The Simple Bare Necessities feat. Gratitude & Recipes

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

Well, tas been a funny old day......... We didn't actually plan to go out anywhere (as in visiting) and we ended up staying pretty close to the homestead. DH combined trips and went to get a bulb (for a different light) and did the recyling and a few other bits and bobs. Baby Greying and I stayed home, out of the bitter wind and amused ourselves BG did actually go to sleep for an hour or so later on this afternoon :j It was bliss I had to stay right by, as they had decided to fall asleep on the couch, so they were 'safely ensconced' and mumma sat about 3 inches away to monitor their every move! But I did have the opportunity to sort through my notebooks and think about menu planning. i'm not as organised as EH and Pippi, and won't be 'publishing' mine anytime soon, but hopefully 'summat' will make it to the table, each night this week :rotfl::T

Lunch was just vegetable and lentil soup with toasted smoked cheese sangers. I picked up the cheese in m&$ for £1 YS'd. Red Leicester, smoked over hickory. Actually very nice, and whilst I actually like bavarian smoked cheese, I actually preferred this I have a cunning plan for the remaining bit, after getting inspiration from one of my notebooks this arvo.

The soup was a triumph of 'use up'. 2 bendy parsnips went in, a couple of carrots (not bendy ), a 'pick of the week' onion from mrL, bottom of the dish garlic cloves (you know, the wee ones that are a nuisance to peel......), the last bendy bit of celery out of the fridge, the last of the red pepper pasta sauce, that has done everything, but coat pasta! :rotfl:a handful of lentils and a stockpot from my h3ron bargain box. Very filling, and just right given the weather - real soup territory

We were still actually full, so tea proved something of a dilemma, as I was going to do a 'bake' but didn't have anything 'potatoey' to accompany it. So I was going to do the Masala omlette recipe out of the Royal Marsden Cancer cookbook, and shove some mrL beans on the side - but me - being me - slowly morphed it into a buddha bowl, taking inspiration from the omlette recipe and making a dish of it I cooked up some brown basmati rice (love that stuff - have I mentioned it? :rotfl:), then I cooked up onion, garlic, chilli, ginger, grated carrot and grated sweet potato - to which I added the 'masala' spicing from the omlette recipe. I steamed some spinach in the microwave and defrosted the last of the mugg (mung bean curry). So the plate was; brown basmati rice, topped with spinach, topped with masala vegetables, topped with a coriander omlette, topped with a portion of mugg, topped with natural yoghurt and a sprinkling of nigella seeds Phew! Picture here;



I can't find the actual RM cookbook recipe that inspired me, but Nigella has done a version, and the only difference is that the RM masala spice included cinnamon. Find Nigella's version HERE. In actuality, the omlette in my tea only had salt, pepper and fresh coriander in it, the masala spicing went into the veg.

It's made me thing that buddha bowls may be a better 'Sunday night tea' going forward. As if we do go out for the day, it is easier to construct a BB - particularly if it is a proper one based on 'leftovers', than it perhaps is to start a 'bake' from scratch at whatever time in the afternoon. Summat to ponder, me thinks

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

time spent with Baby Greying, but equally time spent on 'me' things, because DH plays his part

simple, tasty food

central heating - although I don't want to think about the bill................. :eek:

Ta muchly for popping by and reading. I appreciate it greatly.

Greying X

EssexHebridean

Brown Basmati rice - I happened to notice that Home Bargains had bags of it for £1 I think....looked like 1kg bags so thought that was good value? I'm just about half way down my current bag at the moment so didn't buy more - it lasts me ages as it's only me that eats it!

Greying_Pilgrim

EssexHebridean wrote: »

Brown Basmati rice - I happened to notice that Home Bargains had bags of it for £1 I think....looked like 1kg bags so thought that was good value?

Precisely where I got mine from hun, and yes, £1 a kg

Greying X

greenbee

I could have SWORN I replied

Glad you had a lovely day.

I made mugg (having been planning it since you first mentioned it) and am wondering why I haven't made it for ages. I also made a chicken, aubergine, fennel and pepper casserole - most of which will be frozen - and which I ate with brown basmati

Buddha bowls on Sunday sound like a great idea, particularly as it takes the pressure off precious family time.

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

greenbee, I really like mugg, but unless I see some heavily discounted mung beans, that's it for the foreseeable future, as that was the last portion in the freezer. I'm pretty sure that last time I went to the next city along, to the asian grocery there, that mung beans were either dearer than brown lentils, or the same price. But lentils are more versatile IYSWIM, as alot of middle-eastern cookery features them. OK, mung beans can be found in SE asian cuisine, but that's not something we go a whole bundle on here at Greying Towers. So I have to direct my 'buck' as to where I get most 'bang'. Having said that, you know that I like to keep learning new dishes, so never say never

Urgh, it is supposed to remain cold today Better keep the heating on, on the thermosat control. But we will endeavour to get out and about, for some fresh air, to pick up a thing or two, and hopefully to take this week's donation to the FB.

Dinner this evening will be leek bake out of the freezer. Makes up for not having 'bake' last night and also conforms to Monday nights - 'from the freezer' off the planner But I do need to get some tatties to put with it.

I think that I will change the meal-planner around for November. The weekly way is working better for me anyway, so another little experimental tweek can't harm. I can always revert back if it's not working.

I've just been looking up when Christmas falls this year. Will we get an additional bank holiday, as Christmas day falls on a Sunday? Anyone know? I must start to think what to have for our 'solstice' meal - I still like to celebrate that more than Christmas. This will change in future years, i am sure, but for the time being, I will celebrate the impending return of the light With summat nice to eat

I must write an e-mail to my Learned Friend, and compose a little notelet to another friend. We have a mummy friend visiting this week, so a dust and a sort is in order Thankfully, we have no tradespeople calling round - I shall just be sat by the letterbox, eagerly awaiting their quotes

Right, my coffee is a rinkable temperature. I need to find the hairbrush and get BG looking spick and span, buffed and polished, kissed and cuddled Not necessarily in that order

Thanks so much for popping by reading and joining in. I greatly appreciate it.

Greying X

greenbee

Just checked my work calendar - we get Monday and Tuesday as bank holidays

Must do some work....

Greying_Pilgrim

greenbee wrote: »

Just checked my work calendar - we get Monday and Tuesday as bank holidays

Must do some work....

Thanks hun. I also just looked up Solstice, and it is Wednesday 21st December. So, will it be '........ with rice' or should I have a mid-week push the boat out? :think: :rotfl:

Right, taking inspiration from you, I'm off to get some work done....... after just one more sip of coffee........

Greying X

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, push the boat out Greying, who knows what will happen! Love the idea of celebrating the return of the light with food I'm currently trying to decide which weeks to take off around Christmas - I'd normally take an entire fortnight, activity in this new job is different though and I'm required to do certain things around Christmasish time... but I *think* they allow for us to have two weeks holiday in timescales. Hope so! Will check. But I think I'll take Christmas week and the first week of January off, rather than the solstice week. We'll see!

Tea last night was, er, cheapo pizza and I noticed when I put the recycling out this morning there were FOUR such pizza boxes from probably about the last 10 days :rotfl: Need a bit more variety! I keep posting about it in the hope that it will encourage me to cook more, and it does, really it does, I promise! In my defence, they're not enormous pizzas, and we only ever eat half each, usually with some salad, but even so...

Tis cold out there today Greying, make sure you and Baby Greying wrap up warm! Brrrr...

EssexHebridean

We get the 2nd of January as a Bank Holiday too I believe - as NYD also falls on a Sunday! :T Honestly, it'll be just like being back in Scotland! In fact on that note it will work well for us, as we travel back on the 31st. I will have to have a think about ensuring we have food in though - no idea what our local Supermarkets are likely to do, and there may be a limit to what we can pick up on the way home...

I hereby challenge you...on the Solstice meal - to push the boat out BUT for whatever is IN said boat to get served "....with rice" :rotfl: That ought to tick all the boxes, no?!

greenbee

Mugg with spelt for lunch Just what I need after an energising but rather chilly morning run. Thanks for the inspiration!

And I'm now reorganising my work diary to free up time in the middle of the day as pre/post work runs aren't going to happen as the daylight hours get shorter.