Cooking for one

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  • caronc
    caronc Posts: 8,049
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    Thanks for the ebay tip meg72 and blog pointer pollyanna 26. Hopefully by Spring my mobility will be more manageable and I can get back into my garden. I usually grow toms, cucumber, courgettes and various beans and love the fresh taste of homegrown veggies
  • meg72
    meg72 Posts: 5,164
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    I've been thinking as I've been doing a bit of the dreaded housework . Some on the forums may remember Memory Girl - Elaine Collier who used to post on the forums .
    She had a blog , Mortgage free in three . I've just checked and although as I knew she stopped about a year ago when real life became became very busy , all her posts are still online if you google the title .
    She is a mum of two growing lads so a lot was cooking for three but one of the most useful things I read there was My secret box of soup .
    Prepping and freezing veg ready to throw into meals . No blanching involved . Adding the last few veg in the fridge on an ongoing basis so no waste and ready chopped veg always to hand for quick soups , stews and other meals .
    For those with a gadget which slices , dices and shreds it takes all the physical graft out of constantly doing the prep for meals .
    I've recommended her blog many times on forum and real life and many of my shortcuts came from there .
    There's an explore at the top of the blog you can click on recipes , make do and mend and other sections . There are quick scarves , hats , blankets , christmas decorations etc to craft . Home decor on next to nothing and also veg growing and motivational posts which used to get us all doing - I miss her gentle kick up the backside :D She was doing everything on the tightest budget and it helped me a great deal .
    Sorry to the original poster for slightly derailing her thread but when you face a new challenge little tips and shortcuts can smooth the path .
    Take care all
    polly


    Thank for this a really interesting blog, heres the link if anyone wants a have a look.

    http://mortgagefreeinthree.com/
    Slimming World at target
  • pollyanna_26
    pollyanna_26 Posts: 4,839
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    Thank you so much Meg for posting the link . Many on OS are aware I was dragged kicking and screaming into the digital age from my lurker comfort zone . Haven't yet mastered links , editing posts etc . One day I'll do it , just not today :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
    polly
    It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.

    There but for fortune go you and I.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 17,413
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    Re the cabbage I live alone and enjoy steamed cabbage .What I do with it, also with celery is wrap the whole cabbage (minus the grotty outside leaves ) in tinfoil, and keep in the bottom of the fridge.Then when I want some I just cut enough off to steam for myself, and rewrap in the foil.Keeps really well this way. I like the sweetheart cabbage, and a quarter at a time is more than enough for perhaps two portions ,one to eat straight away and the other goes already cooked into a small lidded take-away box, once cold and bunged in the fridge for next days meal.

    If you don't fancy it microwaved for dinner then some diced onion and cooked cabbage fried up with some diced straky bacon for a tasty bubble and squeak with a poached or fried egg on top makes a nice change for lunch or if you are having a soup starter an evening meal.
  • LameWolf
    LameWolf Posts: 11,234
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    monnagran wrote: »
    My real problem is going to be just not bothering and living on soup. salads and sandwiches.
    That's always the danger - you can get into the mindset of "it's not worth the effort of cooking, it's only for me" specially if, like me, you loathe cooking.
    When I split from the XH, I was eating roughly every 2nd day, and then just what I could grab out of the fridge and scarper with, because we were still living in the same house, just living totally separately, and I didn't dare go in the kitchen if he was in there.

    Interesting about keeping celery - I love celery but Mr LW doesn't care for it at all, so I never buy it cos it's "not worth it just for me" and I've always felt I'd never get through it before it went off (I don't love it enough to eat it for breakfast, lunch and dins!)
    If your dog thinks you're the best, don't seek a second opinion.;)
  • caronc
    caronc Posts: 8,049
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    JackieO wrote: »
    Re the cabbage I live alone and enjoy steamed cabbage .What I do with it, also with celery is wrap the whole cabbage (minus the grotty outside leaves ) in tinfoil, and keep in the bottom of the fridge.Then when I want some I just cut enough off to steam for myself, and rewrap in the foil.Keeps really well this way. I like the sweetheart cabbage, and a quarter at a time is more than enough for perhaps two portions ,one to eat straight away and the other goes already cooked into a small lidded take-away box, once cold and bunged in the fridge for next days meal.

    If you don't fancy it microwaved for dinner then some diced onion and cooked cabbage fried up with some diced straky bacon for a tasty bubble and squeak with a poached or fried egg on top makes a nice change for lunch or if you are having a soup starter an evening meal.
    Thanks for the foil tip will give that a go. I tend to plonk my celery in a glass of water for a couple of days if it starts to go bendy and find it really perks up. Luckily I love celery so it finds it's way into the base for most dishes so getting through a head is generally ok. When I get some freezer space I must start dicing up some veggies - hopefully joining the storecupboard/freezer challenge help me make some headway with that :)
  • meg72
    meg72 Posts: 5,164
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    Interesting posts re keeping cabbage and celery. I don't cut my cabbage and just take off a few leaves at a time, wrap in foil and keep in an outside meter cupboard. I find its can last two or three weeks like this.

    Celery I keep in a vase with a bit of water on the windowsill where it grows roots and keep growing, providing I remember to top the water up that is, again this lasts for weeks.
    Slimming World at target
  • caronc
    caronc Posts: 8,049
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    Tonight on "Cooking for one" - it's jerk chicken thighs, roasted veg and sweet potato wedges. Minimal prep, one tray though not very MSE putting the oven on for it. Was lovely though and it is Saturday,,,,,, I do find I use the oven more than I should but struggle to fill it should think about a halogen oven but have heard mixed reports they seem to be a bit "marmite":)
  • Worth checking AbeBooks for both Delia and Shirley's books.
    Copies from £2.04 including postage :)
  • monnagran
    monnagran Posts: 5,284
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    Polly, no danger of me fading away alas.

    LW. I know you don't enjoy cooking but I've used your nut roast recipe often for the vegetarians at our church lunch club and had many compliments, so thank you. They last had it for their Christmas lunch.
    It sounds pathetic doesn't it, to only eat sandwiches. Truth is, I would eat almost anything if it was between two slices of bread. As a child I adored salad and raw vegetables. I had real problems with meat and cooked meals. DM reckoned that the appalling meat we were eating during the war was responsible. Whatever, huge salads and vegetables with cheese and eggs is always my 'go-to' choice.

    Talking of celery, does anyone remember the celery in the good old days? I think it was grown with a great dressing of soot because it always had to be well scrubbed. The best bit was the 'stump.' We used to fight over the stump. There doesn't seem to be a stump these days, just pretty stringy sticks.

    The best thing about fruit and veg these days is that if you choose to buy it loose you can buy just enough for one. Unless it is a large vegetable it is possible to buy a great variety of little bits and pieces.
    Oh! I can't wait to have my own kitchen again.

    x
    I believe that friends are quiet angels
    Who lift us to our feet when our wings
    Have trouble remembering how to fly.
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