Rachel Allen book signing in Alfriston, East Sussex

What a fun day today has been. It all started on Saturday when Claire came home with the latest Rachel Allen cookery book, Home Cooking, for me. I thoroughly enjoy watching Rachel's cookery series on TV and have got all her other cookery books as well. Her style is simple and delicious and it's got me interested in cooking again! No mean feat in our household where we have a number of picky eaters. I've been trying out new recipes and am enjoying cooking things from scratch. . . Long story short, Claire had gone on to Rachel's website and had been telling me about it. Yesterday afternoon I decided to have a look at the website myself and that's when I noticed Rachel was having a book signing in Alfriston today. Alfriston is not that far from us (though with my little detour to the South Africa shop in Newhaven it was an hour or so there) so I phoned Mum and asked if she fancied going. . . I knew of Alfriston and had heard that it was a lovely village - sounded like a good place to visit and we'd get to meet Rachel at the same time. I took two of my cookery books with me and off we went. . . The bookshop holding the event was Much Ado Bookshop (seen below). Rachel's books on display in the window We hadn't decided whether to go get the books signed first or go for lunch first. Looking in the shop we saw that there was a queue, but it wasn't too long, and decided to go to the signing first.

Rachel was as lovely in person as she comes across on TV. We had a chat and she signed our books. Emily and Claire were most put out that I was going to meet her and they couldn't, so I asked if she would mind signing her autograph for them. Her message to them was to enjoy cooking and I'm hoping they will now start participating in the cooking ;o) Rachel Allen, me and Mum

The owners of Much Ado Bookshop were very friendly and helpful and the lady had put a lot of effort into making some of the recipes from Rachel's books for the customers to sample. I have to say one of my favourite recipes from her Bake book is the Quiche Lorraine - it is simply delicious!!! That was one of the recipes for people to sample today and I had a bite of Mum's slice which made me realise I really need to make it again soon!

The two books Rachel signed for me.

What a great experience!

.

While in the bookshop we mentioned we were going to have some lunch before heading home and were directed down the road to Wingrove House where, we were told, Rachel had had brunch that morning - certainly seemed worth a try and it didn't disappoint. Lovely decor and friendly staff plus delicious food was a winning combination.

Walking down the road (above) to Wingrove House (below)

The outside of Wingrove House

And finally, this house caught my eye as we walked back to the carpark. It's such a quaint village and I know already that I want to go back to explore more.

.

What a great day!

xx

PS. I must apologise for the lack of paragraphs in this post. No matter what I do, blogger seems to remove the space between paragraphs. If anyone knows how to sort this out, I would love to hear! Thank you!!

Autumn

It's certainly feeling a lot like Autumn around here these days. It's been really cold early in the morning for the last few mornings (and afternoons/nights). Cold as in, my slippers have come out of the cupboard and I've been putting a fleece on over my jumper by mid afternoon/early evening. Today was no different and I decided that it was time to make a pot of soup. Unfortunately, those of you who know my family will know, no one else likes home made soup so the pot of soup I make is really for me ;o). One of my favourites is Carrot and Lentil Soup which was a recipe passed on to me by a friend about 10 years ago and I still make it every autumn/winter. This was the bowl of soup I had at lunch time - yummy!! and here's the recipe for anyone who may like to try it out. Carrot and Lentil Soup 1 tsp Olive Oil 1 medium Onion, chopped 1 clove Garlic, crushed or grated (optional) 125g Carrots, chopped 2 sticks Celery, trimmed, scrubbed and sliced 150g Red lentils, washed and drained 1 litre Vegetable or chicken stock Salt and freshly ground pepper 2 tsp lemon juice 2 Tbsp Fresh parsley, chopped (optional) Fry the onion and garlic in olive oil. Add carrots, celery and lentils and stir for a few minutes. Pour in the stock, half cover the pan and simmer for approximately 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour soup into liquidiser and blend until smooth. Pour back into saucepan and add salt, pepper and parsley. Add lemon juice. I don't always blend the soup because I like to the bits in my soup. The choice is yours. Another sign of autumn is the turning leaves on the trees. Unfortunately, this year hasn't had as good a show of colour as last year and, in fact, some of our trees are only just starting to turn now. Plenty of leaves have fallen off the trees through!

Our Acers are turning red at the top. Trees at the end of our road as seen from our front door

At the side of our house

More acer leaves.

Other news. Emily was sent home from school yesterday. She had gone in feeling well but in form time had developed a bad headache and lost some vision on one side. She was taken to the medical room and was later sick. The school phoned home and Jon went to pick her up. She was sick once more at home and spent the day in bed. Today she's feeling a bit better and has started eating again. However, when I phoned school to let them know she wouldn't be in today, I was told she is to be kept at home until she has been free of sickness for 48 hours. I don't think Emily is likely to complain; I just hope she doesn't miss too much work.

.

Last night Jon and I went to the opening of Iain and Louise's photography studio while Claire stayed at home with Emily. Iain and Louise have put in a lot of work at the studio and it was looking lovely for the opening. Well done to both of you and I hope things continue to go well. I didn't take any photos as I felt that was probably best left to the professionals ;o).

.

Toad in the Hole for dinner tonight and I'm trying out a new batter recipe. If I remember I'll take a photo and, if it turns out well, I'll post the recipe as well.

xx

Family visit

This weekend we've had Jon's daughter, Michelle; grandson, Joshua and Michelle's partner, Matthew come to visit us. We've had a wonderful weekend catching up on what's been going on and just getting to relax and enjoy their company. Joshua enjoys spending time with Jon - whom he's taken to calling Grandy! Not quite sure what Jon thinks of this name but, for now, it's sticking! They spend time together outside in the garden - where Josh tries to tell Jon what to do and Jon tries to keep some control ;o)

Joshua and Grandy Josh wasn't terribly impressed at having to have his photo taken but enjoyed being able to make silly faces for me.

Who's the boss???

A few of Michelle and Matthew

Group photo

Do you think they were glad the photo session was finished?

It's been a lovely weekend and we hope to see them again soon. xx

Random post

There hasn't been a lot going on here which is why we're having a random post. After the excitement of September birthdays we have settled down a bit until the end of October when the next birthdays hit. Emily had braces fitted on Friday and has been suffering a bit since then. Her teeth are still very sore and she's been getting horrible headaches as well. Two of the brackets on her teeth have come loose and what we think is a back bracket has come off altogether. I'm not too impressed at the moment! Claire had her braces fitted at the same place and we didn't have any problems throughout her whole treatment so I'm hoping this is a one off and once we get it sorted things will settle down. Poor Emily has been living on Tomato Soup - though we have found she can also eat sandwiches with grated cheese, crusts cut off and sandwich cut into little bite size pieces. I'm hoping she'll be feeling a bit more comfortable tomorrow. This past weekend was, therefore, quite quiet. We did spend Saturday night catching up on recorded TV programmes and watching X Factor. Sunday we watched the second part of X Factor followed by Doc Marting (which we really enjoy). Today (because most people know the British like talking about the weather ;o) ) I can't believe how wet it's been! I know we're in Autumn now but the last week or so has been quite mild with some really lovely sunshine. Today was a totally different kettle of fish, it's been cold and my feet have been freezing (anyone who knows me knows how awful my circulation is!). I was playing with my cameras today and ended up taking a few photos of our wet back garden ;o)

Drooping fuschia and strawberry plants Wet bench

Dripping table

Nice!!

Do you get the picture??

Even Cloud's fed up

But we still love our home

Some of what I've been doing

and these orchids have been flowering for months now and I love them

The newest branch of flowers

Hope you're not too washed out, wherever you are :o)

xx