Thursday 26 August 2021

A gift from a Red Kite and some recipes

 


I went for a long walk on my own on Tuesday.  Tam's back from her Festival and full of a head cold (don't worry, she tested for Covid and it was negative).  She's been staying in her room anyway, so as not to pass it on to us.  So I set off up the hill, intent on walking the route along the bridleway through the woods which we last walked in February, only this time I'd be walking it in reverse.  I paused for breath on the way up, beneath a Larch tree, and found this beautiful Red Kite (tail?) feather on the ground.  I had a little rucksack on with a drink and a chocolate bar in, so the feather joined them.



I am assuming this is a Golden Bullace.  Just ONE fruit on the hedgerow bush.



Earth Nut/Pig Nut flowering on a bank.



St John's Wort - this one felt like the Square Stemmed variety.


 I think this is Common Catsear.



The very end of the Eppynt range.


Beautiful harebells on the bank at the top of the hill where I sat to rest.


Of course, the reward for climbing steep hills (for over an hour!) are the views from the top.  Enjoy.









The beautiful little church of St David's, where there was a service on Sunday.


This was where we all repaired to after church, for tea and cakes and chat.

Tam has been feeling yuk with her head cold, so yesterday I got busy cooking the evening meals and made this with two big chicken breasts I had.  In fact, after I'd butterflied them, I have enough chicken for another meal tonight.  This will be a regular in our household as it was SO tasty.  I think Velveeta cheese is an American ingredient, so I just grated some (2 oz/60g) Cheddar cheese instead. I put the oven on low and kept the chicken portions moist under the foil "tent" and cooked them right through as I made the rice part.  I used Basmati rice by the way.

 https://easychickenrecipes.com/one-pot-cheesy-chicken-and-rice/

I also had an Aged (e.g. forgotten!) Butternut Squash to use up so made Butternut Squash, Chilli and Coconut Milk Soup which she reckoned hit the spot, although with her sore throat, the chillis felt a bit spicier than usual.  We always have Coconut Milk in the store-cupboard as Tam uses it when she makes Chicken curry.

  https://www.easypeasyfoodie.com/butternut-squash-chilli-and-coconut-milk-soup/


 I did remember to take a photo of it.  I blitzed it to puree the Butternut Squash.  

I even found some Blackberries to pick, just yards from the house down the track to the farm.


Not many, but it's a start.  I'll see what I can find when we are out and about later.

Now I am in the mood for ironing, so I shall take full advantage of it.  I still shake my head over the young lady I know (no relation) who doesn't own an iron.  How on earth must she look after her clothes have been washed and dried then stuffed in black bin bags until she uses them.  She must look like she's slept in them.

18 comments:

  1. Velveeta was the 'cheese' ingredient favored in my childhood for mac and cheese and anything else that called for cheese. Its still around--squidgy orange loaf of processed cheese 'food.' Its close relative is a similar spreadable stuff that arrives in a jar--called Cheese Whiz. Fortunately, Grampa Mac next door always bought sharp cheddar sliced from the round, giving me a taste for the real thing!
    Dawn and I are fond of rice entrees that combine sauteed garden veg and maybe a bit of chicken--J. turns up his nose. [Sigh.]

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    1. "J turns up his nose" - So does Keith "I don't like rice because it doesn't taste of anything." No dear, it's not meant to. It goes with other things which DO have taste!!

      I thought the Velveeta would be what I call "plastic cheese" - you get it here as cheese strings - which you can pull apart. Yuk. Glad you like proper cheese!

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  2. Thanks for taking 'me' along on the lovely walk. Lovely views of a green and verdant land. So far this summer we have had at least 45 days with temps over 33c (with v. high humidity) and more are forecast over the next couple of weeks. Even overnight, the temps don't go below 22c. All I can think about is how wonderful a cool breeze would feel like. Your photos (and my imagination) will have to suffice for now.

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    1. I hope it cooled you down Mary. I could not cope with temps like that and the humidity would finish me off completely. I hope it cools down soon. Which state are you in?

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    2. Maryland...near the Chesapeake Bay

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  3. Beautiful photos as usual.

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    1. Thank you hart. It's hard to take a bad one round here!

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  4. Beautiful photos of stunning views and lovely wildflowers. The kite feather is a great find :) I have a box in which I store such things at the caravan. I hope Tam feels better soon.

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    1. The wildflowers are in the purples and yellows stage now - lots of Thistles providing the purple/lilac side of things.

      Good to have a memory box like that. Tam slowly mending but summer colds are usually much worse than winter ones and this is no exception.

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  5. What a lovely walk. Thank you for sharing the views with all of us.

    God bless.

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    1. Taking photos is an absolute must. Many people who blogged in the past have gone over to Instagram now instead but I take photos with my camera and not my phone. So I'm stuck with the blog.

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  6. Ah, having said that, apparently I need to send the photos to my phone . . . May have a go but the problem is the mobile signal isn't good here.

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  7. Help this uninformed Texan, please. In many pictures of your beautiful country, the top of the hill will be covered with a perfect rectangle of what I guess are trees. If this were the dry, barren part of my state I would think they were oil storage tanks :) Are they the remains of ancient forests or is there a variety of tree that grows well in those conditions? I have followed your blog for years and appreciate all the beauty you have added to my life. Julia

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    1. Hello Julia. Glad I have added beauty to your life down the years. What a lovely accolade.

      Here, these regular squares of pine trees are planted by the Army, to provide cover when they are doing Training Manouvres (or so I understand). Up on the Eppynt there are some very small squares, as well as the bigger plantations. The Eppynt Range was cleared in WWII and is now a dedicated training area for troops.

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  8. I wandered off to google red kites and it was a wonderful read about your country pulling them back from the very brink of extinction. Your feather is a special reminder of what can be accomplished if people work together to a common goal.

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    1. The last time I was at my Chiropractors, we were talking about the Kites. When he was a lad, a group of him and mates were doing Duke of Edinburgh training I think (or something similar) and on a coach heading into the depths of the Welsh mountains. They were being somewhat rowdy, and the coach driver suddenly pulled off the road and told them to Get OUT. Blimey they thought, he's going to leave us in the middle of nowhere. But no, he told them to look up, and they did and saw a magnificent bird - a Red Kite. The driver told them that it was going to soon be extinct (only 15 breeding pairs were left here) so to look and remember. I am so glad that they were brought back from the brink.

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  9. Loved all the pics taken on your last walk - I was envious about the tea, cakes and chat after church in that lovely house! Glad that you are 'stuck' with putting the pictures on your blog. I like using my camera rather than my phone even though it's an extra thing to carry around.
    Isn't it amazing when a mood comes over you to do something - ironing!
    Wendy (Wales)

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    1. It was nice to have the invitation to the Big House! Quite grand of course. I bake better cakes though . . . says she modestly.

      The urge to iron came upon me as I was cold and there were 6 BIG sheets to do and none in the linen coffer ready to use!

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