A bit of a beef.

We don't go out often, we do try and alternate the cars though when we go,  enough to keep them both running as we are quite isolated and  occasionally we have found that a battery goes flat but then use the other car.  Yesterday we went for a shopping stock-up trip and when we stopped to fill the car at the petrol station,  John found a wasps nest - tiny triangular shaped made of mud thing - behind the flap when he opened it to access the cap!  Now maybe Mr and Mrs Wasp had only just recently made the nest but then again we hadn't filled that car since the middle of February.  The nest is now history,  luckily there wasn't an angry Mr Wasp in there when he found it!

About shopping....over the last year maybe more, we've noticed that some supermarkets have changed their ingredients of some meats,  surely meat should be meat not need a list of ingredients!   Specifically we've noticed it on minced beef.  It used to be 100% beef,  maybe 98% with some salt and preservative added,  but now we are finding labels that say 87% or even 80%!  If we wanted to buy water or soya protein or cereals we would,  but not in our meat thank you.  Anyway our water is free and we don't eat many cereals,  they are for breakfast not in our minced beef.   Our answer to this is to buy lean stewing steak and mince it ourselves as we have an old fashioned fit it on the table type of mincer which does a wonderful job.

Then there is the mark-up on things like from ketchup to chilli ketchup.  Maybe double the price?   We both like spicy foods so now just buy ketchup,  empty it into a bowl,  add our own ground up dried home grown chillis and pour it into a squirty refillable bottle.  Same with garlic mayo,  spicy bbq sauce,  flavoured oils......all so easy to do yourself. 

This morning I spent a bit of time in the kitchen doing all of the above plus starting a batch of lime pickle - for those who like Indian food and buy lime pickle it's easy and quickish.  Day 1 chop the limes and add salt.  Day 4 add ground spices.  Day 8 bottle.  Basically that's it but the real recipe is here  along with a few other easy to do  chutney ideas.

And that's it,  rant over.  Sorry for that.

But the sun is out - or was earlier - the sky is/was blue,  the water was lovely and warm once I'd escaped from the kitchen and went for a much needed swim and as far as I can see the forecast is good.  

Off now for a much needed very large glass of wine.  Plus to stop Pip barking,  there are Scops owls out  in the hills hooting and she is barking back at them.