Well I never - or did I?

A rather nice picnic hamper!

Just look what postie brought today!   

It's actually a fabric hamper with an all-round zip.  Inside are four each of knives, forks, spoons, plates, napkins and glasses plus a corkscrew and a serving board.  

I already have a (real) wicker hamper but I think this would be easier when I go out on my trundle truck.

The really exciting thing is, I don't know why it's arrived.  I'm assuming it's a competition prize but I have no recollection of entering a comp for a hamper.  It appears to be linked to a film (Their Finest) which came out last year which means that as a prize it is very late - not that I'm complaining!

Toads and tadpoles

I'm a great fan of traditional British food.  It's good stuff, usually pretty economical.  The ingredients are easily available.  It carries me back to childhood.  And so many dishes have such wonderful names!

Bubble and squeak.  Spotted dick.  Star gazey pie.  Roly poly pudd'n.  And toad in the hole.

As a name Toad in the Hole does not sound very appetising.  Who would want to eat a warty amphibian?  All true Brits know that it is a delicious combination of sausages and batter!

Until very recently I hadn't cooked it for many years but it's had a renaissance here at Frugal Follies.  I've given it a bit of a twist in that I've started to put vegetables in as well as sausages.  Hence it is now toad and tadpoles.

This recipe serves one very greedy person.  

40g plain flour

1 egg

60ml milk

Beat these three together to create a batter then leave it in the fridge for an hour.

Heat the oven to 190C, Gas mark 5.  Put a glug of oil in a small ovenproof dish and heat in the oven.

Put two cooked sausages and a selection of vegetables into the hot oil.  So far I have tried onions, broccoli, carrots, green beans, peppers, and all have been good.  Pour the batter over and return dish to oven.  Cook for about twenty minutes and don't open the oven door for at least fifteen minutes.

Serve with gravy

How is it going?

In the middle of last month I said that the last nineteen days of June were going to be much better than the first eleven.  I bemoaned my lack of energy, the bleugh feeling, and I said I wanted life to be a little more purposeful.  So how has it been?

Not bad, is the short answer.

I've been swimming three times.  Swimming isn't easy for me but I have been going with a friend and we have kept up each other's morale.  I don't think I'll ever get back the standard I had (that would be unrealistic as the years go by) but I am now almost enjoying the sessions.

I've put the garden back into order.  I had to admit defeat on doing a lot of it myself.  Bending at the knees and maintaining my balance is very difficult so whatever I did meant bending from the waist.  I can easily bend from the waist but if I stay bent I then feel very dizzy when I stand up!  Anyway, I managed to find some help and although my garden isn't as wonderful as in previous years, it is now a pleasant place to be.  Photos will appear on my other blog over the next few weeks.

I've made a very good start on sorting the conservatory/utility room/back porch.  Until very recently this was a pleasant place to sit but since my kitchen repairs it just hadn't recovered and even getting laundry into the machine was a challenge.  It will soon be a useful room again.

I've organised a family picnic (report here) which I enjoyed.  I seem to do an awful lot of visiting of the sick and housebound and it was good to get out with some of my extended family.