It Snowed ~ Or Did It?

Hello friends!

It snowed last night.

We hardly ever get snow where I live. The last time we had any discernible snow was about 14 years ago when it snowed and it snowed. And it snowed. And it stuck with us for three long weeks. Long enough for the novelty to wear off.

Before that, I think the biggest snowfall we had was 1963. I had not long started primary school. and the school was shut for three days because the toilets froze over. We still talk about it all these decades on that's how often we get snow.

So last night close to midnight I got a surprise to see my garden lightly dusted as snow started to gently fall. ' Late though the hour was, I got my phone and took this photograph, just in case I thought I had imagined it when morning came.  I went online and posted it on Facebook. And lo and behold, my feed was full of photos of snow falling across the city. I was not the only one bringing proof that we did actually have snow.  We all knew it would be gone in an hour.  That's just the way it is here.

If we had a centimeter that's all we had. However, by this morning it had started to melt but then the temperature plummeted, and it has frozen. So my patio is now like a skating rink. I will not be venturing out on it today.

It's all geographic as I live on a peninsula, which sticks out just enough into what is the North Atlantic Drift, on the northerly reaches of the Gulf Stream. This elevates our temperature by an almost indiscernible amount. Yet it is enough to keep us relatively snow free unless it gets really bad in the rest of the country. Even three miles down the road, they can have a few inches of snow, and we get nothing.

Here are some photographs of the last time we had snow.  Some of the clouds were spectacular.

Roll on Spring now, the novelty of keeping warm has gone.  Unfortunately it seems this coming weekend sees us back in the land of gales and storms.

I also need to tell you that my air fryer makes perfect toast, in fact the crispiest and driest toast, the most delicious toast I've ever eaten.  I put it in the drawer on a rack on the Max Crisp setting and five minutes later I'm tucking in to the Best Toast EVER!  It doesn't even sweat on the plate.

Until next time.

Stay safe. Stay well. Stay warm.

Debbie.

I am Ninja!

Hello Friends!

Well, I'm not a Ninja, but in November I joined the growing ranks of happy air fryer owners with the purchase of a Ninja AF300 dual drawer air fryer.

Succinctly put, I could not be happier!

For a while I had prevaricated over this increasingly popular item.  Last year I noticed I was struggling with my cooker.  It is old, about 30 years if memory serves, and not only was I concerned about the safety of it being gas along with the lack of consistent heat, I struggle to lift things out safely without dropping them due the hand tremors I have almost constantly. Additionally, it takes time to preheat and is expensive when only cooking one thing. I could see that a new cooker loomed on the horizon.  

In assessing the situation, I decided to purchase a microwave oven and after thorough research I decided upon a combination microwave.  It was cheaper than an oven and might be easier to remove hot dishes of food, which it was.  It was delivered the next day and I found myself using the oven less and less, especially as my cooking habits have had to adapt around my ability to use a knife {another story!}  In fact, I was barely using it at all except to cook the odd portion of pasta.  I can bake cakes, bread, pizza and anything else in the convection part of the combination oven, the microwave if I'm in a hurry, or use a combination of both.

One day, purely out of boredom, I was watching QVC extol the virtues of their TSV, a Ninja dual drawer air fryer.  My interest piqued. I didn't purchase one but the seed had been sown.  Air fryers no longer floated in my peripheral vision but were suddenly popping up everywhere like little nudges from the Universe.

Time passed, I did my due diligence researching a variety of brands and concluded Ninja seemed to come out best of all.  Then, Lakeland Ltd had an offer on all Ninja models they sell. The best one for me was reduced to £170, but I stalled. I stalled at paying £170 for so long that they sold out.  Gosh darn it, that old Libra indecision rearing it's ugly head again.  

I wrote it off as a bad judgement on my part.  Then, a week later they were back in stock and with further reductions now saw a £220.00 appliance retailing at £130.00.  I did not mince about this time but jumped right in and for I believe this is what is called a "no brainer" in modern day parlance.

Now the first thing I learned is that cooking in an air fryer is a very different beast and I admit I've had a few burnt offerings and blips, but the more I use it, the more I learn and the more I like it.  So much so that I cooked my entire Christmas dinner in it!  {my Christmas dinner came, like Margo Leadbetter's, in a van ~ from COOK}

Silly me, I've not been taking photos but I did remember to do so today and this is my perfectly cooked, exactly how I like it, Halloumi cheese with couscous.  Last night's supper was a stuffed and roasted pepper which was delicious.

I think the most surprising discovery I've made to date is that you can make perfectly boiled dippy eggs!  My favourite with hot buttered Marmite soldiers.

Conspiracy Theory Thought:  According to Lakeland, 45% of UK households now own at least one air fryer.  That's an awffy lot o' air fryers.  So, I'm beginning to think this is new technology being silently and overtly placed in every home until there are enough planted so the aliens can start transmitting their signals.  LOL 

Until next time

Stay safe, stay well

Debbie