No wonder you're exhausted! But I totally get your desire to be organised ahead of time with both Christmas and major surgery on the horizon. Having bought your cook book a year or so ago, I recently bought the new one and took the plunge to buy a ProCook one (I like that they include all the extra bits). I'm starting small by cooking my kale in it today as part of lunch that includes slow cooker lamb with roasted figs and fennel, and Jerusalem artichoke puree. Really hope the surgery goes well and that recovery is a breeze. Thank you for your wonderful posts! And if you've got any spare time, you can listen to my live interview with Jeannette on Tuesday. Very best, Dawn
Thanks Dawn. I wish I had time to listen today but running around like a mad thing - hopefully I can listen to the recording later. I hope you get on well with your ProCook - it's a beautifully made one!
I'm the proud owner of both of your books and I have learned so much from them, thank you.
I wish you a successful op and a speedy recovery. Just over two years ago I needed a heart valve replacement and I was in hospital 37 days in all - only 5 of them after my op! But I was desperate to cook again when I got home, and delighted to find I could, as long as my husband did any lifting of pans etc. I hope you are able to get back to your cooking really quickly! Xx
Thank you! I'm glad they have been useful to you. 37 days is a long time! I have been practising supervising my son in the kitchen, telling him what to do, so I think we'll be doing that to start with. And I won't be doing any lifting of pressure cookers for a few weeks.
Wishing you a good recovery and I hope the family can feed you with all those nourishing meals you’ve prepared! Take time to rest, and thank you for all you do. All 3 of your PC books are my favourites out of a very large cookbook collection!
At least you will know that everyone is eating well and healthily including you ( most important in the post op period). Now let go of the other things. Your family will pull together to make it happen and they might even enjoy it. Good luck with the op and focus on yourself x
What an excellent piece of writing, thank you Catherine. So honest, practical & personal too. You’re amazing. With so much online content available these days, your writing stands out by a country mile!
Catherine, you’re a marvel, you’ve done brilliantly on the most important thing, ensuring that you and your family are well fed whilst you recover. I trust they will take as much care of you as you have of them. X
Catherine, you are a powerhouse. I can’t believe how much you’ve cooked in 36 hours; I felt exhausted reading the list! Like your friend, I’d have left the household to ready meals and fish finger sandwiches. But you are a much better person! Wishing you the best for the op and the recovery xxx
Warmest wishes for a speedy recovery. I love my stove-top pressure cooker, and use it everyday, thanks to your Substack and your books. I can’t justify getting another pressure cooker….really, I can’t ..well maybe.
Speedy recovery. Plus I’m looking forward to your new book which was pre-ordered and hidden by my partner to be read from Xmas day onwards (after dinner cooking duties).
I often point people towards your books and substack as I have found them so useful. I originally bought the medium sized instant pot and once I found out really useful ended up buying the mini (and convinced my sister to get one as well) I found the mini worked so well when I was living on my own and for cooking smaller batches of pulses etc since the smaller size meant that you needed less water to cover the pulses as they were less spread out.
I hope your procedure goes well and your recovery time is as short as possible. And that cold and flu season prep book sounds interesting.
I hope the surgery goes well and you recover very well too. Your are amazing - honestly when I saw the pic of your freezer, totally inspired! And so family gut friendly too!
Oh my word Catherine, that list immense! So what if the house isn't tidy - your freezer is, and I find that so much more difficult to achieve! Kudos to you.
Agree with using the PC to reheat. I've been doing it with stews etc frozen in tin foil containers, and mash frozen in a separate container. Both on a trivet, 1-2cm water in the bottom with a covered tin foil container of green veg balanced on top. Works fabulously. I'm usually cooking for one.
Sending you the very best for your op, and the recovery. Don't be rushing back to anything. Your readers will certainly understand, and I'm sure the family will rope each other in to help out. It's certain at least that none of you will starve!
Thank you Carolyn, on all counts! You are absolutely right, using the trivet works well too. I should perhaps do another longer post on the whole subject. At some point....
No wonder you're exhausted! But I totally get your desire to be organised ahead of time with both Christmas and major surgery on the horizon. Having bought your cook book a year or so ago, I recently bought the new one and took the plunge to buy a ProCook one (I like that they include all the extra bits). I'm starting small by cooking my kale in it today as part of lunch that includes slow cooker lamb with roasted figs and fennel, and Jerusalem artichoke puree. Really hope the surgery goes well and that recovery is a breeze. Thank you for your wonderful posts! And if you've got any spare time, you can listen to my live interview with Jeannette on Tuesday. Very best, Dawn
Thanks Dawn. I wish I had time to listen today but running around like a mad thing - hopefully I can listen to the recording later. I hope you get on well with your ProCook - it's a beautifully made one!
I'm the proud owner of both of your books and I have learned so much from them, thank you.
I wish you a successful op and a speedy recovery. Just over two years ago I needed a heart valve replacement and I was in hospital 37 days in all - only 5 of them after my op! But I was desperate to cook again when I got home, and delighted to find I could, as long as my husband did any lifting of pans etc. I hope you are able to get back to your cooking really quickly! Xx
Thank you! I'm glad they have been useful to you. 37 days is a long time! I have been practising supervising my son in the kitchen, telling him what to do, so I think we'll be doing that to start with. And I won't be doing any lifting of pressure cookers for a few weeks.
Wishing you a good recovery and I hope the family can feed you with all those nourishing meals you’ve prepared! Take time to rest, and thank you for all you do. All 3 of your PC books are my favourites out of a very large cookbook collection!
Thank you on all counts!
At least you will know that everyone is eating well and healthily including you ( most important in the post op period). Now let go of the other things. Your family will pull together to make it happen and they might even enjoy it. Good luck with the op and focus on yourself x
Thank you! Yes, I am trying to convince myself that letting go will help me shed a bit of my control freakery. We'll see....
What an excellent piece of writing, thank you Catherine. So honest, practical & personal too. You’re amazing. With so much online content available these days, your writing stands out by a country mile!
So nice of you to say so, thank you! I'm really glad you find it useful.
Cat this is wonderful and leaves me feeling exhausted!
I must just tell that when I was a child and my Ma was ill my father would feed us on bridge rolls, sliced ham and piccalilli.
It was only much later that I realised my sick mother was is being fed this!!!
Oh, but a bridge roll with ham and piccalilli sounds so nice right now...
Catherine, you’re a marvel, you’ve done brilliantly on the most important thing, ensuring that you and your family are well fed whilst you recover. I trust they will take as much care of you as you have of them. X
Thank you! And I'm sure they will step up. My son is practising pressure cooking with me!
Catherine, you are a powerhouse. I can’t believe how much you’ve cooked in 36 hours; I felt exhausted reading the list! Like your friend, I’d have left the household to ready meals and fish finger sandwiches. But you are a much better person! Wishing you the best for the op and the recovery xxx
I paid for it by Sunday. Utterly exhausted! And now I want a fish finger sandwich! Looking forward to having a bit of a rest. Thanks, Louise xx
Hope your surgery and recovery go well. Thank you for all your brilliant writing. Xx
Thank you!
Warmest wishes for a speedy recovery. I love my stove-top pressure cooker, and use it everyday, thanks to your Substack and your books. I can’t justify getting another pressure cooker….really, I can’t ..well maybe.
Hmm, you are wavering I can tell. Thank you!
Speedy recovery. Plus I’m looking forward to your new book which was pre-ordered and hidden by my partner to be read from Xmas day onwards (after dinner cooking duties).
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it. I am told the recipes are quite nice!
Just joined so plenty to read while you are convalescing. All the best for your op and pace yourself 😃
Welcome and thank you! Getting there, slowly but surely....
I often point people towards your books and substack as I have found them so useful. I originally bought the medium sized instant pot and once I found out really useful ended up buying the mini (and convinced my sister to get one as well) I found the mini worked so well when I was living on my own and for cooking smaller batches of pulses etc since the smaller size meant that you needed less water to cover the pulses as they were less spread out.
I hope your procedure goes well and your recovery time is as short as possible. And that cold and flu season prep book sounds interesting.
Thank you Pippa, I'm really glad they've been of help to you. I shall keep thinking about the other book....
I hope the surgery goes well and you recover very well too. Your are amazing - honestly when I saw the pic of your freezer, totally inspired! And so family gut friendly too!
Thanks Jeannette! I was going for gut friendly - really important. Stocking up on kombucha and kimchi etc. as well.
Oh my word Catherine, that list immense! So what if the house isn't tidy - your freezer is, and I find that so much more difficult to achieve! Kudos to you.
Agree with using the PC to reheat. I've been doing it with stews etc frozen in tin foil containers, and mash frozen in a separate container. Both on a trivet, 1-2cm water in the bottom with a covered tin foil container of green veg balanced on top. Works fabulously. I'm usually cooking for one.
Sending you the very best for your op, and the recovery. Don't be rushing back to anything. Your readers will certainly understand, and I'm sure the family will rope each other in to help out. It's certain at least that none of you will starve!
Good luck and thanks for all the posts and help!
Thank you Carolyn, on all counts! You are absolutely right, using the trivet works well too. I should perhaps do another longer post on the whole subject. At some point....
Wishing you all the best for operation and recovery and Christmas and most of all the frantic preparations! Lots of love xxx
Thank you!