Weezl and friends Phase 2 -giving it a whirl for Shirl! Testing meal plan for a month

kezlou

Brilliant idea! i never thought of those silicone muffin things. got some of them in cupboards :T.
Thanks everyone for the advcie about the pastry, will that in processor poohbear. I normally make flan pastry with half cheap marg to half flour. It just looked completely different to what I'm used to that's all.

Off to bed as i'm shattered. night all. x

In_Search_Of_Me

Just popping in....keep up the good work!

Re pastry if youre like me and have warm hands you could try sommat like this;

http://www.squires-shop.com/ibf/index.php?p=product&id=2818&parent=14

oo and heres why!!

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-pastry-blender.htm

apparenty warm hand melts the butter to much and affects the texture of the pastry so this will assist in making a good pastry...hth?

Re the hm bread its not like shop bought - the crusts are thicker and the general consistency thicker/heavier than shop bought...kneading will reduce this but in my book is a huge faff and I prefer the no knead with oatie cereal as the easiest lightest loaf...have also tried making bread and pastry in blender and both were naff so its hands for me....Recon a no knead video would be good though weezl..if nowt else I like watching them as its a slightly surreal experience seeing someone you know on utube!! While youre there put one of ferg bottom shuffling!

shanks77

Well everyone is really quiet this morning i am assuming like me you are all batch cooking arent you?:rotfl:I am actually going to make up a pot of Mr Frankies soup then get ready for work. Hope you all have a good day and look forward to catching up later.

Allegra

shanks77 wrote: »

Well everyone is really quiet this morning i am assuming like me you are all batch cooking arent you?:rotfl:I am actually going to make up a pot of Mr Frankies soup then get ready for work. Hope you all have a good day and look forward to catching up later.

As a matter of fact, yes - trying to do kitcheny stuff this morning so can concentrate on the garden some more this afternoon. Assuming it stays dry, that is.

Anyway - the bread is proving, and the remnants of the Easter lamb roast that were languishing in the fridge are encased in a pie crust and in the freezer, awaiting the plan's end Might have to stop at that today, depnding on whether DD is in or out, but if I find the time to do a bit more it'll probably be the pizza for tomorrow night.

Oh, and I finally managed to wear down DD's resistance sufficiently to get her to try apple curd - and she pronounced it "nice" - nice enough in fact to have it on one slice of her post-breakfast bread snack. The other slice had to be kept pure and unsullied though

Potty - what a brilliant idea about the silicone muffin trays. So simple, yet so effective. I'll add it in to the batch cooking guide.

Murrell

Just made the savoury bites again and this time used black beans. I used 20ml less oil than I did last time, so I expected them to be drier, but they are so creamy and delicious. I am so glad I stocked up on the black beans when home bargains was selling organic ones for 19p a can. I think this is my favourite version, followed by chickpeas and then cannellini. Think I will try borlotti beans next time. I just keep testing and tweaking the same recipe, I must like them!

weezl74

Murrell wrote: »

Just made the savoury bites again and this time used black beans. I used 20ml less oil than I did last time, so I expected them to be drier, but they are so creamy and delicious. I am so glad I stocked up on the black beans when home bargains was selling organic ones for 19p a can. I think this is my favourite version, followed by chickpeas and then cannellini. Think I will try borlotti beans next time. I just keep testing and tweaking the same recipe, I must like them!

thanks for that Murrell I'm hoping to put mung beans in planner 3, will it work with them? If at some point you could do a test drive I'd love that

Hello planner 1 testers hope you're all ok on this fine day 4.

I was sad when i read the pastry and bread weren't faring well, but both DH and ISOM have rightly pointed out that we all knew things wouldn't be perfect at this stage, which is why we needed the testing phase! Also I think it wouldn't have been much of a fun adventure together if all went swimmingly

Thanks for hanging in there folks, I really, really appreciate it

Arty I will do a youtube of the bread, I'm not entirely sure when as Real life things are getting in the way a bit. DH and I might have a chance to do it tonight or it maybe on the weekend.

It's tricky because we need 2 adults, one to bake and one to film, which means both boys have to be asleep at the same time, which is tricky!

I wonder if I can have some thoughts from everyone a bit more widely than just the testing of planner 1:

If you were going to set up a website to house this resource for shirley (and Kitty, and whatever the other one was called!) what would you call it? Subsistence isn't a very catchy title!

apart from the recipes and a planner month, what might you want it to contain?

Any thoughts on what it would look like?

Any thoughts on features you especially think it should have? (I'm guessing printable pages of recipes would be important?)

Thank you

artybear

Weezl-anytime this month will be good for the youtube, so really dont worry about it.

Also dont worry about things not working-that's the point of the month and everyone taking part in it knows that.

xxxxxxxxx

Murrell

Just made the apple curd, doesn't look anything like yours but tastes good. Yours looks like the applesauce you can buy in jars. Mine looks more like a smoothie, but I did use different apples. But I am still surprised it doesn't look like apple sauce, more a apple dessert. I tried to load a picture, but it wouldn't have it today. Picture on my site however.

Will have a think about your website resource and see what I can think of.

Sandra
x

Allegra

weezl74 wrote: »

I was sad when i read the pastry and bread weren't faring well, but both DH and ISOM have rightly pointed out that we all knew things wouldn't be perfect at this stage, which is why we needed the testing phase! Also I think it wouldn't have been much of a fun adventure together if all went swimmingly

True. But also please don't forget that we have all come to this from variety of backgrounds, with different cooking skills and levels of experience. I believe that it's important that things do go wrong at times - but I would say that, being notoriously cack-handed and accident-prone - because that way we can set up a trouble-shooting guide so the finished resource is useful and friendly even to the most clueless of beginners.

u were going to set up a website to house this resource for shirley (and Kitty, and whatever the other one was called!) what would you call it? Subsistence isn't a very catchy title!

The Naked Chef ! Well, it's catchy... And already done, yes, I know. Some kind of play on words with naughty undertones is always a winner, though. Or a riff on slogans for ethical and organic food - you know, like "Good food does not have to cost the earth" - well, this being a nutritionally sound planner "Good food does not need to cost an arm and a leg".... No, that doesn't really work.

I'll keep thinking

part from the recipes and a planner month, what might you want it to contain?

Shopping list, kit list, batch cooking tips, glossary and tutorials for beginners, nutritional info, what to do with leftovers, storage tips,
how to adapt the list and recipes to different number of people and different dietary needs, what to do when visitors come, how to do birthdays and other celebrations frugally (does nothave to be comprehensive, just "further resources" would probably be sufficient), real-life testimonials (that'd be us, lol),the kitchen sink.... :rotfl:

Seriously, some or any of the above would be good.

Any thoughts on what it would look like?

I'm not a very visual-oriented person, so I'll have to pass on this one

Any thoughts on features you especially think it should have? (I'm guessing printable pages of recipes would be important?)

Yep - ditto with the planner. Or a meal-planning template of some sort that can be used to adapt the planner to an individual family's needs (teaching them how to fish).

FrankieM

weezl I was thinking about frugal cosmetics today. Face masks, hair colouring etc. I would find that kind of info helpful.