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Blogging 201, Day 6

Posted in Blogging, Blogging 201, Uncategorized by

Blogging 201 - day 6, Digging deep into Social MediaDigging Deep into your Social Network.

The recent projects I’ve been developing at work means that I have been looking at the importance of Social Media and Search.

In fact, Social Media has such an influence on Search and getting content indexed and found through Search browsers, that it’s impossible to ignore it’s influence on getting traffic to your site.

The problem though is that I’ve never been very active on Social Platforms, in fact I’d go as far as to say I’ve avoided Facebook and Twitter, simply because I don’t think I have as many interesting or fascinating things to post up in a day.

I think I could be described as a passive observer in Social media, as it always amazes me how there are posts about bungee jumping, crossing off challenges on personal bucket lists, doing the Ice Bucket Challenges and all the other wild and interesting activities that my friends and peers get up to.

I feel a bit of a bore posting up things about what our family get up to – who really cares that we went to the dentist or got our hair cut or took our cats to the vets?

At any rate most of my daylight hours are spent in an office and there are lots of stories of people posting things they will regret later, such as calling their boss something unprintable and then shouting about it in social media, that I think writing anything that you may regret later is best avoided.

Blogging on the other hand is completely different, it’s a space to be creative. To express an idea, write an article about something that’s inspired you and can be drawn from your experiences whether they are in the present, past or the future.

So the prospect of having to connect up the blog to Social Media channels was somewhat daunting.

However knowing how important it is in terms of search, I’ve made a start.

Firstly, the most important step I made was just to set-up the accounts. The social media platforms that have the biggest in terms of audience size and reach and order of prominence are as follows:

1) Facebook

2) Twitter

3) Google+

Whilst Google+  is not as big in terms of audience size, I think G+ is more important than Facebook or Twitter, due to its relationship and direct impact on Search. Once you have a Google+ account, your profile, the content you post in Google+ will be indexed and ranked for search purposes.

Since Google’s Search Engine’s algorithm is based on a number of factors, posts within Google+ get indexed almost immediately, there’s a great article about it here .

I like things simple, so for now I have in WordPress Settings connected my Google+ account to the blog so that when ever I create a post, it will automatically get posted onto G+. At the time of writing, Google+ does not make the post public, so I go into my account about once a week and re-post so they become public.

4) Pinterest – similarly has a relationship and impact on search engines and rankings. This article about the relationship between Pinterest and Search provides a good explanation of the why and how.

I’ve set-up a Pinterest account so that I can pin images from my blog to Pinterest boards that I’ve set-up.  I keep back a few images. Once a week, I check the boards. I also use Pinterest for pinning images that I find interesting or inspires ideas for future posts, so it’s quite useful in that respect.

5) Instagram, 6) Tumblr

There are of course lots more beside, the above I think represent the core ones to focus my efforts.

I still have a long way to go in terms of social media and connecting and creating a community around the blog.

For now, I am focussing on getting the blog discovered through search and using the social platforms as a way to do this.

I hope this post was helpful. Do let me know if you’ve been successful in setting up a Social Media Strategy to help increase awareness for your blog.

Dinner awaits – Stir Fried Squid with Udon Noodles

Posted in At home, Food, Uncategorized by
Stir fried Squid with Udon Noodles

Stir-fried Squid, Vegetables and Udon Noodles

This week, the kids have finished school and they are staying with their Nanny and Grandad.

We have to negotiate the holidays carefully, or else we don’t get to see them all summer as the kids like to spend as much time with their grandparents as possible.

I think it’s because they are a lot more laid back and spoil them, which I suppose is the right of any grandparent.

 

 

This week also allows us, that is my hubby and me, to re-connect and be a couple, pre-kids, a kind of whole week of date nights.

Except, that I haven’t done all that well in terms of making time for this. I’d forgotten about a work social event tonight which was one of those work functions where you are expected to attend.

Vegiables for Stir Fry

vegetables for the stir fry

We were meant to have a lovely quiet meal at home.

Patient as ever, when I texted my hubby earlier in the day to say I’d be a bit late home, he didn’t make any further comment.

When I called on my way home tonight, he laughed as I’d accidentally left my mobile on as I was asking for directions to the nearest tube station, I felt pretty guilty by now as it was getting late so made sure to say that I didn’t expect him to wait for me, but to eat before I arrived.

When I arrived home, he’d prepared all the veg and as if this wasn’t pretty cool, he’d gotten some fresh squid which he’d purchased earlier in the morning, my favourite seafood so that it could be stir-fried and ready as soon as I arrived home.

The photos really don’t do justice to this dish, it’s so simple but very tasty!

Fresh Squid

Fresh Squid

A stir fry medley of vegetables – any three veg combination of 3 colours, orange, green and yellow/red, with a little freshly chopped ginger and garlic, plus little fresh rings of squid. It’s not to everyone’s taste, squid that is – but it could be any little morsels of fish, chicken, red meat or tofu, all stir-fried with a dash of soy sauce and Oyster Sauce together with fresh Udon Noodles, Stir fried in just a few minutes in a wok.

A bowl of heaven awaited me on my return from work tonight.

 

English Garden Mint and Iced Tea

Posted in At home, Drink, Food, Home, Uncategorized by
Iced Tea with mint and fruit

Iced Tea with mint and fruit

For a lovely summer drink, I can think of nothing else than iced tea that instantly hits the spot in terms of quenching thirst.

It has to be icy cold of course.

To make it up fresh is much better than the type you can get pre-made. At any rate I think they are too sweet to taste. I prefer the sharpness of fresh lemon and lime to cut through the taste of the tannin in the dark tea.

The version shown is simple to make.

In a jug, pour hot water, about 90c (not boiling), into this add two tea bags. this can be green tea or any blend you prefer. For a more traditional taste, I’ve used an English Breakfast blend which is great as it is refreshing without being too strong or smoky dark.

Add slices of lemon and lime and let them steep in the hot water with the tea bags. I like to leave the lemon and lime peel on the slices so that the scent of the peel infuses with the juice and tea. You can of course experiment with any citrus fruits, oranges or grapefruit works well too.

When the jug has cooled, remove the tea bags, you can remove the lemon and lime slices too, but I think they look lovely in the jug and when they slip into the glass tumblers.

English mint and Strawberries

English Mint and Strawberries

English mint is at their best in summer, you can of course get mint ready cut and trimmed from most supermarkets at any time of the year, but I think they are best when in season, cut fresh from the garden.

I’ve bruised the leaves to release their lovely scent. You can add this to the drink, just before serving, I think the scent of the mint really lifts the drink.

As we had a bottle of vanilla syrup in the cupboard, I added just a splash of this to the cups along with some slices of fruit. You can add sugar or honey to sweeten the drink as well.

Vanilla monin Syrup

Vanilla monin syrup

I think Vanilla and Strawberries work great together, so in they went into the cups along with lots of ice cubes to make the drink icy cold.

To vary this, you can add different pieces of fruit when serving.

I hope everyone in the U.S. is having a great time celebrating the 4th of July.

Please let us know by dropping a comment on what’s your favourite drink for summer.

 

How to use Star Anise with Coca Cola and Gammon

Posted in At home, Food, Kitchen, Uncategorized by
Star Anise

Star Anise used to flavour Gammon

These wonderful starshaped hard seeds have been used by the Chinese for generations. It was always a go to spice that my parents would use to make any ordinary piece of meat, chicken or pork transform into something that we would find irresistibly tasty.

The smell of Star Anise is as the name suggests similar to aniseed or fennel and has been used by the Chinese for cooking. It is the major ingredient in Chinese five spice and it is also used for medicinal purposes.

A few years ago, we came across a recipe from one of Nigella’s cookbooks – I think it is from Feast, where she writes and provides recipes from all over the world and explains some of the cultural relevance of special events.

Whenever we cook with Star Anise, the smell of the cooking transforms the kitchen and instantly transports you to somewhere exotic, even with everyday ingredients. Just one Star Anise will do the trick used with any meat and even Tofu. When combined with Soy Sauce, Star Anise is going to instantly conjure up the smell of a Chinese feast.

Nigella’s recipe is one which steeps a piece of Gammon in a can of coca cola. The combination of sweet sugary cola along with the saltiness of the Gammon combine beautifully. Best of all it’s as simple as putting a piece of Gammon into a pot along with the cola, a stick of celery, an onion and carrot stick if you have these to hand and letting it all cook on a low gentle simmering heat for as long as possible. The longer you cook the Gammon, the more it takes on the sweetness of the Cola and all the other ingredients in the pot.

To be honest, we didn’t even look at the cook book to start cooking the Gammon. I think that’s a sign of a good recipe, one that you can remember and don’t have to worry about measuring out anything. The basic principals of the dish allow you to be creative and experiment.

Gammon with Coca Cola, Cinamon and Star Anise

Gammon with Coca Cola, Cinnamon and Star Anise

We added our twist by including one Star Anise and a stick of Cinnamon. The result, the most wonderfully fragrant meat, soft and tender. The cola, along with the star anise and cinnamon stick has combined to make a liquor that can be poured over the meat and any accompanying side dishes.

For an everyday Saturday afternoon meal with the kids, it was as easy as putting the Gammon on the stove to simmer away.

To accompany this dish, this week’s organic veg box included broad beans which arrived still encased in their pods and the potatoes looked as if they had been given to us with their mud still on to protect them.

It was only right to cook them as simply as possible to let as much of their natural flavour to come through.

My youngest helped shell the lovely broad beans and once the muddy new potatoes have been washed, they revealed tender skin beneath so we left them on, I think the skins make the potatoes fuller in their flavour, which simply means you just cook them until they are tender and add a little knob of butter just before serving.

I think when you have the quality of freshly picked vegetables, whether they are from your own garden or carefully sourced from an organic farm, they taste best when you do as little as possible to them.

Our Saturday tea which was originally just plain Gammon, with chips from the freezer and peas, turned into something else, we couldn’t resist using the vegetables from the organic box (we usually try and stretch to last two weeks). and used up most of the box this weekend.

What was going to be an ordinary meal ended up being a little more exotic – best of all, there were no left overs, which means it was a hit with the kids.

Sliced gammon that has been cooked with Star Anise, Cinamon and Cola
Broad Beans still in their pods
Cooked Broad beans with Carrots
Organic Muddy New Potatoes
Organic New Potatoes, gently cooked
Organic carrots trimmed

Father’s Day and a 5 star breakfast

Posted in At home, Food, Uncategorized, Wellbeing by
Columbian coffee, marmalade and Rasberry jam for breakfast

Coffee, jam, Marmalade ingredients for breakfast

 

This is a quick post today, as we’ve been visiting our parents to watch my father in law perform in a choir concert.

For Father’s Day, I had the idea of getting a few things my husband enjoys and pulling off a great breakfast, with the kids helping me. I picked up a few ingredients on the way home from work on Friday:

Coffee – artisan bag of Columbian coffee, hand made.  I love the smell that hits you when you open a fresh bag of ground coffee.

Rasberry jam

Marmalade

In the cupboard, I should have the following. (Unless the kids have eaten their way through some of it)

Sliced Bread for Toast

Croissants

Bacon  & eggs, of course

Pics of how we got on later. Could be good, could be a disaster –  I’m not a morning person at the weekends, the kids know not to wake me up too early. They went to bed very late this evening so I’m not sure if they will be up without being grumpy.

Come back later to see if we made it together.

 

Jasmine and tea drinking

Posted in Drink, Food, Uncategorized, Wellbeing by

 

As far back as I can remember we drank Jasmine tea at our parents house. Even after setting up our own home, tea infused with Jasmine is my go to drink, especially late at night.

The lovely delicate scent of Jasmine seems so relaxing and familiar. I’ve tried lots of other teas, but always return to Jasmine.

I have often wondered why the beautiful little flowers are left in the loose tea.

Apparently, good quality tea that is infused with Jasmine flowers, goes through a time honored tradition of harvesting the Jasmine flowers late in the evening, just before the flowers open, so that when the flowers to open up and the scent is able to perfume the air, it is captured in layers of tea.

In China, Jasmine is used widely to scent a variety of teas, green, white as well as dark leaf tea. Traditions for tea drinking amongst the Chinese vary, but it is an important part of any social gathering or occasion.

The plant originated in Persia and was brought to China around 300AD and has been used in tea, but also used as perfume, in incense and traditional Chinese herbal remedies for improving liver function and for stress and anxiety.

I think that’s why it’s a favourite of mine. Occasionally, it is great to make a full pot of Jasmine tea, using the loose leaf type and let the steaming tea sit for while before drinking and although it takes a bit more effort to make and to clean up afterwards, it is worth taking the time out to enjoy the simple ritual of drinking tea. Most of the time, however, for convenience, though, I drink the green tea variety that comes in a bag.

The loose leaf variety can be found in most supermarkets, sometimes though I like to indulge and seek out a special blend which make the occasion of drinking the tea all the more special. I keep the tea in a small caddy from Whittards of Chelsea that was given to me as a gift one Christmas.