Cracks?

No, not a one, yet! Disappointing, but there's always tomorrow.....

Just cooking the risotto for supper - red peppers from the greenhouse, courgette from the garden, onion from a friend's allotment and garlic from Sainsbury - along with the rice, and veg stock; it smells good already. I have decided to serve the chicken cold on the side rather than incorporating it into the risotto as there isn't a lot of it and that way I will have more portion control. There was more chicken last night, but it seems to have been picked at a little over the course of the day!

I saw the Economy Gastronomy book in Sainsbury's today for £12.99 so I spent £10 of my nectar rewards on it (well, towards it!) and got it. I have had a look through it over a cup of tea and there are a lot of good ideas in there - and more than just recipes: how to stock a larder, items you shouldn't really buy (like ready made mash), how to shop efficiently, etc - the sorts of things that they are trying to cover in the programme but in more depth. There isn't a lot that is new to me in that, but I think it would be useful for people who hadn't been brought up to do that sort of thing. The recipes are the attraction for me, and there are some interesting ones in there which I shall be trying. Not this weekend, though, as I have lent it out already to my friend and neighbour D to peruse over the weekend. She accepted it with some joy this evening so I think she was pleased with my offer.

My bargain of the day (I'll take a photo when I have washed it all) is a dinner service from a charity shop. We have needed some new plates and dishes for some time as ours are getting chipped badly, so when I saw this all for £20 I bought it: 4 mugs, 8 large dishes and 2 smaller ones, 9 side plates and 9 dinner plates. I was pleased with that find, but it took some hauling back to the car!

I also made these (bread rolls) today, and put half in the freezer. If you try them, please bear in mind that the recipe says to let them rise for 15 minutes once you have shaped them into rolls - it just isn't long enough! I left them for nearly three hours whilst we were out, and they have come up as lovely, light rolls which the family adore. I also made 16 instead of 12 and they are a good size. A recommended recipe.

I am hoping that the weather bucks up for the Bank Holiday weekend as today has been very "sunshine and showers" and there was a spell at about 5pm when it became very blustery and cold. We can do without that kind of thing in August, thank you very much! However, I have got my fingers crossed for some kind of an Indian summer once the kids are back at school - a sunny September would be lovely.