Surprsie surprise!

It's been nearly 2 weeks since my last blog and it seems that this summer is passing me by in a blur!  I was encouraged on Saturday when I was asked by a friend about my blog - was I still doing it? Was my enthusiasm for it waning?  The answer is yes and no!  Life has been hectic with work, golf and now Sue is away in Portugual so there's the dogs to look after!

The friend who asked me these questions now lives near Llanelli and it is some years since I saw her.  So her surprise party on Saturday was a BIG surprise!   Eira used to bring groups of kids to Atlantic College from a school in Oxfordshire. Sparing her blushes, she was probably the most dedicated, caring and professional teachers, that I have met!  So here's to you Eira - cheers and Happy Birthday!  I couldn't leave this episode without mentioning the wonderful food that Kirsty (Eira's daughter) had made for everyone!  Canapes which included a very tangy and tasty  mini Welsh rarebit and lemon and honey chicken which melted in your mouth and raspberry icecream bombs that were out of this world!  I won't be spending £300 on an icecreram maker though!

The world of work has interfered slightly with my routine - I managed to get a day doing some freelance work in the outdoors!   A day in the Brecon Beacons guiding 2 ladies over the peaks of the Central Beacons came my way!  Alex & Sarah are about to embark on the "3 Peaks Challenge"  - a feat that will take them up Ben Nevis, Scafell and Snowdon in a 24 hour period.  The object is to raise money for charity.  So we spent a day going up Pen Y Fan, Cribyn and Corn Du -  a great time was had by all but boy, did my knees suffer for days afterwards!

Food wise there have been a couple of experiments - a recipe from the Languedoc region in southern France - Filet de porc a la rhubarbe et vinaigre balsamique - which you may think is an unusual combination but we eat pork with apples so why not rhubarb?  It was zesty  and tangy with the acidity of the rhubarb cutting through the richness of the pork.  I also made a rhubarb and apple crumble with the left overs! My other dish was Amatriciana bucatini - a pasta dish which includes smoked bacon cooked with whole chillies in  passata and cheese.  The recipe says that to stay true to the roots of this recipe which comes from southern Italy, one should top it off with pecorino rather than parmesan cheese I used parmesan and if you haven't got any bucatini in your cupboard and lets face it, who has? - use spaghetti!

All this talk of food has made me hungry-  I'm off to cook supper!