sweet nothings...

My mum invited me and my bf round for dinner last night, she made these lovely pizzas for us
There was an onion one, a mushroom one, and a margherita my favourites!

Every time I sit down at my kitchen window with a cup of tea, I always seem to see this man zooming around on his little red lawnmower, looking after the grass on the cricket pitch. He always has his dog with him though, and it makes me smile to watch as the dog happily trots up and down the field, following the lawnmower, jumping around and wagging it's tail I miss living with a dog! I miss the mess and chaos, laughing at the funny things they do everyday, the fluff and hairs all over my clothes, the sharing of everything I eat, the comforting doggy smells and hairy cuddles...

Today I went back to the cute little cafe I went to this time last month http://my.opera.com/kirstycat/blog/2009/09/23/little-tea-party-celebration , this time with my mum We had a big pot of tea, with a sweet knitted bee tea cosy on the teapot My mum had butterscotch coffee cake, I couldn't resist getting the lovely chocolate cake I had the last time. I could only manage half the slice again though! I took the other half home in a little bag for my boyfriend

I made this lovely risotto for dinner last night, using a recipe from my much loved vegetarian risotto recipe book (which I am gradually working my way through!)

I had had a bit of a bad day at work, bursting into uncontrollable tears towards the end of my shift for no particular reason. I think I was just tired after several sleepless nights and 4:30am starts though, as I feel much better today! (maybe it was my magic risotto! )

I carefully prepared all the ingredients before my boyfriend got home from work (with flowers and my favourite pink wine! ). I started to feel better when I set off to the supermarket for ingredients, and gradually returned to my normal happy self whilst taking my time preparing things in the kitchen, with nice music playing on the radio

I love making risottos, they are very therapeutic and comforting. I love standing over a big pan, slowly stirring in my pan of hot stock bit by bit. Then stirring in the other ingredients at the end, transforming the pan of sticky rice into something colourful and yummy.

This recipe was fun as I got to try roasting my own peppers for the first time. I had to put them in the oven until the skin went black, then put the peppers into a plastic bag to loosen the skin. I was amazed at how easily the pepper skin came off! Afterwards my roasted pepper looked just like the stuff you pay a small fortune for in the shops. I can make my own now!

Pepper and olive risotto is very nice!

My bf had a second attempt at making mince pies last night with his leftover mincemeat. This time they had the added magnificence of a little pastry star on the top of each one. They tasted just as good as his last ones, but looked even better! I think he has well and truly mastered little pies now, and won the battle against what can sometimes be uncooperative pastry Perfect mince pies!