Old Style vs the USDA head-to-head challenge...

bails · 20 April 2008 at 6:26PM

weezl74 wrote: »

Still experimenting with whether anything can substitute for pine nuts.

Still reading avidly and enjoying this thread immensely, thanks again Weezl and everyone who contributes.
We had no pine nuts the other day so used cashews instead - different but yummy! I think that works out cheaper but we bought all our nuts etc in JG half price sale in Jan so can't remember prices! We also make a red pepper and feta pesto which is meant to have pine nuts in but we left them out the other day and it was still great - fab on roasted aubergine (or chicken breats for meat eaters), mmmm!

Cerwiden, I'd be interested in both your blog and learning how to potentially make one, if you wouldn't mind pointing me in the right direction for both please?
It's scary that organic is so much more!! Ideally we'd like to eat organic, can't justify the supermarket prices though so are going down the route of growing/making our own (v early days yet).

weezl74 · 20 April 2008 at 6:45PM

bails wrote: »

... red pepper and feta pesto which is meant to have pine nuts in but we left them out the other day and it was still great - fab on roasted aubergine (or chicken breats for meat eaters), mmmm!

Now bails, very naughty to mention delicious things and not give the recipe!;)

Tonight gentle reader things are lookin good in the weezl house, some kind person put a bottle of lambrusco on freecycle, and we got it!!!!

hic!

weezl x

mummysaver · 20 April 2008 at 6:56PM

Just to say Weezl I love your thread, never realised that there were quite so many nutrients I was meant to be considering - have had a look at our diets and doesn't seem too bad, but whew it's exhausting trying to make sure everyone has everything they need! I just aim for balanced meals and hope for the best most of the time, ds and dd3 aren't great with sugar or additives, so I guess we limit those automatically now, but I'm now becoming obsessed with whether they have everything else they need - still no signs of scurvy or anything just yet! x

ceridwen · 20 April 2008 at 7:10PM

bails wrote: »

Cerwiden, I'd be interested in both your blog and learning how to potentially make one, if you wouldn't mind pointing me in the right direction for both please?
.

I just have this teensy leetle feeling that here on M.S.E. Old-Style we have gone over the last few months from "theres precious few British blogs about" (a common complaint when I did my "living on $12,000 a year" thread) to where us MSE'ers are about to remedy that deficiency wholesale;)

Okay, well my blog (all of 2 days old currently) is on:

http://chezceridwen.blogspot.com

and - from what I can see - its that website (ie the blogspot.com one) that many bloggers use for setting up a blog. I googled for "setting up a blog" as I recall - to see what I came up with - and that was one of the things Google came up with. Its free and without advertising-type bits down the side - like another one I investigated. So I plonked for that one. Even computer-illiterate me managed to set it up in about 10 minutes. Hope that helps!

sophiesmum_2 · 20 April 2008 at 7:11PM

Hi Weezl,
just recently found this thread and think it is great. I'm starting my own food challenge on 1st June over on the Live on £4000 a year thread when I will be bulk buying,growing veg etc and aiming to feed 3/4 adults for 6 months on £400.
I'm already on same lines as you with the breakfasts but will be reading the thread with interest for other ideas that I can pinch as I want us to eat as healthily as possible still.

Keep up the good work:T :T

cheerfulness4 · 20 April 2008 at 7:31PM

sophiesmum wrote: »

Hi Weezl,
just recently found this thread and think it is great. I'm starting my own food challenge on 1st June over on the Live on £4000 a year thread when I will be bulk buying,growing veg etc and aiming to feed 3/4 adults for 6 months on £400.
I'm already on same lines as you with the breakfasts but will be reading the thread with interest for other ideas that I can pinch as I want us to eat as healthily as possible still.

Keep up the good work:T :T

Ohhh I can see me hopping between the two threads gathering all this lovely info and inspiration. :j Am finding this whole thing fascinating and its working in beautifully with my monthly grocery challenge and my OS weight loss thread as lots of these recipes are perfect for that.

Huge thanks to Weezl and all the contributors. :beer:

ceridwen · 20 April 2008 at 7:36PM

Just been back into "me blog" adding bits and I see the exact address for new starters is:

https://www.blogger.com/start

bails · 20 April 2008 at 8:13PM

weezl74 wrote: »

Now bails, very naughty to mention delicious things and not give the recipe!;)

Tonight gentle reader things are lookin good in the weezl house, some kind person put a bottle of lambrusco on freecycle, and we got it!!!!

hic!

weezl x

Profound apologies Weezl, did make a mental note to post in case anyone was interested but got sidetracked by slaving over a hot stove aka dancing around the kitchen to latino while a ridiculously easy lentil stew cooked itself

Here it is, another easy recipe (my forte

)

Feta and roast pepper pesto (makes 2 tblspns pesto)

50g roasted red peppers
50g pine nuts - or substitute re earlier conversation
50g feta
black pepper
2 cloves of garlic, crushed

Blend :rotfl::T (For the peppers, just brush with oil and roast for about 20 mins.)

We simply cut an aubergine, either in strips or circles and smear pesto inbetween each layer. Brush bottom and top layer in oil and roast til aubergine is soft and scrummy. With chicken breast, just cut it down the middle and fill it with the pesto then cook. Yum! I've made extra pesto and frozen it no problems too. (Lidl feta, can't remember how much it is though).

Great news about the free wine :T Thanks so much for the blog info Cerwiden, must save that somewhere now before I forget. Will look at yours tomorrow too, OH just back from day's surfing so need to feed the starving boy!
EDIT: Hiya SophiesMum :hello: nice to see ya over here too x

sophiesmum_2 · 20 April 2008 at 9:13PM

Hi bails:hello:
Chicken breast with that pesto sounds fab, think I will try that tomorrow:D

weezl74 · 21 April 2008 at 7:12AM

Morning! Popped in to tell you my frugal and healthy supper dish for tonight.

1 packet of dried peas, rehydrated
140g bacon from smartprice bacon pieces pach
1 tsp garlic powder
generous twists of ground black pepper, and a little salt

Lob all the above in slo cooker ( salt at the end tho, to not toughen the peas!) and cook on low for 6-8 hrs or til peas are tender. Blitz with a blender stick.

12p per serving, inclusive of big chunk of HM bread.:T

And for our vegetarian friends...;) Pea and pear soup, as above, but use a large can of tinned pears in juice.

Swirl cream through the end product for ultra luxury.:D

Bails, as you commented on fitting in cleaning products etc within this teeny budget, I thought I'd share a tip.

I noticed before that dried peas come with two tablets of bicarbonate of soda (to make the peas greener), I'd also spotted that my loo was getting a bit limescaly and my kettle's furred up. So I strategically planned a supper using dried peas!

So I boiled the kettle with one of them in, put the other down the loo, then after a second boil 15 mins later, poured the bicarb water down the loo. Flushed after a couple of hrs. Voila! Clean an sparkly loo and kettle, at no cost, only the above supper costs!:money:

TTFN

Weezl x

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Old Style vs the USDA head-to-head challenge...

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