Barossa Ink Shiraz

I have been postponing my review of this wine, and I don't know why because I enjoyed it so much. Three of us shared a bottle and we all enjoyed it. Lots of rich fruit, something deliciously dark pulling it back from being too sweet. When we first opened the bottle I could not get …

Paprika Chicken-style Pieces And Orzo

I tried this recipe simply because I was looking for something a little different. Throughout the Pandemic, we have tried dozens of different curry recipes. I wanted to try something new for me. I found a recipe in a Waitrose magazine for a chicken dish, but I decided to use plant based chicken style pieces …

Like A Tiger Defying The Laws Of Gravity

Jim's Song Lyric Sunday theme for today includes a list of wild animals. I ended up getting a little carried away with this theme, and finding it very hard to pick one song. Eventually, I settled on a song that I find furiously and infectiously energetic. It is of course unmistakably Queen, with their track …

Chiswick Tea Co. Camomile Flowers

Camomile tea! Calming, fragrant, refreshing and such a pleasure to drink all year round. During the anxious moments the Pandemic brought along, I have definitely increased my camomile tea intake! I have bought chamomile teabags over the years, but now I have discovered Chiswick Tea Company's pyramids full of their camomile flowers, I feel I …

Sweetcorn And Urfa Chilli Chowder

Years ago I remember trying a sweetcorn chowder and it being extremely unpleasant and feeling quite ill afterwards. I have shied away from sweetcorn chowder ever since - until now! I wanted to try this soup simply because of one word - VEGAN! Yes Robert and I are opting for plant based, vegan options regularly. …

Life Has A Funny Way Of Helping You Out

Jim's theme for Song Lyric Sunday includes life and death, both of which are mentioned in my song choice for today. I was obsessed with the album "Jagged Little Pill" from Alaniz Morissette and I loved her track "Ironic". I don't think I was the only one. My friends and I loved the lyrics, it …

Domaine Viret Energie

I was slightly perplexed by my first glass of this wine. I was sure I was tasting too much cork at first. My second glass was more enjoyable, but there is no mistaking that there is a certain mystique within this bottle. I read that Philippe Viret normally produces two types of Energie wine but …

Onion Marmalade Macaroni Cheese

Comfort food. The descent into autumn and winter is a time of year I sense my spirits declining and my energy levels drop. It is over two years since we had a holiday abroad in the sunshine, so I can detect that I am really dreading another dark, grey cold winter. It is at times …

Drag The Past Into The Light

It seems we might be doing a little time travelling for this week's Song Lyric Sunday, with Jim asking us to pick songs on the theme "past, present or future". I thought I would go for "past". I believe this song was actually write after a period the band had been rather disunited, and yet …

Fentimans Curiosity Cola

My nephew, Wills asked me why I buy such strange cold drinks. I asked him what on earth he meant. He voiced his view that perhaps my taste-buds favoured unusual flavour combinations instead of regular soft drinks. I assured him that the main motivation in my choice of which soft drinks to purchase is simply …