Fireworks, food and Halloween moans

 Lovely bright sunshine but very cold out this morning, my fingers froze putting washing on the line.

We popped out for half an hour yesterday evening - quite an adventure for us as we almost never go out after dark nowadays 😂.  Butlins were having a firework display at 8 pm for half term so we decided to go and watch, we parked up in one of the supermarket car parks, a safe distance away but with a good view of the fireworks.  We took Betty with us - she's not keen on loud bangs nearby, but has got used to them more over the years and we guessed that being in the car with the windows closed, a fair distance away and having us with her would keep her calm.....it did.  In fact, after one quick glance round when the fireworks started, she then spent the rest of the time watching people coming and going in the supermarket, she really wasn't bothered by the fireworks.  It was a pretty good spectacle, lasting about 10 minutes.  That's our excitement for the week!

I've got a pan of soup on the go, during autumn I save and freeze all the stalks and cores of broccoli and cauliflower, when I've got a bagful I make soup with them.  I've added a diced potato for a bit of body, a veg stock cube and some dried herbs and black pepper, once all the veggies are soft I'll whizz it up with my stick blender.  I'll reheat it gently at lunchtime with some crumbled Stilton and a splash of cream, lovely with a crust of sourdough.  It'll do us for lunch today and tomorrow.

For dinner we're having a bacon and cabbage dish, with cheesy mashed potato and carrot.  I shall fry some strips of dry cured smoked streaky bacon with a couple of sliced leeks and shredded cabbage, adding a splash of water and olive oil, then putting the lid on the pan and leaving it to steam and cook slowly.  There'll be leftovers to freeze.

I saw a recipe on one of the cooking pages I follow on FB the other day - a Canadian lady called Marie Rayner who has a website called The English Kitchen, I do like her simple but tasty recipes.  The recipe was called French Onion Rice - it's rice (I'll use brown) cooked in homemade French Onion soup.  I thought it sounded delicious, I think it's meant as a side dish but I'll have it as a main - I'll stir through fried sliced mushrooms and serve with a sprinkle of snipped chives and grated Parmesan on top.  I'll do husband a couple of sausages or chicken thighs to go with his, that'll be tomorrow's dinner.

Hasn't Halloween stuff gone mad this year?  It never used to be celebrated much in this country.....now you can't get away from it, all the shops have Halloween window displays, there are pumpkins galore and tons of overpriced tat for sale.  Loads of kids (and adults) Halloween parties advertised on the local pages on FB, people going all out to decorate their front gardens with themed scary stuff.  Each to their own of course, but I'm not really a fan of things like this which are so hyped up by the shops to sell more (mainly useless) stuff which will then just get binned and add to the world's pollution problems.  And all those pumpkins going to waste once they've been carved and left out in front gardens to rot!  Husband's Christmas Grinch outlook must be rubbing off on me 😂😂😜