Yesterday afternoon I decided to re-arrange a couple of the kitchen food cubpoards around, this was after we came home from shopping but I just wasnt happy with the way I had re-arranged them.  So in the evening about 8pm I decided to re-arrange them again of which I didn't think I would be very long.  So there I was with kitchen equipment, storage boxes, and various other bits and pieces all over the floor, the kitchen counters full of food items.  We then had a visitor around 9pm and as we don't use the front door, visitors come in through the back door, so I was a little embarrased at the state of the kitchen but not a lot I could do. 

Anyways, 2 hours later, I havent finished but I have managed to get a couple of cupboards the way I wanted them.  What started this, was the shelf I had in our tall food cupboard was not big enough for all the baking items I had, and it was a mess.  I needed more space, so I moved the baking cupboard (not literally :lol)  to the top shelf of a  much larger cupboard.On the bottom shelf of the same cupboard I have put all the tinned goods, bottled goods and excess food items for overflow.

I will try and post some photos tomorrow or Thursday.  By the time I had finished this evening it was around 10pm and my poor DH had gone up to play a game on the computer and didn't realise (a) what the time was or (b) that I could be that mad to start sorting out cupboards at such a late time.  I have to say that at times, when I get a "bee in my bonnet" to do something then I need to get it done and quite often asap but this doesn't always work out :lol

This morning we went to Marks & Spencers and Tescos (two stores in a local town) so that I could purchase some more storage jars/containers for the kitchen.  I have various packets of flour, different varieties of rice and other items that I have decided need to be in containers. I will either sort this out tonight otherwise perhaps tomorrow evening.

I think DH gets a little exasperated with me as he can never find anything in the kitchen as I do move things around & Sunday should be interesting as he is cooking a special meal for us.  He is not exactly going to be able to find anything.  I will try not to move the cupboards around after I have finished but at leas the kitchen will be nicely & properly organised

This morning we went shopping & after yesterday's email we did end up just under our budget but that was without purchasing any meats or fresh produce for this month.  I guess the overall shopping bill for this month will be nearer $300.  I really do need to try and go shopping without my DH :lol as we did pick up a few extra items.

This is a photo of the main bulk of shopping we purchased:

and then I bought a bottle of Kombucha from the Organic food store. I am going to try and make my own Scoby for this but I do need to get the recipe again from Candy over at Keeping The Home. I have heard so many benefits regarding Kombucha that I am eager to give this a try.

I have kind of reorganised the baking part of my pantry and moved everything across to another double cupboard (much to my DH's consternation).  I am not totally happy and I think I am going to have to reorganise some of the cupboards again.  The top shelf of the pantry is very difficult to reach anything so I may store itmes that we are not using very often that are just sitting around in another kitchen cupboard.  I could make use of this space for my baking area but I will see.

This afternoon has been busy especially, Andrew was home this morning so we popped into town. I decided to make some bread after lunch, this was a new recipe that I had not tried before and I have to say this is the best bread I have ever made.  I have made Hoagies, & Parker House Rolls which have been fine but this is the first time that my bread has turned out perfectly - this is all thanks to Crystal's basic bread recipe. I adapted it a little and used 4 cups of strong wholemeal bread flour plus 5 cups of plain (all purpose) flour.  The bread was crusty on the outside and soft inside - just delicious.

I then made five small mixed fruit crumbles for the freezer.  The fruit I used were apples, pears, red currants & raspberries. I also made an apple & cinammon cake,  then finally I made 2 pints of yoghurt.

Thursdays I have decided is now my baking day and I am looking forward to trying out more new recipies.

At the weekend I made a pineapple upside down cake with jelly (jello) which you pour over the cake when it has cooled.  I made some holes all over the cake whilst still in the dish, made the jelly and let this cool slightly before slowly pouring over the cake until the cake absorbs the jelly.  I made 3/4 pint of jelly.  The cake went into the fridge for a few hours before I turned it out of the dish - with the jelly added the cake is deliciously moist and very moorish.

Here is a photo - I cut into it so you could get some idea of what it looks like inside.

Just before I started baking I decided to wear an apron that I hadn't worn for awhile and this was one that I purchased from Lilies Of The Field and I love these aprons.  When I went downstairs, Andrew just started laughing quietly as he wondered what on earth I was wearing.  I don't think he has seen aprons like this anyways, after awhile he kind of calmed down. I think he prefers me in my normal apron but I do love these ones and will be wearing these more often especially as I have a couple.

Well, I need to go and have an early night where I will hopefully sleep well. I slept better last night which was good.  I need to be alert for 7am tomorrow morning which is when I start my job working from home. My hours tomorrow are 7am - mid-day.  I am a littler nervous and praying that everything goes well.

Have a blessed evening

Well today has not been overly busy and the weather wasn't brilliiant until around 3ish this afternoon it brightened up enough for washing to be hung outside and dried - so that was good.

Saturday I tried another of Crystal's recipies which was Hoagie Rolls and I was quite pleased with the result - even though they were not evenly sized but hey ho! Andrew had a couple of cheese and tomato Hoagie filled rolls for lunch today.  Also on Saturday, I made Tri-Berry Muffins which was a Barefoot Contessa recipe, again, these turned out really yummy.  I have frozen a lot of the muffins and rolls but I will have to make some more as they won't last very long.

Menu Planner

4^th – 10^th May

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
S U N		These Will Vary Between Soups, Salads, Fruit/Nuts Or Sandwiches/ Crackers	Ham Egg & Chips
M O N			Andrew Cooking “Page” Dinner
T U E S			Page’s Birthday Meal
W E D			Fish Pie W/Vegetables
T H U R			Vegetarian Bake With Rice
F R I			Chicken Fajitas
S A T			Going to friends For Dinner

Menu Planner

7^th – 13^th April

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
M O N	Muesli	I don’t often eat lunch	Baked Thai Red Chicken Curry with rice
T U E	Muesli	“	Baked Potatoes with cheese
W E D	Yoghurt with Jam	“	Gillard of Lamb Breast, roast potatoes Green Beans