Mud Cakes and Wine

Mr MC&W and I are sat on the sofa with a cup of tea, completely shattered and our muscles are aching, however, we are really rather pleased with ourselves. This morning, through torrential downpours, bright sunshine and a rather cold wind Mr MC&W and I planted 18 climbers. We wanted to add some colour to the fence behind the trees but not to over crowd them. I thought that some climbers would be perfect, they would add interest and attract bees and wildlife.   This is what we went for: Lonicera Japonica Hallina -Late Dutch Honeysuckle,  Trachelospermum Jasminoides - Confederate Jasmin  Clematis Montana Tetrarose  In theory, we should get flowers for a lot of the year, Viburnum (the smaller trees and three shrubs) flower in the winter, Clematis Tetrarose is an early spring flowering clematis, honeysuckle late spring to early summer and Jasmin mid to late summer. Bringing this together with the Elaeagnus Ebbingei, the large Lollipop trees at the bac...

This week has seen us almost bake in the heatwave and not really fancy food. I was very pleased I had put some thought into the food and we have lovely light meals. The other upside to the plan was that we managed to have lots of salad in as it was selling out fast in the shops. This is what we are up to this week and we are trying a couple of new meals. Friday - Boys have a picnic dinner as they have school dinner on a Friday. Mr MC&W and I will be having Pizza, a posh one from the pizza express range as they were on special offer Saturday - Busy day for us all. Boys will have a pizza. Mr MC&W and I will have Fajitas Sunday - Its the village fete at lunchtime so we will either eats loads of burgers and cake or will pop to Waitrose for a ready meal Monday - Crispy Greek Pie with salad. The boys will have cottage pie CrispyGreek style pie Tuesday - Paprika Pork for everyone served with pasta Paprika pork Wednesday - Chorizo Pasta bake for everyone Chorizo ric...

Wow we have had some hot weather this weekend and for the coming week.Trying to meal plan food that is easy to prepare and eat. Friday - We are having this lovely meal using smoked mackerel which I have not cooked with in ages. It combines so many of my favourite foods. Though I did change things around a little. Warm mackerel and beetroot salad Saturday- Mr MC&W and I will be having a treat to celebrate Father's Day aw little early tonight. Steak, Chips, Button mushrooms, peas and lots of peppercorn sauce followed by cheese and lots of it. Boys have swimming as are very tired so will have tortellini. Sunday - BBQ at the brother in laws for Father's Day and several family birthdays. Monday - Oven Baked Risotto for the boys pea and ham for Mr MC&W and I mushroom Tuesday - Boys will have veggie fingers, mash, broccoli and beans. Mr MC&W and I will have our own little BBQ with meat from our local farm shop and salad Wednesday - Gnocchi for the boys a toma...

This morning I finally found the time to get the hanging baskets sorted out, my intention was to only look and decide what to buy, as a very kind friend had offered to help me out on another day. Pushing a buggy and a garden centre trolley is not easy. But the plants were starting to get a little low so I decided I just had to go for it. I am still very much a beginner when it comes to hanging baskets but I really love them, I am lucky that our local independent nursery specialises in bedding plants and is very well labelled. I went straight for the plants marked up as baskets and containers then read a lot of labels.  I was surprised at how many names of plants I remembered.  I came home with a boot full of plants. I loved the trailing Petunias I chose last year they were a cascade of white and yellow.  This year I have gone a little more dramatic and this deep purple combined with the white. I must admit I was very close to choosing a bright pink to go...

It has been a while since I last posted a meal plan. We have been eating but the plans have been very last moment and I have been struggling to write them. Everything seemed boring and I do not think the weather helped not knowing if it is summer or autumn. But then I having a look at the stats for the blog and the meal plans are being viewed a lot and are popular and it seemed to help me get my motivation back Friday - Chicken Kiev with new potatoes and salad. The boys have a main meal at school at lunch so they had a picnic dinner Saturday - Mr MC&W is at a party, the boys and I will have Pizza, Chips and Salad Sunday - Roast Chicken on courgette and tomato with roast potatoes and broccoli. Boys will have same minus the courgette and tomatoes  Monday - Bacon and Mushroom Pasta from BBC Good Food Bacon and mushroom pasta Tuesday - Speedy Beef Tacos from BBC Good Food - This is just an idea I will be changing it to suit the family Speedy beef tacos Wednes...

Have you ever been in the garden and seen a sad looking bee on the ground not really moving? You watch it for a while realising the poor little chap is really struggling. I have found several bees like this and tried to feed them sugar water. But my attempts to rescue them mainly ended with me trying to drown them, I was really not aiding them during their time of need. But I have finally developed a method that works so I thought I would share. Mix together white sugar with a little water so that it completely dissolves, RSPB suggests 2 tablespoons of sugar with one tablespoon of water. I used desert spoons but the same ratio. The advice is never to use honey or brown sugar.  This is what worked for me, move the bee to a paving stone, I used a strong leaf they tend to walk onto it, if not you can easily slide it under them, then drip a small amount of the sugar water in front of the bee. The bee will start to drink the sugar water and you will see it begin to get stronger. It...