Living on next to nought - is that the key?

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

Oooh, I hope you have had as cracking a day as I have - the weather was gor - jus

satchmo - I have been thinking about food A.L.L day - I blame you entirely - THANK YOU :D:D:rotfl:

I remembered you had mentioned egg curry, so I figured you liked eggs, which led me to remember about an egg/spinach recipe that I read about. It is by Heidi Swanson of 101 cookbooks (a blog) - we like her, don't we Ellidee?? But the link I'm giving you is about the 'best' pic of the dish (it is far better in Heidi's book) plus the recipe is given. Link is HERE

A Buddha bowl is just a fancy name for 'leftovers', but in principle, it contains; a grain (so rice, or bulghar or cous cous), vegetable(s), a protein and a dressing/sauce. You'll hear them referred to a lot in these here parts. Although I miss shovel lads's version :rotfl:

dreaming - I totally mis-read your post, and wondered why you were chasing men down your drive! :rotfl: Hope things are on an even-keel and that you have a good week too. Ta for dropping by

little_sweetie - all sounding good! And whilst Pippi - a fountain of knowledge about the tattie - may correct me, I'm pretty sure that 'swift' are 'early' early potatoes iyswim - and they should grow pretty quick - you may have tatties by June Oh, and you know that parsnips can be slow to germinate, right? I always used to put my seeds on a piece of damp kitchen roll in a plastic (lidded) tub and leave in the airing cupboard. if little roots started to appear, I then put the seeds into compost/the ground. If they had done nothing after a couple of weeks, they got tossed and a new pack bought. So, what I'm trying to say is, if the parsnips are very slow to appear, don't be put off - try again

Those sweetcorn fritters are nice - don't know if you've got to the post yet, but we had them with HG salad leaves and some yellow and red tomatoes made into a salad, gifted from the parentals - ooh, lush

Piq - Now that's coz you've imbued those cakes with *piquancy* - nowt to do with me :rotfl: I am however, sorry for being the one responsible for getting you locked away by the stove - away from the view of bulging braces and bum fluff............. :rotfl:

I grabbed a NSD today :j

We've had a quick meeting. We've decided a small plan of action for the weekend - working around the early rugger start - and one or two other bits and bobs.

As I said, I have been thinking food all day. I got in and just started chopping and frying and mixing. Totally meditative - love it when that happens.

So, I concoted a 'Bangin Beetroot Buddha Bowl'. Photo here;



And please, don't ask for the recipe - for the simple reason, it is entirely made up. There is no recipe And yes, I know that means we won't be able to have it again, but given it's supposed to be a 'leftovers' dish, I suppose that is really rather the point

However, I started off with bulghar wheat (AF) and cooked it in coconut milk. I then sauted a bit of onion and lemongrass and coriander seed (lightly crushed) and added in spinach. Now this is the first time I have used mrW frozen spinach, and I didn't realise it was so finely chopped - hence why my bulghar went green! :eek:

Then I grated some carrot on top.

Then the next layer is beetroot. It is closely linked to the spices/flavourings of beetroot curry, so think cumin, turmeric, coriander, tomato paste, curry leaves, onion, ginger, amchoor, mustard seed etc.

On top of that, I grated a boiled egg - and yes, Ellidee - Heidi is the inspiration

So, that was the grain, vegetable, and protein. The only thing missing from the pic is the sauce. I made garlic yoghurt sauce and i'll freely admit that it split - however, that is not the reason why I've not shown it. I couldn't get a shot that showed the 'layers' and the sauce clearly. So just imagine a white sauce on top - with green flecks, that are actually little leaves of our flat-leaf parsley that had over-wintered - yes, the stuff I sowed last July in the first flush of this diary :j

The flavours sung. It was a lovely eat. Quite cheap and DP liked it. Winner, winner, non-repeatable dinner ..... :rotfl:

So today I am grateful for these 3 things;

my cooking mojo - makes me so happy....

for library books - especially cook books

for releasing my inner cat and walking on the sunny-side of the street at every opportunity - curling up in a sun-spot will have to wait for another day

Thank you so much for popping by, reading and commenting. I greatly appreciate it.

See y'all later.

Greying

Ellidee

Thanks for the double mention :kisses3:

Shortie

Evening all

So inspired to try homemade yoghurt, I had an attempt yesterday, but it was quite runny (started with semi skimmed, so not skimmed). I think two things went wrong - I thought it was set after 6 hrs as it had wobble-factor in the thermos, plus I'm not convinced the thermos kept it warm for very long as it was distinctly lukewarm when I opened it

Will definitely give it another go though!


Your curry looks a lovely colour there Greying!

Greying_Pilgrim

shortie - is that with UHT milk, or conventional S/S? And did you use milk powder in your mix?

Also, I leave mine overnight, anything from 8 - 12 hrs. Plus I always put some warm water into the flasks whilst I am heating the milk/putting the culture in - so the mix isn't going into a 'cold' flask iyswim.

Good that you'll give it another go though. That's what it's about

Greying

mothernerd

Love your diary. I have been reading on and off for the past few weeks.

If satchmo isn't vegetarian, I used to use sweetcorn in quiches paired with garlic sausage -if there is any chorizo left,that would do or if all the other ingredients are available,it might be worth purchasing the odd 100g (or look on the reduced shelf). I have been making a lot of quiches without the pastry recently,just mix the egg and milk and pour over the other ingredients (made in Yorkshire pudding dishes/ramekins). Not as super frugal as most of your recipes but a good way of stretching bits of ingredients.

I am now diabetic (hence no pastry) and have just made a batch with salmon (from a pack of value smoked salmon trimmings -salmon is one of the things that is good for me,but I am not particularly fond of but I can do a batch of these,keep some in the fridge,put some in the freezer and have at breakfast or supper (or as a full meal with salad).

I am also in the process of downsizing (sat here in paint bespattered clothes) as my youngest son finishes university this year. However I have to find a smaller house (but I still want veg growing room) which suits me and my mother (as she will come to live with me if/when anything happens to her partner). Finding something to suit both of us will not be easy.

I too am a big fan of your things to be grateful for. When I had an early morning job I sometimes sat down on the town hall square for five minutes before going home to wake my sons for their paper rounds and school. I would just sit and wait for something -the patterns of the clouds or the bare tree branches against a grey sky -but there was always something,even on the most unpromising of days.

Thank you for the gift of your wonderful diary.

satchmo1

Thank you so much for the ideas, I definitely like the sound of the spinach, egg and almond dish.

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

Hello and welcome mothernerd :wave: Ah yes, crustless quiche - good thinking I was reading about something like that the other day, but because it was in a...... mmm, middle eastern cookery book, I think, the batter incorporated chickpea flour.

And yes, yes, yes, to always seeing *something* brilliant, awe inspiring or funny. You've just got to stop and look - even the busiest folk can spare a couple of minutes, even though according to them they can't

satchmo - I've a feeling you'll run out of spinach and sweetcorn before ideas :rotfl:

Right, early start for me this morning, so best get a shuffle on.

I can bag a NSD today. The TV guide can be bought tomorrow which will have to be a spend day (dentist ).

Dinner this evening will be Harira, and I'll try to do some flatbreads - I saw a new idea in a book......... :rotfl:

Best jump to it, snap bags to be packed up.

Thank you for popping in, reading and commenting. I continue to appreciate it.

See y'all later.

Greying

satchmo1

Mothernerd, your post brought this poem to mind:

Leisure

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this is if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

William Henry Davies

Karmacat

Love that poem, thanks satchmo.

And I too am a fan of the gratefulness - thank you Greying

little_sweetie

satchmo, that poem is one of my favourites too. Thank you for giving me a good start to the day

little_sweetie - all sounding good! And whilst Pippi -
a fountain of knowledge about the tattie - may correct me, I'm pretty sure that 'swift' are 'early' early potatoes iyswim - and they should grow pretty quick - you may have tatties by June Oh, and you know that parsnips can be slow to germinate, right? I always used to put my seeds on a piece of damp kitchen roll in a plastic (lidded) tub and leave in the airing cupboard. if little roots started to appear, I then put the seeds into compost/the ground. If they had done nothing after a couple of weeks, they got tossed and a new pack bought. So, what I'm trying to say is, if the parsnips are very slow to appear, don't be put off -
try again

Tatties by June? Woohoo! :j erm...no, I didn't know parsnips are hard to germinate, Greying, but to me everything is hard to germinate Anyhow, I've taken your advice and put some on damp kitchen roll in a lidded plastic box in the airing cupboard this very morning so I have a 'back up'[STRIKE] when [/STRIKE] if the first lot are all 'no shows'. Once again, thank you so much for your invaluable advice :kisses3: The sweetie household may yet have some 'free' food this Summer. In case anyone is interested, And*ex have an offer on their website at the moment. For 5 'puppy points' and £1.99 postage you can have several packets of salad leaf seeds valued at over £23. I reckon that's a bargain because around here seeds are almost £2 a packet :shocked: I am sending for some today...

Have a super day everyone x