What's been happening
Seasons Greetings to you lovely lot! I hope you have the time you wish for, and enjoy some lovely food.
Stash those leftovers in the fridge and make some wonderful ad-hoc recipes over the next week!
Christmas is nearly here, I'm ready! I've stocked up on lots of lovely cheap Christmas vegetables. They have been taken out of the plastic bags, put in cardboard boxes, covered with newspaper and stashed in the greenhouse. They should last in there for a couple of months by which time I will have used them up.
I have soup most days when the weather is cold and I'm SO looking forward to that first soup using turkey stock!
Heathfield u3a had an absolutely lovely Christmas party. This is the Cake and Wine Club choir singing carols at the event - you can just about see me at the back.
We had mince pies and lots of delicious seasonal goodies, a glass of wine/juice, and later a cup of tea.
There were quizzes, lots of happy chat and catching up, and a stupendous raffle which raised lots of money to help run the club and pay for the hall. Happy days!
Drove up to Northampton to see family this weekend. My sister likes to arrange something on the solstice every year. It's 125 miles, and it took us five and a half hours on the way up as we got caught up in the aftermath of a collision - I was SO stiff by the time we got there! Driving back was a straight run and took a lot less time!
Mum takes us all out for lunch as her Christmas gift and it's so nice to see everyone. We had a good old catchup, played some silly games, hugged everyone and enjoyed a delicious lunch. Lovely family times.
The picture above is of my Mum (98 years young and going strong) and daughter
It was the second anniversary of Tracey's death on the 21st, the solstice, and I was thinking of her all day, and coping with it - until my daughter hugged me and asked if I was alright, then the tears came. It's funny isn't it, how it's the little things that can really hit that spot. The picture was taken on December 8th, so very shortly before we lost her.
The Last Recipes for December
Christmas Leftovers
The first thing I do with turkey leftovers is a sandwich. This one is made with a soft and fresh home made granary loaf, home made tangy mayonnaise, cranberry sauce, cornichons and shredded dark meat. I had this on Boxing Day, and didn’t want anything else! Utterly gorgeous
The link takes you to a page with lots of ideas to use up all those lovely Christmas leftovers - aren't they just the best!
A roulade recipe using mincemeat, Bramley apple and whipped cream – gluten free
I had surplus mincemeat last year from Christmas and decided to use some in a pudding. I have made chocolate roulades for some time and felt sure that swapping the cocoa for flour and using mincemeat and perhaps some apple too as the filling, as well as cream, would work very well. And indeed it did, this is the delicious result of that experiment.
I found that ordinary flour gave a sponge that could have been more tender, so tried using cornflour which worked perfectly, and also made it gluten free.
The roulade will sit quite happily for several days, so is great for a party, or any occasion when you would like to prepare some things in advance.
Need Some Ideas For Veganuary?
Are you doing Veganuary, or maybe you’d like some ideas for vegan meals on a budget
Or perhaps you are a new vegan and haven’t really got to grips with what it means yet, many people are turning to plant based eating, not just for veganuary. Do you need or want some ideas of what to eat? I did this post a couple of years ago, and have updated it with new recipes posted since then. This isn’t a veganuary meal plan, but an accumulation of ideas to create your own. In fact, it’s turning into ideas for vegan meals on a budget!
Trawling through the Thrifty Lesley archives, where I knew there were loads of ideas that just happened to be vegan, I extracted some in the hopes that you might like them, or maybe give you inspiration.
A wonderful winter chutney, Cranberry, orange and ginger
This chutney, which I found in Delicious magazine, would make a lovely addition to a gift hamper. I am looking forward to a doorstep turkey sandwich with a good dollop of chutney in it, or a couple of oaty bannocks, salty, mature cheddar and a little of this on the side.
That's it for now, have a great week and I'll see you soon!
Do come and say hello on the Fantastically Frugal Food Facebook group, or the Sensational Slimming Sustenance group. I'd love to see you. Lots of useful tips, recipes and ideas. The nearly 19,000 membership are brilliant, brimming with talent.
And don't forget Thrifty Lesley, where there are 800+ recipes of fantastically frugal food and many weekly meal plans. And Cheap Family Recipes where you can find all kinds of delicious things that don't cost much, with two family monthly meal plans.
With all best wishes, until next time
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