Just making a list : Mangoes, garlics, herbs, lemon drizzle, pickled onions, green tomato chutney, strawberry jam, apples but Millie is misbehaving so no bread – I bought a loaf this morning for the first time in 4/5 weeks. I am thinking I might make another batch of pickled onions, and then need to practice with pastry for christmassy cookies, I have lots of cinnamon, star anise, mace – typing this makes me realise it is xmas cake making time! I might make a few smaller cakes this year, I have the tins. And then a quandary – Matthew is lactose intolerant, but I will ask him today what he has, then there is Matthew ‘the egg man’ who is diabetic, and Kate who is just weirdly picky (no glace cherries, apricots, almond,s, – and then tomatoes, onions, olives, coconut,), and then Jaimie with no currants or raisins! Erin is easy with just being a veggie – only affects main course. Please note that my children do not have eating anomalies, they always ate whatever they were given!
DIET
Britain had developed a certain qudos for the innovative restaurants that abounded before Covid. However this masked the growth of take aways and more generally UPFoods. Pre-made dinners are common and relatively cheap. Our children are provided with this in schools, pot noodles are cheap easy and quick in the shortened lunchtimes. Jamie Oliver did his best but the media has conspired against him.
DOMESTIC
Well I am feeling a bit better! So I have made stewed apple and have picked and sliced green tomatoes and onions for a green tomato chutney. The plants out front did better than those in the greenhouse for yield, but lack of sunshine and slugs took their toll, but 2kg of green toms is not bad. Mango chutney tomorrow. And also some cookies or a lemon drizzle.
Dish washer is playing up – the flap with the soap will not close? It is 20+ years old!
Vaccination time tomorrow for both flu and covid. 8.42am so I guess they are allowing 2 or 3 minutes per patient!
I need to clear the greenhouse and plant out the lavender and hot lips. Also there is a lot of blackthorn around and the buddlea needs trimming. Then do I cut back the raspberries? Ask Di for advice?Nasty crash on the M5 meant that this area was gridlocked – 2hours from Wedmore to Banwell or even 6 hours from ? I wa not listening properly! but it was not Birmingham or London!
My brain is weird! I spent at least an hour looking through my emails to confirm that I was having my jabs in Winscombe. Having decided to get there half an hour early (so I had time to get to Banwell if I was wrong) I did some reading. It then came to me that it was not an email, but a text message! And it was Banwell not Winscombe! Last year I got the wro ng week! And never got the Covid jab! I wonder what will go wrong tomorrow?
SUNDAY WAFFLE
Double standards – I am very sad at the deaths of 6 hostages held by Hamas. However the outpouring of grief from around the world upto, and including, the POTAS id disproportionate. 40000 Palestinians have died, perhaps at least 25% children and the world remains, if not silent, but only mumbling. Every life should be reveered and its loss mourned.
PARIS
Time for us to follow the French and ban pesticides from cities, including private gardens. Paris has been pesticide free since 2019. My garden is pesticide free and full of food plants for insects, bees and birds. I have a large area of raspberries and I expected the birds to beat me to the harvest – but it is largely bird free although there are plentiful insects. Yes I have seen the odd bee and butterfly but they too have been disappointing in their general absence. I guess that whilst in a rural village the other 80 or so houses in my sunurban road have only token flowers, and 80-90% mow their lawns with enthusiam every 2 weeks. Next door neighbour even sprayed an escaped wallflower that managed to flower close the wall of her house! I will admit to using slug pellets occasionally when planting out young plants from the greenhouse, but once established they are on their own! Butwhere are the birds – the bird feed in the feeder went rotten and the seeds started sprouting?
THE SUNDAY STUMBLE
I thought of more professional terms like the Sunday Surmise, or the Sunday Sermon, or even the Weekend Wankfest. But a stumble through events seems most appropriate!
Firstly I have made a strawberry sponge – the test will be in the eating! Basically a sponge recipe with home made strawberry jam in the middle topped with stewed strawberries and lemon. I might add double cream for complete decadence! and then sprinkle some nuts on top! Pickled onions – first 2kg done, and pickled garlic up next. Baguettes – Millie is doing her bit at the moment, so this evening or tomorrow morning. My baguettes with herbs went down well, next time I will try with some flaked chilli, or even homegrown chillies. Tomatoes are very slow at the moment – not enough sun? I still have breakfast of raspberries when I go down to water the greenhouse, and have left the mulberries for Martin who is coming tomorrow. Apple harvest also looks good this year.
Well enough about me, int he News. First off, the sinking of the super yacht. This is very disturbing! Mainly because of the absurd amount of publicity it has received. He was said by a friend to be a lovely unassuming and grounded person. So unassuming and grounded that he owned a million £ boat with worlds largest mast. Not exactly bashful then! The drowning of his daughter aged 18 is obviously very sad – but as I did not know her, no more sad than the deaths of desperate people travelling across borders all over the world. It is a fucked up world!
Then Kate Allsop – front page again as she let her 15 year old son go inter railing. I had no idea who she was or that her family has close connections with Diana’s – did this help her get a job on TV? So basically a rich and connect mum lets her privileged son, aged 15 go inter railing with a 16 year old mate. Let us leave aside the rich and privileged bit (I am fairly certain he will have stayed in hotels rather than roughing it on park/railway station benches around Europe. Personally I think tat if he was mature enough I have no problem. I would not have been happy if it had been my son at 15, but like me he took a while to mature (and others seem to regress like Donald Trump! – is he even let out alone?). However I would have been happy for either of my daughters (Maz will say different, but she had to teach me to be cool – and I did put her on a train from Weston-super-Mare to Newhaven alone and aged about 12! Tams at 18 went to Africa with a pal and without the financial or societal backup. One of my memorable moments. Tams would use my credit card to buy clothes and always paid me back. I was a tad surprised when she told me she had just put £££ on it which was for a flight for her and Sofia to South Africa and the Buzzbus and a safari! So I back Kate Allsop all the way.
STRAWBERRIES
Cheddar strawberries are just the best fucking strawberries in the universe! I just went and got some jam strawberries – they are called jam strawberries because they are not big and brash, but misshapen and smaller (and also half price!), but are the sweetest ever! I buy a couple of kg at a time and take some to the shop and friends. In the absence of a container I nick a coasta cup and fill it; Kate sees me first so I offer her the up which she smells and then tries one. I tell her they are to share with Kaush but she refuses (she even refuses to save some to share with her family!). So I get another container for Kaush. He likes them but I am quickly coming to the conclusion that the Indian cuisine as practiced by him is the worlds worst! Most things to hot with curry powder everytime, or doughnuts that are so ridiculously sweet! The only thing that I know he really likes that I make are polpettes from a Cypriot recipe (basically a take on hash browns!).
MILLIE
My new friend and cookery mate I have decided to call Millie – after the Millie Molly Mandy stories I think, although I do not recall reading them to the children! Whatever – it seems like an appropriate name for a yeast – hopefully sassy and full of energy and excitement! I am so looking forward to making sour dough baguettes – lots of ideas for different flours and herbs and garlic and parmesan!. (maybe the last two should be added after? I have also been tasked with making Arancini balls – I have the ingredients and now just need the bravery! I have also been working out (in the recess of my mind recipes for cheese thins and a peach and cherry cake? I wish my cooking was as good as my imagination!
Cooking and plants!
Well the baguettes turned out rather well – chuffed!
And some plants arrived! The indoor plants ordered x2 were strelitzla Reginae – I really ought to read the instructions and details as they grow to 2m! – I guess it is the porch along with the flame lily and winter jasmon and the Benjamin! – It could get a bit crowded!
DOMESTICS
I have had a little shopping spree! Bought a proper baguette mould and cloth, small loaf tins (to cut wastage and then some plants!
And Because the jungle needs them? Oh well I have bought …..
| Item(s) to follow | Qty. |
| KB8513 Salvia Microphylla Lips Collection 9 Jumbo Plugs Inc: – Item #: KB8513 | 1 |
| KB8459 Lavender Duo Hidcote + Munstead 24 Plugs – Item #: KB8459 | 1 |
| KB7781 Alstroemeria Butterfly Hybrids 3 Postiplugs Inc: – Item #: KB7781 KA2948 Strelitzia Reginae Bird Of Paradise 9cm Pot x 2 Inc: – Item #: KA2948 |
I think the lavender will be a hedge alng the front eventually! And hot lips seem to do well so I will dot them around! 12 pots of flowers out front seem ok and hanging baskets looking good – including the herb one!
It also looks like I will get some mulberries this year for the first time. Sunny today so tomatoes might start ripening. I might go and get some strawberries tomorrow – more jam?
I was asked about the football and had to admit that I would not be upset if Spain win – they are an exciting side, having said that, I would like to see England win! But a exciting open game will be fine!
I saw a friend today who is very well off, his wife went to buy some strawberries at a market but came back with none because she could not get them cheap! Why are some people so tight!
FYI there are 33000 sets of traffic lights in E&W! Last season there were 1297 laps in Gran Prix!