Glanbrydan’s Weblog

In a recent poll (conducted and answered by me )100% of participants agreed that steak tastes nicer when cooked on a BBQ when it’s nice summers evening with a gentle breeze blowing.

Having no kitchen to speak of we are now migrating towards the caravan. We are still in our bed and will hang onto that for as long as possible but overall things have been boxed, bagged or thrown out. This is except for our bedroom including clothes.

I’m not sure why but sorting my wardrobe is like a big wall I have to climb. There’s no quick way over it or round it and so far I’m just ignoring it. I promise myself I’ll do half an hour an evening and I really don’t think it’ll take more than a couple of good goes at it.

I think the problem is those nice clothes I don’t use because of putting weight back on. I don’t want to take them to the charity shop as it’s  admitting the truth but then storing them isn’t really a good option.

My only thoughts so far are if I make 3 piles. One pile of the clothes I actually use at the moment. Another pile of winter warmers that fit me but are not in use just now and a third dreaded pile of the things I can’t do up. Once completed I can agonise over just what goes, at least I’ll have done the job.

Once again back to food……

They say it’s difficult to cook a steak and get it right. My own experiences are that it’s best if

1 – You choose a steak with a bit of fat on  – this gives it taste and helps it to stay moist when you cook it

2 - You season the steak with a bit of salt and pepper on both sides before cooking

3 – I find a griddle pan or a BBQ cooks the steak best.

Timings are difficult so I won’t even try  here but if it’s  medium steak and you like it medium cook the outside quickly to seal in the moisture, then turn down the heat and cook it until it’s how you like it. I use a sharp fork to prod it every now and then to get an idea of how much blood there is inside.  I like mine when the juice runs clear of blood. The best way is to practise a few times and note roughly how long it takes to cook.

I like to serve mine with a salad – mixed leaves, tomatoes, cucumber with a bit of balsamic on the side along with a new potato salad. 

For the new potato salad

Choose small waxy new potatoes that will hold their shape when boiled. Put the quantity you want to serve in a pan of salted water and bring to the boil with the lid on.

Boil gently checking them to make sure they don’t overcook. I use a pointed knife  – you can feel the centres then without breaking up the spud.

When ready drain them and leave them covered to one side to cool off (or if you are in a hurry forget the cooling bit).

Chop up some onion finely – about half an onion to 250 gs of potato and put this in a bowl with the onion. Add mayonnaise to taste. I like my spuds coated but not swimming in the stuff. add a sprinkle of fresh ground black pepper and lightly salt.

Give it all a good stir.

Optional extras

Sultanas – throw in a few to give it a sweet taste

Parsley – chop up a few sprigs finely and mix it in

Chives – chop up a few stalks finely and sprinkle on top

red pepper – take a few bits of pepper finely chopped again and mix in.

left over cooked peas and a chopped up mint leaf make a colourful addition.

Our long awaited trip to the British Grand Prix took place last week.

The caravan (our home in a few weeks time while the builders are busy) was thoroughly cleaned and the clothes wedged into the cupboards last Tuesday. The fridge was stocked, the wine carefully boxed in the boot of the car and away we went for the long journey back to the small village we called home for some years.

We pitched on the golf course camp site and spent two days meeting up with family. Our youngest daughter has a bulging tummy full of baby Thomas who should be with us in about 9 weeks. Our youngest sons girlfriend is not far behind with a tummy full of twins, one of each, who should arrive around the end of October. The elder children all came to the Grand Prix with the various arrangements for who stayed where having been organised some time ago.

We watched the cars fly round the track spending much of the time out of doors. The race delighted us with it’s speed, noise and the general atmosphere of Silverstone filled with thousands of F1 fans. All too soon the holiday was at an end and we hitched up the caravan to return home.

As soon as we returned we went to see the chickens and let them out into the field. They, as well as the cats and fish are looked after by a very nice lady (Angela) but they do stay in their run while we are away to help Angela keep them safe. We haven’t spotted Nemo yet, but will have a look again this evening – he is very good at appearing missing. So far I have only seen Smudger cat who meowed at me a lot, but Tatty cannot be too far away.

The plumber is working away at the back of the house putting in some temporary washing facilities so we can at least have a wash when they remove the bathroom and kitchen. At the same time the builders have been putting in site markers in preperation for commencing the work in earnest.  We are a trifle concerned as the markers bear little relationship to the plans but hey ho!

I have noticed that building work happens in bursts around here. The garden now has more of a quarry feel to it with the digger  half way through removing the large bank of earth from behind the house. Once this is gone we can think about foundations.

The digger man deposited his big digger last night and this morning a dumper truck arrived. He promptlygot to work (I had just had a shower and was scrabling round trying to dress quickly)  his nephew  drives the dumper truck while he takes charge of the digger. He has considered and thought through exactly what will go where with the earth being moved up to the field along with ruble and clay.

The large plants have been lifted in big balls and deposited to either side of the field gate while the ruble is being laid down the pathway he created when he dug the pond to form a bed over which he will put clay. We hope this will improve the drainage and at some future point (when we eventually find more money) we will top this path with stone of some sort to make a sweeping walk up to the pond. The top soil is in one heap and the clay in another.

We suffered a thunder storm with lightening and heavy rain after lunch so digger man and his nephew have retired for the day.

T-W-O and I are hot footing the final structural engineers measurements into the post so Son-In-Law architect Iain can add the last details to the buildings drawings this weekend and we can submit them to the council.

We have hired a metal container to move our furniture into. The container arrived at lunch time and we managed to cause a traffic jam down the lane – ok two neighbours and a lost coach which is a traffic jam around here. The container is insulated so we hope will not suffer condensation and looks rather like a building site office, with a door and windows at either end. The floor has lino on and it all looks very civilised from within but with good sturdy locks on the outside. The exterior is green but it doesn’t really camouflage it too well.

I am yet again apologising for my lack of writing. Life has exploded and it would be reasonable to say we are just so busy. The farmers markets and work we have just about learned to cope with – big shows excluded – but add to that the work we have been doing to prepare for the extension and the ‘ learning’ I am doing at work it leads to two exhausted people.

The pasty business – We have been in contact with various organisation through a friend of ours who knows about these things in the hope of securing some help with marketing, web sites and equipment. The Welsh assembly and the council have been helpful so now it’s up to us now.

The garden – the lawn is currently a wild flower meadow and I quite like it. The builders are about to mash up the garden with the help of the digger man next week. The green house is full of things and the veg beds need weeding.

Th building work – The dogs are now situated in their new home and the chickens are enjoying the field. We had a mass plant move a few weeks ago so I hope the digger man will move the bigger clumps to the side of the field.

Lastly we have a new fish. We weren’t expecting anything for the new pond just yet but circumstances meant a Koi carp  – now called Nemo  – who is over a foot long now has joined the crew. We spend a few minutes every evening ‘finding Nemo’ and making sure he is still swimming around his new home.

Onwards we go …………….