Wrist Warmers, a Windy Evening and a Chocolate River

After a very restless night of strong winds and rain I decided to give up and get up out of bed, put the rubbish out for the bin men, and then subsequently discuss life with the night shift workers returning home!  I should explain...I live on a corner of two cul-de-sacs and there are a couple of health care and policemen that live near me.  I just happened to be putting the rubbish out as they were coming home.  Picture the scene, I'm usually in a suit or smart gear for work, this morning I was wearing mismatched pyjamas, slippers and 'bed hair'...oh the shame!

When I got back inside and started to feel warm again I decided that I was going to be a bit more productive with my day.  I had started a new project, wrist warmers (another Attic 24 idea), and my daughter expressed a wish for black ones to be made.  So, perfect excuse to go shopping in Spalding and along to the haberdashery shop.  Here is my prototype that I made last night to make sure of measurements.  I have seen loads on Google images and have one in mind where the cuff is turned up and buttons are put on the side.  I'll keep you posted on this project.

The road to Spalding was quite treacherous and the constant worry is that the fields, which in the fens are sometimes higher than the road itself, are totally saturated.

The wind was quite terrifying.  It is the one thing that Mother Nature throws at us that I am truly scared of.  I can deal with snow, ice, rain, fog etc but wind can affect us even when we are in our cosy homes.  The damage it produces is so scary.

I managed to take this photo of Moulton Village in the distance with the wind blowing around my ears and myself and my mum gradually sinking into the mud!  You can just make out the windmill that I took a photo of yesterday.

The river that runs through Spalding is very high and so brown and murky, not the perfect picture postcard that it can be for most of the year.  The murkiness is from all the mud coming through from the fields.  However, it does remind me of a certain film to do with a Chocolate Factory and the chocolate river that flows through it!

The bridge that I stood on to take this photo usually has the River Boat Taxi pass underneath in the summer, however it would have some trouble at the moment.

So, now home with black wool, some shiny buttons and a design running through my head.  Lunch was going to be the remainder of a delicious Risotto I made last night with left over gammon and turkey...it would have been nice but my daughter got to it before me!

If you have any leftovers and don't know what to do with them, I made an oven cooked 'Risotto' (sorry to my Italian readers) - this is a version from the Delia Smith Winter Collection Cookbook but I have added quite a bit of other stuff to the mix.

You need:

1 Onion (chopped)
2 Cloves of Garlic (crushed)
1 Pepper (chopped)
Some Mushrooms (chopped)
Risotto Rice (I used 1 very large mug)
2 large mugs of boiling water with Chicken Knorr
Left over Turkey
Left over Gammon (but you could use anything that you need to use up)
Left over Cheese (anything but not too strong - the matured stilton was NOT going in)
Salt and Pepper

Put a large dish in the oven at 150oC to warm through.

Saute the Onion in some butter for 5 minutes.
Add the garlic for another minute
Add the pepper, mushrooms, and left over meats and keep this going until the mushrooms start to ooze some of their juices.
Add the Risotto Rice and stir around to coat in the different flavours.
Add the boiling water mixed with your stock cube.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Once this is all bubbling and lovely, get your dish out of the oven and pour the mixture in.  Mix and then put back into the oven for exactly 20 minutes (do not cover).

After 20 minutes take out of the oven, mix, add more water if necessary, and then mix your cheeses into the mixture.

Put back into the oven for another 15 minutes, or until the rice is lovely and creamy.  Then it is ready to serve.

I served this with some cherry tomatoes, cooked in the oven with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar.

Give it a go and the advantage of this really delicious meal is that I now have some room in the fridge!!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone xx