How to become an accidental husband poisoner

Imagine the scene, you are due to visit a new friends house (these lovely people with their own fantastic farm and wonderful rare breed products) and then some more friends the following day.  Baking is needed and something chocolately.  Mums are always in need of chocolate.

Step 1. Begin one of your favourite recipes - Rocky Road- without fully checking you have all the required ingredients

Step 2. Get to the bit where you add the crushed biscuits and find you haven't enough. Get in a flap and say rude words (both boys are in bed, so I quite enjoy having a jolly old swear apres bedtime)

Step 3.  Feel relieved and smug when you find a stash of amaretti biscuits at the back of the cupboard. Add the almondy biscuits, complete the recipe, put in the fridge to set and toddle off to bed.

Here comes the crucial bit...

Step 4. The next day, dust with icing sugar, slice and box up in 2 batches and then, go out for the evening without thinking to mention to Handsome husband about the unusual addition of the amaretti biscuits...

The following morning Handsome husband mentions that he really doesn't feel very well at all.  I ask him what he ate (as I was out for the evening he was self catering)  The food he lists all seems pretty normal, apart from 'oh and two of those chocolately things in the cupboard'

Oops. Handsome husband has a nut allergy.  Two visits to the emergency out of hours doctors and a prescription of mega ultra antihistamines, an unbearable rash, constant nausea, nearly a week off work and an aching restricted throat, Handsome husband has just about forgiven me.  Though not without checking e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g I now offer him is nut free.

And, by the way, if you were wondering, the addition of the amaretti biscuits to the Rocky Road was actually very tasty, just the teeniest bit toxic to those who are anti-nut!

Exciting news about a new arrival

Well, I haven't been posting much since christmas not because I haven't had anything to say, but because what I have had to say is so exciting, but has also been top secret until recently... It's been hard to think about much else really.

Close friends had guessed it and family are delighted.  Can you guess what it is?

Baby number 3 is on the way!  All things being well our third baby will be due in early August.  Little brother is very excited and is quite keen on having a sister.  Little brother I think vaguely gets it- though he saw the scan and said 'doggie' so perhaps not.

We aren't any closer to the barn conversion being completed, or even started and although we were planning to wait on being in the barn before trying for a third baby, quite frankly we got bored of waiting.    We needed to get on with our lives, and what better way to get on with you life, than creating a new one!



nb, the photo is obviously not baby number 3's fingers, but little brothers- though you get the idea.

Chestnut christmas cake

Here is our christmas cake from this year (well, last year to be technical about it)  I went with the Nigella chestnut puree one, and it sure is lovely.  Very tasty, moist, fruity and nutty without being too boring and grownup (fruit cake always strikes me as something of an old lady of the cake world)

Rather than being marzipanned and royally iced (as Handsome husband can't eat the marzipan and no-one likes the royal icing (apart from Darling bout who will eat the entire cakes worth of it if left unchecked) This beauty is glazed in jam and covered in glade cherries.  Yum.

Perfect with a hot cuppa.  Quite fancy a slice now actually, shame its all gone.