One of the things about August is that my eating and cooking become unplanned. Last year, I was logging this every week and August is full of weeks that start, “I couldn’t be bothered to cook” or “I was tired” or “no shopping because there are so many courgettes…”
This has been even more true this August because there has been an increase in produce overall and a decrease in courgettes! That aside August is just not a time for much innovation in the kitchen, the month more or less starts me having a week off and family lunch for my birthday. The food is usually the same, garlic bread, roast chicken, new potatoes and salad and so it was this year. Although the whole thing seemed more organised this year and Joe stole my garlic bread! The difference is that more of it was homegrown, the garlic butter was made with my own garlic and herbs, I grew the salad.
The week after that I basically lived of leftover roast chicken and salsa verde, I don’t think I cooked all week. Except to make stock from the bones of the chicken. This week, I did make dinner but it’s all been geared around trying to reduce the dent in the produce heap and although delicious not really blog worthy….Other cooking I’ve done, has been about preserving. Garlic butter, more salsa verde, tomato sauce, pickled courgette. The freezer is stuffed and the cupboard stuffed with jars of jam. I also have to remember that my ‘not much cooking’ is more cooking than a lot of people consider normal and my eating is full of fresh, homegrown produce which is good.
I’ve come to accept that this is a feature of August and I’ll get my cooking mojo back sometime soon, probably as the allotment slows down, although I will need to find some new ways to use butternut squash….
Now, I know that I’m a big of bust, but the day before, I had walked into Bravissimo and walked out with three new bras in my size, the bra I had asked about they didn’t have in store but could get it sent to the store or my house. We were dealing with a range of bras that I had bought before so it wasn’t neccessary for me to be fitted but they could have arranged that and I could have probably found a lot of new styles in my size. At M&S, when I asked, they didn’t have any of the bras I was interested in, in stock and couldn’t order for me but I could look on their website. But with a new bra, you need to try them on.
Generally, I’m just fed up of clothes shops always being out of the sizes I wear, whether it’s clothes or shoes. Is there a special vortex that larger sizes disappear to? because I’m getting really tired of shops only having the clothes I might want to buy in all sizes from 4 to 14 and then nothing until size 22. I also finally bought a dress a wanted (remember the East dress back in July) in the sale but although it said it was the blue dress, they sent me the pink dress because the blue had sold out. Then I tried again with a top and the 18 didn’t fit (in a shop when the 18 is often too big for me).
A day to read. That was yesterday, I did very little and just read books, it’s my favourite thing to do, I have lots of books….
This year there is more of everything and it’s much tidier. So let’s have a chat about what work we did on the plot over the last couple of weeks. First up we finally got around to framing another bed. Knowing that the nephews were due a visit, we framed the bed I thought would be most vunerable to small people walking on it, the one that was half french beans and is supposed to be half chard (if the seeds ever come up!) This is it a couple of weeks ago…
And after my DIY magic. I took six of the metre long fixed lawn edging things, but because the bed it only 1.8 metres long, two of them had to be adjusted. 
Manhattan Sour (Gentleman Jack bourbon, Martini Rubino, lemon juice, sugar syrup, egg white, angostura) and the look on Jess’ face when I told her that the foam was egg white was hilarious!
Old Fashioned. (Woodford Reserve, demerara sugar, angostura and Ardbeg 10 scotch) this was much more orangey than the ingredients list would suggest. 
Boogie Nights (Grey Goose, Le Citron, Crème de Pêche, amaretto, pineapple juice and peach puree) they came with sunglasses. Yes there is a photo of me wearing them somewhere!
