EH - Essex > Hebrides...the next step of the adventure?

Sunshine_girl2

EH you come up with some good ideas for bits I have left over pasta and cauliflower cheese bake it is then for dinner tomorrow night. 

Have just sorted my pots out for tomorrow to fill up and the energy one is looking good now after you mentioning putting some extra away monthly. 

Keep posting I like using your ideas. 

EssexHebridean

Haha happy to be of service SG2 - funny how we all get these little ideas from each other isn’t it - I’m reading through foxgloves diary at the moment and she’s inspired the enthusiasm for batch cooking. (Well, partly her and partly that I finally have a bit of freezer space I can use!) 

It feels thoroughly lovely to be home for the weekend now. MrEH is having to go into London tomorrow so I have a good old fashioned Friday to myself, I’ve not had one of those for a while! I’ve got a range of plans that begin with porridge and go via a trip to the gym through to some cooking. Probably a bit of general clearing and tidying too I think. Oh and finalising the shopping list for the weekly shop. 😁 

EssexHebridean

Morning diary-land - and I hope it’s as gloriously sunny where you are as it is here! 

I’ve been awake since 0630 as MrEH got up considerably earlier than that and I never really got back to sleep afterwards. All good though as I’ve already “achieved” this morning - what a good feeling! The bathroom window has been cracked open for the last hour and a half to air the room - once I’m dressed I’ll do the same thing with the bedroom window too as the sun is pouring in. I’ve also emptied the dishwasher and cleared the draining board, AND decluttered a couple of slices of bread….from the freezer into the form of toast of course! Decided I didn’t fancy porridge after all, and as the end of last weekend’s loaf was there… The kettle was boiled full on the cheap rate this morning and the flask filled with the balance of the water - I’ve already had cheap-brew No2 from that water, (cheap as in the kettle takes a fraction of the time to re-boil!) and it’ll do another couple, yet. 

I’ve also checked the banking - all good. The CC currently has just the food spending on it - last week’s T’s shop and the veg box. 

Financial jobs needing doing: 

- work out the new monthly payment for the garage
- work out the new monthly payment for the service charge
- log in to the online banking (not the app I don’t think) and change both SO’s ready for the payments in April.

Right - time to get going. I’m aiming to head to the gym a little earlier than normal, and I’m going to walk down as it’s such a gorgeous day and it’ll get my days step count in AND save me a dull treadmill warmup too! (I’m also going to take my towel, shower gel and clean clothes as I may as well use their power for a shower than ours!)  But first I have jobs to get done - so I’m off! 

girlatplay

We got a cauliflower in the veg box last fortnight and we had cauliflower cheese then.  LMG is not a great cauliflower lover but stick it in a cheesy sauce and all is good.  Strangely, we didn't get any potatoes in this fortnight's box.  Not even one.  I wonder if it has been an oversight as there was no notification about it and it is one of the standard items.  I bought a bag in the online shop so we don't need any more at the moment but it was a bit odd.

It sounds like a beautiful sunny day in EH-land.  There is a watery sun here (as in like a water colour, it's not raining).  Good plan to do your warm up on the way to the gym and to use their shower!

EssexHebridean

And I did indeed make use of both the glorious weather AND the shower! I’m making more use of the weather now too as I’ve just had my lunch sitting outside - it’s just slightly chilly but only slightly and frankly it’s worth it for the fresh air and sunshine! 

Since getting back from the gym I’ve done a bit more general tidying, and also brought in and folded yesterday’s washing and the bedding that was on the airer indoors too. That included a double fitted sheet and we all know how much fun those aren’t to fold on your own! Also got a loaf on the go in the breadmaker - it was going to be a milk loaf but I got distracted and used water instead - oops! Thankfully the rest of the ingredients are identical, it’s just 10ml more water so I shoved an extra spoonful of flour in to help balance that - I’m sure it’ll be fine! 😆 I’ve had a little tidy up of the pots on our front wall as well - and found an old shallow bowl that will hopefully work for the birds water now the threat of frost seems to have passed - we’ve been using shallow plastic tubs but the wretched pigeons try to stand on the edges and tip them over! 

I think the plan for this afternoon is to put the laptop on and forward an email that MrEH needs to be able to print something off, then set a timer for another 15 minute tidy round before settling myself in at the kitchen worktop for a bit of a prep/cooking session. I might even make some flapjacks or something I think - we’ve got all the ingredients in and it beats giving the supermarket money for something tasty and cakey for later/tomorrow.  

EssexHebridean

Phew! Well, I have not stopped this afternoon! Nabbed a couple of Prolific surveys directly after lunch so grabbed those quickly while they were going, then out to the kitchen after another few minutes just tidying oddments back to where they should live rather than where they WERE living. We now have two individual cottage pies ready to shove in the oven tonight, plus a tub with enough base mix to do the same again cooling ready to freeze. A tub of mixed veg mash (potato, swede & butternut squash) cooling ready to freeze. A tray of flapjacks cooling on the side too, and the bread is out on its rack waiting to be wrapped up once it’s completely cold. Oh, and a big tub of shredded veg to make coleslaw is sitting in the fridge too - we’ll have a dollop each with tea tonight just to get some more veggies in there, and the rest will probably get eaten tomorrow evening. The pots and pans are all washed up too - I feel positively angelic! 😇 

The flapjacks were a particularly satisfying make. Long term readers will be aware of my delight in using things up - whether that’s the end of a tube of toothpaste or the last of a packet of an ingredient, there’s a distinct glow you get from seeing something that’s been hanging around off and ditching the packaging. The flapjacks used the last of a pack of mixed dried fruit, the last of a pack of desiccated coconut, and the final few dried apricots, as well as almost the last of the current pack of pumpkin seeds. They’re also delicious - well yes, of course I’ve just snuffled a nice crunchy corner piece alongside my cup of tea!  

My only other plans for the remainder of today now are to finish this cuppa, then do some yoga I think. Then it’s bottom + sofa + G&T = Happy EH! 😁

Cheery_Daff

Wow, what a cheerful and productive day you've had! Exactly what a Friday should be I say! 😁😁

savingholmes

Sounds like you have been extremely productive. 

I'm now tempted to bake flapjacks... syrup's low cal right ??? 

redofromstart

Sounds like a lovely productive day. We are doing 800 calories days and I shouldn't read about food!

EssexHebridean

Cheery it really has been an excellent Friday - I hope yours has been every bit as lovely!  SH, Redo - the flapjacks are lovely, a bit different to my usual ones with coconut and glacé cherries in - I usually throw in whatever nuts I have handy but only had flaked almonds this time - tasty but a very different texture to brazils, or hazelnuts. I did use syrup this time but sometimes sub honey instead - seems to work just as well. 

Had a brainwave earlier on and rescued my bag of wool and crochet hooks from the cupboard. It’s been long enough since I’d crocheted that I needed to refresh my memory on all bar the initial foundation row, but double and treble came flooding back quickly enough with a quick tutorial (thank you YouTube). I also rediscovered the crocheted flowers I made for a previous project that never got completed, and have now begun the scarf that they were originally planned to adorn. It’s a nice relaxing thing to sit and do, it may even suit being taken to Lundy when we go, and as I already had a nice bag of wool (purchased in a charity shop years ago) it’s free, too! 

One small spend to declare from today - £2.99 for a set of samples of a deodorant I’ve been thinking about trying - on one of these offers where you just pay the postage. If it works for me this size will be perfect for travel, but I’m a bit funny about deodorants hence not being willing to try the (quite expensive) full size version. For that price I’m happy to try it though.