Category: Food

Dull and Wet – 3 January 2023

Posted on by Zogman

Yesterday was cold, today was just miserable.

Dull and wet. That sums up today. After our counter-clockwise walk yesterday, neither of us really wanted to go much past the door today. However, to prevent us starving we did have to drive to Tesco to get the bare essentials. The ‘Bare’ essentials means No Alcohol. New Year is past and Christmas is only a vague memory, so that means back to working week abstinence. I can’t say I’m delighted, but it does make sense.

I swear there was more water on the inside of the car windscreen than on the outside. Apparently it’s because modern cars are so well sealed that the water we give off in our breath and sweat condenses on the cold glass and that’s what causes wet windscreens inside the car. I’m not so sure I believe that, but if it’s true someone must live in the headlight housing of the car, because it mists up too, quite often. Thankfully Nissan has installed a heavy duty blower to get rid of the last remnants of moisture once we’ve wiped up the worst of the water and it was used with a vengeance today.

After lunch and in the rain, I went out into the garden wearing a raincoat to keep me dry and with a towel wrapped round the A7iii to keep it dry and I snapped a few photos in the back garden. My favourite subject is the hanging basket at the back door. It’s falling apart and covered in moss, but there are always a wide variety of leaves and almost dead strawberry plants to photograph in it. It created the PoD although it was an untidy looking subject.

Early in the evening a mist descended, and looked like it might be quite photogenic, but by then it was far too dark for even the most intrepid photographer to venture down the dark lanes of Cumbersheugh and that includes me. Instead, Scamp and I made a Salmon and Prawn Pie in a Pan. Of course, Scamp did most of the work and I just helped chop some tomatoes, but those tomatoes allowed me to claim my share of the glory if it worked. It did work. Lovely crunchy Filo pastry, slices of salmon and juicy tomatoes with some couscous to soak up the juices. Jamie Oliver isn’t as stupid as he looks! We may try some more recipes from his vastly overpriced book.

Entertainment on the TV was Paddington 2 which was a delight. That’s our kind of film, I think. No complicated plot lines to follow and everything turns out fine in the end. I hope I’m not spoiling the film by giving away the ending! If I am, just ignore this paragraph.

Tomorrow looks a bit drier than today, not that that would be difficult. We may go out for a walk if it is.

Happy New Year – 1 January 2023

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A new day, a new year, but the weather remains the same.

New Year’s Day is one of those days that promises a lot and delivers very little. It sounds as if it’s one big party from start to finish, but for most folk it’s not. It’s a day off work for those lucky enough to be employed, but a day off work in the dullest time of the year isn’t a bundle of fun, really. Christmas is all bright lights and having fun, but NYD is a bit of a let down, I’ve always felt. Maybe it’s just me.

We went for a very quick walk round St Mo’s pond. Scamp wanted to try out the GPS on her new watch and yes! It worked!! It also gave us an excuse to be out in the fresh air. Bumped into Susan Greenshields in the park with her two dogs. We said hello and repeated the HappyNewYear speech everyone does on the 1st, as usual without a happy smile on our faces. It was a rushed conversation because we’d just been sent the Zoom link by Hazy who was hosting today again.

Back home it was boots off, jackets off and get the laptop set up. Scamp doing the ‘techy’ things today. Actually this was the high point of the day. Just like being there. Everyone talking over each other and it was good to see that both Neil and Jamie were looking a lot better than on Christmas Day when both were definitely not at their best. I think we used up almost all the allotted time on Zoom and I felt better after that. Just talking to folk is great sometimes, but talking to them and seeing them is even better.

Dinner tonight was Forestier Paté for starter then Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts and a choice of Salmon Fillet or Ribeye Steak for the main, finishing with Panna Cotta which I managed to make in the morning. It was a bit rubbery I thought, but Scamp said it was fine. Two more in the fridge for tomorrow.

I spent most of the rest of the day wrestling with Lightroom while Scamp read. Most of the swearing has abated now and I think Lightroom and I have declared a truce. Battle may resume tomorrow if it doesn’t play nice. However, we now have a photo calendar on the wall using Hazy’s wonderful idea of using a clipboard. Hopefully calendars will be printed this week … or maybe next.

PoD was a grab shot of a bloke walking his dog down that lane. The path that keeps giving.

Thank you, H, J, N & S for the Zoom meeting, it brightened our day.

Tomorrow looks better than today, but I’m not sure yet if it’s just a weather fairies’ ruse! Only time will tell.

The end of a long year – 31 December 2022

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At last we got a dry day!

To celebrate we went for a walk. A long walk round Broadwood Loch. Not the most interesting place for photos, but that didn’t stop me from taking some. I don’t think I’ve seen the loch looking so still. One wee moorhen paddling smoothly across the waters almost made PoD.

After lunch Scamp walked down to the shops and I went for another walk in St Mo’s this time. There I got today’s PoD which is a sycamore key caught in a whin bush. I just liked it and that’s why it got the last PoD of 2022.

I walked over to Condorrat later to get a Special Fish Supper for me and a Small Fish Supper with two Pickled Onions for Scamp. If you don’t know what a Special Fish is, imagine a haddock fillet dipped in breadcrumbs and deep fried x 2 and you have a rough idea. Just the thing for the last Saturday in 2022.

I’m not going to go over the good bits and the bad bits of 2022, because it’s not over yet. Maybe tomorrow.

Speaking about tomorrow, we have no plans. Probably because it’s snowing right now.

Happy New Year when it comes.

Standing water – 30 December 2022

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Scamp was going to have coffee with Shona today.

I drove Scamp up to Costa in the town centre. What should have been a quick journey turned out to be a bit fraught. I thought I’d be smart and take the shortcut through Condorrat. Alas the sign saying No Road On Right had fallen down. I hadn’t noticed it at the time, but once on to the closed road there was nowhere to go but back again. Still stuck on the idea that this was a shortcut, I carried on round the Condorrat ring road. Then I was stuck in a queue because the road was flooded almost right across the road and cars were taking turns to drive through it. We did eventually get through the flooded stretch, but it was deeper than I’d first thought.

I came home the normal way and went to get my meds, then went next door to Tesco and got some fish because I was making a fish risotto for dinner. I also got a vanilla pod to use for Sunday’s dessert. Almost six quid for one vanilla pod? Somebody’s having a joke here. The reason the road was flooded this morning was because it had rained incessantly through the night, but when I came out of Tesco the sky was clear and the sun was shining. Where did all the rain go? Not a cloud to be seen!

I drove home, dumped the stuff and grabbed my camera bag and went over to St Mo’s. Of course, as soon as I left the house the sun disappeared and the first spots of rain appeared. Undeterred I carried on and got some photos of the flooded pond. Not the most interesting photos and by this time the white cloud had covered the sky, so there was no texture from that either. Still, I had a photo or five and an hour ago I didn’t think I was going to get any.

I walked home and just as I got in, my phone rang. Scamp’s bus from the town centre hadn’t appeared. I drove up to the town centre and picked her up. I made sure I came home the long, but unfolded way.

After lunch which was yesterday’s soup with croutons, or fried bread if you prefer, I settled down to write to Peter Hayward who I used to work beside. I’d only just got started when two cards dropped through the letter box. One for Scamp and one for me from Peter. After reading it I felt even worse for not writing sooner. But the letter was finished and in with the belated Christmas card then I walked over and found I’d just missed today’s collection. Never mind, it wouldn’t have been going anywhere until Monday or Tuesday anyway. After dropping it in the post box I felt a lot happier.

Back home again I started the dinner. It was Leek and Haddock with Cabbage. The cabbage wasn’t really meant to go in the risotto, but it was languishing in the chiller drawer of the fridge and it seemed a shame no to use it. Apparently that was a really good risotto. I don’t know what I did differently, but I too liked it.

The photo you see here as PoD has a more interesting sky than when the shot was taken. I don’t consider that cheating because I took the photo of the sky months ago and just got an app to insert it, and its reflection into the picture. By the way, its title was Porcupine, because that’s what I thought of when I first saw this big clump of reeds!

Tomorrow there’s talk that it may, just may, be dry. If that’s the case we might go for a walk. Drumpellier has been mentioned.

Glasgow in the rain … and sun – 29 December 2022

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Four seasons in one day? Why stop at four? Scotland can deliver four seasons in as many seconds, but it doesn’t always choose to do so.

We drove up to Tesco today, then headed in to Glasgow and the sun was shining … for a while. Then the rain came. After that the sun came out and dried up all the rain just like in Incy Wincy Spider. We got parked on level 4 of Buchanan Galleries and walked down Buchanan Street. It was raining again and the rain continued all the way down Bucky Street. I spotted a potential PoD outside the Apple shop with its resident sandwich board hopeful. Almost did a “Bad Thing” when I accidentally unscrewed the lens on the A7. Luckily none of the wet stuff got into the lens or the camera. Locked it securely on and continued taking photos as if nothing had happened. Dropped in at Tiso to get some waterproofer for our Bergy jackets which are absorbing more water than they are shrugging off. Thankfully the Goretex is doing its job properly and that water shall not pass!

First stop was Argento to get the Nominations charm she should have got from Santa. Thanks to a helpful sales assistant we got it, and another one she’d bought before Christmas, installed into the bracelet in the shop.

We walked further down the road, but there was a fire alarm in Frazer’s department store and the place had been evacuated which meant that there were people everywhere, almost blocking the pedestrian precinct. We were ready to go home, so we walked along Argyle Street and up Queen Street. Had a browse in Cass Art, but I don’t need any materials, I just need to take time to produce some paintings or drawings.

The carnival was still in almost full flow in George Square and I got a photo I had missed when Alex and I had visited a few weeks ago. It was a trio of carousel horses, but have a look on Flickr and check the names. Can you still get away with that? Apparently you can. Show folk are obviously not as PC as some!

Scamp had a voucher to use up in JL, so she treated us both to tea and a cake. I ordered coffee instead of tea. I’m not sure what I got, but it wasn’t my kind of coffee. The cakes were just lovely. Scamp’s was and Orange Grove and mine was a Red Velvet. That was our high calorie lunch.

I’d been looking at a ‘returned’ pair of binoculars before Christmas. JL doesn’t do ‘used’, or heaven forbid, ‘second hand’ items. Luckily they were still there. I tried them out in the shop and they were just what as good as they looked. I took them. Scamp demanded that she pay for them as they were a late Christmas present for me. I started to argue, but a wagged finger told me to just say “thank you”, which I did.

We drove home via Curry’s in Coatbridge because I wanted photo paper. I found the paper I wanted and bought two boxes because they would come in handy. I got a surprise at the till because there was money off if you bought two! Bingo!

Back home I had one more thing to buy, a bottle of Dark Matter rum. A spicy hot rum. Unfortunately Tesco weren’t stocking it, but what I noticed was a bottle of Langs Banana Rum. It had been discontinued many years ago and I thought it was dead and gone forever. I sampled some tonight and although it’s more a banana flavour than a rum distilled with actual bananas, there is a hint of the old rum there.

Last night I roasted some tomatoes and red peppers with a couple of small onions. Today I made soup from the veg, all by myself … well, almost. With helpful suggestions from Scamp and also following the soup recipe from the Instant Pot, I made a pot of Tomato and Red Pepper soup. It’s a bit thinner than my last batch, but a lot easier.

PoD turned out to be the bloke with the advertising sigh outside the Apple Store in Buchanan Street. He looked totally ‘drookit’.

Tomorrow Scamp is intending going for coffee with Shona, but I might pass on that. I’ve a letter I need to write. One I should have written a year ago.

Shopping and old tech – 28 December 2022

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We took the took the blue car out for a short run today to Tesco.

I hadn’t really noticed how dull and dark it was until I saw that the automatic headlights had turned on. It was just after 11am.

We had intended getting Scamp’s meds, but the queue at the chemist told us it would be a good idea to come back another day. We bought milk and bread and porridge oats. Real Scotts Porridge Oats. These new fangled big flakes of oats that don’t break down when you cook them are more bother than they’re worth. Back to real porridge tomorrow.

We had thought about going for a walk today, but the drizzly rain just got heavier and heavier until it was pointless going out just to get wet. There was no enjoyment in that, so we each had a roll ’n’ banana for lunch and dreamed of better days.

Dinner tonight was paella which turned out really good for once then settled down to watch a film that Scamp had recorded called The Good Liar. An enjoyable story with just enough twists and turns in it to make it worth watching without being confusing. I commend it to you.

PoD was the poor wee flower on the poor wee poinsettia plant we’ve had in the living room and now in the kitchen. We’ve kept it cool, kept it warm, kept it dry and finally soaked the roots in water. Nothing seems to help it. Scamp has tried everything imaginable to perk it up, but I think it’s beyond recovery now. It must have been going over when we bought it from M&S. The motto is buy your poinsettias from Tesco like we usually do, not from M&S.

I took the PoD with an old Olympus E-PL5 camera and a neat Panasonic 30mm lens. It’s a really old camera now as is the lens, but as you can see it produces good images still.

Tomorrow we may go out somewhere just to say we’ve been out and hopefully in between the rain showers there will be the hint of a blue sky. No promises though.

 

 

New Technology – Old Recipe – 26 December 2022

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We had a new bit of technology to play with. Foodie technology.

First we had Wordle and Spelling Bee to complete and I scored a scary Last Chance Saloon ‘6’ in Wordle. Scamp phoned her sister in Eastfield and I adjourned to the ‘Painting Room’ to read my photo mag.

Later I washed out the pot with detergent, as directed, and dried it, then reassembled the whole thing, checked that there were no more bits of paper or sticky reminders in the main pot and we measured 750ml of cold water into the pot and plugged the beast in. When we put on the lid it caught us by surprise and played a little tune. Apparently it was an ascending scale it was playing. We followed the instructions to the letter and the whole thing began to heat. A few minutes later, the pot lid sealed itself and the countdown started until the water boiled five minutes later. We had boiled 750ml of water automatically. When we released the pressure on the pot and opened the lid it played the same tune again but it was a descending scale. A kettle would have done it in about the same time, but now with the same panache!

It was still dry, so Scamp went over to meet June for a longer chat and I went for a walk in St Mo’s and got today’s photo of a really pretty weed. This is a macro picture which means a really close-up shot. That little weed was about 60mm high. Millimetres, not Centimeteres! I also managed to get soaked getting it when the hail that had been threatening turned to sleet and started hammering down. I really need to get my Bergy jacket proofed again.

Back home, Scamp had managed to miss most of the shower but was quite wet too. We had lunch and looked at that big black pot again. The plan was to make some ‘Just Soup’. A real world test of its capabilities. Another part of the learning curve. I chopped the veg and Scamp sautéd them in the pot then we added the stock, put the lid on and set it to cook for 3 minutes. Three minutes to make soup from vegetables? Our mums would never have believed us! But the proof of the soup was in the eating. Would it taste like ‘Just Soup’? It did.

We also managed to work out why my Fitbit would record my walk to St Mo’s, but Scamp’s much more modern and fancier Fitbit wouldn’t. Eventually, after an exasperating hour and a bit of reading suggestions on the web and fiddling with settings, we finally found he missing switch and it started looking for the GPS signal which, of course, it wouldn’t find in the house, but we’re confident it will find outside, possibly tomorrow.

Dinner was high tech soup and it did taste good. It maybe needed a pinch of salt, but that’s easily done. Later we watched a rather tedious Death in Paradise, which is still a home for retired actors.

No real plans for tomorrow. Possibly a walk, possible a trip in to Glasgow. It snowed here tonight, so maybe the weather will be our guide.

 

The Big Day – 25 December 2022

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It’s a great day, but I’m glad it only happens once a year.

We were like a couple of kids opening our presents and leaving the detritus of that carefully folded and taped wrapping paper all over the floor. There were surprises for both of us and a lot of laughter.

We had a Zoom call booked by Hazy for 12 noon and got the iMac booted up and ready, then spent about half an hour talking to Hazel, Jamie, Neil and Simonne (listed alphabetically – the fairest way). Vixen was snoozing on the couch but I don’t know where The Fluffies were. Jamie looked a bit under the weather and Neil had to bow out early from their part of the meeting because his chest infection was causing him problems. It was still a good catch up with everyone taking their turns and only occasionally butting into the conversation (who? Me?) I’ve not quite got the hang of Zoom calls yet. All too soon the warning came on the screen that we only had ten minutes left. We used up most of that and said goodbye. Hazy said she’d try to arrange another one for New Year’s Day. That would be good.

After lunch which was our usual Sunday fry-up we watched a silly cartoon on TV and by about 2.45pm the lights came on to tell us it was early evening. Scamp took that opportunity to start the dinner prep. I must admit, I was just being lazy. I should have made Panna Cotta for tonight’s dessert, but we had ice cream instead because I’d forgotten to start the panna cotta in the morning – too busy opening prezzies.

I thought dinner was a great success. Prawn Cocktail – Roast Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts and Buttered Carrots with either Trout or Steak. Guess who got what. All washed down with half a bottle of Jip Jip Rocks. Lovely. Dessert as I said was ice cream, but not just any old ice cream, but Scottish Tablet ice cream. Superb. All in all, a great Christmas feast.

PoD was the fairy on the Christmas Tree. Like Fairy Nuff, it’s traditional and since it rained most of the day, there was little chance of getting a photo taken outside.

Tomorrow we may go out for a walk if the weather is dry which looks unlikely. Thank you Hazy for setting up the Zoom call today and thank everyone for making the effort to join in. We both appreciated it. Lastly, thank you Scamp for being chef again and doing all the hard work.  I made the coffee!

 

Christmas Eve – 24 December 2022

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Seemingly going against all the things I complained about yesterday, we drove to Tesco today.

However, we weren’t going to fill our trolley with loads of unnecessary foodstuffs, we were going to find out if some kind soul had handed in a purple leather glove that Scamp had dropped in the store a couple of days ago. Luckily some kind soul had indeed handed it in and along came a smiling Scamp to show off that very glove. We restricted ourselves to a few veggies and a jug of filtered milk, then drove home. More madcap driving as we were leaving the car park with cars abandoned in every space that looked as if you could get at least one of your tyres on to it. Apparently the shop is going to be closed tomorrow for a full day! We’ll all going to starve to death if we don’t but everything we can get our hands on NOW!

After we got home and found places for the veg and stuff to go, we went for a walk in St Mo’s because the weather was reasonable for the time of year, it was dry and there was only a light wind. A good day for a gentle walk into the woods and back along the boardwalk. Not into the deep woods, you realise, because we weren’t kitted out with walking boots, just a gentle walk round the pond. I did think of taking a second circuit and allowing Scamp to go home alone, but I’d got a few photos of weeds dripping wet from the overnight rain, so we went home together.

After lunch I post processed the photos and found I had two worth posting on Flickr. Also, for this last week and a bit in 2022, I tidied up an image I’d processed, but hadn’t previously posted and it’s on Flickr now too. A weed picture got PoD.

By 3.15pm the house lights had come on and it was looking like early evening. Dinner was discussed and we decided to have Pasta Carbonara using fresh pasta we bought in Waitrose. It only takes minutes to make with the fresh pasta but it takes well over fifteen minutes with the dried stuff.

Tonight I wrapped up Scamp’s parcels for tomorrow and they are sitting next to the tree. I’m supposed to be making the dessert for tomorrow’s dinner if I remember to get organised in the morning.

All four of our invalids seem to be recovering from their respective ailments, which is good to hear and Hazy has organised a three way Zoom link-up for tomorrow. It will be good to see and hear from everyone. We’re looking forward to it.

Happy Christmas to all my readers!

 

 

Shopping – 23 December 2022

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Not once, but twice we went shopping today and still we don’t have absolutely everything.

The world is going crazy this year. Never have I seen anything like the shopping madness I’ve seen this week. Admittedly, the last two years have not been ‘normal’ and this year almost feels like we’re making up for lost time, but this year, the amount of food I see in trolleys astounds me. I almost felt we were being mean when we picked up a shopping basket instead of a trolley when we went to M&S this morning. One of the good things about being able to walk to the shops is that the amount you buy is limited by the amount you can comfortably carry. We bought only what we needed. If you drive to the supermarket you are not so limited in what you transport back to the house.

After lunch I set out to go for a walk to St Mo’s and got a PoD which was a bunch of Cladonia lichen growing on a mossy stone among the pine needles. One in the bag, I walked to Condorrat I was going to get a steak from the butcher for my Christmas dinner on Sunday. The butcher isn’t part of a chain, and he’s local. I can see what the meat is like because it’s in a chiller display, not ready packaged on a shelf. As I was walking back I realised we hadn’t got a pizza for tonight’s dinner. Always pizza on a Friday. I phoned Scamp and we met up at St Mo’s school and walked down to the shops for the second time today. We came home with bags of stuff. I’ll admit we bought more than we needed, but not a boot load.

That was about it for the day. A relaxing day with a couple of walks to keep the wheels turning. Scamp is feeling better today, so hopefully her course of antibiotics is working for her.

Tomorrow we may go out to get milk, because even with two trips to the shops we still forgot things!