Survival and Resourcefulness

Snow and ice! A cold garden, covered in a white blanket last week. Not a favourite of mine but even so, an opportunity to see some lovely sights.

The birds have been tucking in on the bird table and feeders. Although they’re very elusive I snapped a few through the window,

Signs that spring is only weeks away are emerging around the garden. Lovely hellebores are slowly unfolding buds. Snowdrops, daffodils and tulips are pushing skywards. I found a couple of primula flowers blooming despite being full of melted snow.

Always plenty to see, whatever the weather.

The winter clematis are beautiful. I have two varieties of Clematis cirrhoza draped over an arch. One side has “Wisley cream” and the other side has “Freckles” I think the photos explain which is which.

Despite the icy conditions, I found another bumble bee, busily visiting the clematis flowers and the small white blossom of the scented winter honeysuckle, Lonicera fragrantissima. He was very quick but I managed to snap a couple of photos.

I even found a beautiful, fat, green caterpillar among the carrot leaves in the polytunnel. I hadn’t the heart to throw it out. Didn’t seem to be doing any harm, and moths and butterflies are declining. Who knows what a beauty it might become? I left it to do whatever it needed to.

Indoors, I have been reading a lot. I need to do some baking but I’ve been learning about food science. “Food for Life” by professor Tim Spector. Extremely interesting, sensible stuff, nothing to do with eating fads and all that nonsense about “superfoods”. All food is good if it’s not over-processed. I find it fascinating to learn about food and what it contains. You can always discover something you didn’t know.

Regular readers will know that my recipes are simple and don’t involve exotic ingredients. Comfort food, in a way. Basic ingredients which produce satisfying, nutritious and tasty meals. I have a few tricks and must-haves up my sleeve but anyone can cook using my methods.

I think we all need to be able to look after ourselves and the cost of living is so high now that it’s important not to waste anything. With that in mind I had two ideas last week for easy ways to use up bits of food.

My first one was a bacon and bread pudding. I had two strips of bacon and a few dry slices of bread. Not good for much on their own. So, I snipped the bacon into bits, chopped an onion and a tomato and tore some basil leaves. I put these with pieces of bread into a baking dish and mixed them together. I beat two eggs with about 300mls of milk and a little pepper, then poured this over the bread mixture. Allowed the bread to soak up the moisture, then baked in the microwave for 10 minutes. A tasty meal served with some vegetables and nothing wasted.

This would work in the electric or gas oven for about half an hour and parsley would be just as good instead of basil. I grow beautiful basil in my greenhouse in the summer but it doesn’t like the cold. In Winter, I buy a pot of growing basil from the supermarket. I keep it on the kitchen windowsill and feed it with cold tea every day. It keeps going for a couple of weeks and I can use it for a few meals.

Another idea came about in a similar way. I had a small piece of cooked chicken. Not enough on it’s own but combined with other ingredients it made a delicious meal. Using the food processor, I added the chicken with sliced onion, basil leaves, a couple of slices of bread, salt and pepper and an egg. Whizzed them together, formed the resulting mash into flattened patties and fried them in a little heated oil in the frying pan. Cooked for a few minutes until golden brown on each side and served with vegetables and chutney, they were delicious.

This way, what seems like a scrap of food can be turned into something nutritious and appealing. The eggs give extra protein and the bread pads out the texture to make a filling meal. They’re easy to do and don’t use a lot of fuel. Again, any kind of herb like parsley, sage or marjoram would do, if basil isn’t a favourite.

Finally, here’s a cheerful little painting to brighten the Winter.

I hope you’ll join me again next week. Stay warm and healthy. Bye for now.