Goodness, May is here already - and as I write this, today is the annual punathon of May The Forth be with you!
I've been loving the early May beautiful warm and sunny weather. But today, the Bank Holiday, is quite a bit colder. Of course it is, it's a Bank Holiday!
I hope you managed to get a nice break if that was on the cards and here are some recipes I love that I hope you like too
Wild Garlic Pesto
This recipe is for pesto made from wild garlic, or ransoms, which is in season in the early Spring in the UK. The pesto is pungent, delicious and made from wild garlic foraged from the woods, or Allium triquetrum which is what I have growing in my garden.
It's pretty easy to make, can be flexed in many ways and is properly tasty
Banana Bread
Remember when we were all busy making banana bread? This is my version, complete with chocolate chips. It slices and freezes beautifully. Leave it overnight if you want slender slices.
This banana bread comes together very quickly and isn’t complicated to make. It’s super delicious still warm from the oven so the chocolate pieces are still melted, ooh, yum!. Add pecans to it too if you like!
It will keep for 7-10 days, so is great for packed lunches during the week.
Punjabi Cabbage
This is a Northern Indian cabbage recipe, packed full of vegetables, pulses and spices. Make it hot if you like things that way. Personally, I like a lot of spice and hardly any heat
When I first made this, we had it with Matar Paneer (cheesey peas) and a home made Naan. This was a good combination of flavours and textures
Swede mash with ginger, nutmeg and a little cream
This easy swede mash can be used a side or a main course. Make it vegan by using a vegan cream. Swede mash is a common side dish, but this has fresh ginger, generous nutmeg and chilli to add extra flavour and a touch of creaminess.
It tastes really good and may even convert small (or large!) veggie phobes!
Line the dish with potato slices, as here, and you could even use it as a main course
Easy No-Knead Focaccia
The focaccia is at its very best, straight from the oven, as many things are. It will slurp up an extra little drizzle of olive oil making it extra yummy.
Years ago, I used to make it with double zero (00) flour, and you do get a different flavour with it, but I just use the cheap flour now, and it’s still really good.
What's been happening
Mike's illness is progressing along its path. He is much weaker now and doesn't go out at all except as a passenger in the car. I'm trying to hold everything together for everyone and we have good days and bad ones.
We went to see the nurses at St Michael's Hospice in St Leonards recently. It is a beautiful place, and the nurse we saw was simply lovely with lots of helpful advice.
My biggest task at the moment is finding food that he can eat and keep down.
My granddaughter has a big project to complete during this part of the term on her Art & Design course. Next year, she wants to do game character development. I might even get to flex my old coding muscles to help her, although it's in a new language to me (C#) I should be able to work it out.
Our son-in-law and daughter came up last week and put protective net all round the top of the garden fence to keep the cats in the garden. My granddaughter didn't want to let them out as she was scared about all the bad things that could happen. Last summer it was like living in prison, having to shut every door as I went through it to keep them inside. It's been so lovely to just have the back door open in all the lovely warm weather we've been having.
They haven't made any serious attempts tp escape the garden, except on the first day they were out there. One of them tried, realised he couldn't get over the fence and dropped off - right on top of the other cat, whereupon they had a huge fight. It was like a cartoon - a whirling ball of fur with legs and paws sticking out of it!
I'm really pleased with how unobtrusive it is, you can barely see it's there!
The book club this month is The Vanishing Act Of Esme Lennox. I read it years ago and loved it, so it's quite interesting re-reading it now. I love the writing of Maggie O'Farrell and have read many of her books.
I started it today and I'm already halfway through!
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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