Stuck in the kitchen with you!

Luna continues to make her presence felt in the house!  She's very motivated by food (like most Labradors) and can already sit on command for a scooby snack!!  The above photo is me halfway through rearranging where I'm keeping the food as having 2 different lots of bulky feed bags takes up space.  Plus I want it safely secured and away from a mischievous pup!!

Unfortunately she picked up a nasty D&V bug which meant an expensive trip to the vet.  Puppies often get an upset tummy in the first few days home but I knew this was more than that.  The vet thinks it may be giardia, a nasty parasite that can easily be passed around dogs, humans and cats.  I'm waiting for test results.  She got an anti nausea injection and oh my, she screamed the place down for 10 seconds.  She's definitely going to be a drama queen!!! 👸  She's already bounced back and is up to mischief again! 😊

Since we're stuck in the kitchen (apologies to Gerry Rafferty for the pun!) and utility areas, I've been doing some batch cooking/meal prepping.  I'm being especially noisy so she gets used to it while sleeping!  I roasted a chicken and will make soup today.  I made a meatloaf and some meat balls. Normally I would 'cheat' and just make up a Paxo type stuffing mix and mix it with the raw minced beef.  I'm trying very hard to cut out processed foods (thanks to reading the Ultra Processed People book! 😱) so fried some of my onions from the allotment with finely chopped bacon.  Mixed in some oats and added mixed herbs and garlic granules.  I filled my loaf tin and had some mixture leftover so made 10 decent sized meatballs.  Tasted rather good except maybe a bit under seasoned.  Already in the freezer 😋 

I also chopped up some unwaxed lemons and made my honey and lemon remedy for the Winter. I think it's the easiest, least faffy one I make.  Fill a big jar with lemons and pour over a jar of honey.  It's in the fridge now for a few weeks before it gets all gooey and marmaladey.  Just add some to hot water for a soothing drink.  It's really good for a raspy sore throat.  I picked up some of the Greek honey in Lidl a few weeks ago.  Greek Pine honey has good anti bacterial and anti inflammatory properties so it'll be good for those coughs and sneezes I always pick up.  Or maybe I won't this year now I'm not in school! 😉  I'll use the thyme honey in my next fire cider batch.  I'm already planning ahead!!

Today my plan is to make a big batch of pancakes for the freezer.  Scotch pancakes not the crepe style ones. I'm moving away from gluten free flours as xanthan gum is not good for the gut.  Apparently it's just like wallpaper paste, sticking everything together!  Instead I'm going to try organic wheat flour as it's the same price as GF.  It seems to make no difference if I exclusively eat GF or not.  I think moderation of any 'wheat based' product might work better for my wonky digestive system! 

Can't not post a last photo of my 2 favourite girls! 💕

Too Good to Go gone

 

I forgot to post about my last TGTG bag at the end of April.  It was an M&S bag for £5.  As you can see I got a lot of stuff.  There was: apple juice, cream doughnuts, eggs, beef slices, sour cream dip, mango fingers, smoked salmon and potato salad, luxury fish pie, sushi, Scotch eggs (yuck although my lovely mum ate one), chicken and avocado sandwich, spinach and falafal wrap and a strawberry mousse.  

Full retail price was £42.20!!  Definitely the best bag any of us have bagged so far!

But...

Most of it I shouldn't eat as it contained dairy and wheat.  The apple juice, mango, eggs and roast beef slices were all ok but I ate the rest of it any way 🙄  And I suffered for it!!  My digestive system protested big time, not ideal in the run up to the wedding.

Too Good to Go is a fab idea if you don't have dietary issues.  So I've deleted the app and it's gone.  I can spend £5 wisely at Lidl and get plenty of healthy food my stomach likes.

After yesterday's post about finding stuff in the bottom of my freezer, I emptied it and sorted out what I have in there.  I've made a list so I can plan some meals.  I think I have enough to keep me going all month.  That's going to be my challenge! 

Food and sofas

 

It's been a while but I got a large Approved Food order this week.  Lots of GF products at a fraction of the cost because they're either just out of date or slightly damaged packaging or the brand is re branding.  I was a bit annoyed that I discovered a huge part of my order was missing so I'm 'discussing' that with them by email as it's on the receipt as being in the box!!  They're a wee bit guilty of charging you for something when it's out of stock and only giving you credit.  My GF Old El Paso GF wraps were out of stock so I got credit for those but my protein bars aren't so I better get them as I don't want £30 credit!!

I cleaned out my kitchen larder cupboard in readiness to store it all.  I do love cleaning out my storage jars ready to refill.

Plenty of room for the things DS and I use daily.

And the rest is stored in my guest bedroom cupboard! 😁

I really need to get back on a healthier path.  I've let the GF part lapse a bit these last few months.  A pizza here, a bit of cake there.  My digestive system is really not healthy right now.  Nuff said!! 😧

I also spent a little bit of my inheritance on a new sofa.  I rather love it!!

It's girly pink and I love it so much I've ordered a matching footstool too!  I worked out I haven't bought a new piece of furniture in about 15 years.  Most of my furniture is either passed on from family or it came from the old marital home.  So buying something new, just for me without asking anyone else's opinion was really lovely 😊

Sometimes it's the small things that feel big 💗

Bread and milk

Gluten free bread is really expensive.  A small sourdough loaf or tiger loaf is usually between £3 and £3.50.  And they're just ok.  I've tried making my own using many different recipes and packet mixes over the years, some good but still expensive.  On a whim I made a very simple soda bread today (with GF flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt, honey and oat milk pre mixed with a tiny drop of cider vinegar).   And it tasted really good.  And best of all cost just under 50p to make!!

Edited to add: I've linked the recipe in the comments.  I used GF brown bread flour which makes my loaf a bit darker than the one in the link.  Next time I'll use my normal white GF flour.

Oat milk is also pretty expensive, usually around £1.50 - £1.80 per litre unless it's on offer.  I made a batch in my Nutribullet.  Just 2 cups of water with 1/2 cup of oats and a few cashew nuts.  Blend for 30 seconds and strain.  I used muslin over a sieve and squeezed it.

It tasted better than the one I usually buy!! And only cost about 40p (the cashews bumped up the cost but totally worth it!)  There was about 1/4 cup of oat fibre leftover once I strained it.  I gave it to the chickens but I've read that you can use it in recipes.  It even freezes well until you have a large amount.  More research is needed on that!

So I made gluten free bread and dairy free milk for under £1.  Result! 😊

Day 6 & 7: Cook, Clean, Clear and Create

Yesterday's clean and clear was mostly getting ready for our family meal.  Here's the dining room (tidy-ish) with the table set for 7.  I am very guilty of using my dining table as a dumping area for 'stuff.'  Sadly it's just been stirred elsewhere in the house for another day to clear.

Cook was a Chinese meal for 7 people. This is all that's left from last night!!  The 5 spice pulled beef was AMAZING!! I will definitely make that again. The chicken was simply marinated in honey and Tamari and stir fried.  The prawns were marinated in sesame oil and chilli, also quickly stir fried.

For dessert I made lemonade fruity jelly.  Instead of adding cold water I added cloudy lemonade.  If you let the hot mixture cool a bit before adding it, the bubbles set in the jelly.  For posh meals with just grown ups I've used sparkling wine.  The fruity bit is blueberries and raspberries.

The birthday cake was a banana cake.  Recipe HERE.  Best GF banana cake recipe I've found so far!  I baked it in a bundt tin as my oven doesn't distribute heat evenly. Cakes take longer to bake in the middle and start to burn on the edges.  Having that hole makes a big difference.  To serve I filled it with blueberries and raspberries and dusted it with icing sugar instead of the cream cheese frosting.

My create last night was stitching a few more squares together.  I'm finding my eyesight doesn't like knitting or sewing in artificial light now so only managed 3.

Tonight's cook was a really easy leftovers stir fry.  Tasted better than it looks!

My create today was stitching yet more squares together.  I've now got 3 long strips to stitch to the main blanket.  Thank goodness!! Then I can get one with a different project.

My clean and clear was to totally strip my bed including the zipped on mattress cover.  It got washed and dried outside and after a struggle OH and I managed to get it back on.  Tonight I'll be sleeping in a bed with my new duvet, pillows and bedding.  Lovely! 😴

Macaroni cheese

Why have I waited 5 years to make a gluten and dairy free version of macaroni cheese????  Gluten free pasta and a traditional cheese sauce made with gf flour, goat's butter, almond milk and goat's cheese.  It was amazing!!  Now I know it doesn't taste the same as 'real' macaroni cheese but not having had it for so long it was good enough.  Sadly not a frugal dish like the 'real' one as gf and dairy free ingredients are expensive but I'll consider it a treat.

Going bananas

Hooray!  I'm on half term holiday 😁 I survived 2 staff development days and now I have 3 whole days to rest/catch up on my life.  I rescued some bananas from the bin (!) at work.  They were leftover from last week's healthy tuck shop but wouldn't get used this week as there's no kids in school.  So I said I'd have them!!

This morning I whipped up a batch of my pancakes for the freezer  (recipe HERE ) and tried a new banana bread recipe.  It was delicious and got OH's approval too!

Original Chickpea Flour Banana Bread recipe HERE

My version:

1 cup gram/chickpea flour
1/2 cup coconut flour (since I was given a bag by my lovely mum)
1 tsp mixed spice (I didn't have any cinnamon)
1/4 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp icing sugar (I didn't have any other sugar!)

2 eggs
1 and 1/2 cup ripe mashed bananas
2tbsp rapeseed oil
2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, mix everything else in another then add to the dry bowl.  Gently mix and put in loaf tin.  Bake for about 40 mins at Gas 4.  I didn't hear my timer beep, oops!  So it was in the oven about an oven, still tasted good despite the well done top!

Even though there's a little sugar in it next time I'll try it with some honey instead of sugar to make it healthier.

I still have 6 bananas left to use up so I can go bananas another day too!

Hurry up Spring!

Today was cold but sunny.  I took a wander round my garden and found some snowdrops, crocus and tulips popping up through the cold soil.  Spring is coming! I know it's still far too cold to start any gardening but it's nice to start thinking about it.

I checked one of my raised beds at the front and discovered some carrots I'd forgotten about.  They were perfectly lovely if a bit small. Variety Eskimo.

The carrot tops were lovely and green.  I got to thinking and remembered that I'd read somewhere they were edible.  A quick look on Pinterest revealed carrot top pesto and drying them to use in soups and salads like a herb.  So they're currently drying in the dehydrator. I'm going to try to dehydrate the carrots too.  They have to be sliced and steamed first.  I'll report back on their success (or not!)

On Saturday nights OH and his Teenogre come over for dinner.  I always try to make something special plus dessert.  Last night I tried Pineapple Poke Cake.  Recipe HERE  I'd never heard of a Poke cake so was intrigued.  It was delicious and so easy to make.  I subbed GF flour, added about 30g of ground almonds and used dairy free butter and milk but followed the recipe exactly.

I had too much mixture for my cake tin so filled some muffin cases too.

It was amazing with some Alpro 'cream.'  I even reheated some this morning for my breakfast (well it has all that pineapple so must count as 1 of my 5 a day 😉)

I've finally cracked it!

I've finally made a great tasting gluten and dairy free Yorkshire Pudding!  I've tried several recipes over the last few years and they've never risen or tasted like these ones.  Crispy round the edges and soft in the middle.  We had them with some venison I got at the Farmers Market.  Absolutely delicious!

Recipe HERE.  It made about 36 yorkies but you could easily halve the quantities.  I re heated some tonight and they were fine.  I've also put one in the freezer to test it.

My first batch didn't work as well.  My muffin tin was too deep and the bottom was soggy so for the next batch I used a fairy/cupcake one (see above). Next time I'll take them out a few minutes earlier as they were a bit dark.

Huge thanks to everyone who posted a comment yesterday.  I've loved reading where you're all from and what you like reading about.  I'll close the giveaway on Wednesday 13th December and pull names.  Good luck!

Stovies

Thanks to everyone who contributed to Saturday's post on Friends. It's good to know we're not alone in our thoughts and is something I'll be coming back to very soon.

Yesterday was a chilly day that called for proper comfort food.  I made a roast beef dinner with all the trimmings on Saturday night for OH and The Teenogre.  I had some beef and roast veggies leftover so added a few raw potato cubes and made Stovies.  Essentially it's a leftovers dish (traditionally made with the leftover meat and gravy from a Sunday dinner) so it's a cheap filling dish. But there are loads of different ways to make it.  And all of them are traditional! 😆 My version is to put chopped up cooked beef, gravy, carrots, onions, potatoes in a big pan (wok!) and simmer together until the potatoes start to break up. Some people use sausages or corned beef. Some people make it in a casserole dish and put it the oven.  It gets a crust on top.  Do you have a version and what do you call it?

On impulse I bought this GF cake mix.  It was amazing!! I filled one sandwich cake tin and 5 muffin cases with the mixture.  You can just see some muffins in the photo above.  We had the cake (no icing) with Alpro custard.  Definitely recommend it for a treat!

Kitchen Experiments

I was in an experimental mood today.  I made another batch of oatcakes this time with sesame seeds.  They were very nice!  I blended all of the oats instead of half.  The mixture was harder to roll and cut out.  The finished oatcakes were rather crumbly but worth the experiment!  I'll go back to blending just half the oats next time.

Tonight's meal was another experimental effort.  I had half a dodgy courgette hanging around my fridge along with loads of carrots.  I had leftover rice from last night.  So along with one of my bargain pouches of chestnuts I put together a quick stir fry.

It was rather tasty!

 I also made a shepherdess pie using green lentils with a sweet potato mash on top.  I didn't have a recipe, just winged it. 

That's one meal sorted for the week ahead.

Tomorrow is the last day of my holiday so it'll mostly be prep for going back to work *sighs*  At least it's the summer term, lots of outdoors activities will be on the agenda.

This week's round up

It's been a busy week!  As you can see my hair is now a short bob and blonde.  Definitely a luxury but I felt with a new job I needed a new look.  It's taking a bit of getting used to but I think I like it.  I can still do my purple toner on it ;-)

We had a big family dinner for OH's daughter's 20th birthday.  I made a chicken lasagne where I used my white sauce to make the chicken sauce bit.

I layered it up with GF lasagne sheets and a home made tomato sauce (with a ton of 'hidden' veggies in it for the veggie phobes) 

Then topped off with grated goats cheese to make a totally delicious and gluten/dairy free lasagne.  No one noticed the difference!!

I've been successfully defrosting and heating the meals I made for the freezer.  Yeay!!

I finished upcycling the hook rack and painted the radiator purple (looks darker in this pic) and am pleased with result.  I've ordered a wee shoe rack to fit in the space between the radiator and the corner.  Just the woodwork now to finish off.

I picked a handful of peas.  TBH I've not had much success with them at all but I'll do an update on my poor vegetable crops this weekend.

I scored some reduced goats milk today with another 3 days before the use by date.  I'm planning to make some yoghurt and soft cheese with it.

I bought some lovely goats milk yogurt with live cultures as my starter so I'm hopeful it'll work the same way I used to make cows milk yogurt.

I also attended the funeral of my colleague's husband.  It was a humanist service and a fitting celebration of a genuinely good man.  It makes you stop to appreciate everything and reminds me to enjoy life to the fullest every day.

Meal prep

Last night's tea was venision burgers (yep reduced and in my freezer!) turned into meatballs, served with a quick chunky tomato sauce (carton of chopped tomatoes, onion, carrot, garlic and a squeeze of ketchup) and GF pasta.  2 burgers made 16 mini meatballs. One portion for tea and the other meatball with sauce portion went in the freezer.

Part of trying to be more organised before going back to school involves me trying to prepare meals to put in the freezer for me (and No1 son).  Saving money and having healthy food already prepared is a no brainer.  I've been watching a few meal prep videos on Youtube lately for inspiration.  These guys have a series of meal ideas and suggestions on how to store them.  Don't be put off by the macros talk, that's just info for those who need it.  There are 11 videos full of good suggestions plus they've got loads of other ones including one pot meals and snacky stuff.

Tonight's meal was a kinda tandoori chicken thing.  I very nearly picked up a jar of tandoori sauce paste in the supermarket.  It was £2.  I looked at the ingredients and thought 'I've got most of them in the cupboard at home!'  Saved myself £2!! I mixed 1 tsp each of cumin, coriander, ginger and paprika into a couple of big dollops of yoghurt (sheep's yoghurt actually, very creamy) with some garlic paste and a wee squirt of honey.  It wasn't 'red' enough so I added another tsp of paprika.  I marinated 3 large chicken breasts (chopped into chunks) in the mixture and left them in the fridge all day while I painted yet another coat of white emulsion on my utility room walls.  I baked them in a very hot oven for 25 mins.

 I served it with coconut rice (recipe here), mango chutney and broccoli.  YUM!!!

But then I put the second portion (a la Youtube chefs) into one of my new freezer containers :-) 

I popped the lid on and then it went into the freezer.  I suspect the rice might be mushy on reheating but worth the time (and money) saved to have a meal ready.

ETA I got the containers from here  They do 1 and 2 compartment versions as well.  I also got an invite with them to join their free VIP club which gives you more meal ideas.