Living on next to nought - is that the key?

EvaJ

Interesting piece - thanks for sharing it. Hope everything works out for you!

mrsinvisible

Sorry that there is sad news, as you say, ff10 years! a mere child.
I am always amazed at those of you who are moderators and board guides and experts, as such is beyond me.
The window shopping went well, GP, and the lists are being produced, then a budget can be set and the shopping can begin.
2 lines of washing out in the sunshine, and now l am off to empty the bean plants and stuff into the compost bin. But not the compost as l have found vine weevil grubs in some of the containers, so it will have to be discarded. xxxxx

Upsidedown_Bear

beanielou wrote: »

Chocolate week? :drool:

Just so we can all join in with chocolate week

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

mrsinvisible - all sounding ship-shape and organised Boo to the vine weevils though

UpsideDown Bear - YUM! Love the 'gerbil' cheeks on your choccy munching smilie

I have had the theme to the ballet scene from 'Despicable Me' going round my head today - so I've got a (different) version going on via OOOOOO toob as I type They've just got to a very bashy bit - those symbols are getting some hammer......

Well, I didn't stick to my NSD today, but I'm happy with my purchases. Was near to a mrM, so ducked in and got some good priced veggies, so I'm OK with spending - also picked up the TV guide too. Got 2 x 1.2kg carrots for 49p ea. which I think is about the cheapest for the supermercados - and, ironically, were 10p per bag cheaper than the '$avers bags of carrots which were only 1kg in weight........ go figure *sigh* I got 2 x 500g bags of parsnips, 49p each, lovely and fresh looking and 1 x a spring cabbage again, 49p, which had lovely fresh dark green leaves on the outside and weighed in at 600g, which was one of the heavier ones...... All produce of the UK according to the labels

I must not spend tomorrow, I must not spend tomorrow, I must not........... :rotfl:

However, my haul did enable us to eat this evening, so not a total calamity I made sure that I cooked up plenty of cabbage to make Leanne Brown's Deconstructed Cabbage Rolls (I do my version as a Buddha bowl) from her Good and Cheap PDF (pg 109) Picture here;



Rice portion is *about* 50g dried weight. The lentils are brown lentils, from a 2kg bag, bought from an Asian supermarket - I cooked up 200g, but we had about 1/3rd each - with 1/3rd left over as a freezer portion. The cabbage is a good half of the one I got today, steamed in the microwave, then tossed into a pan with a tiny pat of melted butter, into which some crushed black pepper and caraway seeds had been added. The tomato and red pepper sauce is just onions, garlic, tomatoes, passata and a couple of chopped red peppers - cooked together. Topped with one cooked veggie sausage, sliced in a vaguely poncey manner.....:rotfl: A lovely dish, which I knew was a keeper when I made it last month, although I make it as constituent parts and then put it together, rather than cook it as a casserole in the oven as Leanne does.

We have finally had the invoice from the trades that were here a while ago. I dislike *owing* people money, especially when you're not too sure (because things didn't go according to plan) what you're actually going to be asked to pay. However, *phew* big sigh of relief, it is, to the penny, what we were quoted. So, we need to get that bill settled soonest, then we can rest easy, and at least own the plaster dust we sit in...... :rotfl: [Joke!]

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

That I had the means (within reason) to purchase my *pick* of the fresh produce that was displayed in the supermarket today - many in the world have no such luxury.

That our *expected* invoice held no *unexpected* surprises

That DP listened whilst I voiced a few *worries* on my mind - and only yawned once........... :rotfl:

Thanks for popping by, reading and joining in. As ever - pree-she-ate-it

See y'all later.

Greying

liltdiddylilt

Hey GP

Just checking in. That dinner looks absolutely delicious although I would probably not even have bothered with the sausage! Your sauce is almost exactly the ingredients for my giant vat of pasta sauce, frozen in batches in the freezer I just added a splash of worcester sauce and oregano & basil to the mix lovely!

The green lentils. Is the flavour different to red? I know it is hard to put into words the taste and texture of red lentils alone, but I just wondered whether it was comparable.

inspiring me every day!

Greying_Pilgrim

liltdiddylilt wrote: »

The green lentils. Is the flavour different to red? I know it is hard to put into words the taste and texture of red lentils alone, but I just wondered whether it was comparable.

Lilty - these were 'brown' lentils. Easiest way to think of them is red lentils with their *jackets* on - as that is, essentially, what they are. 'Whole' red lentils, also known as masoor dhal.

They hold their shape (because of the outer layer) much, much better than 'nAked' red lentils They taste..... slightly nuttier, but they have that same savoury....... um, how can you say 'graininess' is a taste??? I hope you get what I mean

In terms of green lentils, you have 2 types, the green 'continental' lentils - look almost the same as the brown lentils, but are very similar in taste and texture. The tiny green lentils - known as 'lentilles verte' or, if they are grown in a specific region in France, 'Puy lentils' are very much more nutty and less grainy in their taste. I love lentilles verte, but brown lentils from the Asian supermarket are cheaper per 100g.......

I hope this helps.

Ta for popping by

Greying

liltdiddylilt

As always efficient, and helpful! I know precisely what you mean by the 'grainy flavour' You're like a Holl@nd & B@rrett store

Cheers chuck.

P.S DP listening and only yawning once? Today in one phone call with Him, I repeated myself at least a dozen times over 2-3 subjects. Obviously doing other things... Men! xx

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

I'm glad that Marty :money: acknowledged the contribution that Pink. made to the running of the OS board, in this week's newsletter. Thanks for popping it onto the condolences thread UpsideDown Bear - I would have missed it otherwise.

Well, I hope that the weather is less weird with y'all than it is in the vicinity of Greying Towers. We've mostly had rain, with an extended period of pavement splitting sunshine followed by a rise in the temperature that seemed almost sauna-esque! BEE-ZAR

I snagged a NSD yesterday, but not today But I have now paid all outstanding invoices, so we can rest easy, as we owe no-one nowt!

Dinner last night was a continuation of the curry week theme and we had beetroot and aubergine pilau, pic here;



We've had this before. Although mine always turns out deep purple - if you have a look at the pic with the recipe on the blog I got it from, I wonder how come her rice remains so white! :rotfl:I like this dish, and as the aubergine was YS'd to 35p in mrW and the beetroot were vaccum-packed finest (29p) from H0me Bargins, it was a relatively inexpensive meal.

This evening was onto #3 cab off the rank in the 'Soupsand'..... category. So tonight's effort was an homage to the cooking of the southern states ....... we went for Sweetcorn Chowder and Cornbread. Picture here;



I made the cornbread in the PC. It ended up being slightly dry - but it was actually not as dry as it looks. But I cooked it for 12 mins, as per recipe, and the middle was still liquid, so I cooked it for 5 mins more - 3 probably would have done...... However, taste-wise, it was on the money, and the soup was nice and spicy, so a good combo. The Soup recipe was from the Covent Garden soup co cook book, recipe [SEE BELOW - Technical hitch ] but I did not use their cornbread recipe. I would definitely make the cornbread recipe again, as it said in the blogpost, it doesn't make sense to fire up the oven for one batch of cornbread. I used buttermilk in my cornbread - I got it several weeks ago from our local farmers market. It is about the only thing that I can afford at 50p a pint. I did wonder if it was 'off' (despite being unopened), as it smelt very odd. But I think that it was the container, as when it was in the cup, it smelt OK. I have decanted out the rest and put it in new containers in the freezer - so I have enough for 2 more batches or some scones. You may notice that the top of the cornbread is a bit raggedy. I put foil (oiled) over the top of the cake pan, but unfortunately it rose well as it cooked and touched the foil. As it was not fully set in the middle, this stuck to the foil the first time I peeled the cover off Presentation, 'nul points', but it didn't affect the taste.........

I preferred this sweetcorn chowder recipe to the sweetcorn soup recipe that I made from Leanne's PDF booklet several weeks ago. As you blitz the soup, it makes it more substantial - although I didn't add in cream, which is included in the recipe. This is my 'goto' sweetcorn soup recipe

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

For my health - something not to take for granted

For 'quick teas' - sometimes you just need to eat. NOW!

For DP being the sounding board of reason - sometimes even though you know it's not you, you need reassurance........

Thanks for popping in and reading. Mucho appreciated.

See y'all later.

Greying

Greying_Pilgrim

Sweetcorn Chowder Recipe link HERE

Greying

supersaver1000

Nice. And I so love That corn bread. Excuse my ignorance but how do you cook bread in your PC. Will a laptop or iPad be okay. :rotfl: lol but seriously what is a PC. I have a halogen, will that work. 12 mins sounds gr8.