Another day

Good morning all.  It is another dull start following overnight rain and the whole week is showing rain cloud and sun for each day so I guess autumn is here for certain unless we get a late burst of sunny weather. As the light is very hit and miss at the moment I ordered a pair of magnifying glasses with LED lights and they arrived just in time to let me finish the embroidery, but now I am at a loss for some handy crafts. I do still have to block and wet the work but that will take about 10 minutes and then 3 days to dry.  So today I am going to make some pickled eggs.  I use them as a standby if I get really hungry which doesn't happen often but a quick pickled egg and a cup of tea and I am happy.  These eggs are not the traditional malt vinegar type but are made with 50/50 water and homemade cider vinegar and an assortment of herbs and spices of my choice.  I thought I would try a batch made with ginger, garlic and coriander and maybe a splash of soy sauce. A ...

Good morning all well more rain overnight and it looks pretty dull.  Yesterday started that way but eventually, the sun broke through the clouds and we had a glorious afternoon.  The day before had been so dull and the light so poor that I didn't even attempt my embroidery but in the lovely sun yesterday I really got stuck in.  Sadly I am almost finished maybe another two days then I will wet and block it. Sadly I can see all the errors but hopefully, it will not be obvious to others.  It is always a drawback to anything you do the mistakes are obvious to you but no one else notices.  I hate to think of the number of times I have bodged a pastry case.  In the end, no one notices. Denzil brought me home lots of goodies some flaked mackerel, a cod loin and some avocados and some Pac Choi and Chinese mushrooms which will make a lovely ramen soup with some of my bone broth.  I am very fond of fish and it is so easy to cook and goes well with the salad. ...

 Good morning all, its another very start to the day but the wind has dropped however we are down to 10ºC so quite chilly. Yesterday was a bit of a write off as my meal was already cooked, however, I put on another batch of bone broth which I have just strained off this morning.  The dogs can smell the beef bones and are milling around in hope and I will clean off the bones and they can have the meat for their supper.  It is my intention to use the broth instead of water to make more bone broth that way it should get stronger and more flavoursome.  I hate to think of how many bones and how much boiling it takes to make a beef stock cube. Denzil has got himself some lovely ravioli for his lunch and I am thinking of a cheese and ham omelette with a massive salad for my supper tonight.  My weight is still falling so I am very happy who would think butter, cream and cheese were diet foods.  Do I miss the starch, yes sometimes, it would be nice to have a slice o...

Good morning all I'm sure you will all be delighted to know that I have finally retrieved my laundry from the garden.  I caught it just as it began to rain again but because it had been so windy it was almost dry.  The weather at the moment is very autumnal with wind and rain.   We had the pork shoulder steaks for our meal yesterday and I made a Thermomix full of cauliflower puree which is so delicious I could happily just sit and eat it with a spoon.  I have never been a fan of cauliflower it just seems so insipid to me but cooked like this it is a revelation.  Today I am in a bit of muddle as there are two pieces of pork left and lots of cauliflower.  Which will do James and I and Denzil is happy to make his own meals.  He has commandeered a draw in the freezer for his things which is fine.   After our experiment with the almond flour pastry I ended up making cheesy balls with last bit - well there are two dogs who will turn themselves...

 Good morning all, following my rubbish night I had a pretty rubbish day.  I just felt exhausted but couldn't sleep.  Anyway, I went to bed early and slept like log.  I can only think a back muscle must have gone into spasm while I was sleeping today it is perfectly fine and I don't have any discomfort.  As yet I haven't organised lunch but everything is fully stocked so the possibilities are endless.  One good thing if there is a run on flour it will not affect us as I use almond flour which I have to buy online. Some of my laundry is still on the line but as it is mostly bath mats I am just going to let them dry with the sun if we ever see it again.  They were almost dry yesterday when we had yet another downpour.   I picked up my shopping which was a fair amount and as we eat romaine lettuce like it was going out of fashion, my garage fridge is full of lettuce and cucumber.   I just dived out to the freezer and it is quite cold out there t...

 Good morning all, I am going back to bed.  I was woken at 2.30 am with searing back pain which only dissipated when I got up and walked around for a while. At 7 am I was at click and collect loaded the car and have put the shopping away.  There is cold meat and a dead salad which I don't mind and plenty for the boys to play with.  Yesterday's biscuits we're very successful nice and cheesy.  However, you do need to watch the oven like a hawk as they, like all nuts, go from brown to black in milliseconds.  Fortunately, the dogs don't mind a bit of charcoal around the edges. Well, it is raining on my washing still we got some in dry yesterday and I now think the only course of action is to bring it in and rinse and spin it and put it in the tumble dryer. Short and sweet this morning I feel wrecked and I'm going to put my head down have a good day.

 Good morning all.  I had a major success yesterday I have been on the lookout for a substitute for mashed potatoes for serving with stews of various kinds.  So I took a bag of frozen cauliflower and stabbed the bag and put it in the microwave until well cooked then into a colander to cool. In the thermomix or blender, I put a knob of butter and a packet of cream cheese salt and pepper and some spring onions tossed in the warm cauliflower and blitz until very smooth then just to make it delicious I melted a small knob of butter and chopped parsley to pour over my white mountain.  So good I had a second helping. As Chrissie is doing a similar diet I think she might like this one.   My laundry that had been out overnight and was just drying when the heavens opened and it got a thorough rinse. So what to do? Leave it and hope it dries before Christmas. It got rained on again this morning so hopefully, the old adage of "rain before seven dry by eleven" will hold out...

Bramley apple cider vinegar what a success! Good morning all.  So who gets the prize for being stupid guess who left the washing on the line last night so it has had another rinse in lovely rainwater and will take the rest of the day to dry.  Oh well, these things are sent to try us!  Yesterday I did a turkey thigh which was huge so there is sufficient cold meat to have for lunch today and I have made the tonnato sauce which is normally served with veal but works well with the turkey.  I know it sounds weird but the tuna works really well.  The authentic recipe is for a tin of tuna blitzed with 3 hard-boiled eggs lots of capers and a couple of anchovies then a good splash of olive oil and cider vinegar until you have a sauce consistency some times I also add some water if it is a bit thick.  Anyway, that is lunch today so just a big salad to prepare to accompany the meat. I have been trying to make sure I get my three health snacks.  One is 5 minutes o...

Good morning all.  I ended up being quite busy yesterday clear up outstanding correspondence.  I also racked off a batch of cider vinegar which made about 500 mls and I decided that rather than watch the remaining apples rot they too are now in a fermentation vessel.  We decided on hot food so I shredded some cabbage which I cooked with onion and some shredded ham.  With it, we had some hot wings of our own design with creme fraise and hot pepper sauce. The car is back all bright and sparkling with its new bumper not that I am very interested in the cosmetics I am more interested in function. So long as it gets me from A to B I don't care much what it looks like. Dennie I here already and hard at work sorting out the kitchen.  I have no real plans for the day except to continue my embroidery and cook a large turkey thigh for lunch and hope there is enough left to have cold with a tuna sauce for tomorrow. And of course, the RBS [ridiculously big salad].  I h...

Another long lie in this morning but as time and date are somewhat immaterial to me I am just enjoying it while it lasts.  In the past, if I woke and went back to sleep I would wake with an almighty headache which was immune to pain killers and would only dissipate when I slept again so I have been afraid to go back to sleep but that seems to be a problem solved I am delighted.  After all, if you can't have a luxurious lie in when you are retired when can you?  The weather is very misty outside and we have had a very heavy dew enough to leave small puddles on the flat roof. I had a day of total indolence yesterday my food was prepared as it was leftovers and I am impressed with how well romaine lettuce stands up to being dressed for 24 hours.  Anyway, I tipped a tin of mackerel fillets over my salad and that was that done. and this morning the scales are 2.5lbs down so I am not complaining.  I have never done a diet, and I have done many, which hasn't made me ei...

Good morning all it is sort of dull here with big black clouds but I don’t think we are in for rain.  James made his almond flour pizza and it was lovely and crisp through out and went well with a massive salad.  I think I over did the salad so there is a fair portion left which I have claimed for my meal along with some tinned sardines. As you see I am very late because I woke at 6 but went back to sleep.  Now that I am aware of just how important sleep is I am trying to make sure I get as much as I can.  I don’t think it is down to my new morning habit of having my coffee out in the fresh air but it can do no harm so onward and upward.  If you think I am crazy you could be right but I am experimenting just to see what happens and also to give me some entertainment.  I now have a yoga mat which I think will make the exercise easier because I will be safer, I don’t need to slip and do myself an injury. None of the exercises are strenuous and are just to kee...

Good morning all well that is the first stone gone with minimal effort required.  The guys prefer to eat at lunchtime as they are more active than me.  I prefer later then I sleep better but we are still on the one meal a day (OMAD) Though we have been known to break this rule but only with Keto stuff. It's amazing I thought I would crave something sweet or at least a risotto or mashed potatoes but I don't know the meaning of the word crave, most odd. I have zero interest in food until close to my 24-hour window.  We had a delicious prawn curry that James made and I had mine with my dead salad which was fine.  Then Jame experimented with a pizza made with almond and coconut flour and if I am honest I don't really like pizza in the UK because it often is a soggy mess.  The base was not as I had expected it was more like a thin layer of crispy shortbread or some sort of biscuit.  No soggy bottom and I ate my portion with much pleasure.  So some substitut...

Good morning all its another cool start to the day but the sun is making progress so hopefully it will be another lovely day.  Yesterday we got all the car bits sorted and off to the mechanic and today the car itself is going into the shop so I will be carless however Denzil is at home with his car so no real problem. Besides we have two general stores at the top of the road which is about 200 yards. James is going to make a prawn curry today and I will be having mine with some finely shredded cooked cabbage instead of rice and I still have some of my salad from last night as I was just was too full to finish it.  I don't have a problem with dead salad especially as it is doused in a Cesare dressing with shed loads of parmesan. I am hoping to see Elaine today for a coffee which will be lovely The last time I saw her in person was when she came to see me when I was ill in February, in fact, the day before I was admitted.  She was then very unwell not hospital worthy but de...

Good morning all another misty start and we have to wait for Land Rover to call to say they have some clips to fix the wheel arch trim which of course didn't come with the trim.  That's like buying jam jars and they have no lids.  Oh well, nothing goes smoothly there are always hiccups along the way.  At least when you buy something from Apple it tells what to expect in the box.  Right first moan of the day done.  Some times the problem is me.  Yesterday I waited patiently for the Tesco delivery then checked and realised it is due today. Margaret found herself in the hospital again yesterday as they still haven't found what is causing her anaemia.  She was seen by a consultant who told her she was anaemic by just looking at her as I have said before it is obvious even if you are not medical and you don't need a blood test she is the colour of parchment.  He also asked to see her stool sample results which of course no one has done.  I would h...

Good morning all what a lovely day we had yesterday it was hot but somehow not oppressive.  I managed to wait until 6pm for my food which I prefer to eating earlier as it means I am not hungry trying to sleep. Somehow I don't get so hungry in the day as I do in the evenings  When I think back to when I was working I never had breakfast and lunch didn't exist so dinner was my meal which in many occasions I ate at 4am just before collapsing into bed.  I must tell you of one occasion when I came home in the wee small hours and it was winter the heating was off and I had warmed up a stew left for me on a plate.  I really didn't feel like sitting alone in the cold eating so I decided to take it to bed.  I sneaked into the bedroom not putting on the light so as not to disturb Mike who was sound asleep.  As I passed the end of the bed I caught my toe on the leg of the bed and the plate flew out of my hand and hit the wall with some force.  My stew was liberal...

Good morning all what a beautiful day it was yesterday.  And I must confess that I got a book in the post opened it and finished it at10pm.  For me, it was a real page-turner as I lived it rather than read it.  "This is going to hurt", by Adam Kay.  I sat in the sun and just devoured it and laughed out loud.  Needless to say, James made a lovely moussaka and I made a passable white sauce with cauliflower a dash of xanthan gum and a good lump of cheddar which I blasted in the thermomix.  It was quite acceptable and the cheese smothered the taste of the cauliflower. As fake things go it was ok.  I strained off the bone broth and have a stunning mixed veg sort of oriental soup.  It just needs some garlic ginger and a good handful of coriander. The bones had simmered for 10 hours and it looks pretty good and the dogs got a lot of knobbly bits for supper.  So I suppose I didn’t read all day it just felt like it.  To sit in the warm sun and re...

Good morning all well the weather is gorgeous but I will have to have a watering session as it has been dry for the last few days.  I am also going to turn off the watering in the greenhouse and allow the tomato plants to die back and the last fruits to ripen. Yesterday was a long old day as I didn't eat until 6pm by which time I was good and hungry and cheerfully devoured my avocado stuffed with smoked salmon and my chicken mayonnaise with the cabbage slaw.   The slaw was definitely nicer for having been salted for a few hours first as a lot of the very cabbagey taste is diminished.  I put on a pot of bones which have had about 9 hours of very gentle simmering and today I will separate the broth from the fat and bones.  I hope to get a nice bowl of soup to have with lunch today.  I have an induction plate which can hold a steady 80ºC which is the perfect temperature for bone broth and it runs for 3 hours before it turns off so I just keep it going I gave t...

 Good morning all it looks like a glorious day and temperatures are due to rise so perhaps it is just as well that my duvet is still in the wardrobe.  I’m sorry to be so late but I had a really poor night and finally got to sleep after being woken by next doors dogs at 4am I think there must have been a fox in the gardens as security lights kept going on and off.  My dogs are sound asleep in their respective beds and are quite unconcerned by wild life in the gardens or even more fortunately next doors dogs. As I cooked a roast chicken yesterday it’s a cold chicken and salad lunch today and I now have 3 carcasses so time to make bone broth.  I have no carrots so I will have just onion as celery and some garden herbs to flavour the broth.  I have two raw carcasses and one roast so I am wondering if I should give the raw a swift roast in the interest of flavour.  With our roast yesterday I tipped over the chicken gravy on the newly cooked boccoli and oh boy wa...

 Good morning all, yesterday's miserable start turned out to be a lovely day.  I got stuck in and made some pickled egg which is happily curing in the fridge.  I then made a batch of Tex-Mex spice mix as I had all the ingredients to hand.  I ended up using the mortar to grind it down but I now have a jar full read to use. I used a teaspoon of the mix to 450g of mince which gave a nice gentle flavour. Tex-Mex Seasoning Prep Time:  5 min   Total Time:  5 min   Servings:  1 serving   Source:  dietdoctor.com INGREDIENTS 1  tbsp chilli powder 2  tsp paprika powder 2  tsp ground cumin 1  tsp garlic powder 1  tsp onion powder ½  tsp chilli flakes ½  tsp dried oregano ½  tsp ground black pepper 1  pinch ground cinnamon 1  pinch ground cloves 1  tbsp sea salt (optional) DIRECTIONS Add all ingredients to a bowl and stir until thoroughly blended. Pour into a jar with a tight-fitting lid. I...

Good morning all so what woke me this morning 12ºC is the answer I awoke because I was cold.  So message received and understood it is time to get the duvet back on the bed and put the comforter in for a wash and wish it farewell until next year. Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day just right with the sun but no wind and warm not hot, perfect.  I shot out fairly early and did a few chores you know filled the car with diesel drew some spending money and did a quick wiz round Tesco.  I have gradually been collecting strange ingredients like almond and coconut flour both of which are low carb and also psyllium husk and xanthan gum all of which are used in recipes that try to mimic bread or pastry or a pizza base or tortilla.  It might be nice to have something like that one day.  I must admit that I haven't missed any of the above but I think it might be fun to try.  There are millions of recipes for low carb keto etc.  Today we have some mince and ...

Good morning all a much nicer start to the day the dogs woke me kicking seven bells out of my door I guess it was breakfast time, and the sun is shining. It is funny how the start of the day is so important in controlling your mood for the day.  Yesterday I woke badly and I was off-colour all day then a good nights sleep and today I am bright and feeling fine.  I feel as if I have been on this diet forever but I thought I would have a look back at when I actually started and it was only the 12th of August and I have shed 10lbs relatively painlessly and have felt very well so I hope I am on the right track.  James too is shedding weight and so is Denzil as he often has what we have and then tops up with whatever he fancies. Today I need to go shopping and get some more salad stuff and I have just found out that my favourite salad of Belgian endive blue cheese, walnuts, pears and mayo dressing is perfect for us minus the pear, well I think I can live with that.  While ...

Good morning all I woke up badly this morning with great feelings of doom it is a horrid sensation so I got up and headed for the coffee.  Yesterday was a strange day the weather was warm but extremely muggy real headache weather.  This morning there is a fresher breeze blowing which is already more pleasant. I have gathered some green tomatoes from the greenhouse and I intend to get Keith to clear it when he comes on Tuesday next week.  I usually make green tomato chutney but that contains loads of sugar so that is off the menu.  If I have lots of tomatoes I might make some to give away.  I have a garage full of bottle tomatoes to last me through the winter and as they are more carbohydrate-dense than we need we only eat a small amount trying to keep my carb count under 20 grams per day.  My weight is dropping in small drops with depressingly long intervals which I know is down to my inpatients as this is not a quick fix. Anyway, things are going in the ri...

Good morning all it seems to be another nothing day weather-wise but at least the laundry dries so that is fine.  Yesterday was also another nothing day with no weather to speak of it is the strange English grey weather which I suppose is because we are an island. Yesterdays menu went according to plan with the bratwurst and saurkrout and a big salad which I finished around 3pm from then on it was two cups of tea and no other food until lunch today.  The menu today is pork chops and red cabbage and a big salad on the side.  I didnt take note of when I started this diet but it seems to be going according to plan and I am loving the food. I wracked off my vinegar yesterday and got half a litre and having tasted it it is very palatable with a strong taste of apple.  I'm going to keep things short today as Dennie is here and champing at the bit so I had better get out of her way.  Have a good day and stay safe.

Good morning all it is a bit of a dull day here but dry at the moment so the laundry is underway.  I have wracked off my first lot of cider vinegar and it is very nice and has a strong apple taste.  I did this lot with eating apples and the next lot is underway with cooking apples it will be interesting to see if it makes any significant difference. I made some progress with my embroidery but it is hard on the eyes so I limit it.  I am a bit of a bull at a gate-type person and remember getting into trouble at school in needlework because we were making a blouse and I just took mine home and finished it.  I hate unfinished things and feel pressured to get on and finish the job.  In my warped mind, it is like cleaning half the kitchen floor. On the menu today we are having bratwurst and  sauerkraut with the inevitable large salad yesterday was hard as we fasted until 6pm when Denzil came home.  It made the evening easier but it was a very long day, surpr...

 Good morning all. It looks like a gentle sort of a day bit of sun no wind and lots of clouds.  I made a start on the embroidery and have decided to ration my time as it is quite punishing on the eyes. So I have decided not to embroider in artificial light. Of course, that might need to change as daylight diminishes as winter approaches. This is the design and the instructions are very precise. It doesn't look too difficult and with my bull at a gate mentality the temptation to sew until it is finished is huge hence my restrictions.  Anyway, I am enjoying it which was the object of the exercise.  Sadly I had a very bad night and slept in until 9.30 which is unheard of but having watched Dr Mathew Walker talk about sleep I don't care as I must have needed it.  Did you know we are the only mammals who deliberately deprive themselves of sleep and only starvation will make others reduce their sleep?  If you have some spare time I would highly recommend his disc...

Good morning all well my embroidery arrived yesterday afternoon so I have assembled the frames and mounted the canvas.  Today having read the destruction (so unlike me ) I am going to make a start.  I must say that I am very happy with the items I have received.  There is also a web site with instructions.  Anyway, it is exciting to have a new project.  My bone broth has turned our rather well and apparently you can put the bones through a second time so I am going to try that.  I am going to make more of the biscuits we have with cheese and instead of water to wet the mixture, I will be using my bone broth. James made us a lovely fish soup with some stock he had made from all the shellfish remains from his birthday meal.  While he was at the fishmonger getting some extras he had a couple of pounds leftover and bought me two oysters.  They are delicious and quite an upper body workout to open.  On the menu today we are going to have a salad n...

Good morning all it seems to be a reasonable autumn day we have had every type of weather with the exception of snow in the last couple of weeks. Today I have my bone broth to decant and bottle or freeze It seems to me to be exactly like making stock but letting it simmer for so much longer. I had coffee with Sandy yesterday and she LOOKS well but doesn't feel it.  She seems to have a magnified recurrence of all the old wounds her back, her knees, fingers it is all still painful and she is still very breathless so looks can be deceiving.  The pond guys came yesterday and I can't say I am ecstatic with what they have done but I am going to ask them to move the box back from the edge of the pond.  Where it is I stand no chance of disguising it , it needs to be back from the edge of the pond and with some means of getting the water back in. I think I will give them a ring and see if they can move the box back and put some hose oh the return outlets the flower pot on the othe...

Good morning all well we are back in October here yesterday was beautiful until early evening when the heavens opened and we got a good watering. I had a myriad of little things to do yesterday so I got on and caught up with paperwork that needed doing and reading meters etc.  Though they are only little things it is surprising how long they can take you.  I also spent some time in the shower now that we have hot water and took the time to do my nails which are growing incredibly.   Today I am off to Macnades where I am going to see Sandy which will be the first time since March and her time in ICU.  We have kept in contact on the phone and on the internet but there is nothing like seeing someone in the flesh.  It is surprising how I have missed that over the lockdown somehow there is nothing like face to face interaction.   This afternoon the pond guy is coming to fit the new filter whilst I will pay the bill I have asked the boys to supervise as...

Good morning all well we seem to be in a gentle autumn phase we  have sun but it is quite chilly.  My little experiment in the greenhouse with the tomatoes seems to have been a success I basically let the tomato plants do what they wanted and they went completely mad and have filled the whole space but with abundant tomatoes which seem to be healthy apart from the odd chewed fruit which has been enjoyed by the wild life. The cider vinegar seems to be doing what it is supposed to but I am about 5 days away from bottling it.  with the second batch ready and waiting.  However today I am going to make bone broth which is different from stock as the object of the exercise is to get all that the bones have to offer by way of collagen and other nutrients.  Now I know you can buy it but it is very expensive and making it just requires long slow cooking at around 80ºC for about 24 hours and as luck would have it I have the facilities to do this.  I ordered some beef...

This is said item made by Russell Hobbs.  It is very easy to fill and empty and the whole thing weighs 1.8 kilos so very light.  It charges very fast but needs constant recharging but that fits quite well with how I iron and put the iron down as I rearrange the clothing.  The most disconcerting thing is that it doesn't have a temperature control it decides don't ask me how.  It is wonderful to be unrestricted by wires.  It does everything you would expect of a steam iron including a flush facility to clean the tank.  All in all I think it is a forward move.  

Good morning all well I think we might have the tail end of summer back it is sunny and not too chilly so I am hopeful.  Yesterday was a bit of a writeoff as I got hooked watching a couple of lectures discussing things like how the neurochemistry in our brain works and a fabulous discussion with Mathew Walker about sleep and how sleep deprived we are, we do need 8 hours or more and very few of us get that.  I now understand why I like my door in my bedroom open because you need your brain to cool before you sleep so cold bedroom is best. Anyway, the result was most entertaining but I didn't get a lot done.  Joy asked about the iron which arrived late yesterday so I can't answer any of the questions yet as I haven't taken it out of the box.  I must admit that my main concern has been getting rid of the old one which is fully functional I know that many charities will not take electrical items so I think I will just put the word out that I have an iron going for free I...