do you read some blogs and look at the fabulous pictures that feature wonderful flowers in the garden, or the lovely looking cake that they whipped up...i know i do, and i look with a twang of envy that i do not have the flower in my yard nor do i have the cake sitting in my kitchen...but i have decided as so many of you seem to be impressed with my ability to 'butcher a meal', i will share over the coming weeks some of my tried and tested recipes...
last night's dinner, was a classic example of why my mother-in-law should not have bought me a crock pot, as my man said "i think there is a little more to just throwing it in, Tif"...here's what you do..
1. take a crock pot (splatters on tiles are optional)
2. place 2 defrosted chicken breasts in bottom (only 2 because that's all the freezer has to offer, and if you forget to defrost them... you have to find a substitute, quite frankly by the end, no one will know what meat you used anyway)
3. add to this, last night's Thai takeout, (yep, even the left-overs from the plates)
4. find any veggies lurking in fridge, wash, chop and add (if veggies are black or mouldy, you have two choices, throw them in and hope no one notices amongst all the other stuff, or be nice, as you have to eat it as well, just leave it out...)
4. find any veggies lurking in fridge, wash, chop and add (if veggies are black or mouldy, you have two choices, throw them in and hope no one notices amongst all the other stuff, or be nice, as you have to eat it as well, just leave it out...)
5. make some chicken stock from a jar that has passed its 'sell by date' by several months, possibly years...
6. pour stock on top of ingredients, place lid on, turn to low and let it boil to a complete sludgy mess over the next eight hours.
7. when your 'casserole' (and i use the term loosely) is done, serve into bowls and add some french bread, so at least your family and guests can fill themselves up on that...
7. when your 'casserole' (and i use the term loosely) is done, serve into bowls and add some french bread, so at least your family and guests can fill themselves up on that...
and finally, be prepared after about four hours of cooking time, to hear voices around the house exclaiming "what is that god awful, horrendous smell", "oh god, Mum is cooking again", or "i can't get a glass out of the cupboard, because if i go too close to the crock pot, i think i'm going to be sick"...
i have left a little pause here, so the faint hearted amongst you have time to recover before we head on to 'box' of the day...
so here it is, exactly where i found it...
i came home and that is where our #1 had placed it. such a perfect place, because inside was a beautiful thing worthy of my beautiful rocking chair...before i show you the contents of 'awe' i must show you the person behind the 'box', so sit back and get ready for another tale that must be told...
a few months back, i stumbled upon the lovely Francesca and her shop. i immediately wished i owned all of her beautiful creations but mostly a 'little wooden book'. i ventured over to her blog 'mrs eliot books', to see if i could find out more about this talented person...but she is a mysterious one and it is near on impossible to find any information about her...the trail led me to another blog, where the mystery deepened. who was this clever soul, who not only produces lovely work but also has the ability to create such blogs as 'pippa & co' and 'mrs eliot books'...
time passed and then one happy Spring day, i noted a comment on my little blog, i gasped, could this possibly be...surely not, but YES, the mysterious stranger had found little old me!!
and so dear readers, "what's in the box" is now pride of place on my mantelpiece...
so i leave you with pictures by Tif, enjoying every moment of unwrapping the 'box'...
and as if that wasn't enough she's also here...
i knew it was only a matter of time, 'Mr Bad Luck' has paid me a visit ~ Tif
Thank you Tif for all your sweetness, I am extremely flattered. It's lovely to see my book on your mantlepiece.
ReplyDeleteBut more importantly...8 hours to cook a casserole? Is that legal?
I love Mrs Elliots Books too.If I had a child safe space to display one I really would have bought one by now!
ReplyDeleteMy faith in your taste has been restored with that rocker by the way.I can forgive the chocolate spread lovin!
You are surely exaggerating about your 'casserole'! At least I am beginning to understand why the dresses in the teen section still fit...
ReplyDeleteMrs.eliot is fab!!
firstly - love the contents of the box today - will have to go take a peek and find out more.
ReplyDeleteas for the cooking - you are on the right track, you just need to except your fate - i have been with Stephen for more years than i care to admit to and over these years it has become clear that my cooking skills are sooooo bad. To avoid the retching at the table of years gone by, Stephen now does all the cooking and i wash -up. Happiness all round.
Tracy x
That sounds very similar to my 'Supper' recipe (which I learned from my mother). Takeout leftovers included. She also used to keep near-empty Marmite jars to rinse out and add to the food, instead of stock.
ReplyDeleteThe book is one of my favourites; you're so lucky to have it!
you're cooking adventures sound like mine!! :D lol. i'm an absolute disaster in the kitchen, even though my daddy did teach me how to cook at one point (eons ago; i've been really lazy about keeping it up since then... lol).
ReplyDeletewhat a lovely package and a new etsy shop to go and drool over!! lol. etsy is definately a huge source of much handmade-covetessness on my part. hehe.
Do you remember Butterflies? What was Wendy Craig’s character called?
ReplyDeleteWhat is a crock pot? Is that the US equivalent of a slow cooker? The thing is, your children are alive, and your husband hasn’t left you so your cooking can’t be too dreadful. As someone who cooks from scratch, has homemade cakes coming out of the woodwork there is a downside of domestic competency - no time to do anything else and indifference to gorgeous food from my husband!
I think that when you make and create beautiful things it raises your awareness of the beauty and workmanship of other artists so it is a natural progression to want to be surrounded by pieces.
Oh Tif,
ReplyDeleteYou make me laugh every day - thank you.
That dinner sounds so much like me its scary!
Cheryl
i knew i wasn't alone with my culinary disasters...and yes gigibird i remember 'butterflies' and my mum used to say she knew exactly how she felt and now i know too!!
ReplyDeleteOh Tif, bless you!
ReplyDeleteMy problem with crock-pots/slow cookers is the organization/prep-work part...cutting up all the veg, remembering to take the meat out of the freezer or put the beans on to soak the night before, browning the blasted meat before putting it into the crock...my organizational skills are usually just not up to it.
Thanks so much for sharing yourself with all of us on this blog...the only thing that kept me sane this morning, while battling with my darling 6-year old son about whether or not he was going to school today (and believe me, he WAS going to school whether he liked it or not), was the hope that there'd be a new dottie angel post to read when I got back home! (Well that and the thought of a quiet, well-earned, cup of tea in my 1-pint mug, too!)
oh, and I also hope your visit from "Mr. Bad Luck" wasn't too awful...
ReplyDeleteyou totally remind me of rea from butterflies! very apt then, that there are butterflies in your book!
ReplyDeletebeautiful, just beautiful. The little wooden book, not that bowl of food(?). I hope to own one myself one day soon, in the meantime I am making do with a stunning print that arrived from Francesca today. I wish I lived around the corner so that I could feed you, your man and your hungry children and leave you to what you're best at!
ReplyDelete