Post-Christmas and New Year

Happy New Year!

Well it's been busy. Before Christmas I was ill, so I had a little rush on, finishing presents. This one for my friend Amanda, who I work with. (little felt ice skates were so wonderful to make, an idea from Montessouri by Hand). The heart was a little extra for her tree, and the X-stitch was from here and was particularly apt for her (I've since learned that it made her cry, with joy hopefully!!).

Running a Craft afternoon at my Church for the children while the parents helped making 400 Christingles. It was great fun. My two were guinea pigs....

UP at the crack of dawn? Get sewing young man....

C loves stuffing....

After Christmas we went to visit my brother and his family in Cardiff. Staying in a really gorgeous hotel with a roaring fire in each room to sit and sip Baileys next to and get nice rosy cheeks. The following morning while the children played,

We sat reading, and stared at the view.

On returning home, despite not having cooked on Christmas Day, I still seemed to have a plethora of leftovers. Well, we did cook a turkey, ham and acoutrements for the following few days after Christmas, as we did have quite a few visitors.

Poor hubby has been in bed since we returned from Cardiff on Saturday afternoon. He's not usually poorly so I know when he's feeling rough as he never sleeps during the day and doesn't like lying in bed. He's done both every day. (He is also catching up on Season 2 of 24 which means we can continue watching it together once he's caught up with me!!)

Anyway....we have lots of leftovers as he hasn't been hungry enough to eat, so I've been busy making in the kitchen.

Turkey Soup

Yes, yes - I know, a good ole Turkey recipe. However this one is really nice. (Turkey carcus, 1 parsnip, stick of celery, 2 carrots, 1 onion, 2 bay leaves and sprigs of rosemary, 2 litres of water, bung in cooking pot and bring to the boil, simmer slowly for 2 hours). They say that a good chicken soup is good for the soul, and the enzymes released while cooking it is a good cure for colds and flu. R has just eaten a bowl so if he miraculously springs from our bed tomorrow I will let you know.

Broccoli and Stilton Soup, Cheese Sauce

Why Oh Why did we buy a "cheese board". Well I know why, because before Christmas I had a tummy bug and when I finished doing my shopping online, I had no appetite for food so ordered something that would suit all tastes. The Somerset Brie was decimated by the mother-in-law and so there was some Stilton, French Brie and Edam left. I leafed through my Nigella Express Recipe Book and found Broccoli and Stilton Soup....I actually wouldn't touch Stilton with a barge pole if you handed it to me on a cracker, but in a soup, I likes it :-D

It's really, really simple and I'm having it for tea.

First of all fry 3 chopped salad onions in garlic oil.

Add 500g frozen broccoli, together with 1 tsp of dried thyme
Crumble in Stilton....add 800ml hot vegetable stock.


Cook for 5 minutes, liquidize and serve with a little red chilli crumbled on top.


Yum.

I also made batches of cheese sauce for the children, ready to throw on pasta with some of the leftover ham, chicken and some broccoli.

Split Pea and Ham Soup
I have made this before and it's gorgeous. It's also low fat which means it tastes better!!!!

Now that all our guests have gone, the tree is down and things are getting back to normal. I'm already planning what my next sewing project is going to be. I have a few birthdays coming up so better start thinking! (especially as one of them is a big one...you know who you are ;-) )