Saturday 4 October 2014

Autumn

The leaves - particularly the ash leaves - are falling in great showers here today in a brisk wind, and covering the new tarmac.   The pine needles from our Scot's pines are falling in their thousands; no matter how many barrow loads the farmer sweeps up there are as many and more by the next morning.   Within an hour of our window sills being painted last week by the painters, each sill was covered with pine needles.   Luckily it was fast-drying industrial paint, so it was dry and they didn't stick.   I went round and religiously swept them all off, today the wind is doing the job for me.  (as the old man said 'never bother to sweep up the leaves, let borealis do the job for you' - as he will sooner or later).

This morning was our village coffee morning, always on the first Saturday of the month - and today it was especially well-attended.   By half past ten the village hall was full and the talk was too loud for me to hear what anyone was saying (hearing aids have a nasty habit of picking up every sound, not just the one you want to hear).

There was the usual cake and produce stall, as usual staffed by A, and she had made - and brought for me - a couple of lasagnes made with minced turkey and without the celery she usually puts in.  If you haven't tried lasagne with turkey do give it a try - it is jolly good and, of course, very low in fat.

There was the raffle with a large selection of prizes.   I do not wish to win chocolate or sherry or wine, and I have enough 'stuff' without winning any more - so I always put a couple of pounds into the box but don't have any tickets - that takes care of that.

There is also a stall run by a lady who makes the most delicious Indian food.   She always has a slow cooker with her so that her main dish of the day can be tasted before you buy it - good idea, don't you think?  I bought a vegetable rice, a chicken sweet and sour balti and a chicken and coconut malay.  The sweet and sour we had for lunch with the vegetable rice and the rest of the things I bought went into the freezer for the busy days to come, when I am out on my afternoon courses.   That is the meals for this week taken care of.  (My mother would turn in her grave at my laziness in buying food rather than cooking it from scratch).  The lunch was quite a surprise to the farmer - I don't think he has had Indian food before, but he quite enjoyed it.  Very hot, but plain yoghourt was delicious after it.

Food habits are changing so much aren't they?   When I was a child we had good plain food - my mother was always a good plain cook.   I don't think she ever bought a cake in her life, and yet there was always plenty of cake on the table. She was always highly suspicious of what she called 'bought cake'.  When I think back, she seemed to spend most of the day either doing the washing, cleaning the house, or cooking.  Now I have usually done all that in an hour (or a variety of machines has done it for me.)  The result is that I can go out and about meeting friends, drinking copious amounts of coffee and attending classes.  Can't be bad, can it?

13 comments:

Mac n' Janet said...

I don't buy much in the way of ready made foods. If it were homemade by someone else I might.
Most of my friends have quit cooking, but I love to do it.

Heather said...

At least your purchases were homemade, even if not by you. I much prefer home cooked meals and if someone else has done it for me it's a treat.
In our mother's days I don't suppose there was much time left for going out after doing all the household chores without the benefits of 'mod-cons'.

Becca McCallum said...

I find cooking stuff at home relaxing - I always feel like some Italian mama when I'm cooking the tomatoes for spaghetti!

donna baker said...

Where I live, bought cake has no flavor. Tastes like sugar. The icing is even worse. Crazy chemicals and ingredients; nothing like basic ingredients.

jinxxxygirl said...

No Weaver i don't think its bad. If it helps you enjoy the things you want to enjoy. Life is too short me thinks. :) Some people enjoy cooking . I'am not one of them. It is a necessity because i cannot afford to eat out every day. :) I say buy the food then get out there and enjoy life! Hugs! deb

Rachel Phillips said...

I think life is better these days.

Joanne Noragon said...

My older granddaughter realized she had a headache every day right after lunch and began taking "good, plain" leftovers for her lunch. The school food doesn't seem to bother the little one, yet.

angryparsnip said...

I think you day and next week sounds just right.

cheers, paranip
The Square Ones send woofs to Tess

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

Yes, when I was growing up nobody ever ate foreign food and certainly none but the very wealthy ever ate out. Everyone had a cooked breakfast too as I remember. How times change!

Terry and Linda said...

When the kids were growing up they thought they had a real treat when I brought home cookies from the store...they loved store-bought cookies. Now days they always ask if I have any extra home-made cookies!!!

Linda
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Cro Magnon said...

The acorns are dropping here by the thousand; I don't remember a year like it.

My mother too was a good plain cook until she discovered Elizabeth David's 'Mediterranean Cookery'. After that it was wonderful. I grew-up as a child gourmet.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Oh Cro - I still use Elizabeth David's Mediterranean Cookery when I feel like making something special - it is my bible.

Thanks to all of you for looking in.

Bovey Belle said...

Your mother did well to be highly suspicious of "boughten" cake - in the Cotswolds/Gloucestershire where this expression lives on, "boughten" connected with anything was a highly disparaging term! Home made or nothing (same goes in our house, except in emergencies!)

There are far too many nasties in modern food and I try and avoid as many as possible, reading all the ingredients in the tiniest print to make sure I am not buying anything untoward. And of course, when you eat Proper Home-cooked Food, anything boughten tastes horrid!