New paintings and regular art updates.
Just drawn this sign for my friends Thai Restaurant. Sawadee Thai Taste in Stoke-on-Trent. She has a hand written sign in biro saying she is doing take away. But no one can see it. So while I go and collect a meal I’m going to drop this off.
I think in these stressful times it’s important to help out, even though this is only a little help…
So many small local businesses are going to close with the virus impacting on them. I want to support what I can.
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My friend decided to order this for us on line. Carribean chocolate rum cake. It arrived today, a small cardboard box with a yellow hexagonal box wrapped in bubble wrap inside. When I took it out of the box there was a dark round cake inside, it had a small hole in the middle. It was like a sponge cake. The box said you could microwave it, so I made some custard and warmed it through. Very tasty. And where did it come from. Not Tortuga, but Hampshire. Yummy.
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Today’s challenge was breakfast. Unfortunately I’m setting the challenges and I didn’t get up till almost noon! When I finally did break my fast it was two pm. Apologies to any vegetarians out there. But I’ve got to say bacon butties really taste nice when you are hungry.
My drawing was with a black felt pen, then coloured in with blue, red, brown, yellow, green and purple felt pens. The USK challenge is getting a few participants, its enjoyable to draw every day and having set themes makes you think!
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Baked beans and sweetcorn with added hot curry powder and breaded chicken fingers.
It’s not what I would normally cook for a meal, but it was definitely filling.
Not much else to say about it, except the sweetcorn was frozen. I served it on pretty Portmeirion pottery plates.
Well, I don’t think I’ll say anything more except it was orange coloured! I guess I could do a series of pictures of different coloured food combinations, green cabbage and brocolli maybe, with green cheese sauce?
Perhaps not!
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USK Stoke day 26 challenge. Eating fruit. So I drew this wrinkly apple, balanced on my easel, then ate it… Not the easel, but the apple.
Drawn with coloured pencil crayons, charcoal stick, black ink pen and permanent marker pens.
I’m now hungry….
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Evidence of a BIG mouse.
So in these self isolating, lockdown times. My hubby decided to open the ‘Christmas cake in a ring pull tin’.
It was there as a treat for some time in the future. But as things are, OK why not? I’m not allowed to eat much sweet stuff but I thought I could have a small sample.
Anyway, after ten minutes of trying to open the tin, he got the can opener on it as the ring pull didn’t ‘pull’. He managed to cut round the base (thats where the ring pull is).
Another struggle, there was a thin strip of metal sticking up. So I got the key off a can of corned beef, and after much fiddling got the cover off the cake. Then I put a plate on top and tipped the tin over to release the cake.
There it was, surrounded by nice white, pleated, grease proof paper.
Hubby got a knife and cut himself a quarter. Then, he started picking loose bits of fruit off the rest of the cake! He stuck his fingers in his mouth each time and licked his index finger as he picked up another crumb!
I was upset! I told him there was no way I could eat any of it now. The only way I could have any would be to slice off the top and bottom and sides to leave a small bit from the inside.
I did threaten to do this but as the only gloves I have are the gardening ones that I was using today to cut back roses and Ivy, I decided that would not be a good idea.
I put the cake in the fridge. Ten minutes later when I went to get some milk for a coffee? Well you can see…. A BIG mouse had been at it!
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I had a bag of sprouts in the fridge, they needed using up. What to do? I took a mixture of leftovers and cooked something ‘not bad but interesting’ according to my hubby.
First I used up half a small onion. I chopped it up and cooked it in a small amount of butter and olive oil. I added some garlic granuals, dried chives, and dried basil.
I then added sprouts that I had cut the base off, took off the outer leaves and then cut them into quarters. I added some water to the mixture up to the level of the sprouts in the pan and let it gently simmer.
I cut up two large tomatoes that were getting wrinkly and were just past their best before date.
I carried on simmering it to soften the vegetables.
While I was doing this I put on a small amount of penne pasta in some boiling water. I cooked that until it was Al dente (still slightly firm)
As the sprouts were softening I added half a jar of tomato pasta sauce that I’d saved from last night.
If you want to leave it there you can. That would be a vegetarian option. But I had some mini frankfurters to use up, so I cut them into small pieces and added them to the mix. Once they had heated through I tasted the food. It was quite ‘sprouty’ so I took a small piece of cheddar cheese, about a thumb sized piece for each of us and melted it into the mixture. I added a little salt to taste and then drained the pasta and added it to the mix.
Cooking time, about twenty minutes in total.
Don’t know the cost, but not much.
Ingredients
Half a small onion. About two big handfuls of sprouts. Two large tomatoes. Half a jar of tomato pasta sauce. A handful of mini frankfurters. A small amount of mild cheddar cheese. A couple of handfuls of pasta.
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My hubby has bought some citrus plants and has them in pots in the garden. They came with the fruit on them. He took them inside the summerhouse for a couple of nights but he’s trying to let them harden off. One was a kumquat, whatever that is. I sort of think they were ornamental, but they say they are edible…. He just eats them whole! Anyone know what these are?
Anyway I might chop one up and add it to a gin and tonic!
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Bread pudding made, yum!
It was a bit burnt on top. I used half a stale crusty brown loaf, soaked in water overnight. Then I added a cup of dried mixed fruit, and stirred it in to break up the loaf. Then added two eggs, some milk, three teaspoons of sugar substitute, a few knobs of butter and a teaspoon of cinnamon to make a wet mix. I put it in a greased shallow baking dish and baked it in the oven gas mark six (mid temp not too hot). I cooked it for 1 hour and 20 minutes. It came out a bit burnt on top. The bits of crust were nice and crunchy. I served it hot with cream. You could use custard.
One way to use up stale bread. Thanks Frank’s wife for the original recipe.
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What do you do with your stale bread instead of throwing it away? It depends what you have in your store cupboard.
I asked around for an old favourite of mine, bread and butter pudding. A friend obliged and here is her recipe.
You need to soak your bread overnight, that would be good. You need suet . Dried fruit. Sugar. Ground all spice. I beaten egg. Sorry cant give you exact amount. Suet possibly 4 ozs. Sugar about the same about 12 ozs mixed dried fruit and a good teaspoon of the spice. Mix together with the soaked bread and then mix in beaten egg. Put in the oven for about 1 and half hours on number 6. Hope it turns out okay.
I replied that I would have to use butter as I don’t have suet, also the sweetener that I use for cooking. I don’t have all spice, but I’ve got a bit of cinnamon. She doesn’t say what to soak the bread in. I might use half milk and half water?
Well, if it turns out OK I might let you know. Thanks to my friend for the help.
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Mallaband-Brown