Wimping it!

I really didn’t feel too great today, and went back to bed, where I slept for 2 hours.

I am always sorry to miss Church on a Sunday, but particularly today as a choir from St Petersburg was coming to sing. The minister led a group on a holiday to Russia the other year, and this is how the connection was made.

This year, a group is going to Rome.

Eventually I looked at the mince which looked back at me. Now I usually cook mince with onions and mushrooms, but I had neither in the house. You may remember that I got the wrong fruit bag, but it later became evident that I got the wrong veg bag. There were lots of greens, lettuces, carrots and tomatoes, but very few potatoes and no onions at all!

I can make mince without mushrooms (at a push) but absolutely not without onions.

So I pulled myself together and went to the garden centre for onions, mushrooms, potatoes (Ayrshire), a punnet of raspberries and a lovely loaf.

The weather is cooler about 14.5 degrees.

There was no room to park the car where I usually do, but now I can see it from my window.

Another Recipe

Yesterday I went to the residents’ lounge for a cup of tea and to wait for the fish van (and for the milk man to come for his money). I decided to go once again for salmon fillet and cooked it in the usual way (fried in butter with a little white wine added part way through to stop it from catching), with Brussels sprouts and potatoes.

I don’t know what was wrong, but this time I did not enjoy the salmon. I sat down to eat my meal and after a couple of mouthfuls had to give up, although I finished the vegetables no problem. I would hesitate to say that there was anything wrong with the fish because it certainly looked and smelt fine; perhaps I was just “off my eggs”.

However, I do have a recipe (or in fact a recipe and a half) for my faithful reader.

Mince

“Oh stop being boring” you cry, but in fact mince is anything but boring.

Given a pound (about 0.6Kg) mince.
2 onions
¼ pound (0.125 g) mushrooms.

The first thing you do is put the mince in a heavy bottomed (and better yet, non stick) pan.

To brown the mince, you add no fat as there is enough in the meat, even very lean meat.

You add the chopped onions at the same time as the mince to the pot

Once the heat is on (a medium, rather than a hot one), keep bashing at the mixture with a wooden spoon to break up the mince.

Continue doing this till all the mince is browned and separated.

Next put 2 tsp Bisto and 1 tsp cornflour into a mug and drake it with a little water until liquid. Then fill the mug with water while stirring.

Add this liquid to the mince and onions and bring to the boil stirring all the time. Reduce the heat and cook for ½ hour, then add the mushrooms and cook for a short time further.

That is BASIC MINCE

To make SHEPHERD’S PIE you should, strictly speaking use lamb mince, but if you do, you have to chill it after cooking and spoon off the fat (lamb mince is very fat).

However, whichever you use, take a casserole dish and spoon the meat/onion/mushroom mixture onto the base.

Then cover this with a layer of mashed turnip (swede)
Then cover the whole with a layer of mashed potato.
Grate some cheese over the top
Place in an oven and cook till bubbling and the cheese is starting to brown.

Another thing you can do with basic mince is Bolognaise Sauce

Later: SEE COMMENTS

how could I forget chopped garlic, added with the onions, and chopped tinned Italian tomatoes and a splash of red wine.

Before adding the liquid, add some chopped peppers (daughter adds chopped carrots at this time too) and torn basil leaves .
Then carry on as for basic mince.

Serve over cooked spaghetti (I use 100g per person) with grated parmesan cheese.

Quite often I use one lot of mince to make plain mince, shepherd’s pie and bolognaise.

A variation of plain mince, which makes the meat go further, is to add a tin of baked beans. I don’t care for baked beans (haricot beans) but love them in mince. They have an added benefit of making the mince go further.

A Sweet Little Old Lady....

...and I don't think!

Not a lot to report today, which prompted the title.

Yesterday's casserole was delicious, and today I have frozen five portions leaving one in the fridge for tonight's tea. I'll have it with the mash of potato, carrot and celeriac.

When I was putting the freezer containers into the freezer, I saw a pack of "highland beef", which was obviously mince, so that needs to be tackled over the next couple of days.

My chiropodist called this morning, so my feet feel better - she also approved of my lovely, warm "granny" slippers. She charges only £1 for a home visit on top of the price for a visit to her surgery, several miles away, which I regard as a real bargain.

Also this morning came my 2 cleaners; one has been with me since the beginning and I think very highly of her - she does things over and above the call of duty, and is always cheerful.

This afternoon should have been Keep Fit, but I am feeling still unsteady on my feet, so don't think it would be wise.