Coats!!

Went off to Ormskirk this morning, and before we left VT said "it's quite cold out" so I put my padded coat on as usual. It turned out to be quite warm actually, and my coat is definitely getting too warm for the weather. I had to go into the Bon Marche shop to exchange a pair of trousers that are too big!!!!! and had a look around while I was there. Spied a nice Olive coloured Parka, for £25 which I tried and it looked quite good, so bought that. I have a really good pink coat that I wore a lot for a fcouple of years in the spring and summer, but I think it will be too big now.
The big weigh in this morning, which showed us both the same, but the "Healthy Eating Plan" must have made a difference since I am now buying smaller clothing, and VT occasionally says I am looking thinner!
Bought a pair of slippers in the soon to be closing Ethel Austin shop for £2.50. God knows how long they will last, but we will give them a try. I have been having a bit of trouble with slippers lately, rubbing my feet, and has given me a sore toe again, so it is trial and error really. Made a Chiropody appointment for later on in May, so hope it will be healed before then or you get told off.
Tonight we are having:
Thai Fillets.. or Tomato fillets,
Spring Stew..which is broad beans, Fresh Peas, Asparagus, green beans, a touch of lemon zest and Creme fraiche, and a few baby potatoes.
It is a recipe from:
http://www.101cookbooks.com/
Which is a wonderful website mainly about Vegetarian food and recipes. Very good for ideas, and a site I visit often. My only regret is that she uses a lot of wholefood ingredients that are not available here , at least not yet.

Cats..

Why do cats shed so much hair? We started to do a bit of clearing up this morning, and the dust that appeared was something else!. I have a bit of a problem in seeing the dust until it build up a bit, but the vacuum is aleays full of it. Mostly cat hairs.. did the little basket that little Rusty sleeps on in the middle bedroom, and VT had a real good go at it. Wondered whether it was worth washing, but decided it was in the end, so it has gone in with the bath mats!.
Vacuumed about a bit, and did the top of the cooker hob, by that time it was lunch time. We have done a quick swop with the basket from downstairs, and she has just gone on top sniffing it because she is not sure of it at all. Cute as a cartload as they say.
She is a sweet little thing, as soon as I come in here to do the blog bit, she jumps down to go on my knee, and spends the next ten to twenty minutes sitting on my lap while I try to type round her. But, you don't shift her, you just couldn't.
Tonight we are having:
Something with mashed potatoes, and a bag of cabbage and leek mix from M&S. Possibly peppered steaks, or sausages or lamb grills. It depends what we fancy or what comes to hand from the freezer.
Little lovely Rusty has just settled down in the basket and looks quite comfy. They do look gorgeous when they are asleep. rusty is a bundle of brownish fur, but Bobby tends to stretch out more, and you can usually see her little pink nose. Very cute..then you go to tickle her and she will give you a quick nip. Rusty never nips, I don't think she has a bitey bone in her body.
Jane doesn't know what she is missing!

Ordering Online..!!!

This afternoon I tried to use a gift voucher with Amazon Books, but could not get it to work. Pain in the neck. Sometimes the online shopping is just difficult, and you tend to give up. I had made the transaction with no problem till it got to the apply gift voucher bit..then it wouldn't apply. So, I gave up. You clearly need a morning to sort it out.
Went into Formby this morning since VT needed to get his glasses sorted, I had a bit of a mooch in the shops while he was doing that. In fact one shop, because he was only a few minutes! Then went to M&S to get a few veggies, and Waitrose for other bits and pieces. VT wanted some more Quince jelly which he has taken a fancy to, and other things, but didn't buy much really.
No post today, which is not usual, we didn't get post on Friday either , maybe we are on a four day a week post now!
Tony Oatley, a friend of VT's rang up at lunch time and they chatted for about 40 mins..and they say women natter!!!
Tonight we are having:
Gruyere cheese and Leek Quorn escallopes,
Baby potatoes squashed,
Vegetables to go with..Beans carrots and peas.
Sliced saute mushrooms with creme fraiche.

Quick Finish today...

6.15 and we've finished all the crosswords, which is really quick for us. There wasn't any real problems today which helped, just one or two that were awkward, but got the answers from the crossword and quizzes site. Good help that one.
The sun has just come blinding through the window, after an afternoon of pouring rain. This English weather is so strange...
Had an activity spurge this morning, made a loaf of bread in the breadmaker, a Fibre white loaf from the bread mixes I ordered from Lakeland. They are really good and never fail. Then put the roast vegetables in for our pizza, and when the bread was done, I put a batch of Pizza dough in there. It actually makes really good Pizza dough, and we have it off pat now, after tweaking around with the mixture quite a lot.
Normally I don't have time to do this properly on a Sunday because I am so rushed after doing the crosswords, so it is nice to be able to take my time.
Tonight we are having:
Pizza with..
Roast vegetables, and Goats Cheese,
Home made tomato sauce,
Salad with avocado and baby plums, and Italian salad mix.
We make enough pizza always to do our lunch on a Monday, so it is a good make.

Still and Quiet..

it is one of those days today, really still outside. Not a thing moving, not a leaf or tree or branch on the move. Very cloudy but not rainy. Just still.
Haven't done much so far, Jane had an appointment at the hospital for 12.30 so wanted her Daddy to wake her up. She was awake actually, and went off for a shower. She rang up at about one o'clock to say they hadn't come to any conclusion really, and were going to arrange a biopsy to see what was going on.
The cats are quite quiet today too. The little ginger cat from next door has appeared again, VT was getting a bit worried since he hasn't seen her for a bit but there she was in the garden this morning..just sitting waiting. She is a sweet little thing, with a bobble on the end of her tail..cute, and she chases him for biscuits. He buys a special box just for her..big softie.
When he goes to post letters quite often she will follow him down and tug onto his trouser leg, or sit outside the shop waiting for him to come out.
Tonight we are having:
Chinese,
Spring Rolls with stir fry vegetables,
Honey and coriander sauce,
4oz egg fried rice.

Friday Shop..

Took my money off to Sainsbury's today, VT didn't fancy going to Tesco or Asda. I quite like the walton Sainsbury's though, their choice is good, and we know where everything is. Bought the usual weekend things, and had a nice conversation with some men by the flours. They were looking for bread flour, so I was telling them about the different ones. Wonder what they chose in the end.
We ended up having a nice coffee in the cafe too. Their coffee has definitely improved, it used to be very poor, barely any flavour, but they use Fairtrade coffee nowadays with a good strong flavour.
Not many offers today, so we just got what we wanted, but the bill still came to £60 ish!
Tonight we are having:
Fish Style Fishless fingers, which are really rather good,
Mushy peas for VT and Green Beans for me,
Chips weighed out so they are the correct amount.
Tartare sauce.

New Glasses..

VT finally got his new glasses today, about two weeks and two days. That is Specsavers these days. They look really good actually, have nice wide arms to them and are narrower than he is used to. They are the reactions ones, so he is presently in the garden trying them out to see haow dark they go!!
When we were in formby I had a bit of a look in M&S, but only bought a few things, and didn't have time to look at the clothing ranges, before he was tapping me on the shoulder.Then we went round to Boots, and to Waitrose to get a cup of coffee. We take our own biscuits..so that makes it cheaper.. Cheapskates...no!! Bought a few things there but bearing in mind that we do our weekend shop tomorrow, didn't go overboard.
Had to go to Tesco for petrol so had a look at the new Homebase which opened last week, where Focus was. Quite tidy and looking good, better than Focus anyway.
Tonight we are having:
Not at all sure actually.. I have a pack of asparagus,
Maybe a Quorn escallope of some sort, with baby new potatoes squashed,
Green vegetables, brocolli. beans and asparagus.

St Georges Day!! April 23rd..

Lovely today, but still quite coldish. went out with my scarf on but soon left it in the car since it was really warm.
went over to Ormskirk this morning because the Bon Marche shop that I go to has a %20 of everything sale today, so I wanted to have a mooch. Bought a few things, including two very nice bras for £9. Can't be bad.
Wanted to have a look at a book in Waterstones called "The Book Theif" which has been recommended by people on the Delia site, but it is very small print, a bit too small for me to read at nighttime. I think I will see if I can get it from the library maybe in a Large Print format.
St Georges Day today, but you would never know. There is always a fuss about the Welsh and the Irish ones but never about the English one. I think it is a disgrace really. Doesn't make you feel patriotic at all.
My dad died on St Georges Day in 1973 a good while ago now, 35 years ago actually. The time goes so quickly. Even the Delia Online site has a recipe of the day which is an Italian Pasta dish!!
Well, tonight we are having:
Sausages vegetarian ones..
Mashed potatoes with cauliflower and creme fraiche,
carrots and Peas,
Caramelised onion gravy.
Well, I am going to be traditional anyway.

Jane rang us up at lunch time to tell us all about her hospital appointments.. she is certainly getting her money's worth out of the National health Service.
Heard from John and Ann today also, they have the Cranford DVD and sent some photos and a book something about farmng and faith. Looks quite interesting. Glad they got the Cranford dvd though, it hasn't been on tv there yet so will be a nice treat for them.
Happy St. Georges Day One and All.

Cat's Tails...

Wouldn't it be funny if we had tails like cats! We were in the kitchen, and Bobby was meithering for food, when VT fed her her tail was sticking out, you have to be really careful not to tread on it. Imagine if we had them! it would be very inconvenient, but maybe we would have learned to get used to it. The imagination runs riot though.
VT has been out in the back garden doing some weeding, since it is green bin week..alternate weeks with the black ones. Why do weeds flourish where plants don't, especially dandelions and sycamore seeds.
There was a piece about John Crompton in the parish magazine recently. Apparently he had made a visit to the church and had a chat with the vicar. I looked him up in the google, and found quite a bit of information. he is a distinguished professor in a University in Texas, and also involved in politics in the city of College Station Texas. So, he has done very well for himself. His mum would be very proud.
Tonight we are having:
Lord knows..absolutely no clue whatsoever.
it will have to be something with the vegetables I bought yesterday, and little potatoes, and most likely Quorn of some sort. Since we have a freezer full of bits and pieces I need to use up.

Spring Springing!

Today it is really nice, the sun is shining and the air is definitely warmer. Saw some people out without coats in Crosby,and I left my scarf in the car. VT has just come past the bedroom actually to say he is too hot, so has swopped his sweatshirt for a thinner shirt. Don't think I shall remove mine just yet, I feel the cool more than him.
The site seems to be working today, yesterday it wouldn't go down to make the paragraphs, so all the typing had to be done in a block. I don't like that it doesn't look right.
Went off to Sainsbury's this morning for the usual Monday vegetables, and bought a variety. Will then choose things each day to go with our meals.
I am going to try and watch what we have a bit this week, and maybe stick to Rosemary Conley meals and try to get our weight down a bit more. We seem to have reached a plateau, and are sticking without going up or down, so will aim to do the recipes to the letter .
Tonight we are having:
Pasta with vegetables and a creamy sauce.
This is made with carrot, courgette, mange tout, and passata and very low fat fromage frais.
Mostly the recipes are quite good, but VT often says they don't have any flavour, but this one has smoked paprika in it so looks good.

VT was expecting his glasses today or tomorrow, but he got a phone call from Specsavers to say they are delayed by a day or so. That will be two weeks which seems quite a long time.

Food Programmes..

I do like watching food programmes on the whole. Particularly good ordinary cooks or chefs. Not keen on "poncey" food programmes, like The Great british Menu is tending to be at the moment. One of the chefs on that this week was making olive oil ice cream with white chocolate..no thanks. Just watched a "Barefoot Contessa " episode berfore coming to do the crosswords, they are always entertaining, even if she has that irritating laugh and with her "it's so good". But her recipes are really good,but a bit heavy on the dairy! rather too much cream. I am really fond of delia Smith, she can do no wrong for me, all her recipes work, and I have made countless of her dishes. I like the look of her new "Cheats" cookery book, but don't think I will buy it because of the meat and fish content. Nigella is quite good to watch too, and I am quite fond of Rachel Allen. Her dishes are really ordinary good things to make. The men leave me fairly cold actually, AWT is on a lot, but I have never made anything of his. I have a bit of a soft spot for James Martin, his work looks as if they could be made fairly easily, and his programmes are very watchable. Then there is Rick Stein, but a lot of fish!! This morning I made a lovely Sourdough Potato and Oatmeal loaf in the new bread machine, then took that out to rise, and put a pizza dough in. That is presently rising to be made into our evening meal by VT. Tonight we are having: Pizza with home made tomato sauce, Roasted vegetables, and Goats Cheese. Salad with Avocado and baby plum tomatoes.

Washday Blues..

No not really..who has washday blues these days. It is all easy nowadays with washing machines and tumble driers. My mum didn't have any of these things. She had to manage with a single tub machine, an old Hoover one, with a mangle on the top, and a spin drier that used to move across the kitchen floor when it was used. The funny thing is when VT and I were married we carried on using the single tub machine for long enough, till I got mad one day and kicked it, and it stopped. Then we bought our first automatic one.Drying the clothes was a real problem, can well remember them draped all over the middle room where the fire is, usually over a clothes maiden.
The other night I had one of those nights when everything happened. First I put some mushrooms on a really low heat to fry in frylight, then promptly forgot them and went to watch something on TV. Of course they burnt. Then I cooked the tea, took the glass lid off a pan and put it on the back of the gas stove. Of course the burner was on very low, and there was a burning smell. The handle of the pan lid had burned and melted! So VT put it into the washing up bowl full of water, where it promptly shattered intop a thousand pieces.. So, that's the end of a good pan lid. Have to get another now from somewhere. Just another day in Paradise!
Tonight we are having:
Chinese.. Spring Rolls,
Egg fried rice..4oz with peas and spring onions.
Stir fry vegetables, with mushrooms and pepper.
Sauce of some sort, depends what VT puts his hands on.

Last nights Sloppy Joes were very good, really tasty. I used Vegemince with a small chopped onion, and a really good dollop of tomato ketchup. About 1/2 a cup. Some water to loosen the mix. VT had a diced pepper in his, and I had a diced tomato. Cooked till the mix was done and the sauce had been absorbed, and served on a toasted bun with a slice of cheese on top.
A good easy tasty recipe.

Trying the New..

Went off to the Walton Sainsbury's this morning with our Friday money. It was pretty cold too. The weather is very deceptive at the noment, it is sunny when you look out of the window,but then the wind really gets you when you venture out. Certainly not warm enough to go out without a coat, or even a thinner coat.
Bought quite a lot of items this morning, the usual weekend items, salad etc., and of course chicken for the babies. Came to £60 and it didn't look that much either. We use the Sainsbury big shopping bags now, and they swallow up the shopping like nobody's business. trouble is, you fill them up with all the shopping, and then try to lift them up!
Tonight we are having:
SLOPPY JOES!
Now this is a new recipe for us. They are an American thing that we don't really go for here, but they sound good. It is a sort of thick mince mixture that is cooked with onion and tomato sauce and other bits, and served on a toasted bun.
VT requires some chips with his.
So that is our tea tonight. I will try to do them with as little fat as I can, so we keep them healthy...ish...

Trying the New..

Bathtime..

What a truly great pleasure a good bath is. A scented bath, and a really good book and some lovely candles..Utter bliss.
Quiet day today, did very little..so what..if you don't want to do anything why worry.
Tonight we are having:
Absolutely no idea really. It is one of those days when I look in the fridge or freezer and then decide.
Mashed potato anyway since I have two baking potatoes,
Vegetables from the fridge.

Catastrophe Number Two

Continuation of the last post. Goodness knows why that went off the screen.
Anyway, the catastrophe was that I broke a nail!! it is a real catastrophe actually, since I have grown my nails, when you break one it annoys the heck out of me. It is my little nail, and it was a good size too. RIP little nail. Now I will have to wait about three weeks at least till it gets a good size again.
We went out this morning to get a bit of fresh air, so went off to Ormskirk. The schools there appear to be off last week and this, so there were some children around. The holidays this Easter have been totally weird there doesn't seem to be any regularity about them.
I bought a nice skirt and top on sale from the Bon Marche shop. The two together was only £19 which is very good value for an outfit, cheaper than QVC. Looks quite nice too especially since it is smaller than I normally buy!
Big weigh in today, and guess what! We are both the same. We clearly must be at the plateau stage. Eating enough not to put weight on but too much to lose any. Maybe it will be better in the summer when we have "lighter" foods.
Tonight we are having:
Quorn sausage, and
Mashed potatoes,
Maybe roast vegetables to go with, and a little gravy with onion relish in it.

Catastrophe!

Busy..Busy..

Usual cup of coffee brought by lovely VT to start the day, then did a pile of ironing after breakfast. The new iron is a hit anyway, much better than the last rubbishy cheap thing..Moulinex..awful. This one is a Russell Hobbs, dearer, but you get what you pay for as the saying goes.
Then made a batch of tomato sauce for the pizzas, VT makes this, he concocts a mixture of onion chopped, garlic puree, a touch of sugar, some bouillon powder, 4 tins of chopped tomatoes and about a tsp of mixed dried herbs.Then it is left on a really low simmer until it is nice and thick. The house now smells like an Italian Bistro..very tasty. We freeze it all then in little individual tubs for use each week.
I also made a loaf in the breadmaker, one of the breadmixes that arrived yesterday. We chose the German Rye Bread, which is rising beautifully as I speak. The new bread knife I got from Lakeland is proving to be quite a hit as well. Have yet to use the salad spinner though.
Last night while channel hopping, I came across a new series called Crime Scene Australia which looked interesting. it turned out that it was a murder case that happened about 15 years ago in Geraldton West Australia. Terrible case actually, where a young woman and her three children had been brutally murdered in a outback place just outside Geraldton. What was disturbing was that the murderer was only given 20 years befor he was eligible for parole. That astounded us , we thought that the criminal system in Oz was much tougher than here..seems not.
Tonight we are having:
Not sure actually,
Maybe the rest of the potatoes sliced and fried in fry-light,
Pork and bramley apple style quorn burger,
Cabbage and leek, done with creme fraich and mushrooms,
Apple rings or sauce.

Tescopoly..

Haven't been to Tesco's for ages. We have tended to go elsewhere ffor the Friday and Monday shopping, but decided to grace them with our presence again this morning.
Hasn't changed much really. Plenty of choice and variety, and at least we could park nearby for a change, and no parking ticket to buy either. Bought quite a lot of Quorn things, escallopes on BOGOF, and some good frozen Quorn items. Not a cheap item though, but it is our meat equivalent. Bought loads of vegetables, some fresh and some ready prepared, so enough for the rest of the week easily.
Had a look at the Lakeland Ltd., website to track my order, only to find that it is "awaiting Confirmation" yet again, for the third time this week. Sent them an e-mail and they replied pretty immediately. Quite impressed actually, there is apparently a blip in the system, and my order has been dispatched. I have ordered more of the variety bread mixes that come from Australia!! Seems terrible to get bread mixes from so far away, but they are very good!I especially like the german Rye one, and look forward to that. I have also ordered a salad spinner too since the nasty virus in Feb, I have often thought that I should wash the bagged salads as well. You never know.
Tonight we are having:
Soft Cheese and Ham Quorn escallope, one of the bogof ones.
Potatoes, probably roasted with sea salt and rosemary,
Mushrooms with thyme..since I bought a pot!
Vegetables of choice, carrots maybe and broccolli.
Jane hasn't rung for ages now..wonder what she is doing?

The Marathon..No not the crosswords!

Watched the runners setting off for the Londfon marathon..gosh I really admire them. Running for all sorts of reasons, very worthwhile. I couldn't ever see myself running all those miles not even for a million! But, well done those who do.
Just finished the crosswords for the day, all three of them and the star celebrity birthday one in the Express..which was Robert Carlyle. Can't be much of a celebrity since VT said "Who's He" !!
Made a lovely Pizza dough in the bread machine this lunch time, which is now resting on the top of the cooker and rising beautifully.
Recipe:
Pizza Dough
1 1/4 cup of flour..mix of strong white and wholemeal
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of dried yeast
just under 1/4 cup of honey
a splash of oil, I use basil oil
3/4 cup of warm water (take care with this and add carefully)
Pinch or two of dried Italian herbs.
Just put everything in the breadmaker on a dough cycle. When it is done take it out and leave to rise until needed.
Use to make your beautiful pizza.

Tonight we are having:
Pizza made with the dough as above,
Tomato sauce
Goats Cheese topping
Salad with avocado pear, baby plum tomatoes and Roasted Vegetables.
Potato and rice salads.

Wonder how Jane is doing these days. it seems that it is so long since we have seen her. We got a glimpse in October when we came back from new England, but not much news since that. I think little Rusty would run a mile if she came home to the house. It must be about two and a half years since she has seen her.
RIP little Pepsi from next door. VT saw Janice this morning and she said that it had died about two weeks ago. It was a beautiful little cat, really friendly and would sit in her front garden or on the back of her sofa. VT had said that he hadn't seen it for a bit, and that's why then
She is in her back garden now, like our two always there in the memory.

Saturday Supplements

I always look forward to the Saturday and Sunday papers, because of the magazines mainly. The papers at the moment are getting a bit boring though, not a lot of news at present. The cookery items are quiet as well now that the spats over the new Delia programmes have finished. I quite enjoyed the programmes actually, it was good seeing a different side to Delia, even if it did include a fair amount of football. Never mind eh!
We have had a quiet day today really, VT went out to get some fuel this morning, and ended up in Maghull at the garage. The shop in Crosby that he usually goes to is closing down, it has been there for Donkey's years, ever since I can remember. There used to be a Chinese laundry in that block of shops, and a little Chinese takeaway which had really good chinese food. We used to go there when we were courting.
Tonight we are having:
Chinese.. Quorn Goujons for a change,
Stir-fry vegetables,
4oz of egg fried rice with spring onions and peas
Sauce of some sort, maybe honey and coriander.
We have the same meal each Saturday night for years, but each one we do is different though.

Sunshine and Showers!

Awoke this morning to beautiful sunshine..although it is still cold. We decided to take our money off to Ormskirk, and had a bit of a mooch round there.Bought a few items in M&S mostly salads for the weekend, and dips and things. They do have the more unusual items, like a smoked garlic and onion dip etc.
Had a quick look at the farmers market, but nothing that jumped out at us there. It was very blowy too, they must have been frozen, or very keen.
Had a cup of coffee in our usual cafe which was empty! no-one in there at all.Very unusual, maybe it's the weather putting people off.
We did notice on the way in that the two schools that we pass had no kids in them so goodness knows what the holidays are doing there, and there were a few kids about too.
Then we went to Morrisons for the other items for the weekend.Just the ordinary stuff, trying to remember what we had bought in M&S. Avocados a disappointment in both shops. Marks were £1.99 for two which is a bit dear, but Morrisons were all quite hard. But, if you put an avocado in a bag with a couple of bananas it will ripen more quickly. It seems to work anyway.
We went round quite quickly, and whan we came out it was pouring down,very dark and grey looking, and sleeting!! Really cold, more like Christmas than just past Easter!
Tonight we are having :
Chilli with real eat mince,
Small amount of rice,
Green Beans and carrots.

Just five minutes!!!!!!

VT said he was going into Crosby this morning, so I said I would go with him, and just have five minutes in Sainsbury's...He went off to do his thing, and I went to do mine. £22 later..all I went in for was two baking potatoes, and a leek or some spring onions, but didn't I see other things we can't live without! wanted to get some Duchy Original Shortbread biscuits, but came out with Oaten biscuits!! God knows why.. also bought three bottles of wine, all supposed to be £3.99 a bottle but it turned out one was £4.49 ! and had to get the cats chicken, which was £3.99!!
Why so much for cats chicken? well it is a treat for them, they have some every day about lunchtime, I cut it up into tiny little pieces and they wolf it down. Bobby comes down every day at the right time, and sits by my feet while I chop it up. Then when I put the plate dowmn she sort of hops in excitement. Who couldn't enjoy that..Aaaah!
They have their treats every day, apart from the chicken, little Rusty has a piece of toast each morning with some of my cheese spread on it, and marmite on top, which she licks off with real enjoyment, then she has some cheese and chive dip spread over a little white heart shaped plate each lunchtime too. Then they both totally disappear!
Mad or what!!
Tonight we are having:
A sort of gratin with celeriac, and thinly sliced potato, with some cider poured over and a tiny bit of grated cheese on top.
broccolli,
Quorn cracked black pepper fillet, maybe, or a plain crumbed lemon and black pepper fillet.
Nice to see the computer working properly again today. yesterday it would only type in a block, so made the entry look untidy.

Furry Purry!

At the time of typing this I have a gorgeous little furry purry on my knee. Little Rusty waits till you sit at the computer then jumps on my knee and stands there purring away and wagging her tail. It is actually quite difficult trying to type round a little cat, but who cares..she is so lovely she can do what she wants. Bobby on the other hand doesn't do that, she just climbs on the bed and finds the most comfortable place..usually right where your feet are then settles down there for the evening! And..you don't move them . George Clooney is all over everywhere at the moment, he was on the news this lunchtime..Gorgeous George is right..Phwaar, he can float my boat anytime... For some reason the thing that does the new paragraphs isn't working, so this will be in a block again. Why don't computers do what you want them to do eh! Tonight we are having: Pasta of some sort with asparagus, broad beans, Spinach sauce and a touch of parmesan cheese.

New Specs!

You should have gone to Specsavers! So the advert goes. Well VT took us off to there this morning, because he wanted some new glasses. We are both in Penny in the Pound..now called Medicash, and we get quite a lot off new glasses. I went with him to help choose something since he was looking for something a bit different, but I might as well not have bothered because every pair I picked up he said "No don't like those..too dear.. or..too thin..or..too flimsy" and so on. Then the girl came over and showed him some that were new and hadn't been put out yet and he picked a pair of those. They look quite nice actually, different from his usual style but not too radical. An awful lot of glasses are very narrow and oblong and black nowadays.
So, when he was organising those, I went off to M&S to get a few things. God that shop is terrible for impulse buys..everywhere you look there are nice things to tempt you. Did get some good looking fruit though, and a tin of lovely Organic shortbread for half price. Lovely new broad beans and some asparagus, so I can feel a pasta primavera coming on.Or maybe a Risotto.
Tonight we are having:
Quorn Bramley apple sausages,
Maybe done in a casserole with a Cox's apple, and some mushrooms, and little potatoes, and whatever else I have at hand. I fancy doing one of those all in one pot thingies that just need putting together and leaving on a low heat to look after itself.

That's Better !!

his computer has been playing silly beggars this afternoon..taking ten minutes in between each process, and getting nowhere. Then suddenly it switches itself off and when restarted goes like a train. What is it all about..No idea..they defeat me altogether.
Yesterday's post was short..ran out of time..andin one block because for some reason it wouldn't go down the page..Goodness knows what that was about either!
We had to go to the library this morning because VT rang up last Thursday to renew the books, and one had been requested. The Barefoot Contessa, but since I had had it out for months, I can't complain.
Got a few books, but I can't say anything really jumped out at me, I had a look at the cookery section but such a lot of them are meat based so don't get them. Ended up with a Rosemary Conley Low Fat book number two which I haven't had. Maybe it will give me a few ideas for our Healthy Eating plan.
Then went to Sainsbury's for the weeks veggies. Got a good selection to base the meals around, but forgot carrots. Never mind I will get some somewhere tomorrow.
Tonight we are having:
Meatless Garlic Kievs from ASDA,
Small new potatoes squashed and baked,
Mushrooms, and maybe Cabbage and Leek.

Snow in the middle of April!!

Started snowing last night, and weather went very cold. the weather forecast people did say it was going to snow, but you tend not to believe that. It is colder today than it was at Christmas!! The computer is being particularly slow today which makes looking for the crossword answers a bit of a pain but we got there eventually. Jane rang us up earlier to tell us that one of her goldfish had died and she was very upset. Rachel had to take it out and bury it! Tonight we are having: Pizza with a bread dough that I made in the bread machine. Salad with avocado nd baby plum tomatoes.

And They're Off!

It's the Grand National Today, so we had our usual bet on the horses. We chose about five each, and mine were Comply or Die (First)
Snowy Morning(Third)
Slim Pickings (Fourth)
And two others...McKelvey, which unfortunately fell at one of the fences and had to be put down, and one other which is still running I think. VT had two finishers, Hedgehunter which was strongly fancied but came in 13th, and another which came in 6th. So we duidn't do too badly between us. We enjoyed watching the race anyway. It absolutely piddled down with rain during the previous race and everyone was getting drowned but the race itself was quite sunny but extremely cold. Some of the women in their dresses must have been frozen.
VT has just crept past me to do the bedding..he takes great pride in getting past me to do that, normally I catch him, but this time I didn't, so I go into the bedroom and the bed is done..
It has actually gone quite dark and cold looking now, although it was really sunny a bit ago. The weather people are forecasting a cold snap, with snow would you believe..we wshall see.
Tonight we are having:
Spring Rolls,
Stir fried vegetables,
4oz egg fried rice with spring onions and peas.
Sauce of some sort.

Spring is in the Air??

I wonder,when we came bck from The Cheshire oaks yesterday we noticed some of the hedgerows beginning to turn greener. It is still quite cold though, and we are still having fires, which VT goes and gets ready at about ten to five. We use the smokeless fuel now which gives a good gentle heat, with nothing too bright or chimney burning!.
We called in at Formby this morning to get my parcel we missed yesterday, and it was the OPI nail sets, so can re do my nails again with some new Nail Rnvy.
Today we took our money off to ASDA in Southport. We haven't been there for absolutely ages, since before I had my bout of Noro Virus. Not that the store had anything to do with that...who knows.
Anyway we stocked up on the things we usually get for the weekend, and also the things that we generally get from there. It is a cheap shop on the whole with a good variety of items. The journey through Southport is a bit of a pain however since it is quite busy, but we came back via the Coast Road which was better.
Tonight we are having:
Fish Style Fish Fingers,
Mush Peas for VT
Green Beans for moi,
Chips, counted out,
Tartare Sauce, and maybe a baked tomato.

Out and About...

Up early this morning, and off to The cheshire Oaks. Left the house at ten past nine, and had a quiet and uneventful journey there. The tunnel fees are still £1.30 but going up on the 6th April to £1.40. Quite cloudy when we left but cleared up when we got through the tunnel, and the sun shone through.
Fairly disappointed today, nothing much shouting at me. One of the shops I used to go in..Elvi has closed which was a real surprise, I thought it was there for good, and they had some nice things. I got a lovely mac last time we went, and a five pound voucher which is useless now of course. Wonder why it closed..it had only just moved from another site too. It seems every shop I get attached to shuts down, I liked the Liz Claiborne shop and that shut down too last year. Shame.
VT didn't buy anything either, he usually gets something from W.H.Smiths, but that has moved and changed a lot too. They don't seem to have the bargains that they used to have.
Had a nice coffee in Costa Coffee though, and bought some tasty sandwihes in Pret a Manger..too much fish in their sandwiches, you do have to search for a veggie one, but VT had falafel and lettuce, tomato etc., and I had a salad wrap with avocado tomato lettuce and pine nuts. Very nice too. I wonder why they don't put the calorie content on their sandwiches though.
Tonight we are having:
Green Thai Curry with chicken style pieces, and mushrooms,
1/2 a pack of microwave rice each,
Purple sprouting broccolli.

Curtains!!

Finally got around to doing the curtains today, only a year after buying them. Ponden Mill's finest Cheshire Oaks! Shop has closed down now..went bankrupt I think, the one in Ormskirk has shut too. Shame it was a good firm.
Anyway, we bought these rfor the middle room door into the kitchen, and the front door, but thought they needed shortening because of the length. However when we got the machine out and started to do them, it quickly became obvious that they weren't too long att all! So, the job we had been putting off for nearly a year, was not necessary at all. All they needed was pulling up and hanging and Hey Presto..beautiful curtains.
Funny being Vegetarian.. Last night I had written that we would probably be having Lamb Grills for tea, but the best laid plans...
We were watching Look North West, and Dianne Oxbury the weather girl, was on a farm watching some gorgeous little lambs and she was cradling one in her arms that was named after her. Completely put us off our Lamb grills!! even though ours were Quorn!!! neither of us fancied them after seeing the lovely little lambs on the television...Ah Well we had a Quorn Gruyere Cheese and Leek one instead and enjoyed it too thankyu very much..
Tonight I dont expect any bother..We are having:
Pasta with a
Tomato Sauce and Mushroom and Asparagus,
One slice of Garlic bread.
Sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese.
Big Weigh in today and guess what..we are exactly the same. We must be eating just enough to maintain our weight, and not to lose any.

Reading!!!

Spent some time this morning reading Food Blogs. God knows how many there must be on the web..millions I should think. I usually look at the Delia site first which is a food site rather than a blog, but there is always something going on there. I also have a look at "Taste the Goode Life" done by Shirley Goode. Very chatty with a lot of input and quite a number of recipes but a bit overlong sometimes. A new favourite is 101 Cookbooks
http://www.101cookbooks.com/index.html
This is a really excellent site always with something interesting to read, and beautiful vegetarian recipes, very talented girl.I would love to try some of the recipes but they use ingredients that we simply do not have here, particularly some of the flours and grains.
From somewhere I started looking at an Australian site the other day with scenes of everyday life on a sort of small holding or farm. Looks very idyllic. The thing is you can go on looking forever, and still not touch the edge of the sites that are available. I'm glad no-one reads mine, it was never meant to be read, just meant as a sort of record of our Healthy Eating Plan..
Tonight we are having:
A Quorn thingy from the freezer, Possibly Lamb Grills.
4oz of potatoes, maybe squashed then done with rosemary and salt,
Mushrooms, Carrots and green beans
The trouble with looking at different foodie blogs is that it does make you want to do some baking..there is a beautiful recipe for Buckwheat nibbled cookis on the 101 cookbooks site..looks really yummy.
I am reading a Murder Mystery book at the moment called The Chocolate Chip Cookie murder by Joanne Fluke, which is very light and not at all intellectual but a good cheerful read. The book is intersperced with recipes for a variety of cookies, but while the recipes look good, not too healthy, and you just know you wouldn't stop at one!!!