Cooking for one (Mark Two)

caronc

Good morning everyone,
Poppystar: I find broad beans, cauliflower, corn, peas, leeks and spinach are good veg to have from frozen. I'll also freeze and excess peppers, mushrooms etc. I'm less keen on mixed veg and don't like frozen broccoli

Cloudy and damp here today and rain forecast so I'll do a quick bin dash and water the greenhouse before the weather closes in.

Just had a lovely Facetime with my eldest who is currently in Athen's visiting his GF's parents, they were sitting in their "garden" room shaded from the sun enjoying fruit & veg her Dad had grown. Her folks have built outdoor kitchen & living areas and a couple of bedrooms that open up to outdoors and basically live there during the hotter months. It looks idyllic .:D They also have a house on one of the near by islands so they are heading there for a few days later in the week. My son is a typical "fair" Scot so it will be suncream Factor "dufflecoat" lol for him.:rotfl::rotfl:
Mean while in less than sunny Scotland I need to get my short ribs in the slow cooker, I browned them last night so just a quick assembly needed today. I'll cook them today but have them tomorrow so I can let the fat solidify overnight and take it off. I hate greasy casseroles. I've no idea what to have tonight though so need to have a noodle through the freezer and see what I fancy . For lunch I should be using up the beetroot I cooked the other day and some cucumber but I've not had breakfast yet so I think a cooked brunch might be more what I fancy in which case I'll freeze the beetroot as it needs using, I don't want to pickle it and don't want to waste it.

moneyistooshorttomention

PasturesNew wrote: »

... I always think that's a nice idea but then CBA.

My CFO "tip" would be to slice them in half from top to bottom so you've got two halves to stuff.... because they cook much quicker ... and speed is king.


Faster = costs less. Or "saving the planet" as you're using less energy... which phrase you use depends on if you're poor/tight, or an eco-friendly middle classer who will be making them on the newly acquired Aga.

No Aga in my place PN - got rid of the blimmin' thing when I bought the house (ie its equivalent). CBA to learn to use one and they cost too much to run.

But I reckon I might cut my peppers in half and stuff them with some "ready":o mixed packet quinoa and rice. Thinks - bit of tomato sauce and maybe some sweet potato slices. Still working my way round to thinking how I'm going to do corn on the cob - other than the slathering with loads of butter I usually do...

Thinks - wonder how tahini sauce is with corn on the cob???

I think I've just figured out dinner today.

Thank goodness - as how much I CBA correlates directly with how many recent sodders there have been (yep...another one yesterday). I think I need a clear run of at least a month of no sodders happening to "get a good run" at doing some cooking planning.

EDIT; I have just this second been told yesterdays Sodder event has been removed and replaced by a Shiner instead (Shiner being "shining sun"). Just as well I complained - and nice to have something turned on its head into being beneficial instead. That's a bit more "emotional energy" to spare for the cooking then...

SunnyGirl

I buy and use frequently frozen sliced mixed peppers which I throw into almost everything I eat I also buy peas, green beans and broad beans. Frozen chunks of butternut squash and sweet potato are also good for a couple of soups I make.


I prefer tinned sweetcorn and things like carrots fresh.


Morning all. Work again so usual packed lunch. Tea this evening is sausage pasta that I made last week (Wednesday I think?) and froze the portion of sauce so only need to cook pasta tonight. Am looking forward to this as it was lovely and tasty and simple to make - cooked chunks of caramelised onion and pork sausages with onions, sliced peppers, a carton of pasatta, garlic, mixed herbs, salt & pepper and a pinch of sugar - then mixed with cooked pasta.


Spent an OCD and fun, for me, hour cutting all my dishwasher tablets in half last night haha. I need a life I know! My parents kindly sharpened their elbows for me and went to Lidl for a box of theirs on offer at £1.79. Thanks to PN for letting me know

Farway

Afternoon folks

Up early again, and made effort to eat the last of the fish fingers to aid the freezer clear out. This time I thought I would fry them, normally I grill stuff, except eggs

I made a 5 finger fried fish finger sarnie with Tartare sauce. It was better than the grilled version but just glad the packet is now gone. However I have a sneaky feeling it's sibling is in the bottom drawer somewhere

Toddled into town, just Asda mooch, nothing much except fresh broccoli, and fell for McVities hobnobs down to 50p. I do like them but try not to have them in the house as they keep popping in my gob every time I go in the kitchen

Yet another sos roll mid morning

Lunch was cheese & tom sarnie, with a hobnobs pudding

Sun is out, rain maybe later, so must get out and pick some blackberries to freeze for jam making sometime in the future

Dinner is a very CBA quickie, baked spud, gas 4, come back in an hour type, with salad & very likely grated cheese in the buttery hot spud, salad with salad cream splodges. Maybe more hob nobs?

SunnyGirl

Farway wrote: »

Dinner is a very CBA quickie, baked spud, gas 4, come back in an hour type, with salad & very likely grated cheese in the buttery hot spud, salad with salad cream splodges. Maybe more hob nobs?

Sounds pretty good to me right now

candygirl

Think i'm having baked new spuds, smothered in sea salt n olive oil, then covered in cheese n coleslaw.One of my fave comfort meals 😀

PasturesNew

I CBA to cook anything I've got - but I'm absolutely starving!!!



I regret buying the crumble really .... it's a biggun .... for 4 .... with today's date on it.

SunnyGirl

PasturesNew wrote: »

I CBA to cook anything I've got - but I'm absolutely starving!!!



I regret buying the crumble really .... it's a biggun .... for 4 .... with today's date on it.

I'd just have the crumble or as much of it as you fancy for tea

Hollyharvey

I've had a lovely day today without any CFO. I'm over at my brother's house at the moment. My SIL cooked us roast chicken, roast potatoes, stuffing, yorkshire puddings, carrots/peas, cauliflower, broccoli and runner beans for lunch. We were all too full for the cheesecake for afters so are going to have that shortly with a sandwich for tea.


I'm so glad now that I thought to give breakfast a miss this morning to make way for the large lunch.


It makes a lovely change not to have to cook for myself

Farway

That's dinner done, the salad / baked spud option was just the easy meal I wanted it to be, and with my own grown toms as well. Excellent, and now stuffed with no room for hob nobs. May squeeze a going over banana & yoghurt in later

I did pick loads of blackberries, all duly cooked and cooling ready for freezing & use later

Yesterday's winds bought down more apples, picked them up and will find a use for them stewed, maybe crumble or perhaps freeze ready for this jam I am going to make come Autumn

Also picked over 1.6Kg of yet more runners, I have rom to freeze them now but have not been too successful with that, and really CBA to blanch / cool them etc. I could try salting them, but because you never see salted beans anywhere I guess freezing is now King

Found another hazard of living on own. I stabbed a thorn in my finger picking the blackberries, no one to get it out except me, using my left hand as best as I can. poor old me