Wednesday 31 December 2014

Christmas veg overload

Just cleared the fridge veg drawers into a minestrone soup and frozen the last lot of sprouts as the husband will never keep up with them this week.  Disappointed to find a swede had turned to mush in the veg basket under the stairs - that;s two wasted items from my last Sainsbury's order. The swede did not even make it to the compost heap as it was too icy to hike down the field!  Went into the
re-cycle food caddyl

Just seen a new recipe for carrot soup - that includes a leek and lemon. I've still got all those in good order so I may give that a whirl tomorrow.


Tuesday 30 December 2014

Craft inspiration for 2015

My grandson's new highchair cover inspired me to plan a project for the next year.  I used part of the cover's pattern and  I created a simple picture for the letter C and am thinking I could make similar letters throughout the year. Used some play paints other grandchildren had left here, a frame left over/rejected from my husbands picture framing and used a nice italic pen I have had for years!


Sunday 28 December 2014

A new Christmas requirement for my cooking skills

Having lots of family/friends requirements to test me - diabetic (avoid sugars), Muslims (no pork products to be anywhere near and special meats), Hindu (no beef) I was thrown a new one for Xmas!
Having found out about a milk intolerance in our new grandson my daughter in law and the baby have to be dairy free and no cross contamination!

This tested my usual Xmas reliance on a nice cheese board, trifle and lots of cream! But we managed a very nice Xmas menu without making one person feel too deprived.  This led to some thinking about making sure more of our normal menus. We found a nice red cabbage recipe on the diary free web site so this replaced the one I had done recently in the slow cooker which needed 6oz butter! Went wonderfully with  the gammon and  turkey.

http://www.feastie.com/recipe/perfect-pantry/sweet-and-sour-slow-cooker-red-cabbage-apples-and-onions-vegan-gluten-free

Had to do some substitutions with balsamic vinegar and honey instead of some of the exotic ingredients - and we did it quickly in a saucepan and added a water to keep it from catching and caramelizing too much!

Unfortunately they have gone home and now I have to be inventive with the unused cheeses, yogurts, and cream by myself.

Sunday 21 December 2014

Winter solice

Hurrah - hubby says its all downhill towards summer now!
I am going to put Friday 13th March into my diary - on that date it will be sunset at 6.00 pm.
(using http://www.sunrise-and-sunset.com/en/united-kingdom/london/2015)  that will really feel like heaven.
Tonight Norfolk gave us a blood red sunset inland to the west  and the light reflected off low cloud gave a pink glow the low eastern horizon. A beautiful (free) light show.

Friday 19 December 2014

Project Sunlight

Having seen the brief advert about ending hunger here and abroad I found 5 minutes to look at the website. It is a good beginning of bringing together information on poverty and brings together links to some of the existing web sites Change4Life, Love Food Hate Waste, etc. Interesting.

I have been thinking about food poverty a lot following a blog by Frugal Queen and the various news reports.
I am a great believer in making the money stretch by using fresh fruit and veg. What I wold like to know is: Would substantially increasing the access to allotments/gardens big enough to have veg make a difference to food poverty?

I have always regretted the decline of local greengrocers (having once run one!) and think that if there were more - cooking from scratch and making more of food money would increase.  I am amazed and jealous when travelling in some areas of the UK and see several streets with several large and thriving green grocers - Eggbaston high street in Birmingham, Narborough Road in Leicester, - but they are not in small market towns or suburban areas - why is that?

Xmas - my ideal time for final planning of my fruit and veg crop in our new one acre plot!

(meanwhile - I wrote a few weeks ago about portion control and taking down the amount on our plates of meat and potatoes? I am pleased to say 2lbs lost already!)

Wednesday 17 December 2014

New cushion from scraps

Now the lounge has a fresh coat emulsion I needed some cushions to contrast with the pale settee. I had some unwanted curtains in a deep red to which I added a "fabric scrap picture panel". I was inspired by Highland Monkeys blog about her Quirky House sampler and by a picture I purchased at Malvern show some time back from Ethereal Earth Art  called  "Swirly Whirly Balloon Land". I made a village picture from scraps of fabric, embroidery stitches and machining on a piece of heavy beige linen (once the legs of my husband's Chinos - hardly worn as they were always too small for him).The horses came from some scraps from coats and hats I had made for my grandchildren. I padded the picture square and stitched wavy lines to "quilt" it before hemming the edges and then zig zag stitched it on. I used some black old fashioned poppers to fasten up the cushion along one edge as someone had given me a whole old tobacco tine full!


I quite like it - and will have another go as it is a fun make and costs nothing except a bit of time - but mostly it gave me something to do while watching TV.

Monday 15 December 2014

A beautiful day

Sun is shining, wind is drying the washing, and it still is mild enough for growth in my new veg bed. Two rows of onions (50 bulbs in each), one row of garlic and 3 rows of broad beans all doing well so far!
Some odd bits of netting from the old garden - so far nothing has challenged the somewhat rough protection! We do get hares in the fields sometimes.
I prefer autumn sowings to get an early start on crops, we are heavy users of onions (currently buying 1 kg every two weeks) so I may need to do more somehow.
Best thing on TV this Xmas?  the allotment show! (the only film I shall be watching? Tintin!

Saturday 13 December 2014

Disaster looms for the budget

Despite 3 plumber visits, and his doing his best, the oil fired boiler is beyond effective repair. Somehow need to find a lump sum for a replacement in the Spring. Husband is thinking an outside boiler so that there is more space in the narrow back part of the house. Will stagger through the winter with the couple of programmes we can make work for hot water and manual control of the readiators . Will rely on the wood burner otherwise.  Lots of research needed on the boiler options find some advice!

Thursday 11 December 2014

Thrifty decorating

Having had a wood burning stove fitted in the lounge the chimney area needed decorating as did the rest of the lounge. We have inherited dull green, the same emulsion on the walls, skirting, radiator, door, window frames.... yep no gloss, just a white ceiling !
We have invested £87 in paint, found our gear and a couple of old pots (total value with the new stuff about £100) from our previous house and we intend to see how far we can get round the house!
It was a cold windy day but dry and sunny so it was quite nice to be indoors working for a change. Got on quite well till my husband decided to go and cut the lawns  - it has been so mild the grass was long!
Worked from 9.20 to 3.00 on the lounge and completed one coat on walls and one coat (white)  on woodwork. Had to stop to chop firewood!

Monday 8 December 2014

Playing Internet Ready Steady Cook

While my desire to make the best of our food is great - sometimes my ideas run dry. I don't have a great many recipe books but I do have a laptop! some days I take it to the kitchen and get on Google and type in "recipe" plus whatever is in the fridge in need of being eaten and/or what is lurking unused in the cupboard. Today it is minced lamb and Bulgar wheat.. I had brought the lamb with a few meal ideas in mind, and the Bulgar had been hanging around since some summer experiments with salads. There were a few possibilities but in the end I went with a spicy adaption which provided enough for dinner and some leftovers for lunch today.  I have tried similar recipes in the past using Cous cous and mint.
Soaked 50gms of wheat in hot water, chopped some onion, a mushroom, a slice of red pepper and added to 450g mince. Teaspoon of coriander powder,turmeric,  cumin and chilli powder. Mixed it all up and formed into small burgers or patties. Fried in a little oil and then popped in oven to make sure they cooked through with the potatoes I had been doing as wedges and the apple pie. Husband liked it. YUM. Meat cost £2  - rest was store/fridge cupboard stuff.

Saturday 6 December 2014

Suitable clothes for the cold?

Having decided to get used to the 18C minimum as an average for the heating I have decided to look again at the clothing situation! Found a whole pile of revolting sports socks I brought some years ago - ah well, at least they are warm.
When we planned for retirement we knew we would be downsizing and have less storage space.  Also I would no longer need the office clothes (hurrah). If you ever read Lee Child's Jack Reacher books you will know his theory of not having luggage - if he has clothes/stuff, he needs a bag, the bag and stuff need cupboards to be put in and washing machines etc, then he has the expenses of a house, etc..
For 2 years I deliberately wore out all the clothes of management and office work.  I no longer cared if at a conference I was wearing the same suit as last time.  At annual training things at least I had the last laugh of being able to say "won't be seeing you next time"!
I have worn a formal black skirt twice in the last 3 months!
I am not saying no clothes at all just not so many and planned for those I want for our new life of lots of gardening, walking, sailing and relaxing. Just having sufficient to wash and wear - with a few best outfits (it must be my 1950/60s up bringing - it was all we had then!)
But for the cold weather I am looking at layers of old t shirts and jumpers indoors with fleeces and thermals for wandering in and out to the veg plot.. I have found the GO Warehouse range is proving most useful at present. Next winter the few I have may need supplementing but I will have a better idea of what is useful and practical.
 I have treated myself to one thing this year  - a fleece lined shirt from Tesco's. OK it was in the men's range (nothing similar in the women's section anyway) and is a bit like a builders choice,  but it is frankly wonderfully warm and it will be perfect in our poly-tunnel planting out early crops once we have finished building it.
Over the winter/spring I will be looking to sew some loose cotton tops for next summer - having destroyed the last of the office long sleeve shirts painting fences this autumn.  I am sure making my own will be most cost effective - unless I swallow principals and shop in certain cheap discount shops who have unethical manufacturing ! I will try to avoid that.  Charity shops are an alternative but  cotton is rare find and anything else is not good for outdoor lifestyle.

Wednesday 3 December 2014

Frugal with the heating



We have just had a wood fire fitted to the lounge of our new house in Norfolk in which we intend to stay retired.  We had to think hard about the expense but having once got cut off for weeks following a storm we wanted to be independent!

Public Health England 2014 -Minimum home temperature thresholds for health in winter says:

 The currently available evidence base, alongside expert discussion, suggests that heating homes to at least 18°C poses minimal risk to the health of a sedentary person, wearing suitable clothing. At below 18°C, negative health effects such as increases in blood pressure and the risk of blood clots which can lead to strokes and heart attacks.

OK - we have been trying that. The house is well insulated and maintained 16C all day with no heating at all this week.  The fire in the lounge gives us 18 to 19C from nightfall to bedtime using scrap wood.  The kitchen and bedrooms are 17C with no heating taking advantage of the lounge door being open.
No chance of being sedentary with having to feed the fire and find extra jumper and socks! Keeping fingers busy with knitting some new beanie hats for working outside!