"What have you eaten" Parallel Chat

[jpscloud]

Yesterday was another errand running day, finally got everything done so today I can focus on the garden. It might rain in a bit but so far it's pretty good weather.

Yesterday I had the usual porridge and cottage cheese salad, but I had pizza for tea. I did eat the crust as well but it didn't send me very high.

I had porridge for breakfast again today, and will have cottage cheese salad for lunch, and I'm making another curry for tea. I wonder when I will get fed up of cottage cheese and curry?!

 

[shelley262]

@Annb hope your shower is now sorted. Nothing like a good shower although on Thursday I got into our shower and water was freezing! Couldn't get out quick enough! Our combi boiler had stopped working. Difficult time getting the engineer out but thankfully all fixed now.
@jpscloud hope you got out in the garden today - it was lovely weather today in Worcestershire. I decided to risk planting out half of my tomato plants in a sheltered corner of our South facing garden - now crossing fingers. Will see how these go and if ok will do rest next week. I have got a few spares if needed but hopefully they should be okay. My crop of radishes in a pot in garden are doing amazing still and now producing sizeable radishes, my new beetroot seeds are also sprouting so hopefully not long before I have some thinnings to try. Also sowed more rocket and lettuce.
I'm trying to be a bit more experimental with my food at the moment so today tried a dairy free day - had coconut cream for the first time and it's not as good as dairy cream but I did enjoy it. I Often stick to same food but enjoy trying a few new things too. I've been dehydrating blueberries too and planning to use them as low carb currant replacements in a new Panda Flour low carb scone. Butter will be needed though so not dairy free tomorrow!

 

[jpscloud]

@Annb hope your shower is now sorted. Nothing like a good shower although on Thursday I got into our shower and water was freezing! Couldn't get out quick enough! Our combi boiler had stopped working. Difficult time getting the engineer out but thankfully all fixed now.
@jpscloud hope you got out in the garden today - it was lovely weather today in Worcestershire. I decided to risk planting out half of my tomato plants in a sheltered corner of our South facing garden - now crossing fingers. Will see how these go and if ok will do rest next week. I have got a few spares if needed but hopefully they should be okay. My crop of radishes in a pot in garden are doing amazing still and now producing sizeable radishes, my new beetroot seeds are also sprouting so hopefully not long before I have some thinnings to try. Also sowed more rocket and lettuce.
I'm trying to be a bit more experimental with my food at the moment so today tried a dairy free day - had coconut cream for the first time and it's not as good as dairy cream but I did enjoy it. I Often stick to same food but enjoy trying a few new things too. I've been dehydrating blueberries too and planning to use them as low carb currant replacements in a new Panda Flour low carb scone. Butter will be needed though so not dairy free tomorrow!

I did get in the garden and got loads done! It wasn't very sunny today and rained a little bit at the end of the day, but that was good weather for working. Glad you had a good day, and I hope the tomatoes thrive!

I'm giving beets a miss this year, not because I don't like them but because of the kidney stone risk. I limit spinach for the same reason, but don't really like that so it's not much of a sacrifice! I too have sown lots more lettuce and rocket, I can't get enough of those at the moment. I'm munching my way through the bolting onions, I think it was the hot spell that caused them to bolt, but they're delicious so I don't really mind. Quite a few look like they'll bulb up to store as well.

I filled one of the new raised beds and will hopefully get the other one done tomorrow, then the runner beans and cobra climbing french beans can get tucked in for the summer. I need to get the squash in the beds that had beans in last year as well. My broad beans are in a large container and I'll also put the peas in another one.

I have three little blueberry plants, in their second summer now, only two have flowers on though. I would love to have my own blueberries to eat fresh and freeze! I don't have any experience with blueberries so if you (or anyone else) has, I'd be grateful for advice!

 

[shelley262]

I did get in the garden and got loads done! It wasn't very sunny today and rained a little bit at the end of the day, but that was good weather for working. Glad you had a good day, and I hope the tomatoes thrive!

I'm giving beets a miss this year, not because I don't like them but because of the kidney stone risk. I limit spinach for the same reason, but don't really like that so it's not much of a sacrifice! I too have sown lots more lettuce and rocket, I can't get enough of those at the moment. I'm munching my way through the bolting onions, I think it was the hot spell that caused them to bolt, but they're delicious so I don't really mind. Quite a few look like they'll bulb up to store as well.

I filled one of the new raised beds and will hopefully get the other one done tomorrow, then the runner beans and cobra climbing french beans can get tucked in for the summer. I need to get the squash in the beds that had beans in last year as well. My broad beans are in a large container and I'll also put the peas in another one.

I have three little blueberry plants, in their second summer now, only two have flowers on though. I would love to have my own blueberries to eat fresh and freeze! I don't have any experience with blueberries so if you (or anyone else) has, I'd be grateful for advice!

I'm afraid I've never successfully grown blueberries - the one I dehydrated were from the supermarket! I did try a few times but no success. Have heard they can take several years to fruit but never got that far.....
Meant to say my Cosmos are developing flowers and peas flowering well too.

 

[Annb]

I don't think I posted yesterday but my 2nd meal was koftas made with some pork mince. I'd made them to use up some pork mince out of the freezer the other day. So I had some of the ones that were left over for breakfast today.

One of the pots of soup for 2nd meal, I think. Probably chicken and leek.

 

[jpscloud]

Porridge for breakfast, tuna salad for lunch and I think I'll have fish fingers for tea with some of the nine star broccoli leaves, shredded and steamed with a bit of butter.

I've planted up the broad beans and peas in large containers, but I'm holding off with the runner beans because the forecast shows 2C tonight, which is cold enough for a frost. It looks like another week before night temperatures are good enough to plant out runner beans and squash here.

 

[shelley262]

Porridge for breakfast, tuna salad for lunch and I think I'll have fish fingers for tea with some of the nine star broccoli leaves, shredded and steamed with a bit of butter.

I've planted up the broad beans and peas in large containers, but I'm holding off with the runner beans because the forecast shows 2C tonight, which is cold enough for a frost. It looks like another week before night temperatures are good enough to plant out runner beans and squash here.

I've just got in from my garden after hearing about the unseasonably cold weather forecast for tonight we are predicted 1. I've been carefully wrapping up all my tender plants in fleece in the hope that they will make it - crossing fingers. I have kept half of my tomato plants indoors still and if I do lose any of my 'babies' tonight I have backup but a lot of love and care has been put into growing them all from seed! Mind you if they all thrive I will definitely have a tomato glut!
Good luck with your precious plants tonight @jpscloud

 

[jpscloud]

I've just got in from my garden after hearing about the unseasonably cold weather forecast for tonight we are predicted 1. I've been carefully wrapping up all my tender plants in fleece in the hope that they will make it - crossing fingers. I have kept half of my tomato plants indoors still and if I do lose any of my 'babies' tonight I have backup but a lot of love and care has been put into growing them all from seed! Mind you if they all thrive I will definitely have a tomato glut!
Good luck with your precious plants tonight @jpscloud

I haven't checked mine yet but I put the tender ones in the polytunnel under some fleece. I looked out of the window at about 6am and couldn't see any signs of frost, so with any luck all our babies will have made it! I know I can plant runner beans again before the end of May, and still get a good crop, but tomatoes are different - it really pays to keep some indoors as insurance!

My forecast doesn't show much nighttime warming through next week either so I'm still a bit reluctant to plant out the runner beans. I did harden them off to the polytunnel and they're not twining around themselves yet but it won't be long so I will have to put them in soon.

Porridge for breakfast, something with salad for lunch and tea is yet to be determined!

 

[shelley262]

I haven't checked mine yet but I put the tender ones in the polytunnel under some fleece. I looked out of the window at about 6am and couldn't see any signs of frost, so with any luck all our babies will have made it! I know I can plant runner beans again before the end of May, and still get a good crop, but tomatoes are different - it really pays to keep some indoors as insurance!

My forecast doesn't show much nighttime warming through next week either so I'm still a bit reluctant to plant out the runner beans. I did harden them off to the polytunnel and they're not twining around themselves yet but it won't be long so I will have to put them in soon.

Porridge for breakfast, something with salad for lunch and tea is yet to be determined!

Think frost wasn't as bad as predicted - when I went for my first morning garden reconnaissance earlier all well. I've unwrapped them as sun out. They looked ok but will see how they I and tuck them in again if needed! Will await next weekend before I assess putting out the rest!

 

[Annb]

Breakfast was stir fried veg with a couple of fried eggs on top. Coffee.

2nd meal will be roasted cauliflower cheese.

I meant to say, about the koftas that I made. I'd run out of onions, which I would normally add to mince to make koftas (the last 2 in the cupboard were rotten on the inside) and I wanted something to include with the pork mince, so I grated a Pink Lady apple and added that. It worked surprisingly well. Probably wouldn't with lamb, but with the pork it was good.

 

[jpscloud]

Think frost wasn't as bad as predicted - when I went for my first morning garden reconnaissance earlier all well. I've unwrapped them as sun out. They looked ok but will see how they I and tuck them in again if needed! Will await next weekend before I assess putting out the rest!

My polytunnel thermometer said the overnight low was 1.3C! Everything was fine though, so I think we got away with it here too. Unfortunately, I later I broke one of my pepper plants while repotting it, but it's just an ordinary bell pepper and not one of the fancy chillies, so not too upsetting!

I was a bit unlucky with the rain, I started a few jobs and was about to get the lawnmower out then the shower came, and it was a bit too heavy to ignore. The grass is now wet again so it will have to wait. This time last year we had warm dry days all month - I think our growing season might be less productive this year, perhaps it was a bit too much to ask for two really good summers!

 

[shelley262]

My polytunnel thermometer said the overnight low was 1.3C! Everything was fine though, so I think we got away with it here too. Unfortunately, I later I broke one of my pepper plants while repotting it, but it's just an ordinary bell pepper and not one of the fancy chillies, so not too upsetting!

I was a bit unlucky with the rain, I started a few jobs and was about to get the lawnmower out then the shower came, and it was a bit too heavy to ignore. The grass is now wet again so it will have to wait. This time last year we had warm dry days all month - I think our growing season might be less productive this year, perhaps it was a bit too much to ask for two really good summers!

We luckily escaped the rain so got out and did some pottering. I've sown some more rocket and lettuce seeds but I'm germinating them in the conservatory for now! Forecast is not as cold for tonight but the wind today has been very chilly so I'm going out in a bit to wrap the tomatoes up warm to try and keep them happy! I'm needing an extra layer again so they may need one too.
Our local starlings have been swarming onto our lawn recently and are digging holes with their beaks - maybe food is a bit in short supply. Our lawn looks really holy and odd. They roost in our local chestnut trees but not observed them do this before to our little lawn!

 

[jpscloud]

the wind today has been very chilly

Brrr yes! It's what my grandad used to call a lazy wind - it goes through you rather than around you!

Our local starlings have been swarming onto our lawn recently and are digging holes with their beaks

They may be after leatherjackets, or crane fly larvae, which can sometimes have a bit of a population boom in lawns and this is the time of year they're getting big and juicy - starlings are specialist feeders on them and aerate your lawn as a little bonus.