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#silentsunday

on December 08, 2013

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#silentsunday blog Christmas photograph wreath xmas

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Roast muntjac with red wine, rosemary and redcurrant & mustard mash recipe

Just in case you are reading this and wondering what on earth muntjac is: it's a type of deer, lighter and generally less gamey than venison with a very low fat content and a wonderful taste which I would compare to rare beef. We get lots of muntjac in the area I live in as we are quite close to where muntjac originated. Well obviously not originally - originally they were from China but were brought to Bedfordshire in about 1900 by the Duke of Bedford. Escapes and deliberate releases have resulted in a fairly wide spread of wild Reeves" Muntjac to give them their full name. Interesting fact - they are believed to be the oldest breed of deer with prehistoric remains found dating back to as long as 35 million years ago! They are considered a serious threat to woodland management as they will eat almost any plant material and therefore I am occasionally offered haunches by a local gamekeeper who owns and manages a local ancient woodland. So - onto cooking. Y

Hexbug Havoc ipad/iphone game review

My children truly are a product of the digital revolution and although they love to bounce on the trampoline until I feel sick, and climb trees and play football on the green, they also loooove to use modern technology to entertain themselves. DS#3 playing iPhone games Even 5-year-old Grumpy plaintively begs "to play on electricity" when the allure of spooning mud into a bucket of water to make snail food (yes really) has faded. And because I am only human I am more than happy sometimes to subdue my horror at the speed of the blinking light on the electricity meter in the name of half an hour of peace as they are all plugged into various gadgets which constantly seem to need charging as soon as they decide they want to play on them. I did have to instigate a full iPad ban at one point as they all became obsessed and squabbled over iPad time so now it's a real treat for them to be able to play and I keep a close eye on what apps they are playing to avoid my pre

Desperate Dan Cow Pie, inspired by Black Country memories

When I was young it was a real treat to be taken to a chain of novelty pubs in the West Midlands where amongst other delights you could order a Desperate Dan Cow Pie, complete with pastry horns. The Little Pub Company had a number of pubs including the Worcester Sauce Factory, the Dry Dock (which had a real canal boat as a bar) and of course the Pie Factory. I recall the pies being quite a feast with whole potatoes, sprouts, meat, carrots - basically a whole meal under a crust. I believe some of the pubs still exist and still serve the legendary pie but are no longer owned by "Mad" Colm O'Rourke who was a friend of the family. Pies of course have had something of a revival and recently a friend suggested we hold a pie night where all the guests brought along pie, sweet or savoury. I've been wanting to try and recreate the Cow Pie for years so after a chat with my mum (who used to watch the pie fillings being made decades ago) I decided to have a go alb

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