Making pesto and finding two 'miracle' products

An eclectic mix of activities in the Gee household

A romantic bridge with a clear chalk stream

Hello and welcome!

I took this photograph during a recent visit to Montisfont, a beautiful National Trust property set in over 2000 acres of rolling English countryside. I love this time of the year when everything bursts into life and dull landscapes come alive with vibrant colour. Bluebells carpet the floor of woodlands tingeing them with a purple hue, the aroma of wild garlic assaults your nostrils and there is an air of expectancy of good things to come. Following our long, dark and often wet, cold and miserable winters, the arrival of spring heralds the start of a new season. One of new beginnings, warmer weather and brighter days filled with pretty flowers and wonderful nose-twitching scents.

Wild garlic pesto

This weekend is a longer-than-usual one, Monday being the May Spring Bank Holiday. As well as having an extra (bonus) day to write, I thought I would take a little time away from my desk and do something I have been meaning to do for several years, in fact, ever since my husband and I moved into the pretty village where we live in Herefordshire. Our garden runs down to a river, near which a swathe of wild garlic appears every spring, strong and pungent. I wandered down with trepidation, a pair of scissors and my garden trug, or, more precisely, a Sussex trug. Which is very apt, as Sussex is my birthplace.

A Sussex Trug

I filled the trug half-full with wild garlic leaves and a few flowers, having first checked that they were edible. I love the thought of foraging, but am not up to speed on what is safe to eat and what is not, otherwise, I would do a lot more of it. Note to self: bone up on foraging.

Confident that my harvest of wild garlic was safe to eat, I washed it thoroughly and started to make the pesto. I have never made pesto before, which is strange, because I love using it on salads and in my cooking but generally buy it from a local deli. I found a couple of recipes online, one of which advocated using rapeseed oil and the other, extra virgin olive oil. I went with the olive oil recipe and whizzed up the leaves, flowers and stems in my trusty food processor. I poured in copious glugs of olive oil, some pine nuts and a good pinch of salt. But it was missing something. I re-read the recipes and one suggested using Pecorino cheese or Parmigiano. As I had none in the fridge, (sorry, ice box for my American friends), I set off to the local garage, which has the best-stocked shop in the world. Honestly! Think of anything and you will find it here. It’s like something out of a Roald Dahl story book. When I first moved into the area, I went with a shopping list of paintbrushes, motor oil, couscous, white wine vinegar, raspberries, blue cheese, a birthday card and salad leaves. I came back with every single item, smiling and mightily impressed. The quality is also superb, and I feel blessed to have such a gem right on my doorstep.

The Pink Stuff

Which brings me to The Pink Stuff. My daughter told me about this ‘miracle’ cleaning product and I had tried to buy it at one of my local supermarkets, without success. In the intervening time, I had forgotten all about it. Until this morning, that is. Having procured a triangle of Pecorino cheese from the chiller cabinet, I noticed on the household cleaning shelf a bright pink tub. It was calling out to me, so I snapped it up. Along with several other choice items, naturally, being as it is a Bank Holiday weekend.

Back at home, I tucked my pink tub neatly under the sink alongside my other cleaning products, and set to work grating the Pecorino to add into my pesto (which made all the difference, by the way). Small Kilner jars prepped and waiting, I poured in the bright green delicacy and snapped the lids tightly shut. One jar will be given as a gift to my daughter and her partner, who love cooking with it. And who wouldn’t? Unless you’re not a fan of garlic. Then you would probably not cook with it. The other will sit in my fridge (ice box) ready to slather over some chicken breasts, pork loin, tomato and mozzarella - you name it, the pesto will brighten up any dish in more ways than one.

On to the next task. Utensils washed and stashed back into the cupboard - why is it that when you take two fairly large items out of a cupboard, you can never close the door, despite there being less in there? - I was itching to test out my new ‘miracle’ cleaner. I was not disappointed. My white ceramic sink came up a treat and is gleaming, like new. I have now become obsessed with this miracle product, removing ingrained marks and stains that have been stubbornly immovable before. Think of it as Jif (as I still call it) on steroids.

Please note that I do not receive any monetary gain or any complimentary items for endorsing this product. I am just a great believer in singing the praises of good products when I find them.

The best night’s sleep ever

Which brings me to my discovery of another brilliant product. Recently, I have struggled with stress, anxiety, and a general feeling of being overwhelmed. Life can sometimes throw things at us that stop us in our tracks, and as a result, I have had difficulty sitting down at my desk and writing. I lost my mojo for a while, but after attending a Crime Writers’ conference where I learnt all about The Best Way to Murder Somebody (along with a ton of other fascinating stuff), I am now back on track, firing on all cylinders. However, I still often wake up in the early hours of the morning and can’t get back to sleep. Some nights, I lie awake for three or four hours until eventually, I fall into a fitful sleep and wake up exhausted. Cue the internet. After a ton of research, I found this amazing sleep mask, which has built-in headphones. As somebody who loves to listen to audio books in my car and before I drift off to sleep, I wondered if it could be the answer to all my prayers, and I just had to try one.

Author’s note: There are several brands available, thus I have redacted this particular brand

Having paired the sleep mask with Bluetooth on my iPhone, I went to bed wondering if this could be a ‘miracle’ cure for my insomnia. I listened to a podcast and found that the speakers fit neatly over my ears, and the velcro fastening was undetectable when I lay on my side or my back. Then I listened to another podcast and the next thing I knew…I was awake. Except that it was morning! I woke up feeling as fresh as a daisy and relieved that I had finally had a full and uninterrupted night’s sleep.

As you can see from my caption, there are several brands available and they vary in price. Mine was at the lower end of the price range and I am absolutely delighted with it. I can honestly say that it is a game-changer and I am not in the least bit anxious about going to bed in case I can’t fall asleep.

I have earbuds, which are great if I want to watch something on my phone or listen to something during the day, but because I generally fall asleep while listening to podcasts, I have to remove them and slot them back into their case. They can also be uncomfortable when lying in bed, too. This sleep mask ticks all the boxes for me. It fits snugly over my face and has a cutout for my nose, thus ensuring a snug fit. Not one smidgen of light crept in and it was so comfortable, even while I was listening to the podcast lying on my side. I drifted off into a natural and deep sleep until eventually, the podcast finished or the headphones cut out after a certain length of time. I don’t know which because I had drifted off into oblivion. Bliss!

And something light-hearted. Who doesn’t love a pheasant who can read? I snapped this cheeky little chappie running away from the woodlands, which were clearly out of bounds for us golfers, and not him!

Finally, I read about a surge of celebrities joining Substack recently and one who, apparently, gained 25,000 subscribers in one day. Whether you believe that or not, I don’t know. Anyhow, my view is that these big guys should leave room for us little guys. They have enough of the limelight as it is, so leave some for us.

Please don’t forget to turn the heart red and help spread the word about Rosy’s Ramblings if you enjoy being here, and feel free to leave a comment if anything resonated with you this week. I would love to hear from you and respond to all comments.

On that note, I hope you have a wonderful weekend, wherever you are in the world, and I hope to see you back here next week.

Best wishes,

Here are a couple of previous posts that you might enjoy if you missed them.