Thumb painting?

Squeezing a tube of paint for today’s picture and the top of the tube was blocked. I tried to gouge the piece of card stuck to it and paint squirted out all over my hand! I cleaned most of it off but then thought it would be interesting to take picture of my thumb….

It’s an occupational hazard, that and getting paint on my clothes too. I managed to get blue paint on my top. Most of the paint I use is waterbased, like acrylic, but if you don’t wash it off quickly it can dry and form a skin of plastic on your clothes. In the case of oil paints, they stay wet for longer and can be cleaned by wiping off the excess with a cloth or paper towel, then using synthetic turpentine to dissolve the oil paint and wash it out with detergent.

Warmest September on record

I was just watching the news and so far this September is the hottest ever recorded in history, and the year is heading towards the hottest ever too.

Meanwhile our government has decided to cancel a high speed train project and instead wants to support car drivers. They are going to have some kind of war on potholes in the streets! They don’t want to slow traffic to 20 miles an hour in built up areas, although it means children would be less likely to be killed in accidents where the current limit is 30 mph.

Also the petrol or diesel car is seen to be better than electric vehicles. Our government is putting back the date when cars have to be electric from 2030 to 2035. Firms that were planning for the 2030 date and retooling their workshops now have to rethink what they are doing.

And the government have signed off on a new oil field in the north sea, but the oil and gas from there is due to be exported to other countries to be refined and we will have to buy it back at inflated prices!

But as long as our Prime Minister can travel on private jets all must be well with the world!

Toad in the hole from scratch

I followed BBC Good housekeeping magazines recipe for this. Vegetarians and vegans forgive me, you could use vegetarian sausages, but the batter needed eggs….

I used seven frozen sausages

2 eggs

1 small onion, sliced

Accompanying vegetables, potato, carrot and broccoli.

140 grams of self raising flour (I didn’t check which sort I needed)

Milk to add to the batter mix.

I oiled a dish and baked the sausages with some sliced onion for twenty minutes. In the meantime I put the flour in a bowl, made a dent in it and added the eggs stirring with a fork till it was all mixed together. Then I slowly poured in and mixed milk into the batter so it was like thick double cream.

I poured the batter over the part cooked sausages, and returned them to the oven on gas mark 8 because my cooker does not get very hot. I checked them over the next twenty minutes but I still managed to burn the batter a bit. I also think I should have added more milk so that it would have been moister. I chopped the vegetables up small so I boiled them on the hob for twenty minutes. Finally I added gravy granules to some of the vegetable water to pour over the meal.

I’ve never made this before, but it was something my mother made for our evening meals. I’m glad I tried. I will try and remember to make this again.

In car news…

We don’t need a starter motor! Our mechanic found out it was a loose connection and the motor was not earthed to the car body. We still need a gasket (ordered) some oil and a battery but hopefully it won’t be as costly as we thought. Its been a bit of a nightmare, especially since the car is so old, but it has been very reliable so I don’t mind spending a bit more money on it. Goodness knows what I will do if we have to get an electric car. I might have to buy an old, battery driven milk float! I think that’s all I can afford.

Oily sheen

Iridescence caused by a single layer of oil spread out over water. I used to see this when I was a child on the school playground, I don’t know what had been spilt. I also remember seeing this sheen on the tarmac on roads when I was young. But now cars are less polluting the phenomenon has reduced. But obviously some cars still leak oil. Will this happen when all cars are electric? Doubtful, but who knows when that will be.

Fuel price cap

Later today the United Kingdom is going to be told the new price cap for Gas and Electricity which will affect the cost of bills. The price is set to skyrocket to about £2300 a year in October but then £4200? Per year in January! Bills are going to be unaffordable for the poorest in society and the question of whether to heat or eat becomes very bad if all you can afford to buy is cheap tinned food but you can’t heat it up.

The UK is supposed to be the sixth richest nation in the world but we seem more interested in giving the fuel companies shareholders masses of money instead of supporting our citizens. Our government is currently deciding who will replace Boris Johnson by letting 160,000 members of the British Conservative party choose the next prime minister instead of doing something about the cost of living crisis. Note to Liz Truss who is likely to win. If you cut taxes that’s fine for the rich, but a lot of people don’t pay them because their incomes are already too low. A 1% cut of nothing is nothing.

Just out the oven

It’s looking OK. Bread made from a kit, added a few rolled oats and a bit of bran.

I used oats on the outside once it had proved and been knocked back. When I took it out of the bowl to put into a Pyrex flan dish it had trebled in size. It only shrank slightly when I put it in the dish. The kit I had used contained yeast and had mixed seed in it. It was cooked on gas mark eight (high heat) for twenty five minutes. Now it needs to cool. The loaf needs turning ouf of the flan dish but it’s too hot at the moment. I don’t have any oven gloves so will use a tea towel. Will have a bit later on with bread and cheese if it’s OK?

Eggs… Pancakes?

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My hubby keeps buying eggs but we are not using them up. They are getting towards the end of their life so I will be making an omelette for tea or even pancakes with blueberries and lemon juice.

If I’m making pancakes, I will make a batter from eggs, milk, and flour. I tend to use self raising flour because the pancakes puff up. I’m not one of these thin, crepes, type of pancake people. My mom used to make pancakes in February for Shrove Tuesday. She would add snow water to the batter (yes it used to snow in February!)

So if you want to make them I will try and write a recipe.

First get 2 mugs full of flour. Plain or self raising, this is for a few people so reduce amounts in proportion for one. Put in a mixing bowl.

Then add two or three eggs depending on the size of your mug. (Make a little well in the flour and break the eggs into it.)

Mix together and slowly add around a mug of milk. Add it slowly and stir it in. Keep an eye on the consistency, you want it pourable, like double cream, (heavy cream in America I think?)

Once it’s mixed just put it aside to rest in the fridge  (I don’t know why?)

Then get a frying pan, coat the bottom with a small amount of oil, or a spray frying oil or butter. Heat the pan up quite hot and carefully pour the batter in. Tip the pan to spread the batter out till it covers the base of the pan. If there is still wet batter on the top you can pull the pancake away from the edges of the pan with a spatula and let the batter spill into the gap. Turn it over with a spatula when it’s gone golden brown and cook for a few more seconds on the other side. ( You don’t have to toss it).

Sprinkle with sweetener or sugar and lemon juice when it’s on your plate. Add fruit to taste. When you’ve done one heat the pan again. You might not need to add oil as there should still be some left behind.

Continue till you have used all the mix. You can vary the thickness depending on how hungry you are!

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Waiting for the mechanic

Our car needs the rocker head gasket replacing because its starting to weep. That means oil is starting to seep out of the top of the engine. It’s not serious but it needs fixing. The rocker head gasket is right at the top of the engine and sits above the spark plugs. Its where the top is bolted on to the body of the engine block. Not to be confused with the head gasket which is a bit further down.

Apparently its quite a simple job, and as long as the oil is only seeping out slowly its not too bad, but on the other hand it does need fixing.

When I rang up the garage I go to they said bring the cat in this afternoon. So we went down and waited, but no one is there. Its a bit worrying because our mechanic has not been well and he is a friend, so that’s even more worrying. I tried ringing but there was no answer. I guess all I can do is try again tomorrow.

Breadmaking

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When my hubby makes bread,

It’s like an alien invasion.

It’s like the film ‘the blob’

Expanding

Contracting,

Overflowing.

The flour is everywhere,

Brown and white

Two packets of yeast,

Half on the floor.

The biggest pan,

The hottest oven.

Rising up to the ceiling,

Growing  like a balloon.

Cooked

Nice with marmalade.

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