Weekend

[louiselux]

I was in the sort of mood yesterday where everything seems useless and crap, and the weather was vile. I used several coloured pens to plan out the remaining parts of my Monsters story and I cooked, which always makes me feel better.

I made bread - a bloomer style loaf that expanded in a huge and satisfying way in the oven into a sort of bread zeppelin. I also made the tradtional English dish of toad in the hole. Not with real toads, obvsly. It was delicious - the Yorkshire pudding was soft and melt in the mouth, with rich red wine and onion gravy that I simmered for an hour. To go with it I made broccoli and peas with red onion and fennel and some white balsamic vinegar. Mmm, must remember that one.

One of the little people came round earlier bearing a home made carrot cake (made with twenty billion carrots, she informed me. We found out later that it was really only four). It was delicious and moist! This coming week I'm experimenting with bread and butter pudding, as I'm going to make one for my friend J's birthday on Friday.

Today we bought sand so I can expand the brick paving in the garden, and more plants: two pink delphiniums, two furry silvery-leaved things I can never remember the name of but they have extremley bright pink flowers, garden mint, four celeriac plants, two foxgloves the colour of raspberry yoghurt and some crazy frou-frou purple and white petunias for the tubs. I'm growing peas this year for the first time, with trepidation and many warnings of doom from my dad. They coming up all right, but I don't know how to keep the fucking snails from eating them. I'm also growing tomatoes, six different kinds of greens, dill and coriander and basil. Oh, and I bought a butternut squash seedling with no idea where to grow it.

Frog news - the pond is now basically a tadpole nursery. There are hundreds and hundreds. I am scared.

Comments

[cynbaby.livejournal.com]

I don't even know if I can find the right kind of sausage to make that, where I am, most of our sausage is very spicy and not much to my liking.

But, I have this incredible urge to make that recipe. Thank you for sharing.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. I make ours with vegetarian sausage - you could also make it with other meat, maybe? Like meatballs or something along those lines.

[avierra.livejournal.com]

Toad in the hole looks very comfort foodish. What is groundnut oil, aka peanut oil?

I have never grown celeriac. Celery doesn't grow well in the climate where I live, so I never tried. I do love it though.

You have made me very hungry. Alas, it is pizza for us tonight.

Snails! I can help with that. Set out little bowls flush with the ground, or maybe a bit lower, in the ground near where they are coming from, and pour beer in the bowls. They will get drunk and drown. This kills slugs too.

[i-am-zan.livejournal.com]

that is so cool at least they will die happy! Wow!!!! Amazing!

...uhh...sorry for the interupt!

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the snail trap tip. I'm going to try that because they're eating my peas!

Groundnut oil is just peanut oil - it's good to use in some dishes because it's quite tasteless.

I will report back on the celeriac growing - I've never grown any before so I've no idea what to expect even!

[i-am-zan.livejournal.com]

hee hee now I want to bake bread. SOmething I have not done in a long time! Maybe I will sometime this week...and

you have a plague of tadpoles! Ahahaha! I hope you have fun ...do you have fish in the pond?

If you do you will soon have very fat fish! OR many fat snakes when the weather gets warmer and the tadpoles get bigger!

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Mmmm bread. I do recommend it as a therapeutic activity.

We don't have any fish, but some of the local birds are starting to look a bit well fed.

[kickingrad.livejournal.com]

Oh wow, toad in the hole! I haven't had that in years. Jealousy! Toad in the hole and bubble & squeak, so good.

Beer makes a good trap for snails and slugs, if you put some dishes of it around the plants you want to keep safe.

I saw a huge blob of tadpoles recently and thought of you. <3

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Heehee! I am tadpole woman.

Mmm, bubble and squeak. I must make that too, thanks for the reminder.

[trensaddiction.livejournal.com]

"bread zeppelin" is a term that's going to stick in my brain. I smiled when I read it and continue to do so every time the phrase is remembered.

Anyway, your day sounds delicious, and I hope that the baking has put you in better weather. Also, tadpole nurseries are love. I so wish we had froglets out here. :)

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Aww, yay! I'm glad it brought a smile. The baking really lifted my mood, thank you.

I will give the tadpoles your love!

[kispexi2.livejournal.com]

Bread, toad-in-the-hole and tadpoles ... does life get any better than that? I think not.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Heee! That is true, very true...