A Single Life | Food Glorious Food

Firstly, thanks for your comments on part 1 - as it has become. It’s lovely that so many of you found it interesting and encouraged I’ve been at it again. I expect the frequency will decrease as get through what I want to say but anyway, here goes

If there’s one thing about my new single life that holds no fear it’s domestic chores. Ok, I’m no domestic Goddess and give me plenty of notice if you’re coming around, but during our time together we both played our part. In the early days when Trev was taxi driving he’d have Saturday off but go in early Sunday morning hoping for juicy Heathrow or similar and could earn a days money in a few hours. I’d use the time to do the housework - ensuring my already ageing Technics Hi-Fi was given a good workout. The joys of living in a detached property. Down on the south coast at various times we both done our bit - most recently Trev had more free time so generally he did the lions share. My working pattern normally gives me most of Wednesday off - the morning and evening school run aside - and that’s when I plan to get caught up. There will obviously be less laundry to do to but I did think sleeping first one side of the bed then the other is probably a step to far in trying to save some  washing!

There was a couple of areas in which we didn’t cross over so much and the first is to my advantage - money. When we bought our first house together we decided to put everything in my name - although Trev’s bankruptcy had expired by then we just thought it best. Since then I’ve handled the bills, saved when we could and generally made our hard earned go as far as possible. I’d seek out the best deals for internet, utilities and so on. Neither of us were great wage earners but by keeping costs low we were able to enjoy lots of holidays as some of you heard at the funeral. Of course there’s only one income now but costs don’t halve - the service charges on the flat remain the same and I ain’t going to heat just one half of the lounge! More careful management though and I’ll be fine - and Patsy will still get regular use.

Something that is proving more of a challenge - and one that I’m actually quite enjoying is food. Trev used to do virtually all the cooking. I don’t recall why it started like that but it worked quite well - as a cabbie he’d start early but finish early so there’d be something on the table soon after I got in. In those early days our menu didn’t vary much - in fact the weekly shop was almost identical. When Trev packed in worked after the heart failure was diagnosed he did start experimenting more and was cooking stuff from scratch. Nothing fancy but it did me and I was always grateful for having a meal on the table.

The pattern continued when we moved down south - the only time it varied was when we were both doing school runs and not getting in until after seven in the evening - then he used to cook at lunchtime. Later when he became caretaker he was always home earlier and had the chance to grab a kip before preparing dinner for when I got home.

Since I’ve got home I’ve been managing largely  on ready meals - and have been happy enough to do that while I get myself sorted. I’ve tried to pick the lower fat options as one thing I really need to do is shift a bit of weight. Trouble is though one is never quite enough - I have a very healthy appetite, due partially no doubt to his lordship who never worried too much about portion control.

My working pattern means that I’m out of the house for a large part of the day and don’t want to be sitting down to eat too late, particularly when I need to get up so early. So I’ve been thinking back to the four years in the mobile home and what I used to eat. I was no chef but never went hungry and one of favourites was spaghetti Bolognese. Ok, it was using a jar of sauce but I’d occasionally chuck something else in for a bit of variety. With this in mind, this weekend  I cooked up two lots of mince and made up three portions each of beef chilli and bolognese for the freezer. This weekend the slow cooker is coming out and I’m pondering some sort of casserole and maybe a curry. The nearby carvery will get the benefit of my custom once a week and perhaps the chippy too. There’s plenty more to look at but I’ll always make sure there’s something quick in the fridge and I won’t go hungry - my belly won’t let me!