Slackin', Picnicin' and Pork Pie

Yes, yes, I know. I've been naughty. I've been away! I've had these challenges

• Work putting the halt to any personal internet use (even if it's on breaks! EVIL!)


• The looming audits from a customer AND a regulator.


• Hubby being home.


• Busy with two ORS events in one week.


• Sewing!!!!!


• Tiredness and overwhelming heat.


• Lots of whining and excuses.

Yep. That about sums it up. HOWEVER, I did manage time to make a pork pie for the ORS picnic. I was a bit miffed at my decision to allow the butchery department to grind my pork shoulder for me. It was in essence just ground pork, and it made the filling sort of dense--I was supposed to chop it up finely not grind it to smithereens. It was still tasty though. I made my own filling; and used a crust recipe from Colloquial Cookin' a delightful blog of a French lady who really whirls up a storm dans la cuisine, if you get my meaning. I probably should have gone with her version of the filling too; but hey, you live, you learn. At least it came out pretty looking. See for yourself:

It was lovely. Really. The crust is SOOooo pretty. I used some cookie-cutters to make a ring of flowers and ivy-leaves just because it's always fun to play with pastry.






I brought a lovely salad of baby greens and carrots, and some cheese & salami with bread-- it was good. However it was massively upstaged by my 'picnic blanket date's mouth-watering offerings fresh from her pastry-chef oven (also evil) S-II (of the prior post) if you recall, is of the habit of arriving bearing cruel delicitudes. And she did; scones of three disgustingly delicious varieties, freshly whipped cream, jam, tiny little evil cheesecakes.... augh, it was sinful. The dense pork-pie was quickly discarded for melt in your mouth, crunch outside, crumbly inside scones with chocolate chips and hazelnuts... ::FAINT::

Okay... enough of that. It's nearly pornographic.

Anyway, here are some more photos of the ORS picnic. I stole these photos from a certain gentleman belonging to a certain Lady some of us know. ::smirk to the Lady of Portland House::


Happy week. I hope I'll post an office-special on Friday! Dentist appointment tomorrow. Eep!