Celtic Cook Goes Home

 This morning I woke up with thought that I had absolutely nothing to do. The pouring  rain meant a nice walk wasn’t going to be on the cards and the house has been tidied and cleaned to within an inch of it’s life! Not to say I couldn’t find something to dust, polish or sanitise, but you know what? I’m going to hold my hand up and say I just couldn’t be bothered. There I’ve said it, no going back.  Usually at this time I’d be getting the house ready for Easter. The Easter box would be dug out, the eggs hung from twigs found in the garden or from.shop bought catkins. The catkins are bought but eggs will stay in their box this year as will the Easter wreath, fake grass and bunny rabbits. Last year I did it all but going to take a year off this year. My thoughts are “what’s the point”. Not my usual stance but it’s been a long year and sometimes the optimism and enthusiasm wanes just a bit. I’ll be back bigger and better next year, This is my nod to Easter and spring this ye...

 On a week bookended with my birthday and Mother’s Day what better gift to receive than my Covid vaccine today. A year ago we were just beginning to be aware of this awful virus and here we are only one year later receiving the vaccine. It’s an amazing feat, and the people behind it to be given the highest praise for their dedication. I could never be more thankful. I can now see the light getting even brighter at the end of what has been a very long tunnel. Family and friends will soon be part of our everyday life once again. There will be people around our table once again and once again we can eat drink and be Merry  and I will be more than happy to cook meals for others to share with us. It’s what I love to do and can’t wait to be doing it again. I have missed having family and friends around the table. A few good evenings ahead, and some fun days with the family top of the list. I can’t wait. Spring is on the way and summer close behind and I have a feeling it will be a g...

Still surviving, and still serving up meals, well most nights. I think we’ve succumbed 3 times to takeaway but always end up thinking it wasn’t as good as we’d hoped. But meal ideas get harder to keep interesting and although everything seems to be back on the shelves here the one thing you can’t buy off the shelf is inspiration. I try to keep stepping up to deliver something tasty, something as simple as ham, egg and chips was one of these dishes last week. It doesn’t always need to be inventive or exciting. Old favourites, the comfort food we knew and loved is often what’s required at this moment in time. Last week I bought a smoked ham hock. They’re cheap and make a delicious stock for lentil soup. Simmered with an onion and some peppercorns for a couple of hours with lid off will give you a delicious ham base. No salt at this stage as it can be quite salty anyway. I let the hock cool before pulling off the delicious ham from the bone. I put this in the soup once made. However t...

 Strange how this lockdown is affecting people. This weekend I have been feeling nostalgic, which probably isn’t too surprising to be thinking of better times before all this began. A couple of memories on FB only made these feelings stronger.  First was a memory of a small school reunion we had last year. A friend who over 40 years ago moved to Australia was coming home for a visit. We had seen him several times since then, both there and here. He had  also kept in touch with 3 other couples who we had all but lost touch with. Seemed like the perfect opportunity to get us all together.  Fortunately everyone was available and willing to travel to glasgow. Some further than others. We had a lovely night remembering school days, all we got up to and left saying we’d do it again. But summer holidays came and grandparent duties kicked in for some, then months passed a a few  attempts were thwarted by colds and flus. Now this. Who knows when we’ll be able ...

It seems to me, from what I read and from speaking to people, life seems to fall into several groups of what we once referred to as chores but which now seem less onerous during lockdown. These are the household duties. Cooking, cleaning and gardening then there is exercise and lastly hobbies.  Now let me address the exercise first. Pre lockdown we occasionally took a walk around the neighbourhood and now we do it every day, going further and further and it’s an easy way of getting exercise. We’re getting to know people streets away, and people close by, we are meeting with others who we only normally see in local coffee shop. It’s opened our eyes to what a lovely community we are living in. A local FB page for residents is doing a great job. It feels as if everyone is just waiting for someone to pop by so they can pop out for a chat. While walking the other day the smell of lilac was amazing. A quick post to residents FB page asking if anyone could spare lilac some brought lots...

One thing during this lockdown period is that it has me trying all sorts of things I’d never done before. Some I’d thought of, others I never dreamt of doing. Today for example, with the possibility of mandatory face masks on the horizon I decided to make some using up all my fat squares I had lying around. A friend put the idea into my head so I have Christine to thank for this. I enjoyed putting them together. I will pass them on to family or friends as requested.  Candles was one project I’d always planned to do so what better time than now. I sent off for a starter  kit to begin with.  I was quite happy with the results so then moved on to preparing all the ends of candles I had been saving. Had there been no lockdown I wonder if I’d ever got around to using them up! I chopped it very finely, into flakes, then melted as I had with the purchased wax. Thankfully it was quite successful. I need to practice the pour a bit as they fell in the middle ...

As the lockdown continues it’s amazing how much the simple things become so important to us. A delicious cup of coffee with a blueberry muffin. Served in a nice cup can go a long way to help brighten up my day. It’s a treat on a Costa trip, but just as much of a treat when taken in the comfort of home. Simple to make, can’t go wrong with them, and a real plus is they are so much cheaper than a coffee shop visit! Lunch so often ends up being a sandwich with whatever is lying around in the fridge. Sometimes with soup but that depends on how organised my cooking has been.  One day last week I had some hot and some cold smoked salmon needing to be used. I had been on an M&S trip! I also had some bagels in the bread bin. I usually have these for breakfast but with some cream cheese, the salmons and a few capers made for a very acceptable lunch.  I am trying so hard not to waste anything if I can help it. I’m doing not so badly. Leek and potato soup got the addi...