Cooking for one (Mark Two)

moneyistooshorttomention

You'll be in good company actually if you do so Kittie (ie "talking to the walls").

If you've ever read Erin Brockovich's book about her life - then one of her ways of dealing with life is to talk out loud to the most sensible person in the room (ie herself):rotfl:.

I understand her logic - as if I'm trying to think things through - then I have to switch off anything I've got on (radio/tv/computer) and then I can "hear myself think" and phrase things out clearly in my mind and "wait for answers" and see if anything useful comes up. Even if it's just low-level mundane stuff like "must remember to do this/try that/etc". Any more major level thinking - and walks come in handy for "hearing myself think" and deciding what to do/summoning up strength to deal with any situations where I know "someone somewhere" is going to object to what I've decided and I'll have a fight on my hands to resolve it (be it minor things like getting a refund for faulty goods from a shop determined not to give it up to more Major Issues of where someone is trying to alter my whole life to what I've decided on).

PasturesNew

caronc wrote: »

.... tinned sprouts they were dire but she had paid for them so we were going to eat them. My brother "accidently" dropped one and our dog which was a complete dustbin licked it and then left it........(more than us kids were allowed to do!)

That's how I live - "paid for it, so I have to eat it". I never waste anything as it'd break my heart

I've not been eating much - had a tomato sandwich and some biscuits last night as I got caught up with something ...

Farway

caronc wrote: »

What about kipper pate? Easy to make and lovely on toast. I make it along these lines with any oily smoked fish http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/international/european/british/kipper-pate though add a wee bit cream cheese or creme fraiche if I have any and don't tend to bother with the parsley and nutmeg just lots of coarse black pepper (a splash of tabasco is good):)

Thanks for the idea Caron, printed off & may even make that today, seems simple and my kippers are boil in bag so no faffing involved there. In fact the more I think about it the tastier it gets, I've got some stale wholemeal bread that is crying out to be toasted & topped with HM pate. Freezer here I come :T

Dull & dank, rain started, forecast is South coast takes the hit today, looks like at least 3 of us are in for a drenching. I have stayed in, bit of catching up day, picked up more apple fallers before rain started, and now have a large pot of stewed apples. Not sure what to do with them, crumble is easy option, I thought of apple Charlotte, then looked up recipe and CBA on that idea

Because I am in this morning it was toast & ginger marmalade for breakfast, plus the very last of Hob Nobs . Seems I ma not the only one who just keeps going if something is opened and available. Kittie,Chocs were one reason I never bought the W/rose £10 deal, it was chocs or wine, and both are forbidden fruit for me.

Lunch, not sure, there is time to make the pate, but more likely it will be normal for Farway cheese salad sarnie

Dinner, again not sure, could be LO not so super pie, or ????

Right, off to get a bag of kippers out of the freezer

Laters

Hollyharvey

When I was trying to tidy the chest freezer yesterday I found a couple of smallish bits of gammon. I seem to recall buying a gammon around Christmas time, cutting it into three small joints and freezing them. As I found two, that means there is another one in there somewhere buried in the freezer


I defrosted one of them and that is now in the slow cooker in some cider that was also frozen in ice cubes. I'll have that with some new potatoes, steamed veg and I'll make a parsley sauce. Simple and plain, but tasty . There will be enough left over for either a couple of days sandwiches or maybe with egg and chips tomorrow.


Lunch will be a cheese sandwich with either pickle or salad. I fancy pickle but think there is some salady bits that need using up.

Hollyharvey

PasturesNew wrote: »

...

That sounds interesting. It sounds like you won't be thinking much about food today either .

[Deleted User]

faraway, yes I learnt my lesson, they weren`t even nice chocs, just sweet. Money lol, I am always having good converstaions with myself

Pizza has gone into the freezer as I had forgotten about the opened roll mops. Love them and will still be having enough veg but they`ll be done in one pan with some broken spelt spaghetti and added spring onions and mint. I don`t care about the combo as it is all very tasty and I am looking forward to it

One of the apple trees is producing apples ready to cook, so that is what I doing, a bit at a time, only one panful today, got to eat things faster out of the freezer. I made 4 baked apples too, all done on their own in small enamel dishes

I have some small amounts of cooked gammon holly, blowed if they are going to be wasted. I`ll have to eat them, maybe on some sandwiches over a few days

caronc

Good afternoon everyone,
Farway - glad you are making the pate. I'm toying with doing likewise myself again with boil in the bag kippers as I know I've some in the freezer and it is very tasty. Actually decision made the kippers are coming out......:D ETA - found a pack of smoked mackeral when raking so going with that:)

Talking to yourself - doesn't everyone mainly it's the only way to get a sensible answer.:D;)

I fair enjoyed my cottage pie last night and there was enough veg/meat/gravy mix to make two single portion ones so the spare will get popped in the freezer later. I bought a pack of lidded foil trays from Wilko ages ago and they were just a perfect size for this and meant I've managed to equal portions. Like PN I seem to struggle with the right size of dish for things so find these handy for CFO pies.

Next door's cat has decided it's a good game to sit at my patio door and yowl! He's very timid but since Ben died has ventured in the house a couple of times. I tried opening the door to see if he was yowling to get in but no and he could easily go home through their window if he wanted to so not sure what's up, there's no sign of another cat in the area and he's not injured so I think it's just a game to him.:)

My Dad popped by earlier for a cuppa and I managed to off load the wafer thin ham that my son left and I'm not keen on to him. I wouldn't have wasted it but glad to see it go to a good home.

Breakfast was the usual and lunch will be a re-run of yesterday of boiled duck egg & tomato in a crusty roll.

Dinner tonight will be a version of a Nigel Slater dish of pasta in a pea sauce with crispy bacon. Just a few ingredients but definitely one of those dishes that is nicer than the sum of it's parts. Any LO sauce can be diluted down for a quick bowl of soup. I like a lot of Nigel Slater recipes they tend to serve two, scale to one ok and don't have 100s of fancy ingredients and processes.

PasturesNew

caronc wrote: »

I like a lot of Nigel Slater recipes they tend to serve two, scale to one ok and don't have 100s of fancy ingredients and processes.

My sibling swears by him - but I disagree .... I think it depends on the type of food you would typically buy/have/cook. Certainly, for me, most of his ingredients are "far too fancy" and things I never have.

He's another one if you watch him carefully that talks of CFO, but then uses up "leftovers" that only a large family would have leftover ... and makes a HUGE amount of something, then spoons a tiny bit into a bowl and says "great ... CFO". His fridge is larger than many kitchens (and I bet he's got 2-3 of them).

PasturesNew

I've almost decided. Not had anything yet ... but later I'll have a chicken roast dinner. CFO style.

It'll be: roast chicken (bought small pack ready made), Yorkies (clear the freezer of 3 small ones), stuffing (packet), carrots I bought the other day, instant mash as I've no real spuds, instant gravy. Might open a tin of peas if I've got one, else I've a tin of green beans... and I might add a spoonful of sweetcorn, just because it exists.

I've also decided that this week I will adapt one of my most favourite meals that mum used to cook, but leaving out one of the main ingredients and cook it in the slow cooker. This is because I have a hankering for it - and it's best done in the slow cooker due to the vast quantities it makes. It'll also use up a tin of soup I've had lurking for about 3 years intending to make this dish.

moneyistooshorttomention

Caron - no expert on cat behaviour. But could it be he's spied a vacancy at your house/taken note of the cooking smells coming out from it sometimes and thought "I'll have a bit of that" (ie as what you cook sometimes sounds quite tasty to me).

Maybe he's waiting hoping to get a message over to you to stick a bowl of your cooking outside for him to eat, then move it in a bit nearer the door, then inside the door, etc, etc and bit by bit he tries out the fare at your house and, if he likes it, then he moves in:)

Who says cats are daft?:rotfl: He's probably working on a plan to move in with you:rotfl:

*********

Farway - re apple charlotte. Once in a blue moon I fancy that - and just stew a bit of apple (ie chopped-up apple/some sweetening of some description/bit of water). Followed by putting the stewed apple in ovenproof dish and chuck a few breadcrumbs over it (translation - bit of blitzed leftover bread or bit of grated bread) sauted for a couple of minutes with little butter and maybe a bit more suitable flavourings (cinnamon? nutmeg? mixed spice?). Chuck on any seeds or nuts I fancy.

Bingo - job done.

It's doubtless not the "proper" way to do things. But it does the trick.