+++ Whoops! Here comes the cheese! +++

Sun_Addict

I bought the puy lentils pouches on offer too. Handy to have in. Also bought the chestnut pouches when they were on offer.

EssexHebridean

I missed the chestnuts this year, which is annoying. 

I’ve also (still) got garden envy - in spite of finally having one, there is little I can do in it at the moment - so it’s just down to notebook and pen planning, currently. We might have a play with the front garden tomorrow though as we want to see what’s under the weed suppressing membrane (which isn’t suppressing much anyway) in one area to see if it’s going to be plantable any time soon… 

redofromstart

We buy the MG pouches whenever they are on offer (lentil and chestnut) and really liked the chestnut stuffing too which appears to have been discontinued by my SM sadly. We also buy Bradbury vac packed chestnuts in H0me Bargains at about two thirds of the MG price, still tasty and work well for candied chestnuts on the rare chance I can be bothered with making them. 

Lots of vines and holly chopped off the fruit trees, and both green waste bins filled. I pay enough for the service, the bins should be full, and shortly one of the two will be full of grass cuttings every fortnight.

themadvix

Thank you for the dinner inspiration Redo - we had the squash with tomato chilli lentils this evening (no peppers) - was delicious! 😋 Mr MV isn’t keen on squash but I think he’d happily have it again like that.

redofromstart

Glad you like it Madvix, my pet hate is wasting ingredients on a recipe that doesn't work.

yesterday, inspired by Graying Pilgrim, I made a very basic pasta sauce, which DS1 had as a base for spaghetti and meatballs, leaving a good portion for future pasta or pizza efforts. He has pizza maybe once a week and prefers home made but not enough to make it for himself.  I now have the motivation and time again to do these things.

Mr Redo and I went out for lunch today, which was ok.  I always sit and internally mutter at how much nicer food I could make for the same money but it is nice to not have to cook.  Garden centre visited - seed compost and a rather lovely Daphne as an early birthday present.  Also came back with a Christopher Lloyd growing flowers from seeds book for £3 which is a result, I find his writing quite motivating, especially his 'Well Tempered Garden'.

Sun_Addict

I'm just like you and nine times out of ten I think I could've made better at home. It's a nice treat though especially if you're out and about. For this very reason we never order takeaways, always disappointed. 

Greying_Pilgrim

redofromstart said:

Mr Redo and I went out for lunch today, which was ok.  I always sit and internally mutter at how much nicer food I could make for the same money but it is nice to not have to cook.......

Sun_Addict said:

I'm just like you and nine times out of ten I think I could've made better at home. It's a nice treat though especially if you're out and about. For this very reason we never order takeaways, always disappointed. 

I agree with you both - we rarely if ever now eat out/get a takeaway.  It helped that previously the takeaways around weren't very good.  Not too sure about the new place - yet to try, but sometimes it does smell nice......  But how I do like the 'treat' aspect of someone else doing the cooking occasionally - or sometimes just the 'thinking' behind what to have to eat.  Lovely dilemmas to have, but I would like to pass across the wooden spoon just every once in a while....... 😉

I have pasta sauce for tea tonight and future dishes now, redo thanks to you mentioning getting a pot of sauce on the go - thanks 😁

Greying X

KajiKita

It took me a long time to get into Christopher Lloyd, but I am now prompted to go and ferret one of his books out 😊

KK

redofromstart

Some timely offers have arrived, good butchers 15% off on something special for our birthday meals in the next few weeks, and grass fed bones for stock and soup too. Parker's free delivery, £9 of my fritter money spent on 15 bare root plants for my sunny border. Oc8do 20 off a 60 so various treat bits ordered. 

The Tom sauce got used for HM pizza for the eldest yesterday, and 3 more portions frozen. 

Tidied out the polytunnel and greenhouse, sadly the ancient heated propagator shorts the house despite change of plug and fuse, and the no longer clear hard plastic lid has gone yellow and brittle
so I can't even get away with a £15 replacement heat mat although the lidded tray itself will be useful till seeds germinate. I did find sharp sand, vermiculite and some nice long root trainer pots for the various beans and peas which was a result. 

redofromstart

I pottered and sowed some seeds - broad beans and sweetpeas, now in the unheated propagator together with the micro greens (broccoli) I did the other day. I am going to have a new heated one for my birthday, and have established that the one I want is in the orange diy shop for collection slightly cheaper than elsewhere as well. I am lucky in that we have very deep window ledges downstairs even if the cats do think that plant trays are the best place ever to sleep.

Taken a deep breath and started pension transfers to a new provider - two small pots and one larger shifting.  We are likely to need to access these at some point in the next few years, and given that Poodential have been absolutely atrocious on actually crediting contributions (missing for two years, took ages to get resolved) and have an awful reputation for dragging heels on actually paying out, it makes sense to move these smaller DC pots into a single place with easy access. Noting it here so I can be suitably outraged at how long it takes them to do the transfer via the "faster" service.

My final work contribution hasn't credited yet, once it does I need to make decisions about moving that as well.