What to do with those Tomatoes?

The weekend was lovely, sunny and bright and breezy and after watching Rose in her marathon for the phaUK, we got chance to explore around Greenwich for a while. Greenwich has been on my list of places to visit for a long time, so I was really pleased to get chance for a good look around. We had already been all round the park while watching the marathon and had lunch at the Maritime Museum and I would have liked to visit this, but the weather was so pleasant we decided we didn't want to be stuck inside. Instead we chose to just wander aimlessly, with our cameras in tow, around the grounds, then on through all the ancient buildings and down to the riverside, soaking up and enjoying the busy,vibrant, Sunday afternoon atmosphere.

We headed towards the Cutty Sark, a famous tea clipper, and decided to see if it was wheelchair friendly enough for me to go on board and have a look around. The Cutty Sark was fully renovated a couple of years back and was very wheelchair friendly, with helpul staff directing us where to go, proper wide walkways and lifts to all the various decks. So we enjoyed a good look around and learned about its interesting history, browsed around the shop and enjoyed afternoon tea looking up to the stunning views of the underside of the ship.

As usual for me, I can't quite tick Greenwich off my list yet as there is still much more to see and do including the Maritime Museum and Royal Observatory, so we will have to go back again one day...

www.greenwich-guide.org.uk/cutty.htm

After weekend the weather suddenly turned cooler and autumnal with a vengeance and was wet into the bargain and it's beginning to feel well and truly Autumn just like the flick of a switch, summer seems to have disappeared, so we were glad we had spent the afternoon just enjoying the weather on Sunday. 

A few weeks ago after the summer holidays, I started to get into my cooking again and began with making a roast tomato and pepper soup as a starter when all the family were round for dinner. It's a good way to get using up all those tomatoes from the garden that are all ready and ripe at once! 

We usually have so many tomatoes that I don't know what to do with them all, but this year's crop was pretty poor: I don't know whether it was because of the hot summer weather or because I didn't tend them as well as I should. However, tomatoes are in abundance in the shops right now and are cheap and cheerful!

My soup obviously went down well, as yesterday Mr G said he had bought me a present when he came back from shopping, he then proceeded to present me with a big pack of tomatoes, saying I could make some more of that soup seeing it was feeling chilly and cooler. So feeling a dab hand at making this soup now and with the cooler weather and nights drawing in, I thought I'd share the recipe.

Roast tomato and pepper soup with garlic and basil

Ingredients

Pack of tomatoes (about 800g to 1kg)

A yellow pepper or equivalent mixed peppers

Stock (about a litre, adjust to ingredients)

Onion

Olive oil

Black pepper

Basil (fresh or dried)

Garlic olive oil or garlic salt

Crusty bread

Chop the tomatoes, pepper and onion and place in a roasting dish, drizzle with olive oil and season with black pepper and basil, roast in the oven for about 3/4 hour. Once roasted transfer to a saucepan and add the stock and bring to boil. Liquidise the ingredients, but save a small portion to one side for later. Reheat the soup. Serve and top with a piece of toasted crusty bread topped with a spoonful of the remaining ingrediedients and drizzled with olive oil. 

Easy, delicious and nutritious! Enjoy! 

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are part of the nightshade family and are packed with goodness including vitamins, minerals and antioxidents. They are linked to good heart health and bone health and are known to have anti- cancer benefits. People often cannot decide whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable: well it is a fruit and botanically speaking it is a berry, but it is not sweet like most fruits, so it is treated as a vegetable! The French call the tomato, 'a love apple'; Italians call them 'golden apples'. So now you know! 

There is still time to sponsor Rose for her Run to the Beat marathon, so far she has raised £2365 for the phaUK: 

www.justgiving.com/Rose-Graham         

Run to the Beat

A calm and beautiful morning on the Thames

On Sunday, 8th September, Rose took place in the Run to the Beat Marathon in London, to raise funds for the phaUK, the charity that has given our family much support over the last three years since I was diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension. Her boyfriend, David, was also taking part to raise funds for multiple sclerosis. It is a half marathon, with over 19,000 runners taking part, starting and finishing in London's Greenwich Park. During the marathon, there is music playing to keep the runners' motivation going and help create a fabulous atmosphere.  

It was an early start, Rose and David were up early to eat breakfast before seven, then they would have some fuel for the run. The weather was looking good, it was a beautiful start to the day. By 8.30am they were on their way from Canary Warf, where we all stayed the night before so our journey wouldn't be too onerous the following morning, and they were making their way across to Greenwich where the marathon was to take place. They texted us to let us know they were ready and in their start positions by 9.45am.

The next step of the plan, if I felt well enough to do it, was for us then to start making our way across to Greenwich too and luckily I felt at my best this morning. I had had a very up and down week and just getting into London on the Saturday had been a real strain. We were worried about how we would cope with my wheelchair and how I would cope too amongst all the crowds of people, both on the railway and at the event, so Rob had done a lot of research where it might be best for us to stand and catch a glimpse of Rose without getting too caught up in the crowds. We didn't really know what to expect as no one in our family has competed in a marathon before, but we did anticipate crowds! We also had to try and perfect the timing, so we would be there in time to see Rose, but not so early that it might get too much for me to manage.

So with some precision planning on my husband's part, we found our way easily to Greenwich with me in my wheelchair; the Docklands Light Railway being very wheelchair friendly with lifts at either end of our journey. We had Sarah and Oli with us, so that made things a lot easier too. We managed to find a good position at the 11th mile and knew Rose was still about fifteen minutes away. It felt exciting just to have made it there, the atmosphere was buzzing, music pulsing and crowds cheering the runners on as they got near the end of their journeys. It felt an inspiring and electrifying place to be and I had to pinch myself that I had actually made it into London and then across to Greenwich and was actually there. They managed to get my wheelchair to the front with no problem and I had a 'birds eye' view of everything, I think they were all a little jealous as I got to sit, a bit like being in my very own royal box!

It wasn't long before Rose and David came running up, still looking fresh and full of energy and they managed to see us all as we cheered them along. Caught up in all the euphoria, Sarah and Oli decided to try and get to the finish line and see them finish, so off they went on ahead. Lingering behind in my wheelchair, but feeling really good, I was game to try too, although lots of people were doing the same and the crowds were getting busier.  Rob managed to weave in and out of the crowds with me in tow, sometimes doing a little sprint himself until I thought my wheelchair might actually break! He raced me up Greenwich Hill and we managed to stop and glimpse Rose and David flying past yet again and then another glimpse of them going up the hill, which was a bit of a hike on the last part of their journey. Sarah and Oli then saw them reach the finish line and cheered them through. We managed to get there just afterwards, which was no mean feat with a wheelchair, the crowd and a hill!

We then got caught up in the crowds a bit, but Rob did a good job of manoeuvring me around and we eventually found Rose, who was miraculously standing a few seconds away from us in the crowd unbeknown to us! Then it was all downhill back down to Greenwich Village. We followed a snake of turquoise green T shirts weaving their way down the hill, just as we had chased a sea of turquoise green  going all the way up it.  Here we all met up again eventually and had a rest and drinks at the Maritime Museum; David's parents and sister joined us too and I don't think Rose and David could quite believe they had completed the marathon and got their medals after all that hard work and training throughout the summer. We were one very proud pair of families!

Outside the Maritime Museum

Views from Greenwich Park

GreenwichVillage

Greenwich Hill

Rose completed the marathon in two hours twenty eight minutes and has managed to raise £2,275 so far for the phaUK and we all had a fantastic day out into the bargain too! A big thank you to all the many people who kindly sponsored Rose. We have been overwhelmed by your kindness and generosity.   

  

There is still time to sponsor Rose through her Just Giving page below: 

www.justgiving.com/Rose-Graham