What a glorious week it's been!

I couldn't believe the sunshine over the weekend, and have even managed to top up the tan a tad whilst on a 6-mile walk with my friend Diane around a huge quarry near her home. Blissful :) 

That said it's certainly got a little colder at night, so I would highly recommend snuggling down on the sofa wrapped in something warm.
 
Any Mexican recipes?

Well, I had a night off from cooking when Colin and I went out with Sam and Becks for a Mexican meal. I introduced them to the delights of the Mojito cocktail, which I had quaffed on a beach in Ibiza, but they weren't all that smitten. So not wishing to appear ungrateful, I drank theirs too! 

The sombreros and ponchos weren't standard dress code but I think they looked pretty good, don't you?! A cracking night was had by all, and I'm now introducing enchiladas and fajitas to our weekly menu. Actually, if you know of any variations on the theme, or an alternative to chicken, I'd be really grateful, and then I could always create and blog the results!!  

'Julie and Julia'

I've had another lovely night out recently to see the film 'Julie and Julia' with Lucy and Jack. To be fair, it really wasn't Jack's first choice but being a true gent he graced us with his presence and motored through a huge bag of popcorn while Lucy and I sat enthralled. 

My Christmas checklist

I have to admit to nearly choking on my licorice tea when I heard Dawn Bibby say there were only 89 days until Christmas, which made me realise I needed to start gathering my thoughts and my plans!

Ordering the turkey

To be honest this year - as with the last two - I shall order my Christmas turkey, gammon, sausages and other meats from Exmoor Style here at QVC because you can either have it delivered in November or just before Christmas - depending on how full your freezer is! Or in my case how much room there is as I haven't defrosted it for ages!

Rising early to make pancakes for breakfast

Thanks so much to all of you who wrote with your comments about Banoffee Pie last week - makes my mouth water just to write the words - but I'm now far wiser as to the ways and means of making one and am under duress to get into the kitchen and 'whip one up'!

So far I've managed to abstain... that said I did have my friends for supper last night and made Strawberry Flim Flam - which I believe to the same as Eaton Mess just with strawberries... (plus, crushed meringue and whipped cream) Delicious! 

Something else that was delicious were the pancakes we had for Pancake Day last Tuesday. I've been making them for the children for as long as I can remember, and we usually have them for pudding in the evening. But this year my daughter Lucy requested that I made them for breakfast instead, which was a little strange 'cos she's the only one of my three who doesn't normally eat breakfast.

But, never one to turn down a challenge, I set my alarm that night, and with its jarring tone literally ringing in my ears, stumbled downstairs after what felt like a very short amount of time in bed.

Perhaps it's just me, but I don't seem very well co-ordinated in the mornings. Trying to mix the batter, warm the plates, slice the lemons, and then toss the pancakes was a real struggle and when I put the eggshells in my pocket rather than the bin I knew I was in trouble! All that said it made me smile to see my three heading off to work, college and school with a warm pancake or three inside them.

Love Ali xx

Have you ever made Banoffee Pie?

Banoffee Pie has to be one of my family's favourite puddings and in fact it was chosen by my daughter Lucy instead of a birthday cake last October. 

Now I can actually lay claim to being one of the first to know about Banoffee Pie because I worked for the publisher who brought out a book written by the owners of a restaurant called The Hungry Monk (think it was in Eastbourne.) Well, they are meant to have invented the recipe for this delightful banana, toffee and cream confection, which has brought grown men to their knees and grown women to give up on their diets!

Now the question is - or to be more precise - the questions are:  
 - pastry case or crumb base?  
 - boil condensed milk in the can for three hours or take out of can and heat until boiling in a pan? 
 - plain whipped cream, or whipped cream with coffee essence? 

I guess it's down to personal taste, but I'd love to be reminded of the original recipe so if you could help that'd be great. I thought I'd include my own version of events in case just reading about this delightful dessert has set you dribbling...