Delicious budget meals for frugal entertaining: Honey glazed gammon baked with star anise and tamarind recipe
Ham is generally superb to cook and eat. Gammon can be a bit disappointing with its rougher texture and stronger taste. A few weeks ago a good friend gave us two small joints of gammon, bought from the back of a lorry at a Bank Holiday market. The first one was simmered very slowly in the slow cooker and Danny gave it the thumbs down. “It tastes piggy.” The dogs didn’t agree. This weekend I spotted the other one, nestling in the freezer. Loathe to give the dogs another treat, I remembered Smart Wife’s deluxe budget dish. “I’m...
read moreUpgrading the software on the Cottage Smallholder site
Last night and early this morning we upgraded the site to the latest version of WordPress. It took a long time and there are still a few glitches that we need to iron out. We have now installed Bad Behaviour as spam comments and trackbacks are still causing problems. In fact last week the overload of spam hitting the site made it impossible for genuine users to access the site for a total of three hours last week. We are still experiencing a bumpy ride with the site. Many apologies if it was down when you tried to access it today. Hopefully...
read moreThe brain is a muscle
In my later thirties I returned to college to study computer animation. The information overload was intense after years of making wooden toys and leading a relatively simple life. I also had never used a computer before. This was a bit of a disadvantage. Sometimes I could feel my brain almost “sweating” as it struggled with the new concepts and ideas. A lot of information went straight over my head. Having been quite an able student at school and university I discovered that the slippery slope to the bottom of the class was short and...
read moreMourning the death of our favourite shop
There are many things that send a rippling chill over us all at the moment. But there is one event that devastated us months ago. Back in April, Fred Fitzpatrick sold his butchers shop. Locally, people gossiped and I couldn’t bear to tell you that we’d lose this wonderful resource. It’s the butcher rather than the four grey walls that makes a shop special. Deep down inside I suspected that this scenario wouldn’t work. “Well what’s this guy actually like?” Fred was twisting sausages deftly into threes and gave me a cool...
read moreBlogroll
Every blogroll is special. Even the ones that have over a hundred names. Mine holds the blogs that I visit regularly. If I don’t have the time to drop by, I often think of posts that they have they have written – ideas that have touched me. Even though I have met only one of the authors, I count all these bloggers as friends. Sometimes , late at night, we wonder about these ‘friends’ and plan a party for the boggers that we like and have never met. One day this will happen. The hugs will be enormous and the gossip afterwards will...
read moreTagged for a Meme: Six random facts about me
I’ve been tagged by Jane over at The Winds of Change. This is a interesting blog and worth a visit. The rules of this Meme are: 1. Link to the person who tagged you. 2. Post the rules on your blog. 3. Write six random things about yourself. 4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them. 5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog 6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up. Six random facts about me I feel the cold. I often wonder what horrors that I endured before I could speak. Although my...
read moreOverwhelmed by the flavour of onions
I found a pack of eight chicken legs knocked down to £1.49 in Waitrose on Sunday. My mother peered at the pack. “They look awfully thin and scrawny.” “I don’t care! Slow cooked with loads of vegetables they’ll make a great chicken casserole.” “Well, I’m going to buy these chicken thighs.” She reached for a substantial full priced pack, tempting and plump. Rising to the challenge, I rushed home and madly chopped vegetables. I filled the slow cooker (crock pot) to the brim and then I pressed in the svelte chicken legs and...
read moreA guaranteed investment. Attract overwintering ladybirds to tackle aphids in your garden next year.
Just beside our front door is a small ladybird (ladybug) and lacewing condominium. It’s a simple design that seems to work well. Just a few short lengths of bamboo cane in an old terracotta pot but it does the trick – attracting these aphid eating insects to a warm sheltered spot to hibernate during the chilly winter months. Last year I spotted a selection of rather smart ladybird hotels online. When I saw the price tags I decided to make my own. I had got as far as cutting the bamboo bedrooms and didn’t have time to construct a frame to...
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