Ireland day 1137. Friday 08 November 2024- Cooking

Today’s summary	Val was meeting friends for coffee in the morning then at work in the afternoon and evening. So I spent the morning on a long video call with a friend in the UK then much of the rest of the day shopping then cooking casseroles to keep us going for the next few days. Once that was done, I spent another hour or so on Spanish homework and managed to fit in a short walk in the early evening. Val back just before 10.
Today’s weather	Grey and gloomy with a little drizzle in the afternoon. Light south easterly wind. Appx 13 c

Today’s overview location (The grey mark shows the location of my route)		Close-up location (The orange line shows where I walked) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): End of the Day Escape

Commentary

In many respects, today was a re-run of yesterday.

First off, Val was back at work – though today she left a bit early, in mid-morning, to catch up with some friends for coffee before heading off to the castle for Wonderlights. And then, again with echoes of yesterday, later in the morning I embarked on a video catch up with another friend – this time in the UK – and in the end we spent two and a half hours chatting and putting the world to rights.

Once we had signed off, I got a quick lunch then went to the shops to complete the latest round of grocery purchases. Eventually, armed with bags full of ingredients, I hiked back to the flat and spent much of the afternoon turning chunks of raw meat and huge unwashed carrots into something resembling lamb casserole and pork casserole. I eventually finished everything and got them in the oven for a long slow cook at about 5pm. I reckon that I give then until about 11pm at 130c, then leave them in the switched-off oven overnight to finish off, they should be done nicely by the morning. Then they can be put on the balcony outside to start chilling before I decide what to do with them next.

Next on my list of jobs was part 2 of Spanish homework. So I spent a good hour trying to write a story in colloquial Spanish. I eventually managed to concoct something, with a lot of help from Google Translate, it has to be said, though I am not sure how much of it I will remember in the longer term.

Eventually I managed to get it all done, by which time it was fully dark and not particularly appealing outside. Still, I felt in serious need of fresh air and I thought that if Val can spend all afternoon and evening outside I ought at least to be able to manage it for a few minutes. So I headed off, did our short “Hanlons Lane and Marina” circuit and was back at the flat by about 7:30pm.

Once back, I prepared and started cooking some roast potatoes to go with the casseroles, then eventually found time to reheat some of last night’s beef casserole and settle down to some dinner. I did of course keep some to one side for Val when she gets back, doubtless ravenous, at about 10 o’clock!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Swans floating serenely in the Broadmeadow lagoon. A calm and surprisingly mild night	Malahide marina looking very like that in San Sebastian apart from the lack of blue sky, warm air and sunshine!





Complete casseroling! Lamb on top, pork below.