Cooking for one (Mark Three)

caronc

PasturesNew wrote: »

I've never had "posh chocolates" and don't expect to ever have any.

In my book chocolate costs £3/Kg .... and "a treat" costs £6.50/Kg .... and "a special/annual/Xmas type of treat" costs under £8/Kg.

Those ones don't even dare to tell you the pack weight, so you can't work it out .... but I bet it's nigh on £100/Kg

I'd not dare eat them .... and what if you hated them??? How sad would that be???

I thought it might make you go :eek: PN , tbh not something I would ever buy for myself but my son knows my tastes so the risk of me not liking them was very, very small.:) I'm sure had that been the case he would have been happy to take them back from me to enjoy himself:cool:. Folk know there is little point in buying me everyday chocolate as with the exception of twix, rollo and galaxy minstrels I'm not keen and even then a pack would last me ages. As tends to happen I accumulated various chocolates over the Christmas period that will sit there until visiting family scoff them while we are watching TV, I used to take them into work but of course now that's not an option.

I think dinner tonight will be a venison grill steak, mushrooms, cheesy mash, broccoli and gravy.

caronc

It's good you're able & willing to help your neighbour MrAPJI as a horribly difficult decison for her to make without some support. I'm sure she appreciates it.:)

wort

Wednesday - I don't know about being gfree helping fibromyalgia, as my niece has fibromyalgia and coeliac and I don't think it helps her.
If you try gfree it's not just the obvious things to cut out ,it can be in anything, so you will need to check labels on every thing. Even chocolate, beans, meringues, seeds. Plus the ingredients change so it means checking each time you buy.

The painting is done, the house reeks of paint, even though windows are open.
Lunch was a quick thin with ham on and a pear.
Tea was jacket potato with cheese and beans, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and a tasty sweet posted pepper.
Finished off the pineapple upside down cake .

Caronc glad the meds are helping, I once had something that caused all one side of my face to swell, it was horrific, apart from the Dr's I wasn't leaving the house!!!

[Deleted User]

friends are so important mrAP, true friends like you and this elderly lady. I also have a friend like this, him and his wife, she has needed me much psychologically in the past, my husband helped him much. He spoke so tearfully at my husbands funeral, he is professional, expert witness in his past job and has often said that they would do all they can to help me decide about my new house and to support me. He has a wealth of knowledge and will be the most fantastic guide as to the condition and future work on a property. My children are always here for me but of the generation who are still building their knowledge, helpful but without experience

Back to mundane food. Breakfast is over and I am looking to hm pizza for lunch. I want to top with sardines but costco best are very plump and filling so I will stretch the dough to make two pizzas, two days. I need to get cracking on my veg store so will have some with a small bit of meat, probably lamb, last meal

I have work to do today, need to get the post winter clean done, can`t be leaving it to last minute before selling. Did two areas yesterday, another 2 today, skirtings,all paint, ceilings, the lot. Got to pace myself over the next days, shattering

caronc

Good morning everyone,
Damp, cloudy and quite chilly this morning but I don't need to go anywhere today though hopefully it will stay dry and I get an "airing" no doubt just round the block but I like to do that whenever my balance and the weather let me:).
My face is a tad less pumpkin-like this morning more "scabby hamster" :eek: so progress I think. It's a bit less painful as well so I'm hoping I might manage to wash my hair as it's desperately needing it.

Food plans are non-existent at the moment will see how I feel later and decide from there.

PasturesNew

I've been scoffing stuff from the freezer, but had the feeling it was still full, so I took a proper look this morning.

The "full" aspect is from a random collection of odds and ends. e.g. some frozen gravy I decanted from the SC, half an onion frozen, half a squeezed lemon frozen, the shaved stalks of broccoli I'd frozen, a couple of portions of tomato sauce (from a tin) frozen.

Actual "food" I have a portion of chips, 3 fish fingers, 100g of frozen mince, a pack of 4 bread muffins, half a loaf of bread, half a bag of hash browns, 1/4 1Kg bag of peas.

It's that clutter that makes the freezer full. I think I need a new policy of odds/ends can only be frozen for one month, then I must force myself to use them.

It will all fit into one drawer, so I'm legally allowed to buy more food under my "keep one drawer empty all the time" rule as I've got one drawer empty .... so expect a pie, or burgers, soon.

Today I've got some chicken from the freezer, that's now defrosting. Probably best served with chips and peas as I've got those.

moneyistooshorttomention

Apji, Your neighbour is indeed lucky she didn't have to go and visit the place on her own. Another "head" is always a good idea at the best of times.

As you say - indeed the case her current home is her marital home and this will be a single one. With her being in the generation she is in - then it may be the first home she has ever got as a single person in the first place. Some women in my generation and probably darn nearly all of them in her generation aren't used to "fending for themselves" in many ways.

Always very wise to have a second visit anywhere when viewing a home. If "money is no object" one can afford to buy a place totally "sight unseen" if one knows the road/general area very well (ie there are places I would buy "sight unseen" to make sure and certain I got them - but it's a road I know extremely well and I'd have to have 4 times the money I've got available to do so:cool:).

So - vast majority of the time - absolutely necessary to take that 2nd look (with all the questions in mind one will have thought up since the first time and the chance for a "general" look at it). This is where someone (maybe yourself?) gets a good idea of measurements/takes photos if possible and then she can start planning on what furniture she will take with her (assuming she is likely to have to get rid of rather a lot of furniture in those circumstances).

On 2nd visit - in your position - I'd also be keeping an eye out to see if I spotted any "friendly" (or "nosey":rotfl::cool:) faces lurking nearby. Help to suss out who is living nearby - and if there is a genuinely friendly face genuinely accidentally in the vicinity at the time - then she might mentally line them up in her mind as "potential new person to be friendly with" (I know my mother does that....:cool:). I can usually spot my mother checking out nearby "faces" a mile off by now....:cool:.

EDIT; Also useful to find out if there's someone nearby that likes to "rule the roost" if they can. That person will likely be "accidentally on purpose" be keeping a lookout at a second viewing - to suss out a potential neighbour. Voice of experience time LOL....

Need2bthrifty

Morning All

It’s a beautiful sunny morning here and at last I’ll get some washing out on the line and get a proper walk today. I managed 2.65mls yesterday, it really has surprised me how many steps you can clock up wandering around garden centres and diy stores.

Just had some bran flakes and orange segments for breakfast, then it will be leek and stilton quiche with a side salad for lunch, haven’t quite decided what to have for tea yet I have one large potato which needs using so it will either be baked or wedged.

Caronc, glad to hear the meds have done their job

Farway

Apji, another tip, visit on a weekend to check how many cars are parked, would it bother the person to have cars everywhere, including on the pavement?

Bit of a dull day, staying in a doing some "office work", plus someone on one of my FB groups posted a photo, and I know my granddad worked there way back around 1900, then found I had not fully researched around that time. Today's Sherlocking job

Yesterday's M & S salmon RM was excellent, did not look much of a portion but it was filling. I would buy again, but only on offer, too expensive otherwise IMO

Breakfast was HM yoghurt with honey
Lunch will be another slice of L's YS ham, in a sarnie using W/meal bread, tom,
cuc & lettuce.

Have to get the healthy bits in before tonight's dinner of M & S chicken in a Yorkshire pud, all 650 calories of it

I thought it was a dinner in a yorkie, but now I have it out of the package I see it is not, chicken cubes & spuds mainly. more spud than chicken.
Luckily I have the defrosted LO Xmas turkey, so that plus steamed frozen mixed veg should make it more of a varied meal

mcculloch29

caronc wrote: »

MTSTM - does your Mum have a debit card? Like you I order stuff for my Dad and as you say it's right faff getting and then banking cheques. I eventually set him up with his own Amazon account and if buying for him used that one instead. I've popped my mobile on it so any delivery texts etc. still come to me.

For anyone with a Smartphone who has registered for online banking you can upload photos of your cheques via the app to deposit in your account. Barclays offer this, and Halifax have just started offering it. Others may also do this.
Not all cheques are bankable, (I couldn’t bank a premium bond win) but I banked a Lloyds’ cheque into my Halifax account with no problems.