Pottering

I think pottering sums up our weekend.
First thing Saturday morning my mum and C joined me at one of the local church halls for a plant sale. Between us we bought a variety of flowers and foods including runner beans, strawberries, cucumber, sweet williams, geraniums and tomatoes.

In the afternoon I took the children to a family fun day being held at one of the City's parks, except when we got there we found it had been cancelled due to the heavy overnight rainfall. Nothing on the website indicating it was cancelled though. We decided to have a stroll through the park anyway as it's been a while since we were there last.


Sunday was spent pottering in the garden. S was very keen to help with the plants we had bought the day before, in between jumping on the trampoline or counting how many skips she could do.

We did have a quick whirl around the car boot sale in the morning but it was so cold and windy there we didn'twant to hang around, although so much nicer once we were home again, just a mile or two down the road. There wasn't much on offer that caught our fancy but I did find this Swedish enamel tin for £1.00. I've been looking for a new container for the cat biscuits and this fits the bill perfectly.

I would like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who left a comment on my last post. I don't think I've ever had so many messages left on a post before! It was so interesting to read other people's experiences (or those had by people close to them) concerning food or how experiences with food in childhood has shaped their eating habits as adults. Thank you all for sharing.

As requested by a couple people I will now post the recipe for Chocolate Puddle Pudding. I cooked this for us to eat after our meal last night and remembered to take a quick snap of it just before I tucked into it. I won't win any prizes for presentation but it sure was scrummy!

Grease a 2 pint pie dish. I cook mine in a Pyrex casserole dish.

Preheat oven to 190c/375f/gas 5.

In a bowl combine 6oz self raising flour, 2oz cocoa powder, quarter pint of milk, 2oz melted butter or marg, 5oz caster sugar and half a tsp vanilla essence. Mix together.

In a saucepan gently bring to the boil 3oz soft brown sugar, 2 tbsp cocoa powder and three quarters of a pint of water. Pour over the pudding mix. Cook for 40-45 mins. I find that I need to cover the top of mine with foil for the last 10 mins or so.

When cooked the chocolate sauce will be in a puddle in the bottom of the dish.

Enjoy!

Fussy Eater

After my post the other day about my cooking and eating habits I thought I should another to explain a bit further.

Apparently up until the age of around 5 I ate anything and everything and became fussier and fussier the older I grew. I was taken to the doctor by my very worried mum and he assured her I was perfectly fine and if I was hungry I would eat and not to make a fuss as it would worsen the situation.
At my primary school there are 2 very clear memories I have around food.
The first was in the school hall where we were being told about arrangments for a trip. Lunch was being provided by the school and the headmistress singled me out in front of everyone asking me with a great sigh if I would eat the cheese and tomato sandwiches being taken. I remember I tried to answer her as confidently as possible that I would just take the tomato out. But oh the embarrassment.


The second incident was being made to sit outside the headmistresses office with my, by then very cold, school dinner because I hadn't eaten it. Teachers and other pupils walked passed me and it was a thoroughly shameful experience.Mrs Leyton was the name of the demon dinner lady and made lunch time hell for me. I can't remember what it was but it did contain mashed potato. I have had a phobia of mash ever since. Even now there are times when I can't talk about it, smell it or cook it as it makes me gag. Freaky I know!

When there were the chances of a residential trips with school I didn't go because I couldn't be sure I would be able to eat.

As I grew up my automatic response to anything new was 'I don't like it' as it was easier to keep to the few things I did eat. I have a thing about textures as well as taste and even though it's so embarrassing talking about it that far out weighs the fear of being sick. I have lost count of the amount of times I've tried eating apples and hated the grainy texture.

Getting to the age of having boyfriends and them wanting to take me out for meals were yet more painful situations when I had to go through the whole explantion thing again and wait to see how they reacted. Going out for meals there days is better and as long as there are chips on the menu I won't go hungry.

Over the past decade I have made a real effort to improve my diet. I now eat pickled beetroot, but only in sweet vinegar, I eat broccoli, I eat mushrooms, I eat strawberries and raspberries and there are other new things too.

But I still can't eat roast potatoes unless they are encased in a really crispy skin, all to do with the mash thing, although now my chicken roast dinner includes a green veg where as before it was just a pile of yorkshire puds!

I may try and joke about it, but honestly?

It's so boring and sometimes gets me down. I would love to be able to sit down to meal which contain a variety of tastes, but it really is very difficult when there is so much baggage around trying new food.

I wanted my children to have a varied and healthy diet and so that's why I try and cook from scratch each night and I try desperately hard not to fuss when they say they don't like something! I do like the spaghetti carbonara I cook though. After I've done the evening meal for my 3 my meals tend to be something quick and easy because that is all I like, boiled egg and soldiers, a pizza, bacon sandwichs, chicken fillets.

I don't suppose many of you would be wanting me as a dinner guest now!

Anyone want anything from the chippy?!

Thrifty Thursday

I couldn't share these on Sunday as I accidently left them in my sister's car.

Whilst wandering round the car boot I stopped by these lights and when I enquired how much they were the chap said I could have them for nothing. He said they had worked perfectly well when he packed them away in January from the outside of his house and if I wanted them I could have them.
I thanked him profusely and kept my fingers crossed.
My sister whispered to me as we walked away,'bet they don't work then!'
But lo and behold they do and very pretty they look too.
Can't get thriftier than free!

Thrifty Kitchen

I like to think I am fairly good at being good with money.
I've always had budgets, made lists and shopped with an ever eagle eye for a bargain.

When I left home and started being responsible for bigger bills and bigger budgets one thing I really tried hard with keeping to a minimum was the grocery bill. I remember mornings at work when we used to get out our till receipts and read what each other had bought and see what we'd all spent. Sounds a bit strange but it could actually be very entertaining, honest!

Apart from the usual Home Economics classes at school I never really did much cooking until leaving home, probably because I am so incredibly fussy with food. When I did need to learn I bought the book on the right, Grub on a Grant, as it seemed to offer simplicity and meet my thrifty ways. A few of the recipes do consist of opening various tinned foods and mixing them together, but there are more adventurous dishes included and it really helped me get my confidence going in the kitchen. It's the one cookery book that has stayed with me for nearly 20 years.

The other book I have used a lot is the Eat Well for £1.00 which came to me through bookcrossing. I have never come across this book in charity shops and am very glad to have a copy, especially as it includes the much loved family favourite Chocolate Puddle Pudding.

Most nights I cook from scratch and most nights I still don't eat what I've produced so I still don't know really know what my cooking tastes like but S did tell me the other day that one of the 3 reasons she loves me is because I am a good cooker. Praise indeed.

Bluebell Walk

Last week I received an email from the Woodland Trust with a visit woods link to help find bluebell woods in my local area. So I did a quick search and this place popped up. We haven't been here for a few years despite it being a 5 minute drive away. The reason for this I suppose is that when dad became too ill to walk Tilly we would drive over and pick her up and bring her to this spot, so it was with bittersweet memories we went back today.


We weren't disappointed by the blubell display. Just a few edged the path as we walked into the woods


and then there were more

and more the further we walked in.

T remembered being here with Grandad and found his way back down to the lake. This belongs to a private angling club and there is no admittance but we get to enjoy a good view of it.

One thing we hadn't found in our walks there before was a path which led out into a field where for these 3 playfighting turned into a mass tickling session

and we all went 'ah' when we spotted this foal in the next field.

Car Booty

The car boot sale was absolutley heaving with both buyers and sellers this morning. My mum and sister were among the sellers and they made nearly £100 between them so they are very happy.

These are my favourite buys from today.

Red rose jug 50p.


Old metal colander to use as a planter 50p.

New summer bag 50p and a sparkly brooch £1.00.

Another bag, can't resist those polka dots 50p.

These 2 itmes for bought by T for me. Can't tell you how happy that made me.

I've already had a cuppa out of this mug since being home.

This plate is going to go on our dining room table to be used for fruit. T bought it for 20p, he's a bargain hunter already!

April Scavenger Hunt

I only have 11 photos to share this month. I failed on the one for April showers. It did rain late last night but I was in bed reading and I didn't want to move from my cosy spot!

My breakfast- apart from high days and holidays my breakfast is the same each day. 2 weetabix, with milk and a sprinkling of sugar and then eaten once the weetabix has completely soaked up the milk.


My camera- my Christmas present 2 years ago from G.

A set of keys- a pub sign near where I work.

An interesting shop name- There is a takeaway shop down the road from us which recently closed down. The shop name was removed to show the name of the shop which was there previously. It was a sandwich shop called 'Large Bloomers.' Perfect for this month's hunt but I didn't have my camera. When I went back a week later which my camera the shop front had another name in place, so inconvenient!

This one we saw in Winchester and is of course a sandwich shop.

Something to do with Shakespeare- road names near G's mum.

A cross- T spotted this one on one of our walks during the school hols.

A church- I visit this church at least once a week. It'swhere my dad's ashes are buried.

Eggs- just had to be Cadbury's mini eggs.

Something yellow- the day the new list came out we went to B&Q and spotted these fabulous watering cans. Again I was without my camera so T came to the rescue and took a quick snap with his phone.

A sculpture- part of a sculpture in one of the City's central parks. The children love climbing up it and then sliding down.

Something to do with St. George's Day- the badge T received on his trip to Twickenham with the cubs last weekend.

Looking forward to seeing what everyone else has found too.