walking

As part of my new and absolute determination to get my weight under some sort of control, I have bought a treadmill from eBay. It wasn’t easy to shoehorn it into the house, but we’ve done it; it helps that it folds up. I’ve made a little nest on one of the bookshelves where my iPad keyboard/stand can sit, and am embarking on The Sopranos while I run.

Early on Saturday morning, I gave it its first real go – and did 4.1 miles in 58 minutes. Not, I think, to be sniffed at.  And then, because it was such a gorgeous day, Pete and I decided to go up and have a yomp at Flamborough. In fact, we turned off to the car park at Danes Dyke, and did the circular walk there. I managed the *exceedingly* steep steps down to the beach, and actually sprang up some of the ups, so I’m definitely getting fitter. There were snowdrops, and primroses, and even a handful of early daffodils; spring is definitely on the way. And there was mud. The bridle path was impassible if you didn’t have hooves and long legs, or at least proper boots, which I didn’t – I was wearing my wonderful Easy Walker boots, which are the most comfortable thing I own. But their grip is not as good as a proper walking boot. Sadly and painfully) I have plantar fascitis in my left foot, and these give me brilliant support, but I cannot get orthotic insoles into my leather hiking boots, so they’re a no go at the moment.

We also walked down to Flamborough village, and had a very nice bacon and brie baguette; well, I did – Pete had a tuna and cheese confection. All in all about 5.5 miles, I think. Map should be embedded below, but is here for those whose browsers are being difficult.

On the way home, we stopped at Hornsea Freeport, which was once a factory producing the glorious Hornsea pottery, and is now a raft of outlet shops, and had a look at walking boots for me that would both accommodate the necessary insole, and allow mud traversal. Bought a pair of Egret boots from Mountainwarehouse, and wore them all round the house yesterday (after I’d returned from a 3m round trip to Aldi, long way via Pearson Park :), and they seem perfect. There are loads of lovely walks round here, so I’ll get the use out of them.

And we watched Submarine, which is utterly wonderful. I commend it to you.

Mirrored from kestrel.org.

showering

Certain of the Tribe – Lilith and Mustrum in particular – like to occasionally relieve themselves in the bathroom basin, or the kitchen sink (wee only, I hasten to add!). We don’t find this too much of an issue, to be honest; it’s easily cleaned, and if they must pee outside the trays, those probably the best places (the great outdoors excepted, of course).

We have a lovely, huge shower cubicle in our bathroom. We leave the doors open when it’s not in use, as otherwise it gets remarkably cold in there (the heat from the radiator cannot penetrate the glass doors).  And, as Pete said, it was only a matter of time before one of the little darlings availed themselves of it, and used it as Yet Another Basin. Still, easily cleaned, as we have a dual head shower, one of which can be waved around. But of course, the basin is glass, and the kitchen sink is ceramic, while the shower tray is acrylic, and I really don’t want their dear little claws gouging scratches into it.

But it’s too damn cold to leave the shower doors shut …

Mirrored from the Tribe.

cheap food and horse meat

There’s been a huge amount of guff talked in recent days about how people who eat cheap, processed food should “learn to cook”. This article by Jay Rayner says it all, really, for me – there’s more to this than people simply not knowing how to cook.

I know how to cook, and I can produce cheap and nourishing meals. But I doubt I could rival the price of a couple of 12 pence burgers, some cheap oven chips, and a can of beans.

As an example, yesterday we had roast belly pork. To my shame, I cannot tell you how much the meat cost, because I bought a chunk from the butcher, he divided it up into three smaller chunks, and it went in the freezer. My best guess is about four quid for this piece, which will do us at least four portions.

With it we had red cabbage and apple; those two ingredients cost £1.34 in the greengrocer, and will do at least eight portions. We also had root mash – four carrots, three potatoes, two thirds of a swede. About – what – £1.50? £2? I don’t even know, to be honest. And there were two meals’ worth there. Tonight we will repeat the meal with the leftovers. And I’m pretty sure it doesn’t compete with the cost of a £1.30 Findus frozen lasagne.

So, you might say, that’s a cheap meal. And indeed it is. But it doesn’t include the cost of cooking it, or the time to do it. Or buying for the first time, the store cupboard stuff I used – cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, black pepper, red wine vinegar in the cabbage; Fennel seeds, olive oil, sea salt for the pork. Or the pots to cook it in, or the knives to chop it up. I’m nearly 60 years old – I’ve been building up my skills, my confidence, my batterie de cuisine for forty years, and I’m still learning. And we’re lucky – we don’t have kids to look after, or a commute.

I heard a head honcho from Morrisons on the radio on Saturday, saying how “the food supply had become so complex”, and indeed it astonished me that meat was being shipped all over the place before it landed in the factory. In part, it’s complex because the major supermarket chains are constantly driving down the cost of food to the customer, while making the suppliers pay for that price drop. Most people spend less and less of their income as a percentage on food, while UK farmers are going out of business because they cannot get a fair price for their produce.

Those people in our society who are out of work, or ill, or elderly, are seeing their benefits cut, in real terms, while inflation goes up and up. If you are really struggling to heat your house, or buy your children’s school shoes, “decent” food is something that’s likely to be beyond your reach. So can we stop demonising everyone who eats this stuff, please?

 

Mirrored from Reactive Cooking.