Full of Beans

Everyone is full of beans here this evening. Spikey is beside himself with excitement because for the first time ever his new best doggy friend Scruffy has come for a sleep over. They are both full of energy and having great fun playing together and I hope that they will soon tire each other out. Scruffy is quite taken by Spikey’s pink fluffy squeaky toy which Spikey won at Sticker Dog Show last year for having the waggiest tail.

It’s been quite chilly here over the last few days and the song Chilly Winds which my friend’s band plays keeps coming into my head ( you can hear them play the song at this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=887u0luJ838 ). It is just as well that I have a new favourite recipe for cold winter days – cannellini bean stew. I got the recipe from the Deliciously Ella page http://deliciouslyella.com/recipe/cannellini-bean-stew/. It is also really tasty with different beans and it worked really well when I made it with black eyed beans. I always serve it with fresh veggies which of course includes broccoli and either my homemade scones or maize pasta.

Cornwall Chamber Orchestra, flapjacks and puppies.

This blog is a little like the Cornwall Chamber Orchestra (CCO)  – no activity over the Christmas period ;-). The CCO is a delightful orchestra and is now full swing into the 2014-15 season.  Judith Bailey the conductor of this orchestra puts some interesting programmes together to combine well known classics with new commissions. The programme for this season includes Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony and a new work by David Hart called Robal’s Orchestral Colours. Also on the programme is a Donizetti Cor Anglais concerto and it is a real treat to be able to hear Malcolm Andrews the soloist play.

The programme meets with Spikey’s approval for he is a real music lover although sometimes his tastes are a little eclectic – Jessie J (hmmmmmm), pieces for piccolos and alarm clocks. Usually he is quite put out about not being able to attend the concerts himself but this issue has now been solved – he has a new best friend called Scruffy. Mum and Dad have a new puppy called Scruffy and when the orchestra is playing, Spikey will go to play with Scruffy.
Forthcoming dates for the orchestra are –

Sunday 25th January St Elwyns Church Hayle 3pm

Sunday 1st February St Marys Church Penzance 3pm

So I’ve devised a new flapjack recipe which went down well with my flute group yesterday and will be a nice treat  with the slow release energy in oats  to have on CCO days. Thank you to Emma for her homemade mincemeat

Mincemeat Flapjacks

6 oz vegan margarine ( I used Pure)

2 oz agave

5 oz mincemeat

2 oz desiccated coconut

2 oz pumpkin seeds

13 oz oats

Preheat the oven to 190 oC .Melt the margarine, agave and mincemeat in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in the rest of the ingredients. Press all the ingredients into a brownie tin and cook for 20-25 minutes