Its tough, it will get better and guess what its freezing brrrrr!

ceridwen

Has anyone else tried a recipe for bread yet that involves replacing part of the flour with potatoes?

If so - what did you think of it? If you liked it - do you have the recipe for it?

seasalt_2

Nearly twenty pages of posts since I went away on Tuesday! Has taken me half the morning to catch up and now of course I can't remember who said what! Congrats to those who've just landed new jobs, big ()s to those who are struggling for whatever reason right now and flowertot mum, what an upsetting thing to happen after all your hard work - sadly I don't think it's a new thing although I suppose it may get worse if times get harder.

Have just had a very un-moneysaving trip to the mainland! Car service was £153 - we were under the impression it was a free service as part of the deal when we bought the car (we got this one last year under govt scrappage scheme) but apparently "warranty" service just meant we needed it to make three year warranty valid! We also had three meals out with three sets of family but then we only do it once a year - it's just the doing it all at once! Plus ferry fares and B&Bs and shopping...!

Couldn't find stardrops anywhere for love nor money, nor could I find cheap bicarb or vinegar in bulk (but will check it out online - thankyou to those who posted sites altho offshore postage/freight can bump up the cost too much to make it worthwhile, if they'll send here at all!) but did get a huge container of very cheap dishwasher powder (daisy brand) from Mr Ts - powerfully strong smell though - goodness knows what's in it. Wondering if I will regret it. Also stocked up on lentils, vegetable bouillon powder etc, ecover washing up liquid (use this in the bath/shower!) as although I do want to support our local Co which is very good, they were just SO much cheaper, along with things like 19p toothpaste. Had wanted to get own brand cold medicine as £4 a box here but someone else must have had same idea as empty spaces on shelves in Bs, MrTs and SD! Got cheapy paracetamol instead (can't get that here either) and have also restocked our first aid kit.

Did not even go into any clothes shops (Too fat, don't need anything and I don't have the shopping gene - loathe big shops in big cities - so no real hardship!), OH bought new padded workshirts, which he needed, and more blimmin socks and another TWO pairs "smart" shoes, which he didn't, because they were a "total bargain" from the shoe discount place - so he now has FOUR almost identical pairs which should see him out as 99% of the time (ie apart from weddings and funerals) he is in wellies or boots! I am going to start calling him Imelda! DS bought hugely expensive fisherman's oilskins and wellies (which he does need) and DD came out of Primark, New Look, H&M etc looking like a carrier bag shop, but at least it was their own hard earned money they were spending and, to be fair, she got a lot of clothes for her money.

Other thing I have brought back, despite OCD handwashing, is a cold/sore throst so feeling a bit rubbish today. Hot lemon and honey very soothing though.

Right, DD and I (DH and DS are fencing and have taken pieces) are going to have leek and tatty soup for lunch - made it yesterday so only have to heat it up and then this afternoon I am going to do an hour's gardening - it's a beautiful day here - and then some sewing/last minute preparations for next week's patchwork classes.

ceridwen

Ah-ha....found one place I have a potato bread recipe stashed and its online:

http://www.thedailyspud.com/2009/02/08/spud-sunday-mr-potato-bread/

Knew I'd read about this in various places as one of the ways that our ancestors dealt with a shortage of wheat flour....

mardatha

As times get tougher more people will steal, even the ones who take for themselves and not to sell. Security lighting would help maybe.

NualaBuala

stiltwalker wrote: »

You can also make your own buttermilk using the same quantity of milk but adding a teaspoon of lemon juice to sour it.

Or you can add cream of tartar to milk (the quantities are on the pack). Plain yoghurt works well too.

cheerfulness4

pennywisepoundstupid wrote: »

starting to feel worried about the rising costs and can see me buying things like this with the gift vouchers i recieve for doing surveys rather than buying treats for the family:(.

This is what we have been doing for the last 18 months and it's amazing how useful these vouchers can be for food. Lots of survey sites offer supermarket vouchers or even paypal payments that can be put into your bank account for food or spent on discounted food stores with short dated food online.

Don't we get resourceful when we have to?!

Primrose

Know Potato cakes are not the same as potato bread, but these are nice too:

450g (1lb) Potatoes
110g (4oz) Plain Flour
50g (2oz) Butter
1 tsp Salt
Pinch Pepper
Butter or Bacon Fat (Optional)
Peel potatoes, Boil in lightly salted boiling water until tender, then mash.

Season with salt and freshly ground pepper and pour in the melted butter.
Add enough flour to make a pliable and easily manageable dough.
Knead gently to combine.
Roll out on a lightly floured board to form a round of about ¼-½ inch thickness.
Cut into small individual round cakes using a biscuit cutter.
Cook on a hot dry griddle or dry frying pan until both sides are golden brown.
The cakes can also be fried in a hot pan in butter or bacon fat.

flowertotmum

Ladies thanks for your messages...but i am sooooo fluffing mad right now i have steam coming out my ears...my hubby of 24 yrs and teenage son thought it would be funny to ring and tell me someone had been stealing veg...when they haven't...he thought it would be funny...24yrs married and not for much longer if he does it again i can tell you..the idiot ..they both came in laughing..until they got it both fluffing barrels..i haven't sworn at my son before..he has legged it to his room and hubby is creeping...stupid,stupid little boys...now if someone does pinch i won't believe either of them...sorry ladies..feel like i wasted your time and mine...hubby is currently measuring the alcove in dining room for the shelves i asked him to put up 6 months ago....like i said its not fluffing funny when you think someone has stolen food from the table and after all the hardwork we put into it as well...i'm going to make them pay....just trying to think of a way to do it..hubby is easy hurt him in the wallet area..son not so sure...maybe i'll make him do the ironing for a while or babysit his sisters while i'm out shopping...going now to smolder and plan my revenge....only good thing is we have lots of cabbage and hubby hates it so guess what we having with every meal from now on....
Soda bread is lovely...my gran used to make it all the time...i make my own cottage cheese too..thats sooo easy...and i can add what i like to it to flavour it....
thanks all....
take care

pennywisepoundstupid

Oh no flowertot mum, i'd be livid too, its the sort of prank my OH would pull.

NualaBuala

Ah well flowertotmum, easy for me to say I just got a laugh at the thought of us all up in arms over the non-existent thief! I'm so glad that your veg weren't stolen!

Primrose, I am a big potato cake fan, thanks for reminding me. I might have some tonight. My favourite way of having them is to add a bit of grated cheese and chopped onion in.