"It's been interesting"

Boxing Day Dawn swim

Going back to work you are greeted by all your colleagues and clients with "how was your Xmas/New Year?"  Of course being British you don't  say "well actually the New Year was pretty crap"  and I'm sure most of them don't really want to know how it was, they are just being polite so I smile and say "it's been interesting" and move on to other subjects.  I will however briefly tell you  lovely readers of the blog that it started well with a good but exhausting Xmas but unfortunately our son became ill between Xmas and the New Year and was admitted to hospital again a few days before New Year and operated on yet again on New Years Day.  He is still staying with us and is still feeling very unwell but trying to stay positive.  There are an awful lot of horrible cold/flu type bugs out there and I'm really worried that he will catch something while he is so vulnerable. It really frustrates me when people insist on coming into work with bugs, they are putting people with compromised immune systems at serious risk.  Please stay home!

We did manage some lovely days over Xmas with all the family staying, long walks and Xmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day swims in an icy pool.  Spending our first Xmas in our new home was very different from previous years in some ways but the traditional shared meals and board games were all very familiar.  The first thing we have bought for our home is a lovely large table that we can fit everyone around.  It was made by a local family firm at a very reasonable price and put much needed money into the local economy.  That was our Xmas present to ourselves.  I had a couple of books to read but couldn't concentrate enough to read them, I found myself having to re-read the same lines over and over so eventually set them aside in favour of falling asleep on the sofa exhausted while catching up on box sets of The Good Wife (isn't Julianna Margulies just so beautiful)

I did manage to finish the shawl I started just before we moved.  I could't concentrate enough to do the lace edging so crocheted instead and I'm pleased with the result.  I find knitting very therapeutic during times of stress.

I haven't totally stuck with Veganuary but I would say 99.9% of what I am eating has been vegan.  Where I have come unstuck is the odd ingredients in some of my GF food, usually egg.  I haven't eaten any cheese, (I tried the soya cheese which was very weird), nor milk which I don't miss at all.  I think the only thing I miss are eggs which are an easy snack option.   I haven't had much time to experiment with new recipes, but managed Jack Monroes beetburgers which were easy and tasty.  Considering work has been hectic and I have been caring for our son, cooking omni meals for the bearded one, vegetarian for son and gf/vegan for myself and don't think I have done too bad.  

The kiwi fruit in the polytunnel have at last ripened.  I really didn't think they would and if I had the time was going to cut it all back.  Thankfully I didn't and have harvested a few pounds, they are very small but taste delicious.  I have peeled and frozen them for when I have time to make jam.  Has anyone a good kiwi jam recipe?

Sorry it's been such a long time between posts, I hope you are all well, I have missed you all and will hopefully find time to get back into bogland soon.

Chickpea xx

All things Autumn

We had some frost on the field one morning last week so I guess it's officially Autumn in Cornwall.  Sunday roasts are on the menu most weeks now, no getting away with a bbq outside so the bearded one has hung up his pinny for another year.  I have been fiddling with the lentil bake that gets trotted out regularly to go with the roast for us veggies in the family and so far this is my favourite version of it.  If I don't write it down somewhere I will forget what I actually put in it and it went down so well I'm thinking of making it for our Xmas dinner.  Nothing fancy but something all of us like (which is a flipping miracle in our family)  It is gluten and oat free so I can eat it, no mushrooms which youngest hates and no nuts which both of them hate.  As usual my cooking involves throwing in whatever I find and not measuring anything so these are rough measurements.  Adjust them to your own tastes, excuse the terrible photo, everyone was too hungry to wait for me to faff around with the camera.

LENTIL AND SWEET POTATO BAKE

A couple of cups of red lentils (very approx, )
2 small red onions
1 large sweet potato
1 sweet pointed pepper
handful of spinach
1/2 tsp of thyme
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
2 - 3 oz Grated cheese

Cook the lentils in your usual way, drain well and set aside
Cook the sweet potato in the microwave and scrape out when cooled and set aside
Saute chopped onions and pepper until soft,
Add herbs, salt and pepper stir well and simmer for a further minute
Put the lentils and sweet potato into the pan with the onion and mix well
Add chopped spinach and cook until wilted.
Mix in the cheese.

Grease a loaf tin and pour the mixture in, smooth the top and place into a medium oven until heated right though and the top has browned slightly.

I actually made it in the morning and put it in the fridge ready to put in the oven with the rest of the roast in the evening.  Things that can be made ahead make life a lot easier!

It has been absolutely chucking it down here today, the cows are huddled against the hedges seeking shelter while the deer seem oblivious.  We needed something warming for our evening meal, as usual despite having lots of lovely cookery books I went online and found this Moroccan Chickpea Stew from The first mess   We had cavolo nero in the veg box so that went in as well, it made a lovely warming stew that certainly hit the spot.

I am still working on my shawl, I think I must be the worlds slowest knitter and could do with wearing it this winter not next!  I am o.k. with the shawl itself but it has a frilly bit to add to it which is looking pretty daunting so I may be asking for help from the knitters out there some time soon.  It is a Debbie Bliss pattern knitted in Fine Donegal from this book.  My wool is actually more of a green/blue than the photo shows, it reminds me of the winter seas.

Work continues slowly on the house  and we are working outside at weekends (don't you just hate getting home from work in the dark!)  We are waiting for the power company to upgrade the poles to the house before we can put up the solar panels, we are also in the process of replacing the light fittings with more efficient energy saving ones.  On the day we moved in, as it got dark we realised that most of the lights were not working, it seems that as they blew they were not replaced, we could barely see a thing!

 I was delighted to see several goldfinches in the garden this morning, they were occasionally seen at our old house tempted by niger seeds, but were pecking away at the grass here.  I have also been watching the mother deer with her youngster who are often in the next field.  The baby isn't completely weaned yet and I managed to get a photo of it feeding when it was in one of the more distant fields.  Not a great photo but you can just make them out.

I hope you have all had a great weekend.

Chickpea xx

Needles and Lies

I didn't spend all my time stuffing my face over Xmas I did actually spend a few lovely hours knitting away.  The cardigan I was going to abandon last year because I thought I would never finish has been resurrected and I have finished the back.......yes the whole flipping back woohoo!  I am using alpaca wool which feels fabulous and I can't wait to finish the cardi, it will be lovely, warm and soft.  It seems I have the knitting bug again, so much so that I ordered a new book on Fair Isle knitting  I have been lusting over some beautiful Fair Isle knits that have been shared on various blogs and thought I would like to give it a go.  I really need to finish some of the umpteen other projects I have on the go before I start another though!


Strange how the photos have come out totally different colours, the top one is probably nearer to the true colour.

I have also started joining my granny squares together.  I had to guess at some of it, I'm not sure if it was me or the instructions but I found it all a bit confusing, however I'm really pleased with the progress on my first every granny square blanket.  Thank you to Jennifer over at thistlebear for hosting the Winter Project Link Party, it has inspired me to have a go and keep at it.

Now to my rather random title.  I made the time and effort to look at a house today, in the photos it looked perfect, a house surrounded by fields.  I rang the estate agents who said there was another house nearby but you would not know it was there.  What did I find when I got there?  The owners had built another huge house right beside it, and I mean literally a few feet away.  They will be building a high wall between the properties says the estate agent hopefully, so you wouldn't see the house.  Why would I want to move to the country to have a huge wall right beside my house, I might as well stay where I am, and it wouldn't block out the noise.  I was so disappointed and really miffed to have been misled, a complete waste of my time.  Apart from the on-line estate agent I used to sell my house, I'm afraid the rest never fail to disappoint and annoy and sometimes downright lie.

As some of you know I have suffered from insomnia on and off all my life, for the last 6 years it has been a constant problem.  The doctor offered to refer me to a sleep clinic, I'm really not sure whether to take up the offer.  I find the idea of being wired up and watched while I sleep scary.  Have any of you been to one?  Any advice would be gratefully received.

Chickpea xx