Celery and Stilton Soup

We are on half-term this week and although the weather has been cold, today we have a brilliant sunny day. The washing is blowing on the line and I have started to tidy up the leaves and put the garden to bed for the winter.

What was needed for a warming lunch was a bowl of celery and Stilton soup with home-made crusty bread.

 

Remember the chicken stock?

 

 

It's been strained and set aside to cool.

(I didn't need all of it, so two portions have gone in the freezer!)

 

 

I gently fried some chopped celery (including the leaves) and one onion in a good knob of butter for about 10 minutes, until the onion has started to soften.

 Added the strained chicken stock....

 

 

... and left to simmer for about 25 minutes, or until the celery was soft.

Add chunks of Stilton (not too much as it is a strong taste)  and wait for it to melt.

Season to taste, then blitz with a stick blender/food processor

or push through a mouli.

 

This pan made 3 large bags of soup for the freezer. The celery was going soft in the bottom of the fridge and was past its best for salad.

You can use the same method for any 'seen better days' vegetables.

There's only one problem with this sort of lunch - afterwards, I feel like going to sleep rather than getting back out into the garden! It's getting dark by 4.30 p.m. now though so I'll plough on as we can't be sure of the weather at the moment. If nothing else, I must get the geraniums into the greenhouse before the frost comes.

What's your favourite winter-warming soup?

 

 

KEEP SUNDAY SPECIAL....

Sunday, in our house, is a very traditional day. This is my favourite day of the week - always has been, always will be.
When I was a child I was in the Girls' Brigade and part of that commitment was going to Sunday School, clutching my sixpence for the collection. There was a church at the end of the little footpath that connected our road to the shops. In those days it hadn't long been built and was considered very modern.

I remember a huge stained glass window with doves, flowers and animals on it. All the pews were made of a very light coloured wood and the whole place seemed filled with sunshine. My only experience of churches up to that point were dark, dusty places where you had to speak in hushed tones.

(My family were invited to a Christening some years ago. We duly arrived, found our places right at the front of the church but were a bit concerned that none of the rest of the family were there. On enquiring of the church warden, we found we were sitting in the Baptist church. Two minutes before their service started we all had to troop out, in front of the whole congregation and run down to the C of E church a few doors down).

But I digress ..... (again!). I don't attend church nowadays as I prefer to find my spiritual healing outdoors in the fields and countryside. Mother Nature is my Creator.

Back to Sunday....  we always had a roast dinner at lunchtime listening to Two-Way Family Favourites followed by the Navy Lark or somesuch comedy programme.
In the afternoon, we sometimes piled into the car

 and went for a 'Sunday Drive' often ending up with an ice-cream from the van on the waterfront in Harwich  ....

...... a cup of tea at the tea-room in Dedham

.......  or watching the swans at Mistley.

 Mum invariably fell asleep in the front - it's only now, as a mum myself, that I appreciate how hard she worked!

Tea was ham sandwiches and crisps or boiled eggs and soldiers listening to 'Sing Something Simple'.





Sunday was also bath and hairwash night. No hairdryer - I had to lie in front of the coal-effect electric two-bar fire until my waist-length hair was frizzled. When 'Sunday night at the London Palladium' finished, it was bed-time.

There was no shopping on a Sunday and garden centres were in their infancy.

I still try to 'Keep Sunday Special'.

My children know better than to ask 'can we go shopping' on a Sunday. At a push, I might pootle around the garden centre. We always have a roast. I always listen to the Archers omnibus, Desert Island Discs and the Food Programme. Sunday evening is now 'Downton Abbey', 'Larkrise to Candleford' or the current Jane Austen/Charles Dickens dramatisation.
Shoes are always cleaned ready for the week, school bags are packed, uniforms are ironed and we are ready to face another week.
Yep, I love Sunday!

The weekend start here.....

Saturday! Whoo hoo! (Not least because it's Strictly night and Merlin night)

Lazy start to the day, cup of tea in bed, another cup of tea in the garden, another cup of tea browsing t'internet - you get the picture!

Today, I have to go to the library. I have reserved a copy of 'Hovel in the Hills' as recommended by the peeps on the OS board at moneysavingexpert. Well, you didn't think I was going to BUY a copy, did you?

Then a browse around the charity shops - I need (as opposed to 'want'!) some plain white t-shirts to wear to work. Wearing an apron all day in the cookery room makes me hot (as if my age isn't doing that already!!) so I wear t-shirts even in the depths of winter.

Must go to the local butchers and get some mince (home-made burgers and bolognese), a gammon joint (Sunday dinner with roast potatoes, yorkie puds and cauliflower cheese) and some bacon (CBA dinner - egg, bacon and chips!). I meal-plan every week - I did this even before it became fashionable! I like to be organised and know that I have everything for the week. Less chance then of having to 'pop to the shops for milk' and come out £20 lighter because I 'fancied' biscuits/cheese/wine etc.  Every little helps........ keep my money out of their pockets!

Managed to get a red cabbage reduced to 26p yesterday. I'm going to pop it in the slowcooker all day today, then freeze ready for Christmas Dinner. Organised, or what!!!!!

 

Shred the cabbage finely. Peel, core and chop the cooking apple. Peel and dice the onion

 

Layer in the slowcooker with 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 clove finely chopped garlic, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar and some freshly grated nutmeg.

 

Add 25g butter. Because this is cooking in the slowcooker, I also added a little water. Cook on low all day. Hey Presto - Christmas preparations started....

 

And where are all these peelings going? Correct - in the compost bin to rot down and provide my vegetable garden next year with the richest compost ever.

And so the cycle continues....

 

 

 



I shall be keeping an eye out over the next few weeks for sprouts and parsnips reduced so that they can be blanched and prepped for the freezer. I also have a glut of eggs at the moment, so will probably make a couple of dozen yorkshire puddings which freeze well and only need a few minutes in a hot oven to crisp up again. Not that they will last until Christmas though!!!

 

Have you started your Christmas preparations yet? I will be thinking about my Christmas cake soon....



Autumn Walks

It was one of those late Autumn afternoons when the watery sun was already low in the sky at 3 o'clock.

Three springer spaniels turned their soulful eyes to me. I knew that look well! It meant 'can we go over the fields before tea please'.

How could I refuse.....

 

Come on mum! Put the camera down and open the back gate...

 

Hmmmmm..... fox or horse

 

I'm ready for my close up now.....

 

Why don't they take to bath water with as much enthusiasm?

 

The crop in this field was devastated last summer by a field fire.

 I think the farmer has planted over-wintering green manure to help the soil recover....

 

I feel rose-hip jelly coming on .......

 

Spaniel heaven .......

 

In the spring, the forest floor is covered in bluebells.....

 

 

It's in here somewhere.......

 

Bliss.....

 

 

And tomorrow, we'll do it all over again!

 

In My Slowcooker - Beef Curry

Can you tell how much I love my slowcooker?!!

I managed to pick up a pack of reduced price steaks yesterday. There were six in the pack - far too many for DD and I to eat in one go.

So, two of the steaks were sliced up and popped in the freezer ready for a beef stir-fry.

The other four were cubed and put in the slowcooker.

I added some mushrooms and carrots

A tin of value new potatoes went in

Two spoonfuls of tikka masala paste

Top up with water and cook until you get home!

If you have any in the larder, you could make it a fruity curry and add dried apricots or sultanas, maybe a tin of tomatoes/tomato puree, perhaps some french beans. If you have the curry sauce base, you can add your own extras!

If you haven't got a slowcooker, this can easily be made in a casserole dish in the oven, on low for a couple of hours until the beef is tender.

When I am making a casserole, I usually brown the beef first to give it some colour and flavour. When the beef is cooking at this low temperature for hours, I don't think it needs browning.

This will make enough for a meal tonight and another two portions for the freezer.

So, six meals from a pack of reduced price steaks - RESULT!

What's your favourite curry recipe?

In my slowcooker today .....

For a busy, working (single!) parent, slowcookers are very useful gadgets to have in the kitchen - as is my Remoska, but I'll save that for another post!

The slowcooker is used two or three times a week to make casseroles, stock, soups, curries etc. It means that I can get home from work and find the majority of our evening meal ready. The house smells wonderful too - bonus!

I've already mentioned that money is very tight right now and I know many people are struggling to make ends meet, but I can't understand why the best bit of the chicken is thrown out in the rubbish! Actually, I suspect it's because we don't know what to do with it or have never been shown how to make the most of every bit of the bird. I call it 'rubber chicken' - stretching it as far as it can go!!

In our household, a chicken makes a roast dinner on a Sunday and a pasta bake on Monday. The bird is then stripped of the not-so-tempting bits and that is the dogs' treat!

Here's how I make the stock:

 

Break up the carcass to fit into the slowcooker. If you don't have a slowcooker, just use a large pan - large enough to cover the bones with water.

 

 

Chop up a large carrot and two onions (leave the skin on because it gives the stock some colour). I would usually add a stick of celery, but it's the end of the week and I've run out so I'm using celery salt instead!

 

 

Put the whole lot in the crockpot, almost cover with water, stick the lid on

and cook on medium until you get home from work!!

 



 Once cooked, the remaining chicken will be stripped off the bones and given to the dogs. They will probably have the carrots as well! Onions and parsley will go to the chickens! Bones will go in the compost heap.

 

After the liquid has cooled, spoon off the jelly and strain the stock through a fine sieve. At this point you can store it in the fridge for a day or two or pop it in the freezer. Make sure you label the freezer bag though as it's difficult to determine what the frozen lump is after a while. Ask me how I know!!

 

I don't season my stock as I prefer to add salt and pepper according to how I am using it. Tonight, I will be using the stock to make a bacon and pea risotto. Depending on how salty the bacon is, it might not need any extra seasoning.

 

What's your favourite way to use up chicken? Do you make your own stock?

Frugal meals

Here's how I made a reduced pack of chicken breast feed myself and DD for two meals! These were reduced to £1.19.

Last night, I sliced one chicken breast horizontally into two pieces, bashed them flatter between two sheets of clingfilm, marinaded them in tikka masala paste and yoghurt then baked them and served with homemade potato wedges and salad.

This is what I did with the remaining breast this evening:

 

Already reduced!

 

 

Cut the breast horizontally and flatten with a rolling pin

between two sheets of clingfilm

 

 

 

Whizz some stale bread in the food processor (or grate) to make breadcrumb.

Add some grated Parmesan and chopped parsley.

 



 

Look at the colour of that yolk! That's why I luuuuuurve my chickens...

Beat the egg.

 

 

Dip each chicken fillet first in the egg then in the breadcrumb mix

 Place in roasting tin and dot with butter. Cook for about 20 minutes.



 

The finished result! Served with homemade yorkie puds and homegrown carrots,

I wish I could say that the potatoes were homegrown but the crop was dire this year!

 

 

A really simple, tasty and cheap meal.

STOPTOBER!

Along with many other blogging friends, I am taking part in Stoptober! No, not giving up smoking, (I don't smoke!) but giving up unnecessary purchases for the month of October.

And here's why ....

After a series of disastrous financial decisions, a house move during the housing dip in 2009, reduced hours at work and stupidly putting day-to-day expenses on the credit cards (and not paying off in full each month) I found myself drawn into the ever-downward spiral of debt. Thankfully, I had my 'lightbulb moment' and contacted the marvellous Payplan who helped me to set up a workable budget. After working out my living costs, they then contacted all my creditors to arrange a repayment schedule. Some of the  creditors accepted and froze the interest, some were less understanding of my situation. However, I am still making my monthly payments to Payplan who, in turn, are paying my creditors.

It was incredibly scary cutting up the credit cards - my safety net had been taken away! Until I realised that it wasn't a safety net at all - rather a cage from which there was no escape until I was debt free.  That debt free date is currently 2034!!! Eeek.  Of course, I am hoping to clear my debts much sooner than that which is why I need to cut right back this month. I had an unexpected vet's bill in August which emptied my savings account so that has to be built up again if I am to produce any sort of Christmas at all for my family.

So I will be:

• menu planning
• shopping from - and ONLY FROM - my list
• walking wherever I can
• putting on a jumper rather than the heating
• using up stores from the larder and freezer
• making all meals from scratch rather than buy ready meals. To be fair, I am a  cookery teacher so I have very, very rarely bought ready meals!
• thinking ahead to the 'C' word and planning some homemade gifts.

I find fellow 'simple living' bloggers incredibly inspiring and am an avid follower of moneysavingexpert. What those 'Old Style' ladies and gents don't know, isn't worth knowing! Whatever the question, somebody will know the answer..

I find that many people nowadays who are having to cut back are feeling cross and angry that their money isn't stretching as far as it used to. I see it as a liberating challenge. No longer having the luxury (ha, ha) of buying what I wanted, when I wanted it, I have now learnt to distinguish between a 'need' and a 'want' - you would be surprised how much stuff you think you need but actually only want. Adverts, of course, have a lot to answer for. They make us believe that we all  need their products to remain healthy, have a comfortable house, a car to make the neighbours envious etc. etc. etc.  All poppycock!

The more you can cut out consumerism from your life, the happier you will be - I promise you. Trouble is, you need to have some sort of lightbulb moment to make you realise that. If you simply try to stop spending, you will fail. You have to know WHY you are stopping spending and have a goal to work towards. For me, that goal is being debt free.

Have you had your lightbulb moment? What are your goals?

I love this time of the year. The nights are drawing in, the woodburner is lit, the candles glow in the windows and there is a real sense of the earth settling down for its winter rest. It has provided me with salads, vegetables and herbs throughout the summer. The hedgerows have provided me with berries and the forest has provided me with mushroooms and kindling. All this against one of the worst summers I can remember.

My vegetable garden has been very much a 'work in progress' this year. Here are some 'before' pics!

Fires were lit

Trees were pruned and chopped

 

Ground clearance still in operation!

 

It has taken most of the summer to clear and dig the ground, but I have still managed to get purple sprouting broccoli, red cabbage, kale, onions, broad beans, spinach and chard in the beds. I still have some lettuces left but will have to keep an eye on the forecast to make sure the frost doesn't get them.

 

Is anybody else starting to 'Dig for Victory' this year? Has the weather affected your planting/harvesting?