Love. Thy will be done

I can no longer hide, I can no longer run.

We've been hanging out in Martika's kitchen.

I have sat down, the first time since 6am, i shan't ever get up again, i think i have 30 minutes before the post work crowd arrive. At one point whilst on the phone to somebody very important, i forgot my name.

"It's the flowershop girl" said I
"Your name is written all over your shop and your pinny, how can you forget it?" said he


It has been quite a day, today has been hilarious, poignant and flirtatious. Men have left full of promise for tonight.

n.b. exchange rates are variable..........

May your evening be filled with Champagne, Hollywood kisses and whipped cream.


Happy Valentine's Day

Miss P. and The Hound

xxx

p.s. and to our American counterparts, as the Australians said to us, it does eventually come to end, until then keep bunching and drinking the coffee...


and oh lord here they come.........

The way to a man's heart

When it comes to men, The Mother Hen has taught me many things in life. amongst them

1. Don't play games
2. You capture his heart through his stomach
3. Always put a brush through your hair and a slick of lipstick on before you see him.

This from my mother who is the single most glamorous person you will ever meet, and an amazing cook, and is being taken to Le Manoir tonight for dinner with Raymond Blanc.

I generally fail at the lipstick and hair brush bit, but the cooking i can do.

Sweet potato dauphinoise of sorts.

It looks quite homely, verging on the nursery food, but i promise you it is food that will have him on his knees. It epitomises the quote "baby i'm gonna treat you so nice, you're never gonna want to let me go"

It's a lot like wearing a fair isle cardigan and giving him a glimpse of the peep-hole bra you are wearing underneath.

6 sweet potato
garlic 2 cloves of normal, i thought about using the fancy black but it smells weird.
Double cream i used a 284ml pot
Milk - use the cream pot to measure out 284ml
Nutmeg
Gruyere or other such nutty cheese approx 150-180
Seasoning

Peel the sweet potato and slice in thin discs, if you have one of those fancy mandolins, use it. I don't so i used a sharp knife.
Warm the milk and cream with the garlic, and add the sweet potato, simmer for 5 minutes.
It will look like carrots in milk at this point and you will wonder what the hell that Miss Pickering knows about cooking anyway. Bear with.
Select a serving dish, you are going to serve it in this straight onto the table, no small individual portions, you don't want to miss out on the bit where your hands brush against one another as you both reach for the spoon at the same time.
Fish out the garlic with a fork and smoosh it all on the inside of the dish.
Spoon out the sweet potato leaving the liquid behind, and place in your chosen dish.
Grate your cheese, and add 3/4 of it to the pan with the cream. Grate in nutmeg and season. I think it is this bit that makes it magic, cream and cheese and nutmeg, this is the bit that will make him fall in love, unless he is lactose intolerant.
Pour over the potato
Sprinkle over the remaining cheese.
Bake at 200 degrees C until golden (25-30 minutes)

You could serve it on it's own, or with some steak.

Make it now, and email him the link so that he will return home with a Hello Sailor.

Whenever I'm alone with you

You make me feel like i am fun again.

Adele or The Cure.

Whichever, the sentiment is the same.

I am a bit giddy. The sun is shining, and there is a dusting of snow, enough for snowballs, not enough to cause traffic chaos.

and the men have come. Valentine's is the trickiest of all the occasions, it's always so last minute, you have to hold your nerve, or panic call all your friends with flower shops daily with the question

"How many orders do you have?"

Sorry if that gets annoying.

They have come and after the marketing slogan we went with, they are leaving with high expectations for Tuesday night.........

We are open tomorrow, and Monday, don't be shy, you can call or email, and you can just do what most men do and just say some flowers for Tuesday, you don't have to mention the V word, and you can say whatever you like in the message. I'm very open minded.

Order now.

A day in the shop

I have written messages on the mirrors, in red lipstick. Cherry pop Collection 2000 for interested parties. It matches my nails, OPI Big Apple Red.

Red hearts are mixed with eucalyptus, The Hound has gone into hibernation, and Spring flowers reign.

I have a new assistant, who started out terribly keen, until she realised payment was a mini packet of Parma Violets.

Men are ordering flowers, i like it best when there are two in the shop at the same time. The unspoken fight to be the alpha male often results in them both leaving with a Hello Sailor.

and to the gentleman that said i should just hang a black and red bra up and be done with it, you were quite right. Somebody does actually make them.

and the debate of exactly how much snow is coming continues.

Men i would like to eat chips with part 3

Prof. Iain Stewart.

He was on television last night, climbing in trees, hanging out with elephants and horseshoe crabs, conducting experiments in glass cubes, and being frightfully knowledgeable about plants. Knowledge is the biggest turn on, along with laughter and FLOWERS and chips.

I am smitten. He lives in Plymouth, which is handy.

He has usurped Prof. Brian Cox, quantum physics is so 2011.

If you are new to the blog, welcome, it's an occasional series, there was another one, Men i would like to eat tuna carpaccio with.

In other news

I wish the other Miss P. would hurry back from the USofA. I miss her.
I have had the new semi-permanent mascara and curling from Equilibrium. It's amazing.
The Hound sleeps on a bed of duck down and has the heater next to him, he's just peachy, no need to be concerned about him, no need to stop me in the street every 5 minutes and ask after him, he is practically living on a tropical island. I am freezing, but don't worry about that.
I love Zumba
I have the mother of all splinters in my finger, i can't get it out, any suggestions?

The lovers

Sometimes you find something that makes you laugh out loud.

A book of witty illustrations predominantly florists and greengrocers flashing their thighs and breasts to gentleman customers.

Obvs. that sort of thing would never happen here.

I went to the woods because i wanted to live deliberately,

I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.

3 bonus points for the film.

This weekend i discovered 3 things

1. Bridal consultations in the snow are fun
2. The Hound's enjoyment of snow is inversely proportional to the depth of said snow.
3. Nobody blogs oxtail recipes, because the end result isn't pretty.

but it tastes amazing. I think my last experience of oxtail was in a tin, at the home of a school friend aged 7.

The lady at the butchery counter saw me coming, could sense my keen nose for a bargain, and reduced the oxtail as i stood there. I didn't stand a chance.

After consultation of The Stamford Hen, and Nigel and Hugh, I realised I didn't have all the ingredients to make any of their suggestions, so a hybrid ensued.

Oxtail

Coat in seasoned flour
Brown and set aside
Add chopped carrots and onion to the pan
Sweat until softened
Add cinnamon, star anise, bay, peppercorns.
Return the oxtail to the pan
Add red wine and beef stock
Simmer for 3 hours partially covered.
The meat will fall off the bones, but you should definitely suck the life out of them just to be sure you have every last bit.
Serve with mashed potato
Or pie
Whichever.

The day after

The only way to follow yesterday's post, is with a picture of a puppy.

A puppy startled by how many people read the blog yesterday.

The relief that people got it is enormous, both here and in real life. I have enjoyed watching people read the sign in the window, and then throw back their heads with laughter.

There is nothing sexier than laughter, and a big bouquet of flowers obvs.


Sometimes choosing Cleaver over Darcy is the right move. Sorry there are swears.

Valentine's Day

4 sizes

Small
Average
Big
Hello sailor

3 colourways

Pink and red
White and green
Quirky

Sometimes you have to appeal to the most basic instinct in people.

I'll let you work out your own exchange rate........