Weekend Widow

How quiet it is at the cottage.  GW left at 3.30 am on Friday to deliver English groceries to the suffering expat Brits in Brussels who order on line from us at http://theinternetgrocer.com.  The 'theme' of the deliveries this week was of course haggis and all things Scottish for those in Brussels who are celebrating Burns Night this coming week.  I must admit that haggis and neeps are not my most favourite of food but then I am not Scottish so maybe it just isn't in my blood ... I don't even like whisky!

The weather here is bright and sunny but the wind has moved into the north east so it is bitterly cold outside.  I am itching to get started on the garden but in this weather there is not much I can do.  As we only moved to the cottage at the end of September I dare not rush out and start digging the beds as I have no idea what is lurking under the surface.  The snowdrops and daffodils are starting to show signs of life and there are some valiant primroses that have flowered throughout the Great Freeze but apart from that not much is happening.  In the vegetable garden the kale and the spinach have come through the bad weather pretty well and the parsley is showing signs of new shoots.  Unfortunately it is frizzy parsley which I find tasteless compared to the flat-leaved variety.  So I will just hug the Aga and plan the garden in my head for the moment.

You have until the 24th January to sign into http://worldbooknight.org which I think is a great idea.  Do go and have a look at the site.  I have signed up but won't tell which book I've chosen although having been in the food business most of my life, there is an obvious choice!

And talking of food - our local pub which as you now know is the centre of the village life here has come up with a great idea to pull the crowds during the winter.  On the 30th January there will be a curry competition.  The rules are simple - you provide, anonymously, a curry for 4 people.  The pub provides rice, chutney and poppadums.  If you don't enter the competiton then you pay £2 to be part of the judging team and get to taste all the curries on offer.  The best curry wins a Sunday lunch for two at the pub (which are super).  Although I am a good cook, curry is not on my repetoire.  I admit to buying the ready to cook sauces and adding chicken and a few spices.  However  I made a vegetarian curry the other week which was lovely and I think that with some chicken added to the mix, I might be in with a chance.

And finally, it's marmalade time again and I am so happy to be in England and able to source Seville oranges in large quantites.  They are sitting in my larder waiting to be dealt with so after giving the cottage a well earned clean and lighting the fire in the sitting room as it is now getting seriously cold I shall brave the elements to find the jam jars in the garage and mess up the kitchen with sticky jam pans everywhere.  If you want my marmalade recipe that I nicked from the Sunday Times last year here is the link.  It is so easy and the marmalade is perfect, even though I say it myself - but hurry as Seville orange time is coming to an end and I read today that all the major stores are running out of them - sales are up 30% on last year.