Monday

Morning, everyone. It looks as if it's going to be another nice day today and look what I've just picked . . . 

Looking at this just fills me with joy.  I didn't arrange them or anything, it's just how they went in the bowl as I picked them.  Now they're on the window ledge until I use them.

There are runners and chillies ready too - I will collect them later.

I also have Beth's sourdough on the make after the leaven did its duty overnight.  

I took the yeast loaf over to Beth yesterday and we had a good old chat.  Apart from that, I just chilled - I did a bit of housework but at some point in the next few days I need to get my act together and my home back in order again.

Today - fingers crossed - my car is being picked up for the MOT and service.  When that's gone, I'm getting the bus into town to ask  Franklin's about giving Mum's sewing machine a service.  I will take their advice on it so fingers crossed.  

What are you doing today?  xx

Sunday

Good morning, everyone.  Sunny Sunday greetings to you - I hope.  It's just getting light right now.  It is really noticeable that the days are slowly getting shorter again now and the nights longer, especially for us early risers.

This is where David took me for lunch.  A nice little pub called the Butcher's Arms, out in the country north of town.

https://butchersarms-essex.co.uk/

 

It has a lovely seating area outside.

Ye Olde, (not necessarily) authentic stocks . . .

and a nice view over the countryside.

I had a lovely time.  Thanks, David.

It was such a lovely, warm, sunny day without a hint of humidity (as far as I could tell) and the insects were buzzing around busily pollinating the tomatoes, cucumbers and runner beans.  I realised that, while they are busy producing lovely food for me, I missed their weekly feed last weekend so I set to and now they are fed again.  I do want them to keep producing for as long as possible so it's only fair that I feed them.

Talking about producing, I had a great big bowl of tomatoes so I've had a go at dehydrating some using some of them and the relevant function in Nellie the Ninja.  It was simple - halve the tomatoes, add a bit of salt, a bit of pepper, a bit of dried Italian herbs and a splash of olive oil, lay cut side up on the three small drying racks and gave them six hours at 70C.  The top two layers were done; the bottom layer had another hour and I left them in overnight because I wanted to go to bed.  They're now squashed into this jar and covered with extra virgin olive oil supplementing the oil that was left in the commercial jar - waste now!

They're very small because my tomatoes are small and they really are super delicious.  I have some larger ones coming along and I'll have another go with them in a few weeks.  

I feel a Mediterranean salad coming along - salad veg, feta, olives, sundried tomatoes and a dressing of balsamic vinegar - oh, yum!  Not today though, today is already planned!

I don't have enough chillies yet but, in fact, they are slowly dehydrating on the window ledge so it might not be necessary.

I've just popped a loaf into Thermione - well, the dough ingredients anyway.  I'm making a yeasted loaf for Beth and starting her a sourdough too.  She can have the loaf today and I'll take the sourdough effort over on Tuesday.
I think I have someone else to bake for - David said he likes wholemeal sourdough (he's a SW member too, so it has to be wholemeal) so I will bake him one as a thank you.  Not for next Friday but for the following one.

The whole of August looks like being one easy day after another and today is no exception.  I will do a bit of crafting and spend some time in the kitchen, watch some telly, read, enjoy the sunshine (bit of positive thinking there but the forecast is good), pick tomatoes, pick runner beans and generally be thoroughly lazy chilled.

Have a lovely day too, everyone.  Stay hydrated, sun blocked and cool.  See you tomorrow.  xx

Saturday

Morning, everyone.  Saturday has landed and I feel so much more energetic than I have for a few weeks.  It's a great feeling.

This is a bit late because first I . . .

made some pizza bases, just mini wholemeal ones, now in the freezer

washed the lest of the blueberries and got them into the freezer for jam at some point - maybe

sorted out the mess in the kitchen

sorted out the cooked kidney beans, also now in the freezer

set some chickpeas to soak so I can cook them overnight

sorted out my yarny mess around my chair.  It's all still there, just neater.

sorted out the sewing table - ditto

picked some tomatoes

did a stack of ironing and put it all away

had a bath and got dressed . . .

So here I am writing this late but better than not at all.

Yesterday was another pretty quiet day.  I did my SW duties and then went to Morrisons for what looked like a smallish shop.  Yes, it was small but ouch.  I'm sure if I'd gone to Aldi or Lidl it would have been cheaper but I was so tired.

Once home, I just pottered with my crafts.  I crocheted and I sewed.  I had a parcel.  Chris gave me some windfall; apples and lent me a dress that I want to see if I can make a pattern from.  I must to that this weekend.  And I had two good sleeps and a fairly early night.  It really was a nice day.

Today I am being taken out for lunch.  It's a very late birthday present.  Isn't that nice.

Once that's done, I will just chill (again) because . . . I can!

Wat are you doing this weekend - tell me in the comments?  😊

 See you tomorrow.  xx

Friday

Morning, everyone.  Friday has landed and it looks like being a warm, fine day.  Yesterday felt quite muggy and was very dull - not so pleasant really.

I had a lovely time with Chris.  We went to a nice pub in Writtle and both had small plate Caesar salads.  I wish more places had smaller plate options, it's so much more manageable.  We also talked an awful lot as we always do.

Yesterday's pickings plus the last of the blueberries and a few raspberries.  That curly thing is a poor little cucumber than curled itself round the support and ended up the definition of 'head up its own a**e'.  It was going nowhere so I pulled it off; there's three more on the way anyway.

After a good Slim Win chat, I went to bed, fell asleep soon enough but woke at three and have been awake ever since,  Urgh.  I could quite easily to back to bed now except that it's Slimming World.  Maybe I will have a snooze later on, I'll see how it goes.

After three coach trips close together (Brighton, Rye, Evita), I now have a couple of months without one.  The next one (assuming it happens) is to the Knit and Stitch show at the Alexandra Palace in October.

I'm happy with that - sometimes one just wants a quieter life for a while.

Yesterday I also got round to updating my finances, something I should have done at the start of the month.  Last month was more than a bit spendy so I'm on a restricted budget for August which is quite spendy enough anyway with both the car and boiler services scheduled for next week.  😟

Have a great Friday, all.  Stay cool and remember that water bottle.  Bye.  xx

My tomato and roasted red pepper sauce

One of you lovely readers got in touch with me to ask about the tomato and roasted red pepper sauce I made the other day so here is the basic recipe.  I didn't weigh or measure, I just used my common sense really and it's really very simple.

So - for Rachel and anyone else interested . . .

Tomato and roasted red pepper pasta/pizza sauce or How To Use Up A Glut Of Tomatoes

Ingredients:

one smallish red onion, chopped

spray oil

garlic - granules, puree, paste, fresh - whatever you have

fresh tomatoes halved (or you can use canned, the flavour will be different but it will still be a nice sauce)

one large roasted red pepper from a jar cut into chunks or roast your own - I think the roasted flavour makes a difference

one or two tbsps red wine vinegar - or red wine, if you have some - I didn't and the vinegar was fine

a couple of sundried tomatoes in oil (from a jar), sliced

seasonings - I used a very little salt, black pepper and dried mixed Italian herbs

a tbsp oil from the roasted tomato jar or use evoo

Method:

Fry the chopped tomatoes in the spray oil until they are softening and just starting to colour.  Add the garlic towards the end.

Add the tomatoes, red pepper, sundried tomatoes, red wine vinegar, herbs and seasonings.  Bring up to a simmer, cover and allow to bubble gently until everything is soft and a bit mushy.  Add a bit of water if needed.  The tomatoes do release a fair bit of liquid once they are hot.

Let it all cool a bit and then pour into a blender with the tomatoey oil.  Give it all a really good blend until totally smooth.  If there are any woody 'sawdust' left, push the sauce through a sieve which will sort that out.

Adding the oil helps the sauce to sort of emulsify and it definitely adds to both taste and texture.

I don't add any more seasoning before freezing because it's a base sauce and you can add whatever you fancy.  I froze it in small pots as it is very thick and I cook for one so don't need larger amounts..

Here is how I made it using Thermione.  I guess it could also be made in a soup maker.

Thermomix method.

I softened the onion on 110, four minutes, speed 1, adding the garlic after three minutes.

I simmered for 25 mins, 100, speed 1, measuring cup off and simmering basket on top

I blended for three minutes, MC on, of course.

(I'm going to post this on t'other blog too).

Thursday and Evita

Good morning, everyone.  I'm a bit late to the blog this morning because I'm not that long up.  By the time I got home yesterday, sorted things, brushed teeth, etc, and settled my brain, it was today so I have slept in and feel thankful that I can!

It was quite an easy journey into London - plenty of traffic, of course, but that's the joy of a coach!

We were dropped off really close to the Palladium on Regent's Street so half a minute's walk away.

I walked to the theatre just to orient myself, and then walked another minute or so down to the wonderful Liberty's with a frontage you just can't ignore and a very interesting history.  In fact, here's a couple of YouTube clips in case you are interested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb6yRH8bOIU

https://www.facebook.com/reel/824410546331429

It's very 'quirky' and very, very expensive but so interesting to look round and within the hugeness it has quite an intimate feel with those wooden stairs and the carvings.

There's a 'thing' called The Patchwork Collective that was really quite stunning - my photos don't do it justice so here's link to what it's about.  

https://www.libertylondon.com/uk/features/the-patchwork-collective.html

I will copy one bit from the link:

To celebrate our 150th anniversary in 2025, we are bringing this history to life. Over the course of three months, our network of artisans, makers, designers and visionaries, collaborated from across the globe to create a new, collective artwork. The resulting creation, a supersized patchwork house on display at Liberty from May to July, is comprised of over 1,000 individual pieces – each carefully created by our community of crafters.

Had I realised it will close soon, I would have looked for longer - it really was quite stunning!

I also had a wonderful time looking round the  - you've guessed it - haberdashery department.  Oh, those fabrics, those colours and patterns.  However, starting at nearly £30 for a metre of cotton lawn (superfine quality but . . .) and zooming up to over £100 for silks (so gorgeous to feel), any temptation was muted.
If I ever have a spare five hundred or so . . . maybe.  If . . .

If I hadn't been going on to a show, I might have indulged in a pasta bowl that was patterned with all sorts of different tomatoes and was around £25 - expensive but not as bad as the fabric.  I didn't though and I don't need another bowl  anyway so all's well.

I enjoyed my little trip - but, oh, those fabrics!!

It was time to make my way to the theatre.  It's very big, very ornate and there's not a lot of leg room - were people genuinely that much shorter at the start of the 1900s?

Anyway, as is my way, here's some info links:

https://lwtheatres.co.uk/theatres/the-london-palladium/about-the-london-palladium/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwqEeMmgGwo

Evita was absolutely amazing.  No photos of filming allowed, of course, but wow.

It started as a concept album before moving on to the West End and you can see that in this staging.  It was sort of like a concert performance thing but with lots of brilliant dancing and acting and some very clever staging and production as one would expect from anything Lloyd Webber is involved in.

It's described as a rock opera and I would definitely class it as opera - modern opera and very accessible in style, just as classic opera was in its day.

And - last link (for now) - here's the plot.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evita_(musical)

AND - I got my rather more expensive than usual fridge magnet!  Yay.

It was a long journey home with some very slow moving traffic due to lane closures but, again, coach travel . . . can't knock it.

So I was home, in bed and turning out the light at one and I don't remember much more until about half eight this morning.  What an amazing trip!

Very briefly, today Chris and I are off out for lunch - a very belated joint birthday thing but nothing lavish, just a local pub that does small plate meals.

In the evening it's the Thursday online Slim Win group chat.
Between the two, I will potter.

But right now I need to bath, get dressed and sort out the kitchen - it's not bad, it jut needs a bit of a tidy.

Have a lovely Thursday, one and all.  xx

Wednesday

Morning, peoples all.  How are you all this fine, sunny Wednesday morning?  

Yesterday was a really pleasant day.  I made red onion chutney in Thermione because I'd finished off the last lot and also because the red onions I bought only last week were 'going'.  

First thing I did was pop into town on the bus (just missing one bus so had to wait for the next) and now I have my patterns at home.  

I was also delighted to realise that the lovely spice stall in the market hasn't closed at all.  Why couldn't I find it last time?  Weird.  Anyway, it is alive and kicking with a short queue of people waiting to be served (always a good sign) and I got some dried black beans - I've been looking for them for ages.  Maybe I will soak them and slow cook them today.

I got going with the  sewing after a slow start.  Brought the machine down, couldn't remember got to thread it, couldn't find the bobbin case . . . etc, etc.  However, I got started in the end and I have to say those Sewing Bee people have my deepest admiration for the way the get stuff done so very quickly.  It took me AGES but I now know that as long as I cut the neck a bit lower (not that low, but it's quite a high round neck on the pattern) I will not need a back opening; it will go over my head fine and, as it is a high and loose waist, that's not an issue.

Size twelve is slightly too big but size ten will be slightly too small - I can adjust (I hope).

My sewing machine is Mum's old one.  In its time, it was top range and Mum even went on a weekend course to learn how to use it.  Now it must be coming up for forty years old so is very retro and rather rattly.  I think I might go back into Franklins later this week or next week, with the manual, and ask if they could give it a good service.  It needs a clean and a re-oiling, for a start, and I don't feel that confident.

And I will take their advice about its future.  I do have another very cheap machine that does the basics fine.  

It's been a while since I inflicted garden photos on you so . . .

I did not intend buying beef tomatoes - you don't get many and they can be very woody inside.  Perhaps it was mis-labelled.

Anyway, I do have one and do you have any ideas as to what I can do with enormous tomatoes like that?
I need to Google.

Not the best photo but they are coming on well, my runner beans, and I am now planning them into my meals.  So delicious.

It won't be long before I am freezing some, I hope.

Autumn fruiting raspberries?  Well, it is August so not so far away now.   This cane is so heavily laden, it was drooping onto the ground so I've caned it up now. 

I think I had better start cutting the chillies.  Another think I need to find a recipe for - sweet chilli sauce, anyone?
Actually, they freeze whole perfectly well and I'm going to try dehydrating some to make chilli flakes - I use chilli flakes quite a lot.

On to today and this is quite late because I've been busy in the kitchen.

The chutney looked just a bit too runny after cooling and sitting overnight so I gave it another boil up and it's much better now.

After looking pensively at my two bowls of tomatoes (every time I go to the shed, I come in with another handful), I set Thermione to making a tomato and red pepper sauce that will do really well for pasta or for pizza or as part of a bbq sauce or in a curry or - oh, it's just very useful.
Now there's six portions in pots, cooling before going into the freezer.

And I have made corned beef patties for my lunch.

It's going to be another gentle sewing day until mid afternoon when I pack up, sort myself out and then I'm off the the big city with a coachload to see Evita.  I think it's at the London Palladium.  It is a restaging and, I gather, different to the original but that's OK, it will be good anyway because it is West End and it is a Rice/Lloyd Webber creation.  The music will be the same and it's the music I want most.

So tomorrow might be a bit late too - it depends how tired I am and how well I sleep after something like that.

Right, well, it is nearly ten and I am still in my bed things so it's time to go up, bath, get dressed and start the day, hadn't I?
Hope you are all well and have nice things planned.
Take care and all the best.  xx