Cooking for one (Mark Three)

[Deleted User]

crikey, I am back into a good night`s sleep, seems to be better if I read a couple of pages in bed


I made semolina and strong white flour bread yesterday (50:50) and it is lovely for toast btw but I need to use semolina up, I can see enough for 2 more loaves. I fancied a cheese and baby leaf sandwich for breakfast, so that is what I had. I will have my soaked oats, walnuts and blueberries later. Lunch must be home cooked ham, I vac packed portions and three are left in the freezer, I also have some large tasty ripe tomatoes


I went to the allotment yesterday and am expecting a very good crop of gooseberries, invicta first. They are hanging like big pearls all along each branch at the top of the standard. Could have been the fertiliser but they look lush, certainly the damp ground will now ensure a good crop. I think I will have to bottle them, I see lots of good blackcurrants forming and the autumn raspberries are looking very healthy, so my freezer will need to be as empty as possible. Garage freezer is empty and full of lock n lock boxes, for a quick move (if ever). Bottling works great, I am eating 2014 blackberries and 2015 gooseberries. All my jars were bottled properly, kept cool and dark and the lids pop when opened, in fact I have to prise them hard


I wonder if my nap in the day helps my sleeping, I think so, I can stay awake in the evening if I nap after lunch, anyway I love a nap in the recliner. So hedonistic

moneyistooshorttomention

Lunch today due to be a bean/tomato/etc type stew from freezer, some new potatoes and whatever I can get together salad-wise.

I want something quick because I can see the garden has literally grown overnight - inspection reveals one of my plants has gone from enormous to "Jack and Beanstalk" levels overnight and I'm going to have to get trimming.Weeding needed too - not that long since last time - as, unfortunately, the weeds are also growing fast.

I can see quite a difference, I feel, between "earth down on the ground" I've planted into and earth in my raised beds. The "earth on ground" type earth has had everything I can think of thrown at it to feed it - that sorta mushroom type stuff to help grow the roots, rockdust and "chop and drop" of leftover plant material. I think I've proved my point of "feed it - everything" and will have to do that now with the raised bed earth I can see.

PasturesNew

Cool/overcast first thing, now it's raining.

I'm decluttering and moving stuff around "so it looks better" .... although sometimes you go to all the effort to do that, to discover "no it doesn't".

I'm a bit gutted about the ice cream I bought yesterday .... I could've done with finishing that tub last night as it was so hot - but I deliberately held off, thinking "I bet it'll be hot tomorrow, so I'll save that last bit for then" - and now it's raining!

I've spuds to use up, might be a good day for baked spud/beans/cheese....

[Deleted User]

PasturesNew wrote: »

t I deliberately held off, thinking "I bet it'll be hot tomorrow, so I'll save that last bit for then" - and now it's raining!.

I was saving washing for today but am not doing now, looks very like rain here too


Raised beds: I never stand on mine (8x 4 ) and they are amply filled with hm compost and what ever ph extras the soil needs. I used mushroom compost (slightly alkaline) in the middle of my raspberry beds, plus well rotted bought in a bag horse based compost. The autumn plants have been walking away from the middle and if I were a root, I would be walking towards moisture and food, hence I water and added the composts down the middle. An interesting experiment which I think will work. My hotbin is thick with worms, thousands and I have been shredding card and paper to add to green stuff, with comfrey to heat it up. I will soon spread the crumbly compost at the bottom on the ground, this one on the open clay ground by my blackcurrants. That is all I do, worms take the goodness down. I don`t dig


Oh food, oh yes, I just had the oats/nuts/blueberries. Next is green drink at 10.30, then hemp drink at 11.30. Lunch at 12 and then a slice of cake, dark chocolate and last meal a quiche tart, from the freezer as I need room

[Deleted User]

I am going to have to change, I am in a cool cotton, trapeze dress, perfect for 20+ but I am going to be too cool to read and will take my washing back upstairs, looks like rain for two days


I am changing lunch a bit, tart +ham as ham isn`t huge, plus tomato plus shredded spring cabbage. Previously shredded and stored in a vac jar but I want thet empty for tomorrow. Kept very well, washed and ready to use, will do that again

caronc

Good morning everyone,

Another gorgeous day here but with a slight breeze so more pleasant to be out in.:D
I definitely sleep better at night if I have a nap in the afternoon.
I was awake just before 6am this morning so got myself organised and then headed out to prep the big pots for more veg (peas, beans & courgettes). I'm a big fan of the chicken manure pellets as a good boost for compost.
Breakfast was the usual toast & I had a huge very ripe tomato with it which of course I managed to drip all down my top:o. Lunch will be a repeat of yesterday's corned beef & salad roll and I've taken a cooked peri peri chicken thigh out for tonight though I'm not sure what I'll have with it yet.
I'm just off to plant before it gets too hot.

[Deleted User]

I made a small rhubarb crumble with ready prepared frozen rhubarb and ready prepared frozen crumble. I just gave the rhubarb a bit of a start first. Was lovely, I had half, warm with rachels greek yoghurt. Enjoyed it. Thats pretty well it for the day, just some small oatcakes with a scrape of peanut butter at 4.30

PasturesNew

Yesterday I spotted/bought L1dl's frozen fish cakes (10 for £1.25) and grabbed a box. Had one yesterday as a "snack" -and for lunch today I went with two fishcakes, chips, beans (yes, I know 2's a bit piggy, but it goes like that sometimes doesn't it).

They're all right. I'd buy again. Cheap and cheerful at 12p each.

caronc

Good evening everyone,
The weather is definitely changing though tomorrow is still supposed to be lovely. It has got very windy & humid and I wouldn't be surprised if it thundered later. My tinnutus is absolutely roaring which seems to be as good as a barometer these days! Still over 20C outside though.:)
The rhubarb crown I planted on Saturday is sprouting, I thought with it being so hot it might be a while before I saw any sign of life. I got the veggies planted and my new raised planter filled and planted up so a fairly productive day:).
I'm delighted as my elder son has managed to extend his stay and will now be here from Sunday until the 11th and I'll have both my boys home for the latter part of it. It is his birthday on Tuesday and mine at the end of the month which he won't be here for so we are planning to have a nice lunch out somewhere to celebrate them both:D.

Dinner will be steamed jersey royals, asparagus, broccoli,, flat mushroom & peri peri chicken thigh. Much the same as last night but easy to do and not much by way of prep or clearing up. :)The beetroot remains unroasted.

Brambling

Caronc that's you and me both with unroasted beetroot, I have the goat cheese and puff pastry to make a tart I just need to roast the beetroot first, I don't really want to put the oven on just for that so will need to think what else to do.

I think we have been lucky with the rain there were flash floods and heavy rain around us yesterday but it didn't rain here until overnight and then it was heavy until lunch time with just one flash of lightening. Raining again now, I've given up looking at forecasts they change so frequently.

Lunch was chicken salad with HM potato salad I'll make coronation chicken to use the last little bit of chicken for tomorrow lunch. Dinner was gnocchi with a mushroom cream sauce which I have been putting off making so the mushrooms were not at their best. I use to love mushrooms it seems i've gone off them recently, the last couple of times I've brought them they have sat in the fridge looking at me reproachfully every time I've open the door :eek: so time to stop buying them.

Just realised I left my menu plan at work so no idea what I was going to have or need to take out the freezer for tomorrow's dinner, will open the door in a minute and look for ideas there's certainly enough food in there to chose from :rotfl: