Friday morning

What is this you ask yourself?  Well it is £450 worth of tow-bar   Yesterday morning when Mike went to get the last few bits and bobs for our holiday he noticed that some lovely person had stolen the tow-bar from the back of our car.  I hastily rang the Landrover main dealer and they had just one left in stock Mike rushed over there and grabbed it as we would be completely scuppered without it.  It was the price that rocked me backwards.  Can you believe what people will steal?  Thank goodness he noticed or we would have arrived ready to hitch up only to discover we don't have a tow-bar.  As the only time we use the tow-bar is when we tow the van we think we will detach it and keep it with the caravan in future.  It will just make hitching up a bit longer as we will have to attach it first then hitch up but it might be safer.  It never crossed my mind that anyone would steal it.  It has been on the back of the car since we bought it and we never anticipated that it was vulnerable as it is locked on with a special key.  My only consolation is that at least we had this disaster at home where it was relatively easy to deal with but we really didn't need to shell out the money just before our holiday.  I guess I will have to cut back on my oyster and asparagus consumption!!!!!

I think I am all packed and ready to roll it is just a case of getting all the stuff into the car and remembering to take our meal for tonight out of the freezer.  Yesterday was nice and sunny so I got the washing all dry on the line.  The Tassimo comes with us so we can have very luxurious cups of cappuccino or hot chocolate with the minimum of fuss and mess.  Ground coffee is pain in a caravan and gets everywhere so the Tassimo is the answer to a prayer.  I am only taking the minimum of food with us as half the fun is buying nice stuff in the local shops.  Bread, butter, milk and eggs will get us started.  In the store cupboard in the van I carry emergency tinned food and a couple of tins of Heinz tomato soup in case of any real disaster.  

Thank you all for your good wishes lets hope that nothing else goes wrong and we have a relatively peaceful time away. 

Thursday Morning

What a day it was yesterday cold, windy and wet but I suppose we should be grateful that at least we didn't have snow.  I think I had better pack snorkel flippers and a fur coat as they look like being useful for the holiday.

Shiona came over and we got her restarted with the crochet project once we had given Aldi the once over as she needed to restock on chocolate.  She was very happy to finish off the little jacket that was only minus a couple of rows.  I had run out of cotton but she had plenty so that solved that problem and as she knows someone who is having a baby I managed to off load some of the jackets and the blanket.   For lunch we had the ballotine with carrot battons and asparagus.  The chicken turned out really well.  I gave them a fry off, to brown the skin, then put them in the oven to finish warming through.  I did take the added precaution of tying them with string to stop them splitting open and I think this was a wise move.  Anyway, they were most successful and definitely something I would do again especially as chicken legs are so cheap.  I also made a loaf of bread some of which we can take with us.  

Today will be devoted to final preparations not that there is much to do except some washing.  As James will be at home I don't have to worry about food in the fridge etc.  He is a competent cook and well able to use up the bits and pieces.  The courgettes which arrived in the veg box will be made into pancakes which we can either have for lunch or put in the freezer.  I also have a lot of potatoes which I am going to mash and vac pack.  For supper I want something nice and easy so I think sausages and eggs will fit the bill.  

We are looking to be away by 10am which will miss the rush hour traffic and should see us in Kettlebrugh picking up the van by 12md by 3pm we should be established then I can relax and start to enjoy the holiday.  It is a lovely feeling to be safely in the van with all systems functional and supper and bed to look forward to.  The site is due to have wi-fi this year but I don't suppose it will be up and running yet so I will be incomunicado for the week.  In fact the site is so buried in the forest that it is not easy to even get a mobile phone signal.

Well time I got underway and got the washing on and started to peel potatoes then with any luck I will have a chance of an afternoon siesta......

Wednesday morning

Yesterday was a more industrious day and we needed to get the outside work done and dusted before the rain set in.  My gooseberries now have a nice net cover which should allow the bees in to pollinate but keep the pigeons off the fruit.  The glass house is cleared of the pea plants which were never going to mature so they are now chicken food.  In their place are the tomato plants purchases earlier.  I was surprised how dry the ground was so I set the sprinkler in the green house for an hour or so to soak the plants in well.  I also planted out the globe artichoke seedlings which I hope are now big enough to manage in the big wide world.  I must have got my wires crossed as Deny didn't show but I had already run around the house tidying up so once I had finished with Mark in the garden it was back indoors and get on with some of the indoor chores.  With such a busy morning lunch was a real quickie with the tinned soup and bread and butter.  The weather then deteriorated and it started to rain.  To make up for the rather sad lunch supper was a much better affair.  Pork chops with sage and onion stuffing, caramelised apple slices, glazed carrots and dauphinoise potatoes.   I was very pleased with the potatoes which I had made some time ago and frozen in vac packs.  This worked very well so in future if I have excess potatoes rather than let them sprout and turn green they will end up in the freezer.  The hens too do well out of this as I always boil up the peeling for them.  

It has been a really wild night with rain and gales and it is still raining and blowing and perishingly cold at 6ºC.  As you can imagine this fills me with joy for our holiday!!!!  The one thing which is really scary is towing a caravan in high winds so lets hope they have died back by Friday.  Fortunately we are only towing for some 14 miles so we can take it slowly along the little back roads with only a small stretch of the A12 to negotiate. 

Today we are expecting Shiona to visit.  She is taking her dogs to the groomer and then she will pop over to see us have a bite of lunch and be back to the groomer by 4pm to collect.   My first job of the day is to get a loaf of bread underway.  Of late I have been making it by hand rather than using the bread maker it is a little more work but much better results.  I also had some courgettes in my vegetable box so I feel some courgette pancakes coming on.  Lunch for Shiona is already organised in the form of ballotine of chicken stuffed with pork and leak sausage meat.  They have already been poached so they will just need a quick brown in a pan and general warm through.  There are ample glazed carrots left from yesterday and I also have a nice bunch of asparagus so we should be fine.  

Anyway off to make a start on the bread and get underway.  It looks like you will need all your wet weather gear today not to mention warm jumpers!!!!!

Tuesday morning

Another chilly day ahead and we are due for some significant rain today but I am hoping Mark will get his two hours work in before it starts.  Last year I lost most of my lovely red dessert gooseberries to the pigeons so this year I am intending to get some netting over them before that happens.  To this end we have bought some stout stakes over which to drape the netting.  Hopefully this will stop the problem.  

Deny is due as well and the house is not too bad as I have been trying to keep up with the house housework in her absence.  Yesterday however I did a wonderful impression of a sloth.  I had had a bit of a ropey night and just felt really tired all day.  For lunch we had a plateful of "pot sticker", dumplings purchased from the oriental shop which just needed 10 minutes boiling then a quick fry in the wok.  For supper we had a full english breakfast including the fried slice which is a rare occurrence for weight and health reasons.  Anyway it was a delicious treat!!!!

James had an appointment with the orthopaedic consultant but he was absent so he saw some other bod who knew nothing of his injury and offered no useful guidance or advise. It was, as usual, a totally wasted journey.  His next appointment is not until September as that was the earliest they could manage.  As you can see continuity of care is something which has not yet reached darkest Kent.  Basically we are on our own as we have been from the start.

Having had a day of indolence yesterday today I need to get my act together today as I will need to be with Mark for some of the gardening and it will keep me out of Deny's hair so she can get on unhindered.  My first job is to clear the garden of dog poo so that it is not a death trap for Mark.  Then I will need to find something for lunch and dinner which is not going to require long in the kitchen.

Ok that bit done, we have some tinned lobster bisque which will do for lunch and for supper there are some pork chops and some of the dauphinoise I made the other day and froze.  I still have loads of salad so that will do for vegetables.  I always feel happier once I have got the meals for the day planned then I know what I am doing.  Once Deny has finished I can get to grips with the laundry and get that out of the way.  Tomorrow Shiona is coming over so I have taken the chicken ballotine out to defrost and they will make a reasonable lunch for the four of us.

Well that about it I want to get going good and early before the weather turns - have a good day all.....

Monday morning

Yesterday morning started off nice and sunny but by the afternoon the rain was back and the temperature really struggled.   We had a summery lunch of salmon fish cakes with tartare sauce and mixed salads. With just a nod to the fact it was Sunday we had a dessert of rice pudding [tinned] and a spoonful of jam.  Supper was also an easy task as I made a spaghetti carbonara all the initial preparation had been done so all that was left to do was to boil the pasta and amalgamate it with the sauce.  I am of the traditional school of no cream - just egg yolks cooked by the hot pasta.  It is one of those dishes that are really easy and you wonder why you don't do it more often.  It certainly made a change from the usual roast.  The only problem is there are no left overs to play with today so it will be something from scratch once I have made the decision.

As we are off on Friday today will be devoted to making sure what we want to take by way of clothes are clean.  At the moment it is dry but I don't think it is due to last and tomorrow is due to be even worse so it may be a case for the tumble dryer.  Next I need to make sure that the tech stuff is all charged up and ready to roll.  There is nothing more frustrating than finding that the camera is out of battery just when you need it.  The weather forecast looks as if we will be having a mixed week of sun and showers but I can live with that.  It will just be nice to be in a different place and have a change of scenery.  

Have a good day all and take an umbrella!!!!!

Poached egg

Not the best poached egg but certainly edible this egg had been frozen for 24 hours and was cooked direct from frozen dropping into boiling water.  I'm sure the eggs would be fine for other cooking purposes.

Sunday morning

Yesterday started off in the usual mundane way the weather was cold with intermittent down pours.  I had the usual pile of chores to do and one of these was to go through and clear out some of the rubbish that arrived in the email.  You know the usual advertising and spam.  Then I stumbled on an email from one of the luminaries of the Spinone world and I could hardly believe my eyes.

"Congratulations to you and Basso - you are the recipients of this years ISCGB Lifetime Achievement Award!  I have a large silver cup here and a award card! "

Apparently this was awarded at the AGM of the ISCGB {Italian Spinone Club of Great Briton} for Basso's efforts to help James in his hour of need.  Well as you can imagine I spent the rest of the day 6 feet off the ground.  Talk about a proud parent!!!!

Anyway today seems to be sunny but it is very cold still at a mere 6ºC which is the same as it was in February.  I have loads of salad in the fridge so I think we will be having some of the salmon fish cakes for lunch and probably some sort of pasta dish for supper.  As  a matter of interest I read on some site or another that you can freeze eggs by just cracking them from their shell so as I have an abundance I have stuck one in the freezer to try - I wondered if you could poach it direct from frozen?  I might give this a go and see what happens.  Apparently they are fine for cake making and other cooking jobs.  Anyway I will let you know the results of this experiment.

Have a great day I know I will as I am still floating above the ground.

Saturday morning

Hand in hand

Yesterday was a reasonable day though not warm so I got stuck into the kitchen chores.  I dismantled the chickens and made the breasts into pollo san Angelo the legs I boned and made ballotine with which have been poached and put in the freezer.  Once out and defrosted they will need a reheat and browning in a pan before serving.  The carcasses were roasted off and then into the stock pot which is now cold so I can strain it and pick the meat off for the dogs.  The over supply of potatoes I mandolined and made into a tray of dauphinoise.  That too is now cold and can be vac packed in portions.  I had an aubergine and 4 romero peppers which needed dealing with so I made a pot of ratatouille which we will have with lunch today with the left over sausages I used for the ballotine.   I planted up the tomato seeds in modules so I hope that they will germinate quickly and though they are a bit late I should get some fruit by August.  The remaining tomato plants have been moved up to the green house to acclimatise and when I get back from my holiday they will get planted into the ground.  I also planted the rosemary bush which I hope will be happy in its sunny dry position. 

It has rained over night and the ground is quite wet the sky is dull and overcast and we are still only at 8ºC.  The rain pleases me as it will have given all my beans a good water and save me a job but I wish it would warm up just a bit.  It would be nice to move to short sleeves!!!  In the caravan contents we keep a set of shorts and vests in case of heat wave and fleece jackets and jogging bottoms incase of a cold snap.  In our many years of camping we have been caught out by both so now we keep contingency clothes on board.  Cold is less of a problem as we have a super central heating system but the evenings and early mornings are often chilly outside.  A few years ago we had an incident when I asked Mike to turn the heating down before we retired for the night.  In the wee small hours I woke sweating and the dogs were panting so I went and checked the termostat only to find he had turned it the wrong way and we were running at 33ºC.  A bit too warm for comfort!!!!

I have few plans for today other than to finish off the food preparation from yesterday and then to run a hoover over the house which is showing signs of neglect as am I so a bit of a shower and shampoo and general pampering day seems in order.  I usually give the hens a good clean out on a saturday so I think it will be general preening for all.  Have a good day all.............

Friday morning

Yesterday was quite busy in the morning as I had some shopping to do.  We drove out to the nursery where I normally buy my tomato plants.  It is a little one-man band type of nursery but the guy is so helpful and kind and his plants are very reasonable in price.  I bought 2 each of 4 varieties of tomato plant for the green house.  He didn't have any trailing varieties so I bought a couple of packs of seeds which I will do myself for my window box outside the kitchen.  I also bought a giant rosemary bush for my empty bed.  Then on the way home we stopped off at a lovely farm shop and they had just had their first delivery of asparagus.  Needless to say I just had to buy a big bundle which we had for supper.  By the time we got home it was well past lunch time so I had no time to make chips and instead bought one portion from the kebab shop.  They were freshly fried for me so I was happy and the one portion was ample for the three of us with our ham and egg.  I had bought some pork loin steaks in Aldi which I batted out then egg and breadcrumbed to have with our asparagus.  

While we were out shopping James took the dogs for a walk - who would have believed a year ago that he would be fit enough to do this.  He still has a significant limp but manages well without his crutches provided the ground is not too uneven.  

The afternoon was wild with huge gusts of wind which nearly knocked you off your feet and any small items like trugs went flying round the garden.  This morning is still pretty windy but nowhere near as bad as last night.

I have a pair of chickens bought cheaply in Aldi which this morning I will dismantle - I quite fancy making ballotine with the legs and the breast will be made according to the same recipe I used for the rabbit.  The carcasses of course will go into the stock pot.  I am hoping to vac pack some of the meat to take with us on our holiday where a quick blast in the microwave will see us having a hot meal.  The first night I always need something quick and filling as I am usually knackered by the time it gets to supper.  I also have an abundance of potatoes so I am going to make a big pot of mash which will also be vac packed and frozen.  This preparatory work also means there are no pots and pans to wash up just a couple of plates another bonus!!!

On that happy note I am off to the kitchen to make a start - have a good one all.....

Thursday morning

Another chilly morning but bright after the rain of yesterday which was not that bad it only rained for and hour or so in the morning then it brightened up and we had a reasonable day.  This morning has started bright and sunny so we may have a decent day.

I roasted the piece of wiltshire cured ham for lunch.  I would normally soak and then boil but it turned out very well.  For lunch we had a portion with some mashed potatoes, braised celery as well as some caramelised apple slices.  We hardly made a dent in the joint so we had some cold for supper and today it will be served with egg and chips.  The dilemma is do I make the chips and stink the house out, or do I go to the kebab shop and buy a portion of theirs.  I suppose I could use my brain and make my own chips and cook them in the garden on the seduction hob which is entirely mobile.  After this if there is any left I will chop it up and put it in the freezer where it can stay until I want to make a chicken pie to which it can be added.  I like ham but three meals in a row is enough I think. 

We spent some time grooming Basso yesterday and the garden was full of clumps of his fur but this morning there is not a strand left the birds have taken the lot.  I can't believe how much they have used.  He has always been difficult to groom because he hates it but as he has got older he is getting better and is now prepared to put up with it as he knows there will be biscuits to follow.  There is nothing like bribery and corruption!!!

Anyway the sun is shining and the electricity is generating so time to get the iron on and finish the laundry for the week.