Dodgy Knee Update
I injured my knee almost 4 weeks ago now and it's still playing up. It's particularly troublesome at night, as it is when the leg is straight, which it is lying in bed, that it hurts. I take a couple of paracetamol every few days, just to get a bit of relief for a few hours.
I can't wait for it to clear up so I can get out walking and, eventually, running, again. I really miss exercising
It's just as well I don't have any long term conditions, I'm a very impatient patient!
Sowing Seeds
The garden is doing its thing and looking lovely despite me not working in it as often as I should.
I sowed two different types of lettuce last week, and some leeks. All of these are just beginning to sprout and show tiny leaves. Every year, I find that very exciting. That first baby plant appearing. These are some spicy lettuce varieties.
Today, I did some courgette and a pumpkin (Crown Prince). My goodness, they were mean with the seeds! The pumpkin had just four seeds in the packet! Four seeds! I couldn't believe it. I noticed after I'd sown them that the packet says five seeds, so they diddled me out of one! And the courgette wasn't much better either with just 6 seeds.
My daughter has asked me to grow her some runner beans. She always grows a few, but has moved house and now has an enormous garden. I'm really quite envious of all that room. She's really getting into gardening and is enjoying finding out all the things you need to do.
Half the courgette will go to her as well. And I'll undoubtedly give her some of the lettuce and other things.
The tomatoes are doing well and some of the smaller ones need to be potted on now. I'm currently putting them in the greenhouse during the day, and around 4pm, as it starts to get colder, I bring them in again.
This is a pot of tete-a-tete daffodils that have been looking glorious for several weeks now. Once they're finished, I'll put them in the garden. I didn't get round to it last autumn.
There a few hellebore in the garden, that have also been flowering away for weeks. So nice to see blooms at this time of year.
Microwave Repair
Six years ago, we extended the kitchen and completely re-fitted what we had inherited. I decided to go for quality appliances as I wanted them to last. Well, my goodness, I needn't have bothered. We've replaced the induction hob twice, (we even tried getting it repaired, but the engineer couldn't fix it) the fridge constantly squeaks as the door is slightly bent, and about 8 months ago, the microwave broke.
I had gone for a fancy pants steam oven which does all kinds of things and which I love. And for the microwave I went for a built in, flat bed (no turntable) combi oven. So it can be used as a conventional oven, a grill and a microwave.
The microwave started making a horrible noise one day, and didn't heat up. On contacting an engineer, he said that it really wasn't economic to repair and explained why. He would have to replace the magnetron, which produces the microwaves, and the capacitor, and by the time he'd done that, and fitted them, it would be £250+. It was an expensive appliance, but that was a bit much, especially as he said he couldn't even say that it would work! He couldn't have been less interested really.
Well blimey! I contacted the manufacturer and complained, but they just completely ignored me.
Meanwhile, after 8 months without, I really wasn't missing microwaving at all. I would have said that I used the microwave a lot as I was always popping things in there - heating up my tea when it had gone cold; doing a jacket potato; cooking the odd thing. But when it wasn't there, I really wasn't bothered.
I was still using the appliance for grilling and cooking. And I prove pizza dough in there as well. If you set the temperature to 40 degrees centigrade, it proves dough beautifully. You can turn it off after a while too as it stays warm for ages, so doesn't use much fuel.
My husband missed it, and kept saying we should just get a cheap one. But I didn't want a microwave cluttering up my work surface. They're big old things aren't they. Even the so called compact ones weren't that much smaller.
My brother had done electrical engineering and after a lot of discussion, we decided he might just be able to mend it.
So we Googled a lot and found a magnetron for £65, and a capacitor and diode for £26. And this week he came over and fitted it all. And ...... we now have a working microwave! Ta Dah! He said that it's possible it might pack up again, so I'm crossing my fingers and toes.
There is talk of the Government bringing in regulations that would mean items a) last longer, and b) can be repaired.
My sister is still using the microwave she bought when she got married over 40 years ago! And when I was growing up, it wasn't that unusual for white goods to last for 30 or 40 years. When I looked up how long a microwave should last now, the answer was 10 years. That really isn't good enough. The amount of resources that go into these things that are then binned after a few years seems very wasteful to me.
Some Of The Newer Posts From Thrifty Lesley
I've only posted one recipe since the last newsletter - a pizza that uses BBQ sauce instead of tomato sauce on the base. I'm now wondering if Hoisin Sauce would work as well, don't see why not. And what would I put on the top. I'm thinking red pepper, onion, maybe some mange tout, mozzarella. Wonder if bean sprouts would work?
BBQ Pizza
Use BBQ sauce in the same way that you would use a tomato sauce on this pizza, for an interesting variation
BBQ Sauce
This is the BBQ sauce I used on the pizza. Easy to make and useful for all kinds of things.
This vegan BBQ sauce recipe is pretty simple, just bung everything in a saucepan and reduce it down a bit
Do come and say hello on the fantastically frugal Facebook group, or the sensational slimming sustenance group. I'd love to see you.
And don't forget Thrifty Lesley and Cheap Family Recipes where you can find all kinds of delicious things that don't cost much
With all best wishes, until next time
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