#british styley

[clatterbane]

First actual cooking plan in months was a go this evening! 🎉💃🕺💃🎊

So, of course now I'm having a hard time waiting for it to sit a while to soften up more and get yummier. 😅

What I ended up making was sort of a mashup of these basic recipes, in the Instant Pot:

Food for the Fearful: Quick and Easy Instant Pot Rice Pudding - This Northern Gal

This Northern Gal shares a quick and easy recipe for making rice pudding in an Instant Pot

Heavenly Creamy Cinnamon Rice Pudding

An effortless, straightforward recipe for a creamy rice pudding. Cinnamon and sultanas makes it delicious as is but a scoop of ice cream put

Using some raisins, and about 4:1 milk to rice by volume. With a little cream added after it finished cooking.

To get the texture I wanted, this batch got a good stir and an extra 10 minutes on the "rice/risotto" setting after the first slow pressure release--for 30 minutes total cooking under pressure. Longer than expected, but hey. At least it needs no attention/stirring while it's cooking, unlike other methods. With no sticking to the pot!

(This Crock Pot branded knock-off cooker doesn't have a porridge setting after all, or I'd have used that as recommended in the linked recipe. But, it's basically a sweet risotto anyway. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

Planning to finally have some warm with a little vanilla ice cream in a while! Mr. C seemed to enjoy the bowl I gave him before he had to go to bed.

[clatterbane]

[A plate containing dry flaked plain white fish, dry overcooked yet hard frozen peas mashed up, and a bowl of instant mashed potato. None of these items has any detectable seasoning, or enhancements such as butter. The instant potatoes seem to be made with plain water.]

Lunch here was dire enough today that I really should have snacked on something else when I was finished with that. Not even what seasonings I had to add could make those peas edible at all, and I didn't eat much of anything but the fish with some Cajun seasoning.

So yeah, no wonder I wasn't feeling so great after wheeling around outside some then resting a bit, as usual. The lowest measured low so far! 🙃

(And again, if I weren't taking the necessary monitoring into my own hands? Hahaha.)

And, some snacking and a bit of a wait later:

I may test again in another half an hour or so, to make sure it's still fine. Trying pretty hard not to overshoot by too much, as ravenously hungry as I am right now--since I don't have access to the insulin to correct if I do. 😩

But yeah, hopefully next time I will remember to make sure and eat enough for the pre-meal insulin. Even if what they're serving is bad enough so that means hitting my own snack supplies.

Better to do it earlier, than wait until after a blood sugar crash. 🙄

[clatterbane]

Another morning, more hospital grade GF toast as the only breakfast option!

A couple of slices, other identical margarine and jam containers out of the way on the table. Also not shown: the obligatory cup of tea.

[clatterbane]

By today, even the Household Swede is conceding that we have snow! If just.

By my standards too. Looks like maybe a few inches overall, but that's also by nearer "Carolina coast" Snowpocalypse standards locally. First time we've had any that stuck to the ground at all this winter, with none last year.

(It was on the ground yesterday too, but I didn't get out then for any pics/video. Another pre-gastroscopy COVID test this morning, which we only got the time slot for yesterday after I called endoscopy to find out wtf was going on with that. 🙄)

It's actually coming down again right now, and we're supposed to get more tomorrow.

With it forecast as swinging just above freezing here the next couple of afternoons, for that fun "partially melt and then ice up overnight" effect. Kinda glad we got out today when it's been staying just below freezing since the storm started, from previous experience with how the sidewalks get. And me on new wheels! 🧊 ♿ ❄

Not thrilled about feeling temporarily more stuck inside the house, but I'm supposed to be self-isolating between the test and the procedure anyway. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[clatterbane]

This evening's fairly enjoyable but more than a little worrying hospital food adventure: Gluten Roulette Edition!

The food lady did say earlier that I would be getting cottage pie tonight, to be easy to swallow.

More of that same pretty good vegetable soup to start off, as promlsed:

Hello, what is this?!

It looks like hospital standard cottage pie, rather than the prepackaged frozen shit I've been getting.

There also seem to be a lot more vegetables and meat than usual. 🤔

I asked the person serving it if it was maybe a mixup, and she was aware that I regularly get the prepackaged food. But, she swore it was specifically on the slip as "gluten aware".

Everything else looked right, and I was very very hungry. Hoping it wasn't a bad mistake to go ahead and eat the stuff.

Besides it having more vegetables (even just carrots/peas) and meat and just generally way less stodge? It was much better seasoned, and I maybe could have gotten away with no automatically added salt and pepper. I also want to say it was more food overall.

I was expecting potato in this, and that pastry still worries me.

I may be very sorry later, but that was the best meal I've had since I've been stuck in here.

I mean, it's still hospital food but at least it's fresher and way less Aggressively Dietetic.

Oh yes, another different rice pudding type (?) Haven't had that particular prepackaged kind before. The basic hospital version of that is fine anyway, unless they've really been working at fucking it up with gluten ingredients.

[clatterbane]

Some people like to post attractively presented food pics on, say, Instagram.

This is apparently what I am doing instead today. And it seems so much more Tumblr appropriate.

Further on the GF hospital food here, lunch came not long after I posted about the menu earlier.

More rather peculiar chicken tikka masala!

There's some meat hiding in the sauce. I think.This is the type without everything in separate compartments, including one of plain peas (?). They do have the two different variations, likely helping explain why chicken tikka masala shows up so often.

Ready to go with plenty of salt and pepper, at least! I ended up stashing a couple extra. Because apparently now we are hoarding very basic seasonings.

The usual dessert time!

The hot rhubarb and custard isn't actually as bad as it looks. Have to let it cool down, and it's not as sweet as it could be.

But, wait! More dessert?

Yep, talking to the lady earlier about getting some of the other items...netted me some other items! (Where usually it would be the main dish and dessert.)

(I was apparently supposed to save that juice for later and she would put it in the fridge for me. Oops. But, I should know next time!

And an apple to save for later, woohoo.

But yeah, overall not what I would necessarily choose on my own. And I really am not totally comfortable at how relatively carb heavy the menu is overall. AFAICT the regular and GF menus are pretty even there. If I don't totally finish it, I get a supplement drink for now.

But, it's food and hopefully not what's on the menu forever.

[clatterbane]

And today's lunch adventure in GF hospital dining: a version of shepherd's pie!

With random ketchup 🤔 Good for the basic seasonings hoard, at least.

Doesn't look nearly as nice once it's stirred up with the much needed salt and pepper. But, this one is actually one of the best meals I've had so far. (Several times by now.)

This could use more meat, but I am very glad to get some green vegetable. I feel like the menu could use way more veggies in general, tbh.

And dessert: warm very plain British-style rice pudding. Not too bad either, though it was a bit of a struggle to finish it all and avoid another supplement drink.

[clatterbane]

A couple of goodies from Mr. C! Should be of some help with the extremely bland food around here. 😁

Very possibly the blandest food I have ever had for this many meals in a row, tbh. And that's counting hospital stays.

I actually ordered the Cajun seasoning off Amazon, since we were out of homemade. The four pepper was apparently the only flavor of those little seasoned Cornish Sea Salt tubs our local Sainsbury's had in stock today, but just having these two things is a big improvement!

(And he's planning on going back and looking for the garlic version and whatever else they might have in a few days. Because he is nice that way. And probably wouldn't mind getting another container of several flavors for himself at home. 😅 )