Raindrops on Posters and Kittens on Knickers

The WITCH Institute Presents:

A Few Of My favorite Things

My new pink Filofax. Now my cards and cash live in the same place as my newly organized entire life, I got a mirror for it so I can do my hair and make up in it, and a cheerful pink ruler tells me what day it is. My life is thus complete.

The Puppini Sisters. You haven't lived til you've heard their cover of 'Wuthering Heights', you really haven't.

Jones Candy. As if soda with cool labels and a motto in the cap wasn't good enough, now they bring us fizzy sweets in sexy tins with a motto in the lid. It's like the cool, growed up equivalent of Smarties. Mine says "In five seconds now will be then." See, Jones Candy really DOES have the answers! You can get it from www.cybercandy.co.uk Unless you're me, who can get it from the shop in Covent Garden.

We Are NOT Amused

I AM DEFINITELY SULKING.

Brucey- He's Our favorite!

Hooray hooray, Strictly is back! With the right and proper loss of the boring newsreader and the lardy bird, with the last really useless one looking set to go out last Saturday, everything was shaping up nicely. Then for some unknown reason Spoony went out instead. This is a) Not right and b) Really annoying as he was the only person in the competition this year that my husband liked, thus his tolerance for Strictly in general has gone down.

So, will you all please vote next week, or I may have to throw some tantrae. And we don't want that, do we? To assist you in this, and for those of you who are happy to donate your 12p to Children in Need but not cool enough to actually watch the show, here is the list of phone numbers in order of how good the dancers are:

=1st- Emma 'Baby' Bunton: 0901 121 4006

=1st- Louisa 'Ruby' Lytton: 0901 121 4002

2nd- Mark 'It's Not Cricket' Ramprakash: 0901 121 4013

3rd- Matt 'I May Not Know Much But I Am Jolly Good At Rugger' Dawson: 0901 121 4001

4th- Ray 'I'm not just on Corrie, I'm an actor too you know' Fearon: 0901 121 4005

5th- Carol 'Strangely Tolerable When Too Out of Breath To Speak' Smilie- 0901 121 4004

6th- Peter 'Frankenstien's Ballerina Barbie' Schmeichel- 0901 121 4007

7th- Jan 'Only because she's dancing with Anton' Ravens- 0901 121 4010

8th- Claire 'Hard Faced Ol' Slapper' King- 0901 121 4014

9th- Georgina 'Don't bother learning to pronounce it, her career's over' Bouzova- 0901 121 4008

Onna Stick Inna Bun

It has been brought repeatedly to my attention that I haven't posted anything for ages- forgive me, I am very busy and important. So just to show I care, here's a recipe for comforting, filling winter food that even a boy could cook without moaning. We don't measure in my house except for cakes, so this is done by eye. The important reason for this is that it almost never matters exactly how much of each thing you have in a recipe unless it's wildly out of proportion. E.g. There should be more bread than marmite in marmite on toast.

You will need:
1 bag of sweet potatoes (about 6-8)
1 Goats Cheese (don't buy the spreadable crap, get one with a skin on)
1 oz butter (that's half way between the 50g lines on an Anchor packet)
Some fresh parsley (about 2 good sized sprigs)
Nutmeg

For the sauce:
1 small pot double cream
2 cloves of garlic
A little butter
1 small packet of asparagus (the thinner the better)

Peel and chop and the sweet potatoes, then put into boiling water with a little salt and boil until soft. While they are boiling put the butter in the bowl you will mash the potatoes in. Cut the goat's cheese into little chunks, taking the skin off or not as to taste. Put this in the bowl with the butter. Take a mug, put the parsley in, then insert the kitchen scissors into the mug and make vigorous cutting motions in different directions until the herbs are all chopped up. You can try to do this with a knife and a chopping board, but it never works properly and is harder to clean up after.
To make the sauce crush the garlic, chop the asparagus into roughly 2cm lengths, put both in a small saucepan with a little bit of butter, and heat until the butter has melted. Put the cream in, and keep on a medium low heat, stirring occasionally.
When the potatoes are soft drain and tip into the bowl with the cheese and butter, then mash and mix until the cheese is mixed in and the mixture is only as lumpy as you like your mash to be anyway. Mix in the chopped parsley.
Serve the mash and spoon the asparagus sauce over it or whatever you are serving it with. The pub I stole the recipe idea from had it with roast chicken, but it's also good with sausages. Do not serve with salmon, as the colours will clash.

Happy eating!