Nut roast 'recipe' for Sue, and Betty's pic

 Sue of Eating and Living Well on a Small Budget asked for my nut roast recipe.  It's not actually a recipe - I just wing it really, it depends on what I've got in and what needs using up.  As a base line though, it always contains the same few things, with other additions:-

Nuts - obviously, I use whatever I've got, I chop them first, mostly small but some bigger chunks for texture.

Sage & onion stuffing - the ordinary supermarket packet stuff, I use it dry.

Carrots, grated, 1 large or a couple medium size.

Then some or all of the following:-

A grated parsnip, some dried cranberries or diced dried apricots for a bit of sweetness, a spoonful of Marmite melted in a little hot water, a couple of spoonfuls of peanut butter (especially if I haven't got many nuts).  Half a grated courgette - more than that will make the mixture too wet.  A large shallot, finely diced (or maybe half an onion or some stray spring onions).  A tsp garlic paste, and couple of squirts of tomato puree.  Maybe the last scraping out of the chutney jar - I've even used the last bit of marmalade out of the jar a couple of times.  Mix it all up well and pack into a greased and/or lined loaf tin - 1lb or 2lb depending on how much mixture you've got!  Oh, and if the mixture seems very dry, I might add a beaten egg.  Baking time depends on size of loaf tin - maybe 30 mins for a smaller size, 45 for bigger - I don't really take much notice of actual timing, to be honest - I test it by pressing on the top to see how firm it is, and by the look of it - it should look deeply golden brown with a few slightly charred bits.  When cool I slice it up into portions and wrap individually in cling film or foil then freeze.  Reheat it in the microwave, air fryer or oven if it's on for something else.  Timing - well, I just do it until it's heated through.

Sorry I can't be more precise - virtually all my cooking is like that, I'm not one for slavishly following recipes, I like experimenting and just use common sense.

Thank you for all your lovely comments on my new header pic - sorry it's so huge, I didn't know how to resize it!  As I said, the photo is actually from 4 or 5 years ago.  Betty always makes a beeline for the statue when we go to Watchet, and yes she does seem to think it's a real human....she likes the fact that she can jump up for a face lick and he doesn't push her off or look aghast!  I should mention that we don't allow her to do that to real humans though 😉😂

It's very cold again, the forecast is for cold weather every day for the next week.  I'll try not to get despondent though, but look on it as an opportunity to do some batch cooking and soup making, making more garden plans and doing lots of reading.