Stella

Home 2021 – The Great House Extension Project (Days 116 – 117)

Tuesday, February 2nd 2021 – The Great House Extension Project (Days 116 – 117) The Ikea saga continues… We’re still short of two drawers and four shelves. The customer service representative promised me my order (as lost by DPD) would be sent out from the Milton Keynes branch on Monday. Short story: They weren’t. Milton…

Food 2020 – The Great British Chefs Cookbook Club (The Pie Room by Calum Franklin Part 1)

Friday 31st December, 2020 – Recipes (Keema-Spiced Cottage Pie; Moroccan-Spiced Beetroot and Squash Wellington; Beef, Stilton and Onion Pie) December’s book for the Great British Chefs Cookbook Club could not have been more perfect for the time of year and the general state of things. Sometimes you want comfort food, and what is more comforting…

Home 2021 – The Great House Extension Project (Days 113 – 115)

Sunday, January 31st 2021 – The Great House Extension Project (Days 113 – 115) Two more days of work on the house and we are now so much closer to the end game, and we couldn’t be more relieved. It’s still frustrating because we are now at the point where there are long lags between…

Home 2020/2021 – The Great House Extension Project (Days 105 – 112)

Sunday, January 24th 2021 – The Great House Extension Project (Days 105 – 112) There has been something of a lull in the building progress during the depths of December, between Covid restrictions, people wanting to take time off, and the general unavailability of anyone who actually wanted to do any work. However, as we…

Home 2020 – The Great House Extension Project (Days 99 – 104)

Sunday, December 13th 2020 – The Great House Extension Project (Days 99 – 104) Thus far the electrician is still alive. How, is a miracle! He winds me up to the point of violence, and every single day he has been in this house I have had to make a conscious effort to get my…

Home 2020 – The Great House Extension Project (Days 90 – 98)

Saturday, December 5th 2020 – The Great House Extension Project (Days 90 – 98) We’re finally hitting the stage of the great rebuild where it’s now becoming much clearer what the space will look like when it’s done. This makes me much happier than the previous chaos with no end in sight and where it…

Food 2020 – The Great British Chefs Cookbook Club (Masala by Mallika Basu – Part 2)

Monday 16th November, 2020 – Recipes (Chilli Cheese Toast, Gosht Dopiaza, Mango Kulfi, Mughlai Murgh Mussallam, Sabzi Pulao) After the first weekend of November I knew I needed to return to this book and test out some more recipes. I’ve been looking for things that are very quick and easy to do, or that can…

Food 2020 – The Ambassador General Store, Trishna

Saturday 14th November, 2020 – Ambassador General Store, Trishna Seafood Experience I got wind of the Ambassador General Store restaurant box delivery scheme through one of Jay Rayner’s restaurant review columns in The Observer and promptly noted the details for future use. Having eaten at Trishna back in February, and having loved the experience, the…

Home 2020 – The Great House Extension Project (Days 87 – 89)

Wednesday, November 18th 2020 – The Great House Extension Project (Days 87 – 89) Monday was all about the “chimney breast” and its construction. Dave turned up single-handed, and we spent a good hour discussing what we wanted, pondering the size of the electric fire we have bought, and trying to work out how to…

Food 2020 – Sauce Supper Club Dine at Home, Tom Shepherd

Tuesday 13th October, 2020 – Sauce Supper Club Dine at Home, Tom Shepherd In pursuit of interesting food, and always open to a chance to experience some different restaurants even if we can’t go out, I ordered a box from the Sauce Supper Club with whom we’ve had dealings now and then in the past….