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[turps]

I went to one of the local national trust properties yesterday. It was only a short drive away but we'd never been before. Just a small site with a small house and grounds you could explore. Thankfully we went before the heavens opened on the afternoon, so managed to stay dry.

The afternoon was grocery shopping including going to Company Store where we hit the jackpot as they had cat food in stock. Not lots as it's very much a case of taking a chance of what's there on the day, but we did get a great big 80 sachet box of one kind, a 40 sachet of another, plus we got four kinds of cat biscuits so the cats are well stocked up.

Which reminds me, last time we were there we bought two huge bags of washed spinach and don't seem to be putting a dent in it. I've been using it in salads and omelettes but it's not something I really cook with. I'm going to wilt it down and freeze before it goes off, but anyone have any foolproof spinach recipes they enjoy?

A few days ago we saw Horrible Histories at the cinema. If you've ever seen the Horrible Histories tv shows it's those in a movie form and it should have told me everything that we were the only people in the screen without a child. I mean, it wasn't bad, but more like I spent 90 minutes watching something vaguely entertaining with jokes and a 'plot' aimed at 5-year-olds. Which of course the whole thing was.

Other than that I went to see my brother yesterday as it was his birthday. Sib dinner will have to wait though as he's going on holiday on Friday. Not that he's actually booked anywhere yet. So within four days, they have to pick, book and pack for a holiday for a family of four. All I can say is good luck to him.

Our garden has gone crazy with the alternating heat and rain. It looks like a jungle and just in the last day, I've picked four big courgettes. I'll need to get the spiraliser out of storage as I can see loads of courgetti in my future.

Today I've been having a reread of some of the Fraction Hawkeye comic books. I do enjoy that verse and version of Hawkeye. And of course, pizza dog. Lucky is awesome. Fingers crossed it'll put me in a writing mood. Not tonight though, tonight is for a long bath and then more Queer Eye.

Comments

[shadowhive]

I’m glad you went out before the rain and yay cat food!

No spinach recipes come to mind. I hope someone has some for you.

I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seem of the show but I’m not sure I’d wanna see a full movie with kids too

Damn... I wish him luck with that too, I suspect it’ll be hard

Yay jungle and comics!

[dine]

I'm a huge fan of spinach - salads & omelets are perfect, but also just steamed (or cooked in water if you're my mom's generation) and served with lemon. my grandmother used to put vinegar on hers. the acid is a nice contrast to the spinach flavour.

[topaz119]

I like spinach with eggs & feta & dill weed in a quiche (plus it freezes well after you cook it so you have fancy breakfasts for the future too.

I love the Fraction/Aja Hawkeye—he usually sneaks his way into all my Clint characterizations when I’m not looking!

[turps]

That sounds delicious. I also like the idea of baking and then freezing. I don't bake often enough but have most of the needed ingredients.

I was so confused about Hawkeye when I first started to read extensively in MCU. I remember sending a few emails wondering why his characterisation was so different in many stories. It all started to make sense when I was told about Fraction/Aja Hawkeye and how he was pretty different to the movie-verse Hawkeye. Now I love them both but have a huge soft spot for the comic book side.

[turps]

You know, I'd never considered just using the spinach as a side on its own without cooking/using it in a recipe. But that sounds nice, and as it'll be easy, I'm going to try it later.

Thank you.

[turps]

The weather is so weird lately. It's raining again now, very heavily. At least I don't need to go anywhere.

I've had a couple of recipes so hopefully, I can make a dent in the stuff.

The show is good, and the movie was good too. But you know when sometimes you end up mindlessly watching a kids show and it's entertaining enough but at the end you think, why did I watch that? Well, that was me.

I need to phone and see if he booked anywhere. It doesn't help my niece is 14, acts many years older and didn't want to go with them.

[chalcopyrite]

I see you already have a recommendation for quiche! I'll second it, but add that it was a total game-changed when I realised quiche doesn't actually require a crust. Use a greased pyrex dish, and just put your wilted spinach + whatever else in there, mix up your eggs and a little milk and pour it over, use a fork to pack it down a little and make sure the batter gets into the cracks. It's great stuff.

[turps]

Now I really want to make a crustless quiche.

Maybe tomorrow as today I tried Dine's recipe but I have eggs and milk, cheese, tomatoes, onions and of course, so much spinach still.

Thank you!

[rikes]

Crustless is definitely the way to go! Works with almost any veggies.

I can also recommend spinach pasta and spinach pancakes!

[turps]

I have plans to make a crustless quiche today. I'd seen them in the shops before, but like many cooking-related things, hadn't considered how easy it would be to make myself.

I like the sound of spinach pasta and pancakes, too. At this rate, I won't have to freeze any of the spinach as I'll have used it all.

Thank you!

[turlough]

That sounds like a delightful little place to visit. And lucky you to escape the rain!

Your kitties are so spoilt ;-)

I don't think I've ever used fresh spinach for anything besides salads but I'm sure you could use instead of the frozen stuff in pretty much everything. Quiche with fresh spinach and ham sounds like it would be very tasty for example.

ETA: I see I'm not the only one who's thoughts went to quiche :-)

Your brother must be mad - I can't even imagine going away on holiday on that short a notice!

ALL the courgettes!

[frausorge]

The house visit sounds fun! It's nice sometimes to go somewhere you feel you can cover in one visit, instead of being overwhelmed by how much there is to see.

Happy birthday to your brother. I hope they manage to find somewhere enjoyable to go.

I don't have an actual recipe but spinach layered in lasagna can be good too. Though I don't know how large a volume that would use up. Good luck disposing of that, and your own garden harvest too.

[turps]

That's very true about going to a place you can cover in one visit. There's another national trust property reasonably close, well with an hour of so drive, but that's huge and needs a day to see inside and a day for the grounds. That's a bit off-putting, so it was nice to check out something so compact this time.

Sadly they couldn't get a last-minute holiday. Not surprising really, so they're going at the end of the month. It's a shame, but when you have a family you really don't have as many options in terms of just up and going.

Spinach in a lasagna sounds nice. I'm enjoying all the hints and tips about cooking and eating it. Which is good as I still have a bag left to get through.

[turps]

It was a lovely place. Really small but with the old house and compact gardens. Plus, a bonus was they'd really tried with access and put in a lift in the garden where they were steep stone steps. But wow, it's the noisiest lift I've ever heard. It badly needed some oil.

They are spoilt! They usually get fed the same food otherwise they get picky, but these were at the top end of the cat food choices, so they get two packets for tea and their usual at breakfast, otherwise they'll be expecting the expensive stuff all the time. Saying that Tinker decided to drink the milk from my cereal as I was eating it this morning. She's never done that before. She's getting to be a rebel in her old age.

The crustless quiche worked very well and was very easy which was a bonus. I've been enjoying all the recipe suggestions and would buy it again. Just, not as much.

[wenchpixie]

SCORE at the company store!

This weather is RIDICULOUS - it's doing a number on our local raspberry harvest, but apparently the blackberries will be bumper.

[turps]

I do love the company store and the weird and wonderful things you can find there at times.

I agree it is ridiculous weather. I can well imagine it's done a number on soft fruits.