So far.... Solar...

Well we'd always promised ourselves that we'd invest more in renewable energy when we had the chance, and with the cost of fuel on an ever-increasing spiral, we bit the bullet, emptied the piggy-banks and had solar water heating installed.

OK - given the wet summer we've had, some might think we were being slightly optimistic, but the clever design of the panels as tubes gives an increased surface area to make the most of any available UV radiation, meaning that even on overcast days there's some degree of water heating.

We also had the hot water cylinder upgraded to a massive 300 litre capacity.

Initial verdict - well we've had a couple of weeks of September sunshine and the 2 panels have managed to heat the cylinder to an impressive 65C over a day. So we're happy with it.

Tidy little panels as well...

The Hairy Bakers

As we're big fans of Si and Dave, the Hairy Bikers, we were delighted to watch their new series "The Hairy Bakers" and even more delighted to watch them making the ultimate cheese and onion pie.

Had to give it a go - it works well with a chopped leek instead of one of the onions too. And the parmesan pastry..... fantastic !!!!

My offering...... Result !!!

This week I have been mostly eating....... courgettes....

Yes.
Due to the fact that we've had torrential rain this week, the chances to get out and garden have been pretty limited, with the only plus being that the courgettes have swelled to mutant proportions.

After roasted courgettes, courgette soup and courgette pasta, I turned to my mate Google.

Courgette cake - the outright winner. I put one of the cakes (un-iced) in the freezer as an experiment to see how it stored so will keep you posted on the result.

Chocolate courgette brownies - nice, but next time I would add in some chopped walnuts and half a teaspoon or so of salt to bring out the chocolate flavour a little more. Despite the amount of cocoa powder added, the chocolate flavour was a little bit lost. See what you think ?

Courgette chutney - This is cooking away as I type filling the house with a vinegary tang. I've not got much experience with chutney, and it's also best stored for a month before eating so I'll get back to you with a verdict on that one.