what to do when you can’t get things in your freezer any more

defrost it.

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Ta-daa!

Where’s the nosh, I hear you cry? It’s in MY OTHER FREEZER which is in the garage (get me). This has been fine, except for yesterday when I had to run out there in the pouring rain and nearly slipped A over T  in the yard with 4 fish fingers in my hand.

In the process of doing this I discovered:

  •  a packet of sausages
  • 2 spam fritters
  • 50 gallons of various stocks
  • some frozen whole damsons (how are they not gin yet?)
  • if you give a block of ice to Joel, he will put it in his mouth, even if it has crumbs of unknown origin embedded in it
  • cheap plastic shatters when you drop it – we now have chicken stock with added plastic chips
  • we have lots of stewed damsons & plums. Really, lots. Who wants Pie?
  • my very small chest freezer doesn’t have a drainage hole
  • a bag of beef chunks from Leeds market. We thought we’d eaten it all. Apart from the bag we had to throw out because it went rancid. That was tasty beef. (The stuff we ate, not the rancid stuff)
  • it’s a lot easier to organise a freezer if you have drawers
  • a single ribena cone-lolly

It’s now, however, frost-free and ready to receive food again. I need a strategy for making sure I know what’s in there going forward. Any ideas?

woo-hoo!

Our gas bill came in today and the company has decided to reduce our monthly DD by over 20 quids. Never mind that we’ve just put the heating and aga on after a summer of no-aga & broken central heating boiler. Woo-hoo! chances are if we *are* using a lot more than they think, it’ll take a wee while for them to catch up with us. Better get the loft sorted out, then, eh.

But woo-hoo! that’s 20 quid less leaving the account while we sleep. AND our electricity is hugely overpaid & in credit. Feeling good about my utilities today, which almost makes up for the threatening letter we got from the Water Monopoly Company last week as an almost direct consequence of the postal strike.

chunky

Just realised it’s nearly time to try my plum chutney. Read an article in Country Living today which referred to “the endless chutneys” prevalent around Christmas. Woops, I seem to have contributed to a glut. Well, if it tastes OK, I can live with it!! Will update presently ;o)

drop scones

Last weekend I tried a Mary Berry recipe where she suggested cooking drop scones directly on the simmering plate. I was quite nervous, especially when the first ones stuck a bit, but they actually turned out great. Here are some in progress (apologies for the dark picture, it was evening & there’s no flash on my phone):image_00264a.jpg