Menu 2026.07.06

These meals have a higher than likely chance of being served for dinner this week. That's not to say they will be made, or even served in that form, but it was from these meals the shopping list was created. I know I have the ingredients to make them.

Mon: baked potatoes

Tue: fish and vegetable pie

Wed: sweet and sour tofu balls

Thu: prosciutto chicken

Fri: cooked breakfast

Sat: roasted vegetables with feta and pesto

Sun: Spanish chicken

Books Read or Listened to in June 2026

 The End of Magic by Mark Stay

This is a very different type of story, and writing style from "The Witches of Woodville". It's also being presented to me in a very different way. As there is no audiobook, the Beloved is reading it to me as a bedtime story, one chapter per night. 

"Going Postal" by Terry Pratchett

Richard Coyle reads this audiobook, and he was the protagonist in the film version too. As Richard read, scenes from the film come crashing into my brain, like undelivered letters cascading down the grand staircase of the Post Office in Ankh Morpork.

In this story, a con man is given the chance to redeem himself. After a false start, he manages to do that, and earn the respect of a good woman, well a woman you would not wish to speak ill of. Moist von Lipwig take the gargantuan task of restoring the Post Office. He does, but meet challenges along the way.

The main commercial competitor of the Post Office is the Clacks (a network of semaphore towers). It has elements of telegraph stations and the early internet. It's wonderful looking back at the early days, and thinking of the great hackers I knew.

Cakes for Cops

 

Each year I think, I'll be clever and make a start on the cakes, but each year, at the start of June I have a little 'Argh! The time is now!' This year, I tried, but sadly the vegan orange and poppy seed cupcakes were moist. Far, far, far too moist. 

Yet again, I'm starting from scratch. 

This year's haul is all gluten-free, and half is also vegan. It consisted of walnut cake, brownies, two types of oat cookies, lemon and poppy seed muffins and chocolate strawberries. 

They were received, yet again, with great delight by the staff at the front desk.

Goals for June 2026

Last months goals were written in my journal, and came to absolutely nothing. My health has been 'blergh' since returning home from holiday at the start of May. I seriously wish this month is much better.

Goals for June:

write every day

craft every day

exercise three times a week

Will these be achievable? Well, I've tried to make them so, just to boost my confidence. Then next month I can become a little more adventurous.

Roasted Cauliflower Cheese with Pepperoni

 

Ingredients

800g of cauliflower, cut into medium pieces

3 tbsp of olive oil

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika

salt and black pepper

1 onion finely sliced

120g sliced pepperoni cut into slithers

50g  gluten-free plain flour

600ml milk

150g grated cheddar cheese (100g for the sauce and 50g for topping)

50g fresh spinach

Method

Heat the oven to 200C

Mix 2 tablespoons of olive oil with the curry powder, cumin and paprika in a large baking dish approximately 32cm x 22cm. Add the cauliflower florets and mix well. Add salt and pepper. Then roast for 20 minutes.

Whilst the cauliflower is cooking, make the sauce by heating 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan. Add the onion and fry on a medium heat for about 3 minutes. Stir in the pepperoni, and cook for a futher 2 minutes.

Add the milk and bring to a simmer. Make a slurry from the flour and some water. When the milk is at a simmer, slowly pour in the slurry, stirring continually.

When the sauce has thickened, remove from the heat, and stir in 100g of cheese and the spinach. Continue to stir until the spinach has wilted.

Pour over the roasted cauliflower, coating each floret. Cover with 50g of grated cheese and cook for 25-30 minutes until the top is a golden brown.

Spanish Chicken

Ingredients
1 Tsp olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
150g chorizo, cut into cubes
500g chicken breast, cut into cubes

1 tsp paprika
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
400g can chopped tomatoes
400g can butter beans, drained and rinsed
small handful of flat-leaf parsley

Method
Heat the oil, and fry the onion and the chopped chorizo for 5 minutes. Then add the cubed chicken and cook until everything is a golden brown and the chorizo has released its oil. 

Add the paprika and garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Then add the tomatoes and butter beans. Cook for an additional 10 minutes on a low simmer.  

Serve with chopped parsley and  boiled rice.

Notes

The original recipe called for the inclusion of  two bell peppers. We do not like them, so have omitted them. Olives can also be added.

Chicken Meatballs

Ingredients
100g minced chicken

1 egg

1 tsp Worcester sauce

85g dried breadcrumbs

50 grated parmesan cheese
3tsp garlic, minced
1tsp onion powder
1/2tsp  dried oregano

2tsp dried basil
2tsp dried parsley

salt and pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C. Line  baking sheets.

Mix the Worcestershire sauce with the egg, and then include the chicken. 

Mix all of the dried ingredients. Then add the chicken mixture. Combine well, without over working.

Split the mixture into 32, and make into meatballs.

Cook for 20 minutes.

Notes

The meatballs are great served with spaghetti in a carbonara sauce, or cold at a picnic. 

The meatballs can be frozen before or after cooking. If freezing raw meatballs, open freeze on a lined baking sheet, and transfer into a ziplock bag. Defrost before cooking.

Chocolate Fudge Cake

Ingredients

Cake

125g chocolate broken into pieces

125g butter, plus extra for greasing

200g light soft brown sugar

100g caster sugar

1 tsp glycerine

2 eggs 

100ml natural yogurt

1/4 tsp vanilla

200g gluten-free SR flour

1tsp xanthan gum

2 eggs

Ganache

175g chocolate

250ml double cream

Method

Cake

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease two 20cm cake tins.

Melt the chocolate, and allow to cool.

Cream the butter, sugars and glycerine until fluffy and light. Slowly add the eggs. Add the yogurt, vanilla, and the cooled yogurt.

Fold in the flour and xantham gum. Add a little warm water if the mixture is too stiff.

Divide the mixture between the tins, and bake for around 30 minutes. Allow the cakes to cool in the tins for 30 minutes, then removed and finish the cooling on a wire rack.

Ganache

Grate the chocolate. Heat the cream on the stove. When the cream starts steaming remove from the heat, and pour it over the grate chocolate. Leave for 2 minutes. Stir well to melt the chocolate and mix it well with the cream.  Leave to cool at room temperature.

Spread half over the bottom layer of cake,Add the top layer. Spread the remaining half on top.

Notes

The cake keeps in an air tight container for 3-4 days. It can also be frozen. 

Chicken Kebabs

 

Ingredients

1kg minced chicken

2 tsp onion granules

2 tsp garlic granules

2 tsp paprika

4 tsp parsley

2 tsp coriander

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp medium curry powder

salt

pepper

Method 

Pre-heat the oven to 200C.

Mix all of the ingredients, and transfer onto a lined baking dish, 20x30cm.

Press the mixture down into the dish, making is smooth and level. Use a knife to form into 12 pieces. Score the top.

Bake for 25 minutes.

Notes

Serve with pita or wraps, mayo and salad.

Good Cop, Bad Cop

Louise Hickman is the only detective in Eden Vale, Washington, USA. She pleads with her father, Hank, the Chief of Police to hire another detective. Henry left Eden Vale seven years ago due to a disagreement with his father. He's been working as a police officer in Seattle, but is lurked back with the offer to become a detective.

Both Lou and Henry are good detectives in their own way. Lou is the touchy-feely one, who has hunches. Sherlock Holmes is Henry's hero, and he emulates him. He's also autistic. (Sadly the autistic traits shown are played for  laughs, and 'isn't he odd' moments a few too many times for a television program released in 2025.)

At first, I wasn't too sure whether I liked the program, but the characters grew on me, and became very relatable. The stories were non-convoluted and enjoyable. Then I learned the show had been cancelled after just one season.

I watched, and watched, then Netflix  took me to a movie. It was confusing as the story had not been completed. "Ooh, noes! You can't just stop there! These characters need some form of resolution." ... "I can give them this desperately needed completion. I can tie together the flapping story lines." And with that, I started thinking up satisfactory endings for the season and the whole story.

Whilst on a walk with the Offspring, I was explaining all of this and started coming up with story ideas. Then, when we got home, I discovered there's another episode that I haven't seen, the last episode the season. I want to watch it, but I also want to try my hand at writing as if I was one of the writers on the show, and I knew it was the end.

Pocket Chocolate

Back at the dim and distant dawn of time, I met my Beloved, and we experienced great joy on sharing our first box of chocolates. The Beloved enjoys the dark chocolates, and the ones with nuts or nougat. On the other hand, my preference is for the orange and strawberry creams. We meet in the middle ground of caramels, both hard and soft.

Every so often I will buy a box of chocolates. These are bought with the understanding that any of the chocolates I don't want will be shared with the Beloved. 

Recently a new twist has been added to the sharing. It's 'pocket chocolate'. The a chocolate unwanted by me is hidden in the Beloved's pocket. It's not an every day thing, and sometimes it takes him ages to find the pocket chocolate. For a while, the longest from hide to consume was the one put in a pocket of his rucksack. It was about 10 days. However, it took over two weeks for the one secreted in his dressing gown pocket to be found. 

It's just a silly, fun way of distributing chocolates. The Beloved never knows when one is going to be found. It's always a surprise. 

It's always a surprise, even when he is wearing the hoodie when I'm hiding it. We know how to play. 

I would walk five hundred miles

 

The Proclaimers sang about walking 500 miles, and 500 more. There's a route around the north coast of mainland Scotland, the North Coast 500. It got me thinking, how long would it take me to walk 500 miles?

Currently, walking 500 miles is beyond my capabilities. But would it be possible?  This week, I've managed 500m on Sunday and Monday, and 1km today. At that rate of 2km over three days, it would take me three years and four months. 

I suspect I would need to increase my walking distances to at least 5 miles per day (100 days) before it would be a viable option.

Walking On Sunshine

The weather was appalling yesterday, and that resulted in a great deal of pain. I set myself all sorts of goals, and forget I have chronic pain. At the start of July last year, I decided to keep track of the number of days I have had without pain. so far, we're cruising  along at a nice steady zero. There has not been a single day I have been pain-free.

March's goal of exercising every day seemed a distant dream. However, The Offspring drew my attention to my time in town shopping yesterday. I managed to walk 1/2km, at a very slow pace, but I managed it. Today, I've also walked a much faster 1/2km. 

Now, the sun is out. The air pressure is looking good for tomorrow. My hope is I can do a full, huge 1km. 

Goals for March 2026

This month's goals are to exercise every day (when possible) and to make two items for my wardrobe.

The exercise consisted of half a km of very painful and slow walking. There are times when the body just does not want to co-operate.

My current wardrobe make is a cardigan/jacket made from King Cole Tints, in the colour 'Neptune'. It's a glorious combinations of teal and purple, and will be able to be worn with so many items in my wardrobe. There are some summer clothes it will clash with, but it's a thick super chunky yarn, and it isn't a summer yarn.

Books read or listened to in February 206

Fortunate Son - Caimh McDonnell

The Family Jewels - Caimh McDonnell

Firewater Blues - Caimh McDonnell

Dead Man's Sins - Caimh McDonnell

Angels in the Moonlight - Caimh McDonnell

Systems collapse

Fugitive Telemetry

Network Effect

Bastille Versus the Evil Librarians

Alcatraz Versus the Dark Talent

Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens

Alcatraz Versus the Knits of Crystallia

Alcatraz Verses the Scrivener's Runes

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians

Orange and Poppy Seed Muffins

Ingredients

1 medium orange

1 Tsp chia seeds

3 Tsp cold water

2 medium bananas

120g SR gluten-free flour (1 cup)

200g sugar (1cup)

120ml oil (1/2 cup)

Method

Place the orange in a pan of boiling water. Reduce to a simmer, and simmer the orange for 20 minutes. Let the orange cool.

Pre-heat the oven to 200C.

Put the chia seeds into the water, and leave for a few minutes. The seeds will swell and produce a gelatinous goop.

Place the orange and the bananas into a blender, and blend until smooth. Add the oil and chia seeds. Then add the sugar, flour and poppy seeds. Mix well.

Line a muffin tin, and add the batter to the muffin liners.

Bake for 18 minutes until the top is golden brown, and the muffins are risen and bounce back when gently depressed.

Notes
The original recipe called for an un-simmered. Unfortunately, this can result in a bitter muffin. By cooking the orange the bitterness is removed.

If you don't want to use chia seeds, replace the chia seeds and water with one egg.

The gluten-free flour could be substituted for white SR flour.

The quantities make nine large muffins.

Books read or listened to in January 2026

A Man with One of Those Faces - Caimh McDonnell 

The book where it all begins. We meet Paul, Brigit, Phil, Jimmy Stewart and Bunny. Paul has one of those faces that puts people in mind of another person. However, this leads Paul, and Brigit into a whole host of trouble. In extricating themselves from some extremely dangerous situations they solve a decades old kidnapping.

In this book, Bunny is a minor character, but he just would leave the poor author alone. Bunny whispered in Caimh's ear, letting him know there were other stories to be told.  He also wouldn't stop waving his hurl around in a rather intimidating fashion. Not bad for a fictional character! 

The Final Game - Caimh McDonnell 

Paul is a friend of Dorothy. Or rather, he was a friend of Dorothy. She is dead, and believed she was going to be murdered. In a hilariously vicious video-will she set up a 'Hunger Games' competition to decide who gets her fortune. The players are Paul and the 'Leeches' (her description of her family). Each player has a co-player.

For the duration of the game, none of the players are allowed to leave the hotel or its grounds. Paul and Brigit play the game, and at the same time investigate Dorothy's death. On the outside, they are assisted by Jimmy Stewart and Phil.

Deccie Must Die - Caimh McDonnell 

Deccie, childhood friend of Paul and Phil, and annoyer of Brigit, is a radio talk show host, loved and hated in equal measures. During the night, his apartment is entered. When he wakes the following day, Deccie is confronted with the messaged 'Deccie must die' in red paint on his sitting room wall. Bridget, Paul, Jimmy Steward and Phil set out to keep Deccie safe and to solve the case.

The Bookshop Below - Georgina Summers

Every magical bookshop needs an owner. Prior to Chiron's death, he names Cassandra his heir. She sets out to restore Chiron's rundown bookshop, and to get her life back on the right tracks. In the process, she learns magic is disappearing, and who killed her former mentor, Chiron.

However, this is story that never really takes off. It lacks direction and oomph. We never learn about the nature of the magic. There's no world building. We're not drawn into to like the characters, and there's pitifully little character development.

The premise is excellent, but the execution is lacking.

All Systems Red, Artificial Condition - Martha Wells

A security unit (sec-unit) hacks its governor module and starts thinking for itself. All it wants to do is watch space operas. Sec-units are a melding of human and technology, but classified as 'inventory'. This particular sec-unit has partial memories of slaughtering a group of miners, and for this reason it has named itself 'Murderbot'.  The book is the first in a series of diaries composed by Murderbot.

This book is just over three hours long, but creates a rich universe. It's peopled by humans, augmented humans, sec-units, sex-units, bots and AI constructs. There's  Alliance and non-Alliance worlds,  different forms of government, big business, and small communes. 

'The Bookshop Below' rambles on for thirteen hours, and does not create such a compelling world, nor interesting characters. In addition, Murderbot has a story arc. It learns more about itself and the universe in which it lives. 

Books finished this month: 5

Soup Index

Soup	DF	GF	V	VE
Carrot	✓	✓	✓	✓
Carrot and Ginger	✓	✓	✓	✓
Chicken and Vegetable		✓
French-ish Onion		✓	✓
Parsnip and Apple	✓	✓	✓	✓
Parsnip and Maple	✓	✓	✓	✓
Pea and Leek	✓	✓	✓	✓
Stilton and Broccoli		✓	✓
Spiced Lentil	✓	✓	✓	✓
Spiced Parsnip	✓	✓	✓	✓
Tomato and Bean	✓	✓	✓	✓
Tomato and Lentil	✓	✓	✓	✓
Vegetable	✓	✓	✓	✓

Plain Bonnag

Ingredients

450g gluten-free SR flour

50g butter or butter substitute

1tsp salt

1 egg

oat milk 

Method

Preheat oven to 190C.

Rub the fat into the flour.

Into a measuring jug, crack the egg, and add the salt. Mix. Then add enough oat milk to take it up to 300ml.

Mix the wet with the dry, and spoon into two loaf tins. Flatten the top of the dough with a wet hand.

Bake for 35 minutes.

Notes

Traditional bonnag is not made in loaf tins. However, gluten-free flour requires more liquid. The dough doesn't hold up well enough to form it into a ball, and put on a baking sheet. 

My Recipe Book

Years ago, I was given a blank recipe book. The idea was I could either write down my favourite recipes, or cut them out from magazines and glue them into the book. This worked after a fashion.

When I was at university, a new hardback note was bought, and this is the one I used, until it started falling apart. By that time, I'd started storing my favourite recipes on my tablet. Later, they were transferred to this blog.

The problem now is when I searching for a recipe, and can't see it here, I've little idea where to look!

The recipe for bonnag fell into this little blackhole. But, today I found the recipe in my writing journal. It was written down as part of a story about Honey Hill Farm.

However, what was written wasn't for gluten-free bonnag. That's a recipe I created from one copied from an old recipe book in the library.

Today's challenge is to create a gluten-free version. The version baking uses SR flour rather than plain flour, sodium bicarbonate and cream of tartar. The buttermilk has been replaced by oat milk and an egg, and the volume of liquid increased slightly. 

We'll have to see how it turns out.

Spiced Lentil Soup

Ingredients

25ml oil

2 medium onions, chopped finely

2 medium carrots, grated

1 can of green lentils (450g)

200g dried red lentils

1.5 litres  stock

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp fresh ginger

2 tsp curry powder

Method

In a large pan, add the oil and onion. Saute the onions until they are cooked and are a light golden-brown.

Add the other ingredients and bring to the boil. Then reduce to a simmer, and cook for 15-20 minutes. Check seasoning, and serve. 

Notes

An option is to add 50g of finely diced pancetta at the same time as the onion is being sauteed. 

Fat Balls

When decluttering the baking cupboard, there one or two, okay, a few, okay, far too many packets of nuts and seeds. Rather than see them being tossed into the compost big, they have been transformed into fat balls to feed the birds. 

One was set out yesterday, and the birds have already come across it. Unfortunately, it in a location where I can't see the bird eat my tempting confection. I'm going to have to have a thought about where the next one will be placed. The ideal location is way from cats, but somewhere I can  watch the birds.

Kitchen Declutter - part 6

Day 6

empty and clean root vegetable drawer

declutter vegetables

return retained vegetables

empty and clean kitchen linens drawer

declutter kitchen linens

return retained linens

empty and clean foil and wraps drawer

declutter contents

return retained items

Kitchen Declutter - part 5

Day 5

empty teas and coffees drawers

clean drawers

declutter teas and coffees

replace retained teas and coffees

empty cutlery drawer

clean drawer

wash cutlery

replace cutlery

Kitchen Declutter - part 4

Day 4
Metal utensils drawer and wooden utensils drawer emptied
Drawers cleaned
Utensils decluttered
Remaining utensils replaced
Clear and clear worktops
Clean stove top

Kitchen Declutter - part 3

Day 3

emptied baking cupboard

cleaned cupboard

decluttered baking ingredients

replaced retained ingredients

Kitchen Declutter - part 2

Day 2

emptied under sink cupboard

cleaned cupboard twice

tidied away saucepans

found space for baking tins

Decluttering in 2026

We're back in the kitchen at the start of another year. It's a very fine place to start.

wash dishes

dry dishes

wash sink

clear worktop around sink

clean worktop around sink

clean window sill and attend to herbs

clear out baking tins cupboard

clean the cupboard

declutter unused plastic food containers

put away air fryer into cupboard (its new home)

put away mandoline, grater, kitchen scales and weights