pronounced broo-SKET-ah

Bruschetta with tomato, feta, basil and blue cheese and beetroot

I think about Lunch before Breakfast. Does that sound familiar?

Something that does sound familiar after the week I've had is the word 'tall.' To set the record straight, I am 5 foot 9 and half inches.Very very occasionally I decide to wear heels, which bumps me up to 6 foot. I rather like it.

'Tall' however, seems to fit into the same bracket as 'thin' (this doesn't apply for 'fat') where people feel they can point out the bleeding obvious to your face, as if perhaps you hadn't already noticed it yet.

I find it all rather amusing...

1. You're already tall enough, so it's not as if you need heels - 'to which I replied '...being short is not the only reason to wear heels, you don't see me asking the petite people why they're wearing flats now do you?'
2. Wow, golly. You look really tall.
3. A note left for me at work -How you don't fall over in them shoes I'll never no, plus you must have been a giant as ur tall anyway.
4. A man and his wife next to me at the cross lights -My gosh, how tall are you?

When I was 15, my Granny used to say to me 'you're far too tall,' but I will also add that she had dementia, and so when I asked 'why?' she was only able to mutter the same story from the 50's as a reference point.

I'm surprised I haven't got a complex.

Something that isn't complexing is bruschetta. One of the easiest eats/snack/lunch/starter/supper/dinner to make. All you need is good bread to toast. Ciabatta. Sour Dough.

Homemade...

Mama's homemade bread

Make sure you have a big fat garlic to rub on and some ingredients. In Italy we stuck to tradition and had just garlic and fresh tomato rubbed onto the surface, leaving the odd tomato seed and bit of flesh. Back in the nest, it was what my mother had in the fridge. Tomatoes cut with feta and basil, and delicious Saint Agur blue cheese with slices of beetroot. Finished with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (for the glistening) and salt and pepper.

Ours was made with home made bread (which is very easy to make, from the back of the Allinson's wholemeal flour packet). Remember to buy the dried active yeast!

'Allinson's wholemeal flour details'

'The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread' Mother Teresa

the princess and the pea

Ok, so there is no Princess. But. I do adore peas! So much so, that as a 12 year old, I would sometimes eat a big bowl of peas with a dollop of Heinz ketchup as a snack (I know...classy eh?!). People tend to think of these bright little fellas as boring, but don't dumb them down. The pea can be dressed up, just like anything else. They weren't included in a Fairy Tale for nothing. Frozen peas generally have more goodness locked in, just be careful not to overcook them. Here is a different take on Bruschetta (I'm holding my breath, hoping you're all saying it correctly).