Well, we had a brief but serious hail storm on Wednesday - that was unexpected! I'd only just put some lettuce plants out and a couple of courgette too!
Even so, I'm moving to more summery type dishes this week, even if the hope of sunny warmth is more hope than reality!
Oven Baked Frittata
This super quick supper takes just a couple minutes to assemble. Got a bit more time, the veg can flexed in many different ways, depending on what you have in
Leftover Salad Leaves
This recipe is a lettuce soup that can use any leftover bagged salad leaves, wilting lettuce, that half a bag of fresh spinach, gluts from the garden in the summer, etc.
Brownies
Brownies are meant to be crisp on the outside and soft and fudgy on the inside. Should brownies be gooey in the middle? That’s how I like them, so that’s how I make them! Get the batter right, and this is achieved through the length of time in the oven. Not enough time and your brownies will be too soft and more un-cooked than gooey, too long and they will be cakey.
Think I might do some of these over the weekend.
Green lentil, mushroom, raisin and cucumber salad, with a brinjal pickle and yoghurt dressing
This was a substantial and very tasty salad. I absolutely loved the dressing. I was impressed with my inspiration, haha
Any mild, crispy vegetables can be used…radish, mooli, broccoli, cauliflower etc etc. The green lentils could be changed for any other pulse, whatever you have or like, chickpeas, kidney beans, pinto, cannelloni or haricot beans.
If you wanted to stretch the salad, you could have some crusty bread and butter with it, and make it serve 2. That would reduce the cost per serving too. Most of the calories are in the lentils, so if you don’t want that many calories, reduce the amount of lentils.
Spaghetti Carbonara
Pecorino is the defining taste of a carbonara, so if you can’t afford both cheeses, try and use the pecorino and add a splash of milk to replace the grana
If you have any, a crisp green salad is lovely with this – maybe some leaves from the garden if you are lucky enough to have one
I wouldn’t twiddle with this one at all. If you really must, try adding some well fried mushrooms or onions: chopped and steamed kale or dark cabbage: perhaps some peas, or a couple of big handfuls of frozen mixed veg that have been cooked.
What's been happening
Well, one of the cats had an adventure this week! I was in the sitting room when he came roaring in like he had a rocket tied to his tail. He was trailing water like a hosepipe and as he careered around, it went EVERYWHERE!
Turned out he had fallen in the pond, maybe after our one remaining fish. It was clear where he had been by the enormous puddle by the side of the pond where he had obviously jumped down and the absolute river where he'd run indoors, all over the floor and up the walls where he'd decided he also wanted to fight his brother after being so abused!
Wish I'd been able to take a picture of his sodden self, but he was so fed up he hid under the sofa for several hours as he cleaned himself off!
I read The Nightingale this week and what a powerful novel it was. Had me in tears several times. I learned a lot about what it was like in France during the war, and of course, as a woman, there are different challenges.
The sheer bravery of the Resistance is difficult to comprehend from this distance.
This story is about what it was like to be a woman during World War II when women’s stories were all too often forgotten or overlooked . . . Vianne and Isabelle Mauriac are two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals and passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path towards survival, love and freedom in war-torn France.
The one bus to get my grand-daughter to college has been rather unreliable lately. So as she had an exam first thing this morning, I ran her in to college in the car.
The ox-eye daisies on the verges all around Eastbourne were an absolute joy to see on the way there and back, brightening up the view for miles. They are really at their absolute best here this week.
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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