Well my goodness, I've had a super social time these last few weeks.
Lee Miller
Mike and I went to see the film Lee, about the model and war photographer, Lee Miller.
Her son had come to talk to us at the u3a. Very good speaker, although it was a bit strange when he showed us topless pictures of his Mum!
A friend had lent me the book about her, also written by her son, and I think I got more out of the film after reading that first
I had subsequently gone with some friends to the Chiddingly farmhouse where she settled after the war. If you are ever in the area, the garden is fabulous! Interesting things to look at everywhere and the colours of the plants are amazing!
Pink Floyd
My absolute favourite band is Pink Floyd. I love the lyrics and adore the music. The tribute band Aussie Pink Floyd, who tour pretty much all the time, were playing at The Congress in Eastbourne. I got tickets months ago - front row!! - and loved every minute
The audience were ALL of a certain age -strange that :) The band are excellent. The singer doesn't have Dave Gilmore's sound, but that's to be expected, the musicians were absolutely brilliant. I'll definitely be going to see them again if I get the chance
Oh and the tour was Greatest Hits - so all the best bits!
La Traviata
I also really really like Italian opera. I was at a friends house who mentioned that they were going to Glyndebourne to see my favourite, La Traviata. On chatting about it, they said they would get me a ticket.
It was absolutely sublime, as you would expect. The autumn season is not as glamorous as the summer season. Just as well I'm not really a formal type of person. We did have a picnic though, on the tables on the balcony overlooking the garden.
Lovely experience
Pub Landlord
The next evening out was to see Al Murray as The Pub Landlord. Very sweary and very funny, he's a very clever man. Also at The Congress, Eastbourne, so we didn't have to go miles.
It was a really Laugh Out Loud evening, and we went off for a curry afterwards
After all this going out I shall have to hibernate for a while!
Smart Meter
A very nice chap came and fitted a smart meter for us a few weeks back. We're with Octopus and I'm very happy with them. I love what they do and how they work, so I won't be disabling the smart meter by changing suppliers for the foreseeable future.
I now look at it quite often during the day. We use a heated clothes rail for the washing (we don't have a clothes line) and about now, we start to use a de-humidifier as well, it dries the washing really well. The de-humdifier uses startling amounts of electricity! So I'll be more aware of how long that's been on now
A new recipe, one I've recently updated and an old favourite
Aubergine (Eggplant) Risotto with winter squash or pumpkin
This is recipe I made when looking to use the vegetables in the vegetable box one week. I had a couple of aubergines and a huge lovely firm winter squash and used one aubergine and a wedge of pumpkin. This recipe, for 2-3, uses an aubergine / eggplant and a wedge of winter squash. The size of the aubergine / eggplant, or amount of squash / pumpkin is not vital. Use what you have.
Perhaps to use that Halloween pumpkin?
What's In Season In November?
Would you like to eat using seasonal fruit and vegetables but don’t know where to start? This list of things that are in season in November might help, and the links are to recipes etc in Thrifty Lesley that have the item mentioned
Curried coconut and pumpkin soup
I had this for lunch today. Like many people, I have pumpkin to use up, although mine was in my vegetable box
I have soup of one kind or another most days in colder weather - I've gone right off salads, until the weather warms up a bit
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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