Just Humans Being...

"There's something radically wrong...Is it this dementia business?"  Bebe asks several times every day. It's a year ago since Bebe moved in with us & although she now tells everyone that we forced her against her will; she chose to come - ok, we had tried to persuade her for years, but it wasn't until she was removed from her home & placed in a psychiatric unit, that she finally accepted that she could no longer cope on her own. We were asked to look into moving her into a care home, but instead - suggested she at last made the move to Cornwall. For the most part it has been fine, but the occasional blips have increased over the last couple of months & her mood swings have become more extreme. We have had memory service involvement for a few months & the community psychiatric nurse's input has been invaluable. Bebe, as do most people with dementia - thrives on routine, so she has been struggling lately to adjust from attending d

Bio D  is probably the most ethical household product company in the UK...  We have used them for many years & it pleases us very much that they haven't sold out & struck up deals with supermarkets. Their products are all detergent & nasties free, so can be used by folks with allergies. Big health stores will do top ups of the more popular products, so you can get money knocked off & you can buy some of their stuff in 5 litre bottles, so you can save even more. It's worth researching the products you use, some of them are very harmful...  To get you started, here's a chart on  Ethical Consumer  for washing up liquid, read about the brand you normally use & think about making changes. Kay & Sime xx 

We love having the time to cook up a feast & today was the day... Although Bebe hates us doing it (neither of us are giving her enough attention), the weather was vile & we had lots of veggies to choose from. The lighting in our house is rubbish, so the photos are not brill... Mashed potato & swede with sautéed leeks, mashed butternut squash with roasted garlic, steamed kale & carrots, plus a dollop of sauerkraut on the side... Dry roasted cauliflower, seasoned with Moroccan spice mix - Ras el-hanout.  Tofu, mushroom & pumpkin seed bake. Hope you're having a good weekend! Kay & Sime xx

If you like what you hear check out Rip's website:  Engine 2 Diet  & take his 28 day challenge. Have fun! Kay & Sime xx

The stuff we use to make our food taste good... But don't worry - Fleaby's just a helper not an ingredient!!! Have a good day! Kay & Sime xx

Typical that the day we choose to take some time out from work & Bebe - it pees down, so our ideas of walking go out the window & instead we visit Wildebeest yet again... We enjoyed a feast of spicy bean soup, squash ravioli, lime & coconut cheesecake & couldn't resist sharing this lovely cupcake too - Blueberry, vanilla & almond! As always, it was delicious & after the last few days of difficult times - we felt relaxed & revived! Our meeting regarding Bebe at day care has made us feel better - they are more than happy for her to continue & have even offered her a permanent room when she/we decide it's time to move on. We'll write more about life with Bebe in the near future, as we know it's helpful to others. Time to chill out & plan a little holiday... Kay & Sime xx

Can you guess what it is? Beetroot, kale, apple & ginger juice! A power boost for a busy day... And another job with a stunning view... We're very tired tonight, a few days of cleaning & problems with Bebe... For a while now, her behaviour has become much more intense - flipping back & forth from severe distress & agitation (mainly about her clothes, wardrobe & her Mother's things - which she doesn't have) to crazy verbal diarrhoea, singing & dancing. The doctor has prescribed a drug to calm her down, but it hasn't worked yet & now her behaviour is spilling over at the home she goes to for day care, she is upsetting  other clients & has been telling relatives of her friends that we kidnapped her & brought her to Cornwall against her will... At this moment & time, we are ready to ship her back to Stoke, especially if she gets kicked out of day care... Let's hope we get a good night's sleep &

We have an organic veg box delivered on Wednesdays, so Tuesday nights we finish off all the leftover veggies from the previous box - whatever's in gets used... Tonight's combination has made a delicious lasagne; fresh tomatoes, onions & garlic for the sauce. Then layers of raw butternut squash, beetroot, mushrooms, bean sprouts, courgettes sandwiched between sheets of spinach lasagne & a white sauce - made with plant milk, garlic, onion, carrot, bay leaves, Dijon mustard, nutmeg, black pepper  & whizzed in the blender with a couple of tablespoons of quinoa flakes to thicken the sauce. Topped with breadcrumbs & pumpkin seeds. We cook the lasagne (covered) on a medium heat for an hour, then turn the oven temperature up high & remove the cover to finish off for another 15-20 minutes. Wonderful stuff & we have more left over for tomorrow! Kay & Sime xx

We gave up using processed oil & margarine nearly 3 years ago, although we do still eat out & buy occasional vegan junk food, but it's not very often & when we do - we know about it! Oil makes us both incredibly tired, so we avoid it as much as possible & don't use it in our cooking at all.  It was a fantastic revelation to discover we could cook without oil/processed fat & adapting our favourite recipes was easy. As time's gone on, our recipes have become far removed from the originals with more wholesome ingredients & flavour. This recipe started out as a vegan, gluten free lemon polenta cake, complete with lashings of oil & caster sugar, now it's oil & sugar free too!  So here is our very easy to make (vegan, gluten free, oil free, sugar free) Cardamom & Lime Polenta Cake... Mix the following dry ingredients together: 3oz polenta 4 1/2 oz ground almonds 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 oz dessicated coco

We shared lunch with Rose & Asa today.  The food was actually better than it looks in the photos, but we forgot to get one of it served up on the plate... Cottage pie made with yesterday's leftovers, plus some miso & parsley added to the mash. Roast squash & garlic, mashed together with a little oat milk, black pepper, lemon juice & a liberal sprinkle of nutritional yeast.  We cut the squash in half & removed the seeds, placed it face down on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. The bulb of garlic, sprinkled with smoked paprika & wrapped in foil was added to the tray too. We cooked them in the oven on a medium heat for 45 minutes, then scooped out the squash from the skin into a bowl & added the puréed garlic (just squeeze from the cloves like a paste). We then mashed with the above ingredients & put it in the oven for 15 minutes... Which would have browned the dish - if the oven had still been on!!!  Never mind, it was stil

If you feel any compassion towards animals, please think about cutting meat, poultry, fish, crustacea, eggs, dairy & honey from your diet...  You can find lots of information online about animal cruelty & reasons for becoming vegan.  Your body will thank you - especially if you eat a well balanced diet with as much organic produce as possible.  Read this article from last year:  Top 20 Reasons To Go Vegan . Start by taking  The Vegan Pledge  & you will receive support from The Vegan Society. To show our support for veganism & encourage folks to give it a go, we are going to post at least a photo each day of our food & interesting snippets for November. So here's tonights's dinner... Roasted vegetables with chickpeas in a tangy tomato sauce, Sime's mustard mash & steamed kale. We made the sauce similar to our pasta sauce - In a little water, we fried (or simmered on a low heat) lots of sliced onions, chopped garli

More silly times in the Smith household! Kay & Sime xx

Please leave your cars at home!!! Confused? So are we... Kay & Sime xx