Cooking for one (Mark Three)

caronc

Thanks Farway,  I'm looking forward to it, yes so hard to keep track of who is under what restrictions. Currently we have no household mixing in your house but up to six from two households can go for a drink, meal etc. in a public venue. All change from Friday evening though when the licensed places are fully closed and unlicensed only open to 6pm. My boys are calling me "Mystic Meg" as my prediction on what would be brought in was spot on apart from I said 7pm 

Brambling

I hope you had a good meal out Caronc  . 

I'm sure I posted yesterday but it must of got lost On the web 🙂 last night I went out to our local Theatre for the first time since February and watch a onscreen viewing of Matthew Bournes ballet Red Shoes which was postponed from May, masks had to be worn and there were only about 30 in the 400+ theatre which was a little sad as I know it was fully booked originally.  

Lunch was was scrambled eggs on toast and I made the components of dinner which was a very nice 😁 spinach and ricotta cannelloni I added extra veg to the tomato sauce trying to counteract the mozzarella and Parmesan on top 🙂 I had to remind myself when assembling it how to make a piping bag as I've not made one in a long time but it made stuffing the tubes so much easier 😁  There a 3 portions left as it seems I can't make small 🙄 so I'll freeze 2 of them tomorrow, I forgot how much I like that combination

Farway

'Morning, very wet & very windy. A good day to be WFH Brambling

My only venture out will be a wheelie bin dash if there's a less wet gap

The meal out was just in time Caron, by this morning's news seems a few more UK wide may soon be in similar situation

I've ready mix loaf in the Panny, with the weather it seems a good day for warm fresh bread

I'll have some for lunch but not sure how.

A slice with salt encrusted dripping would be nice, but I've no dripping, I may settle for schooldays bread &  jam

Dinner, has to be use up the RM macaroni cheese which is approaching it's date.

Quick & easy at least and I may add extra cheese for a bit of tang

Then settle down and do s0d all

Wednesday2000

That must have been nice to go to the theatre Brambling. I was actually thinking about all the things I could have done when we had the freedom and theatre was one of them.

I had a green smoothie, toast with a cup of ginger and lemon tea for breakfast.

I went through my kitchen cupboards yesterday and found a tin of new potatoes I had forgotten about. I'm going to roast them in the oven and have them with salad and marinated tofu for lunch.

We are both getting our hair cut at home today.

caronc

Good afternoon everyone, 
Sunshine and showers here today with the emphasis on the latter scuppering my plans to garden this afternoon. It's dryish now but turning really chilly.
I had a wonderful evening yesterday catching up with the kids and the food was amazing. The kids were a tad sceptical as it's basically a glorified greasy spoon type cafe in a dodgy area but were really impressed. I thought the boys were a bit heavy-handed in the  food ordering but needless to say it was all eaten! There are number of good Indian restaurants in this area but all pretty much offer the same stuff and this is just a wee bit different but not so different to be completely "out there" from what the local population want/are used to. 
Ham & egg salad for lunch and tonight it's bangers and mash using the YS M&S Cumberland-style sausages. I've red onions gently cooking in the SC to make onion gravy and we'll have mashed swede and peas with it. 

Brambling

Glad you had a good night out Caronc if I remember correctly all the young men in your life have hollow legs 

WFH is definitely a benefit this weather Farway although now it's getting chilly the increased heating bills won't be good 😳 not that I've succumbed to putting it on yet.  I think I will need to rearrange my workspace in the dining room as I'm currently sitting in front of the window and it's a cold spot  I'm debating if putting a desk in my small bedroom would be better for the winter 🤔 although my WiFi isn't great now and I sit next to the router so it might not be the best idea, my time lag makes for interesting meetings already 😁. I think it's going to be thick jumpers and socks and hunting out the fluffy slipper boots which scare the cat and I usually find too hot.  Hot flushes could help with the bills 🥵😁

lunch was bacon, mushrooms, tomatos and 'poached' eggs, I'm using that term poached loosely as I tried a microwave method and I could have played squash with them 🙄 Dinner was LO spinach and ricotta cannelloni 

Farway

Sun's out, looking quite Autumnal out now with the fallen leaves

I did get my crisp sarnie yesterday, had it later last night, the RM MFO mac / cheese was not enough TBH

Today will be ideal for the planned toad in hole, been fancying it since watching JO, but I'll be using proper sausages, the tasty pork @sda ones just delivered

I've found a BBE 2017 RM pack for the batter. Should be OK as I need to add fresh eggs & water anyway.

I could knock some up but want to clear the cupboard of my accumulated "that'll be nice & come in handy" packets / sachets

Snap on mash Caron, I'll make some to go with the TITH, using the monster spud, weighed in at 524g, which considering it was in a pre packed 2Kg bag gives some idea of how useless it was CFO wise

I've got a past it's best Savoy heart, so along with the mash I should have today's meal plus a bubble & squeak sometime

Lunch, probably cheese & cuc sarnie

Brambling, your wiFi, if you are next to router maybe hard wire directly to laptop [ethernet cable]? Or perhaps plug & play wi-fi extender?

I'm sure the Tech forum on here would advise on a suitable one

Moving to your small bedroom would make sense, if only because you could get a fan heater for a quick warm up & toasty toes

caronc

Good morning everyone,
Yep we're definitely a family of hollow-legged men Brambling
Good call on the mash Farway with that whopper. I jazzed ours up yesterday with garlic, strong cheddar and wholegrain mustard - it was blooming gorgeous! I made a largish batch and there's lots left, I'm thinking it would make lovely croquettes
Mainly wet here this morning with odd glimpses of sunshine. I'm having a much needed  after Tesco caught me on the hop by arriving early, usually if they are going to be more than a few minutes before your slot they call first but not today. All sorted out now but it was a bit frantic at the time.
My son & I ended up helpless with laughter yesterday evening, we were watching TV and my son opened a can of fizzy pop completely forgetting he had dropped it a few minutes earlier. The results were spectacular and his face a picture. Talk about you know when you've been Tangoed!    
I'm probably be CFO tonight but dinner is still tbc though mash will feature. Ham salad or BLT for lunch I think.

Farway

caronc said:

Good call on the mash Farway with that whopper. I jazzed ours up yesterday with garlic, strong cheddar and wholegrain mustard - it was blooming gorgeous!

Ta, copied to try it tonight, no garlic for me obvs,

PasturesNew

I've still been chomping my way through those flatbreads I bought.  They had a date of 4 Oct on them and they look/feel like the sort of bread item that'll suddenly go green one day..... but it's not been today so far, so I thought I should just keep eating my way through them.  I fancied food about midnight the other night and spread a whole jar of salmon paste onto one, folded it in half and cut it into triangles and that was nice.  The rest are just eaten by tearing them into rough triangles. 

I've not been cooking much of the frozen items I bought. I'd like to buy other frozen foods, but, so far, have just made the list of two Iceland items and then thought "I CBA walking there/back for just two items and I've already got some food in that needs using up" so I've put it off.  As I've been cooking them though the empties have gone back in the freezer (just in case anybody got funny ideas about finding a space "anywhere" they could), so the freezer currently has 3 empty ready meal boxes, a thin empty pizza box .... and a real/still unused toad in the hole.

Not really sure why I bought a toad in the hole as they're a nuisance to cook as they take so long.  When I do get round to cooking that I'll serve it with baked beans and instant mash; right now I have no beans in stock though.  "In my own home" I'd always have 8+ tins of beans in the cupboard, but not here. 

Today I've had: a cup a soup + flatbread.  A 67p 10" Mr T cheapo pepperoni pizza... I can still highly recommend those for price when it comes to cheapo pizzas.  67p, tasty, not at all disappointing for the price point. 

The OOD Warehouse has been gnawing at my head though as they said on Monday they have bags of jelly sweets and I really fancied jelly sweets over the weekend... but I know if I go I have to buy a dozen bags so not rushed off there just yet.  I accept they might've sold out by the time I get there....