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With a belly full of porridge with sweet, sweet syrup, a man who makes me cake on a weekly basis, a lovely family and great friends, I've got a lot to be grateful for right now. I count my blessings, and though the most important person of all is going to be missing this year, I don't think I've ever appreciated Christmas more as a time of reflection and thankfulness. Not all of the Christmas message is going to reach me, obviously, but I think I'm getting the gist.
So, we're all skint. I have told my family it will be a thrifty Christmas, and not to expect gifts bought in regular shops... but you know, a good part of me thinks this is no bad thing. We can no longer afford to get all our shopping from the supermarkets, even, but I have to say, when I saw Jason King, CEO of Sainsbury's on Question Time a couple of weeks ago, I did feel annoyed that he felt he wasn't one of the unworthy fat cats on his £900K salary... plus bonuses. Not when he is replacing people with machines in his stores. Not when he works with a charity called Fareshare that is run entirely on the food donations bought by the customers from his own shops. Matching the donations with food that would otherwise be wasted as it has passed its sell-by date is a good idea, though. I think they should be doing that anyway, past the 1.2 million meals pledged.
So, I've been using market veg (and recently car boot veg bought by the seal sanctuary near N's parents in Donna Nook) to make skinflint soup for my lunch every day: a couple of carrots, a hunk of swede, maybe some onion or onion flakes. Add what you like: coriander, curry powder, ginger, chilli, herbs (mixed herbs 19p Asda), a bit of stock (veg stock cubes 10p for 10, Sainsbury's - thanks Jason King!). Bish, bash, bosh - soup at under 5p a portion!
To ring the changes, I did use a bought puff pastry sheet last week to make some nice tarts that always make me think of Christmas, possibly because of the cheerful red colour. Caramelise a big red onion, adding a dash of balsamic vinegar towards the end. Cut a puff pastry sheet into 4 and spoon on the onions, crumble over some Welsh goats cheese (Abergavenny soft £1.35 - I used half a pack) and some sprigs of thyme. Glaze the edges with milk and bake at 180 degrees centigrade for 12 minutes or so. Lovely!
Such straitened times mean I can't afford to go travelling to far flung places to play comedy gigs for no money (yeah, more paid gigs, please!)so I am grateful to the lovely Tamsyn and Joe of The Nook Cafe at the Fishmarket who let me help out at some of their gigs. I get to see some great acts and have a lovely time... and so can you! Future gigs coming up include James Acaster on 22nd of this month and Josie Long next month on 26th, but THIS Saturday is American comic, Lewis Schaffer, whose show is called Free Until Famous. That's his pledge - he will gig for free until he is famous... so that won't be for long.*
Gig starts at 8, and tickets must be booked from The Fishmarket in advance, even though they are free. We expect this one to be popular.
Right, I'm off to catch my bus... I'm taking a knitting bag with me... kindly donated to me by N's mom. Putting it to good use, so expect knobbly woolly things from me for Christmas!
*There will be a bucket at the end to chuck donations into.
So, we're all skint. I have told my family it will be a thrifty Christmas, and not to expect gifts bought in regular shops... but you know, a good part of me thinks this is no bad thing. We can no longer afford to get all our shopping from the supermarkets, even, but I have to say, when I saw Jason King, CEO of Sainsbury's on Question Time a couple of weeks ago, I did feel annoyed that he felt he wasn't one of the unworthy fat cats on his £900K salary... plus bonuses. Not when he is replacing people with machines in his stores. Not when he works with a charity called Fareshare that is run entirely on the food donations bought by the customers from his own shops. Matching the donations with food that would otherwise be wasted as it has passed its sell-by date is a good idea, though. I think they should be doing that anyway, past the 1.2 million meals pledged.
So, I've been using market veg (and recently car boot veg bought by the seal sanctuary near N's parents in Donna Nook) to make skinflint soup for my lunch every day: a couple of carrots, a hunk of swede, maybe some onion or onion flakes. Add what you like: coriander, curry powder, ginger, chilli, herbs (mixed herbs 19p Asda), a bit of stock (veg stock cubes 10p for 10, Sainsbury's - thanks Jason King!). Bish, bash, bosh - soup at under 5p a portion!
To ring the changes, I did use a bought puff pastry sheet last week to make some nice tarts that always make me think of Christmas, possibly because of the cheerful red colour. Caramelise a big red onion, adding a dash of balsamic vinegar towards the end. Cut a puff pastry sheet into 4 and spoon on the onions, crumble over some Welsh goats cheese (Abergavenny soft £1.35 - I used half a pack) and some sprigs of thyme. Glaze the edges with milk and bake at 180 degrees centigrade for 12 minutes or so. Lovely!
Such straitened times mean I can't afford to go travelling to far flung places to play comedy gigs for no money (yeah, more paid gigs, please!)so I am grateful to the lovely Tamsyn and Joe of The Nook Cafe at the Fishmarket who let me help out at some of their gigs. I get to see some great acts and have a lovely time... and so can you! Future gigs coming up include James Acaster on 22nd of this month and Josie Long next month on 26th, but THIS Saturday is American comic, Lewis Schaffer, whose show is called Free Until Famous. That's his pledge - he will gig for free until he is famous... so that won't be for long.*
Gig starts at 8, and tickets must be booked from The Fishmarket in advance, even though they are free. We expect this one to be popular.
Right, I'm off to catch my bus... I'm taking a knitting bag with me... kindly donated to me by N's mom. Putting it to good use, so expect knobbly woolly things from me for Christmas!
*There will be a bucket at the end to chuck donations into.
