All in fun . . .

When I was 11 years old, I fell in love with The Monkees. Yes, those 4 brash young lads that used to grace our home television screens for half an hour every Sunday evening! Well, they were on television where I lived on Sunday evenings at any rate.

They were probably one of the first ever manufactured pop bands, but that didn't matter to me, nor to millions of other teens! I used to buy up any teen magazine that I could get my hands on with pictures of them in it. I'd carefully rip out their pictures and tape them onto the mirror in my bedroom. I would devour every scrap of information I could get about them. I think I had it all memorized. I also had all of their albums and knew all of the words to every one of their songs.



I was, in particular, completely enamoured with Davy Jones. He was so cute, much cuter than the others in my mind, although I did think they were all pretty dishy. But he had that lovely British Accent that just melted my heart every time I heard it. Sigh . . . I even wanted to marry him when I grew up. Oh the innocent child/girl fantasies I used to have about that guy were nobodies business!! He was a complete dream to me. He broke my heart when he started to date the Flying Nun and, of course, like most other teen girls at the time, I was devastated when the Monkees broke up!!



This is my friend Anna and yes that IS Davy Jones! Just this past weekend she got to go to a Monkees concert in Manchester! (minus Mike Nesbitt) Does she look happy or what! That lucky woman! I'd have been smiling all over the place as well! She says he is a really nice bloke and very tiny! I bet he smelled great too! Sigh . . .

When I was about 15 1/2, I graduated from being a fan of pop groups to being a groupie. Oh no, not in the way you are thinking! There were a group of local lads that had a little band that they had formed and I used to go with my friends to all of their practices. At one point I was even dating one . . . if you can call it that. We went to one movie together and held hands, and he invited me to his house to hang out with them all on one Sunday afternoon. All completely innocent.

What I didn't know however was, that I was also the "other" woman. Yes, this young lad had a girl in every port . . . or school . . . as it were! His other girlfriend went to the local middle school and so it was quite easy for him to see us both at different times. She was his real girlfriend, I guess. He only took me to the movies that one time because she was away on holidays, and he could get away with it. Sigh . . . heart broken I was when the whole truth came out.

He was not even all that good looking, really . . . but he did play a guitar. I think that was the main attraction really. That and the fact that he had long hair when not a lot of boys did, which was another plus. Thank goodness I grew up and became a little more discerning!



I no longer fall for the guitars or the long hair, although to be sure . . . I am still a sucker for a cute British Accent. ☺ This one also happens to be very sweet, kind, spiritual, intelligent, easy going and has a wicked sense of humour. Plus he also does windows and dishes and gives great back massages!!

I know . . . I am one heck of a lucky woman!

Here's a delicious chicken dish that we love around here. I tend to bake mine in the oven more than cook them on the grill. We only have a charcoal grill and it is a lot of faff to get it out. You can do it in a grill pan as well, although to be on the safe side, after the initial grilling, you should actually finish them off in the oven as well to make sure they are cooked through.




*Tandoori Chicken*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Delicously spicy chicken, grilled to perfection. Finger lickin good!

1 cup plain low fat yogurt
2 TBS fresh lemon juice
1 TBS grated fresh ginger
2 tsp minced fresh garlic
1 tsp ground tumeric
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
8 bone in, skin on, chicken thighs
a bit of oil to grease the grill

Whisk together the yoghurt, lemon juice, ginger and all of the spices in a large shallow dish. Add the chicken thighs, tossing them to coat completely in the marinade. Cover and then chill in the refrigerator for about an hour.

Heat up your grill, grill pan, barbeque grill, or gas grill. Brush with some oil. Take the chicken out of the refrigerator and remove from the marinade, allowing most of it to drip off, and wiping off any excess.

Place the thighs onto the grill, skin side down, and cook for about 5 to 8 minutes, before flipping over and cooking them on the other side for a further 10 to 15 minutes, covered. Cook until all the juices run clear.

If you like they can also be cooked in your oven. Place onto a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake in a 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 5. oven for 35 to 40 minutes until done and the juices run clear.



Cooking over in The English Kitchen today, a delicious Berry Slump!