Cooking for one (Mark Three)

Farway

Dull & chilly start to the day, as forecast, good job I had the diced beef defrosted [BB 6/20, gulp ] and it's now in the slow cooker, along with slimey bits cut off W8rose carrots and usual gubbins that goes into a slow cooker stew pot

I'll add herby dumplings later

Expecting socially distanced visit from DD, she's on a Round Robin to this area, grandson is over his GF's and needs collecting, how times change, this is same boy who was telling anyone who'd listen in 2019 that he saw no need for a car or driving, now with GF and 30 miles between he sees every need for it

Can't put old heads on young shoulders but we did tell him at the time

Lunch, not sure, depends if DD arrives with something or not, not expecting anything so likely to be another tuna sarnie

Dinner, slow cooker beef, mushroom & whatever SC stew with dumplings

caronc

Good afternoon everyone, 

A chilly -3C here first thing though it's warmed up a bit now and it's a lovely, bright day if still on the parky side!

My son has just left for his own place as he has site visits lined up for various projects so I'm CFO for the next week, possibly two. I've not been "home alone" since well before Christmas and much as I love him being here I'm looking forward to some time to myself and I'm sure he is too! 
Stock making continues - it's turkey's turn today and I need to reduce down the vat of chicken stock currently in the fridge. My food waste bin is laden with bones this week.
My meal plan is done and I'm trying to keep it nice and simple while taking the chance to make some things my son is less keen on like gnocchi and liver. Tonight I've a nice piece of bavette steak to griddle, I'll have it in a crusty roll with mushrooms, onions and horseradish sauce.  Lunch will be a cheese & salami toastie with some grapes and celery sticks. 

Brambling

I bet no one thought you would have your son with you for over a year Caronc has he timed it to be away when the boiler is done? 

I hope you had a good visit with your daughter Farway and it wasn't too cold

For once work finished at on time tonight, we were both double checking nothing had been missed as that is unusual     If I haven't been organised for dinner tonight we would still be working midnight

I spent this morning doing usual Saturday chores, couple of load of washing etc and braved the freezers to do a audit.  I decided to use the microphone function on my ipad to record what was in there in the hope it would be quicker, some strange items were written down including two boys and a Graham !!! no idea what that was but I would work out most of the weird wording and now have a up to date audit, just need to keep it up to date.  I seem to have a lot of fish, I've been tending to eat the salmon and not the cod, haddock or smoked mackerel which is taking up space so some menu planning using fish will be required.  It's a shame I'm not keen on fish pie as I also have prawns     I did take out a small chicken so that will do me for a few days 

Lunch was a frittata using LO veg and new potatoes with salad where is another portion left which will do tomorrow.  Dinner will be easy LO spaghetti bolognese i just need to ping the bolognese and cook some pasta 

caronc

Brambling said:

I bet no one thought you would have your son with you for over a year Caronc has he timed it to be away when the boiler is done? 
  

Not deliberately but he's not complaining LOL.
Good idea re recording the inventory, though I dread to think how my accent might be interpreted!!
I had a fairly productive afternoon - around 4l of chicken stock has been reduced to under a litre which I'll split and freeze. It's very rich so each tub should be enough for a big pot of soup. Turkey stock has been made and as well a big tub of stock I've a tub of "soup meat" for broth. I'll reduce the stock tomorrow once the fat has settled and I can skim it off.
Blooming cold here this evening though so far no sign of the forecasted "wintry showers". It's still supposed to be sleet/wind/hail overnight and a less than Spring-like -2C. 
Mushrooms, onions. thyme and garlic are simmering gently in a knob of butter, once they are more or less done I'll get the bavette quickly griddled and toast the roll in the pan juices. Meantime I'll try and decide what to watch - I'm not sure I like having control of the remote. 

ETA - spoke too soon, it's snowing just a couple of miles inland from my house and started to ever so slightly sleet here.......

Brambling

caronc said:

Good idea re recording the inventory, though I dread to think how my accent might be interpreted!!.

I dread to think seeing as it had problems with my slight Dorset accent  there was a lot of me repeating things, you know how we English do when we are speaking to foreigners 😬 slower and louder each time. TBH it did make it easier even with the translation 

when I set it up you read a prepared script so I must of used my posh voice then and not my voice in a freezer voice 😁

justkeepswimmimg

Seem to have missed posting yesterday, was a long short week 🤨

Lunch yesterday and today was a smoked mackerel pitta pizza, coleslaw and salad. Treated myself to posh takeaway last night, Mexican this week - spicy beef and black bean stew. Tonight was burger, sweet potato fries, roasted vine tomatoes, coleslaw and salad. Proper cooking returns tomorrow 😉

Farway

Bright morning sunshine but felt cold as i put the plants I'm hardening off out for their daily fresh air, must be generally warmer though because my plum blossom is now out with some brave bees taking an interest

All went well with DD social distanced visit, luckily I had the beef stew in the SC so timing was not a problem

The stew turned out fine, with two lots of LOs. Very filling because I found a tin of cannelloni beans and lobbed them in, must remember to replenish stock

This morning as I opened a cupboard to get a dish out my remaining Vision glass pan leapt out and threw itself onto the tiled floor with obvious consequences

Now on the hunt for a small pan sized just right for tins of soup or heating baked beans

I have one from £land but it's as one would expect, light, flimsy and tips over when not watched, I suspect I'll need a decent heavy one, not as easy when shielding & avoiding shops but not yet looked too hard on line

Meals today, thinking a cheese & cuc sarnie for lunch

Maybe ham salad + HM chips for dinner? Depends if weather stays reasonable, otherwise it's nuke a LO beef stew portion

caronc

Good morning everyone, 
Yikes Farway at least you weren't injured. You might be able to add one to your next SM online order to save too much hunting for a replacement. I didn't realise the glass pans were still being made, I remember my friend wanting them when she got married in the late 1980s.

There was quite a bit of snow just few miles inland from me yesterday evening but thankfully we just got a couple of sleety showers before the skies cleared for another overnight frost.
I'm "Zooming" with pals early evening for a G&T and a natter but otherwise I've not much planned apart from reducing the turkey stock I made yesterday and doing some laundry.

Tomato seedlings are all coming along nicely though no sign of any Tigrella coming through. Only one of three cucumbers has appeared so far, I'll give a few days and re-sow if no more have appeared.

Trying Jamie Oliver's Gnocchi & Pea gratin for dinner. I'm interested to see how it turns out as you blend some of the gnocchi with milk to make the sauce which sounds like a winner to me if it works. I'll have some of the gratin with a lovely FR pork chop and some asparagus. LO steak in a wrap for lunch.

Brambling

I feel your pain Farway I've  threatened to replace my floor tiles with cushion flooring, I'm sure you will be finding glass bits for weeks 

I planted my tomato and chilli seeds today before getting interrupted, I was given some Tigrella seeds but didn't plant them do you recommend them Caronc?.  I'm short of space / window sills to plant too many seeds and it's still too cold for the mini greenhouse.  I was going to plant beans, courgette and cucumbers but was first interrupted by a very long telephone call by one sister (I'm glad she's paying the bill) and just as I was saying goodbye my sister who lives locally knocked on the door 🙂  she did ensure I was planting for her as well.

lunch was LO frittata and salad. I roasted a chicken for dinner and had with roasted cauliflower and parsnip with carrots and French beans.  I had planned to do something different with the chicken but it was 5.45pm before my sister left so it was a case of insert half a lemon and onion and shove in the oven 

justkeepswimmimg

Start of return to normality, in a very small way, today - went to an NGS open garden so early lunch of avocado and scrambled eggs on bagel. Also got a pork shoulder joint with a fennel seed and chilli flake rub in the oven so that with mash, carrots and cabbage this evening. Loads of leftovers....