Book Group
We're reading Star of the Sea this month. One of the reviews says 'This was an incredible read; the story is set against the backdrop of the potato famine and a boatload of Irish emigrants leaving Ireland for America for different reasons, and how their back stories bring the principal characters together' and that's exactly what it is. I'm about a quarter through right now and I'm loving it!
The characters feel real and as if I knew them, which is a great feeling from a book. Looking forward to discussing it with fellow group members!
Cookalong Group
We had a theme of a brunch or light lunch this month. I'm really pushed for time since having our grand daughter to come and Iive with us, so I made something really quick this time.
I did preserved lemon hummus, using some older preserved lemons after making some this month at my Cooking Up A Storm group. The recipe author recommended rinsing the lemons, but I didn't do that and the resultant hummus was too salty, and surprisingly unlemony. So I'll use that up in a vegetable and hummus pie, and I think I'll do smaller, individual pies this time. They'll look nicer and I'll be able to get more filling in.
Lots of us can't make it next time, so we've cancelled next month. Then in May, we'll be cooking something beginning with the first letter of our first name, so my options all begin with the letter 'L'. So Lemons, Limes, Lobster (fat chance!), Limoncello, Lasagna, Loaded Banana Bread, Lemonade, Linguini with something, Lentil something - so many options!
Shelving
We've had to decant the contents of the spare bedroom all over the house, but especially into our bedroom, to make room for our grand daughter, and all her stuff.
Consequently, Mike has been building some more shelves in our bedroom against the window wall. They should soak up most of the contents of the spare room, although I really should declutter some of the books .
I've sold some cassettes from my daughters house, lots more stuff to sell, or get rid of, but I was surprised at the prices cassettes from the 1980's were fetching, £4 or £5 each!
I love the colour of the shelves. We got some paint mixed and it was much darker than the paint swatch, so we mixed it 1-1 with white, and I just love that.
And to some recipes
Pea Crumb Fritters
I just mixed a tin of mushy peas with some breadcrumbs, and an egg, stirred it all up and tasted it. It tasted good, so I fried some up and they were lovely!
Then tried adding in various different things, my favourite was a heaped teaspoon of grainy mustard.
Barley Salad
I’m so glad I tried this. It was scrumptious! The pearl barley gave a background nutty taste, with more structure and strength to the bite than rice or lentils. The preserved lemon and sun dried tomato worked really well, giving little acid pops of flavour. The black olives provided their olivey strength, and the lovely crunch from the walnuts worked well too.
It would go beautifully with a piece of chicken or fish, or perhaps a boiled egg or two, fried halloumi or tofu. I had it just as it was, and it was really good just like that. I used a good dribble of the sun dried tomato oil, but you could make a dressing. Lemon juice and honey: horseradish and vegetable oil : fish sauce and soy sauce, whatever you fancy.
It would travel well for packed lunches. If you are having a dressing with salt in, pack that separately, as the salt will draw out juices in an hour or two, and make your salad watery.
Although the calories are on the low side, I found this really filling, and it lasted me for hours before I needed anything else.
Maple Syrup, Toasted Almond & Cranberry Granola
I had some using up to do when I made this. There was a half used bottle of maple syrup that wouldn’t last much longer and I had lots of almonds that I needed to use. So I thought I’d combine the two in a maple syrup and toasted almond granola. I didn't have any pecans which would make the more common pairing, not even any walnuts, I’ve used all those.
Then I thought the sharp fruitiness of dried cranberries would contrast beautifully, and I had a big pack of those, so in they went.
I say Lasagna you say Lasagne
A while ago now, I was doing a filming day for a feature and the producer made me do a part again. I was filmed writing out a meal plan and I had put Lasagna on one of the days. He said, ‘that’s American, I don’t want you to put that, put the English spelling of ‘Lasagne”. Well, since then, I’ve discovered it’s not an American spelling at all. Lasagna is a single dish, and more than one is called Lasagne. It’s not just recipes on this site you know!
I have bought the most perfect glass lasagna dish, exactly the right size for two, it measures 18cmx13cmx5cm deep. And since buying it, I have been experimenting with different flavoured lasagna. I’ve kept the pasta, bechamel layer and amount of cheese exactly the same each time and just changed the ragu layer.
The basic quantities come from a lasgana recipe in The Silver Spoon, the Mrs Beetons of Italy. I was sure I had blogged that recipe, but apparently not, another one to post!
The first one I tried this way used a beautiful red lentil ragu I’d made a previous day.
I'll have to use a different dish now of course, now there are three of us to feed.
I published an ebook for meal plan 1 in August 2021 and am delighted that many people have thought it was worth getting. I repriced it again in June 2022 and it was still holding on, even in these scary times. Now we are in September and prices have shifted again and I've managed to get my head around WooCommerce so I can feature it on the blog and you can find it here.
I was busy recooking, photographing and updating the recipes for Meal Plan 2 and putting them into an ebook as well. The meal plan was first written in 2013 and still prices up, which is fabulous and that is finally complete. The book is done now too, prices seem to be stable enough to do it.
I've finally completed the e-book from the Stretch A Chicken To Last A Week series. Took me absolutely ages to finish it off!
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 over 17,000 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.
I've also got a few YouTube videos up, not many yet, but I'm planning to do more. I've done a couple more, need to edit them now. So much to do, so little time!
With all best wishes, until next time
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