Although I dislike shopping, and dread the whole shopping expedition thing, I do like the renewed interest in cooking that is generated by the arrival into the household of fresh fruits, vegetables and salad. Yesterday we scored some lovely ripe fresh figs at just 19p each. Tempted to buy a tray, we settled for half a dozen instead – and I am just now turning them into Figs Poached in Port and Basil. They will be served with Mascarpone Cream.
Also in preparation is an Influenced Vegetable Stew – a dish to which Mr L and I are inordinately attached and the consumption of which leads to large overdoses of romantic mushiness in this household.
Other shopping triumphs from yesterday included a wedge of Wensleydale cheese. You can say what you like about Tesco but this, for me, is the Tesco Difference. When the store was a Somerfield branch an enquiry regarding the world’s best cheese led to the response: “we don’t sell it.” Tesco had it in stock yesterday and when I remarked that it is difficult to get hold of, the assistant on the deli told me that several customers had asked about it, so now they have it in stock. You see, a company just doesn’t get as big as that without doing things right.It’s the doing things right that attracts me as a customer, and I am clearly not alone in that. So, cheese and bikkies for supper, with port (left over from the bottle I bought to cook the figs in.) Thank you, Sir Terry. Now, about bags of frozen peppers..?
Also scored in Tesco – two boxes of Carlsberg Export lager, at just five pounds for eighteen bottles they work out even cheaper than the cheap Lidl stuff that we are usually constrained to buy.
Yesterday really was a day for bargains!
I love my new shoes, BTW – they are so comfortable. I got a brown pair that are flat and utilitarian and a black pair that are somewhat smarter (interview shoes!) but not too smart, and still wholly practical for island life. I feel very extravagant in buying two pairs but could not resist the sale, and as I haven’t had new shoes in all the time that Mr L has been with me, I guess it must be at least ten years since I bought any! Hardly profligate.
- I got a squint at my Yarn Yard BFL earlier. It’s a very subtle hue. Nice, but difficult to label or describe. Perfect for the hat that I want to make.
- I unpacked the very cheap blender that I bought yesterday – and it functions. It’s cheap and it’s nasty, for sure – but it was only £8.49 and I shan’t feel guilty about blending seaweed pulp in it (as I would if I deployed the Kenwood Chef for my paper-making)
- We spent some time installing a water butt today
- Some sock was knitted yesterday, though the motion of the boat made progress slow. None done yet today but I would like to complete the pair by the end of the weekend if I can.
I still need to do my patchwork homework…