Monday

Good morning, all.  It's quite a cold morning this morning with frost on the cars.  Makes a change from the last week or so.  I don't think it heralds the start of any winter weather though.

I've really enjoyed this weekend.  It's been the opportunity to have a good rest and to get things going again after a week of considerable lethargy.  I'm not more or less up to date with the washing and drying (but not the ironing) and the kitchen is in pretty good nick too, although much of that is due to Lenka's ministrations on Friday.  The dishwasher has done overtime as I have cooked and baked and generally meandered around.

I've waffled a bit about the cooking on the other blog so I won't bore my readers all over again, but I was pondering on turkey legs.
It doesn't seem all that long ago (although it probably is) when you could get a good sized turkey drumstick for 99p and they didn't fly off the shelves in any way.  It used to be just the drumstick, not the thigh as well, to be fair, but even so, it was jolly good value.
At £4.50 (which is what I paid) for the whole deal, drumstick and thigh, it's still excellent value considering what you get from it but the difference now is that usually you have to be there pretty fast after they're put out to actually get one.  I got more or less the last one and I saw at least three other people with one in their trolley.  Sign of the times or just that people have cottoned on to the good flavours of these less obvious and cheaper sources of protein?  I don't know but it's nice to think that others are also enjoying the whole process and getting enjoyment out of making the best of things.

My turkey dinner yesterday - not a great arrangement on the plate but it tasted so good!  No room for dessert!

Does anyone (Diane, perhaps) know - do you need to 'boil out the toxins' for chickpeas?  I know you do for kidney beans but I thought it was just kidney beans, not other pulses.
Anyway, I prepared some yesterday and I followed someone's hint to soak, boil for 20 mins and then take off the heat, cover with towels or whatever and just leave and they would finish cooking in their own heat.  And it worked.  This morning, when I checked, they were beautifully cooked, a bit al dente but not at all hard, no mushiness and, usually my biggest problem, no catching on the bottom.  Might try it with butter beans next.  I feel a vegetarian meal or two coming up but I want to use some of this lot of chickpeas to make hummus.  Now I don't like tahini but find that if I make hummus without tahini there's a certain 'thinness' of flavour which is not attractive.  However, I have read that you can substitute the tahini with peanut butter so I'm going to try this.  I will roast the garlic cloves first though - roasted garlic is lovely!

The start of a new school week and I can't help wondering how many will be away.  I'm hoping the virus has run its course with my children and that I have a full class again.  Ah well, I will find out in just over three hours' time.