Sunday

The Christmas dinner is over, all bar the clearing up, which I refused to do last night because it was Strictly and then Doctor Who.

It went really well:  everything tasted delicious, the Kelly Bronze stuffed turkey breast was absolutely delicious, despite its age, and there is surprisingly little left.  Enough for Alex and me for lunch (I can make Beth a savoury crumble) and there will probably be a few slices of turkey left for Monday (or the freezer) depending on how hungry Alex is.

I wish I'd taken a photo but there's always a last minute rush for this sort of meal and I didn't.  I got down my red Christmas table cloth and napkins and we had a few candles and it all looked very jolly and festive.

Today everything is back to normal.  I have to clear up the kitchen but it's nowhere near as bad as it looks, I have to concoct a vegetable and pulse mix for Beth's crumble although the topping is in the freezer so that will be easy enough, I have some washing and ironing to do and, as always, the dreaded planning.

My friends have just left on their long journey to Yorkshire.  It is damp and misty outside but I hope it clears later on for them.

Now to make some coffee, unload the dishwasher and get going with the clearing up!

Saturday

Woo hoo!  It's Christmas Dinner day and already the house is smelling good.  I've heated up the oniony, bay leafy, nutmeggy, peppercorny milk for the bread sauce and it is now steeping for a couple of hours.
There are chicken wings slowly roasting in the oven before being boiled up to make a stock for gravy.
At the same time I am just 'testing' one of the frozen roasties I found in the freezer.  I have no idea how old they are, you see.  I think they're less than a year old and should be OK, but . . .
The turkey breast is out of the fridge and being brought up to room temperature.
The stuff in the freezer is now out of the freezer.
Now I have to make my plan of action and away we go!!!
S and M are arriving at about lunchtime so I will have some soup ready and waiting.  Nothing too lavish or we won't want our Christmas Dinner later on!

My coffee is cold.  Better make another one.  Then there are vegs to prepare.  Have a good day, wherever you are.

Friday

Good morning, Internet friends, and welcome to a chilly, wet, windy morning here in 'sunny' Essex.  I like to have my tilt and turn window a little on the tilt but despite the teeny opening, the curtains were blowing all over the place this morning.  No rain coming in, just wind.

I'm not laying odds on a wet playtime this morning!

In contrast, yesterday was glorious most of the day.  It started off with a car scraping frost but the sun shone and playground duty was a treat.  I wonder how things will go today with all this wind though!

This Christmas dinner is getting sorted.  I shall make the bread sauce in Thermione - it's the sort of recipe that lends itself to that sort of cooking and I won't have to watch and stir all the time.  I've bought sausage meat for a stuffing base, the cranberry sauce is already made, I have some chicken wings to make a good roasted stock for gravy (as it's a turkey crown I am cooking) and the sprouts are in.

So (and I hope this is OK, Sonja) the very traditional menu is . . .

Roast turkey breast with bacon
Pigs in blankets
Stuffing
Roast potatoes
Sprouts
Carrots (from the garden, I hope)
Red cabbage
Gravy, bread sauce and cranberry sauce

Mince pies
cream and brandy cream

And I have sundry bits and bobs with which to dress the table too.

Fun!

Thursday

So sorry about yesterday's non-appearance.  Things get hectic sometimes, don't they?

I've just been down to the shed to get today's food and a turkey crown out of the freezer and brrrr, it's jolly cold with a frost on the shed roof.  They said it would and they were right.  Indoors is comfortable so I guess the heating has been clicking in!

As said above, life is busy - very, very busy.  I have a friend staying over Saturday night and, as mentioned before, am cooking her a Christmas dinner (hence the turkey crown).  The pigs in blankets are made, the red cabbage too, there's roasties ready and waiting, there's mince pies in the freezer - everything's going great.  I'm hoping there won't be loads to do on Saturday afternoon so I can enjoy their company.

Life goes on and I need to prepare for today so I'd better wave goodbye.  Have a lovely day.




Edited later to add:  shows how busy I was yesterday.  I heated up today's soup, opened my lunch box, got out the flask, opened it - and realised that I had totally forgotten to have my kunch.  What a waste of a good sweet potato soup.  Grrrr.

Tuesday

Well, it really was a bit of a grotty day, weather-wise, yesterday, wasn't it?  Rain, drizzle, more rain, pouring rain, drizzle . . . etc.  We managed playtime in the morning (damp drizzle but manageable) but by the afternoon it was chucking it down so no afternoon play.  Now it's still wet and it's c-c-colder too.

Never mind, we're so lucky to have four walls and a roof over our heads.  It's too easy to complain and to forget just how much we have and be glad for it.

Yesterday was OK.  The headache went, driven out by a busy schedule.  I had some PPA and managed to get the maths marked.  A meeting after school was fun and then I was off to the Hare to meet Linda and Julie for a very pleasant and sociable meal together.  What more could I ask for?

Today there's no 'special' plans, just normal, familiar, everyday things.  Nice.  Hope yours is good too.

Monday

A short one this morning as there's plenty to do.  I haven't bothered to look outside today but the forecast is for rain and it's more often right than not.  The BBC predicts a break in the rain which is timed nicely for morning play so fingers crossed!

It's unfortunate that I have woken with a bit of a one-sided, sinus-y headache.  I guess it will go once I'm at school but yuck!

Hope you all have a good day with plenty of good things.

Sunday

Last day of half term and quite a busy day at that.  It's been lovely but I must get going and be ready for tomorrow.  I doubt I will be tempted to go out as it is dark, damp and gloomy outside and, when I woke earlier, I took one look, got back into bed and promptly went beck to sleep for a while.

It's turning a bit colder too, don't you think.  It felt almost chilly when I went out to the shed to get some veg.  I suppose it's about time too really.

I had a letter yesterday from the company that makes Thermomix.  Those 'following' this fantastic appliance on Facebook and else where will know that there's been a bit of a problem with some lid seal rings and Vorwerk are replacing all rings for machines that were bought within a certain timescale.  When I got the letter I emailed because I bought two bowls and lids and got a very speedy confirmation that they would be sending me two rings.

Last weekend I was looking at the seal ring for the most used lid, remembering that they recommend that it is replaced every two years and that I ought to think about it within the next year.  Not that there's any problems with the current rings, there isn't, but . . .

And now I get two for free.  Can't complain about that.  I shall keep the old rings on until they need replacing and that should get Thermione through the next three years!

Yesterday afternoon I took a deep breath and courageously dared the chilly depths of my chest freezer to find, at long last, the turkey breast roast I KNEW must be there, somewhere.  It's now sitting in a more accessible place, to be taken out on Thursday to slowly thaw before the 'Christmas dinner' on Saturday.  Then, when I got in, I discovered an email from Kelly's of Danbury, informing me that their website was now open for Christmas orders, so I did.
Two things - firstly, when I ordered the turkey, I was offered a breast roast for a tenner so I accepted that and, secondly, I now have four points so am entitled to a free turkey at some point in the coming year.  I have no idea how big it is and I know (because it said so) that the eligability starts after this year's turkey (which got me the fourth point) is delivered, presumably so I can't take the freebie and run, so to speak, so it might be offered early in the year.  I need to check.  If it is, no problems.  After all, what's a freezer for?

I also found a few things to use/chuck (which is something I try to do each time I visit) and I found a bag of roasties right down at the bottom.  I need to try one or two but I don't see why they shouldn't be fine.

So right now I have some chopped bacon slowly releasing its fat, some beef mince thawed and waiting and some veg on the side.  Savoury mince, here we come!  I love these one pots.  Such a lot less hassle when I get home from school each evening.

Have a great day, whatever the weather!