Sunday 1 May 2011

Below the Line - Day 1 - Food

Lumpy Porridge - must be perfected!

~ Breakfast this morning consisted of porridge and coffee, which I suspect it will everyday. By doing my sums I work out that that costs me just 17p - a bargain and I discovered that 50g of porridge (which is what my ration for each day is) is more than I usually have of Oatbran, my usual breakfast. Although I think I have to practise making it slightly less lumpy over the course of the 5 days!!

~

By the time we got back from the Car Boot sale we were selling at this morning (a very successful morning by the way), my little tummy was rumbling for England. A swift decision had to be made and I plumped for an Egg Mayo bun, then I remembered - no mayo. On looking at my foods I realised I did have the makings of it, so while the eggs was hard boiling I got to work. Using just under half of my Olive Oil and 1 egg yolk, a sprinkle of salt and pepper I wizzed some up in my mixer and decanted it into an old Mayo jar.
~
And what do you have if you use an egg yolk......why an egg white of course, so this was also whizzed up and now I have some (not very sweet as I have no sugar) meringues. These should be lovely sandwiched together with a bit of jam or Lemon Curd, which will hopefully give them the required sweetness.
~
Lunch - Egg Mayo Bun, split into four to make it last longer, with a sprinkle of homegrown parsley for a splash of green and added vitamins. ~
My food corner, now looking slightly more impressive with my meringues in the tin and the jar of mayo, which has now gone into the fridge.
~
Now I am going to briefly forget about food and go and check on my chickens. We think Lovely has decided her time is up, as chickens tend to do, and the two other original girls Jemima and Molly are very sweetly taking it in turns to sit with her. This is no fancy on my part, we both know for a fact that all three White Stars always occupy the top roosting bar at night, but since yesterday when Lovely decided to sit in the nesting box to wait for her time to come the others have stayed with her, with Jemima spending the night in the next door nesting box and then Molly replacing her while Jemima had breakfast.
~
So touching to see, and we will be very sad when she goes but we relish the fact that she has had a wonderful life here with us. Enjoying every moment of being at the top of the pecking order in our flock of Lovely Ladies right until the end.
~
Sue xx

10 comments:

  1. So sorry to hear about Lovely. You gave her the best possible life. Glad she has Jemima and Molly sitting with her. They could teach some humans a thing or two
    love Mum and Dad.xxxx

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  2. Hope Lovely is as comfortable as she can be. x

    Great work at the boot sale. Is it just eggs you sell?

    Your lunch looked delicious by the way.

    Looking forward to hearing what you had for tea.

    Keep up the good work with the challenge.

    Sft x

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  3. Poor Lovely. Hope she has a gentle goodbye .
    I often have porridge for brekkie. Cheap and healthy. I make mine with milk and always leave it to soak in the milk overnight. Haven't had problems with lumps this way.
    Take care, Sue

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  4. I agree completely Mum, we could all learn from chickens!

    Lovely is as comfortable as she can be, on a nest of straw in the nesting boxes away from draughts, with Jemima or Molly constantly there and the others popping in every now and then to 'chirrup' to her. It's a funny little noise they make when they are talking gently to each other, very nice to hear.

    I gave her some water earlier and she briefly perked up, but 2 minutes later she settled herself down and went back to sleep. It's not often you see a hen with her eyes closed.

    Sft - we mainly do the Car Boots to sell our eggs in between the Farmers Markets, but we are also have a HUGE declutter this year in our quest for simple living so we are selling all sorts of stuff.

    Thanks for the tip Sue, I usually soak my Oatbran for an hour, but I will try soaking the porridge overnight, it might mean less chewy bits tomorrow!! I have to make it half and half with water to make my milk last all week this week.

    Sue xx

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  5. Oh, how I wish I could make myself like porridge. I try every winter and every time I realise I really don't like it! The egg mayo looks delicious though.

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  6. Life in the country ... full of challenges. You handle them with great dignity.

    Is your porridge the same as our oatmeal?

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  7. Helen, our porridge is made from oats, which are very flake like, here oatmeal is a more granular thing I don't know if yours is, and oatbran is very light, being the outer husk of the bran .....I think!! Oatbran is what I usually eat but it was too expensive to be part of this challenge, although it's only about a pound a bag.

    I can handle it all with dignity because when you get to know animals and chickens, that's how they handle a natural death, no fuss, no complaints, just a sad resignation and a time to say goodbye to their friends. If only we could all have the same end.

    Sue xx

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  8. Porridge with half and half milk/water is my usual breakfast, find it too rich with all milk. Just keep stirring, and it should be ok. Raisins and cinammon make a nice combination if you have any of those about.

    Sorry to hear about Lovely. We lost a chicken last week, and the others were doing the same, sitting with her, so sweet. Hope her passing is quick.

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  9. I think I'm going to sound like the weirdest person EVER but I think the lumps in porridge are the very best bit!
    See- told you it would sound weird :)

    I make mine with water and a spoonful of cinnamon, and have to confess I arrange little clusters together to get extra lumps!

    ooops, think I'd better go now...

    ps our cats have always known when they were ready to go, and seemed quite calm about it.
    Our dearest old cat went peacefully, and the younger cat stayed with him until we came.

    Isn't it a joy to be able to listen to chickens talking?

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  10. Claire, thanks for the tip to add Cinnamon, I could do that I have spices in the budget, but I'm afraid raisins were way out of the price bracket!

    Bunny - how could you....you LIKE the lumps and whats worse you purposely make them!! Yes...off you go...yuk!

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