Chicken Pie, Kindle and Books

I love it that I'm cooking again after five months of not wanting to eat or cook after my gastric bypass.  Although I will not necessarily eat this, at least I am interested in food enough again to enjoy thinking about, preparing and cooking it.  This evening I made the pie filling for one of the boys' meals over their Christmas stay.  I think I will top one with mashed potato sprinkled with cheese and one with pastry. 

In the pan are pre-fried bacon bits and chicken which I have cut into bite sized pieces, lightly cooked leeks, carrots, one grated garlic clove, a few chopped sprigs of parsley, salt and freshly ground black pepper.  For the sauce, I cheat and use two sachets of chicken and leek soup powder which is mixed with a little of the water which the carrots and a little of the water which the leeks were cooked in.  Before I was lactose intolerant I would have added cream as well.  I divided the mixture into the two small casserole dishes and when cool put them in the fridge.  I will take them out and freeze them tomorrow morning.

I have also arranged enough food for the cats over the festive season.

They will also enjoy bits of duck, chicken, gammon, sausages, prawns and salmon I expect, as those are the things I have planned for their humans.

Daisy is already waiting for her treats  - it's a hard life being a cat in my house. 

The Christmas cards are coming in slowly this year - only sixteen so far.  I trimmed my list a year or so ago, as so many cards that I sent and received were from people with whom I had no other contact and it all seemed a bit pointless.  I feel I have got my list right this year and I have decided to give presents to family only.  It's difficult to get presents to friends back in England without spending a fortune on postage and I don't want to start doing presents over here.  I think I prefer to give to friends for birthdays and keep Christmas a family affair.

The children have bought me a Kindle and I have already been downloading free books which sounded worth having.  I am really looking forward to seeing it and have just ordered a blue leather case for it. 

Books are really what I like, but I have so many, far too many the children think and they are not so subtly trying to wean me off the printed page.   I shall never give up buying books, as I think there is something very special about having an actual book in my hands.  I enjoy searching through shelves of secondhand paperbacks in charity shops and would never stop buying in them.  Also some books, are designed to be looked at full size and in original form, such as recipe books, craft books where pictures are heavily relied upon.  I may though, sort through all the shelves here and try to eliminate some of the older, tattier and less beguiling books with a view to passing them on.

Three things I like:

1.   Guacamole with chilli bits.

2.   The rabbit gate has been repaired by my worker - great!

3.   I may soon have a working electric garage door - fingers crossed.