It’s been a long time.  Too long, I think, much too long.

Be prepared for more, coming your way very very soon.

New computer is coming, making it much easier for me to work this blog.  Much easier to work with the good camera, photo editing. Anyone want movies?  Polls?  Will do if you please!

Stay tuned: Big re-opening in 4 weeks!

Things hve been in a large amount of termoil for me, over the past months.

BP and I have not been working and went our separate ways at the end of January.

Then, almost immediately, a winter’s fresher’s flu took me.  I was in hopsital, bored and stressing over my course.

Net result:  I’m now single, and the doctors have placed me on a specital diet: zero fruit and veg, minimal fibre, multi-vitamin drink.

So, I’m readjusting to thinking alone and carefully watching everything I’m eating, until the dieticin reviews my case at the end of the month.

I know I’ve been gone for what seems like an age, but I’m returning to the world of blogging in a regular way.

BP and I have survived the lean times, managed to set up Internet (harder than you’d believe!), and settled into some sort of rhythm that allows for leisure activities.

I wouldn’t be surprised if some of you assumed I was no longer a student?  A logical conclusion.

My largest opponent would be the lack of Internet, after that a small number of personal stresses.

But, after all that, I am glad to announce my return.  Please contribute to the following poll at any time in order to influence my future bloggings!

Apologies to all checking this blog, but updates will start again as soon as possible.
BP and I are facing “The Lean Times”.

We’ve moved into our new flat, using its heat/light/electricity, paying its bills, with Student Loan yet to arrive in our accounts.  It’s like trying to live on nothing.

We’ve some money from overdrafts and previous savings – but still we are trying to be very very frugal.

Meals are cut back, lights and taps used sparingly.  There is no telephone and hence no internet.
However, updates will return once I return to University, and the flat will have internet soon

Picking up the keys yesterday, I got my first look at the new flat BP chose for us both.

After months of being told “Remember it’s small” (I didn’t go to view it – bad me), I was pleasantly surprised with it.  It’s homely, it’s comfortable.

The only room that was smaller than I would like is the kitchen.  Now, just because I believe “the bigger the kitchen the better”, has nothing to do with it.  This is very small.  There is a hob/oven, washing machine, sink, fridge/freezer (with microwave on top) and a coffee table and no room for anything else.

However, the bedrooms are nice and big, and everything just seems so grand.  There isn’t a place that’s perfect, so there’s always some “work-arounds” to be done.  We can’t wait to start living in it, putting our stuff in and making the place feel ours.

Ok, my major plans for this week are to move in to the new flat.  Those moving into halls will not be moving in until later, other flats will be soon.  So, here’s planning this week – time, food and activities.

Saturday : Packing!
Breakfast of cereal and milk; snacks of crisps/nectarine;
lunch (leftover from last week, after I spent most of it at BP’s) of salmon with spicy couscous;
dinner (last week again) of mushroom tagliatelle.
Trying to pack the important stuff today.

Sunday : More packing!
breakfast of cereal and milk; snacks as crisps/nectarine/ice cream;
lunch of chicken noodles (a leftover chicken dish adapted from Ainsley’s Meals in Minutes);
dinner of chicken pitta (a lunchbox dish from last week).
Finish the packing this day – it takes away pressure later.

Monday : Rest, collecting keys in the evening.

breakfast of cereal and milk; snacks of crisps/nectarine/crackers+cream cheese;
lunch of brekkie pasta (from last week), with some mushrooms to use them up;
dinner of lunchbox – crispbreads with sandwich paste, rice pudding and a banana.
Collecting keys in the evening, and walking around the flat with the estate agent to make sure it’s clean and livable – there can be some nasty surprises sometimes – beware!  Staying over in Manchester, hence the lunchbox in the evening.  Need to shop for crispbreads, sandwich paste, bananas, rice pudding pots, cereal packet and long-life milk.

Tuesday : Back home for dentist appointment.
breakfast of cereal and milk; snacks of cake bar/ice cream;
lunch of lunchbox – crispbread and sandwich paste, rice pudding and a banana;
dinner of mystery meat in sauce.

Wednesday : My moving in day!
breakfast of cereal and milk; snacks of cake/crackers+cream cheese;
lunch of lunchbox – crispbread and sandwich paste, rice pudding and a banana;
dinner of pizza (from frozen box);
Travelling with parents and stuff to the flat arriving mid morning; going to BP’s for his things; shopping trip to Sainsbury’s.  Need to buy cereal, cheese, nectarines, pasta, fajita spice+sauce, chicken breast, pancetta, tortilla wraps, onion, salad pepper.

Thursday:
breakfast of cereal and milk; snacks cake/nectarine/cheese;
lunch of lunchbox – crispbread and sandwich paste, rice pudding and a banana;
dinner of pasta and sauce bake;

Friday :
breakfast of cereal and milk; snacks of cake/nectarine/cheese;
lunch of lunchbox – crispbread and sandwich paste, rice pudding and a banana;
dinner of chicken fajitas (BP’s speciality).

Things are a little unorganised, because of trying to be in two places at once (or so it feels).  It may not work too well because of this, but I have to try.  There will be a nice lot of leftovers to start next week’s planning from.

Here’s a list of the things you will need, so that you can check them off:
(Updated 26/8/08)

General things:

• Clothes (you know what’s right for you - I’d recommend at least 2 weeks worth of clothes, you may only be able to wash them once a week)
• Your washbag (toothbrush, makeup, facewash….)
• Handwash, showergel, shampoo
• Hair care things (brush/comb, gel, etc)
• Hair dryer (if it blows the fuses, send it home again)
• Bedding (duvet+cover, pillow(s)+cover(s), sheets/blankets)
• Toilet roll (many places DO NOT provide this)
• All-purpose cleaner (one for kitchen, bathroom and surfaces) and bleach
• Air freshener
• Bin bags (both big black ones and small-bin-size ones) – you may need a bin, too!
• Bathroom mats
• Laundry basket and clothes drying stand
• Laundry powder/soap

Kitchen things:
Remember to check before you go what equipment you have access to, and what meals are/aren’t served

• Plates, bowls, knives, forks, spoons, glasses, mugs
• Oven trays and pots/pans (muffin and can tins, too?)
• Chopping board (aka ‘Worktop saver’) and mixing bowl
• Can opener and bottle opener
• Cling-film and foil
• Cooking knives, spoons, grater, jug, fish slice
• Tea towels (and oven mitt) - make sure you have enough for when they get dirty
• Kitchen roll and paper napkins
• Household scissor set
• Set of boxes for leftovers (doesn’t have to be expensive)
• Roll of food bags (for leftovers, freezer food, portioning big packs)
• Lunchbox kit (optional, but packed lunches will save you lots of money)
• Sink trap (stops food pieces blocking the sink)
• Washing up liquid and sponges
• A good recipe source or two
• _
• You may find these useful : pizza cutter, egg cup, sieve, rolling pin, egg separator, pastry brush, cookie cutters

Stuff for your studies:

• Computer internet cable (think carefully about the length you want/need)
• Pad of paper
• Pen set (black/blue ballpoints)
• Pencil set with eraser and sharpener
• Stapler and holepunch
• Ring binder (large if you have many modules), dividers, folders
• Clear pencil case (for exams again)

Entertainment:

• Music and player (NOT your huge speakers – there are rules against them)
• DVDs (nothing beats a good film night in)
• Your favourite hobby (you won’t want to give up for 9 months)
• Weigh up taking your games console vs getting it stolen
• Candles (if you are allowed, in case of a power cut, or if you like scented)
• You’ll want some posters (you know you will) – most places provide a pin board, this usually means you aren’t allowed to stick stuff to walls, so use it

This list is subject to be updated.  If you think I have forgotten something, please comment, and I will add it to the list.  Big thanks to anyone who helps in this way.
Have fun packing and moving in to your new accommodation!

Results Day was yesterday, so I guess you all have your A-Level grades by now.
I want to join in congratulating all of you – having been in that position recently, I know how hard you’ve worked.

If you’ve got the grades you wanted, then everything’s as expected, and you just want to be checking the small details for what you’re doing next.

However, those who didn’t do as they needed – don’t panic!!  You’ll need to act a little flexibly, but just relax and don’t stress about it.  Remember that you have worked hard, and you have acheived.  There are University courses available at every entrance level, so you don’t have to miss out on it.

I’d advise you do some celebrating, but also turn your mind to your next step.  University’s more difficult than A-Levels, but you won’t find yourself stretched every way like you may have done in the past two years.  So just enjoy – you have earnt it.

If you’re a new student starting in September, or starting to cook in September, you should consider carefully before buying a recipe book.

The chances are, you want your food to be these four things:  cheap, quick, easy, tasty.

A book labelled student food will probably be considering these things, but the food is often junky and odd.  My student food book turned out to be terrible.  I wouldn’t buy a student food book unless you are sure the food is to your taste exactly.

Other food books often turn out to be bad value for money (themselves, not the food).  You should take a look at the number of recipes inside (ignoring the ones you wouldn’t eat) and weigh that up against the price.  I’m a big fan of Nigella, but her books are quite expensive.  I wouldn’t recommend a book whose cuisine you don’t already enjoy.  Also, you could ask for a good but expensive book as a present, maybe “for good exam results”.

Recipes on the Internet are free, unless you want to print them off.  You will have free Internet access at your University, or will consider it a necessity anyway.  Many blogs, like this one, can offer you advice and experiences, and there are many sites offering recipes.

What I would recommend is a magazine with a variety of recipes for different budgets, situations and cultures.  Some good ones are EasyCook from the BBC and EasyFood, a publication from Ireland; both have price per portion for every recipe published.  The BBC’s Good Food magazine is also good, but a little more complex in recipes and only has a selection of recipes costed.  Others vary by what kind of style you prefer, certainly I consider EasyCook the most student-friendly.
The big advantage with magazines is that while you could get a subscription (or gift subscription), you can buy them when you want them and miss out issues when you don’t want them.

I’ve tried my system, and now it’s time to think of the results.

I spent a little more, on activity lunches, drinks and extra food.

Breakfast: rice cakes with cream cheese on the weekdays; sweetcorn pancakes on the weekend.

Weekday breakfast cost approximately 44p a portion, including glass of milk.  I was surprised to find myself not hungry after such a small (compared to the usual) breakfast.  Probably the effect of the wholegrain rice cakes.
Unfortunately, I really really still can’t make pancakes.  Sweetcorn pancakes were a complete failure.  Recipe coming soon, even still.

Lunchbox (Wednesday to Friday) : bread roll, Brussels pate, piece of Pie D’Angloys cheese, crisps (from halls leftovers), raspberries, cookies, sparkling water.

I found a Pie D’Angloys cheese reduced to half price and the crisps are from a stash leftover from halls.  I chose Thai chilli crunchies, Wheat Crunchies, and SunBites.  Got tired of the raspberries and froze them to use in a cake next week.

Snacks (until Friday) : cookies, nectarine, fromage frais;
Snacks (Saturday onwards) : nectarine, ice cream;
Didn’t feel like I needed the mid-morning cookies, but ate them anyway.  The nectarines were lovely.  Never wanted the fromage frais at all.  Saturday onwards, I was well fed with snacks, and didn’t want a nectarine at home, but loved the bedtime ice-cream.

Wednesday: rice with lardons (from a packet of veg+rice); raspberry basket.

The rice and lardons was a good meal, but I failed to remove all the peas before cooking (I’m very food-phobic about peas), still I enjoyed it, even having to be vigilant.  Unfortunately, the pretty looking raspberry basket tasted wrong.  The toffee of the brandy basket was not marrying with the raspberry flavours.  Pity.

Thursday: brekkie pasta; melon and raspberry salad.

My brekkie pasta works a treat, as I reported earlier.  However, I wasn’t in the mood to make up the fruit salad, so just ate the melon.

Friday: my herb-crusted salmon; cookies and ice-cream dessert.
After BP came over, I had to change my plans and had no time to make the salmon, so had bread with the last portion of Pie D’Angloys.  I made up my dessert later, and it was lovely.

Saturday: couscous salad; fruit sundae.
After not feeling very good this day, I let my portioning slide.
I always love my couscous salad – I add ham, cheese and some veg to leftover couscous, and it’s delicious.  Probably highly salty, but lovely all the same.  However, having missed last night’s salmon, I made up the couscous specially.  Didn’t want my fruit sundae, just had ice-cream snack instead.

Sunday: tomato pasta; nectarine gratin.
Made up a packet of tomato pasta (a leftover of halls), not so gourmet but very nice.  I didn’t leave any for the pasta salad tomorrow (oops).  Getting tired of dessert recipes (not working for me), so just had a nectarine.

Monday: pasta salad; cookies and ice-cream dessert.
There wasn’t any leftover pasta to make pasta salad with, so I ate the leftover couscous salad from Saturday.  Then had ice-cream at bedtime.

Tuesday: salmon and lentils; fruit sundae.
Ooops – forgot to take any salmon out of the freezer!  So I did think I’d just have the lentils as a salad, but then mother offered me half of her trial dinner, frozen fajitas.  It wasn’t very tasty, but it was well edible.

So how’s the system worked?

I’m swapping around some of the themes because I wasn’t liking them so much.
Set desserts are going – to be replaced with a premade dessert selection, so I can choose what I feel like.
Breakfasts will never again contain pancakes, but I’m liking the cooked/uncooked idea so far.
Lunches felt a little too much food, and I spent a long time eating them.  Maybe a couple less elements would be better.  I’ll see how it goes in the next week
My snacks are still great, and I know I need them even if I’m not hungry.  They’re staying as they are.
I decided that if I’m not busy and there are eggs leftover from the previous week, I’ll be baking a cake or the like for my dessert selection.

There’s another meal plan for this week, until I go to London on Monday.  BP and I might also have our picnic on the day we arrive, finding a nice park down there.