OS Daily Thread - Tuesday 27 October - yes really!

lillibet_dripping

Morning all:j
Still 'jumping up and down' despite STILL not having had an exchange/completion date.
Piglet - I am keeping everything crossed for you. I wouldn't wish this house-moving malarky on my worst enemy (well, maybe my ex-H:rotfl:) We have now waited 7 days for the FTB's personal cheque (I know, I know:eek:) to clear. Solicitor assures me it WILL BE TODAY. On the strength of this he has ordered my mortgage funds ready to complete on Friday 30th. It only gives me today, Wed and Thurs to sort out utility re-connections etc. etc. etc. not to mention get packing boxes from removal company (much of the house is packed, but we are very short of boxes now). Plus, I have to fly into Colchester to sign a Transfer Deed that they have just discovered is not in the file:mad:.
Hope to report back in this evening with good news.

On the plus side (my family call me 'Pollyanna':rotfl:) the house has had a thorough clean and as I have packed, I have cleaned and dusted everything so at least the new house will start clean.....:T

Must also do my planning sheets for the second half of term. I have a rough idea what year 3 and 4 are cooking but Christmas performance rehearsals, Christmas Bazaar, carol concert etc. always get in the way of a smooth running timetable at this time of the year. Not to mention the fact that we are expecting Ofsted any time soon:eek:
Lunch will be cheese on toast and I will pop a beef casserole in the SC before I go to Colchester. It's very drizzly here so washing (left on the line from yesterday:o) won't dry today. On the plus side (yes, I know:p) all the rain will have brought out a crop of mushrooms in the forest where I take the springy spangles, so might make time to go foraging.

Must get going - tons to do today.
Will pop back later.
Lilli
x

SunnyGirl

Good morning to everyone

Thank you for all your kind words & welcome back messages yesterday I'm very touched. It's also nice to see new names posting on the daily it's such a friendly place here :A

I've been up a couple of hours pottering around doing the washing, emptying the dishwasher & starting the prep for tonights meal which is chicken curry, rice & HM flatbread from the Grocery Challenge :T I've made it before & I can highly recommend it to anyone whose family devours naan bread with the speed that mine does, as it's easy, delicious & cheap to make!

Plans for today are to have a thorough clean in the living room, walk the hounds, go and see MIL this afternoon and all the general refereeing between the kids that comes with half term. I'm also fixing a pan lid as it's knob came off. I'm going to use a new cork instead :money: The pan is part of a set that were a wedding present 21 years ago so they've certainly been a good buy.

Hugs & good thoughts to everyone for a nice, peaceful day.

donny-gal

Hola! :wave: everyone

Another gorgeous morning here, must have slept a little awkward as woke up with a bit of headache, but it is going slowly now up and about. Glad to hear you are all benefitting fromthe warm winds I sent your way :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::j:T;) Please keep them there for when I return.

Sunnygirl glad to see you back, I think one of major concerns was in your last post before losing contact was to say you thoguht you had swine flu:eek:. Very please to ready it was gremlins on the line.

Welcome Newbies :hello:

Going to have to orgnaise myself a little today, as we set off for home a week tomorrow, and will have a clean through before we go. Should be back mid-Jan so not too long.

Good luck with the moves those of you doing it, I know it can be a PITA. On the electrics side PIGLET if any problems with the electrics, get a quote for a fix re-wire so you know how much to knock off if anything, or have it done if it falls through.

Another reccipe, not tried but DH saw it in RoundTownNews another free paper out here, and fancies it so we cut it out and here it is:

Croissant Pudding with Ginger & Apricots
(A kind of Bread and Butter Pudding, a way to use up Croissants when they have gone dry)
Serves 4-6 Prep Time: 15 mins Cooking Time 30-40 mins

2 Lg or 4 Sm Croissants
2” piece fresh Ginger, peeled & cut into tiny dice (or the equivalent amount of crystallised ginger)
35g white sugar mixed with a little water – if using fresh ginger
8-10 dried Apricots sliced
300ml milk
100ml cream
3 eggs
½ tsp ground nutmeg
75g brown sugar
A small knob of butter

Preheat the over to 180C
Bring the sugar and water to the boil and add the fresh diced ginger. Boil over medium heat until most of the water has evaporated and the ginger is soft. Set aside to cool. (You can ignore this step if you are using crystallised ginger)
Grease the bottom and sides of a shallow 10” over proof dish
Cut the croissant into thick slices and lay them on their sides. Spread the ginger and apricot pieces over the sliced croissant, pressing them in slightly, then sprinkle each slice with the brown sugar. Arrange the slices of croissant in the dish, leaving each one against the next until the dish is full. Don’t be afraid to squash them up a little to fit them in.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with a fork to a uniform texture. Mix the milk and cream in a small saucepan and heat almost to boiling point. Slowly pour the milk onto the eggs whisking all the time.
Pour the milk, cream and egg mixture over the croissant, then sprinkle with the ground nutmeg (The dish can be set aside for an hour or so until ready to cook)
Bake in the over for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden brown and the custard is just beginning to set.

Normal service will now resume, until I find any more which catch our eye.

Take care - DG

Hardup_Hester

Morning all
Damp & drizzly here today, DD is coming over with the DGK, so it will wellys on & off to feed the ducks, a cheap outing.
Hubby still not heard anything about his job, very strange, usually everyone is told on the same day what the result is. I've stared to prepare for the worst, cupboards are full so is the freezer. I also have a tin of chocolates hidden in the cupboard & turkey on order, ready for Christmas. The family will undersatnd is they don't get presents.
Have a good day everyone.
Hugs Hester

purpleivy

Ginger and apricot recipe sounds delish!

Been MIA I know, still trying hard to be OS though. Making the most of my resources. At my parents for a few days so will take the chance to spend some more time browsing here. DH is working this side of the country a lot at the moment so staying here means that we will see more of him this week.

I'm kicking myself as I didn't remember to put the last of the bread in the freezer before I left home, so that will be furry by the time I get back! Also forgot to sort some iffy mushrooms. They were Aldi super6 so not a huge financial loss. Never mind, could be worse. The milk is still in date and most other stuff was sorted. I'm looking forward to having less domestic to do for a couple of days.

The house has been left in not too bad a condition, we have people for a meal at the weekend so tried to leave downstairs in a good way. Our bedroom is still a pit and really needs a good sort out and clean. Maybe next weekend.

Luxury! I'm sitting in bed with the laptop and my SAD lamp. DH brought a cuppa before he left, we're not normally together mid week so that was good. Nephew, foster nephew and niece have just arrived downstairs for the day. I feel tired at the thought. they are 5,15 and 10 respectively.

I'm going to have a walk later to the Indian and Continental stores later, a normal treat when I'm here. I was interested to see they are listed as a supplier in my new cookbook (£2.99!) from Borders. Low fat Indian cooking. The lamb with spinach was gorgeous, as was cabbage (not enough so used a leek as well) with ginger that we had at the weekend. maybe we will have something out of there with friends at the weekend.

Have a lovely day everyone. Promise of warm, but dull weather here today, so best have a bit more lamp time I think.

mumto2monkeys_2

I just wanted to say hello to everyone. I've not posted on this thread before. I'm still quite new to MSE. I had my LBM in late August - Hubby and I owe a lot of money. We are sick of not having any life choices because of our financial circumstances. So, we have embarked on making some serious changes.

I have been embracing OS, and am so very impressed with the ideas and support offered on this board.

I'm gradually cutting down what we spend on food, although I did go slightly over last month. However, a few months ago we were spending anything upwards of £600 a month, so we're not doing too badly.

Today, baby boy and I are going to take a walk out in the mist to take another bag to the charity shop. We took a car boot load yesterday. I am decluttering like a woman possessed. I will also be posting an amazon parcel from our attempts to sell stuff on. We are eating homemade winter veg soup for lunch, and pasta sauce out of the freezer for tea. At some point I will be making a soup for tomorrow, and I've made my own stock for the first time - so am feeling quite pleased with myself!!

Although I think I've made a good start, I am worried about coping in November. My house is still largely a mess, and my November work load is through the roof (I'm on half term this week). I will have to get on with it as best I can, I suppose.

Anyway, I hope you all have a lovely day.

thriftlady_2

Ooh that pud sounds delicious DonnyGal - I never have stale croissants though:(

Welcome Piglet6 and welcome back Sunnygirl:T

A day of visitors ahead. Mum has invited herself for lunch and ds2 has 2 friends coming around this afternoon to practise skateboarding. I hope it dries up a bit for them otherwise I'm going to end up with four 12-14 year olds thundering around the house. I don't really like visitors tbh and making small talk bores me to sobs- still I suppose the boys will add interest to the day :rolleyes:

I must bake some bread today and I think a traybake of some kind- chocolate probably will be a good idea for those lads.

Breakfast is leftover Scotch pancakes which are reheating in the oven atm.

Lunch will be leek and potato soup, croutons and bread. I might give my mum bread and cheese as she never wants me to 'go to any trouble' :rolleyes: When I offer her food she always says 'if you can spare it'. I'd hardly offer it to her if I didn't want her to have it would I? :rolleyes:

Supper will be chicken and lentil curry, rice and onion bhajis.

sistercas

morning all

welcome back Sunnygirl we've missed you

we have 2 additions to our family- 2 guinea pigs! they are sooo sweet. it was DD's birthday and she picked 2 female piggies. after a couple of days we noticed dora the explorer was continiually humping snuggles :eek: and Dora was actually a Dennis! we have taken him back and got another female but we dont know if snuggles is pregnant or not :rolleyes:

off to a garden centre today just for look round I love the xmas displays , a bit expensive for me but its beautiful stuff

I need to strip the beds today , the weather is miserable so may need to use the TD

sausage and HM chips for tea

have a good day all

nmlc

Morning all

Have got up to wet dull and miserable morning here, I think quite a lot of the country is the same! Dinner last night was a big success, used the leftover chicken from Sunday's roast added to rice with veg in it, curry powder, squeeze of tomato ketchup - makes a really nice "special fried rice" and OH requested a side dish of veggie curry - so made a pan of that too, have some of that left so in sealed container in the fridge to transfer to the freezer for another day. Tonight we will be having smoked sausage and mushrooms with pasta in a creme fraiche sauce - again another favourite in our house! Had a reasonably productive day yesterday - dining room is looking much better but now have huge pile of papers to shred! Really want to start on the kids bedrooms but have a workman here at mo so need to keep out of his way - so bedrooms may have to wait until later or tomorrow. Kids will be having HM bread made into sandwiches etc for lunch and I will be having my fav salad.

Need to crack on now, keep safe and well and hugs to those that need them,
nmlc

donny-gal

thriftlady wrote: »

Ooh that pud sounds delicious DonnyGal - I never have stale croissants though:(

I like the fresh ones, but they are too fatty for DH, so end up buying the cheap bags from the supermarkets out here, which he will have an odd one, so I do get stale ones, will pick up a bag today I think;). To be honest think you could make a B&B pudding with that flavouring, just adding a bit of butter to the bread?

Can anyone tell me how much fresh/crystalised ginger is at home, so I can compare and see if it is worth bringing any back??

Thanks
DG