Cooking for one (Mark Three)

AndyCF

Decent warm day here too. Breeze gentle but not a cold breeze. Outside thermometer read 21c when I looked about half an hour ago.

@PN Good news on the fridge-freezer sale then. I can understand that as I wanted to get rid of a few items sharpish (I still have some of them but that's a job for next week) and did not want to bother with Ebay or post or being messed about, so selling "below normal for a quick sale without any aggravation , being messed about or silly questions" does make perfect sense.

Did you do what I did last time when someone visited to collect something ? I mentioned the other bits I had for sale , although they were not interested it was probably worth asking I thought. You never know!

I think you'll be perfectly fine with the odd purchase of fresh chilled bits that you are going to have that day (dark pantry area or cupboard?) or packs/tins. As long as you've got a working microwave / slow cooker or something similar should be 100% , mind you just a microwave (I don't have a grill/oven in mine its a plain zapper only thing) is quite good enough for a while I guess.

I did consider a few days ago vaguely suggesting one of those mini fridges you see, usually meant I think for an excess alcohol erm 'collection' , but aside from the outlay of the item (do not look cheap usually!) it is "something else to move" , albeit a smaller item but they are not exactly the weight of a crisp packet either.

Lunchtime is approaching and slightly gone. I'm not sure what to have, tbh I don't actually feel hungry. I did just eat half a bag of Monstery Munch though which is a rare treat given they are £1 (as I only like the beef ones) although the local shop did have two of those for £1.50 so it seemed practical to grab them at that price.

I did glance in BM at their cool/fridge shelf area for some saus rolls but none of the brand on display inspired, either those or (if its a nice brand) some cooked ham/chicken slices perhaps. Ginst occasionally appear in saus-roll format there but rare. They did have some chick/mush slices from said maker but I did not buy, I'm half wishing I had picked one up now. Might go back as its only 3 minutes away. They are a bit 'fatty' I know but if you have them with something else (I prefer just a ladel or two of mixed veg on the plate alongside) it makes a nice quick meal rather than a micro-snack. I hope that makes sense!

Mentioning crisps for those inclined I did notice A1d's large mixed bags of these for very sane prices, one said bag is on my list anyway for here.

Still no instant mash locally either, tubs on back order now apparently. Possibly Mon/Tues. Hope the price does not go back up, they were mighty cheap before at 1.29. Said (any brand) item is also on my list along with inspecting various tins of soups and some chilled items if possible.

So I think lunch is out the window now and it will be time soon once I've sorted my tasks out to think about something nice for this evening.

caronc

Good evening everyone,
Sounds sensible to load your freezer with pre-prepped stuff whmf as it will take you a wee while post op to feel like cooking. Good you can stay with your DD for the initial recovery as you will probably need a hand for a wee while. I'd suggest easy eat stuff like soups, stews etc. frozen in small portions as you might not have much of an appetite until you get more active again. I took time off after my Dad had his done and he definitely wasn't his usual hungry self for a good bit. I knew he was on the mend when he fancied and then demolished a large fish & chips from the chippy.:)
Great news re the FF PN, a bit of pain not to have one for a bit but one less thing on your "worry" list.:D Given how much you have to do would an electric coolbox be something you could buy (a medium one is about £40), use and then sell on afterwards? It might save having to factor in daily shopping with everything else. Both my kids have one as they quite often transport fresh food between here and Newcastle/Cardiff and they do keep things really cold. My elder son got his when the FF died just after they had shopped and they knew the letting agents they has then would be slow to organise a replacement.



Definitely a final kick of summer here today, it was glorious out though very waspy:eek:, I gave up gardening until later in the afternoon as I'm not fast enough to deal with antsy half-dead wasps! Managed to get a fair bit done before the midgies came out - they are out in force this evening and a few managed a good nibble at me! I picked enough runner & climbing beans to give a decent portion with my dinner tonight. Unless I find a hidden stash lurking in the vines that will be the last of them as I plan to bin the plants over the next couple of days. There was also quite a few toms ripe in the greenhouse. Most of the tom plants are looking quite ropey, not blight just beginning to die back. I suspect they'll keep going as long as the weather holds but after I'll need to pick what's left on the vines and ripen them indoors. Unless they keel over I'll keep them going until I need the space to over winter my begonias etc.



Easy dinner tonight - chicken & mushroom slice, oven chips, garden beans, peas and spinach so apart from some bean prepping everything else is in the freezer ready to cook.:)

Brambling

Farway it sounds like you've been led astray by Dorset Blue Vinney, I haven't had it for a good couple of years, last time was at the Bridport food festival with Dorset Knob biscuits yum And free as it was a very generous free sample

Caronc I'm thinking of getting a gardener in to tidy the back jungle before the winter my nephew started it then got more hours at work so grounded to a halt, I want the brambles and dogwood cleared from the bottom as I'm thinking of putting a small greenhouse there and it's very heavy digging.

The last couple of days has definitely reminded me that I drive cross country to work, yesterday delay home was a cow on the road although as the radio put it 'it just disappeared' so I never got to see it and today a very large HGV decided to ignore the signs and drove down narrow windy country roads luckily it's not so country that it's single track but he must have realised his mistake and we all crawled at 15 mph behind him, it's lucky there was no tractor coming the other way this morning . It's a route to the main A road but HGVs are advised to take the access either side of it. I'm guessing it probably had a car sat nav :cool: at least the sun was shining and the scenery is nice

I had to walk into town today so lunch was late but very tasty fig, goat cheese and Parma ham salad followed by some YS strawberries and blueberries. The goat cheese was just right and not too goaty as it was late I haven't been hungry enough to cook my planned dinner so I'll get some eggs in a little while not sure whether to omelette or scramble them

caronc

Brambling wrote: »

Caronc I'm thinking of getting a gardener in to tidy the back jungle before the winter my nephew started it then got more hours at work so grounded to a halt, I want the brambles and dogwood cleared from the bottom as I'm thinking of putting a small greenhouse there and it's very heavy digging.

Well worth the spend IMHO, I first got him to make me a low cost more "me friendly" veg patch and clear lots of overgrowth, empty flower pots and empty my greenhouse the Spring after my health went pear-shaped and neither had I managed to put the garden to bed the previous Autumn nor was in a position to manage it going forward as it was. Inventive use of upturned ex-recycling crates from the local tip (the council changed the collection system), weed matting under the crates and builders tubs with holes drilled in the bottom has given me a brilliant easy to maintain and productive veg growing space. It's not pretty but it more than does the job and as it's fenced off you can't really see it from the house/flower garden. That first visit cost me £200 but he was here for two days and took all the debris away, collected the crates and drilled the holes before filling with compost. I provided the tubs and compost. The year after, I got him to do bits in the front garden I couldn't manage at the end of the season which he said would last me two years with a little maintenance and it has. It cost me £50 and I expect to be similiar this time. I love my garden and overall since 2016 averaged per month it has cost me very little (about £2 per week). If you're not fussy about when they come you should be able to get this done pretty cheaply - you'll not regret it.:D

AndyCF

@caronc , the idea of the electric cool box is not a bad one and likely cheaper than those mini-fridges. From memory the mini-boxes usually are meant (sometimes) to go in the car boot so likely 12v , but an adaptor is relatively easy to get anyway.

Your lunch sounds nice. Its funny you mention chick/mush slices as that was on my mind (and my posting) earlier today! , If BM have any of those Ginst ones in twin pack for £1 I may grab one tomorrow provided they have at least 3 days life in them as I'd like to save one for Monday ideally.

@Brambling, I used to see HGV's do silly things like that quite a bit. I think its a case of (without wanting to judge) some of them blindly follow the satnav directions without thinking too much unfortunately. I say some as they are professional drivers, but you know what I mean hopefully.

There is a slight joke here in that your sat nav will happily usually guide you from say (random place say Nottingham) all the way to (another random) Paris... But it would expect you to take a ferry and not attempt to drive across the channel

Mentioning greenhouses aunt needs some new panes in hers as a couple are cracked and carefully taped back together. She did mention something about "non-glass" (to quote her words) so I said you mean like plastic/perspex ? But she said not. So I'm not quite sure. Mind you I would bet these days a new one if getting new would have toughened or safety glass anyway, not a bad thing really, if not for accident risk it is easier and safer to clean up if there is damage.

Not quite with it again today so I chickened out of the meatballs or much veg. I ended up boiling three new potato's to within an inch of their lives then chopping them into little bits just with the side of a fork, served with a large tablespoon of garden peas. It was "enough"

Brambling

caronc wrote: »

Well worth the spend IMHO

If you're not fussy about when they come you should be able to get this done pretty cheaply - you'll not regret it.:D

I've found a couple of local guys on checkatrade with good reviews so I'm going to get them both to quote and see who I feel comfortable with I've let it get out of control so it needs some brute strength. I may when they're here get them to do final tidy of the front but that would be pure laziness

Andy there are a couple of routes around here with No HGV signs as the car sat nav directs you down them although it has got better since modern sat nav can be tailored to the size of the vehicle.

unrecordings

AndyCF wrote: »

Mentioning greenhouses aunt needs some new panes in hers as a couple are cracked and carefully taped back together. She did mention something about "non-glass" (to quote her words) so I said you mean like plastic/perspex ? But she said not. So I'm not quite sure. Mind you I would bet these days a new one if getting new would have toughened or safety glass anyway, not a bad thing really, if not for accident risk it is easier and safer to clean up if there is damage.

You can get sheets of polycarbonate (the same stuff cd cases are made of) in the relevant sizes. Even though it's double walled, it can still be a little too flexible if the wind gets under it so it needs extra clips or some kind of simple batten along the bottom wedged into the greenhouse frame

PasturesNew

I ended up at the local chippy. They do good chips, but they are a price!

I had fish & chips, something I have ever rarely bought. HUGE portion of chips, it was well tasty.

Then I zonked out.....

So much to think about, so many things on the go, so much I could do, or should do .... and worries, decisions ... my brain just imploded and I went into shutdown mode.

Awake now though. Bit groggy.

I've more than enough boxes. I think the issue with boxes is you can't have too few, you can always easily dispose of too many - but finding "the right sized box" is too much time/effort. When you just want to pack "similar things together" efficiently, you fixate on "ideal/perfect box size", which is then unachievable... so you end up with things still left unpacked in case your mind unfogs and you can see the way forward.

unrecordings

Having spent a lifetime packing boxes of records, musical equipment, master tapes etc etc etc I've always got a supply of 'good boxes'

But for books & cds smaller is better - wine boxes are great and easy to get hold of - easy to fill without going OCD, easy to dump in a spare room & easy to empty in an idle moment in the new place

Farway

Last of the sunny days today according to forecast so 500g of my local ethical diced water buffalo out to defrost, ready for SC stew thing tomorrow

Good job I may be getting super hearing aids, I heard a thump earlier, it was the Postie, he said he'd rang bell & knocked door, neither of which I heard.

The thump was the letter box as he put the "missed you" card through:eek:. Caught him in time, my loose tea delivery arrived, that's me set for a bit

Porridge breakfast, with my HM yoghurt. This batch is vert sloppy:( I may need a new starter but I'll see how the next batch turns out before I decide. It is supposed to be live & self renewing but as with any live product can lose ooomph over time

Lunch, ????. I've two slices of bread which could be sarnie or toast, I'll need to check just how fresh they are before final decision is made

Besides the buffalo I've also taken a salmon fillet out to defrost, today could be last salad day with the weather changing

Caron, one thing I'm glad of, whilst we also have half dead annoyed wasps down here there are no midges, at least where I am

AndyCF wrote: »

There is a slight joke here in that your sat nav will happily usually guide you from say (random place say Nottingham) all the way to (another random) Paris... But it would expect you to take a ferry and not attempt to drive across the channel

Talking of Paris, I was given a cheapo sat nav, and no matter what I tried it always started by wanting me cross a bridge over the River Seine despite me being in Hampshire:(
Searching revealed it was common fault on the is cheapo one and no fix had ever been found.

No wonder I was given it, I passed it on, and it's probably doing the rounds of charity shops & car boots even now