Kitchen Monday

 Pip had her blood test this morning and it was also our home delivery food shop day, so once we were home from the GP surgery I made a start on 'everything but the fridge' soup 😊. We've been pretty good at not having any food waste so the soup consisted of cauliflower, carrot, celery, onion and potatoes with vegetable stock.  I also used the pizza base recipe to make a garlicky flat bread which I then topped with feta cheese and melted under the grill.

I also made another batch of muffins only this time it was an apple, blueberry and almond mix:

After lunch I went for my usual lie down and Rosary prayers but just towards the end I nodded off.  I must admit I didn't feel too great when I awoke and I reckon it was either a delayed reaction to my Covid vaccine or my body is trying to fight a low grade version of Pip's virus.  I had a real craving for some comfort food and had seen this particular dish on 'Smitten Kitchen's' Instagram earlier in the day.  The recipe wasn't quite a one pan meal as I don't own a cast iron pan that works both on the hob and in the oven, but a lidded frying pan and roasting dish for the oven worked just as well.  The dish was a hit with everyone and I will definitely be making this again 😊

Butter Chicken and the recipe can be found HERE

Happy Monday xx 

A New Kitchen Helper

 Our Vitamix blender finally went kaput over the weekend, but I cannot grumble as we bought it when Pip was just two and she'll be fifteen in December!  Over the years kitchen aid technology has advanced quite a bit and this time we opted for a multifunctional system.  I spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking meals from scratch but especially now with the Long Covid and PoTS issues, things can be quite tricky despite using a perching stool and trying to factor in rest breaks.

This Bosch MUM creation mixes, whisks, grates and even blends - the liquidiser attachment connects on to the top of the machine.  As a result of this machine, carrots were grated to add to our lunch time salad and I managed to batch cook some raspberry, oat and polenta muffins, savoury chilli and onion muffins and a regular cornbread.  Whilst we were out (Dave had a neuro physio appointment 30 minutes away) the beef and vegetable chilli was cooking in the instant pot, and it was just a case of cooking the rice once we returned home 😊

Raspberry muffins at the back and savoury at the front.

Cornbread.

Raspberry muffins.

Dinner is served 😋

Cats and Cooking

Thankfully I had my phone to hand when I snapped this image of Milton and Poppy:

One cat out and the other cat in 😂

We had our Sainsbury delivery today and the guy remarked on our shopping order definitely being on the healthy end with all the veggies and fruit stacked in the crates.  I'm really grateful for the doorstep deliveries as a supermarket shop would probably finish me off right now.  However there was still a lot of to and fro on my behalf, as the big larder fridge from the old house is in my outside room and it did need a good wipe down before loading with all the goodies.  I earned my sit down once that job was tackled.

For lunch we had spaghetti bolognese and there were clean plates all round:

The ever growing chaotic table 😂

Good ol' Spag Bol

After lunch I had a Whats App video catch up with my mum and a lovely chat with Eva all the way over in New York State!  It was Eva's birthday on Monday and normally I try and send a hand made gift but there hasn't been much crafting going on since Covid.  I had originally wanted to send her a Barnes and Noble gift card but since I don't live in a country linked to their store it was a no go so Amazon it was 🙄. At the moment they are dealing with an ice storm and possible power outages should things worsen, but so far so good.  It was lovely to surprise her with a phone call, she is a very dear friend ❤️

After my afternoon sit down it was back in the kitchen again for tea duty - stuffed baked potatoes, salad and the Christmas Mincemeat Flapjack originally intended for Candlemas Day.  Since we don't eat a great deal of sugar I used stevia in the recipe and quartered the amount and instead of golden syrup used maple syrup.  I also reduced the amount of oats and substituted 1/3 cornflakes instead.  Needless to say the flapjack was more crumbly than normal probably due to the significantly reduced sugar content but despite that it was very tasty.

All in all a really lovely day 😊

 

Productive Days

 Many, many years ago we used to have Saturday Chore Day and reading Eva's recent posts reminded me of that fact.  I'm very lucky as we have funding for a cleaner due to the combined health issues in the family.  Sammie visits once a week to clean the house from top to bottom and then the kids and I catch up with interim vacuuming, sweeping and turning out a room on a rolling programme basis. 

 On Saturday the bathrooms were cleaned and Pip in particular enjoyed mopping the floors!  The kids vacuumed their bedrooms whilst I sorted the lounge and we all pitched in with hanging out various loads of laundry as it was perfect drying weather.  It was really lovely to work together as a team and to have the satisfaction of all the things ticked off the to-do list 😊

Sadly we missed attending mass in person on Sunday as the car braking system is not working properly.  The foot brake works fine, it's the electronic automatic parking brake system that has failed and so we are home based until Thursday when it goes into the garage.  We made the best of things and the kids helped out painting the side fence whilst I made a cooked lunch.  Our friends Beatrice and David visited for a belated birthday celebration for Dave and we enjoyed Camembert cheese with gluten free crackers followed by home made fruit scones.

I've also been busy in my workroom finishing off some bunting and making a new batch which is Autumn themed.  Our lovely neighbours Paul and Anne run a hedgehog hospital and Pip helps out when needed.  I saw the hedgehog fabric in Aldi a few weeks ago and new instantly what to do with it 😊. 

I just love those colours they definitely shout 'Autumn!'

I hope life is treating you kindly.  Over here in the UK the financial markets are a mess and the big energy firms are now actually warning of potential blackouts due to limited gas supplies.  I was blown away when I saw the price for a bottle of olive oil; what had previously been retailed at £3.50 was now over £5.00 😯.  Due to recent drought conditions in Spain nearly half the olive crops had failed to survive.  The cost of living crisis is very worrying so for the last few weeks we've been buying extra tins, packet items with a long shelf life and cleaning products.  I managed to find some bags of gluten free pasta from Sainsburys that was a very cheap price so I bought several packets.

We are going to try and stave off putting on the central heating so we've made sure that we have plenty of extra quilts/ blankets, hot water bottles, extra layers of clothing and in early November a wood burning stove will be fitted 😊. We had a burner in the last house and it has been sorely missed but the energy crisis and potential blackouts has forced us to act.  All of our cooking facilities run off electric but we have a two ring camping stove in the shed that runs of Calor gas, so that is on standby.  I've also bought extra candles and Dave sourced some really good camp lanterns that run off a battery but can also be charged using a USB connector, should we have designated times of power.  I know it all sounds a bit Armageddon but I'd rather be prepared than have to deal with panic overload when it all goes horribly wrong - remember the loo roll riots of 2020? 🤪

Making and Creating

 In the past few months both Pip and I have been busy with all sorts of projects.  I've spent quite a bit of time in my outside work room and made a selection of placemats, aprons and bunting for friends.  I've also been busy making bunting to sell in my folksy shop which will be resurrected over the next week or so 😊. 

A Floral Apron.
 

A Woodland Christmas.

Shades of Green.

Red, gold and green.

Candy Cane Colours.

Red, White and Blue.

Pretty Pastels.

A Vibrant Variety

A Parade of Animals.

Pip has been busy at her desk creating all sorts of funky images ❤️. She has a distinctive design and either devises her own designs or tweaks a standard image with her own interpretation 😊

Pip's friend Anna from Interhigh. 

 During the same trip where we met Eva and family, we also spent the weekend with Anna and her Mum.  Sadly we were unable to meet her Dad as he was poorly that weekend.

One of Pip's ace designs ❤️. 

I love the whole effect including the clever colour combinations but I think the lace up boots are my favourite part of the whole outfit.

Pip's handmade birthday card for her best friend Beth.  She scanned the drawing onto the Moonpig website and was able to type in an individual birthday message using a quote from Albus Dumbledore:

It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow up to be.

Thanks also to a really brilliant book called 'The First 40 Days: The Essential Art of Nourishing The New Mother,' I was able to make a big batch of Gourmand Granola and Postnatal Recovery Stew for Kathryn.  The stew was so good that I made some for the family and it was the only thing Ben could eat when he had Flu followed by a throat infection a few weeks ago.

Gourmand Granola made with oats, nuts, seeds, shredded and flaked coconut, cocoa, peanut butter and chocolate chips.

Recovery Stew: carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, leeks, mushrooms, lentils, cashew nuts, turmeric, garlic, ginger, bone broth and one can of coconut milk.  I cooked it in the Instant Pot for 18 minutes and the flavours wonderfully mingle.