Monday 26th October 09

A day filled with cooking. I lit the stove and started preparing the pumpkin soup that I'll take to St Nicks on Wednesday morning and help eat during the evening's event. I decided to use the preserving pan as this holds between 30 and 40 bowls full, and our next biggest pan (a 'Le Creuset' casserole) only holds about 8 bowls worth.

So, I fried some onion, leek and spring onion, and then added a large carrot and a couple of potatoes before lots of sliced pumpkin and covering with a kettle full of water. I set this to simmer on the stove, I'll add herbs, spices and bouillon later.

Straight after lunch I took the boys on their bikes down to Country Fresh as they wanted to choose a pumpkin each for the carving competition on Wednesday. It was good to see Shirley back, as she's been away for some while. I picked up two sacks of stuff for composting but lots of these items were apples, which I'll try to make space to dry.

I got home in time to go straight out again to the Monkgate health Centre where I had an asthma check and flu jab. I've had asthma since I was a child but no-one would know as I take a tiny dose of preventative every night. However, in my late teens I ended up in hospital twice with severe symptoms, and on one occasion I came close to dying and if the ambulance hadn't have come and scraped me up off my neighbour's doorstep, I might have done. This was when I lived in an unheated house with mould on the walls, no phone, and the day after a Hawkwind concert where it is just possible I might have inhaled some toxic substances! However, even with my much cleaner-living lifestyle, I could still get a bad chest infection if I got influenza.

I popped in to Sainsburys on the way home and then cycled back with some nice bread, some cheap tomato puree and a good selection of breakfast cereals.

Before I got home I stopped off at Freshways and Raj had a lot of 'freegan' goodies for me. I was able to share the chili sauce with my friend Simon and his son (who proudly tells anybody who will listen that he's growing the hottest chilis commercially available). I don't know many 10 year olds who are chili connoisseurs!

So, my next job was to cook some tea. I did a tomato based sauce with sliced baby tromboncino squash (good picture here) and pasties, potato and salad.

After tea I continued to add to the pumpkin soup, so we have a rather hot house tonight. I'll finish it tomorrow and put it in the fridge overnight before taking it in to St Nicks on Wednesday before my work in Leeds, as I'll get back with not much time to spare before the 5.30pm start of the pumpkin event.

A warm evening.