HOT BOTTLE

When it comes to choosing wine I know what I like, and always tend to stick to the same old thing to be safe - Marlborough County Sav Blanc, any Pinot Grigio, Riesling when I’m in a “white mood” or a Pinot Noir, or CabSav if the “red mood” has me. So If like me, you are not that knowledgeable on the wine choosing front ( or you buy whatever is on offer at 3 for £10 at the local supermarket), then I have stumbled across a brilliant way to help you.

It is written by the fabulous Olly Smith, who should be well known to all foodies from his stellar work on the much missed Great Food Live, Richard & Judy’s Wine Club, Taste, Food Uncut and of course Saturday Kitchen. I have to admit I’ve always had a soft spot for him, as his enthusiasm is actually catching.

It is called Hot Bottle, the e-mail newsletter he sends contains vast information about the new and exciting wines of the moment, and the great news is they are often very inexpensive so you won't have any excuses for not giving them a try.

Here is a small excerpt from the January 2008 mailing

The first Hot Bottle of the year comes from a serious winery to watch – Tulbagh Mountain Vineyards in South Africa. Their website http://www.tmv.co.za/ will tell you all you need to know about their approach of minimal intervention, but if you buy a bottle of their TMV Swartland Syrah 2006 from Waitrose for £12.99 you’ll get a glimpse of why it’s sometimes worth tugging open the wallet for a special occasion. This wine is made from 100% Syrah (same grape as Shiraz but usually produced in a less obviously fruity style) with 100% native yeast and no added acids, enzymes or other chemicals. Goodness in a glass. If you’re a fan of smokey bacon or indeed smokey flavours in general, this is the wine for you. It’s also laced with intriguing aromas of violets and a gorgeous long finish that surfs along your tongue like an eco-friendly slick of deep delight. Big wine, big price, big smile."

So you can go out buy the wine and then amaze your friends with your intimate knowledge of the wine you are drinking!

Now for the important bit - how do you get this invaluable information? simply send a blank email to subscribe@hotbottle.co.uk and wait for the marvellous Olly Smith to send you the newsletter.

Thanks to Olly for giving me permission (all the way from South America I might add) to put this on the blog!

Keep Smiling
Marmite Girl xx

Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus

I'm very proud of being Welsh (as you can probably tell) so Happy St David's Day to you all, I thought seen as it was St David's Day and all, I would stick on my recipe for Welsh Cakes (every one has their own recipe!) and a nice lamb recipe so you could all join in with the celebration of our Saints Day.


Welsh Cakes (puritans look away now!)

1lb self-raising flour.
8oz butter
8oz granulated sugar, and a small amount of caster sugar to serve
8oz sultanas (chopped - you're supposed to use currants but I find them gritty)
1 tsp of mixed spice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
2 large eggs and a drop of milk

Rub the fat and flour together until crumbly and then add all the other ingredients except the eggs and milk and vanilla. Mix thoroughly, and then add the eggs and vanilla. Add the milk slowly while mixing, to get the right consistency. The mix should not be too sticky..
Roll out - to about a quarter of an inch - and cut into rounds about 2" across. Cook on a bakestone (or griddle or hot plate) and turn once when brown. Dust with a little caster sugar mixed with cinnamon while they are still warm to serve.

My fave lamb recipe is this one

Oen Cymreig a Mel (Welsh Lamb with cider and honey)

4lb leg of Welsh Lamb
2 sprigs of rosemary
6-tbsp. Welsh honey (the clover honey is the best)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
½ pint cider

Set oven to 400 F. Place the leg of lamb on foil in a roasting pan (or the honey will ruin your pan!) . Brush with 4 tbsp. of warm honey and season with salt and pepper. Place the sprigs of rosemary on top of the joint. Draw up the foil to form a tent and roast for l5 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 F and continue roasting for l ½ hrs. until the juice just runs pink or longer if preferred well done (I hope not!!!!). Open the foil to crisp and brown the skin for the last 20 minutes of cooking time. Remove the lamb from the oven and keep warm. 2.Pour off the fat from the pan and make the gravy from the meat residue, adding half a pint of cider and 2 TBS of honey. Reduce to two thirds volume by boiling. Serve with roast potatoes, vegetables of your choice and mint jelly.

Enjoy, and if you can put a vase of gorgeous daffodils on the table, all the better.

Love
Marmite xx

I Love Bryn Terfel

There I said it, I have always protested that I didn't much care for Bryn's voice as I find a bit dark for me (this is not a good thing to say if you are a Welsh person, and especially not a good thing to say to another Welsh person) but that was my humble opinion. However I spent the day watching the WNO dress rehearsal of Falstaff and my humble opinion has now been quashed and stamped on , Bryn Terfel was BRILLIANT, as was the rest of the cast (including my mate Emma). I know they are touring so click on the link and if you like Opera go and see it when it comes to a town near you!

Well as you know I'm never in the Country for long, so I have planned a little trip to Las Vegas, only for a week, but remember on my list of things to do before 40 there was the small matter of seeing The Divine Miss M, well I'm off to do that, Bette Midler has taken over from Celine in Caesars Palace so I have a ticket to go and see her. So that will be my top five seen, at least I can cross that one off my list eh?


Keep Smiling
Marmite xx

Friday night....Saturday all day...suffering Sunday!

What a brilliant weekend, my Mum's party went really well, she had a nice time, we all did, Cara (my 2 year old Niece) stayed up until 9pm and danced for ages, until she slipped and cut her lip on the dance floor so we all had to go and smack the floor for hurting her! She had a new party dress and kept telling me she was going to be a ballerina.

My Dad really enjoyed himself so that was good, we stayed over at the hotel for the night and all had breakfast in the morning as a family so it was lovely.

I drove home just in time to catch Saturday Kitchen, as the wonderful and lovely Silvena Rowe was on, and as you know she's my favourite TV Chef, it was hysterical, Sweet Baby James couldn't get a word in, I'm keeping it on Sky Plus to watch any time I need cheering up!

I left then to go into Cardiff to meet CJ for the rugby, however CJ was having her hair done first and although she thought she would be finished by 12pm, she sent me a text (after I had arrived in the City) saying she would be another hour! I was, at the time, opposite a cosmetic shop, so I thought I would go and have a look as I need a lot more help these days, anyway I asked about some foundation and before I knew it, all my make up was off and one of the girls was completely re-doing it ( I hadn't thought it was that bad!) She did a really good job, it wasted half an hour but cost me £30 as I felt like I had to buy something!

I finally met CJ, we had a couple of drinks and took our seats, I had the best day, it was just what I needed, Wales played a blinder against Italy (Wales 47 Italy 8), I shouted (well screamed) far too much, sang Bread of Heaven and Calon Lan at least 8 times and now have no voice, and to top a great match we met a few nice boys on the way out as you can see!

After the game we came back to my house, then met up with another couple of friends and walked to the local pub to watch the England v France game. We got home at 11pm, Ok I admit slightly the worse for wear.... (I'm sure the Vodka was off!) I'm exhausted now after all that enjoying myself, it's hard work having fun isn't it?

Keep Smiling
Marmite xx

A busy weekend ahead.

It's going to be a busy weekend, Friday night we are having a 60th birthday party for my Mum, six years ago she had two brain hemorrhages, we didn't think she would survive, but she has, however she has no short term memory at all, she can remember things from a long time ago but not things from two minutes ago. My Dad is amazing, a lesser man would not be able to cope and I can't tell you how proud of him I am, as Mum needs a lot of care and my Dad does it all and never complains. It has been a tough six years. I go to see them every Sunday to make a roast dinner, and my Dad goes to the local pub for a couple of hours for a break. So the party is as much for him as my Mum, I've got the cake, the balloons and the decorations, so I'll be spending the day decorationg the room, and the evening celebrating my Mother.

Saturday my very good friend CJ (her of the safari trip) has got me a ticket so I can go and watch Wales play Italy in the Rugby at the Millenium Stadium, I am ridiculously excited about that, Rugby is the only sport I watch and then only the six nations. We are meeting in Cardiff for lunch and then going to the stadium, I think that we may manage a bottle of champagne as well. The last game I was babysitting my gorgeous Niece Cara, so I got her a matching rugby shirt and we cheered Wales together.

Then Sunday I'll travel back up to the parents to make the Sunday roast as usual. So it looks like my pile of ironing (that is starting to resemble the leaning tower of Pisa) will have to wait until next week!
Hope you all have a great weekend

Keep Smiling
Marmite Girl xx

Russian Opera...surprisingly good!

Isn't it strange how sometimes you think you won't enjoy something but you go anyway and then you do?

My dear friend Emma is an Opera singer, she used to sing in Covent Garden, but like me felt the hireath (longing) and came back to Wales, she now sings with Welsh National Opera. Anyway she very kindly offered me a free ticket to her dress rehearsal of Eugine Onegin (or One Gin) as it's affectionately called. Now for me the jury is still out on Opera I'm not a huge fan, but can't say I don't like it, I love the spectacle, the scenery, the costumes, the staging, and the arias but I think it's the recit that I'm not keen on.

I said yes to the ticket, and looked up the story of Mr Onegin on the tinternet....not a happy tale, (love, jealousy, flirting, a duel, a death, heartbreak) but then I didn't really expect it to be, I did nearly fall off my chair when I read that the Opera was three and a half hours long! I met Emma beforehand and we had a light lunch, I took my seat, she went off to get ready to be Russian Peasant.

The soprano Nuccia Focile was outstanding, as was the rest of the cast (particularly the man in the eye patch), and I really did have a wonderful time, we finished the evening by having a nice meal and a glass of wine. It was just what I needed, and she gave me another ticket for next week to see Falstaff with Bryn Terfel, aren't friends brilliant?

Keep smiling
Marmite Girl xx

Audrey Hepburn

I came across a quote by the fabulous Audrey Hepburn – and it was this “I was born with an enormous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it”.

In my case, the first part, not so much, but the second part well yep that’s me, it has got me into all sorts of bother. Growing up in Wales everyone is really friendly, if you walk down the street you smile, or say good morning ..... yes even to strangers! As a naïve 18 year old I moved to London, Frognal Lane, to be precise, and everyday as I walked down Finchley road to the tube station I would smile at people or nod my head or say good morning, the reaction was slightly different I can tell you! After a while I stopped doing it, and turned into a City girl, head down, no eye contact, quick walk, just get where you’re going, and I didn’t like how that felt, so I went back to Wales.

I’m one of those people that folks talk to, strangers on a train tell me their woes, my friends say I have some semi-invisible tattoo on my head that says .....go on tell me your problems and you know what, I really don’t mind. I do think people are put on this earth for different reasons, and if mine is to have a sympathetic ear, or to make people laugh, or cheer them up, or just be friendly, then I can think of far worse things.

Sorry about that ....a bit philisophical today, must have been something I ate!
Keep smiling
Marmite Girl xx