May Favourites

and a juvenile robin from last June for my header this month. I've seen plenty of adult robins at the feeders, and we were highly entertained by one who pulled up an exceedingly long worm after a thunderstorm last Monday, and then struggled to get airborne with it. So there must be fledgelings around somewhere, but I haven't seen them yet.

Recipe time and a miscellany

I was looking through one of my books in the quest for something different by way of soup the other day, and thought I'd give this a try. It was very nice indeed, and we'll definitely be having it again.

I think the quantities are a bit off - the description said  serves four, can be served as a hearty meal or an appetiser. Well, I halved it and then made a little bit more because two pak choi was more than half, and we both felt we would have eaten more if it had been there. I did make a vegetable stock to use, which I often don't in "busier" soups. What was in the fridge was celery and carrots, to which I added an onion and a few slices of ginger. It's really a thin broth with a sweet-sour taste and the pak choi cooked in it.

Chinese Cabbage Soup: 

450g/1lb pak choi
600 ml/1 pint vegetable stock
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp dry sherry
1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
1 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp cold water

• Wash and dry the pak choi. Trim and chop the stems, shred the leaves.
• Heat the stock in a larg pan. Add the pak choi and cook for 10 - 15 minutes.
• Mix together the vinegar, sugar, sherry, and soy sauce, and add to the stock along with the sliced chilli.
• Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
• Blend the cornflour and water till smooth and add to the soup, stirring well till it thickens.
• Allow to cook for another five minutes and serve. 

Serves four (see comment above). We had a sourdough roll each with it, and some creme caramel for dessert and it was quite sufficient.
Taken from 1000 Vegetarian Recipes.

And a few miscellaneous photos. Some wildflowers sown under a tree alongside the road, the fountain in the English Market in Cork, and a beer drop.

April favourites

April was either not a productive month or else I don't have many cards that jump out as me as ones I really love...and I see that in fact one of them was created in March, working ahead of time for a challenge sample.  I stamped, cut and coloured all  ten of the butterflies in the Tim Holtz Flutter set, so they have been appearing on several cards including two here - and I still have four or five lurking on my desk waiting to find a suitable home for.

Happy Easter

The Easter bunny visited us - I always get the Lindt chocolate bunnies and often that's all we have - but as I visited my sister yesterday, they were joined by these sweet little sheep.
(A work colleague said that Lindt bunnies always sound unpalatable to him because in his mind he thinks dust bunnies. We have those too, it has to be confessed. They seem to proliferate in no time!)

This day last year we were enjoying the wonderful sunshine in Paris - below is the Jardins de Luxembourg. It's sunshine and blue skies here too today, but not as hot.