Weekend wanderings

Old Cowes to Newport railway

Summer Holidays- first day

Today is the first day of the summer school holidays. We are so excited Chez Gusto. 9 weeks away from school (although not, alas, from work or study for H-G or I) but school hols for Baby Gusto. I am determined to wring every single bit of opportunity out of the summer- no matter what the unreliable English weather holds in store.

Yesterday, the last day of school, was a half day. So as it was impractical to drop off B-G and then go home again I stayed in town. The day started with a banana and cinnamon smoothie at home

Then it was school drop-off followed by trashy food and a trashy book

Bliss.

I still had 2 hours to go, so I went to a new tea shop in Ryde, Hobbs. I really like this place. It is annexed to the very long-standing Hobbs watchmaker and jeweller, and as a cup of tea and a home made cheese scone costs only £2.50, it seemed the perfect place to prop and work on my tax law assignment.

Today however I left B-G to recover from his busy term and went to the local farm shop. This was my happy haul.

Free-range eggs, cherries, white peaches and glorious blood plums.

For dinner I served grilled steak and kebabs with salad and made my favourite blue cheese sauce. Just a clove of garlic, olive oil and St Agur.

This was followed by vanilla ice cream and fresh fruit from the farm shop.

baby Gusto went to bed and Husband Gusto and I sat and sipped tea and ate our way through the fruit bowl. This was quite literally what was left…..

Good, happy day.

Lettuce Wraps

This is a favourite summer lunch or supper staple for us. Lettuce stuffed with a mixture of chopped vegetables, avocado, nuts (usually cashews but we only had flaked almonds in the house yesterday), fresh mint, coriander and basil and with a dipping sauce made of soy and sweet chilli sauce.

It is simple, but so so so delicious. You can feel it doing the body good.

Review- Eden Be Natural

Anyone who knows me knows I have a mad love for unguents. However I get bored with said unguents quickly, and my bathroom is filled with half-used and crusty pots.

I read about Eden Be Natural in a magazine and was interested to read that it is a new and small family company that uses only natural and organic ingredients. After a wander through their attractive website that includes information on skincare, their background, ethics and a blog, I purchased the Raspberry and Mandarin oil cleanser, a natural soap bar and a moisturiser designed for spot-prone skin. (Seriously, I’m 40, how do I still have spots?)

The price was good. Unguents tend to be expensive, and I think these products were very reasonable compared to brand name products. The team at Eden Be Natural advise that you use their products very sparingly at first ‘as a little goes a long way’. That is SO true. I started off by using the amount I would normally, and it is not necessary. A tiny drop of the oil cleanser works beautifully, and with the moisturiser, I just rub my fingers over the top of the pot (the cream is quite hard) and that suffices.

I have been using these products for about a week now, and am a fan. The products just seem to be really exceptional quality.  My skin feels alot smoother, almost liquidy, but not oily. I noticed yesterday that I am using less makeup than usual, as my skin does seem clearer and more even.  I was a bit wary at first of using an oil cleansing method as it seems so counter intuitive to add oil to oily skin, but I am a convert.  Another unexpected bonus was that I ordered one day, and received the items the very next day. This is unheard of, especially on the Island where even items sent first class seem to take days and days and days to arrive. (Royal Mail, I am glaring at You.) So, in short, I think I have found my new skincare range.

http://www.edenbenatural.co.uk/

** PS- this review was not solicited by the company in any way. 

*** PPS – I know this is meant to be a food blog. 🙂