Our Phili-Pam

Good afternoon Philip. If the food you cook is what you want to eat then what more do you need to learn? Though I'm a purist and the only thing that should adorn fish and chips is a bit of salt, in my very biased opinion. In my day, cookery classes didn't teach anything as useful as cooking a meal, though some of the basic skills like rubbing butter into flour or whipping egg white sometimes come in handy. Lots of foods are done better by the professionals, although family recipes often can't be topped. My specialities are roast dinners, pie fillings (bought pastry), soups and stew. Modifying a shop item can often improve it - eg I just discovered that adding half a Knorr Stock Pot to a tin of chicken in white sauce makes it taste the way it used to when I was a kiddie. On hot buttered or unbuttered toast it's yummy.

Hi Helen, Pam of recent times always bought ready rolled pastry. Oooooooow, stew. I've ordered a saute frying pan with lid, coming with my order tomorrow. Thank you for chatting. Love it.

So it's you buying up the frying pans, Philip. I have decided to replace mine, kept finding ones I wanted and then it would say "out of stock". Quite liked one from Morrisons but have gone for a Tefal from Amazon now. Hope it is as good as it says it is. Supposed to be easy clean. Will believe it when I try it. Enjoy your sausages in your new pan.

You all know the old saying, 'It's never as good as Mum used to make it'. As for the professionals, their secret is to add the secret ingredient they are trying so hard to keep a secret!

My advice for frying pans with lids is to be careful that the condensation doesn't drip into hot oil. Water in hot oil is a mistake you only make once.

That's one of the reasons fire defence in kitchens is towels not water. Thank you Helen. Hope you're new one is ok, Anne.

Philip, if you haven't got one, might I suggest a slow-cooker? They're for far more than stews. I'm making my own kebab meat in one later this week. I'll set it going, go out for a couple of pints and come home to the wonderful smell, and taste, of fresh kebab meat. Best of all, it's a fraction of the price you pay in the local kebab shop.

Another thing I find very useful, Philip, I have a halogen oven, one with a see through bowl and a hinged lid. I hardly ever use my oven. So much can be cooked in it, roast, grill. Lots of things I make 2 of, freeze one and then reheat in the halogen. Cauliflower cheese, cottage pie, etc. A bit cheaper than heating the whole oven.

Hi Anne, Pam's sister has a halogen which she uses all of the time. I'm a very slow learner, so much so that until my grandson gave me my certificate of doing four sausages together, I wasn't qualified to have a new frying pan that can fit eight in. Now, whilst that is silly, tongue in cheek, it does speak volumes for my confidence with new scenarios. Once I am able to feel confident doing all basic cookery, not just dinners & cold sweets, with your authority, I may be able to reach level 3, which lifts above pots & pans. Hey, I like that. Love you & thank you. ps, No subs or missing items on my Morrison's order due here at eight. Wayne in the Hot Dog van!

Philip, have you ever tried my personal favourite for breakfast, freshly baked bread. Years ago we used to make our own but eventually the kneading became a chore so we invested in a bread maker which takes all the hard work out of it. If you set it to bake the bread overnight you are awakened to the glorious smell of the still warm bread throughout the house. The trick is to try not to eat it all in one go. You can buy some good bread mixes, my favourite being cheese and onion - to borrow one of your words - brill!

Soda bread can be made almost 'on demand'. No kneading, no proving, what's not to like?

Hi to you both, I have made soda bread some time ago, in fact I was having a go at so many things, but whilst Pam was here, I could ask her anything. That's my weakness, having the confidence to do things. So it's an add on learning curve for me. I like soda bread with a fried egg on it. I will venture eventually, but bit by bit as I gain confidence. Thank you both.

Hi all, IT'S FRIDAY!! The happy day, yet Friday is the official day for bad news to be issued. I'm so content with my own affairs, my unhappiness is thinking about the plight of others who are suffering. That makes me sad. I'm so glad that I didn't splash out or let Pam SPLASH out £12k on a new organ for me a few years back, or me SPLASH out £7k a couple of months ago, when they are now £5k less a generous allowance on my existing EL90, that doesn't work. I'm in no hurry. Money doesn't guarantee happiness. Last week I was offered a very, very lucrative contract to sort out a corporate business's bereavement service. When I say lucrative, I was stunned to the point of being numb. That would blow my vision issue to smithereens, so that is a definite no. I'm paying a fortune in tax as it is! It was such a nice man in his Welsh office too. Besides, I'm doing lunch for my best sister-in-law today. That's more like it. On a serious note, say F-sharp, one of the big changes in society, is the rational method of thinking, now tick-box rather than reasoning. That comment could go in the retirement topic for another day, maybe a wet day. Monday might be a wet day. Good day all.

Ahhh, the dilemma of expensive tech today or cheap tech next year... or the next... I try to split the difference.

Hi all, hi Helen, Six weeks ago tonight, Pam spent the last night in her home. Doesn't time fly. Getting used to being on my own will be my issue, but I have puss. Asleep most of the time. I'm still not much into tele, I never really was since I was twelve. I'm taking my time with any new organ, I need to know for sure. I had time after feeding Pam's sister today, to watch for cloud funnels. That's it, I will join the funnel watching society. Hold on, I'm not lonely, I've had four visitors today. It's adjusting to being single that will take its time. It's possible to be lonely in a crowd. During hospitalization in the fifties & sixties, visiting hours were very strict. One half hour in the week plus a whole one hour on Sunday afternoon. When mums had all gone at four, you could hear a pin drop. Nobody said a word for hours. That was loneliness. Maybe I'm prepared by past experiences.