On being a hermit

I've found myself in a weekly routine of making butter and starting a sourdough loaf one day.  Then baking the bread and a batch of scones (using up the buttermilk) the next day.  Each keeps me going until the following week.  The bread is sliced and added to the freezer with the freshly made scones.  Sometimes I freeze some of the butter too.

And that's about as exciting as my life gets at the moment (plus sock knitting in front of the woodburner!)  But you know what?  I rather like it that way.  The weather here is continually wet and cold so doing inside tasks is as much as my mojo wants to do!  The dogs still get walked daily but I'm happy to be a hermit the rest of the time.  

A few of my dear friends are feeling exactly the same way!

Although in a fit of 'I must get started on getting the house ready to sell' I replied to a local bike charity's appeal for an IKEA Kallex unit.  I'm donating the above unit that holds all my craft supplies.  A whole load of junk and DIY stuff has just been dumped on it too.  I won't have room for it in a smaller house so it seemed a good chance to get rid of it now.  I'll have a bit more space to work in and finally get that room wallpapered!!  It gets collected on Monday so I need to get some sorting out done asap!

The housing market is starting to pick up so I'm keeping an eye on what's available.  My ideal would be a 2 bed cottage with a decent sized garden in the middle of nowhere but that would just encourage me to become a permanent hermit!!  I don't think I'm anti social but I do crave the peace and quiet I never seem to get just now. 

Foul weather and bleach

 

I took this photo at half 6 so that tells you how long I've already been up this morning.  I need to wait another 2 hours for it to cool before I can cut it though!  The weather here is absolutely foul (lots of serious floods locally) and frankly it's matching my mood.  As Luna isn't fully vaccinated yet I have to avoid taking her places where there's 'lying water' and that includes puddles.  It's one gigantic puddle out there and I have a puppy who is full of energy!!!!  Thank crunchie she's discovered she loves tennis balls and playing fetch!

I still have to keep the girls apart in case they reinfect one another and they're doing ok with the arrangements.  Emma is a bit confused but she's got doggy dementia any way.  It's me who is stir crazy!!

I switched the heating on as it was just too cold and damp.  Luna has discovered that she can lean on the radiator to get warm.  She also likes to bark from this position to tell me she wants fed!!  She is hilarious and loopy in equal measure!

Unfortunately I need to go to Tesco today as I'm almost out of washing power and bleach.  I have to wash all the dogs' bedding and towels etc every day plus continually bleach the floors and other places where they sit/lie.  I think I've used more bleach in the last month than I've used in the last 10 years!!!  I'm going to treat myself to a jar of coffee but count the other things as part of  my monthly dogs' budget.

Finally!!!

 

Finally, Luna was allowed to go out for a walk!!! HOORAY!!!!!!!  She was a bit overwhelmed with all the noises and her wee back legs were shaking.  But it was just 10 mins and this is her 10 mins after we got back home!! 😂  She can have a 15 mins walk 3 times a day.  Rule of thumb is 5 mins for each month of her age.  She's 14 weeks now and absolutely ready to be out in the big wide world!

I had about half of the sourdough loaf left and some eggs that needed using up.

So I made French toast/eggy bread!

Out of curiousity after Sue (A Smaller and Simpler Life) posted about Heinz baked beans on her blog, I weighed mine when I opened a can yesterday.  Mine were also short of the 415g weight.  When you think of how many cans Heinz sell that's a lot of underselling going on!!  Check yours next time!!!!

Stressful week

 

Eurgh!!  It's been a stressful week.  Luna is still testing positive for giardia so she's had another course of treatment.  She's 'clinically well' so was able to get her vaccinations and is allowed out on restricted walks from tomorrow.  She's 14 weeks old now and frankly stir crazy, as am I!!  She still has to be kept separate from Emma in case they reinfect each other so poor Emma is rather stressed too.  And both my son and I have had a serious D&V bug (giardia possibly so we're getting tested too!!)  So yeah, it's not been fun round here.  Fingers crossed we're getting to the end now.

I managed a quick pop down to the allotment to find a rugby ball from the club next door has smashed a window.  New perspex has been ordered but I need to see if they'll reimburse me for it.  I know it was a rugby ball as I have it in my shed as evidence!!!

I harvested the last of the cucumbers in the polytunnel.

And made bread and butter pickles! 😋

The last of the Roma tomatoes ripened so I made tomato and onion sauce for the freezer.

The 1.5kg bags of organic flour were on offer in Waitrose at the same price as Tesco's 1kg bags so I got 2 for the storecupboard.

I made another sourdough loaf, they're improving!

I bought a 600ml carton of double cream and made butter.  Not on offer but still cheaper at £2.30 than a 250g block of butter plus I got buttermilk to make scones.

And someone has learned how to jump up on the chair in my craft room!  I'm at the stage where I don't care how and where she sleeps (I know I'm making a rod for my own back!!) as long as she sleeps because an over tired cranky puppy is a nightmare!

Poorly puppy

 

Luna is still a poorly puppy.  After her meds finished last week she got a UTI so we had a weekend of drama which included an overnight stay in the vet hospital where she needed IV fluids.  We're stuck in the cycle of her having an immature immune system so she's picking up all the nasties.  And because she's been poorly the vet can't give her the vaccines against the nasties!!  It's all been rather stressful and we're not quite out of danger yet.  She's on yet more antibiotics so fingers crossed they work to get her stable enough for the vaccines.

I managed to visit the allotment for a few hours.  My polytunnel was a riot with blackfly so I picked all the tomatoes and pulled up all the plants.  The green tomatoes should ripen on my windowsill.  I've left a few cucumber plants and nasturtiums that were ok so we'll see if they produce any more.  

I brought home my chilli plant so I could watch it ripen here in case I don't get back to the plot often enough.  This one is Apache.  Apparently they are mild when green but rather hot when red!!  I might pick and use a green one to gauge the heat level.

As expected the weeds were having a field day so I cleared the path and entrance at my gate.  Rabbits and pigeons have eaten my carrots, pumpkins and my recently planted purple sprouting broccoli.  My fault as I didn't net them!! They've not touched my onions or potatoes though!  And I picked some of my thornless brambles (blackberries) to add to the freezer fruit collection!

Since I'm still confined to the kitchen areas with Luna (laminate floors clean easier!) I've been cooking.  I pulled these lamb steaks out the freezer and did a basic slow cooker stew.

Red onions were from the plot and the potatoes (Pink Fir Apple) were from pots in the back garden.  It was delicious and did 2 full meals 😋

I've got a sourdough starter on the go using organic white flour.  I've been using the 'discard' to make sourdough pancakes.  They're delicious with jam and I've had no issues with the gluten content (so far!) I've cut out all processed foods and now eat my big meal of the day at lunch time.  This seems to be helping my digestive system as I really haven't had any 'issues' for weeks now.  My trousers are a bit looser so I think I'm starting to shift some weight.  I'm still reading Ultra Processed People to keep me motivated!  I need to be fit and healthy to get the most out of retirement!! 😊

Day 33: Catch up

 

My blueberries are finally ripening!  I moved the pots from the front garden to the back garden at the end of last season and they're not doing as well as previous years.

I dried some mint and sage from the garden to make teas in the Winter.  Sage tea is a good gargle for a sore throat.

I made more jam.  This one is Raspberry and Elderflower Gin jam 😋

I've been practising using my sourdough to make pancakes and waffles.

I also made blackcurrant jam, delicious on  pancakes!! 😋

I got a bargain organic chicken at Tesco!  Reduced from £16.34 to £6.55.  £16 for a chicken!!!!!  Who can afford that???  Even the £6.55 was expensive!

Also got some unwaxed lemons, useful for jam making!

And on the plot, it's raspberries and the nasturtiums that are doing well!!  Shame about the slow progress on my tomatoes.  I'm even wondering if it's worth growing my own tomatoes and using the polytunnel for other things next year.  One of my tomato plants only has 1 tomato and 2 of them are still at the flower stage.  They're all cooking varieties (Amish Paste, Roma and Aurora) not eating types and I'm wondering if that was a mistake.

The holiday is rushing by now and I'm starting to think about school already.  I said I would use the whole of July to not do any school stuff and I've stuck to it.  Once August starts I'll begin the build up to the new school year of 2022 - 2023 🤯

Day 23: Chatty catch up

 

I've been quiet on here for a couple of days but I've been keeping myself very busy and out of mischief! 😜  I've tried not to over do it on the plot so progress has been slow and steady.  I've actually dug out a bit more since this wee video.

When I'm not digging on the plot, I've been knitting.  After finishing the turquoise socks I knitted 3 more squares to use up the remaining yarn and add to my Sock Yarn Blanket.

I cast on a new pair of socks using some posh sock yarn I bought in 2006.  Yep, SIXTEEN years it's been lurking in a drawer.  It's Lucy Neatby hand dyed pure wool.  These socks will be toasty warm but I can't just chuck them in the washing machine like my others.  These will need to be hand washed 🙄 but they're a really beautiful vivid pink colour and so soft to touch.  I've been knitting them while watching some crime dramas and yep, I broke another needle!!  I'm on Season 2 of Happy Valley and also binge watched Sherwood, both on BBC iPlayer.  Both have some great British actors!

My sourdough starter is still alive and well.  I made another batch of pancakes with it 😋  My first attempt at kombucha (fermented sweet tea) was successful and I'm onto to my second attempt.  I think I'll save the details for a more detailed post.  

I do like the taste of it raw and unflavoured (in the glass) but I thought I'd try a second ferment with raspberries from the allotment.  I'll report back if it works and if it tastes good.

I visited my new(ish) B&M superstore with my new DIL, just to see what it was it like and to see if it had anything I would use.  I knew it had some food but as they were all well known big brands I'd have to do some research to compare prices.  However, I did spot my usual biodegradable teabags with 50% free!  My usual box of 160 costs £3.30 and the 50% free box with 240 cost me £3.75.  A normal 240 box costs £4.80 in Sainsbury's atm.  I'm well stocked up on teabags now! ☕  

I was actually looking for some lidded storage boxes for my new to me craft room unit.  And I found some!  The grey ones with the tags still on them.  This unit will (hopefully) hold all my crafting supplies in one place so I don't end up 'losing' stuff for 16 years in drawers!!  I've taken the black boxes down from my kitchen as I've re jigged the cupboards by getting rid of a lot of 'stuff' in them.  I'm simplifying how I cook and eat so I don't need to keep as much in my storecupboard. That's a work in progress but more on that later in the Summer!

I've ordered a few more storage boxes from The Range, similar in style to the bee one but all different colours to match the funky wallpaper colours!  I hope the idea in my head works out in real life!!! 🧠 You can see the stripped wall behind the unit so there's some progress in finishing that room too 😊

Day 18: Sourdough

 

I mentioned last week that I'm venturing (again) into the world of sourdough.  There's a lot of evidence that people who have difficulty digesting grains (me!!) can eat sourdough products without issues.  I've tried in the past to make my own gluten free sourdough starter from scratch but it's definitely trickier when you use GF flour.  So I bought a GF dried starter.  It cost me £6.99, which is less than the actual cost of 2 GF sourdough loaves!!  

So I fed the starter with gf flour and filtered water for a week and to my surprise/delight it bubbled and fermented just like all the Youtube videos I've watched!  I used this recipe HERE and watched the video HERE  It's pretty straightforward but not a quick process!!  I just used Doves Farm GF plain flour.

I must confess I wasn't convinced after the first proving but I kept going and thankfully it all worked.  The finished loaf is crusty and chewy and tastes better than any commercial GF bread I've ever paid a small fortune for! 

Once it had cooled I sliced it into 10 slices and froze some.  As it has no additives/preservatives it won't last long before it goes hard.  It will make great toast and warmed up a bit for dipping in soup.  No idea why I wrote the18th on the bag though!! 😂

I've heard that as my starter keeps maturing and developing the yeasts it will get stronger.  I'll hopefully be able to refine the recipe each time until I bake the perfect bread 😋

I also made some sourdough pancakes using Lisa at Farmhouse on Boone's recipe HERE She has loads of sourdough recipes on her channel.  They were delicious!!  I halved her recipe as I didn't have a lot of starter and made 8 large pancakes.  They look more like Scotch pancakes (or drop pancakes) than the American style fluffy ones. I'll definitely be making these regularly as they're so easy and yummy with my Lovely Mum's blackcurrant jam.  I rolled them up to eat them! 😋

A teacher friend messaged me yesterday to share her watercolour painting of some bees and I showed her my sourdough starter.  She said how lovely it was that we have the luxury of time and the head space to do these things.  I totally agree 😊

Did I mention I've also started brewing some kombucha as well??  

Day 12: It's all edible (almost)

 

I just can't stop myself!!  More bargain plants from Dobbies, these are half price herbs.  I bought 6 @ £1.49.  2 apple mints, 2 creeping thyme, 1 camomile (sadly they only had 1 left) and 1 creeping rosemary for my Lovely Mum.  They had rows and rows of them, all mixed up so I had to really hunt through them for what I knew I would use.  I drink mint tea and camomile tea so wanted them to dry the leaves and store over Winter.  I have spearmint in my garden so wanted a different one for the plot.  Thyme can be used on roast chicken and in mixed herbs (def going to have a go at drying my own mix this year.)

Here they are all planted up in my new herb bed!.  Hopefully they'll grow and spread a bit this summer then next year I'll split them and plant up even more.  One of the mint roots had grown right through the bottom of the pot.  It broke off so I've planted it too in the hope that it will take.  Everyone knows that if you leave even a tiny bit of mint root it keeps coming back so here's hoping!! 🤞

Of course I checked the food bargains too when I was there and got 5 unwaxed lemons for 18p!!  I'm going to zest and juice them, then freeze in ice cube trays.  The last time I scored unwaxed lemons was in my Lidl box.  I sliced and froze them then used them a week later to make elderflower cordial.

Recipe HERE  It makes 3 litres so you could easily half it.  You don't need to add the citric acid as long as you keep it in the fridge.  I do any way as I like to keep it cold.  The elderflowers actually came from my class garden at school!  I left plenty to become berries in the Autumn.

I'm venturing into the world of sourdough.  I've tried before to make a starter myself but making a gluten free one is tricky.  So I cheated and bought one from this wee company in Brighton  https://www.sourdoughbythesea.co.uk/  It comes in dried form and you add flour and water daily to activate it.  This is it on Day 5, all bubbly and ready to start using tomorrow 🍞 A standard GF sourdough loaf costs £3.50 so hopefully I'll be able to make my own better tasting for a fraction of that!  Plus you can make pizza bases, pancakes and more with a sourdough starter! 😋  Frugal gourmet stuff!

I was watching Lovely Greens on Youtube last night where Tanya was talking about seeds to plant in July.  Check it out HERE  I was so happy to see that I had many of the seeds she was recommending! (wee yellow packet is Swiss chard) Woohoo!!  More edible planting and therefore more food for me 😊

But this avocado was not edible 😠 One of the 2 pack that was labelled 'ripe and ready to eat.'  Nope, it was black all the way through.  And the other one was barely ripe and not deliciously creamy.  I was so disappointed especially as it was my treat item from my delivery.  Ah well, everything else above is edible or will be at some point 😋