Living on next to nought - is that the key?

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

Oh dearest Pippi - you do so very much make me larf (in a totally good way). How kind and supportive you are

Well, Dear Reader, you'll be pleased to learn that 'near use by date' va va voom still packs a punch and gets yer tails feathers a-shifting

Today has, indeed, been productive, no chips have been thrown anywhere, the day was only marginally spendy, as DP picked up most things, but forgot the WUL...... And the sun shone All in all, a *win* I think

I saw a butterfly today, it was white with orange wing tips. On looking it up on g00gly, I find that it is a male, of the imaginatively named 'orange tip' butterfly clan...but more importantly - it is a true harbinger of spring :j I also saw a bird that I am having difficulty identifying. It looked like a black cap (male), but the noise it was making was more like the description of a stonechat. However, the audio clip of the stonechat, did not match the description. The noise I heard, was like 2 stones being tapped together - you know, those anonymous grey stones that seem to be on every beach, if you knock 2 of them together, they made the noise of this bird! g00gly is leaving me stumped on this one! Either that or I could see the bird that I think is a black cap, but heard a wren getting niggly somewhere nearby? Do they make that sort of noise?

Oh, and it wasn't a fluke, I've seen a load more mallard ducklings today, still teeny, and still sticking super close to mom!

So, dinner this evening did not come via the local chipper.... praise the heavens! I made the veggie version of bobotie and served it with boiled rice - wet polenta seemed a bit heavy in view of the pavement splitting sunshine that we have enjoyed all day. So, tonight's photographic study in brown;



The recipe is an amalgam of the spices used in the meat version of bobotie, so there is no recipe as such. And the eagle-eyed amongst you will note that there was no topping. This version has all the flavour and can be made on the stove top. However, in looking on the net tonight, I found a version that is very similar to the one I make, so if you'd like a bash, it can be found HERE I have no idea where the bread/milk comes in, I don't use it, and I'd ditch the topping ingredients. I also only use dried fruit if I have any spare (read; not very often), although the original bobotie recipes do, of course feature fruits. Rose coco beans are another name for borlotti, but I use red kidney - they work well. Oh, and obviously, red lentils go mushy, so you would have less *texture* to your dish if you used them - hence why I prefer the continental/brown lentil for this type of dish.

The only sad bit about dinner tonight was that I have now officially used up the last of the 'lentilles verte' purchased from App Fds - for something like 3 for £1. You don't see them sort of bargains anymore I've lentil Bolognese in the freezer that has some of the lentils in, and there's a snap portion of bobotie left over, but I've cooked the last of 'em........ Ah well, we'll get to learn to love brown lentils I guess

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

for abundant wildlife - I nearly typed 'rampant', but our blue feathered friends need 'L' plates, methinks *ahem* #nocloo :rotfl:

for Ordnance Survey maps - I went on a *ramble* whilst the rice was cooking...... :rotfl:

for DP - and his attempts to help with the shopping......:D

Thank you so very much for dropping in, reading and cheering me on. 'Tis muchly appreciated at all times, by moi

See y'all later.

Greying

starnac

Hi Greying. Your posts do make me hungry!!!

With regards to the bird you saw it might be worth asking EH. She knows quite a bit about birds. She might know what kind of bird it was x

Greying_Pilgrim

Diolch yn fawr starnac - will do

Greying

beanielou

I made the courgette risotto.
It was lush.
to say haven't made anything(even that easy) from scratch for a wee while.

supersaver1000

Thank you Greying. This is a fab fast thread. :T

EssexHebridean

Whizzing by....*waves* Lovely greying, sorry I've not called in for a while - glad to see the food is still plentiful in my absence though!

Your birdy....hmmmmmm.....curious. Stonechats do indeed make the noise you've described - they have a pretty song too, but their alarm call is the stone-tapping noise - try this site to hear it Stonechat HOWEVER.....also on that site, if you look up "Blackcap"....see what it says about the alarm call..... Blackcap. Mystery solved, hopefully!

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

YAY - Thank you EH - a male Black Cap getting niggly and territorial it very likely was then :j:j As I'm not entirely sure that I've knowingly spotted a Black Cap before, that's a double :j:j Thank you for taking the time to respond to my query. Brilliant of you. Thanks

Beanie - OOOoohh, courgette risotto - YUM

Hi supersaver - I'm gonna have to go into a vow of silence, everyone is saying that the thread moves too fast


Well, Wednesday here we are

I can bag a NSD today. But I'll admit to being in a dilemma as to what to make 'ferustea'. I've a new dish (kinda outtaa synch with days at the moment, due to 'leftoverlunchgate') to try out, but that would be accompanied with rice, which we had last night. Or, the other dish, which may be more appropriate given the weather, heavily features lentils. We had lentils last night...... decisions, decisions.......:rotfl: And we can't vamoose to the chipper, as the grocery budget jar is already down to buttons, washers and IOU's :rotfl::rotfl: (not quite..........)

looks like we're in for another lovely day here. I must go and say hello to the tomatoes and make sure they are comfy for the day.

Right, I've done snap, but must go and bag it up.

Thank you so much for popping by, reading, solving natural world mysteries and generally making me happier than the proverbial easter bunny

See y'all later.

Greying

starnac

Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »

we can't vamoose to the chipper, as the grocery budget jar is already down to buttons, washers and IOU's :rotfl::rotfl: (not quite..........)

Greying

Now that sounds familiar :rotfl:

Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »

Diolch yn fawr starnac - will do

Greying

Croeso

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

Oh starnac - one day we'll be millionaires and we'll look at those buttons and washers with affection eh? :rotfl:

Well, did ya miss me?? Thought I'd give you all a rest and keep quiet for once :silenced: :rotfl:

Yesterday just whizzed, from beginning to end, so it was just as well I gave myself a little time at the end of the day to read me book - a self-improving one, natch

With whizzing around, I did snag a NSD, so it did have its advantages

The down side was that I ran out of time and we had to *break in* to the emergency lentil Bolognese from the freezer :rotfl: So even *me tea* would have held no interest to y'all, as you've seen it all before

Today promises to be a little less hectic. And hopefully I will be trying out a new dish for dinner. But I'll be boogering my NSD, as I need a couple of ingredients to make it happen. Still, I'll take 5 minutes just now to try to check how we are set up for the weekend and whether we need anything else. As horror of horrors, concern all around, the shops will be shut on Sunday - for 1 whole day :eek: My goodness, how will we all cope??????? Honestly, 'tis a pity that more folks can't remember when every Sunday shops were closed, I don't remember the sky falling in on us at any point........

Right, well snap is already dished out and bagged up, so I'm away to check me stores.

Have a good 'un, looks not quite as sunny out there this morning. But I'll brave it to go and say *howdy* to the tomatoes

Thanks so much for popping by, reading and being multilingual on my diary. I do appreciate it

See y'all later.

Greying

Fortune_Smiles

http://folksy.com/items/4435640-Orange-tip-Butterfly-Original-Watercolour-Painting-Picture


Another harbinger for you Greying.


Fortune x