Thursday 17 January 2013

From the Heart by Kym Marsh. Book review

Why Howdy, mighty glad you could drop by. Hey, do you like that, I'm trying out a bit of my American on you, just so my friends over the pond feel at home here :o) I think we Brits might do things a bit differently sometimes, if any of my lingo is confusing, I am happy to translate. Someone asked what are jelly cubes. Fruity jelly comes in a packet of 12 cubes joined together in a small slab. You pull them apart and put them in a bowl, then add a pint of boiling water, and stir them till they all melt. Then you can either decant the liquid jelly into smaller dishes, or leave it in the big one, to set. You can add fruit, or sponge to make a trifle. I do believe you can get jelly in granules now, I can't be sure because I haven't bought any for donkeys years, (that's a long time). When I used to make jelly for my mother, it always turned out a bit sloppy, because I ate a cube when she wasn't looking, ha ha.  
It is so nice to have a good choice of food in my fridge again. I don't mind running it down now and then and eating out of the cupboards and freezer, it helps me to keep a check on exactly what I have in. So here we are, back to eating fresh again. This was my lunch today. A two egg omlette, filled with spinach and garlic, with a sprinkle of grated cheese, on a bed of raw spinach, dotted with pesto.
It was so darn good, I had to take another pic, half way through eating it, ha ha. 
My dinner tonight was steamed vegetables. Cauliflower, baby sweetcorn, green beans, carrots, broccoli, and parsnips. Again dotted with pesto. I love pesto, but I don't buy it at the horrendously expensive price of £2.40 for a little pot, I wait for it to be reduced to 24p  :o) 
I went to town this afternoon, because the weather forecast says we are all going to be snowed in by tomorrow, and we won't be able to travel anywhere as the roads will be completely blocked with twenty foot snow drifts. I went to pay my credit card bill at the bank, and take my latest artyfarty robot/spaceship to show them at the Arts Centre. They were well impressed. I had a look at the latest exhibitions while I was there. One of them is absolutely amazing, the other is quirky and fun. I couldn't stay long because I was on a one hour free parking, but I will go back and take some photo's to put on here.
I'll just write a few notes about this book I have finnished reading. Some of you will remember Kym Marsh taking part in the first reality show called 'Popstars'. She was picked out of thousands who auditioned to become a member of  the band Hear' Say. The book begins with her childhood, she was constantly bullied at school about her size, which led to an eating disorder, then she fell in love and found herself pregnant at the age of 17.
I can remember the controversey when it all came out that she had two children while working away with Hear' Say. Her parents encouraged her to go for the audition because she had always loved singing. They supported her by looking after the children while she was touring.
Kym comes across as a very down to earth person. Because she was a single mum living on benefits for a while, she was determined that she was going to do what ever she had to do to make a better life for her children. After she left Hear' Say she pursued a solo career for a while, then she found some acting parts and decided that this was the direction she wanted to go in. Eventually she was lucky enough to be auditioned for a part in Coronation Street. Kym's relationship with Jack Ryder broke down, and she eventually found love again with Jamie Lomas. They went through great sadness when the baby Kym was carrying was born premature. Archie was born alive but died immediately, that part had me in tears, it must be the worst thing a woman ever has to go through. In 2011 another pregnancy showed signs of going the same way, but with the dedication of the doctors, and Kym's friends and family, they were able to delay the birth, and their daughter Polly was born fit and well. 
Sorry, I have given you a bit more than a book review there, hope I haven't spoilt it for you if you decide to read it. I would say, if you like Kym in Coronation Street, this is a good book to read. I kept hearing her voice in my head while I was reading it. She writes as though she is chatting to you, it's like having a good natter with a friend. There is a lot of emotion in it, but it's not too hard going.

Adios amigo's, catch you tomorrow.

15 comments:

  1. Like you I love pesto, I do not have much success with growing basil but my Parsley romps away so I make pesto with it. I use a strong cheddar, I buy when half price, grate and freeze it, and olive oil. it is lovely. Sometimes I put chilli or garlic in just depends on what it is to be eaten with.

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  2. Your lunch looks delish. I have never tried pesto, you always make everything look so good I may buy some to try.

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  3. Frugalatchristmastimefrugalalways17 January 2013 at 21:34

    I like Pesto too but I have found it for £1 a jar in Tesco (Tratorria Verdi) and 69p a Jar in Morrisons (Savers). Your omelette looks lovely.

    Frugalatchristmastimefrugalalways

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  4. Can't say I have ever had pesto ..must be missing something!
    All looks good.

    Vicky x

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  5. I do enjoy Kym's role in Coronation St. I doubt I will see her book on this side of the water. I particularly enjoyed the character of her brother played by Rob James-Collier. And I am in love with Rob's character on Downton Abbey. Quite a mischievous fellow. :)

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  6. Mmmm...maybe I'll have an omelette tonight for dinner. Looks good enough to eat!
    BTW - american for jelly is Jello!
    Hope the snow isn't as bad as predicted.
    Joan

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  7. I want to eat an omlette now :-)

    Toni

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  8. Howdy do Ilona,
    I always feel at home here. It's nice to sit a spell and chat with you. :)
    You can also count me as a pesto lover. It's so cheap and easy to make when you grow your own basil. Before you plant a new garden, grow some in pots from seed. I like the 'Genovese' variety. Just replant them in a well drained/sunny area. I usually throw in a handful of the basil leaves, olive oil, black pepper, parmesan cheese, a garlic clove or two, and pine nuts into my bullet blender and voila...pesto! Pine nuts are a bit pricey here, but I never use very many. A small bag lasts me awhile. You can experiment with any ingredients you have on hand. I hear it freezes well. (I normally harvest and dry all the basil leaves at the beginning of fall to use in homemade spaghetti/pizza seasoning.)
    I didn't mean to write a gardening book. lol! I'm just really looking forward to spring...so I won't go into how easy it is to grow your own garlic. ;)


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  9. Hi, your omelet look delicious. I too love pesto and I grow basil in the summer months and try to make some pesto at least once in the season. It's so good when you make it with fresh basil leaves.
    "Howdy" is so funny! It's "cowboy" talk! I live in the Northeast US so we never say that around here. It reminds me of John Wayne movies.
    I didn't know you got that much snow where you live. Sounds like you will have to be in for a couple of days. You went food shopping just in time in case you can't get to the shops. Our weather forecast for tonight is very cold temps but I think we are going to just miss the snow headed up this way. I think it will hit Long Island, NY and maybe the coast of New England. We might just get cold temps and wind. Stay warm!

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  10. I've had to learn to like the taste of basil...to me it smells like cat pee. Never had pesto before. I bought a beautiful basil plant at a farmer's marker a few summer's back so I could use it in a big batch of spaghetti sauce I was making for the freezer....I kept it going on the screened front porch as it get's plenty of sun....the cats like to nap out there too and as I walked in one day I smelled cat pee and asked Doinky..."what did you do"? Then I realized it was the basil plant I was smelling...I got a good laugh out of that one! And I apologized to Doinky :)
    Enjoy your blog! Janet

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  11. I love hearing (reading!)your British idioms & colloquials! I have a question about one... When Brits call us a Yank, does that carry a nice meaning or not so? Over here, Yankies only refer to people from the northern states, but I think when you all (or ya'll, I'm from the south!)say it you are referring to all Americans.

    I'm surprised that granulated gelatin ("Jello" is a brand name)is not more popular. We've always had granulated gelatin, I remember it when I was a child, too.

    Asolutely love your snow pictures from yesterday. I love the snow, but we don't get as much in Virginia as we used to... maybe it's global warming (?). We did have a lovely "White Christmas", though. Just enough snow to make it pretty, but not make it hard for traveling.

    Stay warm and I'll be thinking of you when I put on my pot of vegetable soup! I like to make soup or chili when it's snowy or cold & rainy :o)

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  12. Hi,Jan here from a very snowy West Mids.Your omelette looks delicious.Never tried pesto but grow basil from seed on kitchen windowsill,so maybe I should.

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  13. Gotta love pesto! Yummy-looking omelette, Ilona!

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