A new royal start

QueenJess

Oh no.. another call from nursery.  DD now has chicken pox!  So much for me having some time off!

daisy_1571

Too organised?   That sounds an odd thing to say.  Organisation is what keeps the wheels running 

Daisy xx

QueenJess

daisy_1571 said:

Too organised?   That sounds an odd thing to say.  Organisation is what keeps the wheels running 

Daisy xx

He likes to just do whatever he fancies on the day. To me that is more expense as then it’ll be eating out if you happen to be hungry etc or going to town multiple times as you’ve forgotten something - DH would see multiple town trips as fine.

He thinks being that organised is boring. I think it’s sensible.

Bluegreen143

I think there’s merit in both (organisation and spontaneity) - good to balance each other out in a relationship too, I reckon opposites attract is a real thing 🙂. 

I always want to go out and take the kids on adventures and my DH always wants us all to stay home and do DIY and gardening. We often used to clash over what to do with our precious weekend, but I realised that it’s probably really good for the kids that they get this balance rather than just my perspective on life. 

QueenJess

DD has perked right up and was a bit naughty yesterday evening (winding up DS), so she is definitely feeling better.  DH is going to look after her today so I can get some sleep.  Still needed to do chores though, so this morning made an apple and blackberry cake as well as two batches of shortbread (plain and choc chip).  The shortbread will be packed into a tin for my dad's present and as soon as it is cool enough I will post it as the PO is round the corner.  Also changed all the beds, put away the clean clothes and hung up a load of washing to dry.  Apart from the PO trip I am going to be sitting around this afternoon/evening as I'm exhausted tending to DD's every need.

Made a list of things to bake/cook next week and it's looking very busy indeed.  Will check I have enough pantry ingredients and add anything I need to for the shopping list.  Considering doing two shops next week (Mon and Fri) with the hope I then don't need anything bar milk until the Mon post xmas and possibly even Jan.  I rearranged the freezer so I can find things and it is getting pretty rammed in there (helped by the 3 batches of chocolate brownies I stashed in there yesterday).  Hopefully this means food spend can be low for a while.  January and February will definitely be use it up months and hopefully by Easter I can defrost the freezer.

Lunch today will be more soup I made yesterday with two sad parsnips and a massive bag of scraps (peels, kale stalks, cauliflower stems), the last of the harrissa paste and other spices.  Will use up the last of the roasted garlic bread with it which will make more space in the freezer.  Dinner will be leftover pizza for the kids; DH and I will have pesto pasta with whatever veg I can find in the fridge (likely mushrooms, carrots, kale and onion).  Dessert is the blackberry cake (I still have an enormous amount of blackberries in the freezer).

QueenJess

DD is all better now and back to nursery, but I’m still behind on sleep because of fun menopause. Waiting for my follow up doctors appointment at the end of Dec.

Done an epic amount of cooking the last two days: tea cakes, mincemeat, custard creams, iced buns, massive 4 meals worth of fish pie, compote, candied peel dipped in dark chocolate and a load of melted chocolate shapes for DD and DH’s presents. I’ve remembered why I only make candied peel annually because it takes so long 🥱. I’ve been saving all the peel from any organic citrus fruit all year for it in the freezer and did have quite a lot of it! I will be giving a big bag to my neighbour with her xmas card though. It took me 1.5 hours to dip all the chocolate!

I’ve got two things off the “I’ve always wanted to make those” list; the custard creams and iced buns. Iced buns are for later, but look really good (and I have another half frozen for an easy dessert another time) and the custard creams are hands down the best thing I’ve ever baked. You put them in your mouth and they just melt away… I reckon you could adapt the recipe to make chocolate ones with chocolate buttercream or even do them with plain buttercream and a small dollop of jam. They will definitely be on the make again list.

My small chest freezer is almost full to the brim and will be once I make some more loaves of bread to tide us over. Really with all this food we should be having a really cheap Jan whilst we work our way through it. I will definitely be thankful for it with lots of easy desserts and meals in there that just need to be defrosted/reheated.

Tomorrow I am off to a Xmas lunch with ex work (paid by them!) and I will have a leisurely day by arriving early and investigating the charity shops there (there’s a really good charity bookshop there), before going to the lunch that lasts until the evening.

Dinner this evening is hm pizzas and I have mozzarella for a change. Will pair with red onion, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms and red peppers. Iced buns for dessert  

More baking next week, but I have booked DS to help make the mince pies and a cheats version of xmas cake. I shall also fill a tin with biscuits (shortbread and ginger biscuits) ready for Xmas day in the evening.

redofromstart

Custard cream recipe please? They sound excellent. 

QueenJess

redofromstart said:

Custard cream recipe please? They sound excellent. 

I decided against some of the traditional ones that call for egg yolks and went for this one: https://bakingwithgranny.co.uk/recipe/biscuit/custard-creams/

The iced buns I made were from the same site and must be good as DD just wolfed down a whole one!

redofromstart

Thank you - yes I've used that site before. I will have a go at those. It might even have been to make iced bread buns - pennies to make and glorious fresh on the day of making. 

daisy_1571

I use birds custard powder but one time I didn't have enough so made it up with some sainsbury cheap packet of custard powder as part of the amount in my recipe and it made them a lovely fuller custard flavour so I always do this now.  I generally make the balls about 19g and don't put a filler, we just eat them as single biscuits.   

I usually double my recipe and freeze some.  Whether the freezing 'keeps' them longer I don't know as you can eat them straight from the freezer but they certainly don't go off in the freezer. 

Dxxx