Well, after a highly self satisfied entry yesterday you will, I am sure, be delighted to know that I now know exactly what I have in both my freezers, one of which has been defrosted and looks shiny new (inside) while the other has had a good scrape down with a plastic spatula. I have food enough to last me until next summer and that is only a very slight exaggeration. All I have to do now is decide what I want to go in each freezer and then I'm well set.
That isn't stopping me from doing a shop at Aldi this morning. Yesterday I went to check over a new B&M that has opened in town (not all that impressed, sadly) and went a bit further on to Aldi but after going slowly around the car park three times I gave up and came home. It will be fine this morning at eight!
I do have a list and am starting to get in Christmas stuff that will keep. A bit at a time and it's not so bad in the last few weeks. I already have the (free) turkey on order, I found a large gammon ham that I got very reduced after last Christmas, the pigs in blankets are done, there's two wodges of spiced red cabbage and two packs of smoked salmon. And that's just for starters. I'm so very glad I did a freezer clear out and inventory!
Yesterday morning was lovely, despite the teeming rain. A friend came round and we had a really good chat about all sorts of things. She likes cooking, baking and other homey things too. Half way through, the sun came out and it was lovely for a while, bright and cheerful.
Today, being Saturday, is bread day and I now have room to freeze my bread. I think I shall start building up my Christmas supplies as I shall have a houseful for a couple of days. I need to dig out my larger loaf tins I think, if I can remember where I put them.
Today's food (all stuff I had to thaw out)
Breakfast: sourdough crumpets with marmalade
Lunch: chili con carne
Dinner: steak pie, peas, another veg
Saturday, 31 October 2015
Friday, 30 October 2015
Friday
Probably quite boring today so if you read on, You Have Been Warned! OK?
Yesterday morning was a chilly affair. By that I mean I was hovering half in and half out of the larger chest freezer, sorting it all out and recording what I had.
There were several good things
1. I didn't have to discard (sounds better than 'throw out', more organised, somehow) nearly as much as I thought I might have to. I was relieved as I hate wasting food. OK, so I have some pretty old stuff in there but it won't have gone off in terms of being unsafe to eat and I can cope with slight changes in texture and, perhaps, taste. It was all well wrapped (three cheers for Lakeland poly bags) and there were no nasty little bits like single chips or a scattering of peas down at the bottom. I was quite chuffed about that!
2. I now know I have several foody things for Christmas that I won't have to buy AND I know where they are too. Three cheers.
3. I also have very little need to shop for much for - ooooh, quite a long time! That should have a major impact on my spending
4. My drive to use up the frozen home cooked 'single portions' has been successful as there's not an awful lot of them left now. I'm pleased about that as some were quite old and did need using up..
5. There's very little that needs a crowd of people. Nearly everything is individually wrapped.
6. I now have enough room in the chest freezer to put all the stuff in the upright freezer in so I can defrost the latter. It needs it - see the one bad thing below!
7. I have an up to date inventory of what's out there. Long overdue and very necessary.
And one bad thing:
When I defrost the upright freezer, I cannot get the top shelf out; it is frozen in. I know it is full of things which might just have to be chucked unless I can cook and re-freeze. We will have to see because I cannot remember what is there.
When I had finished I came in and wrapped myself around a rather delicious vegetable stew with chunks of home made bread that I had saved from the freezer. It was good!
Today's food:
Breakfast: cheese on toast (I have to use up some cheese - that's my excise)
Lunch: tuna burgers and salad
Dinne: Sausages in bbq sauce, fries, peas, corn on the cob
Yesterday morning was a chilly affair. By that I mean I was hovering half in and half out of the larger chest freezer, sorting it all out and recording what I had.
There were several good things
1. I didn't have to discard (sounds better than 'throw out', more organised, somehow) nearly as much as I thought I might have to. I was relieved as I hate wasting food. OK, so I have some pretty old stuff in there but it won't have gone off in terms of being unsafe to eat and I can cope with slight changes in texture and, perhaps, taste. It was all well wrapped (three cheers for Lakeland poly bags) and there were no nasty little bits like single chips or a scattering of peas down at the bottom. I was quite chuffed about that!
2. I now know I have several foody things for Christmas that I won't have to buy AND I know where they are too. Three cheers.
3. I also have very little need to shop for much for - ooooh, quite a long time! That should have a major impact on my spending
4. My drive to use up the frozen home cooked 'single portions' has been successful as there's not an awful lot of them left now. I'm pleased about that as some were quite old and did need using up..
5. There's very little that needs a crowd of people. Nearly everything is individually wrapped.
6. I now have enough room in the chest freezer to put all the stuff in the upright freezer in so I can defrost the latter. It needs it - see the one bad thing below!
7. I have an up to date inventory of what's out there. Long overdue and very necessary.
And one bad thing:
When I defrost the upright freezer, I cannot get the top shelf out; it is frozen in. I know it is full of things which might just have to be chucked unless I can cook and re-freeze. We will have to see because I cannot remember what is there.
When I had finished I came in and wrapped myself around a rather delicious vegetable stew with chunks of home made bread that I had saved from the freezer. It was good!
Today's food:
Breakfast: cheese on toast (I have to use up some cheese - that's my excise)
Lunch: tuna burgers and salad
Dinne: Sausages in bbq sauce, fries, peas, corn on the cob
Thursday, 29 October 2015
Thursday
Good morning to you all.
Despite the rain, yesterday ended up rather pleasant with sun most of the afternoon. Today it has started off dull and dry but rain is forecast. We will see.
I managed to get together the motivation to sort out the smaller freezer at last. Oh, it was such a mess. I'm afraid I needed to discard some extremely old and battered stuff, an act which made me feel both guilty and relieved at the same time. This morning I need to tackle the chest freezer which will take considerable more time and effort but once that's done I am hoping I can move the stuff from the other freezer into the chest freezer and then defrost it. Then perhaps I can bring back some organisation, not to mention making a list of what's in the chest freezer.
I'm not sure if I have already mentioned it, but a short while ago I bought a flute. Not a new flute, just a second hand one, but from a reliable source. I dug out a fingering chart from Google and started making peculiar sounds! Maybe that was because I am in a peculiar situation - I'm pretty well versed in theory of music, can read stave notation (although I shall have a few problems with the leger line notes when I get to them) and basically have all the background knowledge.
I studied recorder for quite a while, taking graded exams in both descant and treble as well as teaching up to grade 5. And that's proving to be a frustration as the fingering is so similar but not exactly the same and I keep forgetting. Aaaarrrgghhhhh! I think my muscle memory is getting old!
I'm practising scales like billy-oh and also playing familiar tunes rather badly from memory so I can learn the fingerings. I'm even occasionally managing to get the higher G without hearing the lower octave at the same time. I gather, from a friend, that having given birth will help me to support those higher notes because the 'push' is quite similar! She said . . .
However, I have decided I need something more so I've just bought a tuition book on Amazon that was highly rated and which people said was great for adult learners.
In the meanwhile until it arrives I will continue with jingle bells, twinkle twinkle, Annie's song and the like!!
Poor neighbours!
Today I need to do some housework which shouldn't take too long but is necessary. I need to bake too as a friend is coming over for coffee tomorrow morning. There's also carrying on with the freezer.
I keep getting these strange urges. I've mentioned it before but because it is half term I MUST catch up with everything - sort the freezer, tidy the shed, sort out all the cupboards, deal with the garden, etc, etc, etc. It's been the same for years and years but really it is only now that I fully realise quite how much of a rush and a panic half terms were. I still feel the panic and have to keep telling myself I can do it next week or the week after or whatever.
I guess it will get better in time!
Have a good day!
 |
| Hyde Hall 27-10-15 |
Despite the rain, yesterday ended up rather pleasant with sun most of the afternoon. Today it has started off dull and dry but rain is forecast. We will see.
I managed to get together the motivation to sort out the smaller freezer at last. Oh, it was such a mess. I'm afraid I needed to discard some extremely old and battered stuff, an act which made me feel both guilty and relieved at the same time. This morning I need to tackle the chest freezer which will take considerable more time and effort but once that's done I am hoping I can move the stuff from the other freezer into the chest freezer and then defrost it. Then perhaps I can bring back some organisation, not to mention making a list of what's in the chest freezer.
I'm not sure if I have already mentioned it, but a short while ago I bought a flute. Not a new flute, just a second hand one, but from a reliable source. I dug out a fingering chart from Google and started making peculiar sounds! Maybe that was because I am in a peculiar situation - I'm pretty well versed in theory of music, can read stave notation (although I shall have a few problems with the leger line notes when I get to them) and basically have all the background knowledge.
I studied recorder for quite a while, taking graded exams in both descant and treble as well as teaching up to grade 5. And that's proving to be a frustration as the fingering is so similar but not exactly the same and I keep forgetting. Aaaarrrgghhhhh! I think my muscle memory is getting old!
I'm practising scales like billy-oh and also playing familiar tunes rather badly from memory so I can learn the fingerings. I'm even occasionally managing to get the higher G without hearing the lower octave at the same time. I gather, from a friend, that having given birth will help me to support those higher notes because the 'push' is quite similar! She said . . .
However, I have decided I need something more so I've just bought a tuition book on Amazon that was highly rated and which people said was great for adult learners.
In the meanwhile until it arrives I will continue with jingle bells, twinkle twinkle, Annie's song and the like!!
Poor neighbours!
Today I need to do some housework which shouldn't take too long but is necessary. I need to bake too as a friend is coming over for coffee tomorrow morning. There's also carrying on with the freezer.
I keep getting these strange urges. I've mentioned it before but because it is half term I MUST catch up with everything - sort the freezer, tidy the shed, sort out all the cupboards, deal with the garden, etc, etc, etc. It's been the same for years and years but really it is only now that I fully realise quite how much of a rush and a panic half terms were. I still feel the panic and have to keep telling myself I can do it next week or the week after or whatever.
I guess it will get better in time!
Have a good day!
Wednesday, 28 October 2015
Wednesday
Welcome to Wednesday. Wet, dark (well, it would be at this time of day) Wednesday. It's obviously been raining for a while and still is. What a change from the last two days.
Yesterday was a glorious Autumn day filled with sun (once he decided to put his hat on, come out and play) and drifting leaves. I love this time of year when, for no reason, a shower of leaves flutter down around you, like snowflakes but warmer, leaving behind them on their twig a promise for next spring.
I did mean to get dressed early but ended up lazy with the justification that it would normally be my working day so I was entitled to take things easy. Ha!!! I managed to get the pigs in blankets made and into the freezer and I nicked a few slices of bacon for my breakfast. It was going to have a bacon sandwich but there was some quiche mixture left over from Monday so I added some flour to it and fried dollops in the bacon fat to make mini pancakes - very nice they were too!
I have long promised myself a day at Hyde Hall on a sunny Autumn day but, somehow, all half terms so far have been packed with Things I Had To Do or raining! That's the nature of half terms - they are called holidays but, in reality, you work harder than usual, just on different things. Assessments and planning take a fair chunk of the time, plus all the usual 'must do' things, family visits and a goodly chunk of Christmas planning.
So yesterday was the day my long held wish was fulfilled and I was delighted to have a friend with me to share. Nicer than going by oneself.
When we got there I was surprised that the car park was chockablock full and the overflow park was open - not that it affected us as we were able to park in the disability parking area (legally!!!) which is close to the cafe and shop. We had lunch first and the soup was sweet potato and red pepper. Absolutely delicious. You also get a hunk of beautifully fresh bread, white or something else, and yesterday the something else was walnut bread. MUST make some, it was wonderful.
After that we headed off up the hill and started exploring. J is as bad as I am at continually taking photos so it was stop, start, stop, start which suits me down to the ground! It was glorious. The sun set the autumnal leaves ablaze with rich, glorious colour and I am hoping I will have a few good photographs from the rather-a-lot I snapped. We chatted, explored and admired, visited the vegetable garden which had an amazing squash, gourd and pumpkin display (and which has been changed somewhat which is why it was closed last time I visited, I guess), meandered down to the lake and then headed back to the car in order to get past the Army and Navy roundabout before the rush hour started. And all the while the sun smiled on us apart from one very short spell when he sulked behind a cloud.
I slept well last night!
By the way, it was very busy because they had specials for children all through the week. Art sessions, woodland walks, the pumpkin patch, etc. Good for them. The children were all, without exception, great. They politely made way for J's wheelchair when necessary and noticed when we were taking photos so stopped so as to keep out of the way, they were noisy but not raucous, they were friendly and were quite obviously having the time of their lives. Fantastic.
Today, amazingly, I have absolutely nothing on my calendar. I might have gone down to the allotment for a short while but not in the rain, being a fair weather gardener! I will probably do some Christmas meal and shopping list planning, sort out the freezers (long overdue), make some bread and - er - well, whatever grabs me at the time. How lovely!
Yesterday I asked for advice on quiche ratios - meaning what ratio of eggs to milk/cream is the best. Different recipes have different suggestions/instructions and, assuming they all work, I am starting to conclude that actually, withing a fairly broad framework, it probably doesn't matter all that much. However, I want something that I can remember easily. One recipe suggested 3 eggs to half a pint while another said 2 eggs to 300 mls. Another suggested a 1:2 ratio in weight but neglected to say whether the eggs were shelled or unshelled and what size they were and that does make a difference! I shall continue exploring and see if I can come to a general sort of conclusion.
I find my bread recipe so easy to remember and the all in one cake recipe I use is great - weigh the eggs in their shells and add the same weight of flour, sugar and butter/marg. Easy peasy! Something like that's what I was wanting really. Any ideas?
Today's food:
Breakfast: toast and marmalade
Lunch: corn chowder, bread and butter
Dinner: Jacket potato with cheese, salad, ham, apple
 |
| Borrowed from Google Images |
I did mean to get dressed early but ended up lazy with the justification that it would normally be my working day so I was entitled to take things easy. Ha!!! I managed to get the pigs in blankets made and into the freezer and I nicked a few slices of bacon for my breakfast. It was going to have a bacon sandwich but there was some quiche mixture left over from Monday so I added some flour to it and fried dollops in the bacon fat to make mini pancakes - very nice they were too!
I have long promised myself a day at Hyde Hall on a sunny Autumn day but, somehow, all half terms so far have been packed with Things I Had To Do or raining! That's the nature of half terms - they are called holidays but, in reality, you work harder than usual, just on different things. Assessments and planning take a fair chunk of the time, plus all the usual 'must do' things, family visits and a goodly chunk of Christmas planning.
So yesterday was the day my long held wish was fulfilled and I was delighted to have a friend with me to share. Nicer than going by oneself.
When we got there I was surprised that the car park was chockablock full and the overflow park was open - not that it affected us as we were able to park in the disability parking area (legally!!!) which is close to the cafe and shop. We had lunch first and the soup was sweet potato and red pepper. Absolutely delicious. You also get a hunk of beautifully fresh bread, white or something else, and yesterday the something else was walnut bread. MUST make some, it was wonderful.
After that we headed off up the hill and started exploring. J is as bad as I am at continually taking photos so it was stop, start, stop, start which suits me down to the ground! It was glorious. The sun set the autumnal leaves ablaze with rich, glorious colour and I am hoping I will have a few good photographs from the rather-a-lot I snapped. We chatted, explored and admired, visited the vegetable garden which had an amazing squash, gourd and pumpkin display (and which has been changed somewhat which is why it was closed last time I visited, I guess), meandered down to the lake and then headed back to the car in order to get past the Army and Navy roundabout before the rush hour started. And all the while the sun smiled on us apart from one very short spell when he sulked behind a cloud.
I slept well last night!
By the way, it was very busy because they had specials for children all through the week. Art sessions, woodland walks, the pumpkin patch, etc. Good for them. The children were all, without exception, great. They politely made way for J's wheelchair when necessary and noticed when we were taking photos so stopped so as to keep out of the way, they were noisy but not raucous, they were friendly and were quite obviously having the time of their lives. Fantastic.
Today, amazingly, I have absolutely nothing on my calendar. I might have gone down to the allotment for a short while but not in the rain, being a fair weather gardener! I will probably do some Christmas meal and shopping list planning, sort out the freezers (long overdue), make some bread and - er - well, whatever grabs me at the time. How lovely!
Yesterday I asked for advice on quiche ratios - meaning what ratio of eggs to milk/cream is the best. Different recipes have different suggestions/instructions and, assuming they all work, I am starting to conclude that actually, withing a fairly broad framework, it probably doesn't matter all that much. However, I want something that I can remember easily. One recipe suggested 3 eggs to half a pint while another said 2 eggs to 300 mls. Another suggested a 1:2 ratio in weight but neglected to say whether the eggs were shelled or unshelled and what size they were and that does make a difference! I shall continue exploring and see if I can come to a general sort of conclusion.
I find my bread recipe so easy to remember and the all in one cake recipe I use is great - weigh the eggs in their shells and add the same weight of flour, sugar and butter/marg. Easy peasy! Something like that's what I was wanting really. Any ideas?
Today's food:
Breakfast: toast and marmalade
Lunch: corn chowder, bread and butter
Dinner: Jacket potato with cheese, salad, ham, apple
Tuesday, 27 October 2015
Help, please.
 |
| Borrowed from Google Images. |
One site says 3 eggs to half a pint (or 185mls, I think) of milk while another says 2 eggs to 300 mls milk.
I suspect there is no standard answer but what do my readers use (if you make quiche)?
Tuesday
Good morning, gentle readers. Wasn't it lovely weather yesterday? Wall to wall sunshine apart from one half hour when it turned black and threatening and we could see the rain in the distance, falling like a black shadow from the clouds. However, somehow, it never reached us and the sun returned to brighten up the rest of the day.
It was a shame that I was too busy to fuss about hanging out washing because it was a perfect drying day. By the time everything had settled down again there was no point - it would never have dried in the time. By just after five I was drawing the curtains to shut out the approaching dusk.
The morning was a busy time. I made the bread and popped round to school to deliver it. I made the pastry case for the quiche and it looked OK. I made seven mince pies with what was left from the pastry, two of which have gone the way of all mince pies and five of which are now safely in the freezer! I made salad, baked jacket potatoes and finished off the quiche which, sadly, had a leak. Luckily it was somewhere near the top so we ended up with a perfectly acceptable quiche which actually tasted really good.
As I said to Beth, I must do more pastry things. It is perfectly ridiculous that I'm so nervous of the stuff and practise might make perfect. Therefore, I feel that another quiche may be heading this way soon. As long as I have a few veg to add to it, it's a meal in itself really.
All in all, it was a very tasty dinner. There was stuff left over but not loads. Beth took much of it with her to feed the teenager so it all worked out really well.
Today I have to tidy the kitchen a bit more and then Julia and I are off to see an autumnal Hyde Hall as the weather looks to be lovely again. Must remember to take my camera with me!
Food today:
Breakfast: Bacon sandwich - definitely bacon! Has to be bacon today!.
Lunch: Soup at Hyde Hall
Dinner: steak with a mushroom sauce, fries and tomatoes
But first - coffee.
It was a shame that I was too busy to fuss about hanging out washing because it was a perfect drying day. By the time everything had settled down again there was no point - it would never have dried in the time. By just after five I was drawing the curtains to shut out the approaching dusk.
The morning was a busy time. I made the bread and popped round to school to deliver it. I made the pastry case for the quiche and it looked OK. I made seven mince pies with what was left from the pastry, two of which have gone the way of all mince pies and five of which are now safely in the freezer! I made salad, baked jacket potatoes and finished off the quiche which, sadly, had a leak. Luckily it was somewhere near the top so we ended up with a perfectly acceptable quiche which actually tasted really good.
As I said to Beth, I must do more pastry things. It is perfectly ridiculous that I'm so nervous of the stuff and practise might make perfect. Therefore, I feel that another quiche may be heading this way soon. As long as I have a few veg to add to it, it's a meal in itself really.
All in all, it was a very tasty dinner. There was stuff left over but not loads. Beth took much of it with her to feed the teenager so it all worked out really well.
Today I have to tidy the kitchen a bit more and then Julia and I are off to see an autumnal Hyde Hall as the weather looks to be lovely again. Must remember to take my camera with me!
Food today:
Breakfast: Bacon sandwich - definitely bacon! Has to be bacon today!.
Lunch: Soup at Hyde Hall
Dinner: steak with a mushroom sauce, fries and tomatoes
But first - coffee.
Monday, 26 October 2015
Monday
. . . and the proper start of half term, given that weekends happen every week, school break or no school break.
And a very special day it is too. Beth's birthday. Born at 6:20 a.m. after an 'interesting' night. Happy birthday, my dear. I won't let my blogging world know your age!
Yesterday Alex was here and I made pizza for lunch. I have to say it was very good indeed. I still have some pizza dough in the fridge so I may make another, smaller one for tea tonight or, perhaps, freeze it, given that there's likely to be leftovers from lunch.
Yesterday was the kind of day that had a lot of content but in bits and bobs so I was upping and downing, inning and outing quite a lot. The sun shone so washing went on the line! I was jolly tired come late afternoon because of the very early start, I suppose, so I had a snooze which helped a lot.
Because it is Beth's birthday, I am doing a birthday lunch. I'm doing things I know she loves so it's quiche, jacket potatoes, a small salad and coleslaw with ham for Alex followed by Autumnal spiced plums which are really gorgeous. I have the recipe in my other blog so here's a link
As well, I am making bread for one of my customers over half term week. That's rising nicely and will soon be ready for shaping and proving. The other customer is deferring this week as there's no way to get in touch, it being half term.
So, right now, the pastry for the quiche is blind baking and the bread dough is rising. When the pastry is done I will do the plums. Then there's the rest to prepare ahead of time - make the salad, prep the spuds, etc. Nothing hard, it just takes time.
Later on I will pop down to the local party shop to get a few pretties to liven up the table.
Ah, well, there's nothing like keeping busy, is there?
I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Much as I love cooking and baking, as you can tell from this blog, I am useless at pastry, I really am. Always have been. I dread it and avoid it whenever possible. I know it is supposed to be easy but . . .
I am trialling my newly acquired perforated quiche dish which is supposed to stop soggy bottoms. I hope so!
Anyway, Thermione has been used and at least it's not the star of the dish, the eggs and cream are the stars! There's some trimmings left over so, in my frugal mind I am thinking cheese straws, mince pies, jam tarts, whatever. For now it will go in the fridge!
Have a good day, wherever you are and whatever you are doing. May your sun shine for you!
And a very special day it is too. Beth's birthday. Born at 6:20 a.m. after an 'interesting' night. Happy birthday, my dear. I won't let my blogging world know your age!
 |
| Happy Birthday, Beth! |
Yesterday Alex was here and I made pizza for lunch. I have to say it was very good indeed. I still have some pizza dough in the fridge so I may make another, smaller one for tea tonight or, perhaps, freeze it, given that there's likely to be leftovers from lunch.
Yesterday was the kind of day that had a lot of content but in bits and bobs so I was upping and downing, inning and outing quite a lot. The sun shone so washing went on the line! I was jolly tired come late afternoon because of the very early start, I suppose, so I had a snooze which helped a lot.
Because it is Beth's birthday, I am doing a birthday lunch. I'm doing things I know she loves so it's quiche, jacket potatoes, a small salad and coleslaw with ham for Alex followed by Autumnal spiced plums which are really gorgeous. I have the recipe in my other blog so here's a link
As well, I am making bread for one of my customers over half term week. That's rising nicely and will soon be ready for shaping and proving. The other customer is deferring this week as there's no way to get in touch, it being half term.
So, right now, the pastry for the quiche is blind baking and the bread dough is rising. When the pastry is done I will do the plums. Then there's the rest to prepare ahead of time - make the salad, prep the spuds, etc. Nothing hard, it just takes time.
Later on I will pop down to the local party shop to get a few pretties to liven up the table.
Ah, well, there's nothing like keeping busy, is there?
I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Much as I love cooking and baking, as you can tell from this blog, I am useless at pastry, I really am. Always have been. I dread it and avoid it whenever possible. I know it is supposed to be easy but . . .
I am trialling my newly acquired perforated quiche dish which is supposed to stop soggy bottoms. I hope so!
Anyway, Thermione has been used and at least it's not the star of the dish, the eggs and cream are the stars! There's some trimmings left over so, in my frugal mind I am thinking cheese straws, mince pies, jam tarts, whatever. For now it will go in the fridge!
Have a good day, wherever you are and whatever you are doing. May your sun shine for you!
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