I won't be impressed with technology...

Good morning to all you Dear Peeps!

I see I've lost a couple of Followers...maybe it's something to do with the change in BlogLovin' (or whatever) that has been flying about the Blogosphere recently. As a self-confessed Techno Idiot I didn't really understand what it's all about. I don't "follow" many blogs, but I have bookmarked my favourites to return to over and over. Maybe it means I'll no longer be able to comment - I don't know.

Of course, I could have just lost followers because they are bored with my blog! Perfectly possible!! I know it's not the most rivetting blog around, but I enjoy writing it, and I hope there are one or two people who enjoy reading it. And I hope too that it inspires a few people to try new and different recipes.

Mr FD is on the phone to his mum. He chats for hours to his mum. Me and my mum, we're on the phone for about 10 minutes before we run out of things to say. A quick exchange of news and it's finished! 

And there's never much news, as this blog testifies!

This week, I've been preparing lessons, and teaching. That's about it... We had a little apèro at one of my students' homes - he's going to be renovating our bathroom, so Mr FD popped in after the lesson to discuss the quote and to have a little drink. I tried Japanese whisky for the first time, and was pleasantly surprised. 

We went to Ikea and I bought some neat little shelves to put some crafting stuff on. They fit very neatly between my desk and my existing shelves, without blocking the vent for the chimney. I'm very happy with them (although they did need to be "tied" to the wall, and have a pad of about 1 cm height shoved under the front feet, to counteract the slope on the floor!)

 

I'm doing a little bit of craft work, but I can't show you as 
(a) it's for a swap, so I'd like it to be a surprise for my swapee
(b) I can't find the camera. No idea where it might be. So I can't take any photos at the moment.

So instead I'll tell you about planned food.
Yesterday we had a rather unpleasant moussaka, made with leftover lamb from the shepherd's pie. I did it in the slow cooker, so it should have been unctuous and gorgeous, but it was watery, and almost tasteless. We ate it, but not with much pleasure, it must be said.

TODAY: Mediterranean Sausage One-Pot.I shall add a courgette and maybe some mushrooms to add to the vegetable content. I'm using merguez sausages this time, rather than Toulouse sausages, so it may be a bit spicier.

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SUNDAY: Steak with blue cheese parpadelleI won't be using fancy-named pasta though! It's whatever pasta we have in the cupboard from Lidl! I'm not a great blue cheese fan, but there are one or two recipes where I find it tolerable, so I thought I'd try this one.

MONDAY: Mr FD's fasting day...so today it's "No meatballs" - made with aubergine. I'll make these with a tomato/onion sauce and we'll have a bit of rice with them too. The recdipe suggests "sizzling" them in olive oil. We have just bought a new non-stick pan, so I may try browning them in just a mist of oil in the new pan, to save on calories.

 

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TUESDAY: Another vegetarian meal! Parisian red peppers. I have a pack of chilli halloumi cheese that I bought in the UK in summer (I haven't seen it in France) with a use-by date coming up. It seems like this would be a good opportunity to use it.

 

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WEDNESDAY: Slow Cooker beef cheeks in ale Unfortunately we couldn't get beef cheek, so it's not as economical as it could be, but I'm hoping that the quantity will do 3 meals for 2. I'll be putting it in the freezer. Mr FD will be in charge of the accompaniements of mashed potato & carrots.

THURSDAY: Orange & herb chicken - but with just oranges and chicken legs. I can put this in the slow cooker before we go out teaching/shopping. As it's another fsting day for Mr FD, I'll probably have some bread, but he'll just have veggies.

FRIDAY: I haven't decided yet, but it's likely to be a slow cooker recipe that I can prep before going to Montbrison to teach...but as I only have an hour between getting back from one lesson and having to leave for Montbrison, I may choose something that Mr FD will have to cook himself. From scratch. Which is no problem for him! But in that case, whatever it is, it won't involve chilli of any kind. The last two times he has cooked something involving chilli, he put in too much and I found it almost impossible to eat. He has a higher tolerance for spicy food than I do.

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As always I want to say Thank You for your comments...

Kezzie: when I left teaching in mainstream education I had cupboards full of Just-in-Case resources which, truth be told, I hadn't used in many years...A lot had come from my mum's resources when shez left teaching! It pained me to have to throw it out, but not many of the staff wanted any of it. Did your advisor make any comment about your paperwork mountain?!

Dawn: Thank you for your comment - and yes, the teaching was fine! It was a bit tricky as the two lower level students had forgotten almost everything and the other two hadn't, but at least I had enough to keep everyone occupied. They like me as a teacher, which helps, and they have intimated that they want to have further hours with mle. I suggested they might like to consider splitting the group.

Maggie: I used to do ballroom dancing, but it was by myself, as Mr FD refuses to dance. It didn't work, as I never had a regular partner. Line-dancing suits me better as you don't need a partner for that!

Lovely Grey: I hope you enjoy the salmon!

 

Jo: I hope you decide to join in with 40 Acts. I  found it inspirational last year. Here's this year's video...

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