Twice baked potatoes fresh out of the oven.

It sounds like a waste of time, right? Why bake the potatoes twice when once has always worked so well?

American comfort food

I’m not sure when or why this was developed, but I do remember I started seeing them in the States in the ’80′s and I loved them. They are a really basic but really tasty American comfort food. If you Google ‘twice baked potatoes‘ all the first page and more of Google is filled with American recipes. I had to Google ‘twice baked potatoes uk‘ to find any mention of these on UK sites and I found a few, here and there. So here’s another one for the lovely UK readers.

Probably the most common way of preparing these involves bacon and cheddar cheese. Usually also some sort of sour cream and chives or spring onions. But there are no rules, there are no measurements. Just use whatever you like with jacket potatoes, I’d say. A UK site (BBC Good Food) suggests a combo of cream, butter and goats cheese. Mmmmm! Whatever you choose, keep in mind the ovewhelming tasty but bland flavour of the potato and try to choose fillings with a bit of kick like the tart goats cheese or chives/onions, and the saltiness of the bacon (and goats cheese).

One thing I like about these is that you can freeze them for a future meal (instructions for freezing at the bottom). And don’t forget one of the best parts about making these is the ‘discarded’ potato skins, the part you cut off can be used as a really moreish snack. But more on that next week…

How to make twice baked potatoes

You’re baking them twice because you bake them once to cook them, and a second time to bake them with their fillings. Here’s the details:

Start by baking the potatoes until they're cooked through and the skin is crisp. Let them completely cool. Seriously. You know the game 'hot potato'? That's why.

After they have completely cooled, slice off the top and scoop out the potato flesh, keeping the 'shell' intact. Scoop the flesh off the caps as well.

Get your ingredients together--we liked bacon (you'll need to cook this in advance), grated cheese, loads of chives and a big dollop of creme fraiche.

Mix ingredients well with the potato--a potato masher works perfectly!

Refill the potato cases with the mixture, being careful to not rip the skins. Mound the mixture up a bit.

I like to add a bit of grated cheese on top before baking so they come out looking like this--all cheese-toasty and mmmm! Bake them at about 180C until the cheese is completely melted on top, or if not using cheese, until they're heated through.

You can serve them on their own or with salad, maybe another dollop of creme fraiche on top or something else depending on what you filled them with. Easy, tasty and yes, nicely different to ‘jacket potatoes and beans’.

You can also make these ahead and freeze them really easily for a future meal. I would suggest setting them in the freezer on a baking tray until completely frozen, then take them out and wrap each one in cling film and replace in the freezer. When ready to use them you can put the unwrapped frozen potatoes directly into a preheated 180C oven, covered in foil for about 40-50 minutes then take the foil off and cook for another 15-20 minutes. Keep checking them.

For fun I might try doing this with some mini potatoes (salad potatoes). Might be a bit fiddly but would be a neat party food.

Oh, and kids love them!

Do you love living overseas...more than back home?

Does it matter to you that your friends and family back home may be hurt to learn your prefer life as an expat?

Most expats are able to find something they enjoy about their overseas life. Some are miserable expats the whole time they’re there and that makes me sad for them, not because I think everyone should embrace an expat life, but because I think everyone should embrace life–wherever it may be.

But some expats actually prefer living overseas. Is this you? If so, do your friends and family back home know this? Some happy expats have no problem with shouting it from the rooftops, but others know how much it would upset their friends and family back home if they announced that they’d rather live overseas than at home.

My post over on Expat Focus this month, Do you prefer living overseas? explores what this means and I’d say keep checking back there because the comments on Expat Focus often provide quite an interesting conversation!

If you prefer living overseas, do your friends and family know? Will you just let them figure it out or will you say something to them? Does it worry you that they may be hurt? Do you find your anxiety about their feelings holds you back from sharing stories about your overseas life or do you just carry on in hopes that they’ll eventually adjust?

I’m curious, readers! Share your stories! Or your friends’ stories!

CybHer 2012

More and more blog conferences are appearing in the UK, which is a great thing. This means there’s more opportunity in the UK to network with other bloggers and more opportunity to learn new things about blogging and writing. I learn a lot about what I do online, of course, because there are a lot of great blogging and online marketing sites. But there’s no replacement for being in a workshop with an expert and other delegates and having the opportunity to have a dialogue on these topics.

What did I learn at CybHer 2012? In no particular order or category:

1. Blogging and publishing anonymously is a great PR trick if you want a lot of attention.

But once you summon the hounds of hell, be ready for the consequences. Zoe Margolis anonymously wrote a blog that she turned into a book called Girl With a One Track Mind. She did not call upon the hounds of hell (the press) on purpose, but once they got the scent and outed her, they were brutal in their pursuit, hounding her family, friends and neighbours until they got an exclusive from her. It sounded like a horrible, horrible nightmare!

2. Keep your blog ready at all times in case there’s a spike in traffic for whatever reason.

Sometimes you can predict it and other times you can’t so being ready all the time is a great plan. Have easy to see subscription methods, have great posts visible and easy to find in archives and have easy navigation and a great look so people enjoy hanging out there and want to return.

3. Your blog is an excellent platform to use for launching a book.

But only if you take advantage of all that it offers in the way of network building, connecting to other social media and using it as a homepage for your book and you. In the case of non-fiction, your blog is also a great place to establish your authority in an area before launching an ebook. And of course remember that whatever you write is representative of you and your subject so make it a good representation!

4. Bloggers who focus on the erotic niche are often feminists trying to make sex writing just another thing they do besides gardening, crafting, cooking.

Sex is part of who we are as humans, it isn’t a dirty little secret. And if it can be made fun or more interesting, then that’s like any other part of our lives becoming fun or more interesting–it can only be a good thing!

5. Love what you write about or it won’t be nearly as interesting as it could be.

Don’t write about what you think you should write about, choose a subject you love! Then it will seem less like work and the words will flow and the reader will enjoy reading it. That goes for books as well as blogs.

And that’s my round up of CybHer. It was a nice day where I got to meet up with a couple of my favourite bloggers, meet a couple of interesting speakers and learn a few new things. And now I’m looking forward to the next conference, BritMums Live!

See you there?

Laying in the grass watching the clouds drift by is not one of my regrets!

Should we try?

I have many—some big, some small. I try to use them as learning points and not repeat my mistakes. Doesn’t always work.

Some time ago a Facebook friend posted a link to a Guardian article The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying, a list created by a person who works with a lot of people who are at the end of their days.

Stop and think a minute what might have been the very most common regret of all. Or even what might have fallen in the top five.

Go on. Stop reading and look off into the distance and think about it.

* * *

One thing I do sometimes when I am caught in a difficult decision is think ahead many years to the old, old Michelle, the one in a sundress, rocking on the front porch watching the world on a warm evening after a day in the garden. She can hear her husband in the house, opening cupboard doors looking for something, about to come out on the porch and sit with her. A cat is standing at the edge of the porch trying to decide if it will turn and jump on old Michelle’s lap or chase the birds in the front lawn. And old Michelle is thinking about her family and specifically the one’s she’s about to go have dinner with.

Then young Michelle walks up the path to the house and leans against the porch rail. The cat watches her and stands to rub against her legs, looks up expectantly, and begins to purr when young Michelle bends to pick her up. Holding the cat, young Michelle asks old Michelle in the rocking chair a question. The question is answered, the cat jumps down, and young Michelle walks back down the path. The old Michelle sees her family arrive and she smiles and waves and they all tumble out of the car happy to see her too.

I can’t live without regrets but I try to make the best decisions I can in hope that I can make my life even better as I live day to day and in hope that one day old Michelle can sit in that rocking chair knowing she did her best all along. How sad it would be for that old Michelle to be rocking on the porch, watching the world and wishing she had done it differently.

* * *

So what did you come up with? What did you predict was the number one regret of people as they move out of this life?

The number one most common regret was the wish that they had lived their lives true to themselves, not the life others expected of them. It takes a brave person to turn to all the people around you and say, ‘sorry, that’s not what I want to do’, and leave their support and expectations, risking a lot (sometimes everything) and doing exactly what you think is best for yourself. I love reading stories about people who do this. Usually, I think I am living my life true to myself, with the help of the old Michelle.

The second most common regret was that they had worked so hard. No one lies on their deathbed and wishes they had spent more time at work. I’m a writer and I work hard, but I also put a lot of effort into being a good mum, a lovely wife, a decent cook, an experimental gardener, a fine cat owner, an avid book reader, am enthusiastic walk taker… I think I’m doing ok here as well.

Number three on the list was the wish that they had more courage to express their feelings. I tend to express my feelings (perhaps more than I should), so I’m ok with this one.

Number four? They wished they had stayed in touch with their friends. The thirties and forties are difficult, busy years for keeping in touch with people, but I can see how important this should be. Some people naturally move out of your life and there’s no need to stay in touch, while others are people I never want to imagine not knowing. As I write, I am thinking of ways I can stay in better touch with my friends–and family. My friends and family mean a lot to me, even the people I haven’t seen in years. I shouldn’t have let so much time go by between visits or other communication. This is a really important one for expats, as well.

And finally, number five is the regret that they hadn’t allowed themselves to be happier. The author said that many people did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. I don’t always choose to be happy, I must admit. Sometimes I choose to be irritated, or frustrated or hurt or angry and sometimes that’s because I’m trying to express my feelings to others, but other times it’s because I’m just acting on impulse, not even thinking about the choice I’m making. This is one I can work on as well.

So what about you, readers? What are your thoughts of living without regrets–how do you do it, or do you bother trying?

Does this list move you in any way? Will any of these be on your list of regrets one day?

Would you add any?

Not everyone loves it. And of those who do love living overseas, not everyone loves it all the time. I’m currently thinking Texas in August is better than England reinacting the biblical 40 days of rain thin (and I’m a gardener, I’m supposed to love this stuff). The animals started pairing up a couple of days ago, wondering where they need to go to wait this out. Of course, the next time I’m in Texas in August and I start complaining loudly about THE HEAT and THE HUMIDITY you can remind me I said this.

Theoretically the best way to deal with a Bad Thing is to look at the Bright Side. Right? So if expats are feeling like life overseas is a Bad Thing they only need to look at the positives, such as more world travel, the cache they will have when they return home, the open mind they are gaining, etc. ad infinitum. But realistically, an expat feeling like this will likely want to slap the next person who says ‘awww, let’s think about the positives here, shall we?’

The next best thing to do then, and this isn’t theoritically, is something that has helped me in the past, read experiences of other people–in particular the positive experiences. Find books and blogs written by people who are passionate about their overseas life, or at least sometimes are and read them. Regularly. Seeing what others see in their host country, learning how others have decided to enjoy their adventure is a great way to start enjoying the experience.

Visiting these blogs regularly is also kind of like hanging out with these people. And it is a fact that you pick up the characteristics of the people you hang out with, so hanging out with these bloggers who love their overseas life might just help you start to love it a bit more as well–or find that the difficult times are a little easier to deal with.

(You’re thinking about the people you hang out with now, right? Wondering if you do and say and think the same things they do?)

Anyway, for a handful of these bloggers check out my monthly expat round-up over on the BritMums Blog. At the end of that round-up I ask if anyone else has a post they’d like the world to see about how they love their overseas life–of if they’d like to write one (a blog prompt!) and there’s a linky to link to, but you can also share here if youprefer. I’d love to see your ideas and passionate posts!

Oh, and don’t forget to check back here and on the BritMums Blog to see what else people have shared!

There's a hint in this image...

When my daughter was tiny and she and I lived in a tiny house in town she started coming into my bedroom at about 4 am some mornings. I cuddled her in under the duvet with me and snuggled into her warm hair and told her we could go back to sleep for some sweet dreams.

Then one evening I was tucking her in her bed at bedtime and she said ‘Can I sleep in your bed tonight?’ She slept like a starfish and I needed my sleep so I said no, but I crawled into bed with her and cuddled her until her eyelids flickered closed, then I tucked her in and started to leave the room.

‘Mama?’

‘Yes?’

‘What about the cow?’

‘What cow?’

‘The cow with the cart?’

‘Where is the cow with the cart?’

‘Outside.’

‘Outside… here?’

‘Yes, on our road.’

Pause, trying to think if there had been anything she could have mistaken for a cow and a cart.

‘Sweets, I don’t think it was here. Maybe at Grandma and Granddad’s?’

‘No, here. Out there!’ Indignation as she pointed to the window. ‘It’s the one that waked me in the middle of the night!’

Frown of concentration. I simply couldn’t work out what she meant.

‘Next time you hear the cow with the cart come and tell me. Ok?’

‘Ok.’

Four am. Tiny, warm child crawled into bed with me. We snuggled.

‘Mama?’

‘Yes?’

‘It was the cow with the cart.’

Ah. She was having a recurring dream.

‘Ok Sweets. Let’s cuddle and have sweet dreams.’ She cuddled in and we went back to sleep.

The cow with a cart became a sort of joke until one hot summer evening a couple of months later when we had all the windows open and my little daughter was worried about her window being open while she slept.

‘But what if I fall out?’

‘You won’t. Not unless you sleep on the windowsill.’

‘But what if someone takes me?’

‘They won’t.’ Fear grasped my throat. ‘Would you sleep better if you slept in my bed?’

‘Yes.’

‘Ok, lets switch beds.’

That night I woke at about 4 am. It wasn’t because my daughter was waking me this time but because I could hear outside, a cow with a cart. The cow was mooing gently, and the cart was softly clanking. I sat up, immediately awake with the possibility that I could at last solve the mystery!

I peered out the window to the orange lit street below and there I saw a milkman quietly doing his rounds, setting two pints here, one there, three at that house across the way. He got back in his electric milk float and drove on, making cow and cart sounds softly into the night.

I love having a milkman. Once we solved the cow and cart mystery my daughter slept through the night, and we continued to order our milk.

Having a milkman seems so old fashioned and so modernly convenient at the same time. I love the sentiment attached to it, the reassurance that even on a bank holiday the milk and other dairy products (if I’m not having black coffee, I like cream in mine) arrive in time for the first cuppa. But I also love the wonderful convenience that you can do your food shopping online the night before your next delivery, so if you have a change of plans, you’ll still get enough milk, or juice or biscuits or whatever else without having to nip to the shops quickly (no such thing as nipping to the shops quickly from where I live). And now that there’s as many as seven of us, we often have a change of plans with this many people coming and going in our house.

The cow and cart story has slipped into family folklore and is referenced from time to time but I think mostly forgotten by all except me. Now, almost every time I pick up the milk from outside our door I think of the early morning cuddles with my tiny daughter and the mystery of the cow and cart and I sort of miss those moments, wishing that time didn’t fly so quickly. At least we still have the reliable milk delivery, even if it isn’t delivered by a cow and a cart.

* * *

This post was paid for by Milk & More, but it is a true story

You may look forward to the brighter colours and warmer weather that spring usually brings, but there’s one thing about the season that you’d rather do without — the dreaded spring clean. If your home is in dire need of a good scrubbing and a purging of everything old, here are some tips to make tidying your house go by quickly so that you can begin enjoying the season.

To start with, sort through your wardrobe to get rid of clothing, shoes, hats, and even jewellery that you no longer wear. Tackling your wardrobe will be one of the biggest tasks you complete this spring clean, but once you finish it, you can reap rewards in several ways. You could donate your gently used clothing to a charity shop, or you can sell them to a vintage store for immediate profit.

Once you are done in the bedroom, make your way to the common areas to de-clutter all of the junk that your family has likely accumulated there. If you have kids that love to play video games, listen to music, or pop in a DVD every once in a while, your family room is likely drowning in discs. You can sell unwanted DVDs with musicMagpie in addition to selling CDs and video games. Considering that these discs can take centuries to decompose, selling them is more environmentally friendly, not to mention economically beneficial for you.

Next, head to the kitchen to clear your cupboard and refrigerator of goods that are no longer edible. Any condiments, canned goods past their expiration date, or fresh items past their prime should be thrown away not only to make room in your kitchen for fresh ingredients but also to ensure the health of your family. And as you are sorting through edible items and non-edibles, you can also dust the cupboard and clean the shelves of the refrigerator with a damp cloth.

De-cluttering your home isn’t always about taking old items out, however; sometimes it can actually be the addition of a piece of furniture or an organisational tool that help you get tidy and stay that way. One of the most common areas of chaos in the home is the area near the entry door, which is often cluttered with shoes, umbrellas, mail, and key rings. You can bring order to your hallway by placing a shoe rack near the door, for example, or adding a handy rack to sort the post. Once you get this area organised, you’re more likely to keep it that way, so this could be a good investment in your home.

An organiser, musicMagpie, and a little patience — with these tools, you can accomplish your yearly spring clean in a matter of minutes. You’ll be more inclined to jump into the sunny season with more exuberance if you’re comfortable with your surroundings, so take advantage of these top de-cluttering tips to start enjoying the weather now.

This was a guest post by Leo Fisher, writing for MusicMagpie. I was paid to host this post but I chose it specifically to coincide with spring cleaning–my regular readers know I have a thing about housework, and spring cleaning must be one of the most satisfying things to do in house maintenence!

I know, it looks... 'odd' but Steak and Ale pie is one of my all time British favourites!

The thing about weird food in other countries is that if you eat it often enough it stops being weird, it becomes regular and some of it even becomes new favourites.

When I first went to a British BBQ I looked at the sausages that appeared so different from the hot dogs or sausage patties I was used to and I had to hold fairly tightly onto my resolution to try everything at least once. I just wasn’t convinced they would be easy to eat. But at about the third bite I thought it could probably work. Not as a substitute but as something different to have. Now, twenty some years later, one of my favourite pub meals is sausages, mash and Yorkshire puddings. And if the pub gets the sausages from a specific butcher then I know the sausages will be especially good. See, I’ve even become a sausage connoisseur.

But although I have new favourites in Britain, I still love food from home. Sometimes I crave it because I just like the flavour and I crave it as anyone craves a flavour no matter where it comes from. And sometimes I crave it simply because of the emotional connotations–it’s from home and it’s fun to walk down memory lane.

I once posted on my previous blog, A Mid-Atlantic English that a Taco Bell had opened near me. I was excited (but being realistic, I know that chain restaurants taste different around the world). I wasn’t looking forward to sampling the haute cuisine Taco Bell had to offer; I was looking forward to the trip down memory lane. Most commenters understood and shared their similar experiences. But one reader took great exception to my being an expat and my celebrating the arrival of yet another American chain restaurant. I knew what she was trying to say, but I think she missed what I was trying to say. I wasn’t offering up any political statement, I was just thinking about all those years I worked at a taco joint through high school and I wanted to share that same feeling of excitement some expats get at the arrival of a memory trigger. It really was that basic. (As it was, the food was terrible, but I got to gaze at the sign and share my teenage taco-making stories with my friend while I sat in the food court eating the terrible food.)

Sometimes I think expats can get too militant about how they think fellow expats should experience the world, but other times I too feel a bit frustrated with close mindedness of some people.

I’m nearing the completion date of a small book of tips for expats (ideas for making the most of our life overseas) and one chapter is on food. New expat or seasoned traveller, you may find some of my tips for enjoying food overseas useful, and I’ve turned my chapter into an article, One of the best souvenirs from living overseas, for my regular column this month over at Expat Focus–and if you have any to add, that would be great!

Some of the pretty things I found for putting together a cottage garden themed wedding--this site is a one stop shop for weddings!

In just two months time we’re having a wedding!

No, not mine, silly, my (step)daughter. So this means I need an outfit, which means traipsing through shops getting static hair from all that taking off/putting on clothes and becoming more and more despondant.

What I am more interested in are the decorations. Regular readers here know I love having parties (according to my stats The American Resident post with the greatest number of inbound clicks from Google is 11 Original Party Ideas Websites), and having only recently got married (again) myself, I still have some of the books and magazines I used when planning that event. I love thinking about the details, the way the room looks when you first walk in, the way the table looks when you’re chatting to new people next to you, creating a romantic mood with a few well thought out details during the day and a party atmosphere in the evening, expressing something about you and your partner through the decorations.

I like my parties to look unique without looking like I’ve tried too hard to be unique. My (step)daughter is the same as me and we’ve enjoyed looking at magazines and books and Pinterest and other websites for ideas for her upcoming wedding. One of the best sources for us has been Not on the High Street dot com, or notonthehighstreet.com. I love this site and I have fallen in love with it all over again while searching for wedding decos.

Not on the high street for weddings--gift registry and styling.

One rason I love this shop is because every product I have ever bought through the site has been well made and unique (making it a perfect shop for presents) but also because they support Britain’s small businesses–every item sold from this site is made by an independent, small British business. So it makes sense that it’s a perfect place to look for unique ideas for weddings. And I can’t help myself: because I love browsing and planning the party stuff so much I thought I’d also share with you things we’ve been looking at.

My (step)daughter and her partner are really outdoorsy, but also quite stylish. We looked at several outdoorsy themes, including a woodland theme and a cottage garden theme. In the end the venue decided us on a cottage garden theme as there is an option with good weather (it’s Britain, options are awesome) to hold the ceremony in the beautiful cottage garden at the site.

The wedding invitations were sent out on seeded paper, so one idea is to continue this theme with this sweet heart bunting made with paper seeded with wildflowers–how fantastic to plant this later and know that those wildflowers were at your wedding!

Heart bunting on seeded paper.

Continuing with the heart theme, these pretty Zinc hearts etched with what looks to me like a tree of life image, would be really unique decorations scattered around, perhaps on twigs painted white for table centrepieces, and later given to guests.

Etched zinc heart.

And a sweet addition to the twig bouquets would be to hang these pretty tea light holders with the zinc hearts, with little poseys in each. Then, when evening comes, we can take the poseys out and replace them with tealights–our own little romantic forest of lights.

Glass hanging tealight.

It’s fun to add something a bit different and these Wedding wish tags (A Dutch tradition, apparently) would be a really lovely idea to introduce. We could continue with the theme of the twig centrepiece and have a much larger twig or bouquet of pretty twigs near the entrance where people can leave their wishes for the bride and groom.

Wedding wish tags.

You can even buy wedding cakes through this site! I love this pretty lace and flowers cake.

Vintage Lace Wedding Cake

And for the evening buffet, a stack of cheeses displayed with cottage garden flowers as a centrepiece on the buffet table. I love this!

A pretty stack of cheeses.

There were a lot of children at my wedding so we set up a long trestle table for all the kids to eat at, and after the meal we brought out a long roll of plan paper, buckets of crayons and coloured pencils, colouring books, sticker packs, and reading books and set them all out on the table. Even the older kids got into it. There will only be two or three children at my (step)daughter’s wedding so she might give them each a little pack of entertainment, something like these colouring in fairy puzzles.

Colouring in fairy puzzle.

Now that I have her wedding style sorted (well, some ideas anyway… she promised not to get too worried about me taking over her wedding if I wrote this post) I suppose I must return to the shops to find my (step)mother of the bride outfit. Actually, I might just have a look at the fashion section of Notonthehighstreet.com for the same reason I looked there for wedding ideas–I know I’ll find something unique. I joked with her that I’d wear a black dress and carry a shiny red apple with me everywhere (you know, the wicked step mother) but she frowned and said ‘I want people to like you.’ She thought I was serious? I don’t know. I reassured her I wouldn’t wear black, or carry a menacing apple.

I quite like this pewter dress–simple but easy to dress up with some jewellery and it would go well with the silver strappy Jimmy Choo (found on sale, hurrah!) heels I wore at my wedding.

Suitable for (step)mother of the bride?

And just so you know, I was paid to write this post from the research I’ve done for my (step)daughter’s wedding. The payment will help me buy my (step)mother of the bride outfit!

Anyway, over to you readers. Any style ideas for a cottage garden themed wedding? All ideas welcomed!!