Cooking for one

Nelski

caronc wrote: »

Fish pie or a veggie curry/lasagne would be my go to for this. all pretty forgiving re what you put in them. If they all like fish and you happened to have any somoked white fish cullen skink is lovely and could be a wee nod to Burns' Night,
I'm also not "cooking for one" this weekend quite the opposite with ten us for dinner. tomorrow and two of us (unless my son's out and about) on Saturday. Making a "crowd pleaser" of a sort of coq au vin followed by trifle. Apart from chicken thighs, shallots, a bit of extra veg and cream the rest is all from stores so tomorrow is working out a pretty cheap night.( I realise the stores stuff I have already paid for but that money has already been accounted for in previous spends so still feels like a cheap night) Although I do make chicken dishes for myself neither of these are really what I would make for myself and I think a rich chicken dish is best made in larger amounts and while you can make an individual trifle you need to make lots of them so definitely something I'd buy if the trifle notion struck. I'm looking forward to something I wouldn't usually have and hoping there might be some chicken left so I freeze some for a future meal. Saturday will be a freezer rake depending on what "the boy" fancies or is doing.

oooooh trifle now theres a plan :rotfl: Fish pie is what I was thinking to be honest but then i started to think curry afternoon so not decided yet The terrible thing is I could do both and still not make a hole in my stocks :o yours sounds lovely I wish I could do one of my go tos but they are all meat based so its back to the drawing board.

caronc

PasturesNew wrote: »

This is the thing for "settled singles of a settled age", you don't want a 4-bed house, but you'd like the downstairs functionality they come with. Singles need just as much cooking/utility type of space as most families, yet the way houses are built you have bed3 and bed4 upstairs that you don't need.

A 2 bed house simply doesn't have enough downstairs, or laid out right, most of the time ...

We'd all like a utility room, space to store all that cleaning carp, outdoor shoes, brushes, washing on a drier, space for recycling ... and maybe a tiny "craft/hobbies" corner or bit of worktop.

My actual kitchen footprint is large really.... but it's very odd, which I can't describe. The long and short of it is that all the base units are single cabinets and dark in colour and the services shut offs and plugs etc are behind the base units, so you have to really not use them if you wish to be able to access those "in an emergency". And there aren't enough sockets, nor are they in the right spots. My kitchen is, say, like a 2-sided 6' galley kitchen .... where the walls are 12' apart - I'm forever walking back/forth, back/forth, back/forth, back/forth .... there is actually room for a table/4 chairs in there, except I've not got those (I do plan to get a table in that spot by 2018). I'd like a bench seating bit by that table, but there's a s0ddin' radiator there.

Developers are building for the maximum profit possible, while fitting in a ticklist of things that are needed to be included. To actually "design" that space etc would add costs to their development costs so they're not interested in doing that... so you end up living in an "awkward house, that could be better if only they'd ...."

Spot on PN, that and I don't want a new build (always lived in old houses) and I can't manage stairs (thankfully although I have an upstairs it's a loft conversion and up there was where ny sons' bedrooms were (are) ) so it's going to be a trial, There are some old flats in my area that kind of fit the bill but they seldom come up and when they do they are either needing masses of work or are upstairs or go for so much that financially it wouldn't be worth downsizing. I'm in no hurry but if I can't get back to work soon will need to seriously think about it :-(

Nelski

Tomorrow of course has to be Pizza Garlic Bread and Popcorn for the inauguration

caronc

Nelski wrote: »

oooooh trifle now theres a plan :rotfl: Fish pie is what I was thinking to be honest but then i started to think curry afternoon so not decided yet The terrible thing is I could do both and still not make a hole in my stocks :o yours sounds lovely I wish I could do one of my go tos but they are all meat based so its back to the drawing board.

To me fish pie ticks all the boxes for a lazy afternoon with friends, all prepped before and not much clearing up afterwards. Curry I think is more boozy Saturday night in, with the Sunday to clear up (think of all the side dishes and bits) and recover:) - depends I suppose what you are doing on the Monday

PasturesNew

Nelski wrote: »

Tomorrow of course has to be Pizza Garlic Bread and Popcorn for the inauguration

I'm a thoroughly uneducated and untravelled heathen. I don't know what's going on in THIS country, so I've absolutely ZERO interest in what others are up to

meg72

PasturesNew wrote: »

This is the thing for "settled singles of a settled age", you don't want a 4-bed house, but you'd like the downstairs functionality they come with. Singles need just as much cooking/utility type of space as most families, yet the way houses are built you have bed3 and bed4 upstairs that you don't need.

A 2 bed house simply doesn't have enough downstairs, or laid out right, most of the time ...

We'd all like a utility room, space to store all that cleaning carp, outdoor shoes, brushes, washing on a drier, space for recycling ... and maybe a tiny "craft/hobbies" corner or bit of worktop.

My actual kitchen footprint is large really.... but it's very odd, which I can't describe. The long and short of it is that all the base units are single cabinets and dark in colour and the services shut offs and plugs etc are behind the base units, so you have to really not use them if you wish to be able to access those "in an emergency". And there aren't enough sockets, nor are they in the right spots. My kitchen is, say, like a 2-sided 6' galley kitchen .... where the walls are 12' apart - I'm forever walking back/forth, back/forth, back/forth, back/forth .... there is actually room for a table/4 chairs in there, except I've not got those (I do plan to get a table in that spot by 2018). I'd like a bench seating bit by that table, but there's a s0ddin' radiator there.

Developers are building for the maximum profit possible, while fitting in a ticklist of things that are needed to be included. To actually "design" that space etc would add costs to their development costs so they're not interested in doing that... so you end up living in an "awkward house, that could be better if only they'd ...."[/QUOTe

So agree with this, I live in a tiny one bed old folks bungalow , why is it that developers think old folk don't need space. Its meant for a couple but honestly it would be a tight fit and as for storage forget it. Singles and old folk still need a washing machine, cooker fridge, freezer and dishwasher and by the time that's in the kitchen theres just about room for one.

caronc

meg72 wrote: »

PasturesNew wrote: »

This is the thing for "settled singles of a settled age", you don't want a 4-bed house, but you'd like the downstairs functionality they come with. Singles need just as much cooking/utility type of space as most families, yet the way houses are built you have bed3 and bed4 upstairs that you don't need.

A 2 bed house simply doesn't have enough downstairs, or laid out right, most of the time ...

We'd all like a utility room, space to store all that cleaning carp, outdoor shoes, brushes, washing on a drier, space for recycling ... and maybe a tiny "craft/hobbies" corner or bit of worktop.

My actual kitchen footprint is large really.... but it's very odd, which I can't describe. The long and short of it is that all the base units are single cabinets and dark in colour and the services shut offs and plugs etc are behind the base units, so you have to really not use them if you wish to be able to access those "in an emergency". And there aren't enough sockets, nor are they in the right spots. My kitchen is, say, like a 2-sided 6' galley kitchen .... where the walls are 12' apart - I'm forever walking back/forth, back/forth, back/forth, back/forth .... there is actually room for a table/4 chairs in there, except I've not got those (I do plan to get a table in that spot by 2018). I'd like a bench seating bit by that table, but there's a s0ddin' radiator there.

Developers are building for the maximum profit possible, while fitting in a ticklist of things that are needed to be included. To actually "design" that space etc would add costs to their development costs so they're not interested in doing that... so you end up living in an "awkward house, that could be better if only they'd ...."[/QUOTe

So agree with this, I live in a tiny one bed old folks bungalow , why is it that developers think old folk don't need space. Its meant for a couple but honestly it would be a tight fit and as for storage forget it. Singles and old folk still need a washing machine, cooker fridge, freezer and dishwasher and by the time that's in the kitchen theres just about room for one.

Absolutely fourteen years ago my Dad was toying with the idea of moving into a "retirement" flat after my Mum died, he wasn't that old but had a number of substantial health issues so needed to find something he could manage. After viewing a few he sauntered off and bought a downstairs 4-in-a-block flat, saying he could never live in somewhere where he couldn't "live". The flat is in a rubbish area which brings it's own issues at times but boy is it ideal for an older person who wants to cook, have hobbies and potter about - I'm sure there is a market (probably super expensive) for folk who might need an element of support in their later years but still want to live a little.....

PasturesNew

caronc wrote: »

meg72 wrote: »

I'm sure there is a market (probably super expensive) for folk who might need an element of support in their later years but still want to live a little.....

This is the thing, everything's available, at a price. Round here there's a small estate for over 55s which describes itself as issuing a "lifetime tenancy" when you buy the house. So you buy the house - live among other over 55s, but when you leave/die your tenancy ends and the next person has to be over 55 and also gets a lifetime tenancy. They're nice enough - regular houses - you'd not notice anything different about them. Similar to this house I am sitting in .... but whereas this house is currently worth, say, £250k, those ones cost closer to £300k.

It's nice living with people "just like yourself" whether you're 20, 40, or 60. If all the neighbours are "of a similar type" there's less chance they'll be "completely different to you in a very annoying way"...

When I was looking for this house my sibling said "if you can't find what you like, why don't you buy a bungalow and modernise it" - trouble was, I was waving around about £200k and old fashioned bungalows that needed "all the work doing" started at £250k! And you'd need, say, £20-30k budget.... if I'd been waving £280k to start with I'd have been able to find something I liked

moneyistooshorttomention

Oh yes - storage space. That was one of my first priorities when I bought this house - and I've found ways to add a noticeable amount of extra storage space one way or another and my mind boggles how previous owners managed with the small amount it had when I bought it.

To me - the whole concept of older people being deemed to need less space strikes me as distinctly odd. Come retirement and I instantly needed more space. Reason being - I was using previous places as a base (spending 9-5 Monday to Friday at work). Add that I was living in a house in a "busier/buzzier" place in a bit better climate than here as another factor that affected me personally (though it wouldnt affect people who stayed in the same environment - but there are quite a few people that do end up moving on retirement for one reason or another).

So - for some of us we need more space because we will be home more than whilst we were working age. Others will have the double thing of moving to a "quieter" place. Both of which lead to a more home-centred life and a greater need for hobbies and interests - and...yep....we need a bigger home than we had. We certainly cant manage with a smaller one. Not to forget that those of us moving to elsewhere in the country will be planning/hoping on friends and relations coming to stay sometimes - and we need room for that too.

I don't know about anyone else - but, when I get to 84 I guess I will probably start giving things away wholesale. Reason being - that I won't anticipate needing possessions much longer. But, in that space of time shortly after retirement, I'd be willing to bet that many of us are busily acquiring extra stuff - for all those extra hobbies/interests/etc that we now have time for.

....and then we're told "Oh you only need a weeny little OAP place now":cool::mad:

moneyistooshorttomention

PasturesNew wrote: »

caronc wrote: »

When I was looking for this house my sibling said "if you can't find what you like, why don't you buy a bungalow and modernise it" - trouble was, I was waving around about £200k and old fashioned bungalows that needed "all the work doing" started at £250k! And you'd need, say, £20-30k budget.... if I'd been waving £280k to start with I'd have been able to find something I liked

:rotfl:at the thought of £20k-£30k budget to modernise an old-fashioned bungalow. An old-fashioned bungalow is exactly what I bought. Now - I rather lost count of just how much money I have spent to date on the place since getting it. I'm not doing it up to luxury standard by any manner of means and it's not huge (2 bedrooms - fitted into a space modern ticky-tacky box houses would have crammed 3 bedrooms/2 bathrooms into). However - taking a very wild guess at which I've spent to get it to what has been described to me as "mid-market" standard and I would not be unduly surprised to find that I've spent noticeably over £30,000 to date. I am about to do the new kitchen finally (yep...it does badly need it....) and it's going to be mid-market again and the final figures are starting to come through on that and I estimate it will be around £13,000 for everything (except replacing floor covering - as I'm leaving existing there I bought myself when I did a temporary "make do" on it at the start). Probably around £45,000??? I estimate it will need about £10,000 more to finish it.

:eek:£55,000:eek:.

That's before I make up my mind whether to add a conservatory or no. That's with the windows and front/back door having already been swopped to upvc doubleglazed. Apart from those windows/doors - I don't think much work at all had been done on it by the (several) previous owners that had it and that means "Nowt much since the 1970s - as about all that got done was what they got a grant to cover the cost of. There aint any grants any more basically....".

Savings are a thing I used to have.....