Monday

Well, yesterday was pretty parky all the way through the day, despite some lovely sunshine in the morning.  By mid afternoon the wind was up and the rain was pouring down.  Not at all nice and it stopped me from doing any more with the chest freezer in the shed because it was so flippin' cold out there.  Also the extra cover stayed on the bed overnight!

However, I made bread, I made sort-of-flapjacks (and have posted the recipe on t'other blog, here), I made roast dinner, I went to Aldi, I got the planning done and dusted and I even did a bit of gardening in the morning as there was a tangle of old stuff on the middle bed hiding the snowdrops, hyaconths and mini daffs.  Yes, there's colour again out there and very cheering it is too, even when the wind howls and the rain lashes.

Aldi was a bit of an eye opener.  I haven't been for a while - in fact, truth be told, I haven't been since I did Live Below the Line last year, I think.  That's mainly because Morrisons is pretty good price-wise nowadays and is very, very close.    I got there just before ten and there were a number of cars in the car park but not too many and there were some people waiting so I joined the short queue.  Five chilly minutes later when the shop opened there was a fairly long queue and when I came out before half past ten the car park was full and people were trawling round and round, waiting for spaces to become available.

Aldi has really taken off as a place to shop, it seems!  I can see why too.  They've enlarged it for a start and the aisles are much wider which is just as well given the way people crowded in and were rushing around.  The displays are better.  There's more choice than there used to be, I think, especially in the fruit and veg department.  I can see that I ought to go there more regularly for some things that were significantly cheaper that anywhere else, although Morrisons is better on some items.  The main disadvantage is that it is the other side of town.

Dinner was delicious.  I always like chicken and you get so much from a chicken.  A main meal, the pull off bits, boiling up the carcass . . . even the small ones (and this was fairly small) lasts for a fair old time.  By the time it's bulked out with stuffing, roasties and veg it makes a jolly good meal.  Thjis particular chicken provided me and Alex with a Sunday dinner, then I had chicken sandwiches for tea.  Today I am having chicken with tomatoes and coleslaw for lunch at school and the rest will go into the freezer in two portions covered with stock from the boil-up for later on in the week.  The little bits will make a nice pasta sauce, curry, risotto or whatever I fancy.  Seven good portions plus stock isn't bad from a small bird.

As the oven was going to be on anyway, that's where I roasted it, not in the halogen over as I usually do.  I did it upside down which makes the breast lovely and moist although the skin stays white and soft.  This isn't an issue as I always take off the skin anyway, which goes into the pressure cooker with the rest of the carcass for boiling up.

Well, finally, I've tried not to mention it, but, sadly, I have to.  Back to work today.  Ho hum . . .

I hope my readers have a good day anyway!