The OS Doorstep - a helpful and supportive thread in these tough times

shegar

mardatha wrote: »

I need a shake too Marg, this weather is seriously getting to me. I think I've got creeping damp!

mar ive heard of rising, but not creeping damp.....:), We havent got any rain today ,so ive been out in the garden for a couple hours, just nice to get a bit of fresh air , and have a bit of a clean up, mainly sweeping up etc..............

At least the nights are now getting lighter and the birds are starting to sing in the trees.........:D
Cant wait for spring to get here, although ive still got roses out in the garden , also got some nice yellow wall flowers now starting to come out, and plenty of calendula marigolds are still out.....................

Couple of great tits going in and out of a nest box , they always start to at this time of the year , but actually nest build about April................

Yes I know its only January , and we probaly will have snow and lots of frosts before we actually get to spring , but I can only wish ....Catch you all later and hope you are well, hugs to all the poor souls who are ill.....sheila

Pooky

Evening all

Happy Birthday Stilty - hope you're enjoying your day.

Toughies, I'm sorry but I've sinned.....tonight we are having a store brought lasagne for tea. Oh the shame of it. In my defence, I've got a really bad case of tendinitis and have no grip in my left hand (dominant hand too) DH is feeling pants (not literally but....ohhhh...you get the jist), DD1 is at work and DD2 is heartbroken and as much use as a chocolate teapot. It won't be as nice as homemade but it's a Heck of a lot cheaper than a take away.

Local wool shop has 10x100gm balls of DK for £10 a bag! I've splashed out on 5 bags and will be going back for more. Am splitting the cost with my Mum who knits like a demon. At those prices it's almost a sin not to buy it! Lots of happy hooky evening ahead.

AOT - hope you've not buried yourself under the cardboard mountain.

Shegar - how are you feeling now? I noticed the birds singing the other morning, lovely to hear but I would still like a proper bit of winter before we head into spring.

I brought all my seeds for my raised beds yesterday, I'm looking forward to getting them started off. Just wish DHs scooter hadnt decided to burn out the motor whilst we were there, had to push him and it back to the car. New scooter fund has been building up nicely so we can jut about afford to order his new one....and we'll start the savings for the next one all over again!

SDG31000

Hello everyone


Happy Birthday stiltwalker and belated birthday wishes to SQ :bdaycake:


Pooky All is forgiven, in fact there is nothing to forgive. We all need a break every now and again and you more than most. Just crochet some flapjacks and make a jumper out of potato peelings and leftover porridge as penitence.


I'm sure you will have a wonderful time nuttyp. You deserve it


Well my house is chaos, shopping turned expensive as DH brought a new, much needed coat and I'm not sure about the wool I'm thinking of turning into a cardigan for me. Apart from that and my nerves being all over the place, I think all is ok in the SDG household. Thank you all for thinking of me and for the good thoughts sent my way xxx


I did combine coat shopping with a trip to M&S and I was very restrained. I only brought 60 sausages in their 3 for £10 offer and some panini rolls for DS1's school lunches. I was very tempted by their deli and bakery sections, but as I had brought double choc hot cross buns in Mr T's I was able to resist.


DS2 has been a star recently and has done a lot of the cooking. He has made ragu for dinner and is planning on having a go at Dosa and Aloo Gobi on Friday. I've told DH that we are keeping this one as I love being fed


The timer is beeping and DH is shouting from the kitchen, so time to go xxxx

SDG31000

P.S I am really jealous about your wool haul Pooky. Enjoy using it. I'm sure that you create wonderful things with it.

kidcat

FPK - congratulations on passing your test

Stiltwalker - happy birthday, hope you have had a wonderful day

Nutty - so pleased your mum is home and that you get a cruise as well, definitely something to look forward to. If you and your DD are taking care of your mum is it worth considering claiming carers allowance?

Mrs C - pictures on FB are lovely. well done

Shegar - hope you are feeling a little better

McCulloch - I got so excited when our new washer arrived, and am sure I will be exactly the same when the sofas finally arrive

Pooky - oouch your wrist sounds painful hope its better soon, why is DD heartbroken?

SDG - hope you are feeling a little better.

Its been the usual mad Saturday here, after a long week, yet another person I thought of as a good friend has made some very hurtful comments to me this week, thankfully it was in front of another friend and she has pointed out that the comments have come out of her pain and also that she is clearly very depressed and refusing to accept it and get some help.

We went to look at carpets today for the living room :eek::eek::eek: I cant believe how much our small living room will cost or even the cost of underlay??? We have a few weeks before I need to order though so will be attempting to cut costs in other places to offset the cost.

My antibiotics finished today and its still swollen and a little sore so yet another visit to dentist will be needed on Monday.

burtha

Hi everyone, have been reading along lately as time has been to short to post , so hope everyone has had a good day today,birthday wishes sent and hugs to anyone that needs one ..... Has anyone a good easy recipe for rabbit... DH came back from the shoot today with 7 rabbits, they are now skinned and gutted and waiting for me to do something with ?? Any ideas, carnt think what to do ,also have 6 pheasant breast's ..... Ideally something I don't have to do a lot to, one pot ?? ...

katep23

burtha wrote: »

Hi everyone, have been reading along lately as time has been to short to post , so hope everyone has had a good day today,birthday wishes sent and hugs to anyone that needs one ..... Has anyone a good easy recipe for rabbit... DH came back from the shoot today with 7 rabbits, they are now skinned and gutted and waiting for me to do something with ?? Any ideas, carnt think what to do ,also have 6 pheasant breast's ..... Ideally something I don't have to do a lot to, one pot ?? ...

Pheasant breasts can be casseroled like chicken I've got some in the freezer to do this week.

ginnyknit

Hugs to those struggling or not feeling their best, congrats to those with things to celebrate - can you guess Im to tired to remember everything I read.

Have Dgs after our trip out and he was fine but over tired and ratty at bedtime then suddenly he was asleep. Our little foray into Yorkshire didnt go to plan. For some reason OH forgot to pick up the adress of the model railway show and the map book and I forgot to check He didnt take his mobile and mine was low on power. We are always ultra organised, lets face it we have to be. Anyway text Ds and he googled the address and by more luck than good management we found it (on the way home) but it was a very poor show and OH didnt get the things he wanted from the trade stands. He is old school and needs to see the stuff in front of him and pick what he needs so tinterweb shopping doesnt work for him. On the way home we went to an old favourite restaurant on the moors and had a lovely snacky lunch for less than fish and chips. thats our days out done now for a good while as he is exhausted but has, mostly, enjoyed our few days of short trips.

mcculloch29

FPr., congratulations, I "knew" you would pass. One of my friends is French, a former teacher, she took the test last year, she commented that it wasn't as bad as the tests on the Net, which are a nightmare. She passed too.

Kidcat, I hope you continue to recover and that things go as well as they possibly can at the dentist. On the internet forum that replaced the BBC's Ouch! (it's called Ouch Too) we have been discussing toxic friends and hurtful comments.
Even if they have come from pain and depression, it doesn't completely excuse it. The mitigating thought is that the person concerned is so low, that they are simply reflecting what they feel about themselves and can't acknowledge the impact such comments have.

Burtha, I've used rabbit in just about every way in which I would use chicken. I used to get it from the butchers on the corner of Horsemarket and Galgate in Barney, they sold all sorts of interesting things. I've roasted it (you need a bit of extra fat as it's quite dry), casseroled it, used the meat in pies, curried it...

Speaking of food, I tried Silvasava's recipe for faggots. Fantastic, wonderfully tasty results and sooo easy!
I made them a bit bigger than those from Mr Br@ins, and had a little less pork, but shoved in a chunk of salami that needed using with the bacon. They are better than the commercial variety, honestly. That's not my skill as a cook either, they are so simple using a food processor that you cannot go wrong.

The only changes I made are that the breadcrumbs (not HM, sorry) went in the food processor last so as to clean off the very messy chopped lambs' (not pigs') liver that was splattered all over the bowl. It worked a treat and made getting the processor bowl clean much easier.

Lambs liver from the freezer shop here is very cheap as it's all in little bits in the pack. The liver is great for faggots and liver and bacon casserole. Also mixed herbs had to replace sage.

Here is Silvasava's recipe again, edited slightly with my suggestion of doing the breadcrumbs last to leave the bowl less messy put in.


1 kg of belly pork
500g of lamb's liver
500g of bacon offcuts -
5 bread crust - homemade
2 Free range eggs
Bag of onions, half finely diced for the faggots and the other half, also finely diced for the gravy.

Salt, pepper and dried sage.
If you have your own food processor or mincer, then these are really easy to make!

1. Cut the rind off the belly pork, cut into cubes and pulse in the food processor until minced.
2. Add to a large mixing bowl, or clean washing up bowl.
3. Cut bacon into chunks, I use 'bacon off cuts', and again, pulse in the food processor until minced, add to the mix.
4. Skin and roughly chop the onions and then blitz until small chunks. Add half to the mix and half into a sauce pan with some fry light or oil if you are not watching your weight.
5. Cut liver into chunks and pulse, be careful not to puree it, add to mix.
6. Place five bread crusts in the processor and blitz, add to the mix.
7. Add four heaped tablespoons of dried sage, one tablespoon of salt and one tablespoon of ground black pepper.
8. Crack two eggs into the mix.
9. Roll up sleeves, get your hands in and mix thoroughly.
10. Form into balls and place into several deep baking dishes and roast in a hot oven for approx. 30 - 40 minutes.
11. Whilst they are cooking, fry the onions, pour gravy granules on top and make a litre and a half of gravy. I use veggie gravy because it has an onion flavour from the dried onion granules which I find better than a meaty gravy.
12. After 30 minutes, add the gravy evenly over the dishes and cook for another 10 minutes.
13. Leave to cool.
14. Bag into portion sizes for your needs.
That is such a simple recipe and easy to make - just stir with your hands and form into balls with your hands. If you don't have a food processor, then you could buy minced pork and chop the bacon and liver really finely.
Copyright Silvasava 2014.

Edit: I took out the costings as mine were different using Her*n and A!di for ingredients.

Thank you for all the congrats, much appreciated!!

burtha

Thanks For the ideas..so far have stir fried pheasant breast in red tia curry with noodles,for dh supper ...said it was hot but nice .....I am veggie so cheese and crackers for me , if I slow cook rabbit can I put it in whole or do I have to chop it up first, carnt remember as hubbie did the last few, and cause I dont eat it didn't pay a lot of attention ! Gosh I sound dumb lol . any help x