Cooking for one (Mark Three)

caronc

Good afternoon everyone, 
Lovely sounding cake Brambling, a slice lobbed this way wouldn't go a miss. 
When I visited Corncarneau in Brittany several years ago the garden in front of the municipal offices had a beautiful trellis of various beans and summer squashes growing the wall intertwined with clematis. It was stunning.
Yesterday's dry weather didn't hold and late afternoon it turned to rain and thunder storms for the rest of the day. There's been a couple of light showers but mainly sunny today though its much cooler just the mid teens so chilly when the sun goes behind a cloud. My son has been busy painting the garage, my what a difference 😁 as it had got very grey and weather beaten and is now concreting an uneven area in the veg patch. I'll need to remember not to stand on it when I'm watering later! It's so good to see the jobs I can't manage but don't actually take that long get done!
Tonight I'm CFO and dinner is tbc probably fish, spuds and veg in some combination. I've a large turkey breast defrosting to slow cook tomorrow for a roast type dinner or to have with salad if the forecast is wrong and the rain doesn't return. 

Farway

'morning, warm but overcast but I've watered the front plants already just in case it gets scorching & bakes it

Never spotted the Spitfire, I think it was a bit further South than me.

However I did spot loads more ripe blackberries requiring picking some time today, the recent hot weather seems to have rushed them on

Lunch is a  PB baguette, it's on it's BBE day. I know it'll keep for ages longer but as I've nothing else it seems the obvious choice

I'll grill the last of the streaky for a BLT filling

Dinner, just don't know, I never defrosted anything so stab & ping is an easy option

caronc

Good afternoon everyone, 
Farway the world's largest cargo plane  is flying into my area this afternoon and will approach the landing strip over my town https://www.flightradar24.com/ADB3473/2519ef1e , I expect lots of folk will be out for a look locally as the town's FB page has been buzzing about it for days!
More rain last night and this morning but the sun is trying to break through just now. I'm just back in from picking the first bowl of blackberries - now do I make a crumble or pop them in the freezer to make bramble gin? I'm not sure how many more I'll get as the patch will be getting culled over the next few weeks so the bottom fence can be replaced. There's few more almost ripe but most are still green. 
CFO treat for dinner last night - "posh" fish fingers in a wrap with baby gem lettuce & tartare sauce with salad and AF chips. It was delicious. BLT bagel for lunch today and slow cooked turkey breast with Ayrshire spuds, crispy turkey skin, broccoli, green beans, carrots and gravy for dinner this evening. My herbs are on the rampage so unless the weather really perks up later I plan to make pesto, herb butters and mint sauce to use some of them up this afternoon.

Farway

Caron, at least it will be visible, seems it could become a regular visitor to your area but unlikely down here, nearest listed is Stansted so it could fly over one day I suppose

However my blackberries have the edge on yours, I've just picked loads with loads more to come.

I'm stewing mine later then freezing while I wait for the apples to catch up

I made bramble vodka once, before it had matured and been sampled I was taken to hospital for weeks, during that time the family "tidied" my house and it was chucked out

Never bothered since, even as gifts for people. I suppose there could be some irony in  making some & giving it to the culprits

During the blackberry picking I spotted dinner, a handful of runners are ready, plus some nearly past it French beans & use up LO fresh broccoli

I'll have them with pasta using T*sco pasta sauce, plus I'll chuck in use up, frozen, posh but small quick cook sausages

They are similar texture & size to the tinned ones in Sausages & beans but organic free range chuck your money about type. They're use up & I'll not buy them again

Hopefully make enough for a couple of meals If I judge it corectly

Brambling

Evening all 🙂. 

Someone seems to have stolen my get up and go today and other than the basic tidying and washing the bedding I've done very little    the furry alarm clock allowed me a lay in today and I seem to be playing catch up.  Did you have rain Farway? My sister in the New Forest had enough to get my BIL wet whilst cycling yesterday morning and quite a bit today, I have rain envy 😐 

Most of my front garden isn't  suitable for veg I'm afraid, I had three quarters of it redesigned a few years ago to replace some really bad broken paving and a old cobnut tree with a mix of gravel and some planting.  The quality of the soil is really bad in places.  I do have a strip of garden down the other side of the path and I'm tempted to plant some veg.  Otherwise I'm thinking of replacing all or some of my small back lawn with raised beds 

Yesterday i I spent the afternoon at the beach we had a picnic lunch and did some gossiping, walking and reading etc not so windy as last Sunday at least we could get the windbreak up 🙂 my car enjoyed its longest journey since March, it's approx 20 miles to the beach. By the time I drop my sister off, popped into T Exp for milk, bread and fruit and then watered it was 8.30pm and I cba to cook dinner so heated the last of the ratatouille. I turned down the offer to go back today my lily white skin needed a break from the sun wind burn  🌞🌬

Lunch was crackers with cheese and a apple.  As I didn't cook yesterday I had to cook meat taken out of the freezer (luckily defrosted) in the fridge so with the chicken thighs for dinner I cooked a small gammon joint and 3 boar and apple butcher sausages.  Dinner was chicken, courgette chips and runner beans.  The sausages will be a sandwich tomorrow lunch they were meant to make scotch eggs but I was too lazy to boil eggs. 

We we never saw the NHS plane yesterday although when we watched a biplane circle a guy in the next beach hut did say he had seem it earlier yesterday 

Farway

Sunshine again this morning. Brambling, no rain here yesterday either, next lot is maybe Wednesday, fingers crossed, nothing waters like rain does

Yesterday's pasta  went well, now I have loads of cooked pasta meals, one of which will be tonight's dinner, another maybe tomorrow's lunch

Plus another large tub of stewed blackberries

I've run out of Tupperware tubs now

But I do have some takeaway style containers that I bought "just in case". maybe their time has come?

Lunch, PB baguette, with grated cheese & Last of the Christmas chutney filling

Dinner, LO pasta, maybe nuked or cold eaten out of the Tupperware container

caronc

Good afternoon everyone, 
After a sunny though cool morning it's pouring again, my son had to beat a hasty retreat from pressure washing the slabs as rain and extension leads are never a good combination. 
I never managed to see the 'big' plane but certainly heard it! Apparently the roads surrounding the airport area were completely grid locked with folk watching it. Yesterday my son sanded and stained my companion seats so with them, the newly stained picnic bench, painted fence & shed and clean slabs the garden is looking very smart. 😁
Tonight I'm off with my sis and the kids to the local tapas place. My younger son is on holiday this week so we are treating it as a bit of a staycation and trying to do a few nice things and take advantage of the Eat Out offer. He was supposed to be away with his brother and dad to climb Ben Nevis this weekend but every campsite is fully booked and Forestry Commission are prohibiting wild camping. Tomorrow we are off to the marina restaurant for lunch and hope to then head to the harbour side to buy prawns, octopus and other fish from a boat that is selling directly to the public. They tend to sell slightly different stuff from the local fishmonger which seems to be working well for both businesses. 

Farway

caronc said:

Good afternoon everyone, 
After a sunny though cool morning it's pouring again, my son had to beat a hasty retreat from pressure washing the slabs as rain and extension leads are never a good combination.

Do you use one of these?

Should do really for anything electrical outside, makes sense and could save life for under a tenner

Apologies if you do and teaching egg sucking

caronc

Farway said:

caronc said:

Good afternoon everyone, 
After a sunny though cool morning it's pouring again, my son had to beat a hasty retreat from pressure washing the slabs as rain and extension leads are never a good combination.

Do you use one of these?

Should do really for anything electrical outside, makes sense and could save life for under a tenner

Apologies if you do and teaching egg sucking

We do, as you say a cheap way to avoid mishaps. 
The rain didn't last that long but unfortunately after 7 years of loyal service and a lot of use the pressure washer decided it was kaput. Son did a thorough inspection but looks as though the motor has overheated. As is often the case it's cheaper to buy another than the part so a new one should arrive tomorrow. Such a shame as most of the job had been done. 

Brambling

I hope you enjoyed your tapas Caronc?I'm also envious of your lunch tomorrow 

i don't think we are due rain here until the middle of next week Farway, I'm hoping they have it wrong, although its difficult as I'm off this week so some gentle but consistent overnight rain would suit both myself and the garden 

this morning my sister and and I went to a art supplies factory shop which has recently reopened, she likes to paint (I can't 🙂) but enjoyed the mooch and did pick up a few bits.  We then went to the beach hut as we were half way there for a picnic lunch and a lazy afternoon.  Lunch was sausage sandwich and a slice of the courgette cake from the freezer.  Dinner was a lazy gammon, fried egg a d air fried chips.