Wednesday 27 April 2022

It has been a dull day with.........

.....no sign of the sun - and not a single drop of rain and we really need it on the gardens.

At least I feel my old self again after a couple of days of feeling under the weather.   And today I was able to walk round the block and then this afternoon I did my five laps of the patio. Nothing to tell though otherwise.   No one has called other then my carer of course and I did have a chat with H next door who was gardening as I walked my patio.

Is anyone else 'into' The Sewing Bee'?   Most of my friends are and it starts tonight.   Although until my tremor became too pronounced I did a lot a craft work - quilting, beading and the like, 'ordinary'sewing has never been my thing.   But that does not stop me enjoying and admiring the skills of others.

I also enjoy Master Chef.   Before I began to be shaky I enjoyed cooking.  My mother was a good cook and always enjoyed economising - we never had all that much money but she made very appetising food.   Derek asked yesterday how we could enjoy watching cooking when so many people had very little money to 'play with' when cooking these days.   And I thought back to my mother.   We would have a joint of meat on Sunday.  On Monday we would have slices from the joint cold with the veg left over fried in the pan (bubble and squeak).  What was left she would perhaps mince (she had one of those mincers which screwed onto the kitchen table.  Remember them? and she would make a cottage/shepherd's pie.  We always had fish on Friday so that only left Saturday and Thursday when she had to think of something else.  My father grew masses of veg in our garden so often it would be a vegetarian disn or something made with eggs (we had hens),   My  mouth waters as I type this!

Well dear blog friends I found something to say (as I usually do!) - until tomorrow...... 

27 comments:

Rachel Phillips said...

I did a lot of dressmaking and made all my own clothes as a teenager. My mother was apprenticed to a tailor when she left school. She taught me dressmaking skills. I don't watch Sewing Bee. I watched it once and did not like the jokes so I never looked again. It is very cold here today and I am back to winter layers.

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

My mother used much the same menu when I was growing up - and the same sort of mincer too. Very chilly here today too.

Sue said...

Just finished watching Sewing Bee. There are some talented sewers but a couple of dodgy ones too. That Dennis the Menace top was appalling.

Heather said...

My mother and grandmother were both very good at 'making ends meet' and meals at home were always tasty. Neither had much money and during my childhood food was rationed making things even more difficult. They both used one of those mincers, as did I years ago.
Well done on getting your walk and your patio laps done today. It is still quite chilly here and we are missing the lovely sunshine of last week.

Anonymous said...

I think many of the children of the 1940's and 50's had those meals and routine in Australia.
I remember the mincer and also the bean slicer ..Those revolting overcooked thin bean slivers!
I also recall more interesting foods many years later - broccoli, zucchini, aubergine, and herbs such as coriander, and heaven forbid, garlic. My mother also used to make junket from tablets, as toddler food - my brother ate it but I could never bring myself to.
Glad you can walk more Pat -Pam.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Garlic Pam??? I don't think my mother had ever even heard of it let alone buy it

Rachel - there is a new presenter this year - a woman - and no more silliness.

Susan said...

My grandmother was a skilled dressmaker and I often wish she had taught me her skills. She could take newspaper and cut a pattern for a dress for me then whip it up in no time. Every Sunday spent with her, she made me a new dress and we both went to church. It's very cold, windy and overcast in Massachusetts. Layers and a coat are required.

Anonymous said...

I am assuming other Australians who comment here would agree, garlic was a very contentious 'import' introduced by Europeans who were all lumped together under the heading of "New Australians". in those early days of post WW2 migration. It was very decisive around the 1960's which is laughable these days. It was seen by many old traditionalists as offensive and foreign, and my father swore he would never touch anything with garlic or onions in it, but he often went back for second servings when it was disguised in Mum's sauces and various dishes.-Pam

Barbara Rogers said...

I always had overcooked cheap cuts of meat as a kid...yes the Sunday roast with veggies. Some pork chops but lots of potatoes. I know my mother had one of those meat grinders, but don't remember her using it. Plus she worked full time, then came home and somehow put dinner on the table. My full time working Dad had sat reading the paper while she cooked. And until I was a teen, she also cleaned up after dinner. No wonder we ate cold cereal for breakfast (way before pot tarts were invented!) We grew up in Texas and Missouri. Thanks for sharing all this about your history.

Joanne Noragon said...

I grew up with one of those mincers attached to the table. Mom used it mostly to mince the last of the meat from an animal's bone, like ham. The mincer became the possession of my brother in law, who used it to grind venison for sausage. How the children loved to help him stuff the casing.

Barbara Anne said...

My mother sewed and she, then junior high, taught me. I've sewn for my family and home, done embroidery, crewel, counted cross stitch, and now and for the last 30 years, quilting. Isn't it just too much fun, Pat?

Oh, and yesterday it was 81*F (25*C?) and unexpectedly we had torrential rain, wind, and HAIL that was incredibly noisy and lasted about 30 minutes. Can you believe hail when it was so hot?

Hugs!

sparklingmerlot said...

Bubble and squeak! My mother used to make it as well. For some reason I remember brussels sprouts being used. Nothing better than left over veges cooked this way. You can buy frozen bubble and squeak in the supermarket these day. Sacrilege!!

Red said...

I hate to rain on your party but I don't watch TV. I literally do not one minute in a whole year. Oh I know I might be missing stuff .

jinxxxygirl said...

My mother was great cook too but did not impart too much of that to me.. Not that i was interested as a kid.. But i do miss some of her cooking.. Her spaghetti sauce was out of this world and chilli and pork and sauerkraut .. corned beef and cabbage just to name a few.. You got me hungry Pat!! Big hugs to you! Glad you are feeling better.. Hugs! debs

Bonnie said...

How wonderful that you are feeling better and got your walk in today as well. We don't get The Sewing Bee, at least not yet. I started sewing as a child and made many items on my Mother's old treadle sewing machine. I don't sew as much now but I still make quilts once in a while.

Margaret said...

I still have my grandmother's mincer and use it often to mince up cooked meat and make a Shepherd's Pie (easier on my teeth).

thelma said...

Many of us seem to have one of those mincers. In our household when I was a child and a bean cutter, a favourite for me. Yesterday I took my spinning wheel to Tod Makery and the obliging person managed to remove the stuck metal pin. Here we have a whole community college given over to repair whether it be a bike or clothes, talks and going forward in this age.

Librarian said...

My Mum is still a great cook and very creative in her use of leftovers. I usually cook when I have O.K. staying the weekend, or other guests, but rarely for myself; a slice of bread with butter and cheese or a bowl of salad mostly make my meals during the week.
As for sewing, I was taught some at school but never enjoyed it - I don't want to say it was all the teacher's fault, but her inability to make it an interesting and enjoyable subject certainly contributed.
My grandma was GREAT at sewing, both by hand and with her Singer machine, her pride and joy. My Mum is pretty good, too, but it has never rubbed off on me, I'm afraid.

Good to know you are feeling better again, and are back to your walks!

the veg artist said...

A few weeks ago there was a TV 'cookery' show led by Jamie Oliver where the prize was to have a cook-book published. Each of the contestants had their own style of food, lots of it international, but one was a chap whose book was to be called 'The Skint Roofer'. He was a roofer, and had often been skint, but was an expert in preparing straightforward, very tasty food from cheap but fresh ingredients. He didn't win the show, but if only some viewers had thought 'I could do that' and their family ate better as a result then his place on the show was justified.

Tom Stephenson said...

It sounds as if your mother was exactly the same sort of cook as mine. Toward the end I would sometimes cook for her and she told me that under no circumstances would she eat garlic. I said 'ok', but sneaked a bit in when she wasn't looking. She loved it.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks everyone - all our experiences seem sosimilar and the good old fashioned mincers seem to have all been put to good use. It does seem from reading your comments that none of us wasted money on food and that we always managed to eat well - dare I say better than now in many ways,

Debby said...

I think we are on the verge of re-learning the thrift of those long ago days. Food costs are increasing, and people cannot afford to be wasteful.

Derek Faulkner said...

Tell that to the BBC Debbie

The Feminine Energy said...

So glad you're feeling better, Weaver! To hear this has made my day! ~Andrea xoxo

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks folks.

SallyC said...

We had the leftover Sunday roast minced with carrot and onion and a piece of bread pushed through last to clean out the mincer. Together with some slices of potato this would be wrapped in pastry and made into Monday pasties. It was my favourite meal of the week even though there was sometimes more bread than meat in the filling!

Rachel Phillips said...

The meal for the Royal British Legion prepared by the young team of Master Chefs last night was magical. The programme was a delight to watch.