Tuesday morning and the cheese sauce.

I thought I'd post what I did to make that cheese sauce as it was really delicious and very easy.  I'm afraid I don't have quantities as I don't measure out for a cheese sauce.  No photos either.  It was a kind of throw it all in and see kind of thing and really all I wanted to test was the cheese and cornflour method.

I used:
grated tasty cheddar mixed with some cornflour (enough to thicken)
semi skimmed milk
seasoning - a little salt, some pepper and some dried mustard to taste
some Marigold vegetable powder
some grated Parmesan
some cooked macaroni
chopped onion and yellow pepper, softened in butter
some bits of chicken or ham

OK, so the cheddar was grated and mixed with the Parmesan and the macaroni was cooked.  The onion and pepper were softened in butter and the chicken was in small chunks.
I put the milk on to heat up and added the mustard, seasonings and Marigold.  I was very careful with the salt.
when the milk was just under boiling I added the cheddar/cornflour bit by bit, stirring well with a balloon whisk as I did so.  I checked the seasoning (which was fine, as it happened) and then added a bit of grated . . . well, it wasn't Parmesan but something vaguely equivalent (but vegetarian).
What I actually did then was to pour the sauce into a dish and covered everything over because I wanted to do the rest just before dinner.  Originally I wasn't going to add the chicken, of course, but DD and DG didn't come over in the end.  So later on I re-heated the sauce, added all the other things, stirred well, continued reheating and then ate and jolly nice it was too.  I can see that also adding some cream cheese would be very nice but I didn't have any.  However, it's definitely one to do again and so I shall.  Without all the reheating, prepared and eaten straight off, it would be a very simple dish using one pan (I made the sauce in the pan I cooked the macaroni in), a chopping board, a grater and a few utensils.
I can't see myself going back to the roux method now, not with this way being so simple.

So not at all Heston really but I was pleased with it!


No photos of the recipe so here's another of that beautiful Christmas present instead.  If you look carefully, you can see the second bud which should flower soon after the first flowers fade and die.



Shiver

My home is generally a warm home.  It has efficient and effective heating.  It does feel cold at the moment, perhaps because it is so damp and raw outside.  When I've finished this I will snuggle down under my fleecy blanket in front of the telly and, probably, go to sleep.  Thinking about it, it would probably save time if I just go straight to bed, wouldn't it?

There was great excitement in school today as playtime neared.  The edict was that if you had wellies (or similar) you could go out and play on the field.  Of course the field was a virgin waste of snow, untrodden, unspoilt.  Until playtime, that is!  Of course, they got cold, wet, snow down their boots, socks/tights damp or worse and mildly masochistic little boy asked me, if his boots and socks were still damp at lunchtime, please could he go out in bare feet? 

I'm a right spoilsport, so I am!!

Monday morning

. . . and a very quick post.  At Christmas I was given an amaryllis in a box - one to plant and grow.  By the time I got to open it, it had decided to grow anyway and sported a handsome white bud on a long white stem!  So I planted it, stood it on the kitchen windowsill and hoped.  It has flowered beautifully with another bud also looking promising - but no leaves!

Sunday afternoon.

It's so nice being indoors all cosy and warm after brushing snow off the car.  No, I probably won't drive to school, I will walk because the roads will be bad, but just in case . . .  And if there's a big freeze overnight, will teachers be able to get into school anyway?  I don't know - time will tell.

It carried on snowing until around mid morning but has remained cloudy and dull all day.  For once we have had a fair bit more than my parents - usually it's the other way round.  I went out taking some photos but really they all look the same!  White . . .

DD and DG didn't come round (the roads are not good) so I have a pile of cheese sauce with nowhere to go right now.  Also chicken.  I ate more than I should have for dinner, seeing as it was just me, but there's still loads left and the carcass is boiling away at the moment.

Well, it's a big three cheers for the brining and slow cooking.  Diane was right, the flavour and texture is amazingly good.  No hint of dryness anywhere, despite being open roasted on a low heat for about three hours, it was firm and juicy and soft all at the same time.  And it didn't shed much stock, which means that all that deliciousness was retained inside the meat.  It's not a hassle either.  OK, so you have to brine the bird.  I did that yesterday and then left it wrapped in the fridge overnight, getting it out early morning to come up to room temperature.  But that wasn't a hassle.  And once in the oven it just got left.  No basting, uncovering, checking,. etc.  Just a quick glance at the thermometer now and again.  I wasn't convinced about that last hot blast.  Seems to me that is just for appearance as we don't eat the skin and is therefore unnecessary.  I'm sure Diane will put me right on this one if I have got it wrong. 

I guess this is how I will roast chicken from now on!  I think next time I will try it the other way up, with the breast underneath, just to see.

So tea today is macaroni cheese, tomorrow's lunch is lentil soup and chicken sarnies and tea has to be macaroni cheese with chicken!  All very scrummy.  I had planned to have beef in beer but that will just have to wait now.  One thing's for sure - I'm not going to starve!


Edited later to add - when I said 'we' don't eat the skin, I meant me and mine, not me and you, the reader.  For me the skin goes into the stock pot to simmer all the flavour out.

Sunday morning

At last it came.  It took its time.  All day it was intermittently sunny and cloudy and each time I thought 'here we go', but no, out came the sun again  Rather a shame in a way because I love watching the snow fall.  It has the same effect on me as watching waves or a waterfall or the wind in the trees - soothing, relaxing and hypnotic.  At about nine-thirty I looked out and the snow had just started.  Very fine, powdery flakes which were starting to settle on car and path.  And I think it must have kept going all night, which is most unusual for round here.  It's still falling, but not heavily and everywhere looks strangely bright, as if each snowflake had its own tiny inner gleam of power.  If it's like that here, it must be very impressive elsewhere. 

Yesterday was a busy 'in the kitchen' day, the first real test of my determination to keep everything neat and tidy and to go to bed with a shiny sink and a loaded dishwasher.  Early in the morning I popped out to Morrison's for a few things and ended up getting more than I intended - isn't it always the way?  I had a list too.  There was meat, prepacked, of course, for three for £10, so I bought two packs of casserole steak (can't remember what kind) and a pack of 25 meatballs.  Yes, I know, they are easily made, but they seemed very good value and saved time - and I didn't like the look of the mince that was part of the 3 for £10 offer.  I decided to do beef in beer, which I haven't made for ages, and make a sauce for the meatballs before freezing them in single portions.  A good tomato sauce isn't rushed, nor is beef in beer, so these were simmering on the hob for quite some time before cooling.  I have to say, the house did smell good.  I did something silly though.  I needed to make another loaf so loaded up the pan and set the breadmaker off.  It wasn't until the whole process was well under way that I realised I'd put on a wholemeal/granary load but used a white loaf setting, which is an hour faster.  As it was a bit late to do anything about it, I let it finish.  It actually wasn't too bad, a bit smaller than usual and likely to be more solid, but it will be perfectly edible, I am sure.

The ham and lentil soup was really scrummy and there's a portion left over for tomorrow's lunch.  Excellent!

In the OUSA Food and Drink forum a while back I was moaning about how naff I was with shortcrust pastry and someone told me about Proberts pastry, an alternative way to make it.  You have equal amounts of butter, white fat and boiling water (e.g. 4 oz, 4 oz and 4 fl oz) and the same weight of self raising flour (12 oz).  You put the fats in a bowl and add the boiling water, mashing it all down with a fork.  Then you add the flour, mix it in, cover and chill for at least two hours.  After then, you roll it out as usual.  I wasn't sure but thought I'd give it a go and, you know, it really wasn't so bad.  An awful lot better than my usual efforts anyway.  I made a mixed fruit pie with an assortment of fruit from the freezer as well as the leftovers from a fruit salad which we can have for dessert today (assuming DD and DG get here) with custard and then for dessert during the week too.  There's some left over so I might make some cheesy straws or some jam tarts or some apple turnovers or I might freeze it for another time.  Decisions, decisions!

Well, it's still snowing.  I need to do some kitchen stuff and make breakfast and then find my boots so that I can take the things I made yesterday to the freezer in the shed.  It's on days like this that I regret not having a freezer indoors! 

Stay warm and stay safe everyone.

Saturday morning

No snow (yet) but it's exceedingly cold:  I am highly grateful for working central heating that turns on at night when it's really cold.  I don't think I am planning to go anywhere much today, thank goodness.Stay calm and keep warm is the name of the game.

After the success of cooking the vacuum wrapped (bought like that, not done by me) ham in the slow cooker last week, I decided to do it again.  Morrison's have comparatively small gammon pieces at half price right now.  Morrison's hams are good.  My parents, who are fussy about their hams, go into their local Morrison's to buy them.  It simmered away in the slow cooker all day and by the evening it was done.  It sat in its juices in the bag until cooled and then I drained off the stock into a pan which I left on the hob overnight (forgot to put it in the fridge but it was cold so no problems).  This morning it had set to a lovely thick jelly so I guess it's a good stock!  So that's ham and lentil soup for lunch, probably with croutons (I have bread that needs eating up) and maybe ham, eggs and oven chips (home made) for tea tonight.  That's lovely cold weather food.  And I have some bags of fruit in the freezer that ought to be used up - cherries and the like, so I guess I will make a fruit pie and if the snow holds off and DD and DG come for dinner tomorrow we can have a slice each and if they don't, no problems, it will keep (or freeze).  I have a recipe for pastry (if I can find where I put it) that doesn't involve cold hands and rubbing in.
As it's a day in, I might actually prepare lots of the fruit and vacupack it as stewed fruit.  Always useful to have.  or even do a Diane and vacupack it first before cooking in a slow simmering pan of water.

If DD and DG don't come, I am still going to do the chicken a la Heston.  It wont go to waste, whatever happens.  I am so intrigued by the recipe.  Everything I have read indicates that it's the best ever and turns what could be a bland experience into a taste sensation - or something to that effect!  Now I like chicken anyway so it should be interesting.  I'm planning to have it with roasties and assorted veg.

It might be a lazy weekend, it might be cold, it might snow (note to self - get the spade into the house), but there's plenty to do inside.  Better go and start by putting a loaf on!  I love Saturdays.

Friday evening

 . . . and the weekend starts here.  OK, so it doesn't officially start until tomorrow but, with planning done and the house relatively respectable, I feel it's started already.  The voice seems to be coming back a bit, helped by a day not teaching, the cough is definitely a lot better, especially when I wake, I'm feeling better in myself and I really think I'm finally recovering somewhat.  To be 100% in time for half term would be fantastic.  Actually, to be 90% well by then would be wonderful too.  Fingers crossed

It was an interesting day today.  Two long observations which didn't show much at all (which was interesting in itself), some time spent sorting out the violin entries, more time spent putting in orders for stock which have to be in by half term (so that's something ticked off the school list) and a good consultation with someone regarding nurture groups.  And I was on afternoon playground duty.  Now, I know children are pretty good at keeping themselves warm but it was bitingly cold and how anyone can run around in just their shirt sleeves (and bottom half covered, of course) is beyond me.  They put their coat on pretty sharpish once I noticed though!  :0)

So - the weekend.  It's supposed to snow tomorrow or maybe Sunday.  I have the Snowday work prepared, just in case.  If school is closed, we post work on the web site.  Poor children!  And George isn't coming.  It's so cold, the ground is hard as iron and there really seems to be no point whatsoever, so he's having a break.

As for the snow - we will see.