Countdown to Freedom

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Morning Tilly

Apart from Thursday it's been raining day and night here since Sunday!

Saw a bit of Saturday Kitchen earlier and nice ox-cheeks mentioned as part of a competition to get a Comic Relief dinner

Was loitering on the Debt Free [EMAIL="W@nnabe"]W@nnabe[/EMAIL] earlier and saw someone saying they had done their Tilly Tidies

Regards
ATT x

edinburgher

I'm making an ox cheek casserole today in the slow cooker. I've been trying to buy OS cheeks for about two months as there's been a recipe in the Wa!trose magazine I fancy cooking. Mmmmmmm

Where did you manage to buy them Tilly?

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Afternoon Mr E, I bought them in Wa!trose - I'm guessing they don't have much stock of them per day as they're really difficult to get hold of. I've used 3 to do a casserole for 6, with smoked bacon, red wine and onions. Smells very nice. I'll freeze that in readiness for a MFW dinner on Wednesday to celebrate Froggy's new job.

Froggy is making a pear tart of some description, for this evening, which sounds very mmmmmmmm.

I've put a large 'slab' of belly pork in a thyme, clove and black pepper brine and will roast that for dinner tomorrow evening. Slightly off menu plan as I had the Tom Kerridge cook book as a gift recently and wanted to try the pork dish.

Freezer and larder inventory complete and I'm hoping to sit down late this afternoon and do some menu planning. Unfortunately two labels have come off containers in the freezer so I know we have at least two surprise dinners in November :rotfl:

Lots of shopping done this morning - Costc@ has gammon on offer, so we have bought a large one to freeze. I had bought a smaller one recently it I will cook that for the first Sunday in Advent. Xmas funds to cover this.

All the chocs and candy canes purchased from B£M to tomorrow afternoon DD and I can finish the sleighs. Xmas funds.

Washing tabs purchased on offer in Wa!trose then discount off as well - now in the garage.

Managed to get out of Costc@ without Mr T hitting the chocolate aisle which is unheard of. This dieting challenge we have with Froggy must be helping :T

I need to sit with receipts tomorrow and do a money shift, as I have used Xmas funds and bulk shopping funds today. I'm not topping these two pots up until Mr T is working but fortunately we have enough to cover this Christmas and bulk purchases until February.

Lunch tomorrow will be a use up/fridge raid, but also sharing a large Peking duck from the freezer. I needed the space for the mahoosive gammon.

The first of DD Xmas gifts arrived in the mail today, just two more to come and then I can get her stuff wrapped.

Mr T is in the garden and I'd better get a move on, as we are chopping the hedge back, then putting it through the shredder.

After that it's a dog walk - not sure time will allow for that before DD finishes work - may have to do it late afternoon.

What a lovely day so far

Tilly x x

muddywhitechicken

One of my colleagues is cooking the TK pork belly this weekend too. I'll be interested to know what you both think of the recipe as, coincidentally, I have a pork belly joint being delivered on Wednesday

MWCx

gallygirl

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS wrote: »

I had the Tom Kerridge cook book as a gift

:happyhear:lovethoug:happyhear:lovethoug:lovethoug:happyhear

edinburgher

The cooking all sounds wonderful Tilly - isn't it lovely how you can watch the pennies but still eat like you're at a fancy restaurant?

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Hi MWC, yep, will post about the pork. I bought it from Costc@ today and it was just under £7. It's sitting in a plastic cake box in the garage now

Mr E, the mark up on restaurant food is quite horrific, although i do appreciate you're paying for the ambience, the service etc. The ox cheeks came to a few pennies over £9, after discount, which still seems expensive, but to buy a joint of beef to feed 6 would have been more than that. There's a recipe on the Waitro3e site for ox cheek in Guinness pie and that sounds mmmmmm too.

I've yet to choose the cookery books for November - I quite fancy making some soups for us to take to school and work for lunch. In fact I have some leeks in the garage fridge so may do that tomorrow.

I have some minced steak from Costc@ to turn into a mince and onion base to use for other stuff. I had hoped to get that done today - in fact I probably will - I'll see if I'm up to it in an hour or so.

The hedge has been cut down by around 8' in some places and about 4' in others. All cut up, put through the shredder and spread liberally behind the hedge.

What a lovely day - I thought it was going to rain when we did the hedge and then the sun came out

Have a good Saturday afternoon, Tilly x

edinburgher

?

I said you can eat *like* you're in a fancy restaurant on a budget? Was just praising all your yummy cooking projects

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Hi Mr E, I did understand , just don't think my response was well worded. I'm in complete agreement with you

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

I was going to buy oxtail as well today but it's £6.49 a kg - does that sound expensive? After discount it would be around £5.70/kg.

I quite fancy putting it on the menu for November but, for something which was really cheap even a couple of years ago, it seems a bit steep.

I've done it a couple of times before and although you don't get masses of meat, the flavour is excellent and the dogs get to have the bones.


Tilly x