It’s been a funny old week here. Firstly, I have been on my own as Steve has been working away. Don’t panic! It’s all within the Covid laws – testing and a work bubble has been created. Professional musicians are allowed to rehearse which has meant that for the whole week I have been at home alone with my four beloved cats for company. There have been a couple of moments where I have been spooked with the dark nights and new house but other than that it’s been all good.
As you would expect with lockdown not much has been going on but I have a few little things to share with you of importance so read on.
No5 At Home
I felt very lucky when I received an email from No5 on Exeter’s Cathedral Green about trialling their brand new No5 At Home service. A home delivery or collection service bringing restaurant quality food to your own homes. Lockdown has meant that No5 had to shut their doors to the public a mere couple of weeks after launching but have come back fighting. They have adapted their service and created a wonderfully compact menu that is all pre-prepared and portioned ready for you to finish at home. A little bit of light cooking and hey presto you have yourself a three course gourmet lunch or supper.
I trialled the service on Thursday evening with Serena, my bubble mate as my date for the evening. Poor Steve had to miss out this time but I guess it gives me the chance to order again. Every cloud and all of that. No5 delivered a bag of treats to me on Thursday afternoon in a socially distanced manner so I had time to prepare supper later on that evening. Each dish in its own recyclable packaging ready to be refrigerated until required.
Serena and I loved the menu, and between us sampled a fair few choices. Head chef Sam Billson really has created a wonderful selection that changes weekly. Just get your choices in by midnight on Wednesday in order to have it delivered Friday or Saturday. The menu is set at £21.50 per person and there is a £3.50 delivery fee within a five mile radius of the restaurant. Don’t live nearby? Don’t forget you can always collect too.
Peanut Butter Mousse
Did you know that today (Sunday) is National Peanut Butter Day? No? Well, you do now and I have the perfect recipe for you. My peanut butter mousse is completely dreamy and can be literally whipped up in minutes. There are only 4 ingredients to this recipe too so you just know it’s going to be easy.
If you missed it and love peanut butter as much as I do then click here for the recipe. You won’t be disappointed I promise.
New To Me
You all know about my passion for pre-loved. I fall head over heels with kitchenware, furniture and clothing at the mere hint of dust, cobwebs or mothballs. I joke, I do love second hand & vintage everything but minus the cobwebs and mothballs please.
This week I treated myself to a vintage Jaeger blouse from one of my favourite online vintage boutiques. Lila Vintage has amazing style and everything in her little shop makes my heart flutter.
What was the reason for treating myself you ask? Well, I completed and paid my tax bill for 2019/2020 and thought why the hell not. My nearest and dearest will know that I rarely splash out on things and if I do it’s normally from charity shops so not really splashing out! I’d say that 96% of my wardrobe is second hand with the rest being items that I have saved for. I actually don’t own that many clothes and tend to rotate my unworn things with friends which is lovely. You can’t beat a clothes swap session.
Is It Even Lockdown Without Banana Bread?
Steve came home from working away with a load of really brown bananas. In fact some of them were almost mush but crikey did they make a great banana bread. I followed my easy recipe from Lockdown 1.0 which is here if you want it but subbed the butter for vegetable oil and added chopped hazelnuts instead of walnuts.
Next Week
Who knows what will happen next week. More walking and exploring, more zooming, more dancing and hopefully more recipes. I have promised you my version of a lentil Dahl so will try and get that to you this week. I wanted to try my hand at chocolate, rose and coconut macaroons too but will need to wait for my veg box delivery for the eggs! If the urge gets too much I will pop to my local shop but I am so desperately trying to reduce contact with people as per government guidelines. That means no trips to the shop without good cause. Is a chocolate, rose and coconut macaroon a good enough cause? Probably not!
Have a great week being kind to yourself. Get out in the great outdoors snd breath if you can. That’s where you will find me in between work and kitchen duties. If you fancy following along with my day to day musings you can find me on Instagram here. You can always sign up to my mailing list too. It’s at the bottom of the page.
Disclaimer – this post contains gifted items for PR purposes. Food photographs for No5 courtesy of Attention Marketing.