Happy new year! Did you have a lovely Christmas? I did. For the first time since I returned to teaching I wasn't ill over the holidays 🙌 However, I have been very lazy and have taken time to just chill. I was mentally and physically exhausted and really needed to re charge my batteries and just spend some time to relax, reflect and recuperate.
I did some knitting. I finished a pair of socks. I added more squares to my sock blanket. It now has 120 squares stitched together 😊
I ate lots of leftovers. Not a scrap of food was wasted. We had various stir fry combinations of turkey/veggies/stuffing/pigs in blankets. I made a few batches of soup with leftover veggies and the turkey carcass.
Or sometimes I had just the veggies on their own with a spoonful of Cranberry Chutney.
I made a batch to give as presents
I also made some caramel
This was definitely the laziest preserve I've ever made. Fill clean jars with condensed milk, cover with hot water and leave in slowcooker overnight on low. Instant caramel sauce to serve with ice cream, bananas or just straight from the jar. Lovely!
ETA Recipe in the comments as I couldn't get it to copy and paste properly!!
To counteract all the eating we did lots of walking in the cold freezing rain!! Here's the view from the Ochils over Stirling. That's the Wallace Monument below us in the distance.
I still have one more day left before school returns. I'm done relaxing and recuperating. Now I need to plan and act on my reflecting. I'll share that tomorrow.
How incredibly easy that caramel recipe is! I remember my mum used to boil tins of condensed milk to make banoffee pie.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a wee girl we used have caramel tart sprinkled with chocolate strands for pudding at school dinners. The cook had a huge pot of boiling water filled with the tins
Deletewow im going to have to try that caramel recipe, i find that amazing!! glad you managed to have a relax xx
ReplyDeleteHave a go, it really is that easy!
DeleteYou sound very chilled, lets hope your return to work doesn't undo all that goodness! I must try that caramel, who knew it was so easy!! How long does it keep in the jar? Happy New Year to you too. x
ReplyDeleteHappy new year to you too! I'm going to try hard to stay chilled! The recipe says it keeps for up to 4 months if the lid doesn't pop. See below
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ReplyDeleteCaramel Recipe
(by Rhona Reid)
3 x 12-oz cans of sweetened condensed milk
3 preserving jars with lids
Pour the condensed milk into the jars, and seal very tightly.
Pour hot (not quite boiling) water into your slow cooker to between 1/2 and 3/4 full, then carefully place your jars into the water and top up the water so that the jars are completely submerged, before cooking for 8 hours on low.
It's vital that the jars are submerged in the water during the whole cooking process, so keep checking the water level and top up if necessary.
Let the jars cool down completely at room temperature before opening to avoid the glass breaking. The jars should be vacuum sealed, which you can check by pressing the lids. If the lid 'pops' when you press it, then use that jar straight away. Any jars with lids that stay firmly down when pressed are safe to store for up to four months.