sassy59Ambassador

Hello to you too, all ok here after the stresses of the court of protection because Petes mum was unhappy being in her care home some months back. She’s well settled now but the wheels had been set in motion by Dols.

My winter food go to is beef stew and dumplings. It’s a big favourite and our daughter and son in law always expect an invite when I prepare one.

Hope everyone has a good weekend and stay well and warm. Xxxxx

CallendersgalAdministrator in reply to sassy59

Oh yes sassy59! Bring on those dumplings!

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CallendersgalAdministrator

Hi MAS_Nurse,

Your all-singing, all-dancing slow cooker sounds great! I too love those one pot slow cooked dishes that are ready for ladling out as you come in from the cold, sometimes tired and glad not to have to face preparing a meal.

At the other end of the spectrum, for quickness I love soups! So easy to throw everything into a pan, boil it up and use a stick blender to make a huge variety. And for some extra creamy naughtiness, I learned from an American recipe some years ago to use flavoured cream cheese, blended in at the last minute. And with it, another old friend American recipe, a hunk of sour cream and cheddar cornbread that also contains little jewels of sweetcorn. (But that's much too naughty calorie-wise to have regularly).

Darker evenings have sent me back to crafting too. It makes such a mess in my tiny apartment but sometimes I just have to put that to the back of my mind and get on with it. I've gone back to my doll-house interior design, and there's something magic about opening its doors when in real life all is messy, to see the perfect little rooms with all the inhabitants sitting peacefully and neatly and with none of the problems that assail us out here in the real world.

And many thanks to Vonnieruth too, for supplying me with the pattern for those darling little bears she's been busy knitting. I've only just completed my first one and there's room for improvement as I'm not much of a knitter, but I'll persevere!

I know I'm lucky not to have any caring duties at the moment and have a really peaceable life so that I have time to indulge myself in hobbies, but very much thinking of those whose lives are so full with the duties of caring.

Very best wishes to all of you.

MEW53

Delia Smith’s Carbonade of Beef which takes about 3 hours to simmer and includes a bottle of real in it, the taste was wonderful. The recipe said to have pieces of French bread covered with baked grated cheese on the top, lovely with mash. Sadly it’s a dish of the past as I have a swallowing issue and cannot eat it anymore but it was a wonderful dish on a winters evening.

XSitch38

Awful to admit but I was given a slow cooker several years ago and have never used it. Disgraceful!! Mom can't eat much meat now and my hubby eats at work so I really only cook full meals when he's home. However we had a lovely Lamb Rogan Josh last night. We've had bumper year for cooking apples so apart from many purees, jams and crumbles, I have made some apple mincemeat which is maturing in the larder, and I am looking forward to baking my own mince pies next month. I am nearly finished cross stitching my family Christmas cards and that's how I chill out. Once they are complete and ready to post, I can get back to the photostitch my hubby did of our farmhouse. It is VERY tricky but will be stunning once done. Mom had good week. Eating from a spoon again, and we think putting on a bit of weight. Only problem is a couple of pressure sores now, but district nurses wonderful and honey being used and she looks so much better. Thinking about you all out there with your care issues, and wishing you well.

CallendersgalAdministrator in reply to XSitch38

Hi XSitch38,

Well, don't beat yourself up about not using your slow cooker. It sounds as if you're more than adept at turning out some wonderful dishes without it. But you aren't alone anyway. I caught up with a friend sneaking into a local charity shop during the week, and she confessed she'd bought herself a slow cooker when I told her how much I liked mine, but that it was still brand spanking new, two years on, and she was now surreptitiously ditching it whilst her husband wasn't looking.

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sassy59Ambassador in reply to XSitch38

Good to hear your news XSitch and thinking of you. Xxx

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