taste they were lovely nice and small but sweet enough to hit the spot and leaving you full (well after a meal with wine). We ate them outside looking over one of the many canals.

Once we had all finished, which took about 60seconds, we decided to head out into the desending twilight and look for a bar and that's when the fun really began!!!!  – (Part 2 coming soon)