Living richly; simply and debt-freely

Good Evening :hello:

Well, I am a doofus.

What on earth was I wittering on about this morning about taking stuff out of the freezer to use. I actually had a plan as to what I was going to cook for tea this eveing - and it wasn't rice.......... Doh! :doh:

There is a tenuous link to rice..... I intended to make orzotto, which, dear Reader, as you know is the pearl barley/spelt version of risotto which is made with rice! I plumped for PB, partly because the 'recipe' (actually an amalgam I did yonks ago when I had a glut of HG tommies, of 2 recipes in Lindsay Bareham's Tomato cookbook, plus a bit 'o Greyingness chucked in ) called for it, and partly because I had 2 portions worth sitting in the jar in the cupboard. It was also the reason that I purchased the cherry tomatoes from mrL! Lawks, I do make it hard on myself, don't I?

Anyhoo, it's kinda orzotto, but it's more spicy than perhaps a tomato risotto might be. I didn't roast the tomatoes (hadn't got the oven on for anything else) although I did chop up a couple of sun-dried tommies that I had in a jar, in the fridge. The barley was cooked with a bay leaf - adore bay! and the spices in the dish were; turmeric, allspice, paprika, cayenne and salt & pepper. Oregano and basil completed the seasoning, along with lemon zest and juice. The lemon is essential to lift the dish The orzotto base was, as ever, onion (red on this occasion), celery and garlic and I used a stockpot.

So, no recipe 'link' i'm afraid, but it looked like this;



Was tasty, autumnal food, used up stores and didn't cost the earth. Grand Failed on the '

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with rice' element though!

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

for a walk, a breath of fresh air and the sunshine - we'll gloss over getting slightly damp in 3 separate showers on the way home :rotfl:

saving the pennies - bagged it all up today and took some to the PO; future birthday gifts for the family 'young adults' sorted, bit by bit

for using up stores - when my mind played catch-up!!! :rotfl:

Ta for popping by and reading. Very, very much appreciated. By me. As ever.

Greying X

Good Morning :hello:

Well, tas been a funny few days.

There have been a series of events around the towers that truly have rocked my belief in the inherent goodness of humankind. One act in particular can at best be described as highly thought-less, at worst, out and out vindictive against our household

It got to the stage where as each further event happened, you began to question it all as coincidence? connected? or conciously misanthropic.

Over the weekend I had carefully worked out the budget and got the 'missing' ingredients for the meal-plan this week. This just left enough to get 6L of ss milk for the food bank. The events of the weekend left me to question why was I bothering with kindness, when it wasn't headed in our direction in any great numbers. But luckily, my stubborn streak kicked in and I pressed on with my purchase. As I wandered over to the community hub, I thought how disapproving Great Aunt Maud would still be :rotfl:, As I dropped off the cartons, I was pleased that the receptionist was a little bit more smiley the reception was quiet - perhaps 'anyone' is better than 'no-one' And as I left, folding up my carrier bag, I was relieved..... relieved to feel the blood rushing into my hand and sensation returning :rotfl:

Someone who has been a great influence in our lives this past year is retiring imminently. They are the sort of person who you want to remain in post 'forever', because they are that good; that dedicated; that vitalising. And yet, they have a 'future plan'. They will continue to transform, influence, improve, support and imbue love and themSELVES into new areas, new spheres, new genres. We took the opportunity to share how much they meant to us, and send them our love and best wishes for their future. It cost nothing, but meant everything.

Remembering the nice bits of the weekend; the lovely lunch and wonderful company of mummy chum R on Friday; the day trip out to see the changing (tree) colours of autumn; the 'firsts' and the love and support from others, far, far outweighs the petty, the small-mindedness and meaness. By a long chalk.

It is probably no surprise that I 'came across' (?) a list of Gandhi's 'fundamentals' for changing the world this morning. The thing I like about the list is that actually, it isn't about changing anyone but yourself. But the one that stood out most today was no.4 (on this particular list) - 'without action, you aren't going anywhere'.

A reminder. In print. To self

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Tuesday, so we've soup on the planner. A jolly nice one (made it before) gleaned from a student recipe book and for which I think I only had to buy peas for - but then (if you like them) you should always have frozen peas in your freezer, right?

Thank you for popping in and reading. It's wonderful to know that you are here.

Greying X