Cooking for one (Mark Three)

caronc

Good afternoon everyone,

It's like winter here looking out- dull, blowing a hooley and wet. I've resorted to socks & a cardi:(.
I had to spend far too much time earlier unjamming a drawer:mad:, after fruitless shaking etc. I thought I was going to have to see if I could bend enough to unscrew it from it's runners as I couldn't get it open enough to insert something to wiggle the offending jamming item out of the way. Thankfully a DIY site suggested inserting a thin piece of card then swiping it from side to side while pushing it in. It worked a treat and the offending item as been relocated to under the sink:).
So far I've got HM pesto made but got so side tracked by the drawer that tomorrow's nibbles are still to be made. I'm for a quick cuppa and then I best tackle those.
Lunch was tasty - avocado mashed with a little cream cheese, tabasco, lime juice & black pepper then spread on a toasted bagel and topped with sliced cucumber:). Dinner tonight is I think going to be pollock baked with pesto and red pepper, a baked spud and runner beans. "Use up" list is reducing thankfully.:D

moneyistooshorttomention

Duly had lunch out - good company/shame about the food as per expectations. The portions are smaller than I would serve too - so I think dinner is going to be earlier than normal tonight. Wore that new dress I bought the other day and one friend looked doubtful and another friend saw it for the 2nd time and positively insisted it didnt do me any favours/is to go to the charity shop. Oh well - just as well I only paid a sale price for it and from one of the cheaper shops - as it is duly destined for a charity shop then.

At the moment - good resolutions are in place/keep fingers crossed for the willpower to match and I've hoicked out my old Slimming World books to start in on tomorrow.

I've decided to allow myself a "get out clause" of "Not dieting when there's eating out with friends to do on the agenda". So it will be a "day off" any time I know I'm eating out that day - don't want to spoil things

I know that size 16 isnt considered to be at all overweight by most people these days - but I know it is and I want some new clothes and my "proper size" is size 12 top half/size 10 bottom half in modern clothing sizes. So 3 clothes sizes to lose - even if no-one else agrees I need to lose it:(

I've got no excuse now that retirement has brought the chance to focus a lot more on things like this:cool:

Telling myself to "think positive" - and that I now know a noticeable number of new foods and various flavouring things to what I knew last time (some years back) and so I should be able to make it more interesting for myself.

caronc

Glad you enjoyed the catch up with your friends if not the food.
That's a shame the dress is not for you - no doubt someone else will love it:)


Chickpeas are in their roasting marinade and broad beans & peas are cooked. Just need to psych myself up to take the skins off of the beans. If it's just me I seldom bother double podding but as it's to take elsewhere I will make the effort:cool:

caronc

Filo bites are finally in the oven (stuffed with feta, broad beans, peas, sundried tomatoes & pesto) as are the chickpeas. It was a bit more faffy than I thought it would be as my filo was a) a bit fragile and b) I had fewer sheets than I thought. Managed to scrape 11 parcels so fingers crossed they don't split:cool:, goodness knows when dinner will be.....

Brambling

Sitting with a large G & T and Cba to cook :beer: work was a little :mad::mad: my manager and I had to stay late to fix someone else's c*ck up as it was Friday night and he needed to go :huh: big mistakes made because he didn't listen, thought he knew best and had a 'so what' attitude to disabling users by mistake. 4 weeks and counting before he leaves I can't wait I did tell him a few home truths but it was water off a ducks back, none of the mistakes he made were his fault :mad: I'm just wishing I had one of PNs crunchies or Farways kit kat to wash down the gin or maybe some of Caroncs nibbles

Farway I know Wimborne very well, did you get caught on the bypass, I've spent many an hour sitting there :rotfl:

Glad that at least you enjoyed the company Money if not the lunch, I like honest friends who are prepared to tell you when something doesn't suit, although I've been told that I can be tactless when I'm too honest :rotfl: good luck with the weight lost I have managed to lose 12lb, I was worried when the hot weather left that it would go back on but still losing if a little slower than I like, free carrot cake today at work didn't help I think the boss thought feed her before she commits murder :rotfl:

Last nights work thing included a nice dinner out, I was good and avoided dessert, all the nicer for not paying for it

Brambling

caronc wrote: »

Filo bites are finally in the oven (stuffed with feta, broad beans, peas, sundried tomatoes & pesto) as are the chickpeas. It was a bit more faffy than I thought it would be as my filo was a) a bit fragile and b) I had fewer sheets than I thought. Managed to scrape 11 parcels so fingers crossed they don't split:cool:, goodness knows when dinner will be.....

Those sound lovely, would go well with my G & T

PasturesNew

I've never bought/used filo... mostly because it's off my radar, probably isn't available in discount shops "L" and "A" ... and there's an awful lot of sheets to be filled in the pack... and, if slid into the freezer, would become "food clutter that haunts me and is never used".... it's one of those "middle class" things that's slid into vocabulary, where a perfectly good pie crust would suffice

I like the idea, maybe, but I'll never get round to buying any and actually using it in any way ... if I'm honest. Not overly keen on the thin crispiness when I've encountered it in, say, the odd spring roll here and there.

Trying to think what to eat today ... I ended up going with hash browns, sausages, beans and the last 2 eggs. Splash of brown sauce. It seemed a simple belly filler.... and CBA to think of a second meal and then choose between them. Best to just go with the first thing you think of, so it's done

caronc

Brambling wrote: »

Those sound lovely, would go well with my G & T

That's the plan for tomorrow;):D

PasturesNew wrote: »

I've never bought/used filo... mostly because it's off my radar, probably isn't available in discount shops "L" and "A" ... and there's an awful lot of sheets to be filled in the pack... and, if slid into the freezer, would become "food clutter that haunts me and is never used".... it's one of those "middle class" things that's slid into vocabulary, where a perfectly good pie crust would suffice

I like the idea, maybe, but I'll never get round to buying any and actually using it in any way ... if I'm honest. Not overly keen on the thin crispiness when I've encountered it in, say, the odd spring roll here and there.

Trying to think what to eat today ... I ended up going with hash browns, sausages, beans and the last 2 eggs. Splash of brown sauce. It seemed a simple belly filler.... and CBA to think of a second meal and then choose between them. Best to just go with the first thing you think of, so it's done

Filo will I think be in most SMs but yes it does need a bit of tlc and unused doesn't freeze well. That said in some ways it's great CFO pastry as you can make small pies etc. but do need to make a batch though once wrapped round something it freezes pretty well uncooked:).



Filo bites are out the oven, one split but didn't leak so I think all 11 are good to go:D. Chickpeas are also out and I think I've been a bit heavy handed with the hot paprika as they are certainly spicy. But should be ok with a cooling drink:cool:.
Processing of most of the beans is a job for tomorrow....

Dinner is finally nearly ready,:D

Brambling

caronc wrote: »

Filo bites are out the oven, one split but didn't leak so I think all 11 are good to go:D. Chickpeas are also out and I think I've been a bit heavy handed with the hot paprika as they are certainly spicy. But should be ok with a cooling drink

The split one is chefs perks you have to sample before letting others try them :rotfl:

PasturesNew

Brambling wrote: »

The split one is chefs perks you have to sample before letting others try them :rotfl:

This is a CFO thread... there are no "others"

I'd even it up though.... and work out how many to eat so I had the portion sizes right with those remaining. That might mean eating 2, to bring it down to 9, or 3, to bring it down to 8 ... or six might be a good number so eat 5.