Welcome Bonnie

We have a new little Bonnie! My (almost) daughter Jo, and her partner Sam had a little girl just over three weeks ago and they have called her Bonnie. I have just spent the last couple of hours giving her the most wonderful cuddle. She is so cute! And of course it gave me the excuse to tour the shops looking at girlie things! I didn't think to ask if I could post a picture on here, but I will ask as I am sure you will all fall in love as well.
It is chucking it down with rain outside. Although it is lovely to listen to the rain whilst snuggled up in the warm and dry, there are some disadvantages to living in such a small space. You end up living in the nautical equivalent of a Chinese laundry!!!!

Barge Update

One advantage about living on a boat is that you can see where to make improvements when building the next one. The recent snow proved the need for underfloor insulation, so that is what Pete has been doing. He has also started building the framework for the heads (bathroom). I got a bit carried away and started touring the bathroom shops, nothing like forward planning! I am going to have a big butler sink in the pantry which will be okay for bathing Alfie (which he loves, strange dog!) which means we will have just a shower in the bathroom. Being somewhat lazy, I am beginning to think that a wet room is the way forward, as shower screens need cleaning!!! Has anyone else got any experience of a wet room, if so what do you think?

Spiced Up Mashed Potatoes

I had a craving for some Indian food, so I turned to Yummy Tummy blog,  a wonderful food blog written by a young woman in Southern India, so lots of veggie food (and some non).  Her recipes are accompanied by step by step pictures and are all very easy to follow.  I cooked these spiced up mashed potatoes (find the recipe here),  along with paneer butter masala and spicy cabbage and peas.  It was so good that I cooked it again two days later when my son Philip came to lunch, who promptly took home the recipes to try out on his girlfriend.  So if you fancy an authentic Indian meal, pop over to Yummy Tummy and take a look.

Ration Book Britain

I had a lovely afternoon yesterday.  My future daughter in law, Kerry,  is a primary school teacher and this term her class is studying Wartime Britain.  My mum was an evacuee and remembers quite a lot about rationing etc, so I took her in to the school to chat to the class.  The class was apparently quite excited as someone 'real' who was in the war was coming in.  I did say that if they asked me if I remembered the war I was leaving immediately!  The class was a bit shy at first, but once they (and Mum) relaxed, the questions really started to come thick and fast.  I learnt quite a lot too:

What did you miss most with rationing?   Fruit, my dad was a greengrocer before the war and we had eaten lots of fruit and of course we couldn't get any during the war.

What was the worse thing you can remember about wartime food? Mashed parsnips with banana essence in bread - I still don't like bananas.

What was the worst thing about being evacuated? Being served lumpy porridge!

What do you remember about Christmas? Tinned fruit.

What toys did you take into your Anderson shelter? My teddy bear.

Do you remember being scared?  Yes, when the doddlebugs went silent.

Do you think rationing was a good thing? Yes because it meant that what food there was, was shared equally.

Where you close to where a bomb was dropped?  Yes, the factory behind our school was bombed and at the time we were under our desks practising our attack drill. The only girl that got hurt by shattered glass was someone who hadn't got under the table.  The moral of the tale - always listen to your teacher!

The questioning went on for about an hour.  Mum did a really good job.  She gave them a good overview of her memories, but also emphasised that war is not glamorous.  It was a tough time and she really hoped that none of them ever have to live through it.  Unfortunately the consequences of war could well touch some of these children as Colchester is a garrison town.  Let's hope that their Mothers, Fathers, brothers and sisters come home safely and that the war stops soon. We really should have learnt from history that war is not the answer.

White Out

Last night was very cold outside.  Not cold on the boat, but I wished that we had the luxury of an electric blanket.  And then I remembered this:

Oh the joy!  I had forgotten how something so simple can make such a difference.  I can honestly say that even George Clooney could not have made being in bed so worthwhile!

This morning I woke up early, Pete made me three cups of tea and then scrambled egg on toast, whilst I stayed in bed.  It was so warm and cosy, but I eventually decided to poke my head out of the hatch and this is what I saw :

Thick snow!  So, I went back to bed and stayed there, thanking my lucky stars that I have the next two days off work.  Take care in the snow and drive very carefully if you have to go out.

Floored (Well Sort Of!)

Nope, Pete and I haven't had a major fight resulting in me laying him out on deck!  This is what Pete has been working at this week.  He has finished preparing the floor and is now laying the floor joists at the aft end of the boat.  Now this bit is where the companionway steps (staircase!) are going and to the left is the heads (bathroom!).  Behind the ladder is where the workshop and walk in pantry are going.  (Sorry Mel, don't know the nautical terms for those!)  Now, call me an old cycnic, but I find it a little predictable that the bit of floor and bulkheads that seem to be going in first are for Pete's workshop.  He swears that it is so that he can get the heads in so that I can have a washing machine to use (he's so kind to me!)  Mind you, with all that black tar stuff that he has used on the floor, his clothes and himself, a shower and washing machine for him to use are probably a good idea! 

Tortilla Cake

I adapted this recipe from one of those free recipe cards from Sainsbury's and it is absolutely delicious, even that carnivore, Pete, agreed.  As always, very simple to make and looks stunning.  It makes enough for four people.

Ingredients:
1 onion (chopped)
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
2 garlic gloves
1 x can of mixed beans
1 can chopped tomatoes
100 ml veg stock
1 bunch spring onions (chopped)
1 can sweetcorn
4 tortilla wraps
100g cheese

Gently fry onion until soft, add chilli, cumin, coriander and garlic and fry for further minute.  Add beans, tomatoes, spring onions, sweet corn and stock and simmer for approx 15 mins until sauce is thicker.
Put 1 x tortilla wrap in greased baking dish, put quarter of sauce on top and sprinkle with quarter of the cheese.  Repeat 3 times, finishing with the cheese and bake at 200C for 25 minutes.  Enjoy!!!