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redofromstart

Greenbee, George wants me to sit down, the others want me to do things or they to sit next to her, which is clearly unacceptable. Cat politics are complicated.

While searching for something to read last night I found my elderly copy of the Shirley Goode Kitchen. A nostalgic read, it was the first cooking programme I watched with my mum (at the grand age of 13), the first cook book I read and one I was actually allowed to make things from. It set me up for frugal adult life - fill the oven, use all of the bits, think about pence per ounce, substitute with what you have, etc. At 13 I used to make the lemon barley water when we found cheap or reduced lemons, and my mother would freeze and use the pearl barley for use in her next casserole. I bought my own copy for 50p in 1995 - it still has the charity shop sticker on!

This set me off this morning to looking at the things that needed using. Tired leeks, unattractive monster carrots, soft potatoes and some sprouting onions. End of a tub of cream, open packet of bacon, tail end of the bread. Things that could easily be binned if I was being lazy.

So - leek and potato soup, sauteed, simmered and blitzed. I'm not sure about the value of the soup maker given that I can wash the pan and the stick blender head in the DW. Chopped leeks, onions and potatoes, sweated in fat for a few minutes, added water to cover and a veg stock cube, simmer for 20 minutes and blitz. Served with a drizzle of cream and some crumbled crispy bacon. Could have made croutons given that I have the heel of the bread and the oven is on.

Finely diced salad potatoes, part cooked, sprinkled with some crispy bacon, fried onions and some grated Parmesan. Beat the last of the eggs, added a splash of the cream,poured them over and gave it half an hour in the oven to make baked fritata. It'll be cut into squares and will go into packed lunches over the next few days.

The carrots are huge - we mostly eat them raw but these I will grate and make my mums carrots. Grate your carrots, tip into greased pyrex bowl. Add a splash of hot water, a knob of butter and a teaspoon of sugar. Lid on, or some scrumpled foil. 20 minutes in the oven is usually enough. You can microwave them - but not with the foil obviously. Improves them dramatically and is my go to recipe for carrots.

Bread sauce, Halved an onion, added to a little milk. Brought it up to warm and left it to stand for a bit. Later I will remove the onion, and add some breadcrumbs (blitzing the heel of the loaf before I grate the carrots), a knob of butter and the dregs of the cream to make proper bread sauce to go with the (reduced) chicken I got out to roast.

I also made her yeasted fruit bread (she calls it bara brith but it isn't), and a bloomer for the boys as I have no eggs left for baking.

The oven will be full the whole time it is on, and we will have roast chicken dinner with all the trimmings, plus lunches and treats for the next few days.

EssexHebridean

Oh my - that food Redo! You've got me drooling here! I LOVE bread sauce but we generally only have it at christmas - I really should think about crumbing the ends of the bread to freeze ready to make it at other times too!

I love Elizabeth David's books but never got around to tracking down a copy of Shirley Goode.

doingitanyway

Total yum again Redo

greenbee

you have galvanised me into action... I have chopped up sweet potato, BNS and onion and am roasting it.

MrsChaos

Sunday afternoon is my cooking time. I made work meals for DS1 (with his help), using leftover pasta from last night and other assorted bits. Bacon and egg cups in the oven for him and a veggie soup for my lunches. Lump of pork in the slow cooker for a Sunday dinner, albeit a bit plainer than yours. Still need to make quesadillas for the boy's breakfasts. No treats, though - OH made scones and cookies on Friday, which aren't all gone yet. Must try out your carrot recipe.

Sun_Addict

To revisit reading in the bath, I bought a bath bar from Amazon for £14 that's got a book holder, candle and wine glass holder, It's fab and hasn't rusted yet even after a couple of years. I did remove the candle holders though as I thought they were dangerous close to paper. I recently bought a rechargeable LED clip on light from Lidl so I can still read in candlelight without the need for the big light. My baths are my sanctuary

On the cooking front I made carrot, spinach, chilli and coriander soup today plus butternut squash falafels. That's me sorted for work lunches for the next few days

NoOneAround

Another closet bath reader here - but Ive never heard of a bath bar to hold a reading book before ! - Need to find me one
I also have gadgets and gizmos rusting in cupboards - including chocolate fountain which was a nightmare to clean but a big success albeit expensive (need good chocolate) for a few kids parties a few years ago!
Hope aches and pains are a little better this week.
NOA
x

redofromstart

I always managed to veto a chocolate fountain NOA - I wasn't there when he bought the candy floss maker which the boys loved. Surprising how little sugar it used but hideous to clean and a huge space in the cupboard.

SA - I had a look on Amazon at the bath shelves - lots to choose from although I was rather surprised to see how many featured tablets/phone phone stands in the pictures. Humidity not good for phones, bathroom and electrics not a good mix, and how are you supposed to switch off if the phone is in with you? Wine stands are genius though.

EH - I wouldn't go out of your way to find a copy, it was more a nostalgic read than ooh must make that recipe. I have a couple of Elizabeth David ones which I re-read every so often. I like readable cookery books like that, with information round the recipes. Jane Grigson, Nigel Slater, early Nigella (nearly Florentine time).

Actually how many cookbooks do we actually regularly use? My most used 'go to' books would be the Hairy Dieters. I re-homed a lot last year but still have 50 plus on the shelf.

Food shopping this morning, before working from home. Didn't take a list, forgot most things. Whoops.

EssexHebridean

I'll add all Huge Furry Wotsit's books to the list of those that are a good read as well as great for recipes. Agree totally about Nigel Slater too (He's a bit of a guilty pleasure - I find his TV persona quite annoying but still can't help watching!).

The ones I use most often are HFW's River Cottage books & Rick Stein I think - oh and Economy Gastronomy which has some superb stuff in it!

On the bath side of things, my spare phone which I use as an iPod usally goes into the room with me so I've got music, but sits on the window sill at the very far side - the bluetooth speaker is waterproof and has controls that can be used to skip through tracks so that goes within reach.

redofromstart

I have most of the HFW books too, I like reading his but not watching him. I bought Economy Gastronomy for my mum but had it delivered to her so I didn't get to pre-check the words. Must borrow it at some point. Delia, obviously. Owned but rarely read.

I just like silence in the bath, a rare and wondrous thing in this house.