All the Usual Stuff - and a kind of Giveaway.

Hello dear Peeps: I hope all is well with you. I'm fine, and generally feeling good. Which isn't always the case...My friend Cathy is due to arrive here for the summer next week, and then the weekend after I'm off to Munich for a weekend course..."Come and Grow: Say “Yes” to God’s Call to Service will enable lay persons to gain a fuller understanding of their personality style and God given gifts to empower them to creatively serve God’s people." It sounds interesting.

Well, you've seen my shopping list, so here's what's being made from it (although a couple of things have changed since writing the list)

TODAY: Piri-piri style sausages - or something similar. With sauté potatoes and green beans.

TOMORROW: Frugal Queen's Pulled Pork. But, in the true style of FQ, I tweaked the recipe to fit what I had! So I used some pulled pork seasoning (which I bought at Lakeland but didn't really like) instead of the pâprika, I used Barbecue Sauce made by one of the congregation at church instead of ketchup, and I added a dollop of Korean hot marinade sauce that I had in the fridge. I'm using the past tense, as it's cooking now, ready to be reheated tomorrow, for lunch. We have friends coming who have wanted to try pulled pork for a while, having been seduced by the advert that's on British TV at the moment.

I bet mine's better! We're going to have it with jacket potatoes, coleslaw and salad. And I'm planning on making a Victoria sponge for dessert.

MONDAY: Salmon & sweet potato fishcakes (already made & in the freezer), coleslaw and chippies.

TUESDAY: Not meatballs - this link is to Jack Monroe's site which is a boon for anyone who is trying to reduce costs. She is a great recipe writer who has known poverty and has had to make the most of not very much money. We'll have these with rice and a tomato sauce.

WEDNESDAY: Pork & parsnip cobbler. Some friends gave me 4 massive parsnips during the week. I've made a soup with two and will use the others in this recipe. I won't be faffing around with suet though for the cobbler - I use Rose Elliot's scone mix, with cheese.

THURSDAY: I'd planned a veggie + bits of meat from the freezer stir fry, but Cathy's going to come for dinner when she arrives here. As we don't know quite when that will be, I'm thinking I might make something ion the slow cooker instead - a kind of aubergine/ rice/ pork mince/ tomato layered dish, as I have a pack of Uncle Ben's microwavable rice to use up and I don't like it just as it is. Then it can just cook gently until she arrives and not spoil.

FRIDAY: Probably have the planned stirfry tonight - as I bought some Amoy stir fry sauces in Noz for 75 cents. I think the black bean sauce.

If you're trying to reduice food waste - and, let's be honest, we all shgould be, this link to Jack Monroe's site may well be of interest to you: Don't Throw That Away!

Thank you for your comments - as always.

 

TRISH & POMPOM enjoyed the two LolCats - I forgot you were a Beatles fan, Trish! It was a very suitable one for you! 

Thank you to MICHELLE & KEZZIE for their compliments on the zentangle cross. I was quite pleased with it.

KEZZIE - we didn't have the risotto in the end. As Mr FD said, it's hard to make risotto when you haven't got any rice. Ooops. Shopping fail!

ANG appreciated the "family shorthand" on my shopping list. Yes, Ang, "s'wich cheese" does mean cheese for sandwiches. As for the type, it rather depends what there is. I got a blue cheese for Mr FD and a Tomme de Montagne as well. Last week we had very indulgent Brillat Saverin.

For those like CRAFTY IN THE MED who are waiting to find out who the phantom Pisser is - since the camera went up thzre's only been one piss on the stairs and we can't tell from the photos who it was! In fact it didn't seem to have been captured on the camera, so we are a little confused. Still, it's now in video mode, so maybe this will be more successful.

POMPOM was querying the shopping list organisation, where I put "puddings" in the dairy section. This is because I buy little potted puds for Mr FD - I don't generally eat puddings, so these are things like fruit (or chocolate!) mousse, mini cheesecakes, or posh yoghurts. Which are found in the chiller cabinets.

 

CHERIE - I think I have to be organised on a list as otherwise I'd be wandering round the supermarket, having to go back to fetch things I'd forgotten. This is my "definitive" list too - there's often an on-going list that gets transferred to the organised list on shopping days. Mind you, it's not foolproof - I forgot to pick up the milk yesterday! Maybe because I went to another shop that I'm not used to, so I was a bit hither-and-thither anyway.

I've run outof ideas - and reasons - to zentangle. Is there anyone out there who'd like a piece of  original zentangle inspired art doing ? Let me know in the comments section and I can get on with it... I've done lots of different themes: music, chickens, sheep, crosses, knitting, dragons, angels... Just leave a comment and I'll be in touch! And if you're not sure what I mean, here's a couple of examples of work I've done: