As you may recall from my last post, I have recently been in the UK visiting my family. I miss them extra much when I have just returned home from a trip to see them, so the other morning I awoke with a bit of a gap in my heart. Since I think nothing is more cosy that a pot of tea and a mountain of toast, my first reaction was to pile a tray high with these and sneak off to the sofa for a little bit of comfort eating. Well, that really wouldn’t get me anywhere, and it certainly wouldn’t get my work done for the day, so I didn’t act on these instincts. Luckily, I remember the lovely comforting breakfast I had with my lovely sister, which I wrote about in my last blog.

So I whizzed up a lovely smoothie and set about making some superpower bars that I could munch on with a pot of tea, instead of toast. And it did the trick! This makes a great snack or breakfast, and keeps you smiling and going for a long time

My lovely sister Flynn hadn’t really written down the quantities for the ingredients used in this recipe, so I have tried to replicate it as best as I can. Here it is for you today, dear reader. May it give you a comforting hug and an energy boost all at the same time!

Flynn’s Superpower Bars

½ cup almonds
¾ cup dried shredded coconut
¼ cacao powder
½ cup raisins
¼ cup flax seeds (grind these in a seed mill/coffee grinder)
Pinch of vanilla powder / a few drops of vanilla extract
Pinch salt
¼ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon agave syrup (or more, according to taste)
2 tablespoons water (or more if needed to get a nice sticky dough)
2 tablespoons goji berries
1/2 teaspoon purple corn (optional)
2 tablespoons cacao nibs (or more for an extra buzz!)

Grind the nuts and seeds in a food processor. Add everything except the water and cacao nibs and whizz. Add enough water to get a nice dough, then stir in the cacao nibs by hand.

Roll out and slice into bars, or press into a container and cut into squares. Sprinkle liberally with coconut, and place in the fridge to firm up for an hour or so.

Keeps in the fridge for a week or so (if they last that long!)

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Image: SXC HybridSys

As you may have gathered from previous posts and newsletters, I am enjoying the benefits of taking time every few weeks to de-clutter an area of my life, either a physical area such as my wardrobe, or a mental area. Both these areas are very closely interlinked, and the latter manifests itself in the former.

For example, as I sit here and write this I can see a bookshelf – next on my de-clutter list – holding some files and boxes that I have been moving around with me for quite some time. I can’t even exactly say what’s in them. This feels like a mental state we can experience; that we carry around old luggage, thoughts, feelings emotions, that either need dealing with, or just letting go so that we can make progress in our life.

This week I listened to a great free call held by the lovely Corrina Gordon Barnes and Sure Rasmussen, called ‘How to lose 200 lbs of clutter‘. One thing that really stuck out was when Sue said that we outgrow things. When we are kids it’s easy to see when we outgrow something: our little toes poke out the end of our sandals, and our trousers only reach half down our leg. The books we read even say for what ages they are suitable. But as adults, things are not so clearly defined. Yes, we have certain socially accepted/expected things to do at certain ages: e.g in your twenties/thirties get married, have kids, settle down etc, but the things we like and need are not labeled. This makes it hard for us to release things from our lives that no longer serve us.

It was quite a relief to hear this. As I look at my old CD collection, I just don’t feel drawn to listen to about 80% of them anymore. I realize now that I have simply outgrown them. My tastes have changed. It’s time to pass them on to someone else.

Even more interesting is that Sue said that this can also apply to food. I can really relate to this and it almost feels a relief to hear it expressed like that.

What does it mean to ‘grow out of your food’? Well, it’s deeper than telling your dear Mum that you are now thirty and really don’t need her to cut the crusts off your sandwiches or arrange your food in a smiley face (though that can be fun too!). I like to think of this as moving on from food that no longer serves you.

While we are encouraged from many different sources to eat healthy foods, we don’t get much guidance about how to deal with the feelings that arise when leaving behind food that at one time played a huge part in your life. We almost need to grieve a little before moving on. For example, once you start trying new ways of eating, such as cutting out meat or gluten, or eating more raw food you may find yourself clinging on to the ‘good old days’ when you were ‘allowed’ to eat whatever you want.

There is one specific period in my life that I look back on like that. It was a really intense foodie period where I would spend most of my free time and money on making delicious and time-consuming food. I recall many rainy Saturdays installed in the kitchen bathing in the deliciousness of the bread making process. The tactile pleasure from kneading the dough; the relaxing space I gave myself when it was rising: enjoying a great book, a pot of tea and a plate of cookies (home-made of course!) and then the final, long-awaited pleasure of nibbling on the bread throughout the day, curled up on the sofa with my book; or tearing off pieces for a beautiful spongy accompaniment to a plate of creamy risotto and a glass of wine.

Cooked pizza with a wheat crust - another one of my old food rituals I have outgrown

Focaccia bread with it’s glistening jewels of sea salt scattered between juicy slicks of olive oil; rubies of sundried tomatoes and fresh rosemary, scattered on top like fragrant, potent confetti. Or thick slices of moist, chewy potato bread, delicious generously spread with butter, or toasted the next day and stuffed with meat-free ‘bacon’, lettuce, and succulent tomatoes to make the world’s best BLT…

So, what stops me from eating this now? Nothing. Out of choice, my bottom line is that my food needs to be vegan, but apart from that I am ‘allowed’ to eat anything I like. I just need to deal with the consequences of eating food that doesn’t agree with me. Sure, I can spend a rainy day like today in amorous courtship with the wheat flour and yeast. Yes, I can cut into a crusty loaf, and then dip it in olive oil, or spread thickly with dairy-free spread. But these days, I will know – before I even put the bread in my mouth – what it will do to my body (I’m not being purist, I am just rather sensitive to gluten)….and I have finally come to realise that it just isn’t worth it, despite sounding so romantic, and heavenly, and perfectly luxurious.

So what I need to do is to acknowledge that time in my life, and appreciate it for what it was. I need to look to the present and see how I can take the things that I loved from these indulgent sessions and translate them in to food that makes me feel great.

So here is an exercise that I have previously done with other foods, I which I feel I need to do for my beloved bread making days. You too might find helpful:

1.Think of a ‘food ritual’ or dish that you find your self longing for. I, for example, may choose bread baking.

2.Now, write down what exactly you like/miss about it. For example, the actual process that I described above. Waiting for something to cook, the scents spreading through your home as it bakes in the oven, or how it makes you feel homely, secure, relaxed.

3.Write down some ideas for how you can create a similar feeling with food that better serves you. For example, if you want to cut down on drinking wine, you may be delighted to find that by serving a delicious juice or smoothie in a beautiful wine glass can actually give you some of the same feelings, or that by munching on a bunch of grapes when watching a movie is as satisfying as popcorn, as it has the same ‘mindless’ motion of popping food into your mouth.

4. Finally, write down what steps you need to create this and make a point of carrying out the first step this weekend. For example, do you need to buy a beautiful wineglass that makes you feel elegant and special so you can serve yourself a delicious health-giving juice/smoothie? Then that is your first step. Go buy a lovely glass, and then find a nice recipe for juices/smoothies. I personally find that this melon drink is deliciously luxurious and makes me feel like I am sipping on a decadent creamy cocktail.

Creamy Frozen Melon Cocktail
Serves 2

This shake is 100% melon but it’s so creamy it’s hard to believe there is no nut milk in there. Make sure your melons are nice and ripe! (oooh-er!!)

2 C honeydew or cantaloupe melon
1 C frozen honeydew or cantaloupe melon

Blend together and serve in decadent glasses.

I hope you find this helpful. Please feel free to share your thoughts, or any tips you might have below.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Miss Best's Raw Chocolate Brownie

A few weeks ago Christoffer was listening to some funky jazz music. While we were talking I gradually sensed a serious urge to make tea and eat cake. Actually the urge was to drink coffee, and eat cake, but since I don’t actually usually drink coffee, I knew that tea and cake would be more my thing.

Hmmm, I thought. Damn Starbucks! Yep, they pipe jolly, trendy jazz music while they pump their customers with caffeinated drinks and pretty looking iced beverages with lots of fluffy whipped cream, and as a consequence we involuntarily begin – much like Pavlov’s dogs- to dribble, drool, and crave hot drinks, giant cookies and buzzed chit chat whenever we hear the likes of Miles Davis.

The funny thing is that I rarely go to Starbucks, or any other coffee chain. I prefer cute little independent places. So I know that my conditioning is a result of very few hours sent in the houses of caffeine!

Anyway, since we live out in the sticks, I certainly wasn’t going to trek all the way in to Stockholm just to go out for ‘fika’ as we say here in Sweden. Besides, since I there is a distinct lack of heavenly (but healthy) cakes in Stockholm, there wouldn’t be much point, as my craving for tea and cake wouldn’t be met. It would just be tea. And would I travel an hour just for a cup of peppermint tea? No, not really!

So, being the queen of raw cakes and treats I installed myself in the kitchen and brought forth my holy bible (Loving Life – Loving Desserts – believe it or not, I don’t have all the recipes committed to memory and still need to consult it!).

Christoffer hinted heavily that he wanted the rich Chocolate Torte (page 22), but I was more in the mood for something like the Sneaky Chocolate Cake (page 23). Luckily we didn’t have to fight over which one to have (I know, life is tough!) since we didn’t have all the ingredients to make either.

So what I did was to take inspiration from both recipes and came up with a amazing (and super quick) raw chocolate brownie. It’s so good in fact (this has been confirmed by several independent tasters!) that I shall be adding it to my book, when it is next updated!

Miss Bests Chocolate Torte

What brings me almost as much joy as eating my cakes is sharing them with others. I would love to make this for you in person, but chances are you don’t live in my neighbourhood so I will have to make do with sharing the recipe and heavily encouraging you to make it this weekend. It’s ridiculously quick and easy to make, and did I mention that it is super tasty?

Here goes! Enjoy, dear friend!

Miss Best’s Raw Chocolate Brownie
Serves 4

(Note: this brownie tastes even better when left in the fridge for a day, so do feel free to make it in advance!)

1 cup brazil nuts
1 cup dates
1/3 cup raisins
¼ cup goji berries
2 tablespoons cacao powder
1 tablespoon water
Small pinch of salt
pinch of vanilla powder or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

optional: 2 tablespoons dried coconut

Frosting

1 large avocado
3 tablespoons cacao powder
2 tablespoons agave (or maple) syrup
zest from one organic orange
pinch of chili powder (optional)

Start by making the brownie. Pop the nuts in the food processor and give them a whizz to make them into a course crumb. Add the dates and process to combine. Now add the raisins, goji berries, cacao, water, salt, and vanilla and process until you get a nice ‘dough’.

Take a plate and sprinkle the bottom with the dried coconut (optional). Shape the brownie dough into a 10 cm x 10 cm square (approx 4 inch x 4 inch).

Now, here’s the thing about the frosting. The amounts I have given above makes twice the frosting you need. This is because I find that if I halve the recipe there isn’t enough to blend properly in the food processor.

So this is what I suggest:

Either:

Use the above amounts, use just half of the frosting, and chill the remainder. It then gives you one portion of delicious chocolate pudding, which is heavenly eaten on its own, or mixed with chopped bananas and coconut chips.

Or

Use half the amount (1 small avocado (or 1/2 large), 1.5 tablespoons cacao, 1 tablespoon agave syrup and the zest from half an orange) and use a hand held blender.

Which option do I use? The one with the bonus serving of chocolate pudding of course!

So, blend all the frosting ingredients together and smooth on to the brownie. All done! Enjoy!

‘Loving Life – Loving Desserts: 43 delicious, but secretly healthy, recipes to make you smile’ is available from www.miss-best.com

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Need Raw ingredients such as cacao, agave and goji berries? You can buy them on line here:

Råvarubutiken (Scandinavia)

The Fresh Network (Rest of World)

Image: Johanna Best

Well, you can take the title of this blog anyway you like (hee hee!), but today the intended meaning is that I would love to share with you my new recipe for raw crackers. But if crackers don’t interest you today because you are in the mood for something sweeter, scroll down this page to find a tasty discount for my e-book ‘Loving Life-Loving Desserts‘.

I am very fortunate in that I have a dehydrator (a special oven that dries food at a low temperature so that the food maintains most of its nutrients and enzymes, which are usually lost when heated over 40 C / 118 F), but I don’t actually use it every week. Part of the reason is that I want to develop recipes that are accessible to as many people a possible, and since not many people have a dehydrator, I try and not use it too much.

However, last week, I really felt that I needed to make some nice things for myself to support my food choices, and provide me with an alternative to bread. For me, having access to raw alternatives to bread, wraps and crackers means that I can add some more interest to my food. Not only are sandwiches and wraps convenient – just top with some yummy avocado and veggies and you have a satisfying lunch – but they are also great when you want something a little heavier than a salad. This is particularly useful in the colder months, especially here in Sweden! And for me, having a cup of tea and a sandwich is just so comforting. This probably stems back to my upbringing, but I find tea and toast, or tea and cake just so very cozy, which means that these crackers fulfill me on an emotional level, without having to eat regular cooked, gluten-filled bread.

So I came up with these crackers, and I just love them. They are free from nuts and flax seeds, which can leave me feeling a little heavy, and are really flavoursome without being overpowering, like some crackers I have tried. I usually top the crackers with avocado, a sprinkling of lemon juice, a little herb salt, and plenty of salad leaves and veggie slices. Delicious!

In addition to finding my dehydrator invaluable for making crackers, it is also great for making buckwheaties (sprouted and dried buckwheat) – a great addition to breakfast time, and even raw cakes – and for drying soaked nuts and seeds so that they are ready to eat. When you soak nuts and seeds, they are more easily digested and more nutritious. I certainly can feel the difference when I eat unsoaked nuts. They can leave me feeling pretty heavy and a little sleepy as my tummy is working harder to digest them. I dry them after I have soaked them overnight, so that I can snack on them without having to think about soaking them first. I do, however, still think that unsoaked nuts and seeds are a far more nutritious alternative to snacks or cakes made from refined flour, for example, so please don’t let the soaking issue put you off. And if you do soak them, you don’t have to dry them if you will be using them within the next couple of days. Just store them in the fridge.

If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can try making these crackers in your oven using the lowest setting, keeping the door open a little. Alternatively, you could always bake them, which would mean that they are not raw, but may still make a yummy gluten-free alternative to bread and regular crackers. (I haven’t tried this, so do let me know how it works!)

If you fancy investing in a dehydrator, you can find them online here at The Fresh Network.

As I said, I rarely post recipes that are limited to folks with a dehydrator and I made sure that my e-book ‘Loving Life-Loving Desserts‘ did not contain any recipes that require a dehydrator. In fact, since it’s coming up to Easter – a time when family and friends often get together and share sweet treats – I have decided to offer a 15% discount on my e-book, to help you and your loved ones choose healthier, yummier goodies. To get your discount scoot on over to this page, select your preferred currency, and add the discount code ‘eat15‘ at the check out. Discount valid until, and including, Friday 9th April 2010. Enjoy!

Miss Best’s Crackers
Makes about 8 crackers measuring 10 cm x 12 cm (4 ” x 4.5 ” )

1 large onion
2 1/2 cups sprouted (or soaked) buckwheat (see instructions below)
4 tomatoes
1 tablespoon herbsalt (or 1.5 teaspoons sea salt)
4 Tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons crushed coriander seeds
2 teaspoons psyllium powder
2 cloves garlic
½ cup pumpkin seeds, preferably soaked for 2-8 hours, and rinsed
½ cup sunflower seeds preferably soaked for 2-8 hours, and rinsed

Mix everything except the seeds together in a food processor. Stir in the seeds by hand and spread on Teflex sheets so that they are about 1 cm (0.4 inch) thick. Dehydrate for about 6 hours, flip over and dry for another 12 hours or until crispy. You can also eat them before they get crispy, and they will be more flexible and bread-like.

How to sprout buckwheat
Buckwheat is not actually a grain (or anything to do with wheat, as the name suggests), but is in fact a seed. It is gluten free, contains all of the 8 essential amino acids, and is a good source of manganese (needed for many important metabolic processes such as calcium absorption, blood sugar regulation, immune function, and bone formation) as well as magnesium and fiber.

To get 2 1/2 cups of sprouted buckwheat, soak 1 1/2 cups of raw buckwheat in water for at least 1 hour (raw buckwheat should be white/green in colour and not brown as this will mean they are the toasted ones, known as Kashi) . Rinse really well to get rid of the starchy liquid that they produce. You can either use them as they are, but to make them even more nutritious let them sprout for 1- 2 days. You can just leave them sprout in a bowl, and then rinse and drain a couple of times a day until they grow a cute little tail.

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Stir, don't fry! Image:Johanna Best

A few weeks ago I managed to do something, I hadn’t previously achieved. Did I get through the day without eating a single avocado? Nope. Did I get round to finally sorting out that box of memories that I have moved from house to house to house for the past 10 years? Afraid not. But what I did do, for the first time ever, was to use up the contents of the organic veg box we get delivered in almost one go. Usually, after we have gleefully devoured the crisp lettuce and fragrant tomatoes, turned the firm green courgettes into raw noodles, and made something creative with the tasty mushrooms, there will be one vegetable that sits in the fridge until either I have found out what it is, and how to prepare it, (I had never come across Black salsify root for example), or I have the inclination to use up ‘yet another celeriac’, when we have received one a week for the past 6 weeks!

But on this day in mention, I was utterly delighted to open the box and instantly know what we were going to have for dinner that evening. In fact, when I emptied the contents on to the kitchen counter, I felt just like a chef from the TV show Ready, Steady Cook! when they are presented with a bag of ingredients and have to make something using all of the food, plus a few store cupboard staples.

Organic Veggies. Image: Johanna Best

The organic goodies we received that day were:

And since I had been craving sea vegetables of some sort, I thought it would be a perfect occasion to make an Asian inspired dish. Imagine a stir fry, without frying it. So, more of a ’stir’ than a ’stir-fry’ then!

So here is the recipe. It’s a bit of a bonus recipe, because you can use the various components in other dishes. Marinated mushrooms, for example, make an exceedingly good addition to salads or sushi (or nori rolls). The marinated broccoli makes a great side-dish or snack, and the marinated arame makes for a yummy way to include more mineral rich, cleansing seaweed into your beautiful body. The courgette (zucchini) noodles are fantastic in salads, or eaten instead of spaghetti or egg noodles.

Miss Best’s ‘Stir don’t fry!’
Serves 4

Marinated arame (see recipe below)
Marinated broccoli (see recipe below)
Marinated mushrooms (see recipe below)
Asian style salad (find the recipe here)
Courgette (zucchini) noodles (see recipe below)

Place the noodles onto plates. Mix everything else together and serve on top of the noodles. Top with a sprinkling of sesame seeds and a little fresh parsley or coriander.

To allow time for your veggies to marinate, I recommend you make this meal in the following order:

1. Start by putting the arame to soak
2. Make the broccoli dish
3. Make the marinated mushrooms
4. Rinse, drain and marinate the arame
5. Make the asian style salad
6. Make the courgette (zuchini) noodles

Marinated Arame

2 cups arame (not usually strictly raw, but still super healthy!) or raw sea vegetable or your choice
2 cm piece ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon tamari
juice of one lemon
zest of one lemon (preferably an organic or unwaxed lemon)
1 tablespoon cold pressed sesame oil

Soak the arame in warm water for about 10-15 minutes (or until soft). You can leave it soak while you prepare the rest of the dish. Drain and rinse the arame, put into a bowl and stir in the remaining ingredients and allow to marinate for at least 20 minutes. Keeps for about 2 days in the fridge in a lidded container.

Marinated Broccoli
This is a simplified version of my popular curried broccoli

One small head of broccoli
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper

Wash your broccoli. Cut off the stem and trim away any hard knobbly bits, then thinly slice the stem and the head. Place in a bowl and pour on the lemon juice, oil and salt and pepper and give it a little massage. Allow to marinade for about 30 minutes.

Marinated Mushrooms

1 box of mushrooms (about 250 g / half a pound)
Half a small onion, thinly sliced (optional)
½ cup tamari
1 clove garlic, crushed

Wash and dry the mushrooms and thinly slice. Place into a bowl together with the onion, and stir in the tamari and garlic. Leave to marinate for at least 10 minutes. Store in the fridge in a lidded container for up to 3 days.

Raw Noodles. Image: Johanna Best

Courgette (zucchini) noodles

Allow about half a courgette per person for this dish. Make into noodles using wither a special tool called a spiralizer, a mandolin with a teeth-like attachment, or by cutting into strips using a vegetable peeler. For the latter, stack the courgette ribbons on top of each other and then cut into noodle-sized strips.

Place in a bowl and drizzle on a little olive oil or sesame oil, a little salt and pepper and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

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The other day I was taking our sweet doggie for one of her walks. It had been raining so I put on my pretty flowery wellies which, without thick socks, are a tiny bit too large for me. Almost immediately after turning off the small gravel road that leads us from the house to the lake and then to the forest my little foot struck a naughty stumpy thing that was poking out of the ground, but was hidden in the grass. And since my wellies were a little too large, and therefore making me more clumsy than I would have been had I been wearing my bouncy trainers, I could not recover from this little trip and fell flat on the ground. Splat!

Image: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/beer

My very first reaction was ‘Ow!’ Coming a close second was ‘Pixie!’, but luckily doggy hadn’t realised that I had dropped the lead during my fall and was still by my side looking rather quizzical as to why her supposed packleader-mummy had decided it was time for a little lie down when we were surely off for a nice walk!

My third thought that shot through my head in this space of seconds was a replay of the film I had just watched before we set off. We had re-watched ‘A Knight’s Tale’ and one of the last scenes was the dark knight being jousted from his horse, falling hard and dramatically in slow motion. That was how I had felt tumbling to the ground. Also in those last scenes was William, the hero played by Heath Ledger, who had been unfairly injured by the evil knight’s dirty tricks. But despite his injuries our blond hero remounts his horse and continues the battle.

As I picked myself up off the ground, rising proudly like the freshly knighted Sir William despite my injuries, I gathered the reins of my trusty steed – or rather the lead to our recently acquired bewildered dog, who would have had a little run on her own had she realised that I had let go of her. I limped along cursing that little stumpy thing, rubbing my bruised knee through my grass stained jeans determined not to have to cut short my dog’s walk because of my new handicap.

But after a minute or so, after the shock of finding myself closely and involuntarily inspecting the grass had washed away, I gave a little chuckle to myself. Then another little chuckle. Then a full blown laugh. I couldn’t help but think of an episode from the very funny British series ‘The IT Crowd’ where Moss watches an advert notifying the change of the UK emergency services number ‘999′ to a ridiculously long 20 digit number. The ad follows an old dear falling violently down the stairs. When she comes to she picks up the phone, dials the crazily extended number and calmly declares that she’s ‘had a bit of a tumble’. I had indeed also had a bit of a tumble. I was lucky not to break a hip!! Silly Miss Best!

(If you want to see this clip from ‘The IT Crowd’ have a look here)

So why am I telling you this? Why, when no one else was around to see me take a bit of a tumble, and I could have totally gotten away without public embarrassment? Well, mainly because it’s jolly good not to take ourselves too seriously. It’s easy to do that. Much easier now when one is all grown up and that. When I was a teenager, if something like that would have happened, no matter how mortified you would be, your dear friends would not allow you to take yourself too seriously. Among my friends we, all of us, had occasions when we managed to totally embarrass ourselves in public. Falling over, dropping a fully laden lunch tray in the busy school canteen, calling the teacher ‘Mum’ instead of ‘Miss’. But now as adults, it’s easy to loose our playfulness. To shift uncomfortably in our seats when a colleague accidentally lets a little fart slip out, or to beat ourselves up over saying something embarrassing while speaking a foreign language. So worried what people will think of us.

A second reason is a sort of private one. Naming no names, but I was walking in town a few years ago with 3 other people, all of whom are very dear to me. One of these had fashionably neglected to tie the laces on their shoes, and managed to trip on the kerb landing rather spectacularly on the pavement leaving their shoes perfectly neatly at the kerb, just like a cartoon character that had been exploded out of their boots! I still tease this person about this, and I think that this can give them some ammunition against me, even if they weren’t there in person to see it happen!

The third reason I am sharing this with you is the thought that popped into my head as I continued along the forest path. It stems from the philosophical query ‘if a tree falls down in the forest and there is no one there to hear it, does it still make a sound?’ So if a certain Miss Best falls down in the forest and there is no one else around to laugh, does it still look funny?

I will leave you to ponder that thought. Let me know if you come up with an answer. In the meantime, I wish you a fun and playful weekend!

************************************************************************
‘The IT Crowd’ is a nicely written British comedy series. It never fails to make me giggle!

‘A Knight’s Tale’ is a great film, with a nice marriage of ye olde world with a modern twist, delivering us a message that no matter who you are ‘you can change your stars’, your destiny. Bit of a bargain too at the moment, which is why I have included the price in the following link!

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