My thoughts about books, writing, life and so many other things….Judy Leigh/ Elena Collins.
I made this when we were getting a little low on ingredients in the house. We did have a packet of tortillas, a tin of jackfruit, and a few vegetables. With a few salad leaves and some rice, it served three, but could have served four! Rinse and drain the jackfruit and place it in …
Recently an author-friend of mine said a novel she’d written had been refused by a publisher because there were four central protagonists, which they said was three too many. There is a template in romantic comedy that requires one heroine, someone with a problem that needs to be solved, one handsome male who might do …
If you have any strong white or wholemeal bread flour and you're making bread, here's a useful meal you can make from the leftover dough and anything that's lying in your fridge or larder. The bread is simply half a cup of warm water, a teaspoonful of (brown) sugar and a tablespoonful of yeast in …
The pasta is flying off the shelves at the moment, so here is a quick and easy ravioli you can make at home with flour, water and oil! It tastes out of this world. First, for the filling, soak a cup of cashew nuts in boiling water and leave to one side for ten minutes …
Continue reading Really good creamy ravioli with a rich tomato sauce: plant based recipe
In these times when people might want to cheer themselves up with an indulgent cake but there are no eggs available, this plant-based, chocolatey Victoria sponge is a great substitute and easy to make. It’s a recipe I use all the time and, although you can jazz it up by adding your favourite extra ingredients, …
Continue reading Chocolate Celebration Cake – (Plant based)…
I have big plans for lock down. The imposed isolation is for our own good and I’m going to try to turn the challenge into an opportunity. I will do my usual amount of walking and going to the gym, which is just a bike and a running machine and a mat upstairs, and I …
Continue reading A book and a bite: plant-based recipes to lock down to…
There have been some incredible changes this week that affect everyone in ways we couldn’t have predicted. Two weeks ago we were making jokes about ‘car owners’ virus’ and now we’re grumbling about the lack of pasta in supermarkets and being seriously concerned about what the future holds. Most of us aren’t as worried about …
Continue reading Stating the obvious about anxiety and the virus
I was watching my team play in the Champions’ League this week and, I suppose, I was feeling a little bit confident. We had a one-goal deficit, conceded away from home and, on our own territory, I was sure we’d win. The captain was back from injury and we had a full team of strong …
Recently, a soap opera storyline focusing on domestic abuse had me cringing with horror. The husband threw his dinner in the bin because the wife did not put any meat in the dish. The reason for this was because he controls how much she spends on food and she didn’t have enough money; he holds …
Continue reading The one about the tortured wife, the chicken and the empathy muscle
Blame isn’t something I want to spend much time thinking about: it’s like anger: it is a negative emotion and, although it has its place, it can also do harm to everybody concerned and mostly it doesn't resolve problems. Blame is often a knee-jerk reaction to a situation that we find difficult to deal with: …
That quintessence of dust 