My gerberas are bursting into bloom. No recipe; they just pop up every year.
This is cress ready for harvesting. There is no recipe; you simply get your friend Sue to bring you some seeds from England, fling the seeds into soil and wait for them to sprout. Then you pick them and put them on a sandwich.
When we were at the Food & Wine Blogger Indaba back in February (how this year has flown!) one of the speakers, a world famous foodie blogger, advised us to abstain from using the word ‘musing’ in our blogs. I have been repeatedly snubbed by the food blogging community as not being a ‘real foodie’. In fact, when I registered to become part of the FoodBlogs.com community, I received this curt reply:
Hi Cindy,
Thank you for submitting your blog. We are currently limiting the blogs on FoodBlogs.com to those that have at least 80% of the posts containing recipes and associated pictures.
Thank you for your interest.
Pfft! After steaming a bit about the whole business, I decided that the snub was a blessing which actually gave me the freedom to muse to my heart’s delight. And to show pictures of my Lulubelle, who ran into a fence whilst chasing a bird and got an awful ouchie on her forehead.
This is Alvin’s Drunken Chicken which, although not pretty, is very tasty.
Here is the recipe:
1 medium organic chicken
1 liter Shaoxing wine
500ml Mirin
500ml water
60g dark palm sugar
2cm ginger, peeled and bruised
Bring the wine, mirin, water, palm sugar and ginger to the boil.
Place the chicken in the broth and turn down the heat an gently simmer for 45 – 60 minutes.
Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Serve with noodles and sweet corn (my take on this one).
Have some pink wine and enjoy the meal.
Thumb your nose at food snobs …
Ok my…your pup must have really been concentrating hard on that bird to miss seeing the fence…perhaps he needs contact lenses…have a great day!
She gets herself into a trance over those birds
Oh, no . . . poor Lulubelle. That looks painful.
As for the food snobs . . . let’s THOUNDLY THUMP those silly rabbits.
Aah . . . that’s better!
*thump!*
I’m glad your blog isn’t just recipies, there is more to life than JUST cooking. Your balance is far more pleasant
Thank you Sidey xxx
I was thinking about the gerberas, i bought and polanted but i don’t have a spot that is sunny enough
I love reading your blog. A bit of everything and SO Cindy. Love it!
And I love you for saying that
Muse away my dear. I love your musings and I love your food too. In fact, this dish looks delish. The daisies are so good for you if you snip one and put it near your bed at night.
Thanks Tammy, I didn’t know that
Always Amusing
Moose!
As a blogger who has a “musings” column, and as someone who loves reading your *foodie” blog, I cannot believe what rubbish those food snobs are spouting. Good grief…
Love your flowers. Sorry about your pooch.
Thanks Rosie
Hello Stranger! Those gerberas are gorgeous. I had one this summer, a lovely deep orangey-red (more red than yours are). I had the intention of digging it up and trying to winter it over, but. . .
Forget those snobby FoodBlog people! I, and a gazillion others love your blog just the way it is. Far more interesting than just recipes and just pictures of food.
Poor Lulubelle.
I also have a deep red and a yellow gerbera
Why would we got to FoodBlogs.com for food only *yawn* when we can come here for gazpacho, gerberas, glamour, goss and a general blogging good time?
Jolly comment, thanks
Morning Cin, about a year or two ago a man came selling roots and having Geberas as the end product, I bought them (he said they were fundraising at their church – that was a lie) they produced some odd looking bulbs that never bloomed to gerberas. I was conned.
Gerberas are pretty flowers and Lu looks so clean! hope the cut heals fast.
What a scoundrel, Sparky
I’m glad your blog isn’t 80% recipes. I like the other stuff too. Variety being the spice etc etc.
Thanks earlybird, ditto your blog
Oh Lawdy lawdy lawdy!
)
I hate food snobs!!!
I luuuuuuurve your blog – it is well rounded (like me actually
Have a great day Cindy!
LOL @well rounded Chris
Oh good. Let the snobs stay securely on their side of the blogosphere! Hey Lulu…it’s tough keeping the riff-raff away from your humans, int it?
Our Lulu, what can I say
Snobs! Ignore the lot. You’ve got a very nice blog and I love your musings (and recipes!) and so do many, many other people, if I look at the many comments your posts always get.
Keep up the good work!
Thank you, Judith
Who has been snubbing you?
Oh … the usual suspects ;p
What snobs! We love you. Stuff them!
With brussels sprouts
PS A kiss for Lulubelle. Poor thing.
Kiss delivered, she says thanks
I always enjoy your posts, Cin!! Don’t pay any attention to the snobs!!
I’ll just ignore them, Pinky
O, yes the gerberas are pretty!!
Love them
Barberton daisies, Gerberas, lovely to grow. I love them in a vase too!
Me too, adee
Had Lulabelle just eaten the “drunkin” chicken before running into the fence? Glad she is on the mend.
Hahaha, she didn’t get to sample the chicken
That wasn’t a nice reply but at least you weren’t ignored. I just hate it when people “send a message” that way.
Hope Lulubelle feels better soon!
I like many things with pasta no matter how you choose to flavor the noodles or what it looks like!
Lulu is much better, thanks
We love your musing, so muse on Cindy.
Now if I just had a friend Sue.
Poor pup – give her a little extra kiss from me. x
I did, thanks Mandy
I love gerberas, they are so happy and sunny
That they are, indeed
Your gerberas are beautiful! And I love that your posts always have so much more to them than just food…
Thank you Celia
POOR Puppy , love your wine shot, who needs those guys anyway, you seem to have quite the sweet following in spite of them! Musy muse girl.. c
Thanks, I am quite proud of the wine pic
Your musings make this beautiful corner of home, far from my own, such a charming and compulsive read, Cindy.
Don’t ever stop
Thanks Kate, lovely thing to say xxx
Poor dog! He is very handsome.
Ech – Foodie Blog Roll? I did pass their inspection a couple years back, when I was food blogging more. Before they came round to ‘inspect’ I privatized a bunch of posts that were my ‘musings’, to meet their 80% food-related-content standard. After I “got in” with them, I waited a while, then just put my non-food posts back up. I beat them suckas at their own game! They have too many blogs to check up on you after they’ve ‘accepted’ your ilk.
You are a cunning one, Spectra
You are definitely a foodie, Cin, a real one – what do they know?
And I like your blog just the way it is, with the musing, the eclectic assortments of photos and informational tidbits along with the food items…
Thank you Ruth
The nerve of them! They must be crazy to turn you down. That looks like a bad boo boo on Lulubelle’s head. Kiss kiss to make it all better, from me.
She’s loving all these unexpected kisses
I could not get past that magic opening sentence: how good it would be if our writing or art could just flow effortlessly from us without any effort; that no special recipe would be required; it would just happen
Yes, it would be really great …
This post is like a blast of fresh air!
Seriously, it’s snowing outside right now, so I REALLY needed this!
You leave the best comments, Hookster
Damn Cindy…have never heard of half the things in that recipe.
Love you girl.
Love you back, my friend <3
Lulu must have had belles ringing, after that!
Seems as if the grubby 24.com people are idjits. They don’t deserve you, and you are better off without them.
This is not about anyone at 24, I love my friends there
Galatians 3:28
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Okey dokey
As Marx would say (Groucho, not Karl) “I would not join a club that would have someone like me…”(or something akin to that) They sound stuffy, and you, my friend, are far from that…blog on ~
Thanks you, that Groucho sure had a fine way with words
xxx
Oh, don’t stop musing. Anyway, I think most of us can figure out the recipes. The musing is better.
Lulubell is pretty. Pets from me …
Lulubelle thanks you