Cooking for one (Mark Three)

flubberyzing

For me, in terms of that missing ingredient, I've always been "when in doubt, add garlic". But that's because I love the stuff!
I put some of the dried stuff in my mashed potato this evening, and it was lovely!!

moneyistooshorttomention

Been having a variety of food for the last few days. I've been back in my home city visiting - so it's been 3 vegan meals one way or another (as there's now quite a lot of it about there), middle eastern, vietnamese, etc, etc. Not my usual breakfasts - as I was staying at our university - so a lot of croissants were consumed + some rolls, as the bread was sliced factory bread:(. Anyway the diet starts again tomorrow.

One of my other activities whilst there was shopping - which I made a valiant attempt to "shop for England - and Wales etc etc" - but I promise I did leave some clothes in the shops for everyone else to buy. I'll have to persevere with the diet now - as I bought bras and nightdresses in my "proper" size (ie 2 sizes smaller than currently) - as well as the non-size specific stuff - like earrings, more earrings, yet more earrings, yet more earings (do you get the impression I like earrings?:rotfl:) - but they were all cheap costume jewellery ones. Also footwear, more footwear, a handbag - which...ahem....weren't cheap..ahem:rotfl: Just don't ask unless you are sitting down comfortably on the floor already....:rotfl:

My excuse is that, one way or another, I've spent very little on clothing since moving to Wales - so I was making up for lost time. But I'm feeling hopeful I've made some good purchases - I made a jokey comment to another shopper that "It's time I was 'elegant' now at my age" and got the response "You already are....". LOL - not IMO - but I'm working on it...I'm planning to be...(hopefully).

EDIT; Grins at Farway's comment of "being in the history books"...I think I already am - in a "behind the scenes" sorta way (long story.......)....

PasturesNew

As a rule, I don't shop/buy stuff... I've no money for stuff

caronc

Good evening everyone,
Late on parade today as my internet was iffy earlier so I gave up trying to get online! Seems fine now though:).
Farway -My "go to" for stews etc. if "something is missing" tends to be a dash of Lea & Perrins or mushroom ketchup or a few drops of tabasco (or sometimes all three;)) which tends to work. Although I like my SC and use it for making stock & soups when it comes to stews I also prefer the stovetop or oven to get the flavour. I do like a whole chicken cooked in the SC but it's very different beastie to a roasted one but tasty all the same. Quiet often I either start or finsh something in mine before or after cooking it on the stove or in the oven that seems to avoid the "everything tastes the same" problem.:)

Thanks flubberyzing for the marinade reciepe:).
My pinkie still looks like an over-stuffed chipolata but thankfully is much less painful today:).
Today I continued with my "Autumn" cleaning I'm trying to get some done every day- long gone are the days when I could just set a day aside to work through it room by room! Today was the turn of the dining room and I decided to reorganise my Welsh dresser while I had stuff off/out of it to damp dust. Talk about one of those jobs which took blinking ages ....:eek:
After a bit of a manky start weather-wise it cleared late afternoon so I got a little more tidying done in the garden, I also picked more runner beans, a cucumber and lots more tomatoes .

Lunch was a quick mug of pea & ham, the pot did well I've had three decent sized portions and there are three of the same in the freezer. Not bad for what I reckon was no more than £1.50 for the lot:D.
Dinner tonight is a "bung it in the oven" job of chicken wings, roast veg, corn cobette and small baked spud. There will be veg LO which can form the basis of either lunch or dinner tomorrow. From Friday evening I'm not CFO until Tuesday so want to use up any lingering LOs so they don't get wasted and after Sunday's get together no doubt a new collection of bits/use ups will have gathered!

caronc

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Been having a variety of food for the last few days. I've been back in my home city visiting - so it's been 3 vegan meals one way or another (as there's now quite a lot of it about there), middle eastern, vietnamese, etc, etc. Not my usual breakfasts - as I was staying at our university - so a lot of croissants were consumed + some rolls, as the bread was sliced factory bread:(. Anyway the diet starts again tomorrow.

One of my other activities whilst there was shopping - which I made a valiant attempt to "shop for England - and Wales etc etc" - but I promise I did leave some clothes in the shops for everyone else to buy. I'll have to persevere with the diet now - as I bought bras and nightdresses in my "proper" size (ie 2 sizes smaller than currently) - as well as the non-size specific stuff - like earrings, more earrings, yet more earrings, yet more earings (do you get the impression I like earrings?:rotfl:) - but they were all cheap costume jewellery ones. Also footwear, more footwear, a handbag - which...ahem....weren't cheap..ahem:rotfl: Just don't ask unless you are sitting down comfortably on the floor already....:rotfl:

My excuse is that, one way or another, I've spent very little on clothing since moving to Wales - so I was making up for lost time. But I'm feeling hopeful I've made some good purchases - I made a jokey comment to another shopper that "It's time I was 'elegant' now at my age" and got the response "You already are....". LOL - not IMO - but I'm working on it...I'm planning to be...(hopefully).

EDIT; Grins at Farway's comment of "being in the history books"...I think I already am - in a "behind the scenes" sorta way (long story.......)....

Glad to see you back MTSTM, sounds as though you had an enjoyable though spendy time:D

Brambling

Sounds like a good few days Money occasionally a woman's got to shop and an incentive to diet as well

Weather definitely has an autumn feel today a bit wet and drizzly and I think the summer trousers and tee shirts are going away soon as a definite nip in the air.
I finally braved the scales today after my hols and was pleasantly surprised with another 2lb off (16lbs in total) :j:j I think a combination of walking over 120kms when we were away and being ill since I got back :rotfl: I'll send you some germs if you want to fast track the weight loss Money I have put a dress on the back of the bedroom door which I want to back into I'm due blood tests again next week and as I'm losing weight I'm hoping it will show my thyroid has settled back down again and I can stick to my current dosage

Lunch today was the last of the chicken soup and dinner was a YS Waitrose fancy burger (no bun) with salad, i don't usually buy burgers but they had a lot off £1 for 4 so the rest have been squeezed into a gap in the freezer, I tried not to miss the bun :cool:

PasturesNew

In the end yesterday I had:

- savoury BB pud & beans
- some pastille sweeties
- two 'oven bottom' muffins with margarine.

Had to eat those muffins as the freezer's full and they are dated 12th... so I'll have to eat the other two today at some point.

First nippy morning, at 63°F / 17°C. Time to drag out the SC soon, I've some beef chunks and some mince bought 2-3 months ago that are still in the freezer... but not today.

flubberyzing

Morning!

It's bright and sunny out there today, and the wind has dropped. I hope it carries on! If it's still nice around 10-ish, I might go for a walk.

I've got a few bits on the to-do list today. I've got an important email to reply to, so will probably type that up on Word and ponder it for a bit before sending.
I also have a bit of a research project to embark on, relating to the email. So I'll be spending some time on Google today!

Dinner today will be a steak and kidney pie, and a Fray Bentos one at that! They were a childhood favourite, and have remained so all these years. I know they're probably terrible for you, and I've watched the amount of filling go down and down over the years, but it's actually the gravy and the pastry I love the most! I'll do it with the last of the broccoli and that'll be nice.

moneyistooshorttomention

Brambling wrote: »

Sounds like a good few days Money occasionally a woman's got to shop and an incentive to diet as well


I finally braved the scales today after my hols and was pleasantly surprised with another 2lb off (16lbs in total) :j:j I think a combination of walking over 120kms when we were away and being ill since I got back :rotfl: I'll send you some germs if you want to fast track the weight loss Money I have put a dress on the back of the bedroom door which I want to back into I'm due blood tests again next week and as I'm losing weight I'm hoping it will show my thyroid has settled back down again and I can stick to my current dosage

Congratulations on the weight loss:T. 16 lbs loss is an amount that will now be "showing" noticeably.

I'll say "Thanks, but no thanks" to the germs:rotfl:

I'm doing exactly the same as you re the dress hung on back of bedroom door. I've got a label size 12 dress I bought recently at a carboot sale (so as not to risk wasting much money on it) hung up on the back of my bedroom door. It's a tunic dress (wear on own or over leggings type) with an empire "waistline" (ie just under the bust). I started by finding that "waistline" was halfway up my bust. It's now under the bust - where it ought to be. Next goal is for the bust area not to be "tight" and for it to be clear there is a flat stomach underneath the waist area and then it will "look right" and I'll know I'm well on my way...

caronc

Good morning everyone,

Congratulations on the weightloss Brambling:D.
It's back to wet & wild here today so I'm not planning on straying further than the wheelie bins!
My pinkie is more or less back to normal size this morning and only sore if I bump it which unfortunately I seem to keep doing:eek:.
House cleaning continues and today it is the kitchen/conservatory. It's mainly a de-clutter and a wipe down so hopefully not too bendy a job. I'll get the floors mopped this afternoon and that just leaves the bathroom to tackle tomorrow. Once it's done I'll have done all the bits I can do, my son has promised to tackle upstairs when he's next up on holiday:).
Lunch will be something quick and tonight I'm going to use the extra roast veg to make pasta, I've tomato sauce in the freezer so an easy meal to put together:).