What`s for dinner Clarey?: Ruby and Razzle
When we first were married Sixteen...: Ruby and Razzle When we first were married Sixteen years ago, Matty ,in a vain attempt to quash my desires for babies , brought me home twi...
Sunday, 11 May 2014
Ruby and Razzle
When we first were married Sixteen years ago, Matty ,in a vain attempt to quash my desires for babies , brought me home twin kittens from York RSPCA. The boy was sleek and black with white paws and the girl was fluffy and white with a black bushy tail and a black diamond face. So Razzle and Ruby Joined team Neal.
They were the best of friends, were amazing tree climbers and were wonderful at taunting the guard dog at The aptly named Punch bowl inn on Haxby Road. Every Saturday night when the punches began to fly, Elvis impersonators and karaoke folk spilled out on to the pavements and the guard dog went wild, then Ruby and Razzle would shoot through the cat flap and upstairs to the end of our bed. They would often be out all night chasing ghosts around the city walls no doubt, arriving home with the milkman clinking his bottles as the chocolate factory workers cycled silently past on their way to make Kit Kats.
For our first anniversary we went to Majorca and put Ruby and Razzle in a cattery . Teesside airport was an experience , I bought Matty some Chanel aftershave at duty free and managed to squirt it in his eye. Matty being Matty called for the paramedics, four burly guys with a neck brace and pat slide burst into the tiny airport looking for the casualty. The English patient guiltily ambled over and was given short shrift and an Optrex eye bath for his pains!
We didn't talk on the flight and I felt uneasy , missing my furry friends. It was as though we had gone abroad and abandoned our kids-unthinkable now with our human variety.
When we arrived home, all sun drenched and golden our first stop was to rescue the cats. We all flopped when we got back to Rose Cottage and dreamily headed off to bed with duty free Cava and the beloved Moggies. The next day I instinctively knew Razzle was unwell. He used to finish the milk off from my bowl of cornflakes but today he hid under the table, half purring, half growling. We took him to the vets , who seemed to think he had pined for us and hadn't eaten for days. To cut to the chase after many injections we couldn't save Razzle and he died. Watching Ruby was the saddest thing, she would sit on the back wall waiting for him to come home after a night on the tiles but of course he was mousing in Heaven now. My Mum bought me a Razzle dazzle ring of black diamonds to remember him, as if I could ever forget when I gave my heart to someone else unconditionally.
That sort of love is reserved only for children and pets.
Ruby is now 16 years old , her days of climbing trees are long gone, but every night when the children are asleep she jumps onto the sofa like the kitten she once was and lets us stroke her as she purrs and waits to finish the cream or cheese from someone's supper dishes just like Razzle. Matty came home today and smiled as he passed me a cauliflower "don't say I never bring you flowers love." In my next life I'm coming back as a cat!
Eurovision dinner with leftovers for Ruby!
Watercress soup
1 leek sliced
1bag of watercress
2chicken stock cubes
Milk or cream
Salt and pepper
Fry the leek in a little butter add the watercress until wilted , add chicken stock and a pint of milk, half cream if you aren't on a diet! Whizz in a blender until foamy and smooth, super food soup or
what!
Cauliflower curry
Slice a large onion , a whole cauliflower of florets and cube a large potato, fry in a pan with four cloves of, garlic , then add a can of coconut milk and a spoonful of sugar. Add more milk and chicken stock cube and plenty of curry powder. When the potato and cauliflower are tender add a whole bunch of fresh coriander to make this a sweet and herby green curry feast.
Lemon and lime cheesecake
To make the base crush half a packet of digestive biscuits, add a tablespoon of posh muesli for extra crunch and grate 4oz butter fudge (tablet ) into the mix, bind together with 4oz melted butter and press into a lined tin, put in fridge to set.
To make the cheesey bit, in a mixer blend a small pot of marscapone , a small tub of creme fraiche,a medium sized pot of double cream, 2tbs of lemon curd ( thank you Auntie Wendy homemade is divine) the juice and rind of a small lemon and the same of a small lime pour on top of the biscuit base and top with black grapes. Leave to set in the fridge and serve with a shot of iced Limoncello for the grown ups and a drizzle of cream for Ruby or any other beloved pet!
When we first were married Sixteen years ago, Matty ,in a vain attempt to quash my desires for babies , brought me home twin kittens from York RSPCA. The boy was sleek and black with white paws and the girl was fluffy and white with a black bushy tail and a black diamond face. So Razzle and Ruby Joined team Neal.
They were the best of friends, were amazing tree climbers and were wonderful at taunting the guard dog at The aptly named Punch bowl inn on Haxby Road. Every Saturday night when the punches began to fly, Elvis impersonators and karaoke folk spilled out on to the pavements and the guard dog went wild, then Ruby and Razzle would shoot through the cat flap and upstairs to the end of our bed. They would often be out all night chasing ghosts around the city walls no doubt, arriving home with the milkman clinking his bottles as the chocolate factory workers cycled silently past on their way to make Kit Kats.
For our first anniversary we went to Majorca and put Ruby and Razzle in a cattery . Teesside airport was an experience , I bought Matty some Chanel aftershave at duty free and managed to squirt it in his eye. Matty being Matty called for the paramedics, four burly guys with a neck brace and pat slide burst into the tiny airport looking for the casualty. The English patient guiltily ambled over and was given short shrift and an Optrex eye bath for his pains!
We didn't talk on the flight and I felt uneasy , missing my furry friends. It was as though we had gone abroad and abandoned our kids-unthinkable now with our human variety.
When we arrived home, all sun drenched and golden our first stop was to rescue the cats. We all flopped when we got back to Rose Cottage and dreamily headed off to bed with duty free Cava and the beloved Moggies. The next day I instinctively knew Razzle was unwell. He used to finish the milk off from my bowl of cornflakes but today he hid under the table, half purring, half growling. We took him to the vets , who seemed to think he had pined for us and hadn't eaten for days. To cut to the chase after many injections we couldn't save Razzle and he died. Watching Ruby was the saddest thing, she would sit on the back wall waiting for him to come home after a night on the tiles but of course he was mousing in Heaven now. My Mum bought me a Razzle dazzle ring of black diamonds to remember him, as if I could ever forget when I gave my heart to someone else unconditionally.
That sort of love is reserved only for children and pets.
Ruby is now 16 years old , her days of climbing trees are long gone, but every night when the children are asleep she jumps onto the sofa like the kitten she once was and lets us stroke her as she purrs and waits to finish the cream or cheese from someone's supper dishes just like Razzle. Matty came home today and smiled as he passed me a cauliflower "don't say I never bring you flowers love." In my next life I'm coming back as a cat!
Eurovision dinner with leftovers for Ruby!
Watercress soup
1 leek sliced
1bag of watercress
2chicken stock cubes
Milk or cream
Salt and pepper
Fry the leek in a little butter add the watercress until wilted , add chicken stock and a pint of milk, half cream if you aren't on a diet! Whizz in a blender until foamy and smooth, super food soup or
what!
Cauliflower curry
Slice a large onion , a whole cauliflower of florets and cube a large potato, fry in a pan with four cloves of, garlic , then add a can of coconut milk and a spoonful of sugar. Add more milk and chicken stock cube and plenty of curry powder. When the potato and cauliflower are tender add a whole bunch of fresh coriander to make this a sweet and herby green curry feast.
Lemon and lime cheesecake
To make the base crush half a packet of digestive biscuits, add a tablespoon of posh muesli for extra crunch and grate 4oz butter fudge (tablet ) into the mix, bind together with 4oz melted butter and press into a lined tin, put in fridge to set.
To make the cheesey bit, in a mixer blend a small pot of marscapone , a small tub of creme fraiche,a medium sized pot of double cream, 2tbs of lemon curd ( thank you Auntie Wendy homemade is divine) the juice and rind of a small lemon and the same of a small lime pour on top of the biscuit base and top with black grapes. Leave to set in the fridge and serve with a shot of iced Limoncello for the grown ups and a drizzle of cream for Ruby or any other beloved pet!
Thursday, 1 May 2014
What`s for dinner Clarey?: The silver shoesWhen I was about nine years old...
What`s for dinner Clarey?: The silver shoes
When I was about nine years old...: The silver shoes When I was about nine years old I used to go to ballroom dancing. There was 50 little girls and we all had to dance toge...
When I was about nine years old...: The silver shoes When I was about nine years old I used to go to ballroom dancing. There was 50 little girls and we all had to dance toge...
What`s for dinner Clarey?: The silver shoesWhen I was about nine years old...
What`s for dinner Clarey?: The silver shoes
When I was about nine years old...: The silver shoes When I was about nine years old I used to go to ballroom dancing. There was 50 little girls and we all had to dance toge...
When I was about nine years old...: The silver shoes When I was about nine years old I used to go to ballroom dancing. There was 50 little girls and we all had to dance toge...
The silver shoes
When I was about nine years old I used to go to ballroom dancing. There was 50 little girls and we all had to dance together , the Empress Tango, Waltz and Cha Cha Cha were my favourites. The dance teacher had a son called Peter who was twelve, he had black hair, blue eyes and freckles . I can remember the first time I saw him, he was doing his homework and he looked up and smiled. I bumped into a chair smiling back at him and blushed crimson as I thought he must be smiling at someone else and was laughing at my clumsiness.But no , whenever we were asked to find a partner to waltz around the floor with (usually to "yellow submarine") all the pretty girls would clamour for Peter but he would always choose me. We were a perfect fit and I loved dancing with him. We weren't allowed to chat and after the class we would just say "see you next week" and go home where Top of the pops or Tomorrow's world was on the telly and a seventies super supper of egg and chips and a Cornetto would be waiting for me. It was a lovely little life and for my tenth birthday I was given some proper ballroom silver shoes. They were the most beautiful thing I had ever owned and when I wore them and had Thursday night Ballroom class to look forward to all was well with the world.
Sadly my disco ball moment was short lived, my brother needed a brace and we had to catch several buses to see his orthodontist , his regular appointment was set for a Thursday night and so I didn't continue going to ballroom dancing. I saw Peter twice again, the first was at a Carol concert at the posh senior school he attended. I turned around and expected him to come and sweep me up , but he was with his friends and he gave a little smile then turned away. The first pangs of love sickness are just as bitter sweet even to a ten year old. Then the last time I saw him was at a May Fair when I was about to move up North to Yorkshire. There were stalls and he bought me a silvered thistle brooch and we went on the big wheel together and he held my hand.
So today is May Day and as I was looking for junk to sell at a car boot sale and I found the thistle brooch. Of course I cannot sell it , it is priceless. To Love and be Loved is what makes us Human
and I will always remember the dance teacher's son, who picked me to dance with when he could have had any girl.
Life is just one big Cha Cha Cha the secret is to always sparkle and shine and imagine you are wearing silver shoes and pick a dance partner who knows your worth.
Retro Ham and eggs
After all that shameless shimmying down memory lane a 70s tea is in order
1 gammon joint
Marmalade
Eggs
Oven chips
Garlic butter
Flat leafed parsley
Boil the gammon joint for 30 mins until part cooked
Score the fat in a diamond patterns and cover in marmalade
Roast in the oven for another 25 mins until a golden crust has formed
Meanwhile cook the oven chips and fry the eggs
Melt the garlic butter and sprinkle in a handful of parsley
Slice a a thick slice of gammon and top with an egg, toss the chips in the garlic butter and serve on the side with a handful of watercress .
It'd have to be Butterscotch Angel delight for pud then a quick read of Jackie magazine before sweet dreams of Peter!
When I was about nine years old I used to go to ballroom dancing. There was 50 little girls and we all had to dance together , the Empress Tango, Waltz and Cha Cha Cha were my favourites. The dance teacher had a son called Peter who was twelve, he had black hair, blue eyes and freckles . I can remember the first time I saw him, he was doing his homework and he looked up and smiled. I bumped into a chair smiling back at him and blushed crimson as I thought he must be smiling at someone else and was laughing at my clumsiness.But no , whenever we were asked to find a partner to waltz around the floor with (usually to "yellow submarine") all the pretty girls would clamour for Peter but he would always choose me. We were a perfect fit and I loved dancing with him. We weren't allowed to chat and after the class we would just say "see you next week" and go home where Top of the pops or Tomorrow's world was on the telly and a seventies super supper of egg and chips and a Cornetto would be waiting for me. It was a lovely little life and for my tenth birthday I was given some proper ballroom silver shoes. They were the most beautiful thing I had ever owned and when I wore them and had Thursday night Ballroom class to look forward to all was well with the world.
Sadly my disco ball moment was short lived, my brother needed a brace and we had to catch several buses to see his orthodontist , his regular appointment was set for a Thursday night and so I didn't continue going to ballroom dancing. I saw Peter twice again, the first was at a Carol concert at the posh senior school he attended. I turned around and expected him to come and sweep me up , but he was with his friends and he gave a little smile then turned away. The first pangs of love sickness are just as bitter sweet even to a ten year old. Then the last time I saw him was at a May Fair when I was about to move up North to Yorkshire. There were stalls and he bought me a silvered thistle brooch and we went on the big wheel together and he held my hand.
So today is May Day and as I was looking for junk to sell at a car boot sale and I found the thistle brooch. Of course I cannot sell it , it is priceless. To Love and be Loved is what makes us Human
and I will always remember the dance teacher's son, who picked me to dance with when he could have had any girl.
Life is just one big Cha Cha Cha the secret is to always sparkle and shine and imagine you are wearing silver shoes and pick a dance partner who knows your worth.
Retro Ham and eggs
After all that shameless shimmying down memory lane a 70s tea is in order
1 gammon joint
Marmalade
Eggs
Oven chips
Garlic butter
Flat leafed parsley
Boil the gammon joint for 30 mins until part cooked
Score the fat in a diamond patterns and cover in marmalade
Roast in the oven for another 25 mins until a golden crust has formed
Meanwhile cook the oven chips and fry the eggs
Melt the garlic butter and sprinkle in a handful of parsley
Slice a a thick slice of gammon and top with an egg, toss the chips in the garlic butter and serve on the side with a handful of watercress .
It'd have to be Butterscotch Angel delight for pud then a quick read of Jackie magazine before sweet dreams of Peter!
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