Cooking for one (Mark Three)

caronc

Good afternoon everyone,

There was a heavy frost this morning, a full on "car scraper"! Sadly no nice sunny day to follow it's turned cold, damp and grey. I'm enjoying a quick sit down after a bit of a wrestle with a duvet cover, it was only after I finished that it struck me that it might have been a good idea to pop a brushed cotton on but I'm not changing it now! Overnight forecast for the rest of the week doesn't look too cold so I should be warm enough without it. Had it been nice again out I'd intended to get more done outdoors but unless the weather picks up later I think I'll leave it for today. Must take brambles out of the freezer today so I can get this year's bramble gin underway.

Soup made from the LO veg & butter bean stew for lunch and if I cba making mash it's bangers & mash for dinner.

unrecordings

Wednesday2000 wrote: »

I like pickled onions and gherkins. Now I want some!:D

I got a cab to my GP appointment today as it was pouring with rain. I had a blueberry and banana smoothie before I left. I got antibiotics and nasal spray.

I was in Coop on the way home and I saw a vegan sandwich so I bought it and just ate it when I got in. Sweet potato pakora, it was quite tasty.:)

Snap almost. Just back from oncologist, via Coop. Must admit I don't really like the Coop, they're very expensive (more so for a lot of stuff than Waitrose) but they do have a nice jalapeno bread in their bakery section, they stock Kingsmill 50/50 (my slicey of choice) and milk from our local independent dairy (Our Cow Molly). So lunch was Laughing Cow cheese triangles on jalapeno bread.

In terms of pickles I'm a big fan of Opies'

caronc

Opies cornichons and pickled walnuts - it's not Christmas without them in my house:D

PasturesNew

I've never had, seen, been offered a pickled walnut... so, with a usual Xmas extra/special/dinner & food budget of about £10 max I'd not have a £3 jar on any list

Actually, on the basis of "you can't buy everything just because it's Xmas" with a thought of "and will you really find the space to eat this item in addition to all the other items" even plain walnuts have always been dropped off the list.

Farway

unrecordings wrote: »

In terms of pickles I'm a big fan of Opies'

Now that's a brand I'd never heard of, just had a search and seems quite common just not one I'd noticed

I find L's pickled gherkins are nice and buy them, I've a jar in fridge even now


Pickled walnuts, love them. We used to pickle out own years back, there was a big old tree nearby. Always had black hands afterwards with staining from sap / juice

I may just splurge out prepping for CFOmas even at £2 a jar [offer in A*da & Sansby]


Popped out to shops posting letter, quite mild actually now drizzle has gone

Wednesday2000

unrecordings wrote: »

Snap almost. Just back from oncologist, via Coop. Must admit I don't really like the Coop, they're very expensive (more so for a lot of stuff than Waitrose) but they do have a nice jalapeno bread in their bakery section, they stock Kingsmill 50/50 (my slicey of choice) and milk from our local independent dairy (Our Cow Molly). So lunch was Laughing Cow cheese triangles on jalapeno bread.

In terms of pickles I'm a big fan of Opies'

They are expensive but i do like some of their stuff.:)

PasturesNew

Farway wrote: »

I may just splurge out prepping for CFOmas even at £2 a jar [offer in A*da & Sansby]

I'm not doing CFOmas this year. Being "homeless" I'm foisting myself upon a relative as the alternative would be a CFOmas in a new HMO.... which wouldn't be any good. The current accommodation is only until the week before Xmas, with zero extensions whatsoever, so I'll be having to move on/out.

I'll be away this year.

caronc

Good evening everyone,
I'm happy to spend at bit extra on things like pickled walnuts at Christmas which we all enjoy, in the unlikely event they don't get scoffed over the festive period they are a very welcome in the dismal months that January & February tend to be. I really look forward to LO festive food in the long dark days of winter...... That said there will be a bit of scaling bake this year as there will only be four of us as my Dad's no longer here:( and my elder son & his fiancee are off to Greece to see her folks. (I can't complain as they've been here for all the holidays for the past couple of years so it's only fair, though I will miss them).

I bet the walnut staining to ages to wash off Farway, but what a lovely thing to be able to make.:)

Yes best to be elsewhere PN for Christmas if you have just moved to a new temporary place, good that you have a relative you can "foist" yourself upon though I'm sure you'll be a welcome guest.:)


On the subject of "dark & dismal" it's started getting dark here really early today. It was gloomy & cold all day, one of those days where the cold seeps into your bones if you are out for any length of time. Needless to say I decided further gardening was going to wait. I managed to get more done than I thought I might earlier after my duvet wrestle and sorted some personal admin out like a log delivery and re-arranging a routine dental appointment which I realised was this Friday which is potentially still the house sale date so want to keep that day clear. I also [STRIKE] had a play with [/STRIKE] road-tested my new potato ricer on a big pan of boiled spuds and my what a difference compared to my old rather warped one. It rattled through them in no time:). Surplus veg & butterbean stew was converted into four portions of soup with the addition of some stock and the dregs of a lurking well OOD carton of cream, one I had for lunch, one's in the fridge for tomorrow and two have been frozen. The smaller freezer has had a bit of tidy and I re-typed my inventory list which had got messy with additions and scoring outs. Brambles and gin have been "introduced" to each other and are now being left to "mingle" in a dark cupboard until the beginning of December by which point they should hopefully be thoroughly acquainted :rotfl:.
Bangers & mash with onion gravy, mushrooms and savoy cabbage for dinner.:D

unrecordings

For someone who spent the last two xmases on chemo, this is getting a little too Oliver Twist for my liking

Onion gravy, huge sides of salmon, pickles (okay that was my fault). Just as well I'll be good for a jaunt to the supermarket tomorrow

caronc

We'll probably add to your wish list unrecordings depending on what you like but after 2 Christmases on chemo I'd say indulge on what you fancy:D
Did I mention I might be getting 1/2 a (small) deer?;)
Don't think I have but a chap who my younger son works beside usually buys a couple of wild ones every year from a wild but managed herd on an estate near his home, he'll do the butchery and fingers crossed I'm looking forward to 5-6kg of various cuts for a very good price.
PS- but I'm not sure about the onion gravy/salmon combinaton, still it could be the new "in thing" or there may be a squillon pregnant women posting to say it's wonderful (cottage cheese, grated carrots and coarse cut bitter orange marmalade on toast anyone?- nope me neither these days :rotfl::rotfl:)