Cheese

I love the IJ Mellis cheese shop in Morningside, so am cheating and copying a link to another blog.  I really enjoyed this and it has inspired me to nip in today for some Isle of Mull Cheddar.  It will put me in the mood for holidays....

http://www.cheesechap.com/2012/04/ij-mellis-scotlands-answer-to-neals.html

Coconut Slice

I have just made some coconut slice. Remember the school dinners version?  It was probably made with Stork SB and knobbly bits of coconut on the top.  It seemed pretty delicious at the time, but the modern version is far superior.  You need to use really good quality butter and seedless raspberry jam.  I now have a sticky keyboard.  oops!  I am always telling the children not to eat and type at the same time ....

So here is the recipe:

Coconut Slice

Base
100g butter
200g SR flour
50g caster sugar
2 egg yolks
2 tbspn water

Topping
7 tbsps seedless raspberry jam
3 egg whites
100g caster sugar
150g dessicated coconut

Method
Set oven to 180 degrees centigrade and grease a baking tin approx 15cm by 8 cm

rub butter into flour until like breadcrumbs, stir in sugar and then mix in the egg yolks and the water.  Mix until a dough forms (I do all this in the Kenwood Chef and it is v quick).  Press the dough into the tin, leaving a little ridge around the edge.

Fill this with the jam and spread evenly, not quite reaching the edge of the tin.

Whisk the egg whites until in stiff peaks.  Gently fold in the sugar and coconut and then spread over the  jam and base, right to the edges of the tin.

Bake for 20 mins and leave in the tin to cool, then cut into squares.

Resist eating it all before teatime!

Lost Sheep?

I am not sure this can be for real, but it did make me laugh.  What is the media coming to that some lost sheep that have been found is news?  It reminds me of teenagers saying "where is my rugby shirt?  Someone has stolen it" and me saying "have you looked in the washing basket/on the pulley/in your school bag" etc....

At least it fills up Twitter

http://local.stv.tv/glasgow/212791-flock-of-stolen-sheep-found-in-gully-at-kelloside-farm-in-kirkconnel/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Webs and Blogs

I have been talking to people a lot recently about websites and blogs.  It is interesting to hear that for many people who set up a blog as a hobby, they have found themselves increasingly welcomed into the realm of quasi-journalism.  We are all bloggers now - even if it is only putting up a comment on Facebook or a review on TripAdvisor.  With online profiles and avatars (like the aggressive chicken I know well), we are all building our own online persona without much effort.

Of particular interest are the ones who set up a site as a hobby/ to show they can do it and find themselves with advertising, subscribers and free offers of things to trial and review.  My theory on this is that if you can find the online thing that no one else is doing, you might manage to earn quite a lot of money for not really doing anything!  I set this blog up purely so I could see how one creates a blog and then how easy/difficult it was to think of things to write about and find the time to do it.  So it was a personal education rather than the desire to build an online persona or a passion for writing about things.  This could be why my posts are so sporadic!

However, following this and following the conversations I am having with people who set up sites themselves, I am building the plan for an idea in my head.  I won't earn money from it, I am sure, but I will continue to enjoy talking about my job and building my understanding of online techniques.

The other thing I am learning about is SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), but that is definitely another post on another day!

Champagne!

How much do we all love champagne?  Somehow, mention of the drink just brings out the best in everyone. This August I have been working with the Pommery Champagne Cafe Bar at the Signet Library.  This pop-up delight is running throughout the Edinburgh Festivals and is set within a normally quiet and empty library in a gorgeous historic building.  It is a lovely retreat from the Festival.

Canada Day

We are in Vancouver.  In a few days we are going to the west coast of Vancouver Island for a beach holiday, but for now we are enjoying the city.  And our timing is superb - yesterday we were in the city centre on Canada Day.  I can only compare the mass celebrations with something like the Queen's Jubilee.  Everyone was wearing red and white and flags, badges and tattoos were being handed out everywhere.  There was a huge concert, a full day of stalls, parties, celebrations, a parade and then a big firework display at the end.  It was a wonderful day to be in the city and to witness the patriotism.  It started rainy in the morning and then the sun shone, so it was a great day for everyone.  When we got back to our holiday apartment the owners were having a celebratory barbeque and had flags hung out on their house.  Good fun to witness it all.  Some of us have already cycled round Stanley Park, we have been to a city beach, eaten some gorgeous sushi, had some awesome cheescake at Tree Organics, but tonight (this is totally bizarre!) we are going to the cinema to watch 'Brave' - a film about Scotland .  That bit is not exactly a good example of immersing ourselves in the local culture....!!

Cricket

I think it is rugby that is played by men with funny shaped balls.  Cricket is a bisexual game played by both men and women.  I may not be that great at it myself, though I am getting more practice as time goes on.  My children play - 1 boy and 1 girl.  They both love the game but have had the most terrible season, with all the rain.  Scotland is maybe not the best place to play cricket!  Though it IS a good place because there are so many opportunities for them to play - we just need it to stay a bit drier ...  It has rained a lot this summer and both are starved of games.  Now we are off to Vancouver for a few weeks where I believe they have a cricket team.  We will have to look it out.  If I find it, I shall blog it.