18-05-25

Morning, everyone, and welcome to a rather dull Sunday morning here in mid-Essex.  It doesn't feel particularly cold though, so that's OK.

I didn't get to the Nursery yesterday so that's first on the list for today.  I did get over to Beth's though.  She has my old Thermomix 5, wants to start using it but was having some issues when she first got it from me a number of years ago now, so she just put it away.
It's working fine but the Cook Key, which starts up OK (green light shows), doesn't do what it is supposed to do which is to connect the Thermomix to Cookidoo, the online recipe portal.  While not being essential (the other recipe book chips work fine so it's not the actual connection), it is annoying that it doesn't work.  I've looked up a few things and will go over again this afternoon to try them out and if they don't sort it out, it's not a major issue, it just bugs me!  :-)

I am very glad my Thermione (version 6) doesn't faff around with Cook Keys, recipe book chips, etc!

While I was there, Alex started making some bean and veg tomato sauce like we did on Friday and it smelled amazing.  Well done, Al.  And he was using a super Ingenio pot that I now covet mightily!

The other news is that the 80% wholemeal flours loaf, while taking as long as the usual sourdough even with that bit of commercial yeast, turned out a very nice loaf.  It rose well but I didn't get the big oven spring but then I never do.  Something to ask about when I go on that course in a fortnight.  It has a lovely sourdough flavour too.  I'm happy with it.
It was supposed to be for Beth but there might not be a whole loaf in the bag now.  Ooops!  Oh, well, a good excuse to start another one and try it in a loaf tin rather than banneton shaped, don't you think?  

Today, I am definitely off to the nursery, then I will be planting the tomatoes out, sowing those runner beans, etc, and this afternoon I will be round Beth's again to see if I can sort out the Cook Key.  If not, no worries, it's not a disaster, but I'll give it another go.  She could get another one but they aren't cheap and not necessary, just as nice extra.

Time to get going then.  Feed the starters first thing, have my bath and get dressed and then the day starts.
Hope yours is a good one.  Happy Sunday, all.  xx

17-05-25

Good morning, everybody.  Welcome to Saturday.  After sunshine yesterday, it's back to being dull and dreary but not to worry, the sun will be back soon, I am sure.

I was so proud of Alex yesterday.  He did really well with making a bean and veg pasta lunch, coping well with the pressure.
I don't find cooking pressured, obviously, but it can be when you're learning.  Alex can and does cook but he needs some ideas for cooking heart healthy meals for Beth now when she has been diagnosed with type two diabetes and really does have to sort things out and get more healthy.

They take it in turns to cook meals and Alex asked for help with more healthy stuff, realising that shoving a pizza in the oven doesn't wing it really!

I am so glad I started eating the Mediterranean way last year as it's the perfect way to go and there's so many resources and sources of information around.

The above was my portion with some cheese on top and to the side is what Alex had - a slightly bigger portion with added chicken.

Beth is veggie and he isn't so we need to work on vegetarian recipes that can be adapted for him.

He went home with four portions for their freezer and wants to come again to learn another recipe.  I now have to get this one typed out for him although I am sure he will remember it.

So - very successful!

In other news, I started the much more wholemeal sourdough loaf.  I used 50g activated starter as usual and just added a pinch of dried yeast as well.  I had to shove it in the fridge overnight to stop the bulk fermentation because it was rising very nicely indeed.  Now, it is sitting on the side coming back to room temperature before I continue.  It's a nice dough, not heavy or stodgy so - so far, so good.  Fingers crossed.

Today, I am dithering about whether to go to Grenville's Nursery this morning or tomorrow.  I'll see how quickly I can get ready - they may have extended now but when I went in past years, there was limited car parking space and it does have plenty of customers.  Maybe they have extended the parking now, I will see when I go.
It's a proper nursery, not a garden centre, no cafe/shop/stuff like that but their plants are great and very reasonable indeed.  It is off the beaten track too so not somewhere to just pop to and visit really.

I've started working out a recipe for stuffed peppers - I've made some for tonight's dinner, it just needs reheating, and maybe that can be the next recipe to try with Alex.  We will see.

Better go - real life calls and, if I am getting to the nursery today, I need to start getting ready.  Thanks, everyone, and have a lovely day.  xx

16-05-25

Good morning again, everyone.    It felt a bit chilly yesterday and it's feeling the same again this morning so we're back to cold fingers again.  Brrr.  It might be a bit sunnier though - yesterday we had no sun until early evening.  If we'd had rain it would have been good but no such luck.

This is so much better now.  I can see where those gaps are.

Everything is definitely migrating towards the left hand side, the side facing the morning sunshine.  Now I know where I need to provide more somethings.  I will take a look when I go to Grenville's and maybe take a trip to Longacres too.

The lavender is looking much healthier than it did a month ago and the dianthus is sending out buds - nice.  And I have three dahlias, two down the overpopulated end.  Plus those foxgloves.

Thank you, Wendy, for the advice re the irises.

Poor cyclamen.  There are bulbs in the pot too which didn't do terribly well this year so I decided to have them out (no idea why I didn't apply this to the irises too!).  When I started the soil was bone dry (ooops) and the bulbs so impacted it was hard to pull them out.  I now have a whole load of them drying out for replanting elsewhere come the autumn.  I mag fill a few pots with them so they can be moved about into corners that need some colour.

I am carefully watering the soil and I think it it properly hydrated now  The next thing is to feed the poor thing and hope for the best.

That is not a healthy looking flower, is it?

Mind you, some things seem to thrive on a bit of healthy neglect, don't they?  This sage was a poor, wizened old thing over winter and just look at it now, sending out healthy growth all over.  I'm going to dehydrate some using Nellie's dehydrate function, I think.

As for the rosemary - no photos - which was promising to take over the bed, that's now been severely chopped back.  I don't care if it is the wrong time, I have never managed to kill a rosemary yet.

I've decided I can't manage without runner beans so that's what I am sowing in the blankety bed this year.

There will be tomatoes at the end and then there's room for a short row of beans.  I can stand on the wall to harvest so that won't be a problem at all.

Today, Alex is coming over for a cookery lesson.  He want's to learn how to cook more than bunging a pizza in the oven or opening a can of beans.  Also, he wants to cook more healthy stuff so who better than his old Nan to show him.  We're doing cheesy pasta bake (hopefully) today.

I've fed Bubbles (my rye starter) and want to have a go at a more wholemeal loaf using activated starter and a pinch of commercial yeast (a sort of poolish thing).  My recipe is one fifth white and the rest is a mix of spelt, rye and wholemeal and it's really very nice indeed with a great flavour.  However, I think this mix would be too heavy for a sourdough starter on its own so let's give it a go.  It will end up as something, it won't be wasted and it might work really well.

As I discarded before feeding, I found I had loads of discard so some of that has become four crumpets.  Alex can take them home with him.

It's going to be a good day, I think.  Stay safe and be happy, everyone.  xx

15-05-25

Morning, everyone, and welcome to Thursday.

Where's the sun gone?  It looks almost like rain although I don't think any is forecast.  It's not going to feel particularly warm either, under 20C, but that's OK because I want to do some serious sorting out of my garden and that's much more pleasant when it is a bit cooler.

Yesterday and today have been times of disappointments.  Not great bit major ones, just a few little ones.

Dave and Anna have had to cancel Friday evening for very good reasons - isn't it lucky I didn't get any fresh special posh veg, just the frozen chargrilled veg?  That will keep.

Chris can't make our coffee and chat this morning - she messaged me this morning to say she needed to be with her mum who isn't feeling great.  Quite right too!

The last is my own decision.  I was going to the Civic this evening to see a local operatic society's performance of Carousel but I also got a message to say that the car park next door is closed.  Obviously, there are other car parks but none that I would feel completely safe walking back to later in the evening when it is dark, bearing in mind I would be on my own.  Nor would I want to take a late bus, assuming there is one, and taxis are too expensive nowadays.  So I made the decision to not go - a shame, but I have to go with my feelings here.

So I have a free day until early afternoon when I go to Lindsey's for Groove in the Garden (hopefully).  That will be nice; I love Groove.

And this is what I want to work on.  The middle bed, the flower bed.  All the bulbs have died back, as has the cyclamen, so that all needs clearing now.  Then I can see where/if I need to get anything to feel gaps.  

My irises didn't flower at all this year - they are very old so maybe they need replacing.  The foxgloves are doing well, I planted two bedding dahlias last year that are coming up nicely, the Japanese anemones look good and there are various other things showing.  The dianthus doesn't look great though - it's old so maybe I need to replace it.  I need something bedding-like for that pot with the single weed!

On Saturday I am going to Grenville's to get my tomatoes so I can get the pots organised and ready too.  Plenty to do, anyway.

Round the front, it's looking nice with the lily of the valley in full flower and the summer flowers growing nicely, despite the dryness.  Shame about the weeds between the slabs, isn't it.  Oh, well - back to ten minutes of scraping a day!!

Better go, have my bath, get dressed and get started.  

Wishing us all a happy and productive day.  xx

14-05-25

 Good morning, everyone.  It's another promising start to the day, the sun is emerging and it's nice and fresh.

Yesterday was a day of two halves - busy and then nice and chilled.

Chris and I walked down to Groove, chatting nineteen to the dozen.  As this block is a long one, eight weeks instead of the usual six, Lindsey had worked out what she called an 'interim playlist' with new sequences so it felt 'harder' (not the right word here) than usual.  Really good though.

I had breakfast early and then went a-shopping for Beth.  Without going into reasons, she is changing to a more Mediterranean was of eating, like me, and on Monday we worked out a shopping list which I worked through yesterday.  My table is looking remarkably healthy at the moment - nuts, seeds, avocado oil (she already has evoo), wholewheat stuff - fusilli, spaghetti, etc, quinoa, couscous . . .
You could almost see my halo as I pushed my trolley around!

I looked for my posh veg but it was a bit early - the fresh stuff has such a short life and the only remotely posh stuff was some frozen chargrilled Med veg which I got.  It gave me ideas though and I can easily knock up some mint buttered peas on Friday which will be fine.  So that's the veg sorted out.

I'm also going to help out by making freezer meals for her - for a start, she loved the lentil bake and I've started a batch of falafel (the chick peas are soaking).

It should keep me out of trouble!

Today is busy.  I have circuits (changed from Monday this week) first thing, personal training in the afternoon and an early evening Governors' meeting.  I'd like to start another loaf too as I know what I have given them won't last Beth and Alex all that long.  I want to try going proper wholemeal and add a pinch of commercial yeast to the starter, for a bit more rise.  I don't know whether it will work and it wont be authentic sourdough, of course, but worth a try.  So I had better get Bubbles activated, hadn't I?

So I will love you and leave you with hopes that we all have a very happy day today.  xx

13-05-25

Morning, all.  I'm having a very early start this morning - the sun isn't up yet and it will be nice to see everywhere get lighter and lighter.  I'm sure it must activate some hormone or other - it is so cheering!

I had a lovely time with Beth yesterday.  We enjoyed a lovely lunch (singing my own praises here!) and had a nice talk about this, that and the other!  She went home with a load of home made bread stuff - one and a half loaves, some crumpets and some bagels.  That's lightened the load in my freezer, for sure.  

The rest of the day was the usual stuff - housework, washing and ironing (all done now, yay!) and then some chilling in the sun with a book and my crochet.  Very pleasant.

Today, Chris and I will walk down to the hall for Groove.  That should be lovely in the sunshine.
Then I need to do a deep dive into all the governors' paperwork for tomorrow evening's meeting - not terribly exciting but it has to be done.  It will be nice not to have it hanging over me tomorrow, that's for sure.

I may pop over to M&S and Aldi at the Clock Tower precinct as I have some things to get for Beth and also I want to get some 'posh veg' for Friday evening - ready made sort of stuff which is naughty of me but nice and will save time and trouble too.  It's worth looking anyway.

Have a  great Tuesday, one and all.  May the sun shine for you.  xx

12-05-25

Good morning, everyone.   Here we are, back to Monday and coming close to half way through May already!

My May diary has pepped up a bit since I last checked.  Now I have:
Beth round for lunch (today)

all the usual fitness classes - circuits, Groove x 2, personal training and anything else I decide to fit in.

the usual chats over great coffee with Chris

Governors' meeting

Carousel (local society production) at the Civic

Dave and Anna round for dinner

TPP training for governors

Knit and Natter

lunch with Chris

Val here for lunch

There's an awful lot of food related socialising, isn't there.  Very Mediterranean!!  

I took a few photos in the garden just now.

One of the foxgloves Val gave me from her garden.   I know they are a week and invasive but I love them and as I have no pets and no children I thought 'why not'.  

I love this - it has come up year after year after year.  So pretty.  

Phlox Candy Stripe.

One of the new raspberry canes.  It is supposed to be autumn fruiting but, given that they spent the whole winter still in the box they came in (bad me), I'm happy to get anything at all.  They will go autumn when I prune them properly and at the right time.

Oh, dear!!

I'm sure I can use the canes for something.  Poor bamboo.

Finishing with a positive - my most successfully risen half and half sourdough to date.  I'm so pleased.

It's for Beth but I tasted a bit when slicing and before freezing and it's nice.

Today, Beth is (hopefully) over for lunch so I had betted get started with a few preparations, I suppose.  I hope you had the best weekend and have a lovely day today.

Stay good!!!  xx