Community, Kitchen Tables, and Fund Raising

Sunday saw our Community Day at church. We had a visiting preacher, excellent worship from Ariki, and a Hog Roast. Roarke went early to help set up and to run the barbeque for the children. Samuel went early (having of course lost an hour's sleep due to the clocks changing) as he was helping in ROCK for both services. I had the opportunity to serve with the others on the catering team in serving people their food.

All in all it was a great day, and the weather held!

Jonathan spent the morning with his Nan, which meant that we could all serve without anyone having to watch out for him and meant his Nan got to see him.

Josh and Samuel got to go bowling in Orpington with some dozen or more other teenagers in our group this week, and it sounds like they all had fun. They also had a really good evening with some of the young people in their life group last night.

Trying to find things for William to do whilst the others are out is often hard. When they went bowling we went to buy him a game for his computer, but then when we got home we found the graphics card on his laptop isn't up to it, so he still can't play it. Poor William :-(

Two more Freecyle triumphs this week have been an ikea chair - in exactly the right blue to match the other living room furnishings - which Jonathan has claimed as his own, and today a lovely play kitchen that we collected from a house in the next road along from us! Jonathan said "thank you Mummy and Daddy - this is the best thing ever!" His little face was a real picture :-)

I made schnitzel for the first time this week and everyone love them, so that is now going on the regular family meal list.

Thinking of that, these are our regular meals that I select from every week (depending on what is on offer at Sainsburys!). Perhaps you could share your list?

• lasagne
• pasta bake
• cheesy chicken pasta
• chilli
• bolognaise
• shepherds pie
• chicken pies
• pork schnitzel :-)
• pork tenderloin
• toad in the hole
• sausages and onion gravy
• roast chicken
• chicken in a wine sauce (sometimes a jar, sometimes home made)
• mustard pork
• roast beef (rarely)
• paella
• nasi goreng
• fish pie
• risotto - might be prawn & pea, mushroom, chicken
• fish and chips
• fish with hollandaise sauce
• chicken curry

Of course sometimes there are days when the boys have chicken burgers, chicken kievs or chicken nuggest (Josh has normal, the others have gluten free), but honestly that is probably only once a fortnight.

On Tuesday I was out most of the day on a seminar about social enterprises, which I attended on behalf of our church. I came home very fired up!

The potatoes that our gardening group planted from the Potato Council are through, as are the cabbage, leek, lettuce, coriander, chilli and garlic. The cold snap seems to have slowed things down though this week :-(

Having lived here since May - surrounded by woodland and the like - we have been amazed to have not seen a single squirrel (a huge problem at my Mum's house). This week, within hours of putting up a bag of peanuts for the birds, they were in our garden! The pigeons have also arrived to pick over the dropped sunflower seeds.... I love birds and I want more in our garden but I don't want the pigeons!

Things I've baked this week, other than more of the fabulous bread, included iced chelsea buns
Talking of cooking, if you love food, loving cooking, baking, and talking about food/swapping recipes, please join my new Facebook group, the Kitchen Table!

Talking of links, the most importan one on this page is THIS LINK to sign up to sponsor Roarke in the London Triathlon, to raise much needed funds to continue feeding, clothing and helping those in desperate need in the Borough of Bromley.