A Homely Day

Evenin!

We've had a homely day here at the 'Pod'.  Man has doing manly things of a tree cutting nature, whilst I have been swanning around the kitchen in a domestic goddess manner, creating The Hairy Bikers' Mum Knows Best Coffee & Walnut cake.

Tis yur :-

Man professes it to be lovely and moist but not very "coffee-ey".  We've tried this recipe a couple of times and it's a good one - but we really need to try it with 'Camp' coffee and chicory essence rather than just strong instant coffee.  I think that will make  a huge difference.  Ah well.  I'm sure it won't last long - cake never does in this house!!

As I'm on a very strict diet regime (yawn), I'm not allowed cake in its usual form, so I baked myself this:

This is a  "1/2 syn" (if you're on the Slimming World plan)  roulade, which contains simply 4 eggs, 1/2 a tub of quark, sweetener, almond essence and, a teaspoon of baking powder.  No flour, no fat, no sugar.  It was baked in a swiss roll tin, allowed to cool and then spread with the other pot of quark, duly sweetened and combined with half a cherry fat free yoghurt, then rolled up like a swiss roll.  Et voila - a sweet but guilt free treat. This had a cherry bakewell kind of flavour, but  in the past I've replaced the almond essence with lemon, and spread with one of the new fat free greek style lemon yoghurts.  Or vanilla essence and strawberry yoghurt.    Any port in a dieting storm I say!

Remember the long running saga of us taking up the lawn in the summer and replacing it with the freebie slabs we were lucky enough to inherit?  Well I think we are finally (finally!!!) on the home straight.  This pic was taken this evening. Not the best I'm afraid as the light was fading and it hadn't quite dried out but you'll get the general idea.

We just have a couple of edging boards to paint, and the very top bit to sort out and I think we'll be there.  Mum planted up my pots with some cyclamen, heather and pansies this afternoon so they'll bring a welcome splash of colour for the next couple of months at least.

Out in the fields, the farmer has been making the most of the dry spell to plough and till the soil ready for the next crop.  He's a miserable old git and destroys the footpaths every single year until the walkers reclaim them by exercising their right to roam.  It's a public right of way and has been for very many years but he seems to pay no heed - I think he just likes being difficult!

See you soon!