Fiction, Food, Faith and everything in-between

  My blog posts are usually about food.  I enjoyed reading this book. I heard the author speak about her book at the Hay Festival last year and I decided to read it. It is a fascinating book which explores the meaning of home for different people.  Home means so many different things. My home is a tiny two up two down in London. It means a lot to me because it is my bolt hole from a demanding job and a noisy world. My home is home because of family, although I only live with one family member, my many relatives know that my home is always their home. Home means space, peace and a place where I can be me. It is a place of creativity, of reading, of writing, of reflecting, of cooking, of baking and of attempts at gardening. The best times in my home are the early dawn mornings when the geese in the nearby nature reserve call out to each other, and the magpies fight for water from the gutters on the building next door. Sometimes they are joined by the local flock of parakeet...

I haven't blogged since September because life took over. I travelled to Egypt for a holiday, took services and worked hard at my job.  My job is actually quite challenging, although I don't always recognise that because I just get on with things. I notice the impact of my job when I fall behind on my reading and my baking.  This year I have decided to look after my wellbeing at work and at home and that means allowing myself time.  So I had an extra holiday in Oman which was absolutely brilliant and gave me time to reflect on life and my work. I question whether I should stay there. I generalky like what I do. I am a problem solver and good at it, but it is pure administration which doesn't involve social justice, and I don't like the privilege that people swim in. Of course I also swim in that privilege. Baking reminds me about the beauty of life and the simplicity of enjoying simple activities like baking. I made this Cinnamon star bread. It was a bit fir...

Life is hectic and the Summer is almost over. I haven't baked much over the past couple of months but today I insisted, ignored all the reports I need to read and baked a loaf. I am going to eat it as well. Sometimes I find myself baking and then I end up not eating the bread because I am away from home.  I am eating this loaf. Half for now and half for the freezer!  I can bake, work, read reports and eat the bread I made. 

I made Focaccia for the very first time. I am still exploring recipies from my Paul Hollywood cookbooks and this is one of them. It is a surprisingly easy bread to make and I was really please with the way it turned out. This is not too salty and it is soft. The oregano gives it a lovely flavour. Next time I make this I shall add olives. I ate this with a seafood boil kit which was delicious. I ordered the kit from  Decatur Seafood Boil.  https://decaturlondon.com/products/shrimp-boil  It was very easy to cook this. The shrimps were large and fresh and the sausage was perfectly spicy. It is a great kit and matched the Focaccia perfectly. Over the past few weeks I was able to make some bread for friends. I made Cholla  These were browner than I would have liked but they tasted great. I gave three away and ate one. They were enjoyed by all. I wish I had more time to bake bread for friends. It is just a great way of blessing people an...

The last time I wrote it was April and now it is July. Time is hurtling by and at this rate it will soon be Christmas. Work, travel, and life have consumed so much of my time the last few months. I have cooked and baked without taking photos but as long as the food tastes good then it is all good. I have settled down into my new job. I am still sorting things out and trying my best to instill better working practices for staff but I am also learning how to make new foods like Gizdodo.  This is a delicious mix of chicken gizzard and plantain with herbs and spices. It takes ages to get the gizzard soft but with a meaty chewiness. The herbs give the dish a savoury taste and the plantain provides a contrasting sweetness. This goes well with rice or anything else or indeed everything else. I combined my Gizzdodo with Beef Stew.  This has a rich, spicy flavour which I felt needed yam so I made some pounded yam to go with it.   It was sub...

It is a new year! Ok it is a new financial year but it is still new. I have another cookbook from the Jamie Oliver Cookbook Club. I tried my best but I simply couldn't resist this one. It is a lovely book and I am only just beginning my adventures with this book. I started off easily with Vanilla Chai Shortbread and Vanilla Chai. Then I made Berbere Meatballs. These were nice but a bit spicy. Less spice next time. I also made Spice Island Fish Curry. This is delicious and I am so pleased that I now have a good recipe for fish.  I made Coconut Squid and I knew that was good when my son started eating them. Joshua is not a great fan of squid but these were great. One morning I woke up and remembered that I had put an overripe banana in the food recycling. It was still in its skin so I made banana loaf. Instead of dates I used double the amount of nuts and it turn out nicely, albeit a bit overbaked. I think the lock down really revitalis...