Another recipe, a home made card, and another rag rug.

Hello. What next with broccoli? I have pulled out all the stops and come up with this amazing idea. Broccoli is such a versatile vegetable, you can have it with almost anything. Beans on toast can be quite boring, but what if you add something else to it, like broccoli. There is too much sugar in baked beans, so why not counterbalance that by eating something healthy with it. Brilliant idea. 

The recipe is dead simple. Take one tin of beans and put half of them into a mug, and microwave till it's hot. Cut some broccoli into bite size pieces, and steam it, either in a pan or an electric steamer. Put two slices of bread in the toaster. When the toast pops up put it on a plate, then add the beans so the sauce soaks into the bread. Arrange the broccoli on top in an artistic manner. And there you have a mighty fine lunch. I've got two more bags of broccoli, so more recipes to come. Bet you can't wait :o))

It is a friends birthday at the end of the month, so I thought I would get organised and make a card. I have some blank cards which I bought ages ago, they cost �4 for 50 cards. I chose five different pieces of cotton fabric, and machined stitched them vertically on the front of the card, using a zigzag pattern. It is not perfect. After I had gone up and down the card I had to sew across the top and bottom, so there is an overlap of stitching. Then I added some pieces cut from old cards, on a gold foil backing. I think it's nice, and I think she will like it.
 

Now for the unveiling. It's been a long time coming, but it's finally here.......THE NEW RAG RUG. Measurements are 2 feet 7 inches by 4 feet 3 inches. It looks as though it has a lot of red in it, but in fact they are different shades of pink, red, orange, and peach.

Some of the fabric has curled up into tubes.

The back is as colourful as the front.

I love it even better than the first one, and it will take pride of place in the bedroom. I doubt I will be making any more, it's a long job. I haven't any more of the backing mesh left, but at least it has been put to good use. I knew it would come in handy when I retrieved it from the back of a lorry ten years ago.

Here we are, it's Friday night again. Enjoy your weekend. Catch up soon. Toodle pip

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It's a good job I love broccoli !

Hello. Today has been a bit of this and a bit of that type of day. I've been getting on with the rag rug, it will be finished tomorrow so some pics will be posted. I am very pleased with it, definitely  worth all the effort. 

More broccoli eaten today. My goodness will I ever get through it! I finished off the last four burgers from yesterday. Next I chopped up some broccoli, along with five baby carrots, and four spring onions, and added water and zapped it with the stick blender. Then I tasted it, a bit oniony, so I added five big juicy green grapes. zapped again and tasted it. Could be better. So I sloshed in a slug of cloudy apple juice. 

Perfect, just right. It's quite thick so I ate it with a spoon.

For dinner tonight I made a bowl of soup with the broccoli stalk, four carrots, and the tops of the spring onions. I added garlic powder, black pepper, and a teaspoon of beef stroganoff packet sauce mix. Think I went a bit over the top with the pepper, it was mighty hot. Twas very nice though and went down a treat with a slice of wholemeal bread. Followed by a glass of water to put the fire out, ha ha.

This afternoon I went to help my friend in her garden. Luckily the rain held off so I was able to get stuck in. The fence had blown down and is beyond repair, so I smashed it up and stacked it near the gate ready to be taken to the tip. Then I cut up a load of twigs and filled the brown wheelie bin, and made a start on cutting back the massive laurel bush. There will be a few trips to the tip with that lot once the top gets chopped off.

We finished a bit earlier today at 4pm, but still worth calling in at Tesco to look for yellow stickers. They hadn't done the final markdown, I didn't want to hang about for an hour so I just picked up a few items which I thought were a good buy. Not quite 90% off, but still worth having. I spent �2.58, and got more broccoli and carrots, ha ha. Also got lettuce, cheese, and two bottles of apple juice.

I won't go to the big Tesco this week, I have enough food in to keep me going until next week. Might need to get some eggs so I will probably go to town at some point. I think we've got some nice weather coming our way, let's hope so. Catch you tomorrow. Toodle pip.

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Not another broccoli recipe !

Hello to all my UK visitors. Hello to those in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, China, Germany, New Zealand, Ukrane, Ireland, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Sweden, and Russia, and hello to those in the rest of the world. It warms the cockles of my heart to know that you pop in here and read my ramblings. Let's start the Wednesday Waffle with a song. If you are standing up let's see you do a bit of bopping, if you are sitting down, get those feet tapping. I was looking for a song about cooking, and this is what I found.

This is day three of the broccoli recipes. Now if you are following these, they may not be to your liking. You don't have to copy what I do, because I make it up as I go along. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Whatever I end up with I eat, you might like to feed yours to the dog, ha ha. Today I opened a tin of chick peas, 33p. Mashed them up with a fork, adding garlic powder, curry powder, sesame seed oil, and crushed walnuts. 

I steamed the broccoli and two chopped onions for five minutes, and added them to the bowl. Mashed it all up together. It seemed a bit dry, so I added two eggs. I was going to use one egg, but as I eat my eggs in two's, I thought what do I do with an odd egg, so I put both in. This made it a bit too wet, so I crushed four crispbreads and added that. Much better.

I hate putting my hands into mushy food, and as luck would have it I remembered I have a pack of disposable gloves in the cupboard. I remember buying them when I moved into the house because I had a lot of cleaning to do. They didn't all get used, so for this job they are ideal. No sticky hands to wash afterwards. Here is a plate with six grilled chick pea and broccoli burgers. I got ten out of the mix, so some in the fridge to use tomorrow.

I ate four for my dinner tonight. Didn't bother making anything to go with them as they are so filling. I just dipped into the tartar sauce jar as I was eating. The verdict? Miles better than the mushy pea burgers. They could have done with a bit more seasoning, I thought best to be cautious and put slightly less that I thought, didn't want to set fire to my throat. They are perfectly palatable and they will all get eaten. Maybe some veggie gravy on them would be nice. I've just tried one cold they would be fine in a pack up.

It was a bit of a faff to make them, I'll do something simple tomorrow.

I planted up some seeds today, it was a garden day as it was sunny. Runner beans, cucumbers, peas, broad beans, and dwarf beans. The hedge trimming has started, best to keep on top of it before it gets out of control. I did an hour on the cross trainer while watching Mr Selfridge, and took Lady dog a walk.
Adios, catch you tomorrow.
PS. Just noticed, this is post number 1918, the year of my mothers birth. Coincidence that I wrote about her yesterday.

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When she was 64

Today is a special day, my mum would have been 96 today, had she not had the heart attack which ended her life at the age of 64. I can remember the first heart attack she had a few months earlier, I was there when it happened, I rang for a doctor who came very quickly. He knew what to do and worked hard to get her heart beating again. Then the paramedics arrived in the ambulance not long after, and took over. As I looked down at my mother, her face draining of it's colour, her lips turning blue, I knew it wasn't the right time for her to go, and she didn't. Thankfully she pulled round. 

The second time a few months later, she wasn't so lucky. I wasn't there but my brother was. She didn't make it and her heart stopped forever. When I got to the age of 64, last year, I have always been mindful that I must look after myself, I must do my best to eat well and exercise. Every day I hope and pray that I will reach 65, and with a bit of luck, a few more years beyond that. Knowing that my mother died at the age I am now reminds me of how lucky I am. When I open my eyes each morning and see light, I whisper a quiet thank you. Thank you for a peaceful and comfortable sleep. Thank you for a new day. Thank you for my life. 

This morning I went for a free NHS health check, it was advertised in our North Lincolnshire Council newsletter. It seemed the right thing to do today, on my mum's birthday. I turned up and filled the form out and waited my turn. I was weighed, my height and waist measurements were recorded, then I went through to the next stage. My records came up on the computer, they showed that I had a health check a couple of years ago, and today I am not able to have a full check because it is their policy to offer them every five years. I was a bit disappointed because I wanted to compare my results today with the tests I had done before. The lady was very helpful, she suggested I look for a place which does free cholesterol checks. I didn't get the full Monty today, but she gave me some time to talk a few things over. 

I particularly need to exercise more. I admit I have been a bit slack throughout the winter, having mad bursts of physical activity as and when I feel like it, then not doing anything for a few weeks. Now the weather is improving I will feel more inclined to get stuck in. I owe it to myself, I'm not ready to go and meet mum just yet.

As promised, pics of the new denim bag. It seems the best place to photograph anything is on my kitchen floor. The light pours in through two windows, and the light grey tile pattern does not overwhelm the object. I made the two sides separately again like the last one, but this time I joined them together by hand sewing, with contrasting red cotton.  

The several layers of fabric were very thick, especially round the corners, I had to force the needle through using pliers. I am very pleased with the result.

I decided not to add more embellishments to this, I don't think it's needed.

So, what's the broccoli recipe today then. Something very simple. Tagliatelle, a third of a packet, (�1 from Tesco), steamed broccoli, gratings of cheese, drizzled with sesame seed oil. Less than ten minutes to make, and very cheap. Scoffed the lot :o))

Time to go outside for an hour while the sun is still shining. Catch you tomorrow. Toodle pip.

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Lipsmackin broccoli soup. Chuffin lovely.

An enjoyable way to start the week is to get together with a group of chattering ladies, and share craft ideas. There were ten of us sat round the table this morning, each working on our own creations. It's a really friendly atmosphere, and when it's cold outside, we are snug and warm inside sipping our coffee. 

Some people brought items to show, so I took a few snaps. This little handbag is gorgeous. It is soft and padded. The embellishments on the front are hand made.  

A first attempt at felting from scratch. A little case made in one piece so no seams. Very clever I thought.

A crochet cover with beads around the edge.

These gloves are actually shades of grey. Don't know why they have come out blue.

And this bag was made from a skirt. A fab piece of re using and re cycling. It's a shoulder bag, the strap is long enough to go across the body.

And now for my lunch. Thank you for all your suggestions of what to make with broccoli. Today it's soup. I used half a packet of prepared broccoli, and four spring onions. Cooked them in water in a small pan, and added a shake of garlic powder, a shake of black pepper, some veg pasta bake sauce mix, a dollop of cream cheese with garlic, sprinkles of grated cheese, a spoon of cream, and two teaspoons of porridge oats. Eaten with two crispbreads, it was lip smackin chuffin lovely.

Dinner tonight was, one chopped onion, and some soya mince, cooked in sesame seed oil, with garlic powder, and wholegrain mustard. When it was ready, I added two eggs and scrambled them, kept stirring to mix it all up. Served on two toasted potato cakes, (reduced 35p for 6). Very tasty and filling. 

I've finished the blue denim bag so I'll show that tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by to read. Toodle pip.

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Not to my taste

Something new to try, Mushy Pea bake. Never seen them before, and probably not good value as you could get a tin of mushy peas for about 15p and make your own. Worth a try I thought, they might be fantastic, and you can never have too many peas in your diet. There are four in a packet for �1, so spread them over four meals with some veg and it works out at quite a cheap meal, especially when your veg has yellow stickers on it  :o))  

Each one measures 7 cm across, not a big size but quite deep.
 

Serve with carrots, broccoli sweetcorn, and onions, cost per meal, at a guess about 50p.

My verdict on the Mushy Pea bake, it was alright I suppose, nothing to shout about, just like mushy peas really. The breadcrumbs were crunchy, but it was a bit tasteless, it could have done with some herbs to spice it up a bit. On the packet it says 'A new eating experience', I wonder if that refers to the actual tasting and eating of it, or the rumbling tummy followed by the explosion at the other end ! I won't bother buying them again. Didn't float my boat. Next time I will open a tin of mushy peas.

Sorry Lockwoods, I don't suppose you will be sending me any more of your products to test  :o((
Catch you tomorrow. Lots of lurv xxx  

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Here is the news, sorry it's a bit soggy

It's been a boooootiful day here in my neck of the woods, not far from the east coast of middle England. The morning fog lifted to give way to lots of sunshine. I had a little potter in the garden, then took a chair outside and sat doing some sewing. The birds were twittering, the wood pigeons were cooing, the cats were strolling around, and the children were having fun in their garden a few doors down. All was lovely. 

This morning I went out and did a litter pick. I noticed a few cans lying around the other day, so off I went with my trusty picking stick and a big carrier bag. There is a snicket which goes from the posh houses onto a dog walking area which we call the hills. By the way a snicket is an alleyway, or a ten foot, or a path. Just beyond that is a wood, and I spotted something in the bushes. I get really annoyed when people hurl things into the undergrowth hoping no one will notice it. I pushed my way through the brambles, big boots are a necessity for litter picking, and found a bundle of Parish Council Newsletters. Now, I know that they pay for the exact amount to be printed so every house in the village gets one. There are 44 houses which haven't received the latest copy which went out two weeks ago. Obviously someone got fed up and couldn't be bothered to deliver them. 

How chuffin annoying is that. Given the location that they were discarded they should be able to find out who did it, and give them a right rollicking. Well I would.

How ironic that there is a mention from the chairman about entering the Best Kept Village competition, and hopefully winning it this year. We usually come second or third. We won't win anything if folks keep chucking the newsletters away. Aside from creating more litter, people won't know about the competition and won't be helping to tidy the village up to give us a good chance.

It would be great if we could win it, I shall be stepping up my litter picking, and keeping my eyes open for any other little tidying jobs that need doing. Some of the road signs could do with a wash. The phone box needs a wash as well, and the bus shelter. We have a new man to look after the graveyard around the church, he seems quite keen. I shall be asking people to tidy the road in front of their house as well, failing that, I will be doing a bit of road sweeping myself, ha ha.

I am relaxing with a can of cider tonight, full up from my steamed veg dinner. I shall watch a catch up programme while doing a bit more sewing. Have a nice Sunday.
Toodle pip.

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