Cooking for one (Mark Three)

caronc

Good morning everyone,
Sort of sunny here this morning but quite a lot of gloomy cloud as well.
I've re-purposed many things over the years to add layers and quirks to my garden. A garden bench with a broken seat has spare decking planks on it to sit pots on and an ancient bbq had holes drilled in the base to make a raised planter. The bbq is on it's last legs though so I've bought a raised wooden planter to go in that spot. I've also lots (16) of wall baskets hanging on the fences as well as hanging baskets.:)
I'm off out for lunch today so will see what I feel like for dinner later, I've chicken & veg LO from yesterday or a RM cauliflower cheese so plenty to choose from.

[Deleted User]

back and changed and jobs done and washing is on, trouser bottoms got soaked. The raised beds are coming into their own now, very friable and lovely and moist underneath after years of hm compost and never being walked on. Very much fingers crossed as I have no spare courgettes or beans. A couple of cloudy days after today and a little overnight rain on wdnesday, perfect

Now for food and relaxation, yippee. Food is easy and tasty

PasturesNew

I've been away, under a bit of canvas, two nights. Other party is very MSE, so there were no meals out etc. Ate/cooked mostly sitting on the grass, other party having brought food for two meals and some simple breakfast items.

I'd packed two filled rolls, one I ate before I even picked up the other person; second one eaten right after the tent was up

As I've never done this activity before, I had no idea what would be "good food for me", no idea what food was being packed (but I knew there was some) ... and no idea how things would work out in terms of food accessibility/hunger.

Total spent on food not taken with us: £5 when I bought a hot snack yesterday for the two of us, because it was a particular item I'd never seen available before and had always wondered if they were any good ... (they weren't that good).

Got home early this morning, made up a roll with cheese/tomato and cooked two hot sausage rolls for early lunch

2 nights/canvas - but still counts as probably my first "holiday" for nearly 20 years

Brambling

You certainly had some good weather for your first camping trip is it something you will do again?

I've never been camping either and to be honest have no wish to do so now I like my bed too much :rotfl:

pineapple

My house was someone's personal holiday cottage for 25years and very much neglected inside and out.The main garden area is to the side of the house.. Apart from a large tree and some perimeter bushes it was just boring old lawn with a border of perennials. I dug up a strip of lawn for veggies and in the far corner of the garden I made a curved raised plot using the old storage heater bricks for walling/edging. Next to that I made a sitting area with 10mm red chippings. On the other side is the veggie patch which is now slightly higher so that needed edging too. Cue stones carried laboriously one by one from the river.
I built a rockery on one corner of the lawn (more stones from the river). Oh and I made the lawn corners into curves.
Then I made another sitting area next to the house with lots of pots and hanging baskets. It looks a lot more cottagey now but the main thing is structure and interest - instead of the boring square lawn!

Farway

Certainly picked the right weekend to go under canvas PN, something I've never done

Hot & sunny, I was out around 9 on way to town, seems every one is heading for the coast, road was very busy, listening to local traffic reports yesterday it was chokka everywhere, best avoided

Breakfast was usual porridge / banana

Nothing to tempt in the shops, bought tomato fertiliser & forgot to buy milk:o. I've enough milk in, was buying it "in case"

Yesterday's cauli cheese turned out fine, half in fridge for another day. The carrot cake turned out crumblier than normal, I used demerara sugar this time, maybe that was why? Anyway it's tasty enough, and would go well with a custard topping

I should be having Kittie's baked salmon etc, had planned similar but decided a baked spud, with grated cheese & LO baked beans would be more convenient today

My waiting for ever to germinate runners have now shown themselves, must be the overnight temperature spurred them on. The ones I planted out last weekend have now found the canes and are on the climb

Laundry done, including a blanket, and drying in the sunshine

All, bar one, of the toms now potted up in final positions in the conservatory, just left with a Pink Bradywine which was a bit laggard in germinating

[Deleted User]

roads will be chokka here too, I haven`t been out in the car for a few days, no point, I have everything I need and am quietly content

That salmon, I made a foil package around it, the gathered sides at the top and I stood it in the steamer and started adding veg after 10 minutes and then different veg after another 10 minutes. All on one hob and it had to be one of the nicest, easiest meals ever. I love these spring veggies and only ever want them steamed or raw

I have just finished a GnT and am having a short break from my kindle book and waiting for a paperback of the pillars of the earth to arrive. I gave my last copy to a relative to read and never got it back. This will be my third read of it

I got enough fresh air this morning, about 2 hours and that set me up, haven`t wanted to brave the heat outside this afternoon. I am thinking of all those lobster bodies going home tonight. I did have achey hips in bed, so had to do something about that today, it is the allotment and lifting heavy bags of compost. I stretched my body and felt myself lengthen, couldn`t reach the floor tilted backwards, did a few hip shuffles and before I knew it, both hands could stroke the floor behind my hand, while hanging backwards at 60 degrees. Sciatica and hip pain are now gone but I am reading in a zero gravity recliner anyway, spreading weight over my whole back and not just down to my seat

So another day tomorrow, no bags to unpack, no sunburn to calm. All washing done and bed made and food being whatever I fancy and have in

pineapple

I'll have to pick your brains Kittie. The thing is, we have had two days of solid sunshine which is a rare thing here in watery Cumbria. It's forecast rain tomorrow so I have been running around like something possessed doing as much outside DIY as possible and now my old bones are paying for it.
Anyway, yesterday was simply the chicken with new potatoes and raita made with mint from the garden. Today, it is more of the chicken but with risotto rice and maybe a bit of red cabbage 'coleslaw'. It's simple food but I find it a bit sad that so many people seem to think that you need a 'recipe' to dish up a meal.
My mother didn't know any recipes (apart from baking from the trusty Bero book ) but she served up decent unadulterated nutritious food and sometimes it seems that we've lost the knack. Programmes like Masterchef are fine but in everyday life people aren't going to come home from work to spend hours deconstructing some simple dish or producing fancy little towers of this and that. There, I'll get off me soapbox now :rotfl:

PasturesNew

Brambling wrote: »

... is it something you will do again?
.... have no wish to do so ...

I'd go if it were the same weather and if I liked the location.

I have no idea why I said yes. It's "not for me thank you very much", but the weather did say it'd be super hot and I didn't have to "involve" myself in any of the mechanics of construction, so I kind of said "yes" and then stuck with it. And I needed to get out of the house as I have nuisance neighbours at the moment (soon to get the bang at the door with the official waving the papers under their nose and pointing them towards the street).

The other person practically said "just be there/do nothing... and you'll get fed". That's right up my street then!

[Deleted User]

Do you know pineapple, I think that one of the best things is a nice relaxing hot soak with a handful of epsom salts and a painkiller after you have eaten because we all know darn well that these aches from heavy gardening strike some hours later and usually when we are in bed. To do the stretching I have an inverter, had one since 2004 and it has been a life saver, it decompresses my spine, which shortens and squashes the discs when I lift heavy things or twist a lot, like when I cut long path edges or when hoeing. Apart from that, it is important to break the pain cycle. I know that my hip pains come from my lower back and when it is very squashed, like this morning, I can feel sciatic pain run down my leg. I know then what the cause is and do something about it