Spanish Tortilla Epic Fail

Okay, perhaps not an epic fail, but it got a bit iffy.

I had extra eggs, the remains of a sack of potatoes I had been a bit dubious about and - most importantly, I had some kale, purple broccoli and asparagus needing using up due to a veg box delivery.  I remembered vaguely reading about frittatas and thought that they sounded idea - a lot of green stuff cooked with eggs and I thought I could remember seeing a recipe in the Remoska cookbook.  I couldn't find the cookbook so I went off and googled.  I found this.

The recipe calls for spinach, and I thought I could put in the broccoli and kale then and perhaps serve with the asparagus.  It also calls for eight potatoes, thinly sliced. I know my limitations when it comes to slicing things thinly so I peeled eight potatoes and put them through the food processor.  I did wonder if the potatoes were big enough when I peeled them as they didn't look that big, sort of middle to smallish, but it's surprising how much potato expands when it is put through the processor.  It barely fit into the Remoska by the time I had added the onion (with a leek substituted for one of the onions as I needed to use it up).

I was hoping that the huge mass would cook down.  Half an hour later it was exactly the same volume and the bits that were up against the lid were burnt.  There was no possible room for the veggies.  I added the eggs and hoped for the best.

It did end up lovely, but I've got rid of the kale as it was looking very secondhand, and tomorrow we will have something with the broccoli and asparagus as tonight I am making DH's favourite meal (he really deserves it) and it doesn't involve anything green.

Next time I will knock two potatoes off the total, add a few peas or some sweetcorn and some shredded bacon and go for it.  It was a really nice gluten free lunch with half left over after feeding not only me, bear and DH but also bear's friend.

I am now off to google frittata recipes.  Again.

Cats

Next door's lovely fluffy tom cat tried to climb into the Market Delivered van.  He had already had a prowl around the Tesco van, and I think he disapproved.  As I was getting fresh fish from Market Delivered (a nice bit of coley) I can see the attraction.

I sort of miss having a cat.  I had tinned fish for lunch, and I have been able to knit without a problem, cross stitch is looking like a possibility again if my eyes hold up and none of those were really a good bet with a cat.  On the other hand, I miss having cat stories.

Bear and DH would both like a dog but as it would be me that would be exercising it that will not be a possibility.  I refuse to have a rodent in the house and I am not impressed by budgies either.  If father were coming back here I would need something like a small dog or a tom cat to keep him company, but that is incredibly unlikely.

While I don't miss the litter tray, the cost of food and the vet's bills, I do miss a cuddle and a mad moment.  I also think a pet would be good for bear.

As it stands, I think I will hold fire and enjoy the antics of next door's cats and brothers lovely dog (who is a complete cuddle hound) and see how things go.

I wonder how long I can hold out.

Bear Triumphant

Last night was the same as every night.  I creep upstairs and tiptoe into bear's room.  I fold in his arms and legs from whichever anatomically unsafe position he has left them and then he usually snuggles down.  I put bedclothes over him as he never, ever goes to sleep with them on, though at least these days when he is covered up he stays covered.  I switch out his bedside lamp and tiptoe out again.

Last night I was tucking him under his duvet with the Tardis cover and pulling in his arm when he opened his eyes, pumped his arm, said, 'Yesss!!!!' and went back to sleep.

Absolutely no idea.

Welcome to Autumn

Thank you for the kind wishes.  I feel a bit of a fraud as I know lots of people have it worse than me.  I am reserving the right to grumble a little bit as I am still on antibiotics - about three weeks so far - and father being desperate to come home so he can have alcohol is making me crave a strong drink myself!

Bear is also grumbly, tired, prone to feeling sorry for himself and under the weather.  I'm doing a lot of humouring, negotiating and just putting my foot down.  He seems to flag at this time of year, so I will be keeping a little eye on him.

Poor DH is really poorly!  He has a foul cough and coughs turn bad for him.  I have been fussing over him and keeping him warm, cuddled and dosed up with cough medicine (whisky).  He is the one who really needs fuss at the moment.

I think we should sit and count our blessings, to be honest.  We have a roof over our heads, we have food in the cupboards and home is a safe place.  My father is safe, my uncle is actually quite safe and Christmas will be here soon.

Anyway, the next on the list is the garden.  For father's sake I am going to get it tidied up and put in some winter pansies and bulbs.  I'm looking forward to that, it will be fun.

Father wants to come Home

Father is in a nursing home.  He can't walk, he can't drink unthickened liquids and he can't eat anything except purees.  He is on 21 tablets a day.  I am not able to nurse him at home, not realistically.  He is in a special bed with special cushions when he is in a seat and he can't always hold himself upright in a chair.

He wants to come home.  I am confident that he wants to come home so he can have unthickened liquids, as he knows he could get me to let him have some.  I think he also thinks he could get out of bed and get some, but he can't sit himself up at the moment.  He has also had a serious alcohol dependency for years, and I think he is going dry and not happy about it.

But I had to leave my father today, in a safe, warm, place with qualified nursing staff around, and I knew he wanted to go home.  I just want to cry.

Egyptian Lentil Soup

As I've written, I am now gluten free.  This is quite depressing.  I am incredibly supportive of someone who needs to be careful of what they eat, but I am a bit disappointed in myself and keep wondering if I pull myself together whether I will be fine.  I won't.

This has had an interesting side effect.  I can't have takeaways, I can't have treats from the sandwich shop and my goodies are restricted.  I am still managing to pack in plenty of empty calories, but I am looking for better ways to eat.

I bought a gluten free cookbook.  I was a bit disappointed as it relied heavily on xanthan gum and substituting while I would like to look for something more adventurous.  It did however have this recipe in, and as bear is covering Ancient Egypt at school I thought he would enjoy it.

1 tbs each of olive oil and butter, 1 onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 900ml of stock (gluten free for me, but I guess any would do if you were not restricted), 1 tsp each of cumin seeds, turmeric and paprika, two carrots, two potatoes (neither of which were around in Ancient Egypt) and 125g of red lentils.

Soften the finely chopped onion in the oil and butter, then add the garlic and spices.  Cook for a few minutes and then add the carrot and potato.  Cook for a few minutes more then add the lentils, stirring well.  After five minutes add about a quarter of the stock and let it get hot and bubbling before adding the rest.  Simmer for ten to fifteen minutes until the carrot and potato are cooked through then puree.

It is very tasty, very warming, relatively inexpensive, relatively healthy and bear cleared his plate.  I plan to cook up a massive batch and then freeze for use later.  

Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons, taken by Rydia and used under Creative Commons Agreement

Permanent Pity Party

I was on IV antibiotics at the weekend.  Today I have a cold.  The cold is worse - I hate colds.  I feel bunged up, fed up and completely unjustified in feeling sorry for myself.  I am moping around, trailing soggy tissues and grumbling.

Bear had rice krispies for breakfast.  His lovely aunt had given him a box of toffee crisp breakfast cereal.  Yes, chocolate cereal with toffee bits in or how kids can have sweets for breakfast.  I was a bit surprised when I saw it, but I have always thought I was being over indulgent with allowing cocoa pops.  Mornings are a bit desperate for me as I don't actually wake up until 10am at the earliest.  I may be moving around and talking but I am not awake.  Bear takes advantage of this as he is a morning person and is full of beans.  He is also not always keen to eat breakfast so I will clutch at anything with a hint of nutrition to get something inside him to get him to school.  However even bear draws the line at the toffee crisp cereal.  It is, however, perfectly acceptable for an after tea snack.

I am trying to insist on fruit before processed sugar.  The huge bag of sweeties also sent down from his auntie aren't helping.  All normal for seven-nearly-eight.