Economy Gastronomy - new budget cookery programme; BBC

spendaholic

Well, I'm still watching it and I'm still recording it and I'm still protecting it. so I guess I'm still enjoying it.

I liked last night's episode and think it's right that they cut the budget down gradually. That's what all of us on the grocery challenge do, though not quite so drastically as £120 in one go.

I too hated and detested mushrooms ... until I actually tried one, and now I love 'em and add them to everything, so well done on the lad for at least trying one. More than can be said for last week's lad leaving the room in a minor tantrum before he'd even seen the meal let alone tasted it (he'd've got a clip round the lughole in my day ...). Mushrooms are one of my staples, but they're usually button or open/closed cup. Maybe I should try shitake and oyster too. Just once ...

The meals are still a bit spicy for me. I like traditional, British, boring nosh. But there are some good ideas and I'm considering buying the book. I liked the bakewell tart idea of curling and scrunching up the edges rather than making it all uniform. And I'm afraid I do have ground and flaked almonds in my store cupboard. I use the ground almonds in sweet pastry and the flaked almonds in apricot cut and come again cake.

I don't think there's a real problem with readymade pastry either, if you can't make it. Apparently I can, but I can't do pancakes for the life of me, even though I love them and know how to do them, so without readymade pancakes I'd never have any. Readymade pastry is one step better from readymade pies and tarts. IMHO.

"Next week's" isn't actually on next week, as the athletics are (or they are in Yorkshire, according to next week's Radio Times). I hope we don't all get withdrawal symptoms.

avinabacca

Gigervamp wrote: »

Not sure what you're getting at.

Throwing 7k of food away is disgusting, horrendous, shameful, really, really bad. :rolleyes:

Fair enough - had visions of someone retching at the screen at what the guy was binning; I thought "it didn't look so attractive piled into the sink, but steady on, it's not poop or owt!"

Think I might have got the wrong end of the stick there, ooops.....

tryingtoruletheworld

Gigervamp wrote: »

Not sure what you're getting at.

Throwing 7k of food away is disgusting, horrendous, shameful, really, really bad. :rolleyes:

I think that is so much important than how much you actually spend in the first place. If you have £500 a week to spend on food without getting into debt then why the hell not, but throwing half of it away is disgusting and a complete waste.

Topher

I'm enjoying the series, and trying to take it for what it is, (I share the disappointment that the £300 + bill wasn't cut as far as I expected it to be, mainly because I was hoping to learn something specific, and that kind of budget is way beyond mine) I was also a bit sceptical about the price for 12 cookies containing Macadamia nuts (11p per cookie?) unless anyone can give me clues as to where to buy them as cheaply as those must have been. (Mr. T. 100g £1.69)

Gigervamp

avinabacca wrote: »

Fair enough - had visions of someone retching at the screen at what the guy was binning; I thought "it didn't look so attractive piled into the sink, but steady on, it's not poop or owt!"

Think I might have got the wrong end of the stick there, ooops.....

Ah, understood!

p00

I thought they were a really nice family who now have a better family meal time because of the show.

Recipes too spicy for us - I wish they'd all do 'ordinary' food instead of chilli, curry, spicy.

Looking forward to next week although it seems a bit ridiculous how much next weeks family spend and you have to wonder how 'real' some of it actually is.

xxp00

freyasmum

Topher wrote: »

I'm enjoying the series, and trying to take it for what it is, (I share the disappointment that the £300 + bill wasn't cut as far as I expected it to be, mainly because I was hoping to learn something specific, and that kind of budget is way beyond mine) I was also a bit sceptical about the price for 12 cookies containing Macadamia nuts (11p per cookie?) unless anyone can give me clues as to where to buy them as cheaply as those must have been. (Mr. T. 100g £1.69)

You don't have to use macadamia nuts - you can use hazelnuts or omit them completely if the budget doesn't allow it

I still think the programme is doing well, teaching the basics (use leftovers for lunch, make 'bedrock' recipes and eat from them for the next few meals and, not forgetting, cook your own meals - don't buy them preprepared!) for those who need it - and the family did manage to shave another £50 off their budget the next week :T


Will you lot slow down? I can't keep up :rotfl:

Raspberry_Swirl

freyasmum wrote: »

You don't have to use macadamia nuts - you can use hazelnuts or omit them completely if the budget doesn't allow it

I acutally prefer a brownie plain, without any extras in it!

Butterfly_Brain

Did anyone notice the thing about the rice? I always rinse mine in cold water first to get rid of most of the starch. They didn't they just bunged it in and were instructed not to stir because of the starch in the rice.

freyasmum

Raspberry_Swirl wrote: »

I acutally prefer a brownie plain, without any extras in it!

Me too

I can't actually think of anything when I do add nuts? I might top things with nuts (e.g. carrot cake) but not put them into the mixture. That's not a budget thing, btw - it's just because I'm a daft moo who usually forgets to add them:rotfl::rotfl: