suggestions

happy valentines!

1. make this apple puff pastry tart. everyday can be valentines with this treat! this recipe makes 4 tarts.

pack of puff pastry at room temperature
flour for dusting
1 pink lady apple
4t of caramel sauce
1/4t cinommon
1T icing sugar
whipping cream (optional)

preheat the oven to 200C/390F.
roll out the pastry until 4 8x10cm hearts will fit. the recipe suggests making a template but i just guessed.
quater and core the apple and slice each quarter into 6 pieces.
lay out 6 apple slices in a heart shape on the pastry.
cut around the apple heart leaving a good sized (1cm) boarder (repeat for all 4 tarts).
spoon 1t of caramel sauce over each pastry heart and spread around leaving the boarder free of sauce.
arrange the apples on top of the sauce.
dust all 4 tarts with the the cinommon and icing sugar.
place on a large baking tray and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

whip some cream and swirl with some more caramel sauce, if you want.

eat warm! yum.

2. if you live in london go and see la clique, a melange of cabaret, new burlesque, and circus sideshow. for your pleasure are the talented..

Captain Frodo, Norway’s outrageously bendy man, hula hoop’s finest exponent Yulia Pikhtina, the PVC-clad Miss Behave who has a penchant for swallowing pointy objects.

not mentioned was my favourite guy, mario queen of the circus. a leather clad, juggling, queen fanatic. and miss behave didn't swallow anything for our show, but she did reveal some lovely crystals she had been hiding upon her person at the end of the act. she was naked save 3 small strategically placed hearts, a treat for the valentine's show. there's also the wet rope dancer as pictured above. yum.

la clique was fantastic! i would like to go again as i think each show is probably a little bit different.


3. if you live in bath go to jamie's italian, jamie oliver's new restaurant. i cannot gush enough about how much i enjoyed this restaurant. it was a tough decision on what to eat as the whole menu made our mouths water. there are a few locations, if you live near one you must go! if you're visiting england factor this restaurant into your plans. check out my flickr for the meal play-by-play.

food loop

everyone should order some of these food loops. i use them quite regularly for a variety of purposes; tying together a bouquet garni, holding a stuffed trout closed, keeping a stuffed pork roll rolled...the list is long.

unfortunately the picture of my roast pork from last night somehow disappeared from my camera but didn't appear on my computer, so you cannot see the food loop in action - or the stellar crackling i cooked.

let this be a lesson to you all

when you place your mobile phone in your purse, be sure to lock the keys.

lydia texted me with a "what's with the blank text?" text. and low and behold, my phone had sent lydia a blank text whilst in my purse. upon further exploration i discovered that it has also send $5 worth of blank texts to alex in england. damn.

i thought that was the end of it. but when i got home i tried to call my dad and recieved the lovely rogers recorded voice 'you do not have enough credit on your phone'. what? wasting $5 plus a little on texts should not send me into the red, i just topped up. then i discovered that my phone called london all by itself while in my purse.

how does this happen? what are the odds of your movments being so exact that your phone is able to select and send a call or text?

damn.

robyn's tips to beat the heat: #3

pray for rain.

glorious rain!

big fat raindrops that bring coolness!

thank the gods for the rain!

robyn's tip to beat the heat: #2

eat ice lollies all day long. and when no one is looking, place one down your clevage for extra cooling.

being last day of term and all....my class and i layed around all day eating freezies and watching videos. well...too much chocolate, biscuits, crisps, gummy sweets and juice was also consumed in between the frozen treats. they were litterally pinging off the walls when i ushered them out to their parents.

robyn's tips to beat the heat: #1

so you've come home after a long, hot, bothered day at work. it's 33 degrees. what's the first thing you do? in the privacy of your own home, may i add...

*get your standing fan and place it directly beside your bed.
*fill a spray bottle with water.
*take a cold shower, i suggest using a minty shower gel if you can find one.
*do not dry off.
*spread your towel on the bed and lay directly in front of the fan.
*when you start to dry off spray yourself with the spritz bottle to ensure the glorious coldness lasts as long as you can stand.