50p a day til christmas, healthily?!-Weezl's next challenge (part 2)

ceridwen

Confuzzled wrote: »

it's so exciting isn't it? we've got around a dozen pea pods right now and we keep going out each day to see if they are fattening up (not fast enough i can tell you that!) we've also got flowers on our tomatoes right now but we're still eagerly awaiting them to actually become tomatoes yet

this is the time to start giving your toms weekly feeds. i made up a lovely mix *coughs* of grass, some veg waste, coffee grounds, tea bags, egg shells and water and left it soaking in a big 3 litre container on my warm kitchen window sill for about a week now. when the tomatoes start popping up i'll dilute the mix in a bucket of water (should be the colour of very weak tea i'm told) and then water the toms well with that.

then i'll make up a similar concoction and let it stew for a week til the next feed. also make sure you've gone out and pinched out any of the tiny shoots that are forming in the v portion of the main branches/leaves of the plant, no point wasting energy feeding those now you want to leave only the main upper portions of the plant that will form trusses of toms.

good luck with those, i know how excited you must feel! we've had flowers on ours for a week but no toms yet...fingers crossed!

Hmmm.....thinks.....what proportions would that be that you used in this mix purlease? I'm thinking that might be an idea for mine...

ceridwen

Lesley_Gaye wrote: »

I've had a look on the Good Food site. I just put in Cucumber and it came up with lots of recipes, most of them not veggie, mainly lots of different salad type ideas.

an interesting chutney with mango that sounds nice (close your eyes when you see the salmon part Ceridwen!)
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/7586/tandoori-salmon-with-spicy-mango-and-cucumber-chut

a spicy cucumber salad which sounds great
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4393/spicy-cucumber-salad

a veggie recipe for Asian style tofu and cucumber noodles
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4014/asianstyle-tofu-and-cucumber-noodles

a watercress, cucumber and radish salad
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2416/crunchy-watercress-cucumber-and-radish-salad

a cucumber and yogurt soup
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2666/fragrant-cucumber-and-yogurt-soup

cucumber with soured cream and dill
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4589/cucumber-with-soured-cream-and-dill

then on this site http://www.cookitsimply.com/category-0020-019q3.html there are lots of recipes,

including this one for stir fried cucumbers with soya bean curd
http://www.cookitsimply.com/recipe-0010-0c2100.htm

this one for hot cucumber salad with dill and capers
http://www.cookitsimply.com/recipe-0010-020r88.html

and this one for cucumber and cheese mousse. It has non-veggie things in it like gelatine and chicken stock, but could easily be adapted
http://www.cookitsimply.com/recipe-0010-020r88.html

I am quite fancying something with cucumbers now!!

Hmmm...that tofu and cucumber noodles sounds worth trying too....thanks...

Elfinwings

Confuzzled wrote: »

i googled that this morning and they are ALL edible

Thanks Confuzzled - I'll be off to search out a source of dog roses then!

Elfin.

Elfinwings

weezl74 wrote: »

I'd love to write more but am a bit zonked as have been to 2 mum and baby events and walked 10 miles :eek:

My goodness Weezl, you are a very healthy lady indeed!

I, on the other hand, have been very naughty. Our local co-op closed down yesterday, and I found packs of 5 mars bars for 50p...so bad, but then, so good....
:o

Elfin.

nopot2pin

Wooo Hooo again :j

Just been watering the plants again....
And my Jalepeno chilli plant, that has many green chilli's, now has one RED chilli :cool:

I was thinking yesterday, of picking the chilli's off, so that the flowers that are still on the plant, had a chance to fruit.... but I think I will wait a few more whiles, to see what happens

Confuzzled

ceridwen wrote: »

Hmmm.....thinks.....what proportions would that be that you used in this mix purlease? I'm thinking that might be an idea for mine...

*freezes in place with a look of horror at the prospect of having to give recipe like quantities*

hmmm well basically you want to smother the cukes and onions in the sauce mixture. i like my sauce sorta thick but you do need enough vinegar to soak into the veg which is another reason why i use greek yogurt vs regular yogurt, it's thicker to start with so watering it down with the vinegar doesn't make it thin and nasty

i'd say soupy is too much vinegar, still thick enough for some weight on your spoon (if you see what i mean) is the right amount of vinegar to yogurt. the garlic, salt and other herbs if you add them are all to taste. the cukes will soak up the flavours more than the onions.

if you're like me and get a bit of cottonmouth from eating raw onions you canuse red onions instead. though saying that, i've found this use of raw white/yellow onions less problematic for my inevitable cottonmouth issues than other ways of eating them raw.

i do like a fairly even mix of onions and cukes in mine but i love onions (even if they don't always love me, so there! ) so really most of this is a 'too taste' recipe and i'm sorry i can't be any more specific than that...

i'm fairly sure i mentioned it before but i'm soooo not the right person to ask for hard and fast recipe amounts lol 90% of what i cook is as i go along, i'd be such a nightmare for the poor people doing the recipes for channel 4's website if i were ever on come dine with me :rotfl:

poohbear59

Lesley_Gaye wrote: »

sometimes, when people need an extra frugal period of time, they list what provisions they have and the lovely people on here come up with LOTS of ideas on how to get the most out of them

Thanks for the help.
The things I have lurking in the cupboard or freezer, that are not part of my menu plan each month are:

Quinoa flakes
3 x breast of lamb (still with ribs)
Fennel (in the garden)
couscous
rice noodles
mint hot chocolate instant drink
oatibix
tahini
crab apple jelly
vegimite
Burrito dinner kit for 4

In the garden we have lettuce, cabbage, and eggs too. Nothing else is ready to eat yet.

My menu plan for July is
Spag Bol
Roast chicken
Sweet and sour chicken with fresh pineapple
Bacon and onion suet roll with cabbage (from garden)
Veggie chick pea curry
Fish pie
Fried spicy pieces of chicken with potato wedges and salad
Keema Matar
Veggie cottage pie and beans
Mince pie potatoes and mixed veg
Cheesy potato bake
Fish or egg (from our own hens) and chips
Prawn and pasta
Chinese chicken
Corned beef hash
Toad in the hole
Breast of lamb ??
Pork chops, jacket potatoe and veg.

I have the meat for all of these except the pork chops and the prawns, thought I would keep an eye open for bargains. Some of the veg for this month is in the freezer. I also hav lots of rhubarb, both last years and this. I have made chutney, jam and have lots cooked down and frozen. We are not a pudding family but like one on a Sunday. I hope someone can advise me on how to use my cupboard lurkers. Some have been there a fair while!

Nitha

Lol I have Tahini too. Used once. Hate the stuff!

angelaf_3

I know this hasn't got anything to do with this thread really but you all sound like a knowledgeable bunch and I'm a complete idiot when it comes to cooking and food and have a complete horror of poisoning someone. I've ffound a bag of cherries in the back of the freezer that must have been there since last summer. I am wondering if they are still alright to eat.

MrsBartolozzi

angelaf wrote: »

I've ffound a bag of cherries in the back of the freezer that must have been there since last summer. I am wondering if they are still alright to eat.

I wouldn't hesitate to eat these! I've got some raspberries from last year in the back of my freezer! They will still be safe to eat but might not have a great texture to eat raw.

If you are still a bit unsure, then why not make a cherry sauce or compote, by just stewing them slowly in a pan with a bit of sugar and water. Or you could add to apples to make a crumble/pie/cobbler. Whatever you decide, please don't waste them, they will still be good to eat.