Thursday 8th September

251/365: looks like I have a baby pomegranate growing!

We had loads of lovely rain yesterday. It rained during the night and there were a few heavy showers during the day ... it's supposed to be the same today so I'm excused from watering the pots for a few days at least!

Yesterday's nutrition class was fun, looking at the things we used to eat back in the 1960s and seeing how things have changed. The biggest change for everyone was the portion sizes, much smaller back then compared to what we are used to eating now. It's the decade when supermarkets appeared on the high streets and changed the way we shop, homes started to have refrigerators with tiny freezer boxes, which changed the way we stored our food and 'convenience' foods made an appearance and changed the way we ate. The general consensus was that not all of the changes have been for the best, particularly with the added sugar, salt and additives in convenience foods and with the knock on effect these foods have had on cooking skills and on health. I think I was lucky as Mum didn't think much of the new convenience foods, probably too new-fangled for her, so we didn't have them at home and were taught to cook from scratch. Quite a few of my friends of the same age were never taught the basics and still can't cook a meal from scratch, which I think is a shame.

Today is an 'at home' day. I don't have anything I particularly need to do but am sure I'll find something if I look hard enough! 

Comments

  1. That's so interesting that your pomegranate plant is setting fruit now! Mine is shutting down for the winter!
    I'm so glad that you are getting rain!
    Back in the 1960s, I was still in Sri Lanka and we didn't have supermarkets or many convenience foods. Practically everything we ate had to be made from scratch or bought from a bakery (bread, etc.) or a restaurant. My portion sizes have probably increased since then, though! My girth certainly has! :D
    I hope you have a lovely day, Eileen; it's still very hot over at this end!

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    1. I doubt that the fruit will grow big enough to be picked though now we are moving into autumn and the cooler days are here. Still it's nice to see it's possible in this country.

      We didn't have the convenience foods when they first arrived in the shops so everything was still cooked from scratch for most of the 1960s, but they gradually crept in towards the end of that decade. Portion sizes have definitely increased though ... I don't seem to have the willpower to do anything about it!

      Thanks Bless and hope you have a great day too. It's raining here and is only 20°c.

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  2. That is exciting to have a pomegranate growing, your plant has loved the heat. It's strange how different the weather is in different parts of the country, we only had a few drops of rain at lunchtime and that was it. My mother wasn't a a great cook but she did bake cakes and puddings for us. That would have been really interesting looking back at how things have changed from the 1960s. I remember the Kwik Save stores founded here in north Wales and I remember the products being displayed in the cardboard boxes they came in, it certainly was a budget chain of stores, I think they were killed of by the likes of Aldi and Lidl arriving in the UK.

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    1. I am excited about the pomegranate but I doubt it'll grow big enough to eat now the temperature has dropped.

      I remember shopping in Kwik Save but don't think it came to Trowbridge until the 1970s. Before then we had the Co-op, International, and Fine Fare.

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  3. Isn't nature marvelous - growing your own food & I think always tastier too. I hope that the pomegranate will at least get to a size that you can sample your efforts. I hope you enjoy the quiet of your day.

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    1. So do I but I think that's wishful thinking! M isn't too hopeful and thinks it will start to rot if we have too much rain.

      I'm having a lovely gently day thanks, though got soaked when I went out for my walk!

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  4. So you have - wow.
    Definitely portion sizes are loads bigger and life is more sedentary. No wonder obesity is a growing problem. Like you, I was lucky in learning to cook by watching and helping my Mum when I was very, very little. It's just a natural thing to do and so much tastier. xx

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    1. There are three baby pomegranates when I looked but I think the weather is against them now.

      That's what we all decided - the1960s' portions were much smaller and quite carb heavy but obesity wasn't as prevalent as everybody was generally more active. There's weren't as many labour saving devices and certainly tasks around the house and in the garden required much more effort.

      I'm really grateful that Mum taught me to cook ... a skill for life, definitely. xx

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