Tomatoes in the garden
The tomatoes are coming along apace now. I have planted them in the greenhouse, and put the surplus ones outside - three different types - a giant one, Brandywine, which is a heritage variety, has lots of flavour, but I don't get masses of fruits. The other two are a cherry one, and a common variety one that produces masses.
I've found it better to plant them in large pots rather than grow bags. I put the pots in growing trays and it's much easier to make sure the plants get enough water and feed.
There are 3 courgette plants in the garden. I've had a few courgette from them, but once they really get going, they're like firecrackers, shooting out fruits faster than I use them.
Do you have any plans for the Jubilee?
There are loads of things being planned for Heathfield and surrounds, all the little organisations are doing something and there is a huge street party planned, much like our Le Marche on August Bank Holiday Monday
Watched a good film recently
I watched The Judge on Netflix recently, one night when I was up as I couldn't sleep. It received multiple nominations and I think deservedly so.
Powerful and moving, I loved it. It has many familial relationships in it that are difficult. Some are resolved, some not, and the unexpressed emotion scattered throughout the film meant a tissue or two was required.
I find it's sometimes difficult to find films on Netflix. I watched Squid games and for ages after that, the only films I was shown were Korean. I watched Call My Agent so it was French Films. I like Sci-Fi, so often, the only films I'm shown are of that type. Scrolling through, I'm shown the same things all the time. Do you have a way of dealing with that if you have Netflix?
New Recipes
Orange Cake
I made a sponge cake yesterday using pureed orange and lemon carcasses that I keep in the freezer. Love your leftovers!
When I've zested and juiced a lemon, or eaten an orange, I stash the peel in the freezer. When I want some, I simmer it in water until tender (takes a good half an hour) then whizz to a puree with a stick blender
The cake is light, tasting a little like a marmalade cake, and generally citrussy. The amount I used was a guess and it's just about right.
I'm writing the post for the blog, but here's a sneak preview
- For a standard 20cm sponge cake, take 4 large eggs and separate the yolks from the white.
- Put the yolks in a large bowl, with 200g ordinary granulated sugar and whisk until light and fluffy
- Add 200ml of rapeseed oil, and continue beating until the volume of the mixture has increased
- Beat the egg white a little so they break up and add the whites, a little at a time, to the mixture
- If the mix looks like it is curdling, add a spoonful of flour
- Add 100g of pureed orange peel and beat it in
- Add 200g self raising flour by stirring carefully
- Be careful to keep as much air in the mix as you can. Don't beat it, the cake will be tough, and you will lose a lot of air from the raw mix.
- Tip the mixture into 2 x 20cm prepared cake tins and bake at 170 Fan / for 20-25 minutes until firm to to the touch or a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Be careful not to open the oven door before the estimated cook time or your cake will likely sink.
- Transfer your cooked cakes to a cooling rack and leave to get cold.
- Meanwhile, beat 300g of soft cheese (curd cheese) together with 75g ordinary sugar and 50g orange puree
- When the cakes are cold, put one cake on a serving plate and spread with about two thirds of the cream cheese. Put the second cake on top and spread with the remaining cream cheese.
Cream of Cabbage Soup
One day last month, I had far too much white cabbage to be able to use it up before it went manky. So I decided to try freezing it. I hadn’t frozen cabbage before and not being one to faff if I can avoid it, I decided not to blanch it or anything and just chopped it up as if I was going to cook it and popped it in a plastic bag and into the freezer.
The cabbage froze beautifully and I’ll definitely be freezing it again when I have too much.
Recently, I thought I’d use the frozen cabbage as it had been in there several weeks. I had been wanting to make a variation of the cheap family recipes mushroom soup for a while, using cabbage instead of mushrooms. So that day was the day.
What I've been making in previous Mays
Spiced Lentil Balls
This recipe is inspired by one I found in a recipe book first published in 1994. Amazingly, it’s still in print, and extremely cheap too!
Chocolate Scones
My husband was desperate for something chocolatey one day, soI made him these. They work really well and are fab with cream and cherry jam!
Chicken Liver Parfait
This is a very inexpensive recipe. Perfect on toast for breakfast or lunch, good in a sandwich or crudités for a packed lunch. I make a batch and keep some in my freezer
An e-book
I published an ebook for meal plan 1 in August and am delighted that many people have thought it was worth getting.
I've managed to get my head around WooCommerce so I can feature it on the blog and you can find it here.
I'm busy recooking, photographing and updating the recipes for Meal Plan 2 and putting them into an ebook. It was written in 2013 and still prices up, which is fabulous. But the posts are embarrassingly bad and need a lot of updating! I'm getting on well with them again, having taken a break to do other things. It's taking me ages to do this one!
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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