Butternut, Butter Bean, But A Lot More Besides*

 

A warming autumnal casserole, to bung in the slocooker and forget about till teatime...

Quantities for 2, but easy to double up
INGREDIENTS

• 4 tbsp oil
• small onion, peeled chopped
• clove of garlic, peeled, finely chopped
• sprig of rosemary, finely chopped
• 250ml stock
• 4 pork sausages, each cut in half
• 300gm butternut squash, peeled, cut in 3cm chunks
• can of butter beans
• 150g chard - well washed*
• salt&pepper
• 2 heaped tbsp breadcrumbs
• grated parmesan/vegan parmesan [optional]
  

METHOD

• Heat 2tbsp oil in a frying, stir in the onion, cook gently 10 mins, and rosemary and garlic cook for 2 minutes.
• Transfer to slocooker. 
• Put 1tbsp oil in pan, and turn up the heat - brown off the sauages for 5 mins
• Transfer to slocooker.
• Pour half the stock into frying pan to deglaze then tip that, plus remaining stock into slocooker
• Rinse the butter beans under the tap, and add to slocooker, along with the squash cubes.
• Cut out the chard stalks, slice into 2cm lengths, cut leaves into bite size pieces, add to cooker.
• Put slocooker on high, and leave for at least 3½ hours. Season to taste with s&p
• Just before serving, toast the breadcrumbs in 1tbsp oil till crisp and golden, season with salt
• Serve in warmed bowls, stir in parmesan/VeganP if desired. 
• Sprinkle with breadcrumbs
• Enjoy!

It doesn't look as vibrant once cooked, but it tasted good.

* This recipe was loosely based on one I read somewhere, but modified to use up stuff I had in the fridge/cupboard/raised bed. Do make sure to wash the chard really thoroughly. I found a tiny snail clinging to the back of one leaf.  I may name this dish

  "Sausage Casserole Sans Escargot"

 

Dancing The Foxtrot?

 SLOE,       SLOE,      QUICK,       QUICK,       SLOE !

On Friday, Bob was delivering two Shed Aprons to a lady in the Retirement Community up the road, and she told him there were lots of sloes in the hedge by the footpath on the other side of the fence. Julian and I went on Saturday, armed with lok'n'lok boxes. But there is no longer access through the fence - just a padlock and barbed wire. We drove round the complex,  hoping to walk up the footpath that way. But that appears to be closed off at the minute [we suspect part of the Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone Project aka NOWZ]

Disappointed  we went back into the village and down a lane where I found sloes a few years back. The bush was still there - but someone had picked it completely clean apart from THREE fruit. Never mind...

You have to be quick to get a sloe round here!

Margaret And Grace

Do you ever find yourself doing something ordinary, and out of the blue, a memory comes flooding back from years ago An incident long forgotten flashes into your mind as fresh as if it were yesterday..

.Storm Amy brought down fruit from our two trees. I collected the windfall, and then picked all the remaining fruit. I had two large bowls full of apples and pears, some a little bruised, and many of the apples with insect holes. And my peeling machine was still in use at my friends house...

Without my gadget it would take forever, especially with all the cutting away the damaged portions. Was it really worth it? So many imperfect fruits -why not just tip the lot in the compost bin?

And I remembered a day in 1982. Bob was a student, Liz was 6 months old - and in the flat upstairs lived another student family. They had just had a second child, and were on the point of moving to a larger flat. I went upstairs to offer help. The weary young Mum said "Can you deal with these apples? An old lady at church sent them to us a couple of days ago. I don't want them, I haven't got enough time to look after the children, get ready to move and peel a load of rotten apples!" She handed me a heavy plastic carrier full of fruit. I carried them back to my kitchen. I was grateful - we were living on the breadline, and free food was wonderful.

I put Liz down for a sleep, then went back to the bag. I tipped it into the washing up bowl. 80% of those apples were bruised, or worm eaten...I wept with frustration. Why would somebody think that was a suitable gift for anyone ? Especially  for a busy mother moving house. It was insulting, and thoughtless...I was about to bag them up again and put them in the bin when somebody knocked at the door. It was Margaret, the wife of one of Bob's college tutors. "I've just been upstairs visiting the new baby, and thought I'd call and see how you were. Are things going OK?" 

I told her I was annoyed about the rubbish apples - and she gently suggested I made a cup of tea, whilst she had a look at them. Maybe the old lady didn't realise how bad they were, she said, and wanted to give a gift to young people training for ministry. If they had been in the bag since Sunday they would have deteriorated, some were imperfect, but not all. Perhaps we could salvage enough for a pie or a crumble. 

While I made tea, then pacified the baby and changed her nappy, Margaret worked cheerfully. She. peeled and trimmed, and soon my biggest saucepan was full of chunks of good apples. She swept the cores and peelings into the bag, and tied it up to go in the bin.

I felt very humbled. I'd seen a bag of imperfect apples, and felt annoyed and ungrateful. She had seen someone's thought and generosity, and found the good and useful fruit.

She had taught me a lesson in grace, that I have never forgotten. 

Good Hare Day

Two weeks ago we realised we needed to cancel our holiday. On the Sunday afternoon I decided to do a jigsaw to cheer myself up. A few months back, my lovely BIL Kevin had given me some puzzles which had belonged to his late Mum,  Ruth. I chose this Angela Harding 500 piece square one.

It was fun, but challenging. 

It took a few evenings, and I was glad I'd used my felt mat so I could roll it up and put it somewhere safe when the family arrived. 

Once it was finished Bob said how much he loved the picture, and I did too. It shows two beautiful Irish Hares on Rathlin Island [Details here] We decided to frame it. A couple of coats of Ravensburger Puzzle Conserver, and a spare picture frame and here it is on the wall. Thank you Kevin, I love it!

Knock, Knock, Gnocchi!

I bought a bag of gnocchi on a whim in the Co-op. Liz had said she cooked some in the oven, so I asked for the recipe. So easy, and so tasty, so we ate it all up before I'd remembered to take a picture. 

In a large bowl, toss the gnocchi with a punnet of cherry tomatoes,** peppers cut intolerant chunks, onion wedges, a few garlic clives7, a chopped courgette and/or aubergine.  And a generous glug of olive oil, plus salt. Mix together, to coat everything in the oil. Pour onto a large rimmed baking sheet or roasting dish.

Cook at 200° for about 30 minutes till the gnocchi is crispy.  Serve sprinkled with parmesan and basil.[picture from the internet]

I have eaten gnocchi in the past which has been cooked in water like regular pasta. But this way of cooking fresh gnocchi adds a crispy shell. Bob said it reminded him of cooked chestnuts. 

A quick recipe needing minimal intervention. And one which lends itself to being adapted for whatever veg are in the fridge.

**I typed my shopping list on my phone in a hurry. I was amused to see an error. I quite like the idea of a punnet of CHEERY tomatoes.

Have you tried any new recipes lately?

Thank you Liz for this one.

Fit To Bust!

A popular idiom meaning 'with energy and enthusiasm'. Yep, that's my approach, most of the time. Admittedly there has been diminished energy round Cornerstones of late [once the girls left on Sunday] , but still enthusiasm. It being Thursday, I thought I would share 3 more tips relating to my recent koromogae activities. Apologies to any blokes, this is a rather girl-oriented post!

first I mentioned briefly on Tuesday about turning hangers, but did not explain it very clearly

At the end of the season, any hangers not turned round will show the garment has not been worn. When I replace garments, I turn the hangers and put them to the right of the rail. Unworn clothes end up all on the left.

second prolonging the life of my slippers. I love my Moshulu slipper boots, but the inside linings have worn badly at the heel. Cheap foam insoles cost around £2.50 or more. I had a brainwave...

I bought table protector for the dining table, years ago. And trimmed it to fit. The trimmings went into the Great Stash in the loft.  It is the perfect stuff to cut into shape to line my slippers! And if it only lasts one season, I have plenty more of it for future winters!

third I have had an issue with bras. I am very fond of the 'tee-shirt' style. I like that layer of padding which gives a good, smooth line under finer garments**. 
But maintenance of these is difficult, and I realised some no longer 'fit to bust' properly. 

The problem is that if you fold them in half and tuck one cup inside the other [as recommended by those Folding Women who have perfect underwear drawers] for storage, or to put them in those nifty little lingerie washing bags, you end up distorting the padding. After a while, the top edge starts to curl outwards, and ruin the smooth line.

Then I had this brainwave, and all those years studying topology found a practical purpose.

Twist the bra in the middle, through 90º, then tuck the right side into the left side, with minimal distortion of the padding.

Voila! Push the back panels into the cups, and you can store or put in a washbag without damaging the garment's structure.

You read it here first - how mathematicians make their bras last longer!
Three ways to better manage your wardrobe at minimal expense.

**Before I had children, I was size 32AA. I remember being on holiday with a female friend, lounging by the pool, and a guy asked "Where do you come from, Ang?" Quick as a flash, my mate responded "She's from Norfolk, where everything is very flat"

Making Space

It has been very satisfying to declutter a few more things recently. I have seriously reduced the assorted children's toys - and this unit was almost empty. I decanted those few things, and this went to a CS Monday [having first checked the boys in Manchester do not need it] 

Then yesterday my bag of surplus clothing went to a different CS.  Julian is coming on Friday, so I need to tidy the back bedroom. I suspect there will be some more stuff to go from there. It is very satisfying. Personally, I find my home grown veg bring great joy, so they are staying.

Jacob seems to like his pumpkin, and Jess is just relentlessly cheerful as she comes out of school! So many people in my family have names beginning with J [for Joy!]

Next task is to get the remaining summer clothes vacuum packed and put away in the loft.  I must sort out some baby wool - a nibling is expecting, and this great-aunt needs to get knitting...

Why does Great-aunt sound so much older than Grandmother?