Thereby Hings a Tale

Well I suppose the big thing that happened this week is what everyone was talking about – Eunice “a female given name: from a Greek word meaning “good victory”. Well if your view point is devastation is victory, then for some places in the UK she did her job.

For myself she was more of an inconvenience. I did not get to take the dog’s out for a walk and my garden will need a little tidying up of general debris, but on the whole we survived. It did mean I got to do a bit of cooking.

A new little feature for this blog and out of my comfort zone is cooking using ingredients I have never used or in some cases never even tasted.

Taking a leaf or in this case a rhizome out of http://carolcooks2.com I have decided to try finding out about and using new spices or herbs that I have either not encountered or used before. My first is

Asafoetida also known as Hing which is the dried gum from the rhizome of the species Ferula assa-foetida, a perennial herb from the arid regions of Afghanistan, Iran, and India.

When cooked, apparently its flavor is suggestive of garlic, leeks and onions. I personally found the smell when cooking to be like this but not so much the flavour once cooked. Although it definitely had a distinct flavor which was a slightly bitter taste but not bad.

Facts:

1. Improve digestion: Hing removes all the toxins from the body and cures any issues related to indigestion. It helps in regulating the digestion process

2. Helps in weight loss: Drinking hing water increases metabolism and keeps the bad cholesterol at bay with which we feel active and hence helps in weight loss.

3. Reduces blood sugar levels: Consuming hing regularly can relax your blood vessels. Hing helps in secreting more insulin and thus decreases blood sugar levels.

4. Relieves from menstrual pain: Hing acts as a blood thinner and helps. It helps in the smooth flow of blood in the body and hence relieves from any menstrual cramps.

5. Reduces headache: Hing has some anti-inflammation properties which help in reducing headache. Drinking hing water as mentioned above can work.

You can get it in major supermarkets.

I decided to make a recipe I found on www.saltandtamarind.com/hing-chicken-chicken-cooked-in-asafoetida-sauce/

I also adapted a side dish of http://www.saltandtamarind.com/namkeen-chawal-vegtable-pulao-recipe/

I not add the potato but did add a half tsp of asafoetida

I also have been doing more of my macrame wall hanging for my lounge. After numerous un-picks I have finished the shell pattern. I now need to make a flower for the center.

With work (I run my own dog training school), this week I added an extra class to my sessions. I now do Smart Skills, a step up from Beginner Skills. You never know how a new thing will work but I have to say within days of launching this I was fully booked and had a waiting list. The first session yesterday was great fun. I have in the past tried various things only for them to have very little interest but I don’t give up and either try in a different way to incorporate it into my sessions or look for new things to try. As you have probably gathered I like finding and trying new things in my life 🤣

I’m off to find a herb or spice beginning with ‘B’, there are many but I want one that I have not used or not thought about using in a particular way. Any ideas gratefully received.

Until next time step big, step small but take that step forward as life doesn’t go backwards!

Chris x

Four C’s this week

Last Sunday I ventured to Plymouth to visit my youngest daughter at University. We have not seen each other in over a month, which is a long time for us. I took her bike and a number of things we could not fit in the car when she went back to Uni at the beginning of January. One of the things was a slow cooker that she got for Christmas. It will be interesting to see what type of things she will make as she is a Pescatarian and I am use to using mine for meat dishes. Although this week I did make rice pudding in mine as had rather a lot of milk.

On Tuesday my daughter messaged me to say she had a positive test for Covid. So had to cancel all plans for that day and do a test for the next few days and luckily for me all negative and no symptoms and back to normal life, she on the other hand is still stuck in her Uni studio accommodation as still testing positive.

On the crafting front I have started a macrame wall hanging for my lounge. It will be the most complicated pattern I have done so far and have had to unpick a number of times already, mainly due to tension, either doing too loosely or too tight!

I did my first seed swap event yesterday, which is such a great idea. I don’t have a large garden but do like to grow some vegetables but often there are so many seeds that I never use them all and end up throwing them away as they get too old.

I made up envelopes of smaller amounts of the seeds I was not going to be able to use before their expiry date. I managed to pick up some flower seeds which I will plant up nearer the end of the month. I have planted my plum tomatoes – Roma, which are now in my conservatory hopefully working hard beneath the soil. I planted these last year and they were brilliant until they got tomato blight. Fingers crossed for a good crop this year.

I made baked chocolate oats for breakfast yesterday morning from a recipe I saw on @callascleaneats I did not add choc chips but did add a dollop of Greek yogurt and I cooked in the microwave for 3 mins rather than in the over. I have to say it was rather nice and not that sweet, which is good for me as not keen on sweet things for breakfast. I’m going to try adapting this recipe for different flavours, maybe apple and cinnamon, yum!

So after this week of covid, crafting, crops and cooking, I hope you have had a lovely week and please let me know if you got up to anything new!

Chris x

Short and Sweet (a bit like me)

With the guest cloakroom about finished I turned my hand to some crafting. I wanted to produce something to hang on the wall of the cloakroom. I had previously made the feather that looked more like a leaf in macrame so thought that I would make a wall hanging of leaves.

On one of my dog wallks I came across some lovely dry broken branches. I collected them and at home cleaned them up and popped them in the oven on a low temperature for about 30 mins to kill off any creepy crawlies.

I decided to create a stalk that hangs from the branch and the leaf is then created on the filler cords. I chose three colours to tie in to the cloakroom but did not try to match the exact colours.

I just have to add a cord to hang the branch on the wall. So will post a picture of the completed wall hanging next week but below is when I had got about half way.

Tomorrow (Monday) I am running a crafting session at my house to teach some of the ladies of our Social Butterflies Group how to make a feather/leaf. There will be much laughter I am sure!

This week I don’t feel I have done anything that has really been out of my comfort zone but learning a new skills I think will count.

This week it was 2/2/22 Tutu Day a once in a lifetime day which had to be celebrated and as you can see below myself and my friend Amanda wore our Tutu’s with pride at the local pub that night. So there were two wearing a tutu and the sign we are pointing at says Winning Double! 😂

With Spring beginning to show itself, my thoughts turn to my garden although at the time of writing this it’s blowing a gale out there. It’s time to find my seed packets from last year and check dates. We have a seed swap in my town next week so I will be packaging up those seeds that I have more than enough of and making a list of things I would like to grow.

A short post this week, enjoy any good weather we have and if wet and windy take the chance to plan for the better weather.

Chris x

Well this is what 60 looks like!

Only look a day older 😂

So how did I step out of my comfort zone this week? Well mainly it was starting this blog, when you start any new project whether a new business, a new job or just simply a new craft or exercise class, there are those beginner nerves – can I do this, will I fit in, will people like what I do, will I like it?

For me starting this blog whilst a great way to look back on my achievements be they large or small. I want people to enjoy reading what I’m up to, give me feedback and ideas of things to try and also try to inspire you, my reader, whoever you are, (is anyone out there), to go on this adventure with me.

The Big Day

My actual big day was spent with my two girls G and Mia and we hit IKEA and they treated me to my birthday meal, meatballs and Daim cake, so whilst not a great splashy meal it was very yummy!

One of the things I bought was a bamboo steamer. I have always wanted to try making steamed Chinese dumplings. As Chinese New Year will be 1st February 2022 Year of the Tiger 🐯 I am going to practice making them during January. So watch this space to see how I get on, it could go one of two ways 😂

My other buy from IKEA was some shelves, the one for the hallway #mosslanda went up with no hitch at all and looks super cute and hopefully I will be able to find my keys now ( as long as I remember to put them there when I come in)!

The other shelves are for the utility room once I decide on the colour to paint it.

I have a number of ideas to allow me to stretch myself and step out of that Comfort Zone during the next few weeks.

Let me know what you did this week to pop that toe into uncharted waters.

Don’t forget to sign up for notification of new posts and until next time have fun.