Cooking for one (Mark Two)

Farway

Welcome SS

SingleSue wrote: »

Talking about crumpets, I did just that after reading about someone having them somewhere else on MSE a few weeks back :rotfl:. I was even a little naughty and added some chocolate spread.

Sounds like you will slot in nicely

Full on freezing this morning, no snow or anything like that down here, but gales due tomorrow, coming from France, I blame Brexit:D

I have left the heating on, and stayed in, writing my Christmas cards, took about ten minutes, including envelopes & stamps

Breakfast was cuppa with a slice of my tea cake, that is lasting longer than it normally does, no reason, just not eating it this week

Lunch was a use it up. Whilst freezer diving I found a scrunched up opened pack of sliced roasted veg, bought during my Stir Fry everything years. It was BBE Dec 2014, so not too far out of date for CFO

I fried them, then added eggs, sort of mucky omelette, [I've trodden in better looking] to make it look a bit palatable I added grated cheese, then served with dark soy sauce. It was actually quite tasty considering it's heritage

Detour to bacon / turkey. I checked on line the !cland reviews, mixed, some hate the bacon, odd flavour they say. I'm veering towards Mories or Asda, but it depends what I see. I did once buy a 3 bird roast from Li's, OK but not again, but at least I tried it

Dinner will be one of the LO stews, and thinking I will make a quick soda bread to tear into chunks and dip in it, sound like a tasty winter meal plan, until the bread fails

moneyistooshorttomention

Bit of advance thought re dinner today. Got some of the last of my home-made (with oil in) pesto out of freezer and hope it will defrost in time (with having put it on metal to do so).

A portobello mushroom sitting there gills up on kitchen windowsill to catch a bit of sunshine (ie to multiply the Vitamin D content in it) to do with a breadcrumb/tomatoes/pesto/nuts filling and will have baked potato. Bit of steamed spinach with it and that should do me with a bit of fresh fruit afterwards.

spirit

SingleSue wrote: »

Thanks for the welcome guys.

I do wonder if some of my issues are a symptom of being an empty nester but then I am actually loving the peace and quiet, the possesion of the remote control and the not having to ferry people around...although I do admit to having a wobble in the supermarket last night seeing families shopping together and me all on my own and going back to an empty house (bar the cat of course who thinks mum has gone completely bonkers in recent weeks)

I'm with you Sue, also an empty nester. I vary between missing the noise and mess off of having the boomerang kids here and the not of doing what I want and when.

I can't say I notice other shoppers in the store now. Other than me in the house, I've two recent!y rescued (black) cats and a 14yr old existing cat.

Can't decide what to have for dinner. Got loads in the fridge, just cba. Will end up snacking in front of tv watching Strictly if not careful.

*boomerang kids are those that left for uni, came back home, left again for a partner, left them to come home - you get the gist.

Farway

I did make the soda bread to go with my LO stew
Both very nice, and some of the bread left just in case I fancy some with a bit of cheese later

The recipe called for oats in it, but i only have the jumbo ones and thought they would be too chewy / indigestible, so used just flour, very quick & easy

caronc

Good evening everyone
Welcome to the thread spirit, I completely get what you mean re missing the noise & biz of the kids being home but also enjoying my own space/routine:)
Fab looking soda bread Farway just the thing with a bowl of stew:)

The weather was actually quite nice for a spell this afternoon so I managed to get for a short walk which was good. I had just got back in when a hail shower plummeted down so timed that well. It's freezing hard again now and due to dip to -3C by midnight so I expected it will be icy underfoot tomorrow so I'll be confined to barracks again:(

I'm just about to put together a sort of meal plan to take me to next weekend in the hope that motivates me. I've also a few bits in the freezer I want to use up before the festive onslaught begins so even if I veer a bit from my plans hopefully I'll get these used up. I've taken a piece of steak out for tomorrow so at least that's a start and I'll make a big batch of mash at some point to use up some spuds that are by their best for anything bar mash or soup. So far my plan is to:

• make mash
• make beef stock for the New Year steak pie then use up the piece of boiling rib left over
• have at least one of the two frozen HM curries lurking in the freezer
• use up some frozen cooked chicken breast
• use up a lurking portion of tomato & pepper soup that needs defrosting and sieving as it's a bit bitsy as my son made it (well over a year ago :eek::o) and didn't skin the veg before blitzing it and while it tastes great it has left it with a bit of an odd texture for my taste.

Hollyharvey

Farway wrote: »

I did make the soda bread to go with my LO stew
Both very nice, and some of the bread left just in case I fancy some with a bit of cheese later

The recipe called for oats in it, but i only have the jumbo ones and thought they would be too chewy / indigestible, so used just flour, very quick & easy

That looks amazing Farway. I've got some buttermilk here to make some. I have used a recipe with oats in in the past and I wasn't as keen on it. The recipe I use now is the one on the Bord Bia web site https://www.bordbia.ie/consumer/recipes/desserts/Pages/TraditionalBrownSodaBread.aspx

wort

Jacket potato for tea prefer 1 to 2 , always feel too stuffed after 2! But I wouldn't pick small they'd be more med!!
Had it with cheese and onion and tomato and some chopped up piri piri chicken. Passionate yogurt with the last few raspberries in.
I've spent the day, watching Kingsman 2 and catching up with greys anatomy.
I may break into a pack of black pepper crisp later;)

PasturesNew

caronc wrote: »

.... plug in radiator so that you could heat the room you are in....

It costs more to do that than run the gas heating....

PasturesNew

AndyCF wrote: »

Is it just me or something but I seem to prefer two small to one large ? Just seems to be a bit more 'filling' somehow even if the 'eaten content' is about the same ?

I don't care about size. I buy spuds based on £/100g. I'll usually do two simply because "Baking Potatoes" are about £1/Kg at their cheapest.... whereas "Potatoes" are about 60p/Kg. So I just have 2 smaller spuds rather than being sucked in by the larger ones.

PasturesNew

Well, I've done well today - a proper scoffathon!

Breakfast: 2x toast, 2x scrambled eggs, 1/3rd tin of beans
Lunch: 1/3rd of the beef/pineapple curry I made yesterday, with 250g of chips
Tea: 2 hot sausage rolls (last of that six pack)
Snack: 2x toast topped with strawberry jam.

A real blow out day, both in terms of cost and volume!