The Nutroast
I like to make our Christmas dinner early as being vegetarian we don’t eat turkey. This year once again DH made our nutroast. It is a more elaborate nutroast that we have for Christmas, a recipe that my daughter found years ago from the pages of good old Woman’s Weekly.
Not only does it have to freeze well but it has to be transportable if we are dining elsewhere on Christmas day and this year we will be at my sister’s, I think, though we haven’t actually had a direct invite from her, but my daughter tells me she is expecting us. Let’s hope that is right and we are not a surprise when we turn up.
Each year I say to DH don’t cook the nutroast too long as we will have to reheat it, but I fear it might just be a touch too cooked, never mind it will still taste good and even better as he made it.
Today, we went supermarket grocery shopping. It is getting noticeably busier on each visit now and the carpark much fuller and there is a bit of a scramble to secure a place, not quite carpark rage but a lot of honking of horns and near misses.
We didn’t need to buy much of anything for the week’s menu plan, mainly all the fresh chiller foods and vegetables, so I made use of all the Nectar offers and stocked up a bit on anything reduced like the coffee and butter; these are such expensive items now.
I also had to pop into town to get a birthday card for my younger daughter for the weekend and look for a small gift to go with the money we will give her. I had a quick look in TK Max for something for her and saw a ‘possible’ that I might go back for later in the week. I had a quick look at their Christmas bits and pieces as they get some quite unusual things.
DH likes having a mooch around there too. He doesn’t generally like shopping but insists on going. I wanted to get some nougat for him for his stocking but today he stuck to me like glue and I could not shake him off long enough to go and buy some without him noticing.
It isn’t often he sees something he likes, but he showed me a set of four rather lovely little ridged flutes in quite a solid glass – quite inexpensive and they would be ideal for a kind of knickerbocker glory style dessert. I wasn’t going to say no to them as I like them too and I am already thinking of what I might serve in them.
I found some rather fun decorations for the tree too, brightly coloured iced biscuits (or are they cookies I am not sure of the difference). Not that we really need any more decor. I might split them between myself and my daughters.
I do like tissue paper to wrap presents in and TK Max and Homesense have had some lovely printed ones and this stocking design is great for the grandchildren’s presents.
And the calendar is so much fun – I will definitely be making one next year and might even see if they will appeal on the coffee morning craft stall.
Tomorrow is our visit to Mrs Gaskell’s house…can’t wait.
Back soon X
wherethejourneytakesme2.blog 
Would you share your recipe for the nut roast? It looks delicious!
I am really enjoying your blog posts.
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Your nut roast looks lovely. Would you be able to add the recipe to your recipes page?
I’ve read you blog intermittently over the years and seem to have missed what happened to your cottage in Scotland. I know you had the terrible flood and spent a long time trying to sort it out. Although I’m in Cornwall now, I lived near Kirkcudbright for 6 years, so enjoyed hearing about your cottage along the coast.
Jane
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I have a few recipes to add…it is one of those tasks that I never get to. I will make a big effort in the next couple of days. As for our lovely cottage, I will put the post link on my next post, which will be later today or perhaps tomorrow so you can read the story.
It is a nice nutroast with a mix of nuts and has brown rice rather than breadcrumbs, though you can use breadcrumbs.
I miss going up there and especially places like Kirkudbright, but our circumstances with my mum has made it not an option to move.
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You bought some lovely items. I love the advent calendar, you are so talented. Enjoy your day at Mrs Gaskell’s house, I look forward to hearing about it. (Johnnyjumpsup)
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Not much talent went into the advent calendar, anyone could make one. I even though a large card or a Christmas bag with a Christmas picture on it would be a good starting point and cut little doors out of that instead of blank coloured card.
The house was all I had hoped for, but will have to post about it tomorrow.
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I am not vegetarian though I eat much less meat than I used to. I will be making a nut roast to mark the Solstice which I have started celebrating as well as Christmas.
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Will you be serving it at exactly 3.30pm? We should celebrate, all the changing seasons are very important although Winter is undoubtedly the toughest.
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I rarely serve anything at an exact time :D but marking the low point of the year makes sense to me.
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Like my Christmas dinner, when I have to make it…aim for 1 o’clock and it might be ready before 3!
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I’m cooking a ham to take to daughter’s on Boxing Day. They are at in-laws on the Day as MIL has Alzheimer’s and they are going whilst she still knows them all. I am waiting for a couple of presents to arrive via Royal Mail and then apart from eats I’m done. I’ve tried to wrap everything as its arrived.
I’ve got granddaughter everything on the list she gave me, plus added some books from a set she is reading. For the foster baby I’ve bought one touchy feely book and The Wheels on the Bus.
I might have a go at making an Advent Calendar next year, the one I was bought is Maltesers (my fav), but they don’t taste the same. Take Care. Xx Gill
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I hope MIL has a lovely Christmas with the family. You sound like you have Christmas all sorted. I need a bit of a review now and maybe adjust some of the days a bit. X
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