Hello Dear Reader,

It’s all system go here. We’ve broken up from school and we’ve just over 24 hours to get our act together and get going. We’ll get the ferry at rude o’clock on Saturday morning and we’ll be there in time for a late lunch and by late afternoon we’ll be living the dream

 

Tonight, if Bobby Dazzler will get off my neck then I shall get the clothes washed, dried, ironed and packed. There’s lots of other packing to do so we have a little bit of everything we need. The dogs beds have been freshly laundered ready for them to sleep in the cab of the van on the crossing.
  

The hire van is outside and we just need to fill it up with kitchen and dining room furniture and lots and lots of boxes. We share the driving and I do most of the driving in France as DB co-drives and let’s me know if the road is clear. Look out for the reg. Number and give us a wave. 

Next time you hear from us, we’ll be in Huelgoat.

Love Froogs xxxxxx

  

Hello Dear Reader,

Tonight, the dogs have been washed, dried, had a trim and been brushed in readiness for their travels. They have collars with id tags with the French address. Big dog, sadly isn’t coming with us but got a groom anyway. 

Tonight, I’ve just about managed to keep my eyes open and failing. 

I’m going to curl up with the fluffies.

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs xxxxx

  
Hello Dear Reader,

Pie or casserole is always something that can be made in advance and can be frozen and eaten later. Boeuf en daube is one of those casserole that is better if you make it one day and eat the next. I make casserole in one hit, which mean no fuss, no browning, cooking in sections but add all the ingredients to the slow cooker and go out and do something else. In this case, I went to bed and allowed this to cook overnight. I then made pie the next day. I find it difficult to find a decent pie, I find they’ve got three lumps of meat and gluey gravy. I think a pie should have plenty of meat and a rich gravy.

This is a luxury pie and another ‘special meal’ for our trip away and I think it’d make a great weekend treat with Spring greens and buttery carrots. I’ve seen ‘posh pies’ from high end food retailers for well over ten quid and even then, you’ve got to play hunt the meat! 

Here’s my recipe

500g of casserole beef, cut into chunky cubes.

2 tsp of mixed herbs - the main ingredient is thyme

1 heaped tsp of garlic granules - I don’t buy fresh, it goes off before I use it.

1 tsp of dried parsley

1 sliced onion

1 tin of tomatoes

7 rashers of smoked streaky bacon - cut into big chunks

4 large carrots, peeled and cut into big chunks

Beef stock - litre

Half a bottle of red wine.

Knob of butter - add at the end to thicken the sauce.

The method couldn’t be easier. Add all the ingredients to a slow cooker and set to low and cook for 10-12 hours.

When it’s cooked, strip through a hearty knob of butter it thickens the sauce ……a gluten free trick. 

   
Leave to cool before you add to the pie. My pie dishes are enamel and transfer heat really well and the bottom of the pie cooks as well as the top.

 
Now that’s a pie full of meat and will make four massive chunky meat filled portions. I bought ready made gluten free pastry but you could make your own or buy much cheaper ready made regular pastry.

  
 I couldn’t possibly waste the spare sauce and used a freezer bag. It’s always good to have extra gravy with a pie. 

Having a pie instead of the casserole makes the beef go a lot further. I’m sharing my favourite beef and lamb recipes this week to show some really easy recipes. I hope you like this one.

What’s your favourite beef recipe?

Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxxx

Disclaimer - I was given the beef and lamb for the recipes this week.

  
Hello Dear Reader,

This is a jazzed up twist on the humble Shepherd’s pie. It freezes well, cheap to make and made from British lamb which was on offer in the supermarket, I suppose, because it’s Easter. I was asked to write a post about the trend for simple home cooked food which is basically all I cook. I always buy British meat if I can and seasonal lamb is affordable at the moment. The slang for food like this is peasant food, all I can say is that home cooked food is always the best as you know exactly what’s in it. I also like to buy meat with the Britsh red tractor logo as I feel I’m supporting local farmers.

Firstly, sorry about the photo, food never looks good in artificial light and I cooked yesterday and well into the evening for the freezer. It might seem a bit daft to cook food to take away but we have a busy fortnight ahead of us. This will stop random supermarket purchases and I always think cooking in advance saves us loads of money. This will create four portions, which means I’ll cook and serve thus for lunch and plate up four meals and we’ll eat the same again for supper.

To make this you will need

400g minced lamb

2 leek, roughly diced and washed

2 carrots, washed and finely diced

Chicken stock

Mint sauce

Tin of haricot beans.
Heat a pan add the lamb and leeks, cook though until brown.

Add all the other ingredients and add just enough stock to cover.

Cook through for thirty minutes then allow to cool slightly.

Layer with buttery mash. Cook in the oven at 180 for twenty minutes.
It’s so simple but adding the mint and haricot beans just gives this a delicious twist.

Over to you, do you prefer cottage pie or shepherd’s pie? I love both.

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs
Disclaimer  - I was provided with beef and lamb to try out some recipes. 

  
Hello Dear Reader,

I’ve cooked for most of today. I’ll share the recipes day by day. I’ve made more than my usual effort as we’re going to be flat out busy whilst we’re in Huelgoat and I need to be able to get food on the table to keep us going. We’re also on holiday so I’ve pushed the boat out and spent a bit more. Even so, I’ve reused the roasting dish from the supermarket as it’ll fit easily in the freezer wrapped in foil.

Luxurious fish pie.

1 pack of smoked mackerel fillets - skin removed and cut each fillet into three.

400g of smoked haddock - I microwaved it in a roasting bag for five minutes.

Mashed potato, well seasoned with salt, pepper and butter.

Cheese sauce.

100g of finely grated mature cheddar.

500 ml of milk.

2 tablespoons of cornflour.

Blend the cornflour with the milk, add the grated cheese in a plastic of microwaveable jug.

Microwave on a high heat for five minutes, take out and whisk, keep heating if it hasn’t thickened.

Combine the fish with the cheese sauce and top with creamy mash.
I just grilled mine and I’ll wrap it all in foil and freeze it. If you want to eat it straight away, pop into the oven at 180 for thirty minutes. It’s also great with a little grated cheese sprinkled on top. Serve with greens, we like broccoli and peas but choose what you like. 

A bit posh but it’ll be a great holiday treat. Fish is expensive is it.

I’ve got some lovely recipes to share this week and they all freeze well.

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs xxxxxx

  
Hello Dear Reader,

Somethings in life are just really difficult. These are tough times. Families are finding it difficult to make ends meets, people find it difficult to rent or buy a house, getting a college education after 18 is a debt for years and finding a job is hard. I think it’s going to get harder still and a whole generation of an entire nation are going to have an complete culture change. 

Many of us had the luxury of leaving school and finding a job that paid enough, even at sixteen, to rent a share of a house. No references, no credit checks, just the rent up front and move in. Wages were weekly, paid in cash in a little brown envelope and there was little or no chance if running up any debt. I sound like a total moaning old fart but you genuinely could pay the rent, a share of the bills, feed yourself, buy a pair of jeans now and then and a few pints of cider on a Friday. If I’d have known I was living the dream, I’d have enjoyed it more. If, like me, you had a rubbish job then you could get another job in the evening, waiting tables or serving in a pub. We didn’t do it to save up for holidays but so we could have a winter coat

Life was simple, I don’t remember the vicious consumerism and couldn’t have pointed out a brand label if I’d have tried. We wore jeans and a white t-shirt….everywhere, no matter if we were male or female and in the midst of comfortable self confidence, had no need for throw away fashion which needs replacing weekly. Beauty products were a bar of soap, a Mum roll-on and a quick squirt of Impulse which was the height of sophistication. There was little or no pressure to look good and character was more important than your clothes. Life was simple. Things were ‘easier’ as we expected so little and when we got it were grateful. 

Life is different now and those easy days are over. I don’t think we’ll ever see them again. We could all moan about it or even despair for our young people but that will neither help or change anything. These are times when more and more, who ever you are you have to take chances instead of having choices. It’s no longer going to be about desires but meeting needs instead. In short, it’s not about having fun, it’s about working harder. Shit, isn’t it!

What ever we want has to be worked for, with longer hours, in some cases for not a lot of pay and a lot of tough luck along the way. The younger you are, the tougher it is and just when you think it should be easy, fun and free then you’ll actually be working for what feels like nothing more than surviving. There is so ‘little’ money when high expectations can make people feel they have so much less than folk on social media. 

In spite of all that we can’t be down, feel sorry for ourselves, or our youngsters and just have to make do with as little as possible, live simply, adjust the way we live and make our own happiness without it costing us. We’re owed nothing and we’re entitled to even less.

I’m hopeful that these lengthy difficult times will have a lasting social change and there will be a collective shift to wanting and expecting less. 

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs xxx 

  
Hello Dear Reader,

‘Big dog’ has returned from the vet. We’ve had a discussion about his health, the dog’s not the vet’s and made a few decisions. Scruffy has been diagnosed with Cushings, which is a hormonal imbalance that can and probably will lead to worsening health problems in the future.

Our vet is a country vet and we appreciate his lack of sentimentality. The decision was made that we do nothing. No barrage of further tests, no pills daily but to leave him as he is as he’s not suffering and we agreed he’s ‘had a good innings’. He’s perfectly fit to travel and his cage training is going well. He’s got a collar he wears in the cage that gives off a pheromone that calms him.

If he develops diabetes in the future and if his quality of life worsens then we’ll have to face up to difficult decisions. He’s cost us very little in his life and this certainly isn’t a financial decision. 

For now, we’ll be prescribing extra walkies with sniffing and scratching and lots of back scratches and hugs.

He’s fine and far from down.

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs xxxx

  
Hello Dear Reader,

Just in case you wonder what I get up to in the evenings, I’m currently studying. It’s interesting and keeps me busy. It’s work related so that’s as much as is appropriate to tell you. 

I forget sometimes that I love learning and this mid term foray has really enthused me to do more.

Over to you, what do you live about learning? What skill or knowledge would you like to acquire?

I’m back to research papers and writing.

Until tomorrow,

Love Froogs xxxxxx