This Power of an Hour is for YOU! What will you do today to recharge the batteries so that you’re ready to embrace anything that comes your way? Remember the analogy about looking after your oxygen mask on an airplane before you look after anyone elses.? The same applies to your everyday life..
Please don’t ignore the warning signs, take time out for you.
If you are running on empty or your emotional bank account is overdrawn, then everything will feel so much harder, or even stop. Ignore the warning signs and you could become poorly and require an enforced rest, so pay attention to your body. Whatever you decide to do during your hour, make sure you focus on you… removing what you don’t need and putting in place things to ensure you are functioning at your very best you:
Without distraction
Without scrolling
With purpose and intention.
Some ideas about what you can do on this Power of an Hour just for you:
Diary Check
Make sure you haven’t overstretched yourself this forthcoming week. Do you need to rearrange anything or book any workouts?
Health Check :
When did you last visit the dentist, have your blood pressure checked, or have an eye test..? Is your smear test up to date?
Do you need to book any appts? We all know that times flies and we can easily lose track of the weeks and months.
Home Spa
(although a trip to an actual spa would be amazing! Would be amazing wouldn’t it?)
Having a quiet spot in your home where you can sit and read your favourite fiction, journal or even meditate, is quite magical.
Some feel spending your time like this is a luxury. I feel that taking time in the quiet, is essential to health, wellbeing and piece of mind.
If an hour seems too much to start, try just 15 minutes and build up. Consider adding a block of time to your diary. Make quiet time happen.
Workout
Sometimes we feel too tired to workout or are simply too busy. However, by scheduling a workout into your Power of an Hour, you can really inject some energy into the rest of your day.
I believe the key is finding something you love. Walking in the fresh air, yoga, running, anything as long as it brings you joy.
Personally, I love the online workouts from Digme Fitness, having discovered them through Lockdown, they have really kept me sane! SO many workouts to choose from to workout out with live or on demand. take a look, I think you’ll love them too.
Taking the time to stop, refuel in the quiet is so powerful.
I’d love to know what you’ll do just for YOU during this Power of an Hour and how you feel afterwards. I really hope you add these to your week so that you’re recharged and ready to embrace anything that comes your way.
It’s half term here in the UK and for many of us, we will be reuniting with friends and family that we’ve not seen for months and months. Hurrah for now being able to hug and eat inside again! With that in mind, this blog features recipes of some of my favourite new finds and recipes I’ve rediscovered from not being able to entertain in so long.
As I’ve shared in previous blogs, when you’re entertaining, the joy is all about seeing friends and family and not spending time slaving away in the kitchen. I’m a big lover of preparing in advance so that I can spend the maximum amount of time outside. Although if you saw my post on Instagram this week, I wouldn’t need to worry so much. How fabulous is this space?
So without further ado, let’s get excited about entertaining our guests. When we think of barbecues, we often think of sausages and burgers, or did until companies such as Big Green Egg started creating more and more effective and creative ways to cook outside. (For full transparency, not a sponsored post at all, but you know I’ll rave about things I love. My local butchers have been raving about the Eggs since they were first on the market.
It’s hard to beat these fragrant fish skewers. Marinated in lemon juice, garlic and green herbs, these succulent cod, salmon and king prawn kebabs taste incredible served straight off the grill. 10 mins to prepare and 10 mins to cook, plus marinating. Recipe source Tesco.
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
2 lemons, 1 juiced and zested, 1 cut into wedges, to serve
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
handful dill, finely chopped
handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
400g (14oz) boneless, skinless cod loin, cut into 16 chunks
400g (14oz) boneless and skinless salmon, cut into 16 chunks
16 raw king prawns
16 bay leaves
Method
Soak 4 wooden skewers in water, so they won’t burn on the barbecue. Preheat the barbecue.
In a large bowl, mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, dill and parsley. Stir in the cod, salmon and prawns, season and put in the fridge to marinate for 1 hour.
Thread 2 pieces of cod, 2 pieces of salmon, 2 prawns and 2 bay leaves onto each skewer. Cook on the barbecue for 8-10 minutes, turning regularly, or until the fish and prawns are cooked through.
Scatter over the lemon zest and serve with the lemon wedges.
Steak, cooked to perfection, the Big Green Egg way.
This recipe is from the lovely folk at The Big Green Egg. You may think why do I need a recipe to tell me how to cook steaks? Well the chaps at The Big Green Egg know a thing or two about cooking on BBQ’s so I’m sharing their old fashioned method. Not only do I think you’ll love it, but you’ll end up with mouth watering, restaurant quality grill marks and a consistent cook. This method is super, not just for steaks but for pork chops, lamb cutlets or most other cuts of beef too.
Remove your steak from the fridge and let it come to room temperature. Pat dry with a kitchen towel.
Don’t remove any excess fat from the steak. Fat carries flavour into the meat whilst cooking. You can always remove it afterwards.
Season the steaks with a generous amount of salt on both sides. Don’t use the black pepper at this stage as it burns and turns bitter at high temperatures.
Lay them down and leave them to develop clearly defined searing marks.
How quickly you turn your steak depends on the thickness of the steak and how well you like it cooked. An inch-thick steak cooked medium will need turning after about 3 minutes.
Turn the steaks, this time preferably moving them to a different area of the grid. This ensures that you are placing the uncooked side of the steak onto a freshly hot area of the grid.
After a further 2 minutes, perform a touch test. Touch your hand where the base of your thumb joins to the fleshy part of your palm, in 3 positions, to compare to the touch of the steak. Your palm relaxed and open signifies the loose resistance of touching a rare steak. Gently close your palm and the base of your thumb joining your palm will be firmer. Tightly close your fist and this area will become tighter still, representing a well cooked steak.
Remove from the grill and let rest, season with cracked black pepper. They are delicious as they are but you could always add a dab of garlic butter. Serve with your favourite sides.
“Obviously, everyone’s different, but I love just settling down and having a barbecue with my friends at the house.”
Harry kane
Honeyed Mediterranean Vegetables With Spiced Yoghurt Dressing. (Serves 4)
An easy vegetarian grill or barbecue dish, served with pittas. This recipe is from Waitrose and is so simple and full of flavour. Just 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
.
Ingredients
1 red pepper, cored and cut into strips
1 aubergine, cut into 1cm slices
2 courgettes, cut into 1cm slices
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp toasted pine nuts
4 wholemeal pitta breads
100g natural yogurt
½ lemon, juice
1 tsp harissa paste
Method
Start the barbecue, if using, or preheat the oven grill to high. Toss the vegetables in 1 tbsp olive oil and, in 2 batches, barbecue over hot coals covered in a light layer of ash, or grill on a baking sheet, for 3–4 minutes each side, until charred and cooked through. Put in a large bowl.
Combine the honey, cumin seeds and remaining 2 tbsp olive oil, then toss into the grilled vegetables. Scatter with the pine nuts.
Barbecue or grill the pittas. Mix the yogurt, lemon juice and harissa to make a dressing. Serve with the vegetables and pittas.
Summer Tomato Focaccia.
Not only is this bread super delicious, it looks so pretty too! It takes a little while to make – it’s bread! But the results are so worth it! I wish I could remember where I found this recipe, feel free to adapt. Additions could be adding sliced red onions, garlic, you name it. I do however think you’ll love this one for a summer barbecue.
Ingredients
2 cups of warm water
2 tsp yeast
2 tsp table salt
4 cups bread flour
Olive Oil
2 fresh rosemary leaves – or 3 tbs
1 pint cherry tomatoes
Grated parmesan and sea salt for sprinking
Set the oven to 425f
Put the yeast in a large mixing bowl and pour in the warm water.
Add the salt and 2 cups of the flour, mix into a soft sticky dough. Add the remaining 2 cups of flour and mix well. (The dough will be sticky)Cover aqnd let it rise for 40 minutes in a warm place.
Press out the dough on a well oiled lined baking sheet. Using your fingers, ease it into a rectangle, approximately 9×13 inches, give or take.
Put the olive oil in a small bowl and dip your fingers into the oil and then all over the bread, poking the bread surface and leaving little pools ofm oil. Do this all over the bread. Don’t skimp, this will result in great flavour after the bread is baked.
Arrange the tomatoes accross the top, pressing them into the dough slightly, then scatter the rosemary leaves evenly accross thew surface. Sprinkle sea salt over all and finally top off with a dusting of parmesan cheese.
Bake for 18-20 minutes until lightly golden.
The rosemary will crisp up in the oven, so you may wish to scatter some fresh leaves on top of the bread after baking to refresh the rosemary flavour and give it visual appeal.
No barbecue is complete without at least one S’more. I was first introduced to this delicacy when working in America for a few months prior to my nurse training. It took toasting marshmallows around the campfire to a whole new level!
This is a recipe you can have real fun with. I suggest you play around with a variety of biscuits and chocolate – the variations are endless! Although Marks and Spencers All Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are the gold star! (image below) Lindt chocolate with sea salt or chilli are also great additions to your S’mores menu! They aren’t just for the children!
Ingredients.
Packet of digestive Biscuits
2 packets of marshmallows.
50-100g chocolate (dark or milk) melted if you wish.
Method
Toast your marshmallows over the BBQ until crunchier on the outside and gooey in the middle.
(On a rainy day, preheat the oven to 180C. Spread the marshmallows on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Bake for 2-3 minutes, until golden and melting.)
Meanwhile, spread each cookie with the melted chocolate. (We often let the marshmallows do the melting so skip this bit!)
Spoon the toasted marshmallows onto cookies, then place the remaining cookies on top and squidge down to make a sandwich.
There is no real need for decorations when throwing a barbecue party – let the summer garden, in all its vibrant and luscious splendour, speak for itself.
Pippa Middleton
Further reading:
It’s no secret that I love a good recipe book. A book I’ve put on my wishlist is the new, recently launched Tom Kerridge book; Outdoor Cooking it sounds fabulous.
“Chapters include hearty favourites like pork and chorizo burger, veggie mains like charred cauliflower salad, and shareable snacks like aubergine dips and flatbreads.
He also includes desserts and drinks, tips and advice for the perfect summer barbecue, campfire or outdoor gathering with friends and family.”
Sounds great doesn’t it?
I really hope these recipes have given you some food for thought, parden the pun! Do let me know which recipe (s) you like the idea of trying. Do share and let me know! Equally, I’d love to know your favourite recipe you’ll be cooking this weekend.
Wishing you a super weekend wherever you are, may the sun shine!
Let’s talk about habits; the ones that serve us well and the ones that don’t. It’s a bit like choosing your paint colours, you are neither right or wrong. I’ll be sharing my top 7 habits with you, we’re going in deep today!
Over the years habits are made. We shower, get dressed, have breakfast, brush our teeth – these are all habits that we have created and stuck too since being very small. They set us up for the day ahead and can easily be replicated without much thought.
Small habits can creep into our lives without us even realising until we sit up and take notice.
(Tell me I’m not on my own when I might have got into the habit a few years ago of letting the paintbrushes dry without cleaning them? May I add that I have now stopped this habit, honestly!)
Or going online to research something then going completely off topic and finding myself 360 degrees somewhere else? The Scrolling Habit its real! On that note:
Grab a cuppa, a cosy seat and a notebook! (How stunning is this Bear Love Seat from Loaf by the way…?)
Right now you are comfy, take a moment and jot down ALL the habits that you do that work well for you AND those habits that don’t serve you so well.
Take your time…
Be really honest with yourself – no-one has to see this list (you can share with me if you wish, for accountability, but it won’t go anywhere!)
Now you’ve bought attention to those habits – how do you feel? (Keep this list with you, you’ll need it for a bit later on in the blog.)
These small habits, the ones that serve us and the ones that don’t serve us so well, all add up.
Consider this: maybe you’re saving for a new house..
Saving up pennies adds up. Yet, would you give up if you had to save up £10k for a deposit on a house and knew you possibly would never get there?
How do you know you will reach that goal?
Who told you that you will?
Are you really sure?
Have you started to save pennies?
What’s your plan?
The larger goal can be overwhelming, so sometimes we can sit back and do nothing, procrastinate. Telling ourselves the same old story each month, each year, not going anywhere, still stuck, when it’s YOU that holds the key to your sucess..
It’s all up to you.
“Paradigms are powerful because they create the lens through which we see the world…
If you want small changes in your life, work on your attitude.
But if you want big and primary changes, work on your paradigm.”
Dr. Stephen R. Covey
7 Habits of (Effective) Daily Living
I am a huge fan of Franklin and Stephen Covey, having studied a course with the Foundation years ago. The many lessons they taught have stayed with me, from time management, paradigm shifts and especially the 7 Habits of Effective Daily Living. For this reason, I’m sharing Stephen Covey’s Habits in this week’s blog, in the hope that they really help you too. Each habit links to the next, hold onto your hats – they are good!
Habit 1: Be Proactive® Focus and act on what they can control and influence, instead of what you can’t.
Be Proactive is about taking responsibility for your life. Proactive people recognise that they are “response-able.” They don’t blame genetics, circumstances, conditions or conditioning for their behaviour. They know they choose how they behave. Reactive people, on the other hand, are often affected by their physical environment. They find external sources to blame.
If the weather is good, they feel good. If it isn’t, it affects their attitude and performance, and they blame the weather.
Proactive people focus their efforts on their Circle of Influence. They work on the things they can do something about: health, children or problems at work.
Reactive people focus their efforts in the Circle of Concern – things over which they have little or no control: the national debt, terrorism or the weather. Gaining an awareness of the areas in which we expend our energies is a giant step in becoming proactive.
Habit 2: Begin With the End in Mind® Define clear measures of success and a plan to achieve them.
Habit 2 is based on imagination – the ability to envision in your mind what you cannot at present see with your eyes. It is based on the principle that all things are created twice. There is a mental (first) creation, and a physical (second) creation.
If you don’t make a conscious effort to visualise who you are and what you want in life, then you empower other people and circumstances to shape you and your life by default. It’s about connecting again with your own uniqueness and then defining the personal, moral and ethical guidelines within which you can most happily express and fulfill yourself.
Stephen Covey suggests one of the best ways to incorporate Habit 2 into your life is to develop a Personal Mission Statement. (Remember those from your Uni days?) It focuses on what you want to be and do, your plan for success. It reaffirms who you are, puts your goals in focus, and moves your ideas into the real world.
Your mission statement makes you the leader of your own life. You create your own destiny and secure the future you envision.
Can you tell why I love Dr Covey’s work? I’m all about the Missions, focus and as you know, I love my Power of an Hours to stop the procrastination!
“People are working harder than ever, but because they lack clarity and vision, they aren’t getting very far. They, in essence, are pushing a rope with all of their might.”
Dr. Stephen R. Covey
Habit 3: Put First Things First® Prioritise and achieve their most important goals, instead of constantly reacting to urgencies.
Habit 1 says, “You’re in charge. You’re the creator.” Being proactive is about choice.
Habit 2 is the first, or mental, creation. Beginning with the End in Mind is about vision.
Habit 3 is the second creation, the physical creation. This habit is where Habits 1 and 2 come together.
Habit 3 is about life management as well–your purpose, values, roles, and priorities.
What are “first things?”
First things are those things you, personally, find of most worth.
If you put first things first, you are organizing and managing time and events according to the personal priorities you established in Habit 2.
“Putting first things first means organizing and executing around your most important priorities. It is living and being driven by the principles you value most, not by the agendas and forces surrounding you.”
Dr. Stephen R. Covey
Habit 4: Think Win-Win® Collaborate more effectively by building high-trust relationships.
“Think Win-Win isn’t about being nice, nor is it a quick-fix technique. It is a character-based code for human interaction and collaboration. Most of us learn to base our self-worth on comparisons and competition. There is only so much pie to go around, and if you get a big piece, there is less for me; it’s not fair and I’m going to make sure you don’t get anymore.” Stephen Covey.
Win-win sees life as a cooperative arena, not a competitive one. Win-win is a frame of mind and heart that constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions. (I love win, win situation!)
Win-win means agreements or solutions are mutually beneficial and satisfying. We both get to eat the pie, and it tastes pretty darn good!
A person or organisation that approaches conflicts with a win-win attitude possesses three vital character traits:
Integrity: sticking with your true feelings, values, and commitments
Maturity: expressing your ideas and feelings with courage and consideration for the ideas and feelings of others
Abundance Mentality: believing there is plenty for everyone.
To go for win-win, you not only have to be empathic, but you also have to be confident. You not only have to be considerate and sensitive, you also have to be brave. To do that–to achieve that balance between courage and consideration – is the essence of real maturity and is fundamental to win-win.
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood® Influence others by developing a deep understanding of their needs and perspectives.
Communication is the most important skill in life. You spend years learning how to read and write and years learning how to speak. But what about listening?
Most people, seek first to be understood; you want to get your point across. In doing so, you may ignore the other person completely, pretend that you’re listening, selectively hear only certain parts of the conversation or attentively focus on only the words being said, but miss the meaning entirely.
So why does this happen? Most people, according to Covey, listen with the intent to reply, not to understand.
You listen to yourself as you prepare in your mind what you are going to say, the questions you are going to ask, etc. You filter everything you hear through your life experiences, your frame of reference.
You check what you hear against your autobiography and see how it measures up. And consequently, you decide prematurely what the other person means before he/she finishes communicating.
You might be thinking, “Hey, now wait a minute. I’m just trying to relate to the person by drawing on my own experiences. Is that so bad?” In some situations, autobiographical responses may be appropriate, such as when another person specifically asks for help from your point of view or when there is already a very high level of trust in the relationship. By listening autobiographically, you tend to respond in one of four ways:
Evaluating:
You judge and then either agree or disagree.
Probing:
You ask questions from your own frame of reference.
Advising:
You give counsel, advice and solutions to problems.
Interpreting:
You analyze others’ motives and behaviors based on your own experiences.
Habit 6: Synergize® Innovate and problem solve with those who have a different point of view.
To put it simply, synergy means “two heads are better than one.” Synergize is the habit of creative cooperation. It is teamwork, open-mindedness, and the adventure of finding new solutions to old problems. But it doesn’t just happen on its own. It’s a process, and through that process, people bring all their personal experience and expertise to the table.
Together, they can produce far better results that they could individually. Synergy lets us discover jointly things we are much less likely to discover by ourselves. It is the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. One plus one equals three, or six, or sixty–you name it.
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw® Increase motivation, energy, and work/life balance by making time for renewing activities.
If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know this habit so well. I love the whole concept of Sharpening the Saw. The concept means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have – YOU.
It means having a balanced program for self-renewal in the four areas of your life: physical, social/emotional, mental and spiritual. Such as:
Physical:
Beneficial eating, exercising, and resting
Social/Emotional:
Making social and meaningful connections with others
Mental:
Learning, reading, writing and teaching
Spiritual:
Spending time in nature, expanding spiritual self through meditation, music, art, or service
Sharpen the Saw keeps you fresh so you can continue to practice the other six habits. You increase your capacity to produce and handle the challenges around you. Without this renewal, the body becomes weak, the mind mechanical, the emotions raw, the spirit insensitive and the person selfish.
Trying to create the habit with my family that the hallway isn’t for hats & coats is an ongoing issue! Bench: Cox and Cox
Go back to the list you created at the very beginning.
Have these 7 Habits provoked some thoughts into your own habits? Find your list that you created and re-examine the habits you wrote down..
How did you get those?
What made you so successful at those habits?
Consider ONE thing you can do to create a good habit and ONE thing you will do to ensure you stick to it??
Consider ONE thing you can do to adjust the habit that doesn’t serve you – do you wish to adjust it in anyway?
Start right now, not tomorrow and not next week, right now, change one thing, promise yourself, don’t let yourself down, don’t expect thanks from anyone except yourself. (It’s “tough love” Claire today!!)
You can make a habit of taking a lunch break instead of working through all day.
You can make a habit of taking a walk every day for just 10 minutes, instead of scrolling through social media, getting lost on Pinterest, FB, reading what other people are doing and feeling resentment, feeling sorry for yourself.
You can make a habit of changing something about your nutrition, just one thing a week or a month..
Drinking an extra glass of water a day to replace a cup of tea or a can of fizzy drink is a good habit.
Gratitude is also a good habit to practice feeling it once a day.
It’s all up to you. You’re responsible for your own life, thoughts, feelings, actions.
Promise yourself one thing, stick to it. Repeat tomorrow!
I’d love to know which of the 7 habits are your favourite and why.. Also which habit you might be dropping and which new one you might start..
As always, I read the comments and would love to know your thoughts.
Remember if you’d like to join in the weekly conversation and the Missions I share each week, then please head to Instagram, I’d love to chat there!
As if by magic It’s Easter Weekend and the Mother Nature has done her very best. The sun is shining and we are able to enjoy up to six guests in our gardens this weekend here in England. Hurrah! This week’s blog, is all about the fun bit! Adding the the finishing touches, to welcome your friends and family back into your garden or when you meet on the beach or at the park for a picnic. I’ll be sharing things that have caught my eye that I think you’ll love, together with some delicious recipes so you don’t spend all day in the kitchen!
If you’ve been following my Blog for the last few weeks, I’ve shared ideas that have helped me over the years, that I call the Big Spring Refresh!
Phew! So that’s the hard work done! Now it’s time to enjoy your space.
“Gardens and flowers have a way of bringing people together, drawing them from their homes.” ― Clare Ansberry, The Woman on Troy Hill.
Making an entrance
Years ago, someone told me to put a simple pot near your front door or by your garden gate, filled with blooms that not only look pretty, but also have a wonderful fragrance. It is a fabulous welcome to anyone visiting and of course for you on a daily basis! The beauty of having your blooms in a pot means that you can move them depending on the season. They will have the same effect on your balcony, outside your beach hut or on your decking.
Sweet peas have a very special place in my heart – they always remind me of my dear grandparents and so to have them growing in my garden, like like they did. Although my gramps was a master, how I wish he was here now to help me.
“A friend is one who overlooks your broken fence and admires the flowers in your garden.”
Unknown
Let’s Eat!
After all the hard work you’ve done refreshing your garden ready for Spring and entertaining your guests, the last thing you want to be doing is slaving in the kitchen all day. Your friends and family want to see you! The key to this happening is to prepare ahead and keep it simple. Sharing a few favourites from James Duigan that we love and hope you do too.
Greek Lamb Skewers with Courgette Tzakziki
A huge family favourite which we love to cook on the barbecue, alrthough you can cook on the griddle / grill if tyou prefer. Everything can be prepared in advance.
Ingredients:
600g organic lamb leg steaks, trimmed and cut into large chunks.
2 tbs olive oil, salt and pepper
1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp ground coriander
1/2 cucumber, 2 courgettes
1 small bunch of mint, finely chopped.
300ml organic natural yogurt
zest of 1 lemon, juice of 1/2 lemon
rocket leaves, to serve.
Method:
Rub the lamb with the olive oil, salt, peper, cinamon and corriamnder. Thread onto wooden skewers that have been soaked in water for 30 minutes.
Grate the cucumber and ciourgettes and mix in a bowl with finely chopped mint leaves. Stir in the yogurt and lemon zest.
Heat the grill / griddle pan to a medium heat (or if you’re using a barbecue, ensure it’s perfect to start cooking on.
Grill the lamb for about 4 minutes on each side until cooked through and golden. Squeeze the lemon juice over the lamb and serve with the tzatziki and some peppery rocket.
Kabbouleh
A delicious lunchbox or picnic treat and certainly the perfect accompaniment to any barbecue, we love it with chicken or fish. Feel free to mix up your grains and use what you have to hand, gluten-free varieties if you prefer.
Ingredients:
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
¼ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp sumac, juice of 1 lemon
¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp ground black pepper
100g cooked and cooled quinoa, brown rice or bulgur wheat (or a mixture, or any leftover cooked grains of your choice that you have to hand)
3 good handfuls of kale leaves (stalks discarded), finely chopped
half a small cucumber, seeds scooped out, finely chopped, 1 spring onion, finely chopped,
8 small tomatoes, chopped into quarters, handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
Method:
First, make the dressing; it will taste better the longer it sits. Whisk together the olive oil, cumin, sumac, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and set aside.
Make sure the cooked grains have cooled down completely so they don’t wilt the salad when you put everything together.
Put the kale, cucumber, spring onion and tomatoes in a serving bowl and stir in the parsley.
Pour over half the dressing and mix it through; this step will tenderise the kale and distribute great flavour through the salad.
Add the cooled cooked grains and the rest of the dressing, stirring everything together.
Taste the salad and adjust the seasoning with more salt or another squeeze of lemon, or to the way you like it. Tuck in.
TIP If you like heat, feel free to add a little fresh or dried chilli, or some finely chopped garlic.
Sticky Chicken Thighs (serves 4)
Pure comfort food. The kids love these with the sweet potato wedges with crispy chickpeas and dollops of Greek yoghurt seasoned with a squeeze of lime and a sprinkle of spring onion. You can cook the chicken in the oven as here, or on the barbecue if you prefer.
Ingredients:
140g tomato purée
2 tbsp honey (optional)
1 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp paprika
generous pinch of black pepper
600g organic chicken thighs
drizzle of rapeseed oil
For the salsa
Ingredients:
4 large tomatoes
small handful of fresh coriander, with stalks, finely chopped
1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
juice of 1 lime
salt and ground black pepper
drizzle of good-quality olive oil
Method:
In a large bowl, mix together the tomato purée, honey (if using), tamari, apple cider vinegar, paprika and pepper to make the marinade. Season to taste. Add the chicken thighs to the bowl and toss until each one is completely coated.
Put the thighs on a large baking tray. Drizzle with a little oil and bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven or until completely cooked through and golden brown. Turn halfway through cooking.
Meanwhile, make the salsa. Finely chop the tomatoes and add to a small bowl with the coriander. Mix in the chilli, garlic, onion and lime juice. Season to taste and add a good glug of oil. Mix again and leave in the fridge until the chicken is ready.
Serve the chicken with a big spoonful of salsa, a green salad, seasoned yoghurt (see recipe intro above) and, if you like, sweet potato wedges.
Roasted figs with honey & Greek yoghurt (Serves 4)
“Whenever I make this simple dessert, it reminds me that if you choose delicious, good-quality ingredients, you don’t need to do anything fancy with them.” James Duigan
Ingredients
4 large figs
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1-2 tsp manuka honey or good quality honey for drizzling (or try maple syrup for a variation)
handful of rosemary sprigs
8 tbsp Greek yoghurt or coconut yoghurt
2 tbsp pecans, chopped and toasted
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/ gas 4 and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Slice the figs into halves and quarters. Place them on the prepared baking tray.
Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon over the figs and drizzle with the honey. Lastly, lay the rosemary sprigs over the figs.
Place in the preheated oven for approximately 40 minutes, or until caramelised and soft. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.
Serve the figs dolloped with the yoghurt, sprinkled with the pecans and the remaining teaspoon of cinnamon.
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“A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in–what more could he ask?
A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.”
― Victor Hugo, Les Miserables
Life’s a beach!
…or a picnic! We can now venture to the parks and beaches and see friends, should you wish to leave the garden! That doesn’t mean you can’t style it out there too. (although please be socially distant and stay safe)
Love this new season cool bag from Sophie Alport to keep our food and drinks super cold and fresh. I think we could all enjoy this beautiful giant picnic rug, in the garden, park or the beach. It’s from Annabel James, a new find for me. Oh so lovely!
I’ve recently discovered a fabulous cocktail company, Bar Bouy. A new brand dreamt up on the beach in Devon when the world pressed pause last year, was a positive to come out of Lockdown! I adore their philosphophy, with their main aim being to put some smiles back on faces. I also love that Bar Bouy are local.
“With a taste for well-made drinks and a thirst for the perfect sized pre mixed sundowner, we’ve created a range of hand crafted, bar standard, cocktails to be enjoyed at home or sent as gifts.”
Each cocktail is made to order just a stone’s throw from the sea using premium spirits and high quality ingredients. They are fresh, so once delivered should be chilled and enjoyed within seven days. Alternatively they can be frozen upright and kept for up to three months before being defrosted and enjoyed at a time that suits you.
Each bottle is 240ml giving the ideal measure for two to share at home, the park or back on the beach where the very idea of them first began. Doesn’t that sound amazing? Think these would make fabulous gifts too. Question is which one will you try first?
When the sun goes down..
We’ve not seen our friends or family for a while and so when the sun goes down, we really won’t want the “party” to end. We want to be cosy and warm, especially as we can’t enterain inside right now so having some throws close by is a must! This is where lighting, candles and a fire pit also come in handy! (Please ensure you are being safe!)
I love the idea of an outdoor cinema and love how Cuprinol have styled theirs above. Anyone else get lost on Pinterest or just me? I’m delighted to share wirth you another new find, Rory and Ruby, a small business who sell the most incredible gifts, such as the Organic Cotton star throw (below) and gorgeous hampers.. If you’re a keen gardener, you’ll love the Gardeners Hampers too. They are fabulous.
Imagine sitting around the fire pit long into the night surrounded by friends or family. Doesn’t it look heavenly?
I hope that I’ve have given you a little inspiration for your garden and menu for this Spring and Summer ahead. As ever, I’d love to know your thoughts and comments so do let me know. What’s inspired you the most and what are you motivated to try. I read every comment honestly.
Chalk Pink Linen Company.
Next time on the blog, I’ll be sharing some thoughts on how we can look after our mental health and well-being as we continue with the easing of Lockdown. If you’d like to receive it straight to your inbox, you can subscribe here. (There will be no spam, I promise!)
In the meantime, feel free to join the conversation on my instagram.
I really hope you’re having a fabulous weekend and have a lovely week ahead.
A little mission – pantry makeover and organisation. What I did so our kitchen worked more effectively for us as a family. We all have our systems in place and I’m sure you have your own too, however incase it helps, I thought I’d talk you through what I did to organise our kitchen and pantry cupboards.
I always enjoy a good old spring clean and declutter and it seems I’m not on my own – thank goodness! Spending a year in Lockdown has meant we’ve looked at our spaces differently and in my case, decluttering at the beginning last March and now again a year on!
Clear the clutter so you have room to see the potential in front of you.
Syd and Shea McGee
Moving Day; the back story.
To give you a little back story, when we moved into our home, the children were still young, I was running my Fitness and Wellbeing business and up at 4.15am every morning and my husband also has a busy job! Not unusual, I hear you say..
Moving in day was equally busy. I picked up our new keys at midday, having run two busy fitness camps for my clients at 6am and 9am. We had until the 3.30pm school pick up to get the majority of the work done. Essentially I was keen to at least make the childrens bedrooms and the living areas livable! Yes my #PowerofanHours were in full swing, even then!
Obviously in an ideal world, we’d have looked at the space in our kitchen and worked out logically where everything should live. We didn’t, we simply unpacked the boxes (in an organised manner as possible) and that was that, back to our crazy busy lives, excited to be in our new home. It worked.
The simplest of touches for the guest room.
Lockdown bought a new vision
Over the years, I’ve decluttered and moved things around but one of the positives this Lockdown has given me was to really look at our space, how it functioned, or didn’t and plan accordingly.
It’s been a huge lightbulb moment for me, having the brain space and time to be objective, yet creating spaces behind the doors that work so much more effectively for us as a family. I cleared a space in my diary and the “Little Mission -the pantry makeover and organisation” commenced!
I started with one cupboard, where we store our hot drink ingredients, thinking I’d remove the items that were out of date or no longer served the family and simply replace back in the cupboard.. However, on closer examination, I realised that this cupboard also now hosted items we used for entertaining & baking.
Most of the items were already in storage jars but overtime it had become disorganised and cluttered, not only that but our mugs were over the other side of the kitchen. Not a good use of space or time, just to make a cup of coffee! Now I know this sounds silly, I’m sure many of you already have a “hot drinks station” as The Home Edit call it, but remember we moved in and went with the flow!
The top shelf now stores a basket with a stock of fruit teas, together with a storage jar of filter coffee and the cafetière. the second shelf now hosts our mugs and the bottom shelf hosts the teas, coffees etc that we use regularly. Our kettle lives directly under this cupboard and it works really well! Simple things eh..?
“Having a place for everything and everything in it’s place makes the world of difference” A quote my Granny Ruby would say often, I think I adopted her passion for being organised from her!
“I look forward to spring cleaning and putting things in their place. It’s therapeutic for me”
Kimora Lee Simmons
The System
Powered on, I turned my attentions to the pantry cupboards and adopted the same process.
Remove all items.
Discard what’s out of date or your family no longer need or use.
Wash all storage containers and wipe cupboards.
Assess the space.
Consider what you need to complete the job. Labels? Jars? Adjust the shelf heights?
Refill storage jars and place back where they suit you, your family and your lifestyle.
It always looks worse before it gets better!
Things I found useful to consider when starting a pantry organisation.
Think about what you actually do in your kitchen!
Where you cook, where you prepare the packed lunches, which items you use more than others. It took me until recently to realise that I stored my flour on the top shelf, with all the baking ingredients, which meant I’d have to jump onto the worktop to reach it – Every. Single. Time!! Why it didn’t occur to me to have a reshuffle and move these items to a lower shelf was purely because I didn’t give it another thought!
AfterBefore I can now reach the items I use on a daily basis! The baking ingrediants are stored in the basket, making life much simpler and neater.
Plan your layout!
I’m an old fashioned kind of girl and when the brain goes round and round in circles, I write it down. This new system needed to work, I wanted to have a space that was efficient, yet looked elegant and that worked for everyone, keeping the upkeep to a minimum. (Our longed for kitchen renovation is still in the “dream stage” but this process all helps for when the planning becomes a reality.)
I drew the kitchen and cupboard layout on a piece of paper and reassessed which storage jars and labels I needed and where they would go. By writing it all down, having an old fashioned “brain dump” cleared the fog and I could get a clearer perspective. A good thing when you are short of time!
Jars from Amazon Customised labels from Printtailors By working out what you need to refresh your space, before you order can save money and time. I used lots of storage jars I already had and ordered a couple more to complete the task. My coffee bags now have their own jar and customised label.
Divide the kitchen into “Stations”
I’m sure if I shared my steps in the kitchen before the pantry makeover and organisation, you’d giggle. Everything was so far away from each other.. The honey lived in a cupboard far from the toaster. The herbs were in a cupboard on the other side of the kitchen away from the oven.
Having stopped and reassessed and framed this process as “creating stations”, it really simplified everything and made it easier to organise.
The serving dishes, herbs and cooking ingredients are now in a cupboard next to the cooker. So simple, yet effective!
Remove the emotion from decluttering your items.
How many of us keep items because they have sentimental value or because they were expensive? You may remember in last weeks blog, I shared a game our family started “yes, no, go” last year. It really helps to make a quick decision about what stays and what goes. Having a Kitchen and pantry refresh means you can get radical.
Those plates that are chipped and you no longer use? They go!
Electrical items that no longer work? Get them fixed or they go!
Children’s cups and plates they used when they were toddlers but they’re now married and no longer live at home? If you can’t bare to get rid of them, pop them in a box (labelled obviously) and store in the attic. You get the idea!
What to do about remembering expiry dates?
Now you’ve removed all the unsightly packaging, how are you going to remember what expires and when? What if you have family member with allergies and need to know the ingredients on the items you’ve now lovingly stored in jars? I cut the expiry dates off the packaging and taped them to the bottom of the lid of the jar or under the jar depending on where the jar was in the cupboard. I didn’t want to see the tape!
Little touches, make the biggest impact!
I can honestly say that the Little Mission – The Pantry Makeover And Organisation has made a huge difference. The cupboards and pantry certainly “Spark Joy” and life is even more efficient. I was asked last week, how did you get the time to do this? I simply blocked an hour at a time. worked on a cupboard at at time. You know I’m a big fan of my #powerofanhour and blocking out time. In the long run you’ll save time and had a huge sense of satisfaction. A big win all round don’t you think?
Print Tailor
Finally
Forgive me if you’ve read this blog and thought “I can’t believe she’s sharing this, it’s obvious!” You wouldn’t be wrong! I have to say, we all lead busy lives and sometimes the simplest of things such as having your mugs next to your coffee can get over looked. Priorities take over.
I hope that a step by step walk through of what worked for me, might be useful for you and your pantry makeover and organisation too.
Let me know if this has inspired you to take a look at how your kitchen space works. I’d love to know what habits you got into that changed when you had a lightbulb moment, much like my having to jump on the worktop to reach the flour!! Tell me it’s not just me!
I’m the creator of Woman on a Mission, a lifestyle space dedicated to helping women bring more calm, confidence and balance into everyday life. Born from my own journey to slow down and live with greater intention, it offers inspiration around wellbeing, organisation, home and mindset, one meaningful mission at a time
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