On Cooking and Baking

As it has been cold and wet after the snow, Zach and I did not really like to be out in the roads. For the next weekends following the snow storm, we stayed home and it was an opportunity for me to do some cooking and baking.

When I came home for the holidays, my sister, Joy, made some really delicious lasagna with signature Pinoy taste. She made her bechamel sauce from scratch with a hint of mushroom flavor making it really tasty and made the well-loved family recipe pasta tomato sauce (not like me who buys ready-made and bottled ones, haha!) I promised Zach that I will "try" and make one for him when I get back here in England.

And here's my first attempt of lasagna using home-cooked sauces.

layered in the tray topped with 4-Cheese Melting Mix - Grated mozzarella, mature coloured Cheddar, tasty Lancashire and Dutch Edam cheeses

At first, I thought that we would have lasagna for the rest of the week but it did not even last for more than 24 hours. Not bad for a first try...hehe!

Having influenced Zach with my penchant for sweets, I have now noticed that our weekly grocery will never be complete without cookies and anything chocolate. That led me to search cookie recipes in the net and here's what caught my fancy.

Chocolate Crinkles

Again, I thought that our cookie jar will never go empty in the next few days. But then, I was lucky enough to see three cookies left when I returned from work the next day.

V-Day...My Way!

Maybe, we were past that stage of having the need to go somewhere and celebrate the big red day - Valentine's Day. With the not-so-good weather and packed restaurants and busy roads, staying home and celebrating at home was the best idea.

So when I was left at home while Zach was still busy at work, I thought of turning our plain Saturday dinner into something romantic just by making the presentation somewhat special.

our heavy Saturday dinner - rump steak with mash and steamed veggies
made somewhat valentine-y with candles, red roses and wine

my surprised Valentine date

Let it Snow!

Even a week before, people were already informed about the snow storm, seen to be the heaviest to fall after 18 years, that was about to hit England and western part of Wales by Sunday. As early as Friday, I was already checking out weather forecast from time to time making sure that the expected snow will not divert somewhere else. Haha! As much as others hate it and the inconvenience it will cause, I was looking forward to it.

You see this part of England where I am rarely get to have snow. In the three years that I have lived here, I was only able to experience snow about three of four times and they were not that much. But well, I admit that one of the reasons why I was eager about it was that in all those snowy days, I was not able to get a “proper” photo of myself and the snow. Haha! Except when it snowed last spring, Zach was able to take a few snapshots before they melted in the afternoon.

So when Sunday evening came, I could not count the times I sneaked a quick look at the window to see if the snow has started. Finally it came and it has not stopped until the morning, or better yet, until the work week ended. It literally snowed for five days.

By 12 midnight this was how it looked like outside:

Like wide-eyed kids, Zach and I stayed at the window and looking at the thick snowflakes and as if that was not enough, we suddenly decided to go outside. Haha! Yes, at 1:00 in the morning!!!



Early the next day, this greeted us the moment we looked outside.

all-white!!!

Christmas Card-like

that's the lake behind me...all frozen

Zach - in the snowy woods

the real English Winter Wonderland

snowfall!

The next day, as the snow did not show any signs of stopping and considering the danger of driving on snow-laden streets and highways, it was widely advised not to go out and drive unless necessary. Almost everybody stayed at home and continued putting up snowmen and playing with snowballs. As for us, it was another day of picture-taking and playing in the snow.

As the lake frozen, snow built up on the surface giving a really nice effect.

one of my "manul" moments

another "manul" moment - gintiklud ko be...haha!

Sure the snow it caused millions of money lost because of the halted business operations brought about by disruptions on all forms of transportations. However, it cannot be denied that almost everybody enjoyed the break from work and the quality time spent with family.

So Now What?

I am not really the type of a person who makes New Year's resolution but when this year started I sort of made a promise to myself to at least make an effort in maintaining this blog. I hope I could keep up with it. Oh well, I could try.

Lately, I noticed that after a full year of writing technical design documents, it was very hard for me to come up with free flowing blog entries without sounding too "technical". Maybe that was the main reason why even if I had so many stories to write and countless thoughts to share, they all ended up in the rubbish bin. It is as if the most infinitesimal, or if there are any, creative juices that I have were drained out of me. haha!

Now, I will try as much as I can to squeeze out a little time to blog about something and anything just so I can get back to writing comfortably again.

So bear with me if I will be tattling nonsense in here once in a while.