Misty Northampton

Our last few weeks in Northampton, in the weeks leading up to Christmas and New Year. Very soon, these images will be a world away from the life we will be living.


St Giles Street, Mrs Kong's daily walking route to the postoffice during the eBay days...


And the bakery where Mr Kong gets his favourite granary loaf.

Scandinavian Winter Night in Northampton

It is - 4 degrees celsius outside.

Glad to be inside!

Oat Rounds

Amidst these very busy days, Mrs Kong has managed these very simple but delicious Oat Rounds, of Mary Berry's of course. For once, the whole process was completed without any major glitches, maybe because it is a very simple and fast recipe afterall.


Named "the first cousins of the digestive biscuit" these were both delicious as well as healthy at the same time. The oaty taste of these biscuits were wonderful though if they were to be made again in this kitchen, Mrs Kong would probably use less sugar to ensure that the oaty taste isn't masked by the sweetness! Probably the only error in Mary Berry's recipe... a little too much sugar.

Nevertheless a delicious crunchy bite.

Perfect for morning coffee or afternoon tea!!

More errands and removers

Today, Mrs Kong spoke to the removers who move for the Queen!

He even managed to produce a picture of their fleet of cars, parked in front of Buckingham Palace. hmmm.

Krispy Kremes

Mr Kong has been wondering for a while now, about the hype surrounding Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. Everyone raves about them, so when Mrs Kong went to Birmigham last week to meet a friend, her task was set out - to bring back a box of Krispy Kremes.

They did not last long of course.

for two people!!

And then we got more again on Saturday. I suppose we can confirm that they were good!

Removals and the Poor Little Housewife

In line with preparations to leave, Mr and Mrs Kong are in the process of getting quotes from removal companies, and checking out the services of these companies. Mrs Kong, the kononnya housewife, had to stay in today to wait for a couple of sales people in order to get an estimate of this cost.

One gentleman in particular, was particularly thorough in describing the services of the company, including information on packing, insurance and their membership of the relevant professional bodies. He used big words and said that they were a "limited liability company" governed by the "FSA" to illustrate how the customer would be better off with them.

Having had to mug on corporation law more than 10 years ago, and previously provide legal advice on the subject, Mrs Kong was really wondering what it had to do with consumer protection, esp in the case of a removals company. Sure, there were probably reasons for being comforted by the fact that the Financial Services Authority was involved but in this case it was not too clear why.

At this point, a visible strain emerged on Mrs Kong's face, and the gentleman probably thought "poor little housewife, doesn't understand" as he then said "FSA is the Financial Services Authority; its the law of the land". Trying not to burst out in laughter, Mrs Kong just said "really, oh... how jolly good".

The tone of this conversation continued on throughout the discussion and 15 minutes later, it was really too late to admit that one was really a solicitor, but best just to continue on with the charade. There was a lot of nodding and referring to husband. Probably easier than trying to set him straight!

Mrs Kong's visit to the Dentist

There was no baking today in the Kong household as Mrs Kong had to go to the dentist to have an extra tooth extracted. Nothing serious, just an extra tooth right at the back of her mouth, next to a wisdom tooth.

It was terrifying of course but safe to say the anticipation was worse than the actual extraction! The injection was painless, and Mrs Kong hardly felt ANYTHING. The actual extraction, which produced a tiny tooth, took less than a minute.

But then again, the pain killers have not worn off yet. Still contemplating whether the picture of the extracted tooth should be posted on this blog. Might be too gross for some.

Marmalade Orange Cake

This cake was a pleasure to make.

With marmalade and organic orange rinds as part of the ingredients, it was no wonder that our place smelt like warm oranges hours after this delight emerged out of the oven.

However, the best part of the recipe was the icing indeed! The making of the icing rates only just below melting chocolate. Definitely worth making, and didn't turn out too shabby either!

Organic Red Lentil and Pumpkin Soup

Mrs Kong made a very warming organic red lentil and pumpkin soup. Unlike our Chinese soups, the final involved blending the contents of the soup pot! Not too difficult, with Mummy Kong's "mini hacker" coming in handy when it was time to blend the soup.

perfect for a cold winter's day!