K

K.

Hello again, time seems to fly on pass doesn't it!

thank you for the lovely comments on my last post, i'm still trying to catch up with everyone but a getting there slowly! And thanks for the well wishes for my Mum, she has a CT scan tomorrow to see if the cancer is stable so we'll have our fingers crossed, every month without having the heavy treatments is a bonus!

I did some baking for Mother's Day, well made them on Saturday but used Sunday as a good excuse to lose myself in the kitchen for a few hours. We have bags of dried apricots just sitting idle so i made some gluten free apricot, honey and nut cookies to use up some of those and then seeing as we had a large bowl of plums too i opted for an upside down plum cake with plum compote on the side.

I have lots of things i'd like to make for Easter, including hot cross buns and cupcakes but they may or may not get made. I am awaiting a place in hospital at the moment, funding and red-tape takes it's time though, so if i am around i will give them a go, my family love hot cross buns so would like to attempt them for them! i would make simnel cake/muffins but my Mum isn't a big fan, any other Easter baking suggestions would be more than welcome though!

And so onto the point, letter K is ready to go- please remember you are more than welcome to join in with any of your K favourites!

K.

Place/Country;

Kilimanjaro.

I think there is something inbuilt into human nature to want to explore and see the world and for me that also includes conquering the task of climbing a mountain, and this would clearly be the wrong one to start with but what a thing to aspire towards. It would be nice to think that one day i could be looking down at the world from the tranquillity and solitude that the summit provides. It's probably a good job i'll never get to attempt it as i don't think you'd get me down!

www.servicenation.org

Recipe;

Kadaifi kataifi me krema

Yep, that's a tongue twister isn't it!

Basically this is a Greek dessert that translates to shredded pastry with custard. It sounds easy right- well it's actually got a lot of processes involved! I know my Mum would adore this as would Dad come to that and so one day will try and make it for them, nice to keep in touch with the rest of Europe too!

Item to Own;

KitchenAid add-on's

Yep back to the kitchen again. My Mum had a kitchen aid for her 60th birthday, a beautiful red shiny one that proudly adorns our worktops. As it's turned out i've used it a lot more than Mum and feel as if it's my own! I'd love to have more accessories for it though, i have the standard beater, dough hook and whisk but would love the ice cream maker and the juicer attachments- or is that me being ultra lazy?!

www.beststuff.co.uk.

Saying;

"Keep your shirt on!"

Animal.

Koala.

I didn't write bear afterwards because they aren't in fact bears but marsupials- although i understand why they have become known as bears- their appearance for starters, looking so cuddly like a big grey teddy bear, and koala marsupial doesn't flow off the tongue! These little furries are nocturnal and spend most of their time asleep- my sort of life! Apparently it's because it takes so much energy to digest their diet that it's just more economical to sleep the time away!

www.theclimateprojectus.org

Flower;

King Proteus.

Just look at it. For me the structure, the alluring nature, the fact it looks too heavy to be able to show off it's bloom but it stands proud, at almost 2 m tall in fact- i totally love this flower, so architectural and yet still so soft, if i were a bee i'd be on there for life! Lucky South Africans have this as their national flower, and i'd be jealous but lucky me gets the daffodil so i shouldn't complain!

www.typesofflowers.org

So there we go, another letter done- feel free to join in if you want to, it's always nice to learn things about people.

xxx

J

Oops, another long hiatus for me it would seem! Time just seems to get the better of me at times, Christmas was so hectic what with Mum having daily radiotherapy 20 miles away and all the family obligations and so on. Then January and Feb just sort of got lost in my own illness and the shocking weather we had- more snow than was cared for. And that sort of left me today realising how much i miss just being able to escape into the little blog that has been left all abandoned.

I'll continue my alphabet theme but i've also been baking- a lot actually, it's a sort of therapy for me, i don't get to eat any of the goods but it's more the baking that can help me at times so i don't mind, plus my family seem to be more than happy to sample things for me! So, if it interests anyone i shall post a collection of my latest offerings from the oven.

So, expect to see me popping up in your comment boxes again soon, and for alphabet letters to be back on the agenda once again. I'm hoping this blog will bring me back a little therapeutic relief too so here goes.

Country/Place to visit;

Japan.

And no, not just for the kitkats- although i have to admit it is a factor as i have been intrigued by the beautiful little boxes that i get sent form Japan with the mysterious and wonderful flavours! It is however for me, more for the geography- i think it looks absolutely spectacular, i can't say i'd be a big fan of Tokyo as i am a true country bumpkin but i'd love to ride the bullet train and visit the mountains, go snowboarding, walking around the historic temples and just witness for myself a totally different culture to my own.

www.magicaljapan.com

Recipe;

Jam!

Any variety would suit me, i love jam, always have, always will! I bought myself a jam thermometer before Christmas and would love to just spend a day surrounded by jars and labels and just create little bottles of sweet goodness and let the colours just shimmer through the thick glass. Imagine the scene from Baby boom with the apple sauce and you pretty much get in my head!

tasteoffrance.com

Saying;

"Jack of all trades, master of none"

Item;

Jewellery Tree

I want something so badly as my current display is getting really overcrowded- especially thanks to my amazing best friend who send me treats in the post- and when i saw this it sort of fits the bill. Ideally i would love to have an abstract piece made that would look like a tree growing from the floor up, flat at first but then the branches would grow outwards and become my hooks, i'd love them to have tiny led lights in too so at night the pieces could take on a life of their own.

www.amazon.com

Flower;

Jasmine.

Just for the simple purity alone this one wins for me, nature can produce the most elaborate and amazing things but sometimes it's simplest forms are the best. Add in the exotic fragrance and it just becomes mesmerising.

coolamazingfacts.blogspot.com

Animal;

Jaguar

It's no surprise it's another cat species for me. I was tempted by jellyfish because of the amazing nature of them but i can't resist the big cat. Fast and amazingly dexterous this big cat is one of the finest. To see one in the wild must just be exhilarating- if not a little scary, i just hope that they don't disappear for good, we lose too many animals on this earth, i don't want this to be another.

www.animalwebguide.com

So, J at last, is done.

I do hope everyone is well and doing ok- i have an awful lot of catching up to do but i shall look forward to catching up with you all and what has happened in your lives.

xxx