Boats

What a gorgeous weekend! I took these snaps as we drove from the Sausmarez Markets in the south of the Island to dance classes in the north of the Island on Saturday morning.

There were people everywhere; as we drove through St Peter Port and past the bus terminus I was amazed to see huge cues waiting for the next bus to arrive.

Then in the distance I saw these two beauties and all became clear.

The tourist season is upon us; there are cars with large, bright yellow 'H's everywhere you look. In Guernsey all the hire cars sport the yellow 'H' of WARNING.

This is to let locals (or those of us who are not local but now understand the Guern road rules) know to give these cars plenty of space; let them go first through the filter in turn even when it is not their 'turn', get over as far as you can as they may not know to mount the footpath to allow two cars to pass each other in the narrow roads. Basically wave them through not matter what they are doing!

Well the two boat loads of cruise passengers could not have asked for more perfect weather. The sun was shining, it was about 19*C and there was a light breeze; just fabulous.

Guernsey welcomes between 75 to 100 cruise liners per year. More cruise ships actually stop in Guernsey than any other port in the British Isles. Yeah for Guernsey, you little tourist metropolis you.

Pink Saturday - Vintage Glasses

Congratulations to Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for reaching her one year anniversary for Pink Saturday. Thankyou so much for hosting Pink Saturday each week Beverly; I always enjoy looking at what pink the other participants will post.

This is my pink offering for this week; my collections of vintage frosted and gilded glassware. These are not just for display, they are used everyday by my family. We have suffered a few breakages along the way but if I am completely honest I don't mind as it gives me a chance to collect a few more :p

I like the fact these glasses aren't run of the mill. People comment on them when they are served drinks in them; whether this is just people being polite and secretly they think I am a little strange I can't say. I would prefer to be regarded as a bit of a kooky person than 'normal' any day. Happy Pink Saturday to everyone and especially you Beverly for imagining it into reality in the first place!

Traditional Guernsey Bean Jar...with an twist

Once again Foodie Friday is upon us. Thankyou to Designed by Gollum for hosting it. Please visit this site to see all the delicious dishes on offer this week.

Please allow me to introduce the Guernsey Bean Jar. I had never heard of this recipe before we moved here and actually did not try it until we had been here sixteen months. It is a Guernsey institution to say the least so I hope they won't mind too much about my few little tweaks.

These are Haricot beans. I have seen them at our local butcher for months but until I decided to cook this recipe it never dawned on me what they were for. I did think that the butcher selling beans was a little strange, but hey, it's his shop he can sell what he likes.

These are Butter beans. It is very important to soak the beans overnight or longer if possible. The first time I cooked this recipe I soaked them overnight but they did not break down as much in cooking as they should have so this time I soaked them for 24 hours. As a result of the longer soaking they turned out with a true bean jar consistency.

Traditional Guernsey Bean Jar

1 pig’s trotter or shin of beef (I used three shins of beef; the round disc Osso Buco cut of beef)
½ pound Haricot beans (I used 1 ½ cups)
½ pound Butter beans (I used 1 ½ cups)
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots (I used 4 carrots)
1 bay leaf (I used 3 bay leaves)
Salt and pepper, to taste (beans tend to need quite a bit of salt)
2 pints stock or water (I used 1 litre of chicken stock and then added enough water to fully submerge all the ingredients)

Soak the beans overnight and drain. Place the beans in a casserole along with the meat, onions and carrots. Pour over water/stock and cover. Cook in a moderate oven (gas 2-3, 300-325*F, 150-170*C) for 6 hours or until beans are tender. Top up with water/stock as required during cooking. Serve with crusty bread and Guernsey butter (of course).

I cooked this for the first time a few weeks ago and the peanut gallery complained about the lack of beef and flavour so I have made a few adjustments to try and keep everybody happy. I added extra beef and I browned it in butter and olive oil. I removed the meat from the pan and fried the onion and carrots until the onion was translucent. I then added the beans, stock, bay leaves and beef and cooked it on a very low setting on the stove top as I do not have a casserole large enough to hold all those beans. If this becomes a firm favourite I may invest in one but for the time being I will make do with cooking it in a cooking pot. About one hour before serving I take all the meat from the pot, remove the bones and any residual fat; then I shred the meat with two forks before returning it to the pot.

It has a very, very thick consistency and is definitely what you would call a hearty meal. Sorry I forgot to take a more tasty looking photo of the Bean Jar artfully displayed in a large bowl, topped with a sprinkling of parsley and crusty bread smothered in Guernsey Butter on the side. I realise this photo of Bean Jar in the pot is a little uninspired but its all I've got; it was tastier that this photo suggests!

I have tried not to alter the recipe too much as it is a very big tradition in Guernsey. The debate rages about whether the beef shin or the pig’s trotter gives the dish a richer flavour and as for the addition of carrots; well it is safer not to go there! I’m sure my changes would be viewed with much suspicion and horror at my apparent ‘lack of respect’ for a tried and true recipe, but I would like my children to not just sample Guern cooking but to enjoy it so if I need to ‘tweak’ it a little to achieve this so be it.

I bought this little recipe book from the Guernsey Museum and Art Gallery shop so I was hopeful that it would be the most traditional recipe I could get. Each family brings its own special way of cooking to this recipe but they all assure me that their Mum’s is the best. I hope my kids think so too.

How to create lasting childhood memories that scar.

Mr Bee was enjoying quiet ale the other evening and he asked the kids did they want to know how to turn the beer can into a duck caller. ‘Yes’ was the unanimous reply.

He flips up the ring pull and says ‘Calling all Ducks. Calling all Ducks,’ into it.

B3 then grabs the can and blows into it and manages to create a sound reminiscent of a musician playing a jug in a jug band. B2 takes the can but, despite all her best efforts, is unable to make the noise.

Mr Bee came to tell me that he had created a lifelong family memory which will be told and retold throughout the generations.

‘When I was a child all I was given to play with was a beer can!’

Well I suppose it is better than ‘Walking ten miles to school through the snow and ice sucking on the rind of the orange you were given for Christmas.’ Hey Dad!

Baby Bird's Breakfast

This is just another of nature's cues that Summer is on the way. The baby Starlings are venturing out of the nest with their Mum and Dad.



I was watching and photographing them through the conservatory window so please excuse the hazy appearance of the photos but the windows need a good wash to get rid of their salt spray coating.

The Mother bird was trying her hardest to show her babies how to forage for themselves but all they were interested in doing was following her around, mouths open, whinging for food. One of them actually gave her a peck on the back when breakfast was not provided swiftly enough.

Our vegetable garden is coming along nicely. The broad beans, peas and Autumn brussel sprouts have been a great success. We still had one bed to plant out so we have chosen some rainbow radishes (I am looking forward to seeing how these turn out) which will be ready for harvesting in 28 days and some broccoli. After the blight which decimated our tomatoes last year we have decided to give them a miss this year; anyway the hedge vege will supply us with gorgeous Guernsey tomatoes all Summer.

The Cottage Garden

We started our cottage garden back in March but I had been scheming for nearly a year prior to the first sod of earth being dug. Here is the 'before' photo of our front garden. It was low maintenance but fairly uninspiring.

Then Mr Bee slaved away with a shovel and garden fork to produce four enormous bags of turf.

Finally, after nearly three months of digging, fertilizing and planting it is nearly complete.

There are still a few bare patches which will need to be filled in however I think I will wait until next year to see the true size all the perennials will grow to so as not to overcrowd the bed.

The 'Dark Knight' delphiniums are doing very well but I need to invest in some plate supports to strengthen them again the bracing sea breezes. I fear that a good 'fresh force 5' breeze will snap them off at the base.

The scabiosa are clumping nicely. The bark chip mulch may not be a traditional cottage garden accompaniment but its weed suppressing qualities are excellent so I think I can be excused in this case.

We used a little of our home grown compost and it resulted in the arrival of of our own home grown vege. It may be a pumpkin but we will just have to wait and see.

The white foxgloves are fabulous. They too will need some protection from the wind.

I only planted four lupins but now I have seen them blooming I wish I had found space for a few more; perhaps next year.

The first of my 'Deep Secret' roses is about to burst from its bud. They are blood red and have a very strong scent. Ideally I would like to be able to grow enough of them around the garden to be able to pick bunches for the house.

The frog is another of my cast iron pieces I carried home from a Christmas holiday to Tasmania. He has rusted up nicely hopefully lending a bit of country and rustic crediblilty to the garden. Eventually I would like it to take on a wild but slightly controlled look, with plants self seeding and clambering over each other. There is still work to be done here and there but we are definitely on the way to our English/Guernsey chocolate box cottage garden.

'Your son is a true Guern!'

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! (I just felt I should clarify that this photo is courtesy of B1's photographic adventures with my camera and not actually my mouth.)

While watching a repeat of Britain’s Got Talent the kids saw the performer ‘Darth Jackson’.

Mr Bee, witty as ever, said ‘No you don’t want to watch this. What you want to watch is Chad Vader, Darth’s younger brother.’

To which B1 replied ‘Huh?’

Mr Bee ‘You know he runs as Supermarket.’ (please refer to a strange individual from Youtube) Youtube references from Mr Bee do pose the question 'How does he spend his day at work?'

B1 answered ‘Is it?’

OMG!! This is a Guern expression which some Guerns put at the end of their sentences that would replace the word ‘Really?’ in Australia.

We have only been here 22 months. It has made me wonder if they even truly remember Australia.