Another day

Good morning all another bright start to the day and I slept really well last night having been like a half-dead dog all day yesterday.  I find the older I get the less able I am to manage with no sleep.  I was just reading Joy's blog and she said that rain is forecast later in the day and I was just thinking that is exactly what the garden needs.  It has been dry for quite some time and the garden is very dry.  I hope we have enough time to get some laundry processed but a bit of rain would be appreciated.  I suppose it is one of the advantages of gardening you learn to appreciate rain it is so much easier than watering.  Some years back we had a draught and were saving every drop of water for the garden as there was a hosepipe ban in force.  I remember it well because I did my back in watering - heavy stuff water.  10lbs for a two-gallon watering can which waters next to nothing. Yesterday's chicken dish worked out well and t...

Good morning all well it is nearer lunchtime really I had an abysmal night and a very slow start to the morning even the computer was slow in booting up.  I wish I understood why some nights are just awful and others fine.  I can't seem to make any real connections.  Anyway enough of that it is another bright sunny day and nice and warm could this really be spring in February? My veg box arrived yesterday and there are loads of beetroots and I really don't fancy them so I am going to see if someone else would like them rather than throw them away.  I could, I suppose, make beetroot chutney but I really can't be bothered as we never end up eating it and the jars just gather dust in the cupboard.  Do horses like beetroot I wonder as I have a friend who has two?   Today I am going to start making use of the diced chicken breast with Mediterranean vegetables nice and simple and minimal work as I don't feel the full ticket ...

Good morning all another nice day by the look of things it cold to start with but soon warms up in the sun. I went to Tesco first thing and found an amazing bargain which I just couldn't resist I bought three large chickens for £10.  So when I got home I had a wonderful time dismantling the birds and getting the carcases into the instapot to make some stock.  I now have trays of thighs, drumstick, wings and packs diced chicken breast for pies, curries and the like.  The dogs got the wing tips and will get a meal from the stock pot when I pick that over.  I also bought some minces steak to make some Korean patties with which use tofu instead of bread crumbs to keep the meat moist and then they are dipped in flour then egg and fried and very nice they were too.  I knew there must be something you could do with tofu!!! Today it is my intention to make some leek and potato soup using the stock I have already made and as Dennie is here I ...

Good morning all well I think the weather might be on the turn the temperature is right down this morning and the car is covered in frost but that is in front of the house at the back we have brilliant sunshine.  Because of the orientation of the house, the front is in shade and so always colder than the back, which is one reason that the front room is seldom used and we tend to live in the back. I got my laundry done yesterday and then went to have a nice cup of coffee and a chat with Tak.  She showed me some of the lovely things she had brought back from Japan really useful gadgets that have been well thought out.  Plus she bought herself a kitchen knife which is to die for and she explained that the man in the shop gave her the third degree before choosing the right knife for her.  It fits her hand properly and is beautifully balanced.  It is a beautiful size neither too big nor too small and would do just about every j...

Good morning all, well it is still spring here but no sooner had I written about it than I read a headline saying we would soon be back in the freezing winter weather again. I must say I had the laziest of days yesterday watching the rugby.  The Welsh did well and now have a run of 12 wins in a row and England got a slap.  However at least the French beat the Scots so today it will be the turn of the Irish and Italians to battle it out. I finally succumbed to the urge to buy plants and have ordered a couple of bulbs.  Colocasia black magic  Lilium Apricot fudge The elephant's ears can be grown as a house plant to start with then it can be put in the garden for the summer and I just couldn't resist the lilies which I will put in a pot on the patio where I can see them. At least I have curbed my urge and only bought a couple of bulbs instead of hundreds.  Throughout the winter I have a mahonia which is in flower and prod...

Good morning all another sunny one I am beginning to feel that this might be spring or am I falling for the con. If it is spring it is very early so I am not quite ready to believe it yet.   Yesterday’s Sunday lunch was delicious but then again you can’t beat a simple roast chicken and as usual the halogen did a fabulous job. I had intended to do sweet potatoes but ended up doing parsnip mash instead and did the sweet potatoes wedges for supper with the leftover chicken.  The bones ended up in the instapot so this mornings job is to strain that and pick it over for the dogs. I slept really well last night which makes a change so hopefully I will not feel so tired today. The garden could use a good tidy up but the gardener is due to start again soon so I will leave that to him. I must say I am glad there is no grass to cut but the fake grass needs a dose of weed killer as seeds manage to grow despite it being plastic. Lunch today will be one of the iceland fish thing...

Good morning all it is a fogy one this morning we are wreathed in mist but no doubt the sun will burn it off.  I was feeling a bit off yesterday nothing that I could put my finger on just not quite right so I had a lazy day watching TV.  I have a recorded a host of Doc Martins and Midsummer Murders to watch so I alternated between the two.  Doc Martin makes me laugh and the murders are so complicated it is difficult to work them out.  I work on the principle that the more well known the actor the more likely they are to be the culprit.   I feel a bit more human this morning perhaps I was just tired who knows.  On the menu today we will be having a roast chicken as Denzil is a day off it is our Sunday lunch.  It also means that supper is sorted as that will be cold meat and salad.  Since I have had a halogen oven I have never cooked a chicken any other way, somehow it always comes out perfect.  Small bir...

Good morning all very sorry to be this late but I had a sleepless night for no apparent reason the keeled over at about 6am.  The sun is shining but my blackout curtain keeps me in the dark which I guess is a good thing.  I had a disappointing call from Meile yesterday they will now not be coming to mend my coffee machine until the March 8th so much for " Vorsprung Durch Technik" and wonderful German engineering.  I would now think twice before buying any of their products.  I could have walked to Germany to collect the parts in the time it has taken them. Yesterday's curry was a great success but today it will have to be a spaghetti bolognese and salad as I have several boxes of sauce in the freezer and I am a bit late to start anything complicated.  I think of all the labour saving devices the freezer is my favourite it really makes life so much easier and saves a lot of waste.  When I deboned the chicken thighs yesterday I ...

Good morning all we are dull here today after a lovely sunny day yesterday but it is dry and calm so no reason to complain. Last night while I was watching the TV on came an advert and I found myself singing along with the music "Mud, mud, glorious mud" Then it took me a while to remember where that came from it was the hippopotamus song by Flanders and Swan.  So off I went to Youtube and there was the song along with others I had forgotten like  "the gas man cometh" etc If you don't know these songs then this will be gibberish to you but they were very popular in their day.  There don't seem to be any children's songs these days but I guess kids don't listen to the radio as we used to. I see that a decision has been made to strip the ISIS girl of her British citizenship and perhaps that is the best solution, she may well be safer in Syria than in the UK as I am sure those who have lost loved ones to the terrorist would be keen to...

Good morning all well it is still spring here in the Medway Towns but I'm not fooled we have had a good dumping of snow in March before now.  That aside, it is really lovely to see the sun instead of the dismal grey cloudy weather. Fortunately, my order from Iceland arrived nice and early and the prawns were really very nice.  When I read the packaging apparently the prawns come from Argentina but are cooked and packaged in Italy before finally reaching us so they have had quite a journey.  A bit naughty in air miles but they were delicious and I do try most of the time to avoid long-distance food.  I think it was on food and drink that they were discussing this and some things grown under glass in the UK are actually worse for the environment than stuff brought in from elsewhere.  There is a restaurant in Suffolk which has its own oysters and lovely squid.  They sell both and when I read the packaging for the squid it comes from th...

Good morning all.  I had a weird supper last night it was a grilled steak with Korean potatoes and fried tofu.  Sounds odd but actually worked out fine.  I was a bit worried when I added 2 TABLESPOONS of hot pepper flakes but it was certainly not too spicy the recipe is a very simple and one I will make again. Tofu of course tastes of nothing, tap water has more flavour but it is good for bulking something with bags of flavour.  The sourdough is fine if rather flat using the kombucha is certainly a much easier way to do it.  Next time I will take more care and remember to add the salt which I forgot this time as I really didn't expect it to succeed.  I also realised that I used 100% wholemeal flour which is difficult to rise at the best of times.   Denzil came home last night with a packet of soup vegetables so I guess the instapot will be on today and I do have some pancetta to add to the mix.  I also checked out Iceland who used t...

Good morning all, it is another beautiful sunny morning.  You could be forgiven for thinking it was already spring but knowing the English weather I am not going to be fooled we could be knee deep in snow next week. The kombucha sourdough is rising much to my surprise but sadly I covered it with clingfilm which is now stuck firmly to the top so I will have to do a bit peeling and perhaps rub a bit of oil over the top.  I really didn't expect it to rise so fast.  At this rate, it will be ready to cook by tonight or tomorrow morning. Denzil is at work all day today so lunch will be something simple for James and I and then I have some rib eye steaks which I will do for supper along with a Korean potato dish I have been itching to do. I was interested in reading Joy's blog and how she very sensibly is using up all the bits and bobs, I too try to be a no waste cook.  I was fortunate that I had two grandmothers who had lived through wars and were masters...

Good morning all a nice mild start to what I hope is going to be another really lovely day.  Yesterday was fabulous weatherwise but a bit of a non-day otherwise.  My appointment at the audiology department went well and I was put through another round of hearing tests and yes I have some hearing loss but the very nice lady I saw actually went through what was happening and when I explained she was surprised that I had been sent to her.  However, she agreed with me that the hearing loss was not hampering my life significantly and though I did warrant a hearing aid she felt it was not really the answer to the problem so we agreed to put it on the back burner and if it got worse or became a nuisance I could always go back.  At the moment there are only two things that bother me I can't hear my digital pinger for the kitchen and I can't hear the doorbell but I can hear Dan who always announces visitors.  He only barks when the doorbell is rung so he ignores th...

Good morning all have I ever been a lucky girl my good friend Tak has returned from Japan and she has brought me all sorts of delicious things and some really beautiful chopsticks 🥢.  The poor soul is very jet lagged and in need of a good nights sleep.  So I will give her a couple of days to rest before I go and have a chat. I am in a rush this morning as I have my audiology appointment this morning first thing.  Then the boys are taking me out for lunch at a new cheese restaurant in Rochester.  So busy busy. Update tomorrow.

Good morning all a bit cooler today down to 3ºC but looking bright.  Yesterday I got out of the freezer what I thought were sever pieces of chicken but it turned out to be just the one so Denzil had that on his return from work and I was quite happy to eat the blue cheese salad - interestingly both dogs also like the salad and were quite happy to eat raw spinach so long as it tasted of blue cheese. The boys gave the beetroot a hammering but there is still plenty left and as luck would have it the dogs also think it is ok so if it gets left they can have the remainder. Now on to the duck ham which I made with the goose breast, it is lovely rather like parma ham but the fat is just too much so I have cut that off and am wondering if it will render down despite being salted and flavoured.  Well, there is one way to find out I will try it and see what happens if the worst comes to the worst the birds like a bit of fat so they can have it. Today I have some chick...

Good morning all.  It is a bit dull today but nice and mild so no problem for me.  I was surprised that I found a blue bottle in the kitchen yesterday they don't normally appear until it is much warmer.  Dennie and I had a good clear out of the cupboard under the sink which always gets in a mess it is now pristine and clean.  I had an abundance of old tea towels which Dennie took for her sons to use as rags for their cars and motorbikes.  I am a bit of an idiot when it comes to such things I could use my brains and throw away dirty cloths but I tend to launder them; then it seems a pity to throw them away freshly laundered and so the cycle continues.  Bath towels get demoted to dog towels but even that pile is beginning to get rather larger than necessary. Yesterdays, lunch was a treat my favourite salad blue cheese, pears, walnuts and this time baby spinach.  To go with it we had some fish cakes and some breaded scampi.  Not bad fo...

Good morning all it is relatively mild and there are signs of the sun so I think it is going to be a nice day.  Yesterday went according to plan with no little mishaps nothing got flooded.  I spent some time picking the meat from the chicken wings and there was some leftover risotto so it all got put together for the dogs who had a real blow out meal.  They had not had breakfast so we decided to give them their food at lunchtime and no supper.  As you can imagine there was much sleeping in the afternoon, there is nothing like a full tummy and a nap.  We had the broth I had made with the wings and as Joy now has an instant pot she will see it has a slow cook facility.  It is a wonderful thing as it has so many different facilities and it is a pressure cooker as well.  It is really useful for the cheaper cuts which need long cooking times. Today Dennie is here so I need to get a move on and get dressed.  I haven't given lunch a...

Good morning all, it is a sunny morning a bit chilly but no frost.  Yesterday was a mixed bag of sun and showers and wind but mild. I spent time in the kitchen yesterday and made the duck ham which is in the fridge only it is actually goose ham.  It takes three days to cure then you rinse off the salt and sugar mix and wrap it in clingfilm and it should last a month.  I am quite sure that if it is tasty it will not last that long.  The second breast I cooked as I would a duck breast and served it with a risotto which I made using up the leftover pepper stew.  The goose was stunning and I can only say goose is to duck what lobster is to prawns.  While this was going on I also made some real broth with a box of chicken wings which were first blanched then roasted to quite brown before ending up in the pot with the vegetables and slow cooked for 4 hours.  So that will be on today's menu.  With all the lovely things going on the dogs to...

Good morning all and yes today we have rain but the wind has died down a bit.  I must say that the weather has been really changeable this winter with no long periods of any one kind.  The pansies are struggling but at least they have survived and given how I planted them that is a miracle in itself. I stuck to my gentle food regimen and my gut was grateful for the rest.  Today I have the goose breasts which we never got round to at Christmas.  Now that they are defrosted they are really just like rather large duck breast and that is how I intend to treat them.  Though I have been tempted by a recipe for duck ham which requires curing with salt and sugar for a few days in the fridge. The method is much the same as gravlax which is really quite easy and rather nice. Last night while fooling around with my iPad I stumbled upon loads of recipes for making sourdough bread using kombucha as a starter.  Now, why didn't I think of t...

Good morning all another blowy day but the sun is shining and it is mild so no complaints.  Yesterday was miserable both wet and windy but I was only out for a while so it was not a problem.   I had a rotten night with nothing but nightmares but I'm sorry to say it was self-inflicted.  I had a massive Chinese takeaway for supper and really overate so what did I expect?  why do I do these stupid things you would have thought I would have learned by now?  I was very hungry as I had had little to eat all day as I was out at the hairdressers having both hair and nails done.  So now I look OK but feel terrible there is just no winning is there? Today had better be a day of gentle food so I think just some broth with a little pasta for lunch and maybe a hard-boiled egg for breakfast.  Then maybe some pepper and tomato stew for supper.  The Chinese probably had enough calories to keep me going for a week.  The ...

Good morning all.  It is warm, wet and windy this morning and I am up a bit earlier.  Yesterday went according to plan and lunch turned out rather well, colcannon potatoes go very well with ossobucco and I had the last portion for supper with a big slab of sourdough bread to mop up the gravy as there were no potatoes left.  I must say I do like winter food it is so comforting salads are lovely in the summer but when it is cold and miserable you need comfort food. I had a call from Meile with regard to my coffee machine and they left a message so I rang them back to arrange a date to have the engineer come and do the repairs.  It took them 23 minutes to answer the phone during which time I was stuck in one of those recorded loops.  I had a moan about it and they did agree it was unacceptable to have to wait so long.  Anyway, to cut a long story short the engineer is coming on the 21st and they will email with a time slot.   Today...

Good morning all. Sorry, really late this morning. Thank you for the reassurance Marjorie at least I don’t feel alone.  Today I am making my favourite dish of all time Ossobucco with real veal but I can’t decide if it should be traditional and serve it with saffron risotto or as often served in the north with polenta with shed loads of Parmesan or even perhaps anglicised with a big pile of mash or what about colannon.  Oh, decisions decisions.  Decision made Denzil facies colcannon and why not.  You just need something good to soak up the gravy. Today we have sunshine for a change from the grey which is lovely. There is nothing like a bit of sun to raise the spirits.  We are well above freezing so that too is pleasant and really makes you feel as if spring is not far away.  The snowdrops are out in the garden but they are so hardy they will even flower in the snow and freezing weather.    I will keep this short as I have plenty to do and ...

Good morning all there are days when I despair for my sanity.  I went to Tesco yesterday with the express purpose of buying some coffee.  I wandered around and bought various other things and finally got to the check output my purchases on the belt and then noticed I didn't have any coffee what a plonker.  Fortunately, there was not much stuff so I hastily put it back in the trolley and went to get the coffee before leaving I suppose it could have been worse I might have got all the way home before I realised my mistake.  Anyway, I am now sitting here with a delicious cup of coffee every mouthful of which I am enjoying. Amongst my purchases, I bought a dog toy which is the same as the one I bought for Elaine's standard poodle.  It is a sort of caged tennis ball and he has yet to manage to get the ball out.  It took Tubby less than 5 minutes to destroy the cage and the tennis ball so that was money well spent.  I got a rope toy ...

Good morning all, well the engineer came and scared me silly he reckoned the bill for repair would be £1000.  But the parts are being supplied as goodwill as it was so close to the warranty date and a very rare fault so it should only be a couple of hundred.  Phew, what a relief however it is likely to be at least another fortnight before he can repair the machine. I am now out of ground coffee and have had to resort to instant this morning YUK it has only two things going for it it is wet and hot. While I waited I made a really lovely venison stew with light fluffy dumplings flavoured with thyme and a dash of lemon zest.  I had forgotten how much I love dumplings.  I had the leftovers for supper much to the dog's disgust.  They are of the opinion that all leftovers are theirs. This morning it is up to 6 degrees so quite warm and for the moment it is dry but I believe we are in for yet more rain later this afternoon. I have booked myself i...

Good morning all well what a change in the weather it is 4 degrees and blowing hard and pouring with rain.  We were very lucky here and didn't get too much snow but only a mile away they were buried and the roads were closed with fallen trees. I have just used the last of my ground coffee and that will have to do as the engineer is due between 1pm and 3pm to mend the machine.  I can hardly wait it has been a long haul without it.  Today I also need to make appointments to have my nails done and a cut and blow dry as I look a bit of a mess. I have avoided using the washing machine while it was freezing as the pipes tend to get frozen as the machine is in the shed which is not heated.  So today I can do a bit of catching up and thank goodness for the tumble dryer. Now on to lunch, I have some venison steaks in the freezer which I think I will make into a nice thick stew which feels appropriate for a miserable day like today.  I might even go the ...

Good morning all sorry to be so late but I had a rough night and then fell fast asleep at around 6am.  These days I just go with the flow and if I feel like sleeping I do.  The sun is blazing and most of our snow has gone there are odd patches where the sun hasn't reached yet but the majority is gone and the temperature is climbing. Tomorrow is a red letter day the engineer is coming to mend the coffee machine so yesterday I completely dismantled it and cleaned it so it looks like new.  I think I have enough ground coffee to last me until tomorrow then it would have to be instant or if I can't face it tea.  Years ago I used to drink instant but I have become so spoiled with the real thing it is difficult to go back. Denzil is back to work today after a weeks holiday and did he ever choose the right week to be off given the mayhem on the roads.  We have been extremely lucky and only got a smattering but many of the surrounding hills were i...

Good morning all well we got a dollop of snow last night but nothing to write home about I would say less than an inch but it is very cold and given the wet weather yesterday I think it will be ice, not snow that is the problem.  Fortunately, none of us has to go out today so we can stay huddled up in the house and stay warm.  My cupboards are full with the exception of milk which is running low.   The Irish stew was perfect for a cold day and I did expect the definitive recipe from Marjorie as she is Irish.  When I looked up recipes they range from very simple to much more complex some have the gravy thickened with flour and added vegetables and some are more akin to Lancashire hotpot.  I stuck to one I found years ago which seems too simple to be nice but it is.  It is just onions, lamb, stock, potatoes and parsley.  All boiled together with the parsley added at the end.  In days gone by I used to use scrag-end...

Good morning all we had some of the white stuff again last night but it is now raining however it is perishingly cold and everywhere is sopping wet.   Having made a study of my new book I have come to the conclusion that because rice and soup tend to be bland the side dishes are where the maximum flavour is contained so it makes taking just one dish out difficult.  It really needs to be a complete meal for it to make sense.  Anyway, I am having a complete about turn and today I am making an Irish stew.  Perfect for a cold and nasty day like today. I think it is wonderful that we have such an incredible selection of dishes from around the world to chose from arent we lucky. Thinking along those lines I went through dishes from different countries that I love and use all the time.  Italy, of course, features heavily but so does French. Engish tends to be by counties like Yorkshire pudding and Lancashire Hotpot and Cornish pas...