Cooking for one (Mark Three)

Good morning everyone,

My sister & I often do the going to phone each other thing, it also used to freak the kids out when they were younger!
I woke up to a bit of a mess this morning, one of my hanging basket brackets had broken:(. Cue me still in my nightwear rescuing plants. I think they are more or less ok and I'll replant them later. Thankfully yesterday's wind & rain has departed though it is still decidedly on the chilly side.
Soup & salad planned for lunch and tonight probably pasta with something yet to be decided:)

pineapple wrote: »

It could be worse. It was on the news that a couple had their entire (astroturf) garden stolen! :eek:
Just discovered that the travelling butcher sells real ham - as opposed to a mushy mix popped out of an extruder into 'ham shaped' moulds
So ham sandwiches for lunch it is then.

:eek::eek: re the stolen "grass":eek::eek:
Lucky you re the ham:D

pineapple wrote: »

I always experiment with testers first and live with blobs on the wall while I try to make my mind up. Guess whose under stairs cupboard is full of tester pots....

I must have bought 10+ testers before I settled on the colour for the "feature" wall in my dining room. I was glad I did though as I love the colour I finally chose:D.
The pots lurked for ages until one Christmas I used them to paint cheap terracotta plant pots which I gave to folk with a hyacinth potted in them. It worked really well so if you want to jazz up any plant pots get the tester pots out of the cupboard. Once painted you can easily seal the paint glaze with some cheap clear varnish if you want to put use them outdoors.:)


After yesterday's wild weather this afternoon turned out lovely and quite warm. Apart from re potting the tumbling hanging basket I didn't get much gardening done but did wash my windows front & back:). Somehow though I managed to strain/sprain my thumb joint and despite ice & arnica it is swollen, stiff and painful tonight. :(Thankfully it's my left hand (I'm right handed), but annoying as that's the hand I use to hold things while my right holds onto my zimmer. Hopefully it will settle overnight.



The soup I made from root veg mash, onion, celery, stock & a splash of milk turned out well. I had some for lunch and there is enough for tomorrow and some for the freezer.


I'm still deciding what to have with pasta tonight, I think either bacon, mushroom & asparagus or a small portion of chicken in a veg & chilli sauce that has been lurking in the freezer since Christmas. I suspect the latter as I'm in cba mode tonight.


MTSTM - ideas for simple veggie "go tos" for me would be - hummus, baba ganoush, chickpea salad, skordalia, stuffed vine leaves, olives, cous cous, roasted veg etc. Yes a wee bit of prep but all keep well in the fridge for a few days so handy to make up a plate/bowl, add a flatbread/pitta and you have a meal in no time:). In the summer I also really like cold cucumber soup loads of recipes online and easily veganised.


ETA - decided between my thumb and dodgy balance that juggling hot pans probably wasn't that wise so opted for a HM RM of roasted veg lasagne from the freezer.

kittie wrote: »

I slept in a great solid hand splint last night, both hands, I have to rest my thumbs from time to time and I think I clench my hands in the night. Funny thing is that I always sleep better with the hand splints on, I think that click and sharp pain when moving my thumb, was what was waking me. I will do the same for another two nights and wear a creative comfort splinted mitt during the day, it still enables me to spin or ride my bike

They give great relief don't they? I had to splint up during both my pregnancies but thankfully both times the hand pain at night eased afterwards. I'm another "clencher" but usually find laying my hand/wrist flat along a spare pillow is enough most of the time to ease any aches, though I think I'll "tubigrip" my sore hand tonight.