Advent Photo Day 4 - Vegetable Christmas pie.

Our Daughter-in-law to be ( Dec 2016) is vegetarian so at Christmas I like to find something interesting for her while all around are tucking into a traditional meal. She's told me about some of the awful meals she's been offered on Christmas meals out, when for some reason restaurants think that just because a person is vegetarian they don't want the roast potatoes, parsnips and all the other tasty Christmas things, and dish up some weird pasta meal or worse, an omlette!

Last year I made individual veg and nut layered  roasts ( the recipe is on the separate page) this year mini pies using Puff pastry,squash,chard and Mascarpone cheese. The recipe is adapted from 2 I found online and really should be made in one of those 4-on-a-tray Yorkshire pudding tins, but I don't have one so did them in my deepest bun tray tin.

Christmas Veggie Pies

Half a pack of puff pastry ( when I buy these I always cut them in quarters before putting them in the freezer)
The narrow end of 1 small squash
Colander of chard (or equivalent bought spinach leaves), wilted, chopped and drained really well.
Half Tub of mascarpone cheese.
Ground black pepper
Squirts of tomato puree ( or mustard)

I rolled out the pastry as thin as possible and cut large circles,fitted them carefully into the bun tin and put a squirt of tomato puree in the bottom of each (one recipe said mustard ). Slicing the narrow end of the squash into very thin rounds - after peeling of course. I then layered squash slices, spinach and cheese finishing with squash-  ground pepper on each layer, brush the edges with water and cut circles to fit. Slide the tray into a big freezer bag and freeze. If only I had thought of it I could have cut some holly leaves from the pastry off cuts.

 I made these for the first time last week to check they were going to be OK. After taking out of the freezer I cut a couple of slits in the top of each pie and brushed with egg.
They were cooked on a medium oven temp for about 30mins I think ( I'm a bit vague about temps and times sorry.) Anyway we ate them with roast potatoes and parsnips and Brussels sprouts and they were very tasty. I've made them again today and added a few snips of dried tomato with the cheese.
When these are served on Christmas day, I'm going to warm some cranberry sauce to spoon over the top.

I'm always worried when I pass on home concocted recipes in case people try them and think they are awful because me and Col eat almost everything home made with great enjoyment! We had 1 and a half each and that was enough but reheated the other 3 in the microwave next day and they were good too. You could make half this amount, but it seemed silly to fiddle about for just 3 pies. I shall keep R company on Christmas day and join her with eating these and I expect some the other family members will want to try a bit too.

What else happened yesterday?
Ah yes, I spent nearly 2 hours searching for one of the sets of car keys, I'd locked the car up Wednesday  but where the heck had I put them. I went up and down the garden around all the sheds, in the freezer, amongst all the shoes and coats in the utility room, every drawer and cupboard in the kitchen, dirty laundry basket, in the garden shed, in the wood shed. All round the field ( even though I'd walked round the field in the morning and lost the keys in the afternoon!). Eventually after I'd been everywhere three times I found them........in the peg bag hanging on the back of the utility room door! How? Then I remembered, on the way back from locking up the car I'd got the washing in, didn't have a pocket for the keys so laid them on top of the peg bag on top of the laundry.
Phew. Hate losing things.

I keep forgetting to say that the advent photos are linked to Julie's Scrapbook where you can find several other people's advent pictures or on Julies blog some wonderful old cartoons.

 Back Tomorrow
Sue

3rd photo for Advent and other stuff

Our first Christmas cards arrived in the post yesterday. One from Col's manager from County Council days and then one that's really unsolicited junk mail - from The Salvation Army. It says on the back of the Sallie Army one that it's painted by a lady of 94 who lives in a Salvation Army home in Southend. Clever lady as it's a lovely picture - my favourite Christmas cards are always snowy scenes.

So here is Advent photo 3 - The first two cards ( and the real advent calendar again)

We actually had some decent weather yesterday and a load of washing dried in just a couple of hours. Col took the tractor down to our farmer friends and brought our grass topper back. We've sold the topper and tractor to the people who are buying the house - handy- so it needs to be back here.
 I did my usual 3 loaves of bread, a bit more clearing of unwanted things into the charity shop bag and caught up on last weeks Ben Fogle - Living in the wilds UK. He was with Amanda Owen - The Dales Shepherdess and as I watched I thought "I'm sure I had her book from the library but I can't remember reading it". I looked on-line at my borrowers history and yes I did have it but it's not written down in my Book Of Books Read, so I think it was wanted by someone else and I returned it without finishing it. In the book she had 7 children, on TV she had 8!! ...................and 1000 sheep. She was out with her husband shearing sheep 5 weeks after having the baby - Fit Lady!

Thanks for encouraging comments about driving yesterday.

Back Tomorrow
Sue

A BIG shop and Advent photo 2

Those of you who have been reading a while might remember when Col had the first heart problems back in 2013 and was stuck for a fortnight in Ipswich hospital waiting to go to Papworth for stents. Do you remember  how terrified I was driving the 25 miles up to hospital? I'd done very little driving since moving here because I either biked everywhere locally or got a lift to Ipswich when Col was at work. Well .... things have changed a bit since then. He's been in hospital several times and I've been forced to get behind the wheel more often, I still don't enjoy driving and I've still never had the chance of driving on a motorway but yesterday I nipped up to the big Tescos on the outside of Ipswich - All By Myself! I know that sounds pretty pathetic to everyone who is used to driving all the time and practically  everyone else under the age of 80!, but when I learned to drive in 1973 Suffolk there were no by-passes, no duel-carriageways, very few roundabouts and about half as much traffic.......not quite the time when men walked in front of cars waving a flag......but almost!

Anyway - I did the BIG shop for December for  8 of us here mid month, 6 Christmas day and 2 the rest of the time. I got all the things that they don't have in our local Tesco and went to Poundland  where I bought a 2016 diary and some things for Father-in-laws hamper. I'm always astonished at the prices of diaries in other places, because if you just want somewhere to write down dentist appointments and birthdays then £1 will do the job perfectly adequately.


I found some comments back on old posts that I'd not read  so I need to explain that although we are living on savings we do have a good amount of savings thanks to an inheritance several years ago. We also have this smallholding that we've  accepted an offer on of £495,000( not bad considering we bought it as a wreck for £85,000 back in 1992)  We can buy something for less than half that, either to rent out or to live in, so we will be OK until pension time. We had many, many years living on a low income when Col was a council road-man and we had 3 small children. That was when we started growing food to stretch the housekeeping. We've never been extravagant, never had debts except the mortgage and have always been ingenious at earning a little extra and stretching what we had. I've always kept my eye on what we spend and know what we can afford, if we needed to cut back further then we could and would.


Thank you for comments about the advent calendar, I was pleased to find it as I don't like chocolate ones or branded  ones ...... when the children were small I was the mean mother who refused to let them have chocolate advent calendars!

So here's advent photo 2

My Christmas cup and saucer. I bought this from a charity shop a few years back to fill with chocolate things to make a gift. But I liked it so much I decided to keep it. I use it all through December.


Welcome to mchild  a new follower over there on the right.


Back Tomorrow
Sue

So November has gone, what's coming in December?

I like lists and at this time of year there are several lists on the go.

One of my lists was ideas for my December blog posts now I'm back to daily posting and it's going to be a Christmas photo every day for 24 days. For people who say "Bah Humbug to Christmas" ....... you'll just have to shut your eyes when you read my blog!!

Advent picture 1 is, appropriately, an advent calendar.

Our last Advent calendar was found in a charity shop a couple of years ago but the little doors won't stay shut any more so when I saw this  in a National Trust shop when we were away on holiday I splashed out. Behind each number is a picture showing Christmas decorations from  NT Houses all round the country. I'm looking forward to opening each window.

Picture one was stockings hanging over a fireplace from Ingham Mote in Kent

What's happening this month?
Well quite a lot actually but It's OK  ..............I have a list!

Main supermarket shop

A trip to Ipswich to get a voucher for a present and other shopping
Finish the rest of Christmas present shopping
Wrap presents
Finish writing cards and get them posted
Col's doctor and hospital appointments
Get the Christmas tree up ready for mid month family get together 
Go to the Hyundai garage in Ipswich to get a switch for the reversing lights on the car

Make bread each week

Make a double batch of tomato and herb rolls

Chop kindling each week

Cut wood each week

Try out the little veggie pies ready for Christmas day

Decide on 2 deserts for mid month family gathering
Make 2 deserts and put in the freezer

Make breadcrumbs for bread sauce

 Wrap presents 

Marzipan cakes

Ice cakes

Make breadcrumbs ready for bread sauce
Order a ham and a chicken from the butchers for Christmas day
Visit 2 places for photos for my advent blog posts
Organise a meet up with friends for present swap
Visit relatives to deliver presents

That should keep us busy all month!

Back Tomorrow
Sue
P.S. Thanks for comments about November spending on yesterdays post