50p a day til Christmas - healthily?! Weezl's next challenge...

In_Search_Of_Me

umm...its about what youre hapy with me thinks? For instance when my mum was pregnant with me she drank a fair bit...now while you can argue that no harm done I AM dyslexic and that can be one of the side effects of drinking alch in pregnancy...I think its a tricky one generally with food; cant have this; cant have that and in the end you cant have owt! I feel, much life my genera life philosophy, that each to their own..I no more have the right to tell someone else what to do than they do me but would hope as a good friend that I ca inform and advise while respecting individual choice....
Anyway just popped in to say that the dahl is nice and just ate with with coconut rice and the remains of the popadams which are now all gone
My blood count is generally down due to result of over active hormones ...I can tell when its low cos I get very tired and have extra iron tablets. I have also found the 1000mg of vit c helps and I now really notice when I dont have this...why is this weezl...what does the vit c do to make me feel more oomph?!! I know it does but not sure why...geeky project?!!

BigMummaF

About this upstairs kitchen...I would err on the side of leaving things as they are--keep the fridge/freezer too even if you unplug it for a while--cuz there may be a time when you'll look to taking in another lodger.

What's the worst that can happen? You have another house guest who will be relatively self reliant as your previous guests. At best? Access to an extra washing machine/ running water/ laundry space/ room for arts & crafts & spare fridge & freezer for bulk cooked goodies.

cw18

In_Search_Of_Me wrote: »

My blood count is generally down due to result of over active hormones ...I can tell when its low cos I get very tired and have extra iron tablets. I have also found the 1000mg of vit c helps and I now really notice when I dont have this...why is this weezl...what does the vit c do to make me feel more oomph?!! I know it does but not sure why...geeky project?!!

Now that's one I can answer

Vitamin C helps your body absorb the iron, so you actually "use" the iron instead of is passing straight through (which is what it does with me when they start throwing iron tablets at me). Info from Bupa here (under the Prevention heading)

Allegra

bails wrote: »

Allegra, thanks for sharing the story behind the potato and pasta recipe, I love hearing the background. And thanks so much for the chana dal recipe too - I just got a whoopsied pack of split peas and was wondering what to do with them, completely forgot about this, an absolute fave of ours! :T

I think this background - my background - is probably the reason why I have so much respect for what Weezl has been doing with her challenges - and why I like the community that has grown around the Weezl family during their journey.

It's like coming home, in a way - the support, the advice, the recipes, the health information and the costings, all there - but without anyone chucking bombs at you. Result ! Just like the war, but without the bad bits.

(Incidentally, two of the bad bits that stick in my mind are the lack of money for the "female paraphernalia" - Mum and I used muslin cloths - Gawd, talk about the VPL !!! Mind you, it was more environmentally friendly, but that's cold comfort to a 14 year old going to school with a nappy in her knickers; and the stink of home-pickled sauerkraut. Which is something that will feature heavily in the following recipe, so be warned if you are tempted - nearly twenty years later, the smell still hasn't completely dissappeared from the utility room that was used for pickling).

Anyway, here's a recipe for a traditional Croatian dish - which is, like so much of Croatian cousine, actually borrowed from another culture that ruled or attempted to rule the territory of what is now Croatia or one of its near neighbours. It came from Turkey via Bosnia, I believe, and is a great way of making a little mince s-t-r-e-t-c-h a looooong way. It does use rice to aid its stretch, though, so perhaps best saved for super-spendy Weezlite days.

In fact, traditionally this is a feast dish in Croatia, made on New Year's Eve, then stretched over the next couple of days.

First, the home-made sauerkraut. You need a whole head of pickled cabbage, not the shredded stuff, so unless you are really dedicated and want to pickle your own in huge bags (and stink out the rooms where you do the pickling forever after), you will either need to use fresh cabbage (which can end up smelling a bit institutional, if you know what I mean, or fresh peppers - which ups the price a bit, unless you grow your own.

So (get to the point, woman, and quit waffling - self-slapped wrist for me here),

1 head of cabbage, pickled of otherwise
or
1-2 peppers per person (1 if you are intending to serve it with mashed potatoes, 2 if you will eat it in its own "soup" as a main meal)
shredded sauerkraut (optional)
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
2-3 bay leaves
salt and pepper
tomato puree or passata
water or stock
1 tsp paprika
1 tbs vegetable oil

minced beef, lamb, pork or turkey (pork is what is normally used in Croatia, although the original Muslim recipe will use anything but) - you need about a small meatball-sized amount per cabbage leaf/pepper.

rice - twice the amount of meat (dry weight)

Mix rice and mince together, season well (we use something called Vegeta in Croatia - it's like vegetable stock powder, only far from healthy; the main ingredient is monosodium glutamate) - salt and pepper will do just fine on their own, but you can spice it up by using paprika, curry powder, chilli powder, cinnamon... Anything you have knocking about that you like the taste of, really - and then, depending of what you are using, either stuff your peppers with them (not too full, as the rice will swell up while cooking), or heap in the middle of the cabbage leaves, roll up into sausage shape, then tuck in the ends.

Once that is done, fry the onion, add garlic and bay leaf, add passata or tomato puree and about 2 pints of water , and shredded sauerkraut, if used. Bring to boil, then lower your peppers/cabbage parcels in, and add more water if needed, until they are completely covered.

Bring back to boil, then lower the heat and simmer for at least 1.5 hrs - a good one for a slow cooker, methinks.

Usually eaten first in its own soup, warmed up the next day and served with mashed potato.

cw18

Allegra wrote: »

You need a whole head of pickled cabbage, not the shredded stuff, so unless you are really dedicated and want to pickle your own in huge bags (and stink out the rooms where you do the pickling forever after), you will either need to use fresh cabbage (which can end up smelling a bit institutional, if you know what I mean, or fresh peppers - which ups the price a bit, unless you grow your own.

Am tempted to try pickling a head of cabbage, but think it will have to wait until I have space in the garage to leave it to 'ferment' :rolleyes:

Other than that, would you recommend a white cabbage or a savoy? I love Greek stuffed vine leaves, so this is really appealing to me -- and I suspect a savoy cabbage would be closer to vine leaves

Allegra

cw18 wrote: »

Am tempted to try pickling a head of cabbage, but think it will have to wait until I have space in the garage to leave it to 'ferment' :rolleyes:

Other than that, would you recommend a white cabbage or a savoy? I love Greek stuffed vine leaves, so this is really appealing to me -- and I suspect a savoy cabbage would be closer to vine leaves

You can use either - but yes, I think that savoy cabbage is probably closer to the taste of vine leaves. The added bonus is that it's easier to roll up into little parcels !

munchki

well just made up tea and popped in the fridge for when hubby gets home.

spinach canneloni-munchki version
6 lasagna sheets cooked
handful of frozen spinach balls
1 carton ricotta cheese
bit of grated cheddar
some garlic, and pepper

mix up the filling, drop a spoonful on the lasagna sheet and roll up. Top the lot with a bit of leftover bolognas sauce and bake later.

easy peasy and yummy

Also have a loaf of bread in the bm

Still debating on re-boiling and re-jaring the dowerhouse chutney, still not sure about the seal on the jars. hmmmmmmmm

walmerstores

Made the runner bean chutney the other day it tastes nice hope it will be nicer once left in cupboard for a few weeks to mature
Has anybody got a nice rhubarb preserve recipe have loads to use would be greatful for a easy one.
I dont see problem with having washing machine upstairs if you where in a flat on the first or second floor you would have one then
Mrs M haven't had time to post parcel but going to docs on thursday will post it then

meanmarie

OOOH! Really looking forward to using all these lovely recipes when my new kitchen is done, especially as I have decided to get a cast iron wood burning cooker...small but will mean that I have a constant 'slow cooker' heated mainly with wooden off cuts.

Weezl, nice healthy eats you posted, wouldn't worry about being a bit over here and there.

Marie

BASHFUL_2

Any tips on how to keep my HM bread fresh....the last loaf of no knead I did, went stale, I've just made one (first one that has actually risen!!!) and I really dont want it to go stale?????