Sometimes it seems as if spring has finally arrived, but sometimes it seems as if winter hasn't quite left us. In the front garden, the quince certainly thinks spring is here ....
...... with lots of buds, and one flower
....... but in the back garden, we still have a little bit of snow!!
I was going to share the recipe for lemon drizzle cake with you - but when I went to make it after lunch, I realised that I had forgotten to get eggs this morning when I did my weekly food shop! Don't worry, I will do it another day, but in the meantime, I thought you might like to see what I did with this beautiful beef that I bought this morning
I decided to make a rich stew, adding onions, mushrooms, garlic, chilli,and a red pepper
along with tomatoes, tomato puree, seasoning and a bottle of Malcolm's best Brazilian beer!
While the veggies were gently cooking in the pot on the right, I browned the meat in batches in the frying pan
I decided that it needed an extra flavour, so after a bit of thought I decided to add some smoked paprika. This is quite a strong flavour, so I used my special measuring spoon to make sure that I didn't put too much in .....
While the stew was cooking, I tackled the ironing .... I thought I had better, as the wardrobe was looking somewhat empty. I wish I could let you taste the stew - a delicious rich dish, just the thing for a day when spring perhaps hasn't quite arrived!