Wintry thoughts

 I am not loving this spring. Two days of warm sun, enough to create midges by the river, bleurgh. Then back to grey, freezing, gloom. I have not met up with people outside. I have not done anything. My brain is cotton wool, and bleak, not cosy. I don't know what the hell I want or need, and therefore I can see no prospect of getting it. Oh, and job #2 has thrown me some extra urgent work, which is actually no bad thing given how stewing I am, but is *tiring*. I read Ruth's post yesterday with much empathy, and I've spent half today in tears, albeit for different reasons.

My kitchen response has been a mix of sloth (let someone else bother), and also a return to winter cooking. I made the sausage/slaw/fritters option Kate blogged here (I also made it a few months back, when Home Cookery Near was new, but as I recall I effed up and added raw potato to all the grated veg thus meaning I had to have an awful lot of fritters and no slaw - terrible times). They worked well, and were a bit less bloody without beetroot this time.

I made a very, very tasty dirty rice dish - pork mince and chicken livers, celery, garlic, parsley, rice. Braise then slow boil, then leave it to steam till it's soft as anything. Really, really good - but so ugly I had to wait to cook something prettier before I blogged it. AGAIN.

Brown food. But delicious, which is a good thing as I had it leftovers for three lunches after the original dinner. Warmed up with a splodge of pom molasses turned out to be a good thing.

And I tried the tepsi kebab from Simply, which met my mood nicely: squidge together onion, lamb mince, pepper, garlic, chilli, seasoning, pop into a tin, put into a hottest oven, give it 18 minutes. I might frizzle the leftovers a bit more.

Serve with tortillas, tomato salad, onion, yoghurt (or just bread, tomato and yogurt as it may be). Feel slightly better about life for a proper dinner in 5 minutes of work and 30 minutes start to finish. 

All that said, I'm moving springwards in my cooking next week. Enough mince. 

*That* said, I've not finished my Betty's Easter delivery, so all my lunches next week are fruit cake and Wensleydale. OH NO how will I survive? 

I bloody hope it cheers me up, anyway. I've got to start getting back to the office. I've got to have a public face sometime. This isn't going to go on forever, and I need to start living like it. Oof.