Marie Cookpad

  On Monday (as I write this) it is really difficult to believe that Summer is only a few weeks away.  The rain is bucketing down and there is a very chilly wind blowing.   Its not nice out there at all . . .  but it is a bank holiday Monday and running true to form!   I decided it was the perfect day for some soup.  We won't have many more of those as the warm temperatures and wall to wall sunshine will soon be upon us and we will be revelling in all of it and enjoying grills and salads.  (How's that for positive thinking and hope!)    This soup recipe I am sharing today is a really lovely soup.  I adore Tomato Soup of any kind. I think of all the soups, tomato soups and chicken soups are my favourites.    It uses simple ingredients that you probably have in your larder and refrigerator . . .   Simple ingredients like carrots, celery and onions  . . .  chopped fine into a mirepoix as it is officially calle...

  A few weeks back I was asked if I would like to try the Ion8 Leakproof Water Bottle.  I said yes, and was sent this gorgeous purple 500ml model. It also comes in a larger 1 litre model which is ideal to keep up your water intake without having to constantly re-fill it. The smaller one fits perfectly in a cup holder or a child's backpack. Both come in a variety of colours, and the smaller version also comes in a few different patterned designs.  I've been putting it through its paces for about a week and a half now and these are my findings.   It  has a handy dandy carrying hook, which makes it easy to hook onto standard sized bicycle bottle cages.  You could also easily hook it onto your ruck sack if you are hiking, or your back pack if you are going to school.    It sports an on-the-go one hand, flip lid. with a lock that you can put into place to keep it from opening up accidentally  . . .   But once you undo the lock, the lid pops o...

  Perfection salad . . .  my first memory of what I think is a most delicious salad comes from the early 1960's. My father and his friend Louis used to go hunting and fishing together.  On one particular foray my mother took the three of us and we spent the weekend with Louis's wife Irene, while the men were off doing man-things.   Irene had been one of my mother's friends since her early working days as a secretary and I believe they had roomed together in Truro, Nova Scotia.  This whole weekend had almost a holiday feel to it . . .  at least to me it did. We did not often go anywhere as a family.  Mom was not a fan of the Great-Outdoors, so in the summer we might spend one day at the beach. That was it.   Getting to stay for a few days at someone else's home was a really big deal.  I remember Irene and Louis had a huge vegetable garden and we were allowed to help them pick peas and beans and lettuces for supper on the first night.   Th...

  Most weekends I like to bake a cake or summat like that for Saturday Tea Time.  We will usually have some sandwiches or scrambled eggs on toast and then some cake for afters. Its what works for us.  A relaxing day with a relaxing supper.    This recipe I am sharing with you today was adapted from a cookery book by Tamasin Day-Lewis.  I love her recipes. They are all fabulous.  I used to love watching her television programs (Tamasin's Weekends and Great British Dishes), but I haven't seen her on the telly in a while. She is the sister of Daniel Day Lewis, and also writes regularly for a variety of magazines and publications.  She is also a film director and producer in her own right.  So, very accomplished.    I love and trust her recipes. They are impeccable.  I have never cooked one of her recipes that didn't turn out or that wasn't delicious.   In her narrative to this recipe, she speaks of Victorian Seed Cake as bein...