Cooking for one (Mark Three)

Wednesday2000

I've had a yoghurt and a wrap with Quorn pieces and salad again. I just went for a walk. It's still hot out there. I was going to put the duvet back on the bed tonight but now am thinking against it.

PasturesNew

AndyCF wrote: »

Must confess I'd never actually thought about bus routes though. There is an online 'guide thing' but it does not appear to work as you would expect for here at least. It want's place names rather than road names for some reason.

OCD ? Nah. No more than me any

I check every house, from the house to two particular points and note how long it takes to get to them on the bus.

I had one house half on my list once, but then I checked the bus times and found the last bus was at 6pm. It's surprising how you can go from "6 routes, every 15 minutes or so, to town" down to "one bus an hour, finishes at 6pm" in just 1 mile!

I am not a bus user, I want the option

On my preferred bus route it's about 15-20 minutes into the middle of town. That's about as much bus time as I could possibly ever bear, for special purposes.... but if there's no bus you don't have the choice. Some areas turned out to be 75 minutes on the bus, requiring changes; they came off the list.

My area research looks at: where will I get chips from? where's the nearest chinese? where's the nearest indian? are there others or is it just one? how far's Asda, Tesco, others? What other handy shops are close by - e.g. Home Bargains, The Range, Dunelm. How close is it to the activities I believe one day I'll get round to doing?

I am trying to buy a house for "lifestyle/access to goods and services" and not because "it looks pretty and has been painted a lovely colour".

PasturesNew

Today so far I've had:

Two cucumber/egg filled rolls
The final egg custard tart
The final 3 bounty bars.

AndyCF

Wednesday2000 wrote: »

I've had a yoghurt and a wrap with Quorn pieces and salad again. I just went for a walk. It's still hot out there. I was going to put the duvet back on the bed tonight but now am thinking against it.

It has seemed to have picked up a bit temp wise lately, although I have noted (here anyway) the nights are getting a bit cooler. Its not that long till its officially Autumn too.

PasturesNew wrote: »

I check every house, from the house to two particular points and note how long it takes to get to them on the bus.

I had one house half on my list once, but then I checked the bus times and found the last bus was at 6pm. It's surprising how you can go from "6 routes, every 15 minutes or so, to town" down to "one bus an hour, finishes at 6pm" in just 1 mile!

I am not a bus user, I want the option

No that does makes sense. It reminds me of how they used to be when I was growing up. There was either no Sunday bus at all or it was one every two hours and again it was an early finish. It does seem slightly odd 'these days' that a route stops at 6pm, one would guess it may be perhaps for the 9-5 office people.

I cannot be 100% sure the last time I used a bus other than a short ride into town a couple of years ago when it was hammering it down with rain. The last 'long' (as in 15 minutes) journey I do recall and that was about 1994! I simply remember it as it was when I'd scrapped a nasty old banger and my friend 'forgot' to turn up to pick me up and I did not fancy a six mile walk home! So got a bus from scrapman (on the outskirts) into the town, then a 25 min walk home from that point.

The costs are almost prohibitive these days for me, for say the cost of a bus to 'S' and back, I could walk there and have a taxi back. Cannot do Morr's without at least two buses, unless I fancy a 25 min walk to the edge of town then a bus there, then repeat in reverse (or taxi back) but its counter productive to do that and impractical if carrying a nice selection of frozen treats.

PasturesNew wrote: »

My area research looks at: where will I get chips from? where's the nearest chinese? where's the nearest indian? are there others or is it just one? how far's Asda, Tesco, others? What other handy shops are close by - e.g. Home Bargains, The Range, Dunelm. How close is it to the activities I believe one day I'll get round to doing?

I'd never really put a lot of thought into any of those simply as I had transport and as I was only a few miles from my original location, it was not going to make a big different to go to the major places. I do see the point you make here being mentioned before though on various 'buying or renting' type guides aka: research the area for facilities etc etc.

PasturesNew wrote: »

I am trying to buy a house for "lifestyle/access to goods and services" and not because "it looks pretty and has been painted a lovely colour".

100% concur. Where (a bit like me but I'm a long way off this its too complicated and private to put here anyway) there would be no mega rush and time to find somewhere.

PasturesNew wrote: »

Two cucumber/egg filled rolls
The final egg custard tart
The final 3 bounty bars.

In regard to the egg custard, If you've not tried them I'll say the "S" ones Blue-ish box. 90% Sure I tried the "Tes" ones and did not enjoy. I can't recall what the Morr's ones were like. They cannot of been terrible or I'd of remembered that bit!

Only issue I used to note here with them in general was the incredibly short date, usually the day after purchase! Mind you they would not normally last that long

I hope the bounties were smaller size ones.

PasturesNew

AndyCF wrote: »

In regard to the egg custard, If you've not tried them I'll say the "S" ones Blue-ish box.

I was in there the other week and took a quick look, they seemed to have boxes of 2 (80p?) and boxes of 4. As I wasn't in there for those and I've been a piggy lately I decided to walk away.

I used to like ones you got from a bakery that were about 5" across.

Re Bounties: Yes, small uns. An 4ldi own brand bag, 15 in a bag for 89p.
Not magnificent, but cheap/available.

AndyCF

Yes those ones. The box was blue though the last time I had any from there. I just checked 'S' online and it had a different lightly coloured box. I thought that price was about right although if memory serves (probably not) they were 75p last time at least locally.

Interestingly or not, I just glanced at Morr's and Tes's online and their twin packs are also 80p!

Talking of choc, I do note in the local BM at the end of the shop they tend to have random choc boxes, tubs and the like, away from the more regular shelf of them. I must take a look to see what is there as occasionally there's some cheap and nice ones. Mind you I'm scheduled for A1l's on Mon/Tues , weather and myself permitting so I might hold off. Shame as I really could do with some instant mash today but I'll wait. Can always mush up a couple of potatoes I guess.

Brambling

Evening all

Annoying start to the day when I had to find the owner of the van who slightly blocked me in this morning :mad: he apologised and thank me for not doing what someone did last week and damaged his van and drove off, so why do it again?? :cool: especially as there was no need. He was a repair man so not just delivering :cool:

Long hair appointment this morning, colour, cut and gossip . Then lunch with my sister at a nearby farm shop and more catching up with her, after all it's been four days my nephew had been baking again so a cinnamon bun and a tiny taste of warm brownie with a cuppa when we got back to hers

Lunch was a bacon, mozzarella and mushroom toastie, very tasty . Dinner was roast chicken, Boulangere potatoes and celeriac, runner beans and purple sprouting. Whilst the oven was on I roasted a small gammon so plenty of meat for next week

DundeeDoll

Thanks Brambling and Pastures new dollops in casseroles and toppings for pizzas sound very good ideas. i have just cut up a couple of gherkins and added to aubergine casserole.
Just found this https://www.netmums.com/recipes/sausage-and-onion-casserole so that definitely looks a goer :P

Farway

Another sunny day ahead, not that I intend going anywhere except potter in garden

Had menu change last night, just didn't fancy eating much even though it was only going to be bung together salad, so I fried the defrosted salmon fillet then flaked it into a sarnie with sliced cucumber

Later I piled into the Blue Vinney cheese + crackers
Later still I had bowl of stewed apples & opened a tin of custard:o

Breakfast usual porridge, with chopped fresh apple now I've bags full

Portioned & bagged up yesterday's stewed apples and now in freezer
Made another large pan of stewed apples which I'll portion up tomorrow once cooled

Lunch???????
Dinner, defrosting a YS L's macaroni cheese whilst making freezer space for apples

PasturesNew

Doritos for breakfast.

I do have to drag myself out today, to fill up with fuel as I've quite a lot of trips planned this week, maybe, collecting/dropping off stuff as I sort things out, sell/discard/donate or whatever.

I might shuffle round the shop to stare at their food offerings, I might bring something home with me, or I might just moan later I'm hungry