Saturday 15 December 2012

I have tingle fingers

Frost on plastic.

The weather not unreasonably for December,  has dipped to below freezing. The garden looks amazing, the unweeded bits, the trees we should have pruned in the Autumn, even the scruffy piles of seeds that the birds throw down from their feeders look magical when covered in a chilly coating of frost.  Further afield, the most unromantic of spots, the Park and Ride outside Perth is transformed. Narnia with a Megabus.





Today's chill has kept me by the cooker making Granola and lentil stew in quantities big enough to feed a hungry household. Abundant amounts of food make me happy. I like to feel that there is enough to go round and heaven knows, that feeling is in short supply right now.  Like most people our household is keeping a canny eye on our spending and bargain of the week yesterday was a big packet of chillies, marked down to fifteen pence. My final job in the kitchen was to chop them into little bits and to avoid getting chilli juice in my eyes. They must be strong little fellows. I've washed my hands more often than Lady Macbeth but still they hurt like blazes. The chillies are spread out on greaseproof paper in the freezer waiting to be put into a plastic pot in order to pep up my cooking for many weeks to come. That's enough to forgive the tingle in my fingers.



Chillies. Little did I know the pain in store.

Granola. Far more soothing.

 In other news - Deb Robson is coming to the UK. I can't wait.  Deb is one of the reasons I have a collection of fleeces in varying states of preparation, such is the power of her knowledge and enthusiasm. See her blog here for more details and if anyone has any ideas/inspirations/offers of help please get in touch with Deb, we're very lucky to have her.

4 comments:

Deborah Robson said...

Oh, what lovely food! We have had tingle fingers around here, too.

And we are really good at making tasty meals from, say, lentils, carrots, and onions. We've been having lovely bowls of potatoes recently (different types) with pesto I made and froze when we had an abundance of basil given to us just over a year ago: we need to finish eating it! What a hardship {grin}.

A good supply of wool offers a buffer against winter gales.

Thanks for mentioning my trip. It's fine if I don't teach: I am coming to research. But I do *love* teaching, so if there's a way to make a little of that happen, it could be a nice addition. I have lots of inquiries out, each of which leads to a different inquiry--but not as interesting as the sheep-and-wool inquiries.

Louisa said...

Poor fingers! I learned the hard way to only chop chillies with disposable gloves on. And never ever touch eyes, nose, or lips! Ouch. Yummy results though.

diermot said...

As lady Macbeth found out, washing the hands is not enough.
Now that I think of it, she had blood to contend with.

zippiknits...sometimes said...

We used to grow our own chilis, and I learned the hard way how to prep them. It's good to see you lived. ;-)