More on the stew!

I was asked if the stew turned out well. Yes it did. I found some frozen turkey broth and bits of turkey in the freezer when I defrosted it. So it became the basis for the stew.

Defrosted Fridge Stew:

1 to 1 1/2 cups of chicken/turkey broth and bits of meat
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into cubes
1 small can of tomatoes
1 onion, finely chopped
1 leak
2-3 cloves of garlic
Make sure liquids cover the meat and vegetables and so add water if you don't have enough broth
salt, pepper and whatever other seasonings you like to taste

1. Peel and chop onion and then fry on low heat in butter (with a bit of olive oil to stop butter from burning. Add chopped garlic.

2. Slice leak into 1/2 inch pieces (make sure the leak is clean) and fry with onion and garlic.

3. Add cubed potatoes and sweat potato and continue to fry for 2 to 3 minutes.

4. Add liquids and seasonings.

5. Simmer till vegetables are cooked.

Enough for 2 and a bit left over for the next day's lunch.

Finished the fridge and onto cooking!

I'm still on the subject of defrosting (though thank goodness that is finished!) and cooking the items I took out of the fridge and freezer along with other items in the kitchen. The muffins turned out well. In fact, I put in a cup and a half of cranberry sauce and they turned out fine. I think they are probably more moist but that's just fine and at least I managed to use up both bottles.

Cliff and I have been waiting for the Oxford-Cambridge Boat race to begin. The coverage started at 4:00 and now it is 5:17 and they are just starting. How typical! I've grown bored and in a moment I'm off to start dinner using my refrigerator treasure. I'm going to make a chicken stew with carrots, a leek, some sweat potato, garlic, onion and anything else that turns up. I'll keep you posted on how it turns out.

Defrosting the Fridge! And cranberry muffins!

I never thought that I would again have a refrigerator that I would have to defrost. I remember having one many years ago as a student but since then I've either bought my own or rented somewhere that had one that didn't need defrosting. Why is this such a problem? I just don't like doing it and keep putting it off. Today I can't put if off another moment since I can no longer get anything past the wall of ice guarding the entrance to my tiny freezer compartment. In fact, I only just managed to get the food in it, out. (As a side bar for those who don't live in the UK, you need to know that there are still many people living with only an under-the-counter refrigerator that takes very little, especially in the freezer.) (Please don't chastise me for saying that when, yes I know, there are many people who live without clean water, let alone a frost-free refrigerator!)

I used to long for a North American refrigerator but I would need a much larger kitchen so for now I cope and for as long as possible ignore the tell tale signs of glaciation. Where is all this leading me? To recipes to use up some of the interesting items I have found lurking at the back. For example there are two partially used jars of cranberry sauce. One is definitely from this past Christmas. I'm not sure about the other. However, there isn't any mold so I'm going to bake something with them. I remember a recipe for muffins using left over sauce so here it is. It's especially good for the day after Christmas or Thanksgiving when you have so much left over sauce!

Cranberry Muffins

2 cups flour (8oz cups)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cranberry sauce
1/4 cup oil
1 cup cranberry sauce
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
1 cup milk

400F (200C) for 20 minutes

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.

2. Stir in the cranberry sauce. In another bowl, beat the oil and egg slightly.

3. Stir in the milk and pour into the flour mixture. Stir until just moistened.

4. Drop batter into well-buttered muffin tins - about 18 - and bake.

These are best eaten warm!

I have some frozen cranberries as well so I must go off and see what I can do with those.

Eating Brownies

I made the brownies this morning and discovered that I didn't have an 8 inch pan (I had a 9 inch). I used the 9 inch pan and reduced the cooking time but not enough, I think, because they were a little too dry for my taste. The next time I make them, I'll reduce the cooking time further and let you know how they turn out. Tomorrow I'm going to make the Nigella Lawson recipe. If you are interested in them, click on the link.

Brownies

I went into my local farm shop today. Have I mentioned the farm shop before? It's on one of the farms that was hit by foot and mouth last summer. I needed some fruit and veggies to last through to the weekend but I also wanted to take 4 banana muffins to Coral, the owner, who had kindly saved me a bunch of over ripe bananas (which of course I used to make the muffins). While I was there, I was asked about American brownies. What were they like? Were they like a chocolate sponge with chocolate chips? Well, no, I said, and promised to make them some for the weekend. I'm not sure why they are so interested. I wonder if they were thinking of selling some.

My favorite brownie recipe is Nigella Lawson's. However, it is very expensive to make. So, instead, I'm going to make one out of the Canadian Living Cookbook from years ago. I've never made it before so we will have to wait till tomorrow to find out what it's like!

Ingredients

2 oz of unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. In small saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate with butter, remove from heat and add vanilla; set aside.

2. In mixing bowl, beat eggs lightly. Gradually beat in sugar. In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; stir into egg mixture. Stir in chocolate mixture, then nuts.

3. Spread in greased 8-inch (2L) square pan. Bake in 350F (180C) oven for about 25 minutes (brownies should appear slightly under-baked in center). cool; front if desired. Makes about 16 squares.

Othona

Cliff and I have just come back from our second visit to Othona down on the Dorset coast near Bridport. We first visited last October, and came home knowing that we had to go back. Did I talk about Othona back in October?

Our first encounter with Othona was back in the the early 90's. We were visiting my sister who lived in the Southend area at the time. We decided to go for a Sunday drive out to the Essex coast and ended up visiting a seventh century church, St. Peter's-on-the- Wall. After visiting the chapel, we walked along the beach and came upon the Bradwell Othona. We were invited in for tea and biscuits. I thought then that one day we would make it back there. We didn't but last September when I was looking for a retreat I did come across the Othona in Dorset at Burton Bradstock. If you're wondering, Othona is an open Christian community. At Burton Bradstock, they offer courses and retreats throughout the year. In October we went to the 'Teacher Chill Out' retreat. This last weekend we went to an Easter retreat.

So what's so special about Othona? I imagine that it is different for each person. For me, Othona provides the opportunity to be part of a community. This is so important. I hadn't realized how much I needed to be around people, to share meals, simple tasks, conversation and more. While at Othona, I'm also away from the distractions of life and can do whatever takes my fancy - meditating, reading, walking, writing, craft making. There's also the spiritual side of life and I don't want that to sound like an after thought. It's really the starting point of everything. I have needed to kick start my spiritual life and Othona has provided that initial spark. And finally, it's just a great place to be!

The Novel Continues

I didn't realize how long it had been since I last wrote. Three weeks! I have been continuing the work on my novel so that has been consuming most of my spare time. I've also had major tooth trauma and a cold. So all in all, I've been quite busy.

Today I finished chapter three. It's taken me a lot longer than the first two chapters. Part of the reason might be that it becomes more and more difficult to write a story organically the further into it you get. At least, that is what I've discovered with this one. Mary Jane in Reno says that she saw a writer interviewed who also just goes with the flow on the first 3 chapters and then starts to do some plotting. To facilitate this, I'm off to have lunch with Emma tomorrow to do some brainstorming.

Have I mentioned that my novel is in the romance genre. In the UK they are called Mills and Boon novels, in the US and Canada, Harlequin Romances. I did try to write one of these once before. Though I did manage to come up with some interesting plot lines, I never got further than the second chapter. So, already I am more successful than in the past. I am not necessarily expecting to be published but that would be nice. At the moment, I am simply interested in proving to myself that I can finish a novel. I also want to learn from this novel.