Welsh Cheese, English Rugby and French Wine ....

..... shielding, although restricting and repetitive, has its highlights and this past week there have been three such moments in the 10th week of our staycation.

Thanks to modern technology we have been able, like many, to keep in touch using video calls with our daughter who lives just over 100 miles away in South Wales. It's been so lovely to be able to see and chat over the last few months as life here hit a strange path ... even stranger on 6th May when I fell in the garden and broke my right upper arm !

Life is different for everyone just now, both personally and professionally. I feel for us all, employees and employers but especially for the small businesses. Hubby and I have visited many vineyards, farm shops, and local producers who all make such great produce and rely on tourism, local markets and food fairs.

Earlier this week we received a surprise parcel from Philippa and Michael - a box of Welsh cheese from The Welsh Cheese Company.  All the cheeses were from small producers highlighting the amazing variety available, such a great idea especially just now.

This was the first time we'd had a cheese delivery, to be honest we did not know about it at all, but what a super idea.

The Welsh Cheese Company was founded by Tom Pinder in 2017 when he decided to share his passion for cheese. The cheeses are from all regions of Wales, they came beautifully packed in a unique printed box detailing the various locations. The four cheeses were nestled in packaging from Woolcool made from sheep wool.... how amazing is that!

Hubby and I love all the cheeses; the four in our selection have such variety of flavour, super smokiness, soft cream, smooth blue and rich butterness - Perle Las has long been a favourite of mine so I was delighted it was in our box.

It was a super surprise gift, thank you Philippa and Michael.

Michael is responsible for the second highlight of the week ... rugby is my favourite sport, especially Welsh rugby but I have been a Leicester Tiger's fan for many years and since Wasps moved to the Midlands we have enjoyed many games at the Ricoh Stadium.

With my walking being up and down the garden path due to being at home, I have been listening to podcasts on my bluetooth headphones. I love Scrum V and have had to stop myself chuckling out loud when listening to the episodes from Dan Biggar, Jamie Roberts and Rhys Webb.

BBC Radio 5 Live have Rugby Union Weekly and to my amazement at the end of the 18th May edition my name was mentioned! Oh my goodness, a national shout out wishing me well as I recover.... the request was put forward by Michael ... what a super surprise!

The third highlight of the week was on Friday when Sumilier Tasting hosted a live chat with Laurent Paré. Laurent is the wine maker from Cellier des Dauphins, our favourite French wine producer. Hubby and I have visited this beautiful area of France so it was lovely to see Laurent in 30 degree blue skied Cotes du Rhone region.

The tasting included Cellier des Dauphins white, rosé and red Cotes du Rhone, their Villages red, Plan de Dieu and a new rosé Val Soléu.

I'm fascinated by all aspects of wine growing and during the live chat Laurent shared information about the soil, the climate, the geographical area, the cultivation of the grapes as well as the various picking methods. Laurent also gave some great history and insight about Cellier des Dauphins unique bottle shape. So much to learn, every grape, every vineyard, every wine different.

Thank you Sumi, Laurent and Cellier des Dauphins for a great hour learning more about rhe wondeful Cotes du Rhone.

Hubby and I have a few bottles of Cellier des Dauphins in our collection and after seeing France's blue sky we decided the best thing to do was to open a bottle of white .... cheers!

Our life continues with our staycation at home, we have no idea how long as once my arm is stable my chemotherapy and radiotherapy will start ... 2020 has certainly been a year of trials and tribulations, thank goodness for highlights ..... I wonder what this week brings!

Á votre santé

Life is certainly not normal for any of us just now .... but for me a little bit of my life is 'back'. Over the last few weeks wine bottles have been popped and their contents enjoyed.

It is lovely to be back enjoying wine, beers and spirits; as well as my blog I also host Cuvée Reserve, an online wine forum that is full of great reviews. A sign of recovery is having a wine to post about; it's a great place to share discoveries of, and discover new wine. Pop along and join in our wine discussions at Cuvée Reserve,

So as it's been a while since I posted about wine I thought I'd share a few of my latest openings ...

It seemed only right to start witha bottle of champagne, I have many other champagnes that I love but the history of this wine, the memories Hubby and I have of celebration bubbles and having visited Nicolas Feuillatte in France make this my go to, absolute must bottle!

It was so nice to be able to taste again and enjoy the white fruit, apple and hint of raspberry flavours with the super toasty finish. The bubbles were a delight to watch; tiny, fast flowing in the pale gold liquid ...  a super glass to enjoy on the road to recovery.

My two favourite comfort wines are Cellier des Dauphins and Il Papavero Rosso. Both these wines are super examples of their source regions, good wine, good flavours, reliable quality at a good price. 

Cellier des Dauphins is a Cotes du Rhone wine Hubby and I have enjoyed for many, many years whilst holidaying in France. It's been a delight to find the wine available in the UK, in recent years under the Les Dauphins label but now under the original French labelling of Celliers des Dauphins. 

Il Papavero Rosso from Laithwaites or The Sunday Times Wine Club was my Dad's favourite wine. It's a great Italian blend of Sangiovese, Abruzzi Montepulciano, Negroamaro and Nero d'Avola, which we enjoyed with homemade lasagne.

For me, and I guess for most, my favourite wines are wines I have connections with. These can be memories of the occasion they were opened, where I was when I discovered the wine, a special gift given or because we have visited the vineyard and dicovered the wine first hand. 

There has been a hugely successful campaign on social media during the restrictions of Covid-19 about English wine and on April 10th using #theBIGenglishwinegoodfriday there were many bottles opened and reviews shared across Instagram and Twitter. 

In 2018 Hubby and I, with four friends, visited Oatley Vineyard in Somerset. It was a super day, a little chilly as early in the year but we not only tasted some delicious wines but learnt so much about the different grapes and how the vineyard is managed. I blogged about our visit, you can read it here - Oatley Vineyard 

Our #theBIGenglishwinegoodfriday offering was one of the remaining bottles from our visit, Leonora's 2014. A beautifully clear wine in the glass with a slight darker yellow glistening through. It's nose had floral notes with a hint of sherbet, its flavour was full of lemon with just a little pineapple. We both thoroughly enjoyed our Oatley wine and will one day be calling by again.

During our staycation we have been enjoying video calls with our family and friends. Every Saturday a group of us chat together and the last two weeks have managed to play Tivial Pursuits. I won't lie it took a bit of setting up with camera permissions on the laptop and dialling in on different accounts but it was great fun and I do look forward to our Saturday Nights In.

Last week I opened a favourite from Majestic Wine -   Bienbebido Pulpo Albarino Although I'm not a huge fan of Spanish wine I do enjoy Albarino with it's citrussy flavours along with a good depth of apple, nice dry finish and a long length. I've enjoyed this before with seafood but I quite like it on it's own; served chilled it was perfect on our Games Night.

When we visit our daughter in Cardiff we usually pop by Fine Wines Direct as they have some great wines we don't see in other places. We especially like their Franschhoek Cellar range and one of our recent openings was Old Town Hall Unoaked Chardonnay with its pineapple and tropical flavours. It is an elegant Chardonnay with a lovely finish, we enjoyed this with a chicken roast dinner, perfect!

Three other wines we opened this month were from Australia and were all new to us as they were part of a case of wine I won in a competition. Sadly the first wine we opened, Plane Turning Right, was a disappointment. Although screw cap we would have said it was corked as it had a musty, sour vinegar taste. Being a wine we didn't know we left it a day but it was no better, more sour if anything. A real shame as looking online it isn't a cheap bottle.

We did however enjoy the Ocean Eight Pinot Noir 2015. This Mornington Peninsula wine had great colour and great flavour. Plenty of dark fruits and cherries with an earthiness giving it great depth, lovely soft tannins lead to a good length on its finish. I very much enjoyed this wine, one to look out for.

The third in this trio was Oliver's Taranga Tempranillo, unusual to have a Tempranillo from Australia. It isn't my favourite grape and I just cannot take to Spanish Rioja so I was keen to try this ... great fruit with a touch of herb and mocha, some vanilla hinting at being in oak barrels, but not really for me although Hubby enjoyed it.

April has been a sunny bright month weather wise, we've been enjoying the outdoors as I recover from my operation. We received some fantastic news last Friday; although I still need more chemotherapy and radiotherapy (bye bye taste buds) the results from my operation show all the cancer was removed.

To celebrate we had a video call with our daughter who lives in Wales with her partner. They opened a bottle of Nicolas Feuillatte Rosé champagne and we opened a very special bottle from Andrieux-Lefort a small champagne house we discovered in Challons. If you are ever near Epernay it really is worth visiting, their champagne is superb.

It's been great enjoying wine again, it's been lovely to taste my gin and tonics too. Over the next few months my wine drinking may again be on hold but I have a couple of bottles if Sancerre in the cellar, bottles we brought back from our super holiday last September.

I'm hoping by the time my treatments are done the sun will be shining, we'll be allowed to be with family and friends and we can have a real celebration ...... stay safe everyone 🥂

Battenburg.... with a difference

Aimetu's is all about wine, food and travel, the foodie bits are often my themed dinner parties which also focus on wine. This post is about just one thing..... CAKE! 

During our staycation Hubby and I have been enjoying afternoon coffee and homemade cake whilst watching the latest No. 10 update. A treat (not the update) to look forward to and I get to bake. So far we have had a Victoria Sponge, Coffee & Walnut and Chocolate Coconut. 

I have never made a Battenburg, mainly because it looks tricky but reading the recipe I wasn't as daunted. So, with great excitement and apron on (I can be a bit messy) I started getting the required ingredients together ....

... oops I knew it would be tricky ... no food colouring, the important part of a beautiful pink and yellow Battenburg. 

Not one to be daunted by a problem I spied a tin of cocoa and hey presto a chocolate and vanilla Battenburg was the result. I have to say it is delicious (we have two slices left) and will be baked again - here's the recipe

175g softened margarine or butter

175g caster sugar 

3 eggs

175g self raising flour 

Few drops of vanilla extract

30g cocoa powder

Chocolate spread

Milk

Packet of marzipan (I used white)

Line a baking tin, mine was about 8" square. I  folded the baking paper to divide the tin in half. Set the oven to 160 degree C.

Mix together the margarine, sugar, eggs and flour beating really well until it's light and fluffy. Divide the mixture into two bowls, add the vanilla to one and the cocoa to the other. Fill the baking tray with the mixtures, one each side of the dividing paper.

I'm such an 'as is' cook so cake is done when I can smell it ... I think it was around 20 minutes. The big danger with sponge is if you open the door too soon it may sink so I keep looking until I feel it's save to venture in with the testing skewer. 

Straight from the oven,  my skewer came out clean

Turned out nicely, time to cool

Cut into four equal pieces

Baking successfully done it was time to think about alternative filling. The jam in an original Battenburg did not seem right with chocolate and vanilla so I used chocolate spread. Straight from the jar it was a little thick so I 'let it down' with some milk. Another make it up as I go along idea but it worked !

Smooth chocolate spread 

Now the exciting, and nerve wracking part, would it fit together, would the chocolate spread work ... only one way to find out.

Chocolate piece and vanilla piece joined together with
chocolate spread, more spread on top

Vanilla on top of the first chocolate piece

Chocolate on top of the first vanilla piece

Now the four pieces are together it was time to wrap it up in marzipan. I had some in the cupboard as I usually make a Simnel Cake for my Mum and Keith at Easter but this year I couldn't make them one due to our restrictions.

I rolled it out to a long oblong (ish), I don't know how thin it was, I just rolled until it looked a big enough oblong and spread a layer of chocolate spread in the middle about the size of my cake.

Marzipan rolled out with Dad's old rolling pin
chocolate spread in the middle

Phew, it was the right size!

I now covered the cake in chocolate spread and wrapped it up in the marzipan. It just about met, I squished the join together but no-one sees the underneath. Turning the cake over I carefully trimmed the edges of the marzipan to the size of the cake. 

Hey presto - it looks like a Battenburg 

Oh my what fun I had, I do enjoy baking and I do enjoy putting my own mark on things. This was such fun, a little daunting at times but it all turned good in the end.

Hubby and I love this cake, the sponge is so light, the chocolate spread perfect as a filling and the marzipan goes great with the chocolate and vanilla flavour.

A 'make it up' cake that I'll be making again!

Absolutely  delicious 

My latest travels 😉

I'm not allowed out 😕

I have to stay home 😕

I'm missing our holidays and days out 😎😔

However I have been discovering the delights and wonders of the extensive grounds at the beautiful Midlands' estate Maison Hearnden.

On arrival the vast block paved driveway offered so much directional walking: front to back, side to side, orbital circuits .... the choice was exhausting, all with the added bonus of a slight incline.

After visiting every block (I wanted to get the most out of my experience) I decided to explore further and ventured down a long, oak fenced path. Glimpsing ahead through the open wooden gateway I was intrigued by what lay ahead ...

Under foot changed from block to paving and after passing the necessity of any estate (big or small they all have rubbish 😮) I discovered more of this beautiful estate.

First was the delightful walled garden with bright yellow primroses filling their ornate containers bordering the first sign of wildlife .... I must revisit as I'm sure in the summer there will be a passion flower in full bloom.

Turning left the paved area stretched out before me, it was quite a few footsteps to the other side. As I strolled passed I was tempted to climb the stairway on my right but not wanting to miss anything I resisted and continued two more steps forward to discover another delight...

... a super little tucked away bistro seating area, complete with more wildlife, so many birds in this garden. Spring flowers in bloom and bud added to the attraction, I must bring a flask next time as this would make a perfect rest stop.

Retracing my (two) steps I climbed the stairway onto the gravel courtyard and discovered evidence of Maison Hearnden being a real working estate, the laundry maid had been out earlier doing the chores!

I was surprised and delighted to find a pond with a seating edge allowing visitors to rest and spend time watching the friendly fish. I didn't see any notices but maybe the estate sells fish food as the fish with their open mouths suggested they expected shadows above the water to be bringing treats.

Travelling on across the red gravel I spotted not only a bird feeding table but an ancient bird bath; this must be the wild part of the garden, confirmed by the fern and dishevelled hyacinths.

Just beyond the wild garden was something I had been hoping to see ... a grapevine! No estate is complete without a vineyard. I can see it is early days but with plenty of signs of life this vine looks like Maison Hearnden could be producing its own delights in 2020 😉

Rambling along, across gravel and block edging, I followed a slate path. A secret place, I had found the gardener's secret place. I did knock but sadly no-one was home.

It was a little disappointing to still be on my own, part of me had hoped to accidentally bump into someone else but it was a treat to have all the exciting discoveries to myself. 

Another sign of closure was soon upon me, an all weather party venue. There was no doubt about it, evidenced by the wine bottle ornament and hanging lights, this gazebo seating area was entertainment central .... just not right now 😉

Passing another piece of party evidence, wine table complete with hidden cooler, I returned to the top of the stairway and having a last longing look at the gazebo I made my way down the stairs, across the paving and back to the blocked driveway where my journey had begun.

To my surprise, and delight, I had spent 30 minutes touring this amazing estate. Every step was a new discovery, there are many places I will be visiting again when I am next in the vicinity. Unbelievably I had walked a mile, who knew it was so extensive, I'll need my hiking boots next time 😂

The morning after ..

Morning all ..... I'm home 🙂

I won't lie yesterday was not the nicest days I've had. 8.30am at Coventry Hospital for a pre-op procedure (you don't want to know and I'm not telling 🤫) followed by an operation at Nuneaton in Day Theatre and finally home 7.30pm 😔

I'm feeling ok, bit washed out but the scar is in a less restrictive place so a bit easier than last time. It's a pj day as that is easier to check my dressings but not a sofa day as I'm hoping to enjoy a coffee outside as the sun is shining.

I am still self isolating, as are Nick and Michael; my follow ups will be by phone but I have a scheduled hospital appointment later in April, this of course may change. So now it's a time to get stronger, get the last bits of drugs out my body, calm my mind and hope the op results are good.

I cannot thank the NHS staff enough: my consultant, the Breast Care nurses, the radiographers, the theatre staff, the recovery team and everyone who works behind the scenes to keep it all going. Focus on the news is the virus but the NHS is still looking after other patients, certainly less in numbers and I think soon this will change. Patient wise we were very small in number, usually one in one but we were spaced apart and I only saw three other patients, I was the only one in theatre recovery whereas before the bays have been full.

All staff were protected for my safety and theirs, face masks on everyone, one dedicated nurse per patient, constant hand washing, changing gloves and aprons (why I think there is a shortage, they get through so many so quickly) and sanitising everything. One nurse is now off three days ... her priority is the ease her hands, they were red raw from the constant washing, hand gel, glove routine .... it really is dedication 😍

Thank you so much for all your messages, it's been a long, troublesome road that happened out the blue and hit us all. Your kindness has really helped, thank you 😘😘😘

Thank you Michael for staying home too, great cooking ... are we having pretzels next 😘

Thank you Philippa for all our chats, it's hard being separated but it's good you and Michael can video call so we do see each other 😘😘

HUGE thank you to my amazing hubby Nick, I could not have got through this without him both at hospital visits, at home looking after me and supporting me emotionally .... I know yesterday was a long day for both of us 😍

Hopefully the news will be good when I next see my consultant and the next steps will be a little easier, thank you everyone, stay safe x xx

It's all changed

I don't usually use my blog for personal things but I don't feel like telling the world on social media the latest news about my breast cancer.

If you are here it means you followed the link from Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and for that I thank you as it shows you care and didn't just click the 'like' button 😘

I know so many people, family and friends are concerned. I've been overwhelmed with the many messages and cards, thank you, so I want to let everyone know what's happening.

I'm not sure how I am just now, physically the chemo side effects have nearly gone, just feel tired and need to rest between jobs. I need to build my strength up and lose some of the fluid that chemo brings .... chubby chops!

Mentally and emotionally I am all a bit mixed up, we are all finding it hard. Nick, Michael and myself have stayed home since they did a shop last Thursday, we have the garden and technology so we can get some fresh air and keep in touch with Philippa and our family.

With the world changing so drastically the doctors have decided to stop my chemotherapy as it's too dangerous to have such low antibodies and when being so ill from the side effects it is a worrying time to catch any virus never mind this one.

As my last chemotherapy treatment was two weeks ago I fall into a window of opportunity to do my lumpectomy operation now (it has to be 4 weeks after the last treatment) so I have my pre-op Friday and my operation 3rd April.

It is a worry to be attending the hospital, I feel safe here locked away from everyone. I have to attend on my own and will see just the Breast Care Team for the pre-op and the Day Care Unit for the actual operation. They are spacing appointments so limiting contact with other patients and will do as many follow up appointments by telephone.

The operation will be day surgery which again limits contact and is deemed less risk than needing to stay in hospital afterwards. All the medical staff are working so hard, not just to do their normal jobs but to constantly be aware of the danger of this virus which brings added work and pre-cautions, but I am worried. Obviously there is still the worry of how intensive the operation itself will be, that has always been a concern since my diagnosis back in December.

It's good the operation is being done, I have struggled since the beginning as to why the cancer was still there even though I had an op. I understand the medical reasons of using chemotherapy to shrink it first but it still feels odd. I am so so pleased not to be having any more chemotherapy as I have never felt so ill in my life and I was panicking a bit about having four more treatments.

With life changing every day this plan may change but for now the medical team, nationally and locally have looked at all cancer patients and reviewed their condition and treatment and for me this is the plan.

Thank you for all your messages, it has been an unknown road with many twists and turns, this feels like a hairpin bend, I just hope it's not too steep!

Another wine night - The Wine Society

I love hosting our wine nights for our Scout leaders and friends; deciding which wines to buy, which order to sample them in, writing tasting notes, matching a few nibbles and of course the best bit, enjoying the wines with great company.

Life is slightly different for me just now but there is no way I am not making the most of my 'good' times so Hubby and I hosted a 'Wine Society' evening mid February.... instead of all the hard work (and it is) getting everything ready I bought their 'Christmas Party Dozen' mixed case delivered home with tasting notes to download.

Sitting in the conservatory at my laptop writing up the taste table I really enjoyed looking at each bottle, finding more about it, thinking about what to drink in what order .... yes it felt how life should be.

However life isn't quite right so I can't really add tasting notes as, to everyone's surprise and maybe amusement, I was spitting (those who know me well know this isn't me!!) My body is too full of medication with another dose due two days later, I will have plenty of time to enjoy the full wine experience come the autumn.

My reviews on these wines are mainly from The Wine Society's tasting notes with a few additions from comments on the night and my own previous knowledge of some of the selection. The tasting order was mine and Hubby's decision, the mixed case is designed to be enjoyed as a whole or over the festive period.

All set up and ready to go 

As with most of our tastings we tried all the whites before moving on to the reds, it's always hard to decide which way to do it as some people are not so keen on white wine and therefore are not so interested in the first tastings - other's are not red wine drinkers so the second part of our tastings is not their favourite - hopefully over the evening everyone found a wine they liked.

Our white selection 

Domaine Felines Jourdan Picpoul de Pinet was our first white, one of my favourites from the Languedoc region of France. Hubby and I have holidayed nearby many times but unfortunately have not yet visited the domaine. Picpoul is growing in popularity here in the UK being such a great pairing with seafood, in particular mussels. It was a new wine to many and one of the white favourites with  its citrus and herby notes.

Our second wine was from Italy, Vittoria IGT Venezie Pinot Grigio. A light wine with some citrus notes. It was very clear in the glass and could have had a little more depth, however we all agreed it was probable not a winter white and would probably be best served in the summer.

Our nest two whites were tasted as a pair, Lascar Classic Central Valley Chardonnay and Victory Hotel Chardonnay-Semillon. The first from Chile and quite light in flavour, everyone agreed it would pair well with a seafood dish, prawn linguine was mentioned. The second from Australia had more aroma and depth of flavour, a wine more suitable to drinking unaccompanied. Saying that the room was split as to which was preferred.

A Fistfull of Schist Reserve Chemin Blanc was the first of our drier wines. This South African was very easy drinking, good notes of green apple and white stone fruits. Although we didn't have any Chenin Blanc pairs very well with guyere cheese.

Our final white was my favourite, although I did find it tasted slightly different with my current 'off' palate. Val de Loire Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp subtle wine, not in your face as the New World sauvignons can be. A very refreshing wine that served well chilled would be welcomed any time, unaccompanied or with food, I'm hoping to try this again once my taste buds return to normal.

Our red selection

Lascar Classic Carménere started our red selection, a grape variety we have tasted before but not one many of our members buy as it is relatively new to them. It had great flavour which was enhanced with our nibbles of dark chocolate, in fact one of our members said 'this has notes of chocolate' before I had mentioned our pairing. It was one of the favourite reds of the evening. 

Moving to Italy next with Barrolo Appassimento Rosso Veneto, a medium bodied wine with great flavour due to the grapes being semi-dried on the vine. Slightly oaked but not tannic heavy this was liked by many of our ladies who are not all red wine drinkers.

Our next three wines were from France, it was tricky to decide which to try first but we decided on Domaine Raynier St-Chinian from the Languedoc. A fruit filled wine from this sunny hot region of Southern France, this was a lovely Syrah wine, lightly tannic with high notes of pepper.

Hubby and I have visited this next domaine in Vinsorbes when on holiday in the Cotes du Rhone region, all due to discovering them at a Wine Society tasting evening. Domaine Jaume Cotes du Rhone is a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre giving it plenty of fruitiness. A lighter wine than others from this region and this domaine that we have tasted but another one of the night's favourite reds.

Our final French red was from the south west, Chateau Tour La Verite Bordeaux. A wine with some dark fruit with some tannins that was liked by some but others are still looking for their good Bordeaux, the suggestion of a wine searching holiday in the region had the thumbs up from all.

Casa La Rad Solarce Rioja was our final wine, although 14% it was a young wine so quite light. Tempranillo is not my favourite grape and I was hoping to discover its merits with my different taste buds but sadly no, I'm still happy for Hubby to have the Riojas to himself.

Thank you to the Wine Society for making it do-able just now, thank you to Hubby for all his help and pouring skills and thank you to everyone who joined us on what was another super night,