Marie Cookpad

  We have certainly had a cold week here in the UK.  Nothing like the Arctic Vortex which has been gripping the North American continent, but cold nonetheless.  Our homes here are not really equipped to deal with real cold, so when we get hit by an arctic blast, we really feel it!    These are the days we huddle in our homes by the fire, not venturing out very far from it's warmth.  The roads are icy, the ground frosted.  This be soup and stew  . . .  dishes to warm your bones weather!   This is one of my favourite soups to make in the winter time.  Not only does it use simple ingredients, but it is very easy to put together and quick to cook and get on the table.   It uses simple ingredients that  most of us have in our homes . . .   carrots, potatoes, onions  . . .   Celery and green pepper . . .     These will be cooked in some chicken stock until tender  . . .    Once t...

   We don't always have days when we are wanting a big meal to eat for our suppers in this house.  I think as you get older, your appetites change and you don't eat quite so much as you did when you were younger.    I can remember back when I was first married, some many years ago, having a full supper and then cooking a box of Kraft Dinner or making a boxed pizza mix with my husband to snack on in the evening.  My how things have changed!    Not only would I not be hungry enough to eat such a hearty snack before bed these days, but I also would end up suffering all night with acid reflux if I did!  No, ageing is not for the weak!  It comes accompanied with all sorts of delights to experience!   Anyways, I digress.  We don't always want a big meal. Sometimes we only want a sandwich.  There is no need for it to be a boring sandwich however!  (As if I could ever make a boring sandwich!)   This tasty sandwich takes ...

  Keeping things fairly simple around here.  To be honest, I am not really all that hungry, but my hubby still has to eat. I found a small package of lamb mince in the freezer and so today I did him a shepherd's pie.   People often confuse Shepherd's Pie and Cottage Pie, using the terms interchangeably.  In reality, although quite similar, they are actually two very different things, with one using minced lamb and the other minced beef.   The clues are in the names  . . .  a Cottage Pie, uses beef, and is so called because of the "thatch" of mashed potatoes on top . . .  said to resemble a thatched roof cottage.    There is certainly a "Thatch" of mash on both casseroles  . . .   "Shepherd's" Pie is so called because it uses minced lamb . . .  and it is shepherds who have traditionally cared for flocks of sheep/lambs.    My Todd really loves a dinner like this.  Meat and potatoes are his favourite of all foo...

  I have to admit that on weekdays I am pretty lazy when I get up in the morning. I don't really want to go to a lot of faffing about when it comes to having breakfast.  I'm usually really really starving and more often than not will naughtily eat a piece of cake or some cookies. Not the healthiest way to start your day I know!    I think one of the reasons I am so hungry when I get up is because I don't eat anything in the evenings at all, nada, nothing . . .  zip . . . at least not past about 6 PM.  Its not that I am not hungry past that time.  I occasionally am.  But when you have gastric disease, you learn quickly that eating past a certain time of night is a necessary evil which can help to prevent a lot of discomfort later on.   I am a huge fan of overnight oats.  Overnight oats  . . .  a bit of  fad with some perhaps, but they are one thing which helps me to behave better in the morning, and to eat much healthier. ...