Little House by the Railway Line
Root Vegetable Crisps
On Monday night I decided to try to make some root vegetable crisps at home. I really love these when I've had them in the past (sometimes from the supermarket, and also from the Christmas market in Durham once when I was a student), but they cost far too much money to buy them and I thought maybe I could do them at home. Root vegetables aren't very expensive, and they're in season now.I found a recipe online, which I followed extremely loosely. I used potato, swede and beetroot, because that's what we had in the house, and sliced them with a potato peeler (I was hoping that would make things quicker). Because beetroot stains like crazy I put them on three separate trays.
As they cooked and shrank up I moved them onto one tray. Partly because my oven only has two shelves and getting three trays in was rather a balancing act, and partly because they were greasy because I'd used too much oil.
When I decided they were definitely at least cooked (if not a little over-cooked) I put them in a box with lots of kitchen paper to soak up the excess oil.
I think I may actually have over-done the cooking because I was hoping the grease would evaporate (not sure why, as that's totally illogical, but I was probably rather tired and not thinking straight). Some bits tasted a little burnt. But the beetroot ones were absolutely delicious, definitely the best. I think beetroot are generally sweeter, so that's probably why. Next time I may try and do this with carrots, as they're quite sweet. Or possibly parsnips, but it seems a shame to do an experiment like this on my favourite vegetable when I could turn it into dinner instead.
The other thing I think would really have improved this is if I'd managed to use less oil. The recipe said to use cooking spray, but I don't have any, and used vegetable oil smeared on with kitchen paper. I wonder if putting the sliced vegetables in a bowl and mixing with a teaspoon of oil would have solved the problem? I think I'll try that next time, and if that doesn't work I'll have to find a way to do cooking spray. I read somewhere that you can use any old spray bottle but you have to mix the oil with lecithin, and I've no idea where I'd get that.
The Quilter's Kitchen
This is the latest installment in the Elm Creek Quilts series, which I've really enjoyed. I was really looking forward to this one - I thought the combination of quilts and cookery sounded right up my street.
I did enjoy it, but I hadn't realised it was going to be such a short book - only 200 pages, small volume, and more than half the text was actually recipes. There wasn't very much story covered, just a conversation taking place one afternoon while two of the characters clear the kitchen cupboards and enjoy a trip down memory lane. It was all very nice but I couldn't help but wish there had been a bit more to it.
Christmas Meme
I saw this here and thought I'd like to fill it in, as I love Christmas traditions and enjoy reading about other people's.
1.) Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both. We have lots of bags that we received wedding presents in, and they're reusable. And we reuse wrapping paper till it's torn up all over and you can't see the picture any more. I really like the idea of using newspaper though, so maybe this year I'll try that.
2.) Real tree or artificial? We have a small artificial one in the loft that fits on the coffee table.
3.) When do you put up the tree? Late December. If we have a Christmas do it would go up in time for that, but we're not this year (because we're too busy going to other people's and there are no weekends left), so it'll probably go up the weekend before Christmas.
4.) When do you take the tree down? Official date is January 6th. I think we may have left it up a little longer than that last year though.
5.) Do you like eggnog? No.
6.) Favorite gift recieved as a child? Probably the very large teddy bear I got when I was about 10. I snuggled up next to him every night till I got married (in fact, I got him back out again when my husband was away in the summer).
7.) Hardest person to buy for? My father. He loathes Christmas, doesn't like getting presents, and hates having useless junk. He also tends to buy anything he wants for himself, as soon as he thinks of it, so it's impossible to buy him something he wants (unless I happened to have a few hundred thousand pounds spare and could buy him more machinery for building cars....).
8.) Easiest person to buy for? My husband, I think. He's very unfussy and easy to please.
9.) Do you have a nativity scene? No, but I kind of think I might like one, only I'm not sure where I'd put it.
10.) Mail or e-mail christmas cards? We post them.
11.) Worst christmas gift you ever recieved? I have no idea. Either there never was one, or it was so awful I've blocked it from my memory.
12.) Favorite christmas movie? We don't really watch television, or films. I think I have an old video of It's A Wonderful Life in a box in the loft, so maybe that would be it
13.) When do you start shopping for christmas? I bought the Christmas cards in August / September this year.
14.) Have you ever recycled a christmas present? I don't think so. I've given plenty away to charity shops though.
15.) Favorite thing to eat at christmas? Roast potatoes and parsnips and pigs in blankets and stuffing.
16.) Lights on the tree? Yes.
17.) Favorite christmas song? It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
18.) Travel at christmas or stay home? I prefer to stay home. Actually, I always prefer to stay home, as I don't like travelling at the best of times. This year, we're going to have Christmas Day just the two of us (and obviously all the people we see in the morning at church), and will probably visit my parents on Boxing Day.
19.) Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? No!
20.) Angel on top of tree or star? I think we put one end of the string of lights up there. I have a Christmas Tree Angel that I knitted years ago, but it's a bit too big and heavy for our tiny tree.
21.) Open presents christmas eve or morning? Christmas morning - although I think it may have been afternoon last year, as it was after church while the dinner was cooking.
22.) Most annoying thing about this time of year? All those ghastly shops that open up in empty shop-buildings trying to sell cheap red and gold tatty decorations, and the crazy mania for buying endless stuff that seems to possess people.
23.) Favorite thing about this time of year? Extra church services, time off work to spend at home, and the excuse to bake (and eat) lots of yummy biscuits.
24.) Favorite ornament theme or color? Red is my favourite colour at any time of the year, so my favourite colour would be red. I'm not really sure what an ornament theme is though, but I do rather like all the pictures of robins sitting on fences in the snow that get wheeled at at Christmas-time.
25.) Favorite food for christmas dinner? Roast potatoes and parsnips and pigs in blankets and stuffing. Served with roast chicken or turkey, of course.
26.) Favorite christmas tradition? Walking round the streets after dark with my Mum and looking at all the Christmas lights on other people's houses, and seeing their trees standing in the front windows.
27.) What do you want for christmas this year? A rest! Some time off work with no crazy agenda to spend with my husband.
28.) Who is most likely to respond to this? I have no idea...
Menu Plan 19th-25th November 2008
The vegetable onslaught continues.
In our box this week we received:
Potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, red onions
Swede, brocolli, brussels tops, green pepper, parsnips, bagged salad
4 apples, 6 clementines, 2 oranges, 1 lemon
(They've accidentally given us six non-base vegetables, rather than five. I hope this won't exacerbate the problem too much)
We still have the following lurking in the kitchen:
3 beetroots, a small piece of swede, 1/4 cabbage, brocolli stalk, butternut squash, jar of lentil sprouts, various onions and potatoes
We also have three individual portions of leftovers in the freezer.
My proposed menu plan for the week:
Wednesday: Lentil sprout and pineapple salad, pizza with green pepper and red onion (and mushrooms on one half for G)
Thursday: (going to Mum's) Brocolli - to have as a side with whatever she's cooking
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Soup (probably squash, brocolli stalk, carrot, random piece of swede, some potato) (We're going to London for the day and will eat lunch out, but should be back by mid-afternoon.)
Sunday: Beetroot and lentil salad (We're eating lunch out with friends but will something light for supper.)
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Sausages/lentil loaf (depending on how much preparation I do) with roasted vegetables (parsnips, onion, potatoes, swede) and brussels tops
A Circle of Quiet
G got me this book as an anniversary present (1st anniversary = paper = books), and I've just finished reading it. It was quite slow reading, as it's very meditative in style, but I enjoyed it a lot.
Although I found the woolly liberal "christianity/agnosticism" espoused by the author rather annoying (as I'm not at all in favour of the lets-just-love-everybody-and-not-mention-any-problems sort of christianity, which seems to me to be profoundly unbiblical), it didn't hamper my enjoyment of the book. I found that I did agree with the author on issues such as child-rearing, education, society's dealings with the elderly, and village community.
The book didn't really have a plot or storyline as such, being more a collection of thoughts journalled over / looking back over a particular summer (obviously very much edited and tidied up!). It was more of a glimpse into someone's life and way of thinking than a normal novel, which makes a pleasant change. Life doesn't have a plotline, so it is probably rather unnecessary that a book should always have one.
It's always agreeable to find a book that doesn't offend me - I'm probably a bit too picky about books these days, but I refuse to waste time reading things that seem to me to be lacking in morality. I encounter quite enough in the way of fractured souls and broken families in real life; reading for me is mostly escapism (or edification in the case of theological books etc) and I don't feel the need to be reminded that the world is in a very sorry mess in the twenty minutes of reading I get before I go to sleep at night. In this particular case, the book is the first of a series of four, so I'm hopeful that the other three should also be acceptable pleasant reads.
Sunday School Woes
On Sunday, we were in charge of teaching the primary-age children's group. For some time now, it's really been a junior group, as there's been no-one between the ages of 2 and 7 in the church, but the last few weeks we've gained a couple of four year-olds and a six year-old, so it now covers the whol age range.
We had nine children on Sunday, fairly evenly spread across the age range, and I thought, on the whole, the lesson went pretty well. We were looking at 1 Thessalonians 5, where it talks about living as children of the light, so we played a game involving "stealing"the "treasure" from the "householder" in the dark, did a short reading and discussion, and then sorted activities into "dark" and "light" activities, and then made suncatchers to remind us that we are children of the light. We also tried to learn a song "Jesus Bids Us Shine", which no-one but me (even G) knew, but seemed appropriate.
All of that worked, and I think they all, even the little four-year-olds, took some of it on board. The problem is getting the to sit down. In between each activity - and to a certain extent during - they were continually getting up and down, sitting under their chairs, sitting on them backwards, rearranging the furniture, and dragging the Youth Group board games out of the cupboard. And I just don't seem able to enforce any discipline.
I'm a bit worried, as it was incredibly chaotic. I really need to work out how to manage them better. And I'd like to manage without turning it into the ultimate in boring Sunday school lessons - copying out chapters and sitting in rows and raising one's hand to speak. It's supposed to be informal, with bits of discussion as well as instruction, but it's borderline to degenerating into chaos.
One thing I shall try to do is covering up all the board games and the table football. I never even notice they're there (I'm oblivious to my surroundings to the extent that I didn't bother decorating the church for my wedding - just can't see the point of it), but I will try and make sure they're all hidden to reduce temptation.
The other thing I thought of, is that I probably take pauses that are too long between activities, either for me to collect my thoughts or to allow the children to answer fully. I think their attention spans can't quite handle the gaps and they wander off to other topics. But I'm not sure how to train myself to think quicker between activities. Maybe I need to "rehearse" the questions beforehand so I don't need the piece of paper with the instructions on it.
Much time was spend after the morning service and before the evening meeting yesterday discussing this problem (it isn't just when I'm leading, although I think it may be worst then), and I ended up feeling it had all been very negative. I don't want to be too hard on the children - at least one of them comes from a very troubled homelife - but at the same time there needs to be a measure of structure and discipline.
However, I must remember to remember that having the children there to teach, coming willingly to the church (in some cases of their own accord, unaccompanied by their parents), is a great privelege and blessing. And I must also remember that it is God who will teach them to respond to Him, not me. All I can do is teach what the Bible says, I can't force the children to believe in it.
Simple Woman's Daybook or 17th November 2008
Outside my window... it has been a very cold day today. G put the goldfinch feeder up in the garden (hanging from a cane tripod in the middle of the empty vegetable patch), but we haven't been at home in daylight to see if any have found it yet.
I am thinking... that I should have done all the knitting I wanted to do today before I started slicing beetroot with a potato peeler. My hands are now horribly stained, adn I'm afraid it will rub off.
I am thankful for... all the children who have been coming to the Sunday School at church the last few weeks - we used to have three children in our class, and yesterday there were nine!
From the kitchen... there is a lemon drizzle cake cooling on the counter, and in the oven there are some experimental root vegetable crisps. I really hope they work; I love root veg crisps, but they cost a fortune to buy.
I am wearing... Brown striped trousers and a green jumper.
I am creating... I'm still working on a jumper for a little boy for Christmas, but in my head I'm creating lots of plans for all sorts of things that I will doubtless never manage to do.
I am going... to sort out the youth group accounts this evening.
I am reading... The Quilter's Kitchen by Jennifer Chiaverini, I Am Not Ashamed: Advice to Timothy by Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Bible: Ezekiel, 1 John, 2 Peter
I am hoping... that this week will be more productive at work than last week (this is really an instruction to myself, as I'm a hopeless procrastinator sometimes in the office).
Around the house... there is a lot of dust. I've been getting very lazy about cleaning, and really must try to catch up this week. I also need to acquire a feather duster, or think of an alternative method of dusting the top corners of rooms.
One of my favorite things... finding an egg in the box that stll has feathers stuck to it - this always makes me happy (yes, I'm very weird). I think because it reminds me that a real live chicken laid it, and I like chickens. One day maybe I'll be able to have chickens and not buy eggs, but for now I'm happy with the odd feather.
A few plans for the rest of the week: A friend who has been suffering from depression has asked me to call for her on the way to Bible study tomorrow (which is fantastic news, as she's been avoiding it for some time now), we have a local by-election to vote on Thursday, and on Saturday we're going to London to meet up with G's brother.
Here is picture thought I am sharing...
Read more daybook entries here.
European Madness
I read this and was horrified!I knew, of course, that I never saw odd-looking vegetables at the supermarket, but it had never occurred to me that it was actually illegal. Why on earth are we throwing away 20% of our onions?! I must say I'm very pleased they've decided to scrap it - now how long will it be before they scrap the 10 remaining restricted vegetables as well.
Another thing I wonder about regarding supermarket veggies is the cleaning of them. Since I've been getting used to getting really muddy potatoes and carrots and washing them in a bowl with a nailbrush, I've realised just how tricky it is to get all the mud off. How on earth do you get them as clean as the ones in polythene bags in the shops? The only thing I can think of is they must be pressure-washed or something, which doesn't really sound like it ought to be good for the spuds... Plus, they keep much better coated in soil.
(I don't actually worry about them being perfectly clean - I tend to take the view that once they've been boiled to cook them anything harmful will be well and truly dead.)
Lentil Curry
Last night I made a lentil-and-swede curry (I forgot to take pictures though - we were hungry!), and it worked! I'm very pleased with myself, as curry is something that I've never really been able to do. I have a recipe for Chicken Korma that tastes nice but not really like a curry - mostly it tastes of onion. I tried to look in the library for an Indian cookery book but for some reason I couldn't find any (lots of Chinese though).We're trying to eat very safe foods this week, after overdoing the rich foods on Sunday night (I think roast duck with plum sauce and pancakes and then beef stir fry and then peach-and-butterscotch-upside-down was too much for my pathetic stomach, even if it was all delicious), so I thought lentils would be a good thing to try, and I found this recipe for curry online. I added swede to give it some bulk (and also because it needs to be eaten somehow, and curry seemed moderately reasonable), and we ate it with rice and steamed cabbage, and it was lovely. I expect I could put any old root vegetables in it - carrot, sweet potato, parsnip etc, whatever we had, and then it becomes a meal that can be made from things we keep in stock. I'm always looking out for meals like that. It could also be made as the recipe says, but G thought it might lack body without the vegetable lumps.
I'll definitely be copying the recipe into my nice recipe folder.
Menu Plan 12th-18th November 2008
Here is a picture of the box as it arrived this week (after I'd removed the bread and eggs):
We received:
Potatoes, carrots, onions, mushrooms
2 tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, swede, brocolli
Avocado, 3 apples, 2 pears, 2 oranges
We still have left in the cupboard:
Fennel, beetroot, butternut squash, green pepper
(Various meals from last week didn't happen owing to changes in plans and mild sickness caused by over-eating)
So my proposed plan for the coming week looks something like this:
Wednesday: Lentil and swede curry with rice and steamed cabbage
Saturday: Gratin of potato, onion, swede with brocolli and boiled beetroot
Sunday: Fish served with boiled potatoes, fennel gratin, and steamed cabbage
Tuesday: Polenta pie (soya mince, onion and pepper) served with steamed cabbage
I'm concerned that the fennel has been hanging around for rather a while now (so has the squash but I think that'll keep) so may be getting past it - but eating fish and fennel (which I'm really worried about eating) the day after a bad stomach upset seemed like a Very Bad Idea, so it was postponed. I'll have to have a look at it and assess how edible it'll be. If not, I'll probably do a soup, or a bean casserole.
Crazy Weekend
G and I had a crazy weekend, which was good fun, but we're extremely glad it's over, and are hoping the next one won't be the same.On Saturday we had arranged to go to visit some friends for lunch and then G had a bellringing district tea at 4:30 in the afternoon. We went to Daily Bread to stock up on nice things (like Raisins and G's favourite muesli and crystallised ginger) on the way to lunch, and enjoyed a pleasant time with friends. They've recently acquired two chickens, which they've called Betty and Vera, and we got to meet them, which was fun. Apparently the deeds on our house forbid us keeping chickens, even if we had the space, but I still think I'd like some one day, if we ever move somewhere suitable. However, the bus back home was delayed, and got increasingly behind as it crawled through town, while G got increasingly agitated about being late to serve the teas. He made it (just) to the tea by 5pm, just before the first people arrived needed to be seen to, and was pretty washed out by the time he made it home at about half past seven.
On Sunday we'd succeeded in quintuple-booking ourselves, so even after some adjustments we were incredibly busy. We went to church and heard a good sermon on Amos 5. I ended up serving the teas and coffees after the service when it became apparent that no-one else was going to do it, and nearly ran out of tea cups. We think we need a "one cup per person" rule to sort this out, as it happens a bit too often lately. Either that, or more teacups. Then we had a guest coming for lunch (engagement one), and at two o'clock I was picked up and went on a walk with some friends in Thetford Forest (engagement two), which was wonderful, and then drove back to prepare the supper - for which G joined us. Meanwhile he'd had to go and ring the bells for Remembrance Sunday (engagement three) and then been to a support group meeting for some trainee missionaries we're supporting (engagement four). (The fifth engagement was another lunch engagement which has been postponed for a couple of weeks. Whew!). After all that it was rather fun to sit around with friends all evening and enjoy a good meal, but I was pretty exhausted at the end of it all.
The other week I was reading an article in the Banner of Truth magazine about the important of quietness of life and not being overrun with different activities. I think I may need to read it repeatedly to get the message through. That, and make sure our diary is always up to date so we don't make too many arrangements for the same time!
Simple Woman's Daybook for 10th November 2008
Outside my window... the weather is horrible and wet, and the bird are eating far too much birdseed. I told G not to give them any more until they (or the pigeons and dunnocks) have eaten some of what's dropped on the ground.
I am thinking... that I may have a cold but can't quite decide.
I am thankful for... a dry warm house to go home to.
From the kitchen... I'm trying to sprout some lentils on my windowledge in an old jam jar, but nothing much seems to happening as yet. I'm hopeful, however.
I am wearing... Grey trousers and a pink cardigan.
I am creating... a lesson plan for Sunday School this week.
I am going... to a planning meeting regarding the church Christmas holiday club this evening.
I am reading... A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine l'Engle, I Am Not Ashamed: Advice to Timothy by Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Bible: 2 Samuel, Ezekiel, 1 John
I am hoping... that I don't end up being too late back from the meeting this evening.
Around the house... there is a lot of laundry hanging out to dry.
One of my favorite things... not being tired when I get up in the morning. G and I were able to sleep in until eight o'clock on Saturday, and I felt so much better for it.
A few plans for the rest of the week: G and I have a completely free evening on Wednesday, and on Saturday, weather permitting, we're planning to go birdwatching at Paxton Pits. Sunday looks like a much quieter day than yesterday, which will be a blessing.
Here is picture thought I am sharing...
Read more daybook entries here.
Menu Plan 5th-11th November
Vegetables delivered this week:Potatoes, carrots, onions, mushrooms
Butternut squash, brussels tops, chard, green pepper, beetroot
4 apples, 5 bananas, 3 plums, 1 lemon
Vegetables still around from previous weeks:
1/2 celeriac, butternut squash, fennel, carrots
I think we may have too much food.
So, the Menu Plan for the coming week is roughly as follows:
Wednesday: Butternut squash risotto
Saturday: Gillygate bean casserole with boiled beetroot
Sunday: Sausages, gratin of celeriac, potato and onion, and brussels tops
Tuesday: Fish with boiled potatoes and fennel
Wednesday: Chard pasta
One of the problems I've got at the moment is that with visiting my Mum each Thursday evening we've lost a meal (ie I cook one fewer meals each week), so we're not using it up so quickly. I'm not really sure how to get round this - I've planned meals up to Wednesday next week, rather than Tuesday as normal, which will only exacerbate the problem next week.
I think the solution may be that we need to have more people round for meals, but at present we seem to be in a phase where we get invited out a lot. This seems to go in cycles; not so long ago we were having company round once or twice a week. So hopefully it will all straighten out in the fullness of time.
Simple Woman's Daybook for 3rd November
I am thinking... that I really ought to get on with the oh-so-tedious task of updating the Youth Group register.
I am thankful for... all the dear friends who came out to lunch with us yesterday.
From the kitchen... I am very well-stocked as far as chocolate goes now, even if there wasn't time to bake a cake.
I am wearing... Grey trousers and a pink jumper.
I am creating... Still working on a toddler jumper. Probably will be for some time yet.
I am reading... Circle of Quiet by Madeleine l'Engle, I am not ashamed: advice to Timothy by Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Bible: 2 Samuel, Ezekiel, James.
One of my favorite things... Fudge. I'd forgotten how lovely it tastes and am now very tempted to gorge myself on the whole packet.
Here is picture thought I am sharing...
The books I received as birthday presents. I'm really looking forward to reading them.
Watching the Birdfeeder
On Sunday G put up our seed feeder in the garden and filled it, and the birds studiously ignored it until Wednesday. I think it usually takes them a little while to find the feeder each year when it's put out. When we got up for breaksfast on Thursday it was a little less than half full, and G had to refill it this morning.I do so enjoy watching the sparrows eating from it while we eat our toast and cereal in the morning.
At the bottom of our (not very big) garden there is a passage we can use to get the wheelie bins into and out of the garden, and then another fence between the passage and the railway. Behind that fence is a lot of scrub - and elder tree and lots of blackberry thickets and so forth - where the birds like to hide. Because the fence at the bottom of our garden is quite a bit lower than the fence between the passage and the railway, we can see both fences from our back windows. The bird feeder hangs on the garden fence at the bottom of the garden (in amongst our blackberry plants).
The sparrows always come in clusters to feed on the feeder; there are either no sparrows at all, or there are 15-20 of them. But they don't go straight to the feeder. They hang out in the scrub and then, one by one, will come up and sit on the higher fence and look at the feeder. I like to imagine them encouraging each other to fly over to the feeder: "Do you think it's safe?" "Maybe - it was before" "Alright then, you go and see" "No, you go - I went first last time" "What, me! I might get caught. You go". Then suddenly, one will fly over the passage to the garden fence and hop on the feeder, and be shortly followed by several of the others.
Because there are only four ports on the feeder (and when they've eaten too much, the top two become useless), there is often competition between the birds to get on it. Sometimes, when all four are occupied, a fifth bird will fly around, hovering close to those on the perches and occasionally resting on their backs to make them move. It's very entertaining to watch.
I haven't yet tried to get any pictures of the birds feeding, which I'd like to try, but I imagine it would be quite difficult.
Menu Plan 29th October - 4th November
It's definitely winter now. I gave up walking home from Mum's today as the hail starting falling and caught the bus. By the time I got home everything was white (though it's mostly melted by now).
We received this week:
Potatoes, carrots, onions, mushrooms
Lettuce, celeriac, brocolli, butternut squash, 4 tomatoes
3 pears, 2 apples, 4 bananas, 6 plums
We already have 1 cabbage in the fridge
So, my proposed menu for the week is:
Wednesday: Out at Mum's (theatre)
Thursday: Out at Mum's (bellringing)
Friday: Cheese and potato/carrot pie with cabbage
Saturday: Sausages with celeriac and potato mash with brocolli
Sunday: Going to pub for birthday meal
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Pasta with cabbage and cheese, mushrooms
Thoughts on a Fragmented Society
I read this article and found it strangely unnerving.Before G and I met, he had a lodger. An elderly gentleman whose health isn't wonderful, and who is terrified, for various reasons, of the authorities. He has almost no friends - there are about 3 people he communicates with - and no known family.
When we got married, he had to move out. He's now living in a Housing Association place a long way north. It occurred to me, when I was pondering heart disease in the light of my mother's recent operation, that if he were to collapse at home, it could be a very long time before anyone went to help.
He phones G a couple of times a week, and the other friends once each. I told G that he must be sure to notice if phone calls don't come without a sensible reason. Thankfully, G does no the name and details of the Housing Association.
Much as I find his dependency annoying at times, and the phone calls irritating (he usually phones G at work, but he phoned us on New Year's Day at about 9 am - not fun when you've been out till 3 in the morning the night before, I suddenly realised that they are very important. They seem less irritating now.
Simple Woman's Daybook for 27th October
I am thinking... That I should have worn my thick winter coat today, rather than my thin fleece jacket. I may be rather chilly by the time I get to my Mum's this evening.
I am thankful for... Quiet weekends. G and I had a lovely outing to some nearby villages, walked (a lot) and picnicked and explored a mill and a church and looked at postboxes, and didn't have to worry about what else we were meant to be doing that day, which is a real blessing.
From the kitchen... G and I spent yesterday afternoon making Caramelised Onion Chutney. The scrapings from the pan when we'd finished were delicious and I'm looking forward to being able to eat it in a month or so.
I am wearing... Grey trousers and my favourite blue jumper with red and green spots on the front and stripes on the back.
I am creating... Still working on a toddler jumper. Probably will be for some time yet.
I am reading... Circle of Quiet by Madeleine l'Engle, I am not ashamed: advice to Timothy by Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Bible: 2 Samuel, Jeremiah, John.
Around the house... I still haven't done anything since last week.... very bad of me. I've now completely run out of warm tights and am stuck wearing trousers until I have time to wash them (they have to be washed by hand).
One of my favorite things... The gorgeous colours of the autumn leaves. They're really turning now, and it's lovely to look at on a walk on a crisp clear afternoon.
Here is picture thought I am sharing...
The mill G and I went to see on Saturday. We also visited Bourn church, the nearby villages of Caxton and Kingston, and saw a kestrel atop a telegraph pole.
Looking after Mum
I took the day off work yesterday, to stay at home with my mother and "look after" her while my father was working up north. To be honest, she doesn't really need looking after; it's more a matter of not wanting to be alone all day and a small amount of not quite being confident to go in the shower/go for a walk / lift things in the kitchen without there being someone around.We had a very pleasant day together. I stayed the night before, which meant I got a lovely long lie-in in the morning and didn't have to get up until almost half past eight. We went for a long-ish walk (about a mile; long for Mum but rather shorter than I'm used to) and called in at the greengrocer, the butcher and the village library to buy things and chat to people, and then spent the afternoon chatting while I tried (with some measure of success, but a fair amount of failure mixed in) to bind some new song books for the hymn-singing/services we do at the old people's home. We cooked dinner together and then G came back to eat with us before he went off to ringing practice.
It was most peculiar, staying the night in my parents' house, because it's where I lived for most of my life (21 years out of nearly 26), and so it's home, and yet it isn't. I have a long history in the house, and yet I spent most of my time then in my room, which is now a spare sitting room / exercise room, so the most familiar places no longer exist there.
I managed to get the village butcher, which I've been wanting to do for some time (there isn't a butcher in the village where I live now), and bought some of his best sausages and a rabbit. I think "local wild rabbit" must be one of the most sustainable sorts of meat there is, and it was very reasonably in price, seeing as it'll make enough to have company round (always assuming people are prepared to eat it). I've never had it before and was intrigued to try it. I nearly bought some fish from the fish-van, but wasn't sure what G would like best, nor when we would eat it / how long it can be frozen for.
Menu Plan 22nd-28th October... or Attack of the Cabbages
The box arrived yesterday, containing:
Potatoes, carrots, onions, mushrooms
Cabbage, kale, brussels tops, yellow pepper, fennel
2 oranges, 3 apples, 4 bananas, 1 avocado
We still have 1 1/2 courgettes, 1 cabbage, a few potatoes. There may be another courgette to come in from the garden unless the frost comes before it's ready.
Now, I don't mind cabbage, but the problem is that one cabbage does at least 3 meals for the two of us, and that compounded with the slightly erratic eating habits of the last weeks (just as going to the hospital / visiting my parents rather frequently) means that it takes us two weeks to eat one. Since we've had them three weeks on the trot, and since brussels tops and kale are basically just different sorts of cabbage, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by them.
I was wondering about making sauerkraut to avoid the possibility of it going off in the fridge. Only neither G nor I have ever eaten it, and we don't know if we like it.
Anyway, I think the menu for the coming week will looked something like this:
Wednesday (at Mum's): Mum said to bring "some leaves" and we'll have them with a sausage casserole she's planning on making. We'll probably eat the brussels tops.
Thursday (at Mum's): Something using kale, possibly Kale Pesto Pasta
Friday: I'm out at Youth Group. G may eat potatoes, cabbage and egg, or something out of a tin, because there aren't any leftover meals around
Saturday lunch: Spicy Cabbage Soup - we can take this in a thermos if we go out
Saturday supper: Pasta with cabbage and cheese sauce
Sunday lunch (Sharing Lunch at Church): Vegetable and bean crumble (courgette, pepper, carrot)
Sunday supper: bread, cheese, ham, salad
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Corned beef hash with cabbage (we had this the other week and it was scrummy)
That does leave the fennel, which I have to admit I'm rather scared of. Apparently it has an aniseed flavour, and liquorice / aniseed is a smell which makes me feel sick. Not sure what to do with the thing, but hopefully it'll keep while I work it out.
There's three meals there involving cabbage, so if I can keep to that menu, I'm hoping we can use up one of the cabbages. If I turn the other one into sauerkraut to keep for the winter, then maybe we can get back to a level playing field. At the moment I can't fit anything else in the cupboards, and last night I kept dreaming that I was opening cupboards and they were full of cabbages.
However, I'm going to say to myself at the outset that I'm not going to beat myself up if I can't keep to the menu. Last night I was a little late home, very tired and over-emotional, and when I brought the vegetables in and realised that I didn't have a clue what to do with it all, ended up in tears. I got no further through the cooking that washing three potatoes, and then all the recipe books fell off the shelf, knocked all the cutlery (that was on the draining board) onto the floor, and we eventually ended up eating baked beans and bacon on toast. So the menu plan from now on is a guide, not something I'm going to get worked up about if I can't manage it.
{ Last Page } { Page 1 of 5 } { Next Page }
About Me
My Profile
Archives
Friends
My Photo Album
Links
Categories
CraftsFrom the Bookshelf
Happenings and Thoughts
In the Garden
In the Kitchen
Menu Planning
My Faith
On the Madness of the World
Preserving
Simple Woman's Daybook entries
Recent Entries
Root Vegetable CrispsThe Quilter's Kitchen
Christmas Meme
Menu Plan 19th-25th November 2008
A Circle of Quiet
Friends
HSBFrontPorchheritagehill
shekinah
morningsunshine
Hisirishgem
Linda
Deblyn
Mennobrarian
1ladybeale
pljammie
TammyLynn
HopefulHeart77
Tru
