Away From The Madding Crowd

Humboldt

Hi @Savvy_Sue, yes, I do enjoy cooking meals from scratch.

Prep takes on average 30 minutes, sometimes a little longer depending upon the meal.  Lots of the recipes that I have chosen this week just require me to chop some veg, add a few spices, open a couple of cans, add some stock, then bung it all in the slow cooker.  That said, I get that some would rather not do that, or indeed don't have the time to do so.  These days meal prep is no longer a rushed affair, and I often listen to music, a podcast, a Y0utube video, etc at the same time. DH sometimes contributes and is especially happy to cook a steak, or a curry when he is off work. 

Our weekly menus are not set in stone and I often shuffle the plan if circumstances require it, or if we just don't feel like eating a particular thing that evening. For anyone who might be interested in why I meal plan, my post dated 13 February 2024 rambles on about this. 

Personally I see recipes as a guide, rather than something that you have to adhere to.  I often add, remove or adapt a recipe to suit our tastes, budget, the ingredients that we have, especially when they include obscure ingredients i.e. what the heck is leftover wine! lol.  

Today's simple pleasure - a trip out to a local market town and a sausage buttie for lunch.

BrilliantButScary

Hi @Humboldt,

I have made a couple of the British Heart Foundation recipes this week:

Sweet Potato Curry with Spinach and Chickpeas.
Baked Chicken Biryani. 

My Chief Taster (DH) advised the first doesn't need to be repeated, but he's happy to eat the second again!

I mentioned your posts to my DH, and he has been educating me on the 'Humboldt Current'. 

I'm enjoying the Spring weather, spending lots of time in the garden, cutting things back. 

Humboldt

Hi @BrilliantButScary thanks for sharing that you had tried some of the Brit!sh He@rt F0undation recipes.

For anyone who is unaware, the BHF website is a valuable source of free information and not just recipes. When seeking information regarding high blood pressure and high cholesterol, I found the BHF and He@rt UK (the cholesterol charity) websites really helpful. If you are lady of a certain age, you might find it useful to gain some understanding of how this can affect your heart health.  

I must agree that having tried the sweet potato curry, I won't bother again.  The P0N slow cooker sweet potato and feta risotto that I trialled the other week, wasn't to our liking either (much prefer a risotto made the traditional way).

I had to Go0gle the Humboldt Current.  Well I never, everyday is a school day. 

Today's simple pleasure - almost finished painting another room in the house.

jwil

I got an email from BHF today - they are running a strong woman challenge in April - 30 days of strength building exercises that are suitable for all levels of fitness and need no equipment.  I'm thinking of signing up - you can fundraise or make a donation.

Humboldt

jwil said:

I got an email from BHF today - they are running a strong woman challenge in April - 30 days of strength building exercises that are suitable for all levels of fitness and need no equipment.  I'm thinking of signing up - you can fundraise or make a donation.

Morning @jwil thanks for highlighting the challenge.  Much appreciated. 

Today's simple pleasure - blue skies, sunshine and Spring flowers blooming in the garden.  Great start to the day.

oceandreamer

I've just reached the end of this thread, having found it yesterday morning.  What an inspirational read.  I have a notebook next to me, that now has a list of things to look up.  I too am in education and hoping to retire (early) after one more academic year.  It is so interesting to read about how people adapt to semi/retirement.  The one thing I absolutely hate about working is the lack of time to just be.  Every weekend/holiday seems to be filled up with either trying to get something done off the neverending to-do-list or going away/seeing friends/going out. There doesn't seem to be time to enjoy the simple pleasures in life but you have all inspired me to seek them out. Thankyou @Humboldt for your interesting and inspirational diary, I will follow it with interest.

Humboldt

Welcome @oceandreamer.  Your kind words have made my day.

I recall all to well the juggling of work, family, friends and house chores, when working full-time.  I often wonder how I ever managed to do it all. Whilst I still have a never-ending to-do list, and all the other things that you mention, working part-time gave me the gift of extra time in which to do them.

Simple pleasures/gratitude's just take a moment of reflection, or a few minutes to stop and actually absorb what is around us. They often cost little, or nothing and are available to all.  If you set yourself the task of finding joy in 5 things today, you begin to look for them, and will generally find them because they were always going to be there.

Today's simple pleasure - enjoying a coffee and a cinnamon bun at home.  Cinnamon bun was bought at a reduced price of course lol.

oceandreamer

I actually saw some rabbits in a field today when I was out for a walk - and my friend pointed at a mole hill and said "there's another one" I remembered reading about the same thing happening on this thread so it must be quite common amongst people of a certain age!  Driving home and watching the sun set over the mountains was my simple pleasure today it just filled me with absolute joy.

Humboldt

Hi @oceandreamer (love your username), thanks for sharing your beautiful simple pleasures yesterday.  It was @Dizee123 who also spent time looking at little brown humps in a field waiting for them to move before realising they were mole hills lol  Oh the joys of getting older!

Today's simple pleasure - A cuppa and chat with a friend.

Humboldt

Hello and welcome.

Motivational quote of the week.

Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow – Swedish proverb.

Money saving.

Our monthly grocery budget for me and my DH is £250.  Week 1 spend for March was £58.02.

March premium bond win was £50 (2025 total to date is £175). 

Bought a new winter coat in the Fatf@ce sale, saving £64.20. 

£12 made via my side hustle (crafting) which has been added to the Christmas/Birthday account.

This week’s main menu.

Monday – Salmon with chilli ginger sauce (H@iry D!eters recipe), with stir-fry vegetables and noodles.  Salmon was reduced in price and frozen until required.

Tuesday – Sweet and sour chicken (H@iry D!eters recipe) with a small portion of brown rice.

Wednesday – Visiting friends.

Thursday – Roast chicken, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and roast vegetables.  Cranberry sauce is homemade and from the freezer.

Friday – Ping meal - cook once, eat twice (saves on time and energy costs).

Saturday – Lasagne and a large salad. Beef mince was reduced in price and frozen until required.  To make the lasagne a little healthier, I will add a tin of green lentils to the 5% fat beef mince, and use a 30% less fat cheddar when making the cheese sauce. I will utilise the oven by baking a sourdough at the same time.

Sunday – Ping meal – cook once, eat twice (saves on time and energy costs).

Healthier lifestyle.

Last week’s step count was 48,305.

Completed 4 free meditations last week.

Completed 0 free online workouts last week. 

Simple pleasures.

I repainted the en suite this week.  It feels so good to be making progress on redecorating the house.

A few days of blue sky and sunshine this week.

The sound of bird song on a morning.

Books read 4/25 – Travelling to Infinity by Jane Hawking.

‘The incredible story of Jane and Stephen Hawking.  His mind changed our world.  Her love changed his.  The true story behind The Theory of Everything’

Having enjoyed the film ‘The Theory of Everything,’ I was intrigued to read this book. Jane Hawking was Stephen Hawking’s wife for over 25 years and they had 3 children together.  This is their story as written by Jane Hawking.  A challenging read in parts, but a book that I would recommend.

Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to read my diary.