12:34:56 on 07/08/09: Attempt #2


Lunch was a little later than usual for us today, which is why I'm showing you an ingredient instead of the finished result for my 12:34:56 on 07/08/09 photo. I went to my local supermarket late yesterday afternoon and hit a rich seam of bargains in the greengrocery section and I've been frantically processing my spoils ever since. My haul included:
  • the pictured 6 small avocados - just right for a spot of guacamole for today's lunch with some of Tracey Smith's delicious rubbish flatbreads. I used just half of the avocados today; the rest need ripening to give us lunch for another time. Putting them in a paper bag with an apple for a couple of days should do the trick. In the spirit of Tracey's flatbread recipe - and when I saw her at Corsham festival in June - I also used up some very floppy carrots in the bread mixture!
  • 5 x 150g bundles of asparagus. 1 bundle is for tonight's tea - asparagus and new potato frittata with salad - the rest I preserved in oil just like I've seen done in Spain with surplus produce
  • A large bag of pears - some have been poached in red wine for tonight's tea and the rest will be eaten as snacks
  • 1 small punnet of lychees. NAH always cooks a curry on a Thursday, so in the best tradition of my childhood visits to Indian restaurants with my dad, we had them after last night's curry. They just needed peeling and de-stoning for an instant luxurious dessert
  • A massive cauliflower from the local grower promotion stand. I love cauliflower and NAH hates them: that's why I don't grow brassicas up at the plot. I've made and frozen loads of cauliflower cheese ready for me to guzzle when NAH's away at the end of the month
I rather like the bargains section, not only for its value - all these items were half price i.e. I paid less than a fiver for the lot - but it also shakes me out of my cooking rut from time to time. I find it's rather good to buy something different to usual and ask yourself, what shall I do with this then? I usually tackle my shopping the other way round: starting with a list of meals and then the ingredients I need to make them a reality. As a result we tend to have a lot of the same things, even though we do eat well and healthily.
What were you doing at 12:34:56 today? Do tell me in the comments below, or better still leave me a link to your post about it. Have a look here for what I was doing for attempt #1 - 12:34:56 on July 8th - the same numerical sequence as today for those of you using American date notation.

Comments

  1. Helen/patientgardener7 August 2009 at 13:54

    Hi - done my 12:34 post here http://patientgardener.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/7-august-2009-123456/

    ReplyDelete
  2. HappyMouffetard7 August 2009 at 13:58

    I stupidly forgot to take my camera down the plot. Great idea, VP. I was almost certainly being stung by nettles weeding at the allotment.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Constant Gardener7 August 2009 at 14:20

    ooooh I remembered! there are still some brain cells left!

    My post is here so you now know how interesting my life is. Not. I was in the garden pruning gooseberries 10 minutes later though!

    I too am an intrepid bargain hunter at the local supermarket... 5pm on a Thursday is great down our local Budgens as they clear out the stock just before the weekend rush ;D

    ReplyDelete
  4. Deb@carrotsandkids.com7 August 2009 at 15:45

    Yay, we actually did this! Amazing that I remembered.

    See our efforts here http://www.carrotsandkids.com/2009/08/what-we-were-doing-at-123456-on-7809.html (I don't think that will work as a link, sorry, have no idea how to do that in comments).

    ReplyDelete
  5. Linda7 August 2009 at 16:23

    I was asleep at the actual moment, but here's the nearest I could get. Fun idea!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Elizabeth Musgrave7 August 2009 at 16:40

    Your list of what you have done with your haul is inspiring. I am so struck by the frittata I may have to have one for supper tonight!
    I was taking bread out of the oven, avoiding stepping on the cat while doing so, letting the phone ring unanswered and saying hello to a friend coming in through the door for lunch.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Elizabeth Musgrave7 August 2009 at 17:04

    Oh dear, have just understood from an Artist's Garden that this was supposed to be a photograph. Sorry, must try to concentrate.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Gerald (Ackworth born)7 August 2009 at 18:05

    Well I was reminded about this on anther forum but around noon I popped out to the local sandwich shop to get backed potatoes for lunch and then promptly forgot about the date until I was reminded by seeing this

    Well next month how about a photo at 09:09:09 09/09/09 which will be the same time in America too!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Karen - An Artist's Garden7 August 2009 at 21:47

    Hi VP,
    Wow what a great haul you got at the supermarket, you are right about needing a shake from time to time to get out of a cooking rut. I could do with one of those.

    My post is up - fortunately I was working in my favorite garden and it was a beautiful day :)

    I am so glad you did this meme.

    Word verification is
    musticke - which sounds rather fun

    my post is up
    http://www.artistsgarden.co.uk/2009/08/07/7th-august-2009-at-123456/

    Have a great weekend
    K

    ReplyDelete
  10. Weeping Sore7 August 2009 at 22:27

    What was I doing at 12:334.56 today? Arguing with my spouse about the camera's auto focus as he tried to snap a pic of the atomic clock at that very moment. He missed. Tempus fugit and all that...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Juliet7 August 2009 at 23:01

    I was balancing a camera in one hand and a clock in the other, but I didn't actually manage to get a photo of myself doing it ;)

    My post is here

    WV is unkent, which sounds like a messy-looking person who no longer lives in the south east - that would be me then.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Jill-O8 August 2009 at 01:36

    Thanks for letting me participate. I would love to do this again on a regular basis. My post is at: http://jellyfishbay.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/capturing-a-moment/

    It's weird that I checked my watch at exactly the correct moment.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jill-O8 August 2009 at 03:59

    Ooops, it didn't paste correctly: I'm at
    http://jellyfishbay.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/capturing-a-moment/

    Sorry

    ReplyDelete
  14. Jill-O8 August 2009 at 04:03

    Okay, for some reason, the "g" keeps getting cut off. I'm trying one more time.
    http://jellyfishbay.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/capturing-a-moment

    ReplyDelete
  15. Karen8 August 2009 at 04:38

    Hi VP - Glad you got some bargains, avocadoes (the organic ones) cost $3 each at the moment here, too much for guacamole. My post is up, has nothing to do with gardening, but it's where I was at the time. Thanks for doing this, it was fun to capture that little moment!

    http://greenwalks.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/a-moment-in-time/

    ReplyDelete
  16. Juliet8 August 2009 at 21:11

    Hi again VP! I think from what you and Linda said on my blog, I've inadvertently given you the impression that I missed the actual second. I didn't miss it - I did actually take a photo at 12.34.56! I've added a comment to my blog to clarify which one it was.

    What I meant in my earlier comment here was that I took a photo of what I was looking at, not a photo of what I was doing ... in order to get a photo of what I was doing, I'd have needed someone else with a camera taking a photo of me taking a photo ...

    ReplyDelete
  17. Maggi8 August 2009 at 22:06

    My post should now be there. the moment was a bit dull, but it leads to something more interesting, I hope.

    http://web.me.com/intrepid_explorer

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anna8 August 2009 at 22:35

    We had all four eyes on the road at the time desparately looking for signs for Tiverton Parkway so no chance to take a photo :( Some real bargains there VP . I will be trying out the frittata recipe which sounds quite delicious - I cook them quite often using a Remoska - our best buy ever from Lakeland Plastics :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. 3c8 August 2009 at 22:46

    I was running to somewhere nice to take a photo - thought I wouldn't get there in time and took a photo of where I happened to be at that moment. Then I got almost to where I was going and took another photo. Then I got to where I was going and took the photo. All three were taken within about thirty seconds of each other so one of them is probably about right. Now I have three photos I don't know what to do with.

    Fairly symbolic of my life, as it turns out!

    ReplyDelete
  20. VP11 August 2009 at 08:18

    Hi everyone. Thanks for taking part, I've been on a visit over at yours and I'm blown away with what you've come up with :)

    I'll do a sum up post later on in the week as well.

    HM - I think I've got something suitable for your comment to go in the wrap-up post too :)

    Elizabethm - I'm rather glad you didn't try to photograph that little lot. I can imagine it would involve dropping the bread and stepping on the cat!

    Ackworth Born - that's a great link and fits in so well with Weeping Sore's comment :)

    Weeping Sore - welcome! That made me chuckle :)

    Jill-O - hello and glad you could make it :D

    Juliet - I think my comment wasn't clear, not what you said in your post. I liked the way you asked us which photo was the one taken at the actual time.

    Maggi - I can't see your contribution over at Intrepid Explorer :( 13th January seems to be your last post...

    Anna - the frittata recipe's equally good with courgettes too. Will include your comment in the summary :)

    3c - I see you've found the solution to your problem - hurray!

    ReplyDelete

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