Win A Willow Picnic Hamper

So the Summer has yet to hit us full on but when it does (I am ever hopeful) wouldn't it be great to have some lazy fun in the sun with this cute handy sized willow picnic hamper from John Lewis worth £55? 

It's from the Playnation Picnicware Range and comes with -

•  2x forks, 2x knives, 2x dessert spoons, 2x cotton napkins, salt and pepper shakers and a waiter's friend

Image courtesy of John Lewis, who sell a wide range of homeware accessories, including throws and cushions, both in store and online.  

So what does the competition involve?

Lot's and lot's of fun :)

Have you ever played the game ‘dingbats’? The idea is that you look at a picture and ‘say what you see’ in order to find the answer.

John Lewis have got together with 10 different bloggers (yes that's 10 different opportunities to win something wonderful!) and given each of us an image based around a John Lewis product that represents a popular British song hit.

Look at the image below and 'say what you see' in order to work out the song for my competition prize. Then enter your answer here. You will also find a list of the other 9 blogs involved in the competition.

Have fun and go visit the other blogs. There' lots of different prizes to be won! 

The deadline for competition entries is Sunday 15 July (23:59 hrs) The competition T&Cs are here

Sorry this competition is for UK residents only.

Taste Bugs

Over tea last night the girls informed me that my mouth is full of bugs.

Everyone in the whole world has bugs in their mouth!

*silently screams*

There are six bugs in your mouth ... "ung, ooh, ee, or, ive, ix"

Without these bugs we can't taste our food and (this is really weird but true) if you hold your nose the bugs don't work properly. They can't taste any food if you hold your nose ... "they hop up and down and get cross!"

These bugs are very helpful and clever they let you know which food tastes good or bad (it's different in each mouth depending what bugs you have) and they also try and stop the food sticking to your teeth by holding on to it.

Slightly more worrying is the little known fact that when you're dead they move onto your bones.

So if your taste starts dissapearing watch out!

Goats Cheese and Beetroot Pasta

We're massive fans of goaty dairy products in this house. We use goat milk, goat butter and goat cheese so when the rather gorgeous Ethel the Goat  from Capricorn Goats Cheese (you can see her rather hairy loveliness on the front of the cheese packaging) set a foody challenge I jumped at the chance to join in. 


Having sent me (and a few other bloggers a gorgeous hamper full of goodies) it was time to come up with some goatalicous meals using Ethel's wonderful cheese along with some of her other carefully selected local Somerset products. 

So this is my first '#CapricornChallenge' recipe ... and it's rather lovely, very quick and stunning to look at. This really is a great & simple coming together of flavours. The sweetness of the beetroot & cider beautifully compliments the tangy goats cheese.

You will need-
Medium red onion,
6 nice sized pre-cooked beetroots,
1x capricorn goats cheese,
4 large table spoons cider (Sheppy's Dabinett Apple Somerset Cider works very nicely!),
Parpadelle pasta (tagliatelle would also work)
A handful of fresh thyme,
Olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

If you're using dried past put this on to cook first.

1. Thinly slice the red onion and saute with a nice sized clove of garlic.

2. Chop the beetroot in to small cube shapes and add to the onion with a handful of fresh thyme. Mix gently and cook for a couple of minutes.

If your using fresh pasta put this on to cook now.

4. Add 4 large table spoons of Somerset apple cider (Sheppy's Dabinett is a good one) plus the Capricorn Goats Cheese (break into small pieces). Cook this gently until the goasts cheese melts. You will need to add some boiled water to thin the sauce out. Add as much or as little as you need depending on the consistency of sauce you like. Season to taste. Once the Capricorn Goats Cheese has melted take off the heat.

5. Place a small nest of pasta on a plate or bowl and carefully place the Capricorn Goats Cheese and Beetroot sauce in the center.

Enjoy!