April 2023 – Scribble & Scran

Cold of April

Apple Blossom

Tail end of 8 weeks to go. Saturday and it’s cold and damp. Need to get Sunday’s run in today as I know I won’t be feeling like it tomorrow. It’s the long one, there is more time in the day with no work to get ready for….it’s a lot more relaxed.

It’s a damp day, cold and a little dreich as they say here in auld reeki. Still haven’t got rid of the gloves or got out in just a t-shirt.

Time-wise today, the plan was for 35 mins. I got myself a little too far away from home so it turned into about 43 mins! Covered about 7k, but the distance isn’t important. It’s about the fact I can keep putting one foot in front of the other for 40+ minutes. No records to crow about other than the mental one….I did manage to keep going!

It feels like it’s time to wrap up April. Which seems to have flown by, with a regular running routine the weather conditions are ever present in my thinking and I can’t shake the feeling that this is the longest cold spell we’ve had. Just desperate for some warmth to return.

Which ones the Plum? Which Ones the Damson?

Did a little tour of the garden at the request of Maria from GreenDreams. The flowers on the plum/damson trees are little tired, but the apple tree is about to go full bloom. I love this ebb and flow and just amazed at the pink delicacy that will turn into apples if pollinated.

On the menu this weekend is a sweet potato and spinach lasagna for our Vegan guests along with a Venison and Black bean Stew for our hungry teenager.

I found a new way to create a Pasta sauce which I hope to share, using sundried tomatoes, a tweak from the above link.

The #WeekendCoffeeShare is an informal weekly link-up hosted by Natalie the Explorer that serves as weekly heart beat and sort of of a mind-dump. Helps me reflect on my week, with a list of achievements, thoughts and rambles normally whilst drinking a beverage probably listening to music.

London – a day

I’ve found a quiet corner in London for this mornings coffee share. Just on the periphery of the Banking and Finance area. Saturday and with no trading to be done there is something eerily quiet about the place. Some of the shops closed, It suits me just fine. Starbucks is quiet, plenty of tables, one with a power supply. I still haven’t got to grips with in terms of battery life on my new phone which I need to make sure is working for hooking up with my pals later.

Meanwhile I’ve got the day to myself, to just mooch and put the time is refreshing at the same time I can feel the clock ticking. So I’m breathing in deep, enjoying the different sights, smells and sounds.

Where to head though, Borough Market, just 15 minutes from where we are staying, so it’s an obvious choice for the foodie in me. It already feels busy by 9.30am, I’ve no cooking to do this weekend so other than marvel and take a deep sigh that I don’t live nearer to make the most of the place, I move on.

The coffee has run dry and the lemon and blueberry muffin which I got from one of the bakery stalls vanished in seconds. The battery notched up an extra 10%. It’s time to explore some more.

The muffin, I realise now I should have taken a photo. Was no trouble in the eating! A crunchie top with a zestie moist sponge. The odd blueberry thrown in for good measure was worth the calories. Memo to self head back to the breadahead shop next time I’m here.

I’m keen to find somewhere that sells ‘Shokz’, perhaps get a demo. I find somewhere but the assistant has to refer to the website for any chat. The boxes are well and truely off limits, I may as well buy from a well known mail order company if that’s the service I’m going to get. It’s London there will be somewhere else I’m sure, so again I move on.

I take some lesser know streets, head to Covent Garden different angles peak my interest, the brick work, the signs, the flags. The old architecture mixed with the new. It’s all interesting, and different from the streets that I take for granted in my own city.

This time of year I find it hard to ship my writing, the thoughts from the weekend. I’ve got lots of half written blog posts that just don’t feel relevant a few days later, so apologies for missing the last few shares. Thanks for reading and I’ll try pop by.

Thanks for the Music

Very late to the coffee share last weekend, to the point I missed it. I was painting the tongue and groove paneling in the bathroom and something needed to give time wise and it was the blog.

I was given the sad news that the only sheet music shop in Edinburgh was closing down and this Saturday was going to be it’s last. Probably the longest walk I do into town and our main exercise for the day. I made it just after 10.30am and amazingly there was still quite a bit of music left.

Promptly texting the boss to say I’d be a little longer than the agreed five minutes! I’ve been known to spend an hour and half just browsing on my birthday as I try to spend my money wisely. Buying something I can’t play is just demoralising, buying some too easy, doesn’t move me on. In a shop that covers everything, I take my time. There was part of me that was sad for the staff, sad for the day I won’t be coming back here. The guy who twenty years ago helped me find my graded pieces as an adult learner was still there. I didn’t know him to talk to and it was one of those situations, what can you say that would make him feel any better. It didn’t feel quite right, pouncing on the books. However, I did. Fifty percent off is a huge deal. Reminding myself that over the years I’ve spent quite a bit in this shop.

I’ve been getting a bit of a row from my teacher about not practicing scales, so I got something that took me right back to grade 2 at the same time as making it fun. Bought a couple of graded books, mixed pieces and then a bumper book of seventy easy to play. I’ve put hardest pieces and the bumper book away, perhaps to bring them out on my next birthday or for that rainy day in November when it’s time to start the winter challenge.

With the walk into town to the music shop, there was the obligatory trip to the butchers for a few things. With little bit of time in the kitchen, I had some stock to use up. The stewing lamb looked really lean. With no set recipe in my head and hopeful of the ingredients at home to stretch it out over a week of lunches. I just got 200 grams worth. I posted the lamb broth recipe earlier.

I wrote a few words and posted on Instagram, the reasons for taking part in the Mens10k this year.

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I’ve stuck to the training plan for a solid three weeks now, however that combined with painting the bathrooms I’m feeling it in my calf muscles. One morning screaming in agony as a dose of cramps attacked me. Not been quite the same since as I apply the Ibuprofen gel quite liberally!

With both the clocks changing and Easter approaching, it’s feeling like a time of reflection and a moment to re-assess where we are at with our 2023 plans. If your in that mindset I wish you luck with those reflections. Time for another coffee and to do mine.

Lamb Broth

A soup to sustain through a week of lunches. One of those days where I wasn’t sure what it was, that I was going to cook. Popped into the butchers and the assistant is on me within seconds, I should have asked for a little more time and so I felt a little pressured around some stewing lamb of all things. Hopeful that we would have the other ingredients at home.

Probably not the most authentic way to create a broth, however this is delicious and easy soup recipe that will last you through the week.

red split lentils – 150g rinsed
onion – 1 diced
stewing Lamb – 200g diced thinly
cauliflower leaves (optional)
garlic – 1 clove
curry powder – 1 tsp
carrots – 2
tin of tomatoes – 400g
courgette (optional)
stock – 1 litre
tin of kidney beans – 400g, drained and rinsed
pearl barley – 100g

Prep beforehand:

Rinse and soak your lentils is an optional thing you can do, at least 30 mins.
The Cauliflower leaves are really optional and my way of not wasting some really tasty leaves.
Dice the lamb even further if you have a good knife. Looking for nice soup size pieces.
Depending on your cauliflower, remove the outer leaves that have seen better days with a view to getting at the nice clean leaves. I find slicing the bottom away helps to get in there. Then prise the rest away. These need dicing.
Peel and dice the carrots.
Any other veg, hanging about in the fridge you want to use up. I had half a courgette looking for a home.

Method:
In a large saucepan, gently heat a glug of olive oil and soften the onion
Add the lamb and cook through. Two minutes or so.
Add the Cauliflower leaves, carrots and stir through.
Add the spice, just adding a little back note of flavour and stir through
Add the tomatoes, stock, kidney beans, lentils and barley, bring to a simmer
Place the lid on and then lower the heat, bringing the soup to just putter away for at least 30 minutes until the barley is nice and soft. Give it a stir every so often so as to stop the lentils and barley catching on the bottom