Sous Vide Cooking

Hello my lovelies!

Today I’m excited to share pic of a beef roastie I enjoyed recently, cooked to absolute perfection …

… by Son. 

Son cooked the beef, DIL the veg and trimmings, which were equally on point and delish. 

Now here’s the thing.  I usually avoid roast beef as I find it too chewy or too bloody.  It’s all about texture as you age.

But when cooked in a sousvide something magical happens to texture - it becomes melt in the mouth gorgeous!

It does something seriously good to flavour too. 

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And there’s no red stuff!

In case you’re unfamiliar with sous vide cooking, it’s a cooking method involving cooking vacuum packed meat, fish etc in temperature controlled water over a lonnnng period, often 24 hours or longer.  The chosen temperature is very specific, in the low 50s centigrade and the decimal place of the temperature is critical to the outcome, apparently.   So, a bit like alchemy, magic. 

But I digress.  Back to this particular beef roastie.  Two types of beef were knowledgeably selected and sourced by Son - a sirloin and a rib.  Both were absolutely amazing.  He knows his beef eh!

This quite honestly was the best Sunday lunch EVER.

Now ladies, I’ve never personally cooked in such a way but I’m interested to hear if you have.  So, do you own a sous vide?  Have you had amazing results with this kitchen contraption?  And please 🤞don’t tell me it’s been stuck in a box on a high shelf in your kitchen gathering dust, as is the fate of many other kitchen gadgets!  Because I really think from my recent roastie experience that a sous vide is a game changer and deserves a place on your counter top if you’re a regular meat eater, and high I’m not. 

And whilst on the subject of kitchen gadgets, I don’t own many.  I don’t have a slow cooker, an air fryer, a spiralizer … oh the list is too long to have a place on this blog, but I’d love to hear which piece of kit you highly recommend.  

Until the next time, a la perchoine,

Hugs, Mary xxx. 

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#sousvide #sousvidecooking #roastbeef #roastbeeflunch #sundaylunch

Singing the praises of the Knitted Dress

Hi my lovelies!

Today I’m talking easy-wear.  And a knitted dress in winter doesn’t come much more easy that that!

It’s one and done.  Pull over your head and walk out that door, girl. 

I find myself wearing them a lot over the Christmas period because, hey, we’re all busy at Christmas eh, and faffing about what to wear and thinking up a three item outfit is definitely NOT on our burgeoning seasonal to do list. 

Worn here with a leopard fur cravat and thick soled winter boots from @echo.  Oh and thick wool tights, cos baby, it’s cold outside!

Yes, this old @monsoon dress fits the Christmas bill.  There’s something about a winter white dress at this time of the year that’s an instant “I’ve made an effort for Christmas”, when in fact I really haven’t 😉. 

A down coat from @uniqlo and a leather cap from New Zealand and I’m ready for anything the weather throws at me. 

Same dress, different day.  A longer scarf creates the illusion of a trimmer body.  I hope.  Higher heeled books creates a smarter lunch look. 

The knitted dress is so easy to dress up or down by simply changing boots and neckwear. 

Yet another day finds me wearing a fawn knitted dress, also from Monsoon, worn again with that fur cravat.  Brown leather boots from @gabor. 

I think the warm chocolate brown cosies up the dress. 

Same dress, but wearing ankle boots and accessorizing with black.

Occasionally the knitted dress isn’t solely a dress. 

It can perform other tricks. 

Some knitted dresses can be tucked up with a belt to create a long line jumper or worn over jeans as a tunic.  Here the Dotty P berry knitted dress is matched with berry coated jeans, belt and boots (the latter carried as an alternative styling suggestion). 

I’m one big walking talking berry!

A knitted dress can be made more eveningy.  

Here I’m maxing out on the Bardot neckline this berry dress has to offer.  In abundance!

I’ve got to admit I did think twice about buying a Bardot neck knitted jumper - it seemed a bit of a style oxymoron, an off the shoulder jumper, in winter !

But as you can see from the pics above and below, the neckline can be switched in varying degrees from snug to blatant Bardot so allows for varying temperatures and mood. 

 

And lastly with this one, let’s not forget the side tuck trick, scrunching up the side with a pony tail band.  

So knitted dresses aren’t limited to purely dresses.  They’re a tunic too, and various kinds of jumper.  

And this variation has all the comfort and ease of a knitted dress but it has some in-built glitz on the sleeves and around the v neck.   The metallic sequins can’t be seen clearly in this pic so you will have to trust me, they’re there!

Again, it’s from Monsoon. 

Monsoon does super knitted dresses every AW and usually offers at least one glitzy version with

Metallic trim design.  They’re worth looking out for, as this dress is a no-brainer when going out to something with an air of party about it.  

This kind of knitted dress is a go-to one 

-and-done slip-over-the-head essential for a

winter wardrobe. IMHO.  

Just add opaques and heels, a necklace or earrings, and you can work the room in ease and comfort, for once you’ve slipped this kind of dress on you can simply forget what you’re wearing and focus fully on schmoozing for the rest of the evening.

And you can forget what you’re eating too, as the knitted dress gently skims the waistline allowing you to say YES PLEASE! to that extra plate of canapés!

Oh and I must not forget the BIGGEST biggie the knitted dress has to offer  … taadah, it needs NO IRONING! 

It’s a pull out of the wardrobe, slip over the head simple five second process.  Every time.   

Ladies, I give you winter dressing at its most efficient and ergonomic - the knitted dress. 

So that’s me, singing the praises of a knitted dress ad nauseum.

Because they’re worth it. 

Have YOU discovered the easy wear the knitted dress has to offer?

Hugs, Mary x. 

 

Back In Time

Les Creux en Faies.

This Neolithic dolmen dates back 4500-6000 years and was in use until 3000 yrs ago. 

Remains of the distinctive Beaker ware pottery were found in the dolmen when the tomb was discovered in the late 19th century.  I explained to my fellow dolmen explorer that the Beaker people were highly civilized and intelligent. “Yes,” he said “I can see they were clever, they built this near a pub”. And lo, I turned my camera and could see in the near distance the L’Eree hotel and pub.

Folklore has it that the dolmen is a midnight gathering place for fairies, hence it’s name, Les Creux en Faies, or translated from Guernsey patois, The Fairies Cave.

I hope you’ve enjoyed hearing a little bit about Guernsey’s history and folklore. 

A la perchoine, Mary x.

What to wear for Sunday lunch

Hello my lovelies.

Are you looking for inspo for a Sunday lunch outfit?

Or a lunch outfit for just about any day of the week when you want to up your game from everyday jumper and jeans?

Then maybe I can help you. 

This was a comfy wear for a lovely Sunday birthday lunch with the family. 

A supersoft long cardi worn as a dress = a cardidress * !

With a few trimmings, of course. 

The khaki/olive and brown ensemble needed a third colour which fortunately I found in this old but pretty rust and khaki/olive fringed shawl. 

So ladies, try Khaki, brown and rust for a nice winter colour trio. 

Khaki cardidress, @zara 

Brown boots, @gaborshoesuk 

Draped shawl, #frenchmarket 

Brown belt, #noidea #cantremember 

#alloldclothes #allold 

And hey, this isn’t the first time I’ve worn a long cardi as a dress.

Here, a mottled navy long cardi, also belted, in the late 1960s. 

And here, an old brown merino cardi from East, this time unbelted but with a sturdy kilt pin used to avoid embarrassing exposure! 

So ladies, I hope here today I’ve given you some lunch outfit inspo, but also ways that you can wear a long cardi as a dress.

A la perchoine, Mary x. 

#retirementdressing #over70style #over60style #agelessstyle #khakicardigan #olivecardigan #longkhakicardigan #cardidress #zaracardigan #zaralongcardi #gaborboots #prettyshawl #rustandolive  #rustandkhaki #popofkhaki #popofolive #beltedcardigan