A Visitor, and Snacky Dinner

We had a visit from "Great Aunt Penelope" this week.  She is not really anyone's Great Aunt, in fact she is a friend of my mother's, but we have bestowed the title on her as an honour.  Tabitha is incredibly fond of her - Penelope runs a ballet school, and teaches children Tabitha's age, so she is wonderfully fun with littlies.  She also brings beautiful presents and sends gorgeous postcards from France, so Tabby thinks she is marvellous.

Tabitha and Penelope singing nursery rhymes:

Lots of tea, and warm apple cake, and cheeses with olive bread.  Perfect for 11am, or any time.  Someone asked where my purple cup was from - they are Limoges with platinum edging, available from many places.  They come in the most beautiful jewel-box range of colours.  I love them because they make any everyday cup of tea feel like an occasion.

Beautiful knitted cat for Zachary, and a French ragdoll for Tabitha.  Called Sarah, she says.

Zachary got stuck into the goat's cheese and olive bread.

Also pears - clever boy, he knows that pears go well with cheese!

I always dissect bouquets when they are seemingly on their last legs - I pluck out any of the surviving blooms, and pop them into smaller jars, discarding the rest of the arrangement.  From my birthday arrangement, I have salvaged several full white roses, divided into two jars, and many beautifully wavy lengths of Snapdragon blooms, below.  Snapdragons are a lovely flower to have indoors - just pluck off the bottom blooms as they wilt, and the top parts continue to open and bloom for ages.

'Snacky' dinner time - when The Daddy isn't home for dinner, often I just put together some bits and pieces for myself and the children to nibble on.  Actually, I thoroughly enjoy these sorts of haphazard suppers!  Tonight, grilled sage-marinated lamb cutlets and tomato chutney, fried buttered mushrooms with thyme, and some mashed sweet potato with butter and loads of cinnamon, spread onto toast.

Zach loved his lamb cutlet!

Tabitha ate her dinner in a tutu.  Why not?

Perhaps it sounds off, but I love mashed vegetables as a toast or sandwich spread.  Often, I use avocado in place of butter, but lately (in the Winter, I suppose) I have been thickly spreading sweet potato, pumpkin or cauliflower mashed with plenty of butter and cinnamon onto toast or sandwiches.  Quite delicious!

I am in a bit of a vegetable rut.  We so often have roast veggies, or steamed beans, broccoli or asparagus, or honey mustard carrots, or cauliflower cheese, or mushrooms, or stir-fried bok choi, or salad veggies.  What else is good?