.... so wrote John Keats in 1819 about autumn. And we had a misty start to the day, with a ribbon of mist along the top of the field in front of us
Did you spot the little sheep on the right of the photo? Looking the other way, the sky was clear and a brilliant blue, with the moon still visible
I decided to have a day in the kitchen, doing some batch cooking for the freezer. I started with some real comfort food - mince and dumplings (one portion for dinner tonight). This is a wonderful reminder of childhood, when it used to be my job to make the dumplings! I organised my main ingredients
mince, lots of onion and sliced carrots
I started by softening the onions in a little oil, then added the mince to brown. I added some salt and pepper, then poured in some boiling water and added the carrots. Then .... I added my secret ingredient - a large squeeze of .....
Later, when it was time for dinner, I reheated a portion of the mince, then got out my last two ingredients. There are lots of ways to thicken the gravy, but as I make my mince the same way my Mum made it (and probably my Granny too!) I use Bisto. I used to make the dumplings from scratch, but it is so much easier with this packet mix (and I think every bit as good)
All that was left to do was to cook some broccoli, and dinner was ready
I also planned to make a sausage and bean casserole, so while I made a start to cooking the mince, I popped the sausages in the oven to cook. I then assembled the other ingredients
Onions, mushrooms, sweet red pepper, garlic and cannellini beans (oh dear, I forgot to include the passata and had to put it in the next photo!)
Once the onions had been softened in some oil, I added the mushrooms, pepper and garlic, two teaspoons of ground cumin and a smidgen of smoked paprika
Then I got the sausages out of the oven (mmmmm - I wish you could smell them!)
and added them, the beans and the passata to the pot
I only had to simmer it for a short while as the sausages were already cooked ...... then I divided it into containers to go in the freezer
I also made a quick pot of vegetable soup for lunch tomorrow! After all that, I was glad to sit down later in the day to watch a dvd with Malcolm. We wouldn't normally do that, but Malcolm unfortunately is hobbling about the place, having fallen off a ladder last week! We watched 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'. We had both read the book (indeed, we have both read all three books), so we were looking forward to watching the film. The only thing we were concerned about is that the film is dubbed , but we needn't have worried, as it has been done very well. Of course we could have watched it with the Swedish soundtrack and English sub-titles .... but then I couldn't have done my sewing at the same time!
I've been busy making more things for the Christmas Fair - I'll tell you all about them tomorrow!